Chapter Text
It would be nice, Clara reflected, to be able to ride through towns without worrying about bounty hunters. It would be nice to sleep in a proper bed again, too, and give Missy a proper stable. Still, that was what happened if you became one of the most notorious outlaws in New Jorvik – your head became worth a lot more when it wasn’t attached to your shoulders.
Clara leafed through the paper, watching the street carefully from behind it, and her breath caught as she saw a man in dusty leathers pin another notice to the town board. Even from here, she could see it was a ‘wanted’ poster, and with her face underneath it. Shit.
The man offered one of the posters to a woman as she walked past, but she only shook her head and apologised, not even stopping to look properly. Clara smiled. That was common since the battle a year ago. The residents of New Jorvik tended to keep busy, keep quiet, and not look strangers in the eye. Besides, most of them were aware the success had hinged on everyone, townspeople and outlaws, coming together, and few had any desire to see their friends captured by bounty hunters.
Missy nudged her back lightly, impatient as always, but Clara just pushed her nose away. “Calm a moment, girl,” she whispered. “I’m not leaving without that poster.”
After a few more fruitless attempts to engage the townspeople, the bounty hunter sighed, swung onto his tall grey horse, and urged it into a canter, heading out of town. Clara sighed with relief. Safe, at least for one more day.
The sketch wasn’t that flattering, but it was accurate – the curse of being a daughter of the wealthy, where photographs were inevitable. It was the usual list of crimes – armed robbery, evasion of the law, attempted murder – but the issuer’s name caught her eye. New Aideen’s Plaza? What possible reason could they have to want her? The memory clicked, and Clara’s heart sank. Oh no. Not that.
Jay smiled as he pulled Blossom to a halt outside the dingy little shop. The mare shifted her weight as he tied her reins to the rail of a corral, near to where a blue roan mustang was picking at a pile of hay. The two horses touched noses briefly, and then Blossom yanked a mouthful of hay away, earning an annoyed squeal from the mustang. “Blossom!” Jay admonished her. “You know better than to take food that doesn’t belong to you. Sorry, Stormsong.” He raised a hand to give the mustang a pat, but she tossed her head and walked off to the other end of the corral, evidently disgusted with the pair of them. Blossom took the opportunity to pull some more hay from the pile.
Jay shook his head and pushed the shop door open. “Viv?”
“Jay?” Viv smiled, and Jay grinned back. It was always a good day when Viv had a smile. “What are you doing here?”
“Pulled a bunch of weeds yesterday, wanted to know if any of them are of any use to you,” Jay said, pulling a bulging bag from his pack and setting it on the counter.
“Let’s have a look, then.” Viv pulled a pair of gloves from beneath the counter and shook out the bag. “Dandelions, nettles, burdock… Jay, these aren’t weeds,” Viv said, exasperated.
“Weeds are just plants growing in the wrong place,” Jay said firmly. “If you want them, go ahead and keep them. I’ll bring some more by soon, if you want them.”
“I can ride out to you,” Viv said, still sorting through the plants. “You don’t need to be making trips for me.”
“And you don’t need to be brushing away help for no reason,” Jay said reasonably. “I’m stopping by town every few days anyway, it’s no problem to stop by you at the same time.”
“Alright, then.” Viv smiled again. “Thank you.”
“How’ve things been?” Jay asked, as Viv swept the plants into their apron and carried them through to the back of the shop.
“Fine, I suppose,” Viv replied, dumping the plants onto a worktable and opening a heavy book. “Mind those bottles,” they added, as Jay stepped into the workroom. “Stormsong’s settled fine, and the shop’s alright.”
“But?” Jay asked.
“But, I still feel out of place here,” Viv said quietly, flicking through the pages of the book. “People are finally starting to talk to me in town, but… the plan wasn’t to be here alone.”
“It's not your fault, Viv,” Jay said, touching their shoulder lightly. “It was just bad luck.”
“I know that, it’s just that we decided to come here together. We were supposed to stay together,” Viv said, slicing nettles with a bit more force than was needed. “It’s the change. I keep wishing I could get back on a boat to Ireland and be done here.”
“I know the feeling,” Jay said. “Not sure Stormsong would be too pleased if you just upped sticks, though.”
Viv cracked a small smile. “That’s true.” They sighed heavily. “I have real problems to be worrying about, you know? I need to stop wasting time wishing. And moaning to you.”
“Anytime,” Jay said, leaning back on one of the tables. “You found the Moorland Ranch okay?”
“Yeah, a girl fitted Stormsong’s saddle properly for me,” Viv said, pouring the nettles into a small tin pot. “Louisa, I think. Was real nice about it, too.”
“See, plenty of good people in this town,” Jay said with a smile. “You just have to ask them for a favour.”
“Alright, don’t go on about it,” Viv muttered, but Jay caught them smiling again. “How’s things at the farm?”
Jay shrugged. “As well as can be expected. Ma misses having our own place, but it’s really starting to feel like home now.”
"And Blossom?”
“Was stealing Stormsong’s food when I left her,” Jay admitted. Viv rolled their eyes. “What, you want me to try and come between a Clydesdale and her food?”
Viv looked out of the window to the corral, where Blossom was munching on the last of the hay, a satisfied expression on her face. “It would be nice if you could at least try.”