The Lost Ponderosa

Part Three-Bargin My Way with Your Weakness

Arion soon found himself to be awake as the trains slammed on its breaks. Violet has fallen asleep while playing cards against herself. She would fairly quite good at it too, if it wasn't for her nasty habit of keeping things up his sleeve.

"Violet Calamity?"
He tugged on her shirt.
She wouldn't wake.

Arion grumbled, gathering her cards for her. He held them tightly in his left hand.
"Madam Calamity?"

She stirred feeling annoyed that her slumber was interrupted.
"What what?"

"The train stopped."
She sat up hearing these words strung together.
"It what?"

"It stopped."
Arion said slouching back against the pillow he had been given. Violet groaned some more, raising her hand for a second to stretch it. She couldn't help but notice the young boy flinch at this motion.
Violet quickly brought her hand down laying it on her lap.
Arion immediately sat up seeing her hand was down in a docile position.
She smiled taking his hands gently,

"Let's go find out what happened."
Violet tried to quell their shared anxiety. Arion nodded, taking up his disguise. He gently readjusted his hat noticing that it was slightly off par. The train rattled as many passengers began to walk through the isle. The gas lanterns gently where snuffed by the cold winds as the doors opened. Arion's hands gripped tighter around Violets' arm. The playing cards in his left hand that he held so tight soon where covered in snow.
As the passengers gathered around a stack of abandoned crates outside the train. The engineer slowly climbed upwards onto the top of the crates. Arion's grumbled feeling the cold wind nip at his bandages. His body shifted on its heels trying to make smooth rocking pattern. He rocked back and forth checking ever so often to make sure his orange bandanna was still on.

The enigmatic engineer cleared his throat coughing up an excuse the estimated time.
"It looks we'll be here for a few hours. Maybe even a day. But you're all welcome to stay in the train after we do a few checkups."

"What are you doing inside there that we can't see hm?"
A smooth feminine voice with a slight northern accented lisp asked. It sounded nothing like Violet's scratchy voice. Arion felt Violet's arm begin to shutter as a chill ran through their bodies. He thought nothing of it however seeing as it was pointless since it was just the cold.

Violet however knew that dammed voice.

The engineer sputtered,
"We are checking the lamps, and telegraphing the local station so they don't send another freight down the line."

"Hmph. Very well then.
But what you expect us to do before we get back on?"

The conductor stepped in, looking around as if the feminine voice was coming from behind him,
"W-well we are several miles from any town. So if everyone could just be patient for an hour or so."

The engineer nodded as he jumped off the boxes. His hand waving to the conductor. As the conductor followed him away back into the train. A women emerged from behind the boxes.
She peachy white skin with a salmon colored makeup, accenting her nose and eyes. Her hair that trailed only down to her midriff was like watered down red wine. Her red flapper dress made her look undressed in the thundering snow storm. Even though Arion didn't see her eyes he could feel Violet gently tug as his sleeve motioning him to stand behind her.
Violet started to pull Arion aside into a group a trees. Arion grumbled feeling his rocking disrupted.
"Cmon little fella, lets go-"

"Where?"
Arion asked.

"Just over here."
Violet tried to smile at him, but her eyes scanned over to the undressed Flapper. Arion huddled faster into the trees.
What awaited on the other side of the trees was awaking. A ice concealed lake held itself in the few trees.
Arion happily ran to the lake to Violet's dismay. He galloped happily onto the ice,
"Violet look!"

"HEY KID GET OFF OF THERE!"
She shouted watching the young boy begin to skate around. His form gently gliding across the ice. Snowflakes illuminating his silhouette in the morning light. The clouds cleared themselves making way for a wonderful twilight moon beam to shine upon the lake.
The storm had finally ceased.
However, Arion was too happy to notice as his feet directed his body into spirals of curls. Like the childish amateur he was, Arion took a leap into the air. The playing cards in his left hand scattered around him. Like a dazzling man made snow.
His breath hitched as he gazed upwards towards the rising sun and setting moon. Violet watched both her celestial parents gaze upon Arion's striking performance.
As the world resumed, Arion's bandaged body fell downwards into a clump of snow. His bandages had become soaking due to his messing about.

Violet sighed with relief running over to him. All that came from the clump of snow though was the ringing of childish laughter. Arion laughed sitting up and looking at her. His eyes leaking joyful tears while his blue lips trembled.
"Mind helping' me up?

She smiled softly pulling him upwards into a tight hug. Smothering Arion's body with her coat. She gently took his bandages arms in her hands.
"Oh gosh. You going to get infected,
let me fix these."

Arion pulled back but then realized that Violet wasn't going hurt him or judge.
She had already proven his trust to be true, so without any hesitation he nodded. Bandage after bandage peeled off his skin. One wet grey layer after another, until she reached the last one. The last one someone else had wrapped up for him. The last layer was professional, with an imprinted of red lipstick making a kiss. Arion sighed as Violet unwinded the layer finally revealing his arm.
There before her was a long birthmark..
It was a dark coca brown, entangling his
arm like an angry python.
Violet unraveled his other limbs as well, noting that the mark stretched was all over his body. Arion pulled off his hat as well, brushing the thicket of hair over his one eye. His birthmark has gotten there too. It snaked across the left side of his face like a branching tree.

"Yknow kiddo, I once went to Japan and saw something that looked like you."
Violet tried to cheer him up.
Arion tilted his head.

"It's called Kintsugi, and the art was about fixing broken things with the prettiest gold powder. The process illuminated the flaws as people called them of the broken bowels. So, their scars could never hide."
Violet grinned patting his head lightly.

His gaping teeth gave Violet a bright smile,
"That sounds beautiful Miss Calamity."

She nodded, undoing her noisy suitcase.
Unfortunately, it seemed the bandages she had packed had been unpacked due to her excessive need of sweaters. However she did find small, white, springtime, sweater for him. Violet motioned for Arion to take it, and go change behind another fern tree. He nodded going off to change.

"Well Lillian, it seems you've found the lost Ponderosa."
The flapper women from earlier stepped out from some more trees back the way they come.

"Rosemary."
Violet grumbled closing her suitcase

"Mhmm, in the flesh," Rosemary spread out her arms. "your not the only bounty hunter out here Lillian. Now tell me where is Arion Ponderosa?"