Robyn Sheva||The Crimson Lady's Story

He caught her as she fell unconcious. "Oh litu dloo, what did you endure. What did the little bird have to fly through to escape the cage. Who clipped your wings," he muttered as he gently laid her next to the flowing river. He had one more thing to do.

He gently laid her straight, her head downstream and her feet upstream. He then crossed the river and carried the rest of his gear and the deer back across. He hung the deer from a tree and put his buckskins back on. Then, taking a bit of blood from the deer he went back and sat cross legged by Robyn.

Chanting slowly he dashed the blood into the river, watching the thin flows of crimson flow gently away. Swaying as he chanted he completed the cleansing ritual with a scattering of dust to the four corners over Robyns unconcious form. He then closed his eyes and meditated silently, quietly entreating his own spirits to guide him, and to ease her way as well.

All she could hear were birds and running water, gently like a stream, and a creek. Her eyes opened the morning was bright in her eyes. The world full of color just like before but she knew what a dark turn this could take.

"Why are you on t'e ground?"


Robyn looked up to see the same small girl looking down at her, thick curly hair framing her face, a smile widened her full lips. Native accent lightening her already small voice. "I was sleeping?"Robyn replied, unsure why. She wasn't sleeping, or was she?

"Are ya goin' ta wake up now?" the girl asked. Robyn slowly sat up, looking around her. She was home. She knew it. The lush tropical plants, the warm sun, the salty sea air, soft sand beneath her. The little girl looked up and smiled. "He's coming!" Robyn stiffened but then remembered, and got to her feet, her hands reflectively digging to the sand as she rose. She dusted her hands off and noticed she was wearing a lovely white dress with red floral print and she was completely bare foot. She noticed the little girl wore the same dress. The little girl ran down the beach and Robyn followed, the wind tossing her hair around her face. She stopped with a gasp as she saw the little girl running up to dock, it was small, and rickety but a small boat was waiting there and she watched as the little girl ran up, and stop. Robyn couldn't bring herself to move forward. She swallowed as a man disembarked and the girl ran up to him, throwing herself around the man. Robyn closed her eyes a moment. She watched the two figures turn in her direction, the little girl's hand reaching out and pointing at her. Robyn shook her head. She didn't want to do this. Not not. She just wanted to sleep.
"The fuck did you do to her?"Robyn turned behind her.

Robyn's eyes sprang open and heard Casey's voice, and he was not pleased. "What did you do to her, Red?" He hissed as he came through the brush, charging like a bull toward her and Cole. Robyn sat up, noticing that she was laying near the river, right beside it. It must have looked strange. Her daze from before was gone and she felt like herself again. "He was helping me sleep." She said, quickly, as she pulled herself to her feet. She was dizzy and needed Cole's help to stand. "Near the river?"

"Yes, Near the river, Casey, keep it down before you alert the world." She told him, sounding much like her old self as she pulled from Cole, though she was still a little woozy. She was glad he was back and all this started because she was driving herself crazy waiting for him, now, she was sick of everything.

"Glad your not dead." She added hoping to ease the tension. "Yea." He said, looking at the two of the dubiously. It was funny, he would been less dubious if he found them both naked. Wouldn't be the first time.

She took a breath. "What did you find?" She asked him and he looked back at his pack that he apparently dropped, on the way to her. "A lot." He told her and he nodded toward the cave. "I'll let you know in the morning, you look a little pale." He said and she shrugged. "Go on ahead." She said, and after looking at the two of them, he turned without another word. She was quiet for a while before she turned to Cole.

"Not a word..." She told him softly. "No one...They don't know that about me and I don't want them too..." she said and honestly she knew she didn't need to say that but still. "I don't want them treating me like wounded animal, I don't need it from you either. Understand?" She said swallowing. He saw more of her then she even let herself see in years. She didn't know how to maneuver this. It was better to avoid it all together. She started walking before stopping once again, remembering how he held her, he weathered her storm and how it felt. He was safe, she didn't know why. She turned to him. "It was a Fox, by the way." She told him. "My animal...It lead me....there." she said and began walking inside once more.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" Caseys accusation broke through his reverie. He slowly opened his eyes to see the charging mountain of a man out of the corner of his eye. He sighed heavily and was about to answer when Robyn woke up. He hadn't moved at all, as he wasn't going to fight Casey. Though he wasn't going to just let him beat him, but he wasn't about to fight, it wasn't worth his time.

"He was helping me sleep," she said as he helped her up. He grinned wryly as he turned away from the two of them. He walked over to where the deer was hanging and started to skin it while they talked. He wasn't paying much attention, he was actively focusing on the task at hand.

"Not a word...No one...They don't know that about me and I don't want them too...I don't want them treating me like wounded animal, I don't need it from you either. Understand?" She was whispering, low and fervently.

He looked up from his work with an amused eyebrow raise. "I have no idea what you're talking about, litu dloo," he said conspiratorially with a wink.

He returned to his work as she started to walk away, but he felt her stop suddenly. "It was a Fox, by the way.My animal...It lead me....there." She said before disappearing into the forest towards the cave. That made sense, it suited her perfectly actually. He returned to butchering the deer as he thought about what had happened.

About an hour later he had the deer butchered and sliced properly and wrapped in the hide, leaving the skeleton hanging in the tree to blanch and dry. He then carried the bundle to the cave and spread it out in front of the fire and started to cook it. He also started drying a good portion of it for jerky for travel.

Robyn was resting against the crate, her head pounding as if she had a hangover, she didn't know what he gave her, what she inhaled, but that was the worst, she didn't want to see any of that again, and she as much as she welcomed her last dream, she didn't want to go back there either, all of it was painful, and now, Cole knew way too much about her.

As if called by her thoughts, Her eyes opened as Cole came back in with the deer he'd been working on before, wrapped in hide. She felt him before she saw him. That was strange but she shook it off, assuming it was whatever his magic did to her. She heard Jack whooped. "Alright, Red! I was wondering what you were doing all this time, since Cap came back still dressed." He said and Robyn only had enough energy to flick her middle finger in his direction. He merely chuckled in response.

Cole began stripping the meat, and cooking it. It smelled wonderful and her stomach rumbled in response. She sat up slowly, suddenly starved. "You had better be sharing that, otherwise, I'll be eating you." She said, and she heard Jack about to speak. "Jack..." she warned with a point of a slender finger and Jack's mouth snapped shut, a grin on his pointed face, holding back his cheeky joke.

"Casey, what have you got for us?" She said, and Jack turned as if he'd forgotten the large man was even there. It wasn't uncommon, Casey -as big as he was- could be annoyingly quiet. "How about we wait until after you eat, you look starved." He said, reaching into one of the crates and pulling out some dusty dishes that he whipped off with a slightly less dirty cloth. She figured he called himself helping, wanting to serve her instead of her serving herself. He always had this thing about doing things for her, she knew a big part of it had to do with his feelings for her but another part had to do with him paying back whatever the white man did to her. He didn't know what, but he knew it couldn't have been good. He probably would have done the same for Cole if he didn't immediately hate him.

He handed her the plate, and a bottle of rum, to which she cracked open and down with expert speed. She wanted to feel numb, and this was the best way to go. Casey moved to his pack, and set to removing its contents. He tossed Jack a box of fresh razors, and Jack snickered happily, brushing his chin. "You tryna tell me something,"

"Yes." was Casey's response as he continued rummaging through his bag. He pulled out a box of something but she couldn't really see it, her mind was half dulled by the rum, and the intoxicating smell of the deer. He then walked over with the box and handed it to Robyn. "You said you were running out?" He asked and she took the box and opened it, a small brass tube was inside it, and she knew what it was. Lipstick and as she pulled off the lid, a soft creamy crimson red slid to the top. She smirked. "I did." She told him and that was as close as anyone got to a thank you from her.

He then turned to Cole and Robyn and Jack both watched curiously. "Don't know what it was, but some asshole had it, I figured they took it from one of yours, Don't know what happened to that person but I figured you might know what to do with it." He said, and handed him something that was distinctly native. It was a long stick, with intricate weaving, like a basket but the spacing was much wider, like it was meant to catch something. It was small, like it was made for a child.
Knowing Casey, it probably belonged to a child, he had a soft spot for children, protecting them, he got his name for that very thing, ironically it had been a native child but that was a thought for another time.
"How'd you come across this?" Robyn asked, already knowing the answer. Casey gave her a grin that told the whole story. "Did you dispose of the bodies?"

"All five." He responded proudly, before patting Cole's shoulder. It seemed to be something like an apology and a peace offering. Robyn couldn't say and didn't care. If they wanted to fight it out, so be it, so long as they didn't kill each other, she needed them both....for the job.

"You had better be sharing that, otherwise, I'll be eating you." Cole looked up and was about to say what Jack was probably going to say, but stopped as he noticed Robyns motion to Jack. So he clamped his mouth shut and started portioning the venison out.

He was facing the fire chewing on a slice of venison when Casey approached him from behind. He didn't know why the large white man was behind him, but he could more than feel his presence well enough. He slowly stood and turned to face him. "Don't know what it was, but some asshole had it, I figured they took it from one of yours, Don't know what happened to that person but I figured you might know what to do with it." He then proceeded to hand him a childs lacrossee stick.

He carefully took it from him and stared at it. "Da-nah-wah'uwsdi" he said low and almost sadly. He knew that a child would not have just left that behind. Besides being a fun childs toy, it was also a part of a specific set of rituals similar to pre-war rituals. The child who had left this behind, had either been killed or had it taken from him. The thought of either very nearly brought tears of rage to his eyes. But only nearly.

He came back to reality with a start when Casey put hand on his shoulder. Cole straightened and offered a hand to Casey. "Thank you," he said simply, as there was nothing else to say.

A strange silence fell over the party as Cole stared at his 'gift'. Casey seemed to get uncomfortable, and looked over at her. She shrugged meekly. She had no idea what to make of the look on Cole's face but his eyes said it all. It was a child's toy, and the Gods only knew what happened to that child if a man Casey felt the need to kill had it. She wanted to ask him what it was but she didn't dare, Jack and Casey seem to feel the same.

"Da-nah-wah'uwsdi" He breathe forlornly and Robyn had the unbelievable urge to hug him. Strange. She never wanted to hug anyone. She didn't know how to comfort people, hell, she barely knew how to comfort herself, but she wanted to. Much like he had with her just earlier.

She really needed to shake this off.

Cole finally looked up after Casey gave him a reassuring hand to his shoulder. He straightened and offered his hand. "Thank you." He told him and Casey looked at him oddly for a breath before taking his hand with a nod. No words needed to be exchanged after that.

Jack looked bewildered and Robyn surprised, that seemed to be the end of whatever Casey had going on in his head about the native man. All things her were aside.

"Well, Let's Eat, It looks done." Jack said, breaking the silence, already reaching for the food. Robyn darted forward. "Touch that piece, and loose the offending hand." She said, snatching his hand. Jack pretended to be scared for his life but couldn't keep a straight face. "Alright, Ladies first." He said and Robyn gave a proud grin as she grabbed her piece from the spit. The two of them doing their best to levitate the odd situation.

Cole cracked a weak smile at the antics over the food. After everyone else had gotten food, he hung the rest of the larger hunks of meat higher over the fire to smoke-cure and dry them. He then took his food and excused himself before exiting the cave. He still had a death-grip on the lacrossee stick.

Leaving the cave he followed his feet, and they led him to the river. Along the way he sort of robotically ate the venison, not even tasting it. If he tasted anything it was ash in his mouth. He was knee deep in the river before he realized where he was. Once he was there, of no voilition of his own, a primal bellow of rage and grief burst forth from his lungs as he fell to his knees in the middle of the river.

He clutched his head in his hands, holding the childs toy against his forehead. Hot tears were slowly dripping down his cheeks. Slowly he regained control over himself and positioned himself to be facing downriver, the current breaking against his back. He then started chanting, holding the stick against his chest and swaying in a circular motion. He wasn't sure what he was trying to do, he didn't know what he was supposed to do, so he was praying for guidance.

Slowly opening his eyes he he caught sight of a night black hawk standing on a branch sticking up from the river. It cocked its head to the side and gave a shriek. Movement from the tree to its right caught his eye as a young, not yet out of adolescence, hawk came swooping down and alighted next to the first hawk. He suddenly realized that the first was the mother of the second. He also realized that the mother had a snake in her talons as the young one flew away with it.

Then things seemed to become clear to him. He would have to pass the toy on to another child, and until then keep and care for it. He closed his eyes and thanked his spirits for showing him his way. To anyone else it would have just looked like two hawks and a dead snake.

He slowly rose and went back to the shore, sitting back on his rock. He set the stick on the rock next to him and hung his head in his hands. He knew what he was to do with it, but that didn't alleviate the grief or rage much. The systematic destruction of his people, the oppression and murder, it was so far beyond his control it simply infuriated him more. There was nothing he could do and he knew it, the best he could do was fight it on the small scale where he could. But he felt like it simply wasn't enough.

The appearance of the large white man was surprising but not unexpected, and it was only surprising in the fact that the man had managed to sneak up on him. Or maybe he'd been there the whole time and he simply hadn't noticed. He didn't know and he didn't much care. Then he started talking and if he was being honest Cole almost left there. He was simply not in the mood to hear this white boys story. But he refrained from leaving and simply stayed as he was, holding his head in his hands, hearing but not listening.

It slowly crept on him, the true intention of the story, and he slowly raised his head and started proper listening. It was then his mind cleared and he realized that he too was judging the man unfairly. It had nothing with how he'd treated him, in fact that had been accepted and to an extent encouraged by Cole. In that moment he was judging the man purely by the hate and rage he had been feeling. That was uncharacteristic of him and he felt fairly ashamed of it.

"I guess...For what it's worth...I'm apologizing...I've been a right and true ass to you for no decent reason....I suppose it's over as to why... but you didn't deserve that and I'm not like the rest of them. That was supposed to be a peace offering but that didn't help at all.And again, for what it's worth, they suffered, the men that had that...They're trip to Hell was a hard one."

Cole sighed and hung his hands over his knees and shook his head. "No, it... it was and it did. It wasn't the toy that got to me, it was what the toy represented. The active destruction of my people, the death of children." He sighed heavily and shook his head. "It was no fault of yours, and I appreciate it I really do. Its allowed me to pass it on to one that is still alive. If I ever find one that is," he said with a humorless chuckle.

His eyes focused in on the hanging bones of the dear. Specifically the antlers. He slowly rose and waked over to it, then with a few muttered words in Apache he broke off the antlers and a few of the wider bones and took them back and laid them beside the lacrosse stick. "Thank you Navezgane," he said standing near the large man and extending a hand.

Cole laughed breaking the tension and Casey smirked. "You butchered the pronunciation, but it means Large Yellow Hero, Monster Killer."Cole said and he game him a clap on his shoulder. Casey nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.. He wondered for years what that meant. It was a name, not a word or words and now he had a new name. Either was better than Billy Bones in his opinion. "Now we'd probably better go back at different times before they, well, Jack get any ideas," He suggested with a chuckle and Casey merely shook his head with a crooked grin already making for the cave. Cole sat down on his rock one again.

And besides, I've got a bit more thinking and prayer to do." He said and Casey nodded and left him to his prayer.
When Casey walked in, he found Jack hovering over Robyn. His first instinct was to attack, much like before but he wouldn't make that mistake again. Jack turned with a confused look on his face. "I think she's sleeping?" He told him waving a hand over Robyn's face and Casey frowned. "So let her..."

"No, She was talking to me, and then suddenly she stopped. " He explained, concern creasing his brow. "She told me, Cole was helping her sleep, maybe whatever it was, finally kicked in?" He suggested and Jack arched a dark brow. "Cole?" He said with a grin. "Friends are we?"

Casey looked at him blankly. "Well, it's about bloody time," He said with a shrug and moved back to his cot after pulling a blanket over Robyn. She actually looked peaceful. She last time she allowed herself to fully sleep she woke up screaming.

Whatever he'd done, she seemed at peace, maybe she wasn't dreaming, and just having a restful sleep.

Casey took his place at his cot. "So what was that thing?" Jack asked after a moment, just as Casey lay down, his arm tucking behind his head, "A toy."

"Ah." Jack nodded solemnly. "Alright then." He said and finished the last of whatever he had in his bottle and lay down himself, while Casey closed his eyes, his hand on the arrow shaped pendant, and imagined that pretty native girl, wondering what she was doing now? If she was still around. Hopefully she was.

Cole was praying for the next couple hours and by the time he got back to the cave night had fully set in and everyone was asleep. He slipped soundlessly into the cave and observed the cave. The fire had died down to almost coals but the meat seemed sufficiently dried. Jack was sound asleep, his hat over his eyes and snoring lightly. Casey had fallen asleep, his hand clutched around the pendant. And Robyn, well she was passed right the fuck out.

He went to his area and withdrew a pair of fighting knives from his saddlebags. These had been taken from another enemy much like the pearl-handled pistols had been. He took them, the bones, and the antlers back to the fire. Before doing anything else he took the meat down from over the fire and laid it out on the hide, slicing himself off a couple more pieces of the smoked venison. He then stoked the fire back up to a comfortable heat.

Taking the knives he pried the handles off of the tang of the knives. Chewing the venison he then started carving new handles out of the antlers. It would be a fairly long process of grinding and digging out of the antlers, as he was wanting to make it so the tang would slide into the antler snugly, leaving the pointed curve of the antler intact. It took a few hours but he eventually got it done, all the while chanting quietly, asking his spirits to bless the knives.

When he was done he sat by the fire and stared into the burning coals until he drifted off to sleep as well. He was sitting cross-legged, his head dipped down against his chest, the newly handled knives crossed in front of him.

Robyn awoke before the others, and she found herself very confused. She remembered talking to Jack, what the conversation was about she couldn't say, but it didn't matter now, as both he, Casey and (to her surprise) Cole were sleeping. Cole hardly looked comfortable so she stood up slowly and moved over to him. She didn't want to wake him but she didn't want to leave him like that, his neck would just in all sorts of pain when he woke.

She gently touched his shoulder, almost lovingly, and gently urged him to lay down on the cot, he's made for himself. She noticed then, a pair of dual daggers in front of him, the handles seemed to be made of some sort of bone. She shook her head, and thought to cover him up since the day had yet to break, and they had no where to be since Casey had done the supply run that would keep them while they planned the train heist so they could afford to sleep in a while. She'd been coming to this cave since her days with BlackJack, so they were safe. Her mind then wandered to that word. Safe, and how it related to the native man. She'd never felt safe with anyone. Casey and Jack, she trusted, and she knew they would die before they hurt her but still, they didn't feel the way he did. Jack never held her before, never had a reason too, but Casey had, once, when BlackJack and the rest of the gang were being hanged, Her plan had been to kill everyone and free Blackjack before they threw the rope. They'd almost made it, sneaking through the crowd of onlookers, blending in with them, but Blackjack spotted them, and shook his head. Robyn still tried but Casey grabbed her, kept her from going to him anyway. She knew it would have likely gotten her killed but Blackjack had been important to her. He helped her, brought her back to life in a way, gave her a purpose, taught her everything she knew and he didn't want her to save him. He didn't want her to watch either. Casey pulled her into him, just as they pulled the trap door, and Blackjack hung. She could hear the strain on the rope. She let off a scream that alerted the law man and she and Casey had to run. She took a bullet that day for her folly.

That moment, when Casey held her, it wasn't much different then it was when Cole did. The only real difference was the safety she felt. She was young then, so maybe she'd gotten use to it but still, it was a strange feeling but one she wasn't entirely opposed to.

She abandoned those those and made her way back to her cot, suddenly tired all over again.

Surprisingly Cole didn't wake up at her gentle touch. He was usually a very aware sleeper, instantly awake at the slightest touch or unusual sound. It was something that had kept him alive and saved him on more occasions than he could count. This time though, he was simply too drained and tired to keep his usual awareness. And so his body sort of allowed itself to be guided to his bedroll.

Unsurprisingly he awoke with the sun, the first rays managing to lay across his face through the entrance of the cave. His eyes slowly opened as he sat up, and slowly looked around the room. Casey and Jack were exactly how he'd left them the previous night, and Robyn had moved some but he attributed that to tossing and turning in the night. He also took stock of exactly where he was. "How in the fuck..." he had no idea how in the hell he had gotten to his bedroll, as he was fairly certain that he had fallen asleep by the fire. He shuddered at the first thought that popped into his head, Casey carrying him to his cot.

With that Cole left the cave to greet the sun, rubbing his eyes as he left the cave. He sat just outside the cave and chanted his welcome to the sun. He then sat for a few minutes trying to wake up fully before going back into the cave. He was also trying to work out a downright miserable kink in his neck.

Robyn was the last to awake, the first time that has ever happened in her life. She heard the boys trying to be quite as they moved but failing in the process. She groaned, sitting up. She worked out her muscles and yawned a few times. Last night was entirely exhausting but sleep, actual sleep felt amazing. She couldn't allow herself to go down that road again but the sleep it brought on was almost worth it. Almost.

"Ah, There she is, Sleep good, Cap?" Jack asked, handing her a plate of venison with some sliced peaches and a bottle of rum. She smirked and took both.

"I slept." She said, before pinching the meat with two fingers and digging in. Jack chuckled. "Yes, I know, you checked out on me, I had to check to see if you had a fever."

"You... touched me?" She said, her eyes dangerous.

Jack held up his hands in surrender. "Just your forehead with the back of my hand." He explained.

"You...touched me?"She said again and Jack swallowed.
"Peace, Rob, You were talking to me and then you weren't. I got worried." He said defensively. She looked down at her food and took a slice of peach in to her mouth and Jack allowed himself to breathe.

Casey walked up to her, with a map while she ate. "What's this then?" She asked around a mouthful of food. "The Water Town, I figured you'd want to get started on that.

"Mm." She nodded and swallowed. "Yes, I do." She said and turned to look for Cole but again, found him missing. "Ugh, One of you go fetch the native...." She groaned and Jack decided he needed to get some fresh air, so he went after him while she looked up at Casey before washing down the meat with her rum.

"So? You two getting on then?" She asked with a nod to the cave opening. Casey's face was a mask but she knew it too well.

"We came to an agreement." He said plainly, but there was a lightness in his voice that told her, He and Cole were almost friends

"You're a shit liar, William Casey." She said and he shrugged. whatever so long as they were at each other's throats, or rather, Casey wasn't at Cole's, that worked for her. "So what was that thing you brought?"

" A child's toy." he answered and that was it. She figured as much. "Ah, well, set up the table, so we can get started." She ordered and Casey set to work while she enjoyed the rest of her breakfast

Jack emerged from the cave blinking in the light and took a deep breath. "Bloody hell," he said with the exhale.

"What's that about," came Coles voice from above Jack. He was hanging upside down by his legs from the branch of a nearby tree attempting to realign the bones in his neck.

"What the fuck," Jack exclaimed upon hearing the voice before seeing Cole. He covered his heart with his hand in mock pain, "Jesus Christ Red."

"Sorry about that." Grinning, Cole pushed himself off the branch and flipped in midair and landed in a crouch. "Again, what was that about," he said as he turned to Jack, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jack jerked a thumb back at the cave. "The boss wants to start planning the heist and sent me to get you. Actually I volunteered to get you..." his voice trailed off a bit.

Cole chuckled, "things a little icy?"

Jack shook his head with a smile. "Not really, last night she passed out in front of me while we were talking. And I was worried about her and..."

"And you checked on her. And she found out what, that you touched her?"

"I had to check if she had a fever!"

Cole chuckled and clapped Jack on the shoulder. "Well you're alive, thats more than most men can say," he said with a chuckle.

Jack laughed and scratched his chin. "Thats true enough. Though this is coming from the man who had the pleasure of her company."

Cole chuckled, "thats true enough. But we also shouldn't keep the Lady waiting should we," he said with a wink.

"Yeah, but hey Red, how'd you do it? I mean, how'd you manage to get her so riled up after you."

Cole turned to him by the front of the cave. "Mystery by good fellow. If you really want to rile the lady you've got your eyes on, who also has her eyes on you, mystery. Play the game, almost give her what she wants, then draw it out. Trust me, makes things much more interesting when things get down to it." He winked at Jack, "and the games just too much damn fun," he said as he entered the cave.

Jack laughed and shook his head. So that was it, he'd actually managed to tease the Crimson Lady. He knew it wouldn't work for him with her, but it may work with others. Perhaps even the pretty little Max.

Cole entered the cave and made for the venison, slicing himself off a piece and snagging an apple. As he was about to head to his area he noticed the two knives he'd re-handled sitting by the smoldering remains of the fire. Scooping them up he walked over to the table Casey was setting up. "Navezgane," he said as he placed the knives in front of Casey before going back to his area to eat. On passing he noticed that Robyn looked remarkably well-rested. Perhaps the experience with her spirits had drained her more than he thought.

Robyn finished her food, and stood just up just as Cole and Jack entered the cave. She gave them a passing glance as she grabbed her dish, and sit it aside, keeping the bottle of half empty rum at her side. She strolled up to Casey as he was about to unfurl the map, but he stopped when Cole came over to him and spoke a word in his native tongue to him after sitting down the set of dual blades she'd seen the night before, just before she got Cole to lay down on his cot. For someone so large, he wasn't heavy, at least not to her, but then she did a lot of strength training, she had to. She refused to be the weak one.
Casey gave a smirk and a chuckle, then nodded to the darker man as if the two shared a secret.

They must have. Robyn merely rolled her eyes as Casey slipped the two blades into his belt, one at each side, with a softness on his face, she didn't see very often.

Cole had a strange effect on them, she realized. He had magic, even if he didn't believe it to be so.

"Well, Let's begin, shall we?" She said just as Casey finally unfurled the map and set bottles down to weigh them.

Casey explained the layout of the train, it was a massive beast of metal, a steam locomotive, and it wouldn't be stopping until the reached the water stop and once it was there, it would be next to impossible to heist since no one got on, only off, at the water town, however, they were hiring for broiler men.

"So my thought were that if one of us." Casey began giving the group a once over. Robyn could practically read his thoughts. A colored woman, a red man, and a dandy frenchmen. Not a single one of them could get a job on a train. Not. A. One.

"Me, Specifically, got on beforehand. The I could take a job as a boiler man. It shouldn't be too hard." He said and Robyn gave him a once over with her eyes. That would not be hard at all. He had the body of one, that was for damn sure. The image of him working the coals was not an unpleasant one. Realization struck then and a wolfish grin slide over her face.

"I see what your saying, but that means...." She said, the grin on her face made her look almost arousal.

"Aye, It does" Casey nodded with a smirk.

"Could you two let the rest of us in?" Jack said with a nod to Cole, after folding his arms.

"We're going to have to ride up, and literally catch the train." She said, thrill glittered in her amber eyes. Jack blinked. "What?" He asked, mouth agape. "You mean you want us, to ride up against a moving train, and jump on to it."

"Yes." Robyn said, almost giddy. "Yes, I do." She said, the excitement of it, causing her chest to rise and fall rapidly. "You both are going to get us killed." Jack said in disbelief. " Not if we do it right." Casey said, calmer of the two. "I'm quite flexible." She said, and looked to Cole with a kittenish grin. "Aren't I?" She said, knowing full well, he knew the answer to that was yes. She was always agile, despite her height since most of her was legs.

Jack shook his head. "So with you already on board, You'll let us in on the train?" He asked and Casey nodded. "Yes, It's not a passenger train, so only thing you'll have to deal with is the guards on board, but that shouldn't be a problem. I'll likely have dealt with most of them by the time you show up." He said simply and Robyn, folded her arms, pinching her bottom lip in thought. "You'll be in the boiler room, so no you won't. You'll just have to match sure to keep the windows open." She said, all business again. "Where do they keep the safe?" She asked and Casey didn't know. "Not public knowledge, so we'll---you'll have to do some interrogating." he told her and she nodded. "Sounds like fun." She said, though her eyes were on the map. The map was pretty much useless for the time being, it showed the water town, but that was the last thing they needed to know. What they needed were blueprints, something they didn't currently have. "Where's the boiler room?"
"The front,"
Robyn twisted her lip between her fingers. "Alright, Casey, this'll be up to me, Jack and Cole, the actual heist, but..." She paused her mind still working, trying to think of everything. "We'll need a distraction, so you'll need to make nice with crew before hand, When it does leave?"

"Fortnight."

"Good, that'll give you time to get there, and get friendly with the crew, we might need to slow the train down though, once it reaches the water stop, because where we'll get off..." her voice trailed off, knowing there was something she was missing. They didn't have a great deal of time, they didn't even know where the safe was, and the water stop was the only place they could get off, but if they ended up killing anyone, and those people didn't get off the train, then someone would know what was up. They'll have to stow away for a while.

"Dammit, We can't kill anyone, we have to make sure everyone who got on the train, leaves the train at the water stop, otherwise they'll be on to us....but fuck we don't know where the safe is...." She said more to herself then anyone else.

"I'll be able to find out where it is, so once you get on, I'll make my way to you, and I can tell you where it is." Casey offered and Robyn nodded, pacing now, her arms folding over her chest, one hand on her lip. " But we need to able to crack the damn thing, Jack you do it?"

"Of course." he said, he wasn't being cocky, he was a helluva safe crack, he had an ear for it. "Alright, alright, alright, Anything, anything I'm missing?"It wasn't really a question to them but they were free to answer.

Cole finished his food as Casey laid out the groundwork of the plan. It was a brilliant move honestly, getting hired on as a boiler worker. When Robyn addressed him directly he simply nodded with a wolfish grin and a wink. But there was something that they were all forgetting. Cole reached into his bag and withdrew a few items before standing to walk over to the map.

"Alright, alright, alright, Anything, anything I'm missing?"

"The 104th Cavalry Regiment and the telegraph station," Cole said, placing a cavalry officers badge just north of the town. "That train will stop there for a maximum of twenty minutes, the crew and half the guard being there for only half that." He started walking around the table, his steps measured and slow, ever the strategist in his own right. "I lived in that town for a while, I've seen those trains come and go. They've got the water transfer down to an exact timing."

He placed both hands on the table and stood to the north side of the town. "So, heres what I propose. I don't join you in the train hopping. I'm too large to hide inside of a small metal box, and there needs to be someone on the outside. I'll get my hands on some dynamite and set some of it here," he pointed to a spot on the map. "I'll also set it up so it looked like there was an... Indian raid on some miners going west or something. Scraps of clothes, busted wagon, animal blood the works. With a blood trail leading off into the woods. Then when the times comes I'll set off the dynamite and that will draw the cavalry unit and keep them out there for a while. Then I'll cut the telegraph line between the fort and the town."

He moved to the east side of the map, placing one hand on the table. "A tree will fall about here," he indicated the spot with a small twig, "down the rail line from the town. Call it native intuition," he said with a wink. "Theres a telegraph line that runs from this town to the next town down the line," he pointed at the town to the east of the one the train would stop at. "When the train arrives I'll tap into that line and send a message that a tree has fallen on the line and they need to send some guys to clear it. This will likely pull a good portion of the train guard away from the train as they move to clear it. This will lengthen the time to about an hours delay perhaps more."

He moved to the south of the map, placing both hands on the table once more. "I'll have three horses waiting for you here just inside the forest to the south of the tracks," he indicated the spot with a small carved horse token. "I'll slip back into town during the delay. Hopefully no one will have caught on by that time, and there's been no gunfire. So whatever guard thats left inside will have to be dealt with by knife. But, if things do go hot, I'll distract the outside guards by releasing the horses in the stable and driving them West. While that happens you grab what you can if you haven't gotten the safe open by that time, and get to the horses in the woods."

"I'll lose pursuers in the forest, double back and meet you..." His eyes searched the map, looking for a specific spot. "Here," he said pointing, "theres an old abandoned trappers hut by a stream here. There's a cellar under the floor thats hidden under a pile of crates in the corner of the building. Hide there and I'll signal its me by a," he pondered a moment, "a hawks screech."

He thought for a moment, looking for anything he'd missed or left out at all. Finding nothing he looked up at Robyn, "that sound acceptable?"

Robyn and the boys listened to Cole's plan, and it made perfect sense. She committed his plan to memory,and tried to imagine the places he pointed in person rather than on a map. She was terrible with maps, honestly, but had a decent sense of direction.

"I'll lose pursuers in the forest, double back and meet you..." Cole was saying, looking at the map. "Here," He told her and she followed his finger, noting the point. "theres an old abandoned trappers hut by a stream here. There's a cellar under the floor that's hidden under a pile of crates in the corner of the building. Hide there and I'll signal its me by a," He said and she looked up at him. "a hawks screech." He said and she turned up her nose for a moment. That wasn't what she thought he'd say.

"that sound acceptable?" He asked, looking at her. She reviewed his plan in her head a moment. "Yes, but one thing." She said and sauntered over to him, both Jack and Casey rolled their eyes but good naturedly. She grabbed Cole's chin. "Not a hawk's screech." She said, and let him go. She knew he'd know which call she'd want and honestly she was surprised he didn't say so him. He'd be calling her after all.

She turned to Casey. "Go on ahead, keep your head down, as much as you can, on the ride there and like I said, make nice." She told him and knowing she was the expert conman or woman in her case, her advice was sound. "Hunch your shoulders." She said after giving him a once over. "It'll make you look less like a threat and more like a boiler man, find the one that's intimidated by you, he'll be the one to speak to you first and befriend him immediately, all the rest will follow suit." She instructed and he nodded. "We'll keep it quiet for the night but you'll have to leave first light to make the train to San Francisco." She said, and rose her hand to her bottom lip again. "We'll go over more in the morning" She said and nodded. This was probably he largest heist that she's ever been a part of. Even Blackjack didn't want to rob a train. He was much too big anyway.

"Alright, We're done here." She told him and Jack stretched. "You think we can go back into town, I have someone I want to see." He said and Robyn frowned. "No, not yet." She said and looked to Casey to confirm. He agreed. "The heat is still too high for where you wanna go." He said and Jack almost pouted like a child. "Well what do we do for two weeks then?" He asked and Robyn didn't know nor cared, although she was half tempted to evoke those spirits again. She'd be stronger then time. She wanted to face it. She wanted to see herself kill him. "How about you go hunting with him," She said with a nod toward Cole. "If we need to go into town for anything, I'll go, I can blend better then you." She said and she saw Casey visibly flinch. "You have a better idea?" He was quiet. "Thought so, but we shouldn't since they'll be hunting." She said pointedly and Jack rubbed the back of his neck in defeat/

"Yes, but one thing." She sauntered over to him. He knew exactly what she was going to say. "Not a hawk's screech." There it was, he smiled wolfishly and whistled the robins call. When she turned away from him he winked at Jack, bringing to Jacks mind their earlier conversation.

Cole wandered back to his bunk as Robyn was giving Casey his instructions. He was already planning exactly how he'd pull off everything he was planning on doing. He would need to get his hands on a wagon and some prospectors tools. The bits of clothes he could scavenge from the cave, as well as the extra weapons. He could also make arrows and such to complete the ruse. He also would need rope to bring the line down. He continued to make a list of everything he'd need.

"How about you go hunting with him," Cole looked up as she nodded towards him. He replayed his subconscious memory of the conversation and realized she was telling Jack to go hunting with him, as he couldn't go back into the town. Presumably to see the pretty Max.

Cole stood and crept up behind Jack clapping him on the back and making him almost jump out of his skin. "Come on then, better listen to her, lets go." He gathered his hunting supplies and started to head for the river, Jack in tow.

Robyn wasn't easily frightened. Not anymore but even still, working up the nerve to go back to the spirits took a little more than a week. She'd gone back and forth in her mind. She wanted to see it again, she wanted to be stronger, it was the past, she knew it was, the ink was dry there was nothing that could hurt her now. That was what her rational thought told her but she knew whatever happened during Cole's little ritual, made rational thought near impossible to reach. She was damn near hysterical before and she did not want Cole to see her like that again. She didn't like appearing weak.

Night had fallen, Jack and Cole had long since returned from their hunting trip. It was amusing to see Jack covered in filth, the dandy that he was, he was never dirty, and he looked wildly uncomfortable with it. However he did learn a few things he hadn't before, and while he was a great shot, never shot a bow and arrow, and he knew how now. They had plenty of food to hold them over for the next week.

Cole again was out in the forest, still partial to being out of the cave in his waking hour, while Jack was sleeping, his hat covering his eyes, curled up by the fire.

Robyn took a swig of the last of her rum before pulling herself to her feet and making her way to Cole.

"Cole?" She called, and waited for the robin's call to alert her where he was, and followed the sound.

She walked up to him and pursed her lips a moment, her nerves working up again. "I want to do it again." She said, and while because she was who she was, that could have meant a number of things, but the look on her face, the touch of nervousness in her eyes, the way her fingers clenched and unclenched, it would be too obvious for him to know what it was she wanted to do a second time. "I need to."

Cole had taught Jack how to hunt in the native ways. Not only because it was the way he knew best, but because it was hilarious. Cole couldn't put a price on the hours of enjoyment he'd gotten out of making Jack cover himself in mud and sneak through the brush.

A week into the wait Cole had just finished hunting with Jack for the night. Jack, as per usual, had cleaned up as quickly as he could, then gone off to fall asleep for the rest of the night. Cole on the other hand was staying in his usual place by the river, taking his time to wash up and rest. When he heard Robyns call he was hanging upside down from a tree. His neck had never really fully gone back into alignment. It wasn't a hindrance, more of an annoyance, and he believed what he needed was a massage to push it back into place. But he wasn't about to ask for one from anyone in their little band.

"I want to do it again." He came really close to making a smart-ass comment before he opened his eyes and noticed the look on her face. All comments dried up, as he noticed everything else, the clenched fists, but more importantly the tint to her eyes. "I need to."

He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye, upside down, but in the eye nonetheless. His gaze was cool and steady, a hint of questioning and support behind the brown orbs. "Are you sure about this? I cannot control what your spirits show you, I can only do what I can to guide you." His voice was low, almost a whisper, retaining the soothing quality that was distinctly Cole.