InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "You Think You're A Man"

Grace Sackett (rope_and_ride) wrote in oldwest_rpg,
@ 2008-06-17 20:08:00

Entry tags:

dax marshall, grace sackett

Who: Grace and Dax
When: Monday, June 17, 1867 - Mid afternoon 16
Where: On the road back to Grace's ranch
Status: Complete

Grace had just left the main of town and was on the long stretch of dirt road bound for the ranch on Rogue who was moving at a nicely paced walk.

Her venture into town had solely constanted of a visit paid to the post office. One letter had been posted to go out, and a couple inbound letters, which were now safely tucked in a pocket, were picked up by the rancher after having sat at the post office for the past couple of days.

Things at the ranch were going quite well, and with nothing pressing the blonde to make a rush back to the place, Grace decided to take her time in making her return home, and it was with that thought she let Rogue move at his leisure. Of course the weather also played a part, with it pushing near the 90s a person be'd damn near foolish to get anywhere near overdoing things.

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syxx
2008-06-19 03:20 am UTC (link)

The sun beamed down today like it was trying to kill someone. It was hot as shit, and there was nothing anybody could do about it; except maybe sit in the shade and try to dodge the humidity. Which was close to impossible. It seemed like a busy afternoon - people hauling around their wagons and going here and there either on foot or horseback.

Dax would have liked to be around there, but he wasn't much of a crowd person. Once in a blue moon he could handle all of the people surrounding him (excluding being in the Saloon), but today was not that day. He practically lived at the inn, but that didn't mean he couldn't romp around outside of town near the homes.

So that's exactly what he had been doing nearly all day. He wore his pants, of course, his shirt, but left back the jacket at home. It was just too damn hot to be wearing all of that crap around outside. He did, however, have his rifle strapped to his back. His sleeves were rolled, and he strode beside his horse, Clayton.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see another figure walking towards him. Whoever it was, they had also decided on walking instead of riding. The closer the figure, the more he could see who it was.

They were both a mere two yards away when he spoke (he did not have to yell), "Well, well, well. Miss Rancher." He raised his brow but squinted his eyes, taking a long drag of the smoke he had lit only moments earlier. "Or, whatever your real name is."

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rope_and_ride
2008-06-20 01:50 am UTC (link)

"It's Sackett." Grace said in an acid tone, and though she kept on moving, her eyes remained on the man who she in no way was all that pleased to see. She wanted to witness the look on his face, his reaction to hearing the name she tossed out to him. His voice was unmistakable, it had been one of the ones she had heard on that eventful night so many years back. This second encounter with the man had Grace itching to brush fingers against the handle of the six shooter that hung low at her hip. She'd have been quite the foolish woman to have left the ranch without some sort of protection.

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syxx
2008-06-20 08:55 am UTC (link)

He too, continued to walk, following her, rather. He puffed on his smoke and looked up at the sky in thought. "Sackett. Sackett," he said, trying to pin-point where he had heard the name before. It had been years since what had happened, so he wasn't all too familiar with the name just yet.

The sun beamed down a little harder just as he realized where he had heard the name before. A wide grin spread across his face. He was not going to pity her, nor apologize. There would be no point. It was clear that she knew him and was indeed pissed off at his presence.

"Ah, yes. The Sackett Ranch. Well y'sure 'ave grown," he said, raising a brow as the grin did not cease to stop.

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rope_and_ride
2008-06-21 03:19 am UTC (link)

Grace just gave the man a cold, hard stare, before taking her eyes from the man to continue her walk back to the ranch at a bit of a quicker clip. Smug bastard. He didn't show a spark of the slightest remorse or regret of what had happened, the man seemed rather to find amusement in remembrance of the name, and the tragedy that had happened to her and her brother all those years back. It had Grace wanting to put a bullet into the man to wipe that grin from his face, but she really had no cause to do just that. Wasn't like he was harassing her with intent to cause bodily harm, and he hadn't exactly been the one to pull the trigger that caused the death of her father, so there wasn't anything the law'd be able to do. So she just kept moving Rogue along the road toward the ranch hoping the man would just take himself elsewhere and not follow her the full length of home.

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syxx
2008-06-21 05:19 am UTC (link)

Quietly his grin faded and he took one last suck from the cigarette before flicking it away. So her pace started to quicken. Well, Dax wasn't going to let her get away that easily. Sure, he felt bad about what had happened, but how would he, a member of the Dooger Gang, help by showing her just how "sorry" he was?

His strides were longer, and soon enough he was near her side, saying nothing at first but observing their surroundings as though they had been walking side by side all day.

"I know how it is, to lose someone," he said, not bothering to look at her but glancing at her sideways for a split second. "If those men came face to face with me t'apologize, I wouldn't accept it. So there's really no point in me doing it for you."

Dax turned and looked at her, tightening his grip on the reins holding his horse. If she were to draw now, he would be quick to draw his own weapon, and wouldn't hesitate to shoot if he had to. Even for a woman. The most respected of the human species on his part.

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rope_and_ride
2008-06-21 03:51 pm UTC (link)

"And that's suppose to make it all the bloody hell better?" Coming to an abrupt halt in her walk, Grace's eyes flashed as she looked over to the man. "Claim that you sympathize with my loss, and think I'll be offering you forgiveness? You think losing a bastard in that gang of yours compares in any way to me losing my father?" Little did Grace know that she might soon be regretting her little lashing of bitter words should Dax chose to share just who it was he had lost. "Go away." The blonde hissed out as her feet starting moving on the dirt road once more in hopes of distancing herself from the outlaw.

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syxx
2008-06-21 09:18 pm UTC (link)

Unexpectedly, she stopped just after she was done speaking. This caught Dax off guard, so he stopped mere inches ahead of her, only to back up to become even. He said nothing, for there was nothing to be said. Dax wasn't the one to pull the trigger, or quite frankly to light the match, but that didn't matter. He was present.

After her next choice of words, he twisted the reins in his hand until his knuckles turned white. How dare she assume that his loss was that of a member of the gang. Dax grit his teeth slightly, turning away to try and control the bit of anger rising.

"Y'are wrong on so many levels, Miss Sackett. So, so wrong," he said through bared teeth. Slowly, he turned to look at her, "I wasn't talking about a member, I was talking about m'wife and child."

He couldn't move. He wanted to move, but he couldn't. The thought of seeing his family hanging there struggling to live while he was forced to watch flashed before him. Something he sure the hell didn't want to see for the millionth time.

"Don't try an' tell me that I don't know what it's like. B'cause quite frankly, I do," he said, narrowing his eyes and looking her over before she started to march off.

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rope_and_ride
2008-06-21 10:50 pm UTC (link)

The instant she heard who the man had lost, Grace regretted deeply what she had said.

"I'm truly sorry for the loss you suffered." Grace making a slow turn to face the man and catch the narrow eyes he laid on her, all anger having faded from her tone. Not that her apology made any difference now, she had been out of line in what she said to him. No one, not even an outlaw deserved to go through such a loss.

Here he was trying to show that he was sorry for what happened to her years ago. That he did understand what she might have gone through, what she may have felt/be feeling, and all Grace could do in return was give him a cold, hard slap in the face for his troubles. Awkwardness set in leaving the blonde at a loss of anything else to say. She didn't want to stick her foot in her mouth again and make the situation worse then she already had.

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syxx
2008-06-22 07:30 am UTC (link)

The air felt thicker, so thick that anyone might be able to take a bit out of it. Dax stopped in his tracks and glanced over at the reins gripped tightly in his fist, his knuckles still a pearly white. He twisted them, keeping silent in thought and wondering how he should respond to her apologetic response. Most of the time he would count this as being "too late," but this time, he let it slide considering the past situations.

He waved a hand in her direction, wanting to tell her that it was ok for what she had said. So she was angry. She could have blurted out anything. But still, even the thought of her so quick to place tags was hard to swallow. A memeber.. Pfft.. He'd rather half of the gang be killed than his dear Kenna and beloved Finlay be taken from him.

"T'was long ago, what happened to you an' yer family," he said quietly, his eyes calmly focusing on her again, "I am still with th' gang, but that doesn't mean what I'm tryin' to do here is false."

Furrowing his brows, he gazed at the dirt at his feet. "I lost them an'..."

Dax couldn't bare to finish what he was going to say. Instead, he granted her wish and headed off in the opposite direction. He was supposed to be a hard-ass. One who wasn't supposed to let his guard down. But this... This was quite different.

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rope_and_ride
2008-06-22 04:28 pm UTC (link)

All Grace found that she could do was watch the man headed off in the opposite direction, glimpsing a side of the man she didn't think she'd ever see in an outlaw. That had the rancher reassessing her view of the man. Anything she may have wanted to say, or offer to the man, refused to let a voice find the words. And really what could she say now that would matter. All it would serve to do would make the situation all that more awkward and strained.

With a bit of regret, and the thought that maybe their paths might cross again, Grace turned her eyes away from the man furthering the distance between them and started on her way once more toward the ranch.

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syxx
2008-06-22 07:19 pm UTC (link)

Dax stopped for a short moment and turned to watch her continue on. He licked his teeth, squinted his eyes, and reached into his pocket for another cigarette. His mood from within that time had gone from bored to stressed, and as any smoker might agree, tobacco helped "calm the nerves."

Lighting the quirley, he continued to watch her, his horse becoming quite agitated at being pulled here, there, stopping, going. Clayton nudged Dax a bit in an attempt to make him continue on, perhaps towards town. A good drink might do both he and the horse some good for today.

He shook his head, turned, and headed to town.

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