It's... quiet. The morning is quiet and dull and even the animals lingering on the fringes of town seem a bit at a loss for what to do. The town as a whole seems to be waiting with bated breath, for the outcome of the tie.
A few moments later Tarvek and Nisha follow him out, leashed to him by a rope binding their hands and a blindfold around their eyes. In the Sheriff's other hand are two pistols. He'll lead them to the center of the town and place a pistol in each of their hands before pulling out a knife and cutting the ropes binding them. He pulls off the blindfold afterwards.
He turns back to the town after, glancing at the few stray animals that have set up on the porches to watch. A crow nearby caws out from on top of the Saloon sign. The Sheriff looks to the hotel and a moment later, the bells on top of the church begin to ring. He calls out, louder than naturally possible,
"Execution time, folks! Nisha Kadam and Tarvek Sturmvoraus have elected to duel to the death. Come and witness."
And then, as indifferent as ever, he pops a piece of tobacco. |
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robowest2017-02-05 01:50 pm
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The Sheriff has moved away from the duel, off to the porch while they were fighting. He's plopped down in his rocking chair, chewing his wad and letting his eyes closed as they go. He looks pretty peaceful.
The reason for that is pretty apparent as Nisha holds the gun to Tarvek's head and the ground under them seems to, ah, crumble. The entire town shakes for a while and a hole in the ground opens up under Tarvek. It will only be a split second until he's falling, swallowed up by the dirt.
A moment later, the ground shifts again and Nisha is standing there with no one to shoot. The Sheriff's eyes open and he calls out -- ]
Huh, guess you won. Back in your cell with you, Nisha. Y'might not want to deal with all the yelling that's about to happen.
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[ Nisha tips up her hat with her pistol and stares at the ground for a moment longer. She clearly was not expecting that either, and in addition to her shock is a little disappointed that she didn't actually get in the killing shot.
Then she looks back at the Sheriff. ]
I might start doing some yelling myself if you don't explain yourself a little.
[ She does head back into the station, though. ]
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It's 'cause you have a role!
[ He looks back at the rest of the crowd then, patting at his pockets for a pipe or a cigar or something. He'll come out with the pipe in a second, looking mildly successful then. ]
Nisha here has a role. She's my Coal Miner. She takes care of folks I need taken care of, people who ain't doing their do here. I need her to take care of someone else before I can let y'all kill her. Simple as.
Tarvek, on the other hand, boy's been a good sport. If he makes his way back, he makes his way back. We leave it at that.
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[wha]
[it all clicks into place. Nisha's injury from the strip search. the dead bodies they found in the mines. her role. . .]
[she steps forward, hands balled into fists at her side, and calls out]
Sheriff! Is Nisha the one who killed Ocelot and Undertaker in the mines?!
[she had assumed the Sheriff did it when she had spoken to him about the identity of the second body the other day, and he said Undertaker wasn't doing enough and had to go. but this? puts everything in a whole new light]
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Yeah.
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[props her hand on her hip, some of the excitement from the execution's events fading away. it makes sense. she can't believe she didn't see it before]
. . . I see.
[a pause]
Will you entertain questions about the tunnels underneath the town at a later time?
[because she has too many to ask now]
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She's staring at the ground where Tarvek disappeared into, and she looks absolutely horrified as she starts yelling.]
Bring him back! You can't keep him down there, you have to... You can't say he's been a fucking good sport and then send him there, you know what it's like! Hal!
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He has to earn it back, Natalie. Y'all voted for him so he's already a dead man. This is the only way he can earn something before he's done.
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[Her voice cracks.]
You have to give him what you gave me while he's down there. You have to at least do that, please.
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I will. It'll be his choice to take it or not though.
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Okay.
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[ Despite one small outburst the first time Tarvek got shot, Xion has otherwise been ..... very quiet for this whole thing. Even when the ground swallowed her roommate whole.
Now she finds her way over to Natalie's side, staying close and looking up at her with concern. ]
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She takes a breath, swallows, shakes her head.]
It's fine.
[It's not.]
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[ Xion rests a hand on Natalie's arm - you know, the one she still has - and tilts her head. ]
Let's go.
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I'm fine.
[Also false. Regardless, she nods.]
Where are we going?
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[She says, maybe a little more firmly than is necessary, once she notices Milla coming closer. She doesn't even know what she's telling her not to do, but...]
I'm okay.
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. . . all right. I wanted to make sure. I know-- you went through a lot of pain down there.
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Hal. How hard will it be for him to make his way back? Can you tell us that?
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It's pretty much up to fate. Kinda like a, uh, a maze or somethin' down there. Not a place you wanna go.
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[What else can he say? He understands fate way too well to argue, so Hal's lucky today when he backs off. He has a small Disney princess to watch over first.]