EDANITH > The Frontier

No rest for the weary [DragonSong]

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DragonSong:
Ava was shaking now, properly shaking, not just the little twitches and shivers that she'd been doing her best to control up until that point. Arms wrapped tight around her middle, she glared at him all the while he spoke, clutching at her own arms so tight that nails threatened to break skin.

Finally, she nodded once, sharply. "Fifteen minutes," she repeated in a low hiss, and turned on her heel to head to the exit of the docking station.

"...If my daughter dies because of you, I'll kill you myself."

Her voice was low, almost gentle, soft, but with a core of steel that rang cold and absolutely true. She wasn't threatening him; she was promising.

A harsh, almost startled laugh suddenly tore out of her and she glanced back over her shoulder, eyes hard and smile cruel--something she'd learned from an old friend. "So I guess this is really a win-win for you, huh?"

Without another word, she turned and walked away.

If he didn't meet her in fifteen minutes, she'd... She honestly didn't know what she'd do. But she had a feeling she didn't entirely want to find out.

Marjorie:
“Go right ahead sister,” Raf said, “no harm in putting down a dying dog.”

It was ten minutes later that Raf headed for the exit of the docking station. He’d cleaned up, showered, shaved. He smelled better but his clothes were in the same state as before. He also had a bottle in his hand. Drunk was his baseline though, so he was still walking strait. He didn’t start shaking or swerving until he started to sober up.

“Alright,” he said, “what’s your girl’s name and where did you last see her? Also, you got transportation, because if you intend to walk across the wastelands you may as well just shoot me now.”

DragonSong:
Ava had to bite back another string of shouting; at least in those ten minutes she'd managed to get a better hold of herself. Hopefully she could manage to keep a level head for...whatever time they had to work together.

"Val," she replied shortly. "Her name is Val." She hesitated just a moment, then reached into the front of her blouse and pulled out a small, white gold locket, oval in shape with a twining vine design around the outer edge. She flicked the catch with a practiced movement of her thumb and the lid popped, setting off the holographic system and projecting an image of a little girl into the air just above the locket.

The holopic was a bit out of date--Val was six here, and her seventh birthday had been almost eight months ago--but it was still better than nothing. The image showed a smiling little girl with hair as wild and curly as her mother's, though the shade was a pale blonde, and silvery gray eyes. She was sitting on a pony, a chubby, fuzzy little paint with a placid expression as the girl clung onto his neck. Freckles scattered over her nose and cheeks--not quite so thick as Ava's--and she had a tiny scar nicked into the skin on her jaw just below her right ear.

The pic flickered, then started to shift to the next image in Ava's rotating lineup, and she clicked the locket closed, tucking it back under the collar of her shirt. "They took her from Reckless about a day and a half ago--it's fifteen miles that way." She pointed due east from where they stood. "They were heading northwest, out passed the borderlands." Again, she pointed.

"They--" Her throat threatened to close up and she took a breath, swallowed, then continued, "They had two caravan trucks but most were on horseback. The marshal said their hideout is probably up in the hill country, where a surefooted horse is better than a vehicle, but he wouldn't risk sending any of his men out there without knowing where they were going, or how long. It's... Even with supplies, if you don't know where you're going, it's a death sentence out there."

Which brought them to transportation. Rather than answer his question verbally, she jerked her head to indicate he should follow and strode out around the outer edge of the docking station until she reached where she'd left the horses.

Corbin had said they were her best bet, considering so many of the bandits had been riding. The trucks were probably just for transporting stolen goods to fences--the horses would be how they navigated the rough, rocky hills.

Ava wasn't exactly an accomplished horsewoman, but living in Reckless she'd had to learn to ride, and she was competent enough. Though no one from the town had been willing to risk their lives for what they considered a lost cause, the sheriff had at least been willing to "lend" her two of the surest, swiftest mounts he could find: mares both, one a sprightly tobino paint that Ava had ridden here, the other a slightly cooler headed chestnut.

She gestured to the horses as she turned to face Raf. "You can ride, right?"

Marjorie:
"Val" Raf said, and for a split second, his voice was softer, more considerate... kids, man. Fucking kids. He was a right bastard by anyone's scale, and a fucking asshole to boot, but he'd never hurt a kid, and he hated those who trafficked them as much as anyone else aught to. He took in the images of the happy little girl and something hard settled over him, that softness vanishing.

He nodded at the information she gave him.

"I grew up on this shit hole," Raf said, "I can ride. We'll get supplies in Reckless, I'm sure you don't want us dead before we even get out there. Just point me in the right direction once we leave. It's been... how long now, sense they took her? There might not be any tracks left to follow, but we can head out to the hills and have a look around."

DragonSong:
Ava glanced down at her watch as she swung herself up into the saddle. The tobino tossed her head, shifting her weight between her back hooves while Ava settled herself.

"...Thirty-seven hours." Ava's voice was tight, quiet. It was a ticking clock, and she could feel every single tick like ice down her spine. "But we don't need to stop in Reckless. I brought supplies with me."

She gestured to the saddlebags slung across each mare just in front of the saddle. Nodding in the direction the bandit's had ridden off with her daughter, she added, "It's just about eight miles to hill country from here, it's almost fourteen from Reckless. I figured we should leave from here once I met you."

The sun was rising. She cast a glance in the direction of the reddish glow and narrowed her eyes. "If we get moving now, we can cover some ground before the sun tries to bake us alive. Come on."

She gave her mount a firm squeeze with her thighs and wheeled the mare around, taking off at a steady canter over the dusty earth.

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