ataraxion | 001: [video]

Entry tags:

001: [video]

[A solemn young face wearing a disapproving expression appears on screen. She has on the issued jumpsuit, but with a man's overcoat that's clearly many sizes too big on over top of it.]

I am told we are on a ship and cannot leave it, and though we admittedly do not have much sailing in Yell County, I have seen pictures of ships and am not so easy as that to fool.

[A deep breath. There are no trials that cannot be overcome by a strong will and a sense of justice.]

It would seem I have also lost my traveling companions, and nearly all my money with them. But I have a good revolver and a California gold piece, and I would consider bartering them for a guide who knows his way around and possesses some skill in tracking, and who has half a head of sense.

And does not reek of whiskey.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ In a way, Erik understands what it's like; to come so close to achieving your goal only to have it backfire on you. His expression softens just barely, what with the ability to relate to her somewhat. Erik never brings it up, because he doesn't need to garner sympathy, but rather an understanding, regardless of how old she may be. ]

If he was, he certainly didn't carry the valor of one. [ Shaking his head, the idea of Shaw even being a knight was absurd, given his actions. The helmet itself isn't anything special, polished silver on the outside, completely smooth in contrast to the elegance of a knight's own. ] But no, the man was a cruel being, who lived only for his own goals over everything else.

Miss Ross, then. You'll do me a favor of telling me what the man in question looked like?

Was he an outlaw too? [It's not polite to delve too much into a person's business, so she doesn't ask what the man did specifically to deserve an act of vengeance -- although she has a feeling it's much like her own situation. This man seems to understand why Chaney needs to be hunted down, better than most of the folks she's been talking to.]

He is tall and dark-haired, and unkempt, and I am quite sure he was drunk when last I saw him.

[ He has to laugh at the implication; Shaw as an outlaw is nearly imperceptible, ridiculous as it seems. The man did evade capture long enough before Erik caught up to him, but certainly not in that term. ]

You could say that seeing as the man killed a number of people and wasn't caught. [ He pauses. ] Until I killed him in return.

[ Erik had seen a few men similar to whom she described when they woke up a second time, but this, he reasoned, wasn't the same. ] There's a number of men like that around here that fit that description. Are you sure there's nothing more specific about him?

It is good that you were successful, then. I do not believe that a man should be allowed to escape punishment for his sins simply because he is able to elude the law. [That's what bounty hunters and precocious fourteen-year-old girls are for.]

If I had a picture of him I would show it to you, but I do not. He calls himself by a false name here, Haymitch Abernathy. When I saw him he was unshaven, and he walks with a swagger and has a rude manner.

[ He's not to foolish as to believe her right off the bat, when she had spoken of another name, another mention. But it speaks to him anyway, the mention of a man who doesn't follow the name they're familiar with; Klaus Schmidt to Sebastian Shaw, and it hits him deliberately, that he's doing such a thing again. ]

And you say he looks identical to the man you're familiar with? Is that man also prone to lying as well?

Mister LaBeouf tells me he has hunted Tom Chaney for other crimes under numerous other names. My papa gave him honest work even though he he did not deserve such kindness, and he was murdered and robbed in thanks for it. Lying is the very least of all his sins, but I have no doubt that he is well-versed in it.

[Mattie's anger pushes away the uncertainty she'd been feeling over Tom Chaney versus Haymitch Abernathy. The right man will get what's coming to him, she feels sure of that much at least.]

[ He's a pushover for matters such as these, and she's a child, brave and bold as she is right now, that Erik can barely resist. There's a part of him that still remains suspicious, but he takes her words at face value - that perhaps this Haymitch is worth looking into regardless. Maybe for her, maybe for Erik's own need to understand each and every one on board, but he does it regardless. ]

Entering in an agreement with someone you don't know, Mattie. I hope you realize the implications that come with wronging me, however honest you are about this.

We have not made our agreement office, Mister Magneto. I intend to take you up on your suggestion and ask about in order ascertain your reputation. However, I am unconcerned about any retribution. I always keep my end of a bargain, and I expect that you will keep yours as well.

[Rooster Cogburn learned that one quick enough, and there are plenty more folk back in Arkansas who could attest to Mattie's particular attention to the concept of fairness.]

[ Smarter than she looks and Erik cracks the barest of smirks in response to that. ]

I'll give you credit for that, but be warned. Not everyone's opinions are honest of me and are tainted by their own views. [ Not that Erik is stopping her, but there are a handful of people aboard the ships whose perceptions have been warped by Erik's own actions and their differing beliefs. ]

Once we enter this agreement, you'll find I'm just as honest you are to me.

I will take that into consideration, and weigh all the information I receive against the possibility of bias.

[She gives a sharp nod, approving. So far he's been far easier to bargain with than Cogburn ever was, which makes her hopeful. And he seems sober, which is also a plus.]

Then we shall be equally satisfied with the arrangement, I think.

[ Erik's tolerance for alcohol is nearly unrivaled, but he has yet to put it to the test against several on board the ship. Thor and Haymitch, he's looking at you. ]

Were this any other case, I'd say I'm impressed by your maturity. To have been through so much and remain levelheaded.

I dare say your father would have been proud.

I have always been levelheaded. Crying and carrying on will not fix things, and it will not get me Tom Chaney on the hangman's stand.

[It's clear as day that those words about her father affect Mattie a great deal, and she smiles for the first time since their conversation began.]

Thank you. That is what I want.

[ He doesn't resist his own smile either, warm as it is, to see a young girl after his own heart. She's grown up to handle something that could potentially affect her life considerably, and here she is, taking everything in stride, that if they hadn't agreed on the deal earlier, and her own insistence to find out the kind of man Erik is, maybe he would have been more honest. ]

I wish you the best of luck, then. I'll see what I can do for you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

001: [video]

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted

video | 100% encrypted