RDR2 AU

[dog_eat_dog]

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[dog_eat_dog]

She glances him over playfully.

“You gonna get some seaside villa, sun yourself on the beach?”

[stand_unshaken]

"Oh yeah. Quiet life suits me."

He gives her a little grin and shakes his head.

"Knowing us, we'll get there and raise a whole lotta hell."

[dog_eat_dog]

“Poor locals won’t know what hit ‘em. I bet life gets more expensive out there, though. Every bullet has to be imported. Every little convenience, too.”

[stand_unshaken]

"What kind of conveniences would you be missing, Miss Tess?"

[dog_eat_dog]

“I like never being further than a day or two’s ride from being able to buy supplies, for one,” she replies. “The mail. And hell, every time you want to have a drink, you gotta weigh whether the time it takes to get it is even worth it.”

[stand_unshaken]

"Who should I be sending mail to out there?"

He shakes his head.

"Make my own hooch, get some pigs, some chickens. Maybe. Maybe."

No. He couldn't. But he's been telling himself otherwise for years.

[dog_eat_dog]

“Gotta get all the supplies for hooch,” she points out. “I’m not saying it’s a bad idea overall. I just prefer to work on my projects than basic survival.”

[stand_unshaken]

"What kinda projects would you be gettin' into if not the one you're already involved in?"

[dog_eat_dog]

“More guns. Mexico’s been a nightmare for longer than either of us have been alive, but if it finally goes belly up someday, I want another place. Wherever else America is going to war with.”

[stand_unshaken]

"Why the guns? Why's that your trade of choice, huh?"

[dog_eat_dog]

That isn't a question she's been asked too much or too often. She takes a swig of her drink to buy herself a second to think, to word it.

"Higher value, less competition," she replies. "A gun's specialized, not just anyone can start making them in their cellar... and they get better every year. Last year's buyers come back when their enemies suddenly have more firepower. I figure if I'm gonna hang someday, it shouldn't be for something petty."

[stand_unshaken]

He rests an elbow on the bar, looking at her as she talks. He understands all of what she's saying, even if he's never getting into this trade willingly if it's up to him - but that last part's shocking, coming from a woman's mouth.

"You really figure that's gonna be the end of you?"

[dog_eat_dog]

"They may not execute women much, but there's not a lot of women in this line of work, either, let alone women leading it," she replies. She's almost a little flippant about it; death's going to come for her eventually. It comes for everyone in this life, and much sooner than anyone ever expects. "I'm sure I'll get shot at plenty of times before then, and get punched, and be thrown by horses, but if I'm going to die, it sure as shit will be worthy of the work I've done."

[stand_unshaken]

"You know - we say that shit all the time. I ain't too used to a woman like you sayin' it, though."

He just comes out with it. Something about it inspires both awe and grief in him.

[dog_eat_dog]

Tess smiles, shrugs. It's not a new sentiment, but it always feels worthy of a bit of pride anyway.

"Tilly and Susan and all them don't get to ride with the boys, huh?"

[stand_unshaken]

"Not on the jobs that could get 'em shot. Only gal who could cut it's Sadie, but she had to go through a hell of a lot to get to that point."

[dog_eat_dog]

"And yet she still spends more time bickering with the men at camp," Tess remarks. "Not surprising. Not a lot of women can cut it, here or anywhere."

[stand_unshaken]

He shakes his head. "She resents bein' where she is. Give her one wish, and she'd be back on her ranch with her husband. But that ain't the state of the world, so she's stuck with us lumps."

[dog_eat_dog]

"Seems a lot easier to find a new man and a new ranch than learn to love a life she doesn't want, but I guess that's how it is sometimes."

[stand_unshaken]

"I suppose it depends on the kinda love you ever experienced. Don't think she's trying to love much of anything."

[dog_eat_dog]

Tess reflects on that for a second. She's not certain she's ever had that kind of love. People she cared about, sure, but the nature of her business demands she let go as fast as she gets attached.

"Well, I hope she figures it out. No sense in doing what we do unless it makes you itch to get up in the morning."

[stand_unshaken]

"Ain't there? Sometimes you just get caught up in this shit. No way to get out."

[dog_eat_dog]

"Who's going to stop you from leaving but yourself?"

[stand_unshaken]

"Havin' no other options," he starts with. "No skills but robbing and killing. No money. Fear of dyin' alone somewhere in some shithole cabin."

[dog_eat_dog]

Tess shakes her head. She’s long been of the mind that she can do whatever she pleases, and that if she wanted to quit this nasty work and do something else, she could. It’s half arrogance, half denial — she could, if she wanted to.

“All things that can be changed,” she replies, gently skeptical. “If you had it in your head to, you could do whatever you pleased.”