Chasing the country

Chapter 7 // the capture of arthur

This morning I took the time looking after my horse as she is covered in mud by riding through the puddles. Her hooves, legs, and belly are really dirty and it sticks to her coat, it takes forever to get out even though I use hot water. She is a Leopard Blanket Appaloosa, caught from the wild just a few weeks before I started my journey. There was still a lot of wilderness in her, but because we were out on the road every day, we quickly built up a tight bond. I would never have gotten this far without her and we literally can't go without each other.

While I am busy wrapping up the last few things I notice Arthur and Micah walking this way. Supplying their horses with fire guns indicated they are most likely going out for some business and not a scenery ride.

"On a mission again?" I ask Arthur while he is putting a long scope rifle on the saddle of his horse.

"Yeah, we got to figure some..." and before he can finish his sentence Micah cuts in

"That is none of your business... You just keep yourself busy cleaning the horses" the same smug on his face like the one from our last 'conversation'.
What did I ever do to this man?

Arthur, who is clearly annoyed by the words of his associate, turns his back and rolls his eyes at me.

"We are gonna have a talk with some of the O'Driscolls boys... something about a parley. I don't know, guess we'll find out" Arthur continues to answer my question and begins petting Banshee's forehead.

"a parley? That sounds...odd" even though I have no idea what the exact deal is between the two groups, it sounds strange after hiding out for a week, for them to parley all of the sudden.

"yeah... Not really feeling comfortable with the whole idea myself... but they need a gunman. So here I am" he laughs under his breath.

When Dutch joins the men on his white horse, he has quite an intense expression on his face. It felt that even he, the leader himself, was nervous about the visit they are going to make. A sign for the two men to mount their horses and join Dutch any second for departure.

"Please be careful out there... " The emphasis of my request had a concerned undertone and the words roll over my tongue before realizing I feel a bit unsuited to request something so caring.
Surprised by the sudden care in his wellbeing he takes a second to respond and takes my insecurity away by smiling so graciously from under his hat. "I promise..,"

In the afternoon, I decide to go hunting for rabbits in the nearby field just a few minutes away from camp. The rabbits are highly populated and it takes me little effort to shoot a few in a short amount of time.

The weather is pretty warm and I settle to enjoy the rest of my time in the grass, with Banshee walking lose through the greenery where she feeds herself on the flowers and grass. Laying on my back to stare at the clouds hanging above me, the thoughts start to run around in my head. And when Arthur comes to mind, there is no denying the smile appearing on my lips.

Since we have returned from our trip together, something has clearly changed between us, that's for sure. Not only do we hang out with each other more than before, something changed in the way we talk, the way we treat one another. I feel myself getting excited when he walks over with some kind of excuse to help him out with.

And even though I have important assignments to perform, I always make time to assist.

Many nights we have started small talk resulting in an hour-long conversation watching the sunrise again.
I am surprised that I drop my guard so easily around him. I haven't done that since the last time I opened up to somebody and got betrayed by money none the less. It was a lesson learned, to never trust anyone that makes me feel remotely good about myself.