𝗖𝗨𝗣𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗜𝗜 ➳ 𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗜

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓.

"Hey, Dutch," Micah waddled over to the leader shortly after Eleanor had left him to continue his book. Dutch sighed as he kept his eyes fixated on the book in his hands. 

"Micah," he greeted, seeming uninterested in having a conversation with the man. Micah noticed this but continued, walking over to Dutch and standing by his side. 

"Good book?" Micah asked, attempting to get Dutch to talk to him. 

"Very. It's a lot more enjoyable when I'm not interrupted," Dutch muttered, his voice slightly hostile. Micah hid his embarrassment with a chuckle. His laughter fell silent as he stood beside Dutch, looking down at the man. "Is there something you want, Micah?" Dutch asked after a while of quiet.

"What is that Miller bit- Eleanor up to?" Micah quickly corrected himself. Dutch closed his book, a thumb marking the page as he looked up at Micah with a frown. Micah immediately took a step back. 

"Why does it matter to you?" Dutch asked him, his voice seemingly hostile towards the blonde outlaw. Micah threw his hands up in defence. 

"I want to fix things between me and her... cut the tension, you know?" Micah explained, trying his best to sound as convincing as he could. "Make a friend."

"You could use some of those," Dutch muttered before reopening his book. Micah became fuelled with anger, his lips twitching as he stared at Dutch. Micah quickly collected himself and laughed at the man, taking his insult as a joke. "Well, you promised me you've changed," Dutch sighed after a while, closing his book once more. A small smirk fell on the blonde man's lips before it quickly faded when Dutch looked at him. 

"I have Dutch. I wasn't thinking, with losing Mac, Davey and Jenny. Hit me real hard," Micah explained with a saddened expression on his face. "Being tied to that tree made me realise that. If anything, you helped me," Micah nodded at Dutch. Dutch stared at the man for a moment before twisting slightly in his chair to look at Micah properly. 

"Well, you want to bury the history with Eleanor don't you?" Dutch asked him. Micah immediately nodded, awaiting the information to roll off of Dutch's silver tongue. "Why don't you go ask her yourself?" Dutch proposed, a smirk falling onto the leader's face as Micah's face dropped. Dutch let out a small chuckle as he turned back to his book. 

"Dutch, it's just-"

"I'm done talking to you now, Mister Bell," Dutch waved Micah away with a hand. Micah stared at the man who opened his book once again, a snarl breaking onto his lips before he turned away and sauntered away. As he got further away from Dutch, the man's pace picked up as he walked to the scout campfire. 

He had a lot more work to do to get Dutch to trust him fully once more. 

Eleanor hummed a song as she ran the thick brush through her horse's coat, Seyfret happily standing still as he was relaxed from the pamper. Occasionally the grey horse's ears would flick back towards her as the horse listened to her softening hums. 

Evening began to fall over Clemen's Point, the sky of pink and orange casting it's vibrant colours down into the hideout adding a pink and orange tinge to everything in it's path. The woman's hums fell silent when her ears picked up the approaching hooves of a few riders. She looked over her shoulder to see Arthur, Javier and John all returning, an annoyed expression on both Arthur and John's faces while Javier seemed to steer clear of the two men. Things must not have worked out as they expected. 

Her lover rode over to her, lining his horse up to the hitching post beside Seyfret. 

"Hey," Arthur grumbled, sounding just as annoyed as he looked. Eleanor placed a hand on Seyfret's rump as she leant against the horse, looking at Arthur.