Drifters

[Inkwell]

A hulking figure trod steadily across the Painted Pinto Desert, ignoring the ache in his muscles. He paused to brush his mane out of his head and the sweat out of his eyes. The newly renamed Shadow Boxer had walked for what seemed to be an eternity, and truth be told, he was getting sick of it. When he first started, he welcomed the endless hike, because the alternative was living in a decrepit hellhole of a city, having to sleep with one eye open if he wanted to see the sun again.

Trudging through the open terrain of Roughrider Ridge, where there was no place for any assassin to hide, was a welcome relief for him. Not even the grumbling and bad attitude of his companion, Straight Arrow, could dampen his resolve. Straight Arrow wasn't grumbling now, though. He was laying on Boxer's back, his limbs hanging limply around Boxer's sides. As it turned out, Arrow was far less capable of enduring the elements, and so he would spend half the journey on Boxer's back. Boxer had to carry him as well as a ragged pair of saddlebags laden with food, water, and bits. The burly earth pony somehow managed that task, though he would probably lose muscle weight as a result.

"Uuuugh," the passenger on his back moaned, The unflinching heat of Celestia's sun had made it impossible for him to nap any longer.

Boxer turned to look at Arrow, showing great concern on his face. "You awroight, mate?" he asked.

Arrow smiled and lifted his head to look at Boxer, giving it the slightest little nod. "Yeah, roight," he said. "Jus' gimme a... just gimme it." He lowered his head back down, resting it against Boxer's thick flank.

Boxer sighed and stopped, nudging Arrow in the back again. "Want some wa'er?" he asked.

He got a raspy laugh from Arrow in return. "Nah, yer keep it, right. I en' so bad."

Boxer frowned and nudged Arrow again, harder than before. "Yer a black liar, mate. Yeh could blow away inna chuffin' wind roight now, yeh could!"

"Eh, stow it, yeh stubborn git," Arrow muttered. "Yeh need it more'n Oi do."

That wouldn't do at all. Boxer stopped in his tracks and leaned left, sliding Arrow off onto the sand.

The pegasus grunted and groaned when he hit, then slowly got to his hooves. He grimaced and winced, stretching out the wing he landed on. "Wha's the big oidea, yeh bloody idjit!" he shouted, now fully awake. Breathing in the dry air made him cough furiously, interrupting what might have been a full-blown tirade.

Boxer simply frowned and took off his saddlebags, pulling a full canteen out of one of the side pockets. It was still a little cold, thankfully. "We got an 'oole canteen lef'," he said, tossing it at Arrow. "Plen'y for boff of us."

Arrow caught the bottle in his teeth, glowering at Boxer, and took a few swigs of the water. After a few seconds, he held it out for Boxer to drink from. "Yer turn," he said.

The canteen was drained to half its initial capacity and replaced. After a few more minutes, Boxer got his bags back on. "Need anovver roid, mate? Or kin yeh take off an' carry yehself this toim?"

Instead of answering, Arrow spread his wings and flew high into the air, approaching the level where clouds might have been were he not in a desert. He looked around and spotted a wooden building or two in the distance. No, wait, it was far more than two. "Ey! Oi fink oi see it!" he cried out.

Boxer looked up, squinting and shielding his eyes with a hoof. "Where?"

"There!" Arrow pointed slightly to the left of where Boxer was going before.

Boxer peered into the distance, but he could barely see anything, just a speck or two. "Yeh sure it's Appleloosa?" he asked.

"Iss a bloody town, sure as Oi'm flyin' 'ere!" Arrow shouted. "Le's get a move on, mate!" Without a word Arrow sped off to the town as fast as his overheated body could take him.

Before Arrow could vanish over the horizon, Boxer groaned and galloped after him. His muscles strained and ached, protesting their owner's last push before the end of his journey. Soon enough, he could see that Arrow had been right. They had indeed reached the frontier town of Appleloosa. He'd been right after all. It was a much bigger and more reputable-looking place than Bareback Gulch had been. No matter what Arrow said, they made the right decision to press on for a better home.

"Foinally made it," Boxer said as he panted to recover from the sudden sprint.

"Roight you are mate, roight you are," Arrow said, touching down next to him. "Now what?"

Good question. It was an unseasonably hot day, and not many ponies wanted to spend their time outdoors in this weather. Likely they were all cooped up in their houses and doing whatever work they could do outside. Boxer didn't feel like searching outside for one of the few who could stand the heat, so he looked around for a suitable house to solicit.

Arrow caught on rather quickly and walked over to the nearest house, knocking on the door himself. He knew that Boxer wouldn't be able to talk to any of these strange new ponies. As per usual, it would be up to Arrow to be the public face of the duo. He rapped his hoof against the door. "Oi!" A few more knocks, just to be sure. "Oi! Anybody home?"

((This is open to any Appleloosa characters who want to interact with these two. Let's just say the first pony to enter the thread is the owner of the house they knocked on the door of!))

[QuickLime]

Agate had been hustling back and forth cleaning with all her might since it was time for a good scrub down, she had freshly woven baskets sitting on the table for stuffing with all sorts of goodies later to be given out just in case of sickness, welcoming, and other such niceties, over the fire a big cast iron cauldron was boiling merrily filling the air with the smell of good carrot and parsnip stew, the smell mingled with the fresh brewing coffee to make the air smell delicious.

She was frazzled from doing the work and her hair was pulled in a sloppy bun when she heard the knock at the door. She jerked up and eeped moving to the mirror right quick, pulling her hair down and brushed the short silver locks till they shined, made sure she was presentable and went to open the door.

“Greetings! How may I help you?” The sight at the door was not what she had expected in the slightest to be perfectly honest, two rough and tumble looking stallions that looked like they ate nails and poo’ed steel bricks!

[Inkwell]

Perhaps it would have been wise for Arrow to consider his appearance before knocking on the door of a civilized pony. He couldn't do very much about his ugly face, but he could have done something about the sand in his pelt, which was already slick with sweat from the desert. The mare who answered the door looked shocked to see the both of them standing at her door.

Arrow stared at her, then thought he ought to defuse the tension before it turned into fear. "Roight. Er, 'ello, luv," he said, looking awkward. He had a hard time looking this mare in the eye, but at least he could do it. Boxer had chosen to stand directly behind Arrow, as if he believed that Arrow's skeletal frame could hide him. "I'm Straight Arrow, and this 'ere lump's Shadow Boxer," he said, glancing behind him.

"'lo," Boxer mumbled.

"We jus' walked 'ere all t'way from Bareback Gulch, an' as y'kin see, we're roight knackered." Arrow brushed some sweat of his foreleg. "If ye'd be so kind as ta show us where we moight rest up, we'd be well 'n truly grateful."

[QuickLime]

Agate looked both the rather rough and.. messy ponies over, and felt a little ... what was the word? off put by their appearance and smell, but she knew that they were tired, and they were hot...and probably hungry as all hay so she couldn't just really turn them away now, it went against everything she stood for.

"Well if you need to cool off and rest up for a little bit you two are more than welcome here, I have supper on boil and I do have some lemonade if you are thirsty.."

[Inkwell]

Normally Arrow would have just barged past the door without much of a second thought, but something was very different about this mare. She clearly didn't find the thought of letting the two of them into her house pleasant, and yet that's exactly what she did. What was in it for her? What was her angle? Arrow couldn't think of a reason for it, but there had to be one. For now, though, he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. "Well, Oi guess we c'd partake of somefink ovver den hardtack fer once," he said. "Dough ye moight wanna show us to de loo first, roight?"

Despite those words of caution, Arrow took a step inside Agate's doorway, then another. Soon he found himself in her house, and very nearly wiped himself off whatever he could find. But then some words of Boxer's popped into his head. His friend had told him that they needed to start anew, make good bonds with the ponies they found outside, and not get in trouble with the law. As much as Arrow didn't like having to to that, he hated disappointing Boxer even more.

So he had to stop himself from casing her living room. He forced his eyes on hers instead of any potential valuables she had sitting around. A part of him balked at the notion of restraint and urged him to stop humiliating himself, but then he remembered Boxer, and saw that Boxer hadn't come in yet. "She ent gonna 'urt us, mate," Arrow called out to him. "Don' jus' stan' dere, swelterin' in the sun loik dat!"

Boxer blinked and nodded, taking a breath and walking inside the friendly mare's house. Once he made it inside, he mouthed his thanks to the generous stranger, unable to voice his appreciation for her hospitality.

[QuickLime]

Agate still felt uneasy but just offered Boxer a kind smile before gesturing "Oh the washroom is down the hall, take a right, and do take all the time you need" Agate figured if she were hot, and sweaty and looked like a train wreck she would want help, and that was why she was determined to make them feel welcome in her home.

Moving over to the kitchen she fetched two glasses, filled them both with cubes of ice that had small bits of fruit in them, before pouring over the pail yellow lemonade, and moved to carefully put it on the table smiling softly "Here though drink something before you freshen up"

[Inkwell]

Boxer was on the way to the washroom when Agate poured her glasses of lemonade. He turned back to look at her and nodded, reversing his course and going into the living room again. Blimey, the furniture in here was small. If he wasn't careful, he'd knock it over or break it.

He and Arrow both took the edge of their glasses into their mouths and tilted the drink back. Boxer didn't realize until he had the lemonade just how stale and full of minerals the water they drank on their trip to Appleloosa was. Could normal ponies even stand water like that? Boxer could, but only because he didn't know there were better alternatives. Not until now. The kick of the sweet and sour lemonade made his eyes light up. He drained the glass in a few quick gulps and smiled wider than he had in weeks, exposing a mouthful of crooked, pitted teeth. He gave Agate a quick salute, then walked back into the washroom, no longer walking as if he feared tripping on his own hooves.

Arrow took his lemonade at a much more leisurely pace, sipping it and enjoying the flavor. "Oi'd say 'e's roight fond of it," he commented to Agate. "Kent say Oi blame 'im." He looked at the ice Boxer had left in his glass. Not that he'd make a big fuss of it, but a nice cold drink was just what he could have used. He wanted one in Bareback Gulch, but Boxer had put his hoof down and insisted they save their meager holdings for more productive things. Thankfully they ended up getting a free one here, non-alcoholic though it might have been.

Arrow set his half-full drink down and poured Boxer's ice into it. "Oi 'eard business was boomin 'ere," he said. "Well 'nough fer new employment opportuni'ies. Did Oi 'ear roight?"

[QuickLime]

She returned the smile because she had seen the ponies eyes light up, that’s what she wanted to do, bring light into the eyes of her fellow ponies “Yes sir that is correct, there is lot of work to be done around here, I myself help weave the baskets and such for the harvest, I also make gift baskets for special occasions.. Would you be needing a place to settle till you two find more permanent lodgings? I have a guest room that’s available if one of you doesn’t mind sleeping on a couch”

Part of her really didn’t want to offer this but then she remembered how that pony lit up at the smallest bit of common kindness, and kindness wasn’t just being nice to ponies that seemed well off. It was being kind to EVERYPONY and giving everypony a chance… even if they seemed a little scary

“You two are both welcome in my home,and I’ll even help you two find jobs”

[Inkwell]

Agate continued to be friendly with Straight Arrow, and the pegasus could slowly feel himself relaxing. She meant every word, even though it was clear that he and Shadow Boxer made her ill at ease. "Yer a kind an' gen'rous soul, luv," he said, bowing his head to her a little. "We'd be 'appy t' share the guest room if'n the bed's big enough fer the both ovvus." He carefully finished drinking his lemonade and looked down at himself. Good grief, if he didn't still stink to high heaven! For reasons he didn't entirely understand, he didn't want any of his dirt and sweat staining Agate's home.

"Oy, Boxer!" he called out in the direction of the bathroom. "En'cha done washin' yet? Iddun gotta be perfec', yeh know!" He heard the sounds of water sloshing in the bathroom, but after a few seconds it was clear that this wasn't a result of Boxer getting out of the tub. Arrow sighed. "'old on, looks like we two'll be sharin' a tub's well," he said, flapping his wings and hovering into the bathroom.

When Boxer saw Arrow barge in, he folded his ears back and scooted back to the edge of the tub. "Arrow, what're yeh doin?"

"Budge over, mate. This's takin' too long," Arrow replied, squeezing as much of himself into the tub as he could. This turned out to be not much at all. The two of them had to sit up to fit in, and the complete lack of personal space between the two of them made Boxer cringe. "'sides, we kin scrub each others' back vis way." Arrow grunted and scooted around, exposing his back to Boxer. "Yeh know the drill, Boxer. Git th' brush."

[QuickLime]

Agate decided to not comment on the fact that there were two stallions in her house showering together, they seemed well enough but she couldn’t fully shake the uneasiness from her mind. Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs that the whole situation had let settle she turned back to her business of cooking for herself and her two temporary boarders; going over to the bubbling black cauldron that was resting atop the fire that burned brightly in the hearth simmered a cream colored broth that smelled of parsnips, carrots, and mushrooms.

It was her favorite recipe and she hoped the rowdy stallions liked it as much as she did.

After stirring it she added a dash of salt and pepper, and just for a tiny kick of heat a sprinkling of cayenne peppers that she had ground herself just that morning so they were as fresh as could be! Figuring after the cool lemonade and warm shower both men could use something warm on the inside since the sun was setting and the air would soon be cool, so she went over and put some fresh coffee grounds in the coffee press and poured hot water on it waiting for it to steep.

The air was starting to smell cool and soon it would be nightfall…Agate couldn’t help but ponder what exactly the hay had she gotten into…

[Inkwell]

As embarrassing as it was to bathe with Arrow, Boxer had to admit that his friend was right, and that the bathing took less time when they worked together. When they left the bathtub, shaking themselves dry, they may not have been the nicest-smelling stallions around, but at least they were free of the slippery coat of sweat and its unpleasant funk. Boxer sniffed the air, smelling a delicious soup, and smiled, trotting down the hall and sitting himself at the dinner table. He grinned from ear to ear, looking so eager for a decent meal that he almost looked like a little colt. Of course, neither of them had seen many little colts back in Beakbreak act this polite or precocious in reaction to a good dinner.

Arrow just sauntered in after Boxer, standing next to him at the table. He nodded at Agate and took a look at her cauldron. "Laws, miss, that ent a scent we e'er met afore, but I fink I speak fer both ovvus when I say I wish we 'ad. Wot're yeh brewin' there?"

[QuickLime]

"It's my Cream of Mushroom soup with Parsnips and Carrots" She said getting a ladel and two bowls, filling the two bowls to the brim with the warm white soup, and sat one infront of each of them, and sat the coffee down as well "Enjoy boys I need to fetch the bread from the oven" She said and excused herself to remove the loaf from the brick oven, cutting it in slices and sat it also on the table, served with rich creamy butter.

"I hope you feel better after freshening up" She said getting her own food and sat down across from them "Tommorow I'll be happy to help you find work in town"

[Inkwell]

Arrow immediately lowered his muzzle into the bowl, fully intending to slurp up the soup as he had when he ate gruel back in Beakbreak, but a bop on the shoulder from Boxer knocked him off balance before he could even taste the stew. "Oy, wotchit!" Arrow said. He glared at Boxer as he pulled himself back up, and Boxer glared right back.

The mighty stallion leaned down and delicately picked up the rim of the bowl with his teeth, pouring a small mouthful onto his tongue, then set it back down and smiled, one eye on Arrow the whole time.

"Fine, fine, I getcha," Arrow said. He mimicked Boxer's movements and slurped a bit of the soup, immediately seeing why it was a good idea to eat the polite way. This was easily some of the best food he'd had in recent memory. It wasn't the best in his life, since he'd had the pleasure of sampling the wares of well-to-do ponies and griffons he'd stolen from. Now that was some amazing cooking, though sometimes it was just too complex and rich for his palate to take. Not to mention that after the first time he tried it when he was a wee colt, he avoided meat like the plague, and griffons loved to sneak meat and meat by-products into their meals whenever possible. That didn't keep him from stealing those meals anyway, as it helped to defer suspicion onto other griffons.

This meal, on the other hand, tasted great, with just the right amount of salt, and none of those fancy herbs that made him retch. It was a simple, filling meal that tasted better than anything that was available on the Beakbreak streets. The two of them busied themselves with their food until Agate came back with bread.

Boxer put his half-empty bowl down and gingerly reached for a slice. The sight of the butter and knife confused him a bit, though. He tilted his head and looked to Arrow for help. "Ah, right, see, Boxer ent used to vis 'ole butterin' fing. I be'er 'elp 'im out." He flapped his wings and flew above the table, tilting his head down to pick up the butter knife and spread butter on a pair of bread slices. It was a fairly mundane feat of dexterity by his standards, but he still put a lot of care into it, hovering silently over the table and spreading butter without so much as touching anything he didn't intend to. Once he got the bread sufficiently saturated, he took his seat again, as well as a small breather.

"That we cer'ainly do, ma'am," Arrow said, looking Agate in the eyes and gave her his most charming smile. Well, his least repulsive smile, at any rate. Arrow had to admit it felt great to have a clean coat, though who knew how long it would stay that way. "An' it's right foughtful a' you t' assist us in settlin' in. Don' suppose you know anyone wit' a need fer mechanical aptitude?" The more Arrow thought about it, the more he was certain that this was the best bet he had for finding a new career path. He'd jerry-rigged a variety of little gizmos to help with his thievery, and he wasn't bad at legal gadgetry either. Still, that wasn't what the picture on his rump was about. Would he ever get to experience thrills like it again?