The next two days in the Dead Horses' camp were incredibly tense. The tribals had accepted that these outsiders were guests of Joshua, yet they kept their distance for now.
The girl and the hardened-looking man had gotten into a shouting match with each other, both of them looks of pure fury on their faces.
Arcade had broken up their fight before it had even become half as bad as the one in Vegas had been.
Normally, he would've just let them yell it out, but he'd noticed that Graham became angrier with every new shout and accusation.
This however meant that Boone and Sian were still angry at each other. Joshua had asked them all to stay near the camp for now, well, asked Sian, ordered the others. So, not only were they unable to sort out their problems, as neither of them would admit they were in the wrong, but now they couldn't even gain the space they would have needed to calm down.
Sian had quickly found a solution, trudging up the steep hill towards Bighorn Bluff, sitting there all day while petting the calves.
That's were Syrus came to find her on the third day. He was just as overwhelmed by the situation as she was, pondering why the leader of the Frumentarii had been here in the first place and how to deal with the fact that incarnation of the Legion's bogeyman was within reaching distance.
"So, what are we going to do?"
Sian didn't answer for a while, but rested her head on his shoulder when he sat next to her. Since the mystery of her heritage had been found out, Boone had hardly looked in her direction and the few glances she had caught.. He looked at Sian like she had betrayed him and that hurt. Even Arcade didn't quite seem to know what to say to her. Sure, he pretended that everything was alright, but he'd reveal himself by the way his face twitched. And just like that, Syrus had become her confidante. He was the only one who simply gave her space when she needed it, but sat and listened when she wanted to talk.
The last two days had worn Sian out, physically and mentally. She felt strained, like glass under pressure.
Joshua had tried to explain some things to her and usually Sian had been uncharacteristically silent, sitting next to him and taking in all this new information.
Some of the situations or events he described felt familiar, some not at all. It all made perfect sense, and no sense at all.
They were sitting around the fire just behind Angel Cave, Sian squished between Syrus and Arcade, her father sitting across the flames. Boone was separated from the group, leaning against the cave wall and trying hard to look like he wasn't listening.
"You were always supposed to become High Priestess. It was decided the day you were born." Joshua was trying to shed some light on Sian's past, hoping she might remember something on her own. He saw the doctor taking in all the information he could, but not commenting. Sian just stared at him, with wide, doe-like eyes. She was unsure of the situation and it scared her. He knew this look very well, she'd often worn it as a small child. Syrus had lost some of his initial fear, and was hesitantly contributing to the conversation.
"But the Priestesses just, I dunno, sit in the temple all day. Sian can fight," he said with a grimace, remembering their very first fight. They had both gotten injured, but boy.. Had she packed a punch...
"Well, yes.. It wasn't planned, believe me," Joshua smiled at Sian, who sat with her chin resting on her knees and never taking her eyes off his face. She seemed to want to ask so many questions and didn't know how to voice them.
"You liked your dolls well enough when you were young, but something happened and you just stopped paying attention to them."
He trailed off, looking to be deep in thought.
Was this really the right course of action? She didn't remember him, didn't remember her life. Was he doing her a favour, telling her about it? Or just taking away her chance at a new life? Joshua was blandly staring ahead, gaze turned inwards, when a soft voice caught his attention.
"Joshua?" Sian asked quietly. She wanted to know what had happened to her. What had changed the circumstances and allowed her, a girl, to learn how to fight.
"Tell me."
"You ran off, as usual," He chuckled at that, remembering how hard it had been to keep track of her.
"The praetorians weren't doing their jobs and somehow you got out of the yard. Somehow you managed to find yourself near the training area and from what I found out, you spied on the recruits and just played back there. You forgot time and after the training session finished, you were still there. A mongrel got away from the pens and found you."
Sian shivered, feeling a weird tingle running up her leg. She couldn't really think, only felt that weird sensation. Next to her, she could almost hear Arcade and Syrus thinking, but neither seemed to want to interrupt.
Joshua kept silent for a few minutes, seemingly replaying the day in his head.
"It found you. The dogs are trained to attack, and you.. You were on your own, hardly taller than it. The mongrel would've torn you apart, but after it's initial attack, when you screamed, one of the recruits heard you. He had stolen a training machete and snuck back to practice, and he came for you. Managed to kill the damn thing, but you both got hurt in the process. He knew who you were. Had to know. The expensive fabric of your clothes, the pendant you were wearing, bearing my symbol, the Yao Guai. He took you back to the palace, and by then, your attendant had told me you were missing and the guards were looking for you. They found you both and he told us what had happened."
Joshua thought back to the day it all started. The dark-haired boy mumbling to his feet, half-paralyzed with breathless excitement and fear. And how Edward had given him that calculating stare, before it slowly turned into a wolfish grin.
"You were alright, and that was important, but Edw- Caesar and myself were impressed with the boy. As a reward for saving you, he earned his name." Arcade flinched, but was ignored.
"It was an honour unheard of. Every tribal recruit had to survive training and prove himself in battle before he earned his name. We had him perform his battle prowess against a praetorian and he did exceptionally well. Was fast and clever, so from that day onward, he was Vulpes Inculta, the Desert Fox."
Syrus listened with wide eyes. He knew that his officer had gotten his name years before recruits usually did, but here he heard why for the first time. Sian was rubbing her palm over her pant leg, where it lay over the old, twisted scar. She almost remembered this, like seeing an image she could not quite focus on.
Behind them, Boone scoffed, but was ignored just as Arcade had been.
"You trailed after him from that day on, whenever you had the chance. To be honest, I think it annoyed him in the beginning, he was five years older than you, after all. But eventually, he started to seek you out, just as you did him. And he started to train you, after you begged him longed enough. You had talent, just as he did, and Edward and I decided to let it continue. You enjoyed it, and it couldn't hurt to have you trained and ready in case it would be useful to the empire. Caesar was nothing, if not a tactician.."
That had been three days ago. Joshua had tried to jog Sian's memory, telling her of all sorts of little incidents of her childhood. He enjoyed it more than he would've thought, recalling things he hadn't thought about in years.
And sometimes, he'd see a flicker of recognition pass through his daughter's eyes. But then she and Boone had fought, and some of the things they had thrown at each other... Joshua hadn't understood everything, but it seemed like a lot of emotion that was unleashing here.
He got angry anyway, seeing his daughter get yelled at by a man who towered at least a foot above her and weighed about twice as much.
However, before he had been able to say something, to get this monstrous man away from his little girl, the Followers Doctor had stepped in, snapping at both of them to "cut it out, and not let it go as far as it did in Vegas."
Not very comforting that there was a standard to their fighting. After that, they'd seem to dance around each other like two angry cazadors, constantly poised to strike.
Joshua tried not to get involved. The emotional side of him, hidden as it was, sided fully with his child. Who she'd been born to be wasn't her fault, after all. But a more rational side understood the Sniper as well. He was NCR through and through from the looks of it, took the revelation of her birth as personal betrayal. The fact that the young Legionary, Syrus, was drifting closer to the girl only sparked his ire even more.
Sian on the other hand, just seemed hurt. She hid it well, underneath a thick layer of nasty glares and icy anger. He did the same, which is why he saw right through it.
It was physically painful to watch her like this. On the the evening of the second day, after she'd lain down in Angel Cave to sleep, Joshua had decided to talk to Boone. When he couldn't find him, the Burned Man decided to put it off until the next morning.
But when the camp awoke at dawn and Joshua ventured outside, Boone was gone.
Sian had taken that hard, and there was no mistaking it. His bag, his rifles, everything was gone. The girl spent almost the entire day keeping an eye on the river, hoping that he'd come back.
He didn't.
Now she was sitting on the edge of a cliff, high above Zion, with Syrus' arm wrapped around her and her head on his shoulder. The young Frumentarius had been amazing over the past few days, always listening and understanding. He knew what it meant to grow up in the Legion, the child of an officer and tried tirelessly to explain to the girl that there was no shame, nor fault in being who she was.
All the while wondering how Vulpes had not recognized her. Sian had voiced her suspicion that he simply pretended not to know who she was, but Syrus had shot that down quickly. He'd bet anything, that the Fox truly had no idea. He just didn't understand how, nothing ever got past his boss.
"Why is Boone so angry then? If there's no shame in it? I know he hates the Legion. He's justified, considering what happened..." She trailed off, and while Syrus was curious, Sian didn't elaborate. It was none of his business after all.
"I never did anything to him. Why does he doubt me now? This doesn't change who I am."
But it does.. Sian, this changes everything. Syrus wanted to tell her just that, but he figured that she did not want to hear it. The behaviour Sian was currently displaying unnerved him, swaying from anger to sadness within minutes. He wasn't sure how to deal with it, and kept silent when her mood got particularly bad.
Now, however, he couldn't afford to do that. The situation had intensified in a way none of them could have prepared for.
"He's blinded by anger." Syrus said after a moment of thought.
"He's not angry at you directly, he's angry at anything that's connected to the Legion. He hates us, much like the way Lord Caesar hates the NCR. I'm sure he wouldn't like being compared to Lord Caesar... but the disdain in his voice, that look in his eyes... it's only matched by My Lord himself."
There was another moment of silence, during which Sian pondered on this, wondering how she was supposed to mend it. Boone's feelings were completely understandable, but how long was she supposed to put up with his distance and mistrust? It simply wasn't fair.
"You, yourself, have no bad intentions... regardless of who's side you take." Syrus went on, his voice softening, his green eyes roaming over the landscape. "You're loyal. You're trustworthy. You're worth his companionship more than most... and if he's worth his salt... he'll figure that out. And if not, well... we'll manage."
He gave her a squeeze, and Sian leaned into the comforting gesture, glancing up at him. Syrus was truly a rock in her emotional turmoil. Too much was happening at once, with Boone leaving, finding her father and the war over Zion he had told them about, Arcade was trying to baby her and Syrus was the only one who treated her just the same as a few days ago.
"I'm glad you came with me, you know that?" Syrus looked down at her. She was smiling, but she couldn't have looked any sadder, even if she were crying. Syrus got nervous. He wanted to do something, to make her feel better again but he didn't know how. He never had much contact with woman outside of the slave girls or the women he met because of his work. But Sian was different, was she not? Still, when he looked at her, something in him snapped, and he reacted as he was trained to do. A soft, almost predatory smile, a mumbled "As if I'd ever leave," and he leaned down, pressing his lips onto hers.
Hers were soft and warm and Syrus felt the girl stiffen in his grasp, but it took only seconds before she relaxed against him.
Sian didn't know what possessed her to reciprocate, the only other man she remembered kissing was Benny, and that memory made her shudder. But this was different, and she liked it.
Syrus shifted around, pulled the girl closer. Seemed like it was working, and he was enjoying himself as well. Just as he dared to push her a little further...
"Get your hands off my daughter!"
The two shot apart like school children caught doing mischief, Sian flushing a deep crimson without knowing why. Syrus tried to keep his nonchalant expression, but seeing Joshua storm toward him, made the young man contemplate just nosediving off the cliff. Would be a quicker death.
While Sian was trying to find something, anything, to say to defuse the situation, Joshua had reached them and hoisted Syrus up by the collar of his shirt, fire in his eyes.
He had come up here to find his daughter, to talk to her about what had transpired that day and maybe find a solution to this mess.
And find her he did. With a Legionary all over her, taking advantage of his little girl.
He didn't need to draw his gun, nor make any kind of physical threat. The boy was terrified of him as it was.
"How dare you touch her, boy?" he rasped out, sounding much like he used to when he was Legate. He was furious, not expecting to have to deal with a situation like this.
Sian scrambled to her feet, suddenly just as angry as he was. There was some confusion on her mind about why Joshua blew up like this, but anger was winning.
"Are you out of your mind? Let go of him! He didn't do anything bad!"
"Sure.. Nothing bad. That's why his hands were all over you," he bit back over his shoulder. Staring back at Syrus, he added, "I'll tell you this once, boy; keep your distance from my daughter, or so help me... you'll experience a hellfire that'd put Caesar's little spark show at the Grand Canyon to shame, you Godless, sleazy little Profligate."
Syrus went deathly pale, yet managed to keep any undignified squirming under wraps. But it wasn't easy. The young man did not doubt for a second that Graham would rip him apart, and he was just about to open his mouth to argue that he hadn't done anything wrong, when Sian's anger exploded once more.
"You don't get to make these decisions for me! I managed just fine before I came here, I don't need a keeper now!"
"Oh yes, you managed just fine! You managed to get shot in the head just wonderfully!"
Sian froze for a second, then did the only sensible thing a seventeen year old would do. She stormed off, not wanting to face the reality of what he just said. Sliding down the steep hill of Bighorn Bluff, she ran out of the camp, keeping to the edge of the river.
Joshua and Syrus were left standing on the edge of the cliff, the Burned Man's bandaged fingers coiled in the fabric of the younger man's shirt. He wanted to go after Sian, make sure she wouldn't get hurt, but first, he needed to make very clear that the boy had understood him.
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Boone had just started down the Southern Passage, the way they'd come into Zion, when he allowed himself to actually think, not just press on.
Sian was the daughter of the fucking Malpais Legate. Unbelievable! He'd tried, for her sake, he'd really tried to look past it. Two days he'd sat with his companions, listened to how the former Legate told stories of Sian as a child; all of them lies, he was sure of it. There had to be some ulterior motive to this. He wouldn't believe that any Legionary could value, even love, a daughter. Sian knew this as well, they had talked about it many times, yet somehow, she just sat with him, soaking up the stories.
He could understand the girl a bit, the lure of belonging somewhere had to be great, but he had thought Sian smarter than this. Or that Arcade would be there to talk her out of this, but when he'd mentioned his suspicions Arcade had told him to give it some time.
He doctor wasn't sure what was going on either, but he was willing to go along with it until he had more information. And that Legion brat.. Now he'd been edging closer and closer to Sian, poisoning her mind just as Graham did.
Boone had hardly slept that night, lying on his blanket and staring at the stars above him and thinking harder than he'd probably ever done.
His decision hadn't been easy, but he had to leave. And so, he packed up his few possessions, grabbed his rifles and stared at them for a few minutes. His old hunting rifle, the one he'd modified himself and that had served him well during his time in 1st Recon. He couldn't leave it behind. But the Anti-Material rifle, the one Sian had surprised him with before their trip.. He was walking out on her, after he'd vowed never to do that.. But this was too much, how could he stay when they were pulling her over to a side he wanted to hate with a passion. He should really leave it behind, but he couldn't. Not this gift. And so he shouldered the heavier rifle as well and head out of the Dead Horses camp, quietly as a shadow.
It had taken some time to navigate Zion, the landscape being so very different from the Mojave or California, but eventually the sniper managed to find his way to the caved entrance to the Valley. He stood on the small plateau, overlooking the river and pulled a bottle of scotch from his pack. There was about a third left, and Boone downed it in one go. Empty bottle in hand, he gave this place a last, sweeping look and asked himself if he was making the right decision. Getting out of Novac had been the right thing to do, but without Sian helping him tie up the lose strings, he wouldn't have been able to.
But she was slipping. He'd seen how much she was talking with Graham and that damned boy. He wouldn't watch that any longer.
Feeling a sudden surge of anger, he flung the empty bottle at a boulder. It exploded with a satisfying amount of noise, shards glittering through the air. He turned and headed into the cave, not really sure where he was going now. Back to Novac was out of the question. Maybe he'd re-enlist with 1st Recon...
Whatever.. First, Boone wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and the people he walked out on.
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Sian didn't give a damn where she was going. She was angry and sad and feeling too much. How did she manage to feel so much emotion without her head exploding?
She'd noticed that nobody was following her out of the camp this time, and she took a wrong turn at the river fork, not remembering or simply not caring where she ended up, as long it was far away from her father, from Syrus and Arcade, from having to face the facts. She needed her friends, needed their advice and support. But that meant she'd failed. Ever since they'd pulled her out off that shallow desert grave, she'd gotten constant help, from everyone she'd meet. The settlers were friendly and spared her all the water and clothes and food they could, the NCR had given her all the help they were able to and even the Legion had proved helpful to an extent.
She would've probably never have made it to Vegas without them. Scratch that, she wouldn't have made it past the raider attack at Novac, had she been alone.
Now, she realized, whichever way she chose would end up hurting some of her friends. And yet, they all wanted her to make a decision, a distinct one, but she couldn't... There was no definite right and wrong, but they all measured her choices with their own morality.
"This is my choice," she gritted out between panting, still running as fast as she could. Her legs were aching and her lungs burning, but she kept pushing forward.
"I won't make a choice, I am the damn choice!"
It wasn't long before the girl simply couldn't run anymore. She was winded and slowed down to a walk, heaving in large breaths. Sian was a practised runner, her father having mentioned that as well, but she was thoroughly exhausted and very unsure of where she was.
There was tables, old barbecues, crappy old trailer... Seemed like she'd stumbled onto an old camp site. The charred skeletons laying around, silent witnesses of the catastrophe that had burned the world over 200 years ago.
Strange, how Zion seemed untouched by it mostly...
Sian was trying to figure out where she was, and how to get back to the camp. Not that she planned on going back there anytime soon. She needed to think, needed to figure out if she wanted to stay with her friends and risk having them walk out on her as well.
Boone... She'd never thought that Boone'd leave her, but just went to show that you couldn't trust anyone.
The girl stood, all emotions all her senses turned inward, thinking, trying to find a solution to this mess. Her feet started moving of their own volition, and just as she started walking a gunshot echoed through the Valley. The sound startled Sian a lot more than the dull pain in her side, and she flew forward, taking cover behind one of the old trailers.
She crouched low in the dirt, fumbling for her .45 on her hip. The grip was slick with blood..
No time to think about that now, her mind practically shouted at the girl, You have a full clip. 7 bullets. And a knife... Make every bullet count!
The adrenaline helped to ignore the pain in her waist, and when Sian heard footsteps of many people running towards where she was hiding, she gripped her gun in her left, her blade in the right. They were almost on her, and now she had to prove herself.
A bit light-headed, but with a loopy grin in her face, the girl straightened out as much as possible and flung herself out from behind her hiding spot.
If she went out now, and the blood and pain made that seem very likely, she'd go out in a hail of bullets.
The White Legs swarmed into the camping ground like ants and Sian met them with a feral shriek, taking out three with her gun before they came close enough to swing at her. There was one man in the back with a .45 SMG, who took her last four bullets to take out, and paying attention to him, cost Sian the advantage over the brawlers.
She slashed and hacked away at anyone close enough, but the White Legs were at an advantage, and before long Sian found herself overwhelmed, taking punches to the face and torso.
They were kicking at her legs, trying to force the girl down, but Sian was fighting. Her own attacks did not do much, physically, she wasn't a fighter, too thin and weak to really damage. She whacked her gun at the tribals, and they laughed and jeered at her attempts at fighting back.
Then, she flipped her blade, reared back, and executed a sideward strike to the nearest tribal's face, knife easily sliding into one cheek and out of the other. But that was the end of her luck. Someone ripped her back, yanking on her long hair and she fell to the ground roughly. Sian tried to scream, but there was a hand on her mouth instantly.
The wound on her stomach was pulsing as someone sat on it, straddling her and keeping her from thrashing around.
The White Legs chattered amongst themselves, and Sian didn't understand a word. Tears were streaming down her face, from the pain and the fear, and she gave a last futile attempt at kicking the man off her when a mantis gauntlet appeared in her field of vision.
With a sadistic grin, the man sitting on top of her plunged the sharpened mantis blade into her torso. Sian eyes went wide and she screamed against the hand on her mouth. It felt like the blood in her veins had been replaced with poisonous ice and her whole body was on fire.
While she was focused on her pain, she didn't notice her writhing had shaken loose the small golden pendant she was wearing.
The White Legs however, did notice. With wide-eyed shock, one of them grabbed the pendant and stared at the relief of the winged man embossed on the face of it.
He voiced a fearful question, but the man keeping Sian quiet just barked back a harsh answer. His hard eyes showed nothing as he looked down at the girl who was staring ahead unfocused.
Sian saw all the faces above her swimming together, looking like one big blob with too many eyes. She was cold, but the pain was floating away in rushing, sweeping moves. Pulsing.
Then suddenly, there was chaos, noise and pain when the weight on her stomach was ripped away from her. Sian tried to scream, or speak, or even whisper, but it was like the hand was still pressed over her mouth. Nothing came out and the searing in her torso worsened. But it wasn't so bad..
Dying is painful.. Sian's thoughts were jumbled, hard to follow, But that's okay.. Boone came back, has to be Boone.
"Sian! Sian, hold on!"
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It had taken a while for Graham to figure out in which direction his daughter had fled, but he'd sent out the scouts as soon as the conversation with Syrus was over. The boy had followed, flushing bright red and visibly worried.
Arcade had met the two other in the middle of the camp, and after being informed of what had transpired, hurriedly followed them to the river.
A rather large group of Dead Horses warriors followed them. Their chief's daughter was out alone, and the White Legs didn't care who they killed.
By the time the group had made it to the river fork, one of the scouts came barrelling towards them at breakneck speed. He informed Joshua that Sian had run into trouble at the North Fork Campground. Without giving any order, the Burned Man turned Northwest and ran, his group following him and Arcade and Syrus falling into step beside him. Neither of the two Outsiders knew just how dangerous the White Legs could be, how ruthless.
They needed to get to North Fork immediately.
The bridge came into view in the distance and Joshua veered to the left.
Even before they could see anyone, they could hear the muffled screams and Joshua burst onto the campground like a demon straight from the deepest fires of hell, the air around him burning with the intensity of his anger.
When he saw her however, his heart, his body, his entire world stopped. Even with the few dead White Legs, Sian was completely outnumbered. They were all around her, on top of her and there was so much blood.
The remaining White Legs looked up as Syrus, and surprisingly Arcade, charged at them, bloodlust in the younger man's eyes, overwhelming worry in the other's. The enemies scattered and the Dead Horses warriors sprang into action, Follows-Chalk leading them, war clubs raised and feral screams ripping from their throat.
Syrus had his machete out and smashed into the man with the poisoned gauntlet, ripping him off of Sian. Their momentum carried them a few feet and sent them crashing into the dirt. While chaos erupted, Arcade simply pulled his plasma pistol, and locked eyes with the Tribal still clamping his hand over the girl's mouth. With a cold fury he'd never before experienced, he fired, watching with vindication as the flesh began to melt off the man's face while he slowly tipped backwards.
Sian had started convulsing and the Follower's Doctor took no more notice of the carnage around him, dropped to his knees next to the girl and tried to access the situation.
He reached out with shaking hands, hear her mumble about Boone, getting louder and calling for him and that's when the doctor snapped out of his panic. Her weak voice reminded him that he needed to be quick. Joshua had explained that White Legs' coated their weapons with Black Datura, so he ripped the pack from his belt and fished around for anti-venom, uncorked the vial and poured the whole tamale into her mouth.
He pinched her nose and started stroking her throat, helping her swallow the bitter liquid.
Black Datura was incredibly dangerous and was lethal within minutes. Once the anti-venom was down, he started prepping the girl for a bloodpack.
Follows-Chalk was circling around them, keeping the White Legs from getting at Arcade's unprotected back.
Meanwhile, Syrus was locked in close combat with his opponent. He avoided the poisoned gauntlet with ease, a cruel laugh on his lips. He was playing with his opponent, not going for the kill yet but his arrogance caused him to not pay attention and suddenly he was fighting three opponents, two men and one woman. It was the woman who gave him trouble, being more agile than he expected.
That problem solved itself. Out of nowhere, Joshua suddenly stood behind the man who'd stabbed his daughter, and bashed the grip of his .45 into the man's skull.
The aura around Graham exuded anger, like a man who wanted his debts paid in blood..
The tribal fell to the ground, but rolled out of the way of another blow and sprang to his feet, snarling like the animal he was. Suited Graham just fine, he wanted the bastard to suffer. He blocked the mantis gauntlet with his gun, balled a fist and planted it straight in the White Leg's face, effectively breaking his nose. During this manoeuvrer, another tribal tried to sneak up on him, but Joshua just raised his gun, bringing the barrel to rest right between his victim's eyes. A cold smile, he squeezed the trigger and the head exploded, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
He turned his attention back to the actual target of his anger and kept driving him backwards with well-timed blows.
The two-on-one fight Syrus was having required more attention, but the boy was still laughing. The tribal man made a tactical mistake and Syrus grabbed his shoulder, pulled him close while stabbing his machete just underneath his ribcage. The woman, who's agility was her only real weapon against him, watched with thinly-veiled horror as the tip of the blade pierced through the back of her fellow.
Blood was pouring from a split in Syrus' eyebrow, the green eyes sparkling amidst the crimson.
With a charming smile, and never breaking eye contact with the woman, he twisted the machete around in the other man's stomach, then tore it out.
The woman gave a strangled gasp and ran, but Syrus was faster...
Just as the young Legionary claimed his next victim, Joshua sent his own prey careening to the ground with a last well-placed punch.
He wasn't grinning, unlike Syrus, Joshua found no real enjoyment in this, only dull satisfaction at being the one to kill his daughter's assailant. With a quick flip of his wrist, his scarred finger now closed around the barrel of his .45, and with a growl, started beating down on the tribal's skull until he became unrecognizable.
Arcade had managed to slip the needle into Sian's arm, Follows-Chalk now holding the blood pack high.
The remaining Dead Horses had made short work of their enemies, having bludgeoned them to death with their war clubs. Now they were standing around the doctor, giving him space as he tried to stop the bleeding from Sian's stomach wound. It was on her left side, so the spleen wasn't ruptured, but the anti-venom and the extra fluid had thinned her blood considerably.
This was getting out of hand, they needed to get Sian back to the camp, he needed a suture kit and he needed some strong whiskey for himself...
Sian was fading in an out of consciousness, mumbling things he didn't understand and switching in between Latin and English constantly. She kept calling Boone and Arcade did his best to calm her.
The convulsions had stopped, but mainly because the girl had no strength left for anything other than random muscle spasms.
Joshua and Syrus appeared at their side out of nowhere, both looking scared in their own way.
"Joshua, we need to get back, now. She'll die if I don't stop the bleeding." Arcade was doing his best not too sound hysterical, but it wouldn't take much more.
Sian seemed to focus in Graham,then lost focus again. He knelt down beside his daughter and didn't seem to dare to touch the girl.
When he'd led Caesar's armies, he'd never felt fear. When his old friend Edward had him lit on fire, the pain was immense,but still, he'd felt no fear.
Now, he was more terrified than ever before in his life.
Sian's head lolled around to face him again, pale and drawn with pain. Her eyes were wide, but empty, almost no life left in them. She didn't seem to know where she was.
She tried to say something a few times, and when he went to shush her, to tell her to save her strength, she croaked out one word that sent his whole world crashing down.
"Daddy..."
With new haste, Joshua picked her up and carried her away, back towards the camp, towards safety. Even through the clothes he was wearing, the girl's body felt cold as ice..