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Anna ~ Don't let anyone dull your sparkle ~ & Maven's Queen
message 251:
by
Lynn
(new)
Feb 07, 2020 05:19PM
Dasha had to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything. If she didn't know any better she would swear that he was just being argumentative to get on her nerves. Of course that was fairly easy anyway, especially given the current situation. She followed after Jarin and tried to think ahead to what else would need to be done now that they were here indefinitely for sure.
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Jarin hadn't meant to get on her nerves, but of course he had no idea he had as she was staying silent about it. It was already late afternoon, and by the time Jarin and Dasha reached the dilapidated building, Jarin was overheated and just wanted to sit down and forget the idea of starting a fire any time soon. It was much too hot, he thought, sweat trickling down his temple. He stepped inside the gloomy interior and dumped the pile of wood to the side.
"Here should be good enough," he said, shrugging.
Dasha, distracted by other things, hadn't paid much mind to the heat. Now as they reached the structure she came to notice the present more, including the undeniable impact the heat had had on her without even being conscious of it. Even though her clothing was for the most part light colored she could feel the heat the fabric had absorbed warming her already damp with sweat skin further. Her limbs felt somewhat heavier with more effort needed to control them. Once again the sun had stolen a good portion of her energy. She followed the prince inside and dumped her own pile opposite of his. "Yeah, for now." She agreed.
Jarin wiped his sweaty palms on the fabric of his pants and straightened, hand holding the side of the building to keep himself from toppling over. Besides the heat, his back really was bothering him now. He sat down in the dust covering the floor and stared at Dasha."I don't think I'm going to move for the rest of the year," he muttered.
Dasha remained standing for now and instead chose to lean against a sturdy section of a wall, eyes closed as her body temperature began it's slow decent down now that she was out of the direct sun. She realized it would be more efficient to sit but she was also afraid that once she sat down she would not be able to drag herself back up for a while. "While not at all plausible, that is a mood." She said after a moment, opening her eyes and glancing to the prince. He looked utterly exhausted. If she was feeling this poorly she could only imagine the toll it was taking on him. To some degree she had been trained for situations like this, he had not. Aside from that he was also injured- a product of her own short temper- which meant he would be weaker than normal in general as his body worked to repair its self. It was this last fact, the knowledge that she was partially responsible for his current state, that drove her to push herself away from the wall she leaned against opposite of him and over to the bucket of clean water that she had managed to get during the night. She dipped the dented metal cup that she had managed to find amongst the other damaged rubble within this building into the bucket and filled it up before heading over to the prince and holding it out for him to take. "Here, you are probably well on your way to dehydration and I am not going to deal with that on top of everything else." Although it came out a bit harsher sounding than intended, there was good meaning behind the action. It was about the only way the bounty hunter knew to show that she somewhat cared about his wellbeing in this instance.
"It's fine. I'm not going to die without having a little bit of water," Jarin sighed, reaching for the cup and taking it. The water wasn't cold and it did have the slightest taste of dust, but it was at least refreshing and out of the sun where it would have grown hot and nasty. He took a drink, letting the water trickle down his parched throat. He held it in his hand, then gestured with it at Dasha."You want a drink now?" he asked, holding the tin out towards him. "We're going to have to get used to the dust coating everything."
Dasha was glad he took it without presenting too much of an argument. She imagined that being in this state would not do any wonders for her short temper. She took the chance to lean back against the wall again here, arms crossed over her chest as she watched Jarin raise the cup to his lips and take a drink. She shook her head slightly when he held out the cup and once again pushed herself off of the wall, arms dropping back to her sides. "Nah, you finish that cup, I'll get some a little later." She remembered the broken cuff in her pocket and pulled it out. She started across the room and stopped when she came upon a particularly creaky floor board. She took a step back and kneeled down, carefully pulling at the creaky board until it lifted just enough to see the small space that existed between it and the true ground. She had already hidden the rest of her things that were not easily concealable and did not fit the time period in here the other night with a sigh she tossed the now lifeless cuff in with everything else before replacing the board where it had been. ". . . I just hope we're not here long enough to experience any storms." Dasha replied as she once again forced herself up from where she had been kneeling and wiped off the dust that had heavily coated the parts of clothing that had touched the floor. "Especially not while we're still stuck in here." She scanned the building, noting all the openings. It may serve its purpose for keeping the sun off of them directly but it would do little to protect them from a dust storm. She would need to figure something else out for them and fast, after all the odds could only stay on their side for so long. Eventually there would be a storm.
Jarin drank the rest of the water, stood slowly, and returned the item where it had been before Dasha handed it to him. He sat back down, slumped over slightly and let his eyes trail around the room. A dust storm sounded horrible, even if they had a better building than this. The ruined sides wouldn't stop the tiny, almost miniscule particles from entering and coating everything, choking them and filling the air. "I hope not, either," he said, shaking his head slightly. "That means we probably should try to find a better place or a room to rent if...what do I even do about the job? This blacksmithing job? He can't really pay much at all. He told me that. Now I'm stuck with that and it's not enough to pay for a room here, even if it's cheap." He shrugged, closing his eyes for a few seconds. "People have gotten through dust storms here before. It's not impossible--unless you're in this thing."
Dasha wandered around the space, stopping and peaking out at the world beyond through a crack in the boarded over windows. "Yeah, that is a certainty. . . Don't worry too much about that." She said, referring to his comment about his blacksmith job. ". . . I will figure something out." She would have to, there was no other option. They couldn't stay here indefinitely, it wasn't practical nor was it safe.
Jarin thought for a few minutes, trying to come up with an idea. "Maybe we can get a room to board by working for someone else. Or since you're the girl you could maybe do...some waitress thing?" He quickly held his hands up as defense. "Just saying because things are different in this time period with what girls are allowed to do versus boys."
The prince's quick defense of his suggestion amused Dasha and she couldn't help but smirk slightly. "Don't worry I'm not going to smite you for the mere suggestion." She moved away from the boarded over window, her expression going back to complete seriousness. "I'm well aware of the social norms here and what is expected. Tomorrow I will find out what options there are around here and decide from there. This town is small, I doubt there will be much of anything."
"Its either that, or I find a different job," Jarin sighed. "Small town, perhaps, but that doesn't mean there's nothing a woman can't do. It...just probably isn't something like bounty hunting. Maybe there's a diner or some food place where you can serve meals. Something like that."
Dasha couldn't help but roll her eyes. What he was saying was nothing she didn't already know. She had planned on looking for a job, however it was best to look around and get a feel for what there was here as far as options for her first. "Yes, yes, I know. You should just stop talking while you're still somewhat ahead."
Jarin's cheeks went pink and he glared at her, leaning back a little. "Whatever. Sorry for stealing your precious air," he mumbled, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I was just suggesting something."
Dasha didn't reply further. She had realized even as she said it that it had been harsh, she wasn't used to having to think of the impact her words would have on others before speaking. In the past it had never mattered, her charges were always handed over within a couple hours. When you weren't ever going to see someone again you tended to not care what toll words would take. In those instances grudges were short lived, or at least she never really saw the aftermath. She wordlessly walked over and picked up the dented tin again, dipping it into the water bucket once more, but this time for herself. Once it was full she settled in on the opposite side of the room, actually sitting down this time. She took a slow sip from the cup, faintly aware of the slight taste of dirt. She lowered the cup again but continued to hold on to it, staring down at it as she swirled the water around in the cup. She stayed like this a while, not bothering to look up at the prince. " . . .It's going to take me a bit to get used to behaving tolerably towards others." It wasn't an outright spoken apology, but it was as close to one as she could bring herself to offer.
"I don't care," Jarin shrugged. He didn't know what else to say without it being completely awkward. He sighed and rested his head against the wall. "There's nothing to do right now, so perhaps we should try to rest? It's not like we can do much of that anyway, but...it's better than nothing. I'm tired, anyway." He eased himself onto his side and stretched out, grimacing a little bit as his head seemed to swim slightly. "We can talk later."
"Alright." Dasha replied, still not bothering to look up. It was true, there really wasn't anything else that they could do at the moment . . . Of course she doubted that she would even be able to do that. She still had too much running through her head, her thoughts would almost certainly not let her rest. She gave the rest of the water in the dented cup another swirl before downing it and setting the cup aside. At least she didn't have to worry about nightmares, it would be pretty hard to trump the one that she was currently living.
Jarin usually was able to fall asleep quickly, despite the situation he was in, and he did, his breathing turning soft and even as he slipped off into a peaceful slumber. He didn't appear to be that peaceful, however, his muscular body draped over the dusty floorboards and only his arm for a pillow. Jarin eventually started snoring softly, the little rumbles escaping his nose. Sweat clung to his brow and he grew hotter, even though he was currently in the shade and doing absolutely nothing. The problem was, here in the dirtier climate of the Wild West, germs were more common, and in the short period of only a day, Jarin's back was already infected a little. His peaceful sleep turned more towards a feverish dream, and he didn't stir.
Despite her doubts Dasha tried to get some rest anyway. She had sprawled out across the rough floor boards and now was positioned on her side, facing a wall. She had tried to force her mind blank and for little chunks of time it worked, but just as she had suspected something always managed to claw it's way to the surface and chase away whatever shallow state of rest she had drifted into. Mostly it seemed to be one phrase, one of the last things that Monica had said before ending the communication. you and I both know you are on a tighter time schedule than most would be. Out of everything that had been said that sentence had stuck with her the most- a reminder that, wheather she acknowledged it or not, she was entered into a race against time where the odds were heavily stacked against her emerging victorious. And here she was . . . held captive and idle by the sun in a crumbling building while the sands of time did not slow it's descent through the hourglass.
Jarin continued sleeping, too deeply to even dream.((I don't know what to put right now lol))
After a while Dasha gave up on even entertaining the idea of rest. She got up from her spot on the floor and soundlessly made her way over to peak out the back doorway. Slowly but surely the sun was making it's way across the sky. It was no longer directly overhead, but further to the west. In a few hours it would sink further and then it would begin to cool off. Then she could venture out from this sad excuse of a building.
After the few hours had passed, Jarin did stir. He yawned, stretching, and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He still had sweat plastered across his forehead but he wiped it away, leaving streaks of dirt behind. "Dasha? Are we going somewhere? Or you, anyway?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.
Now that the sun was truly beginning its descent, Dasha knew that it would soon start cooling down and that it would be safe to venture out. She was once again standing by the door, this time ready to head out. She checked that she still had her knife in her boot. There was no way she was going out completely unarmed. She already felt bare without her usual gun strapped to her hip, but it looked too futuristic to fit in here. She glanced up as she heard Jarin's questions. She hadn't paid much mind to the slumbering prince in the hours past, as far as she was concerned as long as he was asleep he couldn't get into any trouble. ". . . I figured I'd go out and see what I can find" she answered as she re tied her boot, "See if I can find anything other than fish to eat. . . and You're going to need a different shirt, one with longer sleeves to hide that cuff so you wont get endless questions about it. That might be harder to obtain though. I wont be gone long. When I get back I'll start the fire."
((I think guns would be allowed. Wild Western movies and books have guns--unless of course, it's like way too modern looking or something.))Jarin sighed a little. "A long sleeve shirt all the time?" He seemed annoyed with that idea, especially now that it was hot and probably going to be worse with long sleeves. "It's like 100 degrees out during the day! Why can't you just...figure out a way to make that cuff undo this without needing it to actually turn on?"
He wasn't trying to complain, but it sure was irritating to have to be the one to deal with the problem she handed him.
"Want me to come or stay back?" Most likely the answer was to stay back, but he wanted to just ask anyway.
((I'm personally picturing her's looking pretty different than what they would have here, that's the only reason I wrote it in like that.)) "I will try, but I can't promise anything at this point." Dasha replied. "Besides, you might find that long sleeves are better anyway. It seems counterintuitive but it keeps the sun from directly hitting your skin. There's a reason why you dont see cowboys in racerbacks in old western movies." She further pointed out. As she straightened up she wiped some dust from her hands. ". . . It would probably be best if you stayed here." She answered. "It'll be quicker and less of a risk that way."
((Okay! Probably true anyway. Things get upgraded.))Jarin didn't protest. He just nodded. He probably just had to get used to the stupid thing. There wasn't really anything to do around here, but he could maybe clear some stuff out of the way to make it easier to live here, while they were.
"Alright. Find what you need. I'll be here, of course," Jarin said with another nod. He planted his butt on the ground and watched her.
Dasha had expected to hear some sort of complaint from him and was somewhat surprised when she didnt. She didn't show as much though. ". . . If anyone comes along just try and stay out of sight . . . I wont be long." She stated, glancing over to him one last time before heading out. There was quite a bit she needed to get done.
Jarin waved a hand towards the exit of the shack. "I'll be fine," he said, shaking his head. He watched her leave to go deal with her agenda and glanced around the shack. He stood once more and pulled the old chairs back onto their feet and up near the back end that had sunk in. He started moving the wood to one pile instead of the two, and though he disturbed an awful lot of dust, he was working towards making moving around in here easier.
Dasha quickly set off. First on the agenda was to find something for them to eat that was not fish. She doubted that she would be able to find much, but she could try anyway. Then she needed to find a different shirt for the prince, and she wanted to scope out what businesses were around this small town so she would know what she would be getting into tomorrow.
((Thanks! I'l just skip us ahead to perhaps, the evening? We can think of something interesting happening to add to their adventures XD))Jarin was working hard to clean up the space enough for them to lie down on something besides the broken furniture and boards. If they were to live here for at least another day or two, then at least something comfortable would be best. It wasn't foolish, it was just being smart. And by the time Dasha returned, he had also restocked the wood pile for wherever they decided to hold their fire next. After awhile Dasha returned, late into the evening, and Jarin had filled the water bucket full with fresh river water. He was now sitting on the floor, waiting for her to arrive and criticize him for cleaning up or doing anything.
What he didn't tell her was how he could feel blood soaking into the bandages again from the wounds she had given him earlier. His back ached, and he was trying to keep himself busy with anything but thinking about that.
Hours later Dasha returned with almost all of what she had set out to find. She had managed to get her hands on a faded long sleeve shirt that looked like it would fit Jarin nicely. It was still slightly damp in a few places where she had attempted to scrub out a few questionable stains. Also in tow she had a medium sized rabbit that she had been able to catch with a makeshift snare, and a pocket full of pitiful looking berries that she knew were safe to consume. She imagined the prince wouldn't be too thrilled with the rabbit, but at least it wasn't fish and there was the added bonus of possibly getting a few coins out of the fur later on.
Now that the sun was greatly out of the picture, it was starting to cool off and she found herself wishing for slightly heavier clothing. At last she made it back to the small, dilapidated building. It took a moment of scanning the newly more organized room to spot the prince in his spot on the floor. "Here," She pulled the shirt that she had gotten off from where it hung draped over her left shoulder and tossed it in his direction. "It's not perfect, but it'll be better than the one you currently have."
Jarin easily caught the shirt in his right hand and nodded, hesitating before tugging it on over his other for the extra warmth. He grunted a little as it pushed against his wounds, and finally pulled it down properly. "Thanks, this'll work well," he said, glancing at the rabbit in her hands, dangling by its hind feet. "And that? There's plenty of firewood if you were thinking about trying to cook it or something like that." He stood and brushed the filth from his rear end, then fixed the shirts again. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it would help preserve heat, anyway,
At least it looked like the shirt fit well enough. Pleased with that fact Dasha nodded in reply to his thanks and turned back towards the door, mind already on what she would need to do and gather to get the rabbit cooked. When he mentioned the firewood she stopped in her tracks and realized that he was right- there was more than enough firewood. Definately more than when she had left. That was something she hadn't expected to see. "Well, it seems you've been busy . . . " she stated, taking notice of what else had been altered while she was gone. "Not bad." It was the closest to a 'thanks' that she could bring herself to conjure up. She was about to continue on and get everything started herself when a thought occured to her. Perhaps she should start entrusting him to do some things instead of insisting on doing everything herself. ". . . Think you can manage starting up the fire while I get this guy ready to cook?" She asked, the lifeless rabbit swaying with the slight movement of her arm gesture.
((I don't remember if they had anything like flint or steel?))
((I can't say I remember either, so feel free to play it off either way))
"Yeah, cleared out a little bit of space," Jarin nodded. "Since it's dark enough we should probably be fine making a fire in here. Any smoke will simply mix with the nearby smoke and it'll be too hard to pinpoint where it's coming from? That sound fine to you as a bounty hunter?" He moved across to one of the floorboards, lifting it and pulling out the flint and steel pieces they had found to use to start a fire with. He set them by the fireplace and started stacking up some smaller shreds of wood to start with.
". . . Yeah, that should be fine." Dasha answered after a moment, watching as he set right to work. "I'll just be right out back if you need anything." She added before continuing on her way, once again stepping out of the rickety old building. Even though it was only a small task it felt foreign to her to not at least be overseeing it. She had grown used to holding all the control, and these days she seemed to be loosing more and more of it. That over all loss of control made her feel something threatening to rise up in her that she hadn't known in a while - fear. She took a deep breath and pushed it back down, telling herself there was still plenty of things that she had control over - starting with cleaning this rabbit.
Jarin returned her words with a nod and began working to get a spark or two out of the flint and steel being knocked together. He got some of the tinder lit but it died out quickly. He grunted, piling on some more and moving a split log close enough to it and tried once more. This time the spark flared up and continued burning, so Jarin worked to feed it more straw and dried grass and shreds of wood to keep it going and eventually catch on the larger log. He felt a wave of nausea pass across himself and blinked it away, grabbing another log and angling them around in such a fashion that air would be able to feed the flames from the bottom, yet the fire had plenty of wood to burn as well.
Once Dasha found a suitable place to get to work she set the rabbit down and pulled out the knife she had on her. As she began with careful movements she let her mind go to other things- trying not to think about how even this went against her training. She would hate to guess how many regulations she had violated lately, and there were bound to be many more violations before this whole thing was over with. About twenty minutes later she had finally finished. After discarding the waste that they wouldn't be using somewhere else so it wouldn't attract wild animals she returned and wiped off the knife she had used before putting it away again. She grabbed the now ready to cook rabbit that she had fashioned onto a long green branch that would act as a makeshift roasting spit with a few adjustments and started back inside.
The fire was crackling brightly by the time she headed in with the skinned and gutted rabbit, and he turned towards her with a nod. "I've uh...never actually cooked a rabbit before so I guess you'd do best watching it? I might just burn it completely or eat it half raw."
The truth was, being a prince didn't allow one to really go and hunt wild animals much. So it wasn't like he would have had any experience at all. He waited for her to say a rude comment, and bit his lip hard. This wasn't going to be easy. If they were to work together until they at least figured out how to get home, then they both needed to learn how to exist without snapping at each other with every word.
Maybe it was because this whole day had been off and her mind was still elsewhere, or because she was fairly cold and would welcome any excuse to hover near the fire- whatever the reason Dasha didn't so much as think about arguing his suggestion. "Alright, fair enough." Without another word she set to work rigging up something that would hold the stick she had the rabbit on in place until she would decide it appropriate to turn it, using other long and sturdy branches to do so. Soon enough it was in place and the somewhat slow process of cooking it over the fire began.
Jarin felt relieved with her reply and watched her turn the rabbit occasionally. He sat down on one of the dusty chairs he'd propped up earlier and sighed."Did you end up finding any sort of job for yourself?" he ventured, glancing over at her.
By this point Dasha had settled in on a spot on the floor near the fire so she could keep a watchful eye on the rabbit and all the while warm up again a little. ". . . Not yet." She answered after a moment. "That'll be my focus for tomorrow. Most places were already closed up for the day, but I did get a good idea of what possible options there could be." From the looks of it, options would be slim, but she expected that anyway.
"It couldn't hurt to look, anyway," Jarin said with a shrug. "And maybe someone will be able to recommend a place. I start tomorrow, too."He rubbed his ear and crossed his arms, stomach rumbling as the rabbit slowly cooked a released a delicious scent into the air. He hopes that tomorrow wouldn't just end up flopping. If he ended up making the blacksmith think that he really wasn't worth the time and effort to teach him anything, then there was no point to think he would be heading back to the future.
Dasha just nodded in reply, not saying anything more. All she could think about was how all of this wouldn't even be happening if she would have just followed her training and taken Jarin to be turned over immediately instead of trying to knock out two birds with one stone. Sure it would of happened eventually, from the sound of it Monica had been planning this for a while- that betrayal still burned fresh in her mind as well, but at least she would of been on her own. At least she wouldn't of been directly responsible for someone else's suffering. Sure she delivered people to their dooms all the time, but that was easy when she didn't ask questions and never stuck around long enough to see what became of them. She stared ahead at the fire, every now and then turning the rabbit or idly shifting the embers beneath it with one of the longer and sturdier sections of a branch that had been brought back. Once the tip of it caught fire and she had to blow it out, sending a thin ribbon of smoke dancing into the air with the flame's extinguish.
Jarin was lost in his own thoughts as well, and sat silently while the rabbit roasted. It was sort of weird; he had always loathed his position as prince--which some often thought was strange--and now that he wasn't such a person, he didn't know what to think of it. Most normal people didn't get stuck back in the Wild West, unlike him and Dasha. At least it meant he wouldn't be facing his death in the hands of whoever had been after him. Sure, Dasha could easily just kill him if she felt like it, but it was different from being turned over to a stranger. A wave of heat passed through him, so he scooted his chair farther from the fire. Maybe he could just get used to the fact that he was now going to turn into a cowboy who knew everything about the West that anyone else living here did. He smirked to himself at that.
What would happen if they couldn't find their way out of here soon enough? She already knew what her fate would be, but what about the prince? If he was left to live out his days here the impact on the future could be catastrophic . . . earth shattering even. She could never allow such a thing. No, if the time came - which she hoped it wouldn't and they would be way out of here by then - she would have no choice. She would have to kill him. She was used to roughing up others a little . . . or more accurately a lot, but she was far from a killer. The thought sent a shiver down her that momintarily counteracted the warmth she had soaked in from the flames. After a bit she figured the rabbit had cooked long enough to be safe to eat and pulled it from over the fire. She let it cool slightly before breaking it down into separate pieces with the aid of her knife. Wordlessly she stood and walked over to Jarin, offering up a leg and section of the ribs.
Jarin continued staring deep into the flames, hands clasped together in his lap. He had no idea that Dasha was currently thinking about having to kill him. He shifted his weight in the chair, moving one of his legs back and sitting up straighter as she approached him with some of the meat. "Thank you," Jarin said, taking it in his hands and wincing slightly as some of the juices trickled down and burned his fingers as well as the contact of the food. Despite it being piping hot, Jarin nibbled at the meatiest part on the leg. Rabbits were more stringy than a chicken or pig, he thought as he chewed it, yet it still tasted delicious after having less refined meals lately.
"It's good," he said, giving her a nod as he continued eating.
She hadn't thought to warn him to be careful until it was too late. Her own fingers were bright red from holding it, but she had managed to ignore the sting of the heat. It was only now that Dasha had observed his wince that she became vaguely aware of it. Perhaps she should of allowed it to cool longer. She gave a nod in response to his thanks and then headed back to where she had left her own behind, still draped across the stick she had cooked it on. ". . . Its not the most glamorous meal, but it's a bit of a step up from fish." She shrugged and settled back in on her spot on the floor near the fire, beginning to pick at her own.
"I don't mind," Jarin said. "It's edible and I get something to eat." He nibbled at the meat again, tearing bits away with his front teeth and dribbling some of the juices down his chin. He hadn't shaved for a few days so slight stubble had shown up. He didn't care, though. Since he wasn't a prince anymore, he wasn't having to follow the strict orders from his personal servants. He felt another wave of heat but ignored it as he worked on his food. "Should be clean enough water in the bucket by the door. I went down to the river while you were out and rinsed it out for some fresh."
