The trio walked over to where she assumed Pearson's wagon was. Every step was shaky and unsteady as Lenny, obviously inexperienced with leading someone, kept pulling her too harshly in one direction or too softly for her to feel. Most of the camp had gone silent since she arrived apart from a few men and women doing chores on the outskirts of the camp. Sill, the echoes of their chores were much too faint to help her.

"So, how many of you are there?" Jolene asked the two men on her arms. "I know there's a lot of you but..."

"There must be over twenty of us by now," he thought for a second before replying. "Why do you ask?" he suspiciously asked her and had it not been for the loud bang of something hitting the ground right by him she would have missed the way he looked over her at Lenny.

"Just innocent curiosity, Hosea, just innocent curiosity. I like to know who's around me since I can't, um, see them." For once her motive was as innocent as it sounded.

"Here we are," Hosea said after a few seconds of tense silence and had it gone on any long Jolene swore she would have told them a story just to make them say something. "Pearson's the camp cook."

"Hi Pearson," Jolene said, assuming Pearson was around his wagon somewhere. "I'm stealing your food, but with permission."

Lenny chuckled and let her arm go. "I have to go back to patrol, you want me to get someone, Hosea?"

Hosea shook his head. "Tell Javier on your way out. He should be around here somewhere."

Jolene perked up at the name. "Who's Javier?"

Soft footsteps came from behind her and when a soft hand suddenly fell on her shoulder she jumped, startled at the sudden touch. Unlucky that her extra senses didn't make her grow eyes in the back of her neck to prevent people from sneaking up on her.

As soon as she jumped the hand fell off her hand and a sharp 'Javier, for God's sake the woman is blind!' from Hosea didn't make her heart any calmer as it threatened to beat out of her chest.

"Ay, dios mio! Lenny didn't tell me!" who she assumed was Javier quickly apologized, his hand coming back to her shoulder as he squeezed it apologetically. "My apologies, hermosa."

Javier's hand was warm and soft, softer than hers and certainly much softer than anyone she had ever met while living on the road. Soft as they were they still carried callouses from gripping his weapons, chores and horse riding. On the contrary to the softness of his skin his voice was a charming rasp with that charming accent her father used to have before she hunted him down. There wasn't much else she could tell about him until he stood in front of her apart from his steps- a slow swagger, she'd say, confident and arrogant as a man like him would be. No doubt dangerous as well.

She waved off his concern, "I know. Hard to tell from behind."

"Hosea," Javier greeted the man holding her arm.

"Javier," Hosea greeted back kindly but with an edge to it that surprised her. "I gotta go talk to Dutch about something. Why don't you take care of Miss Jolene here until I get back? Heard from Lenny she's got some good stories." Okay that last part was an obvious lie- Lenny didn't like her stories.

"'Course." Javier agreed and the hand on her shoulder slid down to rest on her arm. "I'll take good care of the lady," he practically purred.

After saying goodbye to Jolene, Hosea slowly shuffled away from the pair. Jolene could only assume that she caught Hosea on one of his bad days or he was acting it up so that she would underestimate him. Little did they all know she was conning them too, the only one who knew the truth was Jack and if he told them they wouldn't believe him. Afterall, who would believe a child that said a blind woman could see in echoes.

Ever the lady she turned to Javier with a big grin. "Hosea and Dutch promised me food. Did I ever tell you about that one time I hadn't eaten in weeks and had to dress up as a clown and scare the folk in a town down by the border?"

Javier shook his head, guiding her to sit down by a table. Bless the man he even gave her the cane so she could knock it around. The camp was much bigger than she thought and so were the wagons. Pearson's wagon was stocked to the brim and a butcher's table stood abandoned by the left corner of it. Pearson himself was nowhere to be seen and she internally cursed Lenny and Hosea for letting her embarrass herself like that. Talking to a man who wasn't there? Crazy blind woman right there. Javier stopped in front of the stool and guided her down on it, a gentle hand on her arm that never pulled or forced her in any direction.

"Now tell me," he encouraged her once he sat down as well and it was the first time Jolene 'saw' Javier. She could vaguely see a hat on top of his head, bowler perhaps and she could see the fraying edges of a poncho. Her father never wore one, instead opting for fine suits and shining black shoes that would make anyone go blind if they looked down on them. He wasn't very tall but neither was he short, a medium, with a strong, lean build that screamed hidden strength and years of survival. He pulled out a knife and dug it into the wood, playing with it as he waited for her story. His face was blurred but they always were- unless it was raining or for some weird reason submerged in water but that's a story for another day.

Jolene was surprised that he asked for her story as no one had ever asked for them before. "Well... ain't no one ever asked for one of my stories before," she frowned sadly.

Javier dug his knife in harder, the sound showing how he tilted his head to look up at her. "Then they're fools."

"Fools indeed," Jolene chuckled and absentmindedly played with her fingers. "Now the story! It was a warm, too warm, day back in what must be 1889 when I was 16. My family are wanderers, you see and I was doing just that- wandering. I didn't have any money, not that that was anything new to me but I was aching for a glass of cold spirits that evening and so I decided that I damn well was going to have me one of them fancy drinks. Hadn't eaten in weeks either so I was starving! My mama never took me to see any clowns but I figured it couldn't be too hard to dress up as one! Stole some grease paint from one of the working girls in the saloon, painted my entire face white, I did."

Javier chuckled at her story, "I'd like to see that, carino."

Jolene regarded him suspiciously, furrowing her eyebrows as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "You'd like to watch me look like a clown, eh?"

"Why not?" he responded, swirling his knife around on the table effortlessly. All the ridges, cracks and scratches suddenly made sense.

"Back to my story, you silly man." She playfully scolded him, feeling her lips forming a small smile. "I'll dress you up like a clown if you don't shut up. Now... I went out into the saloon but no one looked at me weirdly so I thought to myself 'now this just ain't right!" and I marched right back in! Turns out a drunken man decided to use the girl's bed and now he was laying on all the makeup. Men... Couldn't walk back out looking like that though so I did the very mature thing of stealing the brush from his pocket, frizzed my hair until it stood up in every direction and then used the brush on the man. Took ages but I got it in the end. Scooped up that blood and painted my nose red kinda like when you're out too long in the cold and your nose turns all blushy? Yeah that. With a white face, red nose and frizzy hair I walked out into the saloon again but still no one looked at me! I thought to myself 'either these fools are dead, drunk themselves blind or I'm just not looking like a clown'."

"Maybe you're too pretty to be a clown."

"I'll have you know I do a glorious clown," Jolene defended herself, pushing a mug into where he was going to stick his knife next, making the sharp blade hit the edge and then hitting the wood sideways. That'd take some time with the sharpening stone to fix, she smugly thought to herself. "I went back into that room and stole the man's clothes. Now they was too big on little ol' me so I stuffed the excess space with pillows, looked like a balloon I did! Walked back out into the bar and everyone looked at me before bursting out laughing!" Jolene threw her head back as she laughed, thinking back on how the people all scrambled to their feet while they pointed their fingers at her. "I, being a blind woman, didn't think this plan through. How was I gonna rob them blind when I myself can't even see them!"

"You were gonna rob them blind?" Javier snorted and threw the mug away.

"Yes!" Jolene retorted. "I was! Rob 'em of all they had and then ride away in the night on one of their horses. Had it all painted up in my head, we'd go riding off into the yellow sunset, or orange, I can't rightly remember. Now, I was all dressed up and I didn't go through all that trouble for nothing so I stumbled around in the in until I fell over on this feller. He was dressed all fancy-"

"How'd you know?"

"Huh?"

Javier moved his stool just the tiniest bit closer, his face gaining a bit more clarity. She could now make out that he had his hair in a ponytail under the bowler hat with the front pieces framing his face. She could also tell he carried several guns on him and that he was looking straight at her. "How'd you know how he was dressed?"

"I felt it! The fabric was soft and wore a suit, need I go on? I may be blind but I ain't helpless, mister." Jolene bristled.

He raised his hands in front of him and Jolene didn't have the heart to tell him she couldn't see what he was doing. "I meant no offense."

"Eh, none taken. So I fell into this rich feller's lap and if that wasn't a golden opportunity then I don't know what is. I take everything and anything I can find in his pockets before he manages to push me off him. Of course I stabbed him for the offense- how dare he push a lady? So I took the stolen goods, went back into the room and got it all off of me, went back out, ordered some warm food and a bottle of their finest whiskey. Felt like I was a queen, only a blind one...in a saloon...and poor...and starving... never mind that! 'Course people had seen me as the clown and I used up all my money on that meal, silly me."

"Hey, Javier, who's this?" a different man asked, his voice was rougher than any of the others and the southern twang much stronger. "Didn't realise you brought them home?"

"It ain't like that, Arthur," he defended himself, hands splayed out on the table. "She's the one who found Jack, remember?"

"The blind lady," Jolene jumped in when it didn't seem to click for 'Arthur'. Arthur was taller than the other men as well and much broader with strong shoulders and a thinner waist. Muscled brute, the brawns she suspected. "Dutch offered me food and water before I leave. Hope you don't mind too terribly."

Arthur coughed awkwardly and the sound allowed her to see the way he lowered his head before pulling his hat further down his face. "When they told me you were blind I imagined someone-"

"Someone older," she mused, chuckling softly. "I get that a lot, you know. In fact I've got a story for that-"

Javier interrupted her before Jolene could get carried away. "Actually, Jolene. You were already telling me a story."

"I was?" Jolene asked, surprised. She's completely forgot all about that. "What about?", she cursed her forgetfulness and she cursed herself even more for not finishing her story. Javier deserved a full story.

The mexican man slammed his knife into the table, scratching his chin. "The one where you frightened a whole town dressed up as a clown."

Jolene gasped and nodded her head. "Right! I was telling you bout how I was dining like a queen." Javier nodded so Jolene continued, Arthur's presence fading away as she lost herself in the story. "I needed more money to last me until the next town of unfortunate fellers turned up and me being me decided to do the easiest thing! Dress up as a clown, murder some people, butcher the chickens and nail them to people's front doors, place pig feet in their pillow-cases..." she trailed off, picking dirt from under her nail. "Didn't take long to get back into the outfit, though I had to get new blood from the man since it dried when I was eating. Now, I was all dressed up again and I walked out of the saloon, waited until nightfall up on a hill where a bunch of coyotes stayed. They kept on trying to eat my hair so I ate them instead! Assert dominance and all that."

"Over coyotes?" Javier asked, amused.

"Well, of course." Jolene frowned, shaking her head as if he was the weird one. "How else will I reach global domination if I don't even have dominance over a few coyotes. Back to my story- I waited until nightfall and then I rolled down the hill to the town. Hit my head many times, I did, but I didn't care, nuhuh! So... I went over to a few of the houses near me, killed the people inside and then spread their bodies around the house like a piece of art for the sheriff who'd find them the next morning, because I'm nice like that. Took a few chickens, killed them and threw them around on the streets after plucking the feathers so I could make a new pillow. Then I nailed some to their doors to really frighten them before sneaking into the houses of the fellers who was still in the saloon and I placed some pig feet in their pillows! Robbed them all as well, got enough money to last me a couple of months on the road. Now... I was all bloody at this point, you see, and I walked right back into that saloon, told all the fellers what I did and then left. 'Course I wasn't gonna stick in their memory if I only did it once so for a full week I repeated it each and every night, making each one worse than the one before. Then I just disappeared!"

Both Javier and Arthur laughed, Javier more unashamedly and louder than Arthur's much more reserved and shy laugh that was more like a muffled chuckle than anything. Jolene smiled widely as she realised that they liked the story.

"You're one hell of a woman," Arthur complimented her, tilting his hat before walking away.

Javier called out a 'bye, Arthur' before turning back to Jolene. "Hey, that was a good story. Wouldn't mind hearing some more if you decide to stick around for awhile."

A warm feeling spread through her chest at his words, picking at the icy walls that surrounded her heart. No one ever told her that, and no one ever told her to stay. Many had shown her basic kindness, told her to take her time, told her to stay a night but they never meant it and they never wanted her there. Her mama wanted her but she was taken from her before Jolene could appreciate and love the warmth her mother gave her, and her papa left her blind and then left. What warmth and love could be found in a world where she was all alone to face the curse of both her ancestors and blindness?

"Thanks... that's not what they usually say," Jolene admitted with a weak chuckle, still recovering from his words. Truth to be told it made her uncomfortable to be wanted, that meant he had expectations and she never did do well with expectations.

"What do they usually say?" Javier asked her, leaning on his knife.

She grunted, "piss off."

"Ay, then you tell those lying pendejos to get lost or else..." He pulled the knife out from the table, swinging it in the air before throwing it back down into the table. "They ain't worth your time, Jolene. Now if anyone gives you any trouble in camp you come to me and I'll take care of it, eh? All for you, carino."

"Sure, Javier, gracias." Jolene responded but they both knew she wouldn't. The day she would ask a man for help would be the day hell froze over, her vision returned and her father's bones wasn't buried under the house of a weird feller down in Lakay. If anyone gave her trouble she'd give trouble back, not go running to their brother for help.