The New Territory

[Supabad.45]

It's 1876, in the area of New Austin, a large number of murders, banditry, kidnapping, robbery, etc have been occurring lately, among all these atrocities, people have turned up mangled beyond recognition, torn in pieces, brutally slaughtered in many areas spanning from New Austin to Mexico. Bounty hunters and lawmen have indeed tried to investigate these slaughters, but turned up dumbfounded when nothing explains this. You are in the small town of Armadillo. A town that merely has; a bank, doctor, general store, gunsmith, a few livestock barns, a sheriff's office, some small common houses, and a saloon. A town known of it's neutral manners, the laws are strict, cowboys come and go without trouble, a wealthy bit of gambling, and other things.


(Create your Character and stuff with your own character sheet xP)

 

[Ariana Rose]

Twisted in her sheets, drenched in icy sweat, Charlotte awoke with a start. Quickly forcing herself up onto her elbows, her eyes flickered open and hastily examined where she was. As the nightmare slipped from her mind, her memory started up again and reminded her she was in the tavern. She'd booked one of the rooms for the night and that's where she currently was. Her eyes slipped shut as her racing heartbeat started to calm. That nightmare never seemed to leave her for very long. The same thing over and over, though she could never understand its meaning... With a heafty sigh, she started disentangling herself from the wadded up sheets. It took her longer than she'd like to admit before her bare feet thumped onto the wooden floorboards beneath her. Pushing herself up into a standing position, her bones creaked and ached with protest. They wanted to keep resting, but her mind was already awakening. It was too late now. Her eyes flickered open once again to her rented room just the way she'd left it the night before. Her duster thrown over the arm of a nearby chair, guns and holsters thrown onto the rickety looking table, and boots at either end of the room. With a disgruntled huff, she started to slowly collect her things. Boots first, then holsters, then the duster that draped heavy over her shoulders. The stirrups on her heels clicked with each movement she made as she placed the last piece of her dusty outfit atop her head. She left the door open to her room behind her as she clicked and clacked her way downstairs to the main floor of the tavern. It was still early morning, and the few bleary-eyed looking men hunched over their respective drinks paid her no mind. The bartender watched her carefully, as if assessing whether or not he should stop her from walking out into the heat of the morning. He seemed to really think this over before his eyes slid away from her and back to his patrons.


The sun hit her the second she stepped off the porch of the tavern. Its rays were already shining full blast down on their desolate little town. It was relatively quiet for the moment, which struck her as odd. Usually it was bustling with the noises of carriages and horses and people bickering and bartering with each other. But...there was nothing on this morning. A few people hustling here and there, but not many. Not as much as there should be. This worried her and her hand slid down her side to rest on the butt of her revolver. Her other hand placed on her hip, she eyed those around her, as if daring someone to start trouble with her. No one seemed to want to make eye contact with her, and that was just fine. So long as no one bothered her, she'd bother no one. As she made her way towards the stables, she kept her ears and eyes open, waiting for information she knew was due to come at any moment. Never had there been a night where there wasn't a killing within just a few miles of this town. She knew better than to expect what little effort her and her small crew was doing would keep the killers at bay... Sure enough, as she was saddling up Bartholomew, she caught wind of some trouble with highwaymen and a carriage a few miles east of her town. She listened for as much information as she could, but the words were hushed and quick. Without warning, she slipped up onto Barth's back and spurred him into a gallop. She headed east towards trouble.

 

[Supabad.45]

His eyes fluttered open onto the half empty bottle of whiskey from the previous night. In a repulsive stare, he sluggishly knocks the bottle off the end table onto the floor with a thud. His body extended, stretching across the dirty sheets of the worn spring bed, every movement was a ear deafening creak. Turning over to one of the harlots, whom was tangled in the quilts with her hair in a nest and blouse ripped from the shoulder. Rubbing his eyes, he threw his legs over the side of the bed. Scratching his head furiously*


"Hey... It's morning..." *Zephyr grumbled.*


"Hmmm?" *The prostitute gathered from her sleep*


"It's morning, get the hell out..." *He said quietly*


*He stood and leaned over a pale, splashing water on his face and rubbing it in. Over to the the coat rack, he slung his duster and holsters on his person and placed his hat on his head. He goes over to the bedside of the groggy prostitute and drops $15 dollars on her lap and walked out to the balcony outside, The light was a pain in the ass to him. How he hated the damned heat of New Austin, the smell of vomit, sand, and horses was just too common. Straightening his hat, he followed down the stairs to where his horse was hitched, Aries."

 

[Ariana Rose]

Charlotte laughed, her shoulders shaking with the effort as the bullets flew. The man awkwardly hobbled from foot to foot, trying to avoid the bullets flying his way. She was making him dance. She liked to play with those she brought in before bringing them to the sheriff. Though...half the time she wondered why she even bothered. It wasn't as if she was getting paid for it. The sheriff took all the credit, grumbled about space in the clink, and hardly looked her in the eye when he took over her apprehended criminals. It was getting to the point where she was audibly asking herself, "Why do I even bother?" This statement slipped past her lips as she finished playing with the huffing and puffing man. She ordered him to kneel and when he didn't, she cocked back her revolver and asked him politely. With a fierce hatred in his eyes, he knelt and placed his hands above his head. She checked him for weapons quickly before tackling him to the ground and getting his hands behind his back. She tied the rope over and under the robber-man's hands. He continued to spit, curse, and call her names, but she paid no mind to his delusional babble. Her eyes flickered up towards the upended carriage and the small pool of blood that had dried overnight. "Where is he?" She asked, growling into the man's ear. He turned his head and tried to spit on her but she smashed his skull into the ground and screamed for the location of the carriage occupant. "Dead! I done killed him! He gone! Ain't never comin' back you dirty little--" She smashed his face into the hard packed clay and dirt beneath them until he quieted. She hadn't killed him, just gave him one hell of a headache and knocked him out. Grunting, she lifted his overweight body as best she could onto a broken piece of carriage door. Whistling for Barth, she tied one end of a rope to the carriage door and the other to Barth's saddle. Grumbling about the weight of her passenger, she stood straight and tall once more before scrambling up onto Bartholomew's back and spurring him into motion. She checked behind her a couple of times to make sure her captive hadn't gone anywhere.


Sometime later, she rode in on her stead with a kicking and screaming dirty, broken, wannabe robber tied to her horse's rear. She slowed Barth as they came upon the jailhouse and a small crowd started to gather around her and the fellow making a scene behind her. She'd had it with him. He'd awoke halfway through their ride and continued his rant on and on about how much of a...well...Let's just say he wasn't very pleasant towards women. With him still tied up, she knelt on top of him and socked him a couple of times before his teeth turned bloody and his voice gurgled in his throat. She didn't stop though, she kept on going until she felt strong hands pulling her away from her unlucky foe. She wriggled in their grasp, but the fight was slipping out of her. She'd exhausted her anger and slumped. Her knees crashed into the dirt as she watched the deputy untie the man's hands and try to rouse him. "Well that wasn't very smart of you now was it?" Came a gruff voice from behind her.


"Whatchu mean?" She drawled, still breathless from her attack.


"I watched you almost kill a man Miss Charlotte, you coulda been hanged if you killed him." The sheriff warned, his brows furrowing as he walked around her crouched body. He crouched as well and tried to grasp her line of sight, but she was staring at the ground. "Do I wanna know what this one did?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Charlotte simply shook her head and started to rise and make her way back to her horse.


"Listen, old man, just...do your job and this wouldn't happen. I wouldn't have to be here." The sheriff looked as if he were going to protest, but she didn't give him the opportunity. She hopped on Barth's back and spurred him into motion back again. She aimed out of the town. She needed a moment to get away. She wasn't feeling so good.

 

[Supabad.45]

As Zephyr tumbled out into the sun baked landscape of Armadillo, he found himself tilting his hat in such a fashion to where the sun doesn't fry his eyes. The tail end of his duster flapped carelessly beneath the dust and gravel. He stood in the middle of the street, being careful to check his inventory and supplies at hand. He shouted to the General Store owner, a friendly wave gesture as he secured his bags to Aries. While doing so, he noticed a woman stroll into town with a carriage. His eye's seemed to be glued to this mysterious woman, who happen to be carrying the lifeless body of a fat thug-type. She was one of the most gorgeous females he had the pleasure to look at.


"Hmmmm..."


Observed Zephyr. Striking his match against the wooden beam and lighting himself his doobie that perched itself in the corner of his mouth. Before, he knew it, she had a brief word with the Sheriff, suddenly, she disappeared as quickly as she came, riding off on her horse. Zephyr sighed as he watched her ride off. He puffed on his drag and tilted his hat at her.


"So long dolly,"


In a hop, he mounted Aries and clicked his tongue at the beast. Returning his masters favor, the horse started to a path in the corner of town, coincidentally, heading in the same yet hidden direction as the mysterious woman.

 

[Ariana Rose]

After a few minutes of hard and fast riding, she slowed Bartholomew. She hadn't said anything out loud since she'd left the town, just kept quiet and let the thump of her stead's hooves against the hard, packed clay dull her senses. It served as a sort of white noise so she could concentrate on her own thoughts. She could feel the change coming upon her, she realized. The uncanny anger, strength, and heightened senses served as the first warning. Then she'd start feeling the aches and pains. The feeling in her bones would soon turn from dull throbs to sharp pains as the night neared. Each moment she spent getting away from the town was another moment closer to her impending shift from this form to the other. Gritting her teeth to keep from groaning, she clutched Barth's reins harder and picked her gaze up from her saddle where she'd been staring for the past couple of minutes. Her gaze flickered over the barren landscape uneasily. Something didn't feel right. She felt as if she weren't alone for some reason. That was odd, considering she hadn't, and didn't currently, see anyone or anything around her. Frowning, she leaned closer to Barth's back and spurred him once more into action. He took off towards the mountainous regions in the distance. She could find shelter there, a good place to hide her things and her beloved stead while the moon rose and took over her body.


She made it to the base of the hills just moments before the sun slipped down the horizon. By now she was stifling screams of agony as her body quivered with anticipation. Hurriedly, she found a spot to stash her belongings and tie up Barth to something secure. It wasn't time to disrobe, yet, but it was coming fast. She shook, twisted, turned, stretched, all she could do to ease the fire burning through her veins and muscles. Not long now. Ten, fifteen minutes before her consciousness slipped away. She'd wake up somewhere else, the middle of nowhere, and struggle to find her way back to Barth. Oh well, nothing she could do now. Five minutes, four... She practically ripped the clothes off of her body as her back arched at an unnatural angle. She flung off her shoes, ripped her hair out of it's pony tail. Two minutes...one...thirty seconds... The sickening crack and tearing sound of bones and muscles startled Bartholomew as he stamped around and whinnied. He knew something was wrong with his master, but there was nothing anyone could do for her now. As her human skin peeled away, a matted, bloody, yet stunningly gorgeous fur shone through the cracks in her skin. The process was agony. Her consciousness faded. In the place of Charlotte stood a large, brown and white spotted wolf licking its chops and eyeing its surroundings. Shaking out its fur full of blood, it sniffed at the pieces of skin and muscle that lay beneath it before quickly lifting its head and looking at the full moon above it. The wolf howled, long and sorrowfully, before dashing away from the mountainous range behind it and sprinting into the open field of barren land.

 

[Supabad.45]

What was a hour later, Zephyr halted Aries at the ledge of a cliff. When he unmounted, he took in the brisk desert air slowly, embracing it, staring at the barren land above. He could see for miles. A few small farms, some plantations, Armadillo, and Tumbleweed. These few small towns that occupied New Austin were mere specks on the map. All of them were just small money signs in Zephyr's mind, he simply cared less for it's awaiting fate. The flick of a match on Aries's saddle, he lit the glowing end of a cigarette. Blowing out puffs of smoke that the wind carried away. A sad howl from a wolf in the distance. It then hit him hard, bewildered, he gazed into the fields behind him, with the cigarette in his lip still he squinted his eyes.


"Something ain't right -- Only coyotes roam this part of the land..."


Zephyr had no clue what to expect out of this, but something told him to have his hand near his waist. He listened hard, expecting a snarl or a growl of some sort. The only thing he heard were the thuds of running. Slowly, he pulled out his trusty revolver and tipped up his hat with the barrel.*