The most noticeable thing that registered for Bakura was the boot to the backside but the most noticeable thing to Yami was hitting the ground.
They had gotten kicked out of the bar. Literally.
Yami got up grumbling and rubbing his butt. He looked around for Bakura, "Bakura?" He heard a grunt from below him and crimson eyes glared at him. Oh… He quickly scrambled off of the white haired man and helped him up which earned Yami a reluctant, "Thank You," from Bakura.
They looked around together.
The town was old and decrepit. The bar was the one place besides the brothels, a general store, and hotels that wasn't boarded over and closed down. The town was nothing to sniff at though, because what it lacked in accommodations it made up for in attitude.
This town was an Outlaw town.
"Where are the rest of the gang anyways, Yami?" Bakura stared critically at Yami as he untied Tanz from the post outside of the bar.
"I left them in Hark County," Yami lazily looked in each compass rose direction and then plodded to the east.
"How long does it take to get there?"
"An hour on horseback," Bakura looked pointedly at Yami who was currently horseless.
"I know!" Yami flushed in embarrassment at his predicament but then calmed down seemingly remembering something, "Got money on you?"
Bakura fished through his pack, reaching up to his horse to do so (he was walking on the ground beside him) and produced a good sized amount of cash. Yami swiped it from his hand.
"Hey!"
"Thanks Bakura," Yami said in a mocking tone of sweet, "This will go to my horse funds. There is an illegal sale barn a couple of minutes from here." Yami waved the wad of bills in the man's face.
Bakura snorted, sounding somewhat like Tanz, and rolled his eyes.
Illegal Horse Sale Operation Ran by Outlaws
The sign was big and red and the letters were in bold and in lime green.
Bakura laughed hard. He had probably laughed on this one adventure more than in his whole entire life before hand.
Yami just shook his head and sported an expression that said, 'How stupid can someone be?'
Bakura and Yami walked in through the rusty old barn doors and were immediately bombarded with noise.
Lining two long aisles were horse stalls left and right. All in all, in the old abandoned barn, there must have been over thirty horses.
The horses ranged from classy thoroughbreds, possibly stolen, to Shetland ponies for those who couldn't afford to buy somewhere else for their kid's first horse.
Owners were by the stalls calling out to people in the aisles and when one came to talk they downloaded everything they knew about the horse and its needs and perks. You had to give the outlaws credit, most if not all of them, were honest to death. They wouldn't lie to anyone unless it was to save one of their own.
Bakura walked in with his horse, Tanz, behind him because even though a thief and outlaw weren't ones to lie and they respected boundaries, some wouldn't be afraid to steal a prize horse from beneath other outlaw's noses.
He had housed outlaws in his days as a horse trainer trying to form connections for when he was going to leave on his adventure but after three horses went missing he watched much more closely to his house occupant's movements. He lost no more horses after that.
Bakura figured carefulness was better than regretful ness but people flocked to his horse and started asking to buy the fellow.
Poor Bakura got caught in the flow as Yami strode past each stall giving a quick but efficient once over to each horse. He stopped at a stall.
He pointed to the dappled grey inside. She had her foot cocked up and had a look in her far apart eyes that managed to look bored, tired, and condescending all at once.
"Is she finished? Sprinter or long distance? Fast? Breed? Sire? Dam? How much?" Yami rattled off half finished questions rapidly.
Un putt-off the owner by the stall, an old man with a Stetson over his hair like most in the barn, replied with answers just as swift, "Sprinter and near fastest thing on this side of the world as far as I'm concerned. Got her from Kentucky where she was a race horse. Thoroughbred. Sire was Clear Water's Reflection and Run Faster Skippy was her Dam. She is not finished, meaning no name, here we just call her mare. She costs half of whatever you got there in your pockets."
Yami nodded, all business, "I'll take her."
Half the wad of bills was shoved in the old man's hand and a leather halter was placed in Yami's.
Yami walked out the door leading the lithe mare and motioned for a preoccupied Bakura to follow him.
Bakura was fighting off the crowd and leading his prancing horse out of the barn doors brandishing his Stetson like a weapon.
"Phew, that was like one of them brothels, people trying to get their claws in you all the time," he shuddered and looked over to Yami who was silently leading the new mare a little bit farther away from the barn and stopping to look at Bakura.
"Yeah," Yami nodded absently.
Bakura shook his head in pity and then asked, "how about the new mare?"
Yami's full attention was on Bakura and his eyes lit up with childish glee, "She's great, ain't she? Dappled gray, pretty little thing," he patted her affectionately, "I just gotta put a saddle on 'er and name 'er cuz she is almost done with her training. She just ain't finished. Ready to go?"
Bakura rolled his eyes, "Where you goin' to get the saddle baka?"
Yami grinned like an idiot and then pulled a loaded hunter saddle and bridle out from behind him like in the old cartoons with the over sized mallet. Bakura just gaped as Yami set the saddle on the horse's withers and cinched her up.
He then leaned in to whisper in her ear, "You, my dear, shall now be called Ruhe." Yami looked at a still shocked Bakura, "We better get going and see the others," he prompted as he clambered into the saddle. (1)
Bakura broke out of his stupor, grinned at his crazy friend, and swung into the saddle above prancing hooves.
"Let's go!" They yelled in unison and they sped off farther to the east.
Foot notes:
Wow the only one this time. Anyways, Ruhe means Calm in German!
Author's note: not much of one this time, but I am writing the next chappie like right now because it's just coming to me, sorry about not updating my other fics! Also you can review even if you aren't logged in or you can even do it without an account! Amazing!
Reviewing is like eating, You Have To Do It!
And Panguins-in-America-Oh my thanks for the alert, but some feedback would be nice! Ne? Please???