Isaedras Cleditre
The Sveik 裏切ら
Silas let out a heavy breath as he crouched into the patch of flowers beneath his boots and took a moment to calm himself. The icy cold wind of Ambarino and it's mountains washed over him, blowing the petals from their stems and carrying the snow from up above down into the treetops surrounding him. It would've been a peaceful morning for anyone else but Silas felt nothing but grief.
He had just returned from visiting the charred remains of the Adler Ranch after making his monthly visit to pay his respects and was overcome with sadness. He had no tears left to cry and instead felt his pain internally as he looked out across the grassy hills and fondled the stem of a blossom between his fingertips.
Anytime he neared these mountains or merely spotted them off in the distance he was reminded of what had been done, what he had done, and what had been lost in the process. Every time he even tried to shut his eyes he saw the faces and heard the voices of the Adler Family. The nearest and dearest of his memories of Jake and Sadie Adler now haunting him every second of every day as he vividly recalled the wonderful time he had spent living with the two before he left and before disaster struck.
In his mind's eye, he saw Sadie's honey blonde hair as she rummaged about the cabin, heard Jake's hearty laugh as the three of them sat huddled together at the dinner table, Sadie's low country drawl and laugh as they joked about. He'd never met anyone like those two and he was pretty sure he'd never meet anyone like them ever again, but instead of being able to cherish these memories, Silas only felt the same immense feelings of guilt and unrequited feelings for Sadie that had been weighing him down ever since he had discovered the ashes of his former home.
If Silas hadn't left them unprotected for so long maybe they would still be alive, or so he thought. He had promised to protect them from harm and burglary and had done so for months. It was undoubtedly the best year of his life living with them despite all of the hard work, the two of them were the most important things in his life that he had ever known, but eventually things became complicated. It was all because of that Sadie Adler, she had unknowingly cast a spell on him and stolen his heart right through his chest. The time they spent alone together didn't help either as Silas always found himself prone to staring, becoming lost in her soft hazel eyes and her tender demeanor. She was warm like the sun even in the harsh frozen terrain that they lived in and always managed to put a smile on his face, giving off practically a heavenly glow as she worked about the ranch, none the wiser to his mounting affection for her.
Silas knew then he would soon have to leave. His respect for her and her husband was too great for him to allow his own feelings to get in the way of their marriage. Jake Adler was a precious friend of his and he would've never forgiven himself if he had polluted their friendship. So, with a heavy heart and a tearful goodbye amongst the three of them, Silas would go on to make the biggest mistake of his life and theirs as he left them to their modest ranch in search of fresh bounty work, and to his knowledge, had left them to die in the process.
Flashes of what he imagined their corpses to look like suddenly plagued his mind and he quickly snapped out of his daydream as his breathing grew heavier and frantic.
Silas avoided tearing up by biting down on the edge of his tongue and eventually crushing the flower in his palm before wiping the thorns from his gloves and standing up. He had spent much too long reflecting on his past and his agitated steed was eager to let him know as she stamped the ground and paced back and forth.
"I know, I know girl." Silas sighed as he recovered his composure slowly but surely and walked over to his horse, stroking her mane to calm her down before taking her by the reins. "Just...thinking is all." He lead Mirren through the flowers as he thought on what the reoccurring intense sadness and grief that he had been struggling to deal with ever since their deaths had pushed him to do in the last few months. As he recalled all of the unusually violent methods he had been using as of late to leech information from O'Driscolls he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be taking a trip down to Saint-Denis in order to help bring in Etta Doyle and her gang.
If there was one thing in this world Silas hated more than Colm O'Driscoll it was humidity, and the swamps in Lemoyne were full of it. The overall stickiness of it combined with the constant sweating made it quite uncomfortable to traverse during the hotter days while searching for bounty targets during the day or night. Silas was also no fan of gators and neither was his steed. Last time they had rode into Lemoyne there was a much too close encounter with more than one of the cold-blooded creatures that ending Mirren and thus sending Silas flying into the mud with nothing but a muddy old shotgun to defend himself with. So, it was safe to say neither Silas or his steed were fans of the muddier side of the country.
"No rest for the wicked I suppose. Guess we're heading to Saint-Denis." Silas muttered as he hopped upon Mirren's back and she whinnied in response. Silas was soon lost in thought once again and took a moment to recall all the information he had been given on Etta Doyle and her comrades before pulling the wanted poster from his saddlebag and unfolding it.
"Etta Doyle. Wanted for train and coach robbery. Alive too? Damn. Last seen skulking around Saint-Denis. 48 years of age. Dresses in Men's clothing. Is the leader of a gang of women known for terrorizing coaches and trains. Well, no shit. Considered extremely dangerous but there is a 'sizable reward.' Well, that's just music to my ears." Silas refolded the tacky wanted poster before placing it back into his bag and taking a moment to stretch his kneck.
"Well, Miss Doyle. You sound like quite the fearless female. Not too afraid of anyone be it lawmen or criminals alike." Silas pulled out one of his revolvers and quickly cleaned it up with some spare gun oil before taking out his black brimmed Cutter hat and placing it atop his roughly tied silver hair. "But you should be afraid of me." He sneered as his horse began to trot in place impatiently. "Hold on, hold on. We're not heading down into Lemoyne just yet, girl. We have to make a stop first." He chuckled and stroked Mirren's mane before making his way out of the valley and heading in the general direction of Saint-Denis
----A day or so later----
Silas was busy making a fresh entry into the journal he had begun writing in per Sadie's suggestion long ago until he heard the familiar droning music of a weathered gramophone. He looked up and spotted the Traveling Wildflower herself, "Madam" Nazar. This surprised him quite a bit despite her being exactly who he had been looking for since she was supposed to be nearly a half a mile farther from this side of Lemoyne. Before he could say a word her unmistakably thick Romanian accent welcomed him as she looked up from her book with a grin and hastily got to her bare feet to greet him.
"Ahh, My precious Fox. How are you, my darling." Nazar cooed as she whipped her long braids from over her shoulder and adjusted her scarf and blouse before pulling Silas into a hug as he stepped down from his horse. She had to get up on her tiptoes to reach his cheeks and quickly gave them both a kiss. "it is good to see you are not yet too illustrious for my humble company." She teased.
"Missed you too, Wildflower." Silas cracked a weak smile and gently lifted her hand to his lips before looking her up and down and spinning her by her hips. "You alright? I know I've been gone for awhile but for goo-...hmm." He frowned and rubbed a fresh-looking bruise on the back of her shoulder with his thumb before turning her to face him. "Explain." He gently cupped her chin and she winced as he turned her head side to side and noticed a bruise on the underside of her chin that she had attempted to hide with her hair.
Nazar attempted to pout her way out of an explanation as he tucked her hair behind her ear and she slid her hands up his shoulders and around his neck but was immediately discouraged by the stern look he was giving her now as he began folding his arms.
"It's nothing. Promise." Nazar smiled sheepishly before exhaling in defeat and turning to sit back down in her chair. "Fine fine. It was just a bit of a scuffle. Some of my newer collectors were a bit...mm...rougher around the edges. But they are good people."
"You mean good for business." Silas huffed and rested on one knee in the grass so he was sitting at eye level with her. "What happened this time?"
She seemed reluctant to talk but there was no use in hiding it from her male colleague since he was prone to worrying and wouldn't cease until he had answers.
"Well, I needed to move my wares downwind from the marsh. It is much too stuffy for my taste and the profit was not worth the hassle or all the filth and mud. I even lost those nice shoes you gave me." She stuck out one of her feet and wiggled her toes before returning to her recalling of events.
"So, I decided to use my charms to get some of the collectors that had stopped by to do it for me. They wanted payment and I, of course, agreed." She motioned to her stand and sighed as she reopened her book. "The two were more than happy to oblige my request and all was going smoothly until they...mm...requested some 'services' I could not provide." She chuckled meekly and shook her head. "Perhaps they mistook Teller of Fortunes and Finder Of Lost Things for Common Whore and Loathly Bedswerver." Her pride seemed a bit damaged as she spoke and she hesitated for a moment before closing her book around her thumb momentarily and reaching for one of her cigarette holders, gingerly placing it between her lips.
Silas plucked the holder from her lips and began to twirl it between his fingers as he motioned for her to go on and she reluctantly continued.
"Well, as you can probably imagine, telling the two brutes that I'm not that kind of palmist and that they would likely have more luck with each other than I....did not end so well. One of them got the jump on me and the other decided it was time to put the poor defenseless woman in her place. Sadly, for them, I quickly had my machete in hand which spooked them long enough for me to grab my rifle and run them off. Although, it was not as quickly as I would have liked. " She scratched at her neck and sighed. "But that's what happens when I don't have my Big strong bounty hunter here to protect me, you know?"
The quizzical look on Silas's face turned to a somber one as he got to his feet and walked around her chair, gently massaging her shoulders before stooping down to kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry. " He sighed. "I should've been here sooner."
"Don't go getting all tearful on me now, Silver Fox. I am just fine." Nazar gently gave his left hand a squeeze before resting her cheek on the knuckles of his weathered gloves. "Where have you been though mm? It gets lonely out here and as much as I love my little feathered babies they aren't much for conversation." She chuckled as she peered over the pages of her book before pouting as she felt his hands leave her shoulders. Her birds chittering feverishly behind her as they rested in their cages, hanging from her modest cart.
Silas stepped away for a moment to breathe and shook his head as he scratched at his cheek. "I...uhh...went back up into Ambarino. Up Lake Isabella to the Adler Ranch."
As he spoke Nazar sighed and grew sorrowful for him, her eyes softening as she listened quietly.
"I just go up there to think sometimes, you know? I can never think down here. I'm always so angry. And that was home...so..." SIlas huffed and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet a bit nervously and Nazar spoke up.
"Silas, look at me." Silas turned a bit hesitantly as she spoke. "Why do you keep returning to that place? A place that instead of giving you happiness now gives you such grief. It hurts me seeing you this way, Silas. You suffer yourself too much and are drowning in remorse already. I've seen it in you. That bitter hatred you have for yourself. I see right through you, understand? I've seen the way you take out your sadness on those you hunt and those who do wrong but this is no way to live. You don't allow me or any other woman to comfort you and yet you return to that place every month without fail. Why?"
Silas cleared his throat as she spoke before nervously scratching at his ear with a sigh. "I can't lose sight of my goals, Nadya. I can't let my self forget how I let them die. How I let her die...I must ground myself. Keep vigilant. Fight."
"You may be fighting but that's still not living, Silas. You're dead behind those eyes, I see it." She got up from her chair and cupped his face in her hands. "When we work together I watch you. I do....and there has never been a moment or a mere second where you've even come close to forgiving yourself for what happened. I see it in your eyes, Silas. You may be living and breathing just like myself but you are not living. You are existing... nothing more....and if your soul has died with her or with them then so be it. We've all lost loved ones before and I don't expect a scar so deep to wash away but you don't have to do this on your own."
"For what I've done and what I caused them...my redemption will come purely from revenge and through the spilling of that fucker's blood. It's my purpose in life and right now that's all I got." Silas muttered in response to her words. "I have to do this because it's all I can do."
As Nazar's many rings and trinkets brushed against his cheek, her thumbs wiped away his tears as she spoke. "Your purpose in life now is to hunt down the O'Driscoll leader. I understand this...but that does not mean you have to continue to torture yourself as punishment for his wrongdoing. By abusing yourself in this way you don't come any closer to your target. Yes? And if there's one thing I know it's that they would not want you to be this way. You have suffered enough, Silas. You have more than just your thirst for revenge, you realize this right? As alone as you may feel you still have me."
Nazar ran her fingers through his hair and sighed as his empty, tear-filled eyes stared back into hers. She pushed his hat up above his brow long enough to place a kiss on his forehead before sitting back down in her chair and taking a long deep breath.
Silas handed her back the cigarette holder he had pulled from her lips minutes ago and let his hands rest on his hips.
"Be it as a partner for life or as a life partner, my doors are always open for you, Silas." Nazar smiled warmly as she lit her cigarette by holding it up to the flame in the lantern she had been using for reading beneath the trees. "I hope you find the man that you seek soon enough. The end of this journey will end in blood and I pray that it isn't yours. Now go, I'm sure you've already got a fresh target in your sights." She motioned for him to press on and continue his journey with a heavy but hopeful heart.
"That's actually why I was stopping by to see you." Silas quickly wiped his face against his sleeve before clearing his throat. "I'm heading into Saint-Denis in search of Etta Doyle and her gang. It could take a few days more than I'd like judging by the size of her current crew and I know you're no fan of the city so I wanted to stop by and make sure you were being looked after while I'm off working. The problem is I don't trust many. I hardly trust you." He teased her with another gentle smile.
"And for good reason." Nazar chuckled and with her free hand, she pulled a small roll of bills from within the chest of her blouse and smirked.
Silas feigned a surprised gasp and clutched his chest. "My word, a nimble-fingered gypsy has robbed me of my tender. Hwhatever shall I do." He mocked the unusually snooty accent of many of the people of Saint-Denis with a beyond overdramatic flourish in tone as he stepped up to her once again.
Nazar got to her feet once and waved the roll around with a mischevious grin, placing her cigarette holder in her ear with the burning end facing away from her face as it dropped the ashes behind her. "You can have it back, but for a price."
"You'll give me my money back in exchange for payment? That's an odd con, Nazar. Even for you." Silas chuckled as she slid into his arms.
"Oh, it's not money I want but a kiss." Nazar wrapped her arms around his neck, still holding the bills between her fingertips.
"Hm. That so? Well, nice try Nadya, but you can keep it." Silas slipped free of her arms and turned away before suddenly feeling a breeze going through his hair as he realized his hat was now missing as well. He twirled around again to see Nazar standing barefoot atop her chair and beaming with pride as she wore the ill-fitting hat atop her head.
Silas chuckled and genuinely smiled before whistling for his horse. "You can keep that too if you'd like. Maybe you could even buy yourself some new shoes to match with the money you stole as well."
As Silas mounted his steed Nazar hopped down from her chair with a playful pout before walking over and thumping him on the leg with his hat. "You're no fun at all, you know this right? You were supposed to come and retrieve it yourself." She handed it back to him after brushing away any leaves or bits of bark that had floated down from the trees and their many branches with her fingertips.
"Oh, believe me, I know what you wanted me to do and I know exactly why you wanted me to do it." SIlas placed his hat back on and grinned at Nazar before leaning down and pinching her cheek.
She feigned a biting motion towards his hand before rolling her eyes and looking up at him. "Hmph. Sly fox. You are too clever for your own good, you know."
"Yes, yes I know. One of these days it'll be the death of me, I fear. But not just yet...not until I'm finished." Silas looked out across the grassy hills of Scarlett Meadows and took a deep breath before looking back down to Nazar, taking up her hands, and gently squeezing her hand in his. "You be safe out here. Get someplace quiet and lay low awhile. I'll come back here when I'm finished before the week is out."
"You don't need to worry about me so much, Silas. I can handle my self. A few bruises are commonplace but this wildflower is still perfectly intact. Petals and all." Nazar smiled and squeezed his hand back. "Even so...You better come back to me sooner rather than later, understand?" She squeezed his hand a bit harder now and Silas merely chuckled, stifling a wince as he did.
"I will do my best. You have my word. Bounty Hunting isn't easy but if I can wrap this up in a day or two then I'll take a break from things, for your sake. Deal?"
"You have a deal, Silver Fox." Nazar smiled and shook his hand before taking a step back. "Now go on, I won't keep you any longer."
Silas nodded and tipped his hat to her before clicking his tongue as he rode off towards Saint-Denis in search of his bounty target and hopefully more information to lead him to the elusive Colm O'Driscoll himself.
----------------
RandomGuyOffTheStreet2475
tallonisfarout
Terrier B
He had just returned from visiting the charred remains of the Adler Ranch after making his monthly visit to pay his respects and was overcome with sadness. He had no tears left to cry and instead felt his pain internally as he looked out across the grassy hills and fondled the stem of a blossom between his fingertips.
Anytime he neared these mountains or merely spotted them off in the distance he was reminded of what had been done, what he had done, and what had been lost in the process. Every time he even tried to shut his eyes he saw the faces and heard the voices of the Adler Family. The nearest and dearest of his memories of Jake and Sadie Adler now haunting him every second of every day as he vividly recalled the wonderful time he had spent living with the two before he left and before disaster struck.
In his mind's eye, he saw Sadie's honey blonde hair as she rummaged about the cabin, heard Jake's hearty laugh as the three of them sat huddled together at the dinner table, Sadie's low country drawl and laugh as they joked about. He'd never met anyone like those two and he was pretty sure he'd never meet anyone like them ever again, but instead of being able to cherish these memories, Silas only felt the same immense feelings of guilt and unrequited feelings for Sadie that had been weighing him down ever since he had discovered the ashes of his former home.
If Silas hadn't left them unprotected for so long maybe they would still be alive, or so he thought. He had promised to protect them from harm and burglary and had done so for months. It was undoubtedly the best year of his life living with them despite all of the hard work, the two of them were the most important things in his life that he had ever known, but eventually things became complicated. It was all because of that Sadie Adler, she had unknowingly cast a spell on him and stolen his heart right through his chest. The time they spent alone together didn't help either as Silas always found himself prone to staring, becoming lost in her soft hazel eyes and her tender demeanor. She was warm like the sun even in the harsh frozen terrain that they lived in and always managed to put a smile on his face, giving off practically a heavenly glow as she worked about the ranch, none the wiser to his mounting affection for her.
Silas knew then he would soon have to leave. His respect for her and her husband was too great for him to allow his own feelings to get in the way of their marriage. Jake Adler was a precious friend of his and he would've never forgiven himself if he had polluted their friendship. So, with a heavy heart and a tearful goodbye amongst the three of them, Silas would go on to make the biggest mistake of his life and theirs as he left them to their modest ranch in search of fresh bounty work, and to his knowledge, had left them to die in the process.
Flashes of what he imagined their corpses to look like suddenly plagued his mind and he quickly snapped out of his daydream as his breathing grew heavier and frantic.
Silas avoided tearing up by biting down on the edge of his tongue and eventually crushing the flower in his palm before wiping the thorns from his gloves and standing up. He had spent much too long reflecting on his past and his agitated steed was eager to let him know as she stamped the ground and paced back and forth.
"I know, I know girl." Silas sighed as he recovered his composure slowly but surely and walked over to his horse, stroking her mane to calm her down before taking her by the reins. "Just...thinking is all." He lead Mirren through the flowers as he thought on what the reoccurring intense sadness and grief that he had been struggling to deal with ever since their deaths had pushed him to do in the last few months. As he recalled all of the unusually violent methods he had been using as of late to leech information from O'Driscolls he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be taking a trip down to Saint-Denis in order to help bring in Etta Doyle and her gang.
If there was one thing in this world Silas hated more than Colm O'Driscoll it was humidity, and the swamps in Lemoyne were full of it. The overall stickiness of it combined with the constant sweating made it quite uncomfortable to traverse during the hotter days while searching for bounty targets during the day or night. Silas was also no fan of gators and neither was his steed. Last time they had rode into Lemoyne there was a much too close encounter with more than one of the cold-blooded creatures that ending Mirren and thus sending Silas flying into the mud with nothing but a muddy old shotgun to defend himself with. So, it was safe to say neither Silas or his steed were fans of the muddier side of the country.
"No rest for the wicked I suppose. Guess we're heading to Saint-Denis." Silas muttered as he hopped upon Mirren's back and she whinnied in response. Silas was soon lost in thought once again and took a moment to recall all the information he had been given on Etta Doyle and her comrades before pulling the wanted poster from his saddlebag and unfolding it.
"Etta Doyle. Wanted for train and coach robbery. Alive too? Damn. Last seen skulking around Saint-Denis. 48 years of age. Dresses in Men's clothing. Is the leader of a gang of women known for terrorizing coaches and trains. Well, no shit. Considered extremely dangerous but there is a 'sizable reward.' Well, that's just music to my ears." Silas refolded the tacky wanted poster before placing it back into his bag and taking a moment to stretch his kneck.
"Well, Miss Doyle. You sound like quite the fearless female. Not too afraid of anyone be it lawmen or criminals alike." Silas pulled out one of his revolvers and quickly cleaned it up with some spare gun oil before taking out his black brimmed Cutter hat and placing it atop his roughly tied silver hair. "But you should be afraid of me." He sneered as his horse began to trot in place impatiently. "Hold on, hold on. We're not heading down into Lemoyne just yet, girl. We have to make a stop first." He chuckled and stroked Mirren's mane before making his way out of the valley and heading in the general direction of Saint-Denis
----A day or so later----
Silas was busy making a fresh entry into the journal he had begun writing in per Sadie's suggestion long ago until he heard the familiar droning music of a weathered gramophone. He looked up and spotted the Traveling Wildflower herself, "Madam" Nazar. This surprised him quite a bit despite her being exactly who he had been looking for since she was supposed to be nearly a half a mile farther from this side of Lemoyne. Before he could say a word her unmistakably thick Romanian accent welcomed him as she looked up from her book with a grin and hastily got to her bare feet to greet him.
"Ahh, My precious Fox. How are you, my darling." Nazar cooed as she whipped her long braids from over her shoulder and adjusted her scarf and blouse before pulling Silas into a hug as he stepped down from his horse. She had to get up on her tiptoes to reach his cheeks and quickly gave them both a kiss. "it is good to see you are not yet too illustrious for my humble company." She teased.
"Missed you too, Wildflower." Silas cracked a weak smile and gently lifted her hand to his lips before looking her up and down and spinning her by her hips. "You alright? I know I've been gone for awhile but for goo-...hmm." He frowned and rubbed a fresh-looking bruise on the back of her shoulder with his thumb before turning her to face him. "Explain." He gently cupped her chin and she winced as he turned her head side to side and noticed a bruise on the underside of her chin that she had attempted to hide with her hair.
Nazar attempted to pout her way out of an explanation as he tucked her hair behind her ear and she slid her hands up his shoulders and around his neck but was immediately discouraged by the stern look he was giving her now as he began folding his arms.
"It's nothing. Promise." Nazar smiled sheepishly before exhaling in defeat and turning to sit back down in her chair. "Fine fine. It was just a bit of a scuffle. Some of my newer collectors were a bit...mm...rougher around the edges. But they are good people."
"You mean good for business." Silas huffed and rested on one knee in the grass so he was sitting at eye level with her. "What happened this time?"
She seemed reluctant to talk but there was no use in hiding it from her male colleague since he was prone to worrying and wouldn't cease until he had answers.
"Well, I needed to move my wares downwind from the marsh. It is much too stuffy for my taste and the profit was not worth the hassle or all the filth and mud. I even lost those nice shoes you gave me." She stuck out one of her feet and wiggled her toes before returning to her recalling of events.
"So, I decided to use my charms to get some of the collectors that had stopped by to do it for me. They wanted payment and I, of course, agreed." She motioned to her stand and sighed as she reopened her book. "The two were more than happy to oblige my request and all was going smoothly until they...mm...requested some 'services' I could not provide." She chuckled meekly and shook her head. "Perhaps they mistook Teller of Fortunes and Finder Of Lost Things for Common Whore and Loathly Bedswerver." Her pride seemed a bit damaged as she spoke and she hesitated for a moment before closing her book around her thumb momentarily and reaching for one of her cigarette holders, gingerly placing it between her lips.
Silas plucked the holder from her lips and began to twirl it between his fingers as he motioned for her to go on and she reluctantly continued.
"Well, as you can probably imagine, telling the two brutes that I'm not that kind of palmist and that they would likely have more luck with each other than I....did not end so well. One of them got the jump on me and the other decided it was time to put the poor defenseless woman in her place. Sadly, for them, I quickly had my machete in hand which spooked them long enough for me to grab my rifle and run them off. Although, it was not as quickly as I would have liked. " She scratched at her neck and sighed. "But that's what happens when I don't have my Big strong bounty hunter here to protect me, you know?"
The quizzical look on Silas's face turned to a somber one as he got to his feet and walked around her chair, gently massaging her shoulders before stooping down to kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry. " He sighed. "I should've been here sooner."
"Don't go getting all tearful on me now, Silver Fox. I am just fine." Nazar gently gave his left hand a squeeze before resting her cheek on the knuckles of his weathered gloves. "Where have you been though mm? It gets lonely out here and as much as I love my little feathered babies they aren't much for conversation." She chuckled as she peered over the pages of her book before pouting as she felt his hands leave her shoulders. Her birds chittering feverishly behind her as they rested in their cages, hanging from her modest cart.
Silas stepped away for a moment to breathe and shook his head as he scratched at his cheek. "I...uhh...went back up into Ambarino. Up Lake Isabella to the Adler Ranch."
As he spoke Nazar sighed and grew sorrowful for him, her eyes softening as she listened quietly.
"I just go up there to think sometimes, you know? I can never think down here. I'm always so angry. And that was home...so..." SIlas huffed and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet a bit nervously and Nazar spoke up.
"Silas, look at me." Silas turned a bit hesitantly as she spoke. "Why do you keep returning to that place? A place that instead of giving you happiness now gives you such grief. It hurts me seeing you this way, Silas. You suffer yourself too much and are drowning in remorse already. I've seen it in you. That bitter hatred you have for yourself. I see right through you, understand? I've seen the way you take out your sadness on those you hunt and those who do wrong but this is no way to live. You don't allow me or any other woman to comfort you and yet you return to that place every month without fail. Why?"
Silas cleared his throat as she spoke before nervously scratching at his ear with a sigh. "I can't lose sight of my goals, Nadya. I can't let my self forget how I let them die. How I let her die...I must ground myself. Keep vigilant. Fight."
"You may be fighting but that's still not living, Silas. You're dead behind those eyes, I see it." She got up from her chair and cupped his face in her hands. "When we work together I watch you. I do....and there has never been a moment or a mere second where you've even come close to forgiving yourself for what happened. I see it in your eyes, Silas. You may be living and breathing just like myself but you are not living. You are existing... nothing more....and if your soul has died with her or with them then so be it. We've all lost loved ones before and I don't expect a scar so deep to wash away but you don't have to do this on your own."
"For what I've done and what I caused them...my redemption will come purely from revenge and through the spilling of that fucker's blood. It's my purpose in life and right now that's all I got." Silas muttered in response to her words. "I have to do this because it's all I can do."
As Nazar's many rings and trinkets brushed against his cheek, her thumbs wiped away his tears as she spoke. "Your purpose in life now is to hunt down the O'Driscoll leader. I understand this...but that does not mean you have to continue to torture yourself as punishment for his wrongdoing. By abusing yourself in this way you don't come any closer to your target. Yes? And if there's one thing I know it's that they would not want you to be this way. You have suffered enough, Silas. You have more than just your thirst for revenge, you realize this right? As alone as you may feel you still have me."
Nazar ran her fingers through his hair and sighed as his empty, tear-filled eyes stared back into hers. She pushed his hat up above his brow long enough to place a kiss on his forehead before sitting back down in her chair and taking a long deep breath.
Silas handed her back the cigarette holder he had pulled from her lips minutes ago and let his hands rest on his hips.
"Be it as a partner for life or as a life partner, my doors are always open for you, Silas." Nazar smiled warmly as she lit her cigarette by holding it up to the flame in the lantern she had been using for reading beneath the trees. "I hope you find the man that you seek soon enough. The end of this journey will end in blood and I pray that it isn't yours. Now go, I'm sure you've already got a fresh target in your sights." She motioned for him to press on and continue his journey with a heavy but hopeful heart.
"That's actually why I was stopping by to see you." Silas quickly wiped his face against his sleeve before clearing his throat. "I'm heading into Saint-Denis in search of Etta Doyle and her gang. It could take a few days more than I'd like judging by the size of her current crew and I know you're no fan of the city so I wanted to stop by and make sure you were being looked after while I'm off working. The problem is I don't trust many. I hardly trust you." He teased her with another gentle smile.
"And for good reason." Nazar chuckled and with her free hand, she pulled a small roll of bills from within the chest of her blouse and smirked.
Silas feigned a surprised gasp and clutched his chest. "My word, a nimble-fingered gypsy has robbed me of my tender. Hwhatever shall I do." He mocked the unusually snooty accent of many of the people of Saint-Denis with a beyond overdramatic flourish in tone as he stepped up to her once again.
Nazar got to her feet once and waved the roll around with a mischevious grin, placing her cigarette holder in her ear with the burning end facing away from her face as it dropped the ashes behind her. "You can have it back, but for a price."
"You'll give me my money back in exchange for payment? That's an odd con, Nazar. Even for you." Silas chuckled as she slid into his arms.
"Oh, it's not money I want but a kiss." Nazar wrapped her arms around his neck, still holding the bills between her fingertips.
"Hm. That so? Well, nice try Nadya, but you can keep it." Silas slipped free of her arms and turned away before suddenly feeling a breeze going through his hair as he realized his hat was now missing as well. He twirled around again to see Nazar standing barefoot atop her chair and beaming with pride as she wore the ill-fitting hat atop her head.
Silas chuckled and genuinely smiled before whistling for his horse. "You can keep that too if you'd like. Maybe you could even buy yourself some new shoes to match with the money you stole as well."
As Silas mounted his steed Nazar hopped down from her chair with a playful pout before walking over and thumping him on the leg with his hat. "You're no fun at all, you know this right? You were supposed to come and retrieve it yourself." She handed it back to him after brushing away any leaves or bits of bark that had floated down from the trees and their many branches with her fingertips.
"Oh, believe me, I know what you wanted me to do and I know exactly why you wanted me to do it." SIlas placed his hat back on and grinned at Nazar before leaning down and pinching her cheek.
She feigned a biting motion towards his hand before rolling her eyes and looking up at him. "Hmph. Sly fox. You are too clever for your own good, you know."
"Yes, yes I know. One of these days it'll be the death of me, I fear. But not just yet...not until I'm finished." Silas looked out across the grassy hills of Scarlett Meadows and took a deep breath before looking back down to Nazar, taking up her hands, and gently squeezing her hand in his. "You be safe out here. Get someplace quiet and lay low awhile. I'll come back here when I'm finished before the week is out."
"You don't need to worry about me so much, Silas. I can handle my self. A few bruises are commonplace but this wildflower is still perfectly intact. Petals and all." Nazar smiled and squeezed his hand back. "Even so...You better come back to me sooner rather than later, understand?" She squeezed his hand a bit harder now and Silas merely chuckled, stifling a wince as he did.
"I will do my best. You have my word. Bounty Hunting isn't easy but if I can wrap this up in a day or two then I'll take a break from things, for your sake. Deal?"
"You have a deal, Silver Fox." Nazar smiled and shook his hand before taking a step back. "Now go on, I won't keep you any longer."
Silas nodded and tipped his hat to her before clicking his tongue as he rode off towards Saint-Denis in search of his bounty target and hopefully more information to lead him to the elusive Colm O'Driscoll himself.
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