[Winter - Outskirts of Moonton]

“Here.”

Jennings hand was lit a frigid blue, as he passed over a now-frigid fruit treat he'd recovered from his bag. Wolf hesitated, yet accepted the bribery for broken silence. Wolf’s sullen demeanor had been broken early this evening, as the pair's travel had to come to a halt.

A small campfire had been constructed, they rationed out drinks and grub. Wolf hadn’t said a word all night, but felt obliged to return the kind gesture with the only thing of value he know Jennings cared about, his wisdom.

“Thank you for the- cold berries, my friend.”

Wincing, Wolf wasn’t as preferential to berry snacks beforehand, yet Jennings unique presentation had won the Native man’s admiration. He spent time digging his fingers between his teeth, fishing out the pesky-caught seeds. His eyes widened, as he whipped his bulky neck around looking for more, but Jennings returned the gesture with an empty shrug as the Agi wore off through his fingertips.

“You two rest, I’ll do a bituva’ patrol roundabout us.”

Poni chimed in for his assistance. J.J. waved him off and then turned his body language in Wolf’s direction, drawing his reciprocated attention.

“Wolf, I have a request.”

Wolf stared back aimlessly. He’d heard these words before.

“I need you to take Ms. Penny May back to your Spiri tribe and keep her away from these cities going under to this Immortal, right as we speak. Would you be willing to put yourself out there for us a bit more?”

Folding arms preceded a firm conclusive response.

“No, I refuse.”

Jennings felt his brows grow jagged. The outlaw displayed an increased blink-rate as the stress of the matter was becoming more like a mask. Either the certainty or the unfamiliarity of denial startled J.J. but he had grown enough to no longer be swayed by needless emotions.

“Why?”

The question was asked, and Wolf was proud to respond.

“This mission of ours being assisted by the Spiri remains as that- assistance. The Spiri people are not involved in any Settler matter without the consent of eldership. You’re going to have to find another way if you insist on excluding your partner. Or else, she’s just going to have to fight her own battles.”

The perspective once more boiled Jennings’ cold blood. He settled on a distaste for the assumption, but yet the accuracy of the statement resonated as the warmth from the hearth soothed frozen tension.

“It’s not- I wasn’t gonna ditch her. Ms. Penny May has been by my side in these travels for a little bit now and never once have I needlessly put them in danger. Danger just finds us.”

“This is just one more instance then? Am I right?”

Jennings looks down at the malleable dirt beneath his tree-trunk seat and sketches a formless doodle in the ground with an icy glimmer.

“You’re right…”

The outlaw quashed his regret, from the exasperation evident between each syllable, he admitted defeat.

“I’m sorry. She seems like a strong-enough woman if your journey together is any indicator, would you say? She doesn’t seem as scared as you at this moment.”

“I'm- sure you’re right.”

Wolf’s intense glare reflected the nearby flame and devoured any hope of a misunderstanding. Instead, Jennings followed himself and spoke out about his next concern.

“So, if that’s a settled matter, then let’s discuss the next heapin’ on our plate. There’s a train headin’ southbound as we speak that’s getting abruptly stopped by us.”

“Train stoppage. Do we have that kind of man-power? We don’t even know how many of them there are.”

“That there is the truth. However, my gut is telling me that nothing they send my way is going to interfere with me keepin’ my word.”

Jennings was belting strong words while his glowing-blue palm outlined his facial scar from his fight with Isiah Bahr. His confidence was coursing once more. That false sense of doubt had been mitigated by the instigating of a profound accomplishment for J.J. He proceeded with elaboration for the ever-attentive Wolf.

“With a proper plan, motive and skillset, I think we’re going to accomplish a mighty-good deed under our belts sir.”

Wolf understood the notion and nodded in agreement.

“Then, let us plan.”

[Winter - Moonton]

With haste, a young sooty stoker shoveled lumps of coal into an open furnace. The dense metal contraption was a centrifugal component of the locomotive managed by a small crew. With wistful banter, and a happy tone, the three men carried on while the shoveling continued for increased speed.

Meanwhile, in a cart further down, a single-file line of men in matching jeanwear and bandanas geared up, assembling into formation like an organized unit. At the vanguard and gaining steam in the direction of the engine cart was Lou Cooper.

Every step toward the front of the train carried conviction.

A telegram instrument lay along the front-end of the locomotive, next to a stack of disheveled paperwork and a pack of cigarettes, beeping into an increased volume. The lead Department of Misconduct engineer takes notice and mouths the incoming message of distress to himself.

“Caution…

Cauti-, hey listen up fellas’, we’re gettin’ a distress message.”

The stoker hears a loud voice and assumes the worst, setting his shovel on the floor next to the coal loader. The two other men now huddle around their superior and the telegram machine.

Three successive loud bangs are heard on their door, causing each D.o.M. employee to swivel their posture in a spooked display. Hearing an accumulated sound of voices, they quickly do a gun count revealing two pistols and quietly gesture toward the continued stream of the telegram.

The engineer sounds more.

“Lou Cooper-

Attack-

Lou Cooper-

Attack…in-coming-”

A blast of water fractures through the wooden entrance frame, exploding splinters around, obscuring vision for the men. The locomotive was chaotic, steam billowed from the cart once the water hit the hot furnace- visibility was lost to hot steam.

[Winter - Outskirts of Moonton]

Elsewhere within the Moonton limits, Penny and Buck retraced their steps to return to a shallow creek they’d passed earlier while searching. It seemed even Jennings’ passive elusiveness was staunch enough to avoid another night of detection, Penny’s spirit was growing weak. She let out a bellowing exhale, as any items being held were plopped on the dirt floor.

“Phew.”

Buck took a longer walk around the perimeter of their camp before eventually joining Miss May in a form of ruminative thought that she’d only witnessed from one wild man she’d journeyed with for nearly two years now. Jennings was beginning to trust her, Buck had just joined a queue on that front, yet Penny wouldn’t let her guilt slumber before her.

Buck noticed some introspection amid the exhaustion and proceeded to inquire as a cordiality.

“You and this J.J. must be quite trustful of another to lead you on a chase like this.”

Penny was proud of how quick she mustered her answer, sliding any excess tiredness off with a hearty smile.

“Yes, he’d be even more lost without me- believe it or not. We’re doing him a service whether he’ll let himself admit it or not.”

She looked down at the forest floor, the edge of their campsite. She’d found a small-sized toppled tree that made a great makeshift seat. After brushing off some bugs that she’d grown out of her weariness of over the years, she took a seat for herself. As she stared back at Buck listening to her half-start conversation points timidly, she couldn’t help but recognIze his particularities in settling for the evening Moon.

Once the fire pit was lit and the sky beneath it grew inkier, Buck folded his somehow clean attire into a finite pile and placed it next to his long-awaited seat next to Penny May. He hadn’t seen many solo women amongst the Settlers, and figured that whatever mess she was into, it was best to see who’s the type of man she’s seeking protection from. It was his vicarious obligation.

“You don’t think it’s time to send in the surrender, find yourself a safe inn nearby and just start from there?”

Her loyalty in unison with the elements of nature at play led her to feel uncomfortable with the question. She knew J.J. was somewhere close by and that the safest place was with him, especially with The Immortal and the D.o.M as organic foes.

“J.J. is one of those few misunderstood. They just seem to be the type that make others uneasy with their tranquility. I’ve seen it in action, it’s like…”

Buck crossed his feet, and found himself consoling Penny now. He rolled his hand forward as a gesture to continue her sentiment.

“It’s like, they know he’s kind and uninterested in them. So the truly evil ones target him for it, but they don’t understand what they created in the process.”

Buck nodded, he wanted to remain supportive.

“The masses tend to underestimate the individual with a purpose. They act as if wit was a cut of common ancestry, hence why they tend to nail their unconfident point home with hammers and not the hard-work of gettin’ someone to disagree with a handshake.”

“That’s a sad realization to reach, Buck. You hardly see handshakes anymore, more gunners and violence.”

She bent down and rustled through her bag without fully thinking the action through, Penny had forgotten what she was searching for. With the engagement slightly broken, Buck leaped at the opportunity to find a plot of dirt sizeable enough for his gear.

Penny’s facial features sank sooner than she’d wished. She failed to mute the inner buzz of rue. It was very possible that the person that approached the door, the one she feared as Eriko, could’ve burnt their home. And if so, she thought, it could be said that her lack of awareness and ignorance acted as an accomplice to their homelessness.

As Buck neatly placed his belongings and himself onto said spot, he looked up at Penny and noticed a change in demeanor. He asked with a straight tone, and a rich voice, aiming to share a bit of history as a verbal numbing agent.

“You know Ms. May, I once was a servant.”

The wind howled, Penny set aside her possessions and looked over the fire at Buck’s unswerving confession. The rogue leaves in the vicinity brushed over every near surface, providing a rasp dusk setting.

“I escaped with people…loved ones, but they didn’t make it.”

He sat himself up. Buck’s voice condensed into a compact tone.

“At times, when you feel down, I’ve searched my entire adult life for a remedy. The panacea, if you will. Never, would I have thunk it'd be as simple as turning the loss into a fuel to burn through action.”

“Well, I mean I haven’t lost much. Probably nothing, compared to you-”

“Ahh, don’t compare, that’s misguided energy if I ever heard it. I know I’m just meeting ya' fancy, donating words you may not be willing to ear. However, I offer this wisdom as someone who’s experienced exhaustive freedom, and true loss. I recommend taking the night to enjoy something new, rather than chewing on something old and noxious.”

“I may have fucked up. Didn’t trust my gut when I needed it. Didn’t I fail my friends in a life or death game here?”

“Well shit. Failing them only means shit if you never take the aim and sleep sound with regret. Not us Penny May, not us, we fail- then we get some sleep.”

Buck lays back into his relaxed posture. His feet were just out of reach from dirtying his floored-wardrobe any. Penny’s stiffness subsided, allowing her to find sleep, just a tad later than she would’ve wanted.