Good Old West

Hours passed, both of them tired enough that now, being in a safe environment they slept until midday without trouble.

Light came in through the window, the courtains doing little to mute it at this hour. Asa had moved during the night, free from the usual bounds of a bedroll. He was now resting on his back, snoring, and had an arm and a leg over oscar from when he had carelessly rolled towards his side of the bed.

At least, the one good thing exhaustion had brought with it was a deep sleep without dreams or nightmares.
 
It was the glaring sun that had shifted through the blinds directly onto his face sometime in the late afternoon that woke Oscar.

As he drifted back into consciousness, the first thing that processed was the blinding light shining in his face and the heat that prickled at his skin. Sweat had started to bead where the sun was hitting him, sticky in the heat. Throwing a hand over his face and shutting his eyes even tighter, Oscar gave a small grunt as he felt the soreness of his muscles register, even without much movement. Yesterday had been hell, and he probably wouldn’t be back in top shape for at least the next few days.

The next thing he noticed, however, was the weight draped over his chest and legs.

Oscar suddenly became extremely aware of his own movements, willing himself to still completely as he assessed the situation. Sometime in the day, he’d rolled over and Asa somehow managed to get his limbs everywhere. Trying not to dwell on the strange feeling fluttering in his chest that quickened his heartbeat, Oscar slowly maneuvered Asa’s arm off himself and nudged away his leg, freeing himself so that he could stand and leave the bed. Every muscle in his body complained as he stood and stretched, and he couldn’t help but wince and let out a small groan at the soreness.

He‘d planned on tending to Houyi after resting, but right now sitting down for a while didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Sinking down into the chair at the dressing table in the corner of the room, Oscar decided to busy his hands by shining his boots as he waited for Asa to wake up.
 
It wasn't long until Asa woke up, opening his eyes with a groan. It was too bright already for him to remain asleep for much longer anyway. At least without covers.
He sat up, his hairtie probably somewhere on the bed, since his hair was down and a mess. God, he both felt and probably looked like shit.

"Morning" He said, thankfully with a much healthier tone than he'd had the previous night. Oh... Right. Everything that had happened;
Zefir was no longer with them, his saddle was still back at camp, he didn't even have a change of clothes with him. Zefir had been eaten by a cougar. The hotel staff and townfolk probably thought they were a pair of degenerates, sharing a room like this. He had shot his own horse. There was no way around it, he'd go to hell for that.

Asa moved to get off of the bed and stand up, stretching with a groan and looking around for his hairtie and boots.
 
“Morning,” Oscar looked up from shining his boots and regarded Asa. He looked like a mess, but granted Oscar himself probably wasn’t much of a sight to look at as well. He certainly sounded better than he had in the morning, but whether he felt any better was still up in the air. “...Or should I say, afternoon. We’ve been sleepin’ for quite some time. Hope you’re feelin’ better, you know... after... all that.” Immediately he bit his tongue and cursed himself - why did he have to go and remind Asa of what happened this soon? Damn it.

Trying to divert Asa’s attention, Oscar cleared his throat and quickly changed the topic. “I was thinkin’... we should go find some food. Been a while since we ate last. We can decide what to do for the rest of the evening afterwards.”
 
"Mm... Sounds good to me. Er..." He sighed, not really answering about whether he felt better or not.

"Thank you for..." He almost said - for last night-. But he stopped himself before he made it all more awkward than it needed to be. That'd be a weird way to phrase it.

"For whatever, being you." He ended up saying. Hopefully Oscar would get it, he was a smart man.

Asa did his best at putting his hair in order and after finding his hairtie, tied it back like he always did. Then he put his boots back on and grabbed his jacket.

" There has to be a saloon or something nearby. Maybe." His stomach growled, complaining about an emptiness Asa hadn't really noticed.

Once they were both ready, they could just go out and ask the clerk about the local saloon.
Then... Well. They couldn't both ride Houyi all the time or they wouldn't be getting anywhere. But Asa didn't want to think about that just yet.
 
Oscar simply nodded at the sentiment, this time wisely holding his tongue.

"I know. Just know that I'll always..." at this his paused, choosing his words carefully. "I'll be there for you, if you need me." He wanted to elaborate more, but he feared that his clumsy words would once again stumble over themselves and fail him. Some things were better left unsaid for now, but he hoped that Asa got what he was trying to convey.

Buttoning up his vest and putting on his boots, Oscar grabbed his coat from off the counter. "We'll just ask the clerk, see if we can get a map of the local area. We'll be needing one anyway, seeing as we're plannin' to stay here for a little. C'mon." He pushed open the room door and lead the way downstairs.
 
Asa nodded, it wasn't clear what he was agreeing to exactly. Maybe all of it.

They both walked down the stairs, looking rather terrible if the clerk's look was any indicator. Nosy little man...

"Hey partner, is there a saloon nearby?, somewhere to grab a bite?" He asked with a growl in his voice, as if daring the man to say something he'd regret.

The clerk must have dealt with plenty of sort-of-agressive-but-not-quite guests, because he didn't say anything stupid.

"Theres a saloon three buildings down, and a general store too. Sirs." He said, quickly going back to whatever he was doing. Which was reading some catalogue.

Asa thanked the man and the two of them the building. Houyi was hitched to their left, and Asa gave him a friendly pat as they passed him.

" I'm thinking saloon, you?." He asked as they made their way down the street.
 
Oscar shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind. Could go to the general store later, pick up some supplies that we need, seeing as we - well. You know." He waved a hand, not wanting to reference yesterday's unfortunate escape directly. Asa couldn't go forever without a horse, and they'd left a considerable amount of supplies back at their campsite, still presumably untouched, and sooner or later they'd have to ride back to see if they could retrieve any of it.

The unspoken words hung heavy between the two of them as they walked out of the hotel, hopping onto the dirt road as they made their way to the saloon. Oscar itched to say something about it, but ultimately decided against it. Perhaps a reminder this soon would sting too hard - he'll let Asa decide when he wanted to talk about getting a new horse and going back to salvage their old stuff. For now, though- Oscar pushed open the batwing doors to the saloon, making his way towards the bartender.

"Y'all got any sort of menu in this place?"
 
"Yeah" Said Asa in response to Oscar's words just outside of the hotel.

They walked to the saloon and asked for a menu. They had meat stew, clean water or beer and a piece of apple pie for dessert at a good price. It changed every week, they said.
Somehow, that seemed unlikely.

"I'll have a menu, with.. Beer." Said Asa, leaning against the bar. He then looked at Oscar to see what he was having.

After this maybe he'd suggest they split up for the day and while Oscar explored a bit, he could go check the stables. See if they had any horses for a fair price. Or maybe he could convince the owner to let him do some work for him to pay for it. He had a couple hundred dollars saved up, but he'd rather not spend them this early into their new life.
 
"I'll just have the meat stew, thanks. And a glass of water." Oscar had never been much of a drinker - he handled liquor poorly, and he disliked how alcohol loosened his tongue and inhibitions, turned him into a liability of poor judgement. He'd never admitted it to anyone, but the idea of losing control of himself in an inebriated state freaked him out, just a little.

Leaning against the bar counter as they waited for the food to arrive, Oscar looked over at Asa.

"What'd you wanna do after dinner?" He'd been hoping to wander around town for a bit, size up the geography of the area and the people residing in it, see if there were any job opportunities or postings that he could take up to earn some money during their stay here. He was aware that they probably hadn't made the best impression riding into Strawberry all roughened up and suspicious, and word travelled fast in these parts through the grapevine, but he hoped to correct whatever perception people might have of the two of them soon. "I was thinkin' to take a walk round these parts, see if I can find anyone lookin' for an extra pair of hands or two. Wanna come along, or do you have something else in mind?"
 
"I think i should... Go see if I can find the closest stable." Said Asa, sighing, there was no denying that he needed a new mount.

"And ask if I can do some work to pay for a horse. That'd mean staying here for some time, though, maybe a month or so. Eh, but before I even think of doing that i ought to get back to the hotel and take a good bath. No one's gonna give me a job if I look like this." He said, separating from the bar for a moment, his clothes were dirty too, he should also wash them. But the rest of his stuff was stored in Zefir's saddle. So... Back in the middle of the mountains.

" The stable is outside of town, sir. But it ain't far. Just ask for directions down at the mill." Said the man behind the bar, coming with their food. That had been rather fast, but then again they probably had it made already.

They both went to sit at a table then after thanking the saloon staff, with their stew and their drinks. Asa was told they'd bring him his dessert later.
 
"Eh, I don't mind that. 'S not like we had a plan to go anywhere in particular, in the first place." In fact, Oscar relished the thought of settling down somewhere with the promise of even just a brief period of stability. It'd been particularly bad the past few months, with Rook keeping the gang on their toes, moving every time he managed to botch a job - but even when they'd been running with Morrissey, he'd never been under any illusion that they'd stay in a certain area for too long. Maybe this time, though, they could make it work.

"Think I'll follow you back for that bath first. Don't wanna scare off the rest of the townsfolk before we even get a chance to talk to 'em, do we?" He elbowed Asa in the side as they settled at the table with their food, trying to lighten up the mood a little.

The stew turned out to be in turns chunky and mushy in all the wrong places, but at least it did the job of filling Oscar up. Finishing his food, Oscar pushed his plate aside and leaned on the table lazily, face propped up by on hand, waiting for Asa to finish the dessert that the waiter just brought him.

"You should take Houyi with you to the stables later. Would be faster n' you walking there." He said. Houyi was a bit of a bastard, but Asa knew him well enough that he should behave himself for at least the time being. "You want me to pick up anything at the store for you?"
 
"You might have to wait for that bath. They made us share a bed already. I ain't sharing a tub too." He whispered with a little smile. A bit forced, but just a bit. Better not to make a big thing out of it. He tried not to think about how sharing a bath with Oscar didn't even sound like such a bad idea. Eh, it was just the sadness from losing Zefir. He wasn't thinking straight.

"And... Sure, i'll take him with me. Make it look like I don't need one in case the owner tries to up the prices 'cause he thinks i'm desperate or somethin'." He said, taking a few sips of his beer. It was almost empty already.

"Thanks. And... Naw, don't worry. Or well, maybe some cigarettes if you don't mind?. The normal ones, none of that premium shit." He had soon finished his pie, and they both paid for their meals.
 
"That clerk wouldn't be surprised, that's for sure." Oscar threw right back, the grin on his face growing wider as he tried to ignore the fast flutter of something when Oscar mentioned sharing a tub. It was probably just the nerves of being in a completely new place on their own, he thought.

"Yeah, well, if the owner tries to give you any trouble just sic Houyi on him. Don't know if you knew, but he used to bite like no other back in the day... bet he still has some of that left in him." Oscar sipped his water as he recollected the first few weeks he'd taken Houyi back to the gang. To say it was rough would be an understatement. "There's a pack of sugar cubes I tucked away somewhere in his saddle. If he starts actin' up, just bribe him with some of those."

Taking note of the items Asa wanted him to get, Oscar left the money for the meal at the counter and together they left the saloon. "You can go take the bath first, seeing as how I'll just be wandering around these parts... I can wait." He paused for a moment. "You don't have a change of clothes on you, right? Do you maybe want to borrow mine for now? I have a spare set on Houyi."
 
He was right, that damn clerk wouldn't br surprised. The bastard...

Asa listened to Oscar talk as they walked back towards the hotel. Now with plenty of more people out and about, the town could even be called nice and interesting. Of course one shouldn't judge anything when they was tired though.

"Aw yer being too nice" Said Asa when Oscar offered him his own clothes.

"Careful, too much spoilin' me and i'll rot." He joked, resting a hand on Oscars shoulder for a moment. This was nice, he thought, glad he'd ran away with this one man.

"I'll take a shirt or somethin', so I can pass for a decent man. Where should we meet?. Back here?" He said, the two of them now just outside the hotel. Houyi was lookinh at them from the hitching post.
 
"Hush, you." Oscar laughed as he approached Houyi, giving him a pat and digging for the spare set of clothes he packed away somewhere. Pulling out a white shirt from the folded pile of clothes, he handed it over to Asa. "It's probably going to be a tad tight for you," he cautioned. "But it should do for now." The two of them were about the same height, though Oscar was of a much more slight build than Asa - he could only hope that it wouldn't be too uncomfortable for the other to wear.

"You can just come back to the room any time when you're done looking at the horses. I'll pay for the room for another night until we find somewhere else to stay." Walking back into the reception area, Oscar went to talk to the clerk. "Draw up a bath, one for each of us."
 
"I'll take good care of it" Said Asa, walking with Oscar to the front, now also carrying the other man's shirt.

The clerk hesitated to answer, and Asa narrowed his eyes, staring at him.
"If there's only one bath, I'm going first. Isn't that you were gonna say?“ He asked, lowkey amused by the surprised look on the clerk's face. It was already a small building, if they didn't have more than three rooms...

" We'll have yours ready as soon as he's done, though. Don't worry." The clerk rushed to say to Oscar. Asa snorted.

"Do they sell maps at the general store? We aren't from here.." He said while the clerk sent one of the girls who worked there to ready the bath.

"Of course! This city has lots of tourists all year. Many New Yorkers come down here to see the wonders of our little town." Ah yes, the wonders of chunky stew and stale apple pie. Thought Asa, trying not to laugh in the man's face.

His bath was ready shortly, so he said goodbye to Oscar and thanked him for the shirt again and left. And when a girl asked if he wanted some help for fifty cents, he welcomed her in. It would quiet the rumours and meant nothing, as good a plan as any.
 
Oscar couldn't help but smirk a little at the sight of the clerk, all disgruntled and flustered, darting a look at Asa and sharing an amused look. It was a little mean-spirited, but granted, the clerk hadn't exactly been very hospitable. The smile lingered on as he listened to the girl talk about the "wonders of Strawberry" incredulously - he can't imagine for what reason city-folk would want to visit a little rural town here in the middle of nowhere. He'd never been to any big cities before, but he imagined that it must be a hell of a lot more exciting to be there than in Strawberry. Rich folk were strange. Shaking his head, he waved Asa off and went to sit in one of the chairs in the reception area, waiting for Asa to come out.

Fiddling around in his chair as the minutes passed, Oscar longed for a book of some kind to read to pass the time. The copy of Tom Sawyer had been abandoned at the campsite, with no guarantees as to its safe return any time soon. Since they were in Strawberry, however, perhaps he could pick up a new book or two for himself.

"Hey," he said aloud, and the clerk looked up to stare at him. "Is there any place here that sells books?"

"Well." The clerk straightened himself, looking at Oscar with some sort of renewed curiosity. "I do believe the general store might carry a few volumes, if that might interest you?" Oscar nearly laughed at the look, knowing full well what the clerk was thinking. Typical - just because he looked the way he did people automatically assumed he was some kind of illiterate fool.

"I'll take a look later, then. Thank you."
 
The bath was a blessing. He just sort of lay in the tub, making some small chatter with the woman who was there to help. Always seemed kind of useless to him, but it was appreciated. He did sort of lose track of time, but the water wasn't entirely cold when he got out and dried himself.

Oscar had been right, his shirt was sort of tight on him. But it fit, and it was clean. A simple white shirt, and... Hm. He didn't want to put on his old hairtie, so he looked around for a new one in his satchel. He knew he had more, Fran gave it to him when after his hair got burned during one of James' failed jobs. It was dark blue, this one. He tied his wet hair back and did his best at looking decent before leaving the bathroom.

"I'll see you tonight. I'll take Houyi and head to the stable now." He said, patting his friend on thr shoulder before leaving the building. He gave a nod to the woman who also worked there, and ignored the clerk.

Once outside, he greeted the horse with a few pats on the neck and a sugar cube. He still had some in his satchel. But before the horse could start nosing around for some more, he unhitched him and got on the saddle. It felt strange, and he sighed... Not having Zefir here with them. Surely Houyi missed her as well. The mare was sweet to everyone, and didn't snap much. So they got along just fine.

He spurred him into a trot, stopping to ask the local butcher for directions to the nearby stable before increasing the pace to a canter once he left the last buildings behind.
 
"See you later," Oscar called to Asa as the girl came to inform him that his bath was ready.

The bath was nice and warm, almost nice enough to fall asleep in, and Oscar got startled when a woman poked her head in asking if he wanted some help. He turned down her offer, half embarrassed from having been caught dozing off, and scrubbed himself clean after that with his face burning.

After he dried himself off and changed back into his clothes, his hair was still too damp to put up in a braid, so he decided to not bother tying it up at all. It was late afternoon and a dry breeze was blowing outside, the sun now pleasantly warm instead of beating down mercilessly like it had a few hours prior. There were more people moving about at this time of the day, and Oscar took the time to greet the people that he crossed paths with on his way to the general store. Most of them seemed to be pleasant enough folk, returning his greetings readily, though some seemed reserved to see a new face in town. Perhaps they'd heard the rumors from the morning, but Oscar didn't dwell too much on it. The residents of Strawberry were mostly welcoming, it seemed, and he was content with that.

Pushing open the door to the general store, Oscar was greeted by the shopkeeper, a portly man in his fourties.

"You new in town?" he asked, as Oscar looked around, inspecting the shelves.

"I am." Oscar deliberated a little on how much information he wanted to reveal to the shopkeeper, deciding to play it safe for now. "Just arrived this morning."

"I heard. You and another feller, right?" The shopkeeper chuckled. "The butcher was talkin' about how he saw you and him ride in on a horse together this mornin'. Said y'all looked awful. Got into a scrap 'round these parts?"

"You can say that." Oscar decided to tell him the truth, or at least part of it. "My buddy and I, well- we got attacked by a cougar on our way here. Lost his horse and most of our supplies."

"Damn, sorry to hear that." The shopkeeper shook his head. "Well, have a look around, see if anythin' catches your eye. Take your time."
 
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