( mexico is too nice. too quiet. )

( sit down, i'll buy you a drink. )

The basket's a pleasant surprise.

Ben's pulling his weathered notebook from his pocket, intending to leave a proper thank you, when he sees her (doesn't he?) across the room.

Rules be damned, his hand twitches over his holster.

She's bloody and battered, on fire, lit by that spun-gold magic Ben's hoping like hell will keep her safe until he can ( Read more... )

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It's early -- early enough that the bar proper is more quiet than loud. Ben likes mornings like this in here, when he can sit with his coffee at one elbow and his hat by the other on the counter, and he isn't taking up more space than might be considered polite ( Read more... )

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[ an out-of-body experience ]

Dan had been damn good to Ben's body; Ben's clean, his stomach is full, and his head feels clearer than it has in a while.

The Lieutenant's presence in the bar makes it all that much sweeter.

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[ " 'tis an ill wind that blows o'er us all" ]His dreams bend and breathe ( Read more... )

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Ben's mostly certain he put those cross-ties back where they belong in the tack room.

Which is why he's striding out to the stables, late hour and icy air be damned.

When he hears the horses -- panicked whinnies cutting straight to his eardrums, raising the hairs on the back of his neck -- he breaks into a run.

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[ link goes here! ]

The saloon in Jamestown, California is more respectable than any of the ones back in Dodge City.

(Of course, that's not saying a whole hell of a lot.)

Nonetheless, it's a classy establishment, and it's at least marginally safer than the holes-in-the-wall Ben's used to playing cards in, and that's what ( Read more... )

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( for fira )

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[ honor among thieves ]It's less than a day's ride from Tombstone to Benson; the town itself isn't much to speak of, but it's growing -- all thanks to the Southern Pacific ( Read more... )