Chapter Text
The cadence of hooves was the only sound Peridot had heard for days. Her trusty steed, a caramel mare named Pumpkin, carried her across the rolling prairie. A week prior, Peridot had lost her family fortune on a craps table in Deadwood. A rather impulsive draw of her revolver had won it all back, in addition to earning her a one-way ticket to notoriety. Soon, all the lawmen of Dakota Territory would be after her; that is, as soon as news could travel by pony express.
So, Peridot did what one does as an outlaw and took off. Night after night, Peridot slept beneath the stars, the crackling of her campfire and the distant howls of coyotes lulling her to sleep each night like a Dakota lullaby. The Black Hills faded into prairie. Endless, boring prairie, only interrupted by the Badlands. Despite the beautiful, striking contrast between the royal blue sunsets and the red, iron-rich layers of sediment, traversing the dusty plateaus sucked, and was probably the only thing that could make the reappearance of familiar grasslands a welcome sight to our gunslinging fugitive.
Finally, finally, the blank horizon became distorted by buildings. Akiscu, a small town, nestled on the edge of the Badlands and White River valley. In her fleeing, Peridot had encountered a surprisingly cordial Lakota woman who told her of this settlement. A population of a meager hundred people, a quaint inn, and best of all: untouched by railroad. A perfect place for Peridot to hide for the time being.
Peridot clicked her tongue, flicking her weary horse’s reins, urging her onward. Pumpkin’s hooves kicked up dust as she drudged along the road into the “town”, if one could call it such. A stray tumbleweed blew across the road, making the main street seem like a ghost town – safe for the few men scattered about by storefronts, kicked back in rocking chairs or leaned against pillars, hacking up chew into the dirt. Peridot avoided eye contact. She halted Pumpkin outside a building with the sound of a piano and drunken men spilling from the door. Peridot regarded the sign with a skeptical gaze:
The Big Saloon
Certainly, it was the biggest structure on the street, so the name made sense, even if it was a bit tacky. Peridot swung her leg over Pumpkin, dismounting with a clink of her spurs. Not that she needed spurs for Pumpkin – spurs just looked cool. Peridot was cool. She tied Pumpkin’s reins to a post next to some other horses, pursing her lips when the black and white horse next to Pumpkin bumped his head against the mare affectionately. A stoic young man was leaning against the side of the building, a pair of dark tinted glasses obscuring his eyes. He turned up his nose at Peridot and she returned the gesture, walking past him and entering the saloon.
Immediately, the loud music and voices made Peridot’s introversion broil up from her chest and choke her. On the stage, a young boy who couldn’t be any older than fourteen was playing away on the piano. A beautiful, tan-skinned woman in a royal blue dress was dancing and swaying to the music onstage. Just below the stage was a crowd of young men – quite sizable given the population of this pseudo-township – regarding the girl with beady, prying eyes. A few less interested patrons were scattered throughout the establishment. Peridot noticed a group of unsavory characters in the corner, playing a game of cards. Peridot quickly put them out of her mind and made her way to the counter. The last thing she needed was more gambling. The bartending staff left a lot to be desired, particularly with the tall, skinny young man who was picking at his teeth while a shorter, stout blonde girl wiped down the countertop. Peridot felt bad for the girl.
“Soda, please,” Peridot said, taking a seat on one of the stools.
The blonde girl quickly retrieved Peridot’s beverage and slid it across the countertop to her. Peridot caught it easily, popping the lid off the glass bottle.
“Thanks.”
The piano music cut off suddenly and a turmoil across the saloon caught Peridot’s attention.
“Let me go!”
Peridot turned around on the stool to see one of the drunken men had grabbed the poor dancer from off the stage and was manhandling her as she fought against him. Without thinking, Peridot’s left hand reached around her waist and pulled out her six-shooter, thumb instinctively cocking the hammer back. Peridot’s eyes trained on the drunk’s cigarette, hanging from his mouth, and muscle memory did the rest – no aiming necessary.
Bang!
The man’s cigarette was cut in half by the bullet, the cherry falling to the floor and dying out before it could start a fire. The window behind him shattered loudly from the rogue lead projectile, silencing the entire saloon. All eyes were on Peridot, who simply smiled at the shaken dancer, tipped her grey cowboy hat, and turned back to her soda pop. The commotion of the saloon resumed a moment later. The drunk man forgot he was in the middle of harassing the poor saloon girl and patted at his pockets for a match to relight his cigarette.
Peridot was sipping on her soda when a voice startled her, sending the fizzy concoction through Peridot’s nostrils and onto the counter. She pinched her nose, wincing at the unpleasant sensation.
“That was quite the trick shot,” the smooth, pretty voice said.
Peridot could see the saloon girl in her peripheral vision and she began to panic. Don’t look at her. Don’t look at the cute girl. Be cool. Be aloof. Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look. Fuck, fuck, fuck. She tried to recover from her reverse soda-snorting and sipped on the drink, acting disinterested.
Lapis tilted her head curiously. It wasn’t often she got ignored. Rather, she was used to being drooled over on the daily. In fact, it was basically her job. Show up. Dance. Get tips. Don’t even need to wear shoes. Demeaning? Maybe. Keeps food on the table? Definitely. The point being – anyone who would blow her off like so was guaranteed to be a fascinating individual indeed.
Across the saloon, Jasper Quartz was watching this exchange with great interest. Lapis Lazuli was objectively the most beautiful and revered girl in town, despite being half Lakota. Yet, she never spared Jasper the time of day. What was so great about some scrawny gunslinger who waltzed into the saloon like she owned the place? Jasper could shoot a gun, too.
Anyone who was fancied over Jasper was a threat. She stormed across the saloon and grabbed the skinny blonde’s shoulder, turning her around on her barstool, “Hey, runt. Nice shooting.”
Peridot was momentarily surprised by Jasper grabbing her, but quickly put on a bored expression as if she were having a conversation with Koh the Face Stealer. “Thanks,” she replied nasally.
“You better be careful waving your gun around like that, though. You wouldn’t want to make enemies with the wrong folks,” Jasper sneered, hooking an arm around Peridot’s neck roughly, “How about you come join me and my boys across the saloon? We can teach you a thing or two about shooting.”
Peridot pushed Jasper’s arm off her shoulders, “That’s a mighty generous offer…” she squinted at Jasper, “… Miss? But I couldn’t possibly accept.”
“Nonsense!” Jasper retorted, wrapping a beefy hand around Peridot’s arm, tugging her towards the table of gamblers.
Peridot slapped Jasper’s hand away. “I. Said. No,” she growled, her green eyes boring into Jasper with a look that could kill.
Jasper faced Peridot, narrowing her eyes, “That tone sounds an awful lot like you’re looking for trouble.”
“You don’t wanna fight me, buddy,” Peridot said quietly, an air of confidence radiating from her.
Jasper’s lips formed a subtle pout as she sized up Peridot. In a flash, she snarled and swung a fist at Peridot’s face. Except her fist only connected with air. Peridot had ducked under the punch, stepping around the brutish woman, and Jasper spun around to see the tiny Casanova smiling slyly.
“Bad aim, ma’am. I could teach you a thing or two.”
Another punch that didn’t land. And another. Jasper swung furiously at Peridot, but the smaller girl ducked and weaved away from each flying fist, seemingly unphased. Peridot backed into a table and Jasper thought she had a hit for sure this time, lunging forward. Peridot side-stepped out of the way and Jasper fell into the table, knocking it over along with a few chairs. She rolled over and saw Peridot looking down at her.
“Tsk-tsk, such a shame. That table was rather nice,” Peridot taunted.
Jasper growled, clambering up from the floor and resuming her cat-and-mouse game with Peridot. One punch did connect with Peridot, but only because she had grabbed the outstretched fist and used Jasper’s leverage to shove her into a table. The two men sitting at said table looked displeased. Jasper, covered in beer and playing cards, looked even more displeased, seething at Peridot.
Peridot felt fear bubbling up at Jasper’s murderous glare, taking a few steps back until she felt a wall, keeping the emotion from her features. Her instincts were telling her to draw, but her common sense kept Peridot’s gun holstered. If she killed anybody else, she’d have to leave Akiscu immediately. Jasper got up from the table and ran at her. Peridot ducked away from the punch that she knew was coming, sending Jasper’s fist through one of the windows. Time seemed to freeze as Jasper paused, worrying she might have cut her hand as the shattered glass clattered to the floor. Peridot smirked, grabbing a nearby chair and swinging it around and over Jasper’s head. The beefy woman fell to the ground, landing on her face, unconscious. Peridot tossed the busted chair aside, clearing her throat nonchalantly.
Everyone in the saloon was staring at Peridot as she made her way back to her seat, where Lapis Lazuli was gawking at her, heart fluttering.
“Check, please,” Peridot announced to the lady bartender.
The girl and her coworker were practically cowering. The male bartender was cowardly hiding behind the girl. “Uh,” the stout girl stuttered, “It’s on the house. Now, uhm, please leave. We only have so many tables to break.”
Peridot felt guilty. She and Jasper had trashed the saloon in their one-sided sparring match. “I’d be happy to cover the damages,” Peridot offered, mentally resigning herself to the loss of weight in her pocket at whatever she’d have to fork over.
“No, no. That’s alright. Thank you,” the girl insisted, waving a hand at Peridot. She didn’t say it, but everyone in the saloon, aside from Jasper’s gang that was now fussing over her unconscious body, was happy to see someone finally best the cocky gang leader.
Peridot shrugged, tipping her hat to the bartender and strutting out of the saloon, the jingle of her spurs echoing through the ghostly silent establishment.
Just outside the doorway, the stoic young man spoke up, “I’m Buck Dewey.”
Peridot looked over her shoulder at him, wondering why he was choosing to be friendly now. Must be impressed by the so-called barfight. “Peridot Daimond,” Peridot replied.
“What you did in there was pretty cool,” he praised, lowering his shades so Peridot could see the sincerity in his eyes.
“Thanks,” Peridot said, untying Pumpkin from the post.
“I should tell you,” Buck said, “Your horse got lucky while you were in there.”
Peridot glared at the stallion next to Pumpkin, sighing heavily. “Thanks for telling me,” she said, climbing onto Pumpkin’s saddle, “Where’s the Inn?”
“End of the street,” Buck said.
With a flick of her reins, Pumpkin was off, trotting down the street. The inn was easy to find, being the second largest building after the saloon. It was a two-story building, white, with a porch and a balcony above it. On the railing of the balcony was a sign, which read:
The Pearl Hotel
Just as Peridot’s boots touched the ground, a short Indian woman with a wild head of hair stepped out of the inn. “Howdy,” she greeted.
“Hello.”
“I’m Amethyst. You fixing for a room?” she asked.
Peridot unloaded her war bag from Pumpkin’s back, “Yeah.”
Amethyst approached and took Pumpkin’s reins. “I’ll take your horsey to the stable out back. Pearl’s inside, she’ll get you checked in and all that.”
Before Peridot could thank Amethyst, the girl was gone, Pumpkin in tow. Peridot sighed, took off her grey cowboy hat, and trudged up the steps into The Pearl Hotel.