EP: Kate Barlow | Outside, Stables / Main Bar

[ikissdhimbck]

It's been a long time since Beaut's had the pleasure of startling the bar with her presence. The front door admits the five-foot cowgirl and her mount, obviously on their way someplace else, depositing them smack dab in the middle of the bar.

Beaut snorts.

"Oh, come now. S'good t'be back, ain't it?"

Kate wins an ear twitch for her trouble. With a chuckle, she sets about navigating the tables and chairs — and waitrats, we mustn't forget them. She'll get Beaut resettled out in the stables and check on the stock, and once she's done there she'll find a calendar. Once she knows the date and has stopped to look for messages in the stables, at the board, or with the Bar, she'll settle in for a while.

Then again, it's such a beautiful evening out. Maybe she'll take advantage of the lingering light and give Beaut a proper ride up the mountain path.


[ooc: I'm so sorry for inundating the bar! I did try to space everything out. ~sheepish~ Post open indefinitely; catch Kate anywhere you like, she'll be making her rounds and she's in a great humor.]

Comments

[ikissdhimbck]

"Once upon a time, there was a young boy. His father was a marshal, an' he looked up t'him; wanted t'be jus' like 'im. One day, after savin' all of his pennies for years, he managed t'buy himself a fine mustang pony, an' a few of the other young men in town who'd never much took a likin' t'the marshal's son came sayin' they'd lost their herd, an' they were jus' hopin' they could borrow his pony for a li'l while t'go out lookin' for it. Well, the boy let 'em take his pony on the good faith they'd bring him back. But they never did.

"Later on, he asked his papa, 'Why, why does this keep happenin' t'me?' An' the marshal said, 'Son, I spend every day huntin' down bad folk. Some are real bad. An' it's easy t'start lookin' at everyone suspiciously, an' see badness in 'em. Y'could be the same way, an' have a whole corral full'a ponies. But y'won't find no lost herds, neither.' The boy took the hint, realizin' that there ain't nothin' wrong with seein' the best in folk. S'a good thing, even. Sometimes you're gonna lose a few ponies, but — y'never know how much 'long the way you're gonna end up savin' if y'keep that good faith."

She touches his face tenderly, in a sign of friendly affection.

"Maybe it'd help Carlotta t'know y'can't always be wary. There may be darkness an' shadow in those you are drawn to, but y'can't go a whole life lookin' for it. Say Lady Pyrrha does hurt you somewhere down the line, the way Charles Monroe did; say folk look at y'funny for whom y'choose t'love. It won't change the fact that she's made y'happy now, an' I'm happy that you're happy. I hope Carlotta can be, too. 'Cuz the way y'see goodness in people, Teja — I don't want you t'lose that faith."

[ostro_goth]

"I see goodness in people??" Teja says, completely astonished. "I, of all people??"

[ikissdhimbck]

She chuckles.

"Y'saw goodness in me, when t'most I'm not worth a second glance."

[ostro_goth]

"I cannot believe that," Teja says. "These people must wear blinkers, rough bottle-bottoms for eye-glasses, and have boards nailed to their foreheads, to think thus of you. You are both strong and lovely, true, principled, and fearless. I wish I had had one such as you -- a dozen such as you! -- among the people that stood with me on Mount Vesuvius, for things would have been easier, we would have stood longer, and killed more Byzantine mercenaries with such women behind us and beside us."

Pause.

"If there is one thing I regret," he adds, "because of what I learned in this place, it's that I did not arm those young women that might have wished to fight. My friend Hilde, for whom little Hilde in Gotland was named, had been dead for many years by then; she fell in battle, beside her husband, so I weas lacking the inspiration she would have been, or you. Unflinching strength such as yours or hers deserves nothing but the greatest respect, the highest regard."

[ikissdhimbck]

She laughs softly, whether out of surprise or honor or disbelief one can't be sure. Perhaps all, and much more, for his words do flatter her, and bring an ease to her heart that's been lacking since Christmas. She shakes her head, smiling, and brings her hand to his shoulder instead, squeezing tenderly.

"Y'honor me by sayin' so, Teja. Thank you for your regard, for in my world there aren't many places for women outside the home. Even in the wilds of the West, y'find women who hold business — ranch owners, drivers, rustlers, merchants. It's a whole new frontier. But we still wanna be like the East, an' an unwed woman such as myself, with my reputation an' the blood on my hands ... "

She shakes her head. Even in the West, there aren't many who will look beyond that, or call her anything but sullied. Soiled. Unfit.

"You were a good king, as you're a good man now. I got no doubt of that. An' you were loved. Y'may not have opportunity t'amend your mistakes, but I believe the women in your care then respected an' loved you despite it. An' you've learned now what a mighty army we can be."

She grins crookedly, a touch smug.

"Which only further proves my point."

[ostro_goth]

"It might only prove that I am worthy, not that you are unworthy," Teja says. "Which you are not. Never believe if any tries to tell you so."

[ikissdhimbck]

She warms, patting his arm once more before drawing back.

"I'll do my best. An' as for you, never stop lookin' for them lost herds. T'be loved by a king like Teja even this Lady Pyrrha must be honored, an' understand why those who loved you before are jealous of your heart. It's a precious gift."

[ostro_goth]

"I shall no stop, indeed," Teja says. "It is as if a catch was missing in that which makes me tick, that would make me stop at the places where any sane man would, when the battle is lost, or when one is standing up to an immortal over one he considers a gnat."

[ikissdhimbck]

She grins all the more, breathing a wry laugh.

"That's what makes us folk of action  —  an' folk of questionable sense."

She nudges him.

"Perhaps once Beaut is settled, y'can help me arrange for things your betrothed enjoys at tea. So she'll feel more comfortable, if she accepts my invitation."

[ostro_goth]

"I can," Teja says. "And I can help you with the horse, also."

[ikissdhimbck]

"Can y'also help me eat a boysenberry pie?"

Smiling, that's her way of inviting him to sup with her.

[ostro_goth]

"I can do that, also," Teja says.

Kate likes making good food, as does Pyrrha -- one day, when all those plans of Loki's have unfurled, he must invite Kate to the house in Italy and they must all make good food together.

[ikissdhimbck]

[ooc: oops, I really thought I'd replied to this — how do you feel about fading here? It feels like a nice spot. ^__^]

[ostro_goth]

[[OOC: Absolutely! Fade is fine. I was gone anyway, am back now, and will throw up a multipup which you are of course totally welcome to tag whenever you've got time!]]