sunrise — closed

[moonkin]

𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍
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twenty-four ; | tags. shiloh mentions. names
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He had only made it a couple strides away from the bandit camp when the faint sound of hoovebeats approached. Not faint to anyone in their right mind but Bailey couldn’t round his thoughts together enough to focus on sound. Before he could react— before he could fight —his face was taken in someone’s hands, eyes meeting but no correlation shown on Bailey’s face. He almost recoiled to shove this stranger away when they were brought to the ground, to put him down like the rest until the man had spoke. His own name breaking through the fog, waking him like a curious animal. The connection between Bailey before and now weren’t exactly one at the moment so this half stared at Shiloh as he attempted to regain himself. Struggling noted upon his features, maybe more scared than he, himself, felt. That was something too; he didn’t feel scared. Not anymore. He was numb to everything but the pained expressions upon his friends face, feeling enough sympathy— and that was funny to him considering his situation — to call it that.

Bailey opened his mouth to speak whatever words that had decided to stumble clumsily out of his mouth but before he could make a sound, he was drawn into a hug. A connection that made his eyes widen naturally and his movements slow to recuperate. He didn’t know what to do until it all hit- until he allowed himself to fall into the comfort and safety Shiloh had always provided. It was weird how such could be stripped away and forgotten about in little time. How one thing could make you forget what other things felt like. Bailey all but collasped into Shiloh, of relief that he didn’t have to fight anymore. He didn’t have to kill in this moment. A breath of fresh air, no matter the blood accumulation upon his body that wasn’t his and that was his own in his mouth. He was sure Shiloh wouldn’t mind his state or his clothes being dirtied. It was the last thing that needed to be thought about but here he was. His forehead was pressed against Shiloh’s shoulder as his eyes shut tight; his arms feeling too weak to give back the hug but that didn’t matter for now. Bailey knew seeing him in one piece was enough for Shiloh, knew that even the slightest connection would carry his intention well.

The adrenaline from moments before hadn’t wore off and it was very well overwhelming him. His hands shook and his mind never seemed to stop racing. Bailey couldn’t stop the soft whine that escaped through his clenched teeth when Shiloh spoke again. A sound that came trailing before a total outburst of tears. He could only think of how stupid he was to be so careless, to let himself think that this was something they could do without repercussions or to let himself become so engrossed in his head about his own problems to even plan out a safer route. He was only glad that it was him, no one else. Especially not Shiloh.

The more they stayed like this, the more Bailey didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to go on to the next town like nothing had happened or converse among the others. The mere thought sent the inquiring action of wanting to shoot them all just for looking at him, if they would dare to anyway. His hole was dug too deep to help himself out of now. He knew there was nothing to bring him back from this, he knew Shiloh seen it too. There was no doubt in his mind that Shiloh didn’t pass the opportunity to pull the trigger himself this night. Bailey’s arms finally gathered enough strength and courage to bring Shiloh in for the hug he was given, doing so in the same fashion while the tears stopped and deep recovering breaths were taken. The water from his tears leaving streaks down his dirty face and making his skin feel all that more grimy. No one moved though, especially not Bailey first. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t to that to himself.

[Hellhound-My-Legend]

Shiloh Fray
22 / male / vaquero
at; - // tagged; bailey

Shiloh felt his eyes grow wet at some point, so relived to have found his best friend when he'd been half sure he was dead. They stayed like that, clutching at each other, almost as if to just be sure they were real, for much longer than he'd care to admit. But he didn't want to move, didn't want to think, didn't want to have to deal with the repercussions of what had happened. So he didn't move for a long while, but eventually, and with conscious effort, he pulled back ever so slightly from Bailey, hands still fisted in the dirty fabric of his shirt. It was only then he became aware of just how wrecked Bailey looked, and his heart broke all over again. It had been a rough, life altering night, and Shiloh knew, all too well, that there was no coming back from this. He looked into Bailey's eyes, trying to find remnants of the man he knew. They were there, but so clouded and hazy; far away and twisted. He took in a ragged breath, feeling it shake as he brought one hand to Bailey's, giving it a squeeze. In that moment he became very aware of what those hands had done; what they could do. He himself had killed too many times to count, but him and Bailey weren't the same, and even Shiloh had struggled after his first kill. This would leave his friend altered, of that he was sure.
"C'mon B, we need to find you a bath, and there ain't gonna be one out here," he went for humor because it was all he knew right then. If he had tried to go for something more honest, he'd fall apart. He would pull Bailey up if had to, hoist him up onto Cameron - who was pawing at the ground, clearly wanting to greet her rider - and take him away, to somewhere safe.

[moonkin]

𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍
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twenty-four ; | tags. shiloh mentions. names
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Shiloh pulling away was like reality returning. The numbness returning like a cool hand setting on his shoulder and telling him things would be alright from here on out. That things were handled, could be handled much easier. Bailey seen some truth in that now and didn’t thrive to argue with himself. He only gazed back into Shiloh’s eyes when they were looking for something Bailey didn’t understand. Green eyes were averted from theirs meeting to his hand when it were squeezed. His own realization came but far from what Shiloh had. Damn. They’re dirty. All in a natural, comfortable, movement Bailey returned the squeeze and flicked his eyes up to meet Shiloh’s again. “I think I just took one.” He joked in dry, dark humor about the situation. About the five men that’d never wake up from the ground a walk away from them. Five lives that ended because of him. The movement woke something in Bailey; woke his body up into moving out of his trance as best as it could. He didn’t move much but to turn his head and spit the blood that gathered in the base of his mouth. His tongue rolling over his teeth and tasting the flavor of blood that had became all too familiar at this point. Bailey licked his lips before speaking again, a rough raspy laughter coming from him. The multiple hands and arms around his throat making it scratchy and sore. “You look like you’re going to be sick, Shy.” He rose his hand to tame the strands of the man’s hair back in its proper place, patting his cheek twice once done. A simple gesture too odd to come after such an ending. It was all too odd.

Not long after Bailey had joked with Shiloh and helped him straighten his appearance, he was the one to officially pull from their poisition on the ground and stand. His head turned almost automatically toward the way he had left, back to the bandit campsite. It looked like he was thinking and he was; thinking about what pieces of him he’d leave there and what parts he’d take back. A whinny from Cameron brought him back around and the cowboy walked over in a calming stride, his hands immediately rising to bring her head toward him and touching both their stained faces together. He was sure she’d be taken care of and by this, he wasn’t wrong. Pulling away from the mammal, Bailey smiled softly and patted her nose when the horse rose to ruffle his matted dark hair. Cameron didn’t waste any time signaling that she’d rather leave than stay here any longer, a snort coming from her nose and one heavy stomp on the ground below. The cowboy hushed a soothing ‘alright’ toward her way and went around to carry himself into the saddle.

[Hellhound-My-Legend]

Shiloh Fray
22 / male / vaquero
at; - // tagged; bailey

Shiloh couldn't stop the bark of laughter that escaped his lips at Bailey's quip, laughing despite himself. When the older of the two pulled them to their feet, Shiloh felt his knees wobble a bit. He only scoffed in response to Bailey's further remarks, shaking his head lightly as Bailey fixed up his hair. His head followed the movement of his eyes as they followed Bailey, watching his reunion with Cameron. He went over to his own horse, taking a moment to curl his fingers through his mane, still twirled from the previous day which seemed so, so far away right then. The contact helped steady himself, as it usually did, before reaching into his pack and getting out a water container, passing it over to Bailey, thinking he'd want to wash out the blood from his mouth. He pulled himself up onto Maurice, it taking far more effort than it usually might with his tired limbs and tired mind. Bailey still seemed a bit far away, not that Shiloh thought he'd be any different, not for a while. Whatever the details of what had happened, they'd done a real number on Bailey and his mind. He didn't want to move off just yet, but they had to get going. Shiloh felt the need to get Bailey somewhere safe like an instinct, every fiber of himself screaming at him to get him away from here. So with a deep breath, he urged Maurice forward, once again heading back where he'd come from.

[moonkin]

𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍
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twenty-four ; | tags. shiloh mentions. names
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Bailey gladly took the water container and twisted off the top, taking a gulp just to spit it out on the ground to his right. Red liquid masking the clear water like that’s all he had in his mouth. He didn’t want to waste the water that was offered, especially not going along with the urge to pour it over his head. It was handed back before Shiloh had mounted Maurice, another horse he was glad to see even if they didn’t have much beyond just the familiarity of each other. His attention returned to Cameron who swung her head around to look at him that made him laugh, seeming comical in his mind. Gathering himself in the saddle and retrieving the reigns, Bailey urged her to follow after Maurice. No matter how far they’d travel away from this random spot in the plains, for days Bailey would still be there in his head. It wouldn’t be easy to shake and it was a given that he’d be caught in many of a daze. This was only one domino to the start of the rest falling in line.

𝐆𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐕𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐓
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; 6’1 | tags. everyone
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Shiloh’s absence wasn’t noticed, not when everyone was completely silent on their ride toward the next town. The sun was rising ever so slowly in the sky, casting it’s rays and waking the land. He was tired, just like he assumed the rest were from their sudden alarm clock that had to be bandits. The soldier looked on though, not really thinking or concerning himself with thinking about finding Bailey. Not now when he had things under control. The kid would be worried about later once everything was settled and they didn’t have any heroes that would mess up more than do good. Their arrival of town came an hour later with the sun, sitting them almost perfect on time. He slowed his horse to a stop and gestured for everyone to do the same so he could look over them all. It didn’t take much to notice they were missing one and two horses. A irritated sigh coming from his nose as his lips pressed tight. Fine, he thought stubbornly, They can both die out there.

“Let’s get settled.” He commanded, kicking his horse to start him off again into the belly of the town. Gideon now had two cowboys off his hands that was less that he had to worry about but from the two remaining others seen interactions with said cowboys, he knew stating his ‘I could care less’ attitude was a bad idea. He’d only point out that it was useless telling those two men what to do, they’d always run after each other even if it did result in death for the both of them. It was foolish and suicidal, in his- blunt -opinion.

[Burning_Roses]

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C H A R L E S
Charlie//Twenty-Four//Male//Tagged:
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Charlie was done. He knew Shiloh was gone and almost in his head his brain marked that as two lives and god was Charlie done he justed want to drink and forget and not have to hold onto this fake hope that's Bailey may still be alive and if he Camembert back Charlie was gonna probably be more angry than joyous over the males return. Charlie then sighed as Gideon spoke and followed the older man. He sighed as they came upon the heart of the little town, a hotel, a bar, a little bookstore, a general store. Charlie sighed, "We gotta do somethin."He said more to himself than anyone

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K A T E
Female//Twenty-Four//Outlaw//Tagged:Casimir
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Kate moved back to speak with casimir her voice surprisingly gentle and soft, "You ok? What you did back there was both gutsy and brave but I know it can make a person all sorts of freaked out when you gotta shoot even if it isn't to kill and then Shiloh running off to save Bailey...kinda the same old there but still. I'm here if ya need to talk."She patted the bartenders arm softly and gently but not enough to be patronizing

[Consulting_Angel]

Casimir Lodge
23|Male|Saloon Worker
Location: Town.
Tagged: Gideon, Charlie,
Kate.

Casimir was mostly lost in thought as he rode with the others. He was looking forward to getting some sleep, and other thoughts clouded his mind. Things that focused on tonight's event... the bandits... he shot someone. Sure, he wasn't the one to ultimately kill them, but still. It was an uncomfortable feeling that wouldn't let go of him, even as he periodically patted and rubbed Glade's neck, to try and reassure himself, and calm down. That was not happening, clearly. He still hung back, although with just four of them now, there was very little point in trying to keep completely to himself.

He was deeply relieved when they finally arrived at the town, halting when Gideon did, and just waiting for him to give the next instruction for them. Cass glanced towards Kate, when she approached him, and he blinked a couple of times, blankly, before focusing on what she was saying. He didn't really know how to react - he wasn't sure exactly how to express how 'ok' he was. He swallowed, and glanced away. "I still shot someone..." Cass eventually responded, his voice quiet, "...and I know that Shiloh will be okay... I have faith that he'll find Bailey and they'll arrive here." He took a deep breath, and glanced towards Kate. "I just need to sleep," he added.

[Burning_Roses]

[l
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K A T E
Female//Twenty-Four//Outlaw//Tagged:Casimir
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Kate smiled at Casimir her hand still resting on his shoulder her thumb moving back and forth as she smiled. "I'm proud of you. Cas you did the right thing. You really truly did."She almost could relate to the younger male. She remembered when she first shot someone. Not even to kill just that she felt threatened. She looked at Casimir, he looked tired and worn out. "Yeah we'll get some rooms soon and the maybe when we wake up this nightmare could be over."She rubbed her eyes as she removed her hat and ran a hand through her tangled wreck of hair

[Consulting_Angel]

Casimir Lodge
23|Male|Saloon Worker
Location: Town.
Tagged: Gideon, Charlie,
Kate.

Although he looked - and was - unconvinced, Casimir nodded slightly in acknowledgement. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to get over it. At least, certainly not within the next few weeks. He didn't want to be looking too much for sympathy, but he did have a question in the back of his mind. "D'you think that Shiloh would agree?" Cass knew that he didn't need to ask for the approval of others, but he hadn't managed to speak to Shiloh since it happened - the exception of Shiloh telling him not to let anyone follow the cowboy was hardly a conversation.
He did try to put it from his mind, though, and focus more on them getting somewhere to spend the night. He was definitely looking forward to that. And hopefully he'd also feel better after getting some sleep as well.

[Burning_Roses]

[l
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K A T E
Female//Twenty-Four//Outlaw//Tagged:Casimir
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Kate smiled at him gently, gentleness was not a side don the outlaw anyone really ever got to see but in this situation she could relate deeply, she knew how terrified Casimir could Bennet she had know way of knowing and the one thing she knew for certain was that gen wasn't ok. When he asked her about Shiloh and would he agree she purred her lips in thought before speaking, "I think he'd be insane not to. You and His lives were in danger, you reacted the same way I would've cept I would've killed him but that's because I'm username to that sorta thing."She shrugged as they stopped in front of the small hotel and she slid off Shadow petting the horses mane before she turned to Casimir,"I know it's terrifying, and you probably feel a tad bit sick but let me reassure that bandit would've killed you or Shiloh without a second thought."