Ye Olde Saloon [19th Century Colorado, after sunset]

[texted3times]

"Well, this is certainly...different," Eric observed as he and Jaina stepped between tied up horses in order to enter the saloon. From the way those inside stared, it wasn't that usual for women to be there who weren't, erm, working. "We can find somewhere else," Eric murmured. "Your call."

Comments

[solo_sword]

"I think we could try it out," she said, trying to get a feel for the room. "Just ignore them and if anyone's stupid enough to try anything, they get thrown across a room."

With her job, she'd had to see enough places in a similar vein that she tended not to worry too much. Plus, she kind of doubted anyone would give them any trouble when Eric was, well, Eric.

[texted3times]

He grinned at her. "I was wondering if you were in the mood to deal with a potential bar fight or not."

Eric had strange ideas of fun.

[solo_sword]

"I can deal with it," she said, sounding amused. "You realize this is the second time now we've gone somewhere that a barfight was a real possibility."

[texted3times]

"Does this mean you choose where we go next time?" he asked.

[solo_sword]

"We'll see," Jaina said. "It's entirely possible I would pick the place most likely for a fight, too."

[texted3times]

"Maybe that's why we get along," Eric replied. "Would you like a warm beer in a dirty glass? I'm betting that's a specialty here."

[solo_sword]

"Mm, sounds great. Especially since asking for a clean one would probably make me look like a snob." Also it would probably get her glass spat in and no.

[texted3times]

"These people seem like a wash before church on Sunday and not a moment before crowd," Eric decided. "Bet it extends to the dishes."

[solo_sword]

"And why'd you bring me here again?" she asked teasingly.

[texted3times]

"There's not a lot of town to this town," Eric noted.

[solo_sword]

"Very true. And prospecting sounds a little..." she trailed off. "Well, I can't exactly imagine you doing it."

[texted3times]

"That's what I have other people for," Eric said, nodding and ordering for the two of them. He even restrained himself from referring to Jaina as a little lady.

[solo_sword]

"And yet no one to mail stuff for you," she tsked.

[texted3times]

"There are a lot more people eager to look for gold than to lick my stamps," Eric replied. "Weird, isn't it?"

[solo_sword]

Jaina grinned at that, and asked, "Maybe you're not asking right. Are you saying please?"

[texted3times]

"Of course not," Eric said. "Should I be?"

[solo_sword]

"It does sometimes help..." Not that she was a big fan of 'please' herself, but she could say it.

[texted3times]

"Seems like a lot of effort," Eric decided as their beers arrived.

[solo_sword]

"I know, sometimes it's just so hard to get that whole one syllable out," she said, pulling her glass toward her and maybe looking to see how dirty it really was.

[texted3times]

"If there's something alive in it, it's okay to send back," he assured her.

[solo_sword]

"You know, I hadn't even considered that till this very second?" she said. Luckily it didn't look that bad to her. She might wonder now, though.

[texted3times]

"That's what a thousand years of experience teaches you," Eric said. "The twenty-first century is, generally speaking, a HUGE upgrade."

[solo_sword]

"That's scary," Jaina decided. "And it makes me sort of glad I come from somewhere even more upgraded, and teaches me to be more careful on the backwater planets." The more you know.

[texted3times]

"I think you're careful enough," Eric decided.

But she was out with a vampire, so...

[solo_sword]

She raised an eyebrow. "And of course I've never done anything to say any differently."

Because yeah, even she knew that if she looked back on all this, there'd been some potentially really bad decisions there.