⇇ westward bound ⇇

[Scarlett;]

Ｍｉｓ' Ｊｏｃｅｌｙｎ
role; horse thief - location; harrison, arkansas - mood; --- - tags; --- - health/stamina; 100%
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➸ The mild wind and Ronan's trotting rose plumes of dust from the barren earth as they passed. One hand on the reins, Jocelyn fished the crinkled letter out of her satchel and opened it with her free fingers, careful to keep an eye out for this town inscribed in the note: The Red Hotel: Harrison, Arkansas. Eyeing the note, she confirmed the location mentally, pondering. Was this Arkansas? She couldn't be sure: she seemed to be awfully close to the border, so she could be in her desired location or the region just over it, Missouri. Sighing, she rolled up the paper and stuffed it back into her bag, turning back to the bleak land before her. As she glanced up, the horse thief took a double-take - just in the distance, she could make out a series of buildings, a small strip of town in the heart of deserted land. She considered turning back, but after a peek over her shoulder, the outlaw decided against the idea, realizing the fact that this was the only sign of civilization for leagues, or even miles. Might as well give it a try. Jocelyn kicked he heel into her mustang's side and they sped the last stretch of land before them.

She tugged on the rains in a fluid gesture, bringing Ronan to a halt as they pulled into the makeshift avenue before the commercial structures. Pulling her hat over her eyes (as the eyes are the best features to identify a person by), she scanned the surrounding edifices and their corresponding titles. A bank, a saloon, a general store... Aha! The Red Hotel. So she was in the right place. J pulled up to the establishment and instantly dismounted, though she was careful around a man steered up in front of the inn, just sitting there. She couldn't quite see him from under the brim of her hat, but there was something familiar about that horse... She'd seen it somewhere. But there were other things on her mind. Hitching her stallion up, Jocelyn swept to the door, glancing back at the figure on the other horse before slipping into the hotel. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck raising, still slightly suspicious of the man just outside. Could he be... No, he would have been in here by now if he was with the party. Then what was he up to? Hopefully nothing compromising, she thought to herself. This union, this opportunity, this chance she was taking, it was her only chance to finally settle down and clear her name. The plan was already fragile as it was, from what she could tell, so they couldn't afford any mishaps or slip-ups now.

[joshie,]

❝ ⋆ ｍａｒｙ ｇｒａｃｅ ❞

( health ninety ) ( weapon duel pistols ) ( location alabama ) ( tags tbd )

Mary was not in the mood for trivial things such as stopping at the local bar and watching the current skit that was playing all night long, she was on a mission. For it was upon this day that the four horse-masters were supposed to meet to look for the crazy treasure that will probably never be found. She had traveled miles from her home town, first at a very fast pace on her mustang but later slowing to a more comfortable one for both rider and sixteen point five hand horse. He was very tall for a mustang, who usually only grew to be around fifteen hands, and even that was large. But Jackson seemed to be the odd man out.

The young woman had caught him as a yearling, rounded him up on one of her old horses who she had left behind to make the journey. He had been larger than most of the stallions of the herd, and when she had finally got her hands on him he was out of control, bucking and kicking. Never a complacent one, and still a battle to be fought with when he didn't want to do something. She had brought him back to her ranch, and broke him on ground work before getting on when he was strong enough at two. That was three years ago, and they had been inseparable ever since.

Many men had argued that her horse was nothing more than a pretty face and had no spunk in him, of course how ever could a woman ride a stallion, but they had been shown differently as soon as they got in the saddle. Like a horse being broken he would whirl around and do his best to throw the inferior person off, leaving many men on her tail. They hated the fact that a woman would disrespect them in that way, and she had even shot two men the previous month defending her honor and her life. But Jackson was the only man she could ever want, he trudged forwards with his head low with exhaustion and his ears erect but not too interested in anything but the likely commands she was going to give as they moved into town. It was quaint, and she immediately saw the hotel that she was supposed to be meeting the others at. With a swift, spurred kick she neck-reined the horse over to the tying post, where a couple of horses lay in wait for their riders. "Now you be good, young'un. Don't be caus'in a fuss." she said, slapping his neck affectionately, he returned it with a knicker as he looked for some treats in her holster.

[GrayStar51]

❝name❞ jarvisxxx✘✘✘xxx ❝location❞ the red hotel
✘✘✘ currently introducing himself
✘✘✘ ooc make sure you guys check into the discussion thread.

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Jarvis finished his coffee with one large swig, setting the mug down and looking over his shoulder. One especially lovely young woman had walked into the lobby of the old hotel. She fit the description in the letters perfectly: long, ebony hair in wild waves draped around her round face. She had full, rosy cheeks and skin the color of fine porcelain. Large hazel eyes hid under the shadows of lush, dark eyelashes. She was youthful and fit, with the gentle jingling sound of horse spurs following her boot-steps. Jarvis looked up under the brim of his hat. "M'iz Pierce?" He asked the woman when she came near his seat at the bar. He was nearly positive that it was her, for what kind of northern woman was caught out in this old dusty plain without some sort of important purpose.
Just as he had reached out to her, Jarvis's eye got caught on another woman who had walked through the door. Or rather, she had stormed through the door, drawing quite a ruckus of attention upon herself. Two dueling pistols gleamed in their silver-studded holsters, ready to fly at the slightest inclination of danger. Unlike Miss Pierce, she was a wild looking woman, surely full of spirit and pride. She scanned the room with her fiery eyes, and they settled on Jarvis. He was convinced that she was his second correspondent. "M'iz Grace?" He asked, a slightly unsure prompt. He looked back and forth, his green eyes darting between the two women.

[Scarlett;]

Ｍｉｓ' Ｊｏｃｅｌｙｎ
role; horse thief - location; harrison, arkansas - mood; --- - tags; jarvis, mary - health/stamina; 100%
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➸ Jocelyn blinked as she stepped into the inn, letting her eyes adjust to the darker room. The wooden walls were, for the most part, bare, not including the occasional small window or poster, wanted or not. The floors creaked as she noticed one or two tenants going about their business. Lounge chairs and tables occupied a large section of the main hall in sporadic positions, and a small stove leaned against a back wall, most likely for cooking. The most prominent feature of the establishment, though, would have to have been the medium-length bar right center from the doorway. Shelves lined the backmost wall panels and for a moment the thief thought she had stepped into a saloon, not a decent hotel. She stepped aside, letting an unknown newcomer in as she brushed the dust off her riding pants. Not like that helped any. Her boots, trousers, and even her light shirt were almost caked. Though she ought to have been used to such things by now, having lived in the region for a few years now, the topic of dirt still got to her a bit; it wasn't that she was prissy, rather, she was more so used to the snows of Canada.

J glanced around, wondering if anyone else had shown up yet. The note she had received had been careful to mention a formation of a party of three. The only problem? She wasn't quite sure who she was looking for. She hadn't faced this Jarvis character in real life, nor a Mary Grace, and she'd never heard about them in the wanted ads, even though she'd passed though a majority of the plains states already (they had exchanged descriptions of each other in the letters, but would a dusty brown-haired, muscly type really stand out in a place like this?) But they couldn't be that hard to find in a small inn such as this, right? Sweeping the scene, she saw many look-alike cowboys leaning on this and that. But only one looked anything like someone who'd actually had experience as an experienced traveler. Jocelyn slowly strode up to the counter, hearing her own spurs rattle in unison with the rasping of the floorboards. Before she could say anything, though, the man before her turned in his seat, inspecting her. He hadn't been lying about his looks: dark brown hair that glided over the shoulders, and the permanently dusty skin of someone that was unmistakably native to the area, or had at least lived here for some time. He seemed rather muscly, too, with visibly corded arms and a rugged aura about him. Light green eyes locked with hazel as he addressed her in a rather formal manner, which she scorned. She'd always been one for first-name things, but on the seldom occasion anyone worked with her, she had regularly been labeled with her surname. A business thing, no doubt. In response to his greeting, she titled her own hat back with a nod, proceeding to take a seat next to him. It was nice to sit down, even for a minute. "Then I take it you must be Jarvis?" she breathed, partially relieved that she'd actually found him (at least one of them) and that this was actually happening. The northerner had been working on her slang to try and fit in more in these southern parts, but it just didn't sound right with her old smooth accent.

[joshie,]

❝ ⋆ ｍａｒｙ ｇｒａｃｅ ❞

( health ninety ) ( weapon duel pistols ) ( location alabama ) ( tags tbd )

The pretty young woman walked forwards, sorry, strutted forwards with obvious intention in her step. Unlike most of the folks in the establishment, she did not have the pretty spinning spurs that clang together as she walked, but merely some lightly pointed ones that were made out of some very fine iron. She had never liked the ones that jangled every time she made a movement, and it was an easy spook for her mustang when she was on him. A faceless voice called for her last name, the name that she usually told all men to address her by, being a total feminist and thinking of them as unworthy for such a simple task. Nevertheless, when she did lay eyes on the longer haired dark blonde man she sighed and cracked her neck before crossing her arms.

It was a slow what over, clearly she was not in the mood for any scoundrel to do anything-- silly. And her black eyes stared down the man, daring his eyes to look down at her chest or nether regions, just to give her a reason to give him a black eye before setting out. She was like this with most people, most men anyways, and it was all a game of whether they would dare see her as an object to objectify or a woman, to respect. This man seemed to respect her, to a degree anyways, and looked away with disinterest. Good. She thought with a stern look. One less imbecile I have to worry about. And she sat down, making quite a noise and grunting to the best of her abilities. Every single day of her life, she had downplayed her beauty, wearing breeches and loose shirts, overalls instead of corsets, boots instead of heels. Every single thing, the only thing she had left was her long-ish hair that can to the middle of her back, identifying her as a woman. She would never dream of cutting it off, nor would she grow it out any longer. Mary was comfortable with the length.

As soon as she sat down the bartender looked at her, as most men did, and she sneered saying: "Pint of anything from the kegs, make it quick." She flipped a coin in his direction, and he caught it with a look of surprise lining his face. Finally, she turned to look at the two that were to accompany her, impatience already growing. "As soon as I finish this one, we're off, I have no time for dillydallying. My horse is standing around outside, and its not long before someone will recognize him and come in for blood." Mary informed them curtly, not bothering with pleasantries. The bartender delivered her drink and she took a long swig, a couple drops pouring down her throat in the process and she slammed it down. This whole entire time, one of her hands remained firmly on her pistol, ready to protect herself from any incoming antagonist.

[GrayStar51]

❝name❞ jarvisxxx✘✘✘xxx ❝location❞ barstool at the red hotel, harrison, arkansas
✘✘✘ currently talking to the two
✘✘✘ ooc short post before school X3

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Jarvis let a polite smile slip across his face. He was now certain that these two women were to be his companions while finding the loot. He was glad of their company and of their skill. A thief who could rob you blind and a gunslinger whose steady hand never left her gun. Jarvis looked at the gunslinger, Miss Mary Grace. She was the roughest, meanest looking woman he had ever come across, and he knew that he better tread lightly around her, or she'd be a thorn in his side the whole way to California. Miss Jocelyn Pierce seemed the opposite, with an inviting smile and a charismatic flair. Jarvis attuned his attention to Jocelyn. Yes, Indeed M'am. My name's Jarvis McCoy, and I'll be leading this expedition." He said, then glanced over to Mary Grace, who was chugging down a pint and demanding that they left immediately upon her finishing her beer. Jarvis was ready to go, but he didn't take kindly to anyone ordering him around on his expedition. This was going to be a very long trip, so if they were to get along for the duration of the trip, he needed to settle things before they got out of hand. "Now, M'iz Grace. I do believe that I have treated you with the utmost respect since you've walked through those there doors, correct? Do tell me why you have chosen to come in here and order me around without even a common courtesy." Jarvis asked, trying to set things straight with her. "I'm ready to go as soon as you are, but I would appreciate being talked to like the respectable man I am. I am not one of your old townie dogs that you're used to beatin' the crap out of back in your hometown, so don't talk to me like one." He said, his green eyes reflecting the stern look that she had stabbed into him upon her arrival. If they were going to travel with each other, they all needed to respect each other equally.

[Scarlett;]

Ｍｉｓ' Ｊｏｃｅｌｙｎ
role; horse thief - location; harrison, arkansas - mood; observant, relaxed - tags; jarvis, mary - health/stamina; 100% ooc; kinda choppy, sorry! had a lot to do today.
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➸ Jocelyn heeded the fellow criminal's introduction accordingly, the smallest touch of a smile on her lips. He seemed like a leader type; she wasn't sure of his past life before he'd turned to one of an outlaw, but he seemed to have that air about him that entailed that he was meant to be a leader. She, on the other hand, was anything but. Independent, sure, but she'd been that all her life. J knew she wouldn't have been as good of a leader as it seemed he would be, as she'd only had to worry about herself before and didn't exactly have the people skills for the job. The times she had worked with others were cut short, either with the client being caught somehow or with her just up and leaving because the deal that was struck just wasn't up to par, which was precisely why she preferred to work alone. Not only were the deals unfair to a "lowly" thief such as herself, but she didn't want to endanger anyone anymore. Everyone thinks of her as this sneaky thief and everything, but you can't know everything about a person just from looking at a wanted poster. She truly didn't want to hurt anyone, she'd never wanted to hurt anyone, but look at where it got her. On the run from multiple states' officials, but mostly in Oklahoma.

She snapped back into focus, murky green optics constricting once again as a newcomer strutted towards them and plopped herself down on Jarvis's other side in quite an attention-grabbing display. The woman, also dusted down to the point where she could identify her as a lady more than just associated with these parts, had darkish blonde hair and eyes that looked to be so dark they could be considered black, though she couldn't see them too well in her current endeavors. Jocelyn listened intently as the gal, who she assumed was Mary, conversed with Jarvis. Though it seemed a bit cocky, J admired her confident attitude, yet she agreed that it wasn't exactly going to help matters on their expedition. The sooner they got to know each other and, more importantly, could tolerate each other and work together, the sooner they'd get their hands on that bounty. But she didn't say anything as an awkward silence began to grow between her traveling companions. Instead, she called for the barkeep and requested some water for her skin and Ronan, pushing a coin on the counter with a subtle gesture.

[joshie,]

❝ ⋆ ｍａｒｙ ｇｒａｃｅ ❞

( health ninety ) ( weapon duel pistols ) ( location alabama ) ( tags tbd )

Mary just chuckled, it was probably the fourth or fifth beer of the night and it was finally taking a tole on her, not like she cared much anyways. It was always funny, the way that men worked. As soon as a woman did the smallest thing, she was deemed disrespectful and immediately had to be told off. She would love him try and do it to one of his male friends, if he had any, they would look at him as though he had just skinned his cat. She had assumed that there was no “sole leader” as he seems to be presenting himself as, but rather a group decision to come into each other’s paths on that date. Which was probably why she was so horrified at his heinous behavior back towards her. She was not in the mood for some rough man to start bossing her around, and the fact that she had explained her reasons for setting off as soon as possible was making her a bit frustrated.

"Now let me speak directly to you," she said, leaning back and regarding him with narrowed eyes. Her hands were crossed, but in such a way that her guns were less than a second away from her hands if she was in need to pull them out. "This is me letting you know that I'm not going to stand behind you or tread lightly around you on this journey. Clearly I can't go alone because I don't know where we're going. But you meet up with any town going West and I guarantee you're going to need someone of my-- specialty-- with you. This is my respectful tone and language, and you're just going to have to deal with it, unless you can find another gunner with a shot half as good. I speak to everyone this way, and you aren't going to be an exception."

[GrayStar51]

❝name❞ jarvisxxx✘✘✘xxx ❝location❞ the bar at the red hotel, harrison arkansas
✘✘✘ currently arguing with mary
✘✘✘ ooc check the discussion thread, i have a poll

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Jarvis watched her tense up. Feminists. He thought with irritation. To prove to society that a woman could be as tough as a man, they had to shove it down a man's throat just to make an impression. I won't take your disrespect for the duration of this trip. I need you, you need me, and Jocelyn needs both of us just as much as we need her. The three of us need to get along and work together. But if you insist on being a bitch the entire way, you won't be getting any courtesy from me. I'm not leaving this bar until we understand each other, and that starts with you not acting like like the bloody queen of the west, your highness. I'm not asking you to submit to me or none of that crap. I'm just asking that you act like a civilized human bein' around the two of us, is that too much to ask?" He reasoned, looking between Jocelyn and Mary. He was a rough man, but he was a respectable man who was put in a position where he had to do uncivilized actions. He wasn't a bad person. He had a life back before any of this had happened to him, and his best shot at getting a honest life back was to find that loot. And he was only going to achieve that with the help of both of them. "I understand that you're being followed, and you want to leave as quickly as possible. I also want to leave right away, and was prepared to do so until you stormed in here and demanded it of me. Like you, I don't like being told what to do or where to go. All three of us can leave here right now, if you'll promise to be decent to the two of us for the rest of this very long trip."

[Scarlett;]

Ｍｉｓ' Ｊｏｃｅｌｙｎ
role; horse thief - location; harrison, arkansas - mood; - tags; jarvis, mary - health/stamina; 100%
ooc; short post again, sorry! i'm leaving for the day, and i just wanted to get something up real quick before i go
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➸ Jocelyn watched the fight ensue between Jarvis and Mary as she finished tying off her skin. Respect. Respect. It was such a hard thing to come by, especially down here. No one gave a crap about respect if they ended up with something to line their pockets, present company included (at least, that was before this... some respect would need to be established if they were going to even make it to California, she had to admit). They were both making good points, but now all they had to do was understand that. But with good, there was bad, and some of the things they were saying were going to nag her to the core if they weren't addressed here and now.

"I'm sitting right here, you know," she started, eyeing Jarvis a few moments shy of the end of his end of the debate. "I can represent myself just fine on my own, thank you." She wasn't a feminist in the extremest way that they were known for; rather, she carried herself like she was just as equal to any man and defended her right to. She could tolerate many things, but her representation was hers to control, not anyone else's. "If we are going to get anywhere, we have to work together. That much is the truth. If you two decide to bite at each other's throats the whole way, this whole plan will go to waste." Jocelyn was usually not one to talk much, especially around others, but there'd have to be a lot of communication between the group members if this was going to work. "I understand that the both of you have concerns with leadership. As far as I'm concerned, I think we should just use that democracy deal they argue over up north. Why can't we all have a say in what's ahead?" She didn't want the argument to turn to her, so she tried be as neutral of a party as possible. She thought back to the rest of their argument. "...And name-calling won't help anything, either. We're not young ones anymore." She trained her optics on Mary's dark ones, then Jarvis's green ones, hoping they'd be done soon. Mary was right; if they stayed here for too long, someone was bound to recognize any or even all of them.