His Cure

Congratulations, You're Old

I grumbled as the sunlight beamed through the window and onto my face as I awoke... Window... window? There's no window in my tent? I quickly opened my eyes to see Arthur next to me, asleep. "Shit!" I exclaimed as I fell backwards out of bed and hit the floor out of shock. "Liz?" Arthur grumbled as he woke and peered his head over the side of the bed. "Oh, hey..." I replied as I sat on the floor with the blanket covering my body. "Alright, I know I'm not the best looker but that reaction was a bit extreme." He joked as I wrapped the blanket around myself and stood up off of the floor. "Sorry, just wasn't expecting to wake up that close to you, is all." I responded with a chuckle as he swung himself round the side of the bed and sat on the edge. "Jesus Morgan! Put that thing away before it pokes somebody's eye out!" I exclaimed as I threw the blanket at him causing him to chuckle. "Oh!" I added when I realised that I was now stood there fully naked which caused him to laugh more as I bent down to pick up Mary-Beth's dress. "If you walk out of here in that, the others will know." "Oh shit, you're right." I mumbled as I placed it down on the bed and began to pull on my underwear. "Here." He said as he threw me one of his shirts. "Yes because walking out in one of your shirts will look completely inconspicuous." I sighed as I rolled my eyes. "Alright, fine. I'll go get your clothes. Where are they?" "They're... in Abigail's room..." I groaned as I sat down on his bed with him. "Well... that's a slight issue..." he chuckled as he laid backwards on the bed. "Oh, I know." He added as he stood up and walked towards the chest in the corner of the room. "Here." He said as he passed me my sleepwear. "Why do you have this?" "You left it in here." "Oh, well, thanks," I began as I pulled on my sleepwear. "And put some pants on." I chuckled as I walked out of the room.
***
"Have you still got the ledger?" I asked Arthur as I entered his room later that day, looking around as I did so. "Arthur?" I asked again when I realized he wasn't responding. Still no answer. "Morgan!" I exclaimed, causing him to jump at my presence. "Oh, hey Liz. What is it you need?" He asked as he stood up. "The ledger, Arthur." "Oh right, here." He replied as he picked a book up off of his table and handed it to me. "Thanks..." I replied as I walked out.
***
"Dutch wants you." I called out to Arthur as I stuck my head round the door. No answer. "Oh, for gods sake Morgan!" I exclaimed, tapping him on the shoulder, kind of getting sick of him ignoring me. "Shit, hey Liz." "Are you okay? You've been acting weird all day." I asked as I looked at him. "I'm fine. What was it you needed?" He replied, clearly avoiding the subject. "Dutch needs you..." I responded. "Oh, alright, thanks." "No problem..." I answered, confused.

"Hey, Hosea," I began as I walked into the main living room. "Have you noticed anything 'off' about Arthur today?" I finished as I stood next to Hosea. "What do you mean?" He asked as he looked up from his notebook. "He's been acting really weird all day and when I asked him about it, he just changed the subject." I explained as I sat down next to him. "Ah, yes. That's probably because today is his birthday." Hosea replied, nonchalantly. "What?!" I exclaimed as I quickly stood up again. "That's today?" I added. "Yeah, he hates birthdays though. He gets like this every year." "So what are we doing to celebrate?" I asked as I leant against the table. "Nothing. He's never really shown any interest." Hosea answered. "Oh come on, we have to do something!" I exclaimed as I thought. "I have an idea! Don't tell anyone!" I finished as I ran out of the house. "Tell them what?!" He called out after me, confused, but I was already gone.
"Tilly! Mary-Beth!" I called out as I made my way over to them causing them to look up. "Do you wanna help me with something?" I asked as I stopped in front of them. "Sure, what is it?" Mary-Beth responded as they stood up. "We need to head into town, I'll explain on the way!" I exclaimed as I walked towards the horses. I quickly mounted Wish as Tilly and Mary-Beth mounted their horses. "We're going to Saint Denis." I said as we headed out onto the road. "What are we doing?" Tilly asked as we rode. "You girls know how to plan parties, right?" I answered with a question. "It's our specialty." Mary-Beth happily responded. "Okay well, I need your help planning one." I replied. "What for?" Tilly asked. "Arthur's birthday!" I exclaimed as we got closer to town. "When?!" Mary-Beth asked, excitedly. "Today!"
"We've been trying to figure that out for years!" Mary-Beth replied. "He's never celebrated it since I've known him!" She added. "And that's why we're going to, today." I responded as we entered town.
"Okay, we'll need decorations, drinks, something to eat and a present." Tilly said as we hitched our horses outside the general store and we headed inside. "Good afternoon, ladies!" The store owner greeted us. "We're throwing a birthday party, it has to be incredible!" Mary-Beth exclaimed as I looked around. "Ah well, I think I can help with that." The owner replied as he stepped out from behind the counter. "We have some paper chains and bunting," he began as he led us over to the items. "And as for a banner, you could always buy some paper and decorate it yourselves." He finished. "Perfect!" Mary-Beth exclaimed as she picked up the decorations. "We'll take them!"
After I had paid the owner, we walked outside and put the decorations in our saddlebags. "Let's go to the butchers! They're guaranteed to have something we can use for food." Tilly said as she led us over. We purchased a deer and a few high quality rabbits to cook when we got back to camp.
"What's left?" I asked after I had tied the animals to our horses. "Drinks and a present." Mary-Beth replied as we walked further into town. "Let's head over to the saloon, they'll have something." I added as we wandered.
"What can I get you ladies?" The barkeep asked as we walked over to him once we had entered the saloon. "We're throwing a party and need some drinks!"
After buying two crates of beer from the man and also attaching that to our horses, there was one thing left. The present. "Maybe we should see if the gunsmith has anything good?" Mary-Beth asked as we walked through town but I quickly stopped as something caught my eye. "You girls go ahead, I'll meet you over there in a minute. I just need to check something out." I said with a smile.