✮ ━━━━ ❝ 𝐘𝐄𝐄𝐇𝐀𝐖

[kalo.]

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the wild west. nothing exciting ever happens in the dead c
ountryside. people govern themselves. small towns sit emp
ty. the townspeople living on their own, constantly trying t
o feed themselves. groups of ruthless outlaws taking advan
tage of these towns and people. raiding them of their food
, money, or anything they can get their hands on.. includin
g the townspeople pokemon.. not a lot of pokemon can sur
vive in the barren land, and the growing need for water po
kemon is higher than ever.. with the summer solstice hittin
g the land and pushing the towns into an intense drought..
almost all of the towns have become .abandoned in search
of water. a few have managed to thrive. one of those town
s sits two miles from a rather plentiful river. the town goes
by deadwood.. but this has made deadwood a target to all.

outlaws are known to raid these towns. deadwood is no ex
ception. but with the hottest and most severe drought of t
he summer, the outlaws have become more daring.. taking
over towns with little to no remorse. deadwood is trying to
protect themselves from these outlaws.. but they can only
surive for so long. a small group of outlaws is threatening d
eadwood.. they've moved in to the inn with a heavy air aro
und them.. the town threatening the townspeople and thei
r livelihoods. the river remains untouched, but the outlaws
threaten deadwood quietly... demanding anything they can
think of. they're not here for pleasantries. taking out the o
lder sheriff and rendering him useless.. the town is loosing
hope, but they're rising up. against the outlaws. kick them
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one. you know the drill. tess rules. don't break them.
✮ two. due to limited spots reservations will be thro
ugh discord and cs. reservations last forty-eight hour
s. ✮ three. that being said,, discord is mandatory as
it is easier to get information across.. ✮ four. animan
aga face claims only, no drawn images allowed.. ✮ fi
ve. pokemon teams should reflect the time period an
d terrain. water types are rare and only a few trainer
s should have them. ✮ six. duplicate pokemon are en
courged this time around since a lot of types will not
be able to be used - aka ice, dragon, etc. ✮ seven. w
ord count is lax. quality > quanity. ✮ eight. speaking o
f characters bc I forgot,, only one character per perso
n since there are less roles than usual. that's it folks ✮

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[kalo.]

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x
the sheriff. guh
new to the scene. wants the outlaws gone. asap. gross.

the deputy. fawn
you know they don't know how they got here either.

the innkeeper. prof
deals with the outlaws 24/7. cheated out of money.

the barkeep. hera
just pumps drinks into people. money is all they want.

rancher. syb
in charge of the stables/ranch. enjoys fixing things.

banker. kalo
hates the outlaws. loses money a lot. kinda frantic.

doctor. dad
probably done with the towns shenanigans. rightfully so.

bounty hunter. jen
definitely more civil than the outlaws. of great use.

wildcards. 3/3
traveler/passerby. bunny
gunslinger. alpha
vigilante. hera

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x
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xthe outlaw leader. caro <3
xdoesn't take no for an answer. wants money and water. now.
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xoutlaw no 2. mutan
xthe sneakiest. gets in and out of places efficiently. spy-like.
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xoutlaw no 3. harb
xvery sweet, but does this to provide for their family.
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xoutlaw no 4. aquiver
xnewest member. doesn't know how to be an outlaw per say.
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[kalo.]

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x
places? backgrounds? idk mostly a misc/throwaway
post tbh. I will finish this after my class and test...
or maybe not. idk i'm tired and gotta do inktober
so. uuuh I guess res' are open, I still have to get the
discord open tho so rip that.

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xidk if this will be used here but we'll see
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[kalo.]

just gonna reserve a post incase. idk why I never finished the front i'm sowwy uwu

[kalo.]

( ✮ )────────────────── 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐑 𝐙𝐈𝐄𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐑
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx( banker ) ( mood; exhausted, disgusted, you name it ) ( tags; cody ) ( location; bank ) ( wc; 751 )
x
indentindentThe sun hung heavy ontop of the town. A large ball of fire. It's rays sinking down into Deadwood and laying on the sandy ground. Not even the dust had the energy to move. Laying thick on the ground. Only moving when some poor soul walked ontop of it. Anyone who was out during high noon, especially this time of year, was stupid. They were facing the worst drought of thier lives. Every plant in the plains had died, shriveling up. Not even the tumbleweeds were moving. Laying dormant in the fields. The wind refusing to move in fear of the sun. Everyone feared the sun. So the banker sat under the bank's porch. The shade from the roof providing some sort of comfort. But it was still hot. Sweat sticking to the back of her neck and forehead. Her short hair sticking to her face. With a sound of disgust Ellie moved her hand to fan herself, trying to ease the pain of the summers heat.

indentindentA bark by her side caused the banker to slowly move her head to look over. The small Growlithe next to her let out another bark before doing a quick circle spin, chasing his own tail. If the banker wasn't already so drained from the heat she would've cracked a smile and threw a ball for the dog. The dog let out a whine before running over and slinking between her legs on the floor, using her long skirt as some shade. "Cody it's too hot for this." The banker let her head fall back to rest on the top of the chair, her hair refusing to move from its position on her face. Only adding to her exhaustion. Today was the worst day of the week by far. The sun was ruthless, boiling, and evaporating any water that wasn't properly monitored and put away. Ellie never had water on her when she went outside-for this reason alone. The canteen would get so hot and be undrinkable. It was rather disgusting.

indentindentAnd to top it off there were outlaws in Deadwood. Four of them. They made Ellie's life a living hell. She refused to leave the bank for that reason. They would sneak in and steal the money she had organized for Deadwood. Swiping it like it was candy. A growl escaped her lips, causing Cody to perk up and start to bark at the air. Expecting something or someone to show up. Stomping her naked food on the porch to shut Cody up, Ellie ran her hands over her face. What she would do to take a dip in a cold lake. The river wasn't too far-but the trip there and back was too much during this time of day. Ellie was certain that she would perish if she left her porch. Or if she even stood up. Her head was fuzzy from the heat. The banker crossed her arms and watched as the Growlithe let out a bark and ran out from underneath her legs. His orange fur standing out against the pale dust. Her dull eyes followed him as he ran off down towards the end of town. Going who knows where. Probably chasing a raticate or even a pidgey. It was fine by Ellie. The dog thrived in hot temperatures, even if he acted like he was dying.

indentindentPlanting her bare feet on the wooden porch Ellie slowly sat up, letting her off the shoulder blouse flow around her body. Letting her head fall she let out a groan as her hair came undone. The golden locks resting on her neck and making her only sweat more. Lifting her hands she slowly started to fix her hair back up-feeling her sleeves ride up and hug her neck. "The next thing to touch my neck is getting destroyed." A growl escaped her lips as she slowly stood up, shoving her sleeves back down to rest on their rightful place on her bicep. This heat was going to be the death of her. No doubt about it. Taking the few steps out to the porch's railing she let her elbows rest and her gaze do the same. Focusing in on the dust. But as quickly as her gaze dropped it lifted. The sound of someone coming into town piqued her interest. Who was coming into town? Ellie knew she didn't see anyone leave. Unless it was another damn outlaw. A snarl rested on her face as she watched the figure draw closer.

[I'm done delete me.]

ʙʀɪᴇ ʀɪʙɪᴇʀᴀ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx❝ 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍! ❞
[ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 𝟔𝟖𝟓 ]

xxx [ 𝟐𝟏 ] [ 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 ] [ 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫 ] [ 𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨 ] [ 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: 𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧 | 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: - ]
[ 𝐥𝐲𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐫𝐨𝐜, 𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭, 𝐦𝐮𝐝𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐠𝐨𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐭, 𝐳𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐚, 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐥 ]

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The ground was uneven as the plane landed on the dry earth, it soon halted creating dust clouds behind it the door opened by the stewardess. She walked off the plane onto a ramp she jumped off at the end along with Lycanroc by her side. There she looked around the scorched surface with no water in sight. "Here we are Lycan, the outback, the desert, cowboy country," she said to Lycan who replied with a bark. It was indeed dry out here under this hot sun it was something she would have to get used to, use to this heat. Taking her bag from her shoulder she grabbed her flask of water. She poured the liquid into the cup and took a few gulps along with giving the last of it to Lycan to drink.

Once she was done with her drink she screwed it back up and placed it back in her bag before getting out her map. "Right we still have a few miles to get to this place called Deadwood... I wonder why it's called that? But anyway Filly will get us there in no time!" She stated as she placed the map back in her bag and grabbed her Pokeball from her belt "Come on out Filly!" She said as she flung the ball up in the air and there appeared her Mudsdale rearing up and ready to go. Filly lowered herself and allowing Brie to get on her back. She usually rode her bareback she couldn't lug around her gear but Filly did not care. The red-haired girl looked to Lycan that wasn't joining her on Filly. He was ready to race her, these two had the competitive side loving to race it was part of their training. "Okay Lycan, Filly take it easy you are not used to this kind of terrain" she warned the two as they got themselves set. "Oh God" she whispered to herself as the two didn't take much notice of her concern as the two wanted to race each other. Brie held onto Filly's mane rather tightly after she then pushed off into a gallop alongside Lycan that was trying to get past her.

The two raced each other but Filly had won as the reached the town. There she jumped off Filly and Brie looked to the two they both were panting out of breath "I warned you both to take it easy... Let's go find you two some water" she told her two Pokemon that followed her further into the town of Deadwood. As she walked in, she noticed this place had a sheriff's office, inn, bank and a bar. The town seemed very well equipped but she couldn't see any water troughs, she thought there would be for these cowboys she would have thought they may ride as she did. With this heat, it would be great to leave water out for the wild Pokemon as well she hadn't seen any other water sources on her ride. She wondered if the wild Pokemon was struggling out here but perhaps they have adapted to their surroundings. This was one reason she was here, how does the wild Pokemon survive out here.

Walking towards the bar she thought they must serve water here at least. "Filly stay here I'll try to get you some water in here," she told her she snorted and waited outside for Brie to return. Lycan had entered the doors of the bar and looked around the place, she felt somewhat uncomfortable in her new surroundings as some customers with their drinks did stare but she knew she was just a new face and they were just interested. Brie tried not to look at the prying eyes at glared at her she walked towards the bar with Lycan by her side on edge himself as he was uncomfortable in his surroundings. There she looked to the barkeep "excuse me, sir, may I get some water for my Mudsdale?" She asked the man with the ponytail as she placed her hands on the bartop waiting to hear his response.

[guh-huh!]

( ♔.x𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐄𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐑!
“𝘽𝙐𝙏 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 𝙈𝘼𝙆𝙀𝙎 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘽𝙊𝙇𝘿𝙀𝙍, 𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉 𝘾𝙃𝙄𝙇𝘿𝙍𝙀𝙉 𝙂𝙀𝙏 𝙊𝙇𝘿𝙀𝙍!”
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cismale ✮ twenty-six ✮ sheriff ✮ feeling- nauseous, bleh feelings ✮ tagged- wyatt, jolene, koda


xxx"he was just an old friend, it caught me off guard. that's all." he tells his deputy, after hesitating to take a shot of the outlaw leader, because that’s the easiest explanation, no questions asked. he doesn’t know if he’d be able to stomach delving into the details of it even if he did feel comfortable telling jolene, or anyone, the truth. it’s embarrassing and makes him feel like an idiot, for every wandering down the outlaw path, and developing feelings for one of them. no, marshall wouldn’t tell her, or anyone, about what’s troubling him. he hates to think that somebody could know of any detail of his past. "we'll get him next time."

...

xxxit's been about a week now, and nothing has been done about the outlaws. it's beginning to make the whole town agitated, the hot sun only further pushing them to madness. marshall never thought that he would miss the familiar smell of campfires & cedar, the familiar sound of lou's zebrastrika galloping away, or his cigarette smoke. he does, though, and he’s becoming aware all too quickly that the little things that he took for granted are what mattered to him the most. he wants to hear the southern drawl in his voice, or the click of his lighter, or all the shameless flirts lou wouldn't hesitate to say. and he wants to take chilled fingers between his own, or even try to remember what it was like to have his lips on his own. his mind runs in countless circles, and he feels like he’s losing some part of himself. he feels like he wants everything to be back to the way it was, but also wants to forget lou entirely- all at the same time.

xxxthe more marshall dwells on the hurt that he’s feeling, trying to figure out why lou was suddenly thrown back into his life, the worse it becomes. so he decides to direct his thoughts in the other direction. after over half a week of lingering in the same thoughts and feelings, marshall tells himself that leaving him behind for the best. he tells his town that he’s going to do better. he now carries a loaded gun on his hip, ready to take actions into his own hands. and marshall tells himself that lou was no good from the start, that this sort of thing was bound to happen. marshall tells himself that he doesn’t care, that his own feelings were just something conjured from infatuation, and that having lou out of his life is what’s best.

xxxhe really tries to believe it all, too.

xxxthe night after the outlaws had shown their face around town, marshall had made the mistake of getting drunk on his lonesome and punching a wall, a bruise showed along the knuckles of his right hand. his noctowl got frustrated when he wouldn’t stop poking it, prodding the darkened skin even after continuing to wince every time. marshall thinks about that now. if you keep pressing your fingers into a bruise, will it ever get any better?

xxxnow sitting on a familiar spot on the doctor's chair, left with an aftermath of a broken knuckle, marshall feels silly for even having to come to wyatt in the first place. jolene has tagged along for the routine patrol, along with koda (albeit begrudgingly), while he gets is hand fixed up. marshall lets out a sigh he doesn't recall taking in, and doesn't feel like meeting the doctor's gaze when he begins to speak. "thanks for doing this, wy," at least that much is true, "once this gets fixed back up, those outlaws will wish they got out've here while they had the chance."

[kitsune,]

✦.𝐉𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐀𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐘
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deputy of deadwood . feeling pensive, optimistic
tagged marshall, wyatt, koda

The day had started just like any other for Jolene. She had been awakened at the crack of dawn by Astaroth, her Flygon who had been insistent that it was time to wake up and start playing. Sometimes Jo really despaired of the large desert spirit but ultimately, she adored him. He often got in the way of her missions and was a total goof, but she couldn’t help but smile at his antics and he always seemed to come through in a pinch! Jo rolled herself out of bed and stretched, may as well get ready for the day now. Jolene had relished in the efficiently short cold wash she’d had that morning, it was a brief respite from the oppressive heat that they’d been experiencing ever since the outlaws had exercised their reign of terror over Deadwood. Jolene sighed, the outlaws had managed to outwit them at virtually every step and the one time they did get close, they had missed their opportunity to bring them in. She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened but she did know that the appearance of the leader had shaken Marshall to the core. He claimed it was because the leader was an old friend but Jo felt it ran deeper than that. Intuition told her, however, to keep this observation to herself. She and Marshall had become close and through working together she had picked up on when and when not to push a topic. This was a topic that was definitely left better undiscussed.

After her short shower, Jolene quickly got dressed before she started cooking up breakfast for her team. She’d chosen a denim skirt which fell to just below her knees as well as a red plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up. With the sweltering heat, Jo had to dress for both comfort as well as practicality. She was usually the type to wear jeans and a shirt but with how hot it had been recently, she needed to be able to focus on the job at hand rather than be constantly fussing over her own temperature. Before long, she had fed her little team and settled Bamzookie and Gizmo with their treats so she could start her day. She locked the door to her little home and whistled for Rajah. As, who had been napping on the porch since he’d finished his breakfast, stood up and butted his head into her shoulder affectionately, his signal that he was ready to start the day. Jo offered him a smile and patted his head, looking up as her Arcanine bounded towards her. Somehow, the fire puppy still had boundless energy, thriving in the volcanic climate. ”Mornin’ Raj, ya ready for a new day?” she hopped up onto the back of her Arcanine, As hovering beside them. When the Arcanine huffed his agreement and started restlessly kneading the ground Jolene laughed and and patted his shoulder ”Let’s go find that Sheriff then! He said he’d be dropping in on Wyatt this morning” Jolene clicked her tongue and Rajah took off.

It was thankfully a short trip to the doctors and upon walking in her eyes alighted on Marshall and Wyatt almost immediately. She offered them both a smile and was almost through the door when Astaroth impatiently careened into her from behind. Jo stumbled but caught herself on the door frame, shooting the large dragon-type a narrowed glare. Not that Astaroth was paying any attention, he was too busy with inspecting Marshall’s knuckles and chirping at him questioningly. There was no doubt about the fact that As totally adored Marshall. ”Mornin’ Sheriff, how’s your hand holdin’ up?” she offered Marshall a genuine smile, they would get the outlaws eventually, it just might take a little bit of time. When Astaroth started sniffing around at the Doctor’s medicines and supplies Jolene whistled and nodded to the door. The Flygon looked at her guiltily and waddled towards her. Nudging her affectionately before setting himself out on the porch. Jolene shook her head fondly and turned back to the waiting room, catching the eye of Koda who she hadn’t noticed there initially.

A slight flush befell her features though she tried her hardest to mask it. Koda always managed to make her feel flustered against her better judgment. She found it increasingly hard to keep her cool around him but she’d be damned if she didn’t try. ”Mornin’ Wyatt, hope he ain’t been givin’ you too much trouble this mornin’!” she chuckled and then her eyes slid to Koda ”Mornin’ Koda, not causin’ any trouble today I take it?” she quirked an eyebrow and settled into one of the chairs in the waiting room, smoothing her skirt over her knees gently. She gazed at the bruises littering Marshall’s knuckles and chewed her lip tentatively, she hoped that he wouldn’t get too hung up on how he reacted, he was only human after all. They’d have their chance at taking on the outlaws.

word count = 856

[ArtyAlpha]

ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ∘ hot n sweaty, frisky, plyful ᴛᴀɢ ∘ Tobias, Marshall, Wyatt, Jolene ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ∘ the town

The rays of the persistent and overbearing sun peered through the slits of the blinds on the window. It would almost be something out of a fairy tale. If Vixen didn't let out a begrudging yowel or annoyance to the heat against their pelt. A very frustrated but much needed wake up alarm for Koda, who was always almost falling off the small bed, while his zoroark was curled up comfortable on the other 2/3 of it. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, the slinger ran a hand through his scuffed dusty brown hair, letting out a soft huff as he took the first breath in of the day. His morning routine was rather arbitrary. He would feed his pokemon, clean up his hair a little and then change into some light clothes. Enough to cover his skin form sunburn but not too much that he will end up passing out of overheating. Hopefully, may the sun be forgiving enough today to resist its flames just a little. He lightly pet and stroked each of his pets as they enjoyed their morning meals, besides Drigor. Koda did not want to lose an arm today. They were still building a trust within their new found bond. Which Koda respected the Garchomps space. Koda summoned Vixen, Reehan and Jinxy to his side, the others of his team returned happily to their poke balls to rest up some more. Apparently it was rather cooling in the ball, according to Reehan. As they wandered down the stairs Koda perked his head as he saw the familiar face of the kind innn keeper allowing the slinger residence "Ah! Toby my dear friend. How do you be on this fine morning?" As he sat on a stool chair, Koda glanced to the bar with a playful grin "I'll take the usual." glancing back to Tobias to see his amused yet disappointed expression "Oh come on! Cannot go wrong with some sweet Ol' moomoo milk and scosh of whiskey." The slinger shrugged and awaited the drink. Knowing the keeper was obliging begrudgingly, Koda smiled as he took the wink with a wink and skulled it all down, slamming the glass to the table "Whoo! What a zang!" Turning to the door, Koda waved back to Tobias "Have a good day Toby!" Wondering out of the inn, Koda clicked his fingers and looked to Jinxy and she trotted up to his side. The persian let out a soft purr and he lightly scratched behind her ear for a moment, then let out a sign "We still got a long ways to go before we have settled our debt gang. But heads up. Just patrols this morning. Vixen, you watch the hospital, Capn' said he'd be there this morning. Reehan, do a lap around the town, report back anything out of the ordinary." With a nod, the mega lucario bolted away naruto style. Koda then leapt onto his persian and clasped onto the scruff of her neck and they headed to the doctors. On the way, Koda let out a sigh.

Wyatt seemed rather strange to Koda, ignoring him whenever he could and when Koda actually was addressed by the man, his tone was cold and seemingly irritated to have to speak to the exoutlaw. As they arrived to the doctors office, Koda slid of his persian and then flicked a snack her way which she happily caught and then followed Koda inside. Vixen sat by the door under the little balcony of shade and kept watch. As he walked in, Koda noticed Marshall was already in the doctors office. They locked eyes and the slinger smiled with a tip of his hat "Capn'." he said and then his eyes darted to the man assisting the sheriff with his busted hand. The slinger said nothing and lowered his gaze as the doctors eyes burned hotter than the sun on the western soil. He meekly stammered over to the waiting room and sat in a chair comfortably. Jinxy followed in pursuit and then curled up on his toes and purred happily as she laid down. She looked up to Koda and let out a roewl and kneaded at his leg, begging for more snacks. Koda frowned and wafted her paw away but she snarled and persisted. Always a bratty princess. With a sigh, Koda reached into his pocket and flicked up a pellet snack and she stood and quickly snatched it from the air, her tail flicked playfully but she sat by his side with a high posture and the slinger began to lightly stroke her back as he waited. It was not long before the deputy arrived. As soon as she caught his eye, Koda smirked and raised a brow. He caught her eye and he notice her quickly look away. With a chuckle he nodded his head in reaction to hearing his name, the slinger scoffed playfully, his eyes staring on the woman as she wandered to a seat of her own "Ah the day has only started ma'am. Do not go assuming such niceness so early. I have plenty of naughty plans to commit for the day." the slinger winked to the deputy but immediately looked to the sheriff and to his relief the mans back was turned. Koda was wearily to flirt in front of Marshall. He found it a not so gentlemanly manner, but Koda just couldn't help himself sometimes.

words'900

[carotid]

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♢ XX ♦ XX 𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔 XX ♦ XX ♢
role: outlaw leader ♦ schmood: melancholic :-( ♦ mentioned: brie & eleanor ♦ wc: 749

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indentwhen lou saw marshall for the first time in this little old town, the outlaw looked like he had seen a ghost. and, in a way, he had. his second last memory of his ex-lover (or were they still lovers, now that they knew each other were actually alive?) was having a knee dug into his back as he laid face-down on the ground, barely able to see marshall being taken away from him due to a slurry of blood pouring from his once-functioning eye. lou's most recent memory? watching the other man match his pallid expression, yet point his gun right in the outlaw's direction. and loudoun knew that man like a book; arceus knows he'd studied each and every page front to back before the love of his life was taken from him and reformed into the thing they swore to both hate for life. if lou's memory of marshall stood true, marshall should have pulled the trigger and had the bullet perfectly meet his mark.
indentso why didn't he pull the trigger? he should have pulled the trigger.
indentloudoun's last few nights were all the same: sneaking into the town's saloon when he knew he could safely grab some whiskey without the sheriff or deputy coming after his ass. he remembered stumbling back to the inn with a cig between his teeth, the desert night warm yet goosebumps raised on his arms as he was forced to remember what once was; no matter his state of mind, marshall was all he could think about. lou had buried those memories of stolen kisses and laughter-filled heists. he'd suppressed the warmth he felt in his chest when he first found the doe-eyed and terrified marshall during the robbery at his dad's bank. it was as if it was a dream to lou, but now that he knew his once lover was alive, everything ached.
indentthat included lou's head right now, but the cigarette between his fingers was definitely helping. sitting next to the river near deadwood, he kicked at the damp sand at its shore. his outlaw gang was residing at the inn, presumably enjoying a good night of shut eye, but loudoun didn't get a wink of sleep. how could he when his head was swimming with alcohol and unrelenting thoughts? he'd let zap the zebstrika out of his pokéball. the electric type stallion wandered around aimlessly, stretching his legs between sips from the freshwater stream. the sun beamed down on the two without mercy. lou stood up eventually, when the heat became too much to manage, and tossed the cig to the ground. as he stomped it out beneath his boot, zap gave him an acknowledging chuff and headed over for a head pat. of course, the blond obliged, and he leaned up against the zebstrika wistfully.
indent"let's get back to town, yeah?" he spoke under his breath, but his mind was still miles away.
indentnot too long later, the two arrived back at the inn, and lou withdrew the pokémon back into its ball. the town seemed to be waking; he noted a redhead walking into the bar and the terrifying blonde banker emerging from the darkness of her business to stand on her porch. he tugged the bandana covering his nose and mouth a little higher, rendering him barely recognizable under the shade of his cowboy hat. the town knew of the outlaws' presence, yet he knew not to let his guard down, because anyone could have a weapon on them. anyone could take lou out and bring his body to the sheriff for a reward.
indentloudoun slipped into the inn and quickly made his way back to the rooms where his group was staying. the group was definitely rich enough to let everyone have their own room, and lou had never felt more grateful to be alone. the darkness of the curtains pulled shut and his few belongings strewn throughout the room made him feel a sense of comfort. at least he could have a few minutes to himself to refresh his appearance and look like he had gotten sleep, but his bloodshot eyes would give his secret away. any moment now one of the others would knock on his door, ready to get an idea of what they would be doing for the day, so lou had to cherish his alone time while he was able to. but being alone with his thoughts was perhaps the worst thing for him right now.