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Post by Juliet Harwood on Mar 21, 2013 13:52:34 GMT -5
It appeared that Haven was not the most hospitable of planets. Captain Thompson landed the Sally Ride farther away from the main town than Juliet had expected, and as soon as his passengers had disembarked, he took off. The other passengers didn't look to be the friendliest bunch either; most were miners and had kept to themselves, and Juliet was fairly certain that a few were criminals.
She was glad to have made it off the ship. Never having been off Whitefall before, she hadn't known what to expect. It was strange sleeping in a room with someone else, and she had at times felt stuck, even when looking out a window at the expanse of space. If Preston was here on Haven, she would be happy to take him home at once.
Juliet lifted her bags and looked at Victoria. She had gotten a bit closer to the woman during their trip but still tried to keep a slight distance from everyone. "I think there's some civilization that way," she said. "Shall we?"
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Post by Victoria Angel Paulsen on Mar 21, 2013 16:22:03 GMT -5
"Looks like you might be right," she answered, chewing on some gum. She blew a bubble and popped it. She giggled a bit as it popped. Her inner goofball coming out a bit. She couldn't contain her excitement the entire ride, despite the captain telling her constantly to 'pipe down.'
She nodded quickly to Juliet.
"Let's go find your man."
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Post by Juliet Harwood on Mar 21, 2013 20:28:05 GMT -5
Juliet couldn't help grinning at Victoria's bubble. It was surprising just how much she had grown to like the woman's enthusiasm, especially since it had been such a contrast to her own nervousness. She couldn't shake the feeling that Victoria ought to be the younger one and she the older, even though there was at least a five-year gap between their ages.
The walk to the city was about fifteen minutes, and Juliet was glad she had packed light. Her bags started to feel slightly heavy as they approached the town limits, and if she had brought much more, she would have been tired out long ago. Preston had always been the one to do hard physical labor on the ranch; she had been his eyes, directing him where he ought to step to avoid tripping over anything left lying about.
"I think we ought to find a place to leave our things first," she said. "There has to be an inn somewhere that has an open room."
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Post by Victoria Angel Paulsen on Mar 22, 2013 7:13:23 GMT -5
"Yeah, I'd say that's a good point," she answered, hefting the strap of her bag over her shoulder again. It was starting to get burdensome. She looked around for a few minutes and saw in the short distance what appeared to be an inn. She pointed it out to Juliet.
"Looks like an inn there. Maybe we should start there."
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Post by Juliet Harwood on Mar 23, 2013 20:45:29 GMT -5
"All right." Juliet headed toward the inn and held the door open with her foot for Victoria. It probably wasn't much of a polite gesture, but it was more than she might have done a few days ago.
The main room had about half a dozen men inside. A few were obviously miners and still dirty from their work, but two stood in a corner, whispering. They glanced at the women for a moment but returned to their conversation shortly. Juliet barely even had time to glare at them. Instead, she went to the front desk, where a weary-looking woman sat.
"Have you got a room for two?" Juliet asked. It would be cheaper than getting two rooms, she hoped.
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Post by Victoria Angel Paulsen on Mar 24, 2013 8:06:13 GMT -5
She smiled at the gesture. Yes it was very polite of her, most people would've just let the door slam shut. Angel looked over the room as well, as she too saw the men whispering in the corner who looked at the two as they entered. Instinctively, her hand went to the knife strapped at her back, but she stopped when she heard Juliet ask for a room, and slowly moved up beside her.
"Looks like some sleep might not hurt you too much either, dear," she said teasingly at the weary looking woman. She meant no harm in it, but saw her sharp expression. She looked away, as if nothing had happened, smirking and shrugging her shoulders as she looked at Juliet.
Suddenly Angel was the one who was inexperienced.
"Gorrammit," she muttered under her breath.
It was mostly a ruse, though, as she had her eyes kept peeled around the room, watching for a potential ambush. She wanted to trust that no one would attack them, but she was on a new rock now. Juliet was the only person she allowed herself to trust.
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Post by Juliet Harwood on Mar 24, 2013 20:02:57 GMT -5
"Room for two? Might be a bit tight, seeing as all the miners have taken the larger rooms." The woman still looked annoyed at Victoria's teasing, but her tone was a bit gentler than her expression.
"As long as it's larger than a ship's berth, we'll be fine," Juliet said. She handed over some money, and the woman passed two keys across the desk.
"Second floor, fifth room on your right," she said. "No pets, no loud noises, and breakfast is served every morning from six to nine."
Juliet pocketed her key and picked up her bags again. "Thanks," she said. To Victoria, she said, "Want to head up?"
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Post by Victoria Angel Paulsen on Mar 25, 2013 7:29:43 GMT -5
"I think that's probably a good idea," she answered, still wary of the surroundings.
"Second floor, fifth room on the right. You know, I'll meet you there. I think I'm gonna go have a talk with those guys who were eyeing us when we walked in."
She had no intention of starting a fight, but she had the idea that it would probably turn into one. She shook her head, maybe she could totally avert that. She pulled a pistol from her holster and handed it to Juliet.
"I ain't saying you use it. I'm saying have it on you, just in case you do need to use it. You're probably more than capable of taking care of yourself, but we ain't taking no chances."
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Post by Juliet Harwood on Mar 25, 2013 15:26:23 GMT -5
Juliet took the pistol nervously and nodded her thanks. She hoped she wouldn't have to use it, but on a world like this she might not have much of a choice. She started for the stairs but turned back and said, "Hey, uh... be careful, all right?" Before Victoria could respond, Juliet hurried for the second floor.
The room was larger than the ship's berth and clean, even if the bathroom door stuck a little in the frame. Juliet set her bags down near the far bed and laid the pistol on the side table. It didn't smell like Whitefall had, or like the ship. She didn't know what this planet smelled like, but it felt odd that the very air should be so different.
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Post by Victoria Angel Paulsen on Mar 25, 2013 16:51:09 GMT -5
She smiled at the girl's concern and watched her dart up the stairs. She turned and went towards the men who had turned their attention to them when they walked in.
"Couldn't help but notice, fellas, your heads turned when my friend and I came in."
She pulled up a chair and turned it, sitting in it backwards.
"My hope is that you ain't gonna start no trouble with us," she finished her statement and the men erupted in laughter. Was this girl threatening them. When they noticed that her expression didn't change, one of them stood up, looming over her.
"And what if we do, bitch?" he asked loudly, very loudly indeed. For a second, she thought Juliet might've even been able to hear it.
"It won't be a good decision, is all I'm saying," she answered, standing from her chair and positioning it between them. "Wouldn't recommend it is all."
The man laughed again, and leaned over the chair to whisper in her ear.
"I does what I wants here, and ain't a gorram thing you can do about it."
She smirked and looked away for a split second. This was going to hurt both of them. She took off her cowboy hat and smiled, then with a lightning like quickness headbutted the man.
More shocked than hurt, he staggered back and started to move forward. She had shaken it off and pulled the knife from its sheathe on her back.
The man stopped suddenly when he felt the prick of the knife near his crotch.
"You bother either one of us, I'll make you even more useless than you are already," she cautioned him. He backed down, and Victoria headed up the stairs. She heard him muttering a stream of curses under his breath.
This wasn't over, but it was a good way to get attention, and the more attention they got, the more people would be around for the two of them to ask about Preston.
She entered the room and locked the door behind her. She sat on the other bed and unloaded all her gear.
"Well I just made a friend," she said sarcastically.
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Post by Juliet Harwood on Mar 27, 2013 0:04:07 GMT -5
Juliet hadn't been able to make out any words, but she had heard some of the argument. "What happened?" she asked. "Those men... were they looking to start a fight? Was there a fight?" She felt as though her eyes were widening with each question. She had hoped Haven would be a safe place, even after learning about it from Preston, because the name sounded so inviting.
Before she could blurt out another example of her naivete, she clenched her hands on the bedspread and forced herself to focus. "Sorry. I just didn't expect anything like this. I guess I don't really know what to expect."
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Post by Victoria Angel Paulsen on Mar 27, 2013 7:14:15 GMT -5
"It's ok. It wasn't really a fight. I went to make sure there wouldn't be one," she answered, pretending not to notice how anxious the girl was getting. She looked around the room and nodded her head, her lips slightly pursed.
"This isn't bad, shiny I'd say," she said quickly, trying to help Juliet focus on something else. It wouldn't do to have her too nervous while they started looking.
"What do you say we go out after a rest and start asking about again?"
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Post by Juliet Harwood on Mar 27, 2013 13:28:13 GMT -5
"That sounds like a good idea." Juliet didn't care to ask how Victoria had made sure there wouldn't be fight. The two men probably weren't dead, but if they were, now wasn't the time for her to find out. "Your gun's on the table."
She sent into the bathroom and quickly changed into a pair of pajamas. Even though she had tried to pack lightly, there were some things she didn't feel like giving up. After folding her clothes and putting them away, she slipped under the blanket and curled up on the sheets. When sleep didn't come as soon as she had hoped, she asked, "Have you been to Haven before?"
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Post by Victoria Angel Paulsen on Mar 27, 2013 16:53:00 GMT -5
Victoria pulled off her cowboy hat and unloaded all her weapons. They seemed to come from everywhere. She was a walking armory. She set all her guns to the side and slid up under the covers of her bed.
Sleep wasn't coming to her either, and her head hurt a bit, but she heard Juliet's question.
"Nope. I'd never been off Whitefall until we left on the ship. I've been wanting to get out, maybe find a permanent spot on someone's ship. What about you? Were you happy to just be a farmhand's wife? Or did you ever want more?"
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Post by Juliet Harwood on Mar 27, 2013 22:35:49 GMT -5
Juliet shrugged, though she realized Victoria might not be able to see her. "I wouldn't just be a farmhand's wife," she said somewhat bitterly. "I'd been saving up for my own ranch. Once I had enough, Preston and I were going to move out and buy a little house and some land. It'd be kind of slow at first, but once we had enough money we could expand and just keep moving out. We'd even have a few kids." She smiled, remembering how eager he had been to be a father.
If they were asking questions, she supposed she might as well continue, even though she probably hadn't said so many words at once to Victoria before. "What did you do on Whitefall? Hired to defend other people's farms, I'm guessing?"
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