Katherine "Kissin' Kate" Barlow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ikissdhimbck) wrote2012-11-12 11:34 pm
ikissdhimbck) wrote2012-11-12 11:34 pm
Entry tags:
OOM: Kate Barlow | Mireille & Hildegard -- Texas, 1888
Things are going her way.
It's enough to make her nervous.
She's superstitious in her own way, but it don't take soothsayers and bad portents to predict that someone with Kate's kind of luck, reputation, and price on her head is soon for a bad turn. Oakville went real smooth with Ace Lehane on her hip. She stayed for some time, and found two more able-bodied men willing to make the trek to Cuero.
Well.
Able-bodied enough. Texas may be suffering drought, but there are plenty of fish to be found in the local saloons, weathered lips wrapped around a bottle. It don't make no never mind to Kate, so long as they know what they're doing.
(And she's made it clear their vices won't be affecting the job, or else.)
She left them with three weeks to get their affairs in order and meet her in Yorktown. A date, a time, and the name of the place she'll be; that's all she gave. The boy said he could arrange for some ponies, and she's entrusted that responsibility to him. There's still one more stop she's got to make on that count, and she'd rather do it alone.
She cuts the same trail she took a month ago — or a year ago, factoring in all the time at Milliways — heading north past Beeville and bypassing Kenedy, heading toward Cuero. It's empty land out this way, mostly desert save for the one river that feeds the cities. Nothing much changes.
It's odd, then, to see the brand new crater in the earth.
Beaut whinnies, starting from a trot to a canter.
"Whoa! What's the matter, darlin'?"
She gently pulls the horse to a stop despite her protests, and walks her in a slow circle. Bobbing her head and pulling at her reins, Beaut's sides heave under Kate's thighs. She frowns, patting her neck until she manages to calm down.
It is strange. It looks like something big made an impact and dragged away toward the river.
"Okay. S'okay. We're jus' gonna see what that's about, sweetheart. S'all gonna be all right."
Beaut's less than convinced, but walks ahead at Kate's gentle prompting, following the strange tracks down to a shallow gully cozied right up to the river's edge.
There are bones. Lots of bones. Mostly cattle, by the looks of it.
It's enough to make her nervous.
She's superstitious in her own way, but it don't take soothsayers and bad portents to predict that someone with Kate's kind of luck, reputation, and price on her head is soon for a bad turn. Oakville went real smooth with Ace Lehane on her hip. She stayed for some time, and found two more able-bodied men willing to make the trek to Cuero.
Well.
Able-bodied enough. Texas may be suffering drought, but there are plenty of fish to be found in the local saloons, weathered lips wrapped around a bottle. It don't make no never mind to Kate, so long as they know what they're doing.
(And she's made it clear their vices won't be affecting the job, or else.)
She left them with three weeks to get their affairs in order and meet her in Yorktown. A date, a time, and the name of the place she'll be; that's all she gave. The boy said he could arrange for some ponies, and she's entrusted that responsibility to him. There's still one more stop she's got to make on that count, and she'd rather do it alone.
She cuts the same trail she took a month ago — or a year ago, factoring in all the time at Milliways — heading north past Beeville and bypassing Kenedy, heading toward Cuero. It's empty land out this way, mostly desert save for the one river that feeds the cities. Nothing much changes.
It's odd, then, to see the brand new crater in the earth.
Beaut whinnies, starting from a trot to a canter.
"Whoa! What's the matter, darlin'?"
She gently pulls the horse to a stop despite her protests, and walks her in a slow circle. Bobbing her head and pulling at her reins, Beaut's sides heave under Kate's thighs. She frowns, patting her neck until she manages to calm down.
It is strange. It looks like something big made an impact and dragged away toward the river.
"Okay. S'okay. We're jus' gonna see what that's about, sweetheart. S'all gonna be all right."
Beaut's less than convinced, but walks ahead at Kate's gentle prompting, following the strange tracks down to a shallow gully cozied right up to the river's edge.
There are bones. Lots of bones. Mostly cattle, by the looks of it.
no subject
She complicates things--well, she’s loyal, she’s beautiful, she’s something from home. But where Mireille could go into a town--not that she would alone, of course; she doesn’t know the people here, doesn’t know what might happen to her--Hildegard can’t. She can’t blend in anywhere, she can only hide.
But Kate will keep them both safe. This is her world; she knows the people here, she can do something. Maybe she knows of somewhere--somewhere with a building, so they won’t have to stay outside exposed to the elements, but somewhere secluded enough that she won’t have to worry about strangers giving her trouble.
no subject
"Can I redress that for you?"
no subject
It’s not on very securely--it’s an awkward thing to do, to one’s own wrist--but she wanted to have it covered, in case someone else might happen to see her, and also to keep the dust out of her inner workings. It served well enough for that.
Underneath the clumsily-tied handkerchief, her wrist is a strange sight. Her arm looks like normal, living flesh up until the torn edge, where the illusion gives way and the tiny metal plates that make up her skin can be seen, in addition to the metal bones and muscle on the inside of her arm.
All in all, the injury looks halfway between cut and torn, like her arm had been stretched and under quite a bit of tension when something came down to sever it.
But it doesn’t hurt her.
no subject
As they broach the shadow of the shelter, Hildegard cracks open an eye and decides, perhaps remembering Kate, that there's nothing to be fussed over. Kate's lips twist wryly as she drifts back to sleep. She's glad to see her, too.
"D'you know how long you've been here?"
She carefully unwraps Mireille's arm once they're settled. It's unnerving, but nothing worse than the half-finished mechanical horse Kate has been minding back in Milliways for Weyland. She swallows, untying the neck rag she'd been wearing to use as clean dressing. Not that Mireille is or has been bleeding, but she's not sure how long she's been using the same rag. Besides, it'll give her a little more color.
no subject
Numbers were never her strong point to begin with. She’s never had to count days before. She’s always had Weyland to anchor her life around.
But judging by the wear on her dress, and the amount of bones in the area, probably a couple of weeks.
no subject
(It strikes her, suddenly, how similar the crater she rode by is to the one Weyland left in Milliways.)
"There. How's that?"
She has the neck rag tied into a neat bow around Mireille's left wrist. The fabric is checkered, a lovely red with a pale, pale blue.
"You're a bit taller'n I am, but your waist is slight. Y'might jus' fit into one of my fresh dresses, if you'd like a change of clothes."
no subject
But though she may not know much of fashion, she knows enough to be able to tell that her dress isn’t really suited to being outdoors, not in this weather, not in the middle of nowhere. So while she doesn’t want to impose on Kate at all, maybe a different dress would be more in order.
If nothing else, then she’d have something other than just her slip to wear while doing her laundry.
no subject
"No need t'look sheepish 'bout it. I don't mind."
Leaving Hildegard to slumber, she leads Mireille back to where Beaut is standing, ears pinned back. The mare is justly agitated, and requires a good deal of coaxing before she'll let Kate hold her reins. Mireille has a choice between a fine blue dress or a pale yellow one, and as they go through her saddlebags Kate gently speaks.
"If I've got my bearin's right, there's a town not too awful far from here. With a li'l luck, we could probably find us a door. However, whereas you might blend in jus' fine, gettin' Hildegard through a town without raisin' eyebrows an' alarms could be a thorny affair.
"I was headin' north'a here to a ranch — the owner used t'be a good friend of mine. I've got some delicate business t'attend to, an' I was hopin' he'd give me someplace t'stay. Maybe Miss Bar'll open up a way from there, maybe she won't. But if he's got the kinda land I hear he does, it'd be someplace safe enough for Hildegard until we figure things out."
Brow furrowed, she touches Mireille's arm.
"What say you?"
no subject
She’d like to be somewhere safer, more secure, maybe even with trusted people around--certainly better than hiding in a lean-to by a river--but getting there, that’s the problem. She could go with Kate and leave Hildegard to follow, after dark, but while she has no doubt Hildegard could track them, she doesn’t want to take any chances--what if they get separated? What if Weyland comes, and he can only find one of them? She won’t let him down. She’s the one who has to make the family decisions, while he’s away.
It’s not exactly easy for her, though.
So she does her best to convey, with gestures--drawing an imaginary box on the side of the saddlebag, imaginary lines on it to represent roads and rivers, a map. She’ll need to know where to go, and she can direct Hildegard.
But then the harder part--harder to convey this way, especially. She points to the spot on the invisible map that she has decided represents the ranch, and then mimes turning up a lamp.
Tell me where to go. And at night, you go outside with a lantern and wait for us. We will find you.
no subject
It takes a little repetition, and a few questions for clarification, but eventually Kate gets the message. She pulls a map from another saddlebag, and shows Mireille where they are now in relation to Beeville, Yorktown, and of course John's ranch.
"Y'could follow me a ways, if you'd feel more comfortable. Hildegard can still bear you, can't she?"
What lies between them and the ranch is desert, uninhabited and unnoteworthy. She points to one spot in particular.
"Or else, if y'wait 'til dark, y'can meet me here. Just in case John says no. That'll give us time t'find someplace else where y'can stay. I hate the thought of you roughin' it in the desert."
no subject
And if there’s nothing but desert on the way, well then, she and Hildegard can follow Kate even in daylight--Hildegard’s got good enough vision to spot potential trouble and get out of sight, and anyway if they’re up high enough there’s always the chance that anyone who does see them will just think they’re some kind of strange bird, and then put it out of their thoughts.
If there’s nothing but desert between here and the point Kate has marked as somewhere they can wait for her, then they can follow her there and find some sort of cover while she goes to make arrangements? Less chance of getting lost that way.
Or so she hopes.
no subject
"Good. T'be honest, I was already dreadin' leavin' you behind. If we start off fairly soon, it'll be a couple hours, but we should get there by sundown. I can ride in, talk t'John, tell 'im I need a place t'lay, me an' a friend, then come back out an' fetch you after dark. Hildegard can follow us overhead, hunker down somewhere in the back forty. Ah — if she gets hungry, though, she's gotta be careful 'bout pickin' off cows nobody'll miss right away."
Her lips twist. She sure wasn't expecting this. Why is it folk are stumbling out into her world now?
Maybe you aren't as alone as you think.
It's an interesting complication, anyhow. She won't let anything happen to Mireille now that she's been found, come hell or high water. The same goes for Hildegard. No matter what happens in Cuero, Kate will see to it she gets back to Weyland. For whatever reason she showed up here, now, she's in Kate's care. And she is so glad to see her alive and, for the most part, well.
To that effect, she closes the distance between them and hugs her again.
"I'm so happy you're here. I was so worried I'd never get t'see you again."
no subject
This will work out.
And she’ll get to have that visit with Kate, like she’d planned so long ago. It just took a while to happen, that’s all.
She hopes she’ll find some way to be useful while she’s here, though. She hates to impose--maybe she can help some with chores. She’s sure she can still cook and clean with one hand; it’ll just take her a little longer.
no subject
"C'mon, let's get y'freshened up."
She chose the yellow dress, which will look just lovely on her. And, once she's situated, they'll get Hildegard ready and head off. For now, there's a lot to tell her. And, as it just so happens, quite a lot of ways Mireille can find to be helpful.