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"Here There Be Vampires" A Promise City, Arizona Story Hour
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<blockquote data-quote="orchid blossom" data-source="post: 2669293" data-attributes="member: 12815"><p><strong>Troubles</strong></p><p></p><p>Jake walks out to the porch and offers Ruby his hand. "Come inside where I can see you." His tone is slightly abrupt and commanding. "We will make this as fast as we can. I know you are uncomfortable but it cannot be helped right now."</p><p></p><p>Ruby was going to protest but between Jake's gaze and his voice Ruby knew better than to argue. She takes his hand and lets him lead her inside. </p><p></p><p>"Well we aren't exactly experienced with fighting things that come back from the dead. I mean it's one thing to read about them in a book but another to be there and deal with one first hand. Now we have some sort of expectations and are learning as we go along. By the way," Nanuet says scratching his head, "Wasn't there another victim? What happened to her?"</p><p></p><p>"Yeah. One of the dancers from the Palace, Shelly Longfield. She was taken back to her family,” Chester offers.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet says, "I don't suppose it is worth writing a letter and sending it along? Would that do any good? I doubt anyone would believe it."</p><p></p><p>"More likely they would believe we were trying to cover up something more mundane,” Kate said.</p><p></p><p>Chester nods. "I barely believe it. I'm not sure how you'd explain something like that."</p><p></p><p>Ruby and Jake return, and she sits quietly at the table. She eyes the whiskey bottle, reaches for it and takes another drink. Then she starts letting her mind wander to everything but the issue at hand.</p><p></p><p>Chester says to Ruby, "Hey there stranger. I wasn't sure if you wanted to join us."</p><p></p><p>"I didn't, uh, don't. But it's nothing personal. I just want to be in the cool night air is all. It's hot in here," Ruby says tugging at her dress. "And I don't want to talk about you know what."</p><p></p><p>"Hey, mind sharing that bottle? I could use something to dull the ache." Nanuet says extending a hand towards Ruby.</p><p></p><p>Ruby snaps out of her thoughts and gives Nanuet a small smile. She extends the bottle to Nanuet. "Sorry about your arm."</p><p></p><p>"No need to apologize, you didn't break it. I took a risk, things happen. It will heal, not the first time I've had broken bones. Although this one might hurt the most." Nanuet replies before taking a swig from the bottle and passing it back.</p><p></p><p>Ruby glances down at her hands. "But it is my fault. I brought him here," she says simply, before taking the bottle back.</p><p></p><p>"How so? Did you send him a personal invitation? I doubt that. You didn't bring him, he brought himself. Now we have the chance to do everyone else a favor and get rid of that thing,” Kate said.</p><p></p><p>"Thanks for trying to be nice Kate, but if it wasn't for me he wouldn't be an issue right now, and you know it. Seems that way a lot lately."</p><p></p><p>"Well Miss Ruby,” Nanuet says. “I just think of it as you bringing us an opportunity to do something good. Take something evil out of this world. I doubt that changes your outlook on things, but that's just how I see it."</p><p></p><p>Kate adds, "Does that mean I can go back to blaming myself for everything that's happened in the last three months with Johnny Ringo and the Cowboy Gang? You never went out of your way to charm this man, there's no blame."</p><p></p><p>Ruby ignores Kate's comment. She smiles and nods at her friends, trying to get back to getting lost in her thoughts.</p><p></p><p>Jake holds the chair for Ruby when she sits, but does not look at her after that. "Shall we leave on the late Friday stagecoach? Catch the Saturday train in Tombstone to New Mexico?" </p><p></p><p>"Besides bringing my normal small arsenal of weapons, is there anything else that I can do in town to help prepare for our encounter?"</p><p></p><p>"Well that sounds like a good plan to me Jake. Not sure what else you could do to get ready. Tomorrow I am going to head to see Valdez with Minerva, see if he has any more tips or things we can use. Other than that, just try and get some rest."</p><p></p><p>"Not that I can think of,” Kate said. “I'll let you know if I think of anything. I might have enough time to see if I can work out anything chemically for us. There are mixtures that will burn."</p><p></p><p>Jake raises his eyebrow at Katherine's comment and just nods. "I'll have dynamite, too." After a moment he says. "If you are not opposed to it, we should keep as low key as possible. I don't know if he'll be looking for us, or have folks under his influence looking for us. I'll be travelling as Mr Alistair Jacobs, for whatever little edge that might give me. Even a short moment of surprise can make all the difference." Jake's revolver flashes out of his holster, twirls in his hand and chuncks back in the leather.</p><p></p><p>Kate turned to Jake and said quietly, "I have another persona to travel under as well."</p><p></p><p> He nods approvingly, "Just let everyone know her name."</p><p></p><p>"Madeline Anders," she said quietly. "Some of you have seen her before."</p><p></p><p>"Then we meet at the late Friday stage. Katherine, if you would like an escort back to the El Parador let me know." Jake finally pours himself a glass of whiskey and takes a large drink from it.</p><p></p><p>"Late stage tomorrow,” Nanuet says. “Sounds like a plan. Minerva, we can leave when you are ready. I'm in no rush though."</p><p></p><p>"Perhaps a drink <em>would</em> be in order before we go. We can visit Padre Valdez tomorrow. We will need to bring something to carry the holy water in also," Minerva says and orders a glass of whiskey to calm her nerves.</p><p></p><p>"I would please, thank you," Kate said, surprised and a bit relieved. She had been wondering how she could get a word with Jake alone.</p><p></p><p>Ruby breathes a sigh of relief. <em>Finally I will get to be alone!</em> She happily takes a sip of whiskey, it filling her with warmth and relaxing her from the earlier horror. She sits quietly twirling her hair around her finger and waits for all her friends to disperse.</p><p></p><p>Jake leans into Ruby and whispers in her ear. "Please, humor me. Don't go anywhere alone." His tone is polite and yet rather stern. "While I am taking Katherine back if you must go outside take someone with you. Chester, Minerva, or Nanuet, I don't care."</p><p></p><p>Ruby raises her glass to Jake and smiles. "Have a nice walk."</p><p></p><p>Kate walked over to the door and waited for Jake to be ready. After a few words with Ruby he walked over, she took his arm, and they headed out into the street. </p><p></p><p>"I was hoping for a chance to talk to you. I know Ruby's afraid, and I would be too, but she has to cut down on the drinking. It's dulling her mind. That's the whole reason to do it, of course, but it's making her more vulnerable."</p><p></p><p>"I suppose I should be worried about the drinking, but I am simply worried about her giving in to running away without a fight. There are many ways of running away..." Jake doesn't finish the thought.</p><p></p><p>"I'm intimately familiar with this manner of running, Jake. I tried it, remember? I know a drunk when I see one. What I'm afraid of is her mind being too fuzzy from alcohol to resist it if Turner tries to influence her again. An all out offensive against her drinking right now wouldn't be good, but whatever we can do to limit it...."</p><p></p><p>"I'm sure I can reduce her drinking a bit, or at least slow down the binge she is on. Drinking or not, if she panicks like that again when Turner is around... Mierda. I'd send her off to somewhere safe until this was done except I am afraid to have her out of my sight." Jake surreptiously glances around the street as they walk. "I need to get the fire back into her."</p><p></p><p>"I wish I knew how. If we could get her angry instead of afraid.... You'd know better than I would how to change her mood. I love her, but I don't always understand her. She'd probably say the same about me. The best preventative to panic I know is preparation. Make sure she has everything she possibly can to defend herself."</p><p></p><p>Jake laughs. "You are a funny one Katherine Kale. Asking a man if he understands a woman? I have no doubts I can make her angry." Then in a more serious tone, "The trick would be to make her angry at the proper target. I don't deny her the right to be afraid. Only a fool wouldn't be right now. I certainly am." He smiles reassuringly. "We can't let it paralyze us though."</p><p></p><p>"Seems we're good at knowing the problem but not so good with finding a solution. Just keep her feeling as safe as you can, and don't let her drink herself into oblivion. </p><p></p><p>”When would you want to change identities?” Kate continued. “I'm not sure how much good it's going to do, since others of our group will still be the same people, but it's worth trying. Would we change here? Or in Tombstone? Later on?"</p><p></p><p>"Mine is fairly subtle. Turner will know me if he sees me. I am just hoping that if he has people that are told to look out for me they would not notice a man with glasses and scrabbly beard with a different name. My guess is out of all of us, he would suspect that I would cause him trouble." Jake strokes his beard and continues, "You will probably wish to be changed before you board the train. It would be awkward to do so while on the train. It may give you some freedom to ask questions when we get to our destination."</p><p></p><p>"That sounds fine. I'll meet you at the stage tomorrow. If you need me before then, I should be either here or at the ranch. You'd better get back. Who knows what Ruby's up to by now."</p><p></p><p>"Heh." Jake smiles a bittersweet smile. "Good night Katherine Kale." He tips his hat, waits for her to be safely inside the cantina and then walks quickly back to his saloon.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="orchid blossom, post: 2669293, member: 12815"] [b]Troubles[/b] Jake walks out to the porch and offers Ruby his hand. "Come inside where I can see you." His tone is slightly abrupt and commanding. "We will make this as fast as we can. I know you are uncomfortable but it cannot be helped right now." Ruby was going to protest but between Jake's gaze and his voice Ruby knew better than to argue. She takes his hand and lets him lead her inside. "Well we aren't exactly experienced with fighting things that come back from the dead. I mean it's one thing to read about them in a book but another to be there and deal with one first hand. Now we have some sort of expectations and are learning as we go along. By the way," Nanuet says scratching his head, "Wasn't there another victim? What happened to her?" "Yeah. One of the dancers from the Palace, Shelly Longfield. She was taken back to her family,” Chester offers. Nanuet says, "I don't suppose it is worth writing a letter and sending it along? Would that do any good? I doubt anyone would believe it." "More likely they would believe we were trying to cover up something more mundane,” Kate said. Chester nods. "I barely believe it. I'm not sure how you'd explain something like that." Ruby and Jake return, and she sits quietly at the table. She eyes the whiskey bottle, reaches for it and takes another drink. Then she starts letting her mind wander to everything but the issue at hand. Chester says to Ruby, "Hey there stranger. I wasn't sure if you wanted to join us." "I didn't, uh, don't. But it's nothing personal. I just want to be in the cool night air is all. It's hot in here," Ruby says tugging at her dress. "And I don't want to talk about you know what." "Hey, mind sharing that bottle? I could use something to dull the ache." Nanuet says extending a hand towards Ruby. Ruby snaps out of her thoughts and gives Nanuet a small smile. She extends the bottle to Nanuet. "Sorry about your arm." "No need to apologize, you didn't break it. I took a risk, things happen. It will heal, not the first time I've had broken bones. Although this one might hurt the most." Nanuet replies before taking a swig from the bottle and passing it back. Ruby glances down at her hands. "But it is my fault. I brought him here," she says simply, before taking the bottle back. "How so? Did you send him a personal invitation? I doubt that. You didn't bring him, he brought himself. Now we have the chance to do everyone else a favor and get rid of that thing,” Kate said. "Thanks for trying to be nice Kate, but if it wasn't for me he wouldn't be an issue right now, and you know it. Seems that way a lot lately." "Well Miss Ruby,” Nanuet says. “I just think of it as you bringing us an opportunity to do something good. Take something evil out of this world. I doubt that changes your outlook on things, but that's just how I see it." Kate adds, "Does that mean I can go back to blaming myself for everything that's happened in the last three months with Johnny Ringo and the Cowboy Gang? You never went out of your way to charm this man, there's no blame." Ruby ignores Kate's comment. She smiles and nods at her friends, trying to get back to getting lost in her thoughts. Jake holds the chair for Ruby when she sits, but does not look at her after that. "Shall we leave on the late Friday stagecoach? Catch the Saturday train in Tombstone to New Mexico?" "Besides bringing my normal small arsenal of weapons, is there anything else that I can do in town to help prepare for our encounter?" "Well that sounds like a good plan to me Jake. Not sure what else you could do to get ready. Tomorrow I am going to head to see Valdez with Minerva, see if he has any more tips or things we can use. Other than that, just try and get some rest." "Not that I can think of,” Kate said. “I'll let you know if I think of anything. I might have enough time to see if I can work out anything chemically for us. There are mixtures that will burn." Jake raises his eyebrow at Katherine's comment and just nods. "I'll have dynamite, too." After a moment he says. "If you are not opposed to it, we should keep as low key as possible. I don't know if he'll be looking for us, or have folks under his influence looking for us. I'll be travelling as Mr Alistair Jacobs, for whatever little edge that might give me. Even a short moment of surprise can make all the difference." Jake's revolver flashes out of his holster, twirls in his hand and chuncks back in the leather. Kate turned to Jake and said quietly, "I have another persona to travel under as well." He nods approvingly, "Just let everyone know her name." "Madeline Anders," she said quietly. "Some of you have seen her before." "Then we meet at the late Friday stage. Katherine, if you would like an escort back to the El Parador let me know." Jake finally pours himself a glass of whiskey and takes a large drink from it. "Late stage tomorrow,” Nanuet says. “Sounds like a plan. Minerva, we can leave when you are ready. I'm in no rush though." "Perhaps a drink [I]would[/I] be in order before we go. We can visit Padre Valdez tomorrow. We will need to bring something to carry the holy water in also," Minerva says and orders a glass of whiskey to calm her nerves. "I would please, thank you," Kate said, surprised and a bit relieved. She had been wondering how she could get a word with Jake alone. Ruby breathes a sigh of relief. [I]Finally I will get to be alone![/I] She happily takes a sip of whiskey, it filling her with warmth and relaxing her from the earlier horror. She sits quietly twirling her hair around her finger and waits for all her friends to disperse. Jake leans into Ruby and whispers in her ear. "Please, humor me. Don't go anywhere alone." His tone is polite and yet rather stern. "While I am taking Katherine back if you must go outside take someone with you. Chester, Minerva, or Nanuet, I don't care." Ruby raises her glass to Jake and smiles. "Have a nice walk." Kate walked over to the door and waited for Jake to be ready. After a few words with Ruby he walked over, she took his arm, and they headed out into the street. "I was hoping for a chance to talk to you. I know Ruby's afraid, and I would be too, but she has to cut down on the drinking. It's dulling her mind. That's the whole reason to do it, of course, but it's making her more vulnerable." "I suppose I should be worried about the drinking, but I am simply worried about her giving in to running away without a fight. There are many ways of running away..." Jake doesn't finish the thought. "I'm intimately familiar with this manner of running, Jake. I tried it, remember? I know a drunk when I see one. What I'm afraid of is her mind being too fuzzy from alcohol to resist it if Turner tries to influence her again. An all out offensive against her drinking right now wouldn't be good, but whatever we can do to limit it...." "I'm sure I can reduce her drinking a bit, or at least slow down the binge she is on. Drinking or not, if she panicks like that again when Turner is around... Mierda. I'd send her off to somewhere safe until this was done except I am afraid to have her out of my sight." Jake surreptiously glances around the street as they walk. "I need to get the fire back into her." "I wish I knew how. If we could get her angry instead of afraid.... You'd know better than I would how to change her mood. I love her, but I don't always understand her. She'd probably say the same about me. The best preventative to panic I know is preparation. Make sure she has everything she possibly can to defend herself." Jake laughs. "You are a funny one Katherine Kale. Asking a man if he understands a woman? I have no doubts I can make her angry." Then in a more serious tone, "The trick would be to make her angry at the proper target. I don't deny her the right to be afraid. Only a fool wouldn't be right now. I certainly am." He smiles reassuringly. "We can't let it paralyze us though." "Seems we're good at knowing the problem but not so good with finding a solution. Just keep her feeling as safe as you can, and don't let her drink herself into oblivion. ”When would you want to change identities?” Kate continued. “I'm not sure how much good it's going to do, since others of our group will still be the same people, but it's worth trying. Would we change here? Or in Tombstone? Later on?" "Mine is fairly subtle. Turner will know me if he sees me. I am just hoping that if he has people that are told to look out for me they would not notice a man with glasses and scrabbly beard with a different name. My guess is out of all of us, he would suspect that I would cause him trouble." Jake strokes his beard and continues, "You will probably wish to be changed before you board the train. It would be awkward to do so while on the train. It may give you some freedom to ask questions when we get to our destination." "That sounds fine. I'll meet you at the stage tomorrow. If you need me before then, I should be either here or at the ranch. You'd better get back. Who knows what Ruby's up to by now." "Heh." Jake smiles a bittersweet smile. "Good night Katherine Kale." He tips his hat, waits for her to be safely inside the cantina and then walks quickly back to his saloon. [/QUOTE]
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