The Right Kind of Mirrors
By Killash
Fandom: "The Magnificent Seven"
Disclaimers: I don't own 'em. Reeally. I know it's hard to believe but I don't. They belong to other people, elsewhere; I just borrow them for healthy fun…
Notes: Thank you so much to my wonderful betas, Cindy Combs, whose opinion I respect and cherish in a way she will never know, and Bonnie May, such a wonderful human being whose invaluable help contributed hugely to make this story readable. Thank you both for everything. Thank you also to the Blackraptor wonderful archivists. You have been incredibly kind to me, and gave my story a pretty decent home. Much obliged!
Summary: The Seven run into a bunch of small mirrors in the woods, a discovery that leaves them stunned, perplexed, mesmerized and in a complete state of disbelief... to say the least. By the way: No… this story has NO real people, AU's or weird things in it, it's pure Old West Canon with a few more completely fictional townfolk to meet.Ok? Just FYI.
Horses: Chaucer's name is Kristen's creation; Solon is Meg Tipper's (Whaddya know?) Thank you guys so much as well. About Peso, well, he uses his own.
"It is not about the image you get when you see yourself, or how distorted from reality this image turns out to be, it's about the kind of mirror you use".
Ripples shot throughout the quiet waters of the small pond as seven horses ran beside it on that serene summer afternoon.
Six riders followed a seventh who in turn followed a trail almost too faint to perceive. The trail, unfortunately, was fading more and more with every step. By the time the group reached an opening in the valley, the signs had all but disappeared.
Vin Tanner brought Peso to a halt and cursed, scanning the ground in vain over and over. It was of no use, they were gone.
"Damn!" he cursed once more in frustration, his eyes locked on the horizon, like trying to pick up some kind of trail in the air itself. He was lost, they were all lost, and it was his fault. "Damn it!"
"What?" Chris Larabee's voice came up behind him, asking a question for which he already knew the answer.
Vin sighed, and inwardly kicked himself. "I lost it!"
Behind him, another curse followed as Buck Wilmington slapped his own thigh. "Damn! Son of a bitch!" He took off his hat to run a hand through his hair. "I thought we had'em. How could they disappear like that?"
Vin sighed again. "I don't know".
A shadow appeared from the right as Josiah Sanchez approached on his horse, easily spotting the true reason for all the sighing. "No easier than trailing a fish in the water, brother, don't worry. You did good, they were too damn quiet from the beginning."
"Yeah, it was the damndest thing, the most silent bank robbery I ever heard of. Good thing Nathan keeps his eyes open." Buck commented.
"They almost went pass me, Buck," Nathan said, "if I hadn't noticed that look on the guy's face… that, guilty look…" he sighed as well, "and of course the big bag of money he was carryin' helped a little too".
Buck chuckled, shaking his head.
Another deep sigh from Vin brought eerie silence to the small group, each man thinking what they could have done different or what to do next.
"Well," the youngest of their voices suddenly pointed out from the back of the group, "at least they didn't get the money."
Ezra Standish smiled to the young man next to him and then let out an honest laugh. "Mr. Dunne, you're absolutely right! Always the optimist, we should all learn a thing or two from you."
Several more faces lit up as Buck replaced his hat and smiled. "Yer'right, JD, at least they went off empty handed!"
"Those abominable miscreants may have fled in the end, but not victorious, thanks to Mr. Jackson's astute eye and your own quickness of mind," Ezra continued; "By the way, that was an impressive set of maneuvers, my young friend, undoubtedly worthy of a tale coming from your preferred branch of dime-store literature. Quite unique and daring enough to deserve praise for your agility and resourcefulness."
JD looked more than confused. "What he just say, Buck?"
It was Chris who answered the question, his face lit up by a look of, -was Josiah seeing correctly?- Pride? Yes. It was pride, something he'd caught regularly on the gunslinger's eyes these past few moths. JD was getting older and a lot better at what he did, and they all noticed it.
"He said you did good, kid." Larabee said, patting his horse with affection behind the neck.
"Damn right!" Buck exclaimed happily.
"Me too, that was one hell of a move there, JD." Nathan offered his two cents. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"
The young man felt himself blushing a little and quickly turned away, his heart swelling up with joy at the words of praise that came from the men he admired the most. Who would have thought? "Well, I'd done that lots of times when I was a boy," he waved off the fact, "Me and my friends climbed up on trees and jumped on movin' horses from the low branches all the time. Never thought I'd be jumpin' atop of a bank robber someday."
"Really?" Josiah asked, bewildered. "Good lord, JD, why would you go and do something that dangerous as a kid? You could have broken your neck!"
"We all do foolish things as children, Mr. Sanchez," Ezra intervened, "No child has ever known how to properly measure danger." He smiled and looked away, saying the next words a little lower, "I should know…" he trailed off, a mischievous smile forming on his face as he watched the horizon.
"What did you do, Ez?" JD asked, curious.
"Nothing you would have done, Mr. Dunne, you were too well educated," he quickly changed the subject, "but we were talking about your daring stunt, Sir, and I don't know about the rest but I for one enjoyed the look on that miscreant's face immensely when you deprived him of his stolen bag of money."
"Right!" Nathan commented, "the man just stared at you like an idiot, he just couldn't believe it!"
"You just seemed to fly from that tree like a bird, JD," Buck snorted, "he never saw that comin', I'm sure."
"And you landed on your feet too, JD. That was real nice!" Josiah helped a bit.
"Oh, well, I wouldn'ta been able to even try that if Nathan hadn't alerted me before," JD tried to divert the comments, all the attention suddenly made him feel smothered, "that was sharp lookin' there Nathan, those guys were really sneaky. They never made a sound when they robbed the bank, had poor Mr. Brown all scared out of his mind. You got great eyes!"
"Indeed," Ezra tipped his hat.
"I second that notion."
Nathan laughed out loud. "Oh, man, I know… I know… we're all wonderful. How about we turn our amazing and unbeatable asses back to town and have lunch now. I'm starved."
"I second that notion as well." Ezra nodded, turning Chaucer around, ready to return to town.
Vin Tanner had stayed quiet the whole time, his mind still lost on his missing trail and his dry feeling of failure. He stared at the nearby line of trees that marked the beginning of a bushy forest that opened just ahead, when all of a sudden he saw something that caught his attention. Without looking back he made a hand signal for the rest of them to stop.
"What?" came Chris' whisper.
Vin nodded at the woods ahead. Up above, a flock of birds had flown upward from a certain spot to the right. "Somethin' spooked'em." He said quietly. "Someone's there."
Chris began urging Solon on, but Vin placed a hand on his arm before he could start. "They'll hear the horses. Let's sneak up on'em." He dismounted without another word.
The rest of the seven dismounted and followed as one, guns in hand, not saying a word, like a well rehearsed play. After more than two years of being together the seven peacekeepers had learned to function like a well-oiled machine. Criminals feared this machine. It was no accident that these seven men were already famous throughout the territory.
The Magnificent Seven! So much more than just a dime store novel!
They approached the trees, carefully, covering every possible spot and anticipating any move that could resemble an ambush. Vin led the way, his trained eyes and ears scanning ahead for any trouble. He finally reached a small incline going upward and stopped, waiting for the others. Carefully and silently he reached for the bushes obscuring his vision and almost imperceptibly, moved them out of the way.
What he discovered, he never expected.
The rest of the seven joined him as he lowered his mare leg and sat on the ground, once again frustrated. "Oh, hell!" he groaned.
"What is it?" Buck asked, moving the bushes to see beyond. "Oh." Was all he could say, a big smile brightening his mustached face.
Josiah peeked from his side and muttered, "It's a bunch of kids".
"What?" JD asked.
"It's just a bunch of children, playin'" Vin's tired drawl betraying his huge disappointment. He had really thought they had them.
"No miscreants." Ezra commented.
"No miscreants". Vin repeated. "Damn!"
"Don't worry, Vin," Chris put his own gun away and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Vin was becoming too troubled for his own good, even if the gunslinger understood how the tracker felt when his prey escaped like that. He was making things bigger than they actually were. "It ain't your fault."
"Well, I was the one trackin'!" He cast his gaze downward, defeated. "They just vanished on me!"
"They were good from the beginning, brother," Josiah's fatherly tone trying to soothe his friend's frustration, "they must have lot's of experience covering their tracks."
"We can't win'em all, pard." Chris finished.
Vin didn't feel any better. "I know," he said, his Texan drawl betraying his troubled thoughts.
Buck smiled, "Don't fret, Vin, they'll be back."
Vin didn't look up, his eyes locked on his boots, "How'd you know that?"
"Well, they think they beat us, pard," Buck's eyes now had a mischievous twinkle, "They think they're too good for us… and that maybe they can do it again! When that happens, they always come back, don't they?"
"They sure do!" Nathan confirmed.
"Overconfidence," Ezra pointed out, "That will be their undoing".
"Amen, brother".
That thought actually did make Vin feel a little better. "All right." He sighed.
"Can we go home now?" asked JD, "Nathan just reminded me how hungry I already was when this whole thing started".
"Me too, Miss Molly said something about fried chicken for lunch! Let's go!" Buck turned and led the way. Chris offered a hand to help Vin up and the depressed tracker took it.
In that very moment, a loud, strangely pitched voice came from behind the bushes.
"Hold it right there, Larabee!"
With the speed of lightning, seven guns appeared out of thin air, pointing at the source of the sound.
No one appeared.
Chris was about to respond when another, equally pitched voice beat him to it.
"No, you hold it there, McCallister!"
What was this?
The previous voice sounded again, really close to the bushes. "You don't scare me, Larabee. I'll walk outta here with the gold and you ain't gonna be able to stop me. I got twenty five guns pointed at ya right now!" Now, Chris realized what had been strange about the voice… it was young, but he hadn't noticed before. He frowned.
Vin peeked through the bushes as quietly as he could and grinned. It was the kids.
"Oh, really? Well, I got Vin Tanner covering me from a rooftop!"
Vin raised an eyebrow in surprise and turned to see his best friend's questioning expression. Was this for real?
"Really?" The other kid asked, defiant.
The child continued, "Yeah! So y'all better put away your twenty-five guns. Y'all be dead in a second, now… gimme back the gold!"
"No!"
"He ain't lyin'! I am coverin' him, McCallister," Another kid yelled from the far left; Vin could see him now, perched up on a tree with a long piece of wood aimed at the other kid, simulating a rifle. "I have all your men on my sights. Give it up!"
'Oh, man!' Vin thought, scratching his head, 'Sneaky one! I hadn't seen him up there'. He had, however, noticed when his own six companions walked back and began looking through the bushes beside him. He glanced sideways and took a second look, his eyes pleased to discover a fascinated look on Chris' usually somber face.
'Well, whaddya know?' he grinned. 'That's a mighty rare sight!'
"Shut up, Tanner!"
"Oh, wow!" Buck whispered with a huge smile, "That's a real bad-ass kid!"
"Shhh!" Nathan quieted him. "They'll hear you."
The small Chris-kid spoke again, "Don't make this more difficult than it oughta be, McCallister, you're caught!"
"No I ain't!"
"Yeah you are!"
"I'm not!"
"You sure are," whispered Josiah from his viewing point.
"Come now, you're goin' to jail." Mini Chris waved his small wooden gun.
The first kid groaned, defeated, and began walking, his hands raised over his head when, suddenly he stopped and grabbed his foot. "Wait!" he cried.
"What?"
"I got a pebble in my boot!"
"Oh, Jack!" the small Larabee whined, losing all composture.
"Well it hurts!" the young man by the bushes sat down and took off his boot, "Let me get it out!" More voices began whining all over the place as more and more kids appeared out of nowhere. Vin realized they had all been hiding behind the far trees. 'I'm losing my touch," he thought, his own eyes full of wonder, 'there's a whole bunch of'em!"
Josiah smiled widely while Buck stifled a laugh. This was incredible! The kids were pretending to be Chris and Vin! Amazing!
"What happened now?" another kid appeared on the right, two pieces of wood tied up together shaped in the form of a gun in his small hand.
"He says he got a pebble in his boot."
"Oh, come on, Jack, you're always doin' things like that when you're losing. I bet there's nothin' in your boot."
"There is too!" Jack yelled. And besides, I didn't want to be McCallister, I wanted to be Buck!"
Behind the bushes, a grinning JD turned to face his best friend and nudged him in the ribs.
"Well, too bad, it ain't your turn!" a freckled faced kid stated from the left. "It's Dale's turn!"
"Oh, shut up, Andrew, I know you wanted to be Buck too, but you got stuck with bein' JD!"
'Stuck?' JD frowned, why wouldn't the boy want to be him?
"That ain't true! I always want to be JD!"
The real JD smiled again, dodging a teasing nudge from Buck.
"That's right!" Another kid with black hair said from the right. "He always wants to be JD, I'm the one who never gets to be Buck!
Back down the slope, Chris turned to his oldest friend with a questioning look. Buck just smiled at the black clad gunslinger and tipped his hat. They all wanted to be him! Who knew?
The black-haired child continued his tirade, "It was my turn. Right, Eric?"
"Nah, it wasn't." Sitting on a rock, the quiet kid called Eric, who had been playing as Vin, spoke without looking up. "It's Dale's, but you can be Buck tomorrow. Mikey will be Chris Larabee, Anthony will be Ezra…"
"Why can't I be Ezra?" the child frowned in annoyance.
The real Ezra smiled.
Another kid, a red-headed girl who was standing next to her twin sister spoke up like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Oh, Charlie, you know that only Anthony can be Ezra!"
Back behind the bushes, the gambler shot a questioning look to his friends. How come?
"I could do it!" the kid promised.
The girl crossed her arms, "Really? Okay try…"
"But…"
"Try!"
"All right," the kid stood there, thinking hard for a few seconds, then he began, "Mr. Larabee," he thought a few more moments, "I will take these lowlifes to… the penitentiary… hmm…" he stopped again.
"See? You can't just stop to think every time you're gonna talk!" young Mikey-Chris stated.
"Oh, and Anthony can do it better?"
"He's the only one who can talk the talk, let it be." His tone was final, just like the real Chris. Back behind the bushes Ezra smiled at the amazing similarity, and what did they mean 'talking the talk'?
"Awww," Charlie whined, defeated. "All right," he caved.
"So, like I was sayin'," Eric-Vin continued, "Anthony will be Ezra, Ricky will be Nathan and you can try and beat us by bein' any one of the most powerful bad guys. Heck you can even try and be Guy Royal. How 'bout that?"
The kid considered it for a moment and finally caved. "Okay, but I get to be Buck tomorrow!" he turned and walked to the trees where another two kids stood beside two more girls.
"He only wants to be Buck so he can kiss the girls!" Ricky-Nathan pointed out to Anthony-Ezra.
The real Ezra covered his mouth trying not to laugh, while JD fell on his knees, nearly failing to mute his own chuckles.
"I know," young Anthony-Ezra replied matter-of-factly, "He best not be getting' close to my sister or there'll be hell to pay!" He swiped a dry leave from his sleeve in a manner very much like the real Ezra and added as afterthought: "And the real Buck best not be kissin' her either! He's too old for her, she's only eleven!"
JD grabbed his stomach, trying not to lose it.
"I'll be passin' that along, don't worry!" laughed Mikey-Chris from behind them.
Buck opened his eyes as wide as he could, he wouldn't forget that! JD's stifled laughs grew louder from behind the bushes and Buck shushed him with a glare. This was too much fun to be ending too quickly.
The kids began moving again until they were a few feet away from the bushes. The seven men were now able to recognize some of them; they were all children from the farms around town. Many of them they had seen in church or playing by the grain exchange some time or another. Josiah could easily recognize young Dale, son of a tall brown-headed young man who had come from the east a few months back. Next to him young Mikey B. was the youngest of five children, all blonde and green-blue eyed like their lovely mother.
Young Andrew-JD was Old Man Kavit's grandson, and he was the same kid who once was caught sneaking muddy frogs inside the church just before service one day. Josiah had made him clean the pews with a very small brush for that. The kid had never tried another prank like that again and ran out of the way every time he saw Josiah.
Ricky Worthington, a tall kid from Colorado Springs had come to live there just the summer before with his mother, father and nine siblings. That was a very noisy family, the preacher remembered. He was always seen chasing Ezra, the real one, when the gambler walked out of the saloon or around town, asking him for a card trick or a story.
Then, to the right was young Anthony Smith, a very quiet kid who was always carrying books with him everywhere. Very strange kid, Josiah thought, all the time watching over his twin sister Jane and always seen with his best friend Eric A.K.A. small Vin trailing along. Josiah had never pictured him trying to emulate Ezra, the sole thought of it made him laugh.
Then again this whole thing was incredible. Children, pretending to be them… Them!
Josiah glanced at his six spying friends, trying to imagine what was going through their heads. What were they feeling? Watching these small people pretending, emulating things they'd only seen from afar!
To see themselves reflected in young children.
What did it feel like?
His answer would come quickly enough.
"Which one is me again?" JD asked in a whisper.
"The one with the brown shirt." Buck whispered back. "Now, shhh!"
"But which one is Josiah?" JD asked again.
"Be quiet!" Nathan hushed. "They'll hear!"
"But…"
"Sshhhh!" five voices whispered in chorus.
Just then, the kids began playing again. This time the little 'McCallister' bandit had become someone else and was now standing beside the one who had been promised he could be Guy Royal.
"Okay," little Charlie-Royal stated, "we'll go to my ranch to make our plan. You hide the gold now."
"Right." Young Mike-Chris tipped his hat the same way he'd seen his hero do over and over again. Vin chuckled in silence from his viewing post, the kid was really good. This was going to be interesting.
The kids took off and the others separated and began playing. Young Mikey-Chris lowered his hat and crossed a make believe main street with Eric-Vin, wooden rifle on his shoulder, walking by his side. 'It's amazing!" Nathan noticed, 'they even have the walk pegged',
"Oh, Mr. Larabee!" A young girl who looked remarkably like young Anthony-Ezra came running.
"What do you need Mrs. Travis?"
Chris grunted, oddly pleased. They had Mary in their game too!
Little Jane Starke crossed her arms around a piece of paper, just like the real Mary did all the time, "There's many bad men coming into town. Can you protect us?"
"Sure." Mini Chris assured.
Chris turned to Buck, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Sure", Buck repeated in a whisper like it was the most common thing, "Why the hell not?"
Chris and Buck both chuckled in silence and Nathan shushed them all again.
"How d'you know about the bad men, Mrs. Travis?" Asked a very polite Eric-Vin, an adoring look in his eyes when he regarded the young lady bringing an amused glitter to the real tracker's eyes. 'Well, what do you know?' he thought.
"Oh, it's right here in the newspaper, Mr. Tanner." She smiled back at him and the sweet look she gave him made the real Vin glance around expecting young Anthony-Ezra to come punching noses at any moment.
"You are very smart to notice that, Mrs. Travis." Young Eric-Vin continued in a very believable Texan drawl, " You best stay inside the newspaper shop until the gunfight is over now, we don't want you to get hurt. Right cowboy?"
"Cowboy!" Buck exclaimed. This time Chris and Vin had to hold their hands to their mouths not to laugh out loud. Boy, these kids were good!
"Right." Said Mikey-Chris, already looking around for his 'men'. "Hey Buck, JD, come over here!" he called.
The two kids ran to their leader, ready for action. Mini Chris handed them a small leather pouch and checked it before letting go.
"Here, I want you to hide the gold, but don't put it in the back of the livery under the horse manure like last time. It's too obvious!"
"Of course it is!" whispered Ezra, his wide smile only bested by the warm feeling inside his heart. He had always known that children held their own special kind of magic, but today he understood just how powerful that magic could be as he glanced sideways to see Chris Larabee's eyes glistening with genuine tears of laughter.
Magic indeed! His attention went back to the children as little Anthony-Ezra suddenly clarified the kids' previous statements about him being the 'only one' who could 'talk the talk'.
"If I may say so, Mr. Larabee," the kid began, his southern accent a perfect replica of the original, "I might be of some assistance in this partik'lar case… I was wonderin' if we could perchance have a word in private".
Six pairs of eyes behind the bushes turned to the gambler, "Wow!" JD whispered, "That was good!"
"Real good!" Buck agreed.
Ezra just chuckled, his face suddenly going red. Red? That was new! He'd just blushed! The gambler quickly went back to spying, his mind already worrying over his reaction.
"What's up, Ezra?" Mikey's impression of Chris' no nonsense tone was so good even his clothes seemed to be turning black!
"Well, I was understraying the subfagation, Sir, and I believe I may have come up with another sufterfugeous encoursement of actions".
The seven lawmen all but rolled on the floor laughing.
"Really?" asked Mikey-Chris, his face completely serious.
"Yes, I believe I can instragate the micreants' assumptions into diversify their emulations into something that is not acute. It's simple but enconfigurated, if you know what I mean."
"Right." Mikey-Chris kept considering, leaving no doubt that he HAD understood everything the other kid had just said.
The real Ezra closed his eyes biting his tongue hard not to burst out. This kid was incredible! Where in the world had he come up with all those words?
"Well, what do you know?" Josiah whispered between muffled chuckles, "He CAN talk the talk!"
Ezra opened his eyes to see all of his friends holding their sides and mouths, desperately trying to stifle their laughter. This was just too good. Ezra didn't know what to feel except pure, healthy amusement. Did he really sound like that to the kids?
Worse! Did he really sound like that to his friends?
He felt Chris' eyes staring at him, the man's usually somber mood momentarily replaced by healthy, honest fun; he tipped his hat and shook his head.
The magic was still there! Imagine that!
Josiah patted him on the shoulder, still drowning laughs and shook his head as well. Oh, Lord! He DID sound like that! Oh God! Ezra felt his face reddening again. 'Well, what's the matter with me?' he thought. 'I never blush! I just don't do that!" He kept laughing and musing as the boy continued with his incredible plan.
"I believe sir, that Mr. Tannah and I can instrigate upon the rooftops of the main street and retrive the wrongdoers into a false hiding place while you and Mr. Wilmington set the furnishings astride, so to speak".
"Well, Ezra, I think that's a great plan!" Mikey-Chris said, tipping his hat once again, just like the real Chris.
"Me too!" The real Chris whispered in between chuckles. "A great plan!"
That sent everyone into yet another fit of laughter, and no one really noticed when the small bad guys suddenly appeared.
"Hold it right there, Guy Royal!" Small Larabee yelled into the air, bringing the seven lawmen back to reality. Wiping their eyes, they began spying again.
"I ain't Guy Royal!" Charlie stated.
"Then who are you?" Young Dale-Buck asked from behind a tree.
"I am Jesse Royal… His evil brother!"
"Good Lord!" Ezra whispered.
"Oh My!" Buck exclaimed.
"That's a mighty bad thought!" Vin commented.
"You said it, brother". What these kids could think of, Josiah thought, how little did they know about real evil, thank God.
Just then, two more kids arrived from the far side of the forest and something happened. Something Josiah Sanchez was never going to forget. Ever! Yeah, he'd re-live this moment every other day for the rest of his life.
"Look!" little Andrew-JD exclaimed, "Josiah is back!"
A tall, brown-haired girl walked up to Mikey-Chris and Anthony-Ezra and exclaimed: "What's all the commotion, brothers?"
Six of the seven men hiding behind the bushes all but went down in tears trying to muffle the sound of their explosion of laughter.
Josiah just stared, stunned, unmoving.
Mikey-Chris stepped out of character. "Oh, Man, Rona, where have you been? We've been waiting for you for hours!"
"Sorry, Mom wanted me to help her fix my sister's dresses. I was in such a hurry, I sewed both sleeves on the same side, but I ran off before she saw it".
"Yeah," another little girl who had arrived with Rona said, "After all, we can't leave the town without proper preachin'!"
Vin couldn't stand it anymore and had to escape back toward the horses to be able to laugh, his side hurt too much now. Josiah… a girl?
Oh, man, he couldn't believe these kids. How come he had never heard of this before?
They had to have been able to sneak up on him and his friends so many times, enough to memorize their words, their ways, their movements! That kid sounded so much like Ezra it was scary, but the little Chris-boy, oh man! He even had the glare all worked out. That was pure talent.
He shook his head, still grinning. How come he'd never noticed those children? Was he blind? Had he lost his way so badly he'd taken these kids for granted? The tracker remembered he used to be able to spot anyone, anywhere. He never missed anything that was out of place, ever.
What had happened? When had he lost his touch?
He shook his head in silence. He wanted to be frustrated or sad about this, but he just couldn't. Young voices kept running through his mind, daring him to keep the smile off his face.
He decided to worry about it later and slowly returned to his friends, his whole being deep in mixed thoughts. He approached a chuckling JD and whispered. "What happened?"
JD's eyes were bright with joy, he was having so much fun he just couldn't believe it. He whispered back to Vin what the others were still laughing at. Well, all except Josiah who apparently was still in shock.
"The girl always gets to be Josiah, because she's real smart and she's memorized a big chunk of the bible, they say. And because," he started chuckling again, "she's the only one who knows how to… how did they say?… 'inspire' them into confession." Suddenly he couldn't speak anymore, laughter wouldn't let him.
"I bet she drinks herself silly as well," Nathan commented and Vin had to run back to the horses to laugh out loud again.
Part Two
"Okay, Jesse Royal!" Mikey-Chris yelled. "What is your business in our town?"
"Oh, nothin', I'm just here to visit my… nephew, 'Jack' Royal." He nodded towards Jack, the ex 'McCallister baddie' who showed no fear, and no pebbles inside his boot this time.
"That's a big family!" muttered the real Buck.
"These," Mr. Jesse Royal pointed at the other two boys with him, "are my henchmen. They're here to make sure I don't get arrested on my visit."
"Yeah, right!" Dale-Buck commented, "You better not give us no trouble, Mister, for we're the law here in Four Corners and nobody breaks our law.
"Damn right!" Buck cheered in silence.
Nathan shushed him.
"Yeah, whatever you say, Wilmington." He motioned to his three companions, including Jack. "Come on boys, let's go to the saloon".
'The saloon!' JD smiled.
"Ezra!" Mikey-Chris called over to his little gambler. "Go investigate them! Oh, and get some coins from behind their ears while you're on it, will you? We're gonna need the money for the rebuildin' of the saloon after the fight."
The spying seven were marveled, what these kids could think of! They'd all had seen Ezra doing that trick for the children, making small coins 'appear' from behind their ears. To think he'd do that to the criminals too!
Vin pictured the gambler pulling coins from behind the real Guy Royal's ears and chuckled.
Meanwhile, the real Chris Larabee was completely taken with this mini-self he saw before him. He didn't really see how much the kid acted like him, the only thing he saw was a boy whose movements, voice and attitude reminded him so much of… something… someone…
But who?
Who?
Little Anthony-Ezra adjusted his hat and proceeded, "I'll do that, Mr. Larabee, I will make them resign their combulations".
"Good luck, Ez!" Said Eric-Vin, giving his young friend a two-fingered tip of the hat, very Tanner like. The real Vin felt proud.
Anthony-Ezra did the same and then entered through the imaginary doors of the very busy, imaginary place.
"Gentlemen!" he called the baddies. "Perchance you would like to join me in a game of chance?" he smiled connivingly, his eyes twinkling in an exact replica of the original gambler and bringing a huge smile to Josiah. Boy this kid was good!
"Nah, you'll just be cheatin' us, gaaambler!" Jack said, mockingly. "I know we cain't trust ya."
"I assure you," Anthony-Ezra took absolutely no offense, "I will not use any slight of hank".
"I believe he means slide of hand". Ezra commented from his hiding spot.
"I guess." Josiah smiled, taking a long look at his southern friend. The gambler seemed to be having a lot of fun, but there was something else… something inside his eyes, something special. Josiah had never seen that 'something' before in all the time he had known Standish. He couldn't figure out what it was and it intrigued him immensely.
"He never cheats," the tall girl playing Josiah interrupted up in the saloon. "I can vouch for him and I don't lie, I'm a priest!"
"Shut up, Josiah, you're a girl!"
A lot of muffled chuckles were hushed again by Nathan.
"Hey!" Anthony-Ezra frowned. "He's a preacher, not a girl. If you don't want me to fill your ears with coins you take that back!"
"Well, I just see a girl!" Little Jesse Royal stood in defiance.
Young Anthony-Ezra extended his hand, waving it in a magical pass like they'd all seen the real Ezra do so many times to amuse the kids. Little Royal stepped back and raised his hands. "Okay, okay, I take it back. You ain't a girl Josiah… happy?"
"Very!" Little Ezra said and turned to the imaginary bar.
Rona-Josiah gave the mini-miscreant a once over and joined the mini-gambler a second later. At that moment, little Dale-Buck entered the saloon with Andrew-JD tagging along. They were chatting and playing, Dale-Buck knocking Andrew-JD's hat off and calling it a clown hat.
"It is a real hat, Buck!"
"Nah it ain't, hahaha!"
Mikey-Chris came up behind them, his young eyes surveying the place before opening the batwing doors as the real Chris usually did. He stood there for a moment and then leaned on a tree, his hand prepared on his imaginary gun belt. He nodded at the mini-tracker who had taken place beside twin girls sitting on a rock. Eric-Vin nodded back and they both waited, mini Chris crossing one hand over the other in a relaxed manner, looking exactly like Larabee did when he was waiting for inevitable trouble.
Yes, the child was really, very good.
As the scene before them kept unraveling, the seven men spying from the bushes were lost in their own memories and thoughts, most of them remembering their own games and antics as children. Only Chris had lost his smile as the realization hit him with full force. He closed his eyes and stepped back, breathing hard and trying to focus while the shock of what he had just figured out brought a hard pressure inside his heart.
Adam!
That kid pretending to be Chris Larabee reminded him of his son.
That was who!
'Adam', he thought. 'Even the way he walks is just like Adam!'
A surge of long buried memories resurfaced. Adam playing with his toys, Adam pretending to be a Texas Ranger like his uncle Buck. Running around beside the pond with the neighbour's children; running, screaming, laughing.
Adam. God he missed his little boy so much.
A hand touched him on the shoulder and a Texan drawl brought him back to the present. "You okay, pard?"
He didn't open his eyes yet, losing himself in the vivid images of Adam that Mikey had inadvertedly conjured up, trying to keep them fresh inside his mind a little longer. It had been so long since he had seen his kid so clearly he just didn't want to lose that.
"Pard?" Vin asked again, worry deepening his voice.
Chris held on for a few moments more before reluctantly releasing the images. He opened his eyes but kept his gaze locked on the ground. "I'm fine," he said, "it's nothin'".
Vin squeezed his friend's shoulder, patiently waiting for the truth. After a few moments Chris spoke again, immense pain flowing along with the words. "That kid talks exactly like Adam".
The tracker closed his own eyes, speechless. That one, he hadn't seen coming.
'Oh, God!' Buck winced inwardly, 'He's right!' That kid did seem a lot like Adam!
He tried to think of something… something useful he could say, but the sudden lump in his throat just wouldn't let him talk at all.
None of them had missed the gunslinger's words but there was nothing any of them could say that wouldn't sound stupid right now so they stayed quiet. The kids beyond were forgotten for a while.
Nothing they could say.
Josiah sighed shaking his head. He should have seen that coming; it had been a sure thing! Why had they stayed there watching? He should have foreseen it. Kids playing, Chris Larabee mourning his own kid, knowing he'd never be able to see him play again. It was just a matter of time… Lord! Josiah felt so stupid.
Then suddenly Ezra stood up and approached their leader. He stood before his friend, crossed his arms and whispered, "And why do you think that is?"
"What?" Chris asked, confused.
"The child talks exactly like your son, why do you think that is?"
Chris knew he should be annoyed, but somehow sorrow had taken place over everything else.
"Chris?" Ezra asked again, leaving the last name calling for another time.
"I don't know." He said dryly.
The gambler uncrossed his arms and moved to stand beside the man in black. His mind had been racing for a way to bring back the magic the children had been performing on the gunslinger before and had finally found something, however small to try. He reached out to the bushes and moved them slightly to reveal the kids playing.
"Watch him."
"I have." Chris dismissed him.
"He's playing you." Ezra continued. "It's not the child who reminds you of Adam, it's the child playing you who does!"
Chris brought his eyes upward for the first time, confused by the gambler's words.
"Don't you see it?" Ezra raised his eyebrows.
Buck smiled, realizing what the southerner meant to do and cheering inside. 'Good call, Ezra!'
"Ezra…" Chris began withdrawing again, his heart still heavy, his mind denying everything he was hearing.
"It's you, Chris!" Ezra interrupted. "The child seems so much like your son because your son was so much like you. What we all are seeing is a boy with an incredible talent for impression, Mr. Larabee, but what you see reflected is not yourself but your son. Think about it."
"He's right, pard." Vin tried to help.
"He was a lot like you." Buck's quiet voice cracked a little with emotion. "But I don't think you ever noticed."
Ezra approached the gunslinger again and faced him to make his words stronger, "Your son lives inside you, Chris, and because of that, you are never going to lose him. Keep that in mind every time you see that wonderful boy out there pretending to be you."
It was strange, but somehow those words had passed through the walls of sorrow like warm butter. Damn southerner was right… right?
"You know I'm right." Ezra said, like he'd been reading Chris' mind.
The gunslinger stared at the gambler, his eyes a mixture of annoyance and gratitude. "Yeah," he finally whispered.
Damn gambler!
JD called everyone's attention. "Hey! They're fightin'!"
Ezra gave Chris a two fingered salute and went back to look at the children before anything else was said, leaving the gunslinger to his own thoughts.
The rest returned to their original spying places, Vin placing a hand on Chris' shoulder for a moment to let him know he was there. Chris lingered back for a second and pondered what had just happened. At last he smiled a little as the words finally downed on him. 'Adam lives inside you'. He took a deep breath, pushing sorrow away for a while and replacing it with something else: hope.
Damn gambler!
Over by the bushes, Josiah smiled proudly at the southerner he loved as a son. "Well, Ezra," he whispered for the man's ears only; "I see that indeed, you CAN 'talk the talk'." He grinned.
Ezra just smiled, without looking up, feeling extremely pleased with himself. Now if he could only convince the judge to raise their salaries.
Up on the invisible saloon, a fight had ensued. Jack had begun bothering the twin red-haired girls sitting on a big rock by the make believe piano and little Dale-Buck would have none of that.
Of course not!
They were in a really loud brawl that resulted in a lot of children on the floor, laughing and screaming. Everyone was fighting everyone, all roles forgotten. The four girls cheered on from the sidelines and Rona-Josiah even caught a couple of kids from the back of their necks saying "You are going to hell, son!"
Finally, after a few more rolls on the grass, Mikey-Chris brought everything to a halt and said: "Okay! The fight in the saloon is over!"
Everyone stopped dead.
"Wow!" JD whispered.
"Hey, how come you can't do that, Chris?" the real Buck asked his friend who, he happily noticed, had returned to his spying spot.
Chris just shrugged.
Quickly everyone at the make believe saloon began to stand up and went re-grouping. Mr. Jesse Royal and his 'henchmen' had come out unscathed and apparently blameless, but Eric-Vin had caught little Jack Royal, the one who had started it, and pronounced him under arrest. Jack whined like crazy but everyone agreed the catch was legal and he should go to jail, but not before Anthony-Ezra pulled about a dozen coins from the mini-criminal's ears, of course.
"How much?" asked mini Chris.
"Five thousand dollars." Mini Ezra said.
"That should do it."
"I'll say!" Ezra chuckled from behind the bushes.
Jack looked like he was about to try the pebble in the boot again but thought better of it and allowed Andrew-JD and Ricky-Nathan to take him to the imaginary jailhouse, already thinking of how to escape.
Then Dale-Buck tried to get up from the floor and cried out. "Ouch!"
"What's up?" Mini Vin and Mini Chris asked at the same time.
"I think my leg is broken!"
Eric-Vin was beside him in a second, "Really?"
"Yeah, I think you fell on it before!"
The seven spying men frowned, looking at each other, suddenly worried; these children sure took their fighting seriously. Well, it didn't matter, a kid was hurt and this changed everything. They knew they had to help! Josiah was meditating how to get out of hiding without spooking the kids when young Eric spoke again.
"Yeah, I see it," Eric-Vin said, his hands checking out young Dale's leg, "it's broken, all right."
Mini Chris stepped out of the imaginary saloon and yelled out, "Nathan!"
At once, Ricky Worthy ran from the invisible jail and ran towards his friend.
"Buck's leg is broken!"
"Oh," Mini Nathan smiled. "No problem, I got some herbs!"
The real Nathan smiled widely; If only things were that easy.
He kneeled over mini Buck and made a big fuzz of treating and curing the leg. "Take these herbs," he ordered.
"Okay!" said Dale-Buck.
"How is it now?" Mini Nathan asked.
Little Dale-Buck stood up and walked on his 'broken' leg. "Oh, it's cured. Thanks Nathan!"
"Great!" Little Nathan said.
Josiah snorted, 'well, what do you know?' he thought. They had fooled them! The kid was fine.
Nathan stared at the kid in amazement. Children were so naïve! The healer only wished things were so easy! In reality, everything was always a big drama, 'especially with this bunch!' he muttered, glancing at Vin and Ezra, 'the worst patients in history!'
"Hey Nate," JD whispered, "how come you can't fix them bones so quickly?"
"Well, the kid's a better healer than me, JD." Nathan grinned.
"Much better, I would say, the boy didn't even have to taste one of your horrible concoctions!" Ezra pointed out.
"No, now, see, he did give'im the herbs, Ezra," Nathan corrected, "that just proves to ya, the herbs are good!"
"His herbs are good, yours taste like manure!" Vin muttered.
"Ssshh!" Josiah quieted them.
"Okay, let's go on patrol," Mini Chris ordered, "I don't want Royal to find the gold!"
"Right! I'll get JD!" Mini Buck ran to the jail, his leg completely healed by then.
Just then, Mr. Jesse Royal appeared again with the two boys who'd been acting as his 'men' and two more that had just arrived.
"Woah!" Eric-Vin said. "Who are you?"
"We're the Nelson brothers."
Ezra's heart jumped. How did these kids know about the Nelson brothers?
"Oh, right!" Mini Chris turned around and called toward Anthony. "Hey Ezra, it's for you!"
And how did they know that as well? Ezra was in shock.
The small gambler walked over to the newcomers and studied them calmly. "And who might you be, gentlemen?"
"We're the Nelson brothers," the taller of the two kids said, "and we're here to take Vin Tanner with us."
Vin's eyebrows shot up in surprise. What was this?
Ezra couldn't believe it. The Nelson brothers! Those two nefarious bounty hunters from Texas! They had come to capture Vin one day but fortunately for everyone, Ezra had stepped in the way. That had been a very bad situation, especially after one of them began 'interrogating' a terrified Mary Travis in a deserted alley.
Bastards!
Standish had been incredibly angry that time, he and the two brothers had engaged in a bloody fight, resulting in both bounty hunters shot and Ezra really enraged. He had made sure they believed Tanner was elsewhere, forcing them to limp out and leave town for good or be killed. Later had asked Mary to keep what happened to herself, no need to worry Vin over nothing. Especially when Ezra had no intention of allowing those two imbeciles to get near the tracker, ever.
But, that had happened over five months ago, how had these kids found out? And worse! They were impersonating them! This was bad, really bad.
"You are, of course, aware of our agreement, Mr. Nelson?" Little Ezra said. "I don't believe you would like another incombrugation of your obviously still healthy personements. Would you?"
"We're ready for you gambler!"
"Agreement?" asked the real Vin, a little bit worried.
Ezra didn't turn, he hadn't wanted for Vin to find out about these men, but he worried more about how close this kids had actually been when he'd had his last encounter with the two bounty hunters.
"My God!" he whispered, "they could have caught a stray bullet!"
"What are you talking about?" Josiah asked quietly.
Ezra didn't answer; his mind was racing with horrible possibilities.
"We ain't gonna let you chase us out of town again, Standish." The Nelson boy yelled again. "This time, we're ready for ya!"
"I have told you before, and I'll tell you again: You won't touch Vin Tanner as long as I'm still alive!"
The real Vin turned sharply toward the gambler. Had he really said that? Were these kids making this up or had they actually seen it? Ezra wouldn't look at him which meant only one thing… these Nelson people were real.
How come he hadn't known about this?
Chris was staring hard at the southerner, asking himself the very same question. Didn't Ezra trust them enough to ask for help? Why had he concealed this from them? He'd thought Ezra had changed with time, but apparently he was mistaken.
Or was he?
"We remember that, gambler." The Nelson boy continued, "We also remember that we promised to come back for revenge!"
"Yes, I remember you threatened me with the most vile retribution, yet here I stand!" Little Ezra didn't sound scared at all, in fact he was smiling.
"Son of a gun, Ez!" Buck exclaimed, "that's you all right!"
The real Ezra wasn't smiling. He had said that, word for word! Lord, these kids had been there when it happened. He remembered the alley, completely empty, except for Mary Travis, that time. Where in the world had these kids been hiding?
He closed his eyes and sighed; as he himself had said: No child has ever known how to properly measure danger. He promised himself to be a lot more careful next time he fought someone in the middle of town. You never knew who could be in the line of fire.
"Good Lord, kids!" he muttered.
"And now, here we are!" the smaller Nelson kid spoke for the first time. "I still remember you shot me, Standish!"
"You deserved it!" Andrew-JD yelled from way in the back.
"Shut up, Andrew! You ain't supposed help!"
"Aww, Dale!"
The Nelson kid continued, "We'll now kill you and get Vin Tanner for Frescosa!"
"Frescosa?" Vin asked, confused. "Oh Jeez!" he realized. These were bounty hunters! He really hoped the children really didn't know what they were actually talking about.
"Over my dead body, I told you!" Little Ezra pulled out his weapon. A piece of wood shaped in the form of a gun. "Now hands up!"
The Nelson kids shot up their hands, but suddenly opened their fists and blew hard on them. The air filled with dust covering Anthony's eyes and making him stumble backwards. The boys had filled their fists with sand from the edge of the pond since before their arrival and had concealed them. Little Ezra stumbled, his hat flying off his head and finally fell on the ground, blinded. "Aahh!"
"Well, this is not good." Ezra pointed out from his hiding place. "It seems I'm going to die today!"
"They'll save you, Ez." Buck reassured, "I hope…" he trailed off.
"We have to help him!" Andrew-JD cried out and stepped forward.
"See?" Buck said.
Mini Chris stopped him with a hand, "We can't, remember? Ezra always fights the Nelson brothers alone!"
"That ain't fair!"
"That's how he likes it! We can't do anything about it! Now stay here!"
"Or maybe not." Buck scratched his ear nervously.
The two kids proceeded to take Anthony-Ezra's wooden gun away and pointed at him with it. The kid couldn't see anything but, alas, he wouldn't surrender so easily. He was Ezra!
"Now, don't try nothing, Standish. We're gonna shoot you just like you shot us and we're gonna take Tanner."
"No you are not!" Little Ezra answered from the floor.
"What can you do? You're beaten and unarmed and we have your gun! Now shut up!" he nodded at his companion, "Brother, go get him!"
Eric-Vin immediately climbed up a tree and hid.
"You forget one thing, Nelson!" Anthony-Ezra said, eyes still closed but a big grin on his face.
"What?"
"You forget who you're dealing with!" Little Ezra shot up his hand and produced a second gun.
"Good boy!" muttered the real Ezra from his spying spot.
"Wait a minute! You hid that! That ain't fair!" The Nelson kid yelled, clearly annoyed.
"Ah! He's right!" Little Vin yelled back, climbing back down from the tree. "He's Ezra, he can appear guns out of the air all the time!"
"I can?" the real Ezra smiled.
"How?" The Nelson kid asked.
"With magic, of course! You know that!" Little Ezra finished, "Too bad, Nelson. Now, please have the good taste to die when you get shot!"
"Hey! That's cheatin'!" Both Nelson boys were furious. They looked at each other and suddenly threw themselves on top of half blinded Anthony-Ezra. He went back down under a shower of fists as the two brothers began pounding for real. Jane Starke let out an angry yell and immediately, the other six diminutive seven ran over and grabbed the attacking kid and his brother.
Even Rona-Josiah joined the rest, grabbing one of them by the ear and reciting Bible verses to him.
"Ouch, aww, oww," the boy cried out.
"You will rot in the depths of hell, John! That was wrong!" She kept on saying, "I'm gonna tell mom!"
The other kid was quickly subdued by the rest of the small seven and thrown on the ground, Dale twisting his arm on his back to keep him in place.
"Anthony?" Mikey-Chris checked on his friend.
"Good Lord!" the southern accented moan told everybody that the kid was, indeed, still alive and still in the game.
Mikey-Chris grinned as he called out, "Nathan! I think Ezra's dead."
Little Ezra sat up quickly, trying to clean his sore eyes with his hands. "No, I'm not, just a bit befuddled. Are they still here?"
Dale- Buck smiled, "We have both of them, and they won't move, will you?" he twisted the boy's arm again.
"Owww, no we won't, we won't move, alright?"
"See?" Little Buck said.
"Not really," Anthony-Ezra muttered, his eyes still full of dust.
No one had noticed, in all the commotion, that little Jesse Royal had used the whole situation to break his man Jack out of jail and get the gold pouch they had hid behind the big rock where the twins had been sitting.
Just when Mikey-Chris began wondering where their prisoner was the two bandits and their two 'henchmen' were escaping through the trees, laughing.
The real Vin had indeed seen them, and it took all his might to fight against the urge to run out of his hiding place and alert the small seven.
But he couldn't do that now, could he?
Chris nodded at the tracker, having seen the escapees himself and shook his head. They were gone.
Vin just shrugged, what can one do?
Mini Chris realized what had happened and cried out. "Oh, no! The gold!"
Little JD ran to the big rock and, finding the pouch missing, let out a very, not-suited-for-young-children, loud curse.
The real JD chuckled. "Oh, my! I don't say that!"
"Yeah, you do, kid!" Buck slapped his back lightly. "When you're real mad and all!"
JD blushed.
Little Chris was furious. "Oh, NO!" he cried, "we shoulda seen that!"
The two Nelson kids chuckled. "It was the plan all along, and you fell for it, Larabee!"
"Rats!" Rona-Josiah kicked the floor. "I'm still tellin' mom, John!"
"Oh, Rona!" the kid whined.
Then, like a replay from that very afternoon, young Andrew-JD caught everyone's attention. "Well," he started, "at least we saved Vin!"
"Ezra saved Vin!" Mikey-Chris said, "We just stood here like idiots!"
"Aw, Chris, come on, think about it!" Eric-Vin quietly drawled, "Ya really think we'd let him beat us?" He grinned from ear to ear as he reached inside his pocket and took out two big yellowish rocks.
"Good Lord, Vin! You took the gold out of the pouch?" Rona-Josiah grinned while her brother John-Nelson groaned.
"Well, it was our plan! Don't you remember Ezra told you about it, Chris?"
"Oh, yeah, right, I forgot!" Mikey said.
Anthony-Ezra stood up, his eyes almost clean now and retrieved his fallen hat. "Yes, indeed. Mr. Tannah and I both thought… ouch," he rubbed the spot where the Nelson kid had punched him, "that we could misconstruct the miscreants into depricting the wrong loot!"
"Great job, gentlemen!" Mikey-Chris smiled widely feeling already victorious.
"But Chris," Little Jane-Mary stepped in, "the bad guys still got away!"
"Maybe not…" He grinned, "Vin!" he nodded at the mini tracker.
Little Vin nodded back at his friend and climbed up to the tree again, he pretended to use a telescope to see. "They're five miles away!" he said, smiling.
"Can you take'em?" Little Buck asked.
"Of course he can take'em!" Miss Josiah laughed. "He can shoot anything, anywhere!"
'I wish!' the real Vin snorted.
"Little Vin pulled out his wooden rifle and after a few seconds produced three shots. "Pow, Pow, Pow!"
"I got'em!" he cried.
Everyone cheered.
"Good job, Vin!" the real Chris slapped his best friend in the back, smiling. The tracker chuckled.
"Wait, you only shot three times!" Jane-Mary exclaimed, "but there was four of'em!"
"Yeah," Mini Vin waved it off, "I got two with one bullet!"
The girl was ecstatic, "Oh, Vin, you are a great shot!"
"Damn right I am!" the real Vin muttered, smiling.
Eric-Vins face went incredibly red by the girl's impressed attention and he pretended to check his rifle to calm down. The girl sighed.
The real Vin smiled again. 'You got her now, pal!'
Throughout the whole exchange, Jane's brother, young Anthony-Ezra noticed absolutely nothing.
"Okay, boys," Mini Chris quieted everyone down, "I think we should go to the saloon and wait for Royal to come back."
"He will?" Andrew-JD asked.
"We have the gold!" Dale-Buck said as he offered his arm to one of the twin girls.
"All right!" The kid smiled and ran over to the imaginary bar.
"I could use some licuations, how about you Mr. Sanchez?"
"Hell, yeah!" the girl giggled, making Josiah laugh in silence.
"Good girl!" the preacher muttered. "Good girl, indeed!"
It was a few minutes later when the kids forgot their game and decided to go search for their missing bandits who, apparently, still hadn't noticed they had no treasure. It was late; without actually feeling it, the seven had spent the whole afternoon watching the kids, and now that they found themselves alone they couldn't help but wonder where the time had gone... in more ways than one.
More than that, they wondered if they really acted like what they'd just seen. If they really were as unbelievable as those kids perceived them.
Did they really sound like that?
"They had you pegged, JD!" Nathan smiled, answering the unasked question. "That kid talked just like you!"
"Oh!" JD remembered the loud cursing and changed the subject, "Well, Nathan, the little doctor wasn't bad either. He even did that thing you do with your mouth, I saw him!"
"What thing?" Nathan frowned.
"I'm sorry to say this, JD," Buck interrupted smiling, "but the best of'em was the kid playing me! He was real good! Don'tcha think so, Chris?"
"Yeah, he was."
"Wait, wait!" JD stopped them, "What about little Vin there? He shot the bandits from five miles away!"
Vin chuckled. "I don't really think I can do that, JD".
"Ah, well, that's because you ain't tried yet, Vin!" he teased.
"Well, little Nathan cured Buck's broken leg in five minutes!" The tracker replied, grinning.
"That's different," Nathan said, "He had better herbs."
Everyone broke out in laughter and, just for a moment, the seven men savored the feeling of fantasy and wonder they all remembered to have had once, as children. Where did that feeling go?
No one knew.
Josiah sighed, still smiling, wondering if it was possible to recover that feeling, as one grew old. He glanced at Ezra, standing by his side in silence. What was that thing he had seen in his friend's eyes before?
Maybe he'd never know.
"What was all that about them Nelson brothers, Ezra?" Vin asked quietly.
The question took the gambler by surprise. 'I knew you were not getting out of that one so easily, Ezra.' He thought, looking away. After a second he gave the tracker a friendly grin and adjusted his hat. "Just children playing, Mr. Tanner," he replied nonchalantly.
"You sure?"
"Of course," he absently swiped a dry leaf from his sleeve. Vin's heart sank, echoing everyone else's disappointment at the gambler's lack of trust. Chris clenched his jaw.
"However," Ezra added, a mischievous smile dancing in his lips, "if I ever happen to turn up dead somewhere, for example in a deserted alley, from a bad case of, ehem, vile retribution, please do take your precautions, Vin."
They all stared at him in amazement, and before anyone could respond he continued, "Furthermore, if you ever see me fighting one or more nefarious individuals while lying on the floor with sand clouding my eyes, please do not hesitate to help me. I don't think I can produce weapons by magic. At least, not yet." He gave them his best southern smile, showing his shining gold tooth.
They laughed, their disappointment gone with the gambler's last statements. 'He has changed!' Chris thought, feeling oddly pleased.
Damn gambler.
"I'm still hungry, you know?" Nathan muttered.
"Me too, I'll see you in town." JD began running to his horse followed closely by his surrogate brother. They both began laughing like children.
"You think they'll ever grow up?" Nathan asked Josiah as they walked behind them.
"Whatever for, brother?" Josiah snorted, "They keep us amused all the time!"
"Right!" the healer agreed. "Buck and JD do act like kids all day long."
"Not only them, the gentlemen behind us don't really seem too grown up to me either."
Chris walked past them, lowering his hat. "Shut up, Josiah, you're a girl!" he said, his tone completely serious.
They stood there for a moment in shock before Chris broke off running; Josiah and Nathan following close behind.
"Infants." Ezra commented, still smiling.
Vin Tanner walked beside his friend, thinking about all the things he'd seen and done that day. All and all, that afternoon had proven to be very enlightening, and educational. Who would have thought that he'd see himself reflected so simply in an eleven-year-old boy? Of course, he didn't have a crush on Mary, well, not a big one anyway. But most of what he'd seen made him think that maybe, just maybe, they weren't doing things that bad.
He'd figured out why he had never noticed the children spying on them before, as well.
It was because he only noticed things out of place, things that didn't belong to his home. And those children absolutely did.
He was home.
That felt real good.
And about Ezra…
"Why'd you never tell me about them bounty hunters, Ezra?"
The gambler kept silent for a long moment before answering. "Well, Mr. Tanner, I wasn't about to let them get to you, was I?" he slowed his pace a bit and continued, "Besides, it would be a shame to have a couple of reprobates taking away your sleep at night, not when so many other things occupy your mind these days."
Vin smiled, staring at the dry leaves by his feet.
"Some things you needn't worry about, Mr. Tanner... as long as I am still alive." Ezra smiled again and continued walking.
Vin followed, his mind in peace with that idea. Yeah, he was home all right.
"Thanks, Ez." He said at last.
"Don't mention it, my friend."
They reached the horses just in time to see Buck and JD starting a race towards town. Chris' eyes were locked on his friends, a quiet ghost of a smile dancing on his face.
Ezra's spirit lit up once again.
There!
Just as he was watching the racing 'brothers' leaving.
He saw it.
Inside his esteemed leader's eyes he saw it.
The magic!
It was still there.
Good!
He climbed on Chaucer and patted his steed with extreme affection, his chest swelling in contentment.
Thank god some of them refused to grow up!
Thank God indeed!
The End
Okay. This is my FIRST Magnificent Seven story ever.
You liked it, you didn't, you hated it... you wanted to kill yourself? Tell me. Should I continue down this path or re-consider my life choices?
Please oh please, send me some feedback.
Pretty please?
With a cherry on top?
(This story is also available in the Blackraptor Archive, nice people the Blackraptor Gals n' Guys, I take off my hat...)