Snippet #2751328

Worry and a treacherous hint of doubt gnawed at Anna's heart. She waited under the awning over the train station's platform, slouched back against the wall, the brim of her hat tugged down as she stared intently at the ground. With her coat pulled up around her waist to hide her revolver, and her hat pulled down to hide part of her face, it was easy to go unnoticed, as just another vagabond of the West instead of the imposing Watchdog she expressed herself as, usually keeping her chin held high and daring anyone to comment on a woman so casually resting a hand upon her gun or whip.

But for the moment, Anna preferred to dwell on her own thoughts, taking the brief respite to indulge with a moment of brooding, for there was little else she could do. She had tried to move on from the bloodshed of Red Road, but there were too many questions, too many children whose fate remained unknown. But she was forced to admit the trail had gone cold and she could not simply charge eastwards on a whim, as much as it galled her to admit that her divine authority meant nothing in the corrupt East, even if she did have the slightest lead to follow. And she had her orders, orders from those who did have a divine authority that certainly superseded her own. She had written a detailed report and sent it with a courier to New Life, now the matter of Red Road was in their hands.

The disappearance of two other Dogs was certainly of an equal concern. There was no possibility of simple desertion, which meant they had been targeted. One Dog stumbling upon, if not being specifically hunted by, an old enemy was not impossible, but two missing Dogs suggested worse. It was certainly worth of a Pack's attention.

A Pack of her own. Part of her wished Horatio was still here instead. His own quest was just another worry, the thought of in riding off alone to return to his years long hunt. If it was anyone else, Anna might have tried to scold him away from it. But his duty to his murdered family was just as sacred as his oaths as a Dog. She only wished she could ride with him, if she didn't have her own duties here. It wasn't how Anna ever had imagine that she would come to lead a Pack, but it wasn't her place to question the Lord's will.

All she could do was look forward, and as Anna heard the sound of footsteps drawing near, she looked up to see the first of her Pack approach.