No Want, No Hunger, No Shame
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Chapter 29
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Morning had come quickly, the grey skies brightening as silent waves of mist rolled in through the pastures. The town woke quietly, people slipping from the inn huddled in cloaks and droopy-eyed from sleep. They trudged back home, glad for the incoming day.
Meryl was the first to wake, shivering through the thin blankets upon the bed. The room was cool, so she slipped into her clothes quickly, pulling the worn fabric of her coat closer to her body. She slipped from the room, careful not to wake Milly, who seemed oblivious to the cold. Meryl had rummaged about the room and found an extra quilt anyway, and had draped the thin wool over the sleeping woman before she left. She never recalled her house feeling this cold, but then again, she usually left a fire to burn out in the hearth in her bedroom.
The petite woman made her way downstairs with the rest of the townspeople who had huddled up in the inn for the night. At the bar, breakfast was in full swing. The rowdy bunch from the night before seemed to have abruptly tamed, and were now eating fried eggs from their plates while conversing lowly around tables.
She followed her nose to the front and ordered herself a single coffee. A plump woman was serving out food, taking money and stacking plates and dishes. She nodded silently to Meryl and she dug several coins from her pockets.
Then, ignoring the curious looks from strangers, for she was a new face in town, she found an unoccupied table off to the side. It was best not to attract too much attention in such a small town. Trouble was not something she would welcome.
Her coffee was delivered black, and she didn't bother to add anything to it. What she needed was a quick boost of energy that would wake her sleeping body and jolt her into the day. The dark liquid was piping hot, so she was forced to sip lightly at it, blowing lightly to cool it. The warmth from the mug seeped into her fingers and hands, loosening her joints.
Meryl wasn't quite sure how long she sat and sipped at the bitter drink, but her reverie was interrupted as a full plate of steaming eggs and sausage was pushed under her nose.
Frowning, she was about to protest, saying she hadn't ordered any food, when someone took a seat opposite her.
It was Vash.
Meryl frowned at the eggs, then up at the half-blood. He'd already picked up his fork and was in the middle of shovelling egg into his mouth when he noticed her bemused expression.
"What?" he lowered his fork, "Don't tell me you're not hungry! After all that trouble I went through getting this for you!" he exclaimed, looking irritated.
His apparent distress didn't seem to affect Meryl, and she fixed him with a satirical stare.
Ignoring it, Vash shrugged. "Ah, well, more for me." And with that, he reached over and pulled her plate towards him.
The petite woman immediately changed her mind, and smacked his hand away, taking her plate back. Snatching up a fork, she glared at him. "You're awfully chipper this morning. Not to mention hungry."
The blonde merely shook his head, suddenly looking grim. "I've got to keep my strength up somehow."
Meryl knew exactly what he meant, and stabbed into the eggs with her fork with a reignited vengeance. "I suppose," she murmured, and lifted the fork to her lips. The eggs were slightly runny, but she couldn't expect anything less from such an establishment. Her eggs, however, were something to be revered. She noticed, however, that Vash didn't seem the mind the poor quality of the food whatsoever and she had to stifle the smile that threatened to curl on her lips.
"Where's Nicholas run off to?" she asked to break the silence between them.
"Outside, smoking. He's been acting odd morning," the blonde replied, lowering his coffee. He fixed Meryl with a quizzical stare. "Is he always like that?"
Meryl quirked an eyebrow at him. "Nicholas? Like what?" she asked, but of course she knew what he was talking about.
"So...so..." Vash struggled to find the words.
"Jumpy? Brooding? Critical?" Meryl supplied him with a list of words that she checked off from a mental list in her head. "Irritating? Irrational? Confusing? Secretive—"
Vash cut in suddenly. "Secretive, I was thinking. He's been throwing glances over his shoulder all morning. I think he knows something we don't," he said, falling into thought.
Nodding Meryl agreed. "That man always knows something we don't. I've learned to live with it. He'll tell all in time, even if it's years from now."
The blonde, however, merely gave her a perplexed look.
--
It wasn't long before both Milly and Wolfwood joined Vash and Meryl at the small table, and still not a great deal of time after that the four exited the inn and made their way around to the stables where the horses were being kept.
They planned on taking the innkeeper's advice and Vash and Wolfwood were to trade the carriage for two horses. They took both horses, tethering them securely to the carriage before heading off to see this "Moe."
"We'll be back within an hour," Wolfwood announced, unloading the last of the group's cargo onto the ground by the inn's front door. The four had packed light, and there was little more than three bags filled with clothes and supplies and two very large guns. Milly's stun gun and Wolfwood's cross punisher, once again wrapped securely in a faded cloth.
The priest observed the quiet streets a moment before turning to the petite woman. "Keep on the lookout, Meryl. Something isn't right about this town."
She rolled her eyes, feeling irritable. Time was valuable, and they were wasting it. "Besides the fact that no one seems to live in their own houses, you mean? Or the absence of cattle in the fields, or this damn mist that won't seem to lift??"
Wolfwood rolled his eyes right back. "You're getting riled up again, shorty."
"Damn right I am!" she burst, narrowing her eyes at the priest. "You know something Nick. Tell me."
Milly, alarmed by her partner's sudden change in mood, grabbed hold of her arm firmly. "Sempai!"
The hunter and the priest glared at each other.
"Hey! Both of you calm down!" Vash exclaimed, and the three's attention turned to him. "This isn't the time to be fighting!" he amended, wilting slightly under their eyes.
Meryl looked ready to start on him next, but abruptly, she seemed to deflate. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just…" she looked at Wolfwood and shrugged helplessly.
He smiled lopsidedly and hopped up onto the carriage. "I know. Keep an eye out. I have a bad feeling about today," he repeated as Vash pulled himself up beside him.
"Don't you always?" Meryl retorted with a smile.
"Shut up."
--
The morning hours ticked by, and time found the two women sitting upon the steps leading to the inn. They had nowhere else to go. Neither felt the need to go exploring a strange town when all they really wanted was to be on their way. And waiting for the two men to return was putting Meryl in a bad mood. She felt tired and her exhaustion put her on edge.
Beside Meryl, Milly had her beloved stun gun positioned on her lap, where she had set about polishing it absently with her sleeve, when she spoke.
"I wish you would stop picking fights with Mr. Priest."
Meryl shot her friend an exasperated look. "I'm not picking fights with him. He's just so…infuriating," she justified herself, but failed miserably.
Both of them, however, knew it was true.
"You know him," Milly replied with a wistful smile.
Meryl couldn't help but find herself infected with the other woman's cheerfulness. "We all know him," she said dryly. "He's a priest, yet he smokes, curses and carries around a gun that's bigger than me."
Milly laughed, smiling at her friend. "You two are like siblings," she declared, and the way she said it, Meryl was almost inclined to think it was true. "I remember my sisters used to fight like that all the time when I was little."
The smaller woman considered the word with distaste. "Siblings?"
Milly merely nodded, smiling, and Meryl shook her head in defeat. They both fell into silence, watching the deserted streets for signs of any trouble. Everything was silent save for the crowd still inside the inn. Apparently, the town was already on with another party of sorts, despite it being close to lunch.
A sudden, loud shot cut the silence, echoing through the thick fog that seemed to have settled over the town.
Meryl cocked her head, ears perking.
"Did you hear that?" she asked Milly, who stared back at her with wide eyes.
"It sounded like…"
Again, the town's silence was shattered.
"Guns!" Meryl exclaimed.
The two women shot up from the porch and quickly began to gather the bags.
Milly slung her stung gun over her shoulder, looking worriedly into the distance. "I hope everything's alright…"
"With a half-blooded vampire and a corrupt priest?" Meryl gave her friend an incredulous look, walking out into the middle of the narrow road. It was silent once more. Her shoes crunched loudly in the gravel, and she found the sound far too loud for her ears.
The two women stood tensed and ready for trouble, but nothing seemed to be amiss. The thick fog rolling about them aimlessly. They were nearly led to believe that their imaginations had been playing tricks on them…
But, then, the oddest thing happened.
From around the far corner the two men had disappeared around no more than a half hour before, an animal came racing. Galloping clumsily, it emitted a horrible sound that resembled a horse's neigh but felt short on account it was nasal and high-pitched.
It was a donkey, ears pressed back against its head with its reins flapping wildly behind.
A bleating donkey, running astray around the town's streets.
Then, moments later, another figure appeared around the corner. The familiar, tall, gangly form of Vash was almost welcome, if he hadn't been running as though the devil himself was on his tail.
A donkey…and Vash, Meryl said mentally, dumbfounded.
She then watched as Wolfwood rounded the corner, riding atop a large, black stallion. At his side was one of the horses from the carriage, and just behind was the other, its head tossing and hooves clapping upon the gravel in alarm. The sound of gunshots filled the air, emitting from around the corner, but she didn't wait to see who was after the two men.
Hauling her bag with her, she ran forward to block the stray donkey's path, intent on not allowing it to escape. Unfortunately, she had the faintest idea what had occurred in the time the two men had left their company, and was led to believe the animal was needed dearly.
Fortunately, her sudden movement seemed to have deterred the animal from its path and with its means of escape blocked the donkey slowed to an abrupt stop before Meryl and promptly flopped back onto its haunches. From its mouth came a whining bleat and its ears flopped forward as though it was at a loss.
Disregarding the extreme oddness of the situation, she approached the animal cautiously before swiftly grabbing hold of the loose reins before it could muster the courage to run off again.
She looked up just in time to see Vash running towards her, full speed with a look of such absurdity it took all Meryl's strength not to break out laughing. Only several yards behind him now, Wolfwood and his magnificent stallion were fleeing from a particularly hostile looking group of townsmen toting guns and torches.
Oh God… Meryl thought as the graveness of their situation seemed to hit her with full force.
She straightened suddenly, looking around with wide eyes. Milly, she noticed, had mounted her stun gun atop her shoulder and looked ready to draw blood. The occupants of the inn had long since piled out upon the porch, watching the scene with growing interest. Meryl noted with some alarm that some men seemed to have drawn there guns.
She had no doubt who they would use them on.
And then, Vash was at her side, huffing and puffing with exertion.
Without a second thought, she tossed the donkey's reins at him.
"Quick, get on!" she urged him, and glanced up just in time to see Wolfwood racing up to them, pulling in his reins and slowing to a stop. The two carriage horses, looking lost, clopped up beside him, flicking their tails.
"We've outstayed our welcome!" the priest shouted. "Grab a horse!"
Milly followed his advice quickly, approaching one of the two horses left and running a comforting hand along its nose before swiftly tying her luggage to the saddle. She heaved Wolfwood's cross up to him, which he took gratefully, and mounted her horse quickly and with ease.
Meryl did likewise, mindful of the fact that she had never had much experience with horses. Wolfwood and his stallion seemed equally eager to be off, and as soon as she was in her saddle he urged them to move, taking off down the street with Milly close behind him.
Meryl's gaze snapped back to Vash and the donkey. "What are you waiting for??" she demanded as she noticed neither had moved.
Both were looking up at her with wide eyes, the donkey's beseeching and Vash's panicked.
"Look at him!" the blonde exclaimed. "He won't get up!"
Meryl noticed the angry crowd was gaining, and felt her own temper rise. Snatching the reins from the half-blood, she gave them one swift yank, and the animal was on its feet in seconds. It danced about nervously, clearing sensing the situation was something it didn't want to be involved it.
"Get on!" Meryl all but shrieked, and Vash did so, clumsily. He looked as out of place on a donkey as he would be in the Caribbean. Disregarding that, she gave the animal a sharp slap on it's behind before urging her own horse forward.
The donkey raced forward in a spastic romping gait, noticing all too late that there were angry villagers on all sides, blocking escape.
Muttering a curse under her breath and watching at both the clumsy human and donkey raced onwards, she swiftly pulled a derringer from under her cloak. The cool metal felt comforting in her hand. She gripped tight to the reins, urging her horse down the street while raising the small gun to the sky.
She pulled the trigger and the whole town seemed to drop to their knees, shouts and screams and yells of alarm piercing through the street.
Vash broke through the barrier of humans and was quickly followed by Meryl. As the wind whipped about her, she twisted her torso around and pulled the trigger again, aiming at the angry mob toting torches.
It was her last warning before she fled the town, breaking out onto clear pastures with Vash's donkey just slightly ahead of her (which was an amazing feat considering its size).
--
"What was that??" Meryl demanded some long minutes later as she reined her horse in beside Wolfwood's stallion. They had reached the top of a grassy hill a good distance from town, and Milly was standing in the tall, wet grass fixing the saddlebags on her mare.
Vash and his donkey were have a difference of opinion several feet away, the sturdy animal trotting about at the blonde attempted to dismount.
Wolfwood carefully slid off his horse, running a hand along its mane, before answering Meryl, whose eyes were narrowed dangerously.
"That, Meryl, was a disagreement caused by bad bargaining, and no fault of mine, either!" he told her. "You have the broomhead to thank for that."
She dismounted, jaw clenched tight. If Wolfwood had been right about one thing, it was that this day wasn't turning out to be a good one.
Just then, there was a loud "oomph!" and both Wolfwood and Meryl turned to see Vash's donkey sniffing about the thick grass near where Vash had tumbled off its back a few feet away. Shaking her head, Meryl hmphed loudly and stalked over to the half-blood and helped him up none-too-gently. Milly, meanwhile, caught hold of the unruly animal and led it towards her own steed.
Now, Meryl faced both men, hands planted firmly upon her hips and a scowl upon her lips. "Care to elaborate? Anyone? I, for one, would like to know why we nearly had our heads shot off back there, and why the whole town was after us with pitchforks!"
The two men exchanged nearly guilty looks.
"Well…" Vash began hesitantly.
"We found Moe, as planned," Wolfwood continued. "But it turned out the guy was a stubborn old bugger who wanted more than just the carriage for a couple of horses. I tried to barter with him…"
Vash pretended to be studying the overcast sky, "You forgot to mention he had a gun taller than himself," he stated nonchalantly.
This statement did nothing to help Meryl's mood. She cocked her head at the two, "And…?" she drew the word out expectantly.
"As I said, he wanted more than the fair price." Wolfwood replied vaguely.
The petite woman made a noise of understanding. "Which somehow ended with the whole town armed against us with pitchforks," she stated dryly.
Just then, Milly entered the conversation, which was probably a blessing for the two men.
"Now sempai, the important thing is that no one was hurt. We're all fine, aren't we?" she chirped.
"Yes," Meryl agreed shortly, "But we almost weren't! And I'd like to know what idiocy almost got us all killed!"
Again, the two men in question exchanged a look, this time of defeat.
Wolfwood began to pat himself down, clearly looking for his cigarettes. "It turns out Moe was also an avid vampire hunter," he muttered, and pulled a single cigarette from his pocket. She wondered if he had known that bit of information all along, but when he spoke again her eyes narrowed. "He was much like yourself, Meryl. Mean as a bull."
Opening her mouth angrily to retort, she was cut off by the priest, who continued with the story.
"He was the kind that can simply smell a vampire, and when he got a whiff of Vash here…well, half the town was behind him before we knew what'd happened," he told her, lighting his cigarette and inhaling deeply. His bliss was short-lived, as Milly plucked the stick from his lips moments later and stomped it out on the soggy ground, all the while giving him a look that dared him to complain.
Meryl watched this with some satisfaction, but couldn't help but feel somewhat peeved. "And how did you end up with a stallion and a donkey?"
The two men shrugged. "We stole them," Wolfwood supplied.
"By that time the whole village was after us with guns, though," Vash added.
"And Vash happened to steal a donkey instead of a horse," the priest finished.
"Goodness!" Milly huffed, brow furrowed. "It's a miracle both of you got out alive!"
And to that, Meryl couldn't really find a suitable retort, so she nodded silently grudgingly in agreement. And, as there seemed nothing more was to be said on the matter, Wolfwood went back to preparing his midnight stallion and Milly to her mare. Both, it seemed, were attempting to strap their huge guns onto the saddlebags without causing the animal's discomfort.
Vash's donkey was meandering about the hill, and Meryl watched a moment as the blonde attempted to coax the animal to him again. It seemed he was utterly hopeless when it came to animals. She leaned her head gently against her own horse to hide her smile of amusement, which was gone quickly when Wolfwood dropped a pile of saddlebags on the ground to her left. She turned to stare at him.
"You've got to carry your clothes in something," he said as an answer to her unspoken question.
It wasn't long until they were organized once more, something they had lacked in their hasty departure from town. All four sat still astride their new companions, staring at the rolling landscape before them. Fog streaked the hills and only the tops of tall trees were visible in the distance.
"Where to from here?" Milly questioned lightly.
"North. I know the way." It was Vash who answered.
Meryl wetted her dry lips. "How long do you suppose it will take?"
The whole group knew what she was really asking. How much longer do I have?
"If we make good time, we should be there before nightfall," he told her solemnly.
Meryl's heart was thudding hollowly in her chest. Did she have that much time?
Milly, even, had to force a smile. "Well, then, lets get going!" she said, and urged her horse forward.
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--Cayenne Pepper Powder