LAST CHANCE → sean macguire ✔

one , two

"What's his name?" Sean nodded to the black horse that Willa rode. She reached up, patting the stallion's shoulder and smiling proudly.

"Horaz. He's... He's still quite wild, but won't take anyone else. Broke my father's arm once." Her smile was faraway. Horaz nudged her hair and snorted, urging her to keep petting him. She did.

Sean took a bite out of the rabbit, "Ye can see it in 'is eyes." Then there was silence. Willa swallowed a mouthful of canned fruit and let her gaze drift through the view around them. They were perched on a hill overlooking the land, and Willa could see how beautiful a place it really was, "So where's yer father? Ye have a home anywhere else, or ye a runaway?" Sean prodded.

This time it stung. His prying questions hadn't been too bad before, but now she was caught off guard. The truth was that she didn't know where he was, only what the rumours said. Outlaws, civilians, lawmen, the butcher-- everyone had a story about her father. She only had memories.

Sean's eyebrows popped up and he caught her gaze, "Oh, shit, sorry. I got lost in thought, I guess... But, um..." She cleared her throat, "I don't know where he is. I've only heard rumours, actually. He... He left when I was little and never came back..." She trailed off and picked at the mud on her boots. Sean was quiet for a moment.

"I came to America with m'e father when I was little. We'r from a long line o' rebels, so people really wanted us dead. Him, mostly.... So t'hey followed us and killed 'im in 'is sleep. I got away and met Dutch... I've been with t'hem since."

Willa's gaze snapped up, "Dutch who?" She asked. Sean's smile fell.

"Shit. Dutch? I didn't say Dutch.... Nah, ye must'av heard wrong-"

"Dutch Van der Linde? Highly wanted outlaw, leader of the the Van der Linde Gang? You're one of Dutch's boys?" She was intrigued. Not hostile-- intrigued.

Sean shifted uncomfortably, "Don't tell."

A playful glimmer passed through Willa's eyes and she sat up, "I dunno. Money's good for a Van der Linde." There was a harmless edge to her voice and Sean smiled.

"Ey, yer wanted, too, girlie. Don't think ye can just waltz in there and hand me in. Besides, ain't I 'a delight t'a be around?" He lifted his chin, boosting his own ego. Willa laughed.

"Don't worry, my father was an outlaw. He was almost as bad as you guys. Guess it was meant to be, leprechaun," She stood up and stretched, "So... a gang, huh? This gang of yours have a camp?"

Sean hopped to his feet, tossing all doubt out the window, "Yeah, they're nearby. I just wanted to make sure you... er, knew what we were walking into. T'he guys can be a lot sometimes, but you seem like a girl who can handle herself."

"I've only heard stories, but how bad could it be?" She pushed her hat onto her head and swung herself into her saddle. Horaz was a powerful horse and had proved that he could, and would, throw even the most experienced riders. He had never thrown Willa, however. They had something like a mutual respect for one another.

Sean finished packing, then he mounted up. He led Willa down the hill when she gave him the okay. Willa spurred Horaz forward and let the wind blow through her messy, low ponytails, carrying the sent of rain. She shuddered.

Many people loved the rain. The solemn-ness of it, the peaceful almost-quiet of the rain hitting tents and windows. Willa, on the other hand, hated rain. It just reminded her of soggy clothes, hair sticking to her face, mud, and the night her father had left his family to live out the life of an outlaw. The only thing she liked about rainstorms was the thunder, and the way it had drowned out her mother's heart-broken cries.

"We're almost there. Just through these trees here." Sean pulled his horse to a stop, turning to look at Willa directly, "I'm not sure how t'hey 're going to react to ya... Hopefully they won't be hostile." Then he spurred his horse forward. Willa faltered.

"Hopefully?" But Sean was already in the trees. She didn't know why she followed him. Maybe it was because she was wanted and, really, had nowhere else to go. Maybe he had charmed her into it, or maybe it was because she felt different with him, like he was a part of the puzzle that completed her. So, with a deep breath and a silent prayer, she dove into the trees after that Irish bastard.