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Shadow Milk narrowed his eyes, sinking his cheek into the palm of his hand while the other hand worked at shuffling the chips beneath his fingers.
Pocket nines…
Nothing on the flop. Raise. Raise got called by two. Two others folded. Four cards on the table, just him and two men, two men who seemed…
Awfully familiar…
Last card landed. It’s a nine. He’s got three of a kind.
Easy win, other guys seem nervous. Read like a book. Only a full house could let the others win. But let’s be real, he has half the nines.
He ups the bet a bit, neither fold. Are they really bluffing on junk?
He grins, the two large men on either side of each other both call, cards down.
Yup, he wins. Didn’t even cheat this time.
“Well, good game, fellas!” He sneered, reaching his arm out to scoop up the pot. “Better luck next time, eh? Oh, wait! It’s a skill game… Wuff, I guess you really just suck then, huh~?”
Neither men were particularly impressed, nor were the other patrons who’s folding managed to save themselves from losing the other half of their savings to the blue-haired gambling freak.
“Well, time for one more?” He tilted his head playfully, pouting his lips when he pointedly stared at their pile of chips. Or, lack thereof. “Aw, lost it all already? Should’ve quit while you were ahead! Well, I’m heading off to a table that can actually bluff!”
His chair scraped loudly as he got to his feet, giggling to himself as he gathered his (this time, legitimately) earnt winnings into his arms. In his own little world, he didn’t hear the two men across the table whispering to each other in hushed voices.
Hehe~! Just another day of draining them dry! Tourists were the best targets, and also the only ones who didn’t know better than not to gamble against him.
As he walked over to another table, he caught a glimpse of the sky through the gates at the mouth of the gambling hall.
The sun was comfortably visible, but perhaps it was time to consider himself on his way. A shame, he wasn’t quite done. But he also had literature to write, there was a deadline he simply had to meet.
Contentedly, he strolled over to the front desk and spilled his chips over the table. The teller sighed, lifting up his fingers to pick through the unsorted mess of chips.
Shadow Milk tapped his foot against the ground, crossing his arms as he flicked his gaze between the teller and the door impatiently.
He could’ve sworn the sky got a bit more orange while he waited, but to anyone watching no more than three minutes would have passed during the span his earnings were counted up.
Finally, the register opened and a pile of coins of various sizes were dropped into his palm. He tipped his hat to the teller, giving the exhausted man his signature grin before making his way outside, fighting with the pouches at his harness to get the coins in.
With a smile, he turned the corner, ready to great his horse-
“Good afternoon, ‘friend’.”
The two men from earlier stood in the way of him and his steed, faces largely concealed with bandanas and shawls.
“Oh, it’s you two! Why, afternoon to you too.” He remarked with a wide, friendly grin. His mood was just too good right now for any unnecessary attitude.
One was dressed in red, standing in front. He flicked his head back and gave him a glare, tutting behind his mask.
“Acting so friendly, for a man so foul. Just heard from the table you’re a regular at cheatin’. And I’m not too big a fan when my money gets thieved from me, in fronta my nose.”
Shadow Milk swallowed, immediately realising this encounter had a couple other strings attached.
“Hey, hey! I get it- I understand why you might be concerned. But rest assured- I won that money fair and square. And I must apologise- but I don’t do refunds! So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be on my way…” He tried to step aside, before the taller of the two got in his way again.
And boy, did that guy look familiar…
“Refunds, you say…” He drawled, a thick accent almost showing itself. “I think you’ve misunderstood.”
Shadow Milk raised a brow, trying to take another step to his horse to hopefully avoid the conversation through conveniently leaving.
“…Go on…” He prompted, raising his hand to hover at his hip.
“We heard things about you, and we heard that- just maybe- you’re the type to enjoy another game if so invited.”
Shadow Milk laughed nervously, flicking his eyes between his horse only a few steps away and the two men just in front of him. “Uh, yeah…? I guess you could say that.”
The red one piped up again, his voice going squeaky for a second before clearing the voice crack to drop an octave. “So, I suggest that you consider heading with us for a game of roulette.”
Shadow Milk’s gaze narrowed, tutting.
“See, that’s a shame- because I really don’t do fifty-fifty odds- I prefer games like poker, when things swing in my direction. So, I might just get going…”
The taller one stuck a hand out to grab his collar when he tried to take another step, dragging him over to the wall and pushing him against it, snarling.
“I think you’ll find your odds a lot more preferable, in this kind of roulette.”
The man pulled a gun out of his holster, sliding the cylinder out and boasting only one bullet.
“Try one in six.”
Shadow Milk’s eyes widened, reaching for his own gun slowly with his free hand.
“-I see! You’re the kind of man who likes to live his life on the edge, haha~! But, see-“ He swallowed, licking his lips slightly to ease that dryness he found overcoming them. “I’m not really the kind to put my life on the line for a little cash, so if you’ll excuse me-“
A gun found his way at the side of his head, the cold sinking into his skin.
The other man stood now by his side, tilting his head with a vicious snarl on his face.
“Say, I think we haven’t been clear…” The taller one mused, giving the cylinder a spin before sliding it into place and readying the gun for fire.
“So I think we ought to clarify.” He took a breath in, his eyes narrowing in on the other, “Firstly, either your odds are one in six, or they’re six in six. You choose which game you want to play, we’ll follow.”
Shadow Milk swallowed, biting his tongue to stop his overly ambitious talking habits from digging him into another hole.
“Secondly, you’re gonna have to drop that tone of yours, before we make that one in six a two in six.”
Shadow Milk nodded casually in affirmation, prompting the other to finish his terms.
“And thirdly, I’m not a man. So, there’s that.”
Shadow Milk couldn’t help himself from letting his jaw gape. All of his efforts to stay quiet were instantly lost.
“Wow, really? Damn, I’ve gotta hand it to you! You’re really helping cowgirl rep. I swear, people always make them out to be these sexy lasso swingers-“
“You just made it two bullets. Actually, Chili, make it three. He just implied we aren’t sexy.”
The one dressed in red laughed, rummaging in his- her- pockets to fish out two bullets and hand the bullets over to the tall, blond woman beside her.
Shadow Milk groaned internally. Great, now he’s made it three.
Which, is stupid, because he knows this whole “Russian Roulette” thing is a bit anyways. Nobody mugs a guy by pretending they’re still gambling. Guess the rumours of lesbians being into roleplay are-
Oh.
Lesbians.
Money hungry.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Chili Pepper, the small fry bandit who corrupted a retired sheriff into a life of crime with the promise of love.
Rye, said former sheriff, who turned out to be a lot more cut out for a life of crime than any member of law enforcement had a right to be.
What were their bounties again? They must’ve been pretty high.
Oh, this was getting dangerous~…
“Hey, listen to us! Or three bullets is gonna become four!”
Shadow Milk snapped out of it, and without even thinking about it slammed a leg into the crotch of Rye, making the other let out a “Ouff” of pain. Successfully catching them both off-guard, he ran around them, making a dash for his horse.
“You foul-!” Rye called out, before a gun clicked with an empty shot. “Damn it! It’s still half-loaded!”
Geez, what a bunch of dumbasses. Him and Sapphire would never be so sloppy.
Also, he really should stop forgetting that not everyone has balls and that kicking them will not, in fact, immobilise them.
A shot fired from the other, narrowly missing him, before he reached his horse and leapt on, wasting no time in simply shooting at the rope to detach his horse from the pole it was tied to.
“Fuck! He’s leaving already?!”
Rye shouted out, shooting again- and yet another blank.
‘Forget it! I’ll get him!”
Chilli shot as well, this time her mark landing.
Yet it didn’t land on Shadow Milk.
Shadow Milk bounced on the saddle for one last time, the horse underneath him letting out a whiny of pain before collapsing forward.
His eyes widened, watching the rapidly approaching ground below him, and his very own steed falling forward.
“NO!”
He screamed.
Time seemed to move slower, yet it all happened so fast.
Shadow Milk was on the ground, and so was his horse.
He felt his breathing grow rapidly, scrambling to his legs as he forced himself to move.
In the distance, voices called out to him, demanding he return. He couldn’t hear them.
He just sprinted.
And kept sprinting.
Sprinted until he met the front door.
His eyes felt hot with the threat of tears as the door was slammed open, a rusty sounding scream sounding from him.
“BLACK SAPPHIRE!”
Black Sapphire’s head snapped up from behind the desk, eyes widening in shock as he hurried his way over to him.
“Shadow Milk? What happened? Are you alright?”
Shadow Milk went to talk, but his throat caught on a sob, letting out a whine before managing to get it out.
“-Horse! The horse! They killed it, it’s dead, the horse is dying and its going to die and they’re still there and-“
“What!?”
Shadow Milk voice started to crack again, Black Sapphire pulling him up to stand straight while he tried to process what was going on.
“Shadow Milk, take a breath. You need to tell me properly what just happened.”
“I- I can’t! There’s no time, we have to get back, they’re gonna find us, and then-“
“Ok, ok. Alright, then. Let’s go find them, and fix the problem. In the meantime, you’re going to tell me-“
Shadow Milk snapped back upright, seizing Black Sapphire’s wrist and yanking him through the front door, eyes still reddened and glistening.
“No! No time! We need to get there, like, right now!”
“Ok-“
Shadow Milk was already physically recovered, beginning to run.
This was far from the first time he had to gather himself in distress, he had by this point learnt to get things done no matter how he felt.
And it was urgent. He needed to get back to his horse.
What if- what if it was shot in the leg?
Just like back then?
It’s saveable! Not like he’d be able to ride the horse again- but that horse- that horse was his tether, if he lost it-
He didn’t see where the horse got shot, he needs to get back there immediately-
They reached the gambling hall. More specifically, behind the gambling hall, where their little game of “Russian Roulette” took place.
Chili Pepper and Rye met their gaze, immediately standing up.
In front of them- his horse’s body.
Bleeding.
Breathing.
He crooked a grin, eyes frantically searching for a wound.
He found it.
His eyes sank.
It was in the gut, already bleeding out.
The horse… was going to die. It simply was not dead yet.
The horse… was dead…
“Back, for more? Now, let’s settle this like-”
Chili Pepper fell to the ground, a bullet in her skull ending her sentence abruptly.
Shadow Milk held his arm out, revolver still shaking from where he shot.
Rye’s eyes widened, taking a step back.
“Y-you-“ She stammered, looking down at her partner.
“Shadow Milk?”
Black Sapphire asked, turning to the other.
His face was contorted in anger. Thin trails of water trickled down his cheek, dribbling onto the dirt below. His hand began to shake more violently, before he reached out another to stabilise it.
“D-drop it...“ He managed out, pointing the gun to Rye’s head.
Rye trembled slightly, gun falling out of her weakened without even needing to be asked.
“Y-you- you killed her-“
Shadow Milk’s eyes snapped wider, giving the gun in his hands another jolt. Rye silenced herself, before a tear of her own began form.
“Shadow Milk!” Black Sapphire said, louder.
Shadow Milk sniffed, forcing himself to exhale.
“Go put her in the basement, or something. I want to deal with her later.” He said, defeatedly, turning his gaze back to his horse when he saw Black Sapphire address the woman in front of him.
He holstered his gun, sitting cross-legged on the ground and placing his palm over the dying steed.
“Shadow Milk, I understand this is not the best time-“
“Yeah, go figure it out. I don’t care how.”
“It’s broad daylight, we’re gonna get caught-“
“I don’t know! Go figure it out, go stick her in a sack or something-! I’ve got to worry about Chili Pepper’s corpse, I’ll probably just make it look like she killed herself or something- just give me a moment!”
Black Sapphire sighed through his nose, nodding silently before tackling the problem that was the woman in front of him.
…
It would be fine. He’s got a plan.
And it’s a passable one.
Nobody will question Black Sapphire simply walking someone to the inn.
It’s fine.
Get rid of her gun, and she can’t fight back.
Simple enough.
…
Taking Rye with him, Black Sapphire silently left Shadow Milk by himself to oversee his horse.
Or, more specifically, ‘Horse’.
They never did land on a name.
And now…
…
Shadow Milk turned to watch Black Sapphire and their new victim leave for only a moment, before taking his attention to Chili Peppers’ dead body.
He wanted to grieve, but he had no time. Thank the heavens above the area the gambling hall was located in was more private, there was nobody around- yet- so he had time to dispose of Chili Pepper before he could say goodbye properly to his horse.
He sighed, trudging around his horse with a lidded gaze before looking at the body below him.
Scum.
Absolute scum.
His teeth clenched together, grabbing the wrist of the rotten filth before taking a look around.
They were… Awfully open.
Yes, it was in a less visited section of town. But still, it would be difficult to deal with her…
Gods, it was hard to think right now…
It would be fine. Go- throw her in a bush or something. Or- or maybe- she ‘found it too much’ and killed herself. Maybe- Maybe-
Maybe it was Russian Roulette.
The criminal bitch played Russian Roulette behind the gambling hall and lost. Simple as that. Lost it all. Easy. Nobody would dig much deeper as she has a bounty on her head, anyways. And- and nobody heard her shoot herself because it’s so damn loud in that gambling hall- no, even better, it outright explained the previous gunfire.
And that was only if anyone gave a shit. Everyone's too used to gunfire these days to get all uppity, anyhow.
Shadow Milk winced, propping her body up against the wall and emptying her revolver, carefully prying her fingers to grip the gun. He emptied her pockets as well, taking any last cash she had on her to really sell it, before turning back to his horse and sighing.
“…Hey, there…” He muttered into its bullet-chipped ear, combing his fingers through its mane.
His eyebrows drew together, moving his hands over to its heart to check for a pulse.
Another sniffle left him as he felt none.
Or was it too quiet? Was it’s heart still beating?
Maybe he should shoot it, just to remove any doubt that it was still suffering…
He exhaled, taking his revolver up to its head and closing his eyes to detach himself from the image of what came next.
He pulled the trigger, before holstering his revolver and turning away.
He let out another pained sigh, feeling his throat slightly tender.
…
Done… What now?
He should… clean it up.
He opened his eyes, turning back to face the body of his beloved steed.
It…it would be best cremated.
Was that possible?
Probably?
He’d have to get it home, first.
He’d need another set of hands for that.
Then, what about the equipment? Should he burn the saddle and all of that while he was at it, too?
It was good equipment, but-
Maybe it was finally time to let go?
Let all of it go? Every tether to the incident? Saddle and all?
…Maybe.
He sighed, forcing his protesting legs to stand up straight and walk him home.
He… he was sloppy this time.
But it worked out.
The horse killer is dead. Her (well, now ex) girlfriend is in the basement. They’ll probably just hand her in for the bounty, or something.
Actually, he’s a little mad right now. Maybe he’ll rough her up a bit beforehand. Just to settle the score.
Alright. That’s the plan. Time to go get Black Sapphire.
The walk back began slow.
Shadow Milk took no hurry in his steps. He was still processing.
Processing was a funny thing, he supposed. It always happened in the same way. First, an emotional overwhelm, before he manages to get himself back into shape and figure out just exactly what needs to happen to get everything under control.
And it was going great, right now.
It was… going great…
His eyes snapped open, quickly making a mad dash to the inn.
Holy shit, he should NOT be relaxed right now. His horse is there- like there- next to Chili Peppers corpse.
They should get it out of the way immediately. Like, now.
He reached the inn door, panting, his fist thudding against the wood frantically.
There was no answer, only voices could be heard inside.
Wait, voices?
He knocked again, this time Black Sapphire creaking the door open with an exceedingly tense expression on his face.
Shadow Milk ignored it, seizing his wrist and beginning to drag him out.
“Look, I’m sorry, but we have to go, I need your help or this could be bad-“
Black Sapphire snatched his wrist back, holding it close to him.
“Wait, Shadow Milk-“ Black Sapphire started, turning his head between Shadow Milk and… behind the door? He couldn’t quite tell, nor could he care.
“No, we have to go! They might find out that we ki-“ Shadow Milk was cut off by a palm slamming against his mouth.
Black Sapphire held a finger to his own mouth, teeth gritting in a silent display to ‘shut the fuck up right fucking now’.
Shadow Milk raised a brow, before the door opened a creak more to reveal… Pure Vanilla.
Shadow Milk’s face dropped.
What the hell?!
Wait, no. No, no, no. What the actual HELL?!
What is he doing here right now?!
He popped his lips once, before donning an awkward smile.
“P-Pure Vanilla! Phew, boy, you’ve- uh, really picked a bad time. And by bad, I mean, wow. Yeah… Uh, Black Sapphire?” Shadow Milk’s heartrate picked up by at least a score of forty, eyes widening and flicking maddeningly between the two men in front of him.
“Y-yes, Pure Vanilla, it’s as Shadow Milk says- not the best time…”
“…Oh, really? I’m so sorry- can I help?”
“NO!” The outlaws both yelled at once, Pure Vanilla instantly recoiling into himself.
“I- I mean, of course you can…! Uh, how about, you just sit in that rocking chair and don’t move at all until we come back?” Black Sapphire tried to recover, gesturing over to the corner.
“That… doesn’t seem very helpful? Are you sure there isn’t anything else I could do?” His voice had a note of scepticism in it, giving slight side-eyes to the two men who seemed eager to get the hell out of here.
“No, no! You know how much help Salty is whenever he does inn-sitting for us! This is, like, just like that. So. Um. Just sit down.” Shadow Milk ended it with a nervous chuckle, flicking his eyes between Pure Vanilla and the rocking chair.
“And don’t go, like, anywhere.” Black Sapphire added.
“…Ok…?”
Pure Vanilla cautiously stepped over to the rocking chair, taking a seat while folding his arms over each other. Without any more acknowledgement, Shadow Milk immediately dragged the other outside and slammed the door shut.
“No, Shadow Milk! You don’t understand- I need to go back inside- I thought it was you, and then-!”
“Save it for later- this is urgent- we need to deal with this right now.”
Shadow Milk was hauling the other along, who was still walking alongside him, desperately trying to get the other to let him go back to the inn.
“I’m serious! I promise you- whatever you have can wait-“
“I don’t think you realise just how close we are to getting caught- we need to get this horse dealt with. If they see my horse next to that corpse, we are quite literally first in line for interrogation station!”
Black Sapphire sighed, quickening his pace so the other would not pull on him so much.
“This isn’t the time for word play- Shadow Milk, I don’t think you actually realise, just how bad things are at the inn. I need to go back there, like, now.”
“If you need to go back, let’s go faster. Can you run?”
“Oh my god, Shadow Milk-“
The two took it to a jog the rest of the way- Shadow Milk still too exhausted from all his previous running to properly sprint. They reached the horse, and he breathed a sigh of relief that the scene was just as he left it approximately three minutes ago.
“Alright, what’s the plan, because it better be quick.” Black Sapphire huffed, hands on his knees to recover.
“So, I've got her set up to look like she died playing Russian Roulette, so I think that it would be best if-.”
“Cut to the chase.”
"...Burn it."
"How?"
“I’ll figure that out later. For now, it’d be best if we just hide it?”
“Oh my goodness. You haven’t planned this out, have you.”
“I wasn’t given enough time! Do you have a proper idea?”
Black Sapphire hummed for a second, looking between both dead bodies in front of him.
“...Sure, I have something. We can’t move the thing, it’s too heavy- maybe we could frame it to look like something else took place?”
“…Go on.”
“Well, right now, it looks like Chili Pepper played Russian Roulette and lost. We could… make it look like this is her horse? And the winner had killed it?”
"Everyone knows this is my horse.”
“Well, maybe as of this afternoon, it used to be. Renowned thief, Chilli Pepper, stole Shadow Milk’s horse after he went gambling... Went away from public eyes, behind the gambling hall, and played Russian Roulette with a mysterious figure. Actually, she was forced to play, as her getaway animal was killed. And- and then, to sell it, we remove all the gear and drop it in someone’s wagon to frame our target. And drop some of her money in there as well, making it seem as though he took her money and all valuable equipment, leaving no roads pointing to us.”
Shadow Milk’s eyes widened, looking back at the other.
“And that’s all just insurance in case they actually give a damn. She’s a criminal, anyways.” He tacked on.
Shadow Milk breathed a sigh of relief, already going over to get off the equipment from the horse.
“Oh, Black Sapphire, thank goodness you’re my partner- alright, help me at this-“
“No, I must refuse. This is serious- I have to get back to the inn. You can do without me, right?”
Shadow Milk sighed, but conceded.
“Yes, I can take it from here.”
“Alright, see you.”
“Good luck.”