Rosalie Holt stared out the window of her home. The wooden walls were a bit warped, but she couldn't help that. When she'd come out here a month ago it was the only place available, and she'd found it small enough for just herself. Just herself. Rosalie's heart sank. This wasn't going to be one of her good days.

Rosalie stood up. She was still in her night gown even though it was the afternoon. That was one clue that this was going to be a bad day for her. On her good days Rosalie was able to get up at 6 in the morning, and start her sewing. Another clue that it was a bad day for her was her face. Her skin was pale and looked a bit stretched over her delicate bones. In her face her lips were almost as pale as her skin which was odd seeing as her lips were naturally pretty pink. Her blue eyes were larger then usual. And her thin graceful hands were shaking.

There was only one thing that she could do on a day like this. Ride. That was the only consolation she'd had since her husband had died their first hours as a married couple. That was almost to painful for her to even think about. Though it'd been about 9 years ago. Almost ten. Ten next month.

Rosalie shed her night gown and hung it up before choosing a dove gray riding habit. She slipped it over her naturally slim body. Then she splashed a bit of cold water onto her face in hopes of trying to make her blue eyes look more awake or color into her pale cheeks. Then Rosalie went outside not bother to try and eat. She couldn't keep anything but liquids down for long anyway.

Rosalie walked towards the small amount of stalls she kept her three horses in. One was a brood mare named Dixie, another was a mare she used for riding named Penny, and her calm little stallions called Chicago. Quickly she fed Dixie and Chicago, before tacking up Penny. Then she got on side saddle before starting Penny's walk. With Penny, who was so very stubborn she never got more then a slow trot. But that was enough for her. Soon She and Penny were walking into town, Rosalie's blue eyes staring around intensely, her golden brown hair loose under her hat.

Kane stood and donned his hat once more; taking a deep breath, he began to walk out of the saloon.
“Well folks, I’m bored. So, I think I’ll be going for now. Have a pleasant day all.” Kane smiled and tipped his hat as he walked away.
Kane walked down the street through the blistering heat, he cranked his head left and then right popping his neck. He came too the sheriffs office and entered.
“Knock, knock. Anybody home?” Kane said loud enough to be heard in the backrooms.

Sue watched one of the customers excuse himself and leave. Looking around, everyone seemed pretty content in their drinks. Seeing a chance to sit down, she pulled herself out a chair. She heard the pattering off Papa in the rafters, but he chose to stay up in his spot rather than hop down for a visit.

Deputry Jessup. That got her to thinking. Out of all of them, he did seem to be the most approachable. Or at least approachable without putting on an act to make himself look good to the townsfolk. Maybe she could get a conversation with this fella...But where? She couldn't remember him spending that much time here. Other than the sheriff's office, where else might he hang around...

Rosalie stopped Penny, before sliding off of her horse. The she tied Penny up to a post by the hotel. She glared seeing that it was closed. Then she circled around and stared at the train station. It was closed. Rosalie drew her thinly arched eyebrows together in anger and confusion of a partially deranged woman. Then she stomped over to the sheriff's office. She looked at the man knocking on the door.

"There's no use knocking." Rosalie said, her voice pitched down with anger. Then she stomped in not knocking. She slammed the door shut behind her. "Sheriff!" She called loudly and angrily. She waited by the door, her lips pinched together in anger.

Saloon

Billy finishes his drink and drops his coins on the bar counter.

"Thanks a lot. Guess I should go see what the Sheriff wants. He wanted me to meet him at the barber's at noon. It's a little after now, so he'll probably be upset as it is........"

Billy picks up his tools and almost grudgingly heads out the saloon doors, squinting as he emerges from the relatively dark soon into the noonday sun.

Kane and Rosalie
Deputy Jessup comes out from one of the back rooms.

"Ah we don't get many visitors in here these days," he smiles. "What can I do for you?"

Cole finished the drink and set some coins on the counter to cover the bill, "Thank you kindly for the drink, ma'am." he said, tipping his hat, "Well. Guess it's about time to ride again." he said to no one in-particular as he began whistling a peculiar tune.

Kane was startled by Rosalie storming in and shouting, yet another who just discovered the sheriff’s recent work no doubt. She was attractive but looked a little ill; Kane shifted on his feet and refocused his mind on the task at hand. It wasn’t the sheriff who came out of the back room, if Kane had to guess he would say it was deputy Jessup.
“Well, I’m here lookin for some work, bounties that is. Can’t say bout the lady though.”

Kane

Deputy Jessup eyes you for a moment. "Bounty hunter eh? Used to have quite a few at the ole hotel but soon as we got these here fliers from San Francisco......."

Jessup points towards a poster hanging on the wall. It reads

WANTED: Dead or Alive

Kenny "The Kid" Nelson

REWARD: $2000


"After we got those in, the hotel closed down soon after and all the bounty hunters left for...greener pastures. Kinda surprised you're still here. Anyway, Kenny himself would probably take the work of a posse to bring down, but there ARE a few cowboys outside town that have developed a nasty habit of stealing horses. I would've liked to take care of it, but the Sheriff's got me under strict orders to maintain the peace in town...."

Kane smiled darkly, the Kid would be good sport. The horse thieves would make a decent warm-up, but little else. He scratched the stubble on his chin.
“How much are the horse thieves worth? And as for Nelson, where was he last seen?”
His voice was calm and cold and he tapped a finger on the grip of one his pistols, his eyes predatory. His game was soon to start; he was ready for it like always.

Kane

Deputy Jessup smiles.

"Finally, someone to help us get this town cleaned up.....I honestly don't know why the Sheriff's keeping all us deputies in town when those horse thieves are right out there. Sheriff Shift hasn't really.....wanted to post a bounty for the cowboys, but some of the townsfolk and myself have scraped enough together to offer $50 each. Should be about 3 of em.

As for the Kid......it's strange actually.....he usually makes a point of lettin law enforcement know his general proximity......it's almost like a game to him. Recently though, he's gone ghost. No ones heard from him or seen him in weeks. Completely out of character for him, if I do say so myself."

"Take it easy, now, you guys." Sue smiled and nodded to the men as they left. She almost asked Billy to drop a hammer on The sheriff's foot for her, but seeing as he was already a bit nervous.

The thinning out of the crowd must have put Papa at ease. He carefully made his way down from the rafters and jumped onto the table Sue was sitting next to. She gave him a scratch behind the ears. As she did, Sue said, "looks like you'll get to do a little side business there, with the hotel gone."

George chuckled a bit and said, "uh-huh, so the hoodlum's Shift's looking for will end up under my roof and get us all in trouble. I don't think so."

Sue mentally translated the statement. Being the soft-hearted man he was, that probably meant George would just let them all stay for free anyway. Still giving Papa a rub on his now arched back, she continued, "what would Shift want with the barber shop now, speaking of the devil. What kind of trouble's gonna come from the barber shop."

"I didn't think anything was happening at the hotel, but he found it there."

"Oh, hotel's too easy. Barber shop, now that takes some fancy-schmancy detective work. Found out there was some serial killer wanted in another state, you know? Hiding there."

"Oh, stop it, now."

Sue was on a roll now. "Go in for a nice close shave and THWACK!"

Sue made a slicing motion across her neck, a sudden move that Papa was a little put off by. He ducked off the table, then gave her a plaintiff meow. She sniffed and said, "oh, you're no fun today either."

"Well, now that this man knows 'bout his business I hope you'll listen to mine." Rosalie said. Her breathing had steadied a bit. Rosalie used a desk as balance as she got back her breath and felt the heat of rage, washed over a bit by calmness. Then she spoke again.

"I just learned that the train station was closed down. How am I going to get my material, especially when I'm not well. I can usually use my horses and the wagon to get to the next town, but not when I'm not well. When I moved here a month ago, I came here because I also thought that the train station would be in good condition." Rosalie said, she knew that everyone knew about her, fits of sickness, and depression. Well except for the new people.

Rosalie closed her eyes and leaned on the desk taking shallow breathes. Being angry really took it out of her. She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned her her head backwards. Then she looked back up. The picture of weakness. Her skin was still very pale, and veins were visible under her skin. Her blue eyes were large in her heart shaped face and she looked quite frail.

Rosalie

Deputy Jessup shifts uncomfortably.

"Yes ma'am that sounds like quite the predicament. I tell you what, if there's anything I personally can do to help, I'd be more'n happy to lend a helpin' hand. In the mean time I don't reckon the Sheriff's plannin on opening the station back up any time soon. He's drawn up a whole mess of regulations he aims to use to clean the town up. He told me if he had to close down a few businesses to get this town in shape then that's what he'd do, even if it made him the unpopular one round these parts."

Saloon

OOC - anyone who is waiting on a DM, just do something proactive. There is a whole town to interview, and a wide array of bandits to pursue. Otherwise, continue to mingle

Rosalie snapped Kane out of his darker self; she was leaning heavily on the near by desk, she was pale and breathing hard. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Ma’am, are you going to be ok? Can I help you, do you need anything?”
Kane was concerned for her and it could be heard clearly in his voice. This brought back bad memories for him; he stared to think coming to this town was a bad idea.

With the crowd thinned out and her stomache growling, Sue managed to get her boss to let her out to get some lunch. Normally, she could just go back and cook it herself. But she was feeling a little on the lazy side today. And a bit antsy to wander around and catch some gossip.

Having promised to be back in time, she walked down the street towards Mom's Restaurant. Papa, as usual, refused to leave the Saloon without her and was perched faithfully on her shoulder. Something was off with this damn cat, she swore it, but she couldn't point her finger on what. He just refused to leave her side for anything. He hid in the rafters when she worked, having jumped on more than his fair share of loud, rowdy drunks or anyone foolish enough to try anything funny. Granted, she could have handled most of them on her own fine, but the cat wanted his say. He slept in her bed with her and followed her all over her quarters in the saloon's upper floor. Whatever errands she ran, she could never leave the cat behind, he would scoot out the door, climb to her shoulder, and that would be the end of any arguement she could put up.

"You know, it isn't like you're gonna be back out on the street if you let me go myself," she told him as she walked towards the restaurant. "I'm gonna come back. And even if I don't, George will keep you, no problem. You'll get just as much food and water as you get from me. The regulars will spoil you rotten. You're being paranoid, Pops."

Papa just stayed on her shoulder, surveying the view.

Even with her own cooking, she still liked coming to Mom's. A little change in scenery for a bit. And the owner had been with her through so much. First coming to town and having to settle into a whole new setting. And everything that happened with losing Richard and all the emotions and garbage that came afterwards. She could always find a sympathetic shoulder here. And even if she didn't need it now, she liked to come here just to talk and gossip and get away from the drunks who might interrupt her downtime.

She walked in the door, cheerfully greeting, "Good afternoon!"

Sue

Mom's Restaurant is run by a slightly hefty woman known around town as "Mom," although it is rumored she might have a real name to boot.

The cafe style restaurant is bustling with its usual lunch crowd, and a group of women, including Penelope Prim the school teacher sit around a table discussing the latest turn of events around town.

"You haven't even been here much more than what? Two, three months Penelope?" asks one of the women.

"That's right. Two and a half months now," she responds. "Of course I might have reconsidered the job offer when I moved here from Pennsylvania had I known the town would be in its current state after such a short period of time, but as it is now, I have made Coarsegold my home and intend to stay to the end. I hear the bank is helping folk out by paying top dollar for the properties of folks thinking about leaving to help them with the costs of relocation, but like I said, I plan to stay till there are no more children to teach."

You hear this conversation from outside, and upon your entrance, the well known old woman who is always early for church, Gertrude, turns from the table conversation. "Oh Sue my dear, so lovely to see you! Please, do have a seat here with us!"

Mom emerges from the kitchen. She was down to one employee these days on account of all the people moving out, so she had taken to working in the kitchen as well as up front. She appears slightly flustered, but smiles when she sees you. "Ah Sue! George let you off for lunch did he? What can I get ya?"

Sue smiled a little sheepishly. She didn't want to bug Mom, she looked busy, but she never seemed to mind it. The gossip sounded as lively as ever around here. It hurt her a bit to hear it was about the town going downhill. That's all it was ever about nowadays.

"Just a sandwich is fine. It was a bit busy a little while ago, soon as they thinned out, I had to get away from them for a bit." Sue sat down at a table next to a lot of the people. Papa looked around eagerly and was about to step off onto the table when she stopped him. "No, stay off there, people eat on that."

Papa gave her one of those frustrated cat looks, but minded his manners. She rubbed his head, and said, "sorry, Mom. He's a bit keyed up right now. We had a bunch of visitors over at the saloon and he was going all over the rafters keeping eyes on them. Out-of-towners, beleive it or not. Couple of Irish, too."

Sue

Mom chuckles. "Visitors! You don't say? Maybe some of them will stop by and give me some business huh? One can only hope I guess."

She disappears into the kitchen and returns shortly with a sandwich. "Here ya go. Can't go skipping lunch you know. Bad for your health."

After a moments contemplation Mom continues, "I wonder how the Sheriff will take to the visitors. Visitors is the whole reason the hotel got closed down. Attracting unscrupulous types he said. Course a good number of 'em was bounty hunters goin after them no good outlaws outside town.....now they're still there but no one's here to catch 'em. Jessup was in here early and he said Sheriff Shift has all the deputies locked in town to keep the peace here, so no ones even goin after those varmints."

The table of women listens intently to Mom's updates, and Gertrude shakes her head in disapproval. "Those boys have been causin all kinds of trouble recently.....I tell you if things get too much worse here I'm packing up. I may be old but I'm not an invalid. Got family on the coast and the bank offered my husband quite a deal for our land. I tell you that offer looks better and better every day."

Penelope only nods in agreement.

Sue's interest perked a bit when she heard Jessup came here before. She mentally set it aside as at least one place where he'd come. She shrugged as she nodded a thank-you to Mom when she came out with the sandwich. "I don't really have nothin' better to do. I'm gonna stick it out and see what happens. Who knows, maybe a couple of the ruffians will actually visit us so I can finally get a closer-up. I've been around plenty of nasty folk, it doesn't scare me that bad."

Papa sniffed at the sandwich as she continued, "truth be told, I'm still kind of surprised Shift went after the hotel over us. I mean, we got the gunslingers too and we've got the beer and whiskey to boot."

Sue
Mom laughs boisterously. "HA! Close down his waterin hole? My bet is, God forbid he keeps this up, the saloon will be one of the last places to go."

"Even so," chimes in Penelope, "one can't help but be a little nervous about Kenny the Kid. I heard about him back home in Pennsylvania, and rumor has it he's been seen around here. Doing what, who knows, but that's a question I don't ever hope to find the answer to. Oh! Look at the time, lunch breaks over I have to head back to the school!"

Hurrying out the door, the school bell can be heard shortly thereafter. "What an angel," Mom says, "stayin here for the kids when things are so bad. If Coarsegold had more folk like her we probably wouldn't be in this situation." The other women at the table nod in agreement.