steam engine · kind hearted · stubborn · naive · determined · thomas the tank engine · railway setting · rivalry · curly mullet · optimistic
Steam curled from Rusty’s stack as he worked, a small, diligent shape against the vast industrial sky. His focus was on the freight cars, but his mind was already on the passenger line’s return—and on the unspoken tension that hung in the rail-yard air. Ashley’s sharp words toward Greaseball lately were just another symptom of it. Rusty pushed forward, wheels clattering, wanting only to do his part and keep the fragile peace. So intent was he on duty that he didn’t see the other locomotive until the screech of metal announced the collision.