Chapter 2: In the Town of October…
"Vash the Stampede, you're under arrest!"
Vash couldn't believe that he had been recognized already. He tried to keep a low profile and even encourage false rumors as to his appearance, but still people found him. Stupid bounty. It caused nothing but trouble.
"Geez Mister, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just traveling here with some friends." he answered kindly, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"Yeah right!" the man scoffed, "You're that troublemaker, I know it!"
Vash sighed, cursing his luck, when he noticed the girls were coming back from the booth. Vash realized that they had seen him and now had curious looks on their faces as they regarded him. Now he had to figure out how to escape this mess without endangering them.
"Girls, please stay back! I'm in a bit of a situation and I'd rather you not be involved." he announced bravely. Their looks changed to ones of confusion rather than fear or concern, which in turn, confused Vash. Millie peeked around Vash to see the man who was attempting to arrest their companion.
"Mr. Wolfwood, what are you doing to Mr. Vash?" the tall insurance agent asked.
"Wha?" Vash exclaimed, spinning about in surprise and embarrassment. There, with a big mischievous grin on his face, stood Nicholas D. Wolfwood, wandering priest and occasional traveling companion of Vash, Millie, and Meryl's. He was about an inch or two shorter than Vash with a relaxed stance that gave the impression of a gangly frame. This was aided by the slender look of his signature black suit. However, his white shirt was left open by a few buttons, revealing some of the true muscled form underneath. He had a slender face that usually wore a serious expression and dark eyes that were hidden by black sunglasses and strands of his messy black hair. He could often be seen with a lit cigarette dangling from his thin lips. When traveling with Vash, the cigarette would often be knocked from his mouth, much to Wolfwood's annoyance. In his defense, Vash would claim that he would be doing it to protect Wolfwood's health. Not that the priest usually believed him.
In addition to his unique appearance, Wolfwood carried a large cross that was often wrapped in a tarp which was locked with leather belts. When asked about it, he would tell people that he was merely carrying the cross of his burdens. In reality, and what few people knew, was that the heavy cross was actually a means of self-defense. When unlocked, Wolfwood had access to a large array of weaponry. To his friends' surprise, he was actually a brilliant gunman. If they tried to talk to him about it, Wolfwood would only reply that it was a tough world and that one couldn't be too careful. His friends didn't push him on the matter.
Now Vash and the girls had run into him again. He stood before them, leaning against his cross, that same smile still stuck on his face. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and blew out a small cloud of smoke.
"Sorry, Vash, I had to do it. You were looking so serious." Wolfwood apologized again. His voice had a slight raspy quality to it and reflected more of a laid-back attitude than his appearance gave. Vash frowned, moving his bag from one shoulder to the other.
"It still wasn't funny. I get enough of that on a daily basis as it is." the taller gunman replied sourly. Wolfwood nodded in understanding. Ever since the event years ago in the city of July and the event two years ago involving the fifth moon, Vash had been a wanted man with an enormous bounty on his head. There hadn't been a single life lost in either event but both had resulted in serious damage. Life had become a never-ending battle for a man who only craved peace.
Wolfwood stamped out his cigarette and slung his arm over Vash's shoulders. The blonde man eyed the priest suspiciously while the two insurance girls looked on in amusement.
"Vash, let me make it up to you. I'll buy you and the ladies here dinner and a few drinks to make up for my poor behavior." he offered. Vash still wasn't convinced and continued to stare him down.
"How'd you come by the money, Wolfwood?"
"I'll have you know that I did some odd jobs for some folks in town and in addition to donating money for the orphanage, they gave me some money for food and such." Wolfwood responded, taking no offense to Vash's question. The outlaw's face softened, now a little ashamed at his hesitance to the priest's offer. He knew Wolfwood didn't mind helping those in need, priestly obligation aside, especially if those he was helping were greatly in need.
"Well ladies, what do you say? Shall we take up Mr. Wolfwood on his offer?" Vash asked, returning to his light-hearted manner. Millie was already jumping excitedly while Meryl looked more reserved.
"As long as it doesn't lead to any trouble, I'm okay with it." she answered resignedly. With that decided, Wolfwood led the group to a hotel and tavern that he promised would be worth the trip.
As they walked, they noticed that for one of the smaller towns, October was rather lively. Wolfwood explained that the town was one of the few to have two well-functioning plant stations and an abundance of natural resources. It was a well-managed town which was seeing an increase in business and population. Vash noticed that because of the boom, buildings were being remodeled to follow the classical architecture designs of the more affluent cities.
They walked for a few more blocks then ended up on a side street passing a shoe store and a market before Wolfwood stopped in front of a large building. The building was made of white stone, just like many other buildings in town, but it had many windows and a large sign that read:
The Golden Maiden
Hotel and Tavern
The sign was made of wood with the letters etched carefully in it. Each letter was painted in gold ink and off to the side on the sign was a small silhouette of a kneeling girl. From outside, the companions could hear music and laughter filtering from the establishment. It seemed very promising and the road-weary friends were eager to enter. Once inside, they were amazed to see a richly decorated entrance hall. It had dark wood floors and trim with rich-colored floor rugs. Beautiful paintings adorned the walls making it seem rich and homey at the same time. They were greeted by an older gentleman dressed in a black suit. He smiled warmly and waved the group inside.
"Welcome, welcome! How may I help you this evening?" the gray-haired man asked jovially. He didn't even appear bothered by their appearances, probably because he saw all sorts of people stay at the hotel. Wolfwood stepped forward, smiling politely as he rested his cross against the desk.
"Hello, good sir! We would like rooms for this evening. One each for myself and this gentleman." Wolfwood motioned to Vash, who waved in response. "These ladies will have their own room, double beds. All separate bills please."
"Wonderful! That won't be a problem." the man answered and proceeded to assign them rooms and keys. Once payment was given, the group was about to head to their rooms when the gentleman stopped them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I just wanted to inform you that we are currently having our wine festival now. Many taverns are having festivities in the evening and then there shall be events during the day throughout town. We hope you are able to enjoy it during your stay." he explained. The group thanked the man then proceeded to their rooms to freshen up before dinner.
Vash and Wolfwood were the first ones down. The girls said that they had a report to write and would be down afterwards. The two men found a table near the bar and quickly began perusing the menu. Both of them had voracious appetites, their stomachs were growling loud enough for the next table over to hear them. Luckily, the tavern had plenty of servers on staff that night to handle the larger festival crowd. Their orders were taken in no time at all.
While they waited for their food, Vash began to look around at the crowd. He did this wherever he went. It was relaxing for him to see people going about their lives; occasionally he would make up little stories about the people he saw. He hoped one day this whole outlaw bounty business would be over with and he could settle down to have a peaceful life like these folks.
A flash of white out of the corner of his eye broke Vash from his thoughts. He looked toward the other end of the bar where the white flash had headed and saw that it was in fact, a young woman. She looked to be in her early twenties and taller than average. She hung up her white shawl on a peg by the bar, revealing a loose-fitting off-white shirt that had coral designs and a flowy white skirt that fell just above her ankles. Her clothing accentuated her lithe, toned figure. The only jewelry she wore was a gold necklace of some sort and an anklet on her right ankle.
When she turned to speak with the bartender, Vash could see that she had a kind face that seemed to make her eyes light up as she spoke. At that moment, the bartender said something funny and the woman's cupid-bow mouth broke into a lovely smile. She then tucked a golden strand of her hair behind her ear and went to work. Vash noticed with interest that her hair appeared two-toned, one layer rich gold and the other a white-blonde color. It was pinned up loosely on her head and thin strands kept falling to frame her face. Overall she appeared graceful and stunning.
As Vash looked at her, he had the strange feeling that there was something familiar about her. It wasn't quite déjà vu but he had the nagging feeling that he should know her. Then and there, Vash made it a point to get to know this girl by the end of the night. Well, that was if he got the nerve to speak to her.