Poe Dameron (snarkyflyboy) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2018-09-24 16:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, !log, [plot] wild wild west, ~2018 september, ~25 points, ~~poe dameron (snarkyflyboy), ~~star butterfly (meganarwhalblst) |
Who: Poe Dameron and Star Butterfly Haddock
What: Being bad
Where: Star & Henry's house
When: a little while after this
Warnings: attempted theft
Status: complete gdoc
Star had left Henry to his work and gone back home again after they ate lunch together. She was used to spending the days alone out at their home with just the dogs so she just came back and started working on her chores. She cleaned up the dishes from their lunch and swept the floor before she took the Toothless and Stormfly out to the barn to feed the chickens. They had new chicks so she’d herded them into the barn for while she was gone so no hawks would get them.
Even though people thought women that whistled were sort of trashy since Star was out there with no one else to hear she was whistling a little tune as she came out of the barn.
***
Moving from town to town and robbing folks wasn’t exactly a noble way to make a living, but it worked for Poe and he’d managed to support his daughter and his wife with this way of life. He hadn’t been the best father to Rey, leaving her to be raised by her mother when she was young, and stopping by to visit occasionally. Now that she was older, he was trying to make up for that and today he was trying to find some jewelry to give her for her upcoming birthday.
The further away from town the houses were, the easier they were to steal from, and he didn’t realize that anyone was home until he heard whistling. There was nowhere to hide, so he was going to have to try and talk his way out of this.
“Afternoon,” he said, tipping his hat to the young woman who emerged from the barn.
***
“Oh!” Star hadn’t expected anyone to be there so she was startled but she was more embarrassed that someone had heard her whistling than worried about the fact there was a stranger there. Her hands went up automatically to smooth her hair a little and settle her dress knowing she must be something of a mess after running around doing chores all afternoon.
“Can I help you?” Maybe he was a new neighbor, or maybe he was traveling and needed some help.
***
“Just passing through, ma’am,” Poe said, putting on his most charming smile. “Could do with a spot of water, if it’s not too much trouble.”
If he could get her to invite him inside the house, it would make it a lot easier to look for valuables. He wasn’t the kind to hurt a person, especially a young woman who seemed to be near his daughter’s age, but he wouldn’t feel bad if he took some of her belongings.
***
Star wavered a little because she wasn’t sure why he’d be here even if he was passing through but she was also just a nice person and it wasn’t that big of a deal to give someone some water. She finally smiled and nodded.
“Sure. Come up to the house and I’ll pour you some from the pump, it’s nice and cold.”
***
Poe noticed her slight hesitation and put extra effort into appearing non threatening. “So very kind of you, ma’am,” he said. “It’s much appreciated.”
He followed her into the house, his gaze casting around looking for valuables that might be out in the open.
***
Star left the front door open and went to the little pump in the kitchen and picked up the little tin cup they kept there. “It will just take a minute.” He really did seem like a nice man and it wasn’t anything to give him some water.
There wasn’t a lot of valuables there but some of the things Henry brought from work like tools were on a side table and there was a bracelet he’d given her that she’d taken off to work outside on the little dining table.
“You said you were passing through? Where are you heading?”
***
Lucky for Poe, he’d done a fair amount of traveling though his daughter’s presence drew him back here frequently. “Be crossing the river to Kentucky,” he said. “Looking for some work on the railroad down there.” Following the crews working on expanding the rails was a great way to make some money. The security at those camps was practically non existent.
“This is a nice place,” he said. “You live here alone?” There were signs that a man lived here and he was fishing for information on if or when that man might return.
***
She’d heard about the railroads and Star had always wanted to travel but it didn’t seem like that was going to be in the cards for her. She was very happy with Henry though so maybe traveling was more like something she’d wanted before she got what she really wanted.
“Oh no, I live here with my husband Henry.” She was proud of their home so it was easy to trick her into talking about things that way. “We did a lot of the building ourselves. He’s really got a knack for that sort of thing.”
***
“Looks that way,” Poe said, taking advantage of her comment to look around some more. He spotted a few things that appeared to be valuable, so if he could just distract her for a few minutes, he could grab them and take off. “What kind of work does he do?”
If he could also find out when the husband would be home, that would help.
***
“Oh he’s an apprentice with the weaponsmith.” She was proud of Henry, he was good enough that soon he wasn’t going to be an apprentice anymore he would be a full on weaponsmith in his own right.
She grinned and gestured at his cup. “Was that enough? Would you like some more water, it sounds like you might be headed for a long trip.”
***
Hearing that her husband worked with weapons was a signal that Poe needed to be moving on sooner rather than later. “If it’s not too much trouble,” he said, holding out the now empty cup. “And then I’ll be on my way.”
With some of her belongings in his pouch. He figured he could grab the bracelet and a few other odds and ends. With any luck, she wouldn’t notice they were gone until he was.
***
She took the cup with a quick grin and turned to go fill it at the pump again. Halfway there Star turned to ask him a question about the railroad and which road he was taking and she wasn’t sure but she thought he was messing with things.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
***
Uh oh. Poe wasn’t used to getting caught, but at least he was pretty sure he could out run this young woman. “Be on my way now, ma’am,” he said, tipping his hat again and pulling it low in the hopes that she might not remember his face well enough to give a description to the law.
He’d managed to pocket the bracelet at least. He would just have to try his luck somewhere else. He quickly made for the door.
***
“What?” Oh no he didn’t! Star didn’t even think she just threw the first thing she could at him, which unfortunately was a tin cup so it wouldn’t do much, but then she snatched up the frying pan and the kettle from the stove and ran after him. The dogs were in the barn but she was pretty sure if she called them they’d come after him too.
“Stop! Give me back whatever you took!”
***
He managed to duck the tin cup when she threw it, but unfortunately, he lost his footing and nearly fell which allowed her a chance to catch up to him. “Okay, okay, here,” Poe said, pulling the bracelet out of his pocket and holding it out to her in the hopes that it would appease her and he’d be able to leave without further incident.
***
“THAT WAS A WEDDING PRESENT!” Henry had given her that bracelet and seeing he’d taken it infuriated her. She should have just taken the bracelet and let him make his escape with the dogs at his heels but he tried to steal something she really cared about so instead she hit him in the arm with the frying pan. “Give me that and get out of my house!”
Obviously he’d been trying to give it back but she didn’t feel like being rational about it.
***
“Yes, ma’am,” Poe said, dropping the bracelet as he took off running again. Clearly this had been a bad choice and he was going to need to lie low for a few days in case she talked about what happened.
***