Ok, Folks sorry about the delay, I kind of went and got myself a job which
has the annoying habit of sucking up far too much of my time!!! Anyways
this one is for Carole who wanted a wild, shoots people in the back kind of
Vin and for Elizabeth who was kind enough to show her support for me!:)
Don't worry the green eyed hunk is on his way. You girls are awesome!!!
Mentioning reviews (hint, hint!!!) I wouldn't mind a few more but I haven't
resorted to begging yet?
The blond haired man eyed the three strangers as they rode into the middle of town. They were covered in mud from head to toe and clearly exhausted as could be seen by the way the youngest one slumped in the saddle on his horse or was that a pony? It didn't really matter, what mattered was the fact that these men were not men to be trifled with. Although it was clear they had traveled hard from their appearance there was a certain edge of hardness to them even when they were coated in mud. The one dressed in the now muddy black outfit was obviously the leader of the group; this was obvious from the moment he headed into town first eyeing out any potential threats to his men.
The mustached man although tired had a tinkle in his eye and he looked appreciatively at the bordello as he rode by. The youngest puzzled him for a minute for he there was a certain air about him and it took him a while to figure it out. He was neither a seasoned warrior like the other two obviously were but he was not untested. Then he hit upon it, the boy reminded him of a hunting dog that had made its first kill and brought it back to its master looking for attention, not untested but too eager and too fresh to have been trained. Altogether they outwardly resembled the mercenary group he supposed they were pretending to be, but the blond haired man had sharp eyes and was not as easily fooled. He spotted the gleam of silver underneath their clothing and saw their fine horses, well with the exception of the pony/horse of course. No mercenary group that small would be able to afford animals of that quality nor would they have silver swords because they would be a liability on the battle field. People would converge and work together to kill them just for the silver, even his own friends might join in.
Nope, these men reeked of trouble. Runners, the blond haired man decided glaring at them, running from something or someone. He glanced around the town he was currently living in and wondered if perhaps it wasn't time to move on.
"Real friendly place here, Pard." Buck remarked quietly nodding to the blond haired man sweeping the porch with vigor and staring at them.
Chris pulled his thoughts away from the dangers of the alleyway long enough to look at the potential trouble Buck has seen. He glanced over at the blond haired man and his cold, green eyes meant bright, frosty blue ones. And then he was spinning, violently out of control, he couldn't breathe, his palms got clammy and then got hot again. It was like he was drowning under water, he could hear Buck talking to him but he couldn't make out the words he was speaking. But it was strange at the same time, he felt whole again. Like a missing piece of him had been returned, the warm fuzzy kind of feeling you get when you see a family member you haven't seen in years or sit down to a home baked apple pie. It was like looking at a long lost brother, and then the crackle was gone, disturbed by shouts down the street which had both men whipping around to stare at this new found threat. But Chris had felt something and from the way the man stared back he knew he had felt it too. It wasn't a loving kind of feeling, but a feeling of acceptance, of friendship, a feeling Chris hadn't felt since, well before that dark, and horrible night when his world was ripped from underneath his feet.
The shouts that had been heard earlier were getting closer and Chris realized that Buck was telling him to get off the street and join JD and himself who had moved their horses to a nearby alleyway. Finally getting what Buck was saying through his head Chris nodded and moved his horse to join the other two's. And not a moment too soon as an unruly mob swept by seconds later.
It was unclear as to what the problem was at first, all Chris could see was a swirling vortex of colors merging in and out forming the indistinct shapes of men. Then there was a break in the crowd for a span of a few seconds and Chris could horrifyingly see what the commotion was about. For there in the middle of the crowd being dragged along was a man, his hands were bound behind his back and he stumbled more then he walked. His face bore the remnants of a quick beating but he still had his spirit and he fought back his captors with a fierce determination. But it was his color that surprised Chris most of all. In his life time he had seen white men, tan men, heck he had even seen red men. But in his whole life he had never seen a man as dark as this one, a deep brown that resembled fresh dirt dug up after a harvest. But these men were not supposed to exist, they were monsters made up to scare children into going to bed, they were the proverbial bogeymen of the time. But then again JD's pirates weren't supposed to exist either, when would wonders cease to stop? Shaking his head he turned around ready to enter the only bar in town when he heard a shout from across the street and turned to see the storekeeper's face purpling with rage as he shouted after the longhaired man who was making his way down the street with long purposeful strides.
"You leave with that bow and you are out of a job, hell I'll see you never work in this town again!" He screamed
"Hell, I wasn't planning on dying with a broom in me hands, figure this is a sure fire way to die with some dignity." The longhaired man shouted back
Buck let out a loud laugh at this and clapped Chris on the shoulder "Heck, at least the fool will die with some character, come on Chris lets get a drink and toast his death."
Chris gave a sigh; Buck was right the man was a fool. But something about this sat so wrong with him; back in the days when he and Buck were knights this would have never happened. But then he was no longer a knight and times changed, Heck these outer regions were lucky if they saw a patrol once in two years. Of course that was part of the reason why they were here, but that was beside the point, the man was walking willing to his death in the name of righteousness. It pulled at something inside him, something he used to feel back when honor had a name and the code was still followed, when innocents were not slaughtered in the name of power. His jaw tensed at this thought and he shook his head to clear away bad memories. Times changed and Buck was right the man was a fool. Before he realized what he was doing he was jogging down the street after the specks in the distance drawing out his sword as he went.
Vin Tanner heard the jogging footsteps coming up fast behind him and he stilled for a moment to glance over his shoulder and evaluate this new threat. But it was only the stranger from before in the street and Vin wondered if too had felt the shock that had run through him. He must have because he couldn't see any other reason a man obviously on the run from something would put himself in the face of danger. Slowing he stuck out his hand to the sweaty man and trusted him with his life.
"Vin Tanner" he said
"Chris, Chris Larabee." He replied slowly and then surprised Vin by grabbing his forearm, the universal greeting between men of honor and most commonly used between knights. There was more to this man then he had first thought.
Up to this day Thoklin Torrow had led a normal troublemakers life, he had caused mischief and mayhem since the day he was born and had until two hours ago been second in command to in his opinion one of the most honorable men alive..Big toe Billie Barnum. You see Thundering Thok as he liked to be called by all those who knew and a few who wished they didn't; had known Billie since before he earned the name Big Toe and had been the best of friends with him. That is as close as two murdering, scoundrel thieves could be. But Billie had died two hours ago from ironically gangrene in his big toe. But Thok didn't know this, heck he probably couldn't even pronounce the word, all he knew was that his friend had died from this witch doctors voodoo medicine and that as his first command as leader of his merry little band he wanted this doctors head. But see Thok neglected to reflect on one thing. There's a reason why second in commands are second in commands, they lack the brains and the smarts to think out a plan logically and effectively carry it out. If Big Toe Billie was trying to kill the witch doctor he would have made it a quick and quiet job, a forced entry in the night, a quick smothering with a pillow, and voila the good doctor dead in his sleep and nobody the wiser. But Thok wasn't Billie and his booze enhanced mind just didn't process the same thoughts. He made the killing a public affair..it was a mistake that would cost him.
By the time Vin and Chris had caught up to the mob they had already reached the outskirts of town where what could be called a cemetery was, that is if you count a bunch of bumps in the grass a cemetery. They had forced the doctor on his knees and currently were debating quite loudly as to how many axe strokes it would take to dislodge his head from his shoulders. By unspoken agreement when they hit the mob Chris took the left while Vin veered right both gripping weapons. Chris waited until the mob recognized their appearance and then spoke up.
"I reckon you might just want to let the man go, that is if you were a smart fellow." Chris said softly but words were loud enough that the men on the edge of the crowd could still hear.
At this statement Thok burst out into laughter, which his men followed although they were a tad bit more nervous, they knew a fighting man when they saw one.
Thok was laughing so hard he was wheezing and he had to strain to get the words out "You and what army?"
At this statement a blur rushed by him and landed less then a centimeter away from his foot, the blur revealed itself to be a dagger and the man who had thrown it revealed himself to be Vin.
"That was your first warning; don't make me give you another one. And I reckon it don't take an army to take down a drunken fool, just a few men with a sense of right and wrong and a feeling a good man don't deserve to die for no good reason." Vin said softly.
"And I reckon some goodhearted men can also die today!!!!" "Kill 'em'!!! Thok shouted his face purpling his rage. It was the last words he spoke because the next minute he was laying dead on the ground a dagger protruding from his chest.
"I did give you a warning." Vin said shaking his head before launching himself into the fight.
The blond haired man eyed the three strangers as they rode into the middle of town. They were covered in mud from head to toe and clearly exhausted as could be seen by the way the youngest one slumped in the saddle on his horse or was that a pony? It didn't really matter, what mattered was the fact that these men were not men to be trifled with. Although it was clear they had traveled hard from their appearance there was a certain edge of hardness to them even when they were coated in mud. The one dressed in the now muddy black outfit was obviously the leader of the group; this was obvious from the moment he headed into town first eyeing out any potential threats to his men.
The mustached man although tired had a tinkle in his eye and he looked appreciatively at the bordello as he rode by. The youngest puzzled him for a minute for he there was a certain air about him and it took him a while to figure it out. He was neither a seasoned warrior like the other two obviously were but he was not untested. Then he hit upon it, the boy reminded him of a hunting dog that had made its first kill and brought it back to its master looking for attention, not untested but too eager and too fresh to have been trained. Altogether they outwardly resembled the mercenary group he supposed they were pretending to be, but the blond haired man had sharp eyes and was not as easily fooled. He spotted the gleam of silver underneath their clothing and saw their fine horses, well with the exception of the pony/horse of course. No mercenary group that small would be able to afford animals of that quality nor would they have silver swords because they would be a liability on the battle field. People would converge and work together to kill them just for the silver, even his own friends might join in.
Nope, these men reeked of trouble. Runners, the blond haired man decided glaring at them, running from something or someone. He glanced around the town he was currently living in and wondered if perhaps it wasn't time to move on.
"Real friendly place here, Pard." Buck remarked quietly nodding to the blond haired man sweeping the porch with vigor and staring at them.
Chris pulled his thoughts away from the dangers of the alleyway long enough to look at the potential trouble Buck has seen. He glanced over at the blond haired man and his cold, green eyes meant bright, frosty blue ones. And then he was spinning, violently out of control, he couldn't breathe, his palms got clammy and then got hot again. It was like he was drowning under water, he could hear Buck talking to him but he couldn't make out the words he was speaking. But it was strange at the same time, he felt whole again. Like a missing piece of him had been returned, the warm fuzzy kind of feeling you get when you see a family member you haven't seen in years or sit down to a home baked apple pie. It was like looking at a long lost brother, and then the crackle was gone, disturbed by shouts down the street which had both men whipping around to stare at this new found threat. But Chris had felt something and from the way the man stared back he knew he had felt it too. It wasn't a loving kind of feeling, but a feeling of acceptance, of friendship, a feeling Chris hadn't felt since, well before that dark, and horrible night when his world was ripped from underneath his feet.
The shouts that had been heard earlier were getting closer and Chris realized that Buck was telling him to get off the street and join JD and himself who had moved their horses to a nearby alleyway. Finally getting what Buck was saying through his head Chris nodded and moved his horse to join the other two's. And not a moment too soon as an unruly mob swept by seconds later.
It was unclear as to what the problem was at first, all Chris could see was a swirling vortex of colors merging in and out forming the indistinct shapes of men. Then there was a break in the crowd for a span of a few seconds and Chris could horrifyingly see what the commotion was about. For there in the middle of the crowd being dragged along was a man, his hands were bound behind his back and he stumbled more then he walked. His face bore the remnants of a quick beating but he still had his spirit and he fought back his captors with a fierce determination. But it was his color that surprised Chris most of all. In his life time he had seen white men, tan men, heck he had even seen red men. But in his whole life he had never seen a man as dark as this one, a deep brown that resembled fresh dirt dug up after a harvest. But these men were not supposed to exist, they were monsters made up to scare children into going to bed, they were the proverbial bogeymen of the time. But then again JD's pirates weren't supposed to exist either, when would wonders cease to stop? Shaking his head he turned around ready to enter the only bar in town when he heard a shout from across the street and turned to see the storekeeper's face purpling with rage as he shouted after the longhaired man who was making his way down the street with long purposeful strides.
"You leave with that bow and you are out of a job, hell I'll see you never work in this town again!" He screamed
"Hell, I wasn't planning on dying with a broom in me hands, figure this is a sure fire way to die with some dignity." The longhaired man shouted back
Buck let out a loud laugh at this and clapped Chris on the shoulder "Heck, at least the fool will die with some character, come on Chris lets get a drink and toast his death."
Chris gave a sigh; Buck was right the man was a fool. But something about this sat so wrong with him; back in the days when he and Buck were knights this would have never happened. But then he was no longer a knight and times changed, Heck these outer regions were lucky if they saw a patrol once in two years. Of course that was part of the reason why they were here, but that was beside the point, the man was walking willing to his death in the name of righteousness. It pulled at something inside him, something he used to feel back when honor had a name and the code was still followed, when innocents were not slaughtered in the name of power. His jaw tensed at this thought and he shook his head to clear away bad memories. Times changed and Buck was right the man was a fool. Before he realized what he was doing he was jogging down the street after the specks in the distance drawing out his sword as he went.
Vin Tanner heard the jogging footsteps coming up fast behind him and he stilled for a moment to glance over his shoulder and evaluate this new threat. But it was only the stranger from before in the street and Vin wondered if too had felt the shock that had run through him. He must have because he couldn't see any other reason a man obviously on the run from something would put himself in the face of danger. Slowing he stuck out his hand to the sweaty man and trusted him with his life.
"Vin Tanner" he said
"Chris, Chris Larabee." He replied slowly and then surprised Vin by grabbing his forearm, the universal greeting between men of honor and most commonly used between knights. There was more to this man then he had first thought.
Up to this day Thoklin Torrow had led a normal troublemakers life, he had caused mischief and mayhem since the day he was born and had until two hours ago been second in command to in his opinion one of the most honorable men alive..Big toe Billie Barnum. You see Thundering Thok as he liked to be called by all those who knew and a few who wished they didn't; had known Billie since before he earned the name Big Toe and had been the best of friends with him. That is as close as two murdering, scoundrel thieves could be. But Billie had died two hours ago from ironically gangrene in his big toe. But Thok didn't know this, heck he probably couldn't even pronounce the word, all he knew was that his friend had died from this witch doctors voodoo medicine and that as his first command as leader of his merry little band he wanted this doctors head. But see Thok neglected to reflect on one thing. There's a reason why second in commands are second in commands, they lack the brains and the smarts to think out a plan logically and effectively carry it out. If Big Toe Billie was trying to kill the witch doctor he would have made it a quick and quiet job, a forced entry in the night, a quick smothering with a pillow, and voila the good doctor dead in his sleep and nobody the wiser. But Thok wasn't Billie and his booze enhanced mind just didn't process the same thoughts. He made the killing a public affair..it was a mistake that would cost him.
By the time Vin and Chris had caught up to the mob they had already reached the outskirts of town where what could be called a cemetery was, that is if you count a bunch of bumps in the grass a cemetery. They had forced the doctor on his knees and currently were debating quite loudly as to how many axe strokes it would take to dislodge his head from his shoulders. By unspoken agreement when they hit the mob Chris took the left while Vin veered right both gripping weapons. Chris waited until the mob recognized their appearance and then spoke up.
"I reckon you might just want to let the man go, that is if you were a smart fellow." Chris said softly but words were loud enough that the men on the edge of the crowd could still hear.
At this statement Thok burst out into laughter, which his men followed although they were a tad bit more nervous, they knew a fighting man when they saw one.
Thok was laughing so hard he was wheezing and he had to strain to get the words out "You and what army?"
At this statement a blur rushed by him and landed less then a centimeter away from his foot, the blur revealed itself to be a dagger and the man who had thrown it revealed himself to be Vin.
"That was your first warning; don't make me give you another one. And I reckon it don't take an army to take down a drunken fool, just a few men with a sense of right and wrong and a feeling a good man don't deserve to die for no good reason." Vin said softly.
"And I reckon some goodhearted men can also die today!!!!" "Kill 'em'!!! Thok shouted his face purpling his rage. It was the last words he spoke because the next minute he was laying dead on the ground a dagger protruding from his chest.
"I did give you a warning." Vin said shaking his head before launching himself into the fight.