Don't worry, we'll all float on

[Anonymous]

“Oh my! What happened in here?”

Raelyne Lane peered into her settlement’s tavern, her fingers curled against the side of the wooden door, emerald green eyes widened by the mess that enveloped the establishment. Dishes lay strewn across the bar, tables were overturned, broken glass lay scattered about the floor.  The folks who ran this tavern were busy fixing it up, but what had caused it to look as if a hurricane had run rampant through its halls?

An elder man, perhaps in his sixties, looked up at Rae from the bar, noticing her curiosity. “Nothin’ much, Miz Lane. A varmint swept by and ransacked it while we were away, is all. Went and stole everythin’ we had outta the cash box too. I expect he’s long gone by now – but at least none of us were injured.” Despite the mess, he smiled a little, and went back to arranging beer mugs on the tavern shelf.

The Iron Beggar Tavern was a small, unassuming place that stood in the heart of Corennon, their settlement. All travellers would inevitably stop there first when passing through their little town – it was the largest building in Corennon and its owners were always eager to lend a helping hand to those passing through. To see it in such a sorry state broken Rae’s heart.

It was nearly noon now, so the elder man was right – whoever had passed through here was long gone by now.

“Well, let me help at least!” she offered, taking up a broom. Holding it firmly by the handle, she decided to start outside, sweeping broken wood bits off the steps, in an attempt to make it look presentable. She looked out at the horizon, and couldn’t help but feel frustrated. To have some wretched person pass through here of all places, and do such harm? This sort of thing was almost unheard of around Corennon; they were such a small settlement, after all. They didn’t know what bad luck felt like.

[Anonymous]

Benedict road into the town on his horse, a cyborg creature that was gaining in popularity across the frontier. It was a tiny, pisspot of a settlement, his favorite kind of place. Easy to do what he wanted in places like this, over awed locals liked to help the bounty hunters and no annoying red tape with laws to deal with.

He was looking for a renegade mage and had tracked them to this place. Now to pick up the trail again. Moving through the streets, a pretty girl with wild hair and too many flowers stuck on her caught his attention. Might as well start there!

Dismounting, he tied his horse up and strolled over, tipping his hat back, "Well darlin'. Looks like ya got a bit of a mess here."

[Anonymous]

It was the sound of hooves pounding on the earth that caught her attention. She looked up, and could’ve sworn that perhaps she was hearing things, but no – there it was! – a man riding a horse, strolling into town, just like in the movies! Even his horse was phenomenal! Rae had only heard of cowboys riding cyborg horses on the frontier nowadays, but she had never actually seen one with her own eyes before…

Oh! Oh! And he was coming this way! Rae looked to her right and to her left, wondering if maybe he had business with someone around her, but she was the only one on the tavern steps, so he must have wanted to talk to her! As he tipped his hat back, she clutched onto her broom with both hands, looking up at him in awe.

For a minute, she had forgotten there was a mess, and echoed dumbly, “A mess?” It took her a second to remember the tragedy that lay in the tavern behind her. “Oh, right!” Duh, Raelyne. She composed herself a little, before going on. “Someone ransacked the tavern earlier today. It’s a sorry sight to look at,” she related, but despite the bad news, she had the smallest of grins on her face. “You’re a cowboy, aren’t you? Have you come to find the guy who did it?” Please say yes, please say yes!

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah. She was gonna be easy. Benedict made a mental note to remember her face for his way back through town. Nothing like a pretty, easily impressed frontier girl to make his day go that much smoother.

"Well, don't really work with cows much." Benedict grinned, his drawl heavy, "I'm a bounty hunter. See, I'm lookin' for a bad man and I got the feelin' the guy I'm after is the same one that messed up this here saloon. Now, pretty thing like yourself wouldn't happen to know what happened, hmm?"

[Anonymous]

Bounty hunter, cowboy… there wasn’t much of a difference, was there? Same thing! He rode a horse and was looking for that criminal to lock him away, and that was more than enough to impress her. Starry eyed, she had to remember to keep her head clear so that she could hold a decent conversation without being totally awestruck.

“Oh, I wasn’t here when it happened, and neither were the owners,” she related, frowning a little. “All I know is that the tavern got absolutely trashed, and the cashbox was cleaned out…” Her eyes lit up. “But maybe someone else who’s inside might know more than I do! They’re a friendly bunch."

She opened the tavern door, going in first, then holding it open for him. She stepped in lightly, taking care to avoid the broken glass. “Fellas!” she called out, and nearly everyone inside turned her heads. Being a mage, she was well known in the settlement. “There’s a bounty hunter here who wants to know what happened! Anyone know the details?” There had to be some neighbor or bystander who had seen everything go down…

[Anonymous]

A man raised a hand, stepping forward and giving Benedict a long look, "I didn't see the theft happen, but I saw someone leaving. Who are you?"

"Name's Benedict. I'm a bounty hunter." Reaching into his pocket, but pulled out an ID. He was an official one and everything, "What did ya see?"

Nodding, the man continued, "Welp, head a bunch of crashing and I came running. Just in time to see a man in a big coat come tearing out of there like his pants were on fire. Had bright red hair too."

Benedict nodded, "Sounds like my man. Which direction was he headed?"

"Oh, looks like he was headed toward the hills. There are some caves up there he might be trying to hole up in."

[Anonymous]

Just as Rae thought, someone from the tavern had seen something – a man with bright red hair running out of the tavern. Apparently, he was heading towards the hills, which made Raelyne bit her lip. The hills over yonder were a dangerous place – crawling with outlaws or other unsavory characters. Granted, it was an area that had recently undergone terraforming – she had worked there a couple of days ago, under the supervision of the Mordecai, of course.

“Sir, are you sure you'll be okay, going up into those hills alone?" she asked, worry painting her tone. “It’s so easy to get lost up there, and there’s so many places to hide…” She clutched onto the broomstick handle, not really wanting him to leave. She wanted to go with him, but she wondered if it'd be mannerly, to just come outright and suggest such a thing?

[Anonymous]

The girl's comment drew Benedict's attention back to her. Such a pretty little thing, and when he looked closer, he noticed the plugs on her temple. A mage. Interesting. Too bad a Mordecai wasn't around, that would make things even easier, though he doubted he would want to pay that fee.

"Don't you fret darlin'. I'll be fine. Now, why don't ya show me where exactly these hills are, hmmm?" He wasn't really worried about bandits much. Some new comer was unlikely to have made friends, though the mage might use that magic to his advantage.

"Any of y'all know those caves well?"

[Anonymous]

Know them well? Why, she knew them well, possibly better than anyone else in this tavern! She turned towards the townspeople, and watched as they looked to each other quizzically, wondering if anyone really had any knowledge of what lurked beyond the hills. When it seemed as if no one would set up to bat, Rae finally opened her mouth, her green eyes wide with excitement.

“Oh, I do!” she exclaimed, raising her hand, as if she were in class. “I was just up in the hills with a few Mordecai the other day, terraforming. I could show you where they are and lead you through them, if you’d be willing to take me along!” Oh, she could only hope he’d say yes! He was so tall, compared to her – nearly intimidating – but held a mysterious aura about him, just like a real cowboy!

[Anonymous]

Well, well, well. Today was a lucky day. The girl looked about as useful to have along as a cat, but she was eager and pretty and getting her alone sounded nice. And the mage shouldn't be a problem, even with a tag a long.

He grinned at her, pulling out a cigarette, "Alright then darlin'. How about ya lead the way then. Ya gotta name sweetness?"

[Anonymous]

Rae’s eyes lit up at his offer, and she did her dardnest to hide her excitement – but alas, it was a futile effort. She bounced on the tip of her toes, her flats kicking up dust and sweeping aside glass shards scattered on the tavern floor.

“Oh, do you really mean it? Can I really come along?” she couldn’t help but ask, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming or anything. In fact, she nearly forget that he had asked her name. “Oh! I’m Rae. Raelyne Lane, sir,” she introduced, curtsying while she spoke.  “What can I call you? Does 'Mr. Cowboy' suffice?” she asked, teasing.

She was joking, of course, but she wouldn't mind calling them that for the whole trip, to be honest.

[Anonymous]

Benedict laughed and held out his arm, while he gave her a low bow, "Well Raelyne, it's a pleasure ta meet ya. Ya can call me Benedict. Now, ya need ta get anything? Cause I would really like ta get up in those caves 'for he gets too far a head of me."

[Anonymous]

As soon as Benedict offered her his arm she immediately latched onto it, grinning. Rae was so glad to actually be able to tag along that she almost missed his question, but her eyes widened as soon as she pondered it. “Oh! I’ll need my satchel— I’ll be right back!”

She turned to leave, but then turned back to look at him, biting her lip nervously. “Don’t leave, okay? Stay right there!”

Rae turned out of the tavern, making a speedy dash for her house, which wasn’t too far from the tavern, admittedly. Quickly, she found her brown satchel and wore it over her shoulder, checking to make sure all the little necessities were inside. A bit of money, a small knife, but most importantly, her diary! How could she go on a grand adventure without having the proper tools to record it all?

She was back in a flash, glad to find that he hadn’t left. “Sorry for the wait!” she breathed, stopping to catch her breath. After taking a deep breath, she looked at him expectantly. “Let’s go!” she urged. “Are we taking your horse? Will two people be able to fit on it? I’ve never seen one like it before…” It was obvious how eager she was to get started – as if the adventure would slip away from her if she didn’t embark quickly enough.

[Anonymous]

Benedict was surprised it hadn't taken her long to grab her things. So many townies wanted to bring along everything but the kitchen sink, the woman worst of all. His horse was all set to go and Benedict smiled down at the girl, "We're taking 'um."

Benedict mounted, smooth and easy and held hi hand down for her, "Come on up. We'll gotta share, hope ya don't mind."

[Anonymous]

Ahhh, they were really taking the horse! Rae grinned at the revelation, staring at the cyborg creature with bright, excited eyes. Having never been on one before, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually ride this beast to the hills. Would it still feel the same as galloping across the frontier on an old, reliable horse? Or would the trip be smoother, faster, and more exciting because they were on this new contraption? She didn’t know, but she couldn’t wait to find out!

She took his hand gratefully and hoisted herself up with his hand, finding her seat on the cyborg snug, comfortable. “Oh, don’t worry— I don’t mind at all!” she reassured, actually glad to be closer to him. “Do you mind if I hold onto you? J-Just in case, you know, the horse goes really fast!” Not because she wanted an excuse to snuggle closer to him, no, what gave you that idea?

[Anonymous]

Benedict grinned, settling the girl on his lap, "Darlin', ya can hold as tight as ya want." Benedict was juuuust fine with holding her close, his arms wrapped around her. He kicked the horse into motion, it's gait just like that of a regular horse.

It seemed to move faster though, the time it took to get out to the caves was less than it normally was. Scanning the caves he looked for any sign of his mage, hoping there would be a nice big clue.

[Anonymous]

Since Benedict seemed fine with it, Raelyne wrapped her arms tight around him, unable to believe she was this close to a real-life cowboy. Even though he was so strong, he was surprisingly snuggly at well— a dream come true! The horse even had the same feel of a real horse, which surprised the frontier girl. Having never ridden on anything like it before, she had figured it would feel mechanical, robotic— but no! They may as well be riding a real horse!

Oh, right, right, they were supposed to be looking for the runaway mage! Stop daydreaming, Raelyne! she scolded herself, shaking her head. “If you take a left over by that big hill, you’ll come across the bigger caves,” Rae noted. “They’d probably be a good spot to hide out for a runaway.”

[Anonymous]

"Good girl." Benedict gave a short nod and headed in the direction the girl pointed. When he got closer, he halted the horse, "Alright, lets hop off here. Don't wanna make ourselves a target ta anyone lookin'."

He slid off his horse and then reached up, hands wrapping around Raelyne's waist, lifting her down with a small grunt, "Right, now, let's get lookin' for that hideout."

[Anonymous]

She was a little disappointed that they’d have to dismount the horse, but was cheered up quickly after he put her hands around her waist to help her down from the horse. He was such a gentleman, truly! She grinned, and smoothed out any wrinkles her dress may have accumulated, taking in the hilly mountains around them.

“That cave up ahead may be a good place to start,” she observed, pointing to a cave up ahead in the distance. Ah, she remembered terraforming that very cave not too long ago — it was a shame that they might be used by runaway mages as hideouts, thought. She pursed her lips at that, but shook her head, turning to Benedict.

“Do you hunt runaways often, Benedict? It seems like kind of a lonely job, isn’t it?” She had never thought of it before, but when cowboys weren’t making rest stops in towns, weren’t they normally by themselves? It seemed like a lonely way to live!

[Anonymous]

"Right then. Now, you stay back, ya hear? I don't want that pretty little face of yours gettin' hurt." Benedict reached a hand over, stroking along her chin. He then drew his rifle, moving up the the mouth of the save. Peeking inside, he found it clear and made his way deeper inside.

It didn't take long to find the place empty, though there were signs of a recent fire, "I think we might have him on the run love."