The Age of Steam and Steel [Realistic Wild West RP]

[starry--knight]

Bullet tapped his spurs against the stallions side, the large beast roaring out with a vengeance before lurching forwards and kicking up dust in it's wake. He pulled his bandanna up in the same fashion as Billy, and sped after him like they were in a persuit. At the commands, there wasn't one argument he felt like brining up about it, after all it was pretty basic as far as commands went. Don't pick up any idiots and don't get into trouble, easy enough. Bullet kept his eyes on the land ahead, using his tipped hat to block out the burning sun that normally clouded his vision. His clothes rippled with the speed and the subtle wind, his body rocking and moving with the steadying beat of his steed. He could hear and feel the great heaving in of breath and the release of it. The whole process reminded him of a natural music. The mixture of the hoof beats, the breathing, the rippling of cloth. Such a wonderful noise...

[Vanendra]

((Please warn me if I seem powerplay-y. Made a short post to try and avoid that))

Alex steered Shawnee sharply to the left of the chestnut horse. He made no acknowledgement to the woman's confusion. Instead, he stood up in the stirrups and grabbed his lariat. Gripping the rope in one hand and still brandishing his gun in the other, he swung the rope over his head, as he had done a million times back at his dad's ranch. The lariat circled over Alex's head like a halo (ironically, of course) until he sent it hurling forwards. He held his breath as it sailed through the air, quick as a whip, his aim set so that it would lasso the chestnut horse's head.

((You dont seem powerplay-y at all))

Watching the lasso swinging, Viletta had Chestnut move over a few paces. The rope caught the horse's ear and she quickly brushed it off. "alright Chestnut, lets go see wha' he wants." she murmured to the horse before having him trot over to the guy. Viletta looked down at the guy on a donkey, "what do ya want?" she asked, gripping her gun in case she needed it.

[~Thor's Gurl<3~]

Emerald sat there by the small creek, relaxed and at ease. Her eyes were closed, her breaths were deep and even, and she just looked happy. Splashing through the creek, Diablo plodded over and nudged Emerald, causing her hat to fall into the water. She opened her eyes and giggled at the playful stallion. "Alright, alright. I know you wanna go." she said, rubbing him between his eyes just like he liked. "Let's go then. Where to?" she asked, standing up. Diablo just tossed his head and then looked off to the right. Emerald followed the horse's gaze before mounting and turning in that direction. All she could do was trust her horse to get her where she needed to go; he always did, and for her, that was all she needed to know. But what she didn't know yet that she was in-fact heading the same direction as Black Billy and his gang.

[Wildmagic_warrior]

[Sorry for the long absence.]

William leaned forwards in the saddle, urging his horse to go just a bit faster. The old girl was trying her best, she really was, but he could tell that she was getting tired. He turned his head away from Bullet and let out a slightly sad sigh, allowing himself a few moments of quiet disappointment. After Placerville, he'd go back to the ranch he had stolen Thunder from ten years back and return her. Those folks were sure to have a nice young thing he could borrow for a while, and it would be no trouble if he made the switch at night. Suddenly, over the horizon to his right, he saw something quite strange. A woman, riding top speed on a flighty-looking stallion. He frowned at her, angry that she was out in his desert. And by the way, what the hell was an unarmed lass doing out here all alone? She was jailbait for sure; trying to rob her would be like handcuffing themselves and standing outside the sheriff's office. Then he glanced around, and realized that there were no rocks, tress, or ridges where a group of lawmen could be concealing themselves. This woman was an idiot, then. And idiots don't deserve to keep their money, their belongings, or their fine stallions. Black Billy glanced at his partner in crime and nodded towards the woman. Bullet was smart; when Billy veered left, he was confident that the man would see his plan and go right. They'd catch her in the crossfire, one ahead, one behind, force her to stop. Both men were armed and, to be honest, terrifying. Living rough in the desert of California will do that to a person. A lone woman was an easy target. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the part of him that was the gentleman William O'Hara protested at this horrid treatment of a lady. I'm not going to take advantage of her, the part of him that was an outlaw argued forcibly. Just rob her blind and take her horse. It's fine. Don't worry. The gentleman grumbled and went away. Black Billy smiled.

[starry--knight]

It was moments after Billy, rather seconds before he had noticed the woman. His blue eyes almost ignited with that intense, and excited fire that only appeared when a bad deed was about to be done. As billy changed courses towards the woman, he too spurred his horse in that direction, taking the tactical right side as Billy moved off to the left. He spurred the stallion faster, feeling the tensing of muscle and the sheer power of a young male horse. Bullet tipped his hat slightly up, clearing his vision for the duel...or rather an easy victim. He slipped his fingers down towards one of his guns, and held it low to the side and out of view. The time to rob was at hand, and it was thrilling.

[~Thor's Gurl<3~]

Emerald had closed her eyes and let Diablo do the work. She just sat there and enjoyed the wind blowing in her face. Her hat had long since fallen off and was now clinging to her neck by a small twine she had attached to it, just like her brother Danny had taught her. She frowned when she thought of him, and finally reopened her eyes. She pulled gently on her reigns, Diablo's sensitive mouth recognizing the command and slowing down to a rocking canter. As hard as she tried she couldn't stop herself from remembered all the horrid events that lead her to where she was today, and as usual starting with Danny's absence.
What came first was the heart crushing pain of watching Danny leave for the west. "I'm going to strike it rich, Em. And when I do, the first thing I'll send for is you." he had said before riding off. It wasn't soon after Danny left that her parents had arranged her a marriage. They had been waiting for Danny to leave because they knew darn well that Danny wouldn't let them marry her to Richard Philips, and that's the rich bank man they had wanted her to marry. Richard wasn't a mean man...when he was sober. He always got drunk after work though and he had gotten into many bar fights. But he was rich and that's what mattered to her parents. It was weeks before the wedding when the third event struck. Emerald had gone to visit Richard after work-on her parents' commands- and had just walked in after waiting at the door. "Richard?" she called out.
"Ah! There ye are li'l darlin'!" Emerald took one look at him and knew he was drunk as a skunk.
She turned and walked out into the street. "You're a bastard." she shouted over her shoulder at him. "Marry me when you're sober. You stay away from me until then!"
Richard wasn't having any of it. "Now you listen here." he growled, grabbing her fiercely by the arm and turning her around to face him. His face was just inches from hers and his breath smelled strongly of alcohol. "Your parents are quite fond of me and my money, and I'm quite fond of you." He grabbed her around the waist and dragged her closer to him. "They get what they want, I get what I want, and you don't get a say in any of it. The day you get a say so in any of this will be the day I die." and with that he dragged her, kicking and screaming, back into his house. He had dragged her up the stairs, threw her onto his bed, and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. He stumbled over to his dresser to turn on a low light lamp and to throw his shirt on it. She sat upright, her wild and frantic eyes searching the room for any kind of weapon. Something gleamed on one of the night stands next to the bed, and while he was turned around, she made her move. She reached over, grabbed the gun, and pointed it right at the back of his head. "Then you die today." she spat angrily before shooting the weapon. As she ran out of the room she could hear the thud of his dead body on the floor. She ran out of the house only to find Mr. Turner running over to inspect what happened. He saw the gun and his eyes went wide. "Murderer!" he shouted into the hot evening air. She didn't hesitate to shoot him either. She ran through town, hiding whenever somebody could see her, until she got back to her house. She didn't even go in, just grabbed Diablo from the stable and a pair of clothes from her father's tack room. She changed and then out she went, riding out west never to return to little Gable Brook again.
A nervous whinny from Diablo snapped her from her thoughts, and she noticed the stallion had now slowed down to a bouncy trot. She scanned the distance only to find two rough looking men stampeding towards her. "Oh sh*t." she grumbled to herself before giving Diablo a swift kick in the sides. The stallion snorted and quickly picked up the dust rising gallop, as eager to get away from the two men as his rider was.


(Sorry it's so long, I tried to include her history of why she was out here in the post.)

[solo]

((Oh noes! Two groups of characters robbing other characters at the same time?
What should I do?
Vane, I have reaaalllyyyy bad art block. Plus I have a feeling that Viletta is NOT going to let Alex rob her, at least not easily xD))

[Wildmagic_warrior]

Black Billy reigned Thunder in until she was cantering, but easily. He left his gun in the holster by his side, wanting to have both hands on the reins in case the woman tried anything daring. He didn't think that she would; after all, she was riding alone int eh desert. What she was doing now was acting out of panic, and that was a mistake. He raised a hand and flicked it at Bullet, telling him to slow down a bit. They would let the woman think she could outrun them; after all, a horse couldn't sustain that sort of speed forever. Eventually he would tire out, slow down. And then they would have her. Billy had trained Thunder for stamina, knowing that he who lasts longest gets the goods. Well, maybe there wasn't really a saying that went like that, but there should be. It was the truth. He watched with an almost bemused look on his face as she kicked the stallion to even greater speeds. What did she hope to do? This was the middle of the Californian desert, and the way she was going, there wouldn't be a town for two day's ride. There was no way her fine-bred horse could hold up for that long. There was no way any horse could hold up for that long. In a normal case Billy would have put a bullet through the stallion's behind to cripple him, but he wanted that horse for his own and wasn't about to shoot such a beauty. He kept his bandanna over his face, partially because the woman's horse was kicking up dust but mostly because it made him look fierce.

[~Thor's Gurl<3~]

Emerald glanced back at Billy and Bullet, making sure not to turn her head but just look out of the corner of her eye. They had slowed down. She growled in frustration as she realized what they were doing. They wanted her to tire out. There really was nothing she could do at this very moment but turn to face them, so with one hand on her pistol, which was still in it's holster, she gave a small, unseen tug on the reigns and smirked. Diablo slowed down to a bouncy trot, his leg off to the side a little and flopping all the over the place. She may not have trained her fine arab stallion for stamina, but he sure was trained good in the art of tricks. She had trained him to look like he had a broken leg when he was a mere colt, and this trick had been the one that came in handy the most.

[starry--knight]

Bullet noticed the woman's horse was slowing down, and he seemed utterly confused. No matter, he'd worry about things later, all he needed to focus on was the chase. Upon command from Billy he slowed his horse, but was still keeping pace, and never letting the woman escape his sights. His finger remained resting on the gun trigger, ready to pull it up and shoot at any given moment. He continued to rock in the saddle with the beasts strides, sweat was now beading down the stallions slick black coat. He was getting hot, but there wasnt ever a time when this horse didn't pull through.