Notes: Thanks to everyone who gave us a read, and especially to those who faved/followed/reviewed! It was honestly more than we'd hoped for and we very much appreciate the feedback. :) One of you seemed a bit concerned about the number of potential OCs in the story. Not to worry! Aside from a couple of very minor support characters, Olivia and Sky are going to be the only OCs we put any real focus on. If we do happen to introduce another, it won't be for quite some time.
Anyway, here is the next chapter. Thanks again for reading!
.: Chapter 2 :.
Knives felt like he was floating.
Weightless, he bobbed on an endless sea of white. Nothing but empty white for isles and isles. It was so bright...so bright that it hurt his eyes. He closed them tightly, but still he couldn't escape from it.
Then came the pain. Sharp little pinpricks at four distinct points on his body. They tingled just slightly at first, and then they began to itch. The itching progressed to a sensation not unlike small needles pricking at his skin, and then eventually became an excruciating, stabbing ache. It worsened as his awareness increased, and he began to writhe in discomfort.
Pain… So much pain. What had been the cause of it? His clammy hands grappled for purchase at his sides in an attempt to ease the dizziness, and he became aware of the thin cloth gathered between his fingers.
A sheet? A bed?
He was alive. But why?
Vash…
His eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, only to nearly double over in agony as the pain of every wound hit him in full force. Grimacing, he looked around, noting that he was currently occupying a single bed in an empty room. Various belongings had been strewn about, and in the semi-darkness he recognized his brother's large duffle bag leaning against the doorway. There was a window on the far-right wall, allowing a bit of sunlight to stream in. One look outside of it told him that there was absolutely nothing ahead but sand and dust for many iles.
Where the hell was he?
Gritting his teeth, he leaned forward, only to notice that the action seemed to cause a jangling noise from somewhere nearby.
"Hm?"
He carefully maneuvered his legs over the side of the bed so that his feet were on the floor as he righted himself, both hands supporting his weight on either side of him. Pain spiked through his shoulders and his thighs once more when he bent forward, and the jangling sound became more prominent. He reached up for his shoulder a little too quickly, only to find his wrist encased in a thick, metal cuff. Attached to the cuff was a long, heavy chain, now partially draped across his lap, and as his eyes traveled up the length of the chain, he saw that it was secured to the wall by means of a sturdy metal plating and large, heavy duty bolts.
Knives's nostrils flared in both surprise and anger upon this discovery. He grabbed at the chain with his other hand and tugged once, twice. The action hurt, and he growled in frustration.
He was alive…but, he thought as he glared down at the bandages wrapped around his thighs and the matching set of cuffs trapping his ankles and other wrist…also a prisoner.
With a heavy sigh, Knives laid back down on the bed. His head had begun to pound at the change of equilibrium. He grunted and grabbed the glass of water that someone had set onto the bedside table, carefully tipping it into his mouth. The chains rattled with his every move, and he hated the sound. After draining the glass, he threw it at the wall and heard it shatter into a million pieces.
What was the purpose in all of this? The last thing he remembered was Vash's face staring down at him while he lost consciousness. Weren't they supposed to have killed each other? Settled their argument once and for all? Vash had been the victor, so why...?
No. Knives knew why. His softhearted, sentimental brother had never been able to find it in himself to kill, not even when his own life was on the line.
Foolish. Weak. Pathetic.
His wounds throbbed, and Knives growled low in his throat.
"Damn it to hell..."
Was this the way he was going to be forced to live from now on? His ambition had already been crushed, his men wiped out. His little friends, yes, even Legato was dead...though that thought brought a smile to Knives's face, for Legato had been killed by Vash's hand. Knives reveled in the pain that killing a human had caused his twin. Finally, Vash would know what it felt like to take a human life! Those worms, those cockroaches infesting the planet and selfishly abusing all available resources. Shouldn't it have felt grand? SHOULDN'T IT?
Knives chuckled darkly, only to be interrupted by a bout of coughing. He tasted his own blood in his mouth.
Ah, but it was pointless. What a meaningless existence he'd been sentenced to. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved that he was still living or disgusted that Vash had been unable to put him out of his misery.
'What the hell, brother...?'
oOo
Sky threw open the door of the room she'd been forced into the night before and marched down the hall. She could hear Olivia muttering under her breath as she reached the kitchen. Perfect. This was her chance to have a little chat with her sister about the strange company she'd welcomed into their family's inn.
She crossed her arms in an indignant manner and, without waiting for Olivia to notice her, she said, "So I couldn't help but notice my room was occupied last night. "
"—twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine...GAH!" Olivia dropped the butter knives she'd been counting with a loud clatter and turned around to face her sister, a dark frown adorning her face. "Thanks a lot. Well, yeah, this is an inn if you hadn't noticed. That's kind of what we do here—rent rooms to guests! Although I suppose you really wouldn't know about that since you're NEVER HERE." Her anger was laced with bitterness as she knelt to pick up the knives.
Sky frowned. "So give them one of the empty rooms, then!"
Olivia gave her an unsympathetic stare. "He asked for a room in the back. There were two of them, and you know they're paying customers. I didn't think you'd throw a hissy fit about it." She tossed the knives she'd collected back into their drawer, slamming it shut.
Sky opened her mouth to object to throwing a so-called 'hissy fit' but then thought better of it. That response would more than likely buy her an argument, and she hadn't come for that. So instead, she voiced her other concern. "You know there's some other guy in there and apparently he's seriously hurt! I've been hearing groans all night like someone's dying in there."
"Yeah, he did have an injured man with him. I offered to call him a doctor more than once, but he insisted that he was going to handle it."
Shaking her head, Sky threw up one arm. "Like that's not sketchy as all hell!"
"Maybe he wasn't as badly injured as he looked," Olivia replied curtly, not in the mood to be interrogated by her younger sister.
Sky rolled her eyes. "Seriously, who the hell is that man anyway?! 'Mr. Smith' my ass, he said he's a medical student but I think that's just a load of crap," she scoffed as she leaned heavily on the doorway.
"Yeah, I know that's not his real name either, but things aren't exactly hopping around here and he asked for the room long term. If you're so concerned, maybe you should bring them some aspirin or something," she added absently as she fiddled with the pile of butter knives. Though she had to admit, 'Mr. Smith' did strike her as a bit of a lunatic.
Sky grimaced. "Jesus, we're going to be murdered in our sleep just because you're stingy."
"I am NOT, you're just overreacting! You can pick whichever other room you want, you know. I don't understand why you wanted that one in the first place. I prefer to keep my quarters quite separate from the guests. Bad enough that we have to share the bath with them…"
"Well, I didn't ask for you to understand it," Sky retorted before she could stop herself. "Just would've been nice if you'd at least asked me before giving it away."
The innkeeper was becoming more and more irate the longer the conversation continued. "Why is it that you only come talk to me when stuff like this happens, huh? Shouldn't be off traipsing about on one of your little crusades?"
Sky stared back at Olivia for a moment, the frown on her lips slowly fading. "Yeah, well, I was just leaving," she said as she took a step backward and then turned on the heel of her foot.
Olivia watched her sister walk off in a huff and went back to counting. Maybe one day she'd finally end on a number that wasn't twenty-nine...
oOo
Sky opened up the closet where she'd stashed her bag the night before, plucking it up from the floor and slinging it over her shoulder before striding toward the front door.
Olivia hadn't been wrong. Sky did have plans for that day. The summer festival was happening that night, and the entire town was talking about it. All week, she'd overheard people discussing it excitedly among one another; how much they were going to drink, the fried foods they planned to enjoy, and all the brilliant lights that would illuminate the sky above the town. Sky planned to be there as well...but she wouldn't be celebrating anything.
She strapped her duffle bag to the three-wheeled bike parked outside and was about to put on her helmet when she had a thought. A simple curiosity that had to be sated.
Sky put the helmet down and quietly made her way toward the back of the building. The man claiming to be 'Mr. Smith' was so suspicious, she was sure that he was up to no good...and in HER bedroom, for that matter. She figured she had a right to know what it was! What if that groaning man was in serious trouble? Being held against his will, even? How could she just stand idly by and let such a thing happen?!
Flattening herself against the wall, Sky neared the window of her bedroom with practiced discretion, crouching down below it and listening for any sounds within.
Nothing.
She carefully peered up, trying to have a peek through the dusty window. The curtain was drawn, but there was a slight gap at the bottom where the fabric wasn't quite long enough to fit the length of the window. Disappointingly, there wasn't a whole lot to be seen within. Things looked pretty quiet. She could make out a figure in the darkness, lying on her bed, but that wasn't enough to tell her anything at all.
Cursing under her breath, Sky turned to leave. Perhaps she could catch Mr. Smith in the act another time. Right now, she had to get going if her plans were to go smoothly.
But as she turned, she slammed right into something that was suddenly standing in her path.
"GAH!" She cried out, nearly losing her balance as her eyes traveled up a tall figure.
"WHOA!" The Humanoid Typhoon reached out and caught one of her arms before she fell. "WELL, WELL, look who it is!" He grinned as he balanced a brown paper bag in the crook of his free arm. It was filled to bursting with the tops of various indeterminable items peeking out of the top.
Sky could only stare back at him, wide-eyed. JESUS, he'd caught her spying, hadn't he? She hadn't even heard him coming!
"Miss Sky, right?" He released her arm and performed a sweeping bow with his free hand. "I do believe that fate has brought us together again, although you really should be more careful and watch where you're going! I know it's a little late for breakfast, but maybe you'd like to accompany me a bit later for some lunch? And if you wanted to get a peek at me, well, all you had to do was ask! AHAHAHA!" Vash laughed in his usual fashion, though he had to wonder how much she'd been able to see from the little vantage point he'd caught her at.
Sky bit down on her lip, trying to decide if the blond man before her was actually that stupid. She figured he just might be. Even so, she certainly didn't trust him.
She chose to completely ignore his offer, instead squinting up at him in a suspicious manner. "Who is that other person in there?"
Vash's face went blank for the barest of moments before he simply smiled and said, "I told you, he's my patient. I'm treating him at this moment as part of a project for medical school..." He trailed off, mentally slapping himself; even he would have known that explanation was complete bullshit, but at this point he didn't want to get anyone else involved. Especially not while things were so up in the air. He knew with certainty that even if he did explain it to her, she wouldn't understand. No one would.
Sure enough, a skeptical look adorned the girl's face. "You don't say?"
He pretended to fumble for a bit before holding up a hand in surrender. "Ah...okay, you got me. He's a man who fell by the wayside during a vicious shoot-out, and I happened upon him as he was bleeding out there in the desert. Being the kind of man I am, well, I couldn't just let him die there...so you know, I picked him up and brought him here to recover! You don't have to worry, he won't die."
Sky crossed her arms and tilted her head as she studied his face carefully. Was this just another lie to cover up something else? Something worse, perhaps?
"Then why aren't you calling for a real doctor? Why aren't you reporting this to the sheriff? February is a small town but we still have laws, you know..." She stared hard at his face. He honestly didn't have an air of cruelty about him, and maybe he was telling the truth this time. "If someone really did hurt that guy, then they shouldn't get away with it. This is the kind of thing you should tell someone about."
"...I can't." A pained look crossed his face as he considered her words. "Look, you're a nice girl…I mean, you seem nice, anyway. I don't really know you, though I'd like to..." He offered her a small grin, and then continued when he realized that angle was getting him nowhere. "But you really don't need to concern yourself with this. Everything's fine, no one broke any laws. No more than usual, anyway…"
Sky sighed. "Right…"
Whatever it was that he was hiding, she wasn't going to find out by interrogating him behind the inn. She'd just have to find out on her own somehow. Sky decided that she'd definitely get to the bottom of this. Figuring things out was what she did, after all.
"SOOOOOO…" Vash began, deciding it was time to change the subject. "Did you hear about the big festival going on in town tonight? I was thinking of going, but I don't have a date!"
"Yeah, everyone knows all about that damn festival." She rolled her eyes, not wanting to talk about that when she still had unanswered questions. "You should go...I'm sure it'll be fun."
Vash pouted. "Hey now, don't be like that. I was hoping a cute girl might ask me to go with her! I mean, obviously you're going…or maybe you're going on a little trip instead? Looks like you packed for something." He tilted his head slightly, cranking the façade up to eleven as his expression conveyed distress. "Oh, no! Don't tell me you're leaving town! Miss Sky, you absolutely cannot leave town until you have lunch with me!"
Sky was mentally cursing herself for even trying to get a look inside that room. Having to deal with this guy's antics was all she got for her efforts.
"It's not your business where I'm going," she informed him. "You could be an axe murderer for all I know, like I'm going to go anywhere with you."
"ON MY HONOR MA'AM, I AM NOT!" Vash shouted back. "I am a warrior of love and peace! Don't you feel it too? That our meeting was destiny?" He grinned and slid on his yellow-lensed sunglasses. "Come on, we'll be in a public place. Let's invite along that red-headed cutie if you're so concerned about being alone with me."
She'd had about enough of him at this point. This weirdo was trying to get in the way of her plans, and that wouldn't do. She had to get rid of him. He was such a bizarre character; spouting such nonsense about destiny, and being a warrior of love and peace…what was that even supposed to mean?
Sky rolled her eyes. "Yeah, my sister would never participate in that foreign concept called 'fun', but feel free to try your luck." She pushed past him and headed back toward her bike. "Anyway, I have something important to do. I don't have time to go walking around like a fool while gawking at shiny lights and stuffing my face…"
Without sparing a glance behind her, Sky climbed onto the bike and pulled her helmet over her head, starting up the engine and revving it a few times before she took off down the street.
Vash just stared after her as she rode off. "Wha...? WELL, ALRIGHT THEN!"
Honestly, he was relieved that he'd been able to throw her off the trail like that. She may have been concerned about Knives, but she clearly wasn't worried enough to argue more persistently. With all the gear she'd been carrying with her, she was clearly up to something of her own. He'd been fortunate that she was currently preoccupied, though he knew it was only a matter of time before he'd have to dodge another round of questions from her.
He shifted the bag in his arms. It was filled with fresh bandages and antiseptic, along with a few other miscellaneous medications. He'd been running low on supplies after initially treating his brother's injuries, and had finally found a good opportunity to run out and restock while Knives was still unconscious. It had been a waiting game ever since they'd arrived at the Dwyer Inn, and he wondered how much longer he'd have to exist in a constant state of suspense while Knives slept.
The conversation they'd have once his twin had awakened was decidedly not one that Vash was particularly looking forward to.
oOo
It wasn't as though Vash was proud of what he'd had to do; on the contrary, it pained him to look at the chains that bound his brother. But it was either that or risk Knives's wrath, and that was a risk that Vash absolutely couldn't take…not yet. At least this way, Knives would be safe. And, more importantly, Gunsmoke would be safe from him.
Vash entered the room and shut the door tightly behind him, latching the chain as he set the bag down on one of the small tables in the room.
He heard a stirring just then, and the clanking of chains from the sleeping area caused his pulse to quicken as he realized that Knives must finally be conscious. He was relieved and terrified all at once. Vash slowly entered the other man's line of vision, trying not to make any sudden movements.
"Knives…?"
The bed creaked as Knives shifted his weight and turned his head toward the voice of his brother, though he chose to stay silent. A moment later he lay flat once more and stared up at the ceiling, utterly apathetic.
Vash approached him, noticing that his brother's eyes were indeed open. "Knives...how...how are you feeling?"
Knives was in a hell of a lot of pain, actually, though he wasn't about to let Vash know that. Even just laying still, his wounds throbbed in a dull ache. He could feel the blood beginning to seep through his bandages from the sudden movements he'd made earlier.
His brother was still standing there, waiting for Knives to say something, so he simply grunted in disinterest.
Vash reached for his twin's arm, gently. "Hey...let me change your bandages."
Knives immediately tensed, pushing himself as far away from Vash as he could manage. He stubbornly rolled over onto his side.
"Knives...you need to let me change those. And I brought food."
The soft reply held the tone of a man who'd been betrayed. "I don't need anything from you."
"I know how upset you must be, but—"
"If I was supposed to die, then I was supposed to die. You did me no favors by saving my life. You think this is a kindness?"
Vash felt his chest throb painfully as he listened to Knives's hoarse voice telling him that he didn't even want to be alive. "You know I couldn't do that to you. I can't kill my own brother. Knives—"
"What do you want with me, then?!" Knives snapped back, still refusing to turn over and look at him. "I see no reason for me to be kept here...and the chains...a nice touch, though. You really did think of everything, brother."
"I want to help you. It's just a precaution." Vash sighed, feeling himself deflate a bit. "I'm sorry…"
"Perhaps you don't realize I'm beyond help. You only saved me because you're weak. You always have been. Whatever it is you want from me, you won't get it. This is all so utterly pointless. Go back to the humans who spit on you and rip up your flesh beyond recognition."
Vash clenched his fists at his sides. "They're not the only ones who did that!" He reached up and grasped at his prosthetic arm with his good hand. After a pause, he sat down on a stool beside the bed and reached over to grab Knives's shoulder. "I'm going to change your bandages. Protest all you want, but we're guests here and it's not right to get blood all over everything just because you're being a stubborn ass."
The reply was another grunt and Vash couldn't tell whether it was assent, disagreement, or just plain obstinacy.
Knives just laid there, not making his brother's job any easier and he took a small bit of satisfaction from how difficult he'd made it for Vash to change his bandages.
After a while, he asked, "How long do you plan on keeping us here, Vash?"
"I'm not sure," Vash replied while he finished tying up a bandage. "First you'll need to heal and then, well...I don't know. I'm afraid you're going to want to go right back to what you were doing before...and I can't let you do that. I won't."
Knives snorted softly. "There's no point in it...any of it. We'll never fit in, no matter how much you want us to. They'll never accept us. There's always going to be that shadow hanging over your head; who you really are…what you are... We're not meant to live among humans. Why do you try so hard? Why does their approval, their acceptance...ANYTHING about them mean so much to you?!"
After a long pause, Vash replied, "They're the ones who gave us life. And it's...it's what she would have wanted. She always inspired me to be a good person. A person who could make other people smile. She was good, Knives. No matter how many other people were horrible and bad, she was always good. She always did the right thing."
"She was just as imperfect as the rest of them. You'd do well to forget about her. Move on already, it's been over 150 years."
Vash trembled slightly as he tied the last bandage on Knives's leg. "Never. People only cease to exist once you forget them. She's worth remembering."
"You were always such a sentimental fool." Knives scoffed. "Do whatever you want."
" I want you to be happy, too. We can live with them peacefully, Knives. There are some really good people out here, I promise you. We can learn from each other."
"There's nothing they have or know that I want. I don't care. Living among cockroaches will never make me happy, brother."
Vash sighed softly, having hit the expected wall in the conversation. "You've been through a lot lately, obviously you need time... Time to process this and time to think about it. Take all that you need. I'm not going anywhere."
Knives knew that it was pointless to continue the discussion. Vash's mind was made up and there was nothing Knives could do about it for the moment, injured and restrained as he was.
But Vash couldn't hold him there forever.
oOo
The best laid plans...
Sky sighed, her back pressed against the cool stone wall of the prison she was currently detained in. She could hear the voices of the city's sheriff and the jailer from just outside the room, but couldn't make out any of the words in their conversation, save for "power outage" and "disastrous" when Sheriff Lowell's voice rose a few octaves in frustration.
She couldn't help but let the smirk crawl over her face.
Sure, ending up behind bars hadn't been a part of her grand scheme. But right up until she'd gotten caught, everything had gone according to plan. She'd snuck into the plant quite easily, since most of the people in the city were distracted by the beginning events of the festival. There had been two guards on duty, but it hadn't been difficult to slink past them and continue on her way. She'd gotten to the main controls without much trouble, either, and unlocking the door was a cinch. Sky knew her way around the place almost like the back of her hand, considering her father had once worked there.
Yes, everything had gone smoothly...she'd taken a moment to gaze down at the city square where the locals were beginning to illuminate the night air with many bright and flashing lights, all of which was to be powered by the very plant she was standing inside.
In retrospect, that was the moment she should have cut off the power supply, but no...she'd been a bit too cocky. She had wanted to wait until the festival had just kicked off. She'd wanted to hear all their dismayed cries, wanted them to know that this wasn't just an accident. They needed to know what their frivolous, energy-depleting celebration would ultimately cost the city if such a thing was allowed to continue year after year. Once the darkness had swept over the city, that would be the perfect time to tell them...
But it was all for naught. As the lights lit up the city one by one, a myriad of greens, blues, pinks and oranges, Sky began the second phase of her plan. She cut the source of the power lines, but never had the chance to take in the disappointed groans and shouts of dismay, because that was the moment that one of the guards she had thought was well out of range yelled out, "There she is! Get her!"
And that was the end of it. She'd bolted immediately, of course, but it was far more difficult to escape in the darkness, and on top of that the guard had quickly alerted all his friends. It wasn't long before they pinned her to the wall and led her away in handcuffs.
Still, not bad for a night's work. She never got the chance to spread her message, but at least that wasteful festival had been canceled. That was the important thing.
The jailer, Charlie, had stopped conversing with Sheriff Lowell and now his footsteps were clicking down the wooden hall toward the prison cells. He slowed to a stop just in front of her cell and glanced inside, looking extremely bored.
"Skylar Dwyer. How many times do I gotta see you sitting in my cell before you smarten up? You think this is what your daddy woulda wanted?" Upon her lack of response, he sighed softly.
"Well, you know the drill by now, kiddo. You get one phone call."
Sky only nodded and next came the sound of jingling keys and a door unlocking. The barred, metal door swung open on rusty hinges and Charlie motioned for her to get up and follow him to the office where the telephone was kept.
"Hurry up, you got two minutes," he grunted as he gestured toward the phone.
"Right," Sky replied. She picked up the handset and dialed the number of the Dwyer Inn.
oOo
Olivia had been counting the silverware in the kitchen again after finishing up with what little cooking she was going to do for that day. A couple of drifters had stopped by the Dwyer Inn, along with the two new fellows who were renting the back room. She'd cooked up a simple stew for everyone, and was doing a bit of inventory while it simmered on the stove when suddenly the power had flicked. The surge was shortly followed by complete darkness.
"What the...?" She blinked as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, dismayed that she had lost count at twenty-nine forks. That number…
With a loud, metallic clatter the innkeeper angrily threw down the remainder of the silverware. She abandoned her task to go and dig out the candles and the gas lamps that she kept on hand for such emergencies.
Olivia had just lit one in the foyer and was in the process of lighting another in the kitchen when the phone at the front desk began to ring.
She rushed over to answer it. "Dwyer Inn, Olivia speaking. How may I help you?" She used her shoulder to hold the receiver to her ear while she set down the handful of candles she'd intended to pass out to the guests.
Sky perked up a bit upon hearing her sister's voice. "Oh, hey Livvy... Um, are you busy right now?"
Olivia groaned at the sound of her sister's feigned innocence on the other end of the line. "Sky...what happened this time?"
The younger Dwyer bit down on her lip, knowing full well that her sister wouldn't approve of what she had done. "Well...it's kind of a long story. Do you think you could drop by the Sheriff's station and umm...maybe bring some bail money with you?" She cringed. "Please?"
Olivia sucked in a breath. "SKY! I can't fucking believe this. You're in jail...AGAIN. Do you have any idea of what kind of strain that's putting on our business? That's going to take EVERYTHING we just made this week. This has got to stop. This has been happening almost monthly. You're using up what little we have left by pulling these crazy stunts, and I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not made of money!" She paused her tirade for a moment to hear what her sister had to say for herself.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry! This wasn't how I planned it! But what I'm doing is important, I wish you could just—" She cut herself off at that moment, having to remind herself that starting an argument with Olivia right now would certainly not aid her in getting home that night, so she started anew, sighing into the phone. "You know what, forget it...I screwed up again. It's not fair of me to rely on the money the inn needs to stay in business. I really am sorry, Livvy. I'll make it up to you, however you want, I promise."
Olivia scoffed. "You're damn right you will. And it just so happens that a real, yes, REAL job just opened up right here at the inn. We're short a maid, and we only had one to begin with so for the next two weeks your ass is mine, you hear me? I'm almost inclined to put a curfew on you, but hopefully you're as good as honoring your commitments to family as you are to your personal mission in life. How's that sound? Bail money in exchange for two weeks of maid service at the inn. Sound like a fair deal to you? If not, you could always just stay in jail." Olivia puffed out her cheeks angrily, feeling as though she were being more than generous toward her wayward sister with this deal.
Sky was puffing out her cheek as well, not liking the idea of having to be the Dwyer Inn's only maid for two whole weeks...a full-time job on top of her other projects. But she did need time to rethink her strategy, and besides, she knew Olivia could have been much more demanding this time around.
"No, it's fine," she assured her sister, trying to keep the reluctance out of her tone. "I'll do it. Thanks, Liv. I really appreciate it."
Olivia finally let out her breath in a sigh. "I'll be down there in…however long it takes to stumble downtown in the dark, being that I can't SEE a goddamned thing. You wouldn't happen to know anything about THAT, would you? Yeah, gonna have to hold my keys between my fingers in case any of these fucking loons try to attack me. You just sit tight, li'l sis. Bye." She hung up the phone and threw her arms up in the air.
The innkeeper went to the safe, taking out all the double dollars that were currently stored within. She didn't trust banks at all, and always kept the money that the Dwyer Inn earned in either the safe or the register. Olivia counted out the bills that would become Sky's bail, noting that it ended up being nearly the entirety of the safe. She recounted it three times just to be sure, then added up what was left in the safe an additional three times and made note of it in her personal register.
Angrily stuffing the money into her pocket, Olivia grabbed her keys in one hand and then set the remaining spare candles and lamps onto a table in the foyer so that anyone who came looking wouldn't miss them.
She stumbled over the last step in her haste, making her way down to the Sherriff's station in the dark, her bad mood increasing by the minute. Finally she arrived at the darkened building, noting that it was lit up with candles and lanterns as well.
"I'm here for my sister," she called out as she stepped through the swinging doors.
Sherriff Lowell nodded at her from behind his desk. "Good to see you again, Miss Dwyer. Shame it ain't under better circumstances. " He glanced at the jailer, who happened to be sitting nearby. "Well, Charlie, go let the girl loose."
Charlie nodded back and held up a ring of keys, jingling them once. "Never a dull moment with that girl! You enjoying the power outage, Olivia?"
The redhead scowled, and her reply was laced with a thick sarcasm. "Oh yeah, I love the dark. Makes my job so much easier. Look, if you don't mind, I had to leave in the middle of work..."
Charlie coughed, thoroughly embarrassed by her reply but also at the same time he honestly thought that Olivia could stand to work less. He'd known the Dwyer girls for nearly all their lives, and the elder sibling had always been the more serious, studious sort. The younger one…well, Sky followed her own ideals and quite passionately at that. Had their father not been so beloved by the town's inhabitants, Charlie supposed that Sky would have faced a much harsher sentence.
"Right, sorry 'bout that. Come on this way, mind the step..."
He led her to the single cell where Sky was locked up. A gas lantern burned next to the door, providing light.
"Well then, Skylar, looks like it's your lucky day. You're free to go. I'd tell ya to stay outta trouble, but something tells me it'd be a waste of breath." He unlocked the door and pulled it open for her, reaching up to tip his hat. "I'll be seein' ya."
Sky laughed a bit awkwardly as she steps out of the cell. "Er, I hope not! Thanks, Charlie." She joined Olivia by the doorway, rubbing her bare arms. The room was a bit chilly without the heat on. "Hey…thanks for coming," she said, giving her sister a grateful look.
Olivia really wanted to be angry with at her sister for awhile longer, but instead she found herself sighing in response. "Yeah...well, I'd say I hope you learned your lesson, but I know you haven't. At least this way I know you'll be out of trouble for two weeks. Let's go."
Sky followed her out, waiting while she paid her bail amount in full. She knew she had to stop asking Olivia to rescue her from jail all the time. Either that or she needed to stop getting caught. She'd been putting more effort into the latter, but tonight just hadn't been her night. Sky supposed she should simply take the small victories where she could get them. She knew her father would have been proud, and that was enough for her.
Finally they were on their way out the door and Sky gave a polite nod toward the Sheriff. "Bye, Lowell! Hope you guys have a good night." Although even while she said that, she knew good and well that she'd completely ruined their evening…and most everyone else's.
The sisters walked home in silence, the scuffing of their shoes against the ground the only sounds that could be heard.
As the inn came into view at the end of the street, Olivia cleared her throat. "So...what'd you do, turn the plant off?"
Sky pursed her lips, holding her head high as she answered, "Yes."
Olivia rolled her eyes. "What the hell for?"
"You know exactly what the hell for."
The innkeeper groaned, and silence befell them once more. They walked the length of the street and finally arrived at the entrance to the Dwyer Inn, where Olivia pushed the door open only to notice the crazy, spiky-haired man standing in the foyer with a lit lantern.
Vash's face brightened at the sight of them. "Good evening, ladies!" His huge grin was accentuated by the glow of the light. "Just dropped by for a lantern!"
Olivia regarded him briefly. "Yeah, sorry about that...something happened with the plant in town. They're working on getting it back up and running right now. We're still going to have dinner even if it's by candlelight, though you could take it in your room if you prefer."
"I think I would prefer that, if you don't mind...and hey, I don't mind the dark too much. The mood is rather romantic, wouldn't you say?"
Olivia rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't." She turned on her heel and walked back to the kitchen.
Sky watched Olivia disappear from the room and then glanced back at the blond man. "So, is your friend still alive?"
Vash blanched for the barest moment before hurrying to reply, "Yeah, of course he is! A few fresh bandages and a couple weeks of sleep and he'll be good as new! AHAHAHA HA HA HA HA HA! But enough about me! Looks like someone had a really fun evening. Where've you been, missy?"
She averted her eyes, not wanting to explain that she'd just come from jail. "None of your business. Weren't you going to the festival? I was...wondering how that turned out."
Vash waved a hand. "Nah. I decided to stay in tonight. I guess it must've been canceled when the power went out though. Hmmm...wonder when it's going to come back on? I was going to take dinner in my room, but I don't suppose you'd be interested in having a candlelit dinner with me, would you?"
She sighed, a little disappointed with that answer. He seemed like just the kind of idiot who would flock to an event such as that festival, and probably the same type who would be immensely dismayed by its cancelation.
Sky shook her head, rejecting the offer. "Not really. As if I can trust someone who won't even tell me his real name." She pushed past him and headed down the hall, muttering under her breath about going to bed.
Vash opened his mouth to protest, but the words died on his lips as he realized that she was right. "Uhhh, well…have a good night at least!"
'Even if I did tell her, it's not like she would believe me...'