The buzz of the small town woke me up. I stretched my stiff limbs and my aching back, then I rose from the chair I had fallen asleep in. I had planned to stay awake, but the exhausting day had taken its toll.
The memories of yesterday flooded my mind, reminding me of the critical condition Arthur was in.
Maybe he dies, that wouldn't be to bad, right? I pushed that thought away. It sent an unpleasant tingle through my stomach and my chest and formed a lump in my throat.
I stepped to his side and stared down at him, examining his face. I was taken aback again by how... normal he looked. His usually tense lips were slightly parted, the harsh lines of his face had softened. I furrowed my brows and tried to find all my anger, my dislike, all the negative feelings again. But there was nothing.
I tore my gaze away from his face and glanced out of the window. The shops should be open by now and Arthur needed a new shirt. I wasn't going to ride all the way back with an injured, half naked man on the back of my horse.
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My assumption was right, the general store was open. I greeted the owner friendly and he smiled at me. „Good morning, miss. Not with your friends this time?"
I tried to keep my face straight. Sure, my friends. „No, not this time. I just need to grab a few clothes for one. He had a little run in with a bear."
His eyes widened with shock. „Oh dear. I sure hope he is okay."
„He'll survive.", I assured.
„The clothing is over there, take your time."
I nodded and followed his directions. Picking something didn't take long, he just needed a plain shirt after all. On my way out, I picked up some canned peaches for breakfast.
I didn't feel like going back into the stuffy hotel room that smelled like blood and old perfume just now. So I wandered over to the sheriffs office, remembering Uncles words from a few weeks ago: „Maybe you can pick up a bounty..."
I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was poorly lit and my eyes had to adjust to the darkness first. It was stuffy and smelled slightly like cigarette smoke and leather.
The two men inside looked up at me and ended their conversation to examine me. One greeted me: „Good morning, Miss? How can we help you?"
They seemed a little confused at my sight. There was still some of Arthurs dried blood on my white blouse and the leather vest and the revolver at my belt didn't really made me look like your everyday housewife.
„I'm looking to pick up a few bounties.", I clarified.
„Oh." He glanced me over again. „So you're a bounty hunter..."
„Is that a problem, Mister?" I raised an eyebrow.
He shook his head. „If you do your job well, no, not at all. Have a look at that poster over there."
Now he pointed over to a pinboard that was full of different papers. The poster was very visible, I recognized the big, blocky letters that were on every bounty poster.
W A N T E D
Someone hat explained to me that it meant „wanted", but to me, they were only lines and curves that didn't make any sense. Instead, I examined the picture underneath, the sketched picture of a man with a very plain face.
„He's a low down luckster.", the other man started. „He's been poisoning folks with his miracle cure from here to Annesburg. Killed more than Landon Ricketts without even pulling a trigger. Gets some kind of sick satisfaction out of it."
YOU ARE READING
The wild, wild West (Arthur Morgan x f!reader)
Fanfiction(Y/n) (L/n) left Colm O'Driscoll three years ago. She is an outlaw, now dependent on nobody but herself. But when she ends up lost somewhere in the Grizzlies in an attempt to hide from the law, she has to accept the help of an old acquaintance, Dutc...
