-
Ezra responded with a nod, both in reference to Gabe and the night guards. The Gabe issue was something she would have to address later. She hadn't thought of it as jealousy, but it was as good a reason as any. What she had suspected was the obvious: a problem with the vigilante's history and Gabe's sense of a pecking order. Either way, it was going to cause tension.
"Wolves shouldn't be too much of a problem," she mused, "..but perhaps extra guards would be advisable. I think we can manage four on a three hour rotation." It would allow at least six hours of sleep for everyone, plenty enough as far as she was concerned. A few of the men would complain, but they could sleep in the saddle as far as she cared.
"I also noticed evidence of a campfire up here, no more than one or two men, but it was fairly recent. Another good reason for extra men." She worked out the schedule in her head--she and Jackal were going to be together, her reasons more personal than logical. "If you don't mind, I'd like you and I to be on the first watch."
With the wind ruffling through her hair, she turned towards the pathway. "Lets get back before it gets too cold for you. They will have the fires already set." Herself, she enjoyed the cold nights and reveled in the brisk breeze. "Bring a blanket tonight, it'll get a lot colder." With that, she started down the trail, hoping to talk with Gabe before the evening meal.
-
Jackal chuckled sardonically at the blanket comment.
"No need, I sleep next to Vash when out here. He's like big heater with all his fur." He followed the woman back to camp and scanned the group of men gathered around the fires. Word of his pistol whipping Gabe had spread around the group and the lawman noticed every man looking at him with hostility. He simply smiled his dangerous smile at the men shaking his head slowly.
They grumbled under their breaths and turned back to the simple trail meal Deck had made for everyone. Jackal was sure he wouldn't be welcome at any fires so he simply fastened the front of his coat and went to retrieve his rifle from Vash's saddle. The Chabbit was enjoying himself under a tree cleaning his paws like a giant cat. While not a predator himself Vash was classified as a large class prey animal, only big predator would be a problem for him. He's fast, strong, and the Chabbit's blunt claws have been known to gut men who got too close. Out here in a den of thieves like this Vash would be his best defense against being robbed or killed in his sleep.
The animal stood up with a growling purr as a warning, but as Jackal whistled and entered the animals field of vision the beast settled down. The man nodded and pulled his rifle from the saddle along with a bandoleer of rifle ammo. He undid the saddle letting the Chabbit relax more.
"I'll be back in three hours bud. Keep any eye on things ok?" He scratched Vash's neck and tossed him a salt cube from his pocket. The Chabbit let out a happy growl and took the cube licking it happily, he smiled then returned to the base of hill waiting for Ez to tell him and the others sentries where to go.
-
Ezra sat at one of the fires, eating her meal in silence. Most eyes were on Lawless, hers included, although her interest lay with his mount, Vash. It was obvious the Chabbit was bound to him, but the creature also seemed a protector. It was something she would have to keep in mind. She was also interested in his bond to the animal--it seemed he had a softer side after all. Quaint. She pulled her eyes away before he could notice her staring. After she finished her food, she packed some of the left-overs in a cloth for the vigilante, afraid if she did not do so, there wouldn't be any set aside for him. Once Jackal returned she gathered all the men to her.
"We are going to go out in groups of four tonight, three hour shifts each." She explained the dangers, setting up the rotation and location of each man, making Gabriel and Deck the head of the other groups. "I'll take first watch and we'll wake up the next group in three hours." The other two men in her group went to gather their weapons, Owens taking the hilltop, and Wu taking the perimeter of the camp. Neither had any association with the Black Jack gang and she had chosen them for this reason, hoping for less animosity on her watch.
Ezra went to her saddle bags and unpacked her things, tossing her sleeping roll near one of the fires. She rarely slept in a tent, although she had one along just in case of unfavorable weather. She hooked her water bag to her belt and slipped the sheath for her sword around her shoulder. She also pocketed a smaller knife--just in case. The Glock she always carried in its holster against her right leg, but she placed an additional clip in her pocket.
She made her way over to Jackal, standing by his side. "You're with me," she said with a smirk. "..and here, I brought you some dinner. I didn't see you eat." She passed him the cloth, pushing the bundle into his hand. The sky was beginning to darken and with the veil covering the sun, noises could be heard coming from the antelope-like Kufu. "I believe that's our cue," she said, responding to the grunts and scuffling of the large herd of beasts.
"Everyone take your posts!" she called out to her group. "See you in three."
-
Jackal nodded his thanks to Ez and tied the cloth up tight before attaching it to his belt. He was planning to eat some of his own rations after the shift, but it was a nice gesture. He loaded a five round clip into his rifle and cradled it in his arm. There was enough light to see the agitated herd, but not enough to see what was bothering them. The tall man hoped it was just wolves, the other big predators didn't hunt at night, but Crawlers love the night and unless they were carrying torches to scare the sensitive eyed brutes away they'd be on the menu.
He narrowed his eyes and he thought he caught the flash of a mangy canine's tail. He clicked his tongue pointing with the rifle barrel. "Seems we have our answer. If the herd gets spooked enough they might stampede back through the camp. We may be able to redirect them away, but they also might not listen." He clenched his jaw readying his rifle.
-
Ez and the lawman moved away from the outer edges of their camp, bringing them closer to the herd of Kufu...and the pack of wolves tracking them. The grasses were thicker here, allowing the shaggy canine beasts to approach unseen, but not unnoticed. The herd of antelope were starting to panic, circling each other and stomping their delicate hooves into the sand. Dust lifted into the air and reddish brown tails flicked in anticipation. Ezra had already counted 13 predators in the short time since she and Jackal had moved closer, and more appeared to be approaching.
"I think we have trouble," she whispered to him, drawing her sword. Her pistol would be of little use on the large wolves, unless she could concentrate her shots at their heads--something she wasn't confident in her ability to do while they were moving. "...just need to keep them from camp," she continued softly, moving sideways to give herself more room. Her focus was on the leader of the pack, a large tawny wolf with a red tail. Larger than the others, it was only a few yards from the Kufu when it lunged, diving into the center mass and creating a gulf. Hooves beat frantically on the ground as the herd divided and leaped into the air, preparing to flee. It was a beautiful sight to behold despite the danger, the nimble creatures almost seeming to fly in their panic.
It only took a few seconds for the Kufu to disperse, but it was enough to create a dust cloud, obscuring visibility to a hand's breadth for a few precious seconds. Deep throated growls could be heard from the advancing pack and they seemed to be echoing from all around them. Ezra heard gunshots and shouts from the camp, the wolves closing in on an easier prey. She turned, catching movement first behind, then to the side of them. Swinging her blade to thwart attack, she pressed herself to Jackal, back to back. As the dust began to clear, she sighted four more beasts advancing, each with its teeth bared. Six total, she thought, calculating their odds of survival against so many. Not good. The closest one leaped and she lifted her blade to meet its arc, the point impaling it mid-chest. It struggled on her blade as her arms were brought down with its weight. It was a signal to the rest to attack.
-
Jackal growled lightly as the Kufu got fully spooked and began bouncing around to avoid the desperate wolves. Hunger always hunters stupid. Luckily the springy prey animals were as worried about the wolves as they were about himself and Ez. His rifle would be no good in this dust, surviving this would rely on quick reaction. He just hoped the others in the camp wouldn't start shooting blind into the dust or the fleeing herd.
He slung the hunting rifle over his shoulder and quickly tied his bandana around his face and pulled goggles on the cover his eyes. At least he wouldn't die choking on dust, pulling out his pistol and machete he made his way to the soinds of fighting anx nodded approvingly as Ez killed the first wolf with her sword. Rushing to her side he quickly shot the next attacking wolf square between the eyes at point blank range before it got Ez.
The tall man quickly kicked the body away and jabbed his machete into the sand before hauling Ez up from under the wolf.
"Tie something over your mouth and nose and put goggles on if you have them. Stay back to back with me and we'll get through this!" He freed his machete and spun his back to the woman cocking the hammer back on his pistol.
-
Adrenaline rushing, Ezra was in fight mode when the vigilante brought her to her feet, her blood-slick blade slipping from the inert body of the impaled wolf as she rose. She pulled in a deep breath, coughing in the dust as she quickly tied a cloth around her nose and mouth. "Thanks," she mumbled, feeling heat radiating from Jackal as he shifted behind her. The descending cold was forgotten now as the wolves continued to circle, holding their bodies low and moving in slowly. Ez followed their movements, matching them with that of her weapon.
It was a pale blonde female that engaged with her first, the wolf coming low, nipping at her ankles. Ez jabbed with her blade, the tip cutting a deep swath into the bitch's neck. Growling, the dog snapped at the offending steel, canine teeth scraping against the weapon ineffectively. Ez kicked the dog's snout, a satisfying crunch following the attack as it fell backwards. Her next jab sunk the katana into the space between elbow and chest, directly into the heart. The beast fell.
-
Jackal focused his efforts on the remaining wolves, three were dead and considering they haven't been swarmed yet he could assume there weren't that many beasts left. Most would've likely ran off as soon as the men at camp began firing their guns.
From his lift the lawman heard the rapid snarling of a wolf coming from his right. Narrowing his eyes he followed the quickly approaching shadow and after a quick adjustment he fired a single shot and the wolf fell into a quivering heap. The next one came from the left, sometimes the predictability of the desperate can be laughable. Once more he saw the shadow, but he didn't have time to whip his gun around to kill it, so he crouched down and waited for the wolf to lunge at him before he brought the curved machete up in an arc and cleaved part of the way through the wolf's front leg. As the beast yiped in pain and feel in front of him he looped his shoulder around and brought the blade down into the wolf's skull.
The blade was stuck fast and the last wolf took advantage of it and jumped at Jackal's face. He was knocked away from Ez but he was in control of the roll. Letting the wolf flop over him only to be pinned to the ground Jackal's greater weight aiding him here. He brought the sleeve of his tough leather jacket up and let the wolf chomp down on it viciously. It hurt like hell, but the leather was tough enough to mostly protect him. He swung the pistol around and fired a single shot into the wolf's skull killing it. Soon after that a mere few seconds after the whole fiasco started the dust died down, and both the Kufu and the rest of the Wolves were gone. The moon glowed brightly above them and the man saw only seven wolves were dead and by some sheer luck one Kufu. He yanked his blade from the wolves skull and wiped the blood from the metal before sheathing it at his waist opposite his pistol.
His arm throbbed and despite the sturdiness of his coat he saw a small trickle of blood move down his arm and off his hand into the sand. He let out an annoyed sigh and pulled his coat off, and the for the first time since she'd known him Ez would see exactly what the infamous lawman looked like. Under his coat he was wearing a sleeveless priest's vest. His bare arms weren't heavily muscles like Gabes, but they held strong quick muscle and all up and down the limbs were innumerable healed cuts, burns, and obvious gun wounds. It looked like only skin was holding this scarecrow of a man together, he dropped the coat and reached into one of the pouches at his belt pulling out a small bottle of potent alcohol and some bandages. He studied the bloody holes in his arm and frowned.
"At least he wasn't able to rip my arm off." The man grumbled slightly as he bit down on the roll of bandages pouring the alcohol on the wound to clean it. The liquid gave an audible sizzling sound as it purified the bite marks. The fact he only grunted slightly at pain would like be all someone would need to know to attest to this gunslinger's experience with self mending.
He corked the bottle and began to try and bandage his arm, but doing it one handed was always a bitch.
-
Ezra was extracting her blade from the blonde bitch at the same time Jackal had finished off the larger wolf that had pounced on him. She had seen the encounter...briefly...and shook her head at his tactics. Using her foot, she pulled her bloody weapon free and drove it into the sand before replacing it in its sheath. As the vigilante removed his long coat, she turned towards him again. Staring, she couldn't take her eyes off the marks covering his bare arms. Rather than being turned off by the scars, she was curious and fascinated by them. Focus, she told herself, pulling her attention to the blood that oozed from the bite wounds despite his cleaning.
"Not the best idea...using your arm as a chewing toy," she admonished, moving closer to lend him aid. She removed the gauze from him, pushing his hand away firmly in case he tried to resist. Then, with a gentleness she wasn't accustomed to using, she turned his injured arm in her hands, examining the wounds closely. "You'll be lucky if it doesn't fester. Damn dogs are full of rot." She stated, dabbing at the punctures before starting to wrap it. She drew in his scent as she worked, it was impossible not to, and she had to force herself to focus on the task at hand. Several wraps later the bandage was finished.
With a sigh, Ezra backed away from Lawless, a part of her missing the closeness as soon as she did so. She forced herself to look away, towards the camp, to get her breathing under control. She didn't like him having that effect on her. "I...uh...I need to get back to camp, just for a minute," she muttered, suddenly uneasy with her feelings. She could deal with desire, that was common enough for her, but this was deeper than that. She was feeling a closeness, a kinship, with him, and that was something she hadn't dealt with before. "I'll get Deck to drag the Kufu over and dress it," she called over her shoulder to him. Swiftly she made her way back to camp, relieved when she saw everyone standing around the largest fire. One of the horses was dead, but it was the only casualty.
She spoke to the men briefly before heading back, her composure finally back under control. Her mind drifted to his attire...and then to his bible. A priest? she wondered, hoping she was wrong.
.
-
Jackal grunted a few times as Ez tended to him. He noted her breathing and couldn't help but smell her as she was smelling him. "Hmm it was either my arm or my face." It was a rough attempt at a joke as he grinned through the pain of the wound and the discomfort of Ez's closeness. The woman quickly made up a few excuses to put distance between them and the tall man was happy to accept them.
What was going on between them? Last night she looked ready to shoot him, and he was sure she was just a drunk. But now, it seemed different, it was a feeling he had experienced before, but recollecting it only cause his chest to burn and his head to swirl. He shook sense back into his head and pulled the coat back on. He watched Ez's back for a few seconds then noticed Gabe approach the woman studying her for injury. The Black Jack noticed the woman's somewhat flustered demeanor and shot Jackal a cold glare before turning away.
The Vigilante reloaded the expended rounds from his pistol then holstered it shifting the rifle from his back again. He slipped a hand into the small food pouch Ez had given him and nibbled on a few bits of hardtack. He needed to get his head back and force the strangeness he felt around Ez away. He couldn't let himself be fooled again especially out here. As she returned he nodded to her.
"Thank you." Was all he said, but a hint of emotion was hidden underneath his almost monotonous tone.
