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"Es un idiota."
Vasquez rolled his eyes, "Erandi, tranquila."
The soft chastise was ignored by his daemon, she whipped her furry ringed tail, almost hitting him in the face with it, and huffed, much to Vasquez amusement. Erandi's slender body fitted perfectly around his shoulders, she often stayed there for hours just moving her tail and silently judging anything and everything around her, she had been on high alert when they met Faraday, and of course she wasn't impressed by him, just like Vasquez haven't been.
"He called me a raccoon," Erandi hissed, still displeased about the confusion.
Logically, Vasquez understood that perhaps Faraday had never seen a cacomistle before, and he also had been drunk at the time, but logic went out the window when Erandi was involved, and he too had been annoyed by the mocking tone Faraday used with him and his daemon. He was all but ready to fight if not for Sam's calm intervention. What he didn't notice was Sam's wolf talking with Faraday's vixen nor whatever conclusion the daemons reached, so it came to a surprise when the red fox sneaked her way towards Erandi.
Even flabbergasted, Vasquez had been polite enough to back off when Faraday's daemon almost touched him, so he expected the same degree of courtesy from the Irishman. At least in that sense both were in the same page, because hangover as he was, Faraday still got his daemon in his arms and apologized quickly before putting distance between them.
"Well, he knows better now," Vasquez reasoned, pulling the reins to get his horse back on track as the rode towards Rose Creek.
"He's still an idiot," Erandi insisted, curling around Vasquez's neck, nipping at his chin, and nonchalantly commented, "But Niamh is nice enough."
And really, that last comment should have been the first clue.
Vasquez wondered if Faraday had any idea what he was doing. The other man, once sober, was charismatic enough to be tolerable, and caring enough to see for everyone else in some form, even when pretending to not care about what others thought of him. But his daemon? Well, Niamh was not really subtle, she bounced around everybody's daemons looking to play or asking never ending questions, especially from Goodnight's Adrienne and Jack's Mila, and really, it was amusing to see the peregrine falcon and the bloodhound being so damn patient with the energetic vixen, much like their human counterparts.
To Vasquez it had always been fascinating, the fact that most people had their soul running free, a daemon was as much of a person's reflection as it was to take a look in the mirror. Sometimes daemons told more than the person's themselves, if you knew how to pay attention.
Vasquez's Erandi was curious, wary, thoughtful and patient for the most part, but some things got her easily annoyed. She hated being called a raccoon, and people often confused her with a one or a ringtail cat as they, were very similar, much to her annoyance.
"No such thing as a Texican," Vasquez said to Goodnight, laughing, but Erandi had been annoyed, because just like she hated being called a raccoon, he disliked being called a Texican.
Sam's Eleanor was all business, just like him. The she-wolf was firm, always in high alert, but deeply considered of others, she moved and spoke with a no nonsense tone that fitted Sam perfectly, in Vasquez opinion.
Red's Imala was a little shit, and nobody could convince him Red Harvest was not the same. The coyote acted all easy going and constantly did the equivalent of an eye roll to nearly everyone, but ensured to do the needful all the same. She was as furtive as she could be lethal, and really, that spoke volumes about her silent counterpart.
And Jack's Mila? She was a warm, caring presence, the bloodhound fussed over the other daemons like no other, but she could be the deadly force Jack had showed to be when they saw him kill the Pigeon brothers, Vasquez had no doubt.
The other thing you could tell with daemons better than with words was relationships. People don't touch other's daemons, you just don't, and it's as simple as that. Vasquez mother had always make sure he knew that you couldn't go around touching other's souls, not even between families.
But between people with a deep close bond? You could see that rule being dismissed.
There was something fascinating about Billy's Dae. The grey lynx was quick, silent, potentially deadly and more often than not was with Goodnight, the only other person besides Billy that was allowed to touch her. Same as Goodnight's Adrienne, really. The Peregrine falcon was usually perched on Billy's shoulder, so much that the first time he saw them, for a second, Vasquez had been unsure if bird of prey was his daemon and not Dae.
That spoke about a closeness that Vasquez had no real knowledge of, and it was as intriguing as it was unsettling, because it made him remember how long he had been on the run, by himself and no one else but Erandi for company.
But now he had people around him, for better or for worse, and Vasquez found himself liking them all, despise himself.
Before reaching their destination, Vasquez believed that all of them had a good idea what to expect from the others, and in Vasquez mind, that should help them be the group the people of Rose Creek needed to fight Bogue, or at least be something close to such need.
***
One of the hardest things to hide, with a daemon at your side, was your pain.
Emma was settled in her need to get safety and justice to Rose Creek, she was one of the strongest women Vasquez had ever encounter. Her spirit had not waiver, not even once, since their encounter, and it had not been a friendly one.
Vasquez was on edge, there was a warrant for his head out there after all, but even on the ground with his lasso trapping her, Emma just order him to laugh it off and move on. If he was being honest, he believed the only reason she had not slapped him right there and then was because they were tying to convince him to join them, if that had not been the case, the outcome of course would have been different.
Emma was strong… and Emma was always in pain.
Her daemon was a beautiful nightingale named Brixton, a songbird that never sings. At first, Vasquez didn't pay much attention to them, but as they rode and the days passed, it was obvious that there was no reason for the bird to sing, he rarely talked, much less singed.
Bogue killed Emma's lover, and in doing so, he also killed Brixton's song.
Vasquez scratched behind Erandi's ear, thinking for himself of those times when people show strength and endurance, with no emotion on their face or many that fooled the eye of the beholder, but their daemons were another story.
He glanced at Faraday, who was approaching him with a radiant smile and not care in the world, ready to show him a card trick or shrug away if he appeared uninterested, but behind him Niamh stood unmoving, clearly shy to get closer.
"Andale," he said in a playful tone as Erandi skipping closer to Niamh, "Show me."
It was hard to lie, when your soul was literally showcased to the world in the form of a living animal, a tangible manifestation of what you are.
Vasquez laughed at Faraday's trick, and he was not pretending.
***
Taking back Rose Creek was not as difficult as Vasquez thought it would be, but then again, the real challenge was not to take Rose Creek from Bogue's men, but to be able to keep it afterwards.
Most of the daemons belonging to Bogue's men were dogs, Vasquez tried to not judge them on that, the daemons were not the problem, it never was. The problem was their alliance with a man with no honor of concept of rightfulness, and the loyalty these people had for him.
They had seven days to get ready for a fight that very well might be their last, and Vasquez was sure Rose Creek and their people could not afford to lose.
So as the day raised, they build the trenchers, prepared the barricades and the dynamite. He saw people and their daemons going all for the preparations. Daemons running and digging, working as hard as their counterparts to protect what little they had left.
When Faraday and himself were setting the dynamite, he felt calm around the other man. It was easy to simple let himself live even when at some point in his life he forgot how to behave around others.
Behind them, Erandi and Niamh were playing, another clue he didn't see.
At night, he expected Rose Creek and their people to be in a miserable mood, poor souls waiting for another day to pass, another precious moment before Bogue rained chaos over them. But everyone surprised him by doing exactly the opposite, it seemed that everybody agreed that there was no use in crying before the end, and instead lived for the moment.
In such moments, it was easy to see humans and daemons be alive, so alive it almost felt like hope had settle over them.
***
Many years ago, Vasquez learned to leave hope out of his life. He had felt disappointment one to many times to know that hope inly increased it, so when Red Harvest and Imala came back with the sentence of Bogue arriving at dawn, he was not surprised to see Goodnight go.
Adrienne had been too quiet, way too quiet… seeing her fly away while her counterpart rode off Rose Creek was like taking away what little hope he had gained over those past few days.
But he stayed, he was going to fight, he had nothing better to do, after all.
Faraday shared a look with him, and it was enough to lessen his disappointment. He barely noticed Erandi curled atop Niamh's back, sitting beside a sad looking Dae.
***
Dawn brought Bogue and their men, and with them, the battle.
At the beginning, it seemed that they had a chance. Their traps worked, the dynamite lessened their numbers considerably, and the bullets flew and meet more Blackstones than enemy shots took down the people fighting for Rose Creek.
Fire, smoke, blood, and a constant chant of keep shooting, keep shooting, keep shooting!
Vasquez held his ground, sending as many bullets to end as many Blackstone's lives as possible. Defend, his mind whispered, defend and keep shooting!
They had to head to the church and he yelled for Faraday to do so, in turn Faraday was following the plan, to light up the wagons and trap the Blackstone soldiers inside the town, and it was then when McCann got him, a shot to the side.
"Güero, man!" he screamed as Faraday's knees buckled and he hit the ground.
As if the bullet wasn't bad enough, McCann went for Faraday and grabbed Niamh up, digging his dirty fingers into the vixen's fur and skin, shaking her roughly, hurting her.
Faraday screamed, falling from his knees to the ground and kicking the dirt in pain and the feeling of wrong, wrong, wrongwrongwrong that invaded him. To touch without consent, much less attack another's daemon, was one of the most hostile and unacceptable things anyone could do, and McCann was laughing, the damn bastard was laughing!
"¿¡Hijo de puta, como te atreves!? ¡A chingar a tu madre cabrón!" Vasquez cursed, his gun raised and immediately shooting, Erandi zigzagged across the sand and against McCann's jackal daemon with the same ferocity.
Erandi used her claws, blinding the other daemon at the same time Vasquez landed the first bullet, making him release Niamh. But he wasn't done, not by a long shot. Vasquez shot again, and again, and again, six shots until McCann was dead and gone, his daemon faded while the body hit the pine box, perhaps not enough to douse Vasquez rage just yet, but he had to settle for that.
Somehow, Faraday had managed to crawl to safety, Vasquez couldn't see him very well from where he was taking cover, so he called for him. Vasquez needed to know if Faraday was at least well, after McCann not only shot him, but got a hold of his daemon.
"Are you okay, güero?!"
He moved to see, the commotion was getting to them, so many shots around and many more to be deal with. Faraday was across the street taking cover, they needed to move soon, but right now Faraday was with his back against the wooden plank, a gun in his hand, and the ammo loosely held on his trembling fingers. His eyes were closed and he was shaking so much Vasquez feared he was not going to be able to get up. Niamh was at his side, whining and pressing her whole body against Faraday's hip.
"So far so good!" he said with as much confidence he could muster. Vasquez didn't believe him, he couldn't, not when Niamh looked so upset to make her counterpart's lies even remotely convincing.
Vasquez didn't have time to get to Faraday, because Adrienne came flying down as Goodnight galloped into town with his rifle in hand and the dreadful notice that Bogue had a goddamn Gatling gun aimed at them just as the bullets rained down on them.
They scrambled to their feet and ran for the church, Vasquez got Faraday by the arm and down onto the floor as the shots passed over them with their deadly fury, one got Vasquez in the arm, and close by, Niamh had curled into a ball around Erandi, her ears flat against her skull, hissing.
Faraday's had one hand closed around Vasquez's vest, the other hovering near his arm, his eyes wild as he assessed the injury. They shared a look, and he could see fear shadowed Faraday's eyes, fear for him.
"I'm fine," he quickly assured, he was mostly angry at getting shot than hurt. He could move just fine, it was Faraday, whose side was still bleeding, who worried him.
The rain of bullets subsided for a moment and then they could hear the children's cries of fear. Faraday looked at him, Vasquez only nodded and then he was running from the cover the church gave them in favor to help Sam with the children. Erandi whined at seeing Niamh go, giving voice to Vasquez doubts.
He should have known, right there, really.
But the bullets kept flying and the danger was in its highest stake all around them, the only somewhat good thing happening was to see the children run from the line of fire with their shifting daemons at their side, away from danger and with towards a chance to live.
For those children Rose Creek was their home, the place their parents were fighting for.
Erandi hissed at him, sensing Vasquez getting lost in a moment – the memory of losing the place he once called home way before she even defined her shape, when he just ran, from everything and everyone. Vasquez bit the inside of his cheek and then hurried the men around him to give him ammo, because he was fighting now and he was not going to stop.
"Ride Faraday, ride!"
Vasquez heard Goodnight, and cursed as Faraday rode the horse out of town, towards the hill. Niamh was a blur in between the tall grass, skipping and dogging the daemons chasing her like Bogue's men were chasing Faraday. Goodnight and Billy cleared the path, until Adrienne's shriek, clear and loud as a bell, acted as a warning signal.
There was wave of shots, a cry and then two bodies tumbled down the church's roof and onto the ground. Vasquez stilled, in shock of seeing Billy and Goodnight not moving, he feared the worst and Erandi was quick to run towards the side, finding Adrienne and Dae near their counterparts, in pain, but this there.
"Alive," he said under his breath, his mind shifting and his eyes moving far ahead, towards Faraday, "Güero!"
He could almost feel them, shot after shot and Faraday stumbling off the horse, but he wouldn't stop, he kept going and he kept on getting shot and Vasquez was not there, he couldn't help him at all. Erandi was out of control, shrieking and hissing, and when Faraday threw the dynamite, she stopped.
"No," she whispered, climbing up Vasquez's leg to wrap herself around his neck, "No, no!"
Unable to stat hidden any longer, Vasquez ran out and shot every single of Bogue's men that crossed his way. He had to get to Faraday, he had to.
The firefight was dying, with the Gatling gone and most of Bogue's men defeated, a few were running, but mostly they were dying. Vasquez didn't saw Bogue entering town, he didn't care. By the time Sam encountered the Robber Baron, Vasquez was on the hill, pulling Faraday's unmoving form from under burned wood and dust.
"Güero, no, no me hagas esto, por favor…"
Erandi ran around them for a moment, stopping to nuzzle Faraday's face gently, begging him to wake up. Niamh was nowhere to be found, and Vasquez felt himself lose all hope, there was such much blood…
"Niamh!"
Erandi screamed and ran behind Vasquez, he saw the vixen limp closer, shaking and exhausted, but still present, still solid, still alive. Vasquez pressed his fingers against Faraday's neck and, there, a pulse.
"Hang on güero," he asked urgently, as he carefully carried him to his horse, "Resiste."
***
Niamh was awake when Vasquez entered the room, watching. Faraday was still healing, deep into a sleep that many feared was not going to end. Seeing Niamh awake, even when Faraday wasn't, was the sight Vasquez needed to breathe a little easier.
Erandi ran to the bed, jumping and nuzzling Niamh as if their lives depended on it, Vasquez smiled faintly at this. He sat on the chair next to Faraday's bed and kept watch in silence, as he had been doing since the moment he found him on that hill.
Niamh, curled around Erandi, letting herself go back to sleep now that someone was watching her child, knowing Vasquez was not going to let anything happen to him. At some point, Niamh woke up again, and moved from the bed to Vasquez' lap, while Erandi curled besides Faraday's head.
Vasquez sighed, gently holding the fox daemon, there was no point in denying his feelings now, even when Faraday was not awake to understand what he had done to him.
"Ándale güero," he urged softly, "Wake up."
***
There was sensation running up his spine and warm curling under his breastbone, a half whole-hearted feeling of right he couldn't explain, but Vasquez understood what was it the moment his vision focused and he saw Faraday, awake, and watching Erandi in awe as the cacomistle jumped and nuzzled him all over with no regard of the concept of personal space.
Vasquez felt his face heat up, only to notice Niamh was still on his lap, looking too content to move, the vixen actually curled into herself further, if anything. He coughed awkwardly, because trying to get another person's daemon to move without touching them was… not easy.
"..'msor'ry," Faraday mumbled, his own hands up and hesitant because he was also trying to get Erandi off his lap without touching her, unsuccessfully.
But Niamh was not concerned with the current arrangement and neither was Erandi.
Oh.
Really, Vasquez should have realized this before, but he had been too worry being relive Faraday was not dead to pay attention. Carefully, he touched Niamh's head, in turn Faraday shuddered, his eyes landing on him in a silent question.
"Güero," he greeted, "I'm… so glad you're awake."
Faraday looked at him in the eye, letting the seconds past in silence until he lowered his hands and gently cradled Erandi against his chest, to the daemon's delight. Vasquez let out a breath he didn't notice he had been holding, and Niamh rested her had on his arm, cozy and calm.
"Faraday," Vasquez didn't know what to said or ask. Permission? Confirmation? He was lost at the moment, "I…"
"Joshua," he said easily, almost as if he wasn't struggling to talk as well, his cheeks flushed, "It's… It's Joshua."
Vasquez relaxed, letting a smile form on his face. He didn't say anything for a moment, feeling there was no need when Erandi was all over Joshua, and in turn, Niamh was just so happily cuddled on his lap.
"Joshua," he said, and holding Niamh in his arms he moved from the chair to the bed, next to Faraday.
"Alejandro!" Erandi said happily, jumping to Joshua's shoulder to say it again, since his counterpart was in too much awed to said it himself.
Joshua licked his lips and said it, or tried to say it, he made a face of disgusts at his own pronunciation, while Vasquez snorted, "That… that's not it… ugh… can you…?"
Alejandro repeated his name, and Joshua tried again and a few more times when his second attempt was just not quite correct, until he got it right. After that, the conversation was less tense, the topic revolved around the aftermath of the confrontation, Bogue's demise and the reconstruction of Rose Creek.
After everything, Alejandro was not calm, and the way he held Niamh, as he was going to break, gave his uneasiness away. Joshua watched him with a frown, and then avoided his eyes altogether, until Erandi got tired of that and nipped his ear.
"Hey, stop that!"
"No, you have to talk," she insisted, then looked at Alejandro, "¡Y tu no te quedes callado!"
Alejandro raised an eyebrow, Erandi didn't give him time to protest. She jumped from Joshua's shoulder to his lap, fully waking Niamh in the process. The fox blinked lazily and yawned, then proceeded to lick Erandi's face, ignoring Joshua's embarrassed stuttering.
Both daemons moved to the end of the bed, watching their humans expectantly.
Alejandro sighed, "Joshua… you could have died," he finally said, locking his gaze with the Irishman, "What were you thinking?"
In turn, Joshua narrowed his eyes, "The Gatling had to go, or all of us would be dead now."
Vasquez gritted his teeth and opened his mouth, "¡¿Pero tenías que hacer algo tan estúpido como cabalgar a tu muerte?!"
And then he was just cursing, hell and back, because he thought Faraday – Joshua, his mind supplied – was gone. Niamh was nowhere to be found, and there had been so much blood. He cursed him over and over because he was angry, so damn angry he felt himself tremble, and he couldn't contain it anymore. On the bed, Erandi was practically hissing in turn, she cursed a few words in Spanish as well, making Niamh tilt her head, unsure of what she was saying.
Joshua endured his rage with a shaky smile, much to Alejandro's annoyance. There was nothing funny in what he was saying, nothing at all, but Joshua still smiled, and once he had run out of creative ways of cursing him, Alejandro settle for silence.
The moment stretched and Joshua cleared his throat awkwardly.
"You done?" he asked, trying to not laugh and Alejandro rolled his eyes, nodding. "Good… you see, I had to do it, because, as I said, you—you all could have died… and I was not going to let that happen," he insisted, at the same time, Niamh grabbed Erandi by the tail to curl protectively around her, ignoring the fact that there was no danger around. The cacomistle let herself be coddled patiently, as Alejandro listen to Joshua. "Do you understand?"
Feeling braver that he let on, Alejandro reached for Joshua's hand, holding it up to press the back of it against his lips, while Erandi curled her tail around Niamh's neck.
"Lo sé," he said in a tone that felt between resigned and understanding, "Just… never do that again, or I'm going to put you on the ground myself, pinche idiota."
Joshua snickered and leaned on him with a sigh, resting his head on Alejandro's shoulder.
***
As Faraday slept, and Vasquez kept watch.
He was staring at the ceiling when Dae entered the room, her feline eyes judging him in silence. On her back, Adrienne stood nonchalantly.
"You need to sleep too," Adrienne said, flapping her wings, "It is not a good idea to let yourself wither in turn for him to recover, he will feel bad about it."
"Oh?" Vasquez raised and eyebrow, "And how do you know that?"
"That's a stupid question," it was Billy who answered, opening the door to give him a look, "Go eat something, then come back and sleep, I'll watch over him."
Vasquez craned his head, in the other room Goodnight was sitting on a conformable looking chair, reading a book. He had a broken leg while Billy broke his arm due the fall, but aside from that they were alive and no worse of wear.
All of them were alive, Jack had proved to be stronger than arrows, while Sam and Red were not even injured, lucky bastards.
Vasquez looked at Billy in the eye, who stood against the door frame, unmoving. Adrienne flew to Billy's shoulder, while Dae made her way back to Goodnight, jumping on his lap and purring so loudly when the sharpshooter petted her that Vasquez could hear from the other room with no problem. This made him look at Niamh's sleeping form and the way Erandi was curled against her, content and finally calm.
He smiled, shaking his head in amusement and accepted Billy's offer.
They were going to be fine.
***
People wear their souls in the outside, a part of them that was ever changing during their youth and defined when they have come to edge. Daemons were more than companions, they were the most vulnerable part of yourself, walking and jumping around in every step you take, like a book wide open for everyone to read, if they were care enough to try.
Even so, people only saw when they paid attention, you see, because daemons were unintentional tell-tales, and they were as true to your real nature as anyone could be.
Alejandro saw this on his companions, and on himself.
After Rose Creek, thy could have parted ways, but instead they decided to stick together, something they all needed, if their daemons reactions were any indication. Now he understood better the stories about those families of choice, sibling souls, and close bonds.
He watched Joshua laugh, sharing a joke with Red and Imala, as they made camp for the night. Erandi perched on his shoulder as she belonged there as much as Niamh, cozy on Alejandro's lap, felt just right.
Sam was talking with Jack, while Eleanor and Mila kept watch of the other daemons like parents watching their youngsters. Billy was building the fire, Adrienne observing in interest, and besides Alejandro, Goodnight red his book with Dae dozing off on his lap.
He looked at the red fox and gently petted her, not missing Joshua's shiver in doing so, Joshua gave a gentle nudge to Erandi in return, one Alejandro felt literally in his soul.
Because now, he knows.