bakerstreet | I’ve got blood, I’ve got blood on my name

[ She shakes her head, smiles. Universal signs for a test passed. ]

Oh, it's fine then. There's those types that'll eat a creature just to say they did, and that's ugly business, but hungry's hungry.

Anybody get hurt in that robbery?

Just me, ma'am. The clerk done put me to sleep. [ If you rob a piggly wiggly you should remember to take a working pistol.

He's unsure how to talk to a lady but unlike Pete, he doesn't get all strange about it like a starvin' man seeing a gopher. He's just unsure. ]

[ He's so forthcoming about the failed venture, she nearly laughs. Put out by the target. It runs so starkly opposite to the frightening image the word robbery summons that the contrast nearly renders it endearing. ]

So it's sounding to me like you gave some people a fright, and you had a lunch. Not exactly the devil's work, is it? Long as you aren't planning on doing it again, anyway. I'm hoping you're not?

No ma'am. It's the straight and narrow from now on.

But I can't say I'll never eat another gopher. [ He didn't really make eye contact, it was staring or looking at the floor and it weren't polite to stare. He smiled. ]

I didn' mean to scare the good folks at the piggly wiggly and I am sorry. I aint scaring you, ma'am? [ Delmar's backwater appearance was a lil unsettling, or it would be if he wasn't so obviously the gentlest little soul. Just happy to be having a nice conversation. ]

[ At the return to the matter of gophers she does have to laugh, high and good-natured and, she hopes, politely wound down before it may be misinterpreted as teasing. If he wasn't endearing right out of the gate, he's advancing steadily toward it. ]

I wouldn't say I'm feeling scared, no. I bet by robber standards you're especially polite. Downright amenable. [ And as much as she'll fuss over herself, she knows her roots: not now and not ever will she be inclined to look down on backwater. ]

Can I ask- just 'cause you don't sound like someone that'd get mixed up in this kind of thing normally, was there some reason you needed the cash? Then, specifically, bad enough to go out and try to take it?

[ Delmar wouldn't notice or care if someone teased him. He's such easy pickins few bother though. ]

I try to be polite and... and behave myself right, ma'am. But I don't know about talkin' to ladies. [ He'll be honest about that. ]

They foresclosured and went and sold the family farm. It were just me left... no work, out there. [ He's sad even just speaking of it. He goes quiet again. ] But now we're off to find treasure. It aint just me anymore. Everett and Pete are just like my brothers now. [ It's like he gained two older brothers that constantly fight. ]

[ She listens, not rushing him to end any natural lull in speech or enthusiasm. Sad thing to lose, after all, especially from family. With the last piece of context she's inclined to fuss about in place, she feels confident that he's a fine enough person. Harmless, give or take human error, and that's better than most. ]

Treasure... is that just a catch-all for something worth a lot, or are we talking literal, pirate-style box of gold? [ Not a phrase that pops up especially often in their necks of the woods. Give or take your occasional Jean Lafittes, maybe, but those have got to just be folk stories. ]

And you're doing just fine on the talking front, for the record. Long as you're not going on about anatomy it's not too different from talking to men.

It's real bonafide treasure, ma'am! Buried and all, gold, jewels. Everett said so himself. [ She can probably spot Delmar's just as unwashed companions, Everett and Pete, easily enough. Everett is the self-appointed leader, a con man and movie star handsome even covered in a layer of dirt. Pete is a bumpkin like Delmar but he's a grumpy, ornery fella and usually, the two fight about something or another. ]

Just new to it. Never really talked to one before. [ He smiled. ] I'm Delmar O'Donnell. That there's Everett and Pete. You best staying clear. Pete's got the itch and Everett's got a way about him with womenfolk.

[ And squabble they do, in a spirited enough manner she feels she can give a thorough look without being caught. Strange seeming crew, but she tries to meet strangeness with an open mind.

His description prompts another laugh, and she offers a hand to shake. ]

I'm Misty, pleased to meet you. Never met a gang on a treasure hunt before. Pretty exciting, but I'll probably take you up on the advice. [ Just as well. By the sound of it, he's as breezy a discussion as she'd get. ] You boys getting along okay? Eating gopher and all-- [ Another glance flickering between the three, silent acknowledgment of their dirtied state. ] Sounding maybe like a rough go of it.

I sure get hungry, ma'am. Some days I dream of pie but the straight and narrow don't like a feller with sticky fingers. [ Delmar is visibly the one getting the least food, like the runt of the convict litter, but he always was very small even before prison time. ]

Treasure hunting is fun, only, I don't rightly know where the treasure is. Everett does though. They sure fight a lot, those two, but they're my best of friends now. [ He then, very timidly, shook her hand, after wiping it on his shirt a couple times. ] You're also lookin' for something?

In a sense. Had a little trouble back home, so I'm doing my own wandering for the time being. Figure when I find something good that'll be my cue to settle. [ In a sense she envies the tangibility of their goal. Excitement sweetens the pot, but there's an admirable simplicity to finding and holding an object. Less to get turned around thinking about.

Although... ] Why's it just him that gets to know?

He says it's since he's the leader and all. But Pete says he wants to be the leader. [ Delmar explained, with a smile. He didn't care none, just more or less followed them around. ]

Seems we're all looking for things, ma'am. [ He was getting used to talking to a lady now, it wasn't as hard as fellers made it seem. ]

I hope we all get redeemed.

[ Not an arrangement she'd enjoy, but there's nothing to be gained from needling a near-stranger. He seems happy with it, and leadership being a matter of debate sounds better than fully blind allegiance. Like brothers, he'd said. So she nods, accepting the explanation as-is. ]

I don't think you need all that much redeeming to start with, you're probably alright on that front. Jury's out on your friends, I guess, but you don't strike me as a type to go palling around with murderers or anything.

[ An implied question mark, there. She won't pretend she isn't curious about everyone he's fallen in with. ]

Now, ma'am, I never asked 'em what they did but I don't think they'd murder anyone.

They're good fellers at heart. [ They weren't sweet as apple pie, though. That was just Delmar. He was what most folks would call slow but not the kind where his little legs couldn't keep up running if he had to. ]

Ma'am, you wouldn't have something to eat for us? [ It weren't a sin to ask for food. He was so hungry and gophers were off the menu now. ] We'll work, if'n you need work. [ It's unsure how much work they're capable of. ]

[ Food on hand? Not particularly. A tin of nuts, maybe an apple. Not enough to fill her own stomach, let alone three men. The unfortunate price of prioritizing speed is less-than-robust provisions. She's frowning, on the cusp of an apology when an idea occurs to her. ]

I don't... which way are you headed, actually? 'Cause I'm looking to make it a town over, but it's slow going when you're lugging things and trying to be scarce when people pass by. [ She explains, hastily: ] You know, people get strange about a lady alone. You have those conversations once or twice and you know you're better off avoiding 'em.

[ But, returning to the point. ] But you add some extra hands and some company, that'd go a lot quicker. And when we get there, I could pay your way. A good meal apiece, and some to take with you. We'll find the best-looking pie they've got, how's that sound?

[ They've had strange company along the way, a young feller that sold his soul to the Devil to play guitar real good, an outlaw, all sorts but never a lady traveling with them. Delmar had gotten over his nerves by now but there was no helping he was still out of his element and some. ]

I'd do about anything for pie, ma'am. [ He smiled. Making friends, meeting new company, that was what finding treasure was all about. ]

We'll carry your luggage, no problem. [ Maybe not so much Delmar but Everett and Pete had some strength left. Delmar could carry the pie though. She will notice he's not got the best posture or gait so he was usually dragged along by the other two, stumbling along. ]

I’ve got blood, I’ve got blood on my name

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