As she stared at those enchanting, pale emerald eyes, Victoria felt her heart skip a beat and her lungs tense. Her mind whirled at the chance that Jade West had sat herself right next to the sheriff of Skull Canyon county without realizing it. It may have only been a second or two, but it felt like a century.
While all of the drunken horsemen played around behind them, the very same who slurred the rumors of probably the most dangerous out law in the joining counties, here sat her. Yet her lips formed a small grin, murmuring, "Fine name yourself. Jade like the stone?"
"Yessum," the West nodded, looking slightly bitter, "My father thought of it before he took a look as to what he was gonna get. Anyway, you said you live near here?"
"Yeah, over yonder a ways," Victoria gestured off to the wall beside her.
"So you know any other place than that motel?"
"In this county? Naw, though the town is lookin' to build another one. How come?"
"Just got here some minutes ago, my mare is out side resting. Looked into the building an' they have all their rooms booked." Victoria watched curiously as the stranger took another sip, draining the rest of the bottle which burned a welcoming fire in her gut.
"What breed?"
"Not sure actually, think an Arabian Quarter cross but not completely sure. A beauty though, tell you that. Amazing since I remember finding her, scars all over her legs."
"Really?" Victoria asked in slight awe before an unsettling reminder came to mind. "Where'd you find her?"
"Out by Skull Canyon. I suspect someone left her from the marks, didn't let me near 'til I took off my hat," Jade nodded, gesturing to the fine, black hat on her head. Victoria felt the back of her neck prickle against her button-up, picturing the deep ravines. While it wasn't a canyon, the name spoke some truth. The ravines were riddled with abandoned mines, some collapsed while others simple spent. At the bottom there are rarely any travelers because of the unofficial grave yard or fallen miners. Anyone would be mortified if they were left abandoned there.
"God, how'd you find her there?"
"The train, y'know the one that goes by the express. Just stood in the tracks," she shrugged. "Anyway, you have a horse?"
"Stallion, doesn't seem like it though. Never met one that wasn't brutal; he's a better gentleman then the geldings 'round here," she chuckles, finishing the beer.
"Y'know what?" Jade muttered, slightly squinting at Victoria. The sheriff shifted her weight slightly, suddenly remembering the cold star against the cotton shirt. Coffee brown eyes gazed back, confusion clouding over a nervous twinge. "Ye' don't look like a Victoria, it is Victoria right?"
"Yeah... How come?" a wave of relief flooded through, the few ounces clinging to the inside of the vest now fading away.
"Victoria... Too 'posh' I suppose, never met one with pants."
"Really?" Victoria chuckled, "What's your point?"
"Well all the ones I've met wear too fancy skirts, flashy even... Anyway, you seem like somebody that can take a fight instead of runnin' 'round back to her husband."
"You don't say... Shoot, what do I look like then?" the Vega muttered, slightly frowning.
Jade lets out a laugh at the rare pout, sending hesitant chuckles from the sheriff, "More like a-a... Tori, yeah. Suits you better."
"Tori... Tori," Victoria murmured, "And that is someone who wears trousers?"
"When's the last time you wore a dress? Seven?"
"No... five."
"Well, there you go Tori. New name for ye'." Smiling slightly, Victoria, or rather Tori, accepted the name, fond of it's character. While she looked away however, Tori felt her gears working tiredly as a battle started to erupt from within. On one side it coaxed her mind, wanting to stay far away from Jade West while the other side was curious, wanting to go dangerously close. Turning her head 'round, the sheriff saw that the windows were painted black, and figured it was time to go home anyway.
Watching as her new friend shifted in her seat, Jade had an internal battle of her own. "You leavin'?" she murmured quietly.
"Huh?" Oh, yeah just thinking 'bout it. Might do," Victoria nodded, then added, "Where you going to sleep for the night?"
As she mentally glared down at the question, the Vega listened to the response, feeling a twinge of remorse. "Saw a tree as I passed by, looked good for the night."
"Well, ah... You could come over my place and sleep in one of my rooms if you'd like," the sheriff muttered, giving in to her curiosity.
"Alright, could do that," the stranger replied, flipping a quarter onto the counter to be taken by Miss Valentine. Both stood up, and Victoria became increasingly aware that Jade seemed to be both taller and bigger than her, standing nearly two inches taller. With the spring in her step, the West padded down and out the swinging doors, followed by the sheriff who smirked as one of the men played the piano right before falling asleep.
Outside there were only four light poles on this side of the street. Each one had a glass box with four candles inside, burning through the night. Under one of these were two horses; Cheers standing comfortable next to a long legged black horse with a white speckled hind. This took Victoria by surprise as Jade moved towards the black horse, petting the noses. Cheers was already a tall horse on his own standing about fifteen hands; however this mare seemed to just scrape fifteen and a half.
"That the Arabian cross?" Victoria murmured, in awe at the strong stance and slightly curved nose. Out in that county, it was a rare sight to see any sort of Arabian, and whenever there was one, most of them seemed to have a smaller body. Not this one though; it was built to be strong and quick while having the energy to go on for hours. The mane and tail draped in a wind caressed manner.
"Sure is, name's Pistol," she smirked proudly. Cheers took to this and looked at the mare carefully before whinnying quietly, saddle vibrating with the shaking body.
"Crossed with a Quarter horse huh? Kind of looks like one of those wild ones, a Mustang..." the sheriff nodded towards the mare, hopping on her own.
"That's what I thought as well. Sure has the spirit of one, and is brave like none of 'em. That's why I named her Pistol; she didn't run when she heard gunshots." Climbing on, Jade scratched the side of the black mare before asking, "So where to?"
"Over here," the Vega gestured, Cheers jogging off with Pistol close behind. Once they reached the edge of town, the red roan started to notice the new attention on him, and wanted to show just how fast he could go. Almost like a smirk, he tugged against Victoria's hackamore, asking for permission. "Uh, you feel like runnin'?" Victoria muttered with a small laugh, "My horse does."
"Mine always does," Jade nods with a smirk. Upon release, Cheers bolts, going just fast enough to conserve energy and watch how far Pistol would be behind him while showing off his skills. Thing is, as Victoria checked her side, Pistol wasn't far behind, in fact, she was catching up quickly. In a matter of seconds, both horses were neck to neck, however the mare was able to stay at the same speed while the stallion tried to keep up. They had just gone over a mile and Cheers was breaking nearly full speed; with that Arabian blood in her, Pistol was able to go fast for a longer time. The sheriff's horse didn't quit however, and soon found himself just in front of Pistol, shoulder beside nose.
Throughout their time, barely any words were spoken, only observations. Jade watched as Cheers gave Pistol his everything, running with long, powerful strides that just beat her own. His coat almost shimmered underneath the star light, his muscles defined. On the other hand, Victoria watched in the comfortable awe of both the rider and horse next to her. The mare's legs glided over the dirt underneath her hooves, light and swift as her tail flagged slightly, long raven locks flowing behind. If there were no stars out, she knew that the mare would be impossible to see.
However, what seemed more impressive than the Arabian cross was the rider on top of her. From the stories, you would never suspect that Jade rode with gentle movements, only kicking when her horse nearly slowed back to a lope. Her pale skin was glowing underneath the natural light, pale emerald eyes almost gleaming excitedly. After about twenty minutes, the two slowed and chuckled breathlessly as they heard the two horses breath heavily. "God damn Cheers, never ran that fast for a girl," Victoria mumbled, smiling at the ears facing back.
"You have a pasture to put 'em out?" Jade asked.
"Naw, well- Yeah, but it's still flooded from the rain a few nights ago. So we'll just put 'em in stalls, they're big enough. Fourteen by eleven I think."
"That's good, that it over yonder?" the West nodded towards the ranch.
"Sure is. The bigger one's the main house, though I live off to the side of the ranch in the smaller one."
"Ah," was all Jade could nod as she gazed at the property. There were a few orchards with the houses and barn, one of which had an orange light coming through the top window. "Who's there?"
"Oh, that's gonna be my sister," Victoria answered, "Always ends up goin' to bed late because of all the work 'round the place. We do have another rancher on the property that she takes kindly, though other than that..." The horses padded through the dirt road, straight to the barn. Once outside the door, the two slid down and untacked the horses, brushing the sweat marks. As they were groomed, hooves checked, the horses were let in their own stalls which sat right next to each other. As they opened the barn doors, the sheriff grabbed the lantern glowing inside, taking the orange light with her.
Shutting the door firmly, Victoria guided Jade through the orchards, frowning to herself as the other looked around. She had multiple feelings and thoughts screaming just to run away and hide. But there was that one feeling which bade her to stay true to her plan, and follow it through. That, unlike the worrying thoughts, was her gut instinct; the very same that handled the rabid coyotes and many criminals from before.
'Jade's no different' she mused to herself, 'Just smarter, more dangerous and quick-witted.'
The light reached the front porch of the small ranch house, Victoria opening the door. "Now I have a couch inside, don't rightly have any other beds then my own."
"It'll be fine for tonight, thank you." Jade stepped inside, taking her hat off upon entry as the door was shut behind her. Gazing around, she grinned slightly at the quaint furnishings and stepped through to the room with the couch. She sat down on the couch, looking around the room. "Nice place," she simply murmured as a green blanket was placed on the arm of the brown couch.
"Thank you," Victoria nodded, slipping off her hat and running her hand through her hair. "I'll turn in now so, uh, goodnight..."
"Goodnight," Jade mimicked before adding, "Thank you." The sheriff gave a soft, uncontrollable smile as she watched Jade slip off her boots and stretch out a yawn. Striding towards the opposite doorway to her bedroom, she turned around before opening the door, eyebrows slightly knit together as she watched the stranger put her forehead on the outside of the black hat. For a moment she thumbed over the outer rim before placing it carefully on her boots, rolling over and falling asleep promptly.
The bedroom door opened with force, Victoria stepping through, cursing under her breath about the door for the umpteenth time. "Got to get the damned door fixed sometime," she murmured to herself as her vest was hung. Looking around in the semi-darkness, the Vega stumbled around, taking off her boots, trousers and shirt. Goosebumps prickled along her bare caramel skin as she slipped on an overlong shirt before slipping underneath the covers.
For several minutes she struggled to fall asleep, turning and twisting underneath the covers. In the other room, while she was asleep, Jade rather be in Tori's bed, turning and twisting than the hell her nightmares brought. She twitched, frowning as her teeth grit, face almost pulled in a glare.
There was a thunderous crack, birds flailing as a young girl fell to her knees, holding a smoking rifle. "Jared! Jared!: she bellowed as she watched the boy collapse, shaking violently.
"Go, run away before he comes... Go now," a voice shrilled in her ears as she took a paint nearby and ran. The vision fogged, morphing into merciless flames swallowing towns; buildings stood no chance as people and ranch animals fled. Hearing the shouts behind her, the same girl, much, much older, galloped away on a black mare. Her eyes were wide and frightened, picturing the innocent running from the flames...
~BxR~
In the bedroom, the sheriff lay quietly still. After a few hours, her chase for sleep subsided as her limbs grew tired. Victoria frowned at the blank dreams of black, nothing that was really unusual. Feeling the warm light creep along her back, the Vega linked awake, staring at the opposite wall lazily.
Climbing out of bed hesitantly, she pulled on her clothes once more, as she did every day, vest last. Stepping though the doorway, stretching, her eyes opened wide as she remembered her visitor. Coffee brown eyes darted to the side, finding the couch with the blanket folded carefully with a small piece of paper on top. Curiously, concluding that Jade West was gone, she unfolded the paper once, reading 'Thank you for your hospitality. Perhaps we will see each other once again.'
She stared blankly at the scratched letters, tongue clicking against the roof of her mouth. Victoria scratched her head and ended up slipping the paper in the inside pocket of her vest, wondering where exactly the convicted outlaw was.