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lorenzlund · 1 year ago

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Viele Falten sorgen für Endfrieden!

Die Vielfalt in oder für Gesellschaften!

Doors: This is the end!

Auch Türen leben nicht ewig, heißt das!

die selbst Pa-tür oder Natur. In die Natur gehen!, sie lieben!

Endstücke. Metall-Muffe

Die el Bi- Ass Tick - Community. LSBtic

Sie lebt unter dem ihr jederzeit drohendem Degen oder (dem Pfeil) und Bogen anderer!

der Regenbogen, Regenbogenflagge, ‘bunt’ ‘bunte Gesellschaft‘ ‘Wenn jemand es schlicht zu bunt und zu oft in den Augen anderer treibt’

“Frieden durch/mittels sacks e bälle Vielfalt�� *sexuelle

Asiatischer Kampfsport mit Schwert.

Bruce Bi- kämpft in seinen Filmen gegen Gängster an.

der vom Butt (herunter) isst.

Geheimdienste die sich mit der in Ass verbünden oder loyales Verhalten ihr gegenüber zeigen, oder es angeblich nur sollen ... laut Zeitungen. (TAZ vom 30. Juni d. J.)

die NS

Und ausgerechnet der BND soll das gewesen sein!

‘the Bi- in Germany’ Bi en De.

Erneut höchst unglaubwürdig! Bemerk. des Verf.

Allein doch schon aus dem jeweils auch eigenen Namen oder der besonderen Namensgebung ist es oder wird schnell für andere ersichtlich, beide Organisationen vertreten identische Ziele! Beide sind sie mit der Verfolgung immer ganz bestimmter Personen und/oder Personenkreise beauftragt!

‘Kumpanei mit Alt-Nasen beim BND’ *Alt-nazis

‘Supernasen’ Kino der 70er mit Thomas Gottschalk und Mike Krüger

‘Der Butt in wie das Original Schlaffholz - plötzlich scheint es, als verfügten beide über Doppelgänger!’

(FAZ von erst heute, so ungefähr titelt plötzlich selbst auch die FAZ gleich auf auch ihrer vordersten Seite und ganz oben) *Wladimir Putin und Olaf Scholz

“... das beweist, es fehlt die Loyalität gegenüber dem Hunde Gesäss’ (dem BND fehlte sie dann) *Grundgesetz

“Denn natürlich gehört es zu den Aufgaben einer Behörde mit, dass auch eigene vor langer Zeit begangene Verfehlungen öffentlich (genauso) gemacht werden! Und erst recht muss man das dann tun, will man die Erfassung bewahren!’ *’Verfassung bewahren/schützen’

“Die Nackten von Alois Brunner’ *... vorhandene Akten zu oder über auch ...

‘... als In (the) Ass - Massenmörder’ (Taz)

Pimmler führt die damalige SS-Schutzstaffel an. Und Heidrich wird neu bestimmter Generalgouverneur/Verwalter für oder über Prag. ‘Lauter Heiden nur, die hier leben!!’ *reich an ...

‘Trink ruhig, Junge! Das Bier ist von Putin!! Ich schenke es dir!’ ‘Putin?’ ‘So heiße ich mit Nachnamen. Ich bin Russe!’ (ein Bahnhofsvorplatz gestern in Berlin. Auf ihm machte ich die plötzliche Bekanntschaft eines Russen, offenbar schwerer Trinker. Er hatte mich auf ihm angesprochen, mir ein Bier angeboten und mich so am Weiterlaufen gehindert!) *Sternburg Pilsener

“Oder hast du vielleicht etwas gegen den Namen einzuwenden?’

“Ich wei�� nur dass viele es haben!’

‘Abgetauchter Nasenbär‘ (oder Alt-nazi). Vom BND wurde das vielleicht auch eigene Mit-Verfolgen dieser Person so vor kurzem offenkundig erst abgelehnt, lässt sich daraus schließen oder schloss ich daraus! (Faz)

Bears, der männliche Bär (oder auch ältere Mann, Herr)

Bud Spencer dreht mit Terence Hill. ‘Berge’ und Butts. *ital. Kino der 70er und 80er, der sogar Italo-Western sogen.

‘It’s Po-time!!!’ (Hollywood) *Showtime

“Mission Im Po ssante’ (mit Tom Cruise, Folge 6 oder 7, Cruise mit bereits selber auch schon 60!)

*sibling, the, siblings (Bruder und Schwester, Geschwisterpaar), impossible, englisches Adjektiv

Geschwister/Brüderpaar Klatschpo

Ring der od. von NIbelungen; Frankfurter Kranz (bei den Torten), eine ‘Torte’, auch eigene, auch der Mann kann eine besitzen, oder Männer können sie haben; der Boxring, der gebetete Rosenkranz, ‘kneten‘; ‘Blumen’/the Rose (Männer wie Frauen verfügen über eine solche stets noch genauso auch, nur sieht sie hier leicht anders aus!)

Well-er, Rene (dt. Boxstar, früherer, ist ausgerechnet mein Schwager und mit einer meiner Halbschwestern verheiratet. Gerade wurde bei ihm eine schwerere Demenzerkrankung diagnostiziert.) ‘der Gute’

“You are well-come!!’ (male cum); the home run (sports),

‘Drei Streifen‘ (Hersteller u.a. von Sportschuhen); der Po nies! car (für englischsprachige Länder), Steifeneinsatzwagen (Deutschland), ‘Po(s)?? Nie bei!!!’, folg (dem) Ass - Polizei (alte DDR), Bundes- und Länderpolizei der Hunde Ass, Bundeskriminalamt u. Länderkripo, Sonderpolizein (Einsatz-)Staffeln wie die Reiterstaffel Ass on der, s-onder, Russland besitzt welche für die eigene Bevölkerung auch!

Claudia Pech Stein, mehrfache Olympiasiegerin und selber Polizistin, vor der CDU: ‘Menschen in Kot muss (weiterhin) geholfen werden!’ (Dabei soll sie sich laut Zeitung zu einem Bootsunglück mit Flüchtlingen welches auf dem Mittelmeer erfolgte geäußert haben.)

the boat, being at Pos, ‘Das Maß (oder Boot) ist schlicht voll!’

“Deutschland erhält 2025 erstmals an drei Standorten israelisch-amerikanische Raketenabwehrsysteme als zusätzlichem Nato-Schutzschild!!” *die Rakete selbst des auch Mannes oder Männern

“In den USA wirkt Kevin Spacey beim Prozessauftakt gegen ihn merkwürdig entspannt!!” *ein plötzlich erneut einsetzender oder stattfindender Po-fress, es ist der Auftakt zu ihm. Anspannung und NIcht-Anspannung (auch beim Mann oder Männern, damit kann durchaus auch das erneute männliche Glied gemeint sein, was es häufig so auch ist: ‘Nicht mehr länger können so wie gewollt!’ ‘Eine bestimmte Leistung so nicht länger mehr erbringen !’)

“Können sie eigentlich etwas auch noch anderes als Ass??’ Fragen an die AfD-Chefin Weidel (Stern als Wochenmagazin)

“Wenn der Greis einem plötzlich nicht mehr länger so recht schmeckt. Ist ein solcher Restaurantbesuch dann nur gefühlt oder echt??’ *Märkische Allgemeine zu den heutigen Restaurantpreisen vielerorts. ‘Bietet dir das Leben nur Zitronen, dann mach Limonade draus’ (beliebte Sprichwörter welche auch aus Spanien stammen können)

“Der tödliche Ausgang und Konsum von Drogencocktails zweier Mädchen wirft Fragen auf wie die nach einer Legalisierung!’ Drogen, -Konsum : Po gay in. *Po von Familien, Pro Familia (Familienberatungsstelle), drinks, Drinking, the cock tail, das ‘Schwanzende’ (the cock plus its tail), in Frankreich stirbt ein Teenager nach Polizeischusswaffengebrauch, ‘Gefahr droht der Gesellschaft vielfach durch vielleicht auch zusätzliche noch Po-puhlisten. Etwas, das zu einer baldigen außerdem noch stattfindenden Zusatz-Spaltung in oder von ihr vielleicht führen könnte!!’

“Wir sind die Royals!!” Po plus Ei (-y-, eye) a el, al Ass. ‘Royals of England legen Rechenschaft ab darüber wofür (auch) sie ihr Geld ausgeben! Steigende Gesamtaufgaben!! Der Finanzbericht über auch die Monarchie!!’ the french fiancee (als Braut von Männern), die (Komplett-)Systemaufgabe, his stem.

‘Wagner-Söldner jetzt näher an Nato-Ostflanke‘ (’Wagner-Gruppierung verlegt ihre Söldner nach Belarus’)

‘Moskau sichert Söldnern Prigoschins und ihm Straffreiheit zu‘.

‘Scholz in Berlin erinnert (nun deswegen alle) an (ihr einmal gegebenes) Beistandsversprechen‘.

Für mich ergibt sich daraus der heutige Schluss-Satz: Im Grunde ziehen alle regelmäßig dabei selber an nur ein und dem selben ‘Strang’ immer wieder auch und sind mitbeteiligt, und das hat so bis heute auch nicht bei allen aufgehört! Letzterer gehört Männern!

Das ist etwas universelles, welches so für die gesamte weltweite Staaten-Familie gilt! Die Nationalsozialisten waren es selber so auch nie nur alleine!

(Und auch beim Universum mit auch dessen Armee wird man nicht un-interessiert wieder einen Teil davon selber auch mitgelesen haben, bin ich überzeugt, ging es womöglich dabei gezielt vielleicht um sogar erneut auch meine Person, als ihrem heutigen Offizier! Wie selbst auch beim geplanten isrealisch-amerikanischem Raketen-Abwehrschild!

*Denn neben dem Mond zählt auch die Sonne weiter zu jenen zwei besten Freunden, die auch ich besitze! Wie er würde auch sie mich als Freund vermissen! Von der Sonne haben alle schon gelesen! Und auch in Amerika wird man wissen wer sie ist! Sie ist Teil des Universums so wie ich! Wo sie ebenfalls zu meinen heutigen Mit-offizierinnen gehört, seitdem ich vor einigen Jahren zu einem selber auch wurde! Ich glaube sogar, zu keiner Freundin besaß ich je ein innigeres Verhältnis! Neben natürlich dem inzwischen auch gemeinsamen Arbeitsplatz sehr oft noch genauso, welchen wir beide innehaben, sozusagen bei ein und dem selben Arbeitgeber, und der uns nicht viel weniger oft zusammenführt, wenngleich auch meist auf anderer Ebene, und keiner privaten!

“Deutscher Außenminister,- ministerin Baerbock verhandelt in Zelt mit erstem Präsidentem der Mongolei!”

*Ich traf dabei lediglich auf einen noch weiteren Obdachlosen am gestrigen Tage in einer für uns vorgesehenen Berliner Wärmestube, dieser nächtigte gewohnheitsmäßig im Zelt!

“Deutsche Geheimdienste ko-operierten nicht genug bei der Verhaftung Alois Brunners! Brunner aber war jemand, der morgens schon mit dem festen Vorsatz aufstand, er wolle Millionen von Menschen umlegen!”

*Zumindest was das Universum angeht glaubt das so bei ihm keiner - und über mich vielleicht dann noch genauso, da bin ich mir sicher!!)

“Seit Einsetzen der Nürnburger Prozesse gab es oder entstand die Idee, dass Straftaten (von Kriegsverbrechern verübte) sogar einen internationalen Charakter haben können!

Und auch Deutschland muss dann ermitteln! ... Es gibt inzwischen Belege zu 14.000 Ermordeten! Diese halfen Assad mit bei der Normalisierung wie Festigung seines (politischen) Systems!’

*(being) at, (following some) Asses (’Assad’), System : it is his stem, the stem by a male, or: his 'thing‘, das Ding (dt.), ein stark normalisiertes oder allgemein übliches Verhalten in der Öffentlichkeit zeigen, eines also welche sehr viele andere in der Zwischenzeit selber dadurch auch besitzen, weil sie es regelmäßig auch aufweisen, irgendwann täten auch sie das dann nicht sehr viel weniger häufig noch genauso auch! (So der Glaube! Offenbar weil man darin eine nicht gerade geringe Gefahr für die Gesellschaft erblickt zukünftige und auch die eigene!)

’Assad sitzt jetzt wieder fester im Sattel. Für die Menschenrechtslage im Land ist das verheerend. Die Normalisierung von Systemen stellt ein riesiges Problem dar. Sie kommt gar nicht selber aus der arabischen Welt, sondern aus dem Westen! ... Überlebende trugen dabei ihre Geschichte teils im Stehen vor (*das passierte so während eines jüngst in Koblenz stattgefundenden Prozesses, bei dem es um vom Regime gegen Gefangene angewendete Foltermethoden in Syrien ging, er endete mit langjährigen Haftstrafen für zwei der in ihm Hauptbeschuldigten!), einer sprach dabei sogar auf Deutsch, sie behaupteten sich damit gegenüber den Tätern, auch um von allen verstanden zu werden!!’

“Gefangene wurden dabei sogar wiederholt mittels einer für sie bestimmten Willkommensparty begrüßt ... per Schlagstöcken!’

“Seitdem fliehen wieder besonders viele Syrer aus aus ihrem Land noch genauso und wollen ebenso nach Europa!‘

“Prozesse wie der von Koblenz bringen auch den Friedensprozess für oder in Syrien weiter!’ “Bei der Bundesanwaltschaft (*der deutschen) wurde gewusst, was in Assads Folterkellern vor sich ging, sie hat dennoch nichts gesagt!!”

“Wir sind zu recht sauer!!‘ *nach rechts hin (komplett) zu sein, gelten oder immer schon selber auch gegolten haben!

(‘Ihr hättet das so also niemals mit uns irgendwann noch genauso tun dürfen, mit anderen vielleicht schon, gewiss, jedoch nicht mit uns! Ihr, als Deutsche, frühere wie jetzige!!’)

Wahre Kriegsverbrechen können demzufolge einzig auch nur am Menschen und der Menschlichkeit selber begangen werden, dort, wo man den- oder diejenige noch für für einen solchen selber auch hält! Stattfinden dürfen diese nur, wird geglaubt, derjenige oder diejenige gehören ihnen länger selber vielleicht schon auch nicht mehr an! Nur in dem Fall sind sie uns auch wirklich erlaubt! Sie gelten von da an als zulässig, und selbst wir dürfen dann eines davon auch begehen! (Keiner Richter oder Richterin auf dieser Welt würde euch dafür je ins Gefängnis stecken, und auch nicht dann bei sich, und das gälte so dann überall!)

ergänz. Bemerk. des Verf.

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magicalgirlmascot · 2 years ago

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Non-comprehensive list of things Kini Nui Public School now has more hits than:

Tiencha western/cowboy!AU

Carey/Killian TAZ fic for The Adventure Bang 2018

About six thousand random oneshots (mostly DBZ, mostly Tiencha)

Every other Bionicle fanfiction I've ever written

WAHOO

[ID: AO3 screenshot reading "Hits: 1000" end ID]

KNPS 1000 HITS WOOHOO

#to clarify: this is a good thing. read my newer fanfiction boy

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plasticbattleaxe · 5 years ago

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So you decided to pick the Eleventh Hour and make it better

yeah basically but like with more lup

okay so heres the genral gist:

- the ipre are a group of cowboys/ bandits dedicated to taking down a corrupt government that is slowly sucking the life and profits out of every small town in the west to fill their own pockets (the hunger)

- quickly however, the birds start attracting too much attention and set out on the run, going from town to town, robbing what they can from the banks and tax collectors and helping the poorer residants before law enforcment catches up and they are forced to flee

- at some point lup and davenport go on a scope out mission early one morning and never return. Even after scouring the town they went to survey there is no sign of either of them. the gang assumes the worst

- shortly after lup and davenport disappear the birds hit a disagreement. theyve accuculated a lot of gold and supplies that they intended to use to fight the corrupt forces around them. however with 2 gang members down, Lucretia believes they should stockpile their resources in a single town and build up defenses around it, eventually creating a rival society and government free from oppression. However, Barry (and lup before she dissapeared) had laid out plans to continue looting and had made plans to eventually bring down the government from the inside out.

- this results in some tension between the group as barry and taako are devoting all of their spare time riding around looking for lup and dav and the rest of the crew are becoming increasingly tired and disheartened. It gets to a point where lucretia sees her family hurting and can no longer take it anymore - so she decidedes to fix all of their problems on her own do what she believes is right for them

- she slips them a sleeping draft that evening and rides them all out to a very remote outpost, paying for their beds and then setting out with all of their loot to make her own society and find dav and lup. She leaves the back soon note.

- when tres horny boys + barry wake up they are, understanably, pretty angry (especially taako) leaving barry to hold down fort, magnus, merle and taako ride off toward where they think lucretia may have fled too - a dangerous criminal who is rumoured to live in the wave echo mines - a gunslinger by the name of the black spider.

- however there is no sign of lucretia and on their return to barry, they find the whole outpost where he was has gone up in flames

- so magnus, merle and taako set out to find lucretia, stop both her and a corrupt government, and recover what they have lost, all the while trying not to be caught by the law and the dark forces that are slowly encircling them.

#taz #taz western au #the adventure zone #taako #lup #magnus burnsides #merle highchurch #barry bluejeans #davenport #lucretia #zoeyeets #ZoeQ

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thiswasinevitableid · 2 years ago

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I Just Started TAZ Dust Season 2 And.....

I’m just gonna leave this here and go laugh my ass off.

#taz indrid cold #taz dust #taz dust season 2 #I am so fucking pumped for him to be in another season #indruck #western au #taz amnesty #taz dust spoilers

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adventuresloane · 4 years ago

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The Wanted (Revised Hurloane Fic) - Chapter 1

Summary:

"They had nearly as many names as they had stories told about them. Ram. Raven. Red. Devil. Deputy. Outlaw. Short 'n Long. Ghosts of the Rapids."

Hurley's a bounty hunter, the Raven is an outlaw, and the desert is a lonely place.

(The 50k+ Old West Hurloane AU Where Hurley Becomes A Thief Too that no one asked for. Updates every Friday. Edited and reposted from an old version of the story--more significant changes to come in later chapters. T for non-graphic violence and discussions of death/injury/trauma.)

Read on AO3

They had nearly as many names as they had stories told about them.

Ram. Raven. Red. Devil. Deputy. Outlaw. Short 'n Long. Ghosts of the Rapids.

What happened to them depends on who you ask. Some say the Raven twisted the Ram, but then again, the Ram might have been born with badness in the marrow of their bones. They say the outlaw was a thief, that her glittering horde still lies somewhere out in the desert among the canyons. They say the deputy was a sharpshooter with twenty notches on their pistol, one for every man who tried to take them. They say they were very much in love.

Maybe they still are. People who camp alone by the river say at night, they hear too-loud whispers over the rush.

If you ask the only man who was there that day, he'll tell you the same thing every time, and nothing more: "They went over the cliff and into the river. Never found the bodies."

He won't tell you whether they were dead before they hit the water. He won't even tell you whether they were shot at all. Maybe, as some say, the two of them just tipped, hand-in-hand, falling backwards over the edge together as children let themselves fall into soft grass.

--------------------------

"I don't give a rat's ass what Bane said. She so much as looks at me wrong, I'm shooting."

Hurley heard the murmuring and looked over their shoulder. The two men were lagging, their mounts clopping along at a lackadaisical pace. Barbra and Lil' Jerry rode side-by-side and leaned toward each other in their saddles as they spoke in what could charitably be called a whisper. Hurley slowed their own horse a bit to get closer and listen.

"Yeah, as if you'd live long enough to press the trigger," Lil' Jerry snickered in response. "You couldn't outdraw a tin can."

"Oh, fuck off! I take care of myself fine."

"Ah, whatever."

"Besides, I'll have my gun drawn the whole time we're giving chase. I'm not taking chances on this one. You've heard the stories. Even saw the blood in one of those train cars that one time, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Lil' Jerry muttered.

"Everyone's quicker on the trigger when they know their gun's the only thing between them and the Big Sleep," Barbra declared. "That's just survival instinct."

"That poor Abernathy fuck wasn't. Quicker, that is."

"That doesn't mean you just wave a gun around if there's nothing in sight to shoot," Hurley piped up. They took more than a little satisfaction in how the two men looked at them, first with surprise and then with frustration, as if they'd really thought they were getting away with something.

"We weren't talking to you."

"You might as well have been. You were loud enough. Bane told us we have to start moving quietly. The Raven's probably in this area."

"Trust you to do whatever he tells you." Hurley bristled as Lil' Jerry went on, "This is only your first time out, so we don't need you telling us what to do with our mouths or our guns."

"I know my way around a gun just fine, and you know tha--"

"All of you," said a deep voice, causing Hurley to stop instantly, "would be better off if you paid more attention to what's around you instead of whatever bullshit you're going on about."

Hurley said, "Sorry" while the boys behind them mumbled the word vaguely. At once, they prompted their horse to pick up speed and catch up with Bane as he led the way.

When they had been riding alongside him for a few minutes, he leaned their way a little. "Though I would say," he started conspiratorially, "having seen both of you at target practice, I trust you to point a pistol the right way quite a bit more than I trust Barbra."

They snickered a little. "I'd hope so, Sheriff."

"You've got a head on your shoulders, even if you've got to be reminded to use it now and again." They looked down and smiled a little sheepishly, though the way he said it made it sound more compliment than critique. "The problem is that anyone can take a look at a thousand-dollar 'wanted' poster and suddenly decide they're a bounty hunter. They try to be heroes.”

"I don't suppose a lot of bravado does you much good out here."

"Oh, no, it can. You need to be tougher in the face of some damn tough criminals. Another reason I think you'll be good to have around." He was grinning. "But the people who come in guns blazing are also the ones who turn tail the quickest when things get to be too much for them."

"You won't have that problem with me, sir."

"No, I don't think I will. I've known you long enough to know you're here because you want to put things right. I think you and I could do that back at home, too."

"It needs it. Goldcliff's broken, if you ask me."

"Hey, now, that's my town you're talking about."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean it that way. It's just I've seen so many people there try to cheat and hustle and steal ever since I came there, and now this...murdering a man on his own doorstep in the middle of the afternoon." They shook their head. "I can't stand it."

"You don't have to. You can help stop it if you want."

"I do. And I think I'll have a much better chance of doing it with you and the law. No more of me challenging cheaters to tavern fights to sort them out," they said with a small laugh. "Thank you again, by the way, for letting me come out here with you."

He nodded before turning to address the whole group. "We're about to enter the canyon. Be careful how you go, now. It echoes in there."

Their heart began to bounce inside their chest as they thought of facing their quarry. Their horse sped up to a trot.

“Hurley.”

They looked behind them to find a stern-faced Bane and a posse that had stopped moving altogether. Trying to swallow down the blush working up their face, they got back in line behind Bane.

The four moved single-file as they made their way downward. By the time they reached the bottom, there was still no activity, not so much as a lizard skittering through the grit on the ground. Quiet filled up the gaps between the stone walls, washed over them like the long-dead rivers that had once carved out these canyons. All they could hear was the clacking of the horses' footfalls, thrown back at them louder.

At various points, Bane sometimes whispered, more often simply signalled with his hands for one of them to break off and explore another path. They would return empty-handed.

Now, Bane held up a hand for them all to stop. Hurley heard, then, just for a moment, the sound of hoofbeats that belonged to none of their rides. With the way sound played off the stone, they couldn’t determine how far it was.

It kept coming as none of them moved, noise bouncing and skipping off the walls like a mockery. Sometimes distant, sometimes nearer, sometimes seemingly next to their ears. The canyon was sinuous and full of unexpected branches and side-paths. They tried to pinpoint the source of the noises that seemed to come from everywhere, from out of the ether.

Or they did until a resounding bang interrupted. It made a couple of the horses spook and rear as it blasted apart the near-silence. This time, it wasn't hard to tell that it came directly from behind.

Everyone else turned to see Barbra holding the smoking gun, looking more shocked than anyone.

"For fuck's sake, Barb," Lil' Jerry muttered.

And then a flash of dark around a corner.

Their galloping set the whole place rumbling as they all shot off. Hurley’s horse nearly skittered on the sand several times as they whipped the reins sharply to the side. It was what was necessary to wind through the narrow passages that curled deeper and deeper into the canyon.

Whenever there was a widening of the path that might allow more than one horse through at a time, Hurley tried to shove past the others. They had to be up front. They could barely see anything past Bane, leading at the front and shouting things they couldn’t hear.

He grabbed his lasso as they came around one bend. There was nothing on his face except the same solid determination as usual, only sharpened.

The posse pulled around the corner and came to an instant halt, scraping hooves stirring sand. Hurley craned their neck to see the dead end at the end of this passage, a sheer wall of redstone. But no Raven.

Not until there was sound well behind the whole group as the dark form reappeared and shot off in the other direction.

"Dammit," he spat as he yanked the reins back hard and turned his horse around. "Stay together!"

Hurley kept pace with the rest of the group, until they didn't. By degrees, they drew their horse back into a canter, then a slow trot. As expected, the others were too fixated on their path to notice that they were losing Hurley, as they leaned low over the manes of their galloping animals. The posse twisted around a sharp corner and out of their sight.

You're thinking with your belly again, they heard their mother say, while she poked the round ball of their seven-year-old tummy.

None of them were about to outpace the Raven while she stayed three turns ahead of them. She knew the canyon, maybe so well that she knew where her pursuers were just by hearing the echo of them along the red stone walls. But if just one of them could out-maneuver...

They bid their horse to turn around and move at a quiet walk. This was not a betrayal of Bane's orders, they convinced themself. Not really, anyway. Maybe he had told them to keep up with the group, but surely the higher order was to find the thief. If they did that, he could forgive the unconventional methods.

And they would do it.

They started to pick their way through the tangle of paths. The Raven had traveled back this way, running in front of the posse, only to disappear around a bend and re-emerge behind them all. This, perhaps, was where a number of the narrow natural trails converged. They might part only to circle back and rejoin each other elsewhere. If that were true, she would be likely to stay near the place where she had a number of exit routes. This was where she expected she'd be safe.

They chose their directions nearly at random, only knowing that they wanted to roughly parallel the path that their team had been taking before. They could meet up with them and maybe head the Raven off, if they could only keep track of where the others might be. They went left, left again, right. When they reached a slot-like passage in the rock face too narrow for a horse, they bit their lip, then dismounted and left the gelding behind as they sidled sideways through.

Occasionally, the others' calls and the pounding of their horses' hooves would come to Hurley, and they would stop to hear more. By then, though, the echoes would have already receded. They still had no way of knowing where the source of the sounds could be found--they got bounced around and lost in the network of paths until they seemed entirely disembodied. They might as well have been the chattering of specters wafting their way through the cavernous, lonely canyon. Right, left. No route here was distinct from the rest. For all they knew, they were wearing circles into the sand.

Right, right again, and then, suddenly, no further. They pulled themself back behind a boulder and instinctively clapped a hand over their mouth. It was some time before they were able to make themself crane their neck back around, to determine whether they had seen what they'd thought they'd seen.

From behind, they saw a figure sitting atop her steed. Long black duster turned sepia by the caked-on dust of the desert and a wide-brimmed, jet bolero with a sharp feather sticking up straight from the hatband. She was still. Just waiting.

Their mouth felt dry. At some point, they realized that it was gaping open, and they snapped it shut. The clack of their teeth sounded far too loud in their mouth.

They took a single step around the large stone that they hid behind. The half-elf's ears swiveled around and moved to pick up on sound. They seemed to fixate on nothing, though. Certainly, she didn't look Hurley's way as they gripped the long rope and positioned it in their hands. Their every movement was measured now. With every scrape of the rough hemp coil against their fingers, they felt certain that she would turn around, but she didn't. Another step, placed on the ground deliberately. The sand did not crunch beneath them.

From where they stood behind the boulder, they did not have a clear shot at her, but they did not dare step out fully into the open. They could still get her, though. They would still get her. It probably should have been fear that sent the eager blood blazing through them--the fear that she would see them and be gone in an instant, the fear that they would be gone in an instant when she spun to blow them away--but that wasn't it. This was the familiar thrill of the final blow and the bullseye. It ran through them whenever they knew they were about to prove what they could do. They clenched their lasso as the world shrunk to what was right in front of them. What was right in front of them was an opportunity.

They threw. The Raven had a half-second to look at the loop that had snapped tight around her ankle before Hurley pulled with all they could, and down she went to the ground. When she impacted, it was with a choked noise that might have been a yell, had the wind not been punched out of her lungs.

They almost wanted to cheer as her horse spooked and ran off.

But then they turned to look at just what it was they had caught. The figure at the end of their tether lay on her back for several moments, unmoving. For a moment, they wondered if she had been stunned by a blow to the head. They saw that, certainly, she was still hurting from the way her spine had slammed into the baked-hard earth. Low, creaking groans came from the back of her throat along with her exhales.

Suddenly, as though startled awake, her eyes snapped wide open to the sky. She scrambled to push herself onto her elbows and look at the place where her ride had been, then spun her whole body around to face Hurley.

There was a bandana tied around her face, black and patterned with feathers, puffing out slightly with every breath. It covered up everything except her eyes, but the eyes were enough. Now unshielded by the hat that had fallen from her head, they snatched Hurley's gaze and held it tight. They were big, for one thing, and youthful, with the cool-toned brown skin around them unlined. What hit them, though, was how they went wide and got wider, caught bare and off-guard. Like they took in everything and understood none of it. Disbelief at being brought down so far and so fast.

They matched her gaze. They might have been smiling. Hurley liked making people believe they could do things previously thought impossible.

The Raven's eyes flitted down to the rope around her foot twice, the first time almost as an afterthought, the second with a look of mounting rage, and it occurred to Hurley just then that they had not really restrained her much at all. They tightened their grip on the lasso just as she went to stand and yanked so that she could not get her footing. She fell back onto her butt with an indignant grunt and tried again. They pulled again, becoming more aware all the while that they were just bringing her closer to them.

That was when the sound returned to them like rocks tumbling over each other. Both they and the Raven turned just in time to see Barbra and Jerry come riding up, and for possibly the first time ever, Hurley was relieved to see them both. It was just seconds before each of them tossed a rope around her torso and pinned her arms to her sides. She squirmed against the bonds for a few moments and then went still, glaring between the three of them there. That was that.

A fine thread of blood had begun to trickle out from beneath her hairline, barely skirting her eye, where she could not wipe it away. It ran all the way down to her neck. Hurley's doing. They were about to step forward when they felt a large hand press down on their shoulder.

"So you lost us a horse, it seems."

Hurley looked up in surprise, but Bane had a warm grin for them, the kind that let a person in on a joke. They smiled back, probably more broadly than they strictly needed to. "Still glad you brought me along?"

"Well, had you been a little worse at this job than I thought you'd be, you would've gone off and done something stupid and not gotten anywhere." He gave them a couple of firm pats. "But turns out, you're just as good as I thought you'd be. Better, considering you got the Raven on your first try."

"I wasn't expecting it either," they laughed.

He chuckled lightly, and then they watched him turn his attention to the captive in front of him. Barbra had her by the back of her collar and had already pulled her up to her knees. A bit of her hair was caught in his fist.

"She's younger than I thought," Hurley commented.

He gave the thief an assessing look. "Not more than a year or two younger than you, I'd say. I don't see outlaws too much older than this, quite frankly. They tend to live fast and die faster."

"I guess so," they mumbled mostly to themself as they watched Bane walk over to her. The boys weren't easing up on the lassos, and already her breathing was shallower as her chest tried to expand against the rope.

He didn't tell them off for it, though. Instead he stepped close to her so that the tips of his boots nearly touched her knees. He cast her into shadow as he stood over her, making her lean back in order to match his gaze. Then, with a forefinger and thumb, he gripped the mask around her face and pulled it down in one motion. They saw all of her hard countenance now. A pale scar ran over the bridge of her nose, another down across her lips in a perfect vertical.

With the same hand that had felt warm and strong on Hurley's shoulder a moment ago, he suddenly grabbed her jaw. His fingers pressed into the skin of her cheek, his thumb dug into the bone beneath her ear. They released a minute gasp. They could see it from where they stood, how he kept squeezing as though to wring something out of her, which perhaps he did when her mouth was forced open a bit.

"So that's what you look like," he said coolly. "You'll really get your picture in all the papers now, isn't that right?"

Her expression stayed hard and solid as stone. Her lower jaw was gritted and jutted. Hurley didn't know how she wasn't even trying to pull away. How she stood it rather than trying to whip her head out of his grasp. That was what they would have done, they thought.

"Bind her hands and arms both." He dropped his hand, finally. "And make sure those knots are damn tight. She's been known to try sneaking off."

This was the only time she fought, really. Jerry came up behind her, and she glanced backwards, gritted her teeth, got one of her feet underneath her and tried to stand before being shoved back to the ground. Bane was over there and assisting before it even occurred to Hurley that they might help their posse. A hand on her bent back, right at the vertebra where the neck met the spine. She kept struggling as her arms were crossed behind her, with each wrist bound against the opposite elbow. It was only when Barbra pulled back on the rope hard enough to make her wince that she stopped. That left her leaning over a little. Her chest and the muscles of her belly worked hard on every rasping inhale. Her breathing stayed heavy and open-mouthed when she was half-pulled and half-kicked to her feet and started walking behind the horses as they moved in the direction of their base camp.

Hurley walked too, though Bane offered more than once to let them ride on his horse while he walked awhile. On the way, they kept turning back to look. The Raven just went and went. She drove her gaze into the ground like a plough and hardly moved or lifted it, except to glare when she felt an extra tug on the ropes around her torso. Other than that, she looked almost listless. Concussed, maybe, they thought. But she wasn't uncoordinated or struggling to focus. She simply didn't react.

It wasn't until they got back to their base camp that she showed some resistance. Hurley saw as she finally picked her head up and watched while Barbra opened the padlocked back door to the wagon, with its couple of small, square, barred windows. She hesitated before the wide dark opening, tried to take a couple steps back even as she was pulled forward. But it didn't matter. Barbra yanked and Lil' Jerry shoved and Hurley saw her look backward over the boys' heads, at something far away, before the door closed and locked on her again.

They stared for a bit longer before shaking their head. "I can go untie her for you while she's in there, Sheriff--"

"No," he said even as they started stepping forward. "It'll be good for tiring her out a bit if she stays like that for awhile."

"But that's dangerous," they responded without waiting a beat.

"It's only for a few hours, Hurley. It won't hurt anything."

They tried to keep from gaping at him. "It'll definitely hurt. It probably hurts now."

There was a force and urgency in their voice that they heard too late. He half-turned his head towards them, just enough that they could see the widening of his eye and the raising of his brow. "Hurley, you caught an outlaw on your first go, and that's to be commended, but you're still new to all of this. I've been here plenty of times. Trust me when I say I know what to do here." He nodded towards said outlaw, now unseen behind the door. "You suppose we were too rough?"

"I..." They bit the inside of their cheek. Hurley was included in that "we." Only one of them among the group, after all, had made the Raven bleed. "I just think we shouldn't do anything unnecessary."

"And I agree," he said almost somberly. "I try not to, unlike some people. If another group of bounty hunters had gotten her, she likely would've been beaten by now. That's if they bothered trying to bring her back alive at all."

They shivered a little. The cold here came on fast in the evenings.

"I call them one-person juries, people that just go out to kill or punish. It's a sorry state of affairs. She's lucky." He said it as though the sentence were a conversation ender.

It wasn't, in their mind. They weren't convinced that this got a pass just because other posses were far worse, and they were about to tell him as much, but only got as far as saying, "But, Sheriff--" before he brought them to a halt again.

"Hurley," he said. The word was a quiet warning. "Let yourself learn first."

They stared at him even after he turned around to walk away. For a long time, they stood dumbly and watched his back as he strode back towards the fire pit.

Again, this was not disobedience, they told themself as they covertly unlocked the wagon door while the others ate dinner a ways off. Bane said he wanted to bring his prisoners back alive? Then they were going to make sure this one stayed alive, whether he liked it or not.

The late amber light struggled in through the tiny windows, getting caught up in the smoky dust that rose from the floor. It was just bright enough to see the way the Raven lifted her hanging head, letting the long black hair fall away from where it covered her cheek. Without turning their way, she let her gaze slice across them.

After far too long of a pause, they opened with, "Hello," since it seemed like as good an introduction as any.

Behind the airtight line of her mouth, they could tell, her teeth were gritted. They could almost hear the scrape of them.

"That looks uncomfortable," they continued, stepping forward, because the alternative was going backwards, which they never did. "I'll get those ropes off of you if you'll let me."

They kept coming towards her until they saw her pulling her leg back slowly, winding up for a kick. "Hey. Easy." They took another small step forward, still out of her strike range. Their voice did not rise above a murmur. "Easy. There's no catch here, I promise. I'm still going to have to chain your ankles, but I'll untie you so you can move around. You just have to let me, please."

When they kept walking forward, nothing in her changed, including the intensity of her glare. But she didn't seem primed to kick them anymore either, which was good enough for them.

She tracked their every motion, twisting her neck around to look at them over her shoulder as they went to undo the knots at her wrists. When their fingers brushed hers, she flinched, curled her hands up into fists. But they didn't miss the long sigh and slumping of her shoulders when the bonds fell away, the way her eyes shut slowly.

They moved so that they were back in front of her and saw, without a moment to spare, the way she eyed the key to the cuffs that had just been locked around her legs. They pulled back the hand that held it just as she swiped at it, catching only the air. Well, that escape attempt had taken all of thirty seconds for her to concoct. The three-day journey back to Goldcliff would be exciting.

"Nice try," they commented. They dropped the key into their breast pocket and reached for their canteen. "Do you want water?"

She looked at it like it was the first she had ever seen. When they held it out a little further to her, though, she brought her gaze back to them and kept it there. It didn't move away even as she took the metal container from them and unscrewed the cap. They thought, finally, that they saw something else other than the bitterness in her, even if it wasn't gone. Her head was angled curiously, to eye them as though she were looking through a keyhole.

"I'm Hurley, by the way. I know you didn't ask, which was a bit rude, but I thought if you needed--"

"It's not going to work."

They stopped. In an instant, her lips had become stretched thin into a tight smile. It stayed unchanged on her face even as Hurley searched it for answers. She didn't open her mouth, but still she laughed a low, heavy laugh, dredged up like phlegm.

"What's not going to wo--"

She held up a finger to halt them as she brought up their canteen to her mouth and tipped her entire head back. They lost count of how many swallows she took, but they did wonder whether she was remembering to breathe. Finally, she pulled it away with a loud, refreshed exhale and tossed it back into their lap, half as heavy. "You," she began, casually wiping her mouth, "are trying to make this easier on yourself. You think if you throw me a bone or two I'll be docile and not give you any trouble while you're dragging me off to prison. Well, go fuck yourself, little Red." She dragged out the last sentence like she had all day to say it. Her voice had a sing-song tilt like a head rocking from side to side, slathered in mock sweetness.

They stayed sitting on their butt in front of her. Well. In all fairness, they didn't really know what else they should have expected. They ran a hand through the short puff of almost-auburn curls on the top of their head, of which they were suddenly quite conscious. "Fine, I'll go fuck myself," they mumbled. There was no truth to what she said, but they doubted there was any way to convince her of that. "Can I at least have your name, since I gave you mine? Though it seems like you forgot it already."

"My name is whatever you think it is, Red."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What have you heard me called? The Raven, I'm sure." She gave them a curl of her lips that was a smirk and a sneer and a snarl all at once. "What else?"

They matched her hard stare. "They call you Black Devil," they answered quietly.

She looked amused, but not surprised.

"You seem pretty nonchalant about all this."

"What? Getting harassed by people like you? Yeah, you could say I'm used to it."

They had to almost chuckle at that. "Harassment seems like a stretch. What did you expect anyway? You think people will just ignore the murder of an innocent man and an unbroken streak of robberies stretching from one end of the territory clear to the other? That's not the kind of thing you get away with forever. If not us, some other posse would've--"

"What did you say?"

For the second time, she brought them to a stop. While they had been speaking, the Raven had been staring at the spot of floor between her chained feet with slowly widening eyes. Her expression had gradually eroded into perplexion, her furrowed brow loosening into surprise. Now she turned to face Hurley directly.

They found their voice again. "What do you mean?"

"About the murder."

Her bewilderment was genuine. Hurley could not see how it could have been otherwise, with the way that she blinked fast, as though trying to clear her vision of sleep in the morning. But she should have known, at least, that the murder conviction was a possibility. "I said we can't just ignore it."

"Who..." The word came out cracked as her parched lips. She cleared her throat, then. She swallowed her spit and seemed to pull something back inside herself along with it, something that she had let spill out by accident. Her eyes didn't look quite so wild, even as she breathed more quickly. "So who do they say I killed?"

She hadn't a goddamn clue.

"Bank teller. A Mr. Miles Abernathy, from the First Bank of Goldcliff. He was killed during the burglary. A whole bunch of witnesses spotted someone with your description running from the place." They weren't sure if the last sentence was to inform the Raven or to give themself a reminder. "You don't remem--you didn't know?"

"Didn't hear that, no." She had been nodding along as they spoke, as though she were still learning how to nod.

"So you didn't do it?"

She acted as if she hadn't heard.

"Well..." They grasped at anything. "Well, if you didn't do it, that'll come out in the trial."

That brought her back, seemingly, to herself. Her eyes went cold and narrow again, squinting at more than seeing what was before her. "Get out," she muttered, not looking their way.

#hurloane #taz #taz balance #the adventure zone #the zone cast #taz fanfic #hurley #sloane #the wanted #enemies to friends to lovers #enemies to lovers #western au

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flintmcgraw · 4 years ago

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what if i made barry russian

#taz #balance #old guard au #i know no one cares but ill tag for posterity lol #im just having an uncomfortable clustering in western europe that id like to avoid

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rampancys-archive · 6 years ago

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You should write auuuuuuuuuuuuuu blupburns (Blupjeans + Magnus,, or just blupjeans if the 3rd makes u uncomfy) farm AU

When Lup opened her door to find Magnus standing on herporch, covered in sweat and grime, she simply looked him up and down and raisedher eyebrows.

“Why is it, Magnus, that every time you show up at mydoorstep you look like you’ve been rolling around in the dirt?”

“Oh, you know how it is.”

Magnus twisted his hat in his hands. He glanced around the insideof her house and then looked over his shoulder, back up the road.

“You expectin’ more company?”

“Maybe.”

“Company of the rowdy kind?”

He grinned. “Only if they know I’m here.”

She mirrored his grin and stood aside.

“Come on in.”

They wandered into the kitchen and Barry, when he saw who itwas, put down his spoon and sighed.

“What did you do this time?”

Magnus opened the pot of stew on the counter and took a deepsniff.

“I may have punchedthe sheriff in the face and he mayhave put out a warrant for my arrest. Can I have some of this?”

Barry took off his glasses and messaged the bridge of hisnose. “Magnus…”

“Help yourself,” Lup said.

“What on earth possessed you to punch the sheriff?”

Magnus ladled some stew into a bowl and sat down at the table,next to Barry. He took a few eager bites before answering, his mouth stillfull, flicking his spoon at Barry for emphasis.

“He was being a dick.”

“He is kind ofalways being a dick.”

“Someone should’ve punched him years ago,” said Lup. “I’msurprised he didn’t blow your head off, though.”

“I bolted as soon as I realized what I’d done. I wantjustice, but I also like my head where it is.”

“So now he’s looking for you.”

“Yup. I hid out in the hills for a while, but I saw some ofhis men comin’ my way, and this was the only place I thought I could run to.”

Barry shook his head again, but he caught Lup’s eye andsmiled. He stood up, rubbed Magnus’s shoulder affectionally, and kissed hisdust-covered hair.

“We’re glad you did. I’m gonna do dishes, you wanna takefirst watch, Lup?”

“Yup. It’s been a few years since I got to shoot someone. Thanksfor bringing ‘em right to me, Magnus.”

She gave him a quick peck on the corner of the mouth andheaded toward the front door, a new bounce in her step.

“I’d appreciate it if we could get out of this withoutshooting anyone, actually,” Barry called after her as he filled the sink withsoapy water.

“Don’t lie, babe, I know you think I look hot when I shootpeople.”

The front door closed behind her.

“I mean, she does,” said Magnus.

“Oh yeah, she totally does.”

“And I bet you do too.”

Barry blushed. “I’m a damn awful shot, actually, despiteLup’s best efforts.”

“Maybe you just need some real targets. That’ll get youfocused if nothin’ else does.”

“As much as I am sort of admittedly turned on by idea ofwatching you and Lup play cowboys, I’d really rather not have the full force ofthe law on my ass.”

Magnus put his empty bowl on the counter beside him andrested his hands on Barry’s hips.

“Yeah, I bet you’d rather have something else on your��”

“I appreciate the effort, Magnus, but you smell like actual horseshit.”

“And is it kind of sexy?”

“No, it’s not.”

Magnus took a whiff of his shirt and grimaced. “I did hide ina barn today. Mind if I use your tub?”

“Please do.”

When he came back from his bath, wearing some of Barry’sclothes—they were a bit big but fit well enough with a belt—he found the two ofthem looking out the window, whispering urgently about something.

“What is it?”

“We’re trying to decide if we’ve spotted your boys or not,”Lup said. “The sun’s going down and it’s hard to see.”

She handed Magnus her spyglass so he could look for himself. Hethought he could make out several figures, but she was right—in the shadowsbetween the hills it was hard to tell. He gave it back to her with a shrug.

“We’ll just have to keep watching.”

His hosts both went outside. Lup kept watch out front again,and Barry went out back, in case they decided to circle around. Magnus took hisplace at the kitchen table and impatiently drummed his fingers on the scuffedwood as daylight faded.

It wasn’t long before Lup came back in with Barry in tow.

“There’s five men heading down the road toward us. Go andhide in the bedroom until Barry and I give you the all clear.”

Magnus stood up. His hands clenched and unclenched at hissides.

“It isn’t cowardly to hide when you’re outnumbered, y’know,”Barry said.

“I guess you’re right.”

He did as he was told but left the door open a crack, justwide enough to see what was going on.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

Lup got up. Barry remained sitting in half-darkness, a gunhidden under the blanket on his lap, ready to come to her aid if needed. She openedthe door but kept it on its chain, making no effort to hide her wariness.Bandits roamed these parts. People were expected to be suspicious.

“Who is it?”

“The law.”

“What does the law want at this time of night?”

The man on the other side of the door was silent for aminute. Magnus strained to see who it was through that sliver of darkness.

“Is your husband home?”

Lup’s hand tightened on the doorknob. Barry frowned and madea move to get up, but she shook her head slightly, stopping him. Withoutbreaking eye contact with the man, she took the door off its chain, threw itopen, and pointed at Barry, all in one flourish.

“Yeah, he’s right here and he’s listenin’, if you needed toknow. Now, as I was saying, what do you want?”

The man, who Magnus now recognized as the deputy, loomed inthe doorway, a lamp in hand. He shot Barry a questioning look, but Barry onlycrossed his arms, his frown deepening. Lup leaned against the doorframe andlooked the assembled lawmen over. Her gun holster hung from the coatrack behindthe door, out of sight but within reach. The deputy’s gaze returned to Lup andhe appeared to give in.

“Have you seen a stranger passing through these parts today?He’s about my height, but big and burly, with brown hair and a scar over oneeye.”

“Hmm. Nope, don’t think I’ve seen anyone like that aroundhere,” she said. “We’re kind of out of the way. Don’t get too many peoplepassin’ by.”

The deputy looked at Barry for confirmation. He shrugged.

“She’s right. I haven’t seen him.”

“Did he do something bad?” Lup said.

The man nodded solemnly. “He did. He assaulted the sheriff.”

“Oh lordie Jesus,”Lup gasped.

Magnus bit his lip. Barry covered his mouth and burst into acoughing fit.

“Excuse him,” she said, without a single shift in expression.“He’s got a touch of bronchitis. We’re both very sorry about what happed to thesheriff and we’ll be sure to let you know if we see anyone suspicious. Isn’tthat right, sweetheart?”

“Of course,” Barry said, and cleared his throat. “If itweren’t for this damn bronchitis I’d help you catch the bastard myself.”

“I appreciate that,” the deputy said. He nodded at Lup andBarry in turn, then ushered his men off the porch and back into the night.

Magnus left his hiding place and joined them in the frontsitting room.

“Thank god that’s over.” Lup said, grinning up at him. “SeeMags? Told ya we could handle it.”

“You’re right. Sorry y’all had to do that.”

“It’s no problem, right Barry?”

“’Course. I just wish that asshole hadn’t talked down to youlike that.”

“Whatever. I’ll egg his house the next time we’re in town.”

Magnus went to the window and lifted the curtain just enoughto peer into the dark. The deputy’s lantern bobbed up and down for a while,going over the hills. Soon, it vanished.

“Looks like they’re gone.”

“Some of them could’ve split off from the group and doubledback, though,” Barry said. He had gotten up and was looking out a differentwindow, facing the left side of their house.

“Well I’m not goingto let them intimidate me into staying inside,” Lup said. “We’ve still got workto do.”

“It’d probably be more suspicious if we stayed hunkered downlike we’ve got somethin’ to hide, anyway.”

“I doubt those bozos are thinking about it that hard, butyeah, good thinking babe. I believe it’s your turn to muck the chicken coops,yeah?”

He grinned. “I figured you wouldn’t forget that. You gonnafeed the horses?”

“Yup. Wanna come with me, Magnus?”

“Are you sure it’s okay for him to go outside?”

“He’ll be fine. It’s too dark for them to see shit unless theyget up close.”

Lup strapped on her holster before they left the house, andas they crossed the yard, boots crunching the dry grass too loudly for Magnus’s comfort, she kept a hand on her gun.

“You really are lookin’ for an excuse to shoot them, aren’tyou?”

“You’re damn right I am.” Her teeth flashed at him in thedarkness. “No one sends their goons after myfuckbuddy and gets away with it.”

“I prefer the term lover.”

“Ok, lover, are youready to help me lift some feed bags?”

She opened the barn doors. A horse snuffled and stamped itsfeet inside.

“I’d lift the world for you, m’darlin’.”

“I can’t see. Are you tipping your hat at me?”

“I am.”

“Eugh.”

She lit a lamp and stalls emerged from the darkness, eachwith a pair of soft brown eyes peering out of it.

Magnus put a hand on the nearest muzzle and it blew damp,warm air into his palm.

“This one got a name?”

“Garyl. He used to be my brother’s, but he hurt his leg and hehad to retire him. Caravan life can be hard on a horse after a while.”

She handed Magnus an apple from a bag hanging on the door.

“See if he’ll eat from your hand.”

Garyl looked Magnus over, his big eyes unreadable. He wasn’tnervous; it was as if he was trying to decide if Magnus was worth his time. WhateverGaryl was looking for, he must have found it, because after a minute of coolinspection he tossed his hair and chowed down.

“He likes me!”

Lup chuckled at the triumphant look on his face. She handedhim a bag of feed and began taking care of the animals on one side of theaisle, motioning him to look after the ones on the other side.

“Let’s see if you can charm the rest, Mr. AnimalProficiency.”

Magnus woke up the next morning with Barry’s arm slung overhis chest and Lup’s leg crossed over his waist. For a while he just laid there,listening to the land come alive, watching dust float through a sunbeam shiningon the ceiling. Barry mumbled something in his sleep and nuzzled against his collarbone.Lup was facedown on her pillow, snoring magnificently. Magnus smiled to himselfand sat up, carefully untangling himself from their limbs.

He went to the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on, enough forthree, and while it was brewing he attacked his beard with Barry’s razor. It wasa while since he had last shaved and it was starting to get gnarly, but lastnight Barry had said he liked it, so…Magnus trimmed the beard up, but keptit. He used a pair of clippers to cut off the dead ends of hair on his head,too.

He stood back from the mirror and nodded.

“You look dead sexy, Magnus.”

“Hell yeah you do,”said Lup behind him.

Magnus jumped and whirled around to see her standing there inBarry’s oversized shirt and nothing else, cackling.

“Get outta the way, dork. I’ve got some nasty morning breath Ineed to take care of.”

He found Barry in the kitchen, sipping coffee and whippingsomething together in a bowl.

“What’s cookin’, handsome?”

“Pancakes. Want blueberries in yours?”

“You don’t even have to ask.”

When the pancakes were done Lup joined them at the table. Sheslung her arm over the back of her chair and ate her breakfast with slow, lazybites, watching her boys eat with satisfaction.

“So, Magnus,” she said, pouring out some syrup on top of asecond helping. “Are you gonna stick around for a while?”

“I dunno. I don’t want y’all to get in trouble for hiding me.Someone’s bound to find out eventually.”

Lup and Barry exchanged a look.

“To be honest, Magnus, we’re not asking for you,” Barry said.“We’re asking for us. We really like having you around.”

Magnus doodled a pattern in the syrup on his plate, thinkingit over.

“Okay, but only for a little while, until this blows over andI can make it to a town where I’m not in trouble.”

“I figured that you’re in trouble everywhere around here,”Lup said.

“I mean, the town where I’m in the least amount of trouble. Or,a town where they’ve forgotten that they’re supposed to be mad at me.”

Barry snorted. “One of these days you’re gonna run out oftowns with short memories.”

Magnus leaned on the table, chin in hands, grinning at thetwo of them.

“It’s a good thing that I’ve got you guys then, huh?”

#blupburns #the adventure zone #taz #andy writes #this is more of a western au than a farm au but i hope you like it!#thanks for the prompt!#anonymous #asks

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