It feels odd... But I like it, RDR2 Arthur x OC

Unexpected encounter

The next morning I wake up by a loud noise from under my kitchen window. Who the hell? Or is it what the hell? I get up and get dressed and creep my way through my own house. My unfinished project is laying on the floor in the corner but that's the least of my problems. I get to the window and look out, only to be greeted by nothing. Wait... Why the hell can't I see anything from a window? I go to the door and slowly open it. After I get it open enough to see the kitchen window I hear a gunshot from a far. It startles the animal and it runs back towards the open meadows. That was a goddamn bison Ale! A bison in your front yard! Get the camera and run after it! I grab the handheld camera and dash after the bison. I live near the meadows but there's a tiny bit of woods before you actually reach it. I don't know why a bison would be so far away from its herd though. It doesn't appear to be bleeding or otherwise injured. If it had problems with its legs then I should still see it. Even as big of an animal as it is, if it needs to run it does so without hesitation. You try running while weighing almost a ton and tell me how fast you accelerate or slow down for that matter. I reach the edge of the meadow but I can't see the bison anywhere. I wonder if it found the herd. Oh well, I took my camera so I might as well try and find something to photograph.

A few moments later...

I've been sitting on this one rock for a while now. I wandered a little further into the meadows. Still I can see Citadel Rock so I'm not too far. I've been hearing gunshots and even though I'm unarmed I'm kinda curious. I see a couple people on horseback chasing bison around and they don't look like hunters. Even if I wanted to approach and confront them, I have no way of defending myself. I just watch as they slaughter the bison one by one, trying to draw a precise image of the people. The photos I tried to take turned out to be of no help. After they left I approach one bison's carcass. Animals! And not the bison but those men. Who gets their kicks from slaughtering animals left and right. As I'm squatting there and contemplating people's personalities, I hear a thud from closeby. My body freezes and my breath gets stuck in my throat. "Hey, what are you doing out here?" I hear a deep voice. It's Charles! Oh thank the Heavens, I was preparing to say my goodbyes. I know exactly what I want to say but instead I just start stuttering. "I-I saw... They..." Damn it! "Take your time," says Arthur, who I only now notice. He's still on horseback and he looks majestic in a way, like a deer stag. "They slaughtered these poor bison. I couldn't do anything. I'm unarmed so I'd be dead if I approached them, but anger still boils down to my very core nontheless. Who would do something like this?" I say as I look at the two men. Charles looks at Arthur then back to me. "You saw them? Did you see them do this?" he asks and I just nod my head 'yes'. I stand up and fiddle with my fingers. "Can... can you stop them?" I ask determined, although a bit scared. "We will. We've been seeing carcasses all the way from the other side of Citadel Rock, it's time somebody stops them. You coming with?" Charles asks and motions toward Taima. Arthur seems a bit taken back by his friend's suggestion but soon his face returns to its neutral state. "Yes. I need to do some nagging. Just please make sure I don't get shot," I say as I walk toward Taima. Charles chuckles and motions to Arthur who rides closer. Before I know it I'm helped up by Arthur to sit behind him on his horse which is a beautiful black Shire. He starts to ride slowly so I won't fly off and I put my arms around him instinctively. Charles asks which direction we should head and I point to a pillar of smoke in the distance. "They went that way and have probably set camp there. How about we start there?" I say and the two men nod and urge their horses to trot.

A little while later...

We arrive near the campfire. It seems I was right about them setting camp. "That's them, definitely. I made sure to memorize their faces," I say as I get down from Arthur's horse. The two hitch their horses and we move towards the camp. They were armed to the teeth with different rifles and repeaters. Arthur had his revolver and pistol accompanied with a repeater on his back. Charles had a double barrel shotgun and a revolver. I've seen their hand to hand combat I'm sure these two won't miss a single shot, I'm just sure of it. "Hey, you the people who've been riding around and shooting bison left and right?" Charles starts. The group shoots up from their seats and grab their firearms. Shit! Is this how it ends? No, I don't think so. "Why would you do that?" I just ask them out of the blue. I sounded a lot more sad than I intended. "Because those were just dumb animals," says one of them and puts his repeater down. His group lowers their firearms as they laugh. "Those dumb animals are endangered and the only actual dumb thing here is what I just heard from your mouth," I blurt out and decide to own up to it by keeping a straight face. Now you done did it. We're going to die. Well most likely just you, those two will be fine. As I think to myself and the group starts aiming and getting ready to fire, I close my eyes just in case. A moment goes by and I hear 3 gunshots, from next to me. I open my eyes and see that Arthur just disarmed the group, the whole group. I knew it, he didn't miss a single shot. As I'm standing there figuring out what next, the two men take action. Charles and Arthur walk to the men and scold them. I'm sure we all know what men scolding each other looks like. They beat them up and left them there. As we left Charles apologized for what I saw. "We're sorry. Did you want to talk them down?" he asks rubbing the back of his head. "Do I look like what I said was planned in any way? If it wasn't for the two of you I'd be dead twice over. Besides I think they got the point and I doubt they would've actually listened to me, even if I tried. So I'd say problem solved," I say as I pet the black Shire. "Well you're right about that, they probably wouldn't have listened," Charles says as he lifts himself to the saddle. "Arthur, you coming with me?" he asks his companion. "I'll catch you later. I'll take her home first," he answers and lifts me up to the saddle. "Sure thing Arthur," Charles says as he urges Taima to gallop. Arthur climbs up to the saddle and I point him towards my house. The ride is quiet for the most part.

About 10 minutes later...

We're galloping past Citadel Rock and suddenly loud voices are heard. "We found him, boys!" somebody yells and Arthur digs his spurs into the Shire that takes off as fast as he can. I'm just holding on for dear life as I see multiple men emerge from around us and trying to shoot at us but thankfully missing by some inches. As this all goes down I whisper to Arthur to let me ride. He hesitates but gives in. In one swift motion while running away, we change position. I'm now sitting in front of him and he's sitting behind me. Once I'm sitting down he lets me take the reins. "Brace yourself," I say to him and he takes hold of my waist. Here we go. Lets show them how it's done. I pet the Shire and steer him into the woods. I know this place like the back of my hand, and even if Shire are heavy handled I know every rock and tree that we need to avoid. Trees are whizzing by and we're ducking out of the way. A couple trees we need to jump over as well. Our pursuers give up easily and we can slow down to a trot just a mile or two before we reach my house. "What was that? Are you crazy, woman?!" Arthur seems to be a little surprised. I slide down from the saddle and pet the horse. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," I say nonchalantly. "Where did you learn to ride like that. Why would you take a risk with a big horse like this?" he asks as he himself slides down the saddle. "My old horse, his name was Faithful and he was a white Shire. I've lived here all my life and know these woods, we used to ride out here all day long, me and Faithful. I'm used to horses that have a heavy handling because of that. Also, this one you ride reminds me of him, their personalities are alike. Faithful died of old age and I just hope he was happy. Right now though we should go, this place is filled with wolves. I don't want to end up as their dinner," I say and start walking to the direction of my house. Arthur follows close behind while leading the Shire. "What's his name?" I ask quickly. "His name is Fury," Arthur answers and chuckles. I guess he remembered the reason he has that name. A moment goes by until Arthur says, "He's stubborn as Hell but in a gunfight he keeps his cool, so Fury." "That's a great name for a great horse," I say as we reach a big tree with rocks stacked around it. "These rocks. Me and my family stacked them here, when everyone was still alive that is," I say as I look at the biggest rock in the whole formation. "Sad memories?" Arthur asks in a quiet tone. "Yes," is all I can say until I shake my head and start walking again. Arthur follows me without insisting on me telling anything. He's a great man just for that. Tell any other man that and chances are you're going to have a pest for a good few days. We finally reach the front door and neither of us really say anything. I turn to Fury and pet him then I turn to Arthur and hold out a hand for him to shake. He looks at me a little confused before shaking my hand firmly. "I'm Summer Ale," I say and he nods. "My name is Arthur Morgan," he says and I nod this time. "Now you've officially met me," we say in unison and then just look at each other for a good minute before laughing. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Morgan. I'm looking forward to seeing you around," I say as I open the door. "The pleasure is all mine Ms. Ale. I'll see you at the bar," Arthur says jokingly and lifts himself to the saddle. We wave at one another and I step inside the house. I can hear Fury's hooves for a few minutes before the sound fades completely. I sigh and look at the project all over the corner of the room. It's going to be a long day ahead of me. Oh how I wish I remembered what this is for.