OOM: Mineral City, 1888 -- That's why I hang my hat... -- for Rachel

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate doesn't try to draw attention to herself, but it's kind of hard to sneak through the bar leading a 15-hand pony. Beaut's not fond of hardwood, truth be told, but convenient doors to Texas aren't always to be found from the forest outside.

"Come along, sugar. Not far now an' there'll be dirt under your hooves again."

Beaut issues a dubious snort, sidestepping when a waitrat ventures a little too close. Kate swings around to steady her, arm brushing a piece of yellowed paper she's got tucked into her britches. She knocks it loose, and it flutters to the floor behind her.

"He ain't botherin' you. C'mon."

She moves a little faster. The quicker she gets Beaut outside, the better. Opening her door, she grins as Beaut's ears twitch forward in recognition, and lets her mosey out first.

"No, no. By all means, let me hold the door for you."

The two disappear.

But the yellowed map remains.


As does the door.

Comments

[ikissdhimbck]

She chuckles.

"Glad y'had a good time."

And she is. She really is. She's never really had anyone out to her Texas before, despite all her promises. There's always that worry that they won't be safe with her.

Kissin' Kate Barlow.

You were supposed to be better.

But this — this was fun. Kate's not sure what to do with that. Maybe she's not as alone as she thinks.


Once they're tucked away in a room for the night, she turns to Rachel.

"Listen, I owe you an apology. For harpin' on you earlier. I jus' wanna see you get home safe, but I could've been a li'l less — overbearin' about it. Y'handled yourself real good today."

[theresnodoor]

It's a far cry from the hotels she used to stay in. Still, the fact remains that Texas, even a little motel with scratchy sheets in Texas, isn't Milliways.

Rachel's smiling, faint but relaxed, feeling warm and comfortable and not thinking too long on the last time she felt this way. All ready to sleep herself, she blinks over at Kate when she starts to speak.

And it's good, so far as apologies go. It's a nice one, well thought out and with respect to her feelings. Kate looking out for her, worrying about her, wanting her to be--

to be home
to be safe

Kate's not that much older than her, but there's a motherly air to that concern that highlights how she must see the younger girl.



Rachel smiles. Not the girl at the shops or the fierce grin at the saloon. It's a small, bitter thing, looking at Kate as if she's something novel, something interesting.

"They can't do anything to me," Rachel tells her, her voice calm and quiet with unwavering confidence.

The sheets feel scratchier now than they did a moment ago.

"If that's what's been bugging you all day, forget it."

[ikissdhimbck]

She shakes her head, her own grin lopsided.

"No. It's jus' that they might send people after me. Maybe not the folks in Mineral City, but — there are people out lookin' for me. I need t'get to Oakville. That's where Thomas Black said I might have luck findin' what I'm lookin' for, an' I'll blend in there. I ain't gonna rush you out now that I know y'can handle yourself, I jus' want you t'know — "

She breathes in, and holds it.

Exhaling through her nostrils, she half shrugs.

"You're welcome back anytime. Jus' keep your eyes open the next few days, till we find a door. If anyone comes 'round tryin' t'drag you into my troubles, y'show 'em jus' how stupid that is."

[theresnodoor]

Rachel blinks, a little surprised by this answer and the good humor it's given in. She sits up a little, head tilted.

"If what I did is going to get you in trouble... I don't actually have to rush out of here. And I don't mean following you around either, I can make a distraction somewhere else to throw them off."

[ikissdhimbck]

She blinks in surprise.

And then she grins, a little less crookedly than before.

"Thank you, but it ain't what you did. Anybody from that saloon who comes after a nine-foot-tall bear's got more guts than I'd give any of 'em credit for. It's old business. So long as I don't stay in any one place too long I should be all right."

[theresnodoor]

Rachel grins back, just a little. Partly because Kate's guess as to her bear's height is surprisingly close to reality.

"I don't know if I've made this clear enough yet, but anytime you need a bar fight? There is a bar I love to leave."

[ikissdhimbck]

She laughs, like the quiet babbling of a brook.

"I think I got the message."

She winks, and turns to get into her saddlebags.

"An' y'know what? I might jus' take you up on that someday."

[theresnodoor]

"Yeah?"

With Kate's back to her, Rachel's smile falters, just a touch. Not nervous, not exactly. Nervous was what she'd felt walking out that door, knowing someone would look for her if too much time passed. Knowing someone wouldn't be pleased if they found out.

Knowing he'd say 'abandon,' and 'left,' and 'choices.'

But that smile's back on if Kate turns back around.

[ikissdhimbck]

"Yes."

She pulls her nightgown out, turning about to head for the dressing screen. She smiles at Rachel.

"I don't exactly have anybody out here. Y'never know when an extra set of fists an' a sharp tongue might come in handy. Or a — friend."

She shrugs, ducking out of sight.

[theresnodoor]

Another blink and Rachel stares after her, a little wide-eyed.

There are a few things she can count on as constant in Milliways. Rats downstairs. No one is allowed a quiet drink at the bar. Privacy is rare and undervalued. Going outside invites shared activity.

Everyone - or just about - wants friends. Connections. They want to meet people and find out their stories and find someone to confide in, take comfort in, talk to, laugh with.

It's not like h-

It's not like it was, with normal kids and normal lives, trying to mesh what she'd become with what she'd been.

Kate's some sort of old west outlaw with a gun on her hip and a laugh for the girl who turns into a bear and terrorizes a saloon.






"Okay."

[ikissdhimbck]

Sometimes, the hardest thing in the world is to mesh what you are with what you used to be.

"Okay."


She used to be surrounded by people in Green Lake. Everyone loved the pretty schoolteacher with the soft voice and the tongue for poetry, the spiced peaches that could not be bested at any picnic or fair. She's grown used to being alone these past few years.

Sometimes it feels like an ill-fitting skin.

She comes out from behind the screen, dressed for bed and attempting to braid her hair.

"Get some sleep. We'll worry 'bout the details tomorrow."

[theresnodoor]

Rachel didn't see any point in buying pajamas out here. Her morphing suit does the trick well enough, even if she's not leaving the sheets spotless with dust-stained lycra. Her new boots are unlaced and resting by the bed, and her hat sits on the bed post.

She's lying on her back when Kate comes out, hands laced on her stomach and looking up at the ceiling. It'll take a few days to get those clothes and then she'll go back, before she 'fades.'

Before Milliways, Rachel was happy to leave who she used to be behind, with the rest of the life torn away from them. She'd gotten used to the idea, had liked it. After Milliways... it seems like everyone wants her to find a way to mesh the two.

"Yeah," Rachel says quietly, rolling onto her side and reaching for the blanket to pull it up a little higher. "Goodnight."