Off to Market [Faye]

[Molly]

The sun hung high in the sky, baking the land dry and making anyone overdressed, or even under-dressed, as miserable as could be. The ground was dry, the plants were dry, hell even the air felt dry and grainy when you breathed in. Altogether, it was a rather pleasant day, huh? Dust flew into the air, kicked up by a strong-looking horse, whose mistress was basically sprawled across his back, her face pressed against the side of his neck. God, it was hot. Honestly, pressing against the horse closer did nothing but make the heat worse, but the woman was feeling too sloth-ish to care much. The brim of her hat was pulled down partially over her face, she she had shed as much gear as she could, without being indecent or leaving herself vulnerable.

As she rode into the town, the woman steered her mount over to a hitching post in front of what looked to be some sort of market. She half-slid off of the horse's back and hitched him to the post, giving him an affectionate stroke on his nose. He instantly dipped his head into the cool, clear water that filled the through near the post, and his mistress let out a gruff, irritated noise "Lucky," she rasped out, giving him a light pat on his side. Lifting her hat for a moment as she wiped the sweat off her brow, she gazed around the town. What was it's name again? Calhoun? No.. Cahone. It seemed peaceful enough, other than the confused and slightly hostile stares she received from some of the men loitering around. That was to be expected, though.

Unable to stand it any long, the woman walked under the shade that a nearby market store provided. She gazed up, reading the sign. "O’Rourke’s Market & Outfitting, huh?" she read aloud, a small smile crossing her lips. Seemed innocent enough. Maybe she could pick up some lighter traveling clothes, some gear or something while she got out of the sun. Pushing her way through the door and heading inside, she took off her hat, gentlemanly enough to realize that wasn't polite. Her spurs and bracelets lightly jingled as she walked along the aisles, hat tucked under one arm with the hand in her pocket. She browsed, being as subtle as a tall, Indian woman could be.

[|faye.carson|]

Faye was stalking shelves and trying to keep the floors clean from the constant cowboy boots caked with mud and... well 'MUD' going in and out the door. At the moment she held a broom and had a wooden crate shifted on her hip while trying to read what she needed to do next. The place was messy and she wanted to get it all cleaned up and be done. The broom slipped from her fingers and she went to grab at it, loosing hold of the crate. She quickly balanced the crate, leaving the broom to smack earily to the floor. Faye cringed at the noise. "Great kid, here you go screwing up your only means to eat and sleep, just don't catch the place on fire and maybe no one will notice....," she said to herself. She set the crate down before crouching to grab the broom. When she stood back up she noticed a woman in the room. Faye jumped, "Oh!"

Faye blushed for being so silly. She quickly leaned the broom against a wall before picking the crate up. "Can I get you anything?" She offered quietly, looking the woman up and down in a, well surprisingly a bit of curiosity. She really should stop reading those silly novels of hers. She wondered quietly if she was like any of those strong willed women she read in the books or if she was a pretender.

She stuck the merchandise that was in the crate on the shelves quickly so she could worry about finding what ever the lady would need. She noticed the hat in her hands and wondered if she rode side saddle or like a man. She decide like a man, even Faye didn't dare ride side saddle, at least not on Donte, the horse would get her off easily for sure if she were to ride like a 'lady'. If the world were truly fair men would have to ride side-saddle and women ride astride with a leg on either side. But, as it was, men were the boss and women couldn't think apparently.

She thought it was more so the other way around, but so be it. She smiled cheerily at the odd lady. She seemed nice, but appearances could be deceiving, this she knew. "We have some lovely dresses in front," she offered, nodding her head over there while her hands were busy putting the stocks of cloth and thread up. She then stuck the crate by the desk.

[Molly]

Vai had stopped to inspect some jars of various jams and pickled.. things on a shelf. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the young woman, who seemed to be the only one working in this store at the moment. She didn't seem all too efficient, though, as she tried to carry a crate and a broom. Suppressing a small chuckle, a smiled curved the tall woman's lips as the watched the girl struggle with the burden. First, she dropped the broom, nearly losing the crate when she went for the broom, then she dropped the broom again. When the girl finally noticed Vai's presence and seemed shocked, the woman couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

Turning to face the young woman when she was addressed, she didn't even seem to notice that she had picked up a jar of some sort of.. spiced jam it looked like. Looking at the jar like it was some sort of alien technology, she shrugged and placed it back on the shelf. She reached up to tip her hat in greeting, then remembered she didn't have it on, so she played it off like she was scratching the top of her head. "Ah, no. I'm just browsing at the moment, Miss. Thank you, though," she said, being polite as she could manage. Though she could fight and spit like a man, she could also be a gentleman like one, and treated ladies with the respect they deserved.

When the woman went to start putting whatever was in the crate on the shelves, Vai moved to another area of the store, close by to where the girl was working. She peered at the shelves. These were covered with everything from grease to tobacco.. which were basically the same in Vai's eyes. Couldn't pay her to touch the stuff, not since she was dared to chew it and spit out the juice when she was younger. The taste wouldn't leave her mouth for hours. She shuddered involuntarily at the thought.

Hearing the girl speak again, Vai turned her attention back to her. What she said, though, made her face crack into a smile that could only be described at ridiculous. She snickered for a moment, then dissolved into obnoxious, loud laughter that brought tears to her eyes. Placing her hand on a shelf to steady herself, she laughed until her sides hurt, then finally stopped to wipe her eyes with her arm. "D-dressess... heheh.. dresses she says.." she shook her head, letting out a sigh and another chuckle at she looked back at the girl. "Do I look like I wear dresses, hun?"

[|faye.carson|]

Faye looked at the woman. Deciding she liked her style and smiled. "No you don't. Haha, sorry I'm a little scatter brained, there's some horse tack in the back and some gear next to it if that's what you're looking for," Faye said, with a smile. She licked her lips quietly before saying, "And there's a few hunting things to the left, on the far wall," she offered. "Not much horse tack though, mostly just gear, hunting, and food. We also carry books but it's mostly just on how things work. Don't know if those things have been touched in years." Faye said with a smile.

She grabbed the broom before saying, "If you need any help let me know." She smiled a little before going back to work. Mentally she was slamming her head against a wall while repeating 'Idiot, idiot, idiot...' She needed to pay more attention, and more often. She continued to sweep dust into piles before she slowly started to sweep everything towards the door. She had no idea why she bothered. When she got to the door she sweeped it out onto the deck before sweeping it into the road. She walked back in, Edan, her boss, stepped from the back room to the register. He set two more crates for her to stock on the table. She sighed.

She grabbed the first one, Edan had removed the tops for her so it made her job easier. She started sticking the merchandise where it belonged. She then noticed some guy walk in, track dirt all over the place. She gave up, sighing in frustration before going back to stocking the shelves.

(sorry kind of a crappy post)

[Molly]

[Crappy? Not at all.]


"No worries. I'm just messing with you anyway. The idea of me in a dress just tickled my funny bone a little bit." A little bit was an understatement, since she had laughed so loudly, but she didn't want to make the young woman feel bad. She seemed nice enough, perhaps a bit anal, but nice. "Thank you very much for the help." She held her hat to her chest for a moment respectfully before going over and inspecting the aforementioned gear. She picked out a few things, such as bullets and some other bits to fix up her horse with, including a new saddle blanket. Thank goodness she still had some money saved up.

She went ahead and set the picked out objects on the counter, though out of the way a bit in case anyone came in to buy something before she was finished. The young woman made her way back over to the jars, picking up the jar from before. Upon inspection, she saw that it was some sort of spiced apple jam. Just the sound of it made her stomach twist in knots from hunger. With a smile, she went and placed the jar atop the rest of the items she had grabbed. Pondering for a moment, she decided to give the store one more sweep, just in case she missed something she needed.

As she made her way back to the front of the store, she saw the other girl busily sweeping away. What a tidy person. As she subtly watched the girl stock the shelves with two more crates of items, she heard another person enter the store. A man.. with very filthy boots. Letting out an irritated snort, Vai walked over to the man, grabbing his shoulder and giving him a withering look. "Mister, I believe that the young lady just swept, and she won't appreciate you tracking dirt in, so.." she began to walk him backward, the man mainly in shock from the arrogance this woman was displaying, ".. why don't you just go back outside, and knock the dirt off of your boots before you come in, like a gentleman." And with that, she had pushed him back outside the store.

[|faye.carson|]

Faye flushed at the other woman's courtesy. She giggled a little when the man was outside, and out of earshot. "Thank you very much," Faye said with a smile on her face. "I guess I should do the sweeping at the end of the day," she said. "I don't think I feel like sweeping every single speck of dirt off that floor every other minute of the day." That was mostly her talking out loud than to the other woman.

"I'm Faye Carson by the way," she said, offering her hand out to the other woman. Edan just stood behind the counter checking some God awful math thing. Faye had always detested Math, but she was fairly good at it, surprisingly, as well as science.

The man walked back into the store, eying the women suspiciously. Faye looked down at her feet. "Ms. Carson, I have one more crate for you to stock," Edan reminded her.

Faye looked up with intelligent eyes, suddenly remembering. "Yes sir," she said, going back to work hastily. She needed the money so much to where she'd probably go mad if she lost her job in just a few days of work. She grabbed the crate and started to stock the shelves quickly. She then went threw the store making sure everything was in order. She then pulled up a chair in the back to take a little break. She stood up and went to check on her horse. Donte was sleeping in the shade to the side of the store. But when he heard someone walk near his ears perked and then slowly opened his eyes. He bellowed and then walked towards her, forgetting he was hitched. He felt the tug before he stopped and looked at the contraption holding him down. "Silly boy. You want to go run and play, I know," she said with a little smile. He grumbled and sighed at the same time, twitching an ear as if her were bored to death. He gave her a bright expression before he started to pace, walking his rear end around his front end. He snorted and pawed before he started to weave. "I know you can't stalk walk here. But I can't let you loose right now, I can't watch you." She walked over and checked his water.

[Molly]

Vai scraped at the dirt a bit with her boot, trying to get it out of the door. That didn't really do much help, more grind it into the floor, actually. She gave up on that attempt after a short while, tapping her boot on the ground outside of the door to get anything on it off. "Not a problem, Miss," she said, flashing her a smile. "And yeah, that would probably be more.. practical." She commented, though she gathered that the woman was more berating herself than talking directly to her. Stepping back into the store, she stretched her arms above her head then rolled her shoulders.

"Miss Carson. A pleasure," she said, taking the woman's hand, shaking it good-naturedly, then kissing the top of it, as would any gentleman. It was probably rather odd coming from a woman, yet it had become a habit for Vai. That, and she was an insatiable flirt with an appetite mainly for women, though she did dabble in the realms of men every once in awhile. "I am Pavati Nampeyo. Please, call me Vai." Releasing the hand, she glanced at the doohickey on the counter a man, the owner most likely, was messing with. Ah, math. How unpleasant.

As the man she had given some friendly advice to walked back in, she waved and smiled. This one wasn't nearly as friendly as the one she had given Faye, though. In fact, it looked more like a warning than a smile at all. A dare for him to just try and mess with her. he didn't seem so keen to eye the two women after that. Looking smug, Vai turned back towards Faye and Edan, watching as he put the girl back to work again.

The girl was like a bee, quickly unloading the crate and placing the new items on the shelves. The poor girl probably needed the money, she guessed. While the woman went about her business, Vai made her way over to the counter to purchase the items she had set on it before. The owner rang her up and Vai fished in a pouch on her belt for the money. Scooping up the items, Vai went outside a little bit after Faye had exited. She made her way over to her own horse, who was fidgeting uncomfortably in the sun. Putting her purchases in the saddlebag, she noticed the young woman was with a horse of her own. It was hitched in a nice spot in the shade, which Vai decided would suit Tammo just fine. Unhitching her mount, Vai hoisted herself onto the animal's back and rode him over to Faye and her horse.

"Hello again, ma'am. Mind if I hitch my horse in the shade here, too? Poor Tammo here is suffering jsut standing around out in this heat, and your horse looks like he could use some company." Faye's horse looked and acted fidgety and restless. It had probably been tied up there for awhile, the poor thing. Looking thoughtful for a moment, she glanced down at Faye as she checked her horse's water. "Or I could even take him out for a little run, if you'd like. Stretch his legs, help him relax a bit."

[|faye.carson|]

Faye flushed at her kissing the top of her hand, feeling a little awkward and was a tad bit happy she had to go back to work, mostly cause it would save her from and awkward silence. While she worked she thought of that woman again. Different, but not less. In fact, she kind of liked the lady, she had a lot of character, though she didn't really enjoy the hand kissing part, she detested it from men and she'd never even thought about a woman so it came by as awkward. She wasn't big on touchy feely.

She jumped a little when Vai spoke. "Oh, Sure he can have company. I wouldn't suggest riding him though, he'll dump you any chance he gets." As if to prove her point Donte pinned his ears as if he was born without them and bared his teeth, stomping the dirty ground angrily, waving his tail up in the air like a warning. "Shut up you idiot, you have such bad manners," Faye said with a little giggle. He stopped, lifting his head high with a regal look at her. "He likes to believe that he's boss," Faye said with a roll of her eyes. Donte flicked his ears forward. "I think there's enough water in there. Since I have a little break I might run him, if you want to come along." She was more afraid of running him and him deciding to buck her off and she'd be stranded out there, she kind of figured he wouldn't but you never know. "I have to go check on my mare as well," she said. She let her horses run loose with the wild horses, they always came to her when she whistled or called their names, or if they saw her. But they wouldn't walk up to strangers, they would let certain people close, but they only really stayed when Faye was around. They both had brands anyways. The Bar Star Race Ranch, the race looked like a squiggle under the star.

She smiled, untying his lead from the hitching post. She walked over to the shady corner, Donte following close behind, sniffing her skirts for treats. "Awe you caught me," she said, handing over a carrot before taking his halter off and exchanging it with a bridle. "Got it from someone's garden so mums the word," she whispered to Donte. She pulled the english saddle up and over on his back. He pinned his ears and looked at her but did nothing dangerous or evil. She pulled the saddle cloth up into the pummel of the saddle before she girthed it up. She smiled. "Ok kiddo, I got to get on somehow." He grunted and looked at her. She pulled another carrot piece out and stuck it between his legs, he bowed immediately and she swung up on. He had a tid bit of trouble chewing but got the carrot in his stomach either way. He started to prance in the trot, snorting. "I know, we'll run, just give me a second." He pinned his ears and started to buck a little. Faye didn't appear to move from her position in the saddle. She just held the reins and waited for his fussing to be done. He calmed down after the second buck. "Know I suppose you're going to be sore after this," she murmured dryly.

She looked at Vai quietly. "You can double with me if you want? Though I don't know how he'll react with two people," she said, patting his withers quietly. He stood still now, waiting for aids from Faye.

[Molly]

Unfortunately for Faye, Vai was a very touchy-feely kind of person, which she'd come to experience often if she started spending time with the odd Indian woman. The poor girl had no idea what she'd gotten herself into by being friendly to the infamous flirt. She'd learn, though. The hard way, if she wasn't careful. Still, the woman had a bit of a wandering eye when it came to women, so hopefully she'd move on to another prey in due time. For now, though, this friendly store clerk had the gunslinger's undivided attention.

Sitting atop her horse, Vai did the same obnoxiously loud laugh as before at the horse's threatening stare. Mostly because it made Tammo whinny irritably and stamp his hoof, shaking his head at Donte and flicking his ears back. Very protective of his mistress, he wasn't about to let this other horse feel like he could intimidate him, or Vai. Stroking her horse's neck affectionately, she flashed Faye a smile as he looked at her. "He looks like he wants to kick me in the teeth there, Miss Carson. He's got a lot of spirit, I'll give him that." Tammo didn't seem nearly as impressed by his 'spirit', trotting backward a bit on his own accord, getting his mistress out of harm's way, or at least in his own mind he was. Vai rubbed in a circle behind the stallion's ear, a special spot that his loved.

"I'd love to ride with you, Miss. Can't have a lovely lady such as yourself go alone, now can we?" she said, winking with a roguish smirk on her face. And so it begins. Noting the girl feeding a carrot to her horse, she fished into her saddlebag for a treat as well. Pulling out an apple, she shined it on her shirt, then got out a knife and began cutting chunks off. "My big, strong boy deserves a little something for protecting me from that bad horse." she chucked as she held her palm flat, letting Tammo eat some chunks of apple off of her hand. She continued doing this until the apple was gone, finishing his treat a bit before Faye was done getting her horse ready.

"As much as I'd love to, Miss, I don't think your horse is my biggest fan. He'd probably end up kicking me off, and you as well in the process. I'll ride my sweet boy here and watch your back." Tugging on his reins, her horse seemed to pick up instantly on the fact she wanted him to move. She trotted her horse head a bit, letting Tammo stretch his legs a little before they started off.

[|faye.carson|]

Faye made a face, "He doesn't do much harm... not much, but I suppose you are correct in your theories, he does look ready to kick your teeth in." Faye pat his withers, "Now you be good or I'll kick your teeth in," she warned her horse. As if hearing this Donte craned his head around. She read the expression on his face. "Yes we're going running, and no you can NOT buck me off." He appeared to have the same face as a few seconds ago before sniffing her boot and then swinging his head back around. He then seemed to recognize a new horse, getting a little tense and jittery.

"Oh hush up, he's been standing there for several minutes now," Faye said. Donte didn't seem to care. "Just don't get too close to him or he'll try to bulldoze your guy down," Faye warned Vai as she trotted after. Donte pulled and yanked on the reins. Marie trotted him on a loose reins as she let him fuss. Someone thumped a crate onto one of the decks, he looked over at it and took off bucking. Faye, stood up slightly in her stirrups, leaned back, grabbed her reins and then jerked up with her reins. Donte leaped in the air before his body slammed back into the Earth with a thud. Cowboys stopped to stare and whistle. "STOP WHISTLING!" Faye called. They didn't seem to hear, mostly because it was hard to hear Faye's voice, since she'd actually croaked rather than called. Donte took off running, Faye gave up and crouched over his neck, tightening her grip on the reins before pulling him down to a canter and then a trot. "If it weren't a public place I would be kicking your teeth out right now like I promised," Faye grumbled.

When Vai caught up Faye said, "He's still got the bucks in him so he should do this a couple a more times until he's done." She rolled her eyes, "All I can say is at least he hasn't ran me into walls like he's done with other people... or trees, well he did that once but he couldn't get me off so I think he gave up," she said. Donte got a real mean look in his eyes, pinning his ears before chomping on the bit noisily. "He'll get over himself, give him a minute." She made him trot forward again and then sat the smooth trot this time. She was supposed to start a horse's warm up out on a posting trot, to help their back, but she figured if he was going to take off two seconds into the game she might as well give up on his back. Donte seemed to get aggitated, his tail swishing angrily. He turned his head to look at Tammo. "I have no clue why they call Gentlemen Thoroughbreds," Faye said. "They aren't usually the happiest of campers. I've seen five mares and ten Stallions break down stall doors in my life, only one of them was a Quarter Horse, the others were Thoroughbreds, then again that might have been Donte several times...." Donte started to swing his butt over towards Vai and Faye kicked him in the side, spur turned in. He grunted and swung his butt back where it belonged. Faye asked for canter, then for trot, then for canter, then for trot before she asked for a canter once more, now having to push the horse. Donte grunted in his canter strides. A deer dashed out of nowhere, but Donte seemed to ignore it.

Faye gave him the reins and he started to take his head down, she also felt him slow his canter and she pushed him forward again. He relented with a grumble and gave her a nice easy canter. He kicked out at a fly as they cantered and Faye had to laugh. A few cowboys on their horses trotting by gave the pair(Faye and Vai and of course their horses) odd looks. Faye ignored it. Donte flicked his ears all around, aware of the surroundings.

(LOl this is the real Donte in a nut shell, just not like that everyday, well... usually... ok maybe like that everyday ^^ lol You really have to watch him or he'll take off bucking or bite somebody or... well ya all that's listed above ^^)

[Molly]

"I can see it in the headlines now if he tries. 'Woman and horse hospitalized after an odd brawl'." Vai laughed at the thought, both joking and completely serious at the same time. If that horse tried to nip or kick her, hoo boy, she'd teach him a lesson. Stroking Tammo's mane, she rode a bit behind and to the side of Donte, well enough out of kicking distance. She didn't really believe that the ornery horse could bulldoze her Tammo, but she didn't really want to take any chances. It would be horrible if she, the horses, or her new companion got hurt on their little outing, and she planned to try and make it go as smoothly as possible.

Watching the girl struggle with the.. spirited.. horse made her chuckle. She'd broken in a couple of ornery horses like that while doing odd-jobs, and she new firsthand that it was no fun. That's why she preferred riding her own horse. She'd raised Tammo from birth, so she knew this horse like the back of her hand, and he trusted her implicitly. While she'd ridden plenty of other horses, he was her main mount, and she'd never replace him for that. Turning her attention back to Faye, she couldn't help but laugh at how irritable she was getting from trying to keep that horse under control. The men watching didn't seem to help her at all. Feeling bad for her, Vai rode over to the men and flashed them her more brilliant and flirtatious smile. "Hello, boys. You be good now, alright? Her tone of voice took on a deep, lusty tone. It shut them up good. Holding back laughter, she rode away from them and back over next to Faye.

"That horse of yours is a character for sure, Miss. A fighter. But, I think you've got some fight in you too, if you don't mind me sayin'. He'll be wrapped around your finger in no time." Riding calmly alongside the other horse, Tammo glanced at Donte and gave him a humored whinny. While he didn't appreciate the way he treated his mistress, he always found it funny how these less 'civil' horses treated their masters. He kept up with the changes in speed, watching the other horse. Vai had to nudge him away as she got a bit too close, lightly patting the side of his face. He responded quickly, moving back to a safe distance.

As the men rode by, Vai tipped her hat to them in a friendly manner. She'd only been in town for a few hours, so she didn't want to start making any enemies just yet. She'd save that for later tonight, when she'd go out to the saloon, get in a bar-fight, and possibly get arrested. That was usually her routine upon entering a small town. Why'd she do it? Who knew. For fun, most likely. To stir up the lives of the townsfolk, or her own. "So, Miss Carson, how long have you been here in town? I just arrived, myself. It seems awfully quiet around here."