Dearest, You Said

Drunken Idiots

Ellie had slept most of that day. She was planning to go to the salon later in the evening hoping to find some leads, like a person to rob or belongings to steal. Having slept most of the day, she was still dreading getting up. The noise a drunk crowd can cause was not something that appealed to her although she did like whiskey. Perhaps she could grant herself a few drinks, after all it had been a tough summer. 

On the way to the salon, she could already hear the noise of the people inside. She looked around at the people walking in town, hoping they wouldn't suspect a thing and it seemed like they didn't.. for now. The moon appeared to shine brighter than normal, making it even clearer in the reflection of the store windows. She jumped off her horse and hitched it outside the salon. The saddle was one of a kind, very well made to carry smaller things Ellie had stolen. A glance at the horse on the other side of the staircase made her realize she wasn't the only outlaw here tonight. 

''Better keep my wits about me..'' she whispered to herself as she started walking up the stairs and towards the entrance. 

When inside she tried her best to scan the room with her eyes to see if she could recognize that other outlaw. The tension in her face disappeared as she was relieved to see it was a woman she had previously worked with.. well, they were just girls at the time. 

''Avery!'' Ellie shouted, in hopes she would recognize her.

Avery looked around the room confused as to whom had just called her name.

''Damn it, I thought no one here would know of me..'' Avery thought to herself as she started planning where to travel next. 

Lost in her thoughts, Ellie had managed to sneak up behind her and patiently waited for Avery to turn around and see her.  Eventually, Avery turned around.

''Oh my god! Don't scare me like that, it's so cree- Ellie?'' The fear in Avery's face started fading into a smile. 

''Yes! It's me! You should've seen your face!'' Ellie laughed.

Before Ellie got the chance to say anything more, Avery hugged her tightly. 

''It's been so long, I thought you died in that fire.'' She mumbled while having dug her face into Ellie's shoulder. 

''I knew you got away. I saw a poster about a missing girl in the newspaper the next month and it described you very well.'' Ellie responded. 

They both let go and started staring at each other in disbelief that they were reunited.

''Can I get you a drink?'' Avery asked.

''Oh, yeah, sure.'' Ellie replied. 
 
They made their way to the bar and leaned on the table as they were waiting for their whiskeys to arrive. Ellie looked over in Avery's direction and finally managed to ask..

''So.. what happened? You know, after the fire and all that.'' 

''I'll tell you later. It's a bit crowded here.'' Avery responded as she tried her best to smile a little to not worry Ellie too much. 

''Okay. How are you now? What do you do?'' Ellie asked, hoping it would be something more joyous than the past. 

''Good! Nowadays I just travel.'' Avery responded a bit more happily. 

''Oh, alright. Doesn't it get lonely?'' Ellie asked as she looked down at the floor. 

''Why?'' Avery looked over at Ellie and smiled. ''I mean, I have Savannah.''

''Savannah?''  

''Yeah! My horse.'' 

''Oh yeah, I suppose they're good company.'' Ellie said as she looked at Avery and smiled.