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When I awoke to a sunny and hot desert before me, I was alone. I quickly got up and looked around. Where did he go off to? I rolled my eyes and stood up; gathering my pack and my bottle of gin, which lay only half full. But when I looked for my cloak, I couldn't find it.
"Damn Vash! You think this is funny or something, huh!?" I yelled to the wind, kicking the sand. "Now I'm out here in a skin tight suit and boots! I look like a freaking hooker!" I yelled. Though my yell went unnoticed in the desert, I was sure my appearance wouldn't. So I began to walk anyway, feeling naked and seeking revenge.
The sands were stronger today, and they whipped against my face. I ran a hand through my long blonde hair, feeling the sand fall out. 'If I had my hat, none of it would have gotten sandy!' I thought. I knew I should have cut my hair short before I left, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I thought about those familiar eyes.
In fact, I tried to visualize them so long, I didn't notice when another man came up beside me.
"Geez, I didn't know hookers worked this far out." The man commented. I jumped and turned around to see another tall man with shaggy black hair and a large cross over his shoulder. Even when I suspected he was a priest, I didn't hesitate to smack him over the shoulder with my bag. He fell over backwards.
"Man, you must work out, too." He said, rubbing a lump forming on his head.
"Excuse me, I am not a slut, get your kicks some where else." I told him.
"Oh yea? Then what are you doing in that thing out here? It looks like an outfit to me." He said, a suggestive tone in his voice. I growled under my breath.
"Well if I had my real clothes I would wear them! But that slick moron thought it would be funny if he took them." I said. Then I screamed to the distance, "YOU HEAR ME VASH!? When I catch you, YOUR ASS IS MINE!"
"Vash!?" The man yelled. "As in, Vash the Stampede?" He asked, a bit of sarcasm leaking in.
"Yea, now that you mention it. Only thing he destroyed was my decency!" I yelled with balled up fists.
"Which way did he go?" The man asked.
"Beats the hell outta' me. But judging by what your packing in that 'cross' there, I wouldn't tell you any way, because you just want the bounty." I told him. I could see in the sunlight the form of a gun handle pressing against the cloth. And because it looked pretty heavy too, I was sure it wasn't wood.
"How did you know. . . Never mind. But I'm no bounty hunter. I'm a friend of his. The name is Wolfwood. Nicholas Wolfwood." He said, holding out his hand for me to shake. I shook it lightly and then pulled him out of the sand.
"Now if you would be so kind, which way did he go?"
"I really don't know, but I think it's to Oregon City or something. Why don't we go there together, then we can split up and find him . . . then I can kill him. . ." I said with a twitch. The man looked wary of me. I turned around and began to walk. He stood up, and began to fallow.
We walked in silence until noon, at which time I refused to stop for lunch. It was only a waste of time, and only making my torture longer. I knew Nicholas was staring at my butt the entire way. These underclothes were made for protection, not formal wear. I cursed at myself for not having an extra set in my pack. Then suddenly, he began to talk.
"So, where are you from?" He asked. I unnoticeably jumped at the sudden sound.
"A town." I replied, not giving off any more detail.
"Then, what's your name?" He asked. I paused before responding.
"Isabella." I replied. I was glad he was walking behind me, so he could not see my blush. What a rude lie. And normally, it was nothing to worry about.
"Well, Isabella, do you have any family around here?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No, they all died a long time ago." I told him. I made sure to put a calm, smooth hint in my voice. Any one who could calmly talk about the death of their family was definitely cold hearted. She would not reveal any more to the stranger than she already had.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"Don't be." I told him, further adding to my mental shield.
"So what line of work are you in?" He asked.
"Bounty hunter." I replied calmly again. Nicholas began to laugh. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, so I suppose you're just a traveling priest who gives away lots of guns, huh?" I countered. His laugh died.
"Actually, I am a traveling priest." He said. I stifled a laugh as well. "Now, if you were traveling with Vash, then where you bringing him in to the sheriff?" He asked. I shook my head.
"My bounty hunter days are coming to a close. I just do it for the money. I've got other dreams, you know." I told him. He picked up his pace to walk in line with me.
"So what are your dreams, then?" He asked. I twitched. All of his friendly talking really wasn't necessary. It was making me sick to my stomach.
"I would like to go live with an old friend of mine, after my journey is complete." I replied cryptically. He nodded.
"So why are you traveling, and where is your friend?" He asked. I was close to smacking him. How dare he ask about where she was!?
"I'm looking for a man. I think he knows where I am now. I'm just waiting for him to find me. And as for my friend . . . let's just say she's in better place." There I said it. I told the man I had a death wish. In a few moments he nodded solemnly.
"So then, I suppose the last question is, who are you looking for?" He asked. I looked down to the sand, and stopped.
~*~*~*Flash Back~*~*~*~
Jo placed a finger over her lips, signaling for me to be quiet. I complied and carefully looked over the ledge. Six shadowed figures stood in the darkness, whispering. I jerked my head in the opposite direction, trying to tell her that we should leave. Jo didn't see me. She stared in curiosity down at the cloaked figures at strained to hear their voices. Then all fell silent as they stopped, and turned toward their hiding place.
"Jo, lets get out of here!" I whispered. She nodded her head vigorously and we began to scramble down the rock side. Then, we started to fall, and the earth trebled. I looked behind me and saw the rocks coming down after us. A rock slide! Jo and I slipped, and began to tumble down the edge, but as my cloak got caught and I was jerked backward, she continued to tumble for a few feet. I scrambled under a nearby ledge, and tried to shield myself from the slide. Jo had managed to find a ledge herself. The rocks pummeled over top of us, and then, the rumbling was gone. The dust began to settle, as it did, I saw that man.
Tall and sleek, he held a solitary black revolver to Jo's head. I lost my breath as I heard the gun blast ring through the air. Jo fell to the earth, limp and dusty. As the man walked away, he turned to look back for just a moment. It was then that I saw his eyes. His eyes, which would haunt me. And then, he laughed. He laughed a sound so cruel it shook me to my very soul. I curled up in a ball, and cried silently, until the man had disappeared.
*~*~*~End Flash Back*~*~*~*
"You'd regret hearing it if I told you about it." I said. That pretty much shut him up finally. I was glad he would leave me and Jo in silence. That he would leave me with what I had done. With the shame I endured. I would be far to embarrassed to tell him about what I had done. How I had been to scared to help her. So I had let her die. I had killed my best friend. I wouldn't tell him.
I was left to my thoughts until sunset, when I looked out to the horizon in confusion.
"We should be there by now." He said. I nodded, hoping we hadn't been walking in the wrong direction. By chance, I glanced back, and saw a glimmer there.
"It's just up that way. Couldn't be more than three isles from here." I told him. So again, we walked. It there's a part of the journey through a desert that's the hardest part, it's this. When you can see the place where all of the sleep and food and water is, and yet you can't go any faster to get to it. I chewed on my lip as we got closer. I could almost make out the sign.
When Nicholas and I finally made it to the edge to town, I looked around for the nearest inn, and he still fallowed behind me. After asking directions from a VERY rude man, sitting on the general store steps, I turned the corner and found a building leaking light out into the dimming streets. Hopefully, this was the only inn in the town. Vash would rent a room, right?
I walked inside, attempting to sidle to the counter. But a few men who where sitting in the recreation room whistled. I sent daggers at them with my eyes until they went silent. The man at the counter just openly stared at my :ahem: chest.
"Hello, I was wondering if a tall blonde man wearing a red coat checked in here last night?" I asked the man. He didn't respond for a moment, and then looked up to my face, and smiled.
"Well, I can't give out that kind of information miss, but if you'd like to take a tour of the backroom, I'd be happy to tell you." He proposed. Nicholas, who was still standing behind me, smirked.
"You'll tell me or else I'll take you into the backroom, just so these guys out here won't see me kick your ass." I threatened the man with my best angry face. As I suspected, he cowered.
"Room 211 B, miss." He replied.
"Good. Now I want a room directly across from that one." I told him, setting down the bills on the counter. He looked behind me at Nicholas, and smirked again.
"You're a lucky man!" He whispered to him. He just laughed. In an instant, both perverts had big red slap marks on the side of their faces. I grabbed my key, and went to the stair well.
"What a bunch of good for nothing . . . lousy lowlife . . . scum . . ." I muttered looking at the old stairs as I climbed to the second floor. Though my pace was stopped as I bumped right into a tall, blonde haired man.
He made a scared and pleading expression, as he turned on his heel and bolted up the staircase.
"Get back here VASH! Give me back my clothes!!!" I yelled, chasing after him.
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When I awoke to a sunny and hot desert before me, I was alone. I quickly got up and looked around. Where did he go off to? I rolled my eyes and stood up; gathering my pack and my bottle of gin, which lay only half full. But when I looked for my cloak, I couldn't find it.
"Damn Vash! You think this is funny or something, huh!?" I yelled to the wind, kicking the sand. "Now I'm out here in a skin tight suit and boots! I look like a freaking hooker!" I yelled. Though my yell went unnoticed in the desert, I was sure my appearance wouldn't. So I began to walk anyway, feeling naked and seeking revenge.
The sands were stronger today, and they whipped against my face. I ran a hand through my long blonde hair, feeling the sand fall out. 'If I had my hat, none of it would have gotten sandy!' I thought. I knew I should have cut my hair short before I left, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I thought about those familiar eyes.
In fact, I tried to visualize them so long, I didn't notice when another man came up beside me.
"Geez, I didn't know hookers worked this far out." The man commented. I jumped and turned around to see another tall man with shaggy black hair and a large cross over his shoulder. Even when I suspected he was a priest, I didn't hesitate to smack him over the shoulder with my bag. He fell over backwards.
"Man, you must work out, too." He said, rubbing a lump forming on his head.
"Excuse me, I am not a slut, get your kicks some where else." I told him.
"Oh yea? Then what are you doing in that thing out here? It looks like an outfit to me." He said, a suggestive tone in his voice. I growled under my breath.
"Well if I had my real clothes I would wear them! But that slick moron thought it would be funny if he took them." I said. Then I screamed to the distance, "YOU HEAR ME VASH!? When I catch you, YOUR ASS IS MINE!"
"Vash!?" The man yelled. "As in, Vash the Stampede?" He asked, a bit of sarcasm leaking in.
"Yea, now that you mention it. Only thing he destroyed was my decency!" I yelled with balled up fists.
"Which way did he go?" The man asked.
"Beats the hell outta' me. But judging by what your packing in that 'cross' there, I wouldn't tell you any way, because you just want the bounty." I told him. I could see in the sunlight the form of a gun handle pressing against the cloth. And because it looked pretty heavy too, I was sure it wasn't wood.
"How did you know. . . Never mind. But I'm no bounty hunter. I'm a friend of his. The name is Wolfwood. Nicholas Wolfwood." He said, holding out his hand for me to shake. I shook it lightly and then pulled him out of the sand.
"Now if you would be so kind, which way did he go?"
"I really don't know, but I think it's to Oregon City or something. Why don't we go there together, then we can split up and find him . . . then I can kill him. . ." I said with a twitch. The man looked wary of me. I turned around and began to walk. He stood up, and began to fallow.
We walked in silence until noon, at which time I refused to stop for lunch. It was only a waste of time, and only making my torture longer. I knew Nicholas was staring at my butt the entire way. These underclothes were made for protection, not formal wear. I cursed at myself for not having an extra set in my pack. Then suddenly, he began to talk.
"So, where are you from?" He asked. I unnoticeably jumped at the sudden sound.
"A town." I replied, not giving off any more detail.
"Then, what's your name?" He asked. I paused before responding.
"Isabella." I replied. I was glad he was walking behind me, so he could not see my blush. What a rude lie. And normally, it was nothing to worry about.
"Well, Isabella, do you have any family around here?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No, they all died a long time ago." I told him. I made sure to put a calm, smooth hint in my voice. Any one who could calmly talk about the death of their family was definitely cold hearted. She would not reveal any more to the stranger than she already had.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"Don't be." I told him, further adding to my mental shield.
"So what line of work are you in?" He asked.
"Bounty hunter." I replied calmly again. Nicholas began to laugh. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, so I suppose you're just a traveling priest who gives away lots of guns, huh?" I countered. His laugh died.
"Actually, I am a traveling priest." He said. I stifled a laugh as well. "Now, if you were traveling with Vash, then where you bringing him in to the sheriff?" He asked. I shook my head.
"My bounty hunter days are coming to a close. I just do it for the money. I've got other dreams, you know." I told him. He picked up his pace to walk in line with me.
"So what are your dreams, then?" He asked. I twitched. All of his friendly talking really wasn't necessary. It was making me sick to my stomach.
"I would like to go live with an old friend of mine, after my journey is complete." I replied cryptically. He nodded.
"So why are you traveling, and where is your friend?" He asked. I was close to smacking him. How dare he ask about where she was!?
"I'm looking for a man. I think he knows where I am now. I'm just waiting for him to find me. And as for my friend . . . let's just say she's in better place." There I said it. I told the man I had a death wish. In a few moments he nodded solemnly.
"So then, I suppose the last question is, who are you looking for?" He asked. I looked down to the sand, and stopped.
~*~*~*Flash Back~*~*~*~
Jo placed a finger over her lips, signaling for me to be quiet. I complied and carefully looked over the ledge. Six shadowed figures stood in the darkness, whispering. I jerked my head in the opposite direction, trying to tell her that we should leave. Jo didn't see me. She stared in curiosity down at the cloaked figures at strained to hear their voices. Then all fell silent as they stopped, and turned toward their hiding place.
"Jo, lets get out of here!" I whispered. She nodded her head vigorously and we began to scramble down the rock side. Then, we started to fall, and the earth trebled. I looked behind me and saw the rocks coming down after us. A rock slide! Jo and I slipped, and began to tumble down the edge, but as my cloak got caught and I was jerked backward, she continued to tumble for a few feet. I scrambled under a nearby ledge, and tried to shield myself from the slide. Jo had managed to find a ledge herself. The rocks pummeled over top of us, and then, the rumbling was gone. The dust began to settle, as it did, I saw that man.
Tall and sleek, he held a solitary black revolver to Jo's head. I lost my breath as I heard the gun blast ring through the air. Jo fell to the earth, limp and dusty. As the man walked away, he turned to look back for just a moment. It was then that I saw his eyes. His eyes, which would haunt me. And then, he laughed. He laughed a sound so cruel it shook me to my very soul. I curled up in a ball, and cried silently, until the man had disappeared.
*~*~*~End Flash Back*~*~*~*
"You'd regret hearing it if I told you about it." I said. That pretty much shut him up finally. I was glad he would leave me and Jo in silence. That he would leave me with what I had done. With the shame I endured. I would be far to embarrassed to tell him about what I had done. How I had been to scared to help her. So I had let her die. I had killed my best friend. I wouldn't tell him.
I was left to my thoughts until sunset, when I looked out to the horizon in confusion.
"We should be there by now." He said. I nodded, hoping we hadn't been walking in the wrong direction. By chance, I glanced back, and saw a glimmer there.
"It's just up that way. Couldn't be more than three isles from here." I told him. So again, we walked. It there's a part of the journey through a desert that's the hardest part, it's this. When you can see the place where all of the sleep and food and water is, and yet you can't go any faster to get to it. I chewed on my lip as we got closer. I could almost make out the sign.
When Nicholas and I finally made it to the edge to town, I looked around for the nearest inn, and he still fallowed behind me. After asking directions from a VERY rude man, sitting on the general store steps, I turned the corner and found a building leaking light out into the dimming streets. Hopefully, this was the only inn in the town. Vash would rent a room, right?
I walked inside, attempting to sidle to the counter. But a few men who where sitting in the recreation room whistled. I sent daggers at them with my eyes until they went silent. The man at the counter just openly stared at my :ahem: chest.
"Hello, I was wondering if a tall blonde man wearing a red coat checked in here last night?" I asked the man. He didn't respond for a moment, and then looked up to my face, and smiled.
"Well, I can't give out that kind of information miss, but if you'd like to take a tour of the backroom, I'd be happy to tell you." He proposed. Nicholas, who was still standing behind me, smirked.
"You'll tell me or else I'll take you into the backroom, just so these guys out here won't see me kick your ass." I threatened the man with my best angry face. As I suspected, he cowered.
"Room 211 B, miss." He replied.
"Good. Now I want a room directly across from that one." I told him, setting down the bills on the counter. He looked behind me at Nicholas, and smirked again.
"You're a lucky man!" He whispered to him. He just laughed. In an instant, both perverts had big red slap marks on the side of their faces. I grabbed my key, and went to the stair well.
"What a bunch of good for nothing . . . lousy lowlife . . . scum . . ." I muttered looking at the old stairs as I climbed to the second floor. Though my pace was stopped as I bumped right into a tall, blonde haired man.
He made a scared and pleading expression, as he turned on his heel and bolted up the staircase.
"Get back here VASH! Give me back my clothes!!!" I yelled, chasing after him.
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