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

[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."