?(Old- Charity- Millers Crossing)
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Charity looked up from her husband's attentions, suddenly alert. "Something's amiss, husband. Give us a moment, will you?" She stood, her lithe, dark skin glistening in the wan moonlight, and went to the window. As if seeing all the way to Bendo she peered into the dust cloud. "They're not together," she commented. "Perhaps they need a little help? Should I offer them a little help?" Charity chuckled softly, her laugh echoing like tinkling glass. Her hands began to move as if pulling strings, or perhaps a large spider plucking the threads of her web.....
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(Old- NPC Belligerent Ranchers - Bendo)
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"Like I said, passin' strange, this storm," the old rancher repeated to his companions, several rough looking ranch hands. "Them five strangers rolled into town, an' now we're all holed up in this one chow hall wedged in like peas in a pod. I'm thinkin' maybe someone should do sumthin'." The other men at his table, the aforementioned 'riff-raff' grumbled again as he spoke. "Sumthin' weird is goin' on, an' I don't like it. Not one bit." Glaring at the table where Sicilien and Chase were being joined by Callie and Flynn he continued,? "An' lookie there, they're all a-meetin' up." The other men mumbled between themselves, looking between Etienne sitting alone and the table where Chase, Sicilien, Callie, and Flynn were. "Five strangers," the rancher prompted. In unison the band of burly men stood up. Six of them went to the table of four, and two to Etienne's table.
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"We're thinkin'," one of them said ominously, standing over the group, "that this here dust storm ain't natch'ral, see?" They all nodded and he continued, "an we're thinkin' it has sumthin doin' with the five of you."
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Several more of the townsfolk stood then, some of them holding bottles, knives, of other improvised weapons. Others in the restaurant moved towards the walls.
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?(New Callie Carson)
? The redhead noticed the men approaching a couple seconds before they spoke. From the looks on their faces, she immediately gathered they were trouble. Her hand slipped down under the table and seized the butt of her pistol as it lay sheathed in her holster. She then smiled up at the men.
? ?"Oh, so we control the weather now?" she said, a hint of amusement to her voice as she sized each of the thugs up. "Why don't you all get along before y'all get hurt."
? ?She lifted the gun from her holster, but kept it under the table, ready to draw as soon as one of them moved...
(New - Flynn)
?? The pooka turned his head lazily to regard the belligerent barflies, noting their assorted knives, bottles, and blunt instruments.? No guns drawn, at least not yet.? Good.? He also noted that Callie had a gun ready under the table, just in case.? Also good. ?
?? "Now, now, gentlemen," Flynn said, holding his hands up and motioning in a calm-down gesture, "the strange weather's just got you on edge, that's all."? He grinned widely at the onlookers.? "How about a little medicine-show magic trick to take your minds off things?" ?
?? He rose to his feet, keeping his hands up and showing that he wasn't wearing a gun.? "If you'll kindly give me your undivided attention, I'll show you a trick I learned years ago from a Shoshone medicine man.? I'm gonna walk outside..." he nodded to where the hotel/saloon doors were "...and then my horse is gonna come in here and deal a round of poker."? He made a flourish with his left hand and a deck of cards suddenly appeared, which he proceeded to place on the table.? "And if for any reason my trick doesn't work, then you can split this among you."? The pookah made another flourish, this time just over the table with his right hand, leaving a stack of shining $20 gold pieces when he lifted it away.
? Pausing a moment to let the crowd take in what he'd said - and see the stack of gold and the deck of cards now lying on the table - Flynn opened his arms wide.? "Now, if you'll just bear with me, I'll begin.? Ten, nine..." he said, stepping backwards towards the swiveled doors "...eight, seven, six..."
?? He stepped out through the doors, disappearing into the darkened street beyond.? "...five, four..."? His voice stopped, and for a long moment there was only the sound of the storm winds blowing. ?
? Then suddenly a horse stepped back into the room, a large black stallion with strangely alert eyes, clopping its right forehoof onto the floor with a loud single stomp. ? As the crowd of locals watched, the horse made its way to the table where Flynn had been sitting with the others, forcing the crowd to part before its sheer size.? The horse bent its head down towards the deck of cards, paused to wink at Callie... and then kicked back suddenly with its hind legs, striking the head rancher hard in the chest and sending him crashing backwards into the startled hands. ?
(New Chase)
?Chase realized he probably should have just gotten some food and went up to his room with this group. He remember the woman from the town back and seeing her with the other man, he could only assume they were together. His sense of smell told him the truth of that thought, they were very together. ¡®Lucky man.¡¯
He was aware of movement and the change in smells around the area as the townsfolk seemed to approach, his frustration at the sight of this as he wanted to get this particular mission over with. He realized that Amy had told a lot but left a lot of questions as well. One thing that was clear¡they were delayed from getting to Miller¡¯s Crossing¡which meant they needed to get to Miller¡¯s Crossing to bring this thing to an end.
The townsfolk were not happy to see them and all but blamed them for the weather, which was stupid cause they were stuck in the town with these idiots. That alone put a big hole in their theory, but they were a superstitious lot so he knew this was going to end badly.? He didn¡¯t have to shift or change any more to tap into his strength, but to have all of his strength, he did.? But he also had a blade by his leg so he would end up using that. He noticed the woman moved but he only turned his leg so he was able to get up and moved if need be.? He could only guess at the subtle gesture, but she was a woman so would possibly be ignored.
He heard the one called Flynn¡¯s story of having his horse come in and deal them a game of cards. That alone would have been fun and interesting even¡but the bag of gold¡that created a problem for him!
Now he had created a big problem because this group would be more apt to fight just because he showed them the gold.? That was a bad move in this poor town.? He stood and moved to the side ?as he turned to be like the townfolk and watch the scene. While they were looking he loosened the latch on his leg blade. This simply was not going to work out well! He watched as the horse kicked the man in the head. He waited for someone else to moved and attack the group as shock took over. ? So that he could attack as well if need be, maybe that would stop them...maybe not.
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