Where This Flower Blooms

by smeewrites

Effie Bartlett struggles to survive out in the Big Valley with her father, scambling to keep a roof over their heads as the West evolves with the new age. A fierce storm forces an outlaw to seek her help for shelter, and Effie's life is flung into chaos. (OC x Arthur Morgan) Rated M for graphic depictions of violence - the game itself is an 18 so read at your own discretion.

12. Chapter 12 - Blessed Are The Meek?

Chapter 12: Blessed are the Meek?

Arthur groaned himself into consciousness and screwed his eyes shut at the bright sunlight beaming down through the trees invading his vision. He shifted and grunted at the dull resistance of his muscles, completely stiff after sleeping on the hard ground without a bedroll, he sat up with a sigh and rubbed the last remnants of sleep out of his eyes as he listened to the early morning birdsong somewhere in the trees overhead. He rolled his neck between his shoulders as he glanced around; the campfire he'd made last night was still going, and looked like some bits of wood had been added to it recently. His percolator was set up next to it with a tin cup beside it waiting for him, his mare was grazing amongst the herbs and undergrowth not far from where they'd set up for the night, and she raised her head and nickered to him. His jacket was neatly folded over a low hanging branch where he'd hitched the horses last night, and his smile faded when he realised Effie wasn't anywhere to be seen.

He scrambled to his feet and looked around, "Effie?" He called, the hairs on the back of his neck started to prickle as his voice echoed into the woods alone, the only response he got was the sounds of a flock of birds flying overhead, "Effie?"

He sighed and shook his head as he made his way over to the percolator and the cup that had been left out for him, his own tin cup was still laying discarded on the floor after he'd used it last night, the last of the ointment he'd made had dripped out and pooled onto the dirt. With his coffee poured, he headed over to the clearing near his mare and perched on the rocks to drink in the sun. Judging by how low it was in the sky he knew it must still be early, and he furrowed his brow as he sipped the coffee thoughtfully, wondering where Miss Bartlett had gone. His mare approached him and butted her head against his shoulder, nickering quietly and he reached up to pat her neck absentmindedly, "You seen where she went off too, girl?" He smiled when she snorted in response, "Guess not, huh?"

He busied himself by finishing his cup of coffee and cleaning his guns over, he brushed his mare down and rewarded her with a couple of wild carrots he'd found on the way back from Valentine the day before. He was sitting against a tree pouring over his journal drawing when the sound of hoofbeats approaching made him look up, and he couldn't help the smile that tugged on his mouth when he saw Effie jumping down off her stallion with a bright expression lit up on her delicate features.

"Mornin' cowboy," She greeted cheerily, giving her horse a pat and dipping her hand in her satchel to offer him an oatcake, which he accepted enthusiastically, as the Thoroughbred bobbed his head he noticed the three rabbit carcasses swinging lazily from the saddle.

"Mornin'," He returned with a nod as he shut his journal, "And just where've you been?"

Her smile widened, flashing teeth as she pulled out a roll of handbills from her saddlebag and showed it to him, "I woke up early, so took a look at the map and saw that Emerald Ranch ain't far from here and figured I'd pay a visit to our good friend Seamus."

He raised an eyebrow at the stack of bills, "Fair enough, and how is ol' Seamus?"

She chuckled, "Still the same as he was when we first met 'im with Hosea. He was all grumpy 'cause I'd turned up at the crack of dawn, but he was the one who insisted we be discreet, so," She shrugged and eyed the percolator by the fire and smiled warmly, "You found the coffee I left."

The outlaw nodded, "Yeah, thank you."

"Don't mention it,"

"See you've been doin' a little huntin' this mornin', too," He jerked his head to the rabbits and she nodded.

"Yeah, only reason I woke up so early is because this one was gettin' restless," She smiled up at her Thoroughbred and patted his neck, eliciting a nicker from the horse, "Figured I'd take him out to stretch his legs a little. When I was pickin' some herbs I saw their tracks in the mud, followed them for a while with my bow," She took off her worn stalker hat and brushed some dirt off the brim, "You weren't waitin' long for me, were ya?"

Arthur brushed some dust off of his clothes from where they'd slept in the dirt and shook his head, "Nah, I kept myself busy. How's your, er, your side?" He gestured awkwardly to her shirt where he knew the bandages were tied beneath.

"A lot better," Her tone was filled with warmth, the soft, sweet lilt in her voice sounded more clearer to him than it had ever been today, "I can hardly feel it. Thank you, Arthur."

He focussed on some dead twigs under his boots, dipping his hat low to hide the colour rising in his cheeks, "S'okay."

They settled into silence for a while, but it felt relaxed and pleasant. When he glanced back up to her she was settling down and crossing her legs by the fire, her hat on the floor beside her as she brushed her hair through her fingers, easing some tangles out of it. He cleared his throat as he went to sit beside her, they had spent enough time around each other that the short distance felt comfortable to them, but it wasn't as close as they'd sat together last night. He'd fought the urge to pull her into his arms last night as she'd slept, her slumber had been peaceful and undisturbed by any nightmares or terrors; and last night he'd watched her for a while after finishing his journal entry and tortured himself a little by convincing himself it was because he was there with her, and not the half bottle of whiskey she'd drunk just doing it's usual job of coaxing it's drinkers into oblivion.

"I think it's gonna storm in the east today," Effie murmured beside him as she deftly braided her hair in her fingers, "It looked like some clouds were rolling down from the mountains when I rode over The Heartlands."

"Hmm," He looked out of the clearing and towards the east, just about making the dark clouds way out in the distance, "Guess we better get ready for rain in camp over the next few days," Effie grunted beside him whilst he rifled in his satchel and pulled out the map Hosea had given him, "I was thinkin', if we got a few days to wait for John to get the rest of this train job ready, we could go out an' see if we can hunt one of these legendary beasts on here."

He held the map out for her and she finished tying off the braid and leaned closer to look at the map with him, "Huh, let's see here…" He watched her dark eyes narrow curiously as she studied the map in his hands, "Looks like we're right near one up around here." She tapped the drawing of a coyote.

"I was thinking we start off with somethin' easier," He pointed to the region above Valentine on the map.

"That's a," She furrowed her brow, "That's a ram, ain't it?"

"Yep, you hunted ram before?"

She chuckled, "What, in Big Valley?" She glanced up at him with a teasing glint in her dark eyes, "Nah, never seen 'em."

He scoffed at her drawling tone, "Smart ass," He muttered as he folded the map away, "Let's just hope your shootin's as good with rams as it is with rabbits, I don't wanna be comin' away with no damaged pelts, 'specially if they're 'sposed to be legendary."

"Who d'ya think you're talkin' to, Mister Morgan?" She shot him a grin as she got to her feet, "I was probably out skinnin' ram all over Big Valley before you was out robbin' with Dutch an' Hosea."

"Is that right?" He smirked as he got up beside her, kicking some dirt over the campfire and killing the embers as she went and mounted her horse.

---

They talked and laughed as they rode back to camp, it was a short ride, and the camp was just starting to get going on its usual morning routine by the time they were hitching their horses at the entrance. Arthur dropped down and started to help Effie untie the rabbits she'd caught, she was working at the rope to loosen the knots, and smacked his hand playfully when he went to cut one of them with his hunting knife, "Hey! That's good rope you're gonna waste." She tutted.

"What? You expect me to try and get this loose?" He tugged on the second length of rope incredulously, "Look at these knots! Anybody would think you were hogtyin' a wanted man with these, not some damn dead rabbits."

She smirked, "You got a problem with the way I work rope, Mister Morgan?"

"Nah, I got a problem with the way you make work with it, Miss." He smiled when she giggled and dipped his head when he passed her the second carcass, her fingers brushed over his, her touch leaving a tingle in its wake and he flexed his hand slightly as his heart started racing in his chest.

"Arthur!" They both jumped at the booming voice behind them and turned to Dutch striding over towards them, the gold chains hanging from his waistcoat clinked merrily with his purposeful gait.

"Hey Dutch," He greeted with a nod, watching the smoke curl from his leader's signature cigar.

Dutch folded his arms as he looked at the two of them, his eyes narrowed slightly, "You two been out again, huh?"

There was something about his mentor's tone that made Arthur tense up a little; his gaze a little colder than usual, "Yeah. We went out to get a wagon from the oil rig for that job Marston's got."

"I see," Dutch took a long toke on his cigar and glanced from him to Miss Bartlett, "And that took the two of you the rest of yesterday and all night?"

Arthur frowned and tilted his head, "What's the problem, Dutch?"

"The problem," The older man bored his gaze into his, and the hairs on the back of his neck prickled as he recognised that look; for whatever reason, he was angry at him, "Is that whilst you have been out gallivanting around, Micah is still locked up in that damn cell in Strawberry lookin' to swing," The outlaw bristled slightly and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes; with everything that had been going on, he had, admittedly, forgotten all about the slimy bastard, "Now, whatever it is you two have goin' on with John, after that damn mess in Blackwater we can't be forgettin' about anybody else. And I asked you, son. I asked you to go get him out, and he's still rottin' away up there whilst you and Miss Bartlett are havin' a fine old time."

Arthur's face felt hot; it wasn't often the leader would rebuke him in camp like this, and the disappointment in his mentor's face did its job to bring his high spirits back down to Earth. He opened his mouth to speak, but beside him Effie cleared her throat, "We ended up runnin' a few errands afterwards, actually," She passed the rabbits to Arthur and dug her hand into her satchel, "I'm the reason we were out for so long, I needed to get some things we'd robbed to the fence," She held out the stack of handbills to the leader, who eyed the girl with a slightly stunned look, "I'm sorry Mister Van Der Linde, I didn't realise Arthur was expected on another job, but we got a good take for the camp." She gave the leader an imploring stare as she waited for him to take the bills.

The younger outlaw watched as Dutch faltered slightly, flicking through the wad of bills, "Well, it's good that you two ain't forgettin' about all that money that's out there," He muttered and took another toke on his cigar before he gave chuckled slightly, the warmth slowly returning in his gaze as he looked at Effie, "Comes in ridin' to camp with bonds, and the next day with a stack of cash. Looks like you're shapin' up to be quite the outlaw there, Miss Bartlett."

Arthur released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding as relief fluttered through him at the gang leader's apparently elated mood, "I'll head out and go get Micah out today, Dutch."

The gang leader nodded, "Make sure you do."

"Do you need me to go with you, Arthur?" Effie glanced up at him with a small smile.

Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but Dutch beat him to it, "Actually, Miss Bartlett, Mister Escuella has been lookin' for you,"

The younger outlaw frowned, "He was?"

"Uh-huh, something about a lesson in quickdraw," Over Dutch's shoulder, Arthur eyed Javier cleaning his pistols by the campfire and his lips pressed into a thin line whilst Effie nodded.

"Sure," She shrugged, "I'll go drop these off for Mister Pearson and go find him."

She turned to untie the last rabbit from her horse, and Dutch shot Arthur a look before he turned and strode off back to his tent, he suppressed a sigh and turned back to help her work the last knot, his mood soured considerably at the prospect of going out to rescue Micah, of all people.

"Here," Arthur grabbed his knife and cut through the last rope, this time Effie didn't protest about the waste of rope, and she looked up at him with a knowing smile as he handed her the other rabbits.

"Thanks, guess that legendary ram'll have to wait for another day," Her gaze flickered to Dutch's tent and she nudged him playfully, "Bet you're glad I rode out to Seamus now, Dutch seemed pretty mad with us."

He huffed and shook his head, "Yeah, I was sorta hopin' Hosea would read in the paper that Micah was hanged, and that'd be the end of it. Guess I underestimated how much ol' Dutch favours the bastard."

"Huh, if I didn't know any better, Mister Morgan, it sounds like this Micah fella ain't your favourite gang mate."

"You could say that," He smiled, "Trust me, it's a shared feelin' among a lot of us here, ever since he started runnin' with us, the fool's been a lot more trouble than he's worth."

She nodded, "Yeah, the girl's told me a little about him, guess I'll see for myself when you bring him back."

He grunted and spotted John emerging from his tent across camp, "I'll go catch up with Marston before I leave, you gonna be okay with Javier?"

She frowned, "Yeah, why?"

"Nothin'," He said, widening his eyes innocently to appear nonchalant, whilst something coiled deep within him, "I'll catch up wit 'chu later, don't go doin' anythin' to strain yaself," He reached into his satchel and rooted around until he found the Miracle Tonic he'd used to make his salve last night, "Take this, it'll work better than whatever Abigail gave ya," He mumbled quickly as he reached to open her satchel and put it in for her.

She blinked, her cheeks tinging pink, "Thank you, Arthur," She said, her tone quiet as she looked away.

"Oye chica!" They both turned to Javier walking over, the outlaw was known around camp as the best dressed out of all of them, and today was no exception; he was wearing a crisp shirt underneath an embroidered waistcoat the shade of a cornflower, hed rolled the sleeves neatly up to his elbows, and his boots look like they'd been neatly polished underneath his black tailored trousers. He was holding his pistol in one hand, and skillfully loading bullets into the chamber, he snapped the chamber shut as he closed the distance between, and he offered her a smile in greeting, "There you are, I was wondering if you'd be wanting your first quickdraw lesson today, hermosa."

Arthur stiffened slightly whilst Effie returned his smile, "Sure thing, Mister Escuella, just give me a few minutes and I'll join you."

Javier nodded and holstered his pistol, "Excellent, I've gotta make sure Boaz is all ready, then we'll ride out."

The outlaw frowned, "Ride out? Where are ya goin'?"

The Mexican shot him a sly look, "Just out of camp for a while, get some bottles set up somewhere to practise."

"And you can't just do it in the woods?"

"The gunshots might attract people to come looking," Javier shook his head coolly, "It's better if we go off somewhere."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the other outlaw, and a smirk twitched on the corner of Javier's mouth, Effie adjusted the rabbits in her arms and nodded, missing the silent exchange between the two men, "No, it makes sense, I don't exactly wanna be the cause of the camp bein' discovered. Lemme go give these to Mister Pearson and I'll be right with you."

Javier waited until Effie was out of earshot before he turned to the outlaw, that cocky smirk that had been threatening his features finally revealing itself and he let out a low whistle as he grabbed his cigarettes out of his trouser pocket, "You look real mad there, friend," He struck a match off his boot, his smile widened behind cigarette between his teeth as he met Arthur's hard gaze.

"Oh, I ain't mad," Arthur leaned back and crossed his arms, "Matter of fact; I'm sure lookin' forward to seein' that ego o' yours crushed." Javier chuckled as he raised the burning match up, once the tip was lit, he took a long drag and turned his gaze to where Effie was; she was stood with Pearson at his makeshift table holding her knife to the belly of one of the rabbits, completely engrossed with whatever it was they were talking about.

He bumped his shoulder against Arthur's a little harder than necessary, "I don't know about all that, Arthur, I've got a bit of a habit of getting what I want, and," His eyes flashed challengingly when the outlaw glared back at him, "Me gustan las cositas lindas con lenguas afiladas."

"You know I ain't got a clue what 'chu just said." Arthur huffed, his jaw tightening as his irritation with the Mexican grew.

"Don't worry about it," Javier waved his hand and took another toke on his cigarette, "You're going to Strawberry to go get Micah, right?"

Arthur heaved a sigh, "Yeah. I ain't got no doubts that that asshole deserves the rope, though."

"Hmph, you're probably right," Javier nodded and threw his cigarette, "But he's one of us, so."

The outlaw chuckled dryly, "I dunno, I guess I'd be more willing to go if it was anybody else."

"Well, yeah," The Mexican scoffed as he turned and headed towards the hitching posts at the entrance to camp, "Oh, Arthur?"

Arthur glanced his way, Javier waited until he got the outlaw's attention before he gave a rapacious grin, "I told you I'd be doing something about it."

---

Effie fiddled with the pistol in her hand whilst Javier finished setting up some empty bottles he'd brought along for them to practise with. They hadn't gone far; they'd taken the road north of Valentine and up the hills into Cumberland Forest, Javier had led her off the road and into the woods until he'd found a small clearing along the trees that he'd deemed suitable.

She studied the snake carving on the pearl grip and traced it with her fingernail gently, admiring the intricacy of the detailing of the silver inlay along the barrel, standing brightly out against the blackened steel. It really was a beautiful pistol, and she wondered how long Arthur had had it before he'd given it to her before they'd rescued Sean from those bounty hunters.

"Okay, cariño. The bottles are all set up, let's get started," Javier pointed to the bottles he'd balanced on the warped trunk of a fallen tree, all of them in varying heights and positions. Effie grabbed a box of bullets from her Thoroughbred's saddle bag and went to meet the outlaw where he was standing a good distance away from the targets, "Tell me what you know about drawing fast."

She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips as she thought about it; uncomfortable, hazy memories of watching the O'Driscoll's in their camp in the late summer evenings whilst she was tied to the hitching post came racing to the front of her brain and she swallowed. "Not much, when I saw the O'Driscoll's do it, they sorta stood like this opposite each other," She stiffly adjusted her stance to what she vaguely remembered, "And then, someone would tell 'em to draw, and-" She raised her pistol and thumbed the hammer back with a click, but didn't squeeze the trigger.

Javier's amber gaze bored into her, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, that's one way to do it, but you look… rigid. Put that leg forward slightly, and relax yourself," He took the pistol from her grip and reset the hammer before he slotted it in the holster hanging off her lower hip as she slid her leg forward. She breathed quietly, trying to follow his direction and calm down, she closed her eyes so she could beat away the O'Driscoll camp memories flooding her mind, "That's better." He said softly, "When you're out shooting, you treat the weapon like it's a part of you. With quickdraw, it's not any different. If you lean back slightly and keep your leg forward, the pistol just needs to be raised and fired without much aiming needed - unless you're looking to disarm, rather than kill somebody outright, that is." He got in the same position she was in and focused on the bottles on the tree, then he whipped his pistol out and fired in the same second; Effie's eyes widened when the glass exploded and shards shattered to the floor dully, birds that were roosting in the trees around them screeched in fear as they took flight. Javier nodded to himself and spun the pistol in his hand and glanced at her with a smirk, "See? Now you try."

She nodded and took some deep breaths as she sized up the bottles on the tree, she zeroed in on one that was set at the same height as her and willed herself to focus, purging everything else out of her mind until it was just her and the bottle. Her hand twitched with the anticipation of it all before she made a move and gripped it, trying to keep her movements as fluid as possible as she raised it and fired. She was slower than Javier had been, but she still let out a satisfied exhale slowly as the bottle exploded with the bullet hitting her mark.

The outlaw grinned, and leaned back as he pulled his cigarettes out his pocket, "That was good, now keep going."

Effie must have wasted easily a chamber's worth of bullets by the time she'd cleared the bottles on the lower parts of the tree, but was slowly getting the hang of it; she'd cleared the first three bottles on the top row but her mouth twitched with the fourth and she holstered the pistol with an irritated huff as she missed it, "Fuck. I'm still too slow."

"Idioteces," Javier waved the cigarette in his hand, "You're fine, cariño, it just takes practise." Effie huffed and took her hat off, as if that was the reason she'd missed, "You wanna take a break for a bit?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't need a break. Just need to get this quickdraw thing down."

Effie fell into the stance Javier had taught her, and she felt his gaze boring into her out of the corner of her eye as she glared at the bottles in front of her, trying not to grit her teeth as she concentrated. Keeping her muscles loose, she flashed the pistol up and fired it as quickly as she could, hissing through her teeth as the bullet missed the bottle and obliterated the bark above it.

"That was fast, but you're overthinking it, cariño," Javier discarded his cigarette and stepped closer to her, "You're choosing speed over accuracy," He murmured and gently grasped the grip over her hand and pulled it down slightly, "And your aim keeps going slightly above the target."

Effie lowered the gun and frowned at him, with him this close to her, she could see appreciate his features more. "So what should I do? I still ain't pullin' my gun as fast as you did."

"The more skilled you get, the faster you can draw," Javier shrugged, "It's just something that comes more natural the more you do it."

She eyed the outlaw with narrowed eyes, mulling over his words as she studied him closely; the way he kept his facial hair meticulously trimmed and well groomed, the faded scar on his left cheek, his nose was slightly bent at the bridge - no doubt from where it had once been broken, and under collar of his shirt she made out a thin scar that scored his throat. "How long did it take for you to get good at this, Mister Escuella?"

He cracked a small smile, "I'm not sure, I've been wanted for a long time now, hermosa. Long before I came to this country and met Dutch."

She tilted her head, "Do you miss it? Your life in Mexico, before you became an outlaw?"

"Every day," He nodded, and his smile faded, "But I made… lots of mistakes, and sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get to go back there. With everything I did there, and everything that went wrong," He paused and looked away, "I don't think I have many regrets about it. All the choices I made were ones that I made by following my heart, because I was loyal to myself, and what mattered at the time to me."

Effie watched the tempest of emotion flare in his eyes and she holstered the pistol in her hand, and grabbed her cigarettes from her satchel. She put one between her lips and patted her pockets for her matchbox and paused when she heard the sound of a match being struck. Javier cupped his hand around the flame and held it out to her, she hesitated before leaning closer and allowing him to light the tip and she looked away as she took a long drag.

He brushed a couple of loose strands that had fallen from her braid out of her face and she stilled and glanced back at him, "You know, you remind me of a woman I once knew, back in Nuevo Paraíso," He said quietly.

Effie frowned, "Nuevo Paraíso?" She echoed as she edged back from him slightly, she stooped and picked her hat back up from the ground, an unwanted, all too familiar sense of unease ebbed through her as she brushed the dirt off the brim and put it back on, pulling it low over her face.

"It's where I was born. Aurelia," Javier looked away wistfully as soon as he said the name, completely lost in his own past and oblivious to her shuffling, "She was… everything. Siento que ella era un ángel caminando entre nosotros, los humanos," He murmured and glanced back to her, his eyes bright, "I see a lot of her in you."

"So you said," Effie gave a slight nod, above them, the overcast sky had grown darker as more clouds had rolled in, and she winced when she heard a low rumbling of thunder, "We should start heading back." She turned and started heading to where their horses were grazing.

"Have I upset you?" He hurried after her.

She shook her head, "No, 'course not, Mister Escuella. I just don't want to get us stuck out in a storm, looks like it's gonna be a fierce one."

As they reached their horses thunder clapped overhead, and she kept a tight grip on her reins as she stood in front of her stallion, patting his neck as he brayed at the noise, "It's okay, boy," She soothed, she waited until he'd calmed down enough to stop shifting his hooves nervously and climbed up onto the saddle, "There we go, huh? It's not so bad."

Javier was already up on Boaz, and tilted his head towards the woods, "Come on, I'll lead us back."

She followed behind him as he led the way through the trees, ignoring the wildlife around him as the first drops of rain fell. It was light at first, but soon gave way to an intense downpour, she reached behind her saddle to try and feel for the coat Arthur had bought her, only to find the space where she stored it empty and she groaned.

Ahead of her, Javier was no better, but whilst he hadn't a coat either he'd had the good sense to take his coloured poncho with him, and he threw it over himself as he cursed, "Carajo, the heaven's have really opened up today."

"Yeah, no kidding," She scoffed as the trees and undergrowth thinned to reveal the road, the torrential rain after such a dry spell in the area had caused it to flood, and both horses hoofbeats were suddenly muffled as they made their way through the mud, "You know where we are?" She asked, looking around the unknown woods warily; she'd not spent much time in this area, and all the landmarks they passed looked completely unfamiliar.

"I think so," Javier nodded as she spurred her Thoroughbred to match Boaz's speed, "If we're on the road I think we're on, so long as we head south we'll either reach Valentine or come out to The Heartlands, behind that oil rig that's round there."

Effie pulled a face, "Hopefully we're on the way to Valentine then, I don't exactly fancy riding by the oil rig after me and Arthur stole one of their wagons yesterday."

The two of them rode in a miserable silence for a while, it must have only been the afternoon, but the massive storm clouds that loomed over New Hanover made the sky dark, and Effie shivered as her dark shirt clung to her back. "Not a fan of wet weather either, hermosa?"

She glanced over to the other outlaw and shook her head dejectedly, "Not exactly, no. 'Specially when it's s'posed to be gettin' into the warmer season."

A sudden rally of gunshots sounded out from somewhere ahead of them, and they both pulled on their reins sharply as the noise from the firing echoed in the woods around them. Both of them were instantly alert, and Javier looked around the forest with narrowed eyes, "You think that was a hunter?"

Effie shot him a grim look, "Not unless they're fightin' off a bear or a wolf pack," She leaned and grabbed her repeater from underneath her saddle and checked the chamber before she slung it over her shoulder, then she pulled her box of bullets out and loaded the rest of the chamber in her pistol, "Come on."

---

Arthur glanced up at the dark overcast that had settled over Strawberry as he entered the town at a slow, leisurely pace. He'd not rushed on the ride over, and couldn't decide whether that was because of his reluctance to go and rescue Micah or Javier's parting words; either way, he hadn't want to come, so had dragged out the ride by stopping to pick any herbs he found, he'd even stopped to hastily sketch a raccoon that had burst out from the undergrowth.

It had been a long while since he'd last been in the town, but it was exactly as he'd remembered; quaint and quiet, he wondered if it was the fact that it was so much closer to nature - what with the lack of electric lines and train station, that made it feel so much more serene than Valentine. It was exactly how he'd remembered it; with the butcher's stall set up by the entrance, he even recognised the same young kid that was always selling newspapers on the street corner opposite.

The butcher narrowed his eyes and stood up from his perch as Arthur passed by, "Hey, Mister!" He called, "Been a long time since I seen you round here, where've you been?"

"Oh, around," Arthur shrugged and eyed what little meat he had on display, his sign had a few items on the board crossed out and he frowned, "You low on stock or somethin'?"

The huge man waved his flabby arm, "I ain't been gettin' as much hunters through recently, what with all this talk about gang activity that's been goin' around. Heard it ain't just O'Driscoll's that are roamin' the state these days, we heard talk of another one; Dutch's Boys," Arthur stiffened slightly in his saddle, but the butcher didn't notice, "They hit Blackwater a couple months back, whole town's still on lockdown from what I heard, so I'm a little short at the moment. Say, you used to come through with somethin' to sell, you got anythin' for me, Mister?"

The outlaw shook his head, "Nah, not today," He eyed the Sheriff's at the top of the road and deliberated for a moment, "Didn't you used to have a regular that hunted up in these parts? Y'know, she gave you a shiner that one time… what was her name?"

The butcher's red face soured, "Effie Bartlett," He all but spat, "That's a name I ain't heard in a while. Shit, I guess you didn't hear," The huge man folded his arms over his bulging midriff, and his piggy features turned smug, "Turns out her old man racked up a load of debt with them two gangs. 'Pparently, the O'Driscoll's went and paid 'em a visit one night, nobody's seen or heard from her since."

Arthur schooled his expression, "That's a damn shame. And nobody went out lookin' for her?"

The butcher huffed out a cruel chuckle, and Arthur's teeth gritted, "That girl was a pain in my ass, and had a god damn attitude. When she stopped showin' up to my stall every day I just figured she'd finally starved to death out there, or maybe a cougar had gotten her. 'Sides, I ain't her damn daddy, it ain't my responsibility that she suddenly disappeared."

The outlaw looked down at his hands clenching tightly onto the reins, "So, nobody did nothin'?" He managed to bite out.

The man shrugged and wiped some sweat off his bloated face, "Well, after a good week or so, I thought about sayin' somethin' to the Sheriff, but then I figured why make it my problem? Then, a couple weeks ago ol' Jack comes runnin' into town beggin' somebody to take him to Blackwater to speak to them government agents that are lookin' all over for these gangs. Said that daughter of his had up an' joined a gang and become an outlaw, even went back to Jack's to collect a debt he owed."

Arthur tilted his head, "Is that right?"

"Yup," The butcher nodded conspiratorially, "Ol' Bartlett made his way to Blackwater after that, nobody's seen him since."

The outlaw glanced back down the road he'd come, and looked out towards The Great Plains in the distance, knowing Blackwater was somewhere beyond, "Huh, an' people really believed his daughter was an outlaw?"

The man threw back his head and laughed, "Nah, we all just figured Jack had finally lost it after them O'Driscoll's got her. I mean, could you imagine a little thing like her out robbin' people?"

Despite everything, Arthur smiled; oh, if only these idiots knew.

"We did get some of them O'Driscoll's come through here not long after though, said they was lookin' for some girl that sounded like her. And I got a friend who let's just say ain't got the cleanest of hands, and he did tell me that that leader of the O'Driscoll's - Colm or whatever, he's been searchin' all over for some whore they bought off'a somebody that owed 'em a score."

The outlaw's smile faded as soon as it had appeared, "Oh."

The butcher nodded and jerked his thumb to the Sheriff's office at the top of the town, "Yeah, they was drinkin' one night when this pair of travellers that were passin' through stopped off at the saloon. From what I heard, two of 'em got shot, and one of the fellas hightailed it outta there when the law came around. The O'Driscoll and the other guy are holed up in a cell at the Sheriff's, waitin' for Blackwater to send an executioner and a priest down to read 'em their last rites 'fore they swing."

Arthur chuckled, remembering the hazy recount of the story Lenny had told him over all those drinks in Valentine, "These damn O'Driscoll's, they ain't nothin' but a nuisance." He tutted.

"Heh, I'll say," The butcher scoffed, "Ever since they turned up all them months ago I've been strugglin' for goods. And I never told her, but Miss Bartlett helped line my pockets real nice - 'specially 'cause she was so piss poor I could undercut her and she weren't in no position to complain," Arthur's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed down at the man, but he didn't take much notice as he rubbed his jaw and nodded to himself, "'S a real shame, 'cause that girl was one of the best hunters I'd ever seen, even if she did have a mouth on her."

The outlaw huffed and tipped his hat, "Well, I best be gettin' on," He kicked his heel lightly into his mare's side to urge her forward.

"Good to see ya, Mister! And if you're ever out there huntin' come bring 'em to me." The man shouted after him.

"Sure." He said flatly, having no intention whatsoever to help that bastard, even if his business was at risk because of the Blackwater lockdown.

Arthur hitched his mare up outside the Sheriff's office and brushed his clothes down and checked his pistol, then he pulled his rifle out from underneath his saddle and slung them over his shoulders, praying that he wouldn't need it for a simple jailbreak.

But with someone like Micah, you just never knew with him.

He sighed to himself as he knocked on the door to the office and listened to the low murmurs and footsteps inside. The door opened and a lawman peered out, narrowing his eyes as he took in the outlaw, "Yep?"

"Hello, Sir," Arthur nodded and peered through the door to see the Sheriff sat at his desk, "I've, er, I've come from Blackwater," The Sheriff gave the officer holding the door a swift nod and it was opened wider for the outlaw to step through, "I'm on the trail of a - a dangerous gang," He emphasised convincingly and cleared his throat, "Colm O'Driscoll and his boys. Heard you had some sorta incident."

The Sheriff shook his head and went back to his papers, "We don't deal with bounty hunters round here, son." He said dismissively.

Arthur held up his hands and widened his eyes, "I - I was just wonderin' if I could get a description." He pressed carefully.

The Sheriff sighed and leaned back in his chair, his tired eyes meeting the outlaw's, "Well, they weren't friends; they got in a fight, two men got killed," He said simply, "Now, one of 'em's an idiot and the other's some kind of dumb mick, so maybe them's your boys. You can look right enough," Arthur's mouth twitched at the Sheriff's offer but the man smirked and leaned closer to the outlaw, "When we hang 'em."

Any budding joy at the prospect of an easy jailbreak was crushed with the Marshall's smirk, and for a split second, he considered taking his pistol and unloading it at the smug bastard there and then. The floor creaking behind him as the officer who opened the door adjusted his grip on his shotgun, on his other side he could see the Deputy rising from his desk, his pistol was placed on the table as he leaned forward and the outlaw pursed his lips for a split second before he nodded, "Thank you, Sheriff." The lawman opened the door for him and he stalked out. The rain had finally started, and Arthur was more or less soaked from it the second he stepped outside, adding to his souring mood. It wasn't until the door slammed shut behind him did his jaw tighten and his fists clench.

The hell was he supposed to do now?

"Let me outta here, you maggots!" A murderous yell sounded from the side of the building on the lower verge and Arthur rolled his eyes; he recognised that venomous tone anywhere.

With a sigh, he jumped down to the lower path and sauntered to the barred window; admittedly, his spirits did brighten at the sight of a particularly haggard Micah Bell, one eye swollen shut and his face sporting some painful looking bruises, he glared as Arthur's shadow fell across the window, but his good eye widened when he realised who it was, "Arthur? Arthur!" He called, and the outlaw almost paused to savour the desperation in his reluctant gang mate's pitying tone.

"Hello, old friend," He greeted back breezily, "Had a good time, did ya?"

Micah chuckled, but he looked a little nervous, "Heh, you gonna get me outta here?"

Arthur sighed as he leaned back against the wall next to the window, "I ain't decided yet," He admitted, his tone sardonic.

Micah gripped the iron bars harder, "Real funny." He bit back flatly.

Arthur grinned, "Oh, I ain't jokin', cowpoke," He dropped his light tone and pushed himself off the wall to peer down through the bars at the other outlaw with narrowed eyes, "I heard so much bluster outta your mouth these last six months, and now? I got an opportunity to watch you be silenced."

Micah gritted his teeth, "Well, you gotta do somethin'."

The outlaw almost snorted, "Why?"

The forlorn, pitiful expression that grew on Micah's face was a sight Arthur was certain he was going to commit to memory, "I - I always looked up to you, Arthur," He began.

The outlaw straightened up and rolled his eyes, "Well that's your first mistake." He said flatly and glanced down the street, the sudden torrent of rain had done wonders to drive the townsfolk indoors, and the town was quiet, "Listen, there's one little problem; there's only one of me and there's a whole townjust full of people wantin' to see you swing." He spread his arm out wide for emphasis and gave Micah a careless shrug.

"You got to do somethin', Arthur. You got any dynamite?" Micah was damn near begging at this point, and the outlaw had to turn away to hide the triumphant grin spreading on his face. It was when he looked over to the steam donkey quietly chugging away, however, that he had an idea. He stepped back out into the rain over to the piece of heavy machinery and tilted his head as he eyed the thick, iron chains it boasted, a winch hook was hanging off the end and he grabbed it, hefting it in his hand and glancing back at the bars thoughtfully, Micah's eyes brightened when he saw it too, "Yes! Hook that over the bars, see if you can pull 'em off."

Arthur suppressed a sigh as he pulled the chain out, it clunked heavily as it unwound from the machine and he shook his head as he hooked it over one of the bars, "What a modern disaster this is gonna be," He drawled.

"Just pull that lever, come on!" Micah urged. Behind him, his cellmate had gotten up off the cot he was sitting on and wandered over to the window, eyeing the hook on the bars in interest, Micah swung round and glared at him, "Can we help you?" He snapped.

"My God, you'll be lucky if you don't pull half the damn building down with that thing." The prisoner gaped, Arthur rolled his eyes as he turned back to start the machine, but he paused when he saw the green bandanna hanging from his neck.

"Hold up, are you the O'Driscoll?" Arthur frowned.

The man paled and looked between his cellmate and the outlaw, "So what if I am?"

"Can we get a move on, here, Arthur?" Micah snapped impatiently, "What are you waitin' for?"

"Shut up," Arthur glared at Micah and leaned down to look at the O'Driscoll, "I heard you and your friends was in town 'cause ol' Colm's got 'chu boys out lookin' for someone."

The O'Driscoll narrowed his eyes, "So what if we were? What's it to you, Mister?"

"You're lookin' for a girl right? 'Bout yay high, dark hair, early twenties?"

The prisoner tilted his head, "Why? You seen her?"

"I might've," Arthur shrugged, "But, y'see, I'm lookin' for someone too. One of your boys in particular, y'know of a fella that runs with your lot? Think his name's Patrick."

The outlaw saw the fear flash in the man's gaze as plain as day as he licked his lips, "Why?" He said guardedly.

Arthur crossed his arms, "Well, I normally go round shootin' O'Driscoll's, I ain't one to rescue any of 'em. But I'll cut 'chu a deal; I help get you out of this cell, an' you an' I have a little chat 'bout your friend Patrick, sound fair?"

The O'Driscoll looked around the cell he was in and deliberated for a long moment before he nodded slowly, "Okay."

"You know where he is?" Arthur eyed him with a hard stare.

"Yeah, I can show you where his camp is on a map."

The outlaw smiled brightly, "Well, alright then, partner," He straightened and strode back over to the steam donkey, "You boys just sit tight now." He grasped the lever with both hands and grunted as he heaved it back, it hissed as it set into place and the chain quickly wound round as the machine rolled, it locked tight when the hook refused to let go of the bars and Arthur stepped back as he heard the metal groaning, unsure if the machine was going to give out before the barred window.

With a sudden bang of pressure, the bar flew off with the hook, pulling the entire window and half the stone wall away with it, "Jesus," He muttered as he recognised Micah's figure coughing through the cloud of dust, he rooted through his satchel for a spare gun and handed his gang mate a worn revolver he'd picked up and was intending to sell, "Let's get outta here, come one." He urged, eyeing the upper window to the Sheriff's office warily as he pulled his bandanna up over his face.

Micah grinned at the pistol in his hand and thumbed the hammer back as Arthur let out a sharp whistle for his mare, the loud gunshot made him whirl and his face fell as Micah shot the O'Driscoll straight in the head as he climbed out the wreckage, "No! What the hell are you doin'?"

Micah frowned, "He was an O'Driscoll," He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Did you think I just stood there and made a deal with him for the hell of it?" Arthur hissed and grabbed Micah by the scruff of his shirt, "Clearly, I needed that bastard for somethin', and you just shot my only lead!"

A bullet pinging off the steam donkey behind them was the only thing that saved Micah from being punched in the jaw, he dropped Micah and turned to the shooter, it was the lawman from the office, glaring down at the two of them with his gun raised. Arthur ducked down as he fired again and found cover behind some barrels, "I knew you was scum the moment I laid eyes on you, boy!" The Sheriff yelled as he barrelled out the door with the Deputy. Growling, he grabbed his rifle off his back and waited for a break in the gunfire before he raised up and fired back. It was as easy as breathing air to him, lining up his sight in rapid speed and firing at each target in quick succession, silencing the Sheriff and his officers quickly.

Obviously, not quickly enough.

"Oh, shit," Arthur cursed as he saw the wagon filled with lawmen riding up into town, he recognised the black formal robes of the passenger at the front of the wagon next to the driver and rolled his eyes; of all the times for the Blackwater enforcers to come into town, why oh why did it have to be now?

Micah stayed back as Arthur raised his rifle, taking out the driver and one of the lawmen as he jumped down off the back of the wagon, "Come on, we gotta get goin'!" He yelled back to his gang mate and gestured for him to join.

Micah ran ahead, his pistol raised and shot the priest in the chest as he sprinted for cover, "Just what in the hell is a reverend doin' with a bunch'a law anyways?" He yelled as he cowered behind an unused wagon.

"You didn't know? He's come to read ya last rites!" Arthur shouted back as he took out another two officers, his jaw set as he weighed up how quickly the officers just seemed to keep coming, beyond the wagon, he could see reinforcements riding up on horseback through the town's entrance and he gritted his teeth.

"Come on Arthur!" Micah called and veered off to the right to the bridge that went over the river that ran through the town.

The outlaw glared as he ducked behind some crates, hastily reloading the chamber in his rifle, "Don't go that way, let's get the hell outta here!"

"I got some unfinished business!" Micah yelled back over his shoulder as he continued towards the bridge, another lawman was thundering down on horseback to cut them off, and Micah dispatched him with a couple of thunderous gunshots to his chest, "Trust me, Morgan!"

Arthur growled as Micah pressed on ahead over the bridge, knowing he was forced to follow if they wanted to get out alive, "Trust you?" He spat as he jumped out from his cover and risked the sprint across the muddy street to get over the bridge, the rain was hammering down in a constant downpour, the only thing that could be heard over it were the flurry of gunshots and his and Micah's shouting match, "You have finally lost your damn mind!"

"Keep movin', Arthur!" Micah urged, skidding to a halt as a couple of armed locals stepped out of their house and onto their porch, apparently deciding to take part in the public slaughter.

Arthur shot them both down before they could get a shot off on Micah and looked around, trying to see through the wet haze of torrential rain for his poor mare. God, he hoped she hadn't been caught in the crossfire, "You goddamn maniac!" He cursed the sullen blonde again, "I should've left you to hang!"

He didn't need to try and look through the rain to know the bastard undoubtedly had a triumphant grin plastered on his face, "We're in it now, Morgan. What do you wanna do?" Arthur didn't respond, too busy keeping the law from shooting the idiot he'd been foolish enough to rescue, "I'll kill this whole damn town if I have to!"

With the bridge and the road finally clear, they both sprinted across, Arthur turned to the shouts down the road and he didn't hesitate as he aimed and fired. Lawman or local, he didn't care at this point. He was beside himself with rage at how the whole thing had turned out, not only had he found and then lost the only lead that might've led to Effie's tormenter, he was now being forced to shoot up an entire town to protect the same bastard who was the one person he'd love nothing more than to see shot down like the damn dog he was. "We should be long gone by now!" Arthur yelled as he reloaded, glaring at Micah as he ran past and down the street he'd cleared.

"They got somethin' of mine I ain't leavin' without!" Micah shouted back.

"Who? Shit!" He swore when he looked up and saw another wave of eager lawmen making their way across the second bridge at the bottom of the town, he furiously threw the rifle over his back, deciding it was just taking far too long to reload and brandished his pistol. He emptied the chamber on all of them, taking down the first five and injuring two, which Micah soon finished off.

"Let's go!" Micah nodded as he stooped to pick up a fallen revolver from one of the countless men they'd gunned down.

"Where are we goin'?" He asked as he reloaded behind him.

"Makin' a house call!" He yelled before he dived behind the decking of somebody's porch.

Arthur gritted his teeth as he ducked down, though on the open street, there wasn't anything to take cover with, and he yelled out as a bullet grazed his forearm, "Ah! We really should get outta here!" He snapped, his arm burning, the blood forming on his sleeve soon mixed with the wet of the rainwater and streaked down his arm and off his hand and fingers. He soon found the man that had managed to glance him with a shot, and he snarled as he shot his head through brutally with three punishing bullets, not even waiting for him to fall to the floor before taking out his friend coming up behind him.

"Calm yourself, Morgan," Micah drawled somewhere behind the outlaw, "Like I said; I need to see someone."

With the last two lawmen dead, there was a lull in the gunfire, and Arthur holstered his pistol for a moment to grasp his arm and clench it, grunting at the pain that blossomed with the pressure on the wound.

Meanwhile, Micah was hammering on the door to the house by the bridge they'd shot their way over to, "Skinny!"

Arthur looked down at the countless dead bodies that littered the streets, "Shit," He breathed, and to think - just ten minutes ago was he having a nice, civilised conversation with the butcher by the town's entrance, the rain had mercifully eased off a little, and he could see more than a few feet in front of him again.

Across the lower bridge, he could see the butcher's stall, but it was completely empty, the outlaw wondered if he'd managed to escape the sudden eruption of violence as another few gunshots sounded, Arthur turned just as Micah lowered his gun, the man who'd opened the door to the house fell back, and his gang mate spat on his corpse, "You always was a letdown, you fat sack of crap," He glanced back at the outlaw and nodded his head, "'Scuse me a minute, Arthur." Arthur opened his mouth to ask him for the hundredth time on what the hell he was doing, but Micah stepped into the house and slammed the door, the outlaw leaned on the porch and got his breath back as he heard Micah rummaging through the house, he heard the unmistakable sound of a woman sobbing inside and he looked up as he heard Micah's drawl, "Hello, Maddy, did ya miss me?" The woman, Maddy, started screaming, but was soon cut off when he saw the window flash twice with the two gunshots, and he gritted his teeth as he looked down at the muddy ground, his blood was still dripping from the graze in his arm, and he watched it fall onto the wet floor and puddle into a deep red.

The door to the house soon opened, and Micah emerged with a predatory smirk as he finished buckling his gun belt, "They had somethin' of mine," He explained when he saw Arthur's cold look, "My guns," He laughed as he raised them up to show him gleefully.

The outlaw glanced at the window where he'd seen the flash of gunshots and clenched his jaw, "Right, you got the fuckin' guns. Can we get outta here now?"

"Sure," Micah chuckled as he thumbed back both hammers, "Lead the way, Morgan."

"Of all the fools," He muttered to himself as he made his way across the lower bridge.

"There they are!" An officer shouted as he ran down the street from the top of the hill where the carnage had begun, he skidded behind some crates but Arthur was faster, he flashed his pistol up and blew his chest open before he made it to cover, and flinched as someone shot at them from the balcony of the hotel.

Micah came up behind him and made quick work of the local on the balcony, "I showed him, and I'll show the rest of this town!" He yelled out as he dashed past.

"You have really lost it this time." Arthur snapped, and Micah laughed.

"See the horses? Come on!"

He recognised Micah's horse hitched outside the post office and frowned until he saw his mare barrelling down the street towards him and he sighed, "Girl," He greeted tiredly as she halted in front of him, and he wasted no time in jumping up on the saddle.

"Reckon it's time we got outta here, Morgan." Micah sneered as he surveyed the massacre before them.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Now you wanna get outta here?" He holstered his pistol and switched back to his rifle, readying it as he saw a couple of stragglers run out in an effort to block their escape at the entrance, he made quick work of killing them both with a shot to the head, glaring as Micah shot past on his mount. Cursing, he kicked his heels into his mare sharply, "Come on girl, go!" He urged and his mare spurred forward with a frightened whinny, he patted her neck as they cleared the entrance and urged her to go faster.

"Keep ridin', Morgan!" Micah yelled as he looked over his shoulder.

"I don't have much choice!" He bit back, gaining on his gang mate as he veered off the road and cut up a hill. Two riders came up and tried to cut them off, but Micah twisted in his saddle and brandished both his pistols and shot them both dead, one of them hadn't even the time to slump off his saddle and onto the ground as they both continued on.

They made it over the hill and Micah pointed excitedly at the riders waiting to meet them, "Look! They're sendin' the whole brigade!" He laughed as he reloaded.

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" He growled as he raised his rifle, "This has gotta be the last of 'em!" He ducked under the shots that were fired towards them and snarled as he responded with his own deadly fire, allowing himself a smug grin as he looked down the sight and watched the final shooter flip back of his horse with the force of the bullet driving into his skull.

Micah whooped as they rode past and glanced over his shoulder, "Okay, let's get outta here, before we get any more on our tail," Arthur glared holes into the back of his gang mates head as he slung the rifle over his shoulder, in the back of his mind, he dully registered that the rain had finally stopped, "That was some good shooting, Morgan," Micah let out a low whistle, "I gotta hand it to you."

"What the hell was that you pulled back there?" The outlaw snapped, the calm he'd needed for the intense shooting suddenly dissipating as soon as his brain realised he no longer needed it, and his words were pure venom as he felt the rage surge through him.

Micah chuckled, "Got a bit wild back there alright."

"Wild?" He echoed incredulously, "Makin' a house call in the middle of all that? And I'm still wonderin' why you felt the need to play executioner to that O'Driscoll back there."

"Ain't much I care about more than those guns," The other outlaw shrugged, "And the chances of that fool gettin' outta that town with us alive were slim. Whatever you need him for, I'm sure there's plenty more O'Driscoll's you can use."

"And just who in the hell was that fella?"

"What? The O'Driscoll?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "No, you fool, the fella at the house."

"Skinny? Yeah, we ran together for a while. Did a bank job down south," He shot the outlaw a sly smirk, "Didn't end well."

Arthur huffed as they made their way across some railroad tracks, in the back of his mind he wondered just where in the hell he and Micah had ridden too, but it was quiet, and at least the road they'd rejoined was thankfully empty, "I saw how it goddamn ended."

Micah shrugged, "He was gonna let me hang."

"I'm startin' to wish I had," Arthur scoffed, "And you owe Lenny, too. If he hadn't found us in time-"

"Yes," The blonde cut him off petulantly, "You will all be thanked profusely, I promise."

Forked lightning suddenly split the clouds ahead of them with a loud clap, and their horses brayed in fear. Arthur dipped his hand into his satchel and pulled his reins to have her ease up a little, the need for the breakneck galloping had long since passed. Micah slowed his horse up beside him, but Arthur couldn't have cared less, he ignored the outlaw as he offered his mare the apple he'd swiped off of Pearson's wagon before he'd left this morning, giving her a pat on the neck as she accepted the treat.

"You're lucky Dutch has got your back, for some unknown reason," He shook his head exasperatedly, and Micah snickered and pulled on his reins some more, slowing his stallion to a halt at some crossroads. Arthur reluctantly halted with him, and pulled the rifle off his shoulder to tuck it underneath his saddle.

"I think we finally lost them."

"Well I hope so," Arthur shot back as he straightened in his saddle; with the adrenaline now gone, his arm was starting to burn and throb where the bullet had grazed along it, and it was doing no favours to his quiet debate of whether he should just kill the bastard there and then and just be done with the whole thing.

"I'm givin' you a holster," Micah reached into his saddle bag on his horse and tossed it into Arthur's lap, "My way of sayin' thank you."

The outlaw shoved the thank you gift into his saddle back with his jaw clenched, "And thank you, there I was havin' a dull day, only for you to liven it up by letting me help you shoot up half a town."

Micah laughed at his drawling bite, "You're a funny fella, Arthur Morgan. Real funny… just don't know why you act all sour all the time."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the asshole, "Yeah, well, you ain't funny at all. So why've you gotta act like the court jester?" He hissed back.

"Right, listen," Micah's smile turned serious and he paused for a moment before he continued, "I'm sorry, but we're family now, Arthur," Arthur scoffed and shook his head in disbelief, "You and me," The other outlaw paused again as he swung his stallion around, facing him the opposite direction they were headed, "Sons of Dutch - makes us brothers. And sometimes, brothers make mistakes," Lighting clapped overhead again, the flash illuminating the bruising and scrapes on Micah's cruel features, "Now I'm heading back to my little camp round the back of Strawberry, come see me, and maybe I can make things up to you."

Arthur raised a dubious brow, "You ain't headin' back to Dutch?"

Micah's good eye widened, and he shook his head, "No, I've been a bad boy, Arthur. I ain't seein' Dutch till I can bring him a peace offerin'."

"Peace offerin'," Arthur scoffed again.

"You never know, I might just have one for you, too; don't forget I was with that O'Driscoll fella with his friends at the bar before it all turned to shit, and I was stuck rottin' in that cell with him for days…" He trailed off and Arthur glared at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You don't even know what I needed the bastard for." The outlaw shook his head, refusing to be swept up into another one of Micah's deadly whims.

"Oh but maybe I do," Micah grinned, "You ain't the only one who heard about that lost whore o' theres," The outlaw's lips drew into a thin line as he looked out at the dark clouds overhead, "And didn't you say to that yella cellmate of mine you're looking for a Patrick who runs close with Colm?"

Arthur finally glanced back at him, and Micah's smile widened, showing teeth as he realised he'd managed to pull him back in, "What do you know?"

He laughed and shrugged, "Why don't you get yaself together and come see me in a few days? I'll tell ya everythin' I know."

The outlaw frowned, "What? You can't tell me now?"

Micah laughed, "Bye for now, Morgan." He reared his horse and raced off up the road, Arthur turned in his saddle and watched him disappear back up the hill and his jaw clenched.

Bastard.

---

Effie and Javier continued on in a tense silence, both of them looking around the woods warily for any sign of movement. The storm was unforgiving to their situation, and the rain was coming down so hard they could barely see ahead of them, much less keep an eye out to whatever could be lurking in the woods. The rain drummed loudly off the brim of Effie's hat, and she kept her hands tight on the reins as they continued down what they hoped was still the road, but something felt off… and it wasn't until Javier pulled hard on his reins and whipped his head around confusedly as he surveyed the area that her sense of foreboding had been confirmed.

"I don't think we're on the right road anymore, Effie. Carajo!" He cursed loudly.

"I figured as much," She raised her voice over the rain so he could hear her, "We didn't take this long to ride up here, we should be well on our way to camp by now."

"What do you wanna do?" He asked, looking around the forest warily.

Effie shivered as the wind swept through them and chewed her lip as she leaned and looked at the floor, it was just a wet forest floor; and everything was so flooded she wasn't sure they'd even recognise a road if they found one again, "We should try and work out which way's south, I'm worried those gunshots and the weather got us so turned around back there we're heading up to Ambarino or somethin'," She shivered again, "And we gotta get outta this rain soon, otherwise we're gonna freeze out here."

"Which way do you think's south?" Javier glanced around.

Effie squinted as she tilted her head up to look at the vast dark clouds overhead, the rain pounded onto her face for her trouble and she shrugged, "I ain't sure."

"Aren't you a hunter? I thought tracking animals meant you had a good sense of direction."

She scoffed, "Yeah, but if I can't see anythin' in the sky but a damn storm cloud how the hell am I meant to work out where we are?"

Gunshots echoed in the woods around them and they both ducked instinctively, Effie's stallion bucked and she gritted her teeth to stay on the saddle, throwing herself forward and running her hand on his wet neck to try and calm him down as Boaz whinnied in fear.

"Oye! Tómalo con calma!" Javier ordered as his horse shifted nervously, swinging his head around and braying, "Where did those shots come from?"

"I'm not sure," She murmured as her stallion settled reluctantly, "But we shouldn't stay here."

"Well, which way do you wanna go?" The outlaw's tone was tight.

Effie looked behind the way they'd come, making a face at the trees and the gloom behind them, "We'll keep goin' this way, probably best we keep goin' downhill. Ain't no use goin' back the way we came, 'specially if we lost the road a while ago."

"Alright," Javier nodded and kicked his heel into Boaz, "Let's go, I don't like this."

Apparently, Boaz didn't either, and he shot off through the trees, Effie kept her head low as she followed behind, the ground blurring beneath them. In the trees around them, she swore she could hear shouting, but she was far from willing to stop and investigate. After a while, the forest seemed like it was starting to thin out, and Javier held up his hand as he slowed his horse, signalling for Effie to do the same. Her Thoroughbred skidded in the mud slightly as he halted beside Boaz, "I think we found the road again." Javier said grimly, looking out ahead.

Effie frowned and squinted out through the rain and her eyes widened when she saw what he was looking at; at the bottom of the sloping path, there was an overturned stagecoach, one side of it was blackened and charred, and dark smoke billowed above through the heavy downpour. There were corpses littered on the road around it, and Effie could make out a few people searching the scene, some were on horses, and others were rifling through the bodies and the remnants of the stagecoach.

"What do you think?" He asked.

Effie narrowed her eyes; her mouth tasted oddly like copper, and her heart drummed in her ears, "O'Driscoll's, ain't no doubt about it," She barely registered pulling her repeater from behind her, and she flicked the safety off with an aggressive snap of her hand.

"What are you doing?" Javier frowned as he watched her ready her weapon.

"The hell do you think I'm doing? We found the road, and we gotta stick to it if we got a hope in hell of gettin' outta these woods," She glanced down the hill at the outlaws below and glared, "That means we gotta get past them."

"Wait, they might just let us through!" Javier argued, "Look at them, they've already done their robbery, they're just collectin' their score."

"They're O'Driscoll's," She spat, shooting the outlaw a burning gaze, "Trust me, they ain't just gonna let us pass by. I've seen it before." She muttered, almost flinching in her saddle as she remembered her last encounter with the bastards.

Through the rain, Effie watched Javier's jaw clench as he looked down at the bandits below, knowing she was right. "Okay," He relented and grabbed his gun, "You see how many are down there?"

"No, but I counted five horses, they never worked jobs in groups of less than three, so," She waited whilst Javier checked his chamber, "You ready?"

She heard the Mexican mutter something under his breath, and he nodded, "Are you sure about this, chica?

Effie rolled her neck between her shoulders to loosen herself up, she couldn't tell if she was shaking with the cold or the adrenaline. Either way, it didn't matter to her, all that was on the forefront of her mind was the sudden and deliciously palpable rage that coursed through her. She didn't wait for Javier, she cracked her reins sharply and urged her stallion forward with a sharp kick and suddenly she was racing down the slope, her horse huffed and protested a little as the earth, slick with rainwater and mud gave way under his hooves, but the muscles underneath her worked harder and he dug in hard, clearing the hill as Javier followed down behind her, calling her name but it was long lost to her.

As she neared the fallen carriage in the rain she was relying on nothing else but the sudden hate that consumed her, she swept her leg high and slid off the saddle confidently, landing on the muddy floor with a slight jolt, but she used is as momentum and carried on in a sprint towards the men, she raised her gun and fired two quick shots at the one nearest to her, he was crouched over one of their victims and he gave a sort of strangled cry as he slumped over the corpse.

One of his gang mates wasn't far away, and he cursed as he looked up and saw her aiming for him next, his hand ripped the pistol from his holster, "What in the hell are-" She cut him off with a shot clean through his neck, and he dropped to his knees with his eyes bulging as he clawed at his gushing throat. She skidded to the wagon and lurched behind it as the other men raised their guns and fired at her, she ducked as wood and debris from the wagon exploded around her, her hand moving automatically as she reloaded her chamber. Javier jumped down off of Boaz, firing his gun back at the O'Driscoll's as he ran to join her behind the wagon.

"Why did you go before me?" He snapped beside her before he risked a peak over the top of the carriage, "Dios mío!"

"You asked me if I was ready!" She yelled back, stepping out as soon as the gun fire lulled and aiming at the first figure she saw, she caught him in the shoulder and she licked her lips as she took in their opponents; there were four left, including the one she'd shot, and he moaned in the dirt clutching his shoulder, hissing a slew of curses at her as she ducked back behind the wagon, "There's four left, but they're spread out."

"Alright, which side?" Javier nodded and raised his gun.

"This one, start from the far side, and I'll cover you on the other," She pointed past him over the wagon where she'd seen the furthest shooter.

Javier shot out from the cover and fell into the violence like a coiled snake, "Hijos de putas!" He snarled as he fired his gun, as soon as his repeater clicked empty he dashed out of the way of the sudden gunfire, whilst Effie took her chance and jumped out from behind the far side of the carriage and took aim, Javier had already made quick work of two of them, and was locked in a vicious fist fight with the one she'd shot. The remaining O'Driscoll cursed when he clocked her approaching from the other side and swung the barrel away from Javier to her, she flinched as one of his bullets fired past her, the speed of it flying past whistled in her ear and glared as she raised her gun back, shooting him twice in the chest and causing him to fly back, his wet shirt turning crimson as he skidded in the mud. She turned to Javier and the last one rolling in the road together, both of them absolutely filthy as they fought, the O'Driscoll was a lot bigger than the Mexicans much slimmer build, but his shoulder was a mess from where Effie had shot him and Javier was ruthless with his fists, snarling as he lashed out against his assailant with everything he had. Effie licked her lips as she raised her gun, waiting for both the men to stop writhing around so much; it wasn't until the O'Driscoll's meaty hands found Javier's throat and started crushing his windpipe did she pull the trigger… only for the chamber to click empty. She cursed and grabbed her knife and broke into a sprint towards them both, Javier's hits were slowly weakening, his punches slowly morphed to more desperate shoves in an effort to throw the big man off of him, Effie slid in the mud and swung out as hard as she could, bashing the handle of her knife against the attacker's temple and he grunted in shock, his hands releasing poor Javier's throat as she snarled and spread her other hand wide to clasp the man's bulky shoulder, curling her middle finger into the bullet wound and gouging into the wound cruelly, baring her teeth as he gasped in pain. She adjusted the knife in her hand with a swift flick and shoved it into his neck, twisting it savagely as he let out a gurgled squeak, she released his shoulder and kicked him away with her boot, Javier scrambled out from beneath him as he collapsed onto the muddy road.

"Asshole," She spat as she bent to grab her knife out his neck, a thick spray of blood spurted out as the blade came free, and pulled a face as it went over her and Javier, "Ugh, great. Are you okay?" She asked as she wiped her face into the soaked sleeve on her arm.

"Yeah, good," He coughed as he rubbed his throat, "I hate these bastards."

She nodded as the adrenaline slowly ebbed away, "Yeah, me too." She slid the knife away and whistled for her horse, then bent down to the dead O'Driscoll and began searching his pockets.

Javier staggered over to the corpses by the stagecoach and started looting too, "Looks like the stagecoach passengers were just these two women. Bastardos."

She sighed as she searched the rest of the outlaws they'd gunned down, "Well, can't say I'm surprised. I don't think there's anybody Colm wouldn't think twice about robbin' and killin', 'specially if there's a score involved."

"Yeah," Javier paused and cleared his throat behind her, "Do you recognise any of them? From…" He trailed off as she slowly straightened from the corpse, slipping a silver pocket watch into her satchel as she shook her head.

"No, all the ones I know were gunned down when Arthur stormed their camp with the others," She pushed her boot at the dead man's chin, tilting his head to reveal his face to her and she scoffed, "Well, one of 'em got away - and Colm, of course, but that's okay."

She turned to Javier's confused expression, behind him, her Thoroughbred was slowly approaching with Boaz in tow, "It is?"

"Sure," Effie shrugged as she approached her horse, she gave him a gentle pat on the neck before she climbed up on the saddle, "Just means I get to kill 'em myself," She dipped her hand in her satchel and offered her horse some yarrow whilst she waited for Javier to mount Boaz, "Did you get much?"

"Not as much as you'd think, you?" He scoffed when Effie shook her head, "Makes you wonder why they bothered the stage in the first place."

"They're O'Driscoll's," She said darkly as she looked at the corpses on the muddy road, "It's what they do. Come on, we better get outta here before anyone turns up."

She let Javier lead the way down the road and thankfully out of the woods, he hummed to himself quietly as they rode through the wilderness and didn't offer much conversation but she was grateful for the quiet; she mulled over their unexpected encounter with the rival gang and receded far into the dark corners of her mind to quietly torture herself with Patrick. He still came to visit her some nights, his pernicious words echoed in her ear as he forced her to do… evil things. His licentious manipulation of her often played on her thoughts, and every time she carefully tried to sift through them and try and make sense of any of it he was right there, somehow so real to her it stole the air from her lungs and turned the blood in her veins to ice, made her mouth so dry and her tongue heavy and clumsy in her mouth, when this happened everything around her seemed to fall away, the world becoming so distant to her until it was just her, and him.

Always will be, little bird. You and me.

"Effie? Effie!" She blinked frowned as she looked around; where was she again? "Oye, cariño, you still with me?" Javier peered at her carefully as he approached on his horse.

Oh, right.

"Yeah," She frowned at how hoarse her voice sounded and cleared her throat, as she looked around, "Yeah, I'm okay. Where are we?"

The outlaw's brow furrowed, "Well, I thought we were just passing through Valentine, wasn't until I got halfway down the main street that I realised you'd stopped following," He pointed to the tip of the church steeple just beyond the hill and she shook her head, trying to shake the fog that had clearly engulfed her, "Are you sure you're okay, chica?"

"I'm fine," She said forcefully, wondering if she was trying to convince herself more than him, "I was just… it doesn't matter."

"You look pale, do you want to stop for a bit?"

"No, if we're at Valentine that means we're near camp," The world was starting to feel more real to her again, and she shivered as she registered the breeze against her face, biting against the wet clothes that clung to her skin.

Javier sighed, "Come on then, when we get back we can get out of these clothes and get warm, huh?"

"Uh-huh," She nodded and realised he was waiting for her to move first, obviously reluctant to trust her to follow again, she spurred her Thoroughbred forwards and rubbed the reins in her hand with her thumb as she led the way into the town.

"I wonder how late in the day it is," Javier said conversationally as they made their way through town, Effie let her horse guide the way past the townsfolk and the traffic of wagons, dully listening to the shouts and bustle of the locals at the saloons and the big hotel at the end of the street.

"I dunno," She murmured and looked up at the overcast sky, "It must be gettin' dark soon."

"It's a shame about the storm, but I thought it was a good first lesson," The outlaw continued as they made their way past the tents and the gallows on the road leading out of town, "You know, I don't know many women that are so eager to shoot a gun, much less be interested in the likes of quickdraw."

"Huh." Effie kept her gaze out on the road ahead.

"Chica… can I ask why you want to learn something like that?" He asked carefully, and she glanced at him as they made their way over the railroad tracks by the station and out of town.

"Because," She shrugged simply, "I don't wanna find myself caught out and makin' mistakes because I didn't bother to pay attention and learn somethin'. My daddy was the one that taught me to shoot and hunt, but he also made sure I could craft and use tools; always told me there was never any point learnin' just half of how to do somethin'," She chuckled fondly as the soft memories of her childhood in Big Valley suddenly flooded her, "I remember kickin' up such a damn fuss the first time my daddy took me out to teach me to track and forage for herbs. I didn't care about followin' prints in the mud or findin' fur in a bush, by that time I was gettin' to grips on a rifle, and told him that if I could see it in my scope then that was good enough."

Javier grinned as the road sloped down the hill away from the tracks, leading to the valley overlooking Caliban's Seat and the Dakota River below, "You were stubborn about it, then?"

"That's one way of puttin' it," She smiled, "But now? I'm so damn glad he taught me everythin' he did, we would've been dead a long time ago without it, no doubt."

"Must be some hunter." The outlaw nodded.

Her smile faded, "He was. At one point he must'a been the best trapper in all of West Elizabeth. Nowadays he ain't much of anythin' but a mean drinker."

"Lástima," He murmured and was quiet for a while, "My father liked a drink in his hand, too. Since I was a young boy, I don't think I ever saw him without one."

"What happened?"

"Not much, he was just an asshole who liked to drink," Javier shrugged, "My uncle helped take care of me and my sister when we were growing up, in many ways, he was more of a father to me than my own."

"You never really talk about your family," She observed as they approached the familiar wooded area that hid the camp.

"Yeah, well, most of them are buried now," He murmured, "And I got a big enough bounty on my head that keeps me from going back to try and find them."

"Maybe one day you will," She shrugged, and nodded to the familiar face standing guard among the trees, "Hey Charles."

"Hey," He furrowed his brow as he took in their sodden, dishevelled appearance, "Got stuck out in that storm, huh?"

"Yeah," The Mexican scoffed, "Didn't think to bring a coat, either. How are things here, brother?"

Charles shrugged, "Quiet. Sean headed out to Valentine with Karen and Lenny, Arthur came back from Strawberry a little while ago, said Micah got him caught in some huge gunfight, said he massacred half the town trying to get him out."

"He what?" Effie's mouth fell open, but Javier didn't seem so surprised.

"That sounds like Micah alright," He nodded and gazed out at the tents in the camp, "And how's he been since coming back from that jail cell? Still a puto?"

Charles grunted, "Probably, but he didn't ride back with Arthur. Said he's got his own camp set up somewhere in the state, he's staying out on his own for now."

Javier pulled a face, "Maybe Micah won't come back."

"Maybe," Charles shrugged, "Somehow I don't think we'll be that lucky. No doubt he'll be back soon enough."

Whilst the two men talked, Effie looked out over the camp with her lips pursed; Arthur's mare was hitched at one of the posts, but the rain had driven most of the gang into their tents for shelter. Hosea was sat reading a novel at the table near Pearson's wagon, whilst Tilly and Mary-Beth were quietly playing a game of dominoes opposite him. She craned her neck to look at Arthur's tent and saw his cot was empty and hummed quietly as she encouraged her horse to the hitching posts; at least he was around camp somewhere.

Javier halted Boaz somewhere behind her and dropped down to the ground with a sigh, "Well, it was more eventful than I thought it was, but you did good, hermosa," He gave her a tired smile.

"Yeah, hopefully next time we won't get stuck out in some storm," She huffed and pulled out the damp shirt sticking to her torso, "Thank you for showin' me what you did, though."

"Maybe we can put it into practice soon," He suggested as he stretched, "Take some more bottles out somewhere - probably not up in Cumberland Forest, though."

"I'd like that," She smiled, "I'll see you later, Mister Escuella."

"Take care, cariño." He tipped his hat and headed off towards the stew pot, whilst she cut across camp and headed straight for the campfire, her heart fluttered in her chest when she saw John sat talking with Arthur.

The gunslinger looked as tired as she felt, and his expression was tight as he listened to whatever it was John was talking about, "...ride out in a day or so, you and Effie can come meet us when you're ready," He glanced up as she approached and offered her a lopsided smile in greeting, "Speaking of. Evenin', Miss Bartlett, how are ya?"

"I'm doin' good, Mister Marston," She nodded back, Arthur shuffled up on the log to make room for her to sit, "Mister Morgan tell ya we got that wagon for ya?"

"Uh-huh," John flicked his hair out of his face, "I got all the supplies together today, we got everythin' we need for it. We was just talkin' 'bout gettin' someone else in for the job."

"I reckon Charles," Arthur muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he stared into the fire.

"Sure, I'll go talk to him now," John stood up and pulled a crumpled cigarette from his pocket, "That train's 'sposed to be comin' through the state tomorrow night. We'll meet you both there." He paused and held the tip of the cigarette over the open flames of the campfire, "See, Arthur, I ain't that dumb."

The older outlaw chuckled, "Next time let the wolves eat all your brain - then you'll be a genius."

John snorted and waved his hand as he walked away, and the two of them settled into a comfortable silence in front of the fire, Effie held her hands out, letting the flames warm her hands, "How was Strawberry?" She finally asked.

Arthur scoffed, "It should've been a straightforward jailbreak, but with ol' Mister Bell involved, it turned into all kinds of nonsense. The bastard's lucky I didn't shoot him myself, what with all the shit he caused me gettin' him out."

"Yeah, Charles said somethin' when we got back," She murmured and flexed her fingers at the welcome heat from the flames, "Heard it got… violent."

Arthur shrugged, "Well, when Micah's involved it normally always does," He brushed up against her as he shifted in his seat and frowned, "Why are you soakin' wet?"

"Got caught out in that storm with Javier," She scoffed and moved away from him with an apologetic look, "I thought my coat was on my saddle, turns out it wasn't, damn foolish of me not to check."

He shook his head and tutted, "You are a fool, come 'ere," He took off his jacket and held it out for her to put her arm through the sleeves, she smiled sheepishly as she pulled the coat closer around her, letting his warmth envelope her comfortingly, "Idiot. You were the one that said it was gonna rain all day, too." He scoffed, but there was a smile tugging his mouth as he looked down at her, "Hope the shootin' lesson was worth gettin' wet for."

"Hmph, I ain't sure it was," She pulled a face, "I dunno how Mister Escuella pulls a pistol so damn fast. Gonna be a while 'fore I'll be askin' anybody for a duel."

Arthur chuckled, "Look at 'chu, talkin' 'bout duellin' folk. Who knew that girl I met out in the woods all them weeks ago would turn out to be such an outlaw?"

"Shut up," She grinned, "I ain't lookin' to shoot up half a town just yet."

"Heh, let's hope not," He pulled out his cigarettes and held one out to her as he looked for his matches, "Oh, I had a chat with that friend of yours whilst I was in town - before Micah and I shot it all to hell, obviously."

Effie frowned, "Friend of mine?"

"Uh-huh," He leaned to strike the match off his boot, "The butcher who runs that little stall, greedy fella?"

"Mister Flynn," She blinked, "He ain't no friend of mine."

"Oh I know, that much he made clear," Arthur lit his cigarette and passed her the match, he leaned back as he took a long drag, "But the poor fella sure is strugglin' to get in supplies since you stopped sellin' to him."

She couldn't stop the smug grin that spread on her face, "Really?"

The outlaw heaved a sigh, "Yeah, 's a real shame, he's real worried 'bout his business. Try not to look so torn up about it," He smirked and gave her a playful shove, "Said he thought a cougar had gotten ya."

Effie snorted as she took the cigarette from her lips, "Yeah, well, he would. He always was a nasty bastard to me."

"Yeah… he was right about one thing, though," Arthur flicked some ash to the floor, "Said you were one of the best hunters he'd ever seen."

She pursed her lips as pride surged through her, warming her chest, "Really?"

"Uh-huh. Oh - he said you had a mouth on ya, he's right about that, too."

"Shut up," She rolled her eyes and he laughed.

"See? Right there, that's what he was talkin' about," He grinned, "Also told me you had some attitude on ya, but I already knew about that, so."

She shook her head, trying to fight the smile threatening the corners of her mouth, "Couldn't have just told me he thought I was good at what I did and he's goin' outta business 'cause I ain't there no more, could ya? Ya had to ruin it."

"Well, can't have that ego of yours gettin' too big there, Miss," He shrugged innocently as he threw his cigarette onto the logs, "What with everybody here singin' ya praises every other day."

She raised an eyebrow as she took a drag, "You ain't feelin' threatened there are ya, Arthur?"

He clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Me? Threatened? By you? Some things just ain't possible, Miss." He patted the top of her hat, "Don't forget it just take one conversation with ol' Grimshaw to have ya back doin' chores."

Effie narrowed his eyes at his threat, recognising the teasing glint in his cerulean gaze, "Huh, you must be scared, havin' to resort to gettin' Miss Grimshaw involved to save ya reputation."

He chuckled, "Nah, I reckon I'd end up missin' ya company if you was stuck in camp with the rest of 'em."

She paused before she threw her cigarette and glanced up at him, "Is that right?"

"Sure," Arthur nodded, his tone drawling, "Who's gonna get me into trouble every five minutes?"

"You don't need anybody to get you into trouble," She snorted, "Hell, you go on one ride outta camp without me and end up killin' half the population of Strawberry."

He grunted, "Can't argue with ya there. Goddamn Micah."

"At least you got him out," She shrugged, "Strange he didn't ride back with 'chu, though. I was kinda lookin' forward to meetin' him."

The outlaw scoffed, "You and Dutch'd be the only ones eager to see 'im, trust me. Anyways, how're those ribs of yours holdin' up?"

"Fine," She nodded, caught off guard by the sudden shift in the conversation and she leaned back and looking away as she tugged her hair loose from her braid, feeling her cheeks burn, "The bruises don't hurt anymore, it'll go back to normal in a day or so, I reckon."

"Any quickdraw injuries I need to know about?"

She shot him a smirk when she glanced back at him, "From a shootin' lesson?"

"Well, who knows with 'chu, you and Javier were gone for so long, we was wonderin' if you'd gotten lost out there or somethin'." He shrugged.

"We actually did get a little lost, actually," Her smile faded, "Actually, we ended up stumblin' across some O'Driscoll's out on the road in the storm."

Arthur stiffened beside her, all amusement faded from his gaze as he studied her carefully, "What happened?"

Effie offered him a small shrug, "Nothin', they was robbin' a carriage that was passin' through. They'd killed everybody by the time we turned up, so me and Javier killed 'em."

"Any of 'em know it was you?"

She shook her head, "No, that's what I was worried about, too. But it was rainin' so damn hard ya wouldn't have been able to see anythin' clear ahead of ya; and we didn't get too close - even if they did, 's not like they woulda been able to do anythin' about it, since they're all dead."

He grunted and nodded slowly, and a silence settled around them.

Effie fiddled with one of the buttons on Arthur's jacket whilst he stared off into the flames dancing in the campfire. She pulled at a stray thread; wondering whether she should mention what happened on the ride back, but when she glanced up at his pensive expression she bit her lip; whatever was playing on the outlaw's mind, she was certain he didn't need to hear anything more about the man who, even now, continued to torment her.

"Well, so long as you're alright, I guess," He murmured and his stormy gaze softened as it met hers, "Come on, let's get you somethin' to eat, then you can go find some dry clothes." He tugged her arm gently as he got to his feet, and she allowed him to pull her up with him but her nose wrinkled slightly at the prospect of trying to eat something; food was the last thing on her mind after such a jarring day, she opened her mouth to try and protest, but he shook his head, "I don't wanna hear about how you're not hungry there, Miss."

"But-"

"But nothin'." He said firmly as they walked over to the stew pot.

---

Arthur leaned back on his cot, listening to the rain hitting the canvas overhead as he finished his cigarette. It was late, and he could hear Sean, Lenny and Karen returning to camp, the three of them clearly too inebriated to worry about being quiet. He snorted when he heard Sean's raucous laughter, followed by some loud shushing, undoubtedly from Lenny. He listened to their stumbling footsteps as they each navigated their way to their tents, only to hear a loud thump and the Irishman cursing in pain. He sighed and sat up, grabbing his journal and pencil off the table and flipping the pages open, he paused as he heard a chorus of impish giggling; no doubt belonging to Miss Jones. He waited until the camp settled back into a peaceful quiet before he began to write.

Dutch collared me in camp again. This time he was griping about that fool Micah, who - in all his wisdom - had managed to get himself behind bars in Strawberry and was facing the gallows. After speaking to Lenny about it that night we went off drinking I have no doubt in my mind that bastard deserved whatever they were stringing him up for.

I rode out to go free the idiot, only to be made an idiot myself by letting him get me involved in his sudden urge for mass murder. He hasn't been running with us long, and no one's really sure where he came from, but one thing I do know is that he is a man not bound to this world with morals.

The fella he'd been arrested with ran with the O'Driscoll's, he was going to tell me about the man who'd tortured Miss Bartlett something awful. That is until Micah decided to blow a hole in his head. After we escaped the massacre in town he told me he'd tell me what he'd gotten out of his cellmate. We shall see.

Miss Bartlett is proving herself to be more outlaw by the day. This time, trying her hand at quickdraw, going out for a lesson with Javier - he seems to be taken with the girl as much as me, I fear. And apparently willing to do something about it.

Marston's finally gotten everything ready for this train robbery he's spent the best part of a month working on. Often I wonder if that man's head will ever come down from those clouds they are in, but he has done a good job putting this one together. We'll be riding out for it tomorrow, and taking Charles and Effie along with us. Hopefully it doesn't turn out like anything the jailbreak with Micah did.