Wolf of the West

12.

    Will managed to sleep throughout the entire night without so much as a stir. It was clear that he was comfortable and exhausted by how nearly all of his weight rested on Rudy's back—not that it was much anyway. Alas, the boy was in complete peace sleeping on his friend, and he stayed that way as the sun crept up the horizon. It wasn't until the sky began to lighten and pale rays of light shined across his tan face that his sleepy eyes blinked open, still heavy from sleep. "Rudy...?" He mumbled groggily, moving his arm from his waist to rub his eyes.
    "Mhm?" Rudy's voice hummed back as he looked over his shoulder at Will. It was clear that he looked a little sleepy, some circles under his eyes and his back at a slouch from sitting the entire night. It didn't seem to bother him though as he rode along, the horse going at a steady, swift gallop through the now sandy terrain. It was clear that they were a great distance away from Idle Dune— the green grass and trees now replaced with sand and rock.
    Will sleepily stared at the ground as it sped underneath them for a moment as he seemed to struggle to remember the events of the night before. Then he glanced at his friend as he remembered leaving the hunting town and their newly acquired friends behind. "Where in the world are we? Have you been ridin' all night?" He asked, having no idea if they were even in the states anymore, let alone how long Rudy had stayed up to make sure they got to a town as soon as possible.
    "Yeah," He sighed out as he scratched the side of his neck. "I've been tryin' to go East so we don't go into unmarked territory. So we're headin' toward the sunrise, basically. I'd been trying to figure out the stars last night and now I think we're headed toward Eastern Missouri or Illinois." He explained through a yawn as he rubbed one of his eyes. "I took a few breaks here and there but I've been just tryin' to pick up some speed."
    "Well good grief, Ru, you coulda woke me up." Will stretched, rolling some stiffness out of his shoulders from sleeping while sitting up. "Here, stop so we can trade places, I don't want you tirin' yourself to the bone. I didn't mean to sleep so long anyway." He said apologetically, giving Rudy's side a pat as if he were ready to tap in and steer.
    "You don't gotta do that," Rudy couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. "I'm just fine, I promise. Henrietta's been keepin' me company and I'm doing just fine." He said, continuing to stubbornly hold onto the reins and kept the horse galloping. "'Sides, I saw a sign about a half hour before you woke up and it said there was a town up ahead. That's where I've been headin'."
    Will groaned and rolled his eyes. "Rudy Shepherd, you're yawnin' and slouchin' and rubbin' your eyes. Even if you don't fall asleep, you could still use some rest from sittin' like that for hours on end. Stop bein' stubborn and let me look out for ya. I don't give a darn how close a town may or may not be." He complained, giving Rudy's shoulder a gentle punch.
    Rudy hesitated as he glanced over his shoulder at Will, sputtering his lips as he hauled the reins to bring the horse to a halt. "Good lord—fine. Only because I know you'd be naggin' on me for it for a week." He joked softly as he swung his leg off of the horse and moved the snoozing hen into his arms. He slid off of the horse's side and let out a groan of a yawn as he stretched his legs, popping his back while he did so.
    Will seemed satisfied with that answer and had a playfully smug look on his face over getting his way. "Thank you for givin' yourself a break. And I still might nag ya, it's in consideration." He joked with his friend as he put is hands under his legs and scooted himself up on the horse's back so that Rudy could hop on back. "Now get up before I ditch ya out here." He said, offering his hand out to help him up.
    Rudy shot him a look with a slightly wrinkled nose and a goofy smile as he grabbed his hand and pulled himself up onto the horse's back (with help from a small jump, of course). "You'd never do that, Will— if you left me, you'd freak yourself out to your wit's end." He stated as he once again settled Henrietta in front of him. He slumped forward and wrapped his arms around Will's waist with a soft sigh, his cheek pressed against his back as he felt the calm sensation wash over him when he closed his eyes. It felt like his whole body had nestled down and he already felt himself begin to drift off, "You'd be... freakin'... out," He mumbled into his back.
    Will felt his cheeks grow warm and his stomach begin to feel strange, and he wondered if he was coming down with something or if it was because of the way being held like that made him feel. He decided that sleeping outside made him feel under the weather. But he simply chuckled and shook his head, giving the horse's side a small kick to get it going again. "Uh huh, you win. Now hush, you loon." He said as he brought the tired horse to a steady canter, already knowing that Rudy was always quick to get sleepy.
    Rudy didn't even have to hush himself up as his body had already done that for him, now slumped over in a deep slumber with his face pressed into the middle of Will's back. He even let out the occasional soft snore as his body rested. Though, as his body slept, his mind awoke with one of his reoccurring dreams. It was one that was full of the familiar flashing colors and fast paced movement, but mainly green eyes. Green eyes always seemed present, no matter what happened in his dreams. It filled him with a despairing, discomforted feeling as he tightened his grip around Will. Not extremely tight, but more at the grip of a hug or a protective hold.
    Will continued on in dead silence, thinking deeply about Rudy and their situation as he followed the steady sunrise. When he felt his friend's arms tighten around him, he only guessed that he was dreaming one of his usual dreams. So he took one hand off of the reins and slipped his fingers between Rudy's to hold his hand. He'd wake him up if it got worse, but he didn't want to have to ruin what little rest he was letting himself get.
    The taller boy's grip continued to hold for a moment until his mind seemed to connect the familiar touch, which allowed his body to relax as he loosened his grip a bit. At that moment, it seemed that the green eyes vanished.
    Rudy continued to snooze on for a good hour or so, his snoring drowned out by the sounds of the horse's hooves and Henrietta's occasional cluck as she poked her head out from under Rudy's arm.
    Will continued to hold his hand as the time ticked by until he took the horse up a small hill. Upon that hill, in the close distance, he could see a town. It was definitely much smaller than Idle Dune, but it was certainly a town. He let out a huge sigh of relief and gestured the horse again in order to break into a gallop towards the town. "Pssst. Hey." He said quietly, giving the ginger's hand a soft squeeze as he tried to nicely wake him up. "Ruuudy..."
    Rudy's shoulders bunched up at hearing his name be called, his eyes hazily blinking open as he slowly raised up his head to lean it against his upper back. "Mmmh?" He groaned, groggily resting his chin on his shoulder to see where they were heading. It looked pretty funny with his two large teeth sticking out over his lip as he did this, but he didn't even think about it as he tried to put together how much time went by and where they were.
Will took one look at his face and broke into a soft giggle. "Lord, Ru—" He shook his head, finding his pointy teeth pretty silly and cute when they poked out of his mouth like that. "Sorry to wake ya, but we're headin' into that town now. I'm gonna look for somewhere that'll have some water. I'm thirstier than a fish in a desert." He said as he gave a small tug on the reins to slow the horse to a trot as the approached the town. It was much more decrepit the closer they got and not much bigger than it had looked when he had first seen it.
The freckled boy gradually woke up as they trotted down the hill and toward the town. His sleepy expression soon changed to one of discomfort and confusion. The lack of townspeople and the creaking, old buildings were enough to send a chill up his spine. "Is this place abandoned?" He muttered to his friend as they passed an old sign with worn paint that read Dry Point. It made his nose wrinkle in discomfort.
    "I ain't too sure— I sure hope not." Will said, face mirroring Rudy's in terms of confusion. The lack of people was off putting, that was for sure. In fact, the whole town looked like it hadn't been touched in years. "Oh, there, look." Will said, nodding to a sign that looked more fixed up than any other in the town. "Dry Point Saloon." Will read the neatly painted sign as he had the horse come to a stop in front of the establishment. "Says it's open. Should we look?" He glanced back at his friend for a second opinion, seeing as his need for water and nervous nature were at a clash for priority in his mind.
    "Might as well. We're probably gonna find some skeletons or somethin' in there." Rudy stated, lifting his head up from his shoulder as his eyes focused on the saloon. "There's a post up there for horses, so we can let this gal rest and head inside." He stated as he gave Henrietta a few pets. "I'm sure Henni is thirsty, too." He commented as they approached the old saloon. It was extremely vague, but he could have sworn he heard piano music playing from inside. His head turned to look at Will. "You hear that?"
Will's lips pressed into a line and his grip on Rudy's hand slightly tightened at the question. He was clearly a bit nervous, though he didn't want to admit that the comment about the skeletons scared him a little. "I thought so. I don't know—" He muttered, now a little reluctant to get off of the horse. But he came to a stop and flipped his foot over it's back before sliding off anyway. He lead the horse the rest of the way up to the post before tying its reins to it and giving its shoulder a thankful pat.
    Rudy soon followed in swinging his leg over and slipping off of the horse, keeping Henrietta bundled under his arm. His eyes still focused on the front swinging doors of the saloon. "C'mon. Let's see what that is." He muttered to Will as he stepped up onto the creaky porch, noticing the old rocking chairs that seemed to groan as they rocked in the gentle wind. It made his thick arm hair stand on end as he checked over his shoulder to look at Will to make sure they wanted to go in.
    Will followed along closely behind his friend, and as they approached the porch, he instinctively held on to the back of Rudy's sleeve. When the taller boy looked at him, he only gave a small nod of his head. "After you...." he urged him on, shuffling his feet in place. He felt stupid for being scared of an empty old saloon, but he couldn't help it, and the anticipation didn't help his nerves.
    Rudy made a face at Will urging him to go in first, but let out a soft sigh and complied. He pushed the doors open and stepped inside. The saloon looked pretty broken down. The chairs were practically antique and the decor was buried under a thin layer of dust. It made his nose wrinkle. His head turned to look at the piano, seeing an older man tiredly playing a random scale up and down. He made a face that seemed to scream 'Yikes, this place is depressing,' as he stepped further inside.
    "Howdy." A tired voice made him let out a partial yell as he whipped around to see a man who appeared to be only a few years older than Rudy at the bar. The blond's eyebrows raised at the ginger's reaction as he continued to clean out an old glass with his dish towel. "How can I help you?" The young man asked the boys with a look of groggy boredom, surprisingly looking less than pleased to have customers.
    Will had nearly the same reaction as Rudy, and jumped at both the greeting and the slight yell that erupted from the mouth of his companion. "Gee, uh—" he said, glancing to Rudy before looking back to the man at the bar. "Sorry, could we just get a coupla waters?" He asked, a little surprised that the saloon was inhabited, seeing as the rest of the town seemed to be nonexistent. It felt incredibly sketchy.
    "Mhmm. Take a seat." The boy muttered as he turned to fix them two glasses. Rudy did as he was told, hesitantly hopping up into a bar stool as he awkwardly drummed his fingers against the bar-top, his arm comfortably tucked around his pet chicken who softly clucked. It felt eerily uncomfortable, albeit awkward. He glanced as the bartender went to grab two glasses speedily, but seemed to fumble as he did so. Even in the tense air, Rudy struggled to muffle a giggle at the boy's struggle at fixing two waters in an elegant manner. His attention quickly turned as he heard a feminine voice behind the curtain on stage. She seemed to be singing a very elaborate song, clearly going all out as she belted. This clearly seemed to annoy the bartender as his shoulders tensed. "Christ— Cibil! Save it for two'o'clock!" The boy hollered back over his shoulder toward the stage, to which said woman partially opened the curtain.
    "Gabriel, hun. It's a saloon. It's supposed to be full of singin' and piano playin' and people and—" She rambled on and on as she batted her lilac fan toward her face, motioning to herself, then to the piano, to the two boys in the bar. When she realized that they had guests, she cut herself off and smiled wide. "Oh, the good lord has blessed us! Actual customers!," She seemed to laugh in relief as she walked down the steps of the stage toward the bar. "Pardon lil' Gabriel. He just got hired recently and doesn't know the difference between rum and gin."
    The blond looked rather offended as he furrowed his brows, opening his mouth to defend himself but was cut off by a flutter of Cibil's fan. "Teasing, love. Teasing." She soothed him, before looking back at the two boys with an eyebrow raise to show she most likely was not joking. "Cibil Dupay. A pleasure." She introduced herself with a nod and another soft bat of her fan.
    Rudy had a grin plastered on his face the entire time, finding the entire interaction hilarious. "Rudy Shepherd, ma'am." He introduced himself with a nod of his head.
Upon watching it, Will also thought the interaction was incredibly funny. However, he could hardly bring himself to laugh about it (save for maybe a nervous chuckle) as he'd been trying to process the sight of the woman since he saw her. Will had never been allowed in a saloon before, so he'd never seen a saloon girl before, and most of all, he'd never seen anybody dress in such a showy manner—with so much skin. So naturally, every ounce of the blood in his body seemed to rush to his face in embarrassment and he tried his hardest to keep his eyes smaller than the size of dinner plates, feeling as if he wasn't supposed to be looking at her at all. Then he realized it'd been his turn to introduce himself. "Oh, sorry, it's— Shep— Shep— no, it's— Will Sh— No, Will— It's Will Bep—" He seemed to struggle to speak correctly. "Barkley— Will B-Barkley— it's nice to meetcha—" Will stammered, before clearing his throat. His voice already sounded hoarse due to how thirsty he was, which made his choking and tripping over his own words and forgetting his name feel that much more awkward. His hands would've been sweating had he not been so thirsty.
Rudy watched as his friend stuttered and stammered, making an amused face as he let out a soft snort of a laugh. He glanced back at the bar top as the two waters were set in front of them. Gabriel seemed as flustered as ever as he turned his back and continued to clean old glasses.
   "Well, it is certainly wonderful to meet you two." She smiled at them as she leaned against the counter, not minding Will's stuttering a bit. "What brings y'all out to Dry Point? If ya can't tell, we don't get a lot of visitors." She softly joked as she fluttered her fan to cool herself down.
Will rubbed the back of his neck and found it to be sweaty from the heat and his nerves, trying to think of what he could possibly say to her. "Um. I guess you could say we're travelin'." He said, glancing to Rudy before looking back at the woman as he messed with his thin, loose tie. "If you don't mind me askin', uh, ma'am, why don't y'all get any visitors? We didn't see anybody else on our way in, so is it just y'all here?" He asked, trying to move the conversation away from their purpose in traveling.
    Cibil let out a soft sigh as she took a seat in one of the stools, continuing to gently flutter her fan against her face for a moment before closing it shut and sticking it in her corset. "Well, honey, just look at this place. Ol' Dry Point wasn't always so... dry. A big ol' drought hit and things hadn't been the same since. Not much farmland and nothin' can really even grow, so a lot of our folks left. Some stayed but most decided to hitch up and move on. We've been tryin' to clean up the place and try to make it a functionin' town again but... our efforts a lil' in vain." She sighed.
Rudy couldn't help but frown a bit, "Miss Dupay, I'm so sorry. I hope things get better around here for y'all." He told her softly as he took a few sips of his water. "Oh, you can just call me Cibil, sugar. Miss Dupay was my momma and she'd be rollin' in her grave at hearin' any '"ma'am's" or "misses"." Cibil gave the ginger boy a gentle smile before her seemingly vibrant nature returned. Her violet eyes seemed to glance between the two boys as she pulled out her fan again, "Y'all are real close, aren'tcha? Is that why y'all are traveling together?" She asked as she began to wave her fan in a rhythmic motion.
    Will pressed his lips into a line as he thought about her question for a moment, wondering what she'd meant by it. He thought back to when they'd met Rusty at the train station, and his ears grew hot when he recalled the apparent joke he'd made about their relationship. "I guess you could put it like that, sure. Rudy's been my best friend since before we knew our ABCs, so yeah, I'd say we're close. Generally speaking, anyways. There ain't much else to say about it." Will explained, trying not to come off as defensive in case he was just overthinking it.
Cibil gave a few small, slow nods before looking at Rudy. "Mind if I see your palm, sugar?" She asked as she held out her gloved hand to him.
Rudy, confused and rather sheepish, went to put out his hand but was interrupted by a groan from Gabriel. "Again with this witchcraft stuff?" The bartender whined over his shoulder at Cibil, to which she simply gave him a look of irritation and said, "You missed a spot on that glass, sweetpea," To which Gabriel grumbled and went back to angrily cleaning the cups.
    The freckled boy still hesitated as he held out his palm, feeling sweat tingle on the back of his neck and palms in fear of her seeing his dark, long nails and hairy wrists. However, she didn't seem to mind as she held his hand and traced her finger over his palm. "Let's see. I can tell you love animals, right? And that ain't me just lookin' at your chicken," Cibil chuckled as she eyed the hen who was still bundled up in Rudy's lap. "And that you've got a big ol love for travel and adventure, right?" The boy's eyes seemed to glitter as he looked at her and down at his palm. "Y—Yeah! How'd you know that?" He asked with a smile on his face, to which she replied with a subtle wink, "Psychic."
    A look of discomfort and disbelief washed over Will's face at the mention of witchcraft, and watching her read Rudy's palm didn't soothe him any. Virgil had strong opinions on stuff like that, and seeing it up close seemed to put him on edge and made him feel like they were doing something wrong. He gave Gabriel a small look before watching her do her thing. He didn't want to say anything, but his predisposition to her work and rationalization got to him—he didn't buy it for a second. He knew she knew they were already traveling together and that she could see that they chose to travel with a chicken. At the last comment he shook his head, eyes squinting, feeling hesitant disbelief. "What? I don't mean to be rude, but there ain't no way you got that from his hand, miss. Er, I mean Cibil."
Cibil's eyes glanced over to Will in surprise as she raised an eyebrow. More than anything, she was amused as she let out a soft giggle and stepped over to him. "Not all of it, of course. Some things come naturally to me." She stated with a small wave of her hand, before offering it out to Will. "Here, I'll read yours, hun." Rudy turned his attention to watching Will as he still looked as awestruck and excited as ever. "Try it, Will!" He was practically beaming of anticipation.
    The small boy hesitated, looking more than unsure. He wondered if taking part in that kind of thing was wrong, or even dangerous, or if it was all just baloney anyway. What if he didn't like what she told him? What if it was witchcraft and by predicting that he was gonna die, it sealed his fate? But if he was scared of it, he couldn't very well say he didn't believe in it, and he didn't like making a fool of himself. So, with the encouragement from Rudy to drive his decision, he hesitantly placed his hand on hers. "Alright, but don't be goin' and tellin' me scary nonsense."
    Cibil giggled quietly at his comment as she studied his palm, "Let's see here. I can tell right away that you might be a lil' psychic yourself! Not as in the same way as me but your intuition is certainly strong and so is your gut feeling." She commented, which made Rudy's jaw gape as he watched attentively.
    "Your Venus line is quite long, which can show that you're a bit sensitive, yes? You have a big heart, is all, nothin' wrong with that." She muttered as she studied his palm, "This line here shows me that you aren't happy with your career choice. Maybe you are wanting approval or are even going down the wrong path?"
    Will's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed a bit. He desperately wracked his brain for anything about him that might give something like that away, but he couldn't really find any. ".....I wouldn't really call it my career choice. I didn't really choose anything. And I dunno how in the world you managed to get that from whatever a Venus line is, but......sure, yeah, that's pretty close." He admitted, albeit a bit begrudgingly. He didn't at all think he was psychic, or even really intuitive. He'd been told he just liked to overthink and over exaggerate and think up so many scenarios, one was bound to come true.
    "I'll take it, then." Cibil smiled at him as she put one hand on her hip. "You boys can't be older than twenty. How old are the two of you?" She asked as she continued to fan herself off, wondering how the guys came to be in the town. "I'm seventeen. Will's sixteen." Rudy commented, tilting his head toward Will whenever he mentioned him.
    "Oh, you poor loves. I know you said you were traveling, but I also know that Dry Point is outta the way from the main towns. To add, nobody wants to come here to see the old dust and cobwebs. Maybe y'all want to tell me a more reasonable and believable excuse for comin' here?" She asked cheekily.
    Will felt a bit more comfortable with the woman now that they'd been talking to her. She was incredibly sweet sounding, and not at all judgmental. But he didn't really know how to answer that question except with what he'd told Buddy and Kate. "Well— we're young and we don't really got any assets, so it ain't like we really know where we're goin' or what we're doin' just yet. We were stayin' in Idle Dune before we got here, so Dry Point was the closest town from where we were at anyways. If it's a reason you're lookin' for, my pa ran us outta town, to put it simply. I dunno how much more believable I can give ya, Cibil." Will explained as truthfully as he could without giving away important details, letting out a small sigh.
Cibil practically felt her little heart break into two pieces, covering her mouth with her fan as she gave Will a big hug. "Oh, you poor babies! No father should ever do that to children—especially his own children." She comforted them, before letting go of her bear hug to look at them worriedly. "That means y'all ain't got a place to stay, right?"
"No ma'am. We've been staying with folks from Idle Dune, but we had to get outta there. So we traveled on horseback all night."
"Y'all are about to make me cry, I swear. You babies are more than welcome in my home. It may not be as nice as those Idle Dune folks, but I just want y'all to get a comfortable place to lay your head."
    "Aw, gee. That's awfully kind of ya, Cibil. I don't want ya to feel obligated to shelter us or nothin', but if you don't mind, we'd be real grateful for ya." Will said, feeling a mix of emotions when the woman hugged him so tightly and comfortingly as she did. He tried not to let them show in his voice, but they ended up creeping through anyway. "Rudy?" He asked, looking to his friend to see what he thought about the situation.
    "That'd be amazing, Cibil." Was all he could get out, overcome with gratefulness and just pure admiration and awe for this woman.
    Cibil smiled sweetly as she gave a few more flutters of her fan. "Oh hush, sweetheart, I'm not obligated to anythin'. If you'd like, we can head over now and I can get y'all situated." She offered, before turning her head to Gabriel. "I know you love to tattle on me for steppin' out, but if you tell Mr. Smith that I'm helpin' these two boys and not bein' here, I'll tell him that you've been sneakin' gin." She told him in a sweet, suave manner as Rudy hopped out of the stool. Gabriel's eyes flashed with alarm as he just rolled them and gave a nod after a moment of hesitation, "Fine, alright. I ain't gonna say nothin'."
    Will stood up as well and mindlessly dusted his pants free of the dust from the saloon, stifling a small chuckle at the interaction between the two coworkers. He found their relationship to be a funny one, though it was quite strange. "Do ya live far, Cibil?" The smaller boy asked, not having seen a house that looked lived in when they entered the town.
    "Just down the street. You can't see it when comin' into town since it's around the corner, but it ain't too far of a walk." She explained, stepping toward the doors as she pushed them open and held one for the boys to exit. Rudy exited the saloon with Henrietta still bundled in his arms. "Thank you." He told her for holding the door as he exited, walking over to the post where their horse was tied to untie it.
    "Yeah, thank ya." Will gave her a small nod as he exited and waited alongside his friend for her to lead them to her home. He helped Rudy out and untied the reins to lead their horse so that he didn't have to do it and hold Henrietta. "But that makes sense. We up and wondered if it was a ghost town on our way in. No offense, it's a lovely little town. We just ain't used to seeing a lack of bustlin' busy town folk." He clarified as he gathered the reins, ready to go.
Cibil laughed softly, "No offense taken, Barkley. It's more ghost-town than town, so you ain't got nothin' to worry about. I just wish y'all could have seen Dry Point back in it's prime. It was a little festival and music town—full of life." She seemed to smile and enjoy the memories as she walked alongside the boys.
    Rudy watched Will undo the reins in a grateful manner before following Cibil down the street. "But we'll have plenty of time to discuss the past. I'm thinkin' that for now, we get y'all settled in, put your horse in the stable, then head back to the saloon to get a good meal in and talk a lil more. How's that sound to you boys?"
    Will audibly sighed in relief at the mention of good food, and his shoulders relaxed a bit. "We left Idle Dune before we finished eatin' dinner last night, so that sounds beyond amazin'. You're too kind, Cibil. Thank you." He said as he lead the horse alongside them, not being able to comprehend how kind she was being to them. She felt so warm and motherly, and it made him wish he'd known a woman like her back when they lived in Fort Smith. Upon meeting her, he supposed they'd struck gold.
    "Yes—thank you so much, Cibil. I dunno what we woulda done without you." Rudy commented in agreement as he walked alongside them. "Oh, now, don't you boys try to butter me up and make me cry." She gave a small gentle ruffle to Will's head, "It's a pleasure havin' y'all here." She smiled, cooling herself off with her lacy fan as she looked ahead. She pointed up to an old white painted house, "That one is mine. I try to keep it lookin' as good as I can without much money." She said with slight embarrassment from the shabby outlook. Will couldn't help but give a small grin and try to push his now messy hair out of his face when it was ruffled by the woman.
    Sure, her home wasn't much, but it was certainly in better shape than the other buildings in town. In fact, it looked better than some of the older homes in Fort Smith. "I ain't got a clue what you mean, I think it's just lovely. I don't think I've ever seen a warmer lookin' home." He told her. Sure, he'd gotten used to the lavish Hunnicutt house in Idle Dune, but he was simply happy that she was letting them stay, and he couldn't be picky about that. For some reason, helping them out seemed to make Cibil happy, and he was incredibly grateful for it. "And of course we can help you out with stuff around the house while we're stayin', even if it's just helpin' ya keep tidy. I like most chores, so it ain't a bother."
"Oh, y'all are sweeter than honey. There isn't much to do chore wise, but I'd appreciate any help I can get! The stables are right there, so we can drop your mare off before headin' home." She commented as she nodded her head toward the stables which were stuck in between two buildings. Only one horse resided inside, which seemed to be taking a nap. Rudy headed over as he pulled open the stall door to allow Will to put the horse inside, continuing to hold the hen under his arm.
    Will contently lead the horse to the stables, giving Rudy a small nod as thanks for getting the door open for him. He led the brown mare into the stall and gave her side a small pat. "Should we take the bridle off?" He asked, a little nervous that their fathers might catch up with them. Even then, he was a little scared to do it himself, not having much experience with horses at all aside from riding Amos with Rudy on occasion.
"I think we should. She's been on the road since last night with that thing in her mouth." Rudy said as he approached the stall, setting Henrietta down momentarily to gently pet the horse's nose and gently lift the bridle over her head and out of her mouth. The mare seemed more than thankful, which made the boy smile a little bit as he hung up the bridle on the side.
    Cibil glanced down at the hen who clucked and gave a few pecks at the ground, making her chuckle as the bird strutted over to her dress and seemed to stand by her side, watching Rudy wipe his hands off on his pants.
Upon seeing the chicken with their new acquaintance, Will gave a small chuckle. "Seems like Henni likes ya too, Cibil. Strangest bird you'll ever meet." He told her as he headed on back to the house. He figured he might as well introduce Henrietta to her formally before they had to go through the awkwardness of introducing her the way they had to with Buddy Hunnicutt. "If you never seen a chicken in love with a human before, you've never seen Henrietta and Rudy."
"I can already tell she's head over talons for ya, Rudy." Cibil let out a soft laugh as she watched the hen cluck after Rudy as he started down the road again with Will. The white chicken never seemed to leave his side or his shadow. The boy let out a sheepish chuckle, "I raised her up after a coyote got her mama. She's stuck to me like paste ever since then." He smiled down at his beloved pet who tilted her head up to look right back at him.
    "I don't have a pet of my own. I wanted to get a cat for years but I know that this ain't the place to house an animal with so many needs," Cibil sighed as she stepped up onto her porch, opening her door and stepping inside.
"I know what ya mean. I was never allowed to have pets at home, so I obviously don't got any, either. Maybe if Rudy and I find somewhere permanent to stay, I'll get somethin'." Will explained as he followed the woman into the house, glancing around at the inside and making sure Rudy was following along. "Wow, it's even nicer in here. I'd say you clean up real nice." Will complimented her politely.
    Rudy stepped up and inside the house as he looked around. Will was indeed telling the truth as he looked around, seeing plenty of crocheted and knitted decorations and even some ceramic decor as well. It felt extremely homey, which made him smile wide. His house barely had any feminine touch back at Fort Smith, only having some things from his mother remain like her quilts and paintings on the walls, but nothing like this. "It's really nice in here. Cozy." Rudy said as he picked up Henrietta again and held her in his arms, looking at the rooms.
    "You boys are too much." Cibil's face tinted pink as she giggled, closing the door behind her as she walked further inside. "Y'all can sleep in here. It ain't bein' used so it's all yours." She motioned them toward a room in the hallway to which the door was shut.
Will curiously touched one of the soft, crocheted table runners protecting the older wood of one of the decorative tables from the hard ceramic vase sitting on it as she spoke to them. "Thank you again. You got no idea how much this really helps. Would it be alright if we look in?" He asked, not wanting to overstep boundaries even though she said it would be their room for now.
    Her eyebrows furrowed as she put her hands on his hips, "Of course you can look in, sweetpea. It's your room now after all." She giggled as she opened the door up to make it more comfortable. Rudy gave a small glance at Will as he entered into the bedroom, looking around. There was a window with white lace curtains and a decent sized bed right beside it. There was an old picture frame sitting on the bedside table and a small vase of dried flowers beside it. "It's pretty vintage in here, so I do apologize for that. Nothin' too new in here." Cibil chuckled as she watched the boys look around.
    "Shoot, it's way better decorated than my room. My old room, anyways." Will shrugged, following Rudy into the room. "We're gonna have to go huntin' for flowers to pick ya so we can put em in your vases and things." He said, thinking it honestly sounded like a nice, fun thing to do to keep themselves busy at some point. "What's in your frame?" He asked, glancing at her as she approached the bedside table to look.
Cibil smiled sweetly as she watched him talk about the flowers they planned to go pick. But she blinked when she realized he was speaking about the photo on the table. "Oh—! That is my family." She gave a bittersweet smile as she walked over, Rudy already at Will's side as he picked up the frame.
    "This is my daughter, Dorothy, and my husband; Jesse." She informed them as she watched Rudy study the photo, the boy rubbing away some of the dust from the glass. "Wow, Dorothy looks just like ya." Will said as he looked at the picture over his friend's shoulder, not quite catching the bitter part of what she'd said. "Are they gonna be alright with us stayin'? We wouldn't wanna intrude." He asked, wondering why they hadn't seen them in town yet.
"They won't mind at all, love." She gave a small smile before patting their backs. "Y'all look as starved as a dog in the desert. Let's head back to the saloon and get somethin' cookin'. We've got some sausage left from the next town over that we can cook up for you boys." She changed the subject as she headed back out of the room.
    Rudy had to admit that the sound of sausage sounded amazing, but his eyes still lingered on the photo. He hesitated before setting it down and followed Cibil, putting his hands into his pockets.
    "That sounds great, Cibil, thanks. Is your boss gonna get in trouble for feedin' us for free?" Will asked, thinking nothing else of the picture frame, now worried about her getting griped at or worse. The last thing he wanted at that point was bringing this poor woman trouble like they had Kate and Buddy.
   "Naw. Not if he doesn't find out." The woman shot him a teasing, mischievous look as she opened up the front door and exited out onto the porch. Rudy followed along behind them. Before they left, he asked Cibil if Henrietta could rest back at the house to which she agreed. The hen remained sitting on a cushion in a dining room chair and clucked a goodbye as they left the house. Rudy continued to give the occasional glance down at his palms. He was still in awe over his palm being read, but his eyes kept tracing to his nails. It made him grimace as he realized that she could have seen the grotesque features, but felt his eyes trace up to her. It appeared like she hadn't had a care in the world, especially about his monstrous details.