Chapter 7
Her Name is Virginia
A/N: Be shocked and amazed! Two updates on one story in one day! It's like a gift from the heavens!
Trina: *shoots him*
A/N: Now that was uncalled for….*dies*
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It was a long walk back to Boot Hill, and the still night made the silence seem heavier. On many occasions, Jet tried to speak to the girl, but the memory of the pain in her eyes kept him quiet. Instead, as they trudged forward, he looked her over, trying to learn anything about her. She looked to be about his age, possibly eighteen or nineteen, but the way she carried herself was years ahead of her appearance. From the encounter at the mansion, he could tell that she was an excellent shot, a hell of a fighter, and also a quick thinker. Such qualities usually belonged to an expert Hawk, however, he'd never heard of a girl like this being in his ranks. With skills like that, she'd surely be well known among the Hawks, he thought. And if not for her abilities, then at least for her looks.
When he realized what he was thinking, he shook the idea out of his head. He was still with Maya. He shouldn't be thinking like that about other women, right? But…isn't he going to sever his ties with her? No, he thought again. I still have to give her that one chance. To mock his confused state, the clouds had begun to dissipate, revealing the stars and their sparkle. Unable to face them, he cast his gaze downwards, and followed the sound of the girl's footsteps.
A few minutes later, he ceased to hear them. Looking up to see why, he found himself face-to-face with the girl. Not really expecting an answer, he nonetheless asked, "What?"
She lifted her hand and pointed to his chest. Looking down again, he saw a light gash across his chest, one that he must have sustained during the fight a while back. He found it strange that he had not noticed the wound. Still, he brushed her hand away, and kept on walking.
She followed him, but at the same time she rummaged through the pouch strung to her belt, and produced a small cluster of red berries and a strip of gauze. She crushed the red berries into the gauze strip, until the fibers had absorbed all of the juices, and then discarded the skins of the berries. She quickly darted ahead of him, and then turned and pressed the gauze against his wound, catching him off guard.
He reacted to the initial stinging sensation by trying to brush her arm away again, but she continued to press it against him. Before he could get to the Airget-lamh, however, an immense cool set into the wound, soothing the pain. As he relaxed, the girl tried another bold move. Removing the gauze, she pulled of his coat and went to grab his black undershirt.
"H-H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
Ignoring him, she took his scarf from his neck, and she lifted his shirt up to his shoulders. Before he could react to this next uncomfortable circumstance, she pressed the gauze against the wound, and wrapped his scarf around his chest, pinning the soothing strip in place against the wound. Secretly, she took a quick gander at his well defined muscular build before pulling his shirt back down.
Dumbfounded, he just stood there as she smiled at him, turned, and then continued walking. After a moment, he stammered, "Thanks," and proceeded to follow her once again.
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Those people must have been standing there all night, for as soon as I reached the archway, Tesla appeared and tossed me a bag of Gella as Neil and Shalte ushered the girl to the large house at the back of town. As they were pushing her there, she turned, shrugged her shoulders, and then waved to me. I haphazardly waved back, and set about counting my money. Satisfied that it was all there, I headed for the bar.
As far as seedy bars go, this….wasn't one of them. Everything was clean, from the seats, to the walls, to the glasses and windows, everything. The few people inside were well dressed, and even sipped their alcohol moderately. That ruled out drinking myself into a stupor, but I'm not really a fan of that anyway. Still, I took a seat and ordered special mix, whose name I didn't catch.
I stared into my glass for what felt like hours, recapping the past few days in my head. Here I was, on an empty continent, in an empty bar, having wasted the last few weeks chasing a clue that apparently didn't even exist. None of these damn people knows anything about Rose! Next time I see Clive, I'm gonna get the name of that 'informant' and personally slit his throat.
Argh, I'm getting pissed over nothing, really. I've made about fifteen-thousand Gella since I left Gunner's Heaven (though I can't justify Halle's ten-thousand Gella bill), so it hasn't been a total waste. Hell, maybe I can buy a sandcraft, and never ride those damn trains again. Oh well, down the hatch.
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He swallowed the drink in one motion, and slammed the glass down on the table, startling everyone in the bar. They quickly lost interest, however, and went back to their activities. Except for one woman.
"Hey, Shorty! What the hell are you still doing here?"
Jet, who had ordered another drink already and was drinking it, choked on a mouthful of vodka. "Maya?! What the hell do you mean, 'What am I still doing here?'"
"Well, you left a month ago. I figured you shoulda cleaned this place out by now."
"For your information, I just got here yesterday. I ran into a few roadblocks…"
She took a seat next to him and ordered a drink. "Ah, so you were on that train, huh?"
"Yeah, that train. I caught the bastards who blew it up, too."
"The Cascade Gang? I thought you turned down catching them before because they were too inept, getting themselves arrested and all?"
"Well, I never had the chance to turn it down. Wait….that was the Cascade Gang? They were actually a challenge, how did they get caught before? And what were they doing out of custody?"
"Bah, you worry too much for a Hawk! It's all about the money, no questions asked! Don't tell me you're going soft now, too!"
As she was talking, Jet was remembering his thoughts from the past few days. She really doesn't care…and she's such a drain on my resources… Taking a deep swig, he went in for the kill. "Maya, we're through."
She seemed to take it well at first, but that was only because she wasn't really listening. When she finally realized what he said, she broke the glass in her hand and screamed, "WHAT!!!??"
Jet, who looked nothing like a man who was likely about to be slaughtered, repeated, "We're through. Done. Over. You mean nothing to me, and I mean nothing to you. And the upkeep was getting ridiculous."
Maya, struggling to regain her composure, took Jet's drink and downed the rest. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to speak. And then she broke that glass and screamed, "Nobody breaks up with me!! And you're not gonna be the first! We are so over!!" She snorted, crossed her arms, and looked away, looking very much like a drama queen.
Slamming Gella down on the counter, Jet got out of the bar as fast as possible. Well, at least that's taken care of….
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I took a walk to the house at the back, realizing that I had never actually asked them about Rose yet. As I approached, I saw the girl from the night before looking at me from the second floor balcony. She turned and went inside as I got close. Before I could knock on the door, she opened it and smiled, welcoming me inside. Sitting at the table in the main room was the middle aged couple from before, Shalte and Tesla. The girl motioned for me to sit, and as I did, so did the girl. The four of us looked at each other nervously, waiting for someone to start.
Unable to wait any longer, I started interrogating them. "Who are you people. And what do you have to do with that mansion?"
The older man took an uncomfortably deep breath before answering. "I'm Tesla, this is my wife Shalte, and this," he pointed to the girl, "is our niece, Virginia."
So her name's Virginia… "But what about my other question?"
"Virginia had gone down there to get some books that had been left there by the original owner. When we heard that Gobs had attacked the building, it was only natural that we'd be nervous."
Virginia smiled and nodded her head, and I got the feeling that though they weren't lying, something was still odd…
At that moment, a man outside started screaming, "The Gobs are coming this way!! Everybody, the Gobs are coming!!"
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A/N: Another conflict already? Wow! Things are heating up now, and Virginia is in the fray! Maybe I'll even get another chapter up soon! Wow, what a change of work habits!!
CRRS:
Skylark Starflower: Soon enough, for ya? (Trina: Wait…where do we live again? My place or yours?)
Teefa85: Heh heh….you'll just have to wait and see. Plus, there's a convenient Gob invasion that's supposed to distract you this time!! Look, a diversion!!