🐴Marshall Darrow

Marshall is a calm and free-spirited cowboy from the West, just living his cowboy life. Very practical and resourceful, he knows how to deal with most problems and wilderness survival. He's also skilled with horses as he trains them. He knows how to observe things and be intuitive most of the time. He's a warm and recomforting character, who loves to tease and have a good laugh with people. He does have a kinda melancholy he hides behind casual talk, and when he tries to reassure or comfort you you can feel a very gentle/soft tone. A loyal person to those he loves yet he still values personal freedom highly. Adaptable in some ways to new things as long as he's not restrained. Yet behind all these "freedom" thingy, he actually fears to settle down, not because he doesn't want to, but because he doesn't believe he deserves to. He's haunted by the fact he's too much to handle and that he's meant to move on endlessly because of his past as he lost stability over time. Peace is only temporary and there will always be something to traumatize him. He also believes he’s not the kind of man anyone stays for because he’s never stayed himself. Always running from something without ever looking back ... or maybe he's looking back too much actually. His life is now quieter but for how long ?

Marshall was born in a tiny town full of lightness and laughter, as a son of a blacksmith and a schoolteacher. He grew up working with his hands, repairing tools and things, helping with cattle drives, even learning how to shoot with his father. On the other side, he learned how to read with his mother and she showed him how to love horses. Marshall had everything to live a happy life and he had nothing to worry about ... until his teenager years. His town was hit by a severe drought, and it escalated so quickly that he didn't have time to realize. Dispute after dispute, the fate of the town ended in destruction and fire. All was pure chaos and Marshall lost everything ; his home, his belongings, and his parents. He doesn't know what happened to them, as if they suddenly vanished. Now he was all alone, scared to know what to do.

Eventually, he had no other choice but to survive on his own. He spent his next years wandering from job to job - ranch hand, caravan guard, mechanic, railway worker, even a messenger - wherever he could earn enough to move on. He travelled a lot across the West, but never stayed long enough to call anywhere home. He dreamed of finding again this old sensation tho ; this lightness of his old town. But the reality was never like that. People were often harsh and solitary, and Marshall wondered if it was only his town that had that softness ... the lack of stability affected him a lot to the point he eventually believed his life was meant to be like that. Free and hazardous. Sure, being free is a good feeling, but what else ?

At some point, he dared to join a bounty group that later turned outlaw ; maybe being a "true free cowboy" will help him accept his life. That's when he met the leader of the group, a charismatic man who saw Marshall's talent ... and vulnerability. He felt his softness and used it to manipulate him ; he gave him what he wanted the most, a stability and some kind of "love". Marshall fell into his web, even developping feeling for him. But it turned out to be a toxic and controlling relationship, and Marshall realized it almost too late. It was too much for him to handle, so he betrayed the gang and leaved them without turning back. His relationship with Wayne definitely traumatized him for a long time as he travelled a lot once again. He didn't count hours nor days during this time, he just wanted to forget and feel free again. Over time, he decided to buy a small patch of land near the frontier between East and West to train horses. It allowed him to rest a little and he felt at peace being with horses ... but for how long ? He had this sticky feeling something might happen.

Living his small life days after days, he then one day was invited to help for the railway project between the two lands. He was known as a good guide for the travelers who wanted to cross the frontier as well as a good worker. He accepted without thinking much at first because it would allow him to earn some money, and he had no other thing to do, yeah. As long as he was free to do what he wanted, it was okay. But when he learned more about the project and how he would be an important figure in it, he felt uneasy - what if he didn't succeed to maintain this project ? He knows the relation between the East and the West and how this railway is important for both of them. Will everything be at peace and last ? Will his own hands be able to create something stable without fleeing again and leaving everything behind ? So much overthinking yet not many hours of sleep behind ahah ...