A fighting chance
I havent wrote in a while, but my obsession with arthur morgan has awoken something inside of me :) i hope everyone enjoys.
Content: MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!! RDR2 x Reader! MH!Arthur Morgan x Gunslinger!Reader! I really wanted this to feel like you were in the game, so Reader interacts with other characters a lot, not just Arthur. Reader has been with the group since she was 19, she is now 29 so she's been there a long time and has a pre-established relationship with the gang. Reader had a rough upbringing, her mother died when she was young and her father was a bad man, but it made her tough and very independent. She can hold her own. We need more Badass!Reader fics!!! Like I said, I want it to feel like you're part of the game, so I will be referencing some of the plots that happen in the game, obviously with added dialogue and other story lines to keep things interesting :) Im not sure if this is going to be considered a slow burn or not, I kinda just get in flow state when im writing but im guessing there will be at least 3 chapters before anything serious between Arthur and reader starts. This is 100% going to have smut eventually... maybe a lot of smut, im not sure yet, but it's probable. Those chapters will have the appropriate warnings incase anyone wants to skip that. There are no physical descriptions of reader, aside from having hair that can be combed- and I do state that she's wearing pants since she rides a horse but i don’t reference it much so if you prefer a skirt you imagine that shit bb 💅. This first chapter is mainly build up and explaining readers backstory, and some plot ofc. Thank you to anyone who reads this :)
Content Warnings: again, MAJOR GAME SPOILERS! lots of story build up, Readers upbringing (loss of a parent, mentions of abuse, arranged marriage, mentions of murder), Micah being a piece of shit, mentions of animal abuse (by Micah), Arthur and Reader are both oblivious (lol)
Word Count: 16k (oops)
The lack of warmth was the first sensation your body was able to register, shivering before you had the chance to open your eyes. Even under the layers of thick clothing and a few blankets, the icy air seemed to penetrate to the bone, your uncovered face especially vulnerable to the cold. Your eyes squeezed together tightly, attempting to fight off the white light that creeped through the cracks and windows of the warn down barn you currently resided in. Body still aching for rest and safety from the frigid temperatures that surrounded you, you tried your best to stay asleep, but any efforts of a few more mintues of shut eye were ripped away by the sound of the door swinging open, a loud creaking noise followed by urgent footsteps- and the once peaceful silence was interrupted.
“Ms. Jones! Ms. L/N! Does it bring you some sense of backwards pride to be the last ones awake in the camp?” The older womans voice seemed to boom from above, her complaints earning an immediate groan from your roommate, and a soft sigh from you.
“Mornin’ Mrs. Grimshaw,” You rub your eyes as you suddenly sit up from your small make shift cot on the ground, encouraging them to adjust to the brightness that flooded in through the open door. Your eyes flickered from her, arms crossed and looking down at you expectantly, to Karen, who still had yet to move a muscle despite Mrs. Grimshaws complaints. “Didnt realize what time it was… what time s’it anyways?” You question, eyes now adjusted to your surroundings showed that the glistening light pouring in still had a slight pinkness to it from the recent sunrise, it couldnt have been past 7am by any means.
“Its time to get up and get packing,” she began, slightly furrowing her eyebrows and looking down her nose at you, a look you had gotten used to from her over the years. It didnt seem to matter how much money you contributed to the camp or how helpful you tried to be, Ms. Grimshaw always had something to nitpick about. “Its finally time to get out of these god forsaken mountains, but it seems your slumber is more important than freezin’ t’ death.”
That statement alone sent a rush of excitement through your chest, any traces of sleepiness getting flushed out of your body. “Were leavin’ today?” Even with Susans aggressive delivery of the message, you couldnt help but to feel a bit giddy at the news. The group really hadnt been here that long, but between being broke as a joke, the lack of food, and the once seemingly-never ending snow storm, every second in the run down town you came to know as “Coulter”, felt hours longer.
“Yes, and if you dont hurry your sorry asses up, were leavin’ you girls here for the wolves!” Mrs. Grimshaw glared at you, then shifted her attention to Karen, who had still yet to turn over and acknowledge Susan, figuring her best interest was just to ignore the older woman. This causes Grimshaw to shake her head disapprovingly with a huff, continuing to shake her head and mumble about her disapproval as she turned around and marched toward the door “Now get up, n’ get goin’!” Was the last thing you heard before she walked out the door. It closed with a slam, and you allow yourself a moment to breathe in the frosty air, relishing in the thought about how soon the air you breathe will no longer numb your nose. You take another moment to stretch, rising your arms above your head only to remind you of your recent injury with a sharp pain from your left shoulder.
‘Oh yeah… forgot about that’
The gangs most recent ill-fated venture in Blackwater didnt leave you unscathed, receiving graze from a bullet as the group made a mad dash away from the scene of the crime. Luckily for you, the bullet went straight through, but still left a decent sized crater through the side of your upper left arm, which Abigail had so kindly stitched up. The extreme cold that surrounded you must have momentarily distracted you from the sharp pain of the wound. You shift slightly on your cot, gently tugging down your jacket you had slept in for a little extra warmth, and your shirt sleeve to reveal the bandages. Wincing as you peel them back, the crisp air makes you involuntarily shutter, countering the throbbing heat that radiates from your leison. A relieved sigh escapes you, seeing no sign of infection, just the normal swelling and a bit of clear serous drainage, your bodys attempt at keeping the wound safe and clean. It doesnt look too bad considering how rough it looked when you had first seen the skin all ripped and damaged. Abigail had done a good job doctoring it, and you figure here in another week or two it should be on track to heal up nicely. Your thoughts shift to how lucky you were to get away with this as your reminder of the endeavor, some of your group mates not near as lucky.
“Healin’ up alright, cowgirl?” Karens questioned ripped you from your previous reflections, voice still groggy with sleep, and you redirected your focus over to her. She had finally sat up as well, looking at you with a raised brow, her eyes shifting from your wound and back up to you.
“Ah, yeah, its nothin’, should be good as new here in a couple weeks” you shrug, carefully placing the bandage back over the damage and patting around it to ensure it stays in its place.
Karen chuckled a bit “Nothin?” She repeated, then gave a light sigh “Tough as ever, L/N” she shook her head, a light grin placed upon her features.
“Naw, not tough, just know it could’a been a lot worse” You explained, now pulling your sleeve and jacket back up, tugging it tightly around you to rewarm your once exposed skin. “I got lucky gettin’ away with just this as a reminder… well that and my now extreme lack of wealth.” You somewhat-joked, finally pushing yourself off your cot and standing at full attention.
Karen nodded at you “Youre tellin’ me, poor John seems to be cursed, first that nasty gunshot and then those wolves tryna’ finish ‘em off” exhaling, her tone quickly shifted from lighthearted to something a bit more worrisome. “Cant belive we lost davey…” she trailed off, eyes dropping to the ground in thought “and Mac… and Jenny… and Sean…” her worries tugged on your heart, the whole camp knew her and Sean were sweet on each other, hell, maybe even more than just ‘sweet’. You pitied her, knowing good and well how painful it is to have someone ripped from your life. You figured it was the unknowing that really did it for her, seeing as no one truly knew if Sean was alive or not.
“Come on now Karen, Seans tough, and no one saw him go down, we just know they took ‘em.” You tried to reassure her, taking a couple steps closer to her to kindly rub her back, hoping to bring some sense of optimism to the situation. “T’ be honest, hes probably yappin’ their ears off as we speak”
Your attempt seems to work and Karen glances up at you with a light smile, nodding as she speaks “He always was loud-mouthed.” She chuckles as she shakes her head
“Thats right. Aint the type to accept defeat either, you know he’d fight like hell to get his freedom back” You further confirm, patting her back one more time before you took a step back. “Now we’d better hurry n’ get out there before Grimshaw really does leave us for the wolves.” You watch as Karen rises from her spot on the ground, she pats her skirt a couple times to rid any dust that may have settled on her.
“Shit, think id prefer the wolves over Grimshaws constant naggin’,” she sighs as she bends down and begins to neatly fold up her blankets, trying to knock some of the dust off of them as well “She’d might be doin’ us a favor- I swear that woman hasnt been satisfied with anythin’ in her life… hope im not that grumpy when i reach the golden years, y’d think shed be in a better mood considering were finally gettin’ out of here”
You simply nod as you listen to Karen, also collecting your items and trying to condense everything into the smallest bundle you can manage. A few more words were exchanged between the two of you as you both packed up your things, mostly trying to guess where the group will end up next. The group hadnt been this far east im what felt like ages, you figured you were still in your early 20s the last time you were anywhere near here. ‘Anywhere’s gotta be better than this iced over hell.’
You secure the last of your things in the same small chest youve been using for years, made of beautiful polished cherry wood with engravings of different flowers and plants scattered all along it, and a tarnished brass buckle to lock it closed- right above the buckle sat your initials, hand carved by a younger version of you. It took you a couple of minutes to organize the small chest so it could be fully latched, you had honestly outgrown the chest about 4 years ago, having quite a few trinkets you had collected over the years, but you didnt have the heart to get rid of it.
Satisfied with your surprising ability to fit so much stuff in such a small amount of space, you walked over to the side table that sat against the entrance wall, swiping up your Cattleman Revolver as well as the spare ammunition scattered along the table. You place it in your hip holster with a nod, then grabbing your scarf, wrapping it tightly around your head and neck in attempts to keep any gusts of cold air from reaching your already-wind-burnt ears. You prepare yourself for more of Susans nagging as you walk over back to the chest, hoisting it up- once again reminding of your stitched would- and making your way to the door. Before stepping out, you turn back to Karen.
“Im gonna go ahead and make my way out”
“Alrighty, ill be out there in a minute” She responded as she grabbed up the last of her things. You acknowledge her words with a nod and face back to the door. Using your foot to push it open, you brace yourself for a strong gust of wind to hit your bare face, but are pleasantly surprised when all you receive is blinding glare from the sun bouncing off the snow, and a lingering frostiness to the air. It really was no colder outside than it was in the cabin now that the snow storm had passed, a calm breeze only floating by here and there.
The snow crunched under your boots with every step you took further into the open world, and despite your readiness to leave the frozen town, you couldnt deny the beauty that currently surrounded you. Trees lined with snow and ice seeming to sparkle as the sun rested upon them, every icicle reflecting the blue sky, water leisurely dripping down and hitting the snow with a light ‘pap’ noise. You supposed every place had its own type of beauty as you glanced around at the scenery, appreciating it for your final moments here.
You continued to walk closer to the group of wagons, just ahead of your temporary home the past few days, and as you neared you spotted Javier standing on the back of the wagon closest to you, grabbing a large box from Mr. Pearson and setting in along the bed of the wagon. Now only a couple feet away from the group, the two males attention adverted to you. “Mornin fella’s”
“Good morning Y/N, nice of you to finally join us” Javier spoke, looking down at you with a teasing expression.
A sigh escaped your lips and you shifted your eyes to avoid his, “i know Escuella, trust me i already heard it from Grimshaw,” sheepishly rocking back and forth on your heels, you glance back up at him. “Didnt realize we were heading out today, guess i shoulda’ figured.” You recall the events of the previous night, Dutch and a few other men in the group going to rob some train before the O’Driscolls could get to it. You reckon it went well, seeing as besides Susan, everyone else seemed to be in high spirits.
Javier grinned “Im messing with you- we had it under control. Havent been packing too long anyhow.”
His words made you feel a bit better. You never take Susans words to heart, most of the time they were simply petty complaints, but you always did your best to contribute and help around the camp, you would have felt bad if you walked out and everyone was already all packed up and waiting on you. You gave a soft smile and nodded up at him, “Good to hear, could ya’ grab this for me?” You gesture down to your chest, still tight in your grip “N’ ill go grab s’more stuff”
Javier squatted down and held out his arms for the chest, allowing you to lift it enough for him to get a steady hold on it. He removed it from your grasp and lugged it to the front on the wagon, placing it upon a bigger box tucked in the corner, then shifting a couple more boxes around for optimal storage space. Now that your hands were freed, you reached in your pockets and pulled out the leather, fleece lined gloves that once belonged to your mother. You cursed yourself a bit for not putting them on earlier, frost bite had already began to nip your finger tips in the couple minutes you had been outside. As you slipped them over your hands, you heard Pearson clear his throat,
“Theres a couple more boxes with cooking supplies sitting next to the barn, since youre feelin’ helpful,” he spoke gruffly, the lingering smell of his late night alcohol filling the air around him. You kept yourself from mentioning it, only giving a curt nod of your head and heading off in that direction, thanking Javier as you walked away. It only took a couple steps to notice the already stacked boxes lined up next to the barn, and a harsher gust of wind encouraged you to put a little pep in your step. Your eyes scan over them as you got closer, trying to decide which one to grab. You assume the biggest box had to be the cast iron pot, and that was to heavy to lift, by yourself anyways. So you end up settling for a medium sized box that was sitting atop another, bending slightly to stretch your arms around it. As you lift, you feel the skin around your wound stretch, shooting a sharp pain through your shoulder and making you wince. Nonetheless, You kept your hold on the box, trying to adjust it to a more comfortable position. It wasn’t genuinely too heavy for you to carry, just an awkward sized box to lug around, especially with your current injury. Still making an effort to relieve your shoulder, you hear a voice speak up from behind you.
“Ya got it?”
You glance over your left arm only to see Arthur Morgan, standing there with a cigarette placed between his lips, watching you finally settle into a some-what more comfortable situation. You let out a light laugh, a little embarrassed that he probably saw you struggling- with a box that wasnt even all that heavy at that. “Look like im strugglin’ or somethin’?” You raised an eyebrow, although you werent sure if you wanted him to answer that question honestly.
“A little bit,”
‘Ah yes, honest, per usual’
“Y’should probably be takin’ it easy on that shoulder on yours, aint gotta get the heavy ones” he continued, taking another hit of his cigarette before grabbing it between two fingers and flicking it off to the side. He started towards you and you shook your head at him, knowing he was going to offer to take it off your hands.
“Aint heavy, just a little awkward s’all” You defended yourself, not wanting to seem weak. You had been with this group since you were nineteen years old, everyone knew good and well you werent weak, you hardly ever seriously asked for help and you were one hell of a force to be reckoned with once you got your mind on something- the group was well aware. A part of you knew this, but your path through life shapes you- the beginning path of your life was rough, and it shaped you into someone to had to be self reliant. You learned early in life that people prey on those they find weaker than themselves, and you had made a vow to never let yourself be too vulnerable. Even in unimportant situations such as the one your were currently in, that commitment ran deep. “I got it under control.”
He continued to make his way closer to you “‘m sure you do” he says incrediously, now standing right next to you. His tone earns him a glare from you, and despite that he grabs the box from your hold with ease. Arthur brings his attention from the box down to you, watching as you cross your arms over your chest and huff lightly, your warm breath creating a fog in the freezing temperatures.
“I said i had it Arthur”
“N’ I agreed witchu’, seen ya’ lift a box before, you aint gotta prove nothin’.”
You kiss your teeth at his words, “Aint tryin’ to prove nothin’ to nobody, just doin’ my part around camp s’all” Uncrossing your arms, you dropped them to rest on your hips and continued on, “just cause i got a little gun shot wound dont mean I cant work”
“I know i know… just think, what kinda’ man would i be if i just sat and watched an injured woman struggle”
You winced at the word ‘struggled’, you werent sure if he was trying to tease you by saying that but it sure felt like it. You internally damned the Lawman who shot you, blaming him and his bullet for having to deal with this. Arthur Morgan was just like you in a way, as in once he got his mind on something he was going to accomplish it one way or another, and you knew good and well he wasnt going to be handing you that box back anytime soon. And besides, it was a kind gesture, you just hated that it came from a place of pity. You sigh “not sure, you should ask Pearson, hes the one who suggested it”
Arthur scoffs “Pearsons ‘bout much of a man as a cactus is a kitten, how bout you grab that box of utensils instead?”
His words earn a chuckle from you, finally accepting defeat of carrying the box. “I reckon you got a point there,” Taking a couple steps to grab the smaller box of cooking utensils, it definitely was a lot more manageable to carry, you lifted it without issue, trying to put your pride aside. Arthur wasnt wrong about taking it easy on your shoulder, last thing you needed was for your stitches to rip and cause more damage, though it was debatable for you if it was more important than your ego. You turn back to face him, yes you may of had a bit of an ego, but you werent so arrogant as to not give some form of thanks for Arthurs help. “Appreciate you helpin’ me”
“Ah, dont mention it” he simply shrugged “C’mon.” He gestured his head towards the wagons and you nod at him, watching as he takes a stride off. You have to take a couple quicker steps to catch up to him, now walking directly beside him. He continues to walk at a leisurely pace as he speaks “Aint seen too much of you the past couple months” Arthur glances over at you for a moment, eyes scanning over your features quickly before he looks back to his surroundings. “N’ when i did we were usually busy shootin’”
You keep your eyes in front of you but your eyebrows slightly quirk up in response to what he said, somewhat surprised. Out of the whole group, you didnt expect Arthur to mention it, considering how busy he always seemed to be. You voice this with a quick “Didnt think anyone noticed.”
“Course people noticed”
You couldnt lie, it felt nice to know that your recent absences from camp didnt go unnoticed. You werent doing it on purpose by any means, just had to get away sometimes. You loved your group, and youd die to protect it, but a certain new comer had put a sour taste in your mouth, and though you werent shy to say what was on your mind, sometimes you thought it was best to just be quiet and put some space between you and the… issue for a while- for the sake of peace at the camp.
“There a reason why?” Arthur looks at you again, but this time his focus remains on you while he walks, trying to read any expression you might make. He had known you long enough to know that if something was wrong, you usually kept it to yourself, and most of the time it took some prying to even get it out of you. You must have felt his gaze, because you look over and lock eyes with his for a quick second, sighing then looking away.
Not having had any chance to really voice your opinion about the recent addition to the group, you give in to his question easily. “Well… just aint exactly fond of one of the new men around camp”
It was extremely easy for Arthur to guess who you could be talking about, there were only two new men in camp, Charles and Micah- and he knew good and well it wasnt Charles who had worked his way on to your nerves. He wasnt exactly a fan of Micah either, but of course, he trusted Dutch, and for some a reason Arthur couldnt possible comprehend, Dutch had taking quite a liking to the blonde man. Arthur nodded, “Hm, Micah huh?” He looked back towards the wagon “He been botherin’ you again or somethin’?” A somewhat protective tone lacing into his voice. Arthur could recall when Micah had only been in the group a couple weeks before one night he tried to make advances on you, only to get a response of “and just who the hell are you?” But of course, if there was one thing Micah was, it was an instigator- so he continued on to say lewd, disrespectful things. Arthur also recalled you putting him at knifepoint before anyone could even think of intervening, threatening him within an inch of his life to “keep it up”
“Aint he always botherin everyone?” You roll your eyes at the thought of Micah, though he hadnt really done anything to you recently, you had definitely seen him bothering other members (particularly the women) of the group, and you just straight up didnt trust the man. Thinking of this, you voice it to Arthur “Guess he aint done anything of late, to me at least. Bein’ an asshole dont help his case but i dont know… he just rubs me the wrong way, i dont trust ‘em one bit. Feels like hes always up to no good.” You glare in no particular direction as you speak “i saw him kick a bunny one time, a baby one too, had just hopped right infront of him- guess it hadnt quite learned to be timid yet. N’ the bastard just reeled back n’ kicked the poor lil’ thing… had the audacity to chuckle afterwards too while it was squirmin on the ground” venom fills your voice as you remember. You had been hunting animals for years, but to blatantly abuse an animal- a baby at that- was something entirely different, and witnessing him do that further confirmed that Micah Bell was one twisted bastard.
Arthur furrowed his eyebrows at your story and shook his head in a disappointed manner. “Yeah, i aint exactly a fan of his presence neither. But you been part of this group for a helluva’ lot longer than he has, shouldnt let ‘im run you outta’ camp”
You nod, honestly you somewhat agree, but the other part of you just couldnt stand the man’s presence. “I know. Its not like im scared of him, its just that-”
“Ah i know you aint scared of ‘em” Arthur smiled lightly “well you just let me know if he does start up botherin’ you again, n’ i’ll rough ‘em up a little” Arthur made no effort to hide how he felt about Micah, often antagonizing the man when he saw him around camp, which has ended with fists swinging a couple times. Micah got on his nerves just as much as he did yours, but Arthur had to admit, Micah was a handy gunslinger, and he assumed that was the main reason Dutch kept him around. Didnt change the fact that he was reckless and rude.
You cant help but smile at Arthur “I appreciate the offer but if he starts botherin’ me again ill kill ‘em myself” you (half) joke, and arthur grins.
“Fine by me”
By this time you and Arthur had finally reached the wagons, and you stand there patiently as you watch Arthur place the box on the wagon without issue, turning to you and reaching out for the box in your arms as well. As you hand your crate over to him you hear a voice from a couple wagons up.
“Please Mister, let me go! I wont say a thing to no one, i swear it!”
Once Arthur removes the box from your arms, you lean to peak past the covered wagon, noticing a man with black hair and a beard being shoved along by Bill, gun pointing directly to the mans back. You raise an eyebrow and peer back at Arthur, you dont even have to ask ‘who the hell is that’, its written on your face plenty.
Arthur huffs, “An O’Driscoll” he states simply, crossing his arms over his chest for a little extra warmth, observing as you peak your head past the wagon once again to get a second look. “Picked ‘em up the other day after we got a jump on that O’Driscoll camp. Dutch thinks he could be of some use.” He further explained, walking to stand behind you and also peer his head around the wagon, watching as Bill basically threw him into one of the wagons up front.
“Noisy thing aint he?” You dont shift your attention from the man, still pleading for his freedom with promises and swears and anything else he can think of. Your interest in the situation is interrupted by Arthur switching the subject, and you turn your gaze to him at he speaks
“What i was sayin’ earlier, about not lettin’ Micah run you outta camp, im serious. Gotta lot of foes right now out t’ get us- Pinkertons, Bounty Hunters, and all these damn O’Driscolls lurkin’ about. Y’should stay closer to camp for a while.” He voices his concern, but down plays it a bit by adding “we might just end up needin’ your expertise in gunslingin’” with a laugh.
As you look up at him you smile, you knew he meant it in a somewhat teasing manner, but you still took it seriously, you might not have been the best gunslinger in existence, but you could sure as hell hold your own. Before joining the group, you had never even held a gun, but Hosea and Dutch were quick to teach you. And now, after many years and plenty of practice, you could keep up with most of the men. “I should be the one tellin’ you that, youre out n’ about just as much as i am. And i can guarantee youre more of a troublemaker” you say matter of fact-ly.
“Heh, cant argue that” Arthur shrugs, and when he hears a door slam to the left of him, he looks past you to see Dutch walking out of the cabin with purpose, making his way over to the rest of the group. “Alright cowgirl, I’ll see ya’ around, gotta have a word with Dutch” he nods a goodbye to you, and you nod back at him.
“Stay safe Arthur” hes already walking away as you speak, responding with a quick “you too, Ms. L/N” over his shoulder. Crossing your arms over your chest, you look around to find something else you can help with. Your eyes scan along the wagons, watching as other people in your group continue loading them up, then drift along the small cabins in the town. Your eyes pause when you spot Mrs. Adler standing by her lonesome under an awning, dressed in some clothes that you and Tilly had given her. You felt awful for her, even with how far away you were from her, you could see the swelling around her eyes from long nights of no sleep and constant tears. She didnt look well- Hell no one in her situation would. So you take it upon yourself to walk over to her before you do anything else, giving her a soft smile as you get closer.
“Good morning Mrs. Adler”
She simply nods a hello in your direction, her gaze only resting on you for a moment before she looks back down at the ground, clearly lost in thought. You could only imagine what all was going through her head, losing her husband, losing her home, and being taken in by a group out outlaws all in a week. Thinking of her situation is a sure reminder of how quickly anyones life can change, and how you never really know how anything is going to play out. Even with her quiet response, making you assume she probably didnt want to be bothered, you pushed a bit more “Have you eaten anything?” You ask softly, although you were sure her answer was probably going to be a ‘no’.
Your assumption was confirmed as Ms. Adler shakes her head, “just… aint been all that hungry” she explains. You nod, you understood that, but you also knew she desperately needed to eat- despite her nerves, you knew her body had to be craving sustenance, you hadnt seen her take a bite of anything since she had been here. And you werent going to voice it, but the last thing the camp needed right now was someone passing out from low blood sugar. So whilst you dig in your side bag for some jerky you had acquired, you speak to her.
“I know food probably dont sound all that appetizing right now, but you really should eat somethin’- starvin’ will just make you feel worse” You use the softest tone you can muster as you speak, holding the jerky out in front of her, hoping she will reach out for it. “Its real good, i got it back in this small little town out west- feller i bought it from went on and on about how he used these rare spices from other countries to give it a taste no one else ‘round here could copy.” It was true, definitely one of the best tasting jerkies you had ever tried, you had been trying to make it last as long as possible seeing as you werent quite sure when youd be able to get more of it- but you figured Ms. Adler would benefit off of it more than you would right now.
Even with the unsure look on Mrs. Adlers face, she reached out and politely took it from you. Your talk of rare spices must have peaked her interest a little bit, and you watched as she brought the jerky close to her nose and gave it a sniff, causing her empty stomach to rumble immediately. “It does smell good… thank you.” But, to your disappointment she still didnt take a bite, only shoving it into the small crossbody bag another woman of camp had let her borrow. You dont mention it.
“Alright, well you just let me know if you need anythin’ at all, ill do my best to help” and with that you turn on your heels to go find something else to do, but Mrs. Adler stops you in your tracks.
“Well, i do have a question actually”
You turn once again to face her, you dont say anything, just wait for her to continue.
“That other group- the O’Driscolls… the ones who killed my husband…” you could see something shift behind her eyes, something between sadness and rage, and you knew that look all to well. The look of wanted retribution. The look of a woman who sought revenge. “Y’all run into them often?”
You answer honestly “Well, for a while we aint seen too many of ‘em, but we were farther out. Seems theres a lot more of ‘em ‘round these parts” you place your hands in your jacket pockets.
She thinks for a moment before speaking again, “What happened between yall?” Mrs. Adler was genuinely curious about the feud, no matter what your response was she would still hate them til the day she died for what they did to her Jake, she figured if anything itd just give her more of a reason to despise them. And your response only confirmed that theory.
Before you answer her you look around, not 100% sure of telling this woman who you didnt know would stick around or not what had happened. But you figure telling her a little wouldnt hurt anything, especially since her husband died at the hands of the O’Driscoll group. “It was a while ago, been fightin’ ‘em for years cause Colm O’Driscoll- their ‘leader’- killed Dutch’s woman, Annabelle. But honestly, they never got along much, we werent ever exactly friendly with them… Nasty sons of bitches…” you leave out the part where Dutch killer Colms brother, not wanting to incriminate him, just in case. “What they did to you and your husband, theyd do to anybody. I aint gonna lie ma’am, our group, aint exactly… compliant with the new ways of the world, but we still got morals- well, more than the O'Driscolls anyways”
Mrs. Adler nods, taking in the new information for a moment. “You been with them for a long time?”
“Since i was a teenager. They took me in when i had nowhere else to go. Sure as hell saved my life and kept the noose off my neck.” You recall when the group had found you, somehow both one of the worst and one of the finest moments of your life, considering that was the night you were truly freed from the hell you once lived in- even if it came with a cost. You could see the cogs turning in Mrs. Adlers mind, and you could easily tell that she was considering sticking around. You give her a light smile “You can stay as long as youd like, im sure everyone else in the camp would agree to it, Its up to you. We may bicker a lot, but at the end of the day were family. And besides, im sure you can hold your own, i saw you standing up to Micah that night.” You had been there when the group found Mrs. Adler, and of course Micah had to act a complete fool towards her. You wince as you remember “‘M sorry about that, by the way, Mrs. Adler. Hes a goddamn idiot, just try to steer clear of him.”
She huffs out a “you dont have to tell me twice.” But then looks at you, eyes a bit softened compared to before “Thank you, for bein’ so kind. And you can call me Sadie.”
Gaining a bit of her trust made you happy- Sadie looked about your age, and although you loved all of the other women in the camp (even Mrs. Grimshaw, despite her nagging) you thought you and Sadie might have more in common, and itd be nice to have another woman your age in camp. “Of course” you begin “Like i said, just let me know if you need somethin’. Im gonna go help finish packin’ up” you give her a small wave and smile “Ill see ya’ around.” She gives a light wave back, so you turn your focus back to the wagons, and start making your way there. You notice the group had been stacking boxes right next to them, and you give yourself the task of grabbing up the boxes and totes (the ones that wouldnt strain your shoulder at least) and handing them up to Charles, who was already standing in one of the covered wagons. You hadnt spoke to Charles much, he had been here around the same time as Micah and like stated previously, you had spent less and less time near the camp since then. But as far as you could tell, he seemed like a decent man. As you handed up boxes, the two of you made friendly small talk, and before you knew it, it was time to get going.
-
You had decided on riding your horse instead of the wagons to your groups next destination- a beautiful silvery-white Missouri Fox Trotter, whos legs and face slowly faded into a darker shade of grey. You had named her Lux- short for luxury, a small inside joke based off of her being the most ‘luxurious’ thing in your life- you had paid a pretty penny for her from a stable out west. And youd happily pay that money for her all over again, she was a damn good horse, by far the fastest you had ever owned, and durable as hell.
Halfway through the ride you had to rid yourself of your jacket, it was incredible how quickly it seemed to warm up as you made your way down the mountain, green patches of grass turned to plains before your eyes, and the world seemed to become more alive- groups of deer and bunnies scurrying away at the sound of horse clatter. You had went ahead with the group to a small clearing called Horseshoe Overlook, and you had to say, it was a huge upgrade compared to where you had just came from.
With everyone pitching in, It took no time for the camp to be set up. You had pitched your tent towards the edge of the camp, a nice spot where a tree had provided the perfect amount of shade from the sun, a little bit farther back from where you had seen Mrs. Grimshaw and Mary-Beth Setting up someone elses camp. Finally setting your cot up, you try to make it as cozy as possible, but even the fact that you had your own tent again satisfied you enough. You didnt mind having karen as your roommate, but everyone needed their space sometimes, and you had gotten used to rooming by yourself overtime. As soon as you were finished, you fell back onto your cot with a pleased sigh, relishing in how good it felt to have a bed off the ground, and how pleasant the sun pouring through the opening of your tent felt on your skin. This was the most relaxed you had felt in days, even though you knew the group had quite a bit to worry about still, it was nice to just live in the serenity of the new camp for a few minutes.
You had been lying there for a moment when you heard another horse-led wagon pull into the camp, followed by Dutches voice calling out to Hosea. This intrigued you enough for you to rise from your oh-so comfortable spot , quickly place your hat upon your head, and take a couple strides closer to listen in, hoping to gain some valuable info on what was going on, or what was soon to be going on. You stay a couple feet away as you tune in to Hosea voicing his concerns to Dutch, Arthur trailing behind the older man- all completely valid concerns in your opinion, but of course he only got the typical response from Dutch about how the group has made it this far, and how Dutch has “kept us together” and “kept us alive” which wasnt entirely false either. You continue to keep to yourself as you watch the men converse, arms crossed and leaning against one of the barrels placed throughout camp, you tilt your head down a bit, using your hat to shade your eyes from the beaming sun. The men seem to finish up their conversation and Dutch turns around to face the camp.
“Now, everyone put your tools down for a moment. Come on gather around, quickly now,” He spoke loudly enough for anyone around camp to hear, so you take a couple steps towards him alongside your other camp members, everyone listening closely to what Dutch had to say. “I know that things have been tough… but we are safe, now, and we are far too poor. So it is time for everyone to get to work!”
Hosea quickly chimes in, bouncing off of Dutch’s statement,“Get to work, but stay out of trouble. Remember, we are itinerant workers.”
“Laid off when they shut down our factory to the north. Now get out there and see what you can find! Uncle, Reverend Swanson… no more passengers.” Dutch finished for Hosea, and the group laughs at his pester. “It is time for everyone to earn their keep!”
Nodding, Hosea continues on “There is a town a little way down the track, name of Valentine, live stock town. All mud and morons if i remember right. That seems a decent place to start.”
Valentine. You had heard of it before, years ago, but you werent quite sure you had ever actually stepped foot in the town. Live stock towns all seemed to be the same to you, Hoseas description of “mud and morons” was spot on for most of the ones you had the pleasure of visiting. Even if they werent the most dazzling towns, they sure were any easy target for robbing fools- especially when youre just passing through. Most of the smaller livestock towns only had a little team of lawmen, and you could only recall a few times where there was a genuine consequence to some of your actions in the small rural communities. You turn your head to Mr. Pearson as you hear him clear his throat to gain peoples attention.
“And… we need food, real food… that means everyday, one of you.” He glances around from person to person as he speaks.
Dutch chimes in once again, grabbing a small lock box from his tent and setting it on a nearby barrel, “And remember, whatever it is that you find, the camp gets its slice.” He points down at the lock box as he speaks, stressing the importance of everyone contributing something, whether it be money, valuables, or food. “Now, be sensible out there.” Is the last thing he says as everyone nods in agreement to Dutches conditions, then disperses once again, getting back to whatever job they were once working at. Your eyes shift around camp as you notice Mrs. Grimshaw leading Arthur ahead to his camp, which you then realize is the one you had sat your camp close to earlier. You reckon Arthur was as good a neighbor to have as any, further satisfied with where you had decided on putting your camp. Pushing yourself off the barrel to stand up fully, you decide to get yourself busy with something.
A few weeks later…
You had awakened with the sun on that early morning, a slow yawn accompanied with a deep stretch- your shoulder had began healing up nicely. You had taken the stitches out yourself a couple days ago, and although it was still tender it felt good to stretch fully without as much strain. You still had to be a little careful with the scab, every now and then youd go a little too hard and it would spilt open, spotting your top with crimson, but nonetheless it was much less of a hassle than before. You roll onto your back and rub your face, trying to massage any bit of sleepiness out and helping your eyes adjust to the soft lighting around you. Unhurriedly rising from cot, you get ready for the day ahead of you, taking your time as it was still quite early in the morning. You decide on a short sleeved shirt today, even though a bit of the coolness from nighttime still lingered in the air, it was surprisingly warm, and you know as the sun rises it will continue to heat up. You pair the short sleeved button up with a vest and jeans, finishing your look with your favorite hat and boots. You didnt put a ton of effort into your outfits, but you still liked to look nice, always making sure the colors complimented each other at least. You buckle your hip hostler around your waist, grab your bag, and out into the world you went.
The camp is already lively, aside from a couple people still trying to sleep in, and the air around the camp feels refreshing. Everyone has gotten comfortable in the newfound home, and things have ran pretty smooth the past couple weeks, money was slowly but surely coming into camp, and sometimes you were even able to forget that your beloved group was currently on the run. You notice Arthur and Hosea speaking ahead of you, but it seems you had just caught the end of their conversation, watching Hosea walk away talking about a book he was planning to read. You still take a couple of steps to Arthurs tent, eyes on him as he finishes the last drink of his coffee and turns to grab one of his guns, not quite noticing you yet. You speak up to grab his attention, “Mornin Arthur”
Hearing your voice, he holsters his gun and faces you, “Morning, Ms. L/N, you doin’ alright today?” Arthur reaches into his satchel and grabs a couple cigarettes, handing one out to you, his way of inviting you to chat for a moment. Growing up around everyone smoking had inevitably led you to doing the same, and now it was a habit that you didnt quite plan on breaking anytime soon.
You smile and grab the cigarette from between his fingers happily, “Im doing just fine, feels nice outside today… and you?” You pull the cigarette up to your lips and watch as Arthur grabs a match, using the bottom of his boot to light it, holding his other hand around the small flame to keep the breeze off of it. In true Arthur fashion, he brings it to your cigarette first, allowing you to lean in and take a deep drag in, encouraging it to light. Taking a few more puffs to ensure it was fully lit, you pull away, nodding him a thank you before he pulls it back to himself to copy you.
After he takes a drag, he responds “‘M good, about to head out to Valentine, Hosea said Javier and some of the other men were already there, figure its worth seein’ trouble theyre gettin’ themselves into.” He takes another drag of his smoke and looks down at you, arguably watching a little too close as you mimic his movements, taking a slow pull from your cigarette. His eyes glance back up to yours.
“Say, theres a stable in Valentine aint there? Ive been needin’ to get Lux some more treats, y’ mind if i come along?” Just like her name, your horses taste in treats were luxurious as well, making it no secret that she preferred fresh fruits over oatcakes and herbs, though you cant say you blame her. But because of this, you always tried to keep a few fruits around for her, and honestly over the past few weeks fresh fruit wasnt exactly widely available, so it had been a minute since she had her favorite snack. You figure it was about time you ride into town and get her some, your girl deserved it.
Arthur nodded “Course ya’ can, just remember, were lyin’ low right now” he pesters you, causing you to roll your eyes playfully and sigh.
“Fine, ill be on my best behavior.” You promise, going along with his teasing. “But only ‘cause you were kind enough to share a smoke with me.” You take a final drag of your cigarette, tossing it on the ground and stepping on it to ensure it was out.
Arthur does the same with his, and gestures his arm out in an “after you” manner, following behind you as you begin to walk to the horses. “If i woulda’ know i could buy your patience with tobacco, id’ve done it long before now.” He states, a pleased smile on his face. Banter like this was common between you and Arthur, hell the whole camp was always teasing and pestering each other- especially the ones that had been around for a long time.
Arthur was looking forward to going on a ride with you- it had been at least a 4 or 5 months since the last ride between just the two of you. He always enjoyed the conversations you guys had- feeling you often had a good insight or opinion on what was going on around camp. He figured it was some kind of womanly-intuition that he would never quite fully understand, though sometimes it was a little eerie how spot on you were with things.
“Im a simple woman Arthur Morgan” You say with a shrug, not bothering to look back at him. Sure you were.
Arthur chuckles a bit and shakes his head, and as the pair of you near your horses, you split for a moment to go saddle up. But of course, you cant go anywhere without setting a moment aside to appreciate your loyal mare. You grin as you walk up to her, “Theres my giiirl” you draw out, reaching out to pat her a couple of times. Lux responds with a satisfied snort, making you laugh a bit. You peck her on the cheek before moving back to place a couple items in your saddle bag, also ensuring you had anything you may need on your journey. Once you confirm this, you slip your boot through stirrup and hoist yourself up, tossing your leg over and centering yourself. You adjust a bit to get comfortable, and glance over to Arthur, only to see him waiting patiently, eyes already on you.
You pretend that noticing him watching you doesnt cause you to clam up a bit, and you try to hide it further with a cocky “Well whatchu’ waitin’ on? Lets go” and you ignore the bit of irony in your statement, obviously he was waiting on you. You had always thought Arthur was an attractive man, in fact, though he was a bit intimidating the first time you met him, you had a small crush on him when you first joined the group. You never really acted on it anyways, but once you found out about Mary it killed any dream of something more- you werent no home wrecker, and you werent going to lust over a man whos heart belonged to someone else. So, instead you got to know Arthur over the years as a good, loyal friend, and you were perfectly satisfied with that. There were a couple months a few years after Mary had gotten married where Arthursy have arguably been a little more than friendly, but you honestly didnt read into it all that much seeing as for the most part he was a gentleman towards most the women in the group.
It was quiet on the first couple minutes of the ride, a comfortable silence allowing you to enjoy the sounds of nature around you. Birds chirped from above, and the tree branches rustles from a squirrel jumping from limb to limb. Somewhere off in the distance you could hear an owl, and the nostalgic sound brought you back to your childhood home for a moment. You close your eyes just for a second to take it all in with a deep breath, exhaling with a sigh.
“Whatchu’ think of the new camp?”
Arthurs words pull you from your thoughts, but you dont answer right away- fully thinking through your feelings. “Its alright so far, obviously much better than Colter. Know we aint stayin’ here forever though- we really stirred the pot back there in Blackwater. I figure we still got a lot more runnin’ to do.” You look over your shoulder to him, “Were real far east. I aint heard of Valentine since… my father was alive” Your eyes shift as you mention your father. Thinking of him was never a pleasant experience for you, from the day you were born til the day you killed him he was a mean old bastard, and you didnt have much regret in ending his life.
Arthur hums in agreement, and he must notice the cogs turning behind your eyes because he, blunt as ever, continues with his questions. “You aint never talked much ‘bout your Pa- i mean, i know you put the old bastard outta’ his misery, but all these years and you aint ever said why.”
“Reckon i didnt think it mattered all that much” You state simply, your eyes now glued to the path in front of you. Thinking back on it, the only person in the camp you had ever told the full story to was Hosea, the night he had found you, walking aimlessly around in a blood soaked nightgown. You had sobbed to him, explaining everything that had happened- and instead of calling you crazy and turning you into the law, he simply listened and wrapped his jacket around you. Took you back to the camp and introduced you to everyone, saying youd be sticking around for a while. It surprised you that Hosea never fully told anyone what had transpired that night, but at the same time it made you feel like you could trust the older man even more. You considered him more of a father than your real dad was. “I mean, ive been in this group for 10 years and yer’ just now askin’ me- m’ shocked Hosea didnt tell you” you somewhat laugh as you speak.
“All Hosea ever said was that you killed ‘em, and that the lowlife deserved it, didnt get into the details” Arthur explained, eyes occasionally switching from the path to you. “Guess it aint really none of my business, but cant say ive never wondered”
“Well i never intended for it to be a secret or nothin’, if you wanted to know you coulda’ just asked me.” You try to stay light hearted about it- again your pride forcing you to act like nothing bothered you, like it wasnt extremely traumatic and the most painful moment in your life. “Whatchu’ wana know?”
Arthur answered “What drove you to killin’ ‘em, i guess”
“He- uhm-“ you try to speak and immediately fumble over your words, internally cursing yourself. This was already proving to be harder than you thought it would be- you hadnt talked about it in so long. So you clear your throat, slightly embarrassed, and collect your thoughts, fiddling with the reins in your grip. You take a deep breath and try again, “Well, he was always a mean man. Dont think i have a single memory where he was nice to me, and as i got older it just got worse. He’d come home and beat me for no good reason- just cause he had a bad day i suppose.” You could feel Arthurs eyes on you, but you refused to meet his. “Soon as i turned 18, he started tryin’ to sell me off for marriage- i was ecstatic, thought gettin’ married was my ticket out of that hell.” You recall the memories as you speak, all of them flashing through your head like a slideshow. In a weird way, saying it out loud felt unreal, like it was hard for your brain to accept that the words coming from your mouth described what used to be your life. It had been so long ago now, and you had separated yourself from it so much that it almost felt like an alternate universe or a bad dream. “But boy was i mistaken- That boy was just as mean as my Pa was, we had only been married ‘bout 2 weeks, n’ he came home one night, madder than a bull” your body involuntarily shudders, and you hope it goes unnoticed. “He was gonna kill me. Aint a doubt in my mind about it. But for the first time in my life i fought back- it was like somethin’ took over my body. Guess all those years of gettin’ beat on finally sent me over the edge- and… i killed him.”
You finally bring yourself to look over to Arthur, who had a somewhat surprised expression on his face. Not that this story changed his mind at all, but he always saw you as such a strong, independent woman- it was hard to imagine anyone taking advantage of you. Besides, Hosea had never mentioned that you killed your husband, or that you even had one in the first place. Different emotions flooded through his head as he took in the new information about your life, and he wasnt quite sure what to say yet, so he stayed silent, letting you continue on with your story.
“I didnt know what to do, or where to go, so i just went back home, all soaked in blood. Not quite sure what i was thinkin’- if i was thinkin’ at all. N’ when i made it back, there my Pa was, passed out drunk at the table. Its a good thing- ‘m sure he would’ve tried to kill me too if he had been awake, im sure i looked the part of a murderous woman. Thats when i noticed he was readin’ some book before he dosed off- and he wasnt ever the book readin’ type, so i grabbed it up n’ read one of the pages… n’ it was my Mommas journal” your eyebrows furrow. At this point your tone wasnt as calm as it once was, starting to break with a bit of anger, your knuckles now white from gripping the reins so hard. “Pages upon pages of how terrible my Pa was to her… beat her worse than he ever did me. Eventually i get to the pages from when she was pregnant… sayin she hoped for my life and hers that i was a boy. How scared she was of him and how violent he had gotten.” You have to pause to take a deep breath before you continue “and finally i get to a page that was dated the day before my birthday- He always told me that she died during birth, so i was expectin’ that to be the last page… except it wasnt. There were three more pages- talkin’ ‘bout how badly he had beaten her the night i was born, how she couldnt live like this anymore, and how she was gettin’ us outta there. Then it ended. Rest of the pages were blank…”
People say the body never forgets, and they must be right because as you recall the memories, you can feel your heartbeat increase and your stomach drop. It may not have been as strong of a feeling as it was that night, but you sure as hell felt it.
You swallow hard, “it took me a couple a’ seconds to put 2 n’ 2 together, but once i did, i went ballistic. Lost my damn mind. Grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed ‘em… i dont know how many times.” Anger steadily flowing through your body remembering it all, you glare in no particular direction, but a wave of strength passes through you when you recall the moment you vowed to never let someone treat you badly again. “No matter how many it was, he deserved more.”
“Sounds like yer’ Pa got what was comin’ for ‘em. If you ask me, you did the world a service takin’ out those fools” Arthurs words pull you from your memory loop, “But remind me to never make you mad.” He adds, and his attempt to lighten the mood works. You appreciated that he focused on your resolution rather than pitying you for when you were young and weak. He wasnt going to mention it, but he did have a deeper empathy for your situation, seeing as his father wasnt particularly pleasant when he was a child either and his mother also died when he was young. He never expected pity for it, and he knew good and well you didnt either. It seemed the two of you were more similar than Arthur had realized.
You cant help but to huff out a laugh, fully accepting of shifting to a lighter mood after such a heavy topic. “You tend to stay on my good side Arthur, always been kind to me.” It was true, every since you joined the camp Arthur had looked out for you, despite your insists that you “dont need no ones help”, hell there had been more times than you could count on your fingers throughout the years where you had been particularly sassy torwards him after a long day, only for him to say “Now whatchu’ tryin’ to quarrel with me for darlin, i aint done nothin.” Your usual response was to just walk away with a huff, only to ‘apologize’ the next morning by handing him a cup of coffee, which he always accepted.
“Well Ms. L/N, ive seen how you handle business, you can be an intimidatin’ woman” Like stated previously, it was hard for him to even imagine someone taking advantage of you- because for the years hes known you, youve never taken shit from any man. He could recall countless times where he had seen you seriously injure men- there were even a couple of times where he watched you make grown men cry. He had no desire to be on the receiving end of your rage. But, it made him respect you all the more. Not to mention, now that you had been riding with the gang for a while, you had turned into quite the gunman. “I hope i remain on your good side.”
This makes you smile, and you happily entertain the thought of Arthur Morgan being intimidated by you “Well for your sake, i hope you remain on my good side as well Mr. Morgan.” You look over to him simply to show off the smug look on your face, and he cant help but to chuckle.
“Alright, dont go thinking yer’ Landon Ricketts or nothin’,” Arthur shakes his head at you with a grin, then looks back ahead of him, the small town of Valentine getting closer and closer. “Remember Ms. L/N, were lyin’ low, dont go stirin’ up trouble”
“Oh would you hush with that, you aint foolin’ no one” You slightly roll your eyes at his insists that you were the trouble maker in the group. “Where you headin first?”, as the two of you near the town, you want to get everything in line just incase something did happen. You werent planning on stirring anything up, but you werent exactly the type to shy down from a fight either, and if things go left you wanted to make sure you could regroup if need be.
“Figure theyre at the saloon, probably lazin’ about not getting anything productive done” he states plainly, by now you had entered the town, and the saloon was just right around the corner. The town was surprisingly alive this morning, lots of people walking around and sitting on porches having conversations.
You nod at him, and refrain from questioning their presence at a saloon this early in the morning. “Right, well ill meet you fellers there in a minute, gonna go ahead and get Lux her treats,” as you speak you give her a couple of affectionate pats, smiling down at the animal. “Catch ya’ in a few.” You barely give Arthur a chance to respond with a “Sounds good” before you nudge Lux softly to get her to pick up a little speed, heading off in the direction of the stables.
It only takes a couple more moments to reach the stables, and once you near them you position Lux right next to the barn doors, hopping off of her and hitching her to a near by post. You dont even have to say anything, the man running the stables walks over and greats you immediately, shortly following this with a “Wow! Shes a beauty, you aint lookin’ to sell are ya?”
“Oh no no no, she aint going anywhere anytime soon” You stand up straight and place your hands on your hips, “was actually just stoppin’ by to get her some snacks, some pears in particular” you quirk an eyebrow at him “y’all got pears, right?”
“Yer’ in luck Miss, we got plenty of pears-“
“How many?”
After a couple minutes of conversation, mainly you haggling him on the price since you were “gettin’ 20 pears! Deserve some kinda’ bulk deal or somethin” plus, flashing him a smile and batting your eyelashes a couple of times, you were able to bring the price down from $13 to $9, and that was a win in your book. You had thrown all the pears into a woven bag that you attached to the side Lux’s saddle, besides one, holding it right in front of your horse for her to smell, grinning at her and cooing, “Look what i got for ya’, Miss All Luxurious”
Lux wasted no time leaning in to bite the pear, loudly crunching the top half of it off, smacking her lips a bit as she continued to chew. Within a few seconds she was coming back in for the bottom half of the fruit, taking it from your grasp and drooling all over your hand. You groan “Aw man, C’mon Lux, really?” And flick your hand off to the side in attempts to get the drool off of you. You playfully glare at her and she huffs, still chewing away on her treat. “Well im glad you enjoyed it so much, yer’ welcome” You wipe the remaining bit of drool on your pants and rub her nose “lucky yer’ so damn cute” Sighing, you give her one final nose rub and take a step back “Alright, gonna go check on the men, you keep look out for me girl” talking away at her as if she could process a single word you were saying. She only blinks at you and you take that as a sign of acknowledgement, turning on your heels and heading off to the saloon.
As you walk alongside of the pathway through town, townsfolk great you here and there as they pass by, sometimes giving a bit of small talk about how it looked like it was about to rain or other pleasantries, nothing too interesting. Youre only about 10 foot away from the entrance of the saloon when you hear yelling coming from inside, and you just shake your head and sigh, “ah, shit”
You assumed that the likelihood of this yelling not having anything to do with your lovely group members was probably a zero, so you quicken your pace, making your way up the stairs of the saloon and preparing yourself for the mess inside. Just as youre about to push through the entrance you freeze hearing a loud crash of glass breaking to the left of you, and it almost seemed like the world was in slow motion as you watched the one and only Arthur Morgan come tumbling through the window, bouncing off of the porch and into the muddy street. Your eyes widen, hand immediately going to rest on your gun, you hadnt heard any gunshots yet, but you wanted to be prepared. Law didnt seem to be involved yet either, and you didnt want to be the one to start shooting and change that fact. The wooden boards beneath you begin to shake with heavy steps, and you move out of the way just in time as a large man bursts through the entrance of the saloon.
“Come on, pretty boy…” the large man mocks Arthur as we walks down the stairs, and when you look back over to the outlaw, hes already back on his feet, readying himself for more.
“Pretty boy? Yer’ kiddin’ me? Pretty boy??”
You have to suppress a laugh at this, and as you watch the men start fighting again you relax a bit, even though Arthur and the man were really going at it, you could tell this was not a situation that you needed to start shooting over- not yet at least- just a typical bar brawl, definitely not the first one you had witnessed, you figured it wouldnt be the last either. People steadily surround the two men, some chanting for more, some shouting for them to stop, but they kept on going, neither one planning on forfeiting. Figuring Arthur had it under control, you stride over to the porch next to the saloon, granting yourself a quick smoke as you leaned against one of the support beams and continued to watch the quarrel.
You had to give it to the man- ‘Tommy’ you had overheard the towns people calling him- he was putting up a good fight against your fellow gang member, effectively using his size to toss Arthur around a bit. Arthur was no small man, but Tommy had him beat by both weight and height. Most of the time you had seen the gunslinger fight, it was usually him strong-arming everyone else, so it was quite a sight to witness Arthur having to put a bit more thought into his movements, trying to keep a little extra space between him and the brute so he didn’t constantly sling him around. By this time it had started to rain, making the fight even messier than it already had been, mud and blood flinging around with even punch thrown. Even with him starting to adapt to Tommys fighting style, Tommy got one good grab around Arthurs neck and shoved him to the ground, and thats when you started to get a little nervous. You fully trusted in Arthurs fighting abilities, but watching as Tommy shoved his face into the mud, you were starting to take this brawl a little more seriously.
Cigarette still placed between your lips, you stood at full attention, readying yourself incase you needed to intervene, but before you could worry any longer, Arthur was able to reel back and place a hefty punch right against Tommys jaw. The large man stumbled back, losing his balance even more when he received a kick to the groin, which gave Arthur the perfect opportunity to grab the man and flip them over so Tommy was now the one squirming around in the mud, trying to regain his advantage. Arthur gives him no time to recoup as he begins laying punch after punch to the mans face, anger and adrenaline flowing through his veins, urging him to keep going despite the townsfolk now shouting for the fight to end. You just shake your head and huff out a laugh, relieved that Arthur was able to gain control over the situation.
You stay in your spot, leaning back against the support beam once again as an onlooker finally intervenes the quarrel, yelling for Arthur to stop, “You won the fight already, surely thats enough?” he continues to plead with him and Arthur finally releases the grip he had of Tommys shirt while he was striking him, the large man hitting the mud with a squelch.
They exchange a couple more words, before Arthur pushes by him, stumbling a bit as he pushes through the crowd of observers as well, making his way towards the porch you were currently watching from. Now that the townspeople had dispersed a little, you could see Tommy laying borderline lifeless on the wetted soil, face already swollen and all bloodied as the man who stopped the fight tried to bring him to his feet. Arthur had really messed him up- not that this surprised you any.
Rubbing his sore jaw, Arthur glanced up from the ground only to see you, arms folded across your chest and giving him a raised brow. He already knew what you were going to say, especially after all his remarks on the way here about ‘staying out of trouble.’ He places one of his hands on his back to help straighten his posture as he takes a couple steps up the stairs, then wiping some of the mud off of his face- mainly just smearing it everywhere rather than actually removing it. He waits for you to speak first but it doesnt come, you were just looking at him, small smirk on your face while you smoke, so he takes the initiative, “Well, you enjoy the show Ms. L/N?”
Your smirk slowly turns to a grin, and you nod “Sure i did.” you start, and as you speak you pull another cigarette from your satchel, using your own half-smoked cig to light the new one, then you hand it to him. He nods as a quick ‘thanks’ and graciously accepts, taking a drag of it as you continue to talk again. “Ya know,” you point the fingers that held your cigarette torwards him teasingly, “You’ve got a real interestin’ take on the phrase ‘lyin’ low.” Townsfolk continued to pass by as the two of you spoke, mumbling about the fight, and Arthur in general, sending the pair of you dirty looks.
Ah, there it was “Yeah i was waitin’ on that” he mumbled, as he spoke some of the mud made its way into his mouth, making him turn to the side and spit, the taste of mud and iron wasnt exactly pleasant. He tried to wipe around his mouth once again but only smeared it more than he previously had.
You roll your eyes at him and grab his arm, pulling him towards the other end of the porch with a “C’mere.” You had noted a barrel of water sitting farther down the porch when you had first made your way over, so you guided him to it, and once you were in front of it you reached into your satchel to grab a small rag. You dip it into the water with one hand, the other reaching up to softly grab his chin, and you bring the rag up to wipe his face off. Arthur doesnt even bother removing the cigarette between his lips, letting you work away at getting him cleaned up. As you scrub his face you suddenly notice how close the two of you are right now, and the gesture of wiping him off feels a lot more intimate than you intended it to be- hand on his face, only within a few inches of each other. Trying to ignore this thought, you refuse to meet his eyes that seemed to be staring into your soul, focusing on the few dots left of mud around the slit of broken skin on his cheek, being a little more gentle.
The closeness between the two of you didnt go unnoticed to Arthur either, and he wasnt going to admit it, but it felt nice. Unbeknownst to you, he had always thought you were an attractive woman as well, and he liked how you carried yourself. Strong and independent but also soft when you needed to be, extremely caring of those who mattered to you. And funny… sometimes. In his mind, he had made a move on you before- that time long ago, a bit after Mary had been wed- which mostly consisted of him saying something along the lines of “Ya’ look nice this evening Ms. L/N” or “Did you do somethin’ different with yer’ hair? Looks good like that” or other small compliments that you felt was just him being nice. So, since you never clearly showed that you reciprocated those feelings, he just figured you didnt see him in any special way. Maybe you saw him more as a friend, or a brother, or maybe just a no good outlaw, he wasnt sure, but he definitely wasnt going to be the one to make things awkward. All that aside, what man wouldnt enjoy a pretty woman taking care of him after a fight.
You look him over one final time for any last specks of mud- on his face at least- and as you do, you accidentally lock eyes with his for a moment, your hand still resting on his chin. Those couple seconds feel much longer than they actually were, and even with your gentle treatment of his wounds, the one on his cheek still continues to drip a bit of blood down his face. ‘God, how does he still look so handsome, all covered in mud and blood’ you think to yourself, and you have to pull away before your face starts to heat up, now avoiding his gaze. You try to distract yourself from the tension between the two of you by ringing out the rag, recalling the fight once again “Thought that big brute had ya’ there for a second”
Arthur shakes his head “Naw, that fool? I had it under control.” With the way you pulled back from his so quickly, he once again dismisses any possibility of you seeing something in him, ‘Dont get ahead of yourself Morgan’ he repeats in his head, shutting out the thought completely. Hes grateful as he hears a voice shout to him, pulling him from his thoughts and successfully distracting him for the moment.
“Making friends again I see, Arthur.”
You also are pulled from your thoughts, looking up to see Trelawny and Dutch making their way closer. You thank the stars that you didnt have to think of something else to say to Arthur, shifting your full focus to the men in front of you, allowing them to take the spotlight.
“Ah, and Ms. Y/N L/N, hello my dear.” Josiah continues, and you smile at him, waving a hello. He was always a kind man, slippery, but very informative- very grandeur and very sneaky, but not quite one to get his hands dirty, he left that to the professionals.
“Look who we found sniffing about.” Dutch gestures to the man, and Trelawny takes a bow, formal as ever.
“Josiah Trelawny” Arthur smiles a bit, not having seen their old associate in a while. “Well well… I thought youd gone to New York” he laughs and everyone continues to catch up for a moment, Josiah recalling his first hand experience with how badly the gang had stirred stuff up in Blackwater, while Arthur takes a seat on the stairs. It had been weeks and Blackwater was still up in arms, not necessarily surprising you, but not great news to hear either. After a couple more seconds, Charles, Javier, and Bill finally make their way over, all looking equally at roughed up as Arthur, just not quite as muddy, and Trelawny greets them all just as well.
Arthur speaks up mentioning Blackwater once again, “We left a lot of money there.” And Trelawny finally drops the big news,
“And young Sean it seems”
“Sean?” You and Dutch both reconfirm, and your eyes widen. You remembered your conversation a couple weeks ago with Karen, you knew she would be beyond happy to hear this. You were happy as well, even though Sean could be a bit much at times, you had to admit, he was funny and always brought a lightness to camp.
“Youve found him?” Dutch presses more, almost unbelieving at the news, shocked they hadnt killed him already.
“Yes, I have. Hes being held by some bounty hunters, trying to see how much the government will pay them. I know hes in Blackwater… but theres talk of them moving” Josiah confirms with a nod, looking between the lot of you as he speaks.
Arthur speaks up, rubbing his jaw as he finally rises “Well if we step foot in Blackwater… well then were dead men for sure”
You nod regarding Arthurs statement “Already lost folk in Blackwater. Dont need to lose no more but… we cant just leave ‘em there” you shake your head, the gruesome image of Sean getting the noose flashing in your brain. They would definitely hang him for that business in Blackwater.
Dutch hums in approval “Exactly… There’ll be Pinkertons all over the place, but… if hes alive we gotta try”
“Yeah, of course” Arthur mumbles under his breath, nodding along with everyone.
Josiah talks lowly as he mentions “Its you they want Dutch.” As if saying it too loudly would alert someone near by.
Dutch simple shrugs it off with an “Always Is.” And seems unconcerned completely about it. You werent sure if it was a facade or if he really just didnt believe it was a big deal, but you personally thought it was a much bigger situation than he was willing to admit. Dutch begins giving everyone their orders, ordering Charles to get some more info, Josiah to take Javier to Blackwater, and ordering Arthur to get cleaned up and meet the other men there. “Y/N, you go as well, keep them from causing too much trouble” he adds with a charming smile, and you give a curt nod in response.
The group disperses and you follow behind Arthur figuring the two of you could ride together once more, watching as he makes his way over to the barrel of water once again, splashing some of it on him to get the remainjng bit of mud out of his hair and neck. He runs his fingers through his hair and looks back at you, looking all ready to go with your hand on your hip holster.
“Ill go saddle up.” You state plainly, and turn to walk away, but Arthur catches your attention before you can get too far.
“Why dont you just… stay back for this one cowgirl, Blackwater’s real dangerous right now”
You turn and furrow your eyebrows at him, hands immediately moving to your hips as you stood there, looking at him like you had to process what he just said. “Stay back?” You say it like it was an insult. “Dutch told me to go.”
Arthur Whistles for his horse, and takes some steps closer to your position next to the end of the porch, waiting for his mare get closer. He sighs “I know what Dutch said, but Javier and Charles are gonna be there too, plus Trelawny- we got plenty of good men goin’,” As his horse trots in front of him, he walks ahead, already saddling up as he continues to speak “Why dont you… head back to camp? Tell Karen were bringin’ Sean home, she’ll be happy to hear”
Now looking up at him, towering over you from his horse, your furrowed brows deepen as you glare at him, hat protecting your eyes from the bit of rain that continued to fall here and there. “Since when was i the messenger man?” You ask sarcastically, he should have known better than to think you were going to let this go easily. “You aint never questioned my abilities before, whats the problem?” You ask, a bit more serious now.
“There aint no problem Ms. L/N, just… dont need you gettin’ shot again” He was just concerned about your safety, but by the look on your face that was the wrong thing to say.
You scoff at him “Oh, i see, just cause i get shot one time means that i cant carry my own anymore” you throw your arms up in a should-have-been-obvious fashion, then placing them back on your hips, your disapproval evident even in your body language. “You know, you wouldnt be saying that if i was one of the men, Johns been out helping, he got shot and attacked by wolves but i dont see anyone sa-“
“Come on now Darlin’, would’ya just listen t’me for a second” and his words quickly silence you, especially the use of the nickname, and he tries to come up with something that will make you a bit more agreeable. “The three of us are gonna be gone for a bit, need someone to hang back n’ protect camp incase somethin’ goes wrong.”
You give your usual huff at the petname, still not convinced. You felt like a child who got tasked with a simple job by an adult to feel like they were included in helping. Not a feeling that was enjoyed one bit. “And what? If i try to go, yer’ gonna stop me?” You tilt your head to the side.
Arthur is now furrowing his eyebrows at you as well, becoming a little more serious, “Stop bein’ difficult and let me take care of it” tone coming out a bit more demanding than he meant for it to, so he softens his brows and adds a “Please”
You scan his features for a moment, trying to think of someway to change his mind, but finally you sigh, looking away from him. “Fine.” You huff and start walking away, “But this aint becomin’ a common occurrence Arthur,” as you get farther from him, you increase your voice level, assuring he can hear you. “Only reason im agreein’ to it’s cause i got other… work related things to tend to” you choose your words carefully, not needing the towns people knowing that you had a fool nearby to rob. Shouldnt be too hard of a job either, you had overheard some woman a couple days ago blabbing on about how she had recently married into a lot of money- some man who's daddy traded slaves. Her and her newly wed husband were going on a trip, leaving "that nice big house near Citadel Rock" unattended for a couple days, vulnerable and at risk. You knew the one she was talking about, you had rode by it plenty in your few weeks at Horseshoe Overlook. So despite your indifference at the moment you turn back to him, a defeated look on your face, and you speak a little softer than you were before, "Be safe for godsake... aint nothin' good waitin' on you in Blackwater... 'except Sean I guess"
Arthur tips his hat at you with a "Yes ma'am. You be safe too." then glances back up "Though Sean being something' good is debatable." Typical Arthur, always quick to offend but equally as quick to put his head on the line for someone. He nudges his horses side with his foot, muttering a small “Lets go girl”, he gives her a couple pats, and as he passes by you he speaks once more “Ill see ya’ back at camp”
You only nod, still not exactly happy that you were being left out of a mission, and before you know it, you look up and Arthur was long gone. You couldnt wrap your head around it. You had been gunslinging with Arthur for years, why was he being shifty about it so suddenly? As you walk to Lux, your mind continues to ruminate on what could have possibly brought this on. Your gunshot wound had healed up plenty by now, you could easily defend yourself with little issue, was that really why he didnt want you to go? You had been hurt before with all your years of gunslinging and it was never a problem then, what changed? Maybe he was just using that as an excuse and you had made it awkward just then, when you so gently tended to him after the fight, and he no longer felt comfortable around you.
You try to dismiss these thoughts, telling yourself this was not the first time you had tended to Arthur after an injury- Hell, you had even done it for other men in the camp before. But why did you clam up so much this time? You sigh, now finally back to Lux. Per usual, you take a minute to love on her, giving her plenty of pats as you use her as a distraction from your running thoughts. Why were you second guessing yourself so much? You try to blame it on the fact that you were just stressed about all the Blackwater business, plus Pinkertons becoming more and more of an issue, ‘Its the only thing that would make sense’ you think.
Finally climbing on top of Lux you head off in the direction of Citadel Rock. You allow the thought of how much money would be in this house to calm your previous anxieties, slave trading money was unfortunately no joke, and you had no problem at all stealing everything from someone who thought it was acceptable to sell a human being. Youd put the money to better use anyways. The house should be completely uninhabited, but you never know what you might run into- as usual, you always wanted to be prepared. Citadel Rock was just down the beaten path from Valentine, and it shouldnt be much farther before you get there.
As you listen to the gallops of Lux’s feet hitting the ground- a sound that has became comforting to you over the years- you take in the scenery of the east. It was about mid-day at this point, the sun covered by a few lingering clouds offered shade that made the temperature feel perfect, and you watched as a small group of deer ran off, spooked at your sudden presence. You decide that after your house breaking, youd bag a deer before you head back to camp. They seemed to be everywhere around here, shouldnt be too hard of a task. You finally near the house, and just as expected no one seems to be around. ‘Perfect, ill be in and out’
Little did you know, despite telling himself not to ruminate on it, Arthur was also slightly overthinking your actions earlier, and his lengthy ride to Blackwater gave him plenty of time to do so. He always thought that if he had never met Mary, maybe you would have been easier for him to pursue- after the whole situation between Arthur and Mary, his relationship with love was untrusting. But he always thought you were a good woman, and it was easy to get carried away with the ‘what ifs’. He wasnt sure why, but it was like what happened between the two of you earlier awoken a once forgotten crush, and he felt ridiculous for even thinking about you in this light. He thought he was too old to be feeling smitten. Arthur knew you were a caring person, you were probably just being nice, he was just being illogical with this. It didnt help that he had been interacting with you a lot these past couple weeks since you had been hanging around camp more and your tent was pretty close to his.
He rubbed his face, still somewhat sore from the fight, with a sigh as he finally reached Blackwater, how did he allow hisself to contemplate this almost the entire ride over here? Arthur was glad you finally agreed to hanging back for this, he wasnt quite sure if he could have handled the ride over with you by his side whilst he thought all of this. The last thing he wanted to do was look like a fool in front of you, though he definitely already had throughout your years with the gang, maybe just in a different sense than what was currently going on. He tried his best to shove these thoughts aside as he rode deeper into Blackwater, he needed to be on alert and prepare hisself for this upcoming adventure, not yearning for a woman.
Arthur finally spots his fellow men, and he figures once he can get involved with this, he’ll be too distracted to worry about his current predicament, so he hops off his horse and makes his way over on foot, crouching as he gets near. And sure enough, as the rest of the men catch him up on everything, his mind finally wanders from you to his current objective, and he temporarily forgets about it all. Untill he sees you again, that is.
Hell yeah, first chapter done. Ended up being way longer than i thought itd be, but once i got through the Coulter portion i just felt like there wasnt enough tension yet!! Gotta keep things interesting. But to anyone who reads this, ples let me know if you guys would prefer shorter chapters more frequently or longer chapters but more spaced out. Hopefully it was enjoyable!! I havent written in a while but its been so nice to have a project again. Thank you my beautiful readers!!!
