"Ah, Mr. Kilgore. It's good to see that you're up. I reckon a feller like you would've liked to stay in bed. Especially with all them injuries you got."

"Nah, Mrs. Tinhead, I'd rather be up'n'about, rather than be lazy in a bed all day. I wish I could repay you for taking care of me. I really appreciate it."

"Think none of it, Mr. Kilgore. Any decent folk would help you."

"Not that I deserve it." Arthur Morgan whispered underneath his breath as he exited the Tinhead residence.

It had been about three days since he 'died'. And he just couldn't understand it at all. He knew for a fact that he watched his final sunset on that mountain top, his final moments in pure bliss. He only hoped that Marston got out all right and he could leave the life of infamy as best he could. He didn't doubt that he would make a new life with his family.

Instead he found himself in the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Tinhead. They said they found him in the woods with mysterious injuries all over him, but they didn't question him on the subject. For three days he stayed in their home. They took care of him for three days, along with their son, Donnel. He seemed to be fascinated with him, askin what it's like outside the small village. Though most times the sixteen, maybe seventeen, year old boy would get reprimanded for interrogating an injured man. He hoped he could find a way to pay them back, before he inevitably left.

He found he was in a place called Farfort on the continent of Ylisse, or something like that. He's never heard of it before, but hopefully it's someplace far away from Cuba. His guns were in a case that he hadn't opened yet, especially since the Tinheads seemed to question what the hell a gun was. They instead wondered if it was some kind of magic tome or something like that. Where the hell is he? Not a single nation in the world doesn't know what the hell a gun is!

Oh well. It could just be the little village he's in. Maybe, just maybe he can stay here and avoid the law. Naw, it will always come a-knocking no matter where he was. It wouldn't be fair to the Tinheads, since they cared for him.

He scanned the little village of Farfort and saw that it was a quaint and small little town, could grow into something great in the future given enough time. He was given a few glances from the locals, no doubt curious of an outsider in their little town. He wasn't offended by it, made sense to be a bit suspicious of someone new to town.

"Hey, you're that Kilgore feller the Tinheads brought in."

"Indeed I am."

The suspicious glances somewhat seized as a stranger became friendly with Arthur. The man wore simple blue… well everything. He had a bit of stubble growing on his face, but it would appear that it was just growing now. A late bloomer by the appearance of it. It made Arthur scratch his beard a bit, he hadn't remembered the last time he shaved. Especially since that job in Saint Denis. God, he didn't want to think about it right now, especially in front of a stranger.

"My name is Apaul Bucket, but you can call me Mr. Bucket. Welcome to our little village, it's a bit away from the main towns, but we get visitors every now and then."

Arthur shook the excited man's hand. He's used to all kinds of strangers by now.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Bucket."

"Naw, the pleasures all mine. Like I said, we don't get many strangers. So it's always exciting to meet people. "

"Yep." Arthur spat out a regular wad of spit, strange, felt like he hadn't done that properly in a while, "I wouldn't always have that disposition with all strangers though."

"Oh, I know bad people exist, Mr. Kilgore. You can usually tell from a distance. Big ol eyesores you can see comin from a mile away. "

Arthur found his statement to be ironic. A bad man is right in front of Mr. Bucket. And he's none the wiser.

"Would you like a tour around the village, Mr. Kilgore? I know its small, but knowing what's where doesn't hurt."

Arthur pulled the brim of his hat to conceal his eyes. He didn't have to waste time getting a tour, and he could figure things out on his own. However, the stranger seemed kind enough and looked the part to know every know how that goes around this village. It was a bit strange for him to refer to Farfort as a village, as he mostly imagined Native tents to be considered villages. He didn't dwell on it for too long, lest he wanted to look weird to Mr. Bucket.

Ah, to hell with it. He just got back up on his feet, "Sure. Lead the way."

"Great! Follow me, mister."

"Alright."

….

"Thanks for the tour, partner." Arthur waved off Mr. Bucket as he finished the tour and had to attend to Mrs. Bucket. He made note of the pseudo hotel that carried about one to two rooms for anyone that happened to wander in the village.

He found himself at the small stables that had a limited amount of horses, due to the village size, and the fact that it's hard to catch one out in the wild. His gaze landed on the young Donnel trying, and failing, to mount on a horse. He got bucked off a couple of more times before he noticed Arthur.

"Oh! Mr. Kilgore, you're up!" Donnel abandoned his futile attempts to ride a horse and ran up to Arthur. He hoped on one of the bars of the fence and excitedly looked at the man.

"What're you up to, Donnel?"

"Nothin much. Just trying to use one of them horses to check up on my traps. It'd be much faster than walking. I tried to ask my Ma and Pa to try and teach me, but they don't know how to. I tried to ask other folk, but they're too busy with their own stuff. You know anything about riding horses, mister?"

"A little, enough to know how to handle one. Why?" Arthur had sense to know where this was going.

"Do you mind riding me out to the woods to collect my snares and traps and such?"

"Oh?"

"'Oh' what?"

"I thought you were gonna..ask me to teach you how to ride one, but that works too."

"Naw, I mean I want to learn, but not at the moment. I just wanna collect my traps and see what we get. If it's not too much to ask for of course."

"It's fine. I owe ya for taking care of me. It's the least I can do for ya."

"I, and I'm pretty sure Ma and Pa as well, don't think you owe us anything, Mr. Kilgore. It's just a show of kindness, that's all."

Arthur shook his head as he climbed over the wooden fence, "Well I intend to pay kindness with kindness, partner. I usually don't like leaving debts behind."

He carefully approached one of the horses and gave her a pat on the neck, "Easy girl, just going on a little ride." Arthur lead the horse out and returned to Donnel.

"You're a natural at this, Mr. Kilgore."

"Not really."

Arthur mounted on the horse first and offered a hand towards Donnel. Donnel mounted behind Arthur and wrapped an arm around his belly.

"You sure it's okay for me to just randomly take a horse, with you in tow?"

"Don't worry. People were close by when you talked to me. Word travels fast."

"Eavesdroppers, aren't they?"

"A lil."

"Where to, boy?"

"You can head straight out and keep on going. It's a little ways till we get there."

Arthur didn't need any other instructions as he had the horse go into a sprint and jump over the fence. Donnel barely held on to his waist as the horse jumped higher than he's ever experience before. After a few seconds he felt the breeze pick up and the wind rush past their ears as the horse excitedly sprinted forward. Poor girl must've been cramped up for a while. The village soon disappeared from view and Donnel knew they still had a short way to go.

"What's the outside world like, Mr. Kilgore?"

"Huh?"

"What's it like out there? I've only been in this village for my whole life and I'm not old enough to go on supply runs with the older ones."

"Oh, you know? Good guys, bad guys, there's all sorts of people out there."

"I mean what do 'good guys and bad guys' do on regular life? Are they like the people in Farfort? Do they have easier times plowing the fields? Do they have other things to plow the fields with? How do they fish?"

"Like I said, different people out there. Just be glad I'm not one of the people who shoot you on sight. You gotta be careful out there in the big big world."

"Yeah, I heard there's some scary people in the world. I heard there's this man who can easily wrestle a bear and win. He once took on two at once and had to get serious!"

"You've been reading too much dime-novels."

"No, sir, I can barely read. What's a dime though?"

The horse kept a crisp gallop as Arthur took a short breath and cursed a bit under his breath.

"What's the currency here?"

"Standard gold coins, Mr. Kilgore. Though we mostly trade."

"Standard? Gold coins are standard?"

"Yeah, what's so weird about that?"

"I could've sworn gold was expensive?!"

"I mean it kind of is, if it's used as something to trade for, right?"

Arthur shook his head, "Nevermind. Where's the traps you laid out again?"

"You should see a big yellow rock, there it is! Now we just turn left into the woods and go in. I spread the traps in a lot of places, so it should take some time to find them."

"I'll help ya."

"Thanks, Mr. Kilgore, but you gotta be careful with the traps. Only I know where I placed them."

"I can notice when something is amiss, I won't get hurt by the traps."

"If you say so."

The horse stopped. Arthur and Donnel got off of her and the two searched the woods for traps and possible animals stuck in the traps.

…..

"Thank you for taking Donnel, Mr. Kilgore. He's all excited about having enough rabbit for two weeks"

"Not a problem Mrs. Tinhead, just repaying my debt to ya."

"You don't owe us anything, Mr-"

"Just repaying kindness with kindness ma'am. I wouldn't be helpin you if you didn't help me."

Mrs. Tinhead smiled, "I think you'd go out of your way."

"Not really." Arthur tipped his hat over his eyes, wait didn't he-

"Would you like to come in for dinner, Mr. Kilgore?"

"Naw, don't want to impose anymore on ya. Besides your son set the traps, caught them, and I just helped bring it back. You've been much to considerate."

"Well, I'm just repaying kindness with kindness, Mr. Kilgore."

Arthur sighed, "Fine, but I'll only eat a little." He had a quick look around, "Haven't seen your husband in a while."

"He's out gathering supplies from the bigger towns, he should be back in the next..three or four days."

Arthur hoped to be out of their hair about a day or two after Mr. Tinhead comes back home. Or whenever he could at least pay back their kindness in full. He just hoped the law didn't come crashing down, but in his experience it always will catch up with him. Hell it didn't have to be the law specifically, for all he knows there might be some O'driscoll boys roaming around waiting for the opportune time to pounce on him. Vengeance is a fools game, but many still play it.

Arthur heaved a heavy sigh, honestly it feels like he's out of place here. Like he doesn't belong. Well that's everywhere he goes with a bounty on his head, but here? Something just ain't right, he just couldn't tell what it was.

…..

Been a while since I posted anything. Just beat RDR2 and genuinely balled my eyes out. I knew it was sort of an inevitable conclusion, but damn. It still hit like a bag of rocks. Rockstar has done great deeds with making Arthur one of the most complex and relatable character ever. Arthur deserved better!

Rant aside here's a new thing. Awakening x Red Dead Redemption 2, see what I can do with it. Open to any suggestions or random thoughts.

See ya next time, partner. May you stand Unshaken.