The Banditos

Mean Bandito

TRIGGER WARNING: MILD LANGUAGE

Clancy has just returned to the fire and is in the process of sitting down when he notices the Bandito behind me, bandana in hand. He quickly stands up and marches over to me and the Bandito, putting a hand on my shoulder and shoving the Bandito away from me.

"What the hell are you doing? Leave her alone."

"She's not one of us. She probably can't even be trusted."

The Bandito tosses the bandana on the ground, stepping on it.

Clancy clenches a fist, glaring into the Bandito's eyes.

"And what gives you the right to decide that? I say she's a Bandito, so she's a Bandito. The Torchbearer says she's a Bandito, so she's a Bandito. You don't just get to decide who is and is not part of our little group."

"And maybe you shouldn't be one of the leaders. Torchbearer believes all the hippy crap you say. It doesn't even matter because whatever you think is right, he thinks is right."

Clancy glares into the Bandito's eyes, his anger rising.

"Shut your mouth. I will not stand here and listen to you tell me that I don't have a right to be part of this group. Who the hell are you to tell me what's right and wrong? Do you think you should be the leader of the Banditos, is that it?"

"Hell no. I can't be a fucking leader."

The Bandito is using very colorful language now, but I don't want to write all of it <3

Clancy's glare deepens.

"Then shut your damn mouth and don't tell me what's right and wrong. It's none of your business to go messing with the new members, anyway. That's up to me to deal with. Now take your ass and go sit somewhere and be quiet before you get yourself in trouble."

"Whatever."

Clancy watches as the Bandito walks away and rejoins his friends. Only after he's settled down with them does Clancy turn back to me. He looks down at the bandana that's been thrown to the ground and kneels down, picking it up and looking it over.

"Sorry about him," he says, handing the bandana back to me. "He shouldn't have come to bother you like that. They're all just... paranoid, you know? They're afraid of new people."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"They'll warm up to you," he repeats for the second time. "They just need time to trust you. And they will, eventually. It just takes a little while."

"I hope so. That guy was a jerk."

He laughs. "Yeah, he was. He's always acting like that to new people, though. I've got a feeling he's going to keep bugging you for a while."

"Probably right. It's getting late. I should probably head off to sleep."

"Yeah, it is getting late," he agrees, looking towards the sky, which is darkening quickly. "You probably should go to bed. You need your beauty sleep, after all," he adds with a smirk.

"Beauty sleep, my ass."

"Oh, come on. You're a very pretty girl," he says with a chuckle. "Don't deny it."

"Children of the bishops are not pretty. Or attractive in the slightest. That's what Nico told us."

"Nico's an idiot," he says vehemently. "He wouldn't know beauty if it smacked him on the ass. You're perfectly pretty and don't let anyone, especially Nico, tell you any different."

"Aw, thank you."

I get up to head to the tent.

"Of course," he says, giving you a smile. "You get some sleep, alright? The other Banditos will probably keep being annoying but try not to let them get to you. They get more irritating the more you let them bug you, so just try to ignore them."

"Am I taking your tent for the night? Where are you going to sleep?"

He shrugs. "Eh, I'll just sleep out here. I've slept outside before, don't worry. And you can have the tent, since you need a good place to get some actual sleep after being in Dema."

"It's big enough for both of us. Why don't we just share?"

He glances at the tent for a moment, mulling over the idea.

"Are you asking if I want to sleep in the same tent with you?"

"Never-mind. It's weird. Sorry."

"Hey, I never said no," he says casually. "If you want to share the tent, that's fine by me. And as I said, it's plenty big enough for both of us."

"Actually, I said it was big enough for both of us."

He smirks and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Doesn't matter who said it first, we both know it's big enough. Which means we could share."

"And you can protect me from the other Banditos."

He laughs. "Is that why you want to share a tent? So, I can 'protect' you?" He pretends to pout jokingly.

"Maybe..."

He grins. "Don't worry, I'll make sure no Banditos bother you while you sleep tonight. I promise."

"Okay. Let's get to bed now, shall we?"

"We shall," he agrees, standing up. He gestures for me to follow him and leads me to the tent. He holds the tent flap open for me to go first.

I enter the tent first, crawling to my side.

He ducks into the tent behind me and closes the flap, securing us both inside. It's dark in the tent, but it's not completely black. There's still just enough light to see a bit clearly inside.

Clancy smiles warmly at me for a moment before turning around and lying down himself, his back facing towards me. He closes his eyes and soon drifts off to sleep as well.