The loud obnoxious yelping from Blake's gang filled the saloon. Drunken laughter echoed throughout as they celebrated her escape. "Eh, boss. I-uh-I shoulda m-mentioned this a wh-while 'go, but yuh still got some- some blood on ya," noted Scuzz. The beige haired girl licked her lips and said, "Ey. Blood's blood. It's gonna wash off~." Scuzz gave a little nervous chuckle.
To her gang, they thought it was a little odd for her not to be drinking any alcohol by now. She never did say why; but then again, she really didn't like talking about her past.
"'ey, yo, Wallowitz! Heard anyt'ang about dat train?" asked Freighter, their muscle-man. "I hear' that Ranger man got out an' saved th' train. Along wit' the passengers." "I said I didn't want no survivors~," Blake muttered under her breath. But in admittance, she raised her eyebrows and added, "But, I admit; He did have the guts to do so~."
"S-Sorry I got here late, boss!" All except Blake turn their heads and see Jake coming towards their usual area. "The Hell've you been, Jake? Hittin' on more whores, again?" she asks rolling her eyes. Her gang laughs at her remark. Yes, true, Jake was the lustful type of guy, but his attitude can get in the way a lot. "Well, ya know, I- never mind…" Jake said in defeat. Blake does her nod that says 'Of course never mind, ya jack wagon!' Edgar, the mustached Italian man of her gang, tapped her on the shoulder after her gang stopped laughing at poor Jake. "You know, madame. I have heard from-a various other outlaws that there were rumors about a si-"
Suddenly, gunshots and loud yelping rang through the bar. All heads except Blake's turn to see another gang harassing a poor soul. Blake motions with her head to turn back to the front. "Ignore 'em," she muttered, "an' don't say anythin'" They obeyed without question. Blake tried to hear what one of the men was talking about but could only hear "Listen to me, an' ya better listen good! If I don't git that damn money in by tomorrow…," before the voice lowered into a threatening mutter. The mentioning of money, however, did catch her attention. "What's he talking about?" whispered Edgar. Blake just shrugged. "Not sure, Ed," she muttered back.
It wasn't long before the gang threw out the frail man out the door with them laughing at him. "And don't come back 'til ya get it sorted out! Ya hear me?!" one of the men yelled. The gang turned around and saw the people still staring at them, bewildered. "What're y'all lookin' at?" the same man yelled. Blake heard the chairs scrape and murmurs from the people and the sound of spurs clinking. She heard the clinking come closer and closer towards her gang's spot at the bar.
From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of one of the men sitting next to her through her side bangs. He was a bearded man who had black hair that went to his collar bone, a white feather in his hair (she assumed it was a hawk's feather), a scar on his lip that went up to his nostril, and eyes as blue as the dusk. Blake felt him glaring at her with a cold stare and said, "You in my spot, lil' lady. Move, why don'cha, sweetheart~?"
"…No."
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Did she just say 'no'?!
He asked her again, this time in a more threatening tone.
"I said: MOVE!"
"And I said: NO!"
"What the hell part of 'Move' didn' ya understand?"
Blake turned to him and flipped her hair out of her right eye, exposing her blue eye.
"An' what the hell part of 'no' didn't YOU understand?"
Blake turned back to the front. Her gang gasped and smirked under their breath as Blake gave him her eye.
That's it. He had it with her!
The man pulls his gun out and points it towards her. Then both gangs pull their guns out and point them at each other, minus Blake of course. "I wouldn' do that if I were you~," she tells them. "And why not?" the man asks.
Blake just whistled a tune and her eagle Japhet flew right next to him. He looked at the bird and looked into his blood red eyes. The eagle gave a small screech before the man turned back to Blake. "Reconsiderin'~~," she said slyly and with a sly smile.
He rolled his eyes and put his gun back. Both gangs did the same. "Fine," he said.
"Skinny! Gimme that damn crow," the man demanded. Skinny, in which Blake assumed was the bearded one, went out and brought back a crow. She just chuckled and said, "A bird fight? That's what you're challenging me to?" "If that's the only way to make you leave," said the man with a grin. She raised an eyebrow and saw his silver tooth.
'Well, then… This oughta be easy,' she thought.
With the tables and chairs cleared out of the way, both bird holders took their places and walked slowly in a circle; with everyone watching.
"I hope that lil' birdy of yours doesn't fall too quickly~!"
"Don't git your hopes too high, missy!"
Once the go was signaled, both let their birds fly at each other.
Japhet locked talons with the crow, his talons obviously much bigger than hers.
Screeching and cawing filled the saloon and people started to cover their ears from Japhet's screeching.
Blake sat back and smiled her cold smile as the long haired man looked at the birds with a serious look. Japhet's fastest time to take down another bird was at least thirty seconds.
He took the raven down in twenty five seconds. Japhet put his talon on the raven's neck, waiting for his master's go. "Kill it!" Blake yelled.
Japhet didn't hesitated to drive his beak into the crow's neck, his free talon taking the chance to tear into her abdomen. Blood spewed on the eagle's face and body. The crow cawed her last.
Japhet took the bird's heart and ate it. Blake smiled coldly and heard someone throw up in the background from the putrid scene. She whistled the bird back to her and the eagle came back all bloodied. Her gang congratulated her for yet another successful kill. The man and his guys looked at the dead crow in horror and thought how a girl could just smile at such a thing. The bar was filled with murmurs again as they tried to go back to their business, most still scarred for life after what just happened.
The man with long hair sighed and walk towards her. "Not bad, kid," he noted. Blake nodded and replied, "But ya knew that raven wouldn't stand a chance against my dear Japhet~. Why'd ya do so~?" He only grinned and told her, "Wanted to see if that bird had anything."
She gave the man a suspicious look. "O' course. Japh's never disappointed me~." Few second's later, she asked the scar faced man, "Who exactly are you?" Her gang eaves dropped their conversation, hands on their guns.
"Well," he started, "Name's Butch Cavendish."
"The-the man who eat-eats human flesh," Scuzz finished.
Butch nodded. "Butch, huh...? Pro'ly heard about you."
"And you might've heard 'bout what's in the Comanche territory. Haven't ya?" Blake raised an eyebrow. "Not so sure where ya gettin' at?"
Butch smirked and replied, "I got myself a pretty good deal for such a lovely lady like you and your boys. I've got a silver mine just in the Comanche territory. We've got miners digging up more silver even as we speak. You and your boys can have them… If you join up with me a' my boys~."
This sounded like the deal of her life. She could be richer than the Queen of England. All she had to do was say yes, and they can be on their way.
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But then again. What if this was just a set up?
"Ya think I'm gonna fall for that bullshit?" Blake said after thinking on it, raising her eyebrow.
Her guys gasped and looked at her in confusion and distrust, especially Edgar. They were whispering things to her like, "Are you crazy?! You can't be serious about this!"
Butch thought she was crazy. "You serious?! You are dropping an offer of your life, miss-"
"Blake. But don'cha dare even call me 'Miss', 'Missy' or whatever the Hell ya call me! I know what yer up to!"
Blake started to walk out the bar but stopped and turned around. She gave her gang a 'Move your asses!' look; and they followed nervously.
Butch just shook his head.
They stepped over the dead crow.