Chapter 1
"Chaucer, I do believe that Mister Larabee has become a glutton in making my life a living hell." Ezra yawned as he nudged his horse out of the livery.
Three o'clock in the morning was when Ezra usually went to bed. He'd play a few games of cards and, fairly of course, clean some country bumpkin out of their money and help Inez close the saloon for the night, though the young woman constantly said he didn't have to. The saloon might belong to his mother, but since he was a Standish and this was The Standish Tavern, he still felt a sense of responsibility. He bought the damn thing in the first place.
He would then crawl into bed with Vin, his lover of approximately two years now. Of course, Vin was more of a fucker than a lover, because they both agreed that love had nothing to do with their relationship. They were just screw buddies. Nothing more. As soon as the variation of women was plentiful again (unless, of course, they all got to know Buck) they would carry on with their lives. Or that's what Vin told him.
The truth was that Ezra had been smitten with Vin since the day he saw him and the other three members of the Seven. With his long golden brown hair and that hat that cast a mysterious shadow over his stunning icy blue eyes, and that honey dipped Texas drawl. Oh! How many times his pants filled with just the thought of Vin, Ezra didn't know, except that it happened a lot. But he always kept it hidden to himself until that fiasco with Charlotte Richmond ended. Vin, drunk and as depressed as a kicked dog, staggered into Ezra's room in the middle of the night and had his "wicked way" with him. The next morning Vin told him that this was just a buddy fuck and had nothing to do with love and that it wouldn't last forever. It shocked Ezra at first but decided that it was best for both of them. Even the rest of the Seven were fine by their rather unorthodox pairing.
"Man's got have something when women are slim pickins." Buck had said. Good old predictable, raunchy Buck.
In the beginning things were fine between them. They were NOT in love. But that was in the beginning, not now. Soon Ezra grew fond of the way Vin smelled of a musky day after a rainstorm with a hint of peppermint and whiskey, or the way his hair cast a reddish gold shine in the sun and he loved when Vin played his harmonica so beautifully. Damn it all to hell, he had fallen in love with the handsome tracker! For over a year now he knew this, but, like before, kept it to himself. Having Vin fuck him and vice versa was close enough to love, so he put on his poker face and continued to be a miserable bastard with a sore ass.
It was not ten minutes later when Ezra was just about to doze off that Chris was weakly knocking on his door and coughing. "Ezra, wake up, we need you for patrol tonight."
"Mistuh Larabee, has thuh flu spread tuh your brain?" Ezra mumbled, his accent thick with exhaustion. The town had caught the flu recently, and Chris, Josiah, JD and Vin had already caught it.
"No, but Buck's got it now too." Chris sniffled, his voice nasally but still fierce.
"And I assume that Mister Jackson is unavailable for the time being?" Ezra asked, placing a light kiss on Vin's shoulder as the tracker started to cough hoarsely. He slowly got out of bed and pulled his pants up, cursing silently. God, he was so tired.
"You know that Nathan's at the clinic treating people. He's getting no more sleep than you." Chris growled, which resulted in a nasty hacking cough. "I don't see how you haven't managed to catch it."
Ezra opened the door, dressed in his infamous red jacket and cuffs. "Maybe if you and our compatriots wouldn't parade out in the streets with the plague, ya'll wouldn't be in this predicament." He quirked an eyebrow at Chris' appearance. Red eyes and nose, a three day beard growing and a light blue blanket wrapped around his shivering shoulders. Ezra couldn't help but smirk.
"Why don't you just get your ass down to the livery before I beat your ass." Chris snarled.
So there he was, out in the cold night, shivering in his small red coat as he inspected the wide perimeter surrounding the small town. "Go ged your ass downd do da livery, Edra." Ezra grumbled as he mimicked Chris' congested voice. "They do not pay me enough for this, I swear. How many times do I have to repeat myself? A gentleman does not debase himself by engaging in menial labor! And furthermore, I-"
Ezra stopped Chaucer in his tracks as he heard a strange sound. It sounded like a coyote, but more fiercer. Wilder. He also heard erratic footsteps, coming closer and then farther away from him. All the while the strange growling continued, concluding that this was defiantly no coyote, but something else. Something bigger. But it was still too dark and the cold wind stung at Ezra's eyes, so he could barely see a thing.
"Hello?" Ezra yelled out into clearing. The growling grew louder and the footsteps grew quicker. Ezra's breathing grew ragged as he activated his derringer out, fear actually sweeping through his body. "Here p-puppy puppy puppy. Come to Uncle Ez-RAAAAARGH!" a huge figure lunged from out of the darkness, hurling itself onto Ezra and knocking him off of Chaucer. What it was, Ezra couldn't tell. The air was brutally forced out of his lungs as he crashed to the ground, but he had no time to gasp as the animal's powerful fangs bit into his arm hard. With a cry of anguish, Ezra kicked the animal in the belly and sent him flying, immediately firing every shot he had in his little gun at the beast's still body.
"Fucking coyote. Messed up my best jacket." Ezra hissed in pain as he saw his jacket grow a darker red with his blood. Cursing under his breath, Ezra mounted Chaucer and headed off for home, unaware of the creature slowly changing into something else......
TBC........
"Chaucer, I do believe that Mister Larabee has become a glutton in making my life a living hell." Ezra yawned as he nudged his horse out of the livery.
Three o'clock in the morning was when Ezra usually went to bed. He'd play a few games of cards and, fairly of course, clean some country bumpkin out of their money and help Inez close the saloon for the night, though the young woman constantly said he didn't have to. The saloon might belong to his mother, but since he was a Standish and this was The Standish Tavern, he still felt a sense of responsibility. He bought the damn thing in the first place.
He would then crawl into bed with Vin, his lover of approximately two years now. Of course, Vin was more of a fucker than a lover, because they both agreed that love had nothing to do with their relationship. They were just screw buddies. Nothing more. As soon as the variation of women was plentiful again (unless, of course, they all got to know Buck) they would carry on with their lives. Or that's what Vin told him.
The truth was that Ezra had been smitten with Vin since the day he saw him and the other three members of the Seven. With his long golden brown hair and that hat that cast a mysterious shadow over his stunning icy blue eyes, and that honey dipped Texas drawl. Oh! How many times his pants filled with just the thought of Vin, Ezra didn't know, except that it happened a lot. But he always kept it hidden to himself until that fiasco with Charlotte Richmond ended. Vin, drunk and as depressed as a kicked dog, staggered into Ezra's room in the middle of the night and had his "wicked way" with him. The next morning Vin told him that this was just a buddy fuck and had nothing to do with love and that it wouldn't last forever. It shocked Ezra at first but decided that it was best for both of them. Even the rest of the Seven were fine by their rather unorthodox pairing.
"Man's got have something when women are slim pickins." Buck had said. Good old predictable, raunchy Buck.
In the beginning things were fine between them. They were NOT in love. But that was in the beginning, not now. Soon Ezra grew fond of the way Vin smelled of a musky day after a rainstorm with a hint of peppermint and whiskey, or the way his hair cast a reddish gold shine in the sun and he loved when Vin played his harmonica so beautifully. Damn it all to hell, he had fallen in love with the handsome tracker! For over a year now he knew this, but, like before, kept it to himself. Having Vin fuck him and vice versa was close enough to love, so he put on his poker face and continued to be a miserable bastard with a sore ass.
It was not ten minutes later when Ezra was just about to doze off that Chris was weakly knocking on his door and coughing. "Ezra, wake up, we need you for patrol tonight."
"Mistuh Larabee, has thuh flu spread tuh your brain?" Ezra mumbled, his accent thick with exhaustion. The town had caught the flu recently, and Chris, Josiah, JD and Vin had already caught it.
"No, but Buck's got it now too." Chris sniffled, his voice nasally but still fierce.
"And I assume that Mister Jackson is unavailable for the time being?" Ezra asked, placing a light kiss on Vin's shoulder as the tracker started to cough hoarsely. He slowly got out of bed and pulled his pants up, cursing silently. God, he was so tired.
"You know that Nathan's at the clinic treating people. He's getting no more sleep than you." Chris growled, which resulted in a nasty hacking cough. "I don't see how you haven't managed to catch it."
Ezra opened the door, dressed in his infamous red jacket and cuffs. "Maybe if you and our compatriots wouldn't parade out in the streets with the plague, ya'll wouldn't be in this predicament." He quirked an eyebrow at Chris' appearance. Red eyes and nose, a three day beard growing and a light blue blanket wrapped around his shivering shoulders. Ezra couldn't help but smirk.
"Why don't you just get your ass down to the livery before I beat your ass." Chris snarled.
So there he was, out in the cold night, shivering in his small red coat as he inspected the wide perimeter surrounding the small town. "Go ged your ass downd do da livery, Edra." Ezra grumbled as he mimicked Chris' congested voice. "They do not pay me enough for this, I swear. How many times do I have to repeat myself? A gentleman does not debase himself by engaging in menial labor! And furthermore, I-"
Ezra stopped Chaucer in his tracks as he heard a strange sound. It sounded like a coyote, but more fiercer. Wilder. He also heard erratic footsteps, coming closer and then farther away from him. All the while the strange growling continued, concluding that this was defiantly no coyote, but something else. Something bigger. But it was still too dark and the cold wind stung at Ezra's eyes, so he could barely see a thing.
"Hello?" Ezra yelled out into clearing. The growling grew louder and the footsteps grew quicker. Ezra's breathing grew ragged as he activated his derringer out, fear actually sweeping through his body. "Here p-puppy puppy puppy. Come to Uncle Ez-RAAAAARGH!" a huge figure lunged from out of the darkness, hurling itself onto Ezra and knocking him off of Chaucer. What it was, Ezra couldn't tell. The air was brutally forced out of his lungs as he crashed to the ground, but he had no time to gasp as the animal's powerful fangs bit into his arm hard. With a cry of anguish, Ezra kicked the animal in the belly and sent him flying, immediately firing every shot he had in his little gun at the beast's still body.
"Fucking coyote. Messed up my best jacket." Ezra hissed in pain as he saw his jacket grow a darker red with his blood. Cursing under his breath, Ezra mounted Chaucer and headed off for home, unaware of the creature slowly changing into something else......
TBC........