A Gentleman Above All - Kitana_Coldfire (2024)

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter Text

Growing up, Logan used to think life in Sandrock moved at a snail's pace. It was peaceful, quiet, and not much ever really changed about the town itself.

And during his initial two years on the run, all three notions held true. Heck– the last big event in town had been the one that had caused his exodus in the first place.

Over the past year or so, however, Logan quickly learned that the last part of his long-standing mentality was no longer completely accurate. Sure, for the most part the first two held firm: When nothing was happening in town, nothing was happening. And as of late, things had gone back to the familiar peace and quiet he had grown to miss (if not crave).

But over the past year especially, that last notion was where things started to get fuzzy, because Logan started to notice that– for the first time… ever, really- whenever sh*t moved in Sandrock, it moved fast.

The cause of the change wasn’t some grand mystery: during his last year on the run, not one, but two new transplant builders had moved to Sandrock and got straight to work whipping the town back into shape. And while that alone had been surprising news, he was just glad to know that projects around the town were actually getting done for once.

The first builder to arrive had been Mi-an, a hardworking gal hailing from a long line of Tallsky builders, who had moved to Sandrock specifically in an attempt to try and turn the town’s declining state around. And the second builder was–

…well.

It didn’t take Logan too terribly long to find out that the other builder was actually a completely different animal altogether.

To put it simply: She was good; almost too good. In fact, if asked now, he would go as far as to say that girl was a 'goddamn Professional'– and he did not hand out that praise lightly.

So when Grace first described her as the ‘ballerina-turned-builder from Highwind’, he had actually laughed in her face, because he honestly thought she was joking.

It stopped being funny to him when she followed it up with what (to this day) made up nearly the full scope of Logan’s personal knowledge of the 'hellcat’s' prior history: right up until just a few years ago, the town’s newest builder had every intention of being a professional dancer (she had actually been an honest-to-Peach ballerina). But…due to an unfortunate stage accident, she had been forced to switch to her second choice of professions before her first career ever really had a chance to get off the ground.

And while of course he felt bad for the girl, Logan also had much bigger things to worry about at the time than sniffing out the full biography of someone who quite literally tried to rip his face off during their first real fight.

Should he have taken up Grace’s offer to conduct a more thorough background check on the Builder after that fight? Probably!- at least then he might not have bothered trying to test the girl when the agent suggested bringing her in on the investigation. And without a doubt, he would have also gotten some answers to several questions that now felt… inappropriate to ask after getting to know her.

Then again… he had always preferred to get a person’s story straight from the source; after all, who was he to pry into someone’s personal affairs without their say-so? (You know, so long as those ‘personal affairs’ weren't a conspiracy to dry up the town’s water supply...)

Admittedly though, it was one of his looser policies to begin with, but… in Logan’s own opinion– so long as they weren’t hurting anyone else- everyone on this earth had the right to keep at least some things about themselves private from the rest of the world. And at the end of the day, no one was entitled to know anything about anyone else's personal experiences– and especially not without their consent.

So when the builder accidentally ended up revealing one of her most closely-held secrets to him (along with Haru and Yan) during what had since been deemed the ‘Civil Corps Debacle’ by certain parties…

Well, needless to say that incident had been the start of several things, the least of which being a now-conscious effort on Logan’s part to try and not pry too deeply into the builder’s life pre-Sandrock if she wasn’t already comfortable sharing it herself. As far as he was concerned, if there was any one person who had earned the right to keep their past to themselves, it would undoubtedly be her.

That being said… his list of questions about her life since moving to Sandrock only grew by the day- though, to be fair, most of his ‘questions’ had actually been more… personal curiosities than anything else.

For example: prior to his departure, workshop availability for builders was given on a first-come-first-serve basis– yet somehow, she had managed to get the prime real estate workshop on the outskirts of town over Mi-an, even though the Tallskyer moved to Sandrock at least two weeks before her.

And while that alone was odd, it only got curiouser from there.

Over the years, Logan had seen plenty of desert transplants come and go, but builders in particular always seemed to end up floundering the first few years as they found their footing in the harsh environment (assuming they even stuck around that long).

There were plenty of reasons why that was. For one, the climate day-in and day-out remained virtually the same; when the monotony of 'hot, dry, and unforgiving' was broken up, it was usually by one of three things: potentially dangerous sandstorms, the occasional winter snow (or, more commonly, sleet), and the even more rare autumn rainfall.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, creature comforts were often in short supply as well; any variety in food had to be imported, water was heavily rationed, and with the exception of minerals and relics, most building materials were generally limited to whatever scrap happened to be blown in from the desert on any given day.

But if Mi-an's relatively quick adaptation to the desert had impressed him, then he had been downright astonished to see her Highwind-born compatriot seemingly thriving in comparison.

Watching the ex-ballerina operate, one would think she had lived in the desert her whole damn life. Burgess considered her a true comrade-in-arms when it came to water conservation; her quick hands for scrap salvaging was on par with anyone in Rocky’s crew; heck, before Haru left Merle in her care, she even chose to ride a camel instead of a horse– only the most seasoned of desert dwellers took on that task! (Though he’d be lying if he said his first time seeing her on that particular camel hadn’t been a shock to him in its own right.)

However, there had been one aspect of desert living that had caused her a fair deal of problems; namely in that she was constantly on the brink of having a literal power struggle on her hands.

Living at the prime workshop space across the tracks had one big drawback for the builder: The former owner, Mason, never had the property connected to the town’s power grid. That meant that all her power- for both workshop and home– had come solely from the fire-powered generator that now sat at the front of her workyard.

And while the robust generator was capable of running anything and everything she could ask for in most cases, it did carry one major flaw: it was outside. Even with a sandwall up, it tended to get overheated during a sandstorm (and sometimes just in general, especially during the hotter months), making it difficult for the builder to run too much equipment in less than optimal conditions; Otherwise, she’d have to run the risk of losing power entirely if it shut off.

It was a frustrating problem she had faced multiple times over the past year of her living in Sandrock, and had caused more than one major town project to end up stalled through no real fault of her own. As a whole though, it had undoubtedly driven her to be downright dogmatic about her energy conservation methods.

And, funnily enough… as an indirect result of the builder rectifying her energy crisis, Logan somehow ended up learning first-hand just how fast sh*t in Sandrock could really move nowadays.

The whole thing had started almost exactly two months prior, when the Alliance suddenly contacted the builder out of the blue with a proposal to pay for a brand new centralized power unit to be installed inside the factory she was (at the time) building onto her home.

The sudden offer was undoubtedly fishy; he personally suspected Grace’s official debrief had something to do with it– the telegraph just so happened to come two days after she left for Atara, after all– however, the ACI agent had refused to confirm or deny her involvement in the matter. Officially though, the offer had been made solely in recognition of her ‘consistently stellar performance as a professional' (reasoning which in and of itself WAS valid). But… anyone privy to what happened during the Invasion could tell right off the bat that it was more or less an attempt at damage control.

And while he thought she was owed a hell of a lot more- from both them and him (especially considering the role he had played in the… state he found her in two days after the occupation had begun)– when he brought up as much to her during his community service time at the workshop, the builder herself had seemed to have no qualms with accepting the paltry reparations from either party.

Or… at least, for the time being.

“Bandit, I’m not gonna deny you owe me a big f*ckin’ favor, but– without a doubt– you paid me back for that one already.”

She hadn’t hesitated for a second to reassure him of her stance on the topic, giving his hand an amicable pat as they stood next to each other on opposite sides of her fence. “Don't worry though, I’m sure I’ll find some reason to collect on your due sooner rather than later.”

She didn’t seem to want to dwell on the matter further, instead turning her attention back to watching the Alliance and guild engineers hard at work on installing the state-of-the-art unit into (what was now) the factory attached to her house.

“But when it comes to these f*ckers…?” She purred, the smugness returning to her sharp green eyes. “Well, they know they owe me a hell of a lot more than a fancy-ass generator– That's for sure. In their case, though… I'm in no rush to collect; in fact– the longer I drag it out, the better…”

It was an outlook he wasn't sure he fully believed at the time- sh*t, he still didn’t completely understand it, truth be told.

...But at the same time, he couldn’t deny the results; especially after he realized that her power crisis had pretty much been the only thing really holding her back.

While the new exclusively power-stone fueled unit was smaller and less powerful than the fire-powered one outside (he later learned it actually needed the larger generator for support when she ran certain things for long periods), it was still more than capable of running her two-story home and at least some of the factory’s machines entirely on its own.

Meaning: the already automated factory was able to continually produce materials in at least some capacity at all times, Sand, Snow, Sleet, or Shine.

And the day the factory itself had been completed, the builder went straight to work on almost anything and everything the townsfolk posted commissions for; hell, as many delivery runs as he saw her on during his community service, he had half expected her camel– who was already older than dirt to begin with– to drop dead from exhaustion before his damn sentence was up.

But after one eventful day in particular, he had unexpectedly learned that– what had since been regarded as an undeniable boon for the town– had rapidly become both a blessing and a curse for the builder herself.

Truthfully, he had been well aware the that personal circ*mstances for the builder leading up to the task the trio had been assigned at the overrun Portia tunnel hadn’t exactly been ideal for her, but... he still somehow never expected her to show up armed only with her pistols and daggers (he never could bring himself to ask why she hadn’t at least brought the shotgun). Still, considering how capable of a fighter he knew she was even without her primary weapons on hand, he had fully expected the mission to be relatively smooth sailing.

Suffice to say... calling the tunnel operation a ‘sh*tshow’ would be putting it almost politely.

They made it maybe ten meters in before he learned first-hand why she used daggers as a last-resort option; if she wasn’t dropping one or both of them on practically every other swing, she was inadvertently flinging them at him (and/or Elsie).

And while at first it had been fairly amusing to see one of the most talented bladesmiths he had ever met be almost laughably incompetent wielding her own creations, the novelty of the situation had undeniably worn off by the time she got hoisted into the air to install the first whistle. Even Elsie– who wanted to keep things as non-lethal as possible– was somewhat relieved when the builder was given sniper duty; after all, while the woman may have been terrible with the most mundane of melee weapons, everyone in town knew she was nothing if not a damn good sharpshooter.

…six shots, four misses, and one near miss in, they learned just how 'off' of a day she was really having.

Thankfully for him (and Elsie), the builder eventually managed to get her sh*t together by the time it was all said and done– but dodging multiple forms of friendly fire for several hours had left him (and Elsie) in quite the sour mood with her by the time the three finally made their way back to City Hall. He was actually so mad at her, even Trudy unexpectedly declaring his debt to society paid in full at the end of the meeting only marginally managed to lift his spirits.

So when the builder immediately offered to buy them both a drink following the announcement to ‘celebrate’, he almost declined (Elsie sure as hell did), but… something about the look in her eye as she extended the invitation told him not to turn her down.

After careful consideration, he ended up agreeing on the condition that– after ordering his one drink– he wouldn't be on speaking terms with her for at least the rest of the night; not that she let that stop her (sh*t, she probably ended up doing enough talking for the both of them by the time it was all said and done).

And– to his actual amazement- the moment they were left alone at the bar for the first time, his initial instinct ended up being right on the money.

“Logan, I am so goddamn sorry. You have every right to be pissed off with me– I was a complete f*cking mess today.”

The apology had come so suddenly (and abruptly) that he nearly dropped his damn drink– and apparently his shock had been evident enough on his face that she picked it up right away. “sh*t, man– Of course I’m gonna apologize. f*ck, the way you’re looking at me, I’d almost say you didn’t think I knew how...”

“...and while it’s no excuse for being a total wreck in the tunnel– …truth is, I’ve kinda been running on fumes the last few days...” The normally enigmatic woman all but confessed, cradling her head in her hands as she sighed. “The factory didn’t come cheap, so… to cover my losses, I’ve been taking all the commissions I’m allotted daily in addition to the last pieces of the bus station the town assigned to me. Might end up eating through my raw supply stockpile a bit faster than I anticipated, but…”

Glancing at his face, she then seemed to have judged him as ‘concerned’ about her predicament (which admittedly he was, but he had tried very hard not to show it). “I'll be fine, Bandit– I just need a few days to get my sh*t sorted out, is all. But… I promise I won’t let you or Elsie down like that ever again– Light, what a goddamn clusterf*ck…” She had assured him, taking a sip off her (second) drink of the night before meeting his eyes seriously.

“That said– even if you are still pissed at me, don’t think for a second I’m gonna miss Haru’s going-away party tomorrow. And no matter how busy I get, I will always have time for Andy.” She snorted into her glass as she changed the subject. “f*ck, you should see him playing with Nemo– y’know. I actually think my dog might love YOUR kid more than he does me. Like– sh*t! One time…”

While the drink alone may not have made up for her almost shooting him half a dozen times, at the very least, the actual sincere apology from the famously brash woman had managed to get her off his sh*t list before they left the bar. And even though he had still been somewhat miffed with her by the time watched her get safely across the tracks later (the literal least he could do), her earlier sentiments of genuine affection towards his son had been something that he had taken to heart.

Though, it also helped that Andy had made it extremely clear on several prior occasions just how much he looked up to the builder as a person– something he admittedly had been more than slightly concerned about at first, considering his own initial misgivings about her morality (if not sanity overall). But... after hearing all the stories she had told him over her third whiskey neat (Owen later got more than just a questionable look for that one), it wasn’t difficult for him to come to the conclusion that– when it came to his son- the feeling of care was undoubtedly mutual on her part.

So when Andy woke up a few days after Haru’s departure with a high fever, the first thing he did was head to the workshop across the tracks to ask the builder to pay them a visit if she managed to get the chance later that day– just to cheer the kid up.

It had been out of courtesy more than anything else; at the same time, though… he wasn’t quite sure what exactly possessed him to go to the builder’s place before even stopping by Fang’s to restock his supply of proper medication (hell, as early as he got there, he was kinda surprised she was even awake). But he had honestly thought it would be fine; after all, Andy was fast asleep when he left, and he was only out of the house for twenty, no more than thirty minutes at most.

...So when he walked through the door and heard his son upstairs– awake and howling in anguish…

He outright panicked so badly, his mind went blank for what felt like an eternity; hell- what thoughts he could recall past the initial fear and guilt setting in at that moment were still mostly a blur to this day.

In reality, it probably only took maybe five seconds for him to recover and haul ass up the stairs to the room he shared with the boy. And when he finally made it through the doorway–

…there she was, looking exactly as she had when he knocked on her door that morning (almost exactly as she had that day!)– hair unbraided, makeup barely done (f*ck, now that he knew, he could almost make out her scar!)- just… calmly cradling and soothing his son in his absence as Andy clung to her and bawled incomprehensibly from the fever.

He had never asked her to come sit with the boy– he certainly never even implied as much (sh*t, truth be told? It didn’t even cross his mind as being an option). At most, he had figured she might drop in if she had time later that afternoon, at the earliest.

But the second he laid eyes on her, already there, just waiting for him to get back…

f*ck. He’d be a liar if he said he didn’t start bawling himself; he was just so damn relieved and indebted and… goddamn grateful to her at that very moment.

A single lifeline of support from someone who was both a friend and yet a stranger- a stranger he undoubtedly, undeniably still felt he had wronged not all that long ago. Support that he himself didn’t realize he desperately needed until put into the first real situation where it truly was just him in a town full of family that he just couldn’t bring himself to ask for help from because… after everything he had done, what if they…

And while she initially met his eyes in acknowledgement of his presence, she never stopped what she was doing. She just kept on rocking and comforting Andy as he gradually digressed into whimpering into her shoulder, like it was the one damn thing she had been put on this earth to do.

No hesitation, no annoyance, no words- it was like she had simply walked in, sat down, and did her goddamn job.

His goddamn job.

She just continued to patiently await his arrival; carried on with his duty for him– as if he had never even entered the room– and all without an ounce of judgment in her face as she watched him sob out his own frustrations and fears and appreciations to her at the foot of his own bed, keeping silent as the grave the entire time.

And when he was finally done and had his sh*t properly pulled back together?

She quietly swapped places with him, only opening her mouth to speak once he had Andy securely in his own arms.

“...he thought I was Haru when I first walked in– I didn’t want to upset him more by giving away that I wasn’t. Though… I’m willing to bet that a stand-in for his Uncle isn’t gonna hold a candle to his actual Pa.”

After that, she went straight to work preparing the medicine he brought back just as Fang had written (that she could even read the scrawled instructions the doctor insisted on sending was a small miracle in and of itself). And to his relief, by the time she returned from the kitchen after mixing the tonic and letting it properly settle, she ended up being two-for-two on winning bets: Andy’s delirium had fully broken, to the point he was actually coming around.

…in fact, he had recovered so much, not only did he properly recognize her when she walked back into the room, he also felt well enough to turn his pitiable state into a goddamn sales-pitch.

And- Light bless that woman– the look that came over her face the moment Andy said that he had been working on the design for nearly two days straight without sleep– he reckoned she probably would’ve tanned the boy’s hide right that second had he not already been suffering the consequences of his own stupidity (And f*ck- after the stunt the kid had just pulled? He would’ve let her, too; ‘Mortified’ couldn’t even begin to describe how he felt).

It wasn’t until later that he realized she ended up staying with them for almost the entire morning, even going so far as to quietly make lunch and prepare a decent dinner for the pair in advance at some point. And although she initially complimented the design, he had been highly skeptical that she would actually be willing (or able) to take on the challenge of building the piece of armor the ‘diagram’ supposedly portrayed– especially considering how far behind on actual work she had to have been by that point.

Yet… at about the same time the very next morning, she was back, knocking on his door bearing gifts (in stark contrast to the REST of the town, who had just let themselves in).

And the surprises didn’t stop there.

“Andy, I gotta be honest: when I first saw that diagram, I could hardly believe how much you’d improved on your own in such a short period of time.”

As far as he could tell, both the praise and the impressed smile she gave his son as the boy inspected the masterpiece she had somehow brought to life for him seemed completely genuine. “But– from one self-taught diagrammer to another…? You’d do well to stick with Qi, kiddo. Sure, I’ll be glad to get you started with the basics of diagramming, but… the Director? He'll help you go places.”

“Oh, and speaking of going places, that reminds me…” All of a sudden, her face and tone shifted to one so impressively stern, even Jasmine visibly straightened up. “See, right before he left, Haru personally asked me to step up as second-in-command of the gang in his absence. So while it’s still Logan’s job to care and to watch out for the main members of the posse, it’s now my job to back. him. up. …Got it?”

Once Andy had squeaked out a confirmation for her, she smiled warmly again. “Good, glad we’re on the same page, then.” The smile then dropped from her face again in an instant.

“That said however: if we find out that you’ve been outright skipping sleep again, you best believe I will be on board with dishing out whatever consequences the gang Leader deems appropriate myself- and kid? Count yourself lucky HE'S calling the shots on that, because… well. ” She huffed out sharply, an almost manic tone to her breath. “...let's just say I can get exceptionally CREATIVE in that particular department.”

Overt threats to his son aside, her confident assertions weren’t something he had been expecting; But… he’d be damned if he didn’t roll with them in the moment.

At the same time, however… he also knew full well that at least part of her claim was total and complete bullsh*t.

So, after the other well-wishers had left and Andy was out cold from his last dose of meds, for the first time since getting to actually know each other, the two sat down at his kitchen table and… just talked .

They started with the invasion as a whole– mainly on how he thought she was just being polite in her reassurances to try and absolve him of his guilt, but… he had been both relieved and surprised to learn that she truly held no bad blood about the whole ordeal (well, at least in regards to him). In her eyes, the whole incident really was water under the bridge for them.

Then, after the air had been cleared over their– well, mostly his– lingering misconceptions… they moved on to other subjects. Such as… what had happened at the Civil Corps office the morning of his third day in jail.

…or, rather, he tried to talk about it; all she seemed to care about was him promising her that he would never reveal the existence of her scar to another soul (while also assuring that neither would Miguel or Haru, for that matter). He had honestly expected her to need more than just his word on that, but… apparently not, as she seemed to consider that matter settled entirely afterwards too.

(...then again… after their second fight, he had hardly even finished explaining what really happened during the Temple incident before she said: ‘f*ck, I KNEW that whole thing smelled like sh*t. Whatever you guys are doing, I’m in.' So even from the start, he knew the girl’s sense of reasoning was nothing if not her own.)

Nevertheless, they simply moved on to the next subject; namely– …what had happened the previous morning, just one room over.

And… just like the previous morning, she then sat quietly and listened all over again as he went through everything he had been keeping to himself the past few weeks; Granted, this time he wasn’t sobbing his words, and she was absently eating leftover banana-orange gelatin (offered as a token of thanks for her additional assistance in staying to un-tidy some of the tidying decisions made by certain parties). But otherwise, the topics themselves remained the same.

She never interrupted, never judged, didn’t even ask a single question; the whole time she seemed perfectly content to just… hear him out as he lightened his own burden by gradually laying everything out on the table.

He went over his frustration about the totally foreign situation he had suddenly found himself in.

How… ridiculous he felt for still feeling afraid to ask anything from the people he had known his entire life- even though that day alone had proven he had a place among them.

He reiterated how grateful he felt to her for providing assistance– assistance he had never even realized he needed at the time.

And finally… a confession: that– when it came to Andy, at least– he was so far in over his f*cking head he didn’t know which goddamn way was up.

Then when he was finally done, and everything was out in the open...?

Well… the first thing she did was confirm that her ‘conversation’ with Haru had never happened; it was a cover she had cooked up to believably explain her extended presence at his house yesterday– both to Andy and the nearby eavesdroppers- in order to keep all parties collective mouths’ shut (both now and potentially in the future, if needed).

And truth be told: while he honestly didn’t understand what the latter meant at the time- though he sure as f*ckFigured It Out a few weeks later- he had fully expected the former (Otherwise, Haru would have gotten one HELL of a letter later). If nothing else, though, he truly appreciated her taking the time to figure out how to frame the incident in a way his usually obstinate son both understood and respected.

But… the lingering question(s) still remained:

‘Why?’

The builder’s answers to that single loaded question were nothing he had ever expected– or at least… not coming from her.

“Logan… in regards to being abruptly forced into foreign situations, let's just say I’ve been thrown to the wolves more than my fair share of times. I know first-hand that it’s neither easy nor fun, so… when I know someone is gonna be struggling, I try my damndest to help them find their footing– doubly so when they’re new to town.”

Seeing the look on his face, she had then rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure– you may not be NEW, per-se, but… well, f*ck man– you went from being part of a perfectly synchronized dynamic-duo to a single parent with a sick kid on your hands practically overnight! sh*t, if you had told me on the train platform the morning Haru left that you weren’t out of your depth, I would have called you a f*cking liar right there to your goddamn face.”

As he reeled from the truth-bomb she had unceremoniously dropped on him, she followed it up with a sympathetic, almost knowing smile. “And… while we haven’t known each other very long at this point, I do know that... sometimes it's easier to ask for help from someone who’s closer to being a stranger than it is someone you’ve known for years...”

“That being said: I’m always happy to help with Andy; if you ever want to send him over to my place on the weekends– either for a few hours so I can actually give him some proper diagram lessons, or even overnight so you can have a break– … just do it. You don’t even need to ask beforehand.” She shrugged casually– as if she hadn’t just offered to lift an enormous amount of weight off his shoulders without a hint of hesitation. "Doesn’t have to be forever, either; it could just be until Qi’s satisfied with his skill level in the subject, or… maybe until you feel comfortable asking other people for help again." She snorted, taking a bite out of the gelatin on her plate. “Hell, if 'nything, I’d say it’s prolly 'bout time he got to actually use one of the rooms I kinda built onto my house for ‘im…”

Glancing up as she swallowed, her face then seemingly mirrored the undoubtedly shocked look on his own. “Oh… sh*t. D-did Andy never... tell you about that? ” She asked hesitantly, giving him a small, nervous laugh as she did (had he ever heard her truly nervous before?) “Logan, when... Trudy was trying to figure out what to do with Andy after he had been caught… both the Church and I offered to take him in, right then and there. I wanted him to become my junior apprentice– I just could tell right away he had loads of potential.”

As she slowly shook off the awkwardness of being the one to reveal this fact to him, she began to clink her spoon against the plate tersely. “...Unfortunately for me, though… Miguel just barely managed to sway Trudy to his side. Said that– even though an apprenticeship could probably provide just as much ‘discipline’ and ‘education’ as the Church’s Sunday school program– Andy would also be able to have ‘good male role models’ AND his own room at the temple dorms; To be honest?- I just think he didn’t want to do the goddamn paperwork..." The builder paused for a moment as he felt a familiar sense of ire begin to rapidly well up within her. "…But, whenhe also added a VERY thinly-veiled aside about my ‘home’ being ‘crude’ and ‘unfit’...?”

“-Well, f*ck Me if I didn’t go STRAIGHT to Heidi’s office to have her add TWO extra rooms onto the ALREADY approved floorplan for the new house and then break ground on it the very next f*cking day." She scoffed, almost seethingly spooning up another mouthful of gelatin before continuing. "Though… ‘ccording to Burgess: ‘pparently after everythin' was initially settled, Matilda ended up hunting the Good Pastor down to Royally chew. his. ass. OUT for that little ‘editorial comment’; said he had never seen her more furious at ‘im in his life…"

After she gradually chewed her own anger out for a moment before swallowing it, she then added quietly, "...y’know, even though she turned out to be a traitor in the end...? It’s… actually still kinda nice knowing she would have had my back on that, at least."

~~~

Following their initial two interactions, Logan had held two very strong opinions on The Builder as a whole: first, that she was undoubtedly skilled enough as professional to turn Mason’s old, run-down workshop into something worthwhile; and second, that she was very much capable of holding her own in a fight– both of which, to him, were respectable feats in their own rights.

Then, gradually over the course of recruiting her for the investigation and fighting alongside her during the invasion, she had subsequently become a friend and (generally– mostly- usually) competent comrade-in-arms; heck, following that night at the bar, he’d even go so far as to call her a good friend.

But… that one singular conversation (over gelatin of all things), had abruptly elevated her to something he was in dangerously low supply at the time; someone worthy of real trust in multiple forms: A confidante.

And although the Builder didn’t know it, that didn't change the fact that she was now someone who he cared about just as much as he did Grace or Haru. And as a direct result of his own newfound care, Logan then began to consciously take in the smaller things; make more careful observations about her as a whole.

And after he started to notice the more minute details… it actually didn’t take very long for Logan to start realizing that… something was actually very wrong...

~~~

If the slightly dark circles under her eyes hadn’t been his first clue, then he would've hoped that her otherwise frazzled and uncharacteristically pessimistic demeanor at the development dinner would have at least given him pause.

At the time though, he couldn’t really fault her for either; by the time the dinner itself had rolled around, he happened to learn from Mi-an that her compatriot’s earlier prediction about her materials stockpile running out had actually come true. With as many commissions as she was having to take to make ends meet, it was currently all she could do to notburn through her supplies as quickly as she acquired them.

But if keeping up with her regular commissions hadn’t already become hard enough, after the dinner concluded, her obligations to the town had magnified significantly; she was suddenly saddled with not only making a clock for the new school, but also handling multiple key infrastructure sections for the tree planting project as well (why they insisted on having her work directly on every single town project when there were two capable builders was still beyond him).

Still, when he picked up Andy the next day from his diagram lesson, she had assured him she had things completely under control. In fact, she had seemed so confident, he had even felt comfortable broaching the subject of the Watchtower with her.

And unexpectedly… he ended up getting his second clue that something was terribly amiss: the one woman in town who was always willing to take on a new project flat-out told him ‘No’.

“Logan, I’m so sorry but… I can’t. I’ve got so much on my goddamn plate after that development dinner that I gotta make cuts where I can.” She had sighed, sincere regret in her tone. “That said… I can do THIS much for you, at least…”

Before he hardly even registered what was happening, she’d already whipped out a mechanical pencil and sketchbook from… somewhere and leaned over her outdoor worktable to rapidly hash out an architectural diagram for the project in front of his very eyes.

“...it’s not the prettiest design, but– I promise you, it’ll get the job done.” She muttered when she was finally finished, before ripping the page out of her book and handing it off to him as he stared dumbly. “And if you take that to Heidi right now and tell her that I’m calling in a favor to bump you to the front of the line, I’d put money on her crew getting it up for you before they get started on the big sh*t.”

She then paused, almost as if she was considering something for a moment. “Also… just to be safe, tell her that I’ll go out and perform the final inspection FOR her when it’s done. f*ck– if the fact that I’m actually pulling a favor isn’t already enough, she’ll undoubtedly cave as soon as she hears that."

Girl was three-for-three; sure enough, the architects’ crew had the Watchtower up in a flash just a few days later.

In the meantime, however, his observations only got more worrisome– mainly in that he was actually able to directly observe her more often. Every day of the construction, they crossed paths at some point– her out on material runs and him out on patrol– and each time he saw her, she looked more worn down and sleep-deprived than the last.

By the time the tower was actually finished, he knew she needed help– but at the same time, he also knew she’d never accept it. After all, one of the first things he ever learned about her was that her bullheaded stubbornness was matched only by her sense of pride and fierce determination to maintain her independence.

So when Haru sent them both letters shortly after his arrival in Atara asking for their combined assistance with a project set upon him by one of his professors, he nearly wrote back to thank him for his own unwitting assistance. Additionally, her offer to do the final inspection in Heidi’s stead had given her a reason to work him into her already packed schedule, in turn giving him the opportunity to meet up in private to initially broach the subject(s) themselves.

And in the end, it couldn’t have been a more perfect opportunity: even in spite of an initial delay by some unwelcome guests, the inspection itself hadn’t taken her nearly as much time as she had anticipated it would (she had actually cleared the rest of her schedule for the afternoon just in case it took that long).

With her having no other plans, she had been more than happy to accept his invitation to sit for a spell up in the tower itself; and once the topic had been brought up, he’d been ecstatic to find she was fully on board with accepting his help!

…with taking the pictures for Haru’s project.

Truthfully, he had never expected to win outright when it came to his own proposal in one sitting– Hell, the last time he had to reach an agreeable compromise with her, it had taken multiple attempts over the course of two days. So… what began as a casual afternoon chat quickly turned into the beginnings of a war of attrition. Between them constantly getting side-tracked conversation-wise at every turn– and her continually balking at his offer to help her gather materials as payment for her part in his brother’s project– they ended up staying in the tower ‘til damn near sunset.

And while he had obviously been pleased when she ended up caving after only a few hours, it also concerned him– for her to give up a fight so easily meant she must have been more exhausted than she let on. Still… she hadn’t been too tired to not add a few caveats of her own into the agreement...

“Peach playing poker– Fine, FINE! You win! I’ll let you f*ckin’ help…!” She had suddenly huffed in exasperation, midway through only their fourth round of negotiation.

Startled by his easy victory– in record time to boot- he had simply chuckled in response and waited patiently for her to come up with the initial terms of the arrangement for the both of them. (He wasn’t too proud to admit it was better that way– especially considering he hadn’t gotten any farther plan-wise at that point than ‘attempt to get her to agree to his help’.)

“...I’ll give you a big list once a week you can work on gradually– But! If anyone asks, you’re doing a few small runs three times a week just to cover our asses. ” She muttered begrudgingly at last, only partially tempering the annoyance in her voice. “We’ll mostly stick to what you did during your community service run– scrap and power stones– but since there’s no sense in you being down in the mines when you can gather sh*t and patrol simultaneously, I’ll keep acquiring my raw minerals myself. I may also ask for hunted materials too– if I happen to need anything from whatever's already posted on the bounty board that week…”

After he nodded in agreement to the completely– if not suspiciously– acceptable terms, she continued. “Alright then, come by my place in the morning. We’ll hash out a proper schedule, and… I’ll give you a list of what I can use right away to get the school orders under control. But, make no mistake: as far as I’m concerned? This is gonna be a legit professional relationship, so don't low-ball your quote, or I’m gonna pay you double what you ask. Oh, and alsoIwillbecookingyoubreakfastonthedaysyoucomeover.”

He had barely gotten his mouth open to argue the sudden additional clauses before she cut him off again. “Logan, if you’re doing my damn legwork for me, at the very least it’s not gonna be on an empty stomach. Those are my terms, yakboy– accept the free meal and fair payment, or deal’s off the table.” She then crossed her arms and waited expectantly until he finally shut his mouth. “...that’s what I thought.”

“...Now, as much fun as I always seem to have shooting the sh*t with you– the… gelatin conversation notwithstanding– it is legitimately starting to get cold up here.” A casual, if not tired, smile curled at the corner of her mouth for a moment, as she nodded towards the outpost below. “...but… if you wanna take our conversation inside, I won’t say no to keeping you company a bit longer...”

…and while he hadn’t wanted to turn her down– truthfully, he had come to enjoy their extended chats just as much as she had– but… due to the unexpectedly quick turnaround by Heidi’s crew, he still hadn’t really had a chance to get the interior of the outpost orderly enough for visitors quite yet (sh*t- it was still so much of a wreck, he didn’t even want Elsie in there at the time). Plus, it was obvious enough that she needed sleep more than anything else in the world right then. So when he arrived the next morning and saw how much more rested she already looked, he knew letting her head home to turn in early had been the right call.

And the improvements to her well-being overall had only compounded from there. With him now helping cover some of her supply chain worries, she had been able to dedicate the majority of her efforts into tackling the multiple projects happening in town– and boy, did she play to win.

First, she wasted no time getting her infrastructure obligations for the greenification efforts out of the way; and although she didn’t need to, she ended up actually participating in the tree planting effort itself just to keep occupied while she waited for his initial delivery of scrap to finish processing through her recyclers (though, the fact that she constantly felt the need to keep herself busy at all times was something that still worried him to a degree).

But once that first order of scrap had finally been refined and properly sorted, she’d been pleasantly surprised to find she actually had more than enough materials in her coffers to set her factory to task around the clock again- producing supplies for the school's construction just about as fast as Heidi could ask for them.

If that hadn't already been a positive on its own, after finishing her own greenification obligations, Mi-an volunteered to take over monitoring the factory and delivering supplies and commissions in her stead, affording her the opportunity to do something else that hadn't been mandated, but was appreciated nonetheless: She went to work on building the school herself.

And Light– after watching her actually build something for the first time, he started to realize why people almost insisted on calling her ‘the builder’ over her actual name: the girl had no problem efficiently working on almost every aspect of the building process near single-handedly. She would cut and pre-assemble wooden framework pieces for the other workers to hoist into place; rappel herself from scaffolding to do paint work that Heidi's crew would've otherwise needed multiple ladders to reach; fitted the pipes for the building’s plumbing setup (y'know, for a desert town with active water rationing in place, she was called upon for plumbing-adjacent jobs more frequently than he might have previously imagined…).

And thanks entirely to her unexpected personal involvement on the project, the school was completed an entire month ahead of schedule. Even better: after Trudy telegraphed Walnut Groove to let the teacher know they were already finished, she ended up just… arriving two days later without any forewarning and got straight to lesson prep (Andy’s howls of mourning after he learned his extended ‘vacation’ had been unceremoniously cut short could only be described as theatrical).

However, her ability to focus her attention on the town's issues wasn’t the only thing that was on the upswing: after only a few weeks of using Haru’s experimental skin cream, there was visible improvement in her burn scar at large; hell, even if she hadn’t said as much herself a few times, her continually brightening mood and drastically reduced make-up use at each of his subsequent visits would've undoubtedly given away the fact that the discomfort it caused her overall was starting to improve as well– if not emotionally, then at the very least physically .

Unfortunately though, despite this marked improvement, she still made her compulsion to continue keeping it under wraps clearly apparent; and while he personally didn't agree with the necessity of that choice, in the end… that wasn’t something that was up to him. So, he simply resolved to continue helping his brother improve her outlook on the subject for as long the two deemed necessary.

And although he initially disliked the notion of her unnecessarily inconveniencing herself by cooking for him three times a week… it didn’t take very long for him to admit to himself that he'd actually begun looking forward to the now comfortable routine of breakfast table conversations every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. While the conversations themselves were rarely very long– after all, they were both usually pretty busy people on weekdays– even their abbreviated mealtime discussions were enjoyable to him nonetheless.

And as her town obligations began to dwindle, and his need to consistently man the outpost gradually lessened as mid-Autumn gave way to the beginnings of Winter–

…well, as it just so happens... that’s actually where the real story starts.

Because– if the builder’s energy crisis had indirectly been the beginning of Logan learning just how fast sh*t in Sandrock moved nowadays– it had ultimately been the friendly routine they had fallen into that became the true catalyst for him comprehending this concept as Fact; after all– their routine was the whole reason he was even at her house the morning of The Storm in the first place!

And– while it may have ‘just' taken two months to make it to that point– thanks to that unexpected storm…

…it ONLY took five damn days for them to go from ‘just friends’ to f*ckin’ engaged.

Chapter 2: Somethin' Ain't Right

Chapter Text

Day One: S3. M3. D10. PY 99

The workshop yard was dead quiet.

Had it been a weekend or a holiday, Logan would’ve thought nothing of it. Today, however, the silence that hushed across the late-autumn air that morning stood out– after all, it didn’t get much more ‘regular’ of a workday for either of them than a Wednesday .

A few short weeks ago, this complete lifelessness undoubtedly would have sent Logan into a panic, he had thankfully since learned better. As he leisurely rode through the gate, the hunter cautiously placed a hand on the side of the builder’s idling fire-powered generator; it was cold to the touch.

Girl must really be feelin’ like the cat that got the canary. He mused with a small smirk.

Truth be told… it wasn’t the first time this had happened– in fact, on one of his initial visits, he had actually been quite alarmed to find the generator sitting completely silent. And once he had eventually calmed down after nearly knocking her goddamn front door off its hinges in his rush to make sure she was alright, the (bemused) builder had been kind enough to explain that– thanks to the new internal power supply taking on the brunt of the load– the former workhorse of her workshop being off some mornings was now completely normal.

“Bandit, just count yourself lucky you were never acquainted with the old generator– Peach Alive– This might not come as a shock, but… if you can believe it, Mason left me with a piece of f*ckin’ JUNK.” She told him testily as he finished the last of his coffee, shaking her head in disbelief. “When I built the new house and upgraded the generator to match, I went so far as to take the time to both sound-dampen my bedroom and install that big bastard across the damn yard in the hope that I’d be able to finally hear myself think.”

“So the day I fired it up for the first time and realized it was actually quieter running full blast than when the original one was sitting idle…?” She snorted a laugh before steading her hand again to begin putting on her final step of lipstick. “Light, poor Venti ‘bout pissed her pants the way she came TEARING down that hill– I was screaming so loud, she honestly thought my hair had gotten caught in a machine or something…”

But despite the precedent, Logan somehow couldn’t shake the feeling that not everything was quite as it should be: for one, the stable next to the house was still locked up tight; he knew she tended to leave at least one door open in the morning to give her animals some fresh air after feeding them.

Maybe she's just gettin' a late start today… He reasoned, glancing back at the stable doors apprehensively. Then again… she might’ve pawned that task off to Rosy just to give herself a moment's peace. Just a few weeks into their arrangement, he had ended up lending an ear to her as she vented over the fact– since the robot's workload had been cut significantly after the factory's installation– she began trying to make herself 'helpful' in a variety of other, more creative ways.

“Logan, I’m telling you: that Mirror is so far up my ass right now, I feel like a goddamn sock puppet.” She muttered peevishly as she fixed her bangs in the mirror after covering her scar with concealer and foundation. “I'll be trying to get scrap loaded into my recyclers, and she'll be actively trying to fix my makeup or asking to make me a cappuccino– she knows I don't even drink coffee!”

Chuckling at the recollection, Logan pulled Rambo to a stop and dismounted before making a clicking sound with his mouth; immediately the goat trotted away, going back through the gate to munch on the wild foliage beyond the property line. Watching the goat scamper off to forage, the hunter couldn’t help but roll his eyes. I swear, that damn goat acts like I don’t feed him…

Shaking his head, he placed a hand on the front door’s lever handle and pushed down on it– only to be startled to find it still locked. She hasn’t even gotten around to unlockin’ the front door yet…? Puzzled, he knocked; after a few seconds and no reply, he repeated the gesture with the same results. Undeterred, he turned and made his way to the factory entrance a short distance away to try his luck there.

As he got closer, however, he began to pick up on the unmistakable sound of whining and scratching coming behind the door; Nemo hadn’t been let out yet. sh*t, He swore to himself as a sudden wave of unease washed over him. Somethin’ ain’t right.

He quickly checked the doorknob– also locked. With a nervous huff, he began digging through one of the pouches on his waist. “Dammit, where’d–” no sooner had the words left his mouth did his fingertips identify what he was looking for: the spare key she had forced him to take a few weeks prior.

“Logan, it’s either you take the spare key, or I leave it above the damn door frame for anyone to find– because, Trust Me when I say that someone of your height does NOT wanna test their luck hopping the back porch fence…” She shook her head with a wide-eyed seriousness before breaking into a small smile. “And, it’s not like I made a new key just for you– this was originally supposed to be Pablo’s copy, but… he refused it; said he’d just get in without one, so…”

Apparently sensing his incoming question, she immediately answered the silent inquiry. “The seasoned triathlete who is constantly ordering iron pipes and gave me a VERY nice set of lockpicks for my last birthday? Yeah, not only will Pablo get in, he won’t even feel a little bad afterwards– same can not be said for you, though…”

When she saw the look on his face, she couldn’t help but giggle. “Besides: Mi-an, Elsie, and Heidi all have a key; sh*t, as often as Andy was over here before you asked Vivi and Krystal to take over watching him? I almost gave him one, too!” As she spoke, she picked it up with one hand and pushed it into his palm. “...but this way, you can get in during an emergency without needing to break a window or kick my door in–” She smirked, a playful gleam in her eye as she closed his fingers over the key. “...again.”

As he finally retrieved the key from the pouch, he stopped to look at it for a moment before releasing a soft, grateful sigh. “Always lookin’ at the big picture, huh darlin’...?” With no further hesitation, he slid the key in and unlocked the door, before slowly pushing it inwards, trying his best not to bowl the animal over in the process.

The dog didn't show the same amount of consideration towards him; he just barely managed to dodge the furry projectile at the last second as it zoomed past his shins. Before the hunter had the opportunity to even consider stopping him, Nemo had already bolted under the fence in a mad dash for the outskirts beyond his owner’s property line.

…eh, he’ll be fine. Logan decided instantly as he retrieved the key from the lock and quickly made his way inside.

Once the door was shut behind him, he briefly paused to kick the dust off his boots out of habit, scanning the facility as he did so. Other than being almost eerily quiet, nothing seemed amiss on first pass; but as he listened closer, he soon picked up the faintest of humming sounds coming from the back corner of the facility. Just to make sure his hunch was correct though, he approached the source of the sound– and to his relief, by the time he reached Nemo's bed a few meters away, he could feel the warmth coming off the centralized power unit; it was running.

Well that’s a good sign. He noted, a few worries put to rest. If she wasn't at least here, then nothin’ in the house would be usin’ electricity.

Upon his very first visit to her home, Logan had been blown away with how seriously the former ballerina took energy efficiency as a whole: unless she was actively using something in the house, it simply wasn’t on. In that same vein, she didn’t bother heating a room just to keep it comfortable for comfort’s sake– even going so far as to mostly rely on portable power stone heaters to warm rooms as necessary, instead of installing climate control throughout the house– just to conserve her resources overall. And despite her no longer needing to go to such extremes, the habits remained nonetheless.

Reassured that she had to be in the house somewhere, he wasted no more time making his way towards the double doors that connected the factory to the kitchen. Since they used to lead directly outside, they were of course designed to seal tightly enough to prevent drafts and sand seepage; so when he cracked one door open, the lack of noticeable temperature shift between the kitchen and uninsulated factory was an immediate red flag.

“Knock knock,” Logan called out to announce his presence, not wanting to accidentally startle her if she was nearby. When he was met by resounding silence, he opened the door fully; all the lights in the kitchen were off, and the room did feel to be about as chilly as the one it was connected to.

First things first, Logan checked the heater– it wasn't cold, but it certainly wasn't warm by any definition; his best guess was that it was last used maybe a few hours prior. He then took a moment to inspect the kitchen itself: the counters were spotless, with the exception of some dirty dishes left soaking in the sink. If that wasn’t enough proof she hadn’t been downstairs recently, he also noticed she hadn’t even turned on the coffee maker– literally the second thing on her agenda the mornings he was due to come over.

“Logan, just because I don’t drink the stuff doesn’t mean I’m gonna deprive you or anyone else of their required initial intake of caffeine in the mornings.” She explained absently as she split her focus between his inquiry and angling her eyeliner in the mirror just right. “Besides, it’s not like its addition drastically alters what I do on any given day once I get downstairs: I let the dog out, turn on the coffee maker, drag the heater over, wash the dishes, and make breakfast. Although, if I don't do it second, I will forget– and that would be very bad for you.”

With a snicker, she packed her eyeliner and zipped the makeup bag back up, seemingly not interested in putting on anything past that and her previously-applied eyeshadow. “To be honest, Bandit? It's started to become such a normal part of my routine, I’ve actually turned it on a couple Tuesdays by accident…”

His concern growing by the second, he gingerly made his way to the foot of the stairs and peered up to the second floor. “Hon… you up there?” He called up, his words echoing off the wooden paneling above the stairwell. Once again, he was met with silence.

Logan let out a somewhat pensive sigh as he pondered his current dilemma; he’d actually never been on the second floor before– had never been invited to– but… after a few more moments of deliberation, he decided that his worry about her well-being trumped his desire not to intrude without permission.

Mind made up, he began to cautiously ascend the stairs, passing a few additional framed shadow boxes highlighting the various memorabilia she had kept from her former life as a ballerina on the way up. By the time he was on the landing, Logan could see multiple doors: two on the wall in front of him, and a third one above him.

As luck would have it, the door directly in front of the stairs was open; he could see what appeared to be a small spare bedroom– likely the same one Andy used on the rare occasion she would watch the boy overnight.

Well, that certainly narrows things down… Since he could only assume the door next to it led to the other spare room, Logan made a bee-line to door number three as soon as he was up the stairs. Aside from the soft jingle of his own blunted spurs, he didn’t pick up any other sound until he was within arms-length of the door itself. He recognized it immediately: the familiar hum of a wall-mounted climate control unit. With a moment of apprehension, he slowly turned the knob and began cracking open the door; almost immediately, he could feel warmth begin to seep out from inside the room. And as soon as he had it open wide enough to see inside–

…there she was: sound asleep and face-down on top of the covers, fully dressed in yesterday’s clothes as her right arm dangled limply off of the bed. The moment he spotted her, Logan couldn’t help but let out a palpable sigh of relief; if he had to hazard a guess, it looked like she just barely managed to drag herself upstairs before passing out on the bed.

His worries alleviated, he had to smile to himself at the sight. Been there before, he chuckled, glancing at the boots still on her feet. Course, I prolly wouldn’t have even bothered for the bed and just made do at the bench seat of the table myself, but…

As he silently watched the clearly exhausted builder continue to sleep the morning away, Logan leaned up against the door frame to begin weighing his options on how to deal with the day’s newest dilemma.

…Maybe I should just shut the door and leave her be. He considered seriously, I mean, I highly doubt lettin’ her sleep in one time would actually put her into the red long-term. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind did he immediately waver in his resolve. Then again? If she ever finds out I let her oversleep on a workday... she’d prolly try to put another bounty out on my head…

After a few more seconds of contemplation, the hunter finally let loose a deep, audible sigh. Alright, I’ll take a shot at wakin’ her up, He decided at last, standing up straight again. And if she doesn’t come around, I can leave her alone, but be able to honestly say I that tried.

As he quietly approached the bed to make an attempt to rouse her, he noticed that her left arm was tucked under her at an awkward angle. Instantly, he winced in sympathy; her shoulder would undoubtedly be sore as hell today.

Once he was close enough, he gently reached out and placed his hand on her back; as he put his hand between her shoulders he couldn't help but notice the clasp of her bra was still hooked under her shirt. With a final, slightly reluctant sigh, he leaned over the bed a bit more to gently nudge her with the hand he had between her shoulder blades. “Lus’...” He called softly, switching to the tone he’d use (initially) when waking Andy in the mornings.

When she didn’t stir, he shook her a little more firmly, calling out again. “Lusi…”

No response; he decided to give it just one more go, calling out a little louder as he jostled her harder yet again. “Lusia. Darlin’– wake up…”

On the third shake, the girl awoke with a start and abruptly lifted her head off the pillow, revealing smudges on the pillowcase; not only did she fall asleep in her bra, she knocked out so hard she’d also slept in her makeup.

“Nnnm, huh?” She mumbled groggily, instinctively shifting the arm that was pinned under her– as expected, she immediately hissed from the stiffness. Her left a no-go, she automatically drew her dangling right arm up onto the bed to prop herself up halfway on her elbow, allowing her sore arm to stay mostly in place for the time being.

“… uhf… ” She grunted, shaking herself further awake. At last, she seemed to notice the hand on her back and she turned her head to face him, trying to force her eyes into focus. “Logan…?” She croaked, voice hoarse from sleep, “What’r…”

The man gave her a gentle smile. “Hey…! Mornin’, Sunshine.” He chuckled, keeping his voice low as he pulled his hand off of her back. “You overslept, hon.”

Lusi blinked, her brain slowly starting to catch up as he spoke “Morning…?” She brought her left hand up to scrub across her face, wincing as she moved the offending shoulder somewhat in the process. “Dammit ... W’time is it?”

Logan glanced at the alarm clock on the dresser; she must’ve forgotten to set it beforehand. “Accordin’ to your clock… ‘bout five -past half-past seven.”

“Seven thirty-five?” She clarified to herself, groaning. “ sh*t… ” The builder glanced over at him, arching her neck back severely to try and look him in the face. “How long’ve you been here?”

Intuitively, the taller man knelt down next to bed to better be on her level. “Not long, maybe five, ten minutes?” He smiled apologetically. “Sorry for comin’ upstairs without permission– just got a’lil spooked when there were no signs of life downstairs and wanted to make sure you were alright…”

“No! No… you’re fine.” She shook her head quickly. “You’re welcome upstairs anytime– I just don’t invite people up often because there’s not much to see up here. Barely even go in the other rooms except to clean 'r change the sheets in the spare…” She cleared her throat, still fighting off the grogginess. “Kinda surprised you even bothered, but… I appreciate it– you, waking me up, that is.” Her hand shifted up under her bangs to absently rub the palm-sized burn scar that covered nearly the entire right side of her forehead, smudging the concealer further as she did. “Otherwise, I prolly would’ve been out til close to lunch…”

“To tell the truth, I almost didn’t; I was gonna give up if I didn’t wake you after the last try.” The hunter admitted with a breathy chuckle. “Though, I probably would’ve at least tried to reposition you a bit– Peach, your shoulder's gotta be killin’ you…”

“You don’t even know the half of it.” The builder agreed with a soft groan. “Though… actually not as bad as it could be, ‘specially given the circ*mstances…” She murmured, before noticing the smudges on the pillowcase and sighing softly in vexation. “Dammit, and I jus’ washed the pillowcases, too…”

Logan couldn’t help but snicker. “Gotta say Lus’: I have plenty of experience sleepin’ in my clothes, but passin’ out that hard in a bra and a full face of makeup to boot? I'm almost impressed...” He scoffed playfully, belying his underlying concern. “...What time’d you knock out at, anyway?”

Lusi stared into space for a moment as she pondered the question. “One… maybe two?” She finally said, almost as if she were questioning it herself. “Shoulder started flarin' up around eleven, so I figured I’d pull a late shift to get the last of my comm’s finished up for quick delivery.” She pulled her hand from her forehead to cover her mouth as she yawned. “Wanted t’be able to get everything wrapped up so I could drop ‘em and go. Oh, ‘fore I forget– how bad’s the sand today? Like, big storm or…?” She asked casually, shifting like she was going to sit up.

“Sand… ?” Logan frowned in confusion. “It’s–”

His words were cut off by Lusi’s abrupt hitching gasp of pain as she attempted to move her sprawled left leg up slightly. The unexpected feeling was apparently severe enough that her right hand slipped out from under her momentarily, nearly causing her to fall face-first back down on the pillow. Before Logan had a chance to react, she caught herself with her left arm at the last moment, promptly eliciting a second hiss of pain from the sudden movement of the stiff joint. “ sh*t! ” She swore, wincing from the landing. “f*ckin’… ngh!”

Alarmed and startled, Logan began to get to his feet. “Lus’!?”

Speaking through gritted teeth, she quickly gestured with him to stay put with her right arm “I… I’m fine, it’s okay.” She assured him, taking a quick breath as she slowly, methodically began to shift her left leg again, “Fuuuuuck… ” She groaned, drawing the limb up carefully, gritting her teeth as she did. Once it was as far as it would go, she released her breath all at once. “Logan, what’s the weather like right now?”

Logan was stunned by the question. “What’s the–? Girl, f*ck the weather!– are you okay?!”

Lusi didn’t respond, instead focused on taking deep, deliberate breaths in a set pattern; he could immediately tell it was a conscious breathing technique– and one she had apparently used many times before. Keeping her eyes closed and head straight forward, she inhaled deeply. “Please answer the question, Logan.” She asked calmly– or rather, she was doing her best to try and keep her tone as calm as possible. “Anything different, anything at all…?”

She’s in this much pain, and she’s hell-bent on askin’ about the weather… He thought to himself, still in shaken disbelief. “I dunno – usual?” He co*cked his head to the side slightly, patent concern in his voice. “Clear, sunny, dry…” He recalled something he half-noticed first walking out the door. “...there was some cloud cover out to the northeast, but–”

At that off-hand addition, she released her breath at once and dropped her head in dismay. “sh*t.” She swore bluntly. “It’s gonna rain.”

“What?” He barked, the ridiculousness of the statement almost making him laugh aloud. “How d’you reckon– ”

The builder wasn’t listening at this point, instead fully focusing on trying to sit up. With painstaking slowness, she shifted her left leg up and under her body more, groaning in what could only be described as anguish as she did.

His concern returned in an instant. “Lusi, hon– you're obviously in a world of pain right now.” He murmured delicately, instinctively reaching out to cup her unaffected shoulder in his hand to help keep her steady as she adjusted. “Let me go get Fang, I’m sure–”

As soon as she felt his hand on her, she slapped it away with her right arm “I’m FINE, Logan! ” She snarled, the sheer venom in her voice prompting him to physically recoil in shock. “f*ck Off!”

No sooner had the words left her mouth did she flinch in shame. “NO! Dammit– no. sh*t…” She whimpered, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, man– just… hurting, is all. Always puts me on a short fuse.” A regretful sigh escaped her lips. “…doesn’t mean you should get your head bitten off over it, though.” Meeting his eyes apologetically, she then offered up her right arm of her own volition, alongside a ‘c’mon’ motion with her head.

Logan took that as permission to help; instantly, he stood and gently stretched the offered arm across his shoulders so she could balance while he wrapped his own around her waist. As he began lifting her up, he immediately had to pause to recalculate the amount of strength actually necessary for the task.

Light– she doesn’t weigh nearly as much as I would have expected... He internalized, legitimately surprised as he carefully pulled her up to the point that she’d be able to sit on the bed without his assistance. “Now…” he began, slipping out from under her arm and kneeling back down again to be eye level. “…you wanna fill me in on what the hell’s goin’ on right now?“

Lusi swallowed hard and paused momentarily while she steadied herself upright on the bed of her own power. “I thought you knew I was in an accident…?”

The hunter nodded “Yeah, but I thought…” He trailed off as he glanced at the smallest hint of reddish-pink skin now peeking out from under her disheveled bangs.

She looked confused for a moment, glancing up in the direction he was looking as if she was trying to observe the scar through her own head. It didn’t take more than a second for her to comprehend the heart of the matter. “Oh, right– duh. You probably would have missed some of the finer details while you were, uh… out of town.” She laughed breathily before nodding in confirmation. “Scar happened then, too, but… it was a collateral injury.”Sighing, she began some light stretching, starting with her neck. “Accident itself f*cked up my hip n’ shoulder joints on the left side.” As if to emphasize, she pulled her left arm across her chest, using her right to stretch out the painful joint with a hiss.

“Happened so long ago, it’s healed up to the point I can do pretty much everything I used to on a daily basis– you know, within reason.” She added quickly, rolling her eyes. “sh*t– why do you think Fang literally locked me in the Clinic for a whole day on goddamn bedrest after the Ruins? Had to get five f*ckin' acupunture treatments that week alone…” She muttered, releasing the stretch all at once with an irritated huff. “...and while nowadays I’m mostly fine, it did leave me with a pretty annoying party trick.”

Bracing her hands against her good leg and the bed, she inhaled deeply and twisted her torso around to her left, audibly popping her spine in the process. “If only the shoulder acts up, it means the air pressure’s started to change; since moving here, that usually indicates a sandstorm’s coming. Just the hip partially locks up? Snow– or f*ckin’ sleet– but sometimes it’s just a cold front moving in. However– shoulder and hip go off at the same time?– air pressure is shifting and humidity’s started to build– Rain.”

She finally released the stretch with a calculated exhale, facing forward again. “And if I’m feeling it this early with no obvious clouds nearby, I’d say it’s gonna be one hell of a downpour…”

Logan blinked, raising his eyebrows. “So… you’re telling me… that you can predict the weather… by how much pain you’re in…?” He questioned slowly, carefully enunciating each word through his accent, clearly not quite believing her claim.

“No, no– I can predict the weather because I’m in pain in the first place.” Lusi clarified, seemingly failing to notice (or, more likely ignoring) his apprehensiveness as she stretched her other arm and twisted her torso in the opposite direction. “I mean, a virtually unchanging, dry climate was the whole reason I moved to the middle of the goddamn desert in the first place.” Releasing the stretch the same way as before, she came back to center and rested her elbows on her knees. “f*ck.” She swore softly, cradling her head in her hands. “Today is gonna suck so much.”

“Are you… gonna be alright, hon?” He questioned with a soft frown.

The petite woman nodded into her hands. “Yeah… gonna take me all f*ckin’ day to get everything I need to do finished, but… I’ll manage. Done it before feeling worse back in Highwind.” She assured him, shifting more of her weight over to her good side. “Guess the one consolation is: since I was expecting it to be sand today, I’d already planned accordingly. Was gonna deliver my comm’s, grab a few more to work on inside, maybe drop off the only other thing I need to eventually get around to, and bunker down til the storm passed.”

Suddenly, the builder seemed to remember why he was even there in the first place. “sh*t, right– I’m so sorry, Logan– I don’t think I’m gonna be able to get you your materials list this week.” She took an uncomfortable breath, slumping down some over legs. “Actually… I’ve kinda been meaning to talk to you about that…” She began, glancing up at him apprehensively.

Logan didn’t say anything, simply nodding patiently for her to continue.

She released her breath in another sigh. “Thing is…with the bus route complete and the school finished– and the Northern woods being in the ‘hurry up and wait’ stage of the process– I’m… really not as hard-pressed for time anymore…” She chewed on her lip, scraping at dead skin and lipstick remnants with her teeth– a nervous tic Logan had noticed she often did when she was exceptionally anxious. “So… if you’d like me to make alternate arrangements about the pictures, I completely understand– f*ck, if I’d known Janey was moving to town, I probably could have roped her into helping in the first place…”

Glancing back up, she gave him an apologetic smile. “Plus… I know it must’ve been uncomfortable for you, dealing with the… rumors about us earlier in the arrangement.”

The hunter dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. “Lus’, findin’ an alternate arrangement isn't necessary. Sure, those… rumors threw me through a loop at first, but– I don’t mind helpin’ you one bit. Way I see it, me helpin’ you isn’t any different from me helpin’ Haru; and besides, I’ve undoubtedly got a more flexible schedule than Ms. Jane does– ‘specially in the mornin’s.” He rolled eyes and muttered, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “No… I’d much rather she be able to concentrate on bracin’ herself to deal with my little hellion all day.”

Lusi couldn’t help but snort at the fond description of his adopted son, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, I suppose you’re probably right about that. Sometimes I just end up pointing him at something and telling him to ‘go nuts’. Works like a charm– usually.” She absently fiddled with the end of her long braid, contemplating quietly for a few more moments. “...In any case, I’d still be happy to keep feeding you when you come over to help– or, if you prefer, I could just start paying whatever you feel is a reasonable fee for your time, instead.” She glanced up, giving him another apologetic smile. “I am kinda cutting off one of your more reliable sources of income, after all.”

Logan immediately and firmly shook his head at that. “Do– Darlin’,” He caught himself before she had a chance to notice the verbal slip. “I was never helpin’ you out for the money– that was always your term, not mine. I wanted to help you because… well...” He met her eyes with a gentle half-smile. “Because that’s what friends do. They help each other when the need arises– without askin’ for anythin’ in return. And as long as you and Haru need an extra pair of hands while you work on gettin that lil’ scuff polished to a shine–” He pointed towards her scar with his head to emphasize, “-then I’m more than happy to offer my assistance.”

He paused for a moment before breaking into a full smile. “Though, I will admit– I wouldn’t mind keepin’ up the breakfast portion of our arrangement. Girl, you cook up some mean hashbrowns.”

Lusi smiled tiredly and nodded in agreement. “That sounds like a fair deal to me.” She sat back up, grimacing as she rolled her stiff shoulder again. “Just… not today. I’m starting late as it is…” She gestured towards the wall behind him. “Do me a solid and hand me my cane, would’ya? Already know I’m gonna need it today…”

Blinking, Logan turned to look in the direction indicated and nearly reeled back in shock: a wooden rack holding a variety of foreign weapons was mounted on the wall next to the door. It wasn’t that he was surprised that he had missed it coming in, but rather that he only recognized one thing on it– the dented brass cat mask with black matte stripes, hanging haphazardly off the top. Properly mounted next to it was what appeared to be an intricately carved wooden mask, artfully painted to resemble a fox. And below them: a sheathed longsword, a dual-ended spear, a pair of curved short swords, a rope with a knife attached to either end, and–

…are those… fans? He questioned internally, but he didn’t want to dwell too long when she was actively waiting. The bottom-most rung held a sleek, black cane with a stylized gold metal handle, made to look like the head of some kind of serpentine beast. Pulling it off, he found it to be slightly heavier than expected, but overall, couldn’t place what it was made out of. Regardless, it was exceptionally sturdy– and judging from the wear on the handle’s finish alone, he could tell it had seen a great deal of use in the past.

Handing it off to her, he wasted no time turning his attention back to the mounted rack. The blade connoisseur within him couldn’t resist drinking in the fascinating array of weaponry– this time paying closer attention to the larger details. From the looks of it, all of them seemed to be extremely high-quality metal alloy of some kind, and most were decorated with bright red tassels. Impressed, he let out a low whistle.

“That is quite the eclectic arsenal, Lus’...” He extolled, curiosity sparking within him. “I’m gonna have to assume Duvos confiscated them during the occupation, because if they didn’t? I’m gonna be kinda mad you didn’t break ‘em out for that little ‘show’ we put on for ‘em in the Square…”

Lusi snorted loud enough that he had to turn around and look at her. “Logan, please. You’ve seen how big a klutz I can be in a fight with weapons that aren’t literally strapped to my hands; barring the cane and mask, that rack is exclusively composed of exhibition-match weaponry.” She paused for a moment in contemplation. “...though, if we ever wanted to put on the ‘Bandit vs. Civil Corp Revue’ in public, I could use one or two of ‘em against you, if you'd like.”

“Against me…?” The hunter repeated, scoffing softly. “Oh hell no– exhibition be damned– if you think I’d be willin’ to take the risk of you shish-kabobbin' me with one of those things when it f*ckin’ flew out of your hands three swings in, you got another thing comin’.”

“First of all: Rude.” The builder replied bluntly as she blew some dust off the cane’s gilded grip. “Second: with the exception of the fans and the rope-dart, I haven’t even touched most of them in years.”

“Of course you haven’t.” He snorted, rolling his eyes. “Why bother gettin’ a handle on usin’ the practical weapons when you could just as easily throw a pair of knives on a leash at someone instead?” He paused. “Y’know, on second thought? The leash actually might make ’em more practical for you– at least then you’d be able to retrieve ‘em faster…”

Lusi snigg*red softly at the verbal jab. “Maybe so, but…the reason I’d only use them for an exhibition match is because that’s all they’d be good for.” She gave him a mischievous grin as she interlaced her fingers atop the handle of her cane, waggling her eyebrows. “Look closer, Bandit: They’re blunt; stage weapons.”

Logan flinched slightly in surprise, turning back around and stepping forward to take an even closer look. It was hard to tell even an arms-length away, but… sure enough– each and every one was decidedly non-lethal. Just to be sure though, he gently ran his thumb across one of the short swords; it’d been finished with a rounded edge.

“Well I’ll be…” He chuckled to himself softly, slightly embarrassed he didn’t notice sooner. “sh*t– now I kinda wanna tattle on you to Uncle Hugo and tell him you’ve been holdin’ out.” The hunter teased, pulling his hand away from the prop blade. “Boy... I bet he’d get a kick outta these designs. Hell, he might like to recreate some of ‘em for the Showdown.”

“You know what? Go ahead, tattletale.” She scoffed daringly, “I bet people would wager double just to see me kick your ass with a pair of fa– NNNNGHS. sh*t.”

Logan whipped around just in time to see her fall back onto the bed, having used the opportunity of his back turned to attempt to stand on her own.

Before he had a chance to rush over, she made a gesture towards him with her hand to stop, the cane’s handle in a white-knuckle grip as she regained composure. “It’s okay! I…” She took another measured breath and let it out. “I’m okay. The first try at putting weight on it in the morning is always the worst part, but… nothing outside the usual…” She rolled her eyes in vexation. “...though, doesn’t help that I passed out face-down; I try to sleep on my back or side regardless of the weather. Less likely to wake up f*ckin' frog-legged that way.”

She loosened her grip on the cane and forced a smile, looking him in the face but not meeting his eyes. “Anyway… thanks again for the wake-up call, Logan. Sorry your breakfast turned out to be a bust, but… there’s still plenty of time for you to get something from the Blue Moon. I know you’ve already got your hands full with the outpost on top of everything I’ve been having you gather for me, so… I’ll let you get on your way.”

Logan frowned internally– she was doing a damn good job at masking it, but… he’d been a hunter long enough that he knew what intentionally hidden pain looked like when he saw it.

“Y’know, Lus’...” He started, an idea beginning to form in the back of his mind as he spoke. “With it bein’ as late in the season as it is, the cold-blooded monsters especially are more preoccupied with findin’ spots to settle down in for the winter than anythin’ else. Outpost hardly even needs mannin’ this time of year– and it's Elsie’s watch today anyhow. Plus, with Andy in school, I don’t need to worry about keeping track of him as much; Not to mention, I already filled my other quotas for the week–”

He realized he was rambling when he saw her expression start to slip into mildly puzzled confusion. Taking a moment to organize his thoughts, he half-kneeled in front of her again, to better meet her eye level once more. “...what I’m tryin’ to say is: I… could stay with you, if you’d like; Lend you a hand? Help you get your stuff taken care of so you can take it easy for the rest of the day…”

The builder’s eyebrows shot up in legitimate surprise. “You… you’re not busy?”

“I ain’t doin’ nothin’.” The hunter moved his head in tandem with each word for emphasis. “I honestly didn’t have any other plans for the day besides your material run; and even if I did, they could wait– ‘specially if you need help.” He half-smiled again. “Like I said: my schedule is nothin’ if not flexible.”

Lusi’s brow creased beneath her bangs, suspicion– or maybe curiosity?– flashing across her eyes so fast Logan barely registered it. “Why… would you do that… for me?”

His smile widened slightly as he gave a small quizzical laugh. “Lus’, didn’t I already tell you? Friends help friends out– and helpin’ you get your day back on track is nothin’ compared to all you’ve done for me an' Andy.” He paused in sudden cognizance. “Though, I realize now that I might be projectin’ a bit– even though I’d like to consider us friends, if you don’t feel the same way… well, that’s completely understandable.” He chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “After all, we have only known each other for… what? Two, three months?”

She stopped to do some quick mental math. “If you don’t count our initial encounters… yeah, something like that.” She shook her head and smiled, but it was still strained. “But, no, you’re right… I do consider us friends.”

“See? And, as your friend…” His smile slowly began to fade as he reached out and gently placed his hand atop hers where they overlapped on the cane’s handle. “...Lusi. I know you’re tryin’ to hide it, but… I can tell that you’re not only hurtin’ bad, but it also seems to be a lot worse than what you’d consider your ‘usual’.” He absently ran his thumb across the back of her hand, now frowning in concern. “...am I right about that, too...?”

Lusi's entire body tensed as she froze in quiet deliberation. Eventually… she seemed to reach a decision, taking a deep breath and slumping her shoulders somewhat. As she did, the mask slipped away for a single fleeting moment, allowing him to see the true pain flicker across her face before she shut it away again under neutrality. Sighing, she at last nodded just once in response.

Oh Lus’, He sighed, more saddened than anything that he had been correct in his assessment. Why’re you doin’ this to yourself?

Externally, however, he simply gave her a small nod in return. “Thought as much…” Logan looked at her eyes, despite knowing she likely wouldn’t be meeting his gaze. “Now, I’m gonna ask you again: Would you like me to go get the doctor for you?”

She quickly shook her head ‘no’, eyes firmly planted on the floor.

He frowned deeper at the response, but didn't argue. “...Alright. Does that mean you already have medicine and are just wantin’ to take a shot at managin’ it yourself?”

This time, she nodded in confirmation, gesturing to the drawer of her nightstand before speaking. “Yeah… I keep it on hand. Always have some here, just in case.”

Well, that’s somethin’, at least… Logan breathed a small sigh of relief while nodding in acknowledgement. “Good to know. Now, do you need any help gettin’ cleaned up or changed?” The question was posed plainly and without a hint of embarrassment or hesitation in his voice; it wouldn’t be the first time he needed to help someone of the opposite gender with their personal care, and he doubted it would be the last.

Lusi smiled appreciatively, but still shook her head to dismiss the offer. He knew it wasn’t rejected out of shyness; she’d made it clear a long time ago that she had plenty of experience being seen in various states of undress by complete strangers when she was a dancer, after all. At the same time though, it was somewhat encouraging to know she didn’t feel so debilitated that she couldn’t maintain her own independence in that regard.

“Alright then,” He nodded in confirmation as he once again began thinking on his feet. “In that case… how’s this sound? I’ll get out of your hair for a bit so you can take your medicine and start gettin’ dressed while you wait for it to kick in– but if you do end up needin’ help with anythin’- just give a holler; I won’t go very far. Then, once you feel ready… we’ll go over to the Saloon, have them fix us some breakfast, and... after that we can take care of whatever else you have on your agenda for today. We can even ride, if you think it’d be easier on you– but, I am gonna put my foot down on this:”

Reaching up, he gently placed his hand on her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Even if your meds do help? I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of you ridin’ solo until you’re completely off. that. cane. Because- while Merle may be damn near bombproof- you ain’t; or, at least, not right now…” He snickered softly as he pulled his hand away from face, but still maintained eye contact. “You double with me, or we’re walkin’. Understood?”

The builder briefly looked like she wanted to argue, but then sighed in acceptance. “Just to warn you… I’d need help getting in and out of the saddle. Kak’s the only one of the bunch trained to kneel, and he’s no spring chicken.” She averted her gaze briefly to glance in the direction of the stable outside. “Bet his joints are feeling pretty sh*t today, too.”

Logan nodded, intentionally avoiding the subject of the camel. “That’s fine, you can tell me how best to help with that later; and after we get your pressin’ business handled, you can judge how you feel. If you genuinely think you’re okay and can manage, I have no problem with us pickin’ you up some takeout to eat for dinner, droppin’ you back here, and us goin’ our separate ways– But!” He raised his eyebrows. “-don’t even think about lyin’ to me about feelin’ alright just to get me gone. You know now that I can tell, and I can promise you that it’ll have the opposite effect.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed slightly, not even trying to hide that she was absolutely planning on doing that.

“Brat.” He rolled his own eyes, giving her a small smirk. “That said: If you do end up goin’ to see the doctor, you have to promise me you’ll follow his instructions to the letter. And I’ll have him Type them out– Light knows his handwritin’s about as good as his conversation skills…” He muttered, sitting back on his knee more, “And in either case, if it doesn’t seem like you’d be able to handle the stairs on your own, then we should probably ask one of the girls to stay with you for the night,” or have you stay over at mine, he nearly finished, but reconsidered at the last second; he didn’t want to overstep his bounds more than absolutely necessary, after all.

Unaware of his internal conflict, Lusi crossed her arms, obviously peeved. “And… what if, by the time our little adventure is over, I’m still hurting and I also don’t want to go see Fang?”

The hunter blinked; he hadn’t been expecting that scenario. “Well… I guess first I’d call you a ‘stubborn lil’ git’–'' He paused as she snorted a laugh, “but… at the end of the day? You’re an adult, Lusi, and that’s your decision to make.” He co*cked his head to the side a bit. “And I can understand wantin’ to take a shot at self-managin’– especially if you know the Doc won’t be able to do anythin’ in particular to help. But darlin’...” He reached up and gently placed his hand on her cheek, frowning slightly. “…there’s absolutely no point in you sufferin’ just to suffer.”

Lusi considered his words for a moment, before eventually sighing deeply and leaning into his palm somewhat. “ …Fine. You win, Ma.”

“Attagirl.” He smiled approvingly, giving her cheek a gentle stroke with his thumb before pulling it away. “Now, I take it that means you’re acceptin’ my offer to help?”

A disdainful sigh passed through her nose. “Ugh. Yeah, I guess… if for no other reason than I get the feeling you aren’t gonna take ‘no thanks’ as an answer, and I really just don’t have it in me right now to negotiate the terms…” She narrowed her eyes. “...though I’m pretty sure you’re aware of that fact.”

He gave a half-smirk and a wink in response. “…In the meantime… is there anythin’ I can do right now that you’d have trouble with yourself?”

The builder took a breath to compose herself before sitting up straight once more. “As a matter of fact… could you let Nemo out? I bet he really needs to go.”

He froze in his spot. “Er… I, uh… may have already done that on accident comin’ in.” He chuckled sheepishly. “I got in through the factory usin’ the spare key– damn dog flew through that door like a Panbat outta hell the second I opened it...”

“Snrk...” She snickered. “Well, that works too. Been meaning to put a new doggie door in, but… just haven’t had the time.” She paused in consideration for a moment. “Then again, I suppose I could turn it into an Andy-assisted project the next time he wants to come over.” She let out a sigh that turned into a breathy laugh. “That kid’ll do just about anything if it involves Nemo.”

Logan couldn’t help but let out a sharp bark of laughter of his own. “Ain't that the truth!” He grinned, shaking his head. “Light, you weren’t kiddin’– he f*ckin’ loves that dog.”

“And the feeling's absolutely mutual!– why do you think I let them hang out so much?” She questioned, an almost conspiratorial tone to her voice as she began tapping her cane to the floor, apparently testing the friction of the tip. “Sure, dog’s dumb as sh*t sometimes, but I have no doubt he'd keep the kid safe if something happened and it was just the two of them. Hell– during the invasion, I actually had to have Owen kennel him at the Saloon; Nemo kept trying to tear the sh*t outta any Duvos soldier that got within two meters of me– including Stev.”

With a small giggle at the look on his face, she glanced over at her alarm clock to check the time. “Anyway… it’s almost eight; Rosy’ll be here in about an hour. She can do pretty much everything else from there.” She paused again. “Though, actually… would you mind going ahead and feeding that motley crew I have in the stable? Rosy can handle it, but… they prefer breakfast earlier when possible. You’d only have to feed them; she mucks the stalls and changes the water when she gets here.”

“Sure thing!” He nodded, purposely leaving the ‘vicious corgi protecting his son’ questions for another day entirely. “Any particular feedin' instructions?”

Lusi didn’t answer right away as she focused on finally drawing herself to her feet, balancing against the cane as she did. “Ugh.” She grunted, shaking her head. “Not really– Pretty self-explanatory once you see it; everything you’ll need is in the blue bin in the stable. Been primarily adding the dried sandberries to their mix lately, but feel free to give them whatever.”

Suddenly, she stopped all motion at once. “Oh, but, uh… Watch the horse, okay? She bites, and seems to enjoy trying to take a chunk out of almost anyone or anything male.” A small regretful sigh pushed through her nose. “Learned the second one the hard way; poor Kak’...”

This time, Logan legitimately laughed in disbelief at her concern. “Lus’... hon– did you forget that I’m a monster hunter by trade? I’ve been tusslin’ with all sorts of critters since the time I started walkin’- Hell! I’ve broken and trained not one, but two stubborn-ass goats! Do you really think I can’t handle one ornery mare?” He stood, absently dusting off his knee bracer. “By the time you finish gettin’ ready, I’ll probably have that pretty lil’ thing eatin’ sugar cubes out of the palm of my hand.”

Lusi pursed her lips together momentarily, almost as if she was trying to keep a straight face. “Al…right, then. Uh, best of luck...”

The hunter grinned. “Darlin’... I don’t need luck– I’m a professional, after all!”

I am never gonna hear the end of this one.

Job seemed easy enough on paper: Go to the stable, fill the buckets, feed the animals, avoid getting bit. Simple.

First step started off strong: Logan opened the stable doors and was greeted by the sight of three out of the six stalls occupied, all on the right side; Not even a full house! Second part was a breeze, too: the feed buckets were already labeled and hanging on the wall, so all he had to do was add a scoop of grain and mix in some dried sandberries to each one.

It was the third step where things started to go sideways.

Her ancient ginger camel, ‘Kakyoin’ (as he had been– in Logan’s opinion– bizarrely renamed upon Lusi taking ownership of him), had always been an affable fellow. He’d been her first mount, supposedly bought on the cheap from Coop due to his age. Still, after Merle arrived on the scene, the geriatric dromedary seemed more than content to spend the majority of his days enjoying retirement in his stall, save for the occasional short trip into town, or giving Andy or Jazz a (highly supervised) Sunday camel ride.

As for Merle herself, she was just happy to see him, judging by the continual attempts to nudge the bucket out of his hand for attention while he was trying to put it in her stall. Logan hadn’t gotten to really inspect her up close as often since Haru entrusted her to Lusi, but now that he had the chance, it was crystal clear to him that the doe was being very well taken care of. Her coat was shiny, her eyes had a sparkle to them, and her condition overall might have even somewhat improved since the custody change.

The Horse, on the other hand…

He knew something was up when he first saw the bucket labels– each one had been hand painted with obvious love: Merle’s had hearts on either side of her name; ‘Kak’s’ was bookended by cherries.

The Horse’s label, however, didn’t have a name– just the symbols on either end: Two pairs of skull and crossbones.

“No name, bad attitude…” Logan muttered to himself. “You must be the exception.”

The entire time he had been at the ranch for community service, Cooper wouldn’t shut up about how the hunter’s services as resident mount tamer were no longer deemed necessary. When pressed, however, the rancher had refused to elaborate, only telling him: “Bohy, I reckon my new PINT-sized equitation specialist could tame a pissed-off Cotton Llama and then turn around and teach it to do the gatdamn cha-cha if she put’er dang maind to it!”

The claim had been so utterly baffling to him, Logan had actually felt obligated to find Elsie later that same day to ask what the hell her Pa was on about. Thankfully, the monster whisperer was much more forthcoming with details- even going so far as to fill him in on how the builder’s professional relationship with the ranch worked.

That’s when he had learned that– shortly after moving to town and buying the borderline antique (but very well-trained) camel for herself– Lusi had wasted almost no time building her own stable and taking on one of the jobs Logan used to do for the rancher in his teens and early twenties– training mounts that needed some extra work put into them. However, that’s where the similarities ended; while his skills skewed towards taming and training so-called ‘problem animals’ from scratch, it seemed that Lusi was usually only interested in taking on the less physically demanding remedial training and conditioning cases that– as a hot-headed youth especially– he tended to dislike.

In all truth, finding out he’d ‘lost out’ on that particular role at the ranch didn’t bother Logan all that much (especially after Elsie had colorfully assured him that Cooper was completely full of sh*t). But what interested him the most about the arrangement was that– while he used to take ranch jobs for the challenge they posed (as well as the pocket money)- Lusi had managed to make them into one of her primary sources of income, especially back when commissions had been harder to come by.

The way Elsie had explained it was: After buying ‘projects’ for cheap, Lusi would take the beasts back to her place for a few weeks of dutiful T.L.C. before subsequently reselling them to the ranch for a tidy profit. Initially, Cooper had been pissed about being out money; but the second he realized that– due to the fantastic condition the animals were in upon their return– Lusi’s literal pet projects invariably sold to caravans and travelers for almost double what he paid her upon their return, the rancher immediately changed his tune. Suffice to say, a formal agreement between the two parties was quickly reached– which, of course, Lusi negotiated greatly in her favor.

Honestly, the sheer fact alone that she managed to hustle the blow-hard rancher at every turn was something Logan had to respect, but… after the first time seeing how much better the senior-citizen camel looked under her care, his interest had been piqued to the point of quietly suggesting to Haru that he should give Merle to her when he left for Atara.

...though, it also helped that the custody change had the added benefit of keeping the two goats far apart during breeding season– something he and his brother had often struggled with while on the run. And really, the last thing he needed to deal with right after moving back to town was figuring out how to keep three goats in a stable that only housed two.

In short, Elsie herself had assessed that– while the builder’s conditioning skills were undeniably top-notch– her taming and training left much to be desired; and as such Logan would undoubtedly still be called upon to take on those cases himself when needed.

However… there’d been one exception to Lusi’s ‘already trained’ rule that cropped up during his absence– ...an exception that was now attempting to rip his goddamn throat out.

He’d be damned if that demon palomino wasn’t gunning for his face the moment she laid eyes on him. And while she seemed partial to the face and neck, every time he got even slightly in range, she’d lunge forward to try and sink her teeth into whatever she deemed closest; aside from the face-bite attempts, she went for his arm twice and succeeded in getting his hat once.

As a seasoned trainer, the mare’s attitude pissed him off to no end– but at the same time, he knew he couldn’t correct the behavior without permission first– thus leaving Logan between a rock and a horse actively trying to go for his jugular.

Thankfully for him, Merle eventually decided she had enough of the mare’s nonsense and stuck her head over into the adjacent stall to block the buck-toothed hack from getting to the door; despite being the most recent addition to the builder’s stable, it seemed like the goat had already secured her place at the top of the totem pole.

Seeing the sweet, gentle doe finally finding her own mettle, Logan couldn’t help but feel a little proud of her– but more importantly, he was grateful for the assistance. At last, he was able to get the bucket into place and retreat from the mare’s domain unscathed.

“So... I take it she wasn’t fond of the sugar cubes?”

Logan jumped and spun around; Lusi was leaning against the doorway to the stable, cane in hand, and with a bemused (if not slightly smug) expression plastered across her face. She was dressed in fresh clothes now, having opted for one of the simpler options in her wardrobe: a clean, loose-fitting tee shirt and a pair of cover-alls tied at the waist. Her usual heavy, calf-high work boots had also been traded for a pair of lighter slip-on running shoes- probably so she wouldn’t have to worry about fiddling with laces throughout the day.

And although her crow-black hair looked to have been sloppily braided due to the soreness in her shoulder (he would’ve been happy to help her with that if she’d just asked!)– as expected, her makeup was once again immaculate– if not greatly simplified from the norm. Also as expected: there wasn’t so much as a hint that anything was amiss beneath her long bangs.

Grumbling at her (and his own slight embarrassment), the hunter adjusted his hat on his head. “Where in the hell did you even get your hands on that crotchety glue reject?”

“Cooper, where else?” The builder snorted. “Can you believe he practically paid me to take her?” She hobbled past him on her cane and straight up to the stall. Immediately, the horse stuck her head out and– to Logan’s astonishment– nuzzled her nose into the builder’s palm, gentle as a lamb. “Boy, was he pissed after I got her trained and then didn’t sell her back; she’s probably the fastest damn thing on four legs for about a hundred leagues…”

Just to put salt in the wound, Lusi pulled out a sugar cube from her pocket and offered it to the demon with her fingers; the mare immediately snatched it up, seemingly taking special care not to nip her hand whatsoever in the process. The builder looked up at Logan, expression now unquestionably smug.

“Wait- are you tellin’ me you got her trained on your own?” Logan blinked in legitimate disbelief– as well as being more than slightly worried that maybe Elsie was full of sh*t. “How? Because she sure as sh*t ain’t tame.”

“Oh it was not on my own– Elsie got me into this mess, so it was a joint effort.” She asserted, giving the horse’s nose a scratch with her other hand. “She begged me to buy her; apparently Cooper was one bite away from feeding her a bullet. So I agreed- but Else had to do the brunt of the work and get her at least greenbroke for me first. Once she got used to the saddle, I did the general training from there– but... I can't do a damn thing about her attitude.” Lusi shrugged, seemingly resigned. “At this point, every adult male in town has just accepted she hates pretty much anything with testicl*s above the age of thirteen; sh*t, even Pen didn’t f*ck with this horse.” She snickered wickedly, adding a mumbled aside of “…which was in no small part of the reason I kept her…”

“You ride that thing around PEOPLE?!"

She laughed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course not! I barely take her out at all due to her… temperament. But, if I need to get out to the badlands or the desert in a hurry, she’s my go-to gal.” The builder gave the mare a gentle peck on the forehead as the horse licked the remaining sugar off her fingers. “Plus, my mouse problem has pretty much disappeared since I got her, so she earns her keep either way."

“…thing’s gotta have some monster blood in ‘er. Ain’t no explanation otherwise…” Logan muttered, eyeing the horse suspiciously; the palomino merely pinned her ears in response as she began rifling through her own bucket of grain. When he glanced back at Lusi, the slyest of smirks started to twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Then again… if she was part monster, you might’ve had a better time with tamin’ her yourself– what with you bein’ the new ‘equitation specialist’ for the ranch, and all.”

The builder’s eyes flew wide open in near rage. “Cooper’s still spewing that ‘cha-cha’ bullsh*t?!” She fumed with a sneer, grinding the tip of her cane into the stable floor. “I train one Yakmel how to do a goddamn half-pass just to see if I could as a joke, and– all of a sudden!- I’M somehow qualified to head on down to Portia to wrangle a giant bespectacled llama and teach it how to f*ckin’ piaffe!”

The hunter snorted with an apologetic nod. “Yeah, but… as soon as I left that day, I tracked down Elsie to find out what the f*ck he was on about. She also explained the whole deal y’all got goin’ on– kinda upset I didn’t think of it myself first…” He chuckled before pausing in momentary consideration. “...though, if it’s any consolation? While she was tearin’ down Coop’s bullsh*t for me, Else also kinda told me she thinks you’d be able to handle the regular version of that llama all by yourself.”

“Really…?” She said, dubious; and for good reason– the yakgirl didn’t hand out compliments like that easily. “Just what the hell did she say?”

“Well, her exact words to me were: ‘Lus’d prolly be able t’tame a Colorful Llama and then teach it some dressage, but ain’t no one trainin’ any critter to ‘cha-cha’ ‘round here but you.’ ” Logan quoted, raising the pitch of his voice as he quoted the girl’s assessment from a few months prior.

“Pfft.” Lusi stifled a laugh, covering her mouth to keep it from escaping. “sh*t, Logan– I don’t know which one of us got higher praise there…!” She snickered, trying to settle herself down. “If you remind me when we get back, I’ll gladly engrave that quote on a plaque for you- free of charge.”

“Y’know? I might just take you up on that offer.” He grinned playfully at her before allowing it to fade somewhat as he decided to address the elephant in the room. “...how you feelin’, hon?”

Lusi finished collecting herself with a small sigh before turning to walk past him to the stable doors again, wincing slightly as she did. “Like hell half warmed-over every time I take a step with my left, but… I’ll live. More importantly though: I’m good to ride– I’ll run you through the saddle lifts before we head out.”

She looked back towards the aged camel in the front-most stall (who was fully preoccupied with picking the sandberries out of his bucket of feed) and shook her head. “Normally on cane-days, I’d take the old fella, but… like I said earlier- he really seems to be feeling his age these days.” She sighed, leaning on her cane somewhat. “I do what I can to keep his condition up, but… as much as I hate to say it, he may only have a few years left in him...”

Logan responded with a sigh of his own; he unfortunately had to agree with the sentiment. “I don’t doubt that– Hell, that camel’s so old that pretty much everyone who grew up in this town first learned how to ride on him; myself included.”

“No sh*t…? ” Lusi asked, her tone indicating this was obviously brand-new information to her. “Well no wonder the whole town freaked the f*ck out when the ranch sold him to me– Logan, the way people were acting, you’d have thought I was riding f*ckin’ Sandy around!”

“You aren’t that far off…” He snorted quietly with a slight dip of his head. “T’be honest? I’m not sure why Coop even offered to sell ‘im– sh*t, Lus'. This camel was his first-born child long before Elsie came along.”

It was the builder’s turn to snort. “Oh, he didn’t sell him to me; Mabel did.”

Seeing his eyebrows shoot up in shocked curiosity, she waggled her own. “When I first got here, I needed a mount that I could get on by myself without any assistance; best way of ensuring that was an animal trained to kneel on command without question– thus, a camel. But apparently the last ones YOU trained to do that were all sold to caravans a few months before I arrived, so even though he was up there in years, I didn’t exactly have a lot of options to choose from.” She rolled her eyes with a conciliatory huff, “And I did eventually agree to ‘rent’ him for a few weeks beforehand while I finished the stable and Elsie schooled me in the finer points of camel care– but he was mine the moment I offered to buy him.”

Logan frowned, skeptical of the reasoning. “Lus’… layin’ down on command is a part of basic camel training– Cooper can teach that to any camel; he’s never needed me for that.”

“Oh, he can! But not well~” The builder snickered darkly in a sing-song voice. “The ones he taught only listened maybe half the time I gave the command; that wasn’t gonna work. But once Mabel realized how lax he had gotten with the camel training over the past few years, She. Was. Pissed– demanded Coop bring out the old guy to see if he could do any better. Seeing as he kneeled every time I asked, was in decent shape for his age, and was just a very polite camel overall, I threw out a price– Mabel said ‘yes’ before Cooper could even open his goddamn mouth.”

Lusi chortled lowly. “Milkman lost his favorite camel, and I renamed him right there in front of him– Mabel and Elsie both approved of the name change, by the way.” She quickly added with an understanding nod. “sh*t, Else thought it was so funny, she even helped me paint his bucket label later...”

“THAT’S why you renamed him?!” Logan asked, truly incredulous at the notion. “Just to spite Cooper?”

“Well, that and his forelock reminded me of the hairstyle that this weird artist I met once had– guy reeeeally liked cherries…” She stared off into space for a moment in almost uncomfortable recollection before physically shaking it off and shrugging dismissively. “...I thought it was fitting.”

I… might not actually want more details on that story… Logan blinked decisively before shifting gears once more. “Anyway… as for helpin’ you mount up, that’s no problem. Want me to start saddlin’ up Merle?” He gestured towards the doe, who glanced up at him excitedly upon hearing her name

“Actually?” she began, nodding towards the darker goat standing outside her yard, picking at her flowerbeds, “I was kinda thinking we could take Rambo instead– I mean, he’s already tacked up; besides, I’d have to go solo on her. Merle is super fussy about having two people on her back.”

The hunter arched a brow. “...that’s news to me. I trained them both to carry two riders– hell, technically three…” He gave Merle a pointed look. “I think someone’s just been takin’ advantage of the new soft touch.”

The goat suddenly became very interested in the sandberries mixed into her grain, intentionally avoiding both of their gazes as she began nervously digging through her feed bucket.

The builder gaped and looked legitimately offended at her primary ride. “You sneaky little sentient can-opener…” She pointed her cane at Merle for emphasis, narrowing her eyes seriously as the goat pretended not to hear her. "You best believe we’re gonna have a talk later, missy.”

Logan couldn’t help but grin at her reprimand, making his way out of the stable past her. “All that aside– that's fine by me, d- darlin’. Rambo is a perfect gentleman; he’ll have us anywhere we need to go in two shakes of a lamb’s tai–” Finally making it out of the doors, he set his sights on his mount, who was still heartily munching on the remnants of Lusi’s late autumn blooms. “–HEY! Get out of those, you varmint!- How many times do I have to tell you it’s RUDE to eat other peoples’ stuff?!”

As he sped over to reprimand his own wayward cloven steed, Logan couldn’t help but smile as he heard Lusi burst into a fit of uproarious laughter behind him. Sure, her day hadn’t started off on the best foot, but… at the very least, he doubted it could get much worse.

Chapter 3: Benched by Brunch

Chapter Text

Light, I can already tell this is gonna be a long ass day.

Between his impromptu search mission and dealing with the demon palomino, Logan could feel the lack of coffee in his system starting to take its toll.

Luckily for the now severely caffeine-deficient man, the ‘pint-sized’ builder had deemed him both ‘a quick study’ and ‘one of the few people who didn’t drop me on the first try’ (respectively) during their brief dry-run of the lifts he needed to learn to assist her in and out of the saddle that day. It was praise that simultaneously flattered and slightly concerned him– especially given his exceptionally groggy state of mind.

Despite Logan passing his lesson with flying colors, they hadn’t bothered to ride Rambo to town proper, as it was such a short walk that Lusi was able to manage on foot just fine. Instead, they went ahead and packed the goat’s saddle with the orders she needed to deliver and parted ways at the entrance of town– the builder heading left, into the commerce guild; and the hunter heading right, into the Blue Moon with Owen’s commission.

Inside, the saloon was a ghost town– Logan figured the early morning breakfast rush must have ended a short while ago. Making his way to the bar, he leaned the long wooden dowels up against the counter before ringing the service bell.

The door to the kitchen almost instantly swung open, the resident sou-chef/lizard-man popping his head out from around the corner. “Greetings, Customer! Welcome to the– Oh! Horny Human! A pleasure! What may I assist you with?”

Dammit, I do not have nearly enough coffee in me for this. Logan groaned to himself before sighing. “Well, first of all– could’ya please not call me that, Larry…?”

“Hmm?” The geegler hummed. “Ah, yes, that is right– I always forget that word carries a... reproductive connotation to humans. I apologize– Horned Human, then?”

“…good as it’s probably gonna get right now." He muttered under his breath before clearing his throat. “Yeah, sure. Anyway, would you mind rustlin’ us up some breakfast, Larry? Me an’ the bui– Lusi, that is. She’s just over at the commerce guild getting some commissions to work on. Shouldn’t be more than a–”

As if on cue, the main door was flung open behind him as said builder fumed inside. Balancing on her left leg and the cane, she then proceeded to use her good leg to kick the door shut again behind her with a slam.

“This is the worst day of my life since coming to Sandrock– including the one where my hair got set on fire by a ballistically-armed chicken and followed only by the time the town got occupied by Duvos as a close third.” She declared with a seething ire, wringing the cane in her hand as she spoke. “In fact!– I take back everything nice I’ve ever said about Wei! He’s the worst commissioner we’ve ever had, and I’m writing Atara tonight to beg them to release Yan so we can have our beloved President back!”

“Well that is certainly a reaction.” Logan concluded decisively; coffee be damned– some things about that girl just weren’t worth questioning.

“Strong Human!” Larry greeted her brightly. “Wonderful to see you! I was just talking to Hornnn-ed Human about procuring your morning meal order.” He then glanced at her cane. “Oh! And I see you are armed! GLORIOUS! Are you vanquishing enemies today?

Lusi limped across the foyer to the bar. “Not right now, Larry, but… the day is indeed still young.” She plopped down in the swivel barstool with a backrest, propping the cane up against the edge of the bar as she settled into place. “And right now it’s a cane; not a weapon. I use it to help keep my balance when my hip acts up before a sharp change in the weather.”

The lizardman nodded sagely in understanding. “Ah… you are experiencing bodily irritation due to the large amount of impending precipitation. I had a cousin who developed the same problem in his tail once after he regrew it. He too found it rather annoying; was quite glad precipitation was not a common occurrence.” He paused in thought. “I believe he eventually chose to cut it off again, to see if it persisted the second time. Though, to my knowledge, humans do not have that option.”

The builder nodded solemnly in return. “Sadly true. Where’s Owen?”

“He is upstairs, fighting a mighty battle with what you humans call the ‘closet’.”

Lusi sighed affectionately at the geegler. “Alright buddy, we're gonna have to have another discussion on phrasing at some point, but I need to put a pin in it for a time that I’m not swimming in painkillers, okay?” She spun on the stool to face the stairs, sitting up straight as she began to suck in air.

Logan, finally registering Larry’s earlier words, did a double-take. “Wait… did you just say it’s about to rai–”

“Yo, OWEN!” Lusi projected upstairs, increasing her volume so abruptly it caused Logan’s addled mind to actually stall. “You Want These New Curtain Rods, Or Am I Giving Them To Larry As Stove Kindling?”

A thud was heard from upstairs, followed by a slightly muffled “Be right down!”

Larry, meanwhile, was thoroughly preoccupied with inspecting the bundle of sturdy wooden dowels. “Strong Human, I do not think I would be able to use these as kindling. They seem much too high quality to be relegated to such a purpose– not to mention, they seem too durable to be very flammable.”

“Awwww~!” Lusi melted a little in chair from the compliment. “Shucks, Larry! You know just how to make a lady-Builder’s heart flutter~!”

“Also, the stove is gas.”

Her expression immediately went stiff and flat. “Cute.”

Logan, having finally recovered, attempted to interject. “Hey… could we maybe loop back around to the part where Larry said it’s gonna rai–”

Heavy footsteps were heard from above, followed by Owen leaning his head over the railing to look down at them from the top of the stairs. “Hey, Lusi! Great timing– Do you think you could come take a look at one of the closet rod hooks real quick? I just can’t seem to be able to keep it anchored in the wall.”

Lusi sighed. “Normally, Owen? I’d hop right to that, but– sad to say– I can’t…” She flopped backwards dramatically against the bar. “I’m benched.”

“What??” Logan and Owen both asked simultaneously.

The builder nodded, spinning on the stool as she spoke. “Agreed. It’s incredibly tragic and completely unfair! Wei took one look at the ol’ people beatin’ stick and immediately put me on three days of medical leave– with the ‘option to take four’, if so desired.”

She suddenly reached out and grabbed the edge of the bar with her good hand to stop herself. “I’m barred from taking any commissions until then– even if I already have the materials on hand! But when I told him it was unnecessary for me to even take A day, that tyrant threatened to freeze my license for a week– I wouldn’t even be able to go mining if he did that! So... I agreed to take the stupid medical leave– I’m allowed to drop off my current commissions, but that’s it.”

Propping herself against the bar, Lusi sighed morosely. “Poor me a drink, would you Larry? I’ve had a terrible day, and it’s barely even nine…”

“Larry, do not pour her a drink.” Logan belayed bluntly.

Owen, meanwhile, was looking down at her, confused. “I’m sorry, hold on– Why did Wei suspend you again?”

Lusi was still glaring at Logan for co*ckblocking her day-drinking as she responded to the query. “He saw the ol’ people beatin’ stick. You know–” She picked up her cane from its resting place against the bar, holding it up above her head so he could see it from his position at the top of the stairs.

The man’s eyes widened in shocked surprise. “It’s going to rain…?”

Logan, also surprised, looked down at her. “You were bein’ serious about that?!”

Lusi, in return, looked up at him and squinted. “Of course I was being serious! I’m using a Peach-damned CANE, aren’t I?”

The hunter shook his head. “No, no– I knew you were hurtin’– I just thought you were jokin’ about being able to predict the f*ckin’ weather by how you were hurtin’, that’s all.”

The builder gently whacked him across the chest with the cane in response. “Why the hell would I make that up?!”

“Hey!” He flinched a little, somewhat bemused by the ‘attack’. “Watch where you swing that thing! And, I dunno? You say a lot of weird stuff; probably just to yank my chain?”

Lusi narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in irritation as she began to slowly raise her cane again.

“I am sorry to interrupt, but–” Larry suddenly interjected, holding up an empty shot glass in his hand. “...am I pouring Strong Human a drink, or… no?”

“YE–” “No.” The two men replied firmly and flatly in tandem, immediately overruling Lusi’s reply.

The geegler looked at her and shrugged apologetically before putting the shot glass away. Whipping her head up and around, the builder gaped at Owen and mouthed the word ‘traitor!’ at him in true disbelief. The saloon owner merely shrugged back in response; it wasn’t betrayal if his loyalties lied elsewhere to begin with.

Logan nodded in thanks towards his old friend before patting her back triumphantly. “Sorry, Lus’, majority rules.”

Daydrinking dashed once more, she slumped down on the bar with a pout. “Spoilsports…”

Owen, in the meantime, had made his way down to the landing. “Lusi, when did the flare up first start?” He paused, taking in Logan’s obviously coffee-deficient state of being. “Also… don’t you two usually eat breakfast at your place on Wednesdays?”

“Not sure– shoulder was bad, but hip was fine when I passed out around three-ish.” Lusi half-shrugged, absently twirling cane in her right hand as she slumped dejectedly against the bar. “And normally we do, but I f*ckin’ overslept. So when ‘Horned Human’ over here arrived for his materials list and found everything still buttoned up for the night, he pulled a legal B&E just to make sure I wasn’t dead, woke me around seven-thirty, and has been up my ass ever since.”

Logan rolled his eyes at the unflattering explanation, but didn’t correct anything. “Since she didn’t have a list for me– and I no longer had plans– I offered to lend a hand for the day so she didn’t end up too far behind. Grabbin’ breakfast here seemed like the easiest option for the both of us.” He paused as a detail registered. “Wait… didn’t you say you went to bed around two…?”

“Regardless,” She continued onward, pointedly ignoring his question, “judging by the hip when I regained consciousness, I’d say rain clouds will be visible on the horizon around… I dunno, noon? Everyone should be able to sense the pressure change and humidity starting to rise by, like, two or three at the latest. As for the actual rain…?” She sat up to balance the cane in her palm at the tip. “Early evening? Five– maybe six? Though, I get the feeling it’s gonna be a doozy when it does finally roll in.”

The geegler nodded in agreement. “I concur with that assessment. Additionally, I am also tasting the faintest hint of… electricity in the air as well. I expect the precipitation will be charged with it, to a moderate degree.”

Both Owen and Logan’s eyes widened at the implication.

“A Thunderstorm?” Logan gaped, now suddenly much more awake. “Light– there hasn’t been one of those in…”

“...a long, long time…” Owen finished for him, shaking his head. “I’m sorry to greet and run, folks, but– I gotta get the word out and prepare for a Rain Celebration. Larry– do you think you can put those rods upstairs after you’re done making their meal? I think you’ve pretty much got the breakfast menu down pat.”

“I do indeed!” He hissed affirmatively. “Do not fret, Boss Human! I have fully mastered the Feasts of Break!”

“...Right. Well, it seems like you’ve got everything covered here, then. You two stay as long as you like, but I probably won’t be back until after you’re long gone.” He headed down the stairs, only to abruptly stop short in front of the door. “Oh! But, just in case I don’t see you again–” The saloon owner gave her a sympathetic smile. “...Sorry you’re hurtin’, Lusi. I know this had to have thrown a wrench in your plans for the day.”

Lusi waved him off casually. “Eh, it’s fine. Been dealing with it for so long now, ain’t nothing but a thing, at this point.”

Owen nodded hesitantly. ”Still…”

The builder smiled, bracing the cane across her lap. “Owen. I’ll be fine– I’m just glad my f*cked-up appendage sockets are at least serving a purpose here. And besides–”

Without breaking eye contact with Owen, Lusi thrust the cane up and off to the side unexpectedly, hitting the brim of Logan’s hat with the handle and knocking it clean off his head. “–I’ve roped this dumb bastard into being my assistant for the day! It’ll be like he’s stuck doing community service all over again.”

As the hunter made to grab it, she looked over, a somewhat serious expression on her face. “Also– if I’m not mistaken– I believe a gentleman is supposed to remove his hat indoors.”

After finally catching the airborne accessory, Logan leaned down slightly to be closer to her eye level. “And I do–” He jeered, firmly putting it back on “...in the presence of a lady.”

Lusi gasped in mock offense. “You heel!” She cried, swinging the cane at his head with every intention of missing, only to shorten up her grip when he dodged said swing to bop him in the gut with the handle.

“Oof! Jeez!” The hunter laughed at the unexpected jab. “Maybe you should trade your claws in for the cane full-time!”

“Hard pass.” She replied smugly, twirling the cane seamlessly again, this time in her off hand.

Owen couldn’t help but laugh at their comfortable bickering. “Alright, alright– No fighting in the saloon, you two…” He put his hand on the doorknob, only to pause again. “Oh, and– don’t sweat the closet rod, Lus’. I’ll ask Mi-an to take a look; and while I’m at it, I’ll also start spreading the word about your, ah… unscheduled vacation.”

Lusi saluted him with the handle of the cane in response. “‘Preciate it, Owen! Hopefully I can get this big palooka off my back before it starts coming down.” The cane shot up again without warning, the handle flawlessly popping the clasp on Logan’s cloak without her even looking.

"Will you cut that out?!” Logan griped in amused irritation as he snapped the clasp back into place.

That only made Owen laugh harder. “Enjoy your meal, guys!” He called out, finally heading out the door and pulling it softly closed behind him.

With her audience gone, Lusi held the cane properly and stood from the barstool. “Alright, now then.” She turned to face Larry and took a deep breath. “Can I please get… a stack of pancakes with a side of bacon, an omelet-rice with peppers, a bottle of Yakmel milk and an empty glass– both chilled– Ooh! Also, throw in some oatmeal with apple chunks, too– I’m feelin’ fancy today. And then, whatever Logan wants, I guess.” The builder shrugged before breaking into a bright smile. “Oh, and by-the-way-Logan-I’m-paying; Thank you, Larry!”

“Hey! I never agre–”

“All excellent choices, Strong Human!” The geegler bellowed approvingly. “And for you, Horned Human?”

Logan sighed in defeat. “…Regular omelet with a side of hashbrowns’ll be fine– but, if you’re gonna be cuttin’ into an apple for Miss Fancy-Pants here, you can slice the rest of it and put it on my plate for Rambo; I doubt there’ll be much room for it on any of hers– Light’s sake, Lusi…” He muttered, still somewhat reeling from the oversized order as he glanced skeptically at the petite woman next to him. “Oh, and a cup of black coffee– Immediately, please.”

“Certainly!” Larry nodded, grabbing a mug off the back of the bar before turning back to face him. “Regular or Decaf?” Seeing the unamused look on the hunter’s face, the lizard-man hissed nervously as he began filling the mug with regular coffee. “I apologize– force of habit, I assure you.”

“Apology accepted.” Logan acknowledged bluntly. After retrieving the steaming cup from the geegler, he immediately took a sip as he headed up the stairs towards the booths to set it down, “That’s all for me, Larry. Thanks…”

“Very well! I will have your morning meal order completed post-haste!” Larry turned to head towards the kitchen door.

Lusi grinned towards the lizard-man’s back as he made his exit. “You’re the Man, Larry!”

Larry paused outside of the door. “I thought she knew that I am the Geegler…?” He pondered, before shrugging it off and walking into the kitchen to get started on the order.

The builder giggled and headed towards the booths herself. “Light, I love that guy. Can hardly believe he once tried to throw me off a tra-AIN!” She yelped, suddenly lifted up and over the stairs by her waist before being gently deposited back down. “DAMMIT Logan!” She swore, steadying herself on her feet after the unexpected lift. “Do I look like f*ckin’ Pebbles to you?! Warn me– actually, no- ASK me before you pick me up!”

Logan chuckled dryly. “I was gonna– but then you started being a little sh*t with that cane.” He snickered lightly before dropping his tone back to a more serious one. “...I’m sorry, Lus’– I just… didn’t wanna watch you struggle with the stairs, s’all.” He sighed. “But, I promise I won’t do it again without askin’ first, okay?”

She huffed as she made her way to the booth the hunter had set his coffee down on earlier. “Well… so long as you’re sorry, I suppose I can forgive you just this one time.” She responded sardonically, wincing slightly as she carefully deposited herself onto the bench seat. “And as much as I hate to admit… it may have been the right call…”

Logan only took the seat opposite of her once she was fully settled in. “How’d you get so good with that thing, anyway?” He asked, nodding to the cane as he took a sip from his mug.

“Practice.” She said simply, tossing the cane in the air and catching it with her off hand without looking. “When I was recovering in Seesai, I learned to use it as an extension of my body– Lots of old people living on that estate, all great teachers. Haven’t needed it nearly as much since moving down here, but… back in Highwind, I was pretty much on it daily– weather shifts on a f*cking whim, up there.”

She paused for a moment to lean the cane against the edge of the table. “Got to be so bad that my doctors suggested I seek out a more… agreeable climate to settle down in. Hence…” She spread her arms wide. “Sure, the sand sucks, but the rocks are pretty neat– plus my joints just love this dry desert air.”

Logan, meanwhile, was sitting in stunned silence. “Wait, back up– You’ve been all the way to Seesai…?”

Lusi gave him a disbelieving look. “Wow. You really did manage to miss all my background info, didn’t ya?” She laughed sharply. “No one ever thought to fill you in?”

He looked away somewhat sheepishly. “Well, some tried to, but… I didn’t feel comfortable hearin’ it from a third party– Felt like I’d be… pryin’ into your affairs without your consent.”

The woman blinked, clearly taken aback. “Oh…”

Sensing her discomfort, he tried to shift gears. “Sorry if the question made you feel awkward. I’m happy t'talk about somethin’– anythin’ else.” He half-smiled. “Though… I’d understand if you’d like to avoid discussin’ the weather.”

That elicited a snort of surprised laughter from her. “Ha! No! No, it’s fine. I don’t mind at all…” She looked up, genuine appreciation in her eyes. “It’s just…” She blinked, shaking off her own surprise. “I’m… not used to someone openly saying they want to respect someone else’s privacy, that’s all.”

Logan smiled and replied with a simple tip of his hat before removing it entirely, politely setting it off to the side farther down the table.

She sighed in slight apprehension. “...but, at the same time, seems kinda unfair to me. After all, I learned a hell of a lot about you without your consent before we even met. I mean, sh*t! I even broke into your f*cking house once–”

“You what.”

“Sooo… how about this?” She leaned back casually. “From now until the time we leave this table, consider me an open book. Ask me whatever you’ve been curious to know, and if I’m comfortable answering, an answer you shall receive! And if I’m not, I’ll just say so. You’ll know where my lines are, and won’t have to worry about crossing them.” She smiled softly. “Deal?”

Logan opened his mouth to reply– only to be cut off as plates of food suddenly began to be placed on the table.

“Humans!” Larry trumpeted. “Pardon the interruption, but your morning meal is now served!”

As he set the remaining food on the table, Lusi couldn’t help but giggle. “Larry, you have impeccable timing, as always.” She picked up the cane again and hooked it under the grip of the syrup bottle already sitting on the far end of the table, angling it upwards to slide it down the length of the cane and to her hand. “Eat first before it gets cold?”

“Now that sounds like a plan.” He picked up his fork. “But, to answer your previous question: Deal.”

Lusi grinned and pulled the syrup bottle off of her cane. “Great, because I am starving.”

They ate in comfortable silence for the majority of their meal– partially due to Logan being awe-stricken at the fact that the petite woman was almost finished with everything she had ordered. Once she was down to her last few bites of omelet (and the caffeine had been given a chance to properly hit his system), he decided to break the silence at last.

“So… your accident?” He started cautiously, taking a sip from his (second) cup of coffee.

Lusi swallowed the bite in her mouth and nodded. “Happened about ten years ago. My dance troupe was tasked with putting on an… impromptu skill exhibition on our way to perform at a festival in Seesai. I was performing a tumbling routine, but the stage we were provided was kinda wonky; the floor buckled riiiight as I was coming down from my final flip, and–”

She brought her left palm up and made a sharp striking gesture with her arm. “–landed at a bad angle, and with enough force to fully dislocate my left shoulder and hip simultaneously.” She made a face. “But because of… circ*mstances, I wasn’t able to get it treated right away. By the time I got air-lifted to Lunan, they had been out of their sockets for hours.”

Meanwhile, the hunter was gaping at her dumbly over his mug, positively horrified.

“Peach almighty…!” He finally managed, “That must have hurt like hell…” He knew that was putting it mildly, but… he was truly at a loss for better words; in fact, the thought alone made him visibly shudder. Dislocations were not something he was unfamiliar with in his line of work– growing up, his Pa had him both assist and perform joint reductions on other hunters more times than he could count. And after watching grown-ass men scream in agony until their shoulder was put back in its socket– only for them to not bat an eye while the visibly broken bone on the same damn arm was then set– Logan had always considered himself lucky to have only dislocated a finger or two at most.

Lusi saw the shudder and nodded sympathetically. “Yeah– would not recommend it if you ever had the chance to try.” She smiled crookedly, before giving him a somewhat indifferent shrug. “If I hadn’t already been super limber from gymnastics, I easily could have lost the use of my left side entirely- sh*t, my recovery alone was so f*cking unprecedented, I’m literally a textbook case now.”

Taking another bite of omelet, she covered her mouth with her hand as she chewed and spoke. “…anyway, after that, I was laid up in a hospital bed and couldn’t move my left arm or even try to walk for two months; my doctors were worried my joints would pop right back out of place again if I did either too soon.” She made a face as she swallowed the bite. “…and by the time my pressure wraps came off, political tensions had ramped up to the point the borders were closed to anyone without a passport for every country you needed to travel through; my temporary ones for getting to and from the festival had expired at that point.”

“Damn. So y’all were pretty much stuck, huh?” He muttered, hanging his head in disbelief. “That must have been a nightmare for your parents…”

“I’ll say– the political situation was so delicate they couldn’t even go through f*cking Barnarock to visit me in Seesai the whole time I was there.” She shook her head, picking up the bottle to pour the last of the milk from it into her glass. “Oh, and there was no ‘y’all’, just ‘me’– the rest of the troupe left for the Alliance immediately after the incident.”

“What?!” He yelled sharply, startling her enough she nearly dropped the bottle.

Reflexively, he reached out and steadied it in his own hand. “Sorry… I…” He murmured apologetically as she gave him a bewildered look. “It’s just– I mean… how could they just… leave you behind in a foreign country by yourself like that?” He asked haltingly while he finished the pour for her and set the bottle safely off to the side.

As he put the empty bottle down, Lusi couldn’t help but let out a gentle sigh. “Logan… we weren’t even supposed to BE in Seesai at that point; but because of bullsh*t, our return trip had been delayed for weeks. The accident happened on New Year's Eve, and our passports were only valid until the end of that year.” Lusi shrugged nonchalantly. “So no, they didn’t ‘just’ leave me– they legally didn’t have a choice. Hell, the Alliance even forced my director to go home after I had been declared stable– and he was my temporary guardian for the trip; though, after that, I was officially deemed a ‘political refugee’ and legally made a ward of Seesai for the remainder of my stay in the hospital.”

How in the hell is this story somehow gettin’ worse?! He tented his fingers in concern. “Lemme get this straight: you were left behind– no, f*ck that– you were abandoned in a foreign hospital without your parents or a legal guardian for two months, and the Alliance didn’t see Any Problem with that…?”

The builder chuckled darkly. “Oh, trust me, Logan. The Alliance screwing the pooch almost every step of the way makes up a hefty portion of that tale; But… I cannot overemphasize just how delicate of a political situation it was, alright?” She dipped her head slightly before taking a sip of her refilled milk. “That said, I was far from being ‘abandoned’– my case was so f*cking unusual, my doctors jumped at the opportunity to continue treating me after I was well enough to be discharged. They legitimately wanted to do everything in their power to get me as close to a full recovery as humanly possible...”

“So… arrangements were made for me to stay in Seesai for a set period of time. Of course, my parents were upset about the whole situation, but after a few weeks of correspondence, they came to peace with it being for the best, and signed off on one of my doctors serving as my guardian for the duration of my stay.” Lusi snorted while taking a strong swig off her glass. “And f*ck if it didn’t work!– y’know, I daresay I came back from my two year Seesai sabbatical practically in better shape than how I left.”

“You were there for two YEARS?” He repeated, the father in him absolutely appalled. “They– wait– but–” He stammered in true disbelief. “…You couldn’t have been much older than–!” He stopped abruptly in cognizance “Lusi, remind me real quick: how old are you, again?”

“I’m–” the petite woman started before pausing in sudden realization of just how clueless he really was. Grinning wickedly, she rested her chin on her interlaced fingers and leaned in towards him across the table slightly. “...wanna take a guess?”

Logan looked her up and down, the gears of his mind whirring as he calculated an answer. “…Twenty.” He finally decided. “No! – twenty-one, maybe twenty-two, tops.”

Lusi winced and hissed air through her teeth. “Ooooh, so close–” She consoled him, taking another sip of milk. “I turn twenty-six in a few weeks.”

“Twenty-six?! ” He cried, flabbergasted. “Damn, you sure as sh*t don’t look it!– I’ve just barely got two years on you.”

The builder scoffed dismissively. “Yeah, but, you’re an unfair metric to judge by– I mean, you’re already past the gray and on to white, after all.”

“Watch it, Brat.” He smirked, taking a sip off his coffee.

She brushed him off. “Besides, my build was an asset when I was a dancer– part of the reason I excelled in my former career was my ‘willowy frame’.”

Logan snorted at the descriptor. “Willowy…?”

“Willowy, Scrawny; Pomato, Pomahto.” She shrugged indifferently before blinking in realization. “Wait, is that why you didn’t let Larry pour me a drink and gave Owen the stink eye a couple months back?”

He looked at her blankly as if the reason wasn’t obvious. “Lusi, I sure as sh*t knew you were old enough to drink; Owen never would have never served you once– let alone three goddamn times– after the tunnel if you weren’t.”

She squinted. “Then why…?”

“You’re on pain meds and it was nine in the mornin’, ya ninny!”

“Oh, one shot would’ve been fiiine!”

The hunter rolled his eyes in exasperation before going in for another, longer sip. He couldn’t help but notice she had seemingly omitted the scar completely from her story, but he wouldn’t press it further for the moment. “Anyway… so you ended up livin’ with that doctor for two years?”

“Yes and no– I lived on the estate for two years, but I only lived with my guardian doctor, his wife, and the family elders for the first few months until I was able to properly walk again. Since I was partially wheelchair-bound for a bit, the primary residence was the best place for me because it had the best accessibility setup. Once I was well enough to get around without a wheelchair though, I went to stay with my joint doctor and her family for the remainder of my stay.”

Seeing his confusion, she smiled. “The doctor who became my guardian never actually treated me himself; he was a teacher-slash-research doctor at the top medical school in Seesai– but he did perform periodic exams to track my recovery progress. His daughter– my orthopedic physiotherapist-slash-host mother– was in charge of my initial joint recovery. And after I was deemed stable, his eldest son became my primary physician; if you ever hear me mention my ‘Seesai doctor’, I’m referring to him.”

“Wait, the kids were doctors too?” He asked, already completely lost. “And their father was your guardian, but you didn’t live with him.”

“Oh I did, but I didn’t.” Lusi stated with a shrug. “See family units tend to be set up a little differently over there: rather than having just one big house, oftentimes multiple generations of family units live side-by-side in smaller houses connected via courtyards. And seeing as they were a very, very old Seesaian family of doctors– among other things– they were no exception to that setup. However, their estate was especially large because they’ve historically had a habit of personally taking in unusual medical cases to study and treat as a group.”

She sipped on her milk for a moment before snorting softly. “And with a dislocation injury as severe and rare as mine? The moment I touched down in Lunan, I was pretty much doomed to become yet another communal pet project mulling about the grounds…”

“Another project?” Logan blinked, still trying to wrap his head around the concept of the house alone. “Were there others?”

“A few, actually. People from all over the world, staying with individual families while their conditions were treated or studied for future medical reference materials; I even met a few of them while I was there– boy, talk about a culture exchange!” She snickered. “But, I went to live in my host family’s quarters so that my joint doctor could continue overseeing my initial physiotherapy directly.” She sighed with a crooked smile. “...and seeing as they had a daughter about my age, they figured what was one more bitchy-ass teenage girl under their roof?”

“Shame they weren’t able to cure that.” The hunter muttered with an amused snort as he took another sip off his mug.

“Actually…? They kinda did.” Feeling his disbelieving gaze, she chuckled. “Hey, after the first time getting your ass kicked by a Seesaian military combat instructor, you relearn when and where to say ‘yes, sir’ ‘no, sir’ real f*ckin’ quick.”

Logan nearly choked on his coffee. “A what?! ” He sputtered, coughing slightly. “I thought you said you were livin’ with a bunch of doctors?”

“‘Among other things’!” Lusi repeated, fighting down a smile after seeing his reaction. “Sure, you could hardly take ten steps without tripping over someone carrying a stethoscope or acupuncture needles, but overall it was actually quite an eclectic bunch. For example: my joint doctor-slash-host mother’s younger sister, who lived one unit over, was a seamstress. She specialized in making costume pieces for traditional Seesaian dance productions; when she found out my mom was a theater costume designer, I got roped into being her helper for my first rainy season alongside my host sister– who was already her apprentice.” She paused for a moment, before adding with a slightly embarrassed twitch of the head, “...as a matter of fact, it was actually a disagreement with said niece-slash-seamstress-apprentice that landed me in Military Manners 101 in the first place.”

“Oh, I can already tell this is gonna be a treat.” The hunter mused, trying to focus on the most relevant aspect of the information overload that had just been dumped on him. “Please, enlighten me on how makin’ costumes for dance recitals led to you gettin’ whooped by a member of Seesaian military personnel.”

“Well, it was quite the kerfuffle, that's for sure.” She snickered darkly. “One day, I got into a minor verbal argument with my host sister over what shade of blue silk to use for the accent on a robe we were jointly working on; It escalated quickly, and I ended up going full scrap on her ass. To her credit, my host sister gave just as good as she got– but make no mistake, I was the instigator.” She admitted with a sigh, setting her glass down on the table. “Now, the seamstress’ twin sons almost got us broken up themselves– and they were both no slouches when it came to a fight– buuut after I bit one of ‘em so hard I drew blood and nearly broke his finger, they both said ‘f*ck it’ and went to get the aforementioned military combat instructor; a.k.a. their Dad.”

She paused to swipe a slice of Rambo’s apple off Logan’s plate. “He walked in, saw me partway through trying to rip out his niece’s other earring, and decided I was done; just picked me up by the belt and carried me away like a goddamn suitcase before I even registered he was there.”

“You’re sh*ttin’ me.” Logan said in disbelief– for multiple reasons.

A smile spread across her lips as she bit into the pilfered piece of apple. “Best part is? I didn’t even know what he did as his day job until after it was decided that I would be put through drills as punishment for starting the fight– up til then, I honestly thought he was a farmer or something.”

“How the f*ck do you miss somethin’ like that–” Logan asked flatly, his tone making it clear it was a statement rather than a question. “Shouldn’t somethin’ have clued you in beforehand?

“Oh yeah, absolutely.” She admitted plainly with a sincere nod. “I mean, for one, he was a guy I’d pay good money to see Zeke arm wrestle. And yet, for the multiple months I had known him, I somehow managed to completely miss that little tidbit of information– probably because he was incredibly soft-spoken and gentle in every interaction I had with him. sh*t, I even watched him correct his son’s forms on multiple occasions during the twin’s evening sparring sessions, and it still somehow never clicked!” She chortled with a shrug. “Turns out: he just made a point to not bring his ‘work self’ home with him; But after that fight…? He was MORE than happy to make an exception for me.”

Logan snorted a laugh. “Light… I can’t even imagine bein’ that oblivious to somethin’ so obvious for so goddamn long.” He shook his head, taking the last slices of apple off the plate and wrapping them up in a bandana for Rambo before she got any more ideas.

“Right?! Oh, that’s when I knew I f*cked up– doubly so after my punishment became a spectator event for damn near the whole family.” Lusi snickered at her own expense. “Light, even some of the other patients came to watch that inaugural ass-kicking he gave me…”

“And that’s all it took to set you back down the straight and narrow– just one solid beatdown?” The hunter asked incredulously, arching a brow.

“Logan, please– you know me better than that! While he may have knocked the manners back into me after that first lesson, it took almost two f*cking weeks for him to finally beat the cheat outta me.” She grinned before letting out a deep, almost nostalgic sigh. “...and once he was satisfied that his ‘lessons’ had properly sunken in, he dropped the hard-ass routine and the real lessons started. For the next few months, I got schooled in the finer points of close quarters combat by him or the twins; and when my second rainy season rolled around, we switched gears for a bit and I was tasked with doing simple diagram work for my host father, a.k.a. the resident builder.”

Seeing his confusion again, Lusi shrugged with a half-smile. “Even though I wasn’t quite so bitchy anymore, everyone agreed it would be best to not tempt fate and give my host sister and me fewer opportunities to argue overall. So, my host father took me on as an informal apprentice to make use of a skill I already had a good grasp on: diagramming sh*t by taking it apart. Specifically, he would have me disassemble and sketch out basic diagrams for various props and stage weaponry that came in for repairs, to make it easier for him to make replacements later if necessary.”

“...hence the rack of exhibition weapons.” Logan extrapolated, nodding his head in understanding.

“Bingo– the sword, spear, and the dual short swords were recreations of some prop weapons I diagrammed, but built sturdy enough for my teacher to use himself when he began instructing me in weapon-based combat near the end of my sabbatical.” She paused to take a sheepish sip off of her glass of milk. “It… went about as well as you would expect.”

He smirked over his mug. “Can’t help but notice you left the knives on a leash off that list…”

Lusi shot him a glare. “Out of everything we tried, I was by far the least sh*t with daggers as a whole.” She rolled her eyes before releasing a begrudging sigh. “So… the custom rope-dart may have been made so I could get practice in and not have to walk so far to pick ‘em back up again…”

“Called it.”

“Still– Rude. ”

The hunter snickered. “I’m just sayin’, Lusi– the offer to teach you how to use somethin’ a little less… unusual is still on the table.” He glanced thoughtfully at the gilded cane leaning against the table. “Hell, now that I’ve seen how good as you are with that cane, I reckon you might have pretty decent luck with an actual ‘people beatin’ stick’...”

It was the woman’s turn to snicker. “And as much fun as it would be to whack you in the face with a bo staff over and over– it doesn’t change the fact that I just prefer to get up close and personal in a fight whenever possible; same reason why I try to only use my gun when I need to hit something at range.” Lusi shrugged before letting out a long, slightly vexed sigh. “Besides, I doubt you would have any better luck than they did- sh*t, the twins used to call me ‘Ballerina Butterfingers’ for a reason.”

“Now that’s a name I can get behind!” Logan grinned wickedly. “Maybe you should trade ‘Hero of Sandrock' in– give me, Justice, and Grace full custody.”

“While I’ll pass on the trade-in, three-way custody is all yours.” She agreed sincerely while rolling her eyes. “Hell, I’ve probably gotten two or three other useless-ass ‘titles’ over the past year of living here alone– I still don’t have a f*cking clue what one of them even means!– but if I get too many more, I think I’m gonna have trouble remembering them all.”

Logan shook his head with a soft chuckle as he took another swig off his coffee. “Still, that does certainly clear up more than a few things…”

The builder raised her eyebrows in curiosity. “Oh, it does, does it? Things like…?”

A mischievous smirk spread across his lips. “…like how a supposedly washed-up ballerina-turned-builder from Highwind was able to not only kick the asses of a whole platoon of Duvos soldiers single-handedly, but also go toe-to-toe with THE Most Wanted Bandit King this side of the Eufaula.”

Lusi scoffed in mock offense. “First of all– again, I was more than just a ballerina; aside from tumbling, I dabbled in a couple other dance styles too, thank-you-very-much. Secondly– it was not single-handedly!” A sly smirk spread across her own face as she turned her focus back to the last of her omelet. “...the mole was there too.”

Logan threw his head back in a laugh, tickled by her complete omission of the part he played. “Yeah, Ged was one mean sonuvabitch!” He agreed with a wheeze, “Did pretty much all the heavy liftin’ for you in that fight, t’be honest.”

She giggled before taking the last bite of her omelet; As she chewed, however, the smile began to fade. “And lastly–” She said quietly after swallowing the final bite. “...Don’t pretend like you weren’t going easy on me.”

The former ‘King of the Bandits’ tsk ’d at her as he gradually settled down from his fit. “Well, of course I was– at first. ” He admitted honestly. “Didn’t know what you were capable of durin’ our first tussle, so I went in with my priority bein’ not accidentally killin’ the new sap Justice had roped in for the fight– Tch! ” He blew air out from between his teeth in disbelief of his blindness at the time. “Wasn’t expectin’ it to be like fightin’ a literal hellcat.”

“More like you were scared to hit a girl.” She purred, a sly smirk twitching at the corner of her mouth.

He shook his head vigorously, wide eyed. “Lusi, Trust Me: your gender did not make me go easy on you in either of our fights. sh*t, by the second one, I knew for a fact I wouldn’t be able to pull any punches!” He asserted vehemently, muttering into his mug as he went to take another sip. “No… I learned that lesson the hard way. With Grace.”

“Ah, Grace,” Lusi sighed contently, “doing the Light’s work, that woman.”

“Speakin’ of you bein’ a hellcat…” He asked, intentionally changing the subject. “How’re your new finger-knives goin’, anyway?”

“What?”

“Your claws?” He clarified with a half-shrug. “I know you said you don’t keep back-up sets because they’re a pain in the ass to make, but–”

“No, no, I got that part.” The builder smiled quizzically. “Logan… I’ve had replacement claws– for a while now, actually. During the factory’s construction, Hugo let me use the Hammer Time forge overnight a couple times specifically so I could get the replacement set made A.S.A.P.”

“During the– you had another set of claws ready to go before the factory was even done…?” Logan asked, startled.

“Well, duh.” The builder forced a puff of air from between her lips. “Making myself new claws after the steel set got trashed in the ‘Pencident’ was pretty much priority number one– and this set? Probably the last ones I’ll ever need to make.” She smiled widely and waggled her eyebrows at him. “Doesn’t get much better than titanium alloy, after all…”

“...well then why in the hell didn't you use ‘em durin’ the tunnel operation?!” He cried out, his frustration from the day returning in an instant. “Lusi!– Between you missin’ shots left and right– and Else tryin’ NOT to hurt the sh*t that was actively attackin’ us–”

“You didn’t catch a bullet and we got the damn worm, didn’t we?” She retorted. “But even if I hadn’t been totally off my game, I never would have brought my claws to the tunnel; They’d have been completely impractical!”

“Oh, so now practicality matters to you.” The hunter muttered into his mug.

“When I'm gonna be suspended in the air like a goddamn piñata? You bet your ass it does!” She arched a brow indignantly at him. “Logan, the one thing I can’t figure out is a reliable way for me to get my claws on and off quickly or easily without using my teeth or having someone unbuckle the straps for me. They're sharp as sh*t– and even if I’m not actively wearing them, it’s not like they can be sheathed! I knew I would need to be in the harness that day while torquing the bolts on the ceiling; if I had accidentally snagged a rope mid-air–”

“Alright– I see your point!” Logan cut her off with a grimace. “I’ll admit: I may have overlooked the ‘workplace safety’ aspect on your end…” He acquiesced, but he couldn’t stop himself from adding peevishly under his breath. “... but at least with the shotgun you prolly would have had a better chance of hittin’ somethin’ before the worm showed up.”

“Sorry?”

“You said you already had diagrammin’ experience before you went to Seesai?” He said louder, pretending to clear his throat.

“Oh, yeah. My Pa’s a prop master for the Highwind theater society, so I had access to all sorts of sh*t to take apart and put back together throughout my childhood. Eventually, he decided to teach me rudimentary diagramming just so I could log the individual pieces of props as I disassembled them; made it easier to have a part recreated if I lost it during reassembly– which admittedly happened more than a few times when I was Andy’s age.” She shrugged as she sipped on her milk. “When my host father found out about that skill, he jumped at the opportunity to get a basic diagram catalog started so he could easily recreate borrowed props after the family took in a local kid whose parents passed away unexpectedly. The kid ended up becoming his junior apprentice to learn a trade– but since he was only just starting to learn the ropes, things got accidentally broken on the regular.”

Logan stared dumbly. “Just how big was that family…?” He murmured, before shaking his head. “No, wait– that’s not important.” He stared at her, not even trying to hide his surprise. “Lus’… was that the reason you wanted to take Andy in?”

Lusi paused for a moment before giving him an ambiguous smile. “See… watching my host father teach his apprentice the basics was what actually made me start looking at building as an alternative career path in the first place. So… when the universe presented me with the opportunity to do the same thing he had done for that kid- take them in, teach them a trade so they could make a better time of a rough situation? I knew I had to at least make the offer...” The smile then twisted into a softly mischievous grin. “...aaaand to answer your initial question? Twenty-eight members strong– thirty-one since I left. My host sister got married and actually ended up having her own set of twins a few years back– she even named one of ‘em ‘Lusia’. Needless to say, I was honored.”

The hunter squinted. “The… same girl who got her earrings torn out in that fight?”

“Yea– well no; I only completely ripped out the one.”

…I don’t think I’ll ever fully comprehend how women work. Logan took a deep breath before letting it out in a soft chuckle. “Gotta say, Lus’... the way you talk about it, sounds to me like you really miss that place.”

“Yeah. I do.” The builder nodded in agreement. “It was like… they became my family.” She glanced up quickly. “I mean– don’t get me wrong– I love my parents! It’s just… since they both have performance backgrounds, they never really pushed me to consider anything else in life.” She hesitated, trying to find the words, “But… my Seesai family did. They helped round me; put in the effort to help me grow and better myself…” She sighed, almost melancholically. “And if they hadn’t… I bet things could have ended quite differently for me.”

Logan nodded in quiet empathy. “I can certainly relate to that…”

She smiled again. “Yeah, I suppose I am preaching to the choir about ‘it takes a village’, aren’t I?” She asked rhetorically, her smile faltering somewhat “…and, while I would have loved to have gone back to Seesai permanently…” The builder shook her head, “...the climate isn’t ideal for me there, either– again, months of rain at a time. Plus, my joints will get worse as I get older, so… this town is pretty much stuck with me for the rest of my miserable, achy lil’ life.”

He snorted into his mug. “I don’t know if Trudy would agree with the sentiment…”

“Trudy? I was talking about Fang.” She laughed with a half smile. “As much hell as I raise? His hair’s liable to be as white as yours by the time he’s my age.” Glancing at the clock by the side door, she gave a regretful sigh. “Alright, it’s getting close to ten; last call for questions, big guy. Ask now or forever hold your peace.” She paused, before amending the statement with a shrug. “…or until the next time we have a moment to shoot the sh*t. Whichever comes first.”

Might as well go for broke. “...I take it the scar is one of those off-limits topics?” He asked hesitantly, making sure to keep his voice low.

Lusi gritted her teeth in an uncomfortable smile. “It is certainly not a sober one– Next.”

“...what’d you end up taking to show Miguel, if you don’t mind me askin’?”

“Photo album.” She replied flatly. “He had a hard time wrapping his head around some of my credentials.” She snorted smugly as she picked up her glass for the final time. “Guess he didn’t see me absolutely kick ass during the inaugural dance-off; Can you believe I’m barred from participating anymore?– It’s discrimination, I tell you!”

Logan laughed loudly and took one last sip of his coffee. “And you got so heated talkin’ about your dance career that you showed him your, uh, ‘sunburn’?”

Lusi chugged the last of her milk and clunked the glass on the table. “…annnnd I’m afraid you have circled back around to a not-sober topic, my friend–” She smirked wryly. “Maybe next time you’ll think twice before you stop Larry from pouring a shot.”

“Not likely, d- hon.” He verbally pivoted around the word seamlessly, retrieving his hat from its place on the table and standing up. “And next time? I’m payin’–” He paused, looking at her pile of empty plates once more. “...for myself, that is; Girl, I’m pretty sure Zeke eats less than you do…” He shook his head in disbelief before heading towards the side door to open it for her and whistle Rambo.

The diminutive woman merely snickered at that, pulling out her wallet and placing the payment on the table. As she hobbled to her feet, she called out towards the kitchen. “Great as always, Larry! Cash is on the table– whatever’s left, you can have as a tip. …Or, eat, or… whatever it is you do with our money… ” She trailed off as she limped towards the door Logan was patiently holding open for her.

Right as she was about to pass through the threshold, however, Larry called out from inside the kitchen. “Farewell, Strong Human! I hope you and Horny Human reign VICTORIOUS over your delivery route!”

Lusi froze mid-stride.

“Pffffft…” She wheezed through her nose, positively vibrating under the strain of keeping a straight face as she slowly looked up at the now wide-eyed hunter. “D...d-did he… just call you–?”

“Alrightletsgo.” Logan replied briskly while simultaneously giving her a gentle yank to get her through the door at last; he had honestly never been more thankful to be wearing his hat than at that very moment, as it was hiding the shade of pink he could feel his ears beginning to turn.

Chapter 4: The Builder Conspiracy

Chapter Text

After giving Lusi a few minutes to let her laughter run its course while he fed Rambo (what was left of) his snack, Logan was finally able to get her hoisted into the saddle, and the two finally set off on her delivery runs. First stop: Rocky and Krystal’s, to drop off an order of cast iron nails.

Pebbles, being in the playschool age group, currently attended lessons on a much more lenient schedule, generally only going on days when his mother and/or Dan-Bi were available to provide Jane with additional support. Upon their arrival, the tot immediately roped ‘Uncy Lo Lo’ into playing with him for a bit, allowing Lusi and Krystal time to chat.

Much to Logan’s relief, the Salvage Yard Matriarch was more than happy to provide the builder with an outlet for her frustrations, nodding and cooing sympathetically as the tiny woman vented (with surprisingly clean language) about the injustice dished out by the tyrannical ‘Commissioner Broomstick’. Come ten-thirty, though, Pebbles finally began to slow down, giving the pair the opportunity to slip out without fuss while Krystal put him down for a nap.

Right after saddling up, however, they were met with a stroke of luck: they ran into their next recipient, Justice, on a mounted patrol nearby. The three chatted for a while atop horse/goatback about the situation the pair had found themselves in, and the conversation naturally wound down after the newest steel spear for the town’s armory was handed over to the sheriff.

“Fine work as always.” Justice praised, humming appreciatively as inspected the outstanding craftsmanship of the weapon. “To be completely honest? If we had the budget, I’d just as soon have you replace all the Corps stock with your work in one go. No offense to Uncle Hugo, of course, but… he’s got his hands full as it is– and Mason’s stuff hardly lasted six months to a year, tops.”

“Please Justice.” Logan cut in bluntly. “That’s puttin’ it politely; Mason wouldn’t have known which end of a knife he was s’posed to hold until he had already cut himself.” He shook his head with a knowing snort. “Reckon if Duvos had commissioned him to make weapons, he prolly would’ve epoxied ‘em together and thought he was doin’ it right…”

Lusi snickered at both their statements. “Well I would f*cking hope so! I didn’t bust my ass in builder’s school for an extra year just to put out sub-par workmanship– …y’know, NOT on purpose.” Slight pride seeped into her voice as she added, “f*ckin’ morons.”

“No… I suppose you didn’t, Builder.” Justice chuckled, still inspecting the spear while changing the subject. “So… how many more deliveries y’all got?”

Logan internally rolled his eyes as Justice once again addressed Lusi using her title instead of her name; it was something he gradually picked up on coming back to town– hell, it was so prevalent, he was still guilty of doing the same himself sometimes– but once he noticed it, it became increasingly irksome to him as time went on. Before he had a chance to address it directly, though, Lusi had already begun to reply.

“Just one, for Pablo.”

Justice stiffened as he glanced up from the blade to her hair briefly, and then over to Logan. The hunter immediately pushed his irritation to the side and smirked at his friend, nodding lightly in confirmation; being in front of him, however, Lusi couldn’t see his half of the exchange.

“I… see.” The sheriff replied in understanding, a small half-smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “Well, good luck with that, pardner.” He said cryptically, spurring Truth back towards the direction of the Corps office to drop off the spear.

The builder tilted her head in confusion as she watched Justice ride off. “What was that all about…?”

Logan glanced down at her poor excuse for a braid, which– while sloppy to begin with– had rapidly begun to deteriorate even further once they began their joint errand run. “Not a clue.” He replied innocently, before pausing and frowning slightly. “But, uh, while we’re ridin’... mind if I ask you another quick question?” He inquired, wheeling Rambo around to walk in the direction of her likely impending doom.

“What good is doubling if not to serve as prime ‘shoot the sh*t’ time?” She inquired back. “Ask away, compadre.”

Logan snorted softly. “It’s just… I’ve been wonderin’...” He started slowly, trying to word the question carefully. “…why do you let everyone be so rude to you all the time?”

Lusi tensed slightly before twisting around in the saddle to look him in the face, co*cking her head quizzically. “Rude… how?”

“Well… it’s just– if people aren’t referrin’ to you as ‘builder’, then they’re callin’ you ‘the builder’!” He explained, getting more and more irritated for her as he spoke. “I swear, only a few people actually call you ‘Lusi’ on a regular basis. A-and I mean– Mi-an’s a builder too! But unless they’re referrin’ to you two together as the builders– or to her bein’ a builder professionally– then people usually call her ‘Mi-an’; on account of it bein’ her name!”

“Yeah.” She nodded simply in agreement to his rant. “Same goes for me.”

It was his turn to co*ck his head. “But… you’re both builders. It’s your title; that’d be like people referrin’ to me almost exclusively as ‘hunter’ or ‘the hunter’– and that’d be just rude as hell.”

The woman’s mouth formed a line. “Logan.” She said calmly. “What’s my name?”

“Lu…sia?” He said slowly, legitimately unsure of how to answer correctly. “Though… I’m afraid I have to admit– I never actually caught your family name.”

“You’re right– you didn’t.” She agreed with an amused smile. “Because I forfeited it entirely after my first year of builder’s school.”

It clicked.

“...Lusia… Builder.” He uttered slowly, realization washing over him. “Peach in the pansies– you made the Builder surname your full last name?” When she grinned and nodded in confirmation, he blinked in disbelief.

“...aaand when I first moved to town, I started introducing myself as ‘The’ Builder– to differentiate myself from Mi-an.” She grinned. “Once everyone found out what I actually meant by that after my introductory Fireside, they were all so goddamn excited they just kept referring to me by my surname– and no, I don’t mind one bit; I f*ckin’ earned that name!”

“Light. on. a. cracker…” He murmured slowly, still reeling from his own blindness when the secondary implication abruptly popped into his mind. “But, wait.…” Logan squinted. “Lus’, doesn’t forfeitin’ your family’s last name pretty much lock you into buildin’ as a profession for life?”

The Builder stared at him blankly. “Logan, your only last name is ‘Hunter’, isn't it?” When his eyebrows shot up into his hairline, Lusi shrugged. “Took a shot in the dark; but since that IS the case– that means you dropped your family name in favor of your inherited surname when you decided to become a professional Hunter.” She crossed her arms with a small smirk. “So, sounds to me like you ‘locked yourself in for life’ earlier than I did.”

“Not quite!” He held up a finger in argument, “First– if I had another family name to inherit, my mother ran off before enlightening Pa of what it was; And since Pa was a full-blooded Hunter, his family name was his surname.” Logan stated plainly. “Second– I still had to earn the right to use the name ‘Hunter’ permanently by goin’ through a rite of passage overseen by Pa's clan- if I hadn't, I probably would’ve just defaulted to ‘of Sandrock’ or ‘White’ when I turned eighteen.” He snorted with a roll of the eyes before meeting her gaze again. “But… like you said: the ‘Builder’ surname isn’t inherited in any capacity, it’s earned– chosen, even! Hell, Mi-an’s from a goddamn family of builders, but even she didn’t forfeit her other name just in case she wanted to do somethin’ completely different later…” He squinted slightly, unsure of her reasoning overall. “Lus’... you’re only twenty-five… what if you want to change careers again down the line?”

“Logan, there is no ‘changing careers’ for me.” The Builder replied in a matter-of-fact-tone. “Building is the only option for me as a profession in Sandrock. And– I wasn’t kidding when I said this town is stuck with me for the rest of my life.” She gave him a thin smile. “...you wanted to know why people also call me ‘THE Builder’ in addition to just ‘ Builder’? It’s because I’m Sandrock’s official Town Builder. My license is tied to Sandrock exclusively; I can’t work anywhere else– not even in one of the surrounding villages– unless the town legally loans me out.” She snorted softly, adding as an aside, “Not that I’ve ever been very far outside Sandrock’s limits– sh*t, before stepping off the train last summer, I’d never even seen the town in person…”

“You’re WHAT?!” Logan cried out in shock, drawing Rambo sharply to a stop next to the stairway in front of Amirah’s home. “Y-You tied yourself to the town permanently without even visitin’ first?” He stammered, reeling from the sheer dedication alone. “Why in the hell would you do that!?”

Lusi couldn’t help but giggle at his reaction. “Logan, even if I wasn’t able to visit in person before moving, I knew that Sandrock’d be the only place in the world where I would ever have the chance to live well again. So… I just committed myself to becoming the one thing I could be that would carry any real value here.” She shrugged, as if it made perfect sense.

He wrinkled his brow in confusion. “What’s… that supposed to mean…?”

She suddenly got a peculiar look in her eye, one that Logan couldn’t place, only for it to vanish as she began speaking. “...About five years ago– right as I was finishing my first year of builder’s school– I learned that there would be a workshop space opening up inside the town limits. So, I applied to get it pending my license.” Lusi explained plainly, “It’s why I got the land opportunity over Mi-an: since my application was approved years before Mason even considered retiring, I got first dibs on the outskirts workshop when it became available.” She shrugged lightly again, adding as an afterthought. “Funnily enough– if I had moved here just a smidge earlier than I did, you and I would be next-door neighbors right now!”

The ‘neighbors’ bit tickled something… wistful? inside of him, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on further right at the moment. “So… you were plannin’ to move to town for four years before you actually arrived?” He asked, legitimately bewildered; he was more surprised this was the first he was hearing of it than anything else. “But… why wouldn’t you have just applied closer to gettin’ your license? As I understand it, Mi-an applied when Mason announced retirement– and she was the only applicant. There still would have been two spaces.”

“There were a couple reasons…” The builder started, “The primary one being the climate, of course– paired with the fear of missing out on the opportunity.” When he gave her a look, Lusi rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know– so many people just chomping at the bit to move to a dying town in the middle of the desert!– but I was in dire straits, alright? I couldn’t afford to possibly let someone else snatch up the position.” She shrugged it off. “Plus, by applying pending my license, it opened up the opportunity to become the official Town Builder in the first place.” She hesitated in thought, adding. “...and there’s a fourth one too, but it doesn’t really apply to this discussion.”

“Still… I’m afraid I didn’t follow the third reason, Lus’.” Logan admitted outright, intentionally not pushing the final reason if she wasn’t willing to share.

“Yeah… it might be a bit hard to wrap your head around if you don’t know how builder’s school works.” She nodded, understanding his confusion at the wording. “Okay, so what normally happens is: Your first and second years are spent getting your core skills down, followed by an apprentice year under an established builder at a pre-approved workshop. After that, your fourth– or fifth– years are usually spent bouncing around as a journeyman builder. Basically, you intern at different workshops to network and practice until you’re good enough to pass your overall proficiency tests and graduate.”

Lusi let out a long sigh. “However, traveling outside the desert without some sort of dedicated assistance is nearly impossible for me due to my condition; sh*t, the only reason I was able to stay somewhat independent in Highwind for as long as I did was because my friend Nia gave me her childhood dressage pony before I entered builder’s school. He was just the right height for me to be able to mount up on without help any time, so she taught me how to ride Old World English style ‘cause that's what he was exclusively trained in.” She gave him a half-shrug. “And as it turned out, the saddle and movements were actually easier on my hip in general at the time, so it worked out pretty well.”

“Wait… are you actually tellin’ me that for five whole years, you were literally prancin’ around Highwind on a fancy lil' dressage pony as your main means of transportation?” The hunter asked, fighting to keep a straight face at the visual. “I… don’t suppose there are any pictures of you on said pony–”

“Anyway…” The builder cut him off through her teeth with a testy glare, causing the man to snicker. “...not being able to complete the travel aspect of your training isn’t an unheard of problem– hell, there are plenty of disabled builders out there in rougher shape than me. Which is part of the reason why exclusive licenses are even a thing.” She explained slowly, trying to give him time to comprehend the sheer amount of info she was throwing at him. “It’s a simple relationship at its core; I dedicate myself to the town, and the town, in turn, dedicates itself to me. Which basically translates to: I pull my weight for the big jobs, and the town pays the vast majority of my medical bills.”

“Really?” He blinked in surprise. “Hold on– is that why they always make you do somethin’ for every goddamn town project instead of just splittin’ whole jobs between you and Mi-an?”

“Yep.” She replied simply with a nod. “If it’s a project paid for primarily with taxpayer money, then, as the Town’s Builder, I’m contractually obligated to handle at least one section of it.”

“But, if that's the case, why did you volunteer to help build the school?” Logan asked, not even trying to hide the curiosity in his voice. “Mi-an paid for that, not the town…”

“Oh, I hopped on the school build because A. It needed to be done, like, yesterday, and B. I figured getting it finished early would net everyone involved a hefty bonus– and f*ck if I wasn’t right!” She grinned with a waggle of her brows. “Didn’t you notice my fence line expanded again? Bought another parcel of land the day after the school opened.”

“So you finally got the factory paid off!” He smiled back, genuinely happy for her. “That’s great, Lus’!”

“Hmm? Oh, no.” The builder’s own smile faded as her expression darkened somewhat. “No… I’m afraid that pay back won't be fulfilled for quite some time…”

Before the hunter had a chance to question her further, however, she was already back on track to the subject at hand. “Regardless… when I put in my application with the intent of an exclusive license, it opened up opportunities for me to tailor my education to the town’s needs; in my case, Trudy sent a list of skills that Sandrock’s official Town Builder would be required to have. Because of that, I was able to train specifically to be a desert builder beforehand, as well as start my apprenticeship in my second year. And in addition to my standardized skillset, I was also required to meet a certain level of aptitude in everything on that list before I could graduate and begin work here.”

She lifted a hand to punctuate her next words with her fingers. “Scrap salvaging, energy efficiency, water conservation, extra courses on plumbing– which at the time did seem a bit over-the-top for a town with active water rationing in place– but DAMN if they haven't come in handy!” She scoffed incredulously. “In short: instead of traveling, I spent my journeyman years getting the specification that required the most time to master nailed down, while also honing my skills overall. But on the bright side, other than the stuff I had to learn from experience– like sandstorms– my customized education meant I was able to move in and hit the ground running.”

As he opened his mouth to speak, she suddenly held up a finger to keep him from interrupting as a smile twitched at the corner of her lips. “...And the three, non-negotiable, must-haves at the top of that list of skills? Adeptness in marksmanship– along with firearm and melee weapon maintenance-slash-production know-how.”

The smile grew wider as she watched the hunter’s eyes light up. “The school couldn’t even cover half of that, so arrangements had to be made through the goddamn Alliance for me to apprentice with the only f*cking gunsmith in both sides of Highwind.” She blew a puff of air out from between her lips in vexation. “And Light– you wouldn’t BELIEVE the amount of paperwork involved for just having a gun in Highwind, let alone learning how to make one! sh*t– even after all that bureaucratic bullsh*t, I still wasn’t allowed to own a firearm until Trudy got back into town and signed the last forms herself.”

“Well f*ck.” Logan swore plainly, “Lusi… if that didn’t just clear up about twenty goddamn questions…” He trailed off as he broke into a soft laugh, covering his mouth with his hand as the understanding overall sank in. “Light on a legume– No wonder you seemed… weirdly competent compared to most transplant builders!”

“Competency entirely by design, I assure you!” She laughed with a crooked grin. “And when it comes to my weapon skill sets: while my bladesmithing is obviously more honed, ballistics are where my true passion lies– I’m just… very much kneecapped in that department, unfortunately.” The builder sighed sadly, slumping in the saddle. “They were stupid stringent with that aspect of my training– even confiscated all my diagrams and handbooks at graduation– so… my creative options nowadays are limited to literally whatever I can get my hands on.”

“sh*t– for me? That’s better than nothin’...” The hunter chuckled, still reeling somewhat. “Lusi, I can’t tell you how many times Pa griped about there not bein’ a proper gunsmith near town– especially whenever we had to go a few days up north to the central Trading Post just to get somethin’ replaced or fixed.” He sighed with a breathy laugh. “A gunsmith… well, guess that also explains why you seemed so jazzed when I gave you Pa’s shotgun.”

“Logan, I just about kissed you on the goddamn mouth when you handed me that gun.” She stated abruptly (and seriously) enough that he was physically taken aback. As he stared at her dumbly in shock, she took a shaky breath, fluttering her eyelids in near euphoria. “That… was THE most beautiful shotgun I had ever seen in my f*cking life, and you just turned around and were like: ‘Here, take it!’”

A low chortle welled up from her throat. “...you best believe the minute I was released from the clinic after the Ruins, I sat down at my kitchen table to take her apart and put her back together again three goddamn times in a row: First time to clean her, second time to make a diagram– can’t recreate her perfectly, but I wouldn’t want to– and the third time was just for ME.” She sighed in what could only be described as sheer bliss. “f*ck. I love that gun.”

The hunter couldn’t help but break out into a grin from ear to ear as the tiny girl gushed over his father’s beloved firearm. “Light, Lus’... I’m thrilled to see it found a good home, but– if you like it so much… how come I’ve never seen you use it?” He smiled, shaking his head inquisitively. “I mean, I can understand not firin’ it off in the Ruins– we were tryin’ not to kill anyone after all– but…” He grit his teeth, “...I bet it would have come in handy for you in the tunnel.”

Her rapturous glee evaporated almost instantly, replaced by an almost pitiful sorrow. “...Logan. I can create works of ballistic art: pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles; you give me a diagram– or one to take apart– it’s all yours! I can make melee weapons, ammo, bombs, and now thanks to Haru, even f*ckin’ grenades– But… alas! I, like Larry, am cursed to lead others to a treasure I cannot possess…” She lamented, her tone nothing short of mournful.

“...come again?”

“sh*t kicks like a goddamn mule.” She said dejectedly, her bottom lip jutting out in an actual pout. “I needed an outing after the Civil Corps debacle, so I rode over to the badlands for a test fire later that day. I already knew what the results would be, but… I just couldn’t help myself!” She exhaled through her nose. “Sure enough: recoil knocked me flat on my ass and it was so loud it spooked the horse– had to chase her down for almost a f*cking hour…”

The hunter’s eyes widened. “You’re joking.”

“I’m telling you– that horse is fast as f*ck; If I hadn’t had sugar on me that day, I probably would have had to walk hom–”

“No, no– not that.” Logan shook his head as he cut her off. “Lusi. You can’t handle the recoil of that gun?” He asked in near horror, suddenly feeling guilty for his spur-of-the-moment decision.

The builder shook her head with a thin, sad smile. “Logan, I can’t even handle the recoil of that impeccable .44 magnum on your hip– it’d snap my goddamn wrist in half.” She said confidently, gesturing to his holstered firearm. “Which is an absolute travesty because Light!– Just the sound alone is f*cking GOREGEOUS.” Lusi practically moaned, taking a breath afterwards to follow it up with a morose sigh. “No… unfortunately. That exquisite 12 gauge will ever be the water to my Tantalus; so close, yet… forever out of reach. For I am tragically fated to wield only the most moderate of recoils: 9mm, .38 special, 20 gauge– 16, if my back is to a wall…”

“Lusi… I am so, so sorry…” He apologized sincerely, now heartbroken for her as a fellow marksman more than anything else. “If I had thought for even a second that the recoil might cause you problems, I never would have given you that gun in the first place. If you want, I can–”

“No-take-backs.” She snapped curtly, cutting him off before any sort of offer could even be made.

Startled by the assertive response, the hunter blinked. “But… Lus’. You can’t… use it right now.”

“Don’t care.” She shook her head in wide-eyed possessiveness. “That gun is mine.”

After the initial stun wore off, Logan couldn’t help but shake his head at her resolute stubbornness. “...Fine –but!” He added with just the whisper of a smile. “...If you ever wanna go down to the range with me sometime– if for no other reason than so I can see exactly how bad it is for myself– just… gimme a holler, alright? You know I’m always down for a bit of target practice.” He finally broke into a genuine smile, adding with a wink, “Who knows? Might even help you fire the magnum, too.”

She sighed despondently. “While I truly appreciate that second offer, Bandit…” The builder said gloomily as she turned to face forward in the saddle again. “...it’s just not the same.” Before she could ruminate on her longing lamentations any longer, her thoughts seemed to be jarred by a soft repetitive chirping sound. Scrunching her nose, she immediately began digging into the side pocket of her coveralls. “Dammit, I knew I was forgetting to do something…”

“What’s that?” Logan asked, pushing his own ruminations on recoil mitigation to the back of his mind.

“My eleven o’clock alarm." She replied as she retrieved a small electronic clock from her pocket and began fiddling with the buttons on the side. "Found an Old World watch on one of my first dives here. It keeps time just fine, but… I can’t seem to be able to keep a strap on it reliably. So now I just carry it on me and use it to set reminders– mainly for lunch.”

“You have to keep an alarm on you to remind yourself to eat…?” He murmured quietly, trying to mask his concern somewhat.

“I tend to forget everything else when I have stuff on my hands.” She replied, her tone clearly irritated, but directed solely on the still beeping device in her hand. “And since my breakfasts are generally on the lighter side, I make a point to never skip lunch outright. Light, last thing I need is Venti finding me passed out in the mines– trust me, her freak-outs are no joke."

The hunter couldn’t help but snort at that, "That was your idea of a light breakfast?" He asked dryly, spurring the goat forward into motion again.

"Pain in the ass antique…" She muttered with a growl before slamming a different button and finally getting the shrill alarm silenced. "f*ckit, I'll just reset the damn thing tomorrow– and no, that was brunch, obviously– hence not needing the lunch alarm. I'll just eat a solid dinner tonight and be fine." As she unceremoniously shoved the watch back into the pocket, she blinked in realization. “Uh, Logan? You missed the turn."

“If it's only just now eleven, we’re makin’ decent time.” He said in a neutral tone, “Besides, the long way around has less chance of accidentally jostlin’ your leg,” and also gives you a few extra minutes to live. He added mentally with a sly smirk, glancing down at the horrendous braid again.

“Eh... Fair enough.” She shrugged, still blissfully unaware of the fact she was on her way to the gallows. “Oh, and before I forget: after we get done dropping off this comm, I gotta swing into City Hall to drop off my expansion request with Trudy; as mortifying as this is to say, I might actually need you to carry me up the stairs, eugh.”

His smirk faltered. “You haven’t even paid off the factory and you’re already lookin’ to renovate again?”

“Again, the factory is a long-term pay back; and while I’m probably not gonna expand my property again after this, I do want to add a greenhouse now that I have the space for it.”

Logan was now frowning slightly as he paused for a moment to check the cross traffic at the stairway before guiding Rambo down the slope at a leisurely trot. “...Ain’t you busy enough without adding year-round plantin’ to the mix?”

The builder shrugged dismissively. “With the amount of tourists starting to roll in, I bet Zeke is gonna start having a harder time keeping up with the food demand sooner or later. Figured: I've got the land, might as well put in a greenhouse to grow some for myself and give out the surplus. Plus, since most of my machines are fully automated now, I can have Rosy do most of the daily grunt work to keep her occupied and do the expansion on my own as a personal project over Winter– hence going to Trudy and not Heidi.” She reasoned, adding with an air of finality, “No sense sitting back being useless.”

“Don’t mean you should be workin’ yourself into an early grave, either…” He murmured to himself, too low for her to hear. He didn’t press the matter further, however, as they were almost at their final stop.

Slowing Rambo to a halt in front of parlor doors, Logan dismounted first and stepped up to stand beside the goat to assist her with the dismount process the way they had previously practiced. Once he was in position, Lusi manually pulled her left leg to the opposite side of the saddle, while simultaneously sliding her right arm across his shoulders for balance. As soon as she had indicated she was ready, Logan effortlessly lifted her out of the saddle and carefully lowered her to the ground, holding her steady as she leaned over to retrieve the cane from where it was strapped to the goat’s tack.

“You know, Bandit? It’s a shame you can’t dance worth a damn, ‘cause you've honestly got a knack for lifting.” She mused lightheartedly. “Light– what my director wouldn’t have done for someone of your height for partner routines.” She snorted, placing the cane in her good hand and shifting her weight onto it, allowing the taller man to step away.

He chortled as he pulled away from her and began unstrapping the final box from Rambo’s saddle. “I wouldn’t say I have a knack, it’s just that you don’t weigh much more than a sack of goddamn potatoes.” He blinked, still slightly astonished by what he witnessed just an hour or so prior. “–which is insane, considerin’ how much food you can put away…”

“Eh, what can I say? It ain’t easy maintaining this ‘willowy frame’.” Lusi shrugged indifferently, turning towards the double doors. As she did, however, she caught a glimpse of just how disheveled her hair had become in the reflection of the glass. “sh*t.” She swore, turning back to face him. “Logan… how's my hair look…?”

Logan stopped halfway through the process of pulling the box down to look at her, his face neutral but with amusem*nt dancing in his eyes. “…You’re just now askin’ me that question?”

The builder’s eyes widened in alarm. “Is it really that bad?”

“Nah.” He said dismissively as he finished pulling the box off of the saddle and lifted it onto his shoulder. He clicked a command, and Rambo went trotting over to the nearby watering trough across the square. “I daresay it looks better than Andy’s second ever attempt at makin’ a rope.” He winked, but overall was still sporting a stone-faced neutrality as he briskly walked past her towards the parlor’s doors.

Realizing the danger she was suddenly in, the doomed woman deliberated for a moment before smiling at the taller man weakly. “…think you could handle this one on your own…?”

Unphased, the hunter pushed the door open with one hand, sending it swinging inward with an almost eerie silence. “Nnnope.”

She let out a soft whine and crumpled slightly for a few moments, before finally straightening back up with a sigh. Limping past him, she walked through the Parlor’s threshold to face the music… only to find the foyer empty upon arrival.

“Let's get this over with…” She grumbled, clearing her throat before calling out towards the stairs. “Knock knock~!”

“That you, Mi-an?” Pablo’s voice called down from the loft upstairs. “You got that bell repaired quick!”

Lusi headed farther into the foyer, stopping just short of the two small steps serving as the transition into the salon area; Logan knew she didn’t dare go up them, as it would make a quick getaway impossible. “Sorry Pabi-babi– it’s your second-favorite builder! Got the goods all fixed up for ya, just gonna set them on the spare workstation!”

She turned back to look at Logan and jerked her head towards salon chairs. “Hurry!” She hissed at him, keeping her voice no higher than a whisper. “The quicker you get unpacked, the faster we can both get out of here.”

While a small part of him wanted her to have to face the consequences of her own stubbornness, a larger part of him could not deny his own desire to get this particular delivery over and done with as soon as humanly possible. Nodding, Logan briskly walked past her and up the steps towards the barber’s work area.

“That. is. fabulous, dahling!” Pablo called down again, unaware of the mutual attempt to flee occurring just below him, “Hang tight, I’ll be right down with your payment!”

“Oh, no– that’s okay!” She cried out quickly, just barely controlling the panic in her voice. “Give it to Wei– he’ll get it to me! Just gonna get ‘em unloaded and head out– rain’s gonna roll in later, and it’s already got my hip completely acting up; wanna get off it sooner rather than later.”

“Right, I heard about that!– and about how Wei read you the riot act when he saw the cane.” He tsk’d loudly enough it could be heard downstairs. “You’d think a man as meticulous as him would have already been aware of your condition!”

“Oh, he was.” She griped, lip twitching slightly. “Hell, I had a whole-ass meeting with him after he took over to discuss ‘reasonable accommodations’. I said I didn’t need any damn accommodations, so what does he do? He takes it upon himself to make some FOR me! Three days of medical leave whenever I need to use the cane is apparently one of 'em– even got Fang to sign off on it behind my back. f*ckin’ tyrant!”

Logan and Pablo seemingly paused in tandem, with the hunter looking up midway through placing the crate on the chair before whispering the same question in unison with the hairdresser upstairs: “It is paid, isn't it?”

Lusi jumped slightly at the bizarre simultaneous inquiry. “Yes, it’s paid– Peach alive…” She assured them before shaking it off. “...and by the Commerce Guild to boot– though even if it wasn’t, Light knows how many vacation days I have saved up from the town that I’ll never use.”

The hunter shrugged, his main concern abated for the time being as he finished putting the crate down; Pablo, meanwhile, was not assuaged so easily. “Well, while I’m glad to hear that…” His tone shifted to one of genuine concern. “...Lusi-baby, if I can be completely honest? You are well overdue for a long vacation.” A sigh deep enough to be heard despite the distance cut through the air. “And while I’m all for burning the midnight oil on occasion… Sweetness, you just can’t keep running as hard as you have been.”

“I’m fine, Mom.” The builder sighed in exasperation. “Now can we please drop it so I can finish up and get going? I’m not exactly doing the 100 meter dash today as it is.” As she spoke, she gestured with her hand for Logan to hurry up and unload the crate.

“...Fine.” He yielded– much to Logan’s legitimate surprise. “But rest assured: we are going to have a long conversation about this the next time you’re in my chair.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we will…” She grumbled in agreement, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.

Meanwhile, Logan opened the crate in question and was downright flabbergasted by what he found inside. Grabbing the first one, he pulled it out of the box and whispered to her from where he stood. “Why in the blazes does he need five goddamn hair blowers?”

“Faulty wiring in the outlet.” She whispered back with a shrug and a roll of her eyes. “Says it’s cheaper to have me to repair ‘em than it would be to rewire the damn thing– I think he just likes having a reason for me to come by more often.”

The hunter shook his head in disbelief and quickly unloaded the remaining dryers onto the counter. Closing the now empty box, he briskly began walking back across the foyer to open the door. “Okay, let’s scoot.”

She grinned at him gratefully. “Alright, all set! Love ya, Paboo! Talk to you later~!” She trilled, turning to follow behind the hunter– albeit at a much slower pace. However, no sooner had Logan gotten the door propped open was she paralyzed on the spot by a quiet, yet no less outraged:

“What. the. f*ck…?”

Lusi met Logan’s eyes silently, her face pitiful and hopeful at the same time. ‘...save me?’

Logan, however, knew that tone. From his position outside the open door, he slowly shook his head side to side, eyes wide in near terror. ‘Not. A. Chance.’

She sighed, drooping her head in defeat. “This… may take a while.” She murmured with a sigh, accepting her fate. “Bandit… would you be so kind as to take the paperwork to Trudy for me, please? Right-hand saddlebag…” She smiled at him sadly, “...and… remember me fondly.”

“Of course, darlin’.” The hunter nodded solemnly, the sincerest of promises in his eyes. “I’ll be back for you.” He paused, “–Later. Much later.”

The builder nodded in complete understanding before drawing in a deep breath and turning her back on him to face the Enraged Alpha Pablo standing at the top of the stairs. “Heeeey, Pabs…” She placated weakly. “How’s it goi–”

“Chair. N o w .”

Logan took that as his cue to pull the door shut and make his escape. Sorry darlin’, he laughed nervously to himself. Best of luck, but… you’re on your own with that one.

Being late morning on a Wednesday, Logan wasn’t at all surprised to find city hall a ghost town when he walked in, but even the front desk– where Trudy usually did her work– was totally vacant. Still, it was too early for her to be taking her lunch, so he knew she had to be somewhere close by.

“Trudy?” He called out in no particular direction, only to be greeted by a muffled ‘In the office!’ from off to the side. The hunter instantly hung a left to the unassuming green door along the wall. The small office used to be Theo’s primary workarea, but since Trudy generally preferred doing her work out in the open, the space had been mostly relegated to archive-keeping and secure file storage in recent years. And while finding her actively working in the room was a rarity, the office’s core functionality couldn't be denied– it connected City Hall directly to her apartment next door, after all.

Upon reaching the door, he knocked as a courtesy before opening it immediately afterwards, poking his head in. “Mornin’ Trudes!”

The mayor glanced up from the paperwork she was archiving and smiled. “Logan! How good to see you!” Trudy greeted him warmly, her eyes slipping to the packet of documents in his hand as the hunter shut the door behind himself. “…Is there… something I can help you with?”

“Nothin’ for me.” He said with a shake of his head as he approached the desk, halting the removal of his hat as the smaller woman casually waved the action off. “Just doin’ a little bit of legwork for Lusi today.”

Trudy frowned in slight confusion before mildly jolting in recollection “Ah! Yes, the rain– of course!” She cut her eyes with a nod. “I almost completely forgot; Owen did mention you were helping her today because of that.” She sighed sympathetically. “Poor thing– she must be in a bad way if she couldn’t make it up the stairs.”

Logan shook his head, “Well, it’s not that she couldn’t make it up the stairs, but rather… she didn’t make it to the stairs.” As he saw the confusion and concern appear in her expression, he added with a soft chuckle, “I think she was too embarrassed– or stubborn– to ask for my help fixin’ her hair this mornin’, and our last delivery was at Pablo’s. Needless to say, I suddenly had some time to kill, so…” He half shrugged, letting the sentence complete itself as he handed the documents off to her.

“Oh, well, there’s not much helping that, then.” The mayor laughed nervously in relief. Taking the envelope, she wasted no time beginning a cursory inspection of the contents of the packet.

“Though, on our way here…” Logan opened, deciding to address the question while it was fresh in his mind. “...somethin’ did come up while we were talkin’ that I was kinda curious about.”

“Oh?” Trudy hummed absently “What would that be?”

He co*cked his head to the side slightly. “Trudes… is it true Lus’ trained for four years before movin here to become the Town’s Builder?”

The smaller woman immediately looked up from the papers in her hands. “Well? I–… yes?” She faltered, clearly surprised. “Logan, you weren’t already aware? I thought Howlett–”

“Pa?” He cut her off; it was now his turn to be surprised. “He knew she was movin’ here?”

Trudy nodded haltingly. “Why… yes! Now– while I wanted the situation to stay as quiet as possible from the get-go just to avoid people getting their hopes up– I knew it wasn’t a decision I should make on my own. So, when her application first came in, I held a private meeting between myself, Zeke, Howlett, Justice, Matilda and Yan. After we decided as a group to accept her request to become Town Builder, we all made suggestions on how to customize her education to fill some gaps in the town’s needs; Then, we put the suggestions to a vote.” She explained slowly, obviously still reeling somewhat from the realization that he wasn’t in on the loop.

Logan blinked, obviously leery of the last two names. “Did… everyone suggest something?”

“As a matter of fact… yes.” The mayor replied, as she finally shook off the stun. “I suppose it goes without saying Howlett suggested gunsmith training, but… Matilda wanted her trained in water conservation tactics, Zeke energy efficiency methods; Yan actually made two: scrap salvaging and extra courses on plumbing.” Her eyebrow twitched slightly in vexation. “I had a feeling at the time that the first one was just to get out of teaching her that himself– but in hindsight? I really should have been more suspicious of that second one as well…”

“...and Justice added the marksmanship training…” Logan completed, nodding his head in understanding as he leaned his shoulder against the nearby bookshelf.

“Oh no. Justice only wanted her to have a thorough grasp on melee weapon fabrication.” She rebuked immediately, shrugging when he glanced up in surprise. “Let’s face it, dear: Mason wasn’t the best bladesmith in the Eufaula, and Hugo is always covered up with general purpose work.” Trudy chuckled with a light scoff. “No, I was the one who insisted on marksmanship. Matilda wasn’t happy, but she got outvoted…”

“You did?” Logan didn’t even try to hide the shock in his voice. “But… why? Didn’t she tell y’all she already had combat trainin’?”

“Oh of course– Light, you should have seen Justice and Howlett’s faces when they saw her letter of recommendation from an instructor for the Seesaian Royal Army…” She chortled brightly. “Granted… I don’t think Matilda or Yan ever really cared about that aspect of her resume; they were much too focused on the glowing review from the builder who she informally apprenticed under while abroad.”

The small woman let out a deep sigh, setting the paperwork in her hands down on the table. “And as for why… I knew she was going to need a reliable means of self-defense when she first got here; and as a fellow petite woman living in the desert, I have first-hand experience of just how quickly a situation can become dangerous if you don’t have access to a firearm and know how to use it effectively." Trudy said confidently, her voice resolute. “I wanted her to be able to keep herself safe until she was capable of doing so herself.”

"I find that a bit hard to believe." He admitted plainly, dubious of the notion itself. "I mean sure– she admitted she was rusty when she first arrived, but… makin’ her go through the trouble of gettin’ proficient in marksmanship when she only uses a gun in a fight if she absolutely has to? Plus, she’s limited on the calibers she can actually handle.” The hunter shook his head, still slightly guilty. “Hell, I just about cried when she told me she couldn’t use Pa's shotgun because of the recoil…”

"Well that’s hardly surprising– That 12 gauge Howlett favored always did kick like a mule." Trudy stated matter-of-factly. "...and her physical limitations were exactly the reason why I insisted she learn marksmanship on top of the general gun use and safety course that was going to be in her training regardless.” The woman lifted her eyebrows, looking down the bridge of her nose at him. “Though, to be quite honest, Logan? I think you need to give her a little more credit– she makes what she can use work well for her." The mayor paused, adding with a brief incredulous shake of the head, "Perhaps a bit too well, if the bounty records are anything to go by…"

Logan wasn't sure what she meant by that last bit, but he didn't want to get too far off track. "Oh, I’m not tryin’ to deny her skill– sh*t, that girl had security lasers popped in the Ruins before I even registered they were there…" He admitted with an incredulous head shake of his own before shrugging it off. “...I guess what I’m askin’ is: how could you be so dang certain that she’d be completely defenseless when she got here? She said she never got to visit Sandrock before she moved.”

Trudy drew in her breath and let it out in a deep, brooding sigh. “Let me show you something.” She leaned over to the side of the desk, and a moment later, Logan heard the sound of a drawer being unlocked and rolled open. After a few seconds of perusing, the mayor retrieved a file and slid it towards him with a nod.

Frowning, the man apprehensively picked up the small manilla envelope labeled ‘Builder Plan– Pic.’ and opened it. Inside were just two pieces of paper; photographs, judging by the feel. As he pulled both out, his eyes fell upon the larger of the two first: a casual shot of two girls– one dark haired, the other blonde– embracing in front of a windswept field. A simple date of ‘Spring 95’ had been scrawled in one of the corners.

Recognizing neither right away, he slipped the smaller picture to the front; it was an official-looking headshot. Instantly, his eyes were drawn to the identification printed along the bottom in harsh block letters: ‘Lusia’ D. – Y93.S3.M1.D15.

Logan’s breath was cut short. If his math was right, the photo would have been taken around the time she entered builder’s school, but… he never would’ve believed it was the same Lusi he knew.

The girl in the photo was an absolute wreck, with sloppily trimmed locks of straggly black hair that only served to highlight the languid paleness of her skin and hollowness of her cheeks. But… what truly broke his heart was how listless and dull her eyes were– a far cry from the sharp, vibrant green he was used to. In truth, the only thing that proved that it was her was the distinctive patch of dark reddish-pink skin over her right eye.

A lump formed in his throat as his eyes snapped back over at the more recent photograph; he still didn’t recognize the blonde, but as he looked closer, he slowly began to register Lusi’s general features in the other.

In the casual shot, she looked somewhat healthier in the face- but that could easily be attributed to the makeup she was wearing, which had been applied more heavily than he had ever seen the entire time he had known her. Additionally, on second inspection, it was now quite obvious to him that, rather than casually embracing, the blonde woman was actually helpling Lusi stand as they smiled for the camera. Scanning the background quickly, he spied a familiar black and gold cane leaned up against the fence behind them– likely set aside so they could take the photo without it front-and-center.

What alarmed Logan the most, though: the reason he didn’t recognize her at first glance was because she was thin– somehow thinner than she was now. To the casual observer, she probably wouldn’t look too bad, but… the jacket wrapped around her waist– tied so tightly that it was practically a skirt– betrayed the true state of her health to him; He recognized it as one she had worn just recently, and in the same fashion– but when she wore it then, it hadn’t even come close to engulfing her the way that it did in the photo.

Still… for as feeble as she was, there was a brightness to her eyes that wasn’t there in the first picture, and her hair– while still straw-like and much shorter than it was now– had at least been cut more neatly. But despite her smile and how much better she looked in comparison to the first photograph, the tightness in her expression told him she was undoubtedly in pain to some degree.

Swallowing dryly, Logan looked up at the mayor cautiously. “Trudy… should you be showin’ me these photos?”

“Yes and no.” She admitted plainly, not a hint of remorse. “No, in that the photograph taken upon her enrollment in builder's school is technically a confidential document. However, she openly sent the other photo alongside her second year evaluation– she wanted to give the handful of us who were aware of the Builder Plan the opportunity to put a face to the name.”

“Then why would you show them to me?” He inquired, slightly appalled. “I don’t appreciate seein' somethin’ personal about Lusi without her permission– why would you willingly breach her confidence like this?”

“Because you should have been made aware of the Builder Plan four years ago.” She stated, lacing her fingers on the desk. “And as for the official photo: Lusi told me in her correspondence that she didn’t care about whether or not it was kept strictly confidential, just that I use my best judgment when sharing it; the only other person I’ve ever shown it to was Howlett. That said, I showed them to you in order to ask a question:” Glancing up, the smaller woman met his eyes. “Logan, does that girl in 93 look fully capable of defending herself in the desert the moment she stepped off the train?"

He glanced back down at the impossibly frail version of Lusi that stared back at him from the papers. “sh*t… Forget 93– in the second one, I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me the other gal was the only thing keepin’ her from gettin’ blown away by that wind…" He sighed sadly with a shake of his head, only to be suddenly struck with a realization. “Wait… you know about–” He paused. “Actually, I guess you were the first to know about her scar, but– …she said she didn’t care if the photo where you can see it was kept confidential?”

“Yes– I was quite surprised as well, especially after I met her and saw how hard she tries to keep it concealed." She confirmed, nodding her head. "Of course, I tried to ask her about it once, but… after she told me it was a ‘very long, very not-sober story’, I just decided to leave it be.” The mayor shrugged. “And unless it directly impacts her ability to work, it’s legally none of my business.”

Logan swallowed again before finally slipping the photographs back into the envelope and putting it back down on the desk; even if she was leagues better now, it still hurt to see her in such a fragile state. “There’s still one thing I’m still havin’ trouble graspin’ though: if you wanted her to learn marksmanship to defend herself, then… why wasn’t she allowed to have a gun until after you got back to town?”

Rage suddenly flashed across Trudy’s eyes, followed by a forceful exhale to keep her anger in check. “Logan… while exclusive licenses aren’t all that unheard of– for a city-state to specifically request that their first and only Town Builder be trained in firearm production was completely unprecedented. As such, the Alliance demanded a final set of ‘liability forms’ be signed upon her arrival, in order for the town to be held responsible should her weapons end up in the wrong hands.” Despite her best efforts to rein herself in, the petite woman couldn’t help but let her frustration slip. “Honestly! They were acting like we wanted her to mass-produce fully automatic submachine guns– not repair and replace worn-down equipment as needed!"

His face twisted in an odd mix of concern and intrigue. “Can… she make those?”

“She certainly wasn’t trained to! But… if she ever found one and took it apart…?” Trudy laughed as she let the sentence trail off, a legitimate nervousness in her tone. “Regardless– they didn’t even inform us that they would be sending that paperwork until after I had already left for my research trip– and without those papers signed by me? She legally couldn’t make or own any firearms until I got back.”

“What?!” He cried out, now somewhat incensed himself. “But!– They already signed off on her learnin’ to make guns– why the hell would they need separate paperwork for her to own one in the first place?”

“That’s exactly what I said!– Ooh, you should have SEEN the telegraph I sent to our representative when I got back!” She blew out a breath to calm herself down as she took the envelope of photographs off the desk and refiled into the locked drawer. “...thankfully, it seems that the climate– paired with regular acupuncture from Fang– worked wonders for her health. As I understand it, she began improving rapidly following her arrival, rendering it unnecessary for her to rely on a gun as her sole means of defense by early Autumn. But…” The small woman sighed. “l still feel terrible that she was left a sitting duck for even a little while– who knows what could have happened…”

Logan was also trying to keep his temper in check at this point; instead, he tried to focus on the initial topic that started the discussion in the first place. "And to think, despite all the nonsense she had to go through, she still studied for four years to live here– and without even bein’ able to visit first…" His thoughts flickered back to the older photograph; the sickly pallor of her sunken face. “...guess she wasn’t kiddin’ about bein’ in dire straits…"

Trudy didn't pick up on the last part, as she was already back to looking through the contents of the paperwork he had delivered once more. "If things had gone my way? She would have been moved down here after one.” She scoffed, only glancing up when she sensed him staring at her in confusion. “Lusi first applied at the tail end of her first year of builders school, back in 94. We sent the list of skills, she trained in all but one of them, and her proficiency was evaluated in Spring of 95. She passed; with the exception of the last item on the list, Lusi was otherwise fully qualified to begin working as Sandrock's Town Builder by the time that second photograph was taken– by our own standards."

"What?!" Logan yelled out, startled. "But– how?! She said it usually takes four years of trainin’ to become a builder."

"Usually it does– sometimes longer, in fact.” The woman nodded. “Which is why we were floored when we got word she had passed all her required proficiency tests; heck, Justice just about fainted when he saw she surpassed her minimum marksmanship rating right out the gate…" Trudy chuckled with a sadly bemused sigh. "And… as for how: she made it quite clear in all of her correspondence that she was working through her summer breaks during those first two years and taking extra courses on the side to speed things up. In fact, she was so far ahead in her studies, by the time she initially applied for the position, she had already qualified for– and taken– the Builder surname; she even went so far as to forfeit her family name as a show of commitment. Personally, I was all for her graduating early and moving here in Summer of 95."

He was almost afraid to ask the obvious question. "So… why didn’t she?"

The mayor paused on the spot. “...Yan insisted she would need those extra plumbing courses– He was so adamant, he even went so far as to bring Miguel to a follow-up meeting without permission to back him up!” She sighed forcefully, seemingly vexed at her lack of foresight. “...however, those particular courses had to be done in sequence over the course of multiple years. So, after the six– well, seven– of us took a few days for personal deliberation, we then reconvened to vote for the final time.”

She drew in a deep breath, swallowing her emotions down. “Howlett, Justice, and I voted for her graduating early, while Yan, Miguel, and Matilda voted against; to her credit, Matilda at least seemed to be very much on the fence, but… in the end Zeke was the deciding vote.”

“Zeke saw that picture of her barely able to stand on her own two feet and still voted against gettin’ her here as soon as possible?” Logan gaped in legitimate astonishment. “Trudy, why in Peach’s name would he do that?”

“Trust me Logan, he didn’t do so lightly– when I got back, he told me he couldn’t bring himself to face her for almost two weeks after she arrived.” The petite woman smiled wryly. “But… since her doctor’s reports indicated her condition could be reasonably managed for at least a few more years, he ended up agreeing with Matilda’s argument that it would be best to reduce the risk of possibly having to send her back to Highwind for remedial training later."

She sighed deeply with a conceding nod. “In the long run, the plumbing courses would undoubtedly be beneficial to the moisture farm; not to mention, forcing her to go back for more training after getting established would be less than ideal for all parties involved.” Trudy shook her head softly with a half-shrug. “And in the end, everyone came to peace with the decision after the extra training paid off right away following the Geegler attack on the farm.”

Logan set his jaw, uncomfortable with his own mixed emotions about the subject. “That all may be true but… Lus' had to have been gutted.”

The woman dipped her head, an almost regretful look on her face. “Lusi’s never admitted as much, but… yes. I do think it was quite the blow to her confidence there for a bit; in fact, it took her an extra year to complete what should have been a two-year program. But, despite her stumble… she didn’t give up.”

A small, somewhat proud smile twitched at her lips. “When I got back to town and tried to apologize for… everything, she told me that she eventually took it as a sign from the universe to, and I quote: ‘get as good as she could f*cking get’ in the subject– and by the Light, she did! They actually had to send her Master Plumber’s certification to her by mail because the ink literally hadn’t dried by the time she left Highwind."

“Really…?” Logan asked softly, unable to find it in him to say more than that as the wistfulness ebbed back into his core. To think: she had been that close to actually meeting his Pa– been able to get to know him, not just hear about him. sh*t– he and Haru could have gotten the opportunity to meet her for the first time under less… unusual circ*mstances– and as goddamn neighbors, no less!

After a few more moments of mulling over the strange sense of longing for what could have been, he finally drew in his breath and released the emotions with a long sigh. I s’pose there's no point dwellin’ too much on what didn’t happen…

Trudy let out a deep, wistful sigh of her own. "But… what really eats me up the most about the whole thing is… Howlett was just so excited for her to get here.”

His father’s name being evoked broke him out of his ruminations as he glanced back up at the woman, blinking. “He… was?”

She nodded before breaking out in a wide, beaming grin. “He’d pester me for updates almost every time he dropped by: ‘How’s our Builder, doin’?’, ‘Any word about our Builder, Trudy?’, ‘Our Builder’s still doin’ well, I hope?’– Logan, listening to him? You’d have thought the town was getting ready to welcome a new baby, not a girl in her twenties!”

Logan’s jaw nearly dropped. “Light, Trudy… I knew he was always keen on the idea of havin’ a proper gunsmith in town, but– Pa was really that fired up?”

“That’s actually putting it quite mildly." Her joy faded as she exhaled a laugh of slight bewilderment. "Heck, the year before he passed, I probably talked him off a train to Highwind at least three separate times– and not only that…” Trudy suddenly looked him directly in the eye. “...during the deliberation break, I secretly sent both photographs home with Howlett for a night, so he could use them to properly explain the situation to both of you boys. Given her obvious health concerns at the time– as well as the close proximity of your houses– I thought it would be best if all three of you knew to keep an eye out for her during those first few months.” She paused abruptly, “–and… also so that he could properly warn you about the new neighbor who was going to be running heavy machinery at odd hours.”

Logan couldn’t help but let a chortle slip out. “Yeah, there was a bit of a learnin’ curve with Mi-an when we first moved back into the old house." He coughed, letting the laughter fade as a quiet curiosity took its place. "Still… I wonder why he never told me…"

"As do I, but… I’m sure he had his reasons. That man always did…" Trudy murmured absently, her focus now fully back on the papers in her hand. As she flipped through them, however, a slight frown began to form across her face.

Logan immediately noticed the change in demeanor. "…somethin’ wrong, Trudes?"

The mayor glanced up. "Hmm?" She asked, before realizing she must have not controlled her expression as well as she thought she had. "Yes– No! No… of course not, it’s just…" She stammered somewhat nervously, as her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I’m… sure it’s fine."

"...I'd be glad to lend an ear– heck, I reckon Pablo’d keep her in that chair til the rain rolls in if I let ‘im." The hunter joked casually, belying his true concern. "What’s on your mind, Trudes?"

The petite woman deliberated for a moment before finally sighing, indicating for him to sit down in the chair across the desk from her. "It’s just…" As she spoke, she slipped out a piece of paper from the group, setting it down on the desk for him to see.

As he sat, he leaned forward in the chair to observe the presented piece of paper; with its sketchy lines and simplified details, he immediately recognized it as one of Lusi’s architectural diagrams. At its core, the diagram illustrated a moderately-sized greenhouse connected to the factory; but that was the only thing about it that didn’t surprise him, as he was almost shocked to discover that the plans overall seemed to be much more ambitious than she had initially led him to believe on the ride over.

For one, rather than simply filling out the empty land with the greenhouse– as he had assumed would be the case– it looked as if she intended to build it in front of the factory. While that on its own wasn’t concerning, she had completely failed to mention that she was also looking to use the currently undeveloped land to expand the entire right side of her house, which would nearly double the size of her factory and the two rooms upstairs as a result.

Logan looked the diagram over a few times to ensure he wasn't missing some hidden detail, consciously keeping his face neutral despite his new concerns about the expansion aspect. "Somethin’… structurally wrong with the plans?"

"Ah! Oh, no. That’s not the problem at all." Trudy shook her head quickly, dismissing the notion "While she’s obviously no Heidi… her attention to detail with diagrams is second only to Qi…" She exhaled quietly, obviously trying to mask her own concerns and failing miserably.

He made a split-second decision to act on his suspicions. "So… you’re worried about the plans themselves, then." He asked cautiously, allowing a small frown to curl at the corner of his lips.

Trudy studied his face for a moment before continuing herself. "Well… I suppose I’m just… conflicted, is all." She sighed softly, "As a mayor, I couldn’t be more thrilled to have such an incredibly motivated and competent builder working exclusively for our town." She took a deep, hesitant breath, "…But… as a mother… "

"…you think she’s spreadin’ herself too thin." He finished the sentence for her.

The mayor released the held breath at once. "Precisely," She hummed softly, shaking her head. "Logan, you may not have known her long enough to notice, but… I just can’t shake the feeling that something about her has… changed as of late. Almost like…" Trudy looked at the plans again, leaning back in chair somewhat as she crossed an arm to rest her face in her hand. "I don’t know…"

His face softened as he realized the woman shared his exact concerns. "…like she's constantly on the move? Never givin’ herself a chance to properly rest…?" He offered quietly, showing his hand.

Trudy's eyes snapped up to meet his own in surprise. The two shared a long gaze from across the desk, until at last she whispered in true relief, "Oh, thank goodness! I was starting to think it was just me…"

The alleviation was short lived, however, as the worry crept back into her face as she sat forward towards desk again. "But… by Peach! If you can tell– having really known her for only a few months…?"

Logan sighed, somewhat ashamed that he had only just begun to pick up that something was amiss himself. "I’m… not the only one, actually– judgin’ from what Pablo was sayin’ to her when he didn’t know I was within earshot, I'd reckon he’s also of the same mind…" The hunter leaned back in his chair, mulling over everything he had taken note of up until that moment. "Honestly, though? I only really started worryin’ on the way here– but, I probably should’ve been more concerned this mornin’ when she told me she wanted me to stop doin’ material runs for her…"

"She what?!” The smaller woman cried out, sitting up straight in her chair, “B-But… Logan! That would put so much more work on her!" She stammered, her concern palpable. "Unless, of course, she’s planning on starting a subscription with Rocky or the Moles– but they don’t have any more contracts available until next year. The town and commerce guild took up all the remaining slots for the infrastructure projects, and she certainly didn’t have an existing one before that!"

Alarm bells immediately began to go off in his head.

"So… let me make sure we’re on the same page here…” Logan started slowly as he attempted to gather his thoughts. “It seems that Lusi’s not only plannin’ on goin’ back to procuring all her raw materials herself for at least the next three months– and that’s assumin’ she’s gonna take out contracts at all– but she’s also wantin’ to build this expansion by herself, while she’s already under high demand, right on the edge of Winter–” He paused his runaway thoughts as some little details caught up with him. “–sh*t. She even told me that her hip acts up more in the cold…”

Trudy nodded in confirmation. “It’s true– I saw her on the cane more frequently last Winter than I have any other season, even on days that we didn’t get snow or sleet.”

The hunter glanced back down at the plans, swallowing hard. “Trudy. You can’t approve these plans; She’s liable to work herself to death at this rate!– or at the very least, she’s absolutely gonna get herself hurt.”

The older woman nodded into hand as she leaned her mouth into it. “I agree, but… I can’t just deny her permit, Logan.” She murmured, also looking down at the papers. “She has everything in order; when it comes to paperwork, that girl is meticulous about dotting her i’s and crossing her t’s. Even if I made something up– backlog, accidentally misplaced a file– it would buy a few days, at most!”

Logan sat forward in the chair, drinking in the machinations of Lusi’s self-propelled demise as the gears turned in his head. He’d admittedly never been one for intricate plans– that was always Grace and Haru’s department– but… dammit, he had to at least come up with something.

And sure enough, after a few long seconds… an idea started to form.

“…you might not have to.” He started slowly, his foot bouncing anxiously against the wooden floor. “Or, at least, not yet…”

“What do you have?” Trudy pressed, a determined edge to her voice as she focused on him.

“Nothin’ concrete. Just… thinkin’.” Logan murmured, still looking at the papers themselves. “I just found out Wei’s actually put accommodations in place for her because she refused to ask for any herself. Now– while I’m not quite sure how I feel about that personally– the point stands: If we can tell somethin’s off, and Wei can too– so much so that he’s crossin’ lines like that…” He trailed off in thought momentarily.

The mayor’s mind suddenly snapped back to a particular detail she initially glossed over during Owen’s impromptu announcement in the square, “You want to make Wei freeze her license for a season?" She cried out softly, her eyes wide at the notion of such a draconian response. “Logan, while I both understand and agree with your concern, that’s a bit–”

The hunter immediately threw up a hand and shook his head. “No, no! Not at all!– Light, Trudy; I'd get murdered in my sleep if that happened.” He stated confidently. “Just… lemme finish.” He interlaced his fingers as he leaned over the desk, eyes still glued to the papers. “Trudes, if at least four people in this town can just tell somethin’ ain’t right… don’t you think the Doc would agree too…?”

“While I can see where you’re going with this, Logan… due to her condition, Lusi is mandated to have regular check-ups once a season– and she’s already had hers for Autumn.” Trudy explained, shaking her head. “And while she does go in for acupuncture or medication on an as-needed basis, without proof that she’s actively trying to endanger herself– which I truly don’t feel is the case at all– I have no right to force her to see Fang for an exam for at least a few more weeks.”

“You may not… but I do.” He said firmly, finally glancing up from the paperwork to meet her eyes. “When I made my offer to help her today, I did so with a caveat: if she was still hurtin’ more than usual by the time we were done with all her errands, she agreed to go to the doctor and swore to follow his instructions exactly– whatever they may be.”

Trudy sharply inhaled. “…you’re hoping he’ll order her on a longer break from taking commissions than Wei did.”

Logan nodded, pleased that she was following his train of thought. “…and if she still hasn’t wisened up afterwards? Then maybe some of her documents get ‘misplaced’ for a short time; or… ruin passes stop bein’ issued for a bit for ‘equipment maintenance’. Hell, Justice and I could just declare all the hazardous ruins off limits in general for a little while– what with the critters bunkin’ down in them for the winter…”

As his verbal spitballing continued, he couldn’t help but avert his gaze from her own guiltily. “I… ain’t sayin’ they’re the most honorable tactics, but… sh*t, Trudes! I don’t want to see anyone in this town get hurt.” He sighed, quietly adding, “‘Specially not her…”

She inhaled sharply at the sentiment. “I agree. Lusi is much too important for Sandrock to possibly lose in such a nonsensical manner– but more than that…” Trudy scrubbed her hand across her mouth, “...it would kill me inside, knowing I just sat back and did nothing while she tore herself apart– and for seemingly no reason, at that…” The petite mayor quietly contemplated for a long while, before finally nodding her head resolutely. “Alright, you have my full support. Take her to Fang.”

The hunter flinched slightly at the order. “Well, that’s… still easier said than done.” He shrugged sheepishly at the questioning look Trudy gave him. “Y’see… I also promised her that if she genuinely felt that her meds were managin’ her pain appropriately by the time we got done today… I’d take her home and let her go about her business.”

As he saw the frustration start to build in the mayor’s face, he threw up his hands in vexation. “I didn’t know it was this bad at the time, Trudes! And besides– despite how Pa may have felt– at the end of the day, she’s an adult! She’s allowed to make her own choices when possible, especially if there are options available!”

He deliberately waited for a few seconds to allow the older woman to come to her senses from the knee jerk reaction before continuing.

“Now... let's consider me takin’ her to Fang today as Plan A; and for Plan B… we could still go the ‘consequences’ route; buy us some time for Winter to roll around so you can make her go in for her seasonal check-up. Not to mention, it would also give us a bit more time to observe ‘er– see if she’s actually as out of control as we’re afraid she is.” He explained, the details falling into place as he went. “...Hell, it might even be better that way– I mean, she’s already suspended from takin' any commissions for three days as it is! Most she can really do right now is salvage scrap, mine for minerals, or fight sh*t– and Mi-an, Elsie, or I could easily come up with excuses to tag along for any one of those.”

Trudy quietly considered his words for a moment before nodding again. “…I suppose that would be better; plus, if we do end up bringing Mi-an and Elsie into this… conspiracy, for a lack of a better term, it might make it easier to gradually cajole Lusi into making better choices herself.”

“I… dunno about that one, Trudes.” The hunter muttered, arching an incredulous eyebrow. “I get the feelin’ no matter how we end up goin’ about this, that girl’s gonna do nothin’ but raise hell the whole damn time.”

The petite woman softly laughed. “Yes… I suppose that would be more in line with her personality, wouldn’t it?” She asked rhetorically, reaching out to pat his hand where it rested on the desk. “Thank you, Logan– you don’t know how much of a weight you’ve just taken off my shoulders.” As she spoke, she broke into a wide, genuine smile. “And let me just say… I’m so glad to see you two together– You make a good match.”

Logan gently squeezed her hand in reply. “My pleasure, Trudes.” He returned the smile– only to fully register her words after a few seconds. “But, uh. We– she and I, that is– we aren’t like that–” He stammered, eyes widening in slight panic. “–'Together’, that is.” He clarified, clearing his throat and sitting back in his seat. “We’re just friends and partners– business partners.”

Trudy’s eyebrow twinged ever so slightly before returning to its neutral position. “Oh. I see…” She said slowly, keeping her expression as neutral as possible, but she couldn’t help but let the corner of her mouth curl up just a tick. “Well, in any case… I saw first-hand how exceptionally well you two worked together during the liberation efforts. To be quite honest… I had my fears that you’d never find someone you’d mesh with in combat quite as well as you did your Pa, but…” She smiled, with a slight dip of the head. “...you two also make a fantastic team in that regard as well. I truly think Howlett would have also been thrilled to see the two of you working together– professionally, of course.” She added quickly at the end.

The hunter gave her a genuine smile. “I… appreciate that sentiment, Trudy. I really do.” He nodded before getting to his feet. “Anyhow, I guess I should probably get goin’– I promised to rescue her from Pablo’s clutches later, and… well. It’s later.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s just fine!” Trudy laughed, collecting the paperwork to put it back in the envelope. “I assure you, Pablo’s bark is much worse than his bite.”

Logan’s thoughts were immediately snapped back to just a few weeks prior– to that fateful Sunday morning the dainty barber literally threw him into his hair salon by the wrist.

“Right…” He said uncomfortably before clearing his throat. “Well, uh, anyway– Good to see you, Trudes. I’ll definitely keep you posted if anythin’ changes.” He deflected tactfully as he walked across the office to leave the way he came.

“I appreciate it, Logan, and– stay safe in the rain tonight!.” The small woman called out behind him as he departed.

With a final respectful tip of the hat in parting, he exited the office at last, gently shutting the door behind him.

Chapter 5: Everything is (Not) Fine

Chapter Text

“Like HELL you aren’t! Oooooh! Just you wait– once Logan gets back, then you’re REALLY gonna be in for it!”

He had hardly made it to the wooden walkway surrounding Pablo’s shop when he heard the commotion through the door. Hearing his name being evoked, Logan hastened his last few steps, opening one side of the double doors right as Pablo finished his threat. “–And what will she be in for, exactly?”

“Nothing.” Lusi quickly insisted from her position on the end of the couch in the foyer closest to the stairs. “Because I’m fine– It’s just something that happens sometimes!” While her hair looked much better– now expertly combed and tightly braided down her back– Logan’s primary concern was that she was obviously trying to cover for the fact that she was more than a little shaken up herself.

Pablo, on the other hand, was nothing short of outraged. “Don’t you f*cking lie! It hasn’t happened on any number of the past however-many cane-days you’ve had since you moved here– I. would. KNOW!” He snarled, downright furious at her for some reason. “At most, you’re slightly slowed down, but still saddling up all on your own and taking whole flights of stairs like a f*cking champ!” The stylist abruptly whipped his head around to look at the taller man. “Logan! Tell her right this second that she’s going to Fang’s!”

“Peach on a picnic, I am so goddamn lost right now…” Logan admitted with an exasperated sigh, quickly stepping inside the door and shutting it behind him. “Alright you two… let’s just back up a hair–” He rolled his eyes as Pablo shot him a look for the unintended pun, but stayed on task. “What happened?”

Lusi spoke up before Pablo had a chance. “Nothing happened– I’m fine!” She insisted again, gripping the handle of her cane tightly as she avoided his eyes, all while the embarrassed blush that was initially tinging her ears spread down to her cheeks. “Logan, please take me home. I just–”

“She fell.”

“What?!” Logan bellowed in alarm before immediately reigning himself back in somewhat. “How?”

The stylist jerked his head in the direction of the two small steps behind him. “She rushed down the foyer transition and lost her footing– probably would have busted her head open if she hadn’t caught the trellis with her cane!”

At that, Logan immediately turned his focus on Lusi, quickly scanning for visible damage. “Are you hurt?”

“No!” She asserted firmly, still nervously avoiding his eyes. “And for f*ck’s sake, Pablo– my head was nowhere near the ground. Don’t make it sound so f*ckin’ dramatic!” She huffed frustratedly at the stylist.

“Oh thank the Light.” The hunter quietly sighed in relief as he shot the stylist a glare. “But– it's two goddamn steps. How the hell did you fall?”

“I went down them a bit too fast and my hip hitched for a sec– but like Pablo said, I caught myself on the woodwork!” She dismissed, wringing the handle of the cane in her hands. “And sure, I did land on my bad hip– but I didn’t hit the floor very hard at all. So like I said: I’m. Fine.”

“Your hip hitched ?” Logan repeated, unsure of her meaning. “Like, you mean it got stuck?”

Lusi rocked her head side to side. “Yes, kinda? It’s just something that happens sometimes if I move it or my shoulder too quickly or at the wrong angle on a weather day.” She said, obviously uncomfortable, her embarrassment only growing by the second as he spoke to her.

Pablo scoffed, co*cking his head back. “Maybe so, but it’s not something that happens in MY SALON!” He turned to face Logan directly and looked him in the eye. “Choirboy, you are taking her to Fang’s, and that is final.”

The builder grit her teeth in irritation as she attempted to stand. “Pablo, I’m no–” She protested, only for her sentence to be cut off by a yelp of pain halfway through the attempt. “–sh*t!” she swore, losing her balance and collapsing back into seat.

Logan didn’t even have a chance to react; Pablo was on her in a flash, and before the hunter knew it, the two were squabbling and cussing too fast for him to keep up. This is exactly the reason why I usually improvise instead of botherin’ with multiple plans… He concluded with a sigh of resignation as he straightened his posture.

“Enough!” The hunter commanded, and both squabblers immediately fell silent as they looked at him. “...help her outside while I get Rambo.”

“That’s what I thought.” Pablo scoffed, vindicated at last. “sh*t– if you think it’ll get her there any faster, you can bring that damn goat in here, for all I care!”

“Logan, no!” Lusi begged, finally looking him in the face. “Please! I just–” the words died in her throat as she met Logan’s eyes for a moment as he was halfway out the door.

Pablo, however, was already around the coffee table to get to her good side. “You heard the man– now, let’s GO, missy!” He commanded, forcing her right arm over his shoulder as he began lifting her to her feet.

Lusi huffed in frustration, but finally allowed Pablo to help her to her feet and to the door. By the time they had made it to the entranceway, Logan was already waiting for them outside the shop doors with Rambo in tow. In a small stroke of luck, the square was somehow completely empty at the moment, giving the trio at least a small semblance of privacy.

Positioning the goat’s left side behind the pair, Logan signaled for him to hold still before turning his attention back to Lusi. “Are you rea–”

“Just do it.” She muttered, cutting him off while avoiding his eyes again.

With a small sigh, he grasped the bunched fabric at the waist of her coveralls and, in one swift motion, lifted her straight up and onto the goat’s back. Once she was seated, he wasted no time vaulting directly behind her as she worked on carefully swinging her right leg over to sit in the saddle properly, muffling a hiss of pain in the process. As Logan gave her a moment to settle herself, he glanced down at Pablo one last time.

The hairdresser was still quite obviously pissed, but the anger was unmistakably mixed with worry. The smaller man locked eyes with him, wordlessly communicating to the hunter: ‘You better take care of this.’

The hunter nodded a silent response of, ‘I will, I promise’. And with that, he reached around to pull the reins up once more, spurring the goat swiftly into motion across the square before wheeling him sharply towards the long stairway leading to the temple.

Once they were fully out of sight, he gradually slowed their speed to a walk; as they neared the top of the hill, he directed them off course and into the little alcove by the rarely used back entrance to the miner’s dormitory.

Now off the stairway path, he halted the goat and dismounted to stand by the ledge of the neglected raised flower bed; Rambo took it upon himself to consider this to be a snack break, and wasted no time indulging himself on the wilting leaves of the forgotten shrubbery.

As the goat foraged, Logan leaned back against the stone retaining wall and waited, letting the woman atop his mount’s back have a moment to collect herself. “Now… are you gonna tell me what really happened?”

At this point, Lusi appeared to be fighting back tears– either due to the pain or embarrassment, he wasn’t sure which. She sniffed lightly, wringing her hands on the wide barred saddlehorn of the goat’s tack nervously. “I already did: I went down the stairs too fast and took a little spill, that’s all.”

He couldn’t help but shake the feeling there was more to it than that. “Alright, lemme rephrase the question: why were you in such a rush to get down those steps in the first place? It’s not like you had somewhere to be.”

She paused for a moment in thought, taking a deep breath before releasing it in a testy sigh. “Fine. After he finished braiding my hair, Pablo tried lighting up one of those nasty clove cigarettes of his. He knows I hate the smell of them, so… we argued. I got pissed, and took the stairs too fast trying to get outside– Happy?” She snapped, still doing her best to avoid meeting his eyes. “And while I don’t doubt I’m gonna bruise, it's nothing I’m not already used to at this point; no need to bother Fang over it.”

Logan frowned slightly; something about her story didn’t sit quite right with him, but… it wasn’t important enough to dwell on right now. “Well, that may be, but… I’m afraid I can’t give you much of a choice now– Pablo would have my hide if I just dropped you off at home after all that.”

“But…! You promised!” Lusi whined, anger and betrayal clear on her voice and expression as she looked up towards him. “You promised you’d let me make that decision, but Pablo gets a little pissy and–”

“I did promise that, but on the condition that you really thought your usual meds were properly managin’ your pain, remember? And after that fall, it’s plain to see that they ain’t cuttin’ it anymore.” He crossed his arms, sighing through his nose. “So… I’m sorry d- darlin’, but… that deal’s off the table.”

The smaller woman became visibly more upset, gripping the saddlehorn tighter. “So you’re going to make me to go to Fang’s?! That’s BULLsh*t!”

“Now, hold yer horses!” Logan held up a hand to calm her down before she got too heated; the absolute last thing they needed right now was for Burgess to come see what all the commotion was about. “...I never said I was gonna make you do anythin’– I said that deal was off the table. However…” He hesitated, to let out a deep, almost regretful sigh. “…it doesn’t mean I can’t give you an alternative choice.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Lusi asked, unsure of the implication.

He glanced around for a moment to ensure they truly were alone before continuing. “I don’t exactly want this particular fact to become public knowledge for obvious reasons, but… truth is, I keep a small pharmacy’s worth of various meds and painkillers locked down at my place.” He muttered just loudly enough for her to hear.

“You what?” She murmured, bringing her own voice down as well. “Why…?”

“Because not all monsters inflict pain the same way, and havin’ quick access to good meds is integral in my line of work.” He explained matter-of-factly with a small shrug. “Plus, if I know I’m gonna be goin’ after somethin’ specific, I like to be able to prep accordingly beforehand.”

She narrowed her eyes dubiously. “And… does Fang know about this?”

“Of course– where do you think I got ‘em from?” The hunter scoffed with a soft toss of his head. “The Doc knew Pa and I had a good grasp on the basics, so… when he first moved to town, the three of us came to an agreement: he’d give us meds for our supply in exchange for various venoms and ingredients for him to do research with.” He explained plainly. “Course, he keeps strict tabs on the really strong stuff– as he should– but… so long as it's not some crazy powerful imported sh*t, he's seen fit to provide a decent variety for me to keep on hand.”

Seeing the surprise and confusion on her face, he couldn’t help but smile. “Before the Doc moved here, there was a period of time where Pa and I were the closest thing this town had to anythin’ that resembled ‘medical professionals’. And while I obviously don’t hold a candle to Fang’s skill, I’ve been doin’ sh*t like settin’ bones, sewin’ stitches, and memorizin’ what meds are used to treat what for as long as I can remember.” He shrugged casually. “Hell, whenever Pa, Haru, and I were out on the trail, I was our medic by default.”

“Wait, you were the medic of the group?” The builder asked, furrowing her brow apprehensively. “Since when?”

“Since I was about Andy's age, I reckon.” He chuckled softly. “Until Pa felt I was ready to handle the real action, it was just the best job for me out in the field– kept me safe, but still gave me a way to actually help ‘im. And even after I was able to start pullin’ my weight in a fight, the role just stuck. Worked out best that way for the three of us: Haru handled gear, Pa handled diplomacy, and, one way or another… I handled what happened if diplomacy failed.” The hunter tilted his head with a thin grin. “Girl, how do you think I knew my foot was broken– let alone how it healed so well– after the Temple incident in the first place?”

Lusi stiffened in cognizance. “I… guess I always figured Haru was the medic and he set it for you…” She admitted, giving him a half-shrug.

“Ha! No.” Logan shook his head sharply. “While Haru’s a wiz at treatin’ burns– mostly because he has a great deal of personal experience– when it comes to pretty much any other bodily injury, he’s squeamish as sh*t.” He snorted with a small smile. “Nah, hon… once we found a good spot to hole up in, I set the damn thing myself while he was tryin’ his absolute best not to faint.”

“No sh*t…?” Lusi gaped, not even trying to hide her shock. “I’m… not even gonna lie– I never would have guessed.”

“What can I say? I am a man of many talents.” He snickered lightly, shrugging. “Hell, Fang once told me he thought I’d make a pretty decent nurse if I ever had to give up on bein’ a hunter.” He paused in thought. “...Or, at least, I think that’s what he said– at the time, he was still talkin’ exclusively through the bird, so for all I know he could have meant somethin’ else entirely...”

“Huh…” She laughed softly, giving him a crooked smile. “...and here I had you pegged as one of those ‘real men don’t need no meds’ kind of guys…” The smile faded somewhat as she tilted her head in consideration. “Though, I guess that does explain why you were strangely okay with me wanting to handle my flare-up on my own in the first place.”

He nodded gently. “I had no reason not to. You had meds and obviously knew what you were doin’– I’d be a hypocrite not to at least let you try to self-manage. After all, I do the same thing all the time; either by choice or out of necessity.” He gave her another shrug. “And sure, I can grin and bear it like the best of 'em, but… havin' somethin' that'll alleviate the pain after takin', say, a Scorpster sting to the gut? Well… it's a luxury I wish I could’ve afforded more often on the run, that’s for sure.” Logan drew in his breath with a wry smile. “Though, I do hope you don’t think any less of me for it.”

“Not at all.” The small woman shook her head lightly. “Quite the opposite, in fact.”

“Glad to hear it– …but, now that we’re back on the subject…” The hunter released his breath in a sigh. “When it comes to my personal supply: while I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea… I am willin’ to dispense out of it this one time– especially if all you feel you need is somethin’ just a smidge stronger. But!–” He brought his tone down seriously, raising his hand to point at her, “–that option would come with some very big stipulations.”

The builder hesitated, considering his words for a long while, before eventually nodding for him to continue.

“Firstly: I would have to know exactly what you're takin' right now, as well as how much.” He dictated, still pointing at her. “Both because I’d never forgive myself if I unknowingly gave you somethin’ that mixed badly with what’s already in your system, but also so I’d be able to figure out what would be just a step up strength-wise.” He added a second finger. “In that same vein: you would have to let me weigh you, so I know I’m givin’ you the correct dose.”

“Seriously?” She asked, arching a brow. “I could just tell you.”

Logan nodded in agreement. “You could, but… after that brunch? I’d be surprised if you didn’t weigh two kilos more than whatever you think you do right now.” He snorted incredulously. “I’d need to confirm that number myself.”

As she rolled her eyes, he added a third and final finger. “And lastly: No meds would be leavin’ my property– Period.”

“So… you’re willing to give me meds, but won’t let me take them home…?” She squinted slightly. “What? I’d have to take them in front of you before leaving? I can live with that.”

“Not quite.” He contended. “You would have to stay at mine overnight so I can watch you for any side effects.”

As Lusi’s jaw dropped in shock, he swallowed hard and steeled his resolve before continuing. “We can say we decided it would be best if you sheltered for the storm with me due to your flare-up, and then deal with whatever rumors pop up as they happen.” The hunter stated, his tone still dead serious as he added. “Oh, and, keep in mind– I’d also send Andy to Krystal’s for the night; I don’t think either of us want him to see you lookin’ poorly or in an altered state if we can help it.”

The builder stared at him in disbelief. “...you have got to be joking.”

“Last I checked, my name was ‘Hunter’ not ‘Jester’.”

She rubbed her temples with both of her hands. “Logan– the sheer fallout that would ensue from us ‘sheltering for the storm’ by ourselves aside– I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve been put on every med you have in your stash at some point or another. I can just tell you if they’ve ever caused me side effects.”

“That may be true, but I’m not willin’ to take that chance.” He shook his head firmly. “So, those are your options now: Either we go to Fang, and you follow his treatment down to the last ‘T’ or… we go back to mine and get started on a treatment plan on our own– but with the knowledge that we’ll be dealin’ with the bullsh*t all over again afterwards.”

“...which would probably be so much worse this time around, on account of Pablo being pissed off at both of us.” She added on with a deep sigh.

Logan considered her statement for a moment before nodding in agreement and crossing his arms with an air of finality. “Pick your poison.”

The woman blew her bangs out of her face slightly. “Well if that ain’t the goddamn story of my life…” She muttered quietly.

Lusi sat for a while and quietly contemplated her two ‘choices’, the only sounds in the alcove coming from the gluttonous goat as he stripped the last of the foliage from the neglected shrubs. After several agonizingly long minutes however, she finally took in a deep breath.

“...I’ll take my chances with Fang.”

Logan didn’t let his immense relief show on his face, simply nodding instead. “For what it’s worth, Lus’? I think you’re makin’ the right choice.” He said approvingly and clicked to Rambo, who broke off from his snack and began shuffling around to allow his rider to mount up once more.

“Sure, that makes me feel so much better! Since both options were just incredibly stellar.” She grumbled sarcastically, “Either I can get stuck with more needles than one of Vivi’s pincushions, or have the entire town crawling up my ass for the next few weeks, grilling me via the most colorful assortment of euphemisms and overt innuendo known to man.”

“Oh I’m sure it wouldn’t’ve been that bad.” Logan rolled his eyes at her hyperbole. “Besides, it’s legitimate reasonin’.”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be that bad for YOU– people generally know better than to try and get too creative with their interrogations because of how f*ckin’ dense– and touchy– you can be. But in my case?” Lusi snorted with a curl of her upper lip. “sh*t, after last time, I can almost hear the peanut gallery now: 'How many ways did he help you mount up last night?'; 'Did you have fun breaking in your new white stallion?'; ‘Hope the storm wasn’t too rough on you’!” She sneered in a mocking tone, “You know, by the end of the day, I'd probably be begging them to just ask me 'How big is his coc–’”

“Language.” He admonished as he vaulted back into the saddle behind her.

The builder scoffed in disbelief. “Oh, so the ‘white stallion’ bit was A-okay!– but the second I specifically bring up your PENIS–” She yelled, whipping around to look at him in expectation of a reprimand that never arrived, causing her to tilt her head slightly. “Okaaay? So I can say penis, but not CO–”

“Lusi.” Logan cut her off, rubbing his eyes to try and abate the headache that was quickly forming behind them. “...Could you please not scream obscenities so close to the goddamn school?”

“Penis isn’t an obscenity, it’s the correct terminology.” She disputed succinctly before squinting in suspicion. “...which I’m assuming is the reason why you haven’t gotten all uppity about me saying it three times now…”

“Regardless…” He muttered, letting out a very deep, exasperated sigh, “...if you holler any f*ckin’ louder, I wouldn’t be surprised if Fang was outside the clinic just waitin’ because he heard ya comin’.”

A deep snort escaped through her sinuses as she smirked. “Oh, Fang WISHES he could be so lucky–”

“Lusi!” Logan admonished, throwing his hands up in vexation, “Girl, what the hell– you got a crass quota you gotta fill all of a sudden?”

“No, but you left yourself wide open for that one– and when you’re my height, sometimes the low-hanging fruit is the only option.” She grinned wickedly with a wink. “Besides, it's not my fault you’re such a damn gentleman that everyone in town makes a point of tiptoeing around talking about sex around you.” She paused with a shrug. “Can’t say I really blame ‘em though, especially after how up-in-arms you just got about me making one dirty joke about f*cking the doctor.”

“C’mon, Lus’. Could you not–”

“See? That wasn’t even an innuendo and you got all awkward.” The builder cut in, chortling unapologetically before turning to face forward in the saddle. “Oh, and, for the record: I wouldn’t. Though Fang certainly ticks the box for me in the ‘height’ department, I’m honestly just not interested in being with someone younger than I am; that seems weird.” She shrugged again as the hunter finished settling behind her.

“Oh Light above – Lusi. Please. The LAST thing I want to do today is discuss your… preferences.” The hunter asserted uncomfortably as he wheeled the goat around in the alcove.

Lusi snickered deviously. “Man, Pablo was right– you are such a choirboy.” She sighed contently, apparently placated for the time being. “Very well. I will have mercy on the poor prude.”

“I’m not a prude, it’s just that I don’t enjoy discussin’ the subject out in the open.” Logan retorted quietly, steering Rambo in the direction of the clinic before spurring him into a trot. “And especially not when we’re right next to the Peach-damned school.”

“Sure I guess, but… I’m pretty sure that first bit was actually the definition of being a prude, though…”

“Lusi…”

“Yeah alright…” She seemingly yielded for a moment before adding, “One last question though: does your weird slang hang-up only apply to the ‘c’ words, or were you just giving me a pass during the invasion the time I said I was glad you didn’t ‘puss* out’ and when I opened by threatening to shove your–”

“Lusia.”

“Okay fiiiine– I got one answer, anyway.” She snigg*red with an affectionate sigh. “You would get eaten alive at a Fleeting Youth Tea Society meeting, you know that?”

As they finally crested the hill, Logan found his view of the northeast unobstructed for the first time in several hours; To his astonishment, the light cloud cover from earlier had indeed expanded significantly since that morning, with the distant horizon in the direction of the Highwind tunnel now beginning to fill up with a hazy wall of gray. Judging from its current appearance, it would likely still be several hours before the front itself overtook the town, but after a few seconds of closer inspection, he took note of a tiny flash spark within far-off hues– lightning.

The uncomfortable topic was forgotten in an instant as Logan immediately drew Rambo to a halt again to take in the sight

“Well I’ll be…” Logan murmured quietly in rapt awe, the reality of her prediction finally sinking in.

“Told you.” Lusi muttered beneath him, her own tone decidedly bored.

He smirked softly. “Well, maybe if you weren’t such a sassy lil sh*t all the time, I’d have reason to believe you when you say somethin’ wildly outlandish.”

“‘Fraid that’s incurable, sadly.” Lusi replied with a snort. “Terminal, even.”

Logan chuckled and shook his head, shifting forward in the saddle somewhat to let her better brace against him as they began their descent down the steep, winding slope of the hill’s path. “Brat.”

“You love me.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you just keep tellin’ yourself that…"

Oh for Peach’s sake– I was actually jokin’ about that part.

Sure enough, by the time they made it down to the arena, Fang was already outside the Clinic and was watching their approach expectantly. As they got closer, however, Logan was somewhat surprised to see a frown etch itself into the other man’s features.

“...should have… earlier.” He murmured admonishingly, parts of the sentence slipping away inaudibly as he spoke. Although he no longer exclusively relied on his raven in order to express himself, the doctor still struggled with conveying his thoughts in his own words.

The builder made a face. “So I wanted to take a shot at managing the thing I’ve been managing just fine on my own for the past year,” She growled. “Sue me.”

Logan nudged her from behind. “Hey– watch the tone. He just wants to help.”

Lusi muttered something under her breath in reply; it was too quiet for him to hear, but Logan could only assume it wasn’t exactly flattering. Ignoring it, he slid out of the saddle and prepared to assist her in dismounting– only to pause when she didn't reciprocate the motion. “…Lus’?”

The smaller woman suddenly stiffened in the saddle, her teeth gnashing at her lower lip the entire time. Finally, she took a deep breath.

“I, uh…” She murmured uncomfortably, her voice barely above a whisper, “...can’t move my leg.”

Logan’s eyes immediately widened in alarm, but he otherwise kept his composure, snapping his head around to look at Fang. “Doc…”

Fang nodded curtly and sprung into action, walking around to the opposite side of the goat to see what the problem was. After a few moments of manipulating the joint he finally let out a sigh, seemingly of relief. “Not… dislocated. …swollen.” he looked up at her pointedly. “Acupuncture.”

The builder gritted her teeth and hissed something at him that Logan didn’t quite catch; the doctor meanwhile gave her an unamused look and a brief twitch of his upper lip as his only response to her words. Instead, the quiet man turned his attention to the hunter standing on the other side of the animal, who was still awaiting further explanation overall.

“...Lift…” Fang said to him firmly before glancing back up at her and adding a final, “Painful.”

Lusi glowered at him. “No sh*t– tell me something I don’t know!” She sneered before turning to look down at the man on her right. “Short version: my hip locked up, and he’d like your help to lift me out of the saddle so he can give me an acupuncture treatment to reduce the swelling.”

“What?” Logan asked, legitimately shocked (and impressed) she got all that out of almost a literal handful of words. “How–”

“Hip probably got pissed off when I fell on it and I guess the surrounding tissues swelled up on the way here.” She explained curtly with a sigh, obviously trying to get to the matter at hand. “How it happened doesn’t really matter. Logan, are you in or–?”

“Of course I’m in!” Logan retorted, slightly offended that it was even a question. “Like I’m just gonna stand here while–”

“Stupendous.” She replied flatly, cutting him off. “Alright, I’m only gonna go over this once, so pay attention. It'll be similar to the assisted dismount from earlier: put your left arm under my shoulder and across my back for me to brace against– but this time, you're gonna put your right hand under my thigh; on my signal, you’ll lift me straight up while Fang does the same. Once there’s enough clearance, get Rambo to move out from under me, and then you’ll both put me down together so I can stand on my good leg.” With an air of finality, she swallowed hard. “We’ll deal with getting me inside after I’m off the f*cking goat.”

…She had those instructions ready to go almost a little too quick. Logan glanced at Fang, who only nodded in response; he had to assume that it was approval of her explanation rather than agreement with his silent commentary. With a sigh, the hunter nodded in return, and the two men then took their respective positions as the builder physically braced herself for what was to come.

Taking one last deep breath, she preemptively gripped their shoulders lightly with either hand. “Alright– on three. One, two, thre– EAUGH!!!” she cried out, unable to complete the word as she screamed in pain.

As soon as she was high enough, Logan whistled sharply and Rambo darted out of the way. The moment the goat was clear, the men carefully lowered her to the ground in tandem, giving her enough time to get her feet under her. Once she had adequately steadied herself on her right leg, Lusi did her best to choke back a sob.

Fang’s cerulean eyes flashed, meeting Logan’s own icy gaze. “Stay… chair.”

Logan nodded– no translation needed for that one. He kept his arm firm across her back as Fang carefully ducked out of position and dashed into the clinic. As the doctor disappeared inside, he glanced down at her, trying to hide his worry. “Hey, you alright?”

Lusi leaned against Logan and sniffled, wiping away the handful of dark, mascara-stained tears from her face that had been shed moments ago on her arm. “You and that f*cking question…” She muttered bitterly, sucking air through her teeth. “No, I'm not alright– I just got team-lifted off a goddamn goat.”

Logan gave a small sigh of relief– seemed like her pride had taken the biggest blow. However, before he had the chance to properly respond, Fang had returned with a wheelchair.

Gently, Logan helped lower her into it while Fang focused on moving her legs onto the footrest. After she was settled, Logan quickly retrieved her cane from Rambo’s saddle and handed it off to the doctor, who tucked it under his arm.

His patient secure, Fang exhaled a held breath softly, glancing up at Logan as he gripped the handles of the chair. “Return… within… two hours. …take… home.”

Logan’s brow furrowed. “You aren’t gonna keep her the night?”

Lusi glowered at him, but seemed to be in too much pain to dignify the question with a response; at the same time, Fang’s eyes shot up to meet his own, the smallest hint of disbelief on his face. He glanced down at the patient in his chair before looking back up, as if to say: 'You really think that’s an option?!'

Logan almost laughed, but stopped himself at the last moment, deliberately nodding instead. “Fine, but… I assume it’s probably not gonna be a good idea for her to be alone for tonight– considerin’ the storm?”

Fang nodded. “Likely.”

“Alright. I’ll try and get one of the girls to sit with her– but whatever directions you send home with her, I’m gonna ask that you type them out– in detail.” He said sternly, making sure to meet the doctor’s eyes. “She’s sworn to me that she’ll follow your orders exactly, and… I’d like to be able to actually read ‘em.”

This time, the surprise– if not slight puzzlement– on Fang’s face was plainly visible. Blinking, he finally gave one final, slow nod of confirmation before briskly rolling his patient through the open door, shutting it behind him with a thud.

Logan took a deep breath. Alright then. Guess it’s time to put ‘Plan A’ into motion.

His first stop was the town square, where Trudy was speaking with Pablo in hushed tones. The stylist caught sight of him first, tapping Trudy on the shoulder and nodding to get her attention. The older woman turned, not hiding her mix of worry and relief when she saw he was alone. Logan sidled up next to them, Rambo gently shifting his weight on his hooves as he slowed to a stop.

“Well? Did he…?” Trudy asked, letting the question trail off.

Logan shook his head. “Don’t know yet. Her hip locked up by the time we got there; Fang and I had to lift her off the goat. Told me to come back in a couple hours to get her.”

Trudy covered her mouth with her hand as she gasped. “Oh, the poor thing…!”

Pablo on the other hand, crossed his arms and huffed. “Serves her right.”

At the glares the other two gave him, the barber softened his stance slightly. “Well– she should have gone to see him earlier!” He backpedaled, tossing his head. “Honestly, I don’t know what she's been thinking lately. Running herself ragged, pushing herself so hard, staying up too late– did you know she didn’t go to bed until four in the f*cking morning last night?!”

Now it’s four…? While the continually moving timeline of her sleep schedule yesterday was worrisome, Logan knew that was a later problem. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at the smaller man. “Y’know Pablo, I would think you’d be a little more apologetic– considerin’ you’re the reason she fell in the first place.”

Trudy blinked in surprise, turning to look at the man in question. “You were the reason she fell? I thought…”

Pablo ignored her and set his sights solely on Logan, his eyebrow twitching slightly. “What… exactly did she say…?”

“That you tried to light up a smoke right after braidin' her hair and she rushed the stairs to get away from the smell.” Logan relayed, rolling his eyes. “Can’t say I blame ‘er either– Hell, I think I prefer the smell of weed over that spicy sweet junk you suck down your lungs…”

A strange look came over the barber’s face. “...Is that what she told you happened…?”

“Yes…?” The hunter replied cautiously, suddenly remembering that he did not want a repeat of the last conversation they had about Lusi just a few weeks prior.

Pablo pursed his lips with a slow nod of understanding before slightly turning to face away from the pair. Lacing his fingers, he drew in his breath and looked straight towards the sky.

“Light… don’t give me strength. Give me patience.” He prayed aloud, true sincerity dripping from his voice. “Because… if you give me strength…!!!”

Logan squinted suspiciously. “...I get the feelin’ that she may have omitted somethin’ from her account of today’s events.”

The barber's eyes snapped over to lock on to his own. “Oh, she did more than just ‘omit’ something– yakboy, she straight up lied to your face.” He scoffed. “And you know, I’m not even mad– I’m disappointed.” The barber asserted almost calmly. “...disappointed she didn’t at least have the decency to come up with a lie that was somewhat f*cking PLAUSIBLE!”

“She what?” Trudy spoke up first. “But why–” She seemed to suddenly remember something as Pablo quickly met her eyes. “–Ah. Yes, that would make sense.” The woman immediately nodded in understanding.

Logan, meanwhile, was completely lost. “So… you didn’t try to light up next to her?”

“Bandit-boy, please– While I may smoke upstairs in my loft, when I’m downstairs, I’m a f*cking professional.” Pablo rebuked while making a face. “I don’t smoke in my salon, and I certainly never smoke with someone sitting right next to me in my Peach-damned CHAIR!”

He hissed air from between his teeth to try and bring himself back down to calm. “Y’know? I have half a mind to go across the tracks right now and light up one of my ‘nasty clove’ cigarettes in every damn room of her house like sticks of goddamn incense!– It’d be WORTH having to hit up the Salesman for another pack at his inflated prices the next time he’s in town. Honestly, the nerve of that girl–!”

“Pablo.” Logan interjected, trying to get back on track before the hairdresser got lost in the theatrics of his petty revenge. “...if that wasn’t what happened, then why the hell was Lusi in such a hurry to leave?”

The barber suddenly froze in place before slowly, almost menacingly, turning to face Logan completely. “Oh that’s simple, dahling! See, since you were the one who technically brought her to the salon, I considered the bill for fixing her hair today covered in full because you overpaid by a stupid amount last time.” He shrugged. “And when she found out how you paid- well, she tried to make a dramatic exit and failed miserably.”

The hunter felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. “...and exactly how much is ‘a stupid amount’, if you don’t mind me askin’?”

“More than enough to cover a comb-and-braid, THAT’S for sure!” Pablo smiled, bearing his teeth in a way that was likely supposed to be reassuring, but came off as the total opposite. “sh*t– you’ve still got so much credit left on the books, I’d gladly consider your next few appointments covered in full.”

Well if that ain’t the most ominous sh*t that’s ever come out of his goddamn mouth… He internalized before shaking off the thought; he was slightly pressed for time and they were getting off track.

“Alright, we’re gonna talk more about that later.” He stated with a final glare. “...But like I was sayin’: Fang told me he’s gonna send her home, but he does want someone to stay with her for tonight at least– figured I’d ask Mi-an or Elsie.”

“I’m afraid neither will be an option.” Trudy interjected. “Shortly after you left, an emergency telegraph from Highwind came through; the storm knocked several trees across the tracks, so the trains won’t be able to run for a few days until they get them cleared.”

At that, Logan frowned as a new worry crept into the back of his mind. “sh*t. Is the Northern woods gonna be okay…?”

The mayor nodded. “Oh yes, I have no doubt the woods will be just fine. Thanks to Lusi’s early warning, everyone who had some time to spare went out to help Zeke get the saplings properly secured to weather the storm.”

“Well no wonder it’s been so quiet all day…” He muttered softly as realization suddenly struck him; if most of the town was in the Outback, the lack of bustling activity earlier suddenly made perfect sense.

“Yes, about half the town headed out en masse around nine-thirty, so I expect they should be returning before too terribly long.” The small woman furrowed her brow. “But… judging from the telegraph, this storm is likely going to be quite severe, and likely won’t roll out until just before dawn. Come daybreak, we’re going to need Elsie to survey the damage from the air and Mi-an on deck for repairs.”

“Dammit, the last thing they need is to babysit Lusi on top of havin’ an early start in the mornin’.” He agreed, sighing softly. And if it’s really gonna be that bad tonight, there’s no way I can send Andy’s to Krystal’s in good conscience…

Trudy nodded in agreement. “The bright side is: with the Oasis as low as it is at the moment, I don’t think we’ll need to worry about flooding– however, Wei is expecting a great deal of minor damage, especially to things such as signs and roofs. But just to be safe, I’ve already made the decision to have school start a few hours late tomorrow; right before you got here, I sent Dan-Bi up to go inform Jane and Krystal of the delay.”

“...Jane!” Logan suddenly exclaimed; seeing Trudy’s puzzled look, he continued. “Lusi and Ms. Jane seemed to hit it off really well. If school’s delayed, maybe she’d be willin’ to stay over with her– I can go relieve her in the mornin’ so she can get to the school early, and the girls or I can handle things from there.”

“They ‘hit it off’– Oh my Light…” Pablo sighed dramatically, shaking his head.

“Is… somethin’ the matter…?” The hunter asked cautiously, legitimately unsure of where he went wrong in his assessment.”

“Aside from you being a chronically dense idiot? No, I suppose I should be used to that by now.” The stylist muttered peevishly with a roll of his eyes. “Logan– Lusi and Jane have known each other for years. Hell, they grew up together for f*ck’s sake!”

“What?!” Logan cried out, not even trying to hide his surprise at this brand-new piece of information. Immediately, he looked at Trudy, flabbergasted. “Did you know that?”

“Oh, I had no idea until the day Jane arrived– but I must say, it was quite the coincidence!” The mayor smiled, shaking her head. “Apparently, they had completely lost touch with each other during their studies– Jane knew Lusi was planning to move to the desert to become a builder, she didn’t know she moved to Sandrock specifically. Likewise, Lusi knew Jane was studying to become a teacher, but she had no idea she had been selected for the schoolteacher position here.” Trudy chuckled softly at the serendipity. “So... when Lusi just so happened to see Jane get off the train while she was on her way to the Commerce Guild that morning–”

“Tears!” Pablo interjected, shaking his head affectionately, his anger dissipating in an instant. “Peach’s goggles– I haven’t seen Lusi cry so much since that goddamn bird set her hair on fire.” Seeing the blankly questioning look on the hunter’s face, the stylist shrugged. “Who do you think probably started that dent in my bell in the first place? Girl practically busted my door down again that morning to get Jane's makeup fixed after their sob-sesh; Jane’s was still buried in her luggage, and their tones are vastly different.”

“Jane’s been here for damn near a month, though– how in the blazes did I manage to miss that…?” He muttered, astonished at his own blindness.

“Oh, probably because you were still fairly preoccupied with trying to get your sh*t together at the time– you know, what with the ‘being terrified to ask for help’ thing, and all.” The barber said casually before squinting up incredulously at the hunter. “Honestly, Logan– Do you think it was mere coincidence that I sent you an ‘appointment reminder’ the day before an event you were expected to at least look somewhat presentable for?” He inquired with a dramatic huff. “I had no doubt you’d have shown up looking like a goddamn vagrant on your son’s first day of school otherwise– and it’d be a cold day of Darkness before I let you make THAT kind of first impression with one of Lusi’s oldest friends.”

“How the hell do you know– Hold on, that’s the reason– Wait, what difference does–” Logan started multiple times, but found himself unable to complete a single question. Eventually he fell silent as his mind overloaded for a few seconds in sheer confusion.

Pablo, meanwhile, rolled his eyes at the taller man’s freeze up. “Honestly though– I don’t know why you’re bothering with finding a damn sitter. Just stay with her yourself, dumbass.”

That alone was enough to break Logan out of his stupor. “I… may have already brought up that idea with her.” He admitted, giving the stylist a pointed look. “But she seems to be under the impression that she’d be relentlessly harassed by the town's nosy nellies if we went that route.”

“Well that goes without saying.” The smaller man agreed with a snort. “But so long as Andy or someone else was there with you, she’d have to deal with it for a week at most– that’s nothing compared to how long the Bumble Ant situation lasted.”

So it really was a bigger headache for her than it was for me last time… Logan felt a small pang of guilt stab him as he shook his head. “That’s the thing: I wouldn’t want Andy there.” Seeing the looks on both of their faces he expanded. “He adores Lus’, and… I don’t want him to see her lookin’ too poorly if I can help it.” He frowned softly. “Plus, I’m not sure he’s ever experienced extreme weather aside from sandstorms in his life; now that I know how severe this storm is s’posed to be, I need to be with him tonight.”

Pablo opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Trudy speaking up. “I agree– due to the circ*mstances, asking Jane to stay with her sounds like the ideal solution for everyone.” She quickly shot Pablo a strange look, and the barber finally closed his mouth with a begrudging sigh. “Go ask her now– tell her it’s my request.” She paused to exhale in thought. “And as for Andy… I’m planning on keeping Jasmine with me tonight for the exact same reason, so bring him to my place first-thing and they can have breakfast together. That way, you can get to Lusi’s as early as possible to relieve Jane in the morning.”

“That certainly works for me, Trudes.” Logan agreed appreciatively. “Anythin’ else?”

Trudy hummed. “As a matter of fact… before you go looking for the girls, stop by the Saloon and have Owen prepare a couple days worth of meals to send to her place on my tab.” She sighed with a small shake of the head. “Making sure she doesn’t need to worry about cooking for the duration of her current mandated break is honestly the least I can do for ignoring this for so long.”

“Sounds good to me.” Logan agreed. “I’ll go ask Jane, get the food situation handled, and then see where I am time-wise from there to figure out which girl I should try and find first.” He sighed softly as he tightened his grip on the reins. “I guess if I don’t see you again, just assume Jane said ‘yes’– in the meantime, though… stay safe tonight. Both of you.”

Trudy and Pablo nodded in return to the sentiment. Plans in place, he coaxed his steed into motion once more, briskly ascending the stone steps next to the parlor.

Rather than the ghost town it had been during his earlier trip with Lusi, this time the crest of the hill was abuzz with activity. As he approached the gates, he spotted Andy and Jasmine eating lunch together on the stone pavers beneath the playground’s tree. It seemed that Jane had decided to move the meal outside today while the weather was still nice.

While the kids hadn’t noticed his arrival on the scene yet, their teacher had, giving him a polite smile and nod before turning back to her conversation with Dan-Bi. As expected, the acolyte had beaten him there, but it seemed that she stopped to take a breather on the playground bench before heading to Krystal’s.

In Logan’s eyes, the acolyte was practically a mirror image of Lusi in multiple ways: Aside from the obvious physical similarities, both women had the same need to be constantly on the move, and a deep seated drive to succeed at whatever they set their mind to (not to mention, they had matching hair-trigger tempers). But… for all their similarities, Dan-Bi still had something that Lusi didn’t: Rian.

Contrary to the opinions of the town busybodies, Logan was of the opinion that the relationship between the acolyte and carpenter was nothing short of symbiotic: Dan-Bi’s boundless energy served as a motivator for Rian, driving him to at least try and do right by his wife, himself– and, now, their soon-to-be-born child. Rian, on the other hand, acted as Dan-bi’s foil; a reminder to slow down, enjoy life, and take care of herself– thus keeping her near ceaseless ‘get up and go’ in check for both their sakes.

And now he had the opportunity to see that symbiotic relationship in action; Despite being due in just a few short weeks, Dan-Bi was still actively performing her duty as the town message runner– and while she hadn’t let her pregnancy slow her down in the least, Logan was glad the petite woman was taking a moment to rest simply for the sake of resting. Seeing such a busy woman know her limits was also encouraging to him– it gave him hope that Lusi could learn to do the same.

However, no sooner had he dismounted was he abruptly jarred from his thoughts by a celebratory ‘Whoop!’ nearby.

“First ya tell me I get ta sleep in, an’ now I’m gettin’ picked up early? Hot dang! I hope it storms every day!” Andy had noticed his arrival, abandoning his sandwich and scrambling up off the ground to run over to greet him.

Logan crouched down to ruffle his hair, “Hey ki– wait, who said I was here to get you?” He smirked, playfully flicking the boy’s ear. “I’m here to talk to your teacher.” He nodded towards Jane, who overheard herself being referenced and briefly glanced up at him from her place on the bench next to Dan-Bi, but seemed unable to find a good break in the conversation at the moment.

Andy made a face “What?! But– I haven’t even done nothin’ t’day, honest!”

“Somehow I find that highly unlikely, but I promise I’m not here about you– for once.” He added, giving him a pointed look. “I’m here to pass on a message from Trudy.”

“If it’s about school being delayed, Ms. Dan-Bi already told us!” Jasmine piped up, having followed Andy shortly after. Turning to the blond boy, she gave him a disappointed frown. “And storming every day would be a bad thing! If that happened, it would always be too muddy to play outside; and we’d get floods; and I’d have trouble keeping the mail from getting wet; and Ms. Lusi would have to move away, because she can’t live somewhere where it rains all the time!”

Logan was surprised by her addition of that last point. “Jazz, you know that Lusi has problems when it rains?”

Jasmine looked at him blankly. “Well yeah, everyone knows that! The whole reason she moved to Sandrock in the first place was because rain makes her joints hurt.” Logan saw a familiar gleam in her eye. “Do you wanna know why? I read about it in one of my mom’s old books once– It’s actually really neat!”

Curiosity stirred within him. “Alright Jazz, I’ll bite: Why?”

The little girl stood up straight, excited for the opportunity to share some of her stored knowledge. “Okay, so: when it storms? The humidity goes up and barometric pressure goes down– that’s a fancy way of saying ‘air pressure’, by the way. Anyway, the drop in barometric pressure causes the tissues in the body to expand– ‘cause there’s less pressure pushing down on them than normal– and when the tissues expand, they push down on the joints. Most people’s joints can handle it just fine– buuuut since some of Ms. Lusi’s joints got damaged real bad a long time ago, they have trouble dealing with the extra pressure put on ‘em by the tissues swelling up.” Taking a breath from the long-winded explanation, she threw her chin up proudly in conclusion. “So actually, it’s not the air that’s hurting her; it’s her own body hurting itself!”

Logan couldn’t help but be legitimately impressed by the elementary student’s thorough explanation. “You know what, Jazz? That is really neat.” He nodded appreciatively. “I’m glad to have learned somethin’ today.” He glanced over at Andy, “...and I hope I’m not the only one.”

Andy kicked a rock by his feet absently, feeling a little bad about his earlier declaration. “Yeah, okay– I guess those are all pretty good reasons for it not to storm every day…” The boy paused, as if making a sudden realization. “But wait– why are you runnin’ errands for Trudy, anyways? Ain’t you usually gettin’ stuff for Lusi on Wednesdays?”

Logan froze slightly, swallowing hard. “Well Andy, y’see–”

“Mr. Logan! I apologize for the delay!” Jane interrupted, saving Logan in the nick of time from a very uncomfortable conversation he hadn’t been prepared to have with his son quite yet. The woman glanced between the parent and student. “I suppose you already know about the delay tomorrow– are you here to pick Andy up early…?”

Logan shook his head and smiled. “Oh, no ma’am, not at all.” He glanced at the boy with a chuckle. “You’re still stuck with him for a few more hours, I’m afraid; I’m here on official business– Trudy sent me with a request for you.”

“Aw man…” Andy groused, his dreams of an early jailbreak fully quashed at last.

Jane smiled, patting the boy on the shoulder. “In that case, how about you two go finish your lunches. After we’re all done, I’ve got a game for us to play while we learn about clouds and storms.” Leaning down, she grinned conspiratorially, stage whispering in his ear, “It involves marshmallows and power stones.”

“Coooool.” Andy concluded, grinning in turn. “Bye, Logan. See you at Grandma’s tonight!” He looked at Jasmine for a moment. “Let’s go Jazz– We’re burnin’ valuable learnin’ time here!” The boy asserted before bounding back off towards his abandoned lunch.

Logan shook his head softly and began to stand– only to stop when he realized Jasmine hadn’t moved. “...Somethin’ the matter, Jasmine?”

Jasmine was closely studying his face, her eyes filled with concern. “Logan, is Ms. Lusi… alright?”

In his peripheral vision, Logan saw Jane stiffen slightly at the girl's question. He didn’t acknowledge it however, instead focusing all his attention on Jasmine. “Absolutely, Jazz. She’s gonna be just fine– I promise.” He smiled reassuringly, gesturing towards where she had been sitting with Andy. “Now, go finish eatin’.”

The child continued studying his expression for a moment longer before at last nodding and bounding off again towards the playground. Logan took the opportunity to stand, turning his attention to her teacher; A small frown was now etched on her face, but he could tell she was masking greater worry.

“I… believe it may be best for us to take this conversation elsewhere…” She stated quietly, before looking back towards the bench. “Ms. Dan-Bi? Mayor Trudy sent me another message and I need to talk to Mr. Logan about it inside– would you mind watching the kids for a little while?”

“An excuse to stay off these dang cankles for longer?” The acolyte called back, stretching her legs out while absently cradling her swollen belly, “Please, take your time!”

The teacher and hunter exchanged affirmative glances before simultaneously heading towards the schoolhouse. Once inside, Logan instinctively began to remove his hat.

“That’s unnecessary, Mr. Logan.” The teacher said, briskly walking over to her desk. “I’d much rather we get to the point rather than waste time on societal politeness.” She gestured to the chair next to her desk with a half smile. “But please– Do sit.”

Logan hesitated before nodding, readjusting his hat and taking a seat in the chair. “I suppose you have an idea of why I’m here.”

Jane nodded curtly. “Well, now I’ve got the feeling that it has something to do with Lusi’s condition– but… I don’t see why Trudy would have anything to do with that…”

“I’ll… try to give you the short version. Lemme start from the top–”

He quickly recounted the events of the day so far, beginning with his arrival at Lusi’s home and ending with Trudy’s request for her assistance. As the story unfolded, Jane’s expression shifted from confused unease to one of outright concern. When he had finally finished, she leaned back in her chair, shaking her head in mild disbelief.

“Oh Light… I had no idea it had gotten that severe. I mean– I knew she made keeping herself busy a priority after getting into builder’s school but… I just thought it was because she was trying to keep her mind off her condition after moving back to Highwind.” She sighed, shaking her head almost guiltily.

Logan frowned; his thoughts were pulled back the photos that seemed to contradict one of Lusi’s earlier statements that day. “So… Lusi didn’t make a near-full recovery in Seesai…?”

“Oh no, she did.” Jane disputed immediately. “In fact, she had recovered so well, she was able to immediately reclaim her former position in the Highwind Bouquet – her old dance troupe.” She clarified, seeing the question on his face. “However, it didn’t last very long; after just a few weeks in Highwind, her condition made it so she simply couldn’t keep up with the demands of performance any longer. She had no other choice but to retire.”

The hunter furrowed his brow. “But– she said it would rain for months at a time in Seesai; what changed in Highwind?”

“What ‘changed’ was the fact that Highwind wasn’t Seesai.” Jane sighed sadly. “For one, the pain medication that she was prescribed in Seesai wasn’t approved to be imported to the Alliance. So, she had to go through multiple rounds of drug tests for a few years to find something that managed her pain comparably and was legal for her doctor here to prescribe or import; Additionally, the rain there was more seasonal, allowing her to take appropriate measures beforehand. In comparison, Highwind’s weather and wind shifts too frequently to be predicted accurately.”

The teacher shook her head. “Because of the constant changes in air pressure, her damaged joints were almost always in a state of flux; she went from being essentially healed to nearly crippled in less than six months time. After over a year of being in complete agony, earning her builder’s license so she would have a reason– or rather, the ability – to move to a better climate became her sole focus.”

He co*cked his head to the side. “She needed more reason than not bein’ in constant pain?”

“Mr. Lo– Logan.” Jane sighed, dropping the suffix seemingly for simplicity’s sake. “There’s something you need to understand: When it comes to individuals who choose to make the performing arts their career: it's All, or Nothing. Generally, unless one specifically plans for a career change ahead of time– like I did– then life-long performers often simply don’t have any skills that can be easily applied towards careers outside of the arts. So if you get injured, or sick, or just… tire of the constant grind of ‘sun up to sun down, eight shows a week’– then, you’re usually limited to options backstage.”

“Options such as…?” Logan questioned, genuinely curious.

“In Lusi’s case? Coaching, costumes, props, choreography; all would have been solid choices for her– but… none of them are in high demand in the climate that would suit her best following the accident.” The teacher looked at him sternly from over her glasses. “Tell me: how many people in Sandrock are clamoring for a stage choreographer or dance instructor at this very second?”

“Guess there isn’t much call for the high arts in the middle of the desert, is there…?” He murmured quietly, setting his jaw; Lusi's near obsession with making herself ‘useful’ to the town was starting to make a hell of a lot more sense to him.

“Indeed.” Jane nodded in agreement as she lowered her gaze. “Essentially, she had to restart her life’s work from scratch, and coming to terms with the loss of her career was something she struggled with immensely. Between that and the constant pain she was in, she all but stopped eating for a time; At one point–” The woman stopped abruptly mid-sentence before looking up at him again cautiously. “...You’re obviously aware of her condition– as well as her time in Seesai– but… has she discussed Highwind with you at all? Specifically, the six years she spent living there again before moving here, I mean.”

“Hasn’t really come up in conversation.” He admitted plainly with a shrug, “T’be honest? When it comes to ‘Lusi’ and ‘Highwind’, the scope of my knowledge is pretty much: she’s from there, her parents still live there, she earned her builder’s license in order to move from there to here, and… she f*ckin’ hates the weather.”

Jane let out a surprised snort of laughter. “Well, that does rather succinctly sum up the primary bullet points.” She chuckled, before slipping into a slightly regretful tone. “Logan… I’m sorry, but in any case– I don’t feel comfortable telling you any more about that part of her life than what I already have. Lusi is my oldest friend, and we just rekindled our connection after losing touch for over five years.” She smiled apologetically. “I’d… rather not risk losing her trust if I can help it.”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t dream of askin’.” Logan quickly shook his head. “Y’see, unlike a sizable percentage of this town… I much prefer to get my stories straight from the horses’ mouth– uh, so to speak.”

“Is that so…?” Jane lifted her eyebrows, apparently impressed. “Well… I can say one thing for certain: That kind of attitude will see you well into that woman’s good graces.” She exhaled and smiled, but her voice became more serious again. “And as for Trudy’s request: I’d be more than happy to stay with Lulu– er, Lusi for the night– after all, we’ve hardly had any time to catch up since I got here. But… I'll need to leave fairly early in the morning; I’d like to get up here to help check for damages and figure out when or if we can hold class tomorrow as soon as possible.”

Logan nodded. “I’m actually gonna be comin’ by in the mornin’ to relieve you– Trudy agrees it’d be best if me or one of the girls kept an eye on her as much as possible for the duration of her current break. My next stop is the Saloon to get a couple days worth of meals made up for her– also Trudy’s doin’.” He sighed softly. “Then I guess I gotta go try and find Mi-an or Elsie to get at least one of ‘em up to speed before Fang releases Lus’.”

“Tell you what: If you put in the food order, I’ll pick it up on the way to her house.” Jane offered. “I’d much prefer you be able to focus your efforts on finding the other girls and then getting back to the clinic as soon as possible. If Lusi’s in as much pain as you say she is…” She sighed, almost knowingly. “I’d really rather someone be with her today at all times.”

Logan nodded in agreement. “That certainly works for me– much appreciated, ma’am.” He stood, adjusting his hat. “Now then, I’ll get out of your hair so you can get back to havin’ my kid make you wanna rip it out.”

As she laughed and saw him to the door, he stopped suddenly, something having just registered in his mind.

“Speakin’ of hair… one more thing, Ms. Jane.” The hunter added cryptically. “As an old-timer to a newcomer: if the hairdresser ever ‘forgets’ to have you pay– let me know, first. You’re a busy woman, so I’d be happy to take care of gettin’ it to him.”

Jane blinked. “Oh, well. I’ll, uh. Keep that in mind, then?” She faltered, obviously confused at the abrupt topic change and sudden offer of assistance. “Thank you, and… best of luck finding Elsie or Mi-an. I’ll… see you later this evening, I suppose.”

The hunter replied with a smile and a tip of the hat before finally walking out the schoolhouse door.

Next stop on the agenda: The Blue Moon. As he approached, he could hear the festivities already in full swing. He could only guess Owen kicked it off early so everyone filtering in from the Outback could be safely inside before the actual storm hit. After dismounting Rambo and sending him off to forage, he headed inside through the side door.

Sure enough, the Coogo Band was starting an early set, and drinks were already flowing quite freely from the looks of it. Still… only a few non-tourists were currently in attendance at the moment; in fact, aside from Owen, Larry, and the band themself, the only other familiar faces he could spot were–

Light, I’m gonna pay for bein' this lucky later.

Sitting at the back corner table were Mi-an and Elsie; He could only assume that the monster whisperer dipped from the Outpost early to catch drinks with her friend before it got too late in the day.

Ecstatic at his stroke of luck, Logan immediately sauntered over to the table where the two ladies were libating, a winning smile plastered on his face. “Well, would you lookie here?” He asked, coming to a stop beside their table. “Just the two lovely ladies I was hopin’ to find.”

Elsie immediately rolled her eyes; she probably thought he was here to give her a hard time about skipping her outpost watch. “Can we help you with somethin’?” She asked bluntly. “We’re kinda in the middle of gettin' borderline sh*tfaced over here.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “As a matter of fact, you can– scooch over. I need t’talk about somethin’ with you.” He cut his eyes over to Mi-an, “Both of you.”

Elsie gave an exasperated sigh, but did as requested, allowing Logan to slide into the booth next to her. She waited until he settled and had placed his hat on the table to give another annoyed huff. “Logan, look. If this is about ditchin’ the outpost, I–”

“Girl, you really think I’m gonna be crawlin’ up your ass about an outpost shift on the cusp of f*ckin’ Winter?” Logan shook his head. “Hell I’m probably gonna be skippin’ most of my own over the next few days, too– out of necessity.”

Mi-an immediately sensed the shift in his tone. “Logan, is everything okay…?”

Logan sighed somberly. “Actually, girls, it’s about–”

“Logan, hey! Welcome back!” Owen interrupted, apparently having spotted him come in earlier from behind the bar. “Can I get you a drink? Oh, but first– How’s Lusi feeling? She get home okay?”

Oh I’m definitely paying for this luck later.

Logan shook his head. “‘No’, ‘Bad’, and ‘Fraid not’, Owen– Lus’ is at the clinic right now.”

“What?!” All three cried in unison, prompting Logan to hiss air through his teeth to shush them.

“She’s okay, but… she fell on the foyer stairs at Pablo’s. That’s only about half of what I’m here to talk about with y’all, though.” He glanced up at his older friend. “All of y’all, as a matter of fact…”

Owen nodded and signaled to Larry he would be busy for a moment. Once he had gotten confirmation he could be spared, he politely gestured to Mi-an, who immediately scooted down to make room for him to sit. “Start with what happened right after you left the Saloon, Logan.”

Once again, Logan found himself quickly recounting the events of the day. By the time he had finished, all three listeners had gone from joyous merrymakers to serious as a funeral.

“What do you need me to do?” Owen was the first to respond, knowing he wasn’t brought into this conspiracy for no reason.

“Trudy’d like you to make a few days worth of meals on her personal tab to send to Lusi’s– enough to get her through Friday. I’ll let you use your best judgment on what and how much, but keep in mind she and Jane’ll both be eatin’ there tonight.”

“And… why is Fang not keeping her overnight again?” Mi-an piped up, having completely sobered up over the course of the story.

“Mi-an, please.” Elsie replied before Logan even had the chance. “This is Lusia we’re talkin’ ‘bout. She does everythin’ she can to avoid gettin’ needled by the Doc, and she’s more pissed’n’a Dive Buzzard at ‘im for days whenever he does.” The girl snickered. “He’d have to lock her ass in the clinic and send the bird away with the key again to keep’er there for more’n an hour or two.”

“Which reminds me– she’s been there for just about an hour and a half, now.” Logan cut in, glancing at the clock near the door. “So if I could please get to what I need from you two…?”

“Roger that– I’ll have them ready to go by the time school gets out.” The older man said while standing up. “But, if you end up needing more later, just let me know.”

Logan met his eyes and gave one confident nod in confirmation. Owen now released from the rest of the conversation, he turned his attention back to the women still sitting at the table.

“Alright, here’s the idea so far.” He looked at the woman sitting in front of him. “Mi-an, since you’re gonna be the only builder aside from Wei within the city proper for at least a few days, I expect you’re probably gonna have your hands full as it is. Still… just droppin’ in to check on her once in a while over the next couple days wouldn’t be a bad idea, if you can find the time.”

When Mi-an nodded in agreement, he turned to look at the girl sitting next to him. “Else: forget about the outpost for the next couple days. A storm as big as this’ll drive everythin’ into hidin’ tonight, and probably simmer most of the monsters down for another week to boot. That said– once you’re released from aerial recon duty, book it to Lusi’s. Dependin’ on when Rosy’s able to show up, I may or may not end up needin’ some help with her animals.”

“Horse get’cha?”

“No.” He retorted instantly. “But it’s abundantly clear that she ain’t my biggest fan.”

The monster whisperer only snickered in response.

Rolling his eyes, Logan continued. “Regardless… since you and I are gonna have the most free time on our hands out of anyone in town over the length of her current break, I’d prefer if one or both of us try to stick with her at all times startin’ tomorrow mornin’; don’t want to risk her fallin’ down the stairs or gettin’ herself hurt if she runs off on her own.” He stated firmly, before adding almost as an afterthought. “Oh and– if I need t’stay overnight at hers for some reason, I’d appreciate it if you stayed over too.”

“Why the heck d’you need me there?” She scrunched her nose questioningly.

“Elsie, I can’t stay overnight alone at the house of a girl I ain’t even courtin’– it’d be the Bumble Ant situation for us all over again.” The hunter stated bluntly with a small sigh. “And since that was apparently worse for her than it was for me, I’d really prefer not to subject her to an encore unless absolutely necessary.”

“Wait, wait, wait– back up a sec…” Elsie choked down a laugh. “Did… you actually use the word ‘courting’ just now?” She asked, deliberately enunciating the word. “Dunno how to break it to ya, grandpa, but those of us livin’ in the near-second century tend to refer to it as ‘datin’.”

He huffed in slight irritation. “I know that– but Pa always used the word courtin’, so I just ended up callin’ it that too.”

The yakgirl rolled her eyes as she snorted. “Still, I can’t believe yer actually askin’ me to play chaperone for y’all– What’s next? Ya gonna ask me to tag along while you pay her a call to invite her to a f*ckin’ box social?” She snickered wickedly, taking a sip off her drink. “Hell, might as well go ahead an’ draft up a love letter to ask for a lock of ‘er hair to stick in your dang pocket watch while you’re at it…”

“Elsie, be nice!” Mi-an reprimanded. “I, for one, think it’s a sweet way of putting it!” She defended, nodding to the man approvingly. “I know I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to being courted– that sounds waaay more romantic than just dating someone.”

“Thank you, Mi-an.” Logan replied with a gracious smile while giving Elsie a smug waggle of the brows.

Elsie rolled her eyes in disgust. “Great, now both of y’all sound like my dang parents…”

“Now, as I was sayin’...” Logan continued tersely. “Unless she needs to be actively watched, it’d be easy enough for me to bunk in her spare room while you bunked with her–” He paused. “Actually… dependin’ on how strong of meds she’s on, it’d prolly be best if you took the spare room and I just made-do on a couch or somethin’; if you bunked with her and she’s wasn’t completely knocked on her ass, your snorin’d be liable to wake ‘er up.”

“Hey!”

“Girl, you snore worse than a flat-faced Pensky and you know it.”

Elsie raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry… you’re makin’ plans? That’s Haru’s department, ain’t it?”

“Well since Haru ain’t here, I’m steppin’ up.” He asserted, crossing his arms. “But if you’ve got a problem with my plan–”

“I think it’s actually really solid!” Mi-an piped up quickly, shooting Elsie a look. “Covers pretty much all the contingencies.”

The two seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes before the yakgirl finally yielded in acceptance. “Okay fine– But… Logan, do you really think Lus’ is gonna ‘preciate all this fuss over ‘er?”

“Oh hell no.” Logan replied immediately with a confident shake of his head. “But… she ain’t got much of a choice. When she accepted my offer to help her today, she swore to follow whatever instructions the doctor gave her. And, if she breaks her end of the bargain– or still doesn’t have her head on straight after her break is up– then… she’ll have to face some consequences.” He set his jaw, somewhat hesitant. “Trudy and I have already discussed some… possibilities for that situation.”

Mi-an and Elsie exchanged glances; it seemed like neither one was sure if they wanted details on what that might imply.

Sensing no further questions, Logan stood up from the table and collected his hat. “Alright. Let’s focus on gettin’ her through the next few days, and after that, we’ll see where we are and go from there– Sound good?”

“Sure does.” “Yep!”

Logan nodded. “Okay. Else, I’ll see you in the mornin’, and Mi-an, I’ll… see you when I see you. Stay safe, you two.” He set his hat in place once more, giving the two one last nod in parting before finally turning to make his way to the side door.

The girls sat and waited until the door had fully shut behind him before shuffling back to how they had been sitting in before his arrival.

“Two weeks.” Mi-an said plainly, taking a sip off of what remained of her drink.

“Two we– Girl, c’mon!” Elsie scoffed dismissively with a gesture of her hand. “Give ‘im a little more credit! He’s, like, this close. I’m callin’ one, max.”

Before the builder could reply, she was interrupted by Owen setting a couple glasses of ice water on the table as he came to retrieve their empty drinks. “I see Logan’s gone.”

“Yeah, you just missed ‘im walkin’ out.” Else replied, downing the rest of her glass to hand off to the barkeep. As she picked up the water, she smirked. “Owen, what’s yer take? Mi-an says two weeks– but, I reckon WE know ‘im better’n that right? I said one.”

Owen gave out a low whistle. “Yeah, I dunno, Mi-an. You should’ve seen ‘em this morning– ‘bout got a toothache watchin’ them flirt.” He paused in consideration. “Then again, I’m… not really sure either one actually realized they were flirting.” He chuckled softly and shook his head, taking Mi-an’s glass from her as she finished her last swig. “But as for how long…? Eh, I really don’t like putting exact times on these things.”

Elsie rolled her eyes and sipped the water in her hand. “You just don’t wanna commit to a hard number in case they’re both knuckleheads.”

Owen chuckled again. “All I’m sayin’ is, if I were you girls? I’d be doing my best to give them as much space as possible over the next few days. Sure, this ‘workaholic’ issue might be a bit of a speedbump, but… if you give ‘em some time alone in close quarters, I reckon they’ll manage to sort it out themselves before too terribly long.”

Both girls grumbled variations of ‘Yeah, I guess’ into their glasses.

As Owen was about to turn and walk away, he paused. “That said…” He added, a small sly smile creeping across his face. “Pablo’s been lobbying pre-tty hard for me to keep the Saloon schedule clear around Midwinter.” The man shrugged. “No particular reason I’m mentioning it, just… a fun little tidbit, that’s all.”

With one final wink he finally walked away, bussed glasses in hand.

The girls paused for a moment before looking at each other and grinning widely– This was undoubtedly going to be an interesting couple of days.

Chapter 6: Five Days on Ice

Chapter Text

Twice in one day- girl's gettin’ too good at raisin’ hell, I swear…

Much like what happened at Pablo’s, Logan could hear the commotion from a distance; however, this time he was farther away and couldn’t actually make out what was being said.

Sighing, he went ahead and dismounted, intending to walk Rambo to the hitching post on the other side of the clinic before heading inside. He got about three steps in when the clinic door was flung open with enough force it nearly bounced closed again.

Apparently Fang’s acupuncture treatment had done the trick; Lusi came blustering out of the building in a rage– still limping on the cane– but at a faster clip than Logan had seen her move all day. A few seconds later Fang appeared in her wake, clearly at his wit’s end from the ordeal he had been put through over the past two or so hours.

X now stood on his shoulder, cawing after the wayward patient. “Calm down! Not the end of the world. You need to take care of yourself, sweetie.”

At that, Lusi whipped around to face the doctor/bird duo and unleashed a long string of… something at the top of her lungs. Logan didn’t recognize a single word, but he had to assume by the sheer hostility that they were expletives of some nature.

Fang stopped in his tracks from the outburst, face frozen in shocked surprise while X squawked and ruffled his feathers. “Bad words! I ought to wash your mouth out with soap! Don’t you use that tone with me, young man…”

The third mimicked voice seemed to startle both of them, with Fang jumping slightly and glaring at the bird and Lusi furrowing her brow. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, Rambo bleated and pawed the ground, drawing the woman’s attention to Logan’s presence.

Now aware the two were no longer alone, she scrunched her nose slightly and huffed, turning on her heel and hobbling away from the tall doctor. She didn’t get far before losing steam though, making it as far as the town’s auxiliary power building and taking a seat on the forgotten anvil outside.

The hell was that about…? Logan wondered, but that was unimportant at the moment. He looked at his goat, jerking his head towards Lusi and clicking twice; Rambo immediately trotted off in the girl’s direction, coming to a stop directly in front of her. Gently, the goat nudged at her hands, demanding affection. Despite her sulk, she absently began fulfilling her duty, scratching the fur around the nosepiece of Rambo’s sand mask.

Satisfied that the goat had the Lusi situation handled for the time being, Logan took a breath and approached the doctor. As he got closer, he could hear Fang quietly chastising the bird under his breath, but decided it would be best to pretend he hadn’t heard the animal say anything. “You alright, Doc? Sounds like she gave you quite the earful.”

Fang glanced over at him and nodded. “… forgot… how fluent…” he muttered, sighing lightly as the vexation returned to his face.

“Well, I can’t rightly say I understood a lick of what she said, but I have a feelin’ it wasn’t exactly praise and gratitude.” Logan chuckled, “Though… I do hope it wasn’t too unforgivable.”

The man shook his head softly. “No… understandable… angry.” He met the hunter’s eyes again. “But I will not… apologize. Had… to be done.”

Logan was startled by the stark clarity of the sentence, but did his best to not show it. “...I reckon that means she didn’t agree with your prognosis?”

The doctor nodded. “Joints… fine… body, however.” He paused, glancing over to his patient, who was now preoccupied with scratching around the base of the goat’s horns. “Pushing… too hard– Near… exhaustion. Prescribed rest.”

Logan felt his heart leap– this was exactly what he and Trudy had been hoping for.

Externally, however, he kept his expression demure. “Yeah… kinda had a feelin’ you’d say that…” he confided quietly, crossing his arms and sighing before glancing at the bird. “I assume you just haven’t had a chance to sit and type it out yet, but…?”

The quiet man nodded firmly, turning to the bird on his shoulder. “X.”

Finally given permission to speak again, the bird bobbed his head and shifted his wings outwards. “There’s a whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on ‘round here – Five days! I’m walkin’ down Easy Street – Two weeks!” The bird lifted his head, regurgitating what seemed to be snippets of musical lyrics before cooing softly in a woman’s voice. “Here sweetie, this will help you feel better… Three nights.”

Logan blinked– he would never get used to that.

“Okay…” he began slowly, doing his best to piece together the unconventional instructions. “Lemme see if I’m translatin’ this right: Wei’s already suspended her for three days, but… you want to extend it to five, and… she should take it easy from commissions for two weeks?”

Fang took a breath. “No… builder… activities. At all.”

The hunter’s eyebrows shot up. “She’s totally on ice…?” he breathed, horrified at the realization; he had wanted her to have a longer rest period, not be put out to pasture for two entire weeks! “No commissions, minin’, divin’– nothin’, the whole time?”

“Five days.” The doctor quickly clarified with a brief shake of his head. “Light duty… two weeks. Needs… reset… sleep schedule.”

He let out a small sigh of relief. Okay, that’s not so bad, but… it’s still way harsher than I expected. Logan internalized, pushing the thought away with a nod in reply. “...and you’re gonna be sendin’ meds home with her to take over the next three nights?”

The man looked away from Logan’s face, “Yes. Pain… sleep.”

“Alright, pain meds, and they’ll knock her out, to boot.” Logan could think of a few medications that fit that description– some even in his own coffers right now. Guilt needled him lightly; had her hip not locked up, maybe she would’ve been okay getting something just a mite stronger from his supply. “Alright, lemme hitch Rambo up and–”

“No.” Fang cut in promptly, “...send… instructions… medication… later.” He indicated to the raven, “X.”

“Delivery! Delivery!” the bird trumpeted, flapping his wings.

Logan felt his stomach drop slightly. “…Why can’t you send ‘em with us now?”

“No time. Sedative… administered.”

“Nap time! Nap time! You’re always so cranky before your nap…” X piped in, crooning merrily before starting to preen his feathers.

sh*t, Logan swore internally, I didn’t know I was on a time limit! “...And you’re absolutely certain it’s alright for her to be out of the clinic overnight?”

Fang nodded confidently. “Yes.” He replied, adding, “...prescribed prior… safe dosage.”

Logan nodded firmly in response. “Alright, I’ll ensure the meds end up stored in a safe location.” He met the man’s eyes again without wavering. “And, I’ll make sure she follows whatever instructions you send– you have my word.”

The doctor studied Logan’s face for another moment, an almost confused look on his own. Then, apparently something clicked in his mind, as he nodded one last time– his expression now almost… amused? “Will send… before rain…” Taking another glance at the girl a distance away, Fang gestured towards her with his head. “...Go… asleep soon.”

He took in Logan’s face one final time, the slightest hint of a smile on his face. Then, he turned on his heel and walked back into the clinic, shutting the door softly behind him.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Logan released his held breath. Setting his sights on his charge, he briskly made his way over to the spot where Lusi had come to rest. She was still quietly petting the goat, but at a significantly more sluggish pace than she had been before.

“Hey Lus’...” he murmured, trying to keep his voice soft. “How you feelin’?”

“This sucks.” She muttered bitterly, eyes solely on the goat. “Fang sucks. You suck. Hate this.”

Logan stopped himself from chuckling. “Yeah, I know– Didn’t really expect ‘im to ground you for five days and clip your wings for nine more, but…” he sighed matter-of-factly. “Deal’s a deal, hon– you promised to follow his orders, and I intend to hold you to your word.”

Lusi grumbled something in the foreign language; Seesaian, if he had to guess. Still, Logan somehow doubted it was her expressing her thanks.

Rather than dwell on the incomprehensible insults towards him (and likely his long-absent mother) though, he found himself more concerned about the fact that she was beginning to lightly sway in her seat on the anvil. Frowning, he kneeled down beside her. “Lusi, you ain't gonna like this, but… you ain't gonna make it home unless I carry you.”

“No.” she stated firmly, gesturing to the goat. “I’cn ride…” Her eyes fluttered as she spoke, pupils unfocused; she was fighting the sedative hard.

“Absolutely not.” Logan immediately shook his head. “Doc didn’t forbid it, but I’m not comfortable with the idea of you ridin’ with a tranq in your system– hell, you probably shouldn’t be ridin’ at all until you’re done with whatever pain meds he’s sendin’.” He paused for a moment to give her time to process his words. “So… either I carry you, or we’re hangin’ out here for the duration of your little siesta.”

After a few more moments, she finally whispered a reluctant “Fine” towards him, but not without adding a final “sucks” under her breath as well.

Logan let himself chuckle this time. Carefully, he scooped her up off the anvil and into his arms; even in full deadweight, there was no way she was more than a few kilos heavier than Andy.

“Maybe you’re on t’somethin’ with that ‘willowy frame’ business, girl.” He muttered, shifting her in his hold slightly. “Reckon it wouldn’t be all that difficult to snap you like a twig…”

“Try’it– Fkn’ dare you,” she shot back, still fighting the tranquilizer to the last. “Willows’r flexible. D’n snap– bend.”

The hunter snorted and rolled his eyes. “Well, good to know neither your crass nor sass can be sedated.”

“Heh. Crassasassafrass.” She snickered quietly to herself, almost drunkenly.

Laughing softly at her nonsensical wordplay, Logan shifted her in his arms again– both to firm up his grip and partially cover her under his cloak for the duration of the walk back to her house. If she was going to have to suffer the indignity of being carried, the least he could do was shield her privacy somewhat from any potential prying eyes.

His charge secured, he clicked to the goat for him to follow, and the three departed the overhang of the generator shack. As soon as they made it up the stairs by the museum, he hung a sharp left and headed towards the side gate of Cooper’s pasture. It was a familiar path, ingrained in him since infancy; he could remember his father carrying him along it on more than one occasion, way back when.

After kicking the gate open (and closed again behind them), Logan took a moment to lift his cloak briefly to check on the woman in his arms. Just as expected: Lusi was completely out cold, the drugs having won the one-sided battle at some point. As he watched her sleep peacefully for the second time that day, a soft sigh escaped him. At the very least, it’s good to see her finally getting some rest– even if it's not exactly by choice.

Once he got her sufficiently covered with his cloak again, his eyes absently drifted skyward towards Highwind; the clouds were growing larger, angrier, with more and more lightning flickering along their billowing ridges. As worrisome as it was… it was also breathtaking– and for a second, he couldn’t help but wonder what his Pa would have thought, if he could see this scene.

Who are you kiddin’, Logan? He mused with a snort. If Pa ever saw you just loiterin’ in the pasture gawkn’ at some clouds instead of focusin’ on gettin’ the unconscious girl in your arms home safe and sound, he’d be too preoccupied with tearin’ you a new one to give two sh*ts about the goddamn storm…

The hunter chuckled at his own expense before finally moving on from the scene, making his way down the hill towards Lusi’s house. As both a hunter and a man, he could protect this town from a lot of things– But a storm like that?

He shook his head as he traversed the pasture’s second side gate, carefully crossing the railroad tracks to walk along the fence on the other side. …I reckon the best we can really hope to do is to just batten down the hatches and ride it out.

*tap tap tap*

Logan immediately lifted his hat from his eyes and glanced at the clock on the nightstand: three twenty-seven.

It had been about thirty or so minutes since he finished the majority of Lusi’s storm prep after getting her settled in her own bed. As expected, the builder had thought ahead to a degree– although they didn’t have shutters, all the windows downstairs did have storm panes set in them; probably to help keep heat in better downstairs with winter fast approaching. Upstairs had been a different matter though, as every one of the windows had drawbridge-type shutters that doubled as ledges.

While that alone hadn't been a problem, the task had been slowed down somewhat when he entered the second spare room and found it chock-full of various stuff haphazardly shoved inside, forcing him to rearrange a bit just to reach the windows. Though, given what he’d seen of her interior decorating capabilities in general, discovering that she kept a room packed to the gills with obviously high quality furniture (despite the upstairs living space itself being furnished with nothing but wall art and a rug) was probably the least surprising thing he had learned about her that entire day.

Still, by the time three o’clock had about rolled around, he had managed to get all the windows save one locked up tight; As for the last one, he had purposefully left the shutter down on the window on the far side of the bed, in order to make it easier for the bird to pinpoint the right room to make the drop-off to, thus affording him a bit of time for a siesta of his own as he awaited both Fang’s promised delivery and Jane’s impending arrival. And– judging by the beckoning now coming from outside– the idea had worked as intended.

He stood from the wooden chair he had settled in by her bedroom door– only to immediately wince in discomfort as he straightened up. sh*t, I know I say I can make-do pretty much anywhere, He glanced dubiously at the unassuming wooden seat as he stretched, But Light if that ain’t the worst chair I’ve slept on in a while…

*tap tap taptaptap*

“Yeah, yeah I hear you…” Logan grumbled in a low tone as he gradually made his way around Lusi’s almost comically large double bed to meet the bird. “...Gimme a damn second.”

He unlatched the window and carefully opened the vertical panes, intending to take the package at the ledge– however, the bird apparently had other ideas. Before he had a chance to grab him, the corvid bolted past the hunter and into the bedroom itself.

“Ladies and Gentleman– feast your eyes on the performance of a lifetime!” X croaked loudly, performing aerial somersaults as he circled the room.

“sh*t.” He cursed to himself at his slip-up, “Now I gotta deal with the goddamn crow…” Unlike many common pet species, Logan had personally never been too terribly fond of birds in general. He honestly wasn’t sure why that was– though, the fact that most of the avian species native to the area often tried to blow him up on a regular basis probably didn’t help.

The decidedly unarmed X, however, finished his acrobatics routine with a flourish and casually landed on a nearby desk. “You’ve Got Mail!– We just got a lett-er, I wonder who it’s from?” He squawked loudly, first in a booming male voice, followed by a sing-song jingle of some kind.

Logan didn’t recognize either of the voices; his best guess was that they were more random sounds the corvid had picked up at some point. As the bird spoke however, he suddenly sensed Lusi shift in the bed. Gritting his teeth, he quickly glanced over; To his relief, she was still asleep– but she might not stay that way if he didn’t get a handle on this fast. “Will you keep it down?” He hissed at the animal, jerking his head towards the sleeping girl. “You’re the doctor’s bird– you should know better!”

X looked in the indicated direction and made an almost startled noise. “Whoopsie Daisy! Shhh, the baby is sleeping.” The bird seemingly apologized, peeping his words more softly. Hopping off the desk, he flapped onto the bedpost closest to Logan and held out his leg; attached was one of Fang’s signature paper bundles. “I Have Something for You!” He mimicked again, albeit much quieter this time.

Logan carefully removed the package from the animal and ripped it open. Inside, he found a folded note and a small glass bottle containing six small, white tablets. Just as he suspected: this wasn’t one of the medications Fang made himself– These were rare, imported pills from a stock that he obviously didn’t hand out lightly.

His stomach churned as a dark thought suddenly crept into the back of his mind– it wouldn’t surprise him if the last time someone in town needed meds of this caliber was when his father laid resting on his deathbed.

Taking a shaky breath, he opened the note and skimmed the typed lettering to find the name of the drug prescribed. C’mon, just don’t be…

Upon finding it, he released the breath all at once– He recognized the name.

It was strong, but… it was nowhere near as powerful as what was used to treat the level of pain his father had been in prior to his passing. “Dang it Fang…" He laughed softly to himself in relief, "You got me worked up for nothin’.”

Logan, you worked yourself up. He chided himself. Girl’s got a bum leg, and you’re over here worryin’ like a broody hen about her dyin’ for some reason– get a grip you moron.

At the same time, though... he knew meds like this were nothing to shake a stick at. Placing the note in the pocket of his vest, he walked into Lusi’s bathroom and looked for a safe place to stash the container for the time being. His first inclination when hiding something sensitive on a woman’s behalf was within her personal toiletries– but after checking a couple of the most obvious storage locations for such things, he failed to find any right away.

Since he didn’t want to dig through her belongings more than necessary though, he settled on the next best thing right now and placed the bottle in a spot that only someone closer to his height– such as Jane– would be able to easily access.

Satisfied, Logan made his way back into the bedroom and was immediately irritated by what was unfolding before him– while he had been occupied securing the meds, it seemed like X had decided to take charge of the situation in his absence.

“Who's a pretty bird...?” The raven cooed softly as he preened the woman’s hair with his beak, visibly loosening the freshly-combed locks in the process. “This'll fix ya up real good!”

With an exasperated huff, Logan rushed over to her side of the bed. “Will you knock that off, you varmint?!” He hissed, gently shooing the animal away.

“Helping! Helping! Squaaaaark! Keep your hands off me, ya filthy animal!” X croaked, quickly hopping away and out of arm's reach.

“No you ain’t helpin’.” The hunter contended in a low growl. “Now, your job here is done– So get back to the Doc and leave the poor girl alone.”

“How rude! No respect, I tell ya! No respect!” The bird mimicked, clacking his beak in protest.

“Lemme put it this way, X…” The man warned, “If you wake her up and she ends up wantin’ to do to you what she did to the last bird that messed with ‘er hair…" He shrugged with a casual shake of his head. "Well, I sure ain’t gonna stop her.”

“Well I never!” He replied indignantly– but the threat seemed to have done the trick, as he began spreading his wings all the same. “Until we meet again! Neyhahaha! Squawk! Buh-bye!” The raven croaked in parting before flapping off the bed and out the window at last.

Grumbling, Logan quickly surveyed the damage; the bird’s ‘assistance’ had left the smaller braids that ran across the back of her head in tatters, sending more than a few stray locks cascading across her face and the pillow. He sighed at the sight, but otherwise resisted the urge to even so much as tuck any of the loose strands behind her ear– although she would be none the wiser, he knew from experience that she absolutely hated anyone outside of a very select few casually touching her hair– and last he checked, he wasn’t a member of that club.

He didn’t have to dwell on the issue long, however; by the time he got the final shutter pulled up and the window latched shut, he heard the front door open downstairs.

“Hello! Lusi, Logan!” Jane’s voice rang out. “You two up there?”

Perfect timing. Logan headed out of the bedroom, pausing for a moment to ensure that he fully shut the door behind himself before making his way towards the stairs

“Afternoon Jane–” He initially greeted as he started his descent; only to see Mi-an also standing in the kitchen, holding a tall armload of to-go boxes that the teacher was gradually putting into the fridge. “...and Mi-an…?” He added, not tempering the overall surprise in his voice.

“Hi Logan!” The other builder greeted him brightly from behind the tower of food. “How’s Lusi?”

“She’s fine but– Mi-an… what’re you doin’ here?” He questioned, glancing incredulously at the take-out as he spoke. “When I asked for you to drop in and check on her, I didn’t mean it had to be today.”

“Well, funny story…” Mi-an started with a lopsided grin. “A little while after you left, Owen asked me to take a look at a closet rod hook that wouldn’t stay anchored in one of the guest rooms. By the time I got it all fixed up, Jane walked in to pick up the meal order for Lusi…”

“...and once she saw just how much food there was for me to bring over, Mi-an was gracious enough to offer to help me carry it all.” Jane finished for her, the slightest hint of disbelief in her voice as she took more containers from the smaller woman to finagle into the fridge.

Logan shook his head slowly. “I could’ve sworn I told Owen to make just enough to get ‘er through Friday…”

“Oh you did.” The other builder shrugged with a half-smile. “But you made two mistakes. First, you said you’d leave it up to him on how much to send, and then you said that Jane would be eating here tonight too. So…”

The hunter groaned in realization. “...He tripled everythin’ to make sure y’all’d have enough of whatever you decided to eat on– Dammit, Owen.” He muttered, rubbing his temples. “Trudy’s gonna kill me.”

The smaller woman giggled. “...‘Wen thought you’d say that, so he also asked me to let you know he only charged Lusi’s potions of the meals onto Trudy’s tab; He covered the extra servings himself.”

“Well that’s a relief…” He sighed softly, before suddenly registering the nickname. Looking up, Logan gave her a playful smirk. “...But, uh– ‘Wen’, huh…?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle when the girl's eyes went wide. “...Though, I may have just misheard.” He offered tactfully with a small wink– whatever those two were getting up to was none of his business, after all.

“A-anyway,” Mi-an quickly pivoted, clearing her throat. “I was already planning on swinging by here sometime today to check Lusi’s inventory in case I need to borrow supplies tomorrow, so it wasn’t like I was making a special trip.”

“Hey, I’m not complainin’– see, as it so happens, X left just a few minutes ago after droppin’ off Lusi’s meds.” He sighed in vexation. “...and while I was puttin’ them away, he decided to ‘help’ by makin’ a nest outta her hair.”

When both women winced and hissed air between their teeth, the hunter chuckled softly. “It ain’t too bad, but… I knew better than to try my hand at fixin’ it without her say-so.”

“Probably for the best.” Mi-an nodded before tilting her head. “But– Lusi can't handle it herself?”

“She knocked out a few minutes after leavin’ the clinic– Doc gave her somethin’ to make her sleep right before I picked her up.”

At that, Jane immediately stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. “He tranquilized her…?” She asked slowly, her tone leery.

When Logan nodded, she sighed apprehensively. “Oh Light, she’s going to be madder than a hornet when she wakes up.” Seeing the look on both of their faces, the woman expanded. “...Lusi’s first Highwind doctor held the very firm opinion that ‘you can’t be in pain if you’re unconscious’ , and as such he would forcefully sedate her every time she went to see him- which was at least once a week. Still, it took her nearly two months before she was finally able to switch practitioners.” The teacher blew a puff of air out from between her lips. “But Peach– if there's one thing that girl now hates more than the weather in Highwind, it’s getting shot up with sedatives.”

The hunter winced. “Guess that explains why she was cussin’ a blue streak loud enough for me to hear from the Arcade when I got there…”

Jane wrinkled her brow. “In Alliance Common or…?” When the hunter shifted uncomfortably, she sighed again and went back to arranging the food. “...Well this ought to be interesting.”

Mi-an, meanwhile, set the last of the containers she was holding on the counter. “Maybe I should try and get the hair situation under control– one less thing for her to be mad about when she wakes up.”

“Good call.” Logan agreed with a sincere nod as the other builder approached him. “Oh, and I got her shoes off, but I didn’t mess with ‘er clothes– for obvious reasons.”

Mi-an giggled. “I got it, don’t worry. Hopefully this shouldn’t take too long.” With that, the girl ascended the stairs, passing him as he made his way off the landing; by the time he reached the kitchen, he could hear the bedroom door open and click shut again above him.

Meanwhile, Jane was looking over her current fridge arrangement with a sigh. “Honestly, I think the only way she’s going to finish all this food in just three days is if someone eats with her for every meal…”

Setting his hat down on the table, Logan picked up the last few containers off the counter to hand to Jane. “Y’know, I’d have said the same myself if I hadn’t seen how much food that girl could put away.” He chuckled lightly in disbelief. “Peach, if you told me she had a hollow leg, I’d believe you.”

“Really…?” Jane asked dubiously. After taking in his expression for a moment, the teacher snorted and shook her head incredulously. “Well, as happy as I am to hear she’s eating properly again– these portions are certainly going to take some getting used to…” She laughed softly as she took the final boxes of food he passed to her. “So… besides the sedation, what did the doctor order?”

With a small sigh, Logan retrieved the folded note from his pocket. “See for yourself…” He smiled ruefully, offering the paper to her after she had shut the fridge door.

Frowning, the woman unfolded the note and began reading its contents. After a few seconds, her eyes went wide. “Peach, Light, and Darkness below.” She cursed, leaning against the counter. “If I thought she was going to be mad before…”

“Yeah, I was a bit surprised myself.” Logan admitted with a small nod. “I figured all Fang’d do was maybe extend Wei’s commission break from three days to a week, at most– not completely ice ‘er from doin’ anythin’ builder related for five days and take her down to one public commission at a time for nine days after that…”

“That's not what I was referring to.” Jane shook her head. “The medication that was delivered– it’s the one she takes on a ‘bad’ day. It doesn’t work quite as well for her overall as the one that can’t be imported, but out of everything they tested, it ended up being the better out of two medications that were decently effective at managing her pain.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “If those meds work better for 'er, then why doesn't she take them instead?”

“Mainly because she hates the side effects they cause her.” She replied plainly. “But also simply because they are so strong; even if they're in her locked medication drawer, she doesn’t like keeping more than a few doses on hand.” She sighed softly to herself. “If X delivered them, I expect Fang keeps her prescription secured for her at the clinic to dispense as-needed– that’s how she had it set up with her second Highwind doctor.”

“Still, if she hates them to the point she doesn’t even want ‘em around, do you think there’s a chance she’ll refuse to take’em?” Logan asked with an apprehensive frown.

“Oh no– despite how much Lusi abhors this particular medication, she also respects how effective it is. She’ll take them for her own sake.” Jane dismissed confidently. “Plus, they’re the only real option she has when it comes to managing the pain following a lock-up.”

He suddenly recalled the instructions she had ready for fire off at a moment’s notice. “So... her leg’s done that before.”

She nodded softly. “At least a couple times a year, back in Highwind; but if there’s one silver lining, it’s that she makes a point of trying to take it easy right after one, if for no other reason than to avoid outright re-dislocating her hip.” Sensing his worry, the woman looked up to meet his eyes. “To my knowledge, that’s only happened maybe two or three times since the accident itself; but anytime it does, she has to use her wheelchair for at least a week afterwards– and if you thought she was something with that cane, trust me when I say Lusi brings new meaning to the term ‘Hell on Wheels’.”

“Somehow, I can believe that…” He snorted with a small smile. “But as for the side effects themselves…”

“While they’re nothing terribly serious… I’d rather not go into further detail without asking Lusi first.” She replied tactfully, giving him a smile of her own. “And even though she's usually fine alone on this particular dosage, I’ll talk to Elsie and Mi-an tomorrow about the possibility of them staying over here with her the next two nights, just to stay in line with Trudy’s wishes. If we frame it as me asking out of concern, Lusi’ll be much more inclined to agree.”

“That’s fine by me.” The hunter agreed, not wanting to pry into the matter further. “Oh, but, before I forget: I put the pill bottle above her medicine cabinet where it wouldn’t be easily seen.” When Jane lifted a brow at him curiously, he gave a small shrug. “...I promised Fang I’d secure ‘em, and Lus’ wasn’t exactly in a state for me to ask where they were supposed to go.”

“I see…” The teacher chuckled softly. “That’s fine, I’ll see that they end up in the proper location tonight.”

“Much appreciated.” Logan replied sincerely, and as the conversation between them lulled, Jane took a moment to grab a magnet to attach the doctor's instructions to the fridge door; when she turned back to face him again, however, something seemed to catch her eye.

“Peach’s petunias…!” She murmured softly to herself, making a bee-line towards a large shadow box she had apparently just noticed hanging on the wall under the upper set of stairs. “I can’t believe she actually made one for this!”

Curious, Logan followed her. As he passed the underside of the landing, he noticed for the first time that the curtain that usually covered the space was partially drawn; he could only assume he had simply overlooked that fact in his haste that morning. He had honestly always thought it to be a pantry or something– so when he saw part of a bolstered, well-worn sofa crammed into the small nook rather than shelves, he couldn’t help but chuckle quietly to himself. Girl has a storage room full of nice furniture, but keeps a ratty couch hidden under her stairs…

Pushing the builders continued questionable furnishing choices to the side, he turned his focus to the shadow box that had caught Jane’s attention. Despite being larger than the others, he had never actually taken the time to really inspect the contents of this particular display, mostly because its location afforded relatively low clearance for his overall height.

In general, Lusi’s framed memorabilia shadow boxes seemed to follow a simple pattern: A physical memento, a picture of her wearing said memento, and maybe a pamphlet of some kind. And while this display followed the same pattern, it was unique in that it had two mementos instead of one: pinned side-by-side at the top were what looked to be a pair of large hair bows– a simple one made out of plain blue silk ribbon, and a flashier pink one with more embellishments overall.

Additionally, there were three accompanying photos in the display as well, with the largest being a professional-looking group shot of thirty or so people posing for the camera. As he looked closer though, he made a startling realization: everyone in the photo was dressed in a surprisingly familiar fashion. The women were all attired in colorful, home-spun dresses that wouldn't look at all out of place in one of the nearby villages on a festival day; in that same vein, all of the men were dressed not unlike himself, with every one of them sporting either a ten-gallon hat, chaps, vest, or a combination of all three.

With a sharply bemused chuckle, his eyes shifted to the two smaller pictures. The first was a candid shot; it had to have been taken by someone on a whim, because none of the subjects were looking at the camera. Although she was probably only in her mid-teens at the time, there was no mistaking Lusi, with her brow furrowed in concentration as she helped an older woman make adjustments to the back hem of a pastel blue dress being worn by a tall dark blonde.

In the second picture, however, he could see the blonde’s face; despite not having her glasses on, he instantly identified the girl in the blue dress as Jane. And– to his absolute delight– standing next to her in a bright pink frilly dress of her own and her hair all done up in curls was none other than–

“Lusi?” He cried out in amused disbelief, immediately throwing a hand over his mouth to cover the smile that was spreading across his face. “Ohhh– PLEASE tell me that’s actually Lusi.”

“It sure is…” Jane confirmed with a slow nod, grinning ear to ear herself. “Light!– she must have asked her mother to make some replicas of our bows!” She hesitated for a moment before sighing with an affectionate shake of the head. “...Or, she may have just stolen them after the show closed– that’s actually much more likely.”

Logan, meanwhile, was desperately struggling to maintain his composure. “I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this photograph until just now.” He wheezed, stifling a laugh. “And– don’t get me wrong– y’all look absolutely adorable, but… Jane–” He faltered, trying his damndest to keep a straight face as he looked at her. “...Why in Peach’s name are all y’all dressed up like yer gettin ready to go to a goddamn barn raisin’...?”

The teacher met his gaze, raising her brows in aghast shock. “Honestly, Logan– You really think we’d be dressed up THAT nicely for a barn raising? Come now, don’t be ridiculous!” She contended seriously, before breaking into a smirk. “...Obviously we were going to a box social.”

At that, his laughter completely broke loose– to the point he had to put his hand on the underside of the stairs just to keep himself upright as he guffawed. “You can’t be serious…!” He eventually managed to get out, wiping the tears from his eyes as he gradually straightened up.

“Oh, but I am!” Jane contended with a grin. “...or, at least, that’s where our characters were going; the plot of the play stemmed from the dilemma the female lead, Laurey, faced when she had to choose between two suitors to attend a box social with.”

“A play?– Oh, now I KNOW you’re pullin’ my leg.” Logan scoffed with a grin of his own, shaking his head. “There’s no way someone actually wrote a play about a goddamn box social in this day and age.”

“Well, you’re right about that much– Best guess is that it was written somewhere between… seven hundred and a thousand years ago.” When he whipped his head over to look at her in startled surprise, she nodded. “Believe it or not, it’s actually a period piece by Old World standards, and one of the few full stage shows that survived the Age of Darkness to boot– due in no small part to the fact it was incredibly prolific.” She scoffed lightly, shaking her head. “Complete copies of scripts or musical scores for it are found in almost every major Old World theater scholars have excavated.”

“You don’t say…” He glanced incredulously at the group photo again. “Well heck– now I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended…” He snorted before turning his attention to the piece of paper pinned inside the display next to the pictures. “Though… I do suppose that explains the name– Ock-lahy-ohma? Really?”

“Oak-la-homa.” She gently corrected the pronunciation with a smile. “And yes, there have been talks about adapting the name and lyrics to fit a more modern setting, but… honestly ‘Eufaula!’ just doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Also, as you mentioned: there is the small issue of native Eufaulan’s being unable to decide on whether or not to find the concept alone comically endearing or wildly offensive.” She released her breath in a nostalgic sigh. “Nevertheless… back in 89, my theater arts school in Walnut Groove selected it of all things as our Spring semester show.”

“Wait– Walnut Groove?” He repeated, tilting his head with a confused smile. “This… wasn’t in Highwind…?”

Jane’s smile faded as she shook her head. “...Right around the turn of the year, Lusi’s maternal grandmother– her Nana– was given an acute terminal diagnosis. So, she and her parents temporarily moved down to Walnut Groove for a little over half a year to be with her until she passed.”

“Oh…” He murmured, his own smile and tone dropping immediately. “That… must have been real hard for her.”

The woman nodded. “It was hard for both of us, to be honest; that woman was like a grandmother to me, too.” She sighed, sadness tinging her voice. “Our parents all traveled in the same acting troupe for about a decade. Eventually, Lusi’s parents got offered permanent jobs by the Highwind Theater Society's technical department, so they moved up there to be closer to her father's family. Even after the move, though, they stayed friends all the same– whenever my parents went on tour, they would either send me up to stay with Lusi’s family, or Lusi’s Nana would take care of me in Walnut Groove.”

Logan blinked in surprise. “You really weren’t kiddin’ when you said she was your oldest friend, huh?”

“I was actually putting it rather mildly– I’ve known Lusi since before she was even a thing.” She gave him a crooked grin. “Heck, one of my earliest childhood memories is feeling her kick through her mom’s belly.”

A smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth. “So what you’re sayin’ is: You have access to all the embarrassin’ baby photos…”

“...And the stories to go along with them.” She confirmed with a wicked smirk of her own, nodding to the shadow box with her head. “...but the story behind this is a doozy in itself; once they got to Walnut Groove, Lusi's parents transferred her into my theater arts school partway through the spring semester. While she’s never had any real interest in actively participating in theater herself, I had been cast in the show prior to the diagnosis. So when she got there, Lusi immediately volunteered to work tech for it; partially to spend more time with me, but also just to keep herself busy and take her mind off of… everything.”

The nostalgia returned to her voice as she reminisced. “After that, we started spending pretty much every waking moment of our lives getting me ready for that play– if we weren’t running my lines or working through blocking together, we’d just be hanging out, listening to Old World ‘country’ music to try and help me get the darn accent right.” She shook her head softly, murmuring almost to herself, “I never could quite nail the ‘cain’t’ s for that song…”

Logan co*cked his head back somewhat confused. “But, if she wasn’t on stage, then... why’s she all gussied up with the rest of y’all?”

“Because Lusi ended up getting drafted.” Jane chuckled darkly. “About a week before opening night, the girl playing Laurey and the girl playing Gertie, Laurey’s rival, got into an actual fight– and their resulting injuries were bad enough that both of them had to drop out.” Seeing the look on his face, she shrugged. “What can I say? The world of drama often lives up to its name– Anyhow, losing a lead usually isn’t a huge issue; it’s why alternates are cast for roles in the first place. However in this case, I was the understudy for the female lead, and the girl who was supposed to play Gertie was the understudy for my original role as second female lead, Ado Annie. So, while we still had an understudy for Gertie, and I was now covering Laurey… we desperately needed an Annie, or else we were sunk.”

“...And Lusi knew the part because she helped you practice.” He extrapolated with a somewhat bemused smile as the understanding clicked into place

“Inside and out…” The teacher nodded with a half-smile. “Lusi knew the choreography, could at least carry a tune, and honestly got the accent down better than I ever did, so… our director all but begged her to take on the role. After some pestering from me, Lusi eventually caved, and her mom offered to help make emergency alterations to the costumes– that picture was taken right before she got fitted for the pink dress.” She pointed to the candid photograph with her chin before sighing happily. “And that’s how– for one absolutely wonderful week– we shared the limelight onstage for the first and last time of our lives…”

Logan chuckled, glancing at the picture of them together again. “Still, knowin how much Lusi likes to put on a show, she must’ve had a blast.”

“Oh no– she hated it. She's never wanted to be on stage as an actress.” Jane disputed firmly, shaking her head. Meeting his surprised eyes, she gave him an apathetic shrug. “Nepotism is rampant in the performing arts, but in theater circles especially. As such, Lusi always tried to distance herself from the acting world as much as she could; she wanted to leave a mark on the arts through her own abilities, not through her parent's connections.” She smiled softly, looking over the shadow box as a whole. “...But nevertheless, it undoubtedly ended up being one of our fondest shared memories together. And, if she went through the trouble of making a memento box for it, I suppose she must have enjoyed herself more than she let on…” The woman's words trailed off as she sighed fondly again.

Logan quietly took in the display with her for a little while longer before slightly tilting his head to the side. “Hey… Jane?”

“Mhmm?”

“I know this might sound strange, but... does the word ‘surrey’ mean anythin’ to you?”

Jane blinked and immediately turned her attention back to him. “Yeah, it’s… a type of horse cart– Curly, the male lead, offers to take Laurey to the box social in one. It's actually the subject of one of the songs in Act One: ‘The Surrey with the Fringe on Top’. ” She tilted her own head slightly. “I thought you weren’t familiar with the play?”

“Oh I’m not– but thank you very much.” The hunter chuckled appreciatively. “You just clarified somethin’ that I’ve been wonderin’ about for a few months now…”

Before she had a chance to question him further, their attention was drawn to the sound of the bedroom door opening upstairs. Once he heard footsteps passing above, he called up from under the stairs. “All good up there, Mi-an?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Bandit-boy.”

Exchanging surprised glances, Logan and Jane both ducked out from under the stairs just in time to see Lusi begin her descent down the stairs, a meek-looking Mi-an just a step behind; her braids seemed to have been passably fixed, and her coveralls had been traded for a pair of casual drawstring pants. Once he was within her line of sight, however, the resident builder immediately shot the man an icy glare.

“...How are you even awake right now?” Logan asked, legitimately surprised to see her up. “It’s hardly been two hours.”

The woman’s lip curled in disgust. “Fang knows that kind of tranq barely works on me anymore– he just wanted me unconscious long enough that the fact I got about three hours of sleep last night would take care of the rest.” She glanced over her shoulder. “And when I did finally come-to from my stupid nap, what was the first thing I saw? Mi-an rifling through my shi–

Jane cleared her throat.

“–stuff like we were married or something.”

Logan blinked at the uncharacteristic self censor. What the hell was that…?

“I said I was sorry!” Mi-an placated feebly, shrugging sheepishly at her compatriot. “I was just looking for a set of pajamas to put you in! It didn’t occur to me that you might not have any–” She immediately slapped her hand over her mouth as Lusi shot her a disbelieving look; Jane choked down a small fit of laughter while Logan felt his ears go slightly hot. “...That came out wrong!” Mi-an asserted, flushing a bit red herself at her verbal faux-pas.

Lusi rolled her eyes with an irritated sigh. “Lest the prude in the room get the wrong idea,” She casually gestured to Logan with her cane, “as we can all see: despite the implication, I do, in fact, own loungewear and do not sleep in the nude.” She proclaimed, gesturing to her sleep clothes before glaring at Mi-an again. “But thank you for making me clarify that, Mimi.”

“I’m not a pru–” Logan tried to defend, only to be cut off by Lusi pointing her cane at him again.

“Ah-bup-bup! Bandit, make no mistake: you are on VERY thin ice with me right now.” The woman attested, a wild-eyed seriousness to her face. “So unless you’d like me to use this cane to make good on what I threatened to do with your hat way-back-when, you will speak only when spoken to at this time.”

Logan opened mouth to retort– only to immediately reconsider and close it again with a resigned huff.

Jane gave Mi-an a questioning look, to which the other builder merely shrugged in reply.

Seemingly satisfied with his response, Lusi nodded in terse approval. “That’s what I thought…” Turning her attention completely to the woman standing beside him, she smiled brightly. “Hi Janey! I assume you’re here to babysit me for the night.”

Giving Logan a nervous glance, the teacher laughed softly. “Well, I wouldn’t say that–”

“Janey, lemme stop you right there.” Lusi cut in. “See, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the King of the Bandits over here–” She gestured towards Logan with her cane again, “–it's that he only calls in professionals for anything he can’t handle himself.” She paused. “...or Elsie, if no one else is available– But the fact remains that you are, by trade, technically a professional babysitter, and that fact is not lost on me.”

When Logan began to open his mouth again to defend himself, Lusi immediately choked up on the cane like it was a spear. “Try me, Bandit.”

With a sigh, the hunter closed his mouth again.

Obviously pleased, Lusi nodded. “Keep this up, and you can speak to me again by this time tomorrow.” She rolled her eyes. “Since, knowing you, you’re probably planning on loitering around my house for the next few days to help ‘keep an eye on me’ until these pain meds are done just so I don’t ‘fall down the stairs’– because that's just what you do, am I right?”

This time, he didn’t even bother opening his mouth; he learned from experience that there was no use trying to argue with her when she was really pissed off.

Despite his lack of reaction, Mi-an was exchanging glances with Jane apprehensively, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see the taller woman becoming progressively unamused by the resident builder’s temperamental display overall. “Lusi…” She warned, her tone taking a serious edge.

Lusi, however, completely ignored the verbal warning– she was apparently on a roll. “Well, would you look at that? We recognized that was a rhetorical question– Oh, you sir are well on your way to being back in my good graces!” She smiled approvingly, only for the smile to fall flat as she met his eyes. “–However that will not be happening for at least another twenty-four hours, so in the meantime, please feel free to get the fu–” She verbally pivoted upon seeing Jane open her mouth again, “–heck out of my house at your earliest convenience.”

This time, Mi-an blinked in realization. “Wait.” She cut in, surprised. “Are you actually… watching your language right now?”

Freezing abruptly, Lusi sighed in slight irritation for her tirade being interrupted. “Yes, Mi-an, as a matter of fact I am.” She replied flatly with a curt nod. “Believe it or not, I do have standards: I don’t cuss around kids, I avoid using certain words if I know they make another person uncomfortable, and I try my best not to cuss outright in the presence of someone who doesn’t like cussing in general– and I have known Janey long enough to respect that she holds no love for the little habit I picked up of casually peppering expletives into my speech.”

Jane nodded firmly, crossing her arms. “You’re f*ckin’ right I don’t.”

As the other two whipped their heads around to gape at the schoolteacher in dumbfounded shock, Lusi practically melted in happiness on the spot. “...Light, I missed you so much!” She crooned with a loving sigh.

Sensing no further questions, the resident builder began making her way down the stairs again, Mi-an staying right behind her to spot her as she went. A few steps from the bottom, however, she stopped short, meeting Logan’s eyes at his level. “What’s the matter, Bandit? Feet glued to the floor?” She snapped, pointing towards the door sharply with her chin.

Rolling his eyes again, he began to turn towards the table to retrieve his hat, only to be abruptly stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Jane stated brusquely, looking the smaller woman in the eye. “Jud.”

Lusi’s bravado instantly deflated as her jaw dropped. “Jaaane!”

“Don’t you ‘Jane’ me.” The teacher shot back, glancing over to meet Logan’s perplexed gaze. “Oh, and you can also talk again, by the way.” She added matter-of-factly with a small smile, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat before walking over to the fridge.

“Seriously?!” The resident builder whined, crumpling slightly.

Logan blinked, completely lost. “Wait, I can?”

“Yes, you can.” Jane confirmed, glancing back at Lusi sternly.

Lusi’s lower lip jutted out in a pout. “But Janey– it's entirely HIS fault I got tranqed in the first place!”

At that, Logan froze. “It is…?”

Glaring at him again, she nodded. “Oh you better believe it– Fang NEVER would have jabbed me with the night-night juice unless he knew I'd have a ‘minder’ coming back to get me later.”

“Maybe so, but it's not Logan's fault you didn’t get to sleep on time last night.” Jane called out behind her as she rifled through the fridge.

Logan flinched; there was no way in hell that girl would pass up an opening that easy. Sure enough, Lusi locked eyes with him, a positively diabolical grin spreading across her face as she opened her mouth.

“...and if you make a dirty joke, I’ll have Fang tranq you again myself.” The teacher added without even turning around.

To his utter amazement, Lusi actually faltered, the words dying in her throat before she could even get a single syllable out. Huffing in disappointment, she glowered at him again while muttering something under her breath.

“Seesaian counts too.”

“Auuuuugh!” The builder groused. “This sucks!”

“Suffer.” Jane replied bluntly, finally returning with a bag labeled ‘L&A’ on the front. “He has food to take home.”

Upon seeing the bag, he blinked. “I do?” He asked, surprised.

Jane nodded, handing the unexpected the bag of take-out out to him. “Owen insisted on sending something over for you and Andy to have tonight, just in case.” She gave Lusi a pointed look. “And I am not having one of my students go hungry because you’re mad YOU screwed up to the point of requiring a forced nap.”

“Oh the kid’s resourceful, he’d survive!” Lusi retorted. “Besides, I’d put money on Vivi sending them home with food when Bandit gets there anyway!”

“Good!” Jane replied brightly. “Then that just means Logan will have something to eat for breakfast before he comes to relieve me first thing in the morning!”

“First thing in the– I just said I didn't want to see him again for at least twenty-four hours!” The builder cried out indignantly.

“Consider it penance for being overly-stubborn.” The teacher countered, her tone making it clear that she would brook no argument.

Hesitating, Lusi finally let out a begrudging sigh. “Fine…” She relented, crossing her arms peevishly, “He’s prolly not even gonna be able to show up in the morning because Vivi’s gonna murder him on the spot for walking into her house with take-out anyway…”

“Well then Andy would have three meals to eat off of before he’d have to scrounge.” Jane shot back, putting her hands on her hips.

As he watched the teacher shut the builder down at every turn, Logan suddenly made a startling revelation. Well no wonder Jane handles Andy so well… He chuckled to himself in mild disbelief. She’s got two full decades of Lusi-wranglin’ experience under her belt!

Moments later, however, another realization clicked in his mind.

“Wait–” He started, co*cking his head back slightly. “Why are y’all makin’ it sound like I’m not capable of feedin’ the kid?”

“Because I’ve eaten food you’ve ‘cooked’ and the fact he’s still alive is a testament to Andy’s resilience.” Lusi said flatly without a moment's hesitation.

Logan scoffed. “Oh c’mon. I ain’t–”

“Bandit, that poor bird was more charcoal than chicken by the time you got done with it.” She cut him off bluntly, shaking her head. “Honestly, I’d offer to make you an egg timer– but knowing you? You’d probably set it to max every time and think you were actually using it right.”

From behind her, Mi-an snorted in laughter before badly covering it up with a cough; Jane, on the other hand, managed to keep a completely straight face, with only the tiniest quiver in her lips betraying her composure.

Logan, meanwhile, was once again confused. Are you… not supposed to do that…? He pondered to himself before shaking it off and turning his focus entirely to the woman standing next to him.

“Thank you Jane.” He smiled graciously. “I appreciate you makin’ sure I leave with all my belongin’s.”

Jane returned the smile in equal measure. “You’re very welcome. And please– I’m off the clock!” She replied, glancing at Lusi pointedly. “Call me Janey.”

Lusi gasped, seemingly legitimately offended. “Traitor!” She declared, shaking her head in disgust as she made her way down the last few steps. “I’m surrounded by traitors today!”

“You’ve lived through worse.” Jane asserted, rolling her eyes. While Lusi was focused on the stairs, however, she leaned over and murmured just loudly enough for Logan to hear: “That said- I would highly suggest making yourself scarce soon, because my power here only goes so far.”

“Yes ma’am, roger that.” He acknowledged quietly before clearing his throat and retrieving his hat off the table. “Mi-an, you headin’ out too?– I can give ya a ride to the Saloon stairs if you are.”

“Y-yeah.” She replied, seemingly still trying to hold herself together following the egg timer comment. “Just lemme check the inventory– will only take like five minutes.”

The resident builder winced. “Right, I forgot that’s why you said you came by…” She muttered, before pausing in consideration for a moment. “…Actually, before you go Mimi, would you mind leashing up Nemo and keeping him at your place for a little bit? I’m gonna be in no state to comfort him tonight, and he’s actually a legitimate trip hazard right now…”

Her compatriot immediately lit up. “Can I keep him all five days?”

“Knock yourself out.” Lusi shrugged casually. “But if you do, have Andy help take care of him after school– it’ll keep the kid occupied for the town’s sake while Bandit’s busy playing den-mother over here.”

As Logan rolled his eyes at the verbal jab, Mi-an nodded vigorously in agreement. “Deal!” She grinned, adding, “But, just so you know: that dog IS coming back fatter.”

“Risk I’m willing to take.” Lusi snorted. “Light, he’s gonna be jazzed– poor boy’s treat supply dwindled after Yan got shipped off…” Hearing Logan snort, the builder looked over, eying him up and down. “Come to think… I use it so rarely, I may have just tossed his leash up on a shelf or something when I put the factory in.” She muttered tersely, narrowing her gaze. “Bandit, come with me so you can put that superior height of yours to use for once– and THEN get the heck out of my house.” She ordered, hobbling over to the kitchen entrance of the factory and disappearing inside.

After she had passed through the doors, the hunter rolled his eyes. “‘Thank you, Logan, I appreciate all your help today’,” He mocked quietly, only to immediately reply to his own gratitude with, “Oh, you’re welcome, Lusi, it was my pleasure.”

Suddenly, the handle of Lusi’s cane was thrust through the door. “Best leave the sass to the professionals too, Bandit…” She warned, shimmying the cane threateningly.

Logan scoffed at the gesture, but began walking to the doors all the same “‘Ma’am, yes ma’am.’” He replied, only barely tempering the sarcasm in his voice.

“Attaboy~” She purred as the cane was once again pulled out of view. Once he passed through the threshold, the hunter gently shut the door behind him.

The moment the door clicked, Mi-an and Jane whipped their heads around to lock eyes.

“What was th–?!” Jane hissed in a hushed tone, gesturing wildly in the direction of the factory doors.

“Oh good!” Mi-an cut her off, doing her best to keep her voice low despite her excitement. “It’s obvious to new people, too!”

Jane reeled back slightly. “Just how long ha–”

“Like, two months.”

“Two months?!” She repeated in disbelief. “And they’re not–”

“Nope.” Mi-an shook her head firmly.

The taller woman suddenly straightened in cognizance, glancing at the door. “Does he kno–”

“He doesn’t have a clue.”

Jane squinted suspiciously. “...Does she kno–”

“No one’s gotten a good answer.” The builder shrugged.

The teacher scoffed. “Oh, don’t you worry! I’ll be getting an answer– Tonight.” She grinned conspiratorially as she looked back towards the door. “There’s absolutely no way I’m letting her pass up a match that good for her. And, I mean, heck!- I usually bat for the other team, but Light DAMN me if I wouldn’t make an exception…!”

“Oh I know, right? He’s–” Mi-an started before suddenly freezing in realization. “Wait… you’re a…?”

The schoolteacher nodded matter-of-factly.

“…Remind me to introduce you to Grace when she gets back in town…” The builder relayed slowly, eying the other woman appraisingly. “...Anyway– so Pablo’s apparently got his eye on a Midwinter ceremony–”

“Midwinter?!” Jane gaped in shock. “But– that’s barely two months from now!”

“Yeah.” Mi-an chortled quietly with a small nod. “Trust me: when stuff happens around here, it happens fast.” She grinned. “Don't worry, you’ll get used to it.”

“Boy, I know you did not just walk into this house carryin’ take-out…!”

Vivi glared at the bag the younger man was holding in his hand as he walked through her front door, pausing midway through ladling stew into a deep serving bowl.

Logan immediately threw his free hand up in surrender as he passed through the threshold. “This was Owen’s doin’, not mine!” He pleaded, pointing to the bag while asserting his innocence. “I think he just wanted to make certain we had somethin’ for tonight– or if nothin’ else, to give me an easy breakfast in the mornin’.”

“The mornin’?” Andy cut in, gathering up his homework from the table. “The heck you gonna be doin’ in the mornin’? I don’t gotta be up for school or nothin’.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, kid.” Logan said flatly as he started to remove his hat, only to break from the motion as Vivi flippantly waved it off. “Come seven A.M. sharp, you’re goin’ over to Trudy’s for breakfast with Jasmine.”

“WHAT?!” The blond boy cried out, incensed. “But school’s startin’ late– I was gonna sleep in!”

Logan snorted. “There you go again with that ‘sleepin’ in’ business– I don’t know where you got that idea, but ain’t nobody in this town is gonna be sleepin’ in the day after a dang thunderstorm.” He paused with a measured sigh, before muttering lowly, “...‘cept maybe Lusi.”

Vivi’s eyes snapped up as she picked up on the muttered addition. “What happened?” She demanded curtly, her tone indicating she was in no mood for funny business.

The hunter glanced at Andy and took a hesitant breath. “She’s gonna be fine, but… her leg caused her enough trouble today that Fang iced her entirely so she could rest it; she’s not allowed to do anythin’ builder related ‘til dawn on Monday at the earliest.” He sighed, trying to explain it as tactfully as possible without alarming his son. “Elsie, Mi-an, and I are gonna take turns watchin’ out for her til we’re sure she’s properly mended up, but Ms. Jane was nice enough to agree to stay with her tonight so she wasn't alone durin’ the storm. I’m gonna be relievin’ her first-thing in the mornin’ since Mi-an and Else will be busy with cleanup.”

The grandmother’s face drooped sympathetically, “Oh, the poor thing!– Do you need me to make her anythin’ to eat?”

Logan quickly shook his head. “Already taken care of; Owen made a few days worth of meals for her so she wouldn’t have to worry about any of that.” He indicated to the bag again, “...and while he was at it, seems he decided to slip this one in on the sly– which, again, I would have refused if he had offered.”

Vivi sternly shook her head. “Oh no, if that's the situation, I’m glad he did it! The sooner you can get yourself fed and over there, the better.”

“But why do you gotta help watch Lus–” Andy piped up before seemingly remembering something. “Oh, wait… that’s part of yer job as gang leader, ain’t it?”

“Glad to see you remembered.” The man nodded approvingly. “But even if it wasn’t– considerin’ everythin’ Lus’s done for the two of us, not sleepin’ in tomorrow mornin’ will go a long way to make sure she gets better as soon as possible. Small price to pay, don't you think?”

“Maaaan…” Andy crumpled in slight disappointment. “Yeah, I guess…” He finally yielded with a begrudging– if not slightly guilty– sigh.

“Glad to see we’re on the same page, kiddo.” He gave the boy a small half-smile. “But… as for your duty as gang member: Mi-an’s gonna be keepin’ Nemo through the weekend, and Lus' said she'd like you to help watch him when you aren’t in school– after you get your homework done, that is.”

Andy’s face lit up. “Yesss!” He celebrated quickly before hastily shoving the remainder of that night’s homework into his bag.

Logan snorted softly before looking up at the older woman again. “Oh, before I forget, Viv: I saw the front shutters were done, but do you need any help with the ones in the back while I’m here?”

“Child, you’re actin’ like Hugo an’ Heidi didn’t button this house up before headin’ to the Outback to help with the trees.” The older woman chuckled, shaking her head. “At this rate, your place is gonna be the last one done out of all of ‘em."

"You're probably right about that," Logan agreed, finally allowing himself to think about his own impending storm prep needs. "Tell ya what– Andy, while I wait for Grandma to finish packin' up our supper, start headin' back home with Rambo." He instructed, holding the bag of food out to the blond boy. "Once you have everythin' in your hands put up, get Rambo in the stable, untack as much as you can, and top off his food an’ water– Sooner he's locked down, the sooner we can do the same ourselves."

"Yessir…" Andy replied, obviously still miffed about his morning plans being disrupted, but he knew Logan’s tone left no room to argue. Hoisting his school bag onto his shoulders, he retrieved the take-out from Logan and turned towards Vivi one last time. "Thanks for the grub, Grandma– same time tomorrow?"

"Anytime baby– and you know it!” She hummed, a devious glint in her eye. "That said, you best be good for Logan tonight, y'hear? Would be a shame not to be able to make the sticky buns I was plannin' on bakin' tomorrow because I found out someone decided to act a fool durin’ a thunderstorm…"

"Sticky buns?” He repeated, instantly on board with his newest chore list. "...See you in a bit Logan– and don't take too long! I got stuff on the line here!"

The hunter rolled his eyes. "Like me takin’ five extra minutes now will get you a bounty bein’ paid out tomorrow any faster." He smirked, ruffling the boy's hair as he ran past. "I'll be right behind you to get the saddle." He called out, signaling to Rambo to follow him back home before shutting the door firmly with a small sigh.

"Alright then. Now that we can actually talk…'' Vivi started with a calm resolve, looking the younger man in the eye. “What’s wrong with Lusi?”

“Frankly, Viv? I’d kinda like to know that myself.” He admitted, leaning against the door. "I had to practically threaten ‘er to get her to the clinic today– I mean, I gave her a ‘choice’, but I made it clear it wasn't much of a choice at all– and once the Doc got a good look at her… " A deep sigh escaped him. "On top of groundin’ her for five days, he also put ‘er on light duty for two weeks overall. But if that wasn’t bad enough, he went so far as to sedate her before she left because he knew I'd be back to take her home.” He shook his head softly. “Viv, she was furious when she woke up– heck, the last time she was even close to bein' that mad at me was durin' the invasion."

The matriarch clucked her tongue softly as she made to resume her ladling once more. "Well, I'm sure Fang must have had a good reason to do so."

Logan nodded confidently. “Oh he did– she absolutely had to get some rest. Seems that’s been in short supply for her as of late.”

“Y’know, I was just thinkin’ she’s seemed a bit busier than I would have expected her to be considerin’ just how few big jobs the town has in the works right now…” She hummed in agreement absently.

“Grandma, it’s more than her just bein’ busy: Fang said in his own words that she’s just about at the point of exhaustion.” He shook his head gravely. “I'm startin' to worry she's gonna work herself to death at this rate…”

Vivi’s eyes shot up. “We’re still talkin’ about the same Lusi, right?”

“...Unless there’s another one in town I’m not aware of…” He snorted softly. “Actually, the way my day’s been goin’, that honestly wouldn’t come to much surprise.”

The older woman pursed her lips. “Logan, Lusi would never push herself that hard if it wasn't somethin’ she considered dire– and even then, the only times I’ve ever seen her actually lose sleep were all instances when the town was actively in danger: The Bridge, the Water Tower, the ‘Green People’ incident…”

“The what incid–” He started, before cutting himself off. “Actually, fill me in on that one later– Viv, while I’m sure that’s true, it’s not entirely up to her. The day we cleared out the tunnel, she told me she has to take all her commission slots right now in order to recoup her costs from puttin’ in the factory– and apparently it’s gonna take a while to pay back.”

“Now I’m really wondering if we’re talking about the same Lusi.” Vivi replied with a deep frown. “Child, that factory has been paid off since before they even broke ground- Heidi wanted her to install it so badly, she personally commissioned Lusi over and over again just to ensure she would have enough funds to do so!”

“It’s what…?” He whispered, a sense of unease washing over him. “Wait, so… Lus’ doesn’t need to take all the commissions she can get her hands on?”

“Certainly not!” Vivi cried out, almost indignant that the question was even being asked. “Nor has she ever wanted to! Now, while Lusi has never said ‘no’ to any request made to her directly, she’s always been exceptionally choosy when it comes to publicly posted commissions. Before the invasion, if nothin’ on that board suited her fancy– or the pay wasn’t worth the effort she felt she’d need to put in– she’d gladly pass it on to Mi-an; how do you think Yan was able to skim so much money off that poor girl in the first place?” She scoffed, shaking her head in disgust. “Heck, that commission board has always been so far down the Builder’s priority list, it took her almost three dang months to realize that there was a separate area for requests– and that was after I told her about it myself while pinnin’ one on.”

“How.” Logan stated flatly. “It’s literally right next to the main board– you’d have to be blind not to see it.”

“Well, turns out she was nursin’ a slight hangover that day; didn’t even register I was puttin’ it on another section entirely.” She chuckled softly with a shrug. “And since she never talked to Yan unless it was absolutely necessary, he only told her she was allowed to take postin’s from it after she had already figured it out herself. Poor thing was so embarrassed– made me promise to never let anyone else know.” Vivi suddenly threw up a stern finger towards him. “So if you tell her I–”

“Tell her what?”

“M-hmm…” Vivi hummed in approval of the succinct answer. “Rhonda taught you well.”

“She certainly tried her best...” Logan agreed with a small smile.

Vivi nodded gently and drew in her breath again before releasing it in a sigh. “...Back to the matter at hand, however: Logan– it’s precisely the fact that Lusi never does any more than she wants to do that makes her work so highly regarded by everyone in town– by now we all know that the quality of whatever commission she chooses to fulfill is never going to be any less than outstanding.”

“So what you’re basically sayin’ is: Lusi wasn’t always tryin’ to work’ herself to the bone?” Logan questioned, legitimately wanting clarification. After all, they had only really known each other for a few months– and needless to say, their previous interactions prior to clearing his name were… unconventional, to say the least.

“Of course not.” The grandmother declared confidently. “That girl has been the epitome of work/life balance since day one; Heck, once she even sat Elsie and Mi-an down for a ‘Come to Peach’s’ meetin’– her term, not mine,” Vivi amended quickly when she saw Logan arch a brow, “–about that very subject after Elsie stole Mi-an’s builder’s license and then lost it in the pasture.”

“I’m… really startin’ to get the feelin’ that 98 was a heck of a year for me to be out of town for…”

“Sugar, you don’t even know the half of it.” Vivi chortled wryly, setting the ladle back into the main soup pot. “But no, baby… while Lusi has always been meticulous, she also made a point to take breaks and have fun. When she first moved to town, she'd do things like runnin’ errands for people or catchin’ fish to sell to Owen to earn a little extra pocket money so she could treat herself to somethin’ nice every week. And by the time Autumn rolled around, it wasn’t unusual for her to just pack up without a word to camp out for a night every so often.”

“A girl still brand-new to the desert would go campin’ alone without tellin’ anyone where she was goin’ and no one tried to discourage that?” He asked, immediately alarmed of the notion itself.

“Oh don’t worry, honey– she rarely ever ventured past the outskirts overnight.” Vivi assured with a gentle shake of the head. “...and if she did, she always took the horse with her.”

“I withdraw the question.” Logan stated brusquely, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. “Still… why’d she stop?”

Vivi hesitated for a moment. “...After Matilda’s kidnappin’, she decided that time would be better spent gettin’ herself back into better fightin’ condition again.”

“...oh.” He murmured quietly, a small pang of guilt twinging inside him.

“But, even so,” Vivi continued gently, “She still made sure to keep treatin’ herself all the same. She just found… different ways to do it.” The grandmother chuckled, adding with a slow shake of the head. ”...poor birds never stood a chance…”

Guess she still really did hold a bit of a grudge about her hair… Logan mused to himself with an internal snort. “So… she’s never acted this reckless when it came to her health?”

“Never.” The woman shook her head firmly, “Sure, she’s always needed to set timers so she won’t forget to eat or be somewhere, but… that’s honestly very responsible of her! Just goes to show she cares about herself as much as she cares about this town.” She met his gaze again sternly. “Logan, you need to get to the bottom of this– and that is not a request.”

The hunter hesitantly shook his head. “Viv, she respects that I respect her privacy; I can’t make her tell me anythin’. Besides, I already feel bad enough as it is– the only reason she even ended up in this overly-extended sabbatical was because I stuck my nose in her business in the first place.” He sighed, resting his head against the wooden front door. “I dunno– I guess I just can't shake the feelin’ that I'm… oversteppin’ my bounds here.”

“Child, sometimes such things are necessary.” Vivi said bluntly, placing a lid over the top of the serving bowl and snapping it down securely. “Lusi may not like it, but if she’s so far gone that she can’t even see that she’s at risk of ruinin’ herself, it's only right that someone acts in her best interests for her– and while you’re at it, you would do well to try and find out exactly what triggered this nonsense in the first place.” She held his gaze seriously. “Otherwise, even if you get her settled down for the short-term, there’s a good chance this’ll just keep happenin’ over and over until… there IS no ‘next time’.” She sighed and shook her head sadly. “I've seen it happen before in this town, and I would prefer not to see it again, so long as I still live.”

Logan considered her words quietly for a time, wrestling with his warring opinions on the matter until finally, he drew in his breath.

“...Alright, Grandma.” He murmured at last. “I don’t like it but… I promise that I’ll at least try.”

“That’s all anyone ever asks of you, baby.” The matriarch nodded sincerely as she handed off the large bowl of stew. “Now, that’s enough gabbin’– you still have a fair bit of work to do and not much time to do it in.”

The younger man nodded softly with a smile as he took the bowl in both hands. “Thanks for everythin’, Viv. Stay safe tonight, alright?”

“You are very welcome, baby– but don’t you worry about me.” She replied warmly with a wide smile, opening the door for him and giving him a motherly kiss on the cheek in parting. “You just focus on takin’ care of that girl, alright? And know that Krystal or I will gladly watch Andy anytime– so don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I’ll… keep that in mind.” He replied simply as he walked through the threshold into the dense, humid air outside, obviously still somewhat uncomfortable with the task he'd been ordered to carry out.

Still smiling, Vivi waited until he was on his way up the stairs towards his home to shut the door behind him. Once the door clicked, she drew in her breath slowly before letting it out in a deep, content sigh.

“Rhonda, sweetie?” She called out into the empty home. “As much as it pains me to say… I think before too terribly long, we’re gonna have to open up your place at the table again.”

The matriarch turned, setting her sights on the perpetually pushed-in chair on the far side of the round dining table. “Don’t give me that look,” she warned teasingly over the top of her glasses. “It’s a logistical necessity– we only got six dang chairs, after all!”

Pausing to chuckle at her one-sided conversation, the elderly woman nodded to herself before walking back around the counter. “Besides, I think you’d really like her; I know Howlett would have. Light– knowin’ him? He prolly would’ve tried to set them up himself…” She snorted with a roll of her eyes. “And sure, she’s a bit… rough around the edges, but heck, he is too– though, not for lack of tryin, of course!” She added quickly, throwing up a finger in pointed pause. “I know you did the best you could; no two ways about it, you loved that boy like he was your own flesh and blood.”

She exhaled, shaking her head sadly to herself for a moment. “No… that child just got dealt a poor hand, is all. Lost two mothers before he even got the chance to know one of ‘em– ungrateful little hussy…” The stately grandmother growled savagely, spitting into the sink before she recomposed herself once more. “But… that girl he’s sweet on…? Oo-ooo! Real go-getter, that one. Has the same fire in her belly that you had– just as feisty as they come! Keeps that boy on his toes, that's for sure.” She smiled softly to herself. “Y’know, they really do remind me a lot of you and Hugo when y’all were that age.”

Vivi stopped again, tilting her head in slight puzzlement. “...T’be honest, I’m surprised she hasn’t made the first move. She’s got to have realized that boy is too dang polite to do it himself– and she knows for a fact that he’s dense as a doorknob when it comes to certain things.” She sighed in slight exasperation. “I blame Howlett for that; man was loyal to a fault and raised the boy to be exactly the same…”

She cut her eyes over to the chair before turning to face it directly, a sad smile curling at the corners of her mouth. “And I swear, I’m not makin’ this decision lightly, y’hear? But, honey… it’s time; heck, Hugo’s said the same himself.” She arched her brows in admiration. “In fact, once he realized, he pulled out one of your favorite rings and got it polished back up to a shine– ‘just in case’, is what he told me.”

The elderly woman chuckled to herself again, absently fiddling with the plain gold ring on her own left hand as she inspected it. “That’s probably for the best; we both know he’s never been good with little detail work, and besides– your weddin’ bands were the first and last pieces of jewelry he ever wanted to make.” She hummed in quiet consideration. “No… he’d much prefer to leave such things to more deft hands– Can’t say I blame him, either. I’m just about ready to do the same myself.”

She drew in her breath deeply. “Though, I do hope you aren't too upset. After all, you know we’ll always love and remember you, no matter what. But… it’s time for us to move on– and at this point? I seem to be the last hold-out.” She nodded gently to herself. “Not to mention… I think I speak for all of us when I say that nothin’ would make this town happier than to see that boy find what you and Hugo had.”

Vivi glanced up again at the pushed-in chair at the dining room table, where it continued to sit, motionless. “So Rhonda… how ‘bout it: Can we get your blessin’?– If not for me, then… for your son…”

As she deliberately paused her one-sided conversation for the final time, a rumble of thunder abruptly cut through the deafening silence permeating the house, the bass of it deep enough to rattle the closed shutters over the nearby window for several seconds before gradually petering out into nothing once more.

“...That’s what I thought you would say.” Vivi chuckled softly with a dip of her head, walking over to the chair and drawing it away from the table to absently brush the cushioned seat off before pushing it back in– halfway.

“I’m so glad we had this talk, baby.” She sighed contently, giving the top of the chair a soft pat. “And, I promise… she’s worth it.”

Chapter 7: Road Rage

Chapter Text

Day Two: S3. M3. D11. PY 99

As usual, Logan’s mind whirred back to life on its own shortly before dawn.

Despite his initial worries that the old house wouldn’t be up to the task of keeping out the elements after three years of neglect, he had been relieved to find his concerns had been wholly unwarranted. The shutters held firm, the roof remained free of leaks, and a quick glance up at the ceiling fan lazily spinning above him was proof enough the power had been restored at some point after being knocked out earlier in the night.

In that same vein, he had thought his concerns for Andy had also been somewhat unwarranted as well. The boy seemed rather unphased by the howling wind and the occasional distant rumble of thunder that rattled the shutters all through the night. That was, right up until around one that morning, when the pair had been unexpectedly jolted awake as the foundation of the house was shaken violently by a particularly close boom of thunder.

Normally, that would have been nothing more than a momentary hiccup to Logan’s night overall. However, the subsequent headbutt to the ribs courtesy of the nine year-old as he scrambled into his bed was enough to ensure his own sleep evaded him for at least another hour. He got the boy settled under the covers to get him through what ended up being the roughest patch of the storm by far.

Pre-dawn light filtered in through the windows, a clear sign that the storm had passed over without much dramatics. His first order of business was checking on the boy sprawled out in bed next to him. Unsurprisingly, he was still out cold, seemingly no worse for wear from the ordeal of the previous night. Gently brushing the blond locks from his face, he let out a soft sigh before carefully extracting himself from the bed. No sense in waking him until absolutely necessary, after all.

Following a quick trip to the washroom, he moved on to his second order of business on Thursday mornings: filling the percolator and setting it on the stove. During his early years on the run, coffee became a thing of luxury, something that had to be hoarded and rationed for situations that required long hours and alert eyes. Thankfully, that had been one of the first things that changed after Grace came on the scene. Even before full meals were easily procured, depositing dry sundries at supply caches was an easy task for the spy. Needless to say, the restoration of that particular aspect of his morning routine had been welcomed with open arms.

With the percolator left to its own devices, he returned to the bedroom to get dressed, opting to gear up in full kit rather than dress down. Normally, on a day he wasn’t planning to leave the city limits, he would at least ditch his armor and greaves. However, after a storm that rough, he knew there was now a distinct possibility he might actually have to leave Elsie in charge of ‘Lusi watch’ at some point in the day to go help track down lost cattle or assist the Corps with landslide checks. Worst case scenario, he’d end up overdressed for a day mostly spent napping or hanging out on a couch– truly an ideal outcome, all things considered.

No sooner had he finished buckling the last strap did he pick up on the tinny pings of the percolator bubbling on the stove down the hall. Perfect timin’.

Striding out of the room with silent steps, he made his way back to the kitchen to retrieve the prized elixir. Cutting the heat, he poured the brew into a mug before taking both it and a fork downstairs to retrieve his breakfast from the fridge.

The admittedly out-of-place location of the appliance in the Hunter household had been a bit of a running joke in town for the better part of a decade. Originally, a blown outlet in the kitchen rendered a temporary relocation of the refrigerator necessary. Even after the issue itself had been rectified, he and his father had just never gotten around to going through the ordeal that would be wrangling the fridge back upstairs.

Still, the unconventional positioning ended up as a boon: after three years of disuse, a biohazard took up residence within the original appliance, resulting in its necessary removal and destruction. Logan made the executive decision to put the new fridge in the same location and just leave it at that. After all, it worked just as well downstairs as it would’ve in the kitchen.

After taking a seat in one of the plush armchairs, it didn’t take long for breakfast itself to become an exercise in multi-tasking. The hunter indulged in sips of coffee and mouthfuls of cold beef noodles straight from the take-out box, while simultaneously checking over both his personal equipment and the supplies in Rambo’s saddle bags. Extra ammo, back up knives, dynamite, medicine, flint, rope, bait, flares, hookshot.

While he highly doubted he would ever need even half the supplies on the list at any given time, it never hurt to be prepared– especially when he was unsure how the day might end up unfolding. And once his checks were complete and the take-out box had been scraped clean, he took a moment to glance up at the clock on the wall: almost a quarter ‘til seven. Makin’ pretty decent time.

After downing the remainder of his coffee, the hunter headed back up the stairs to set his dishes in the sink and finally start rousing Andy– a task that, as usual, proved easier said than done. In spite of being allowed to sleep in just a bit longer compared to a normal school day, the boy still resisted the first several attempts to wake him, only caving at last under the very real threat of missing breakfast with Jasmine.

Once he was sure Andy was up and on track to get himself ready on time, Logan headed back down to get his own final preparations completed. With his spurs strapped on and outerwear equipped, he retrieved the packed saddlebags and finally began unbarring the door to take his first steps outside in over half a day's time.

No sooner had he gotten the entrance cracked open did the unfamiliar scent of petrichor stop him in his tracks; he doubted that smell would ever not be jarring to him. Shaking off the minor stun, he took a moment to assess the sky. Judging from the remaining cloud cover and how thickly the foreign, earthy aroma still lingered in the air, he estimated the rain had probably rolled out maybe an hour prior, if that.

Glancing at his neighbors’ homes as he headed to the stable, he was somewhat relieved to see they were all standing, at the very least. Still, while the exceptionally early warning had allowed everyone plenty of time to get their homes prepared beforehand, it was clear not all the damage could be mitigated.

Right off the bat, he noticed Dan-bi and Rian lost the shutters over one of their upstairs windows. In the opposite direction, the new sign for the museum was now hanging on by a thread. Hell, even the research center had a few broken lights along the roofline, and it was built strong enough to withstand a bomb going off (quite literally, due to the nature of the facility).

As he began unlocking the stable doors, however, he suddenly took note of a sound not usually heard at that time of day. Peering around the corner briefly, he spied a few select pieces of Mi-an’s automatic heavy machinery already hard at work producing raw materials.

While the builder usually refrained from starting up her equipment until later in the morning out of consideration of her neighbors, it seemed she had opted to make an exception to get a head start wherever she could. If the amount of materials already awaiting collection were anything to go by, it was safe to assume she had turned them on as soon as the rain moved out.

A small sigh escaped him. Poor girl was up before me? She's gonna be wiped out by day's end…

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he returned his attention to the task at hand. Swinging the door to the small stable open, he was immediately greeted by a bleat indignant enough he couldn’t help but roll his eyes; seemed like his steed’s appetite had also weathered the storm just fine. While the goat ate his own breakfast, the hunter got to work on tacking him up for the day. He finished getting the sandmask strapped into place and had just started leading Rambo out, when Andy finally appeared from the house, fully dressed, schoolbag in tow, and hair… mostly combed.

Logan sighed but decided against taking the boy back in to redo that particular step. Two and a half out of three's good enough for today.

Once he and his son were situated atop Rambo, the hunter gently dug his spurs into the goat's sides and off they went, passing through the archway to the Uptown district just as the Temple bell rang out to announce the hour. As they made their way down the stairway in front of Amirah’s house, he absently took note of more minor damage– multiple broken windows, shingles in the square blown off from some roof or another, shop signs hanging limply or with letters missing– but, all in all, the town seemed to have pulled through the worst of it relatively unscathed. Still, with Lusi out of commission, he had no doubt it was going to take Wei and Mi-an quite a bit of time to get the place back into order by themselves.

Upon arriving in the square itself, Logan spotted Trudy standing outside her door talking to Heidi. He hardly got a chance to pull Rambo to a stop before Andy slid out of the saddle with his schoolbag, the breakfast date apparently the only thing on the boy’s mind. He called out his usual assurances to be good over his shoulder as he rushed up the stairs past Trudy and ducked into the mayor’s home with barely a greeting to the women in passing.

As soon as the door shut behind the boy, Logan looked to the women and threw his hands up in an exasperated apology; he could only nag so much, after all. Thankfully, the mayor took the boy’s lack of manners in stride, laughing the matter off as she dismissed the man with a casual wave of her hand. He tipped his hat in parting, and the two women resumed their conversation as he turned the goat around to start making his way down Main Street– only to second-guess that decision immediately.

Outside the commerce guild, it appeared as if an impromptu meeting was taking place: a crowd composed of both miners and Heidi’s construction crew gathered around the front steps of the building, listening to Wei address them with Mi-an by his side. The moment Logan saw the crowd, he let out a long sigh of relief. The miners would undoubtedly make short work of any demolition or haul-away that needed to be done, and he could only assume Trudy had been hashing out the details with Heidi about lending out her crew to help with the more minor damage.

Still, he didn’t want to risk breaking up the flow of the meeting by wading the goat through the throng, prompting the hunter to wheel Rambo around once again in order to take the long way to the Outskirts workshop.

As he approached and passed the general store, he absently took note of what sounded like Burgess sobbing somewhere nearby. Logan could only assume they were tears of joy– he hadn't seen it yet, but he had little doubt the Oasis was currently fuller than it had been in years. Regardless, he chose not to investigate the matter further, instead allowing his mind to wander a bit while he meandered down the road.

This actually might work out pretty well, all things considered, the Hunter thought to himself. With Heidi’s crew on the job, there shouldn’t really be any need for Lusi to feel the need to step in. An’ if it turns out I’m not needed for anythin’ either, this could be a pretty good time to try and get Lus’ to start loosenin’ up again.

He chuckled lightly at the mental wordplay. Sure, would prolly need to keep her out of town until most of the damage is taken care of, but there’s plenty of sh*t to do outside the city limits. Could take her fishin’, or sandrunnin’, or… actually, when was the last time I went out to Pa’s old spot…?

Logan co*cked his head to the side slightly as he mulled the question over. Y’know, after a rain that hard, I’d reckon the place is lookin’ pretty lush right now . Bet a Highwind girl like her would prolly get a kick outta seein’ that little waterhole in full bloom. And the ride out would give me some time to try an’ sniff out just what's been goin’ on with her lately.

The hunter sighed softly to himself, still uneasy with the “request” Vivi had made of him the previous evening. He never liked to meddle in people’s personal affairs, but as much as he hated to admit… the matriarch was right. Sometimes, such things were necessary, especially if it was for someone’s own good.

…But, it ain't like I gotta get it all outta her in one go, Logan determined quietly. I'll start small. Focus on a couple things, like… well, why she’s been lyin’ so much would be a good start. The smaller fibs I can leave be for a while, but… I definitely gotta try and find out why she lied about owin’ money on the factory. It just don’t make any sense!

As the hunter approached the tracks, another small sigh escaped him. Though, even if I don’t manage to get any real answers outta Lus’ today, just gettin’ her to finally let her hair down again and relax for a bit would be a success in and of itself. Plus, I can definitely think of worse ways to spend a day than takin’ a Rambo out for a run and soakin’ in the sig–

“Ack!”

“sh*t!” Logan swore sharply as his mental machinations were abruptly interrupted when he turned the corner and found himself nearly colliding head-on with another rider. While he caught only the briefest glimpse of a white animal before his line of sight was impeded by Rambo’s horns as the latter reared up to put some space between them, he could only assume they had nearly hit the sheriff on his way back in from patrol.

“Sorry, Justice!” He called out from the saddle as Rambo settled back down. “Spaced out there for a sec and– the hell?”

Once the goat touched down and his field of view was restored, Logan was legitimately taken aback to find not the lawman, but Lusi sitting atop Merle as the other half of the near collision.

It was clear both rider and steed were somewhat shaken by his unexpected appearance from around the semi-blind turn, with the doe shuffling anxiously on the tracks while the builder worked on freeing her hand from the confines of a small side pocket on her cargo pants.

“ Logan! Heeeey…” she said weakly through a feeble smile as she finally got her hand loose and casually snapped the side pocket shut. “I, uh, didn’t expect you to take the scenic route to my house this morning…”

“What...?” He blinked, shaking off his own shock of her sudden and unexpected appearance. “Lus’, what are you doin’ here?” He asked, automatically taking in the girl's appearance as he initially glanced her over.

Seeing her in goggles and work boots on any given day was pretty much par for the course, but there was something about her attire itself that felt rather off. Lately, whenever she went out, she wore multiple layers or brought something with sleeves that she could pull on if needed. So to see her dressed in a tee-shirt and khakis, despite the chill in the air was unusual, to say the least.

“Uhm… So…” The builder’s words broke through his thoughts. She chewed on her lip, the reins twitching anxiously in her hands. “This isn’t what it looks like…?”

“What?” he muttered, shaking off the strangeness upon finally taking note of the pickhammer strapped to the back of Merle’s saddle. “Hang on. Just where the hell do you think you’re goin’ with that?”

“Ah– the…um, station mine…?” Lusi offered hesitantly, shifting in the saddle nervously as she spoke. “The town's a mess right now. If I can’t build, t-then I need to at least help somehow.”

Seeing her so blatantly on edge, Logan couldn't help but softly frown. He had long since gotten used to people being nervous when he was in their vicinity– a natural side effect of the intimidating aura he tended to naturally exude when fully geared up for a patrol or hunt. Hell, even with people who had known him his entire life, the number of people who would initially shift uneasily when he arrived on the scene outfitted in full kit, outnumbered those who didn't.

But, Lusi was one of those oddballs that had never seemed to let his intentionally imposing figure phase them in the least, even back when they were adversaries rather than allies. So to see her so jittery in his presence now…?

Then again, she did just get busted doing somethin’ she explicitly promised not to do, the hunter instantly rationalized. So it ain’t like she don’t have reason to be nervous. In all honesty, he probably should’ve expected her to try and pull something like this in the first place. As such, he decided to let that particular oddity slide as well, pushing his gut feeling down and mentally preparing himself for the impending struggle at hand.

“Hon, when the Doc said ‘no builder work til Monday’, that included minin’ specifically,” Logan reminded her, keeping his tone patient yet firm. “Not to mention, when you accepted my help yesterday, you promised me you’d follow his orders to the letter, remember?”

“I know, but– I’m not really working, I just wanna–” The builder started before inhaling sharply, “L-Look, this is an extraordinary circ*mstance, alright? I can’t just sit around. I need to do something!”

Sighing again, he gave her a small sympathetic nod. “I know the town looks rough, but I just saw Wei holding a meetin’ with the miners and Heidi’s crew. With that many hands, they’ll have the place lookin’ good as new before you know it. So, how ‘bout we head back to your place an–”

“NO!” She yelped loudly enough to make him blink in surprise. Seeing his reaction, she shifted sheepishly in the saddle. “Sorry. I mean… Yeah, I saw the meeting, and I’m sure they can handle repairs just fine…” Her eyes darted away from his own. “But… they’re gonna be busy. I just wanna get a little more iron ore to help them out.”

More iron ore? he thought, recalling the extremely high number that Mi-an had rattled off to herself while checking the outdoor ore storage, prior to them leaving yesterday. How much damn iron could Mi-an possibly need?

Before he had a chance to voice the question aloud, another internal voice chimed in. Can I really blame her for bein’ a bit anxious, though? I mean, as dedicated as she is to the town, gettin’ benched right before a natural disaster can’t be easy for her. And if a token contribution to the repair efforts means the difference between her frettin’ over nothin’ all day or puttin’ her mind at ease, I bet Fang’d probably be okay with makin’ a small exception, too…

Apparently sensing his internal conflict, Lusi piped up again to sweeten the deal. “How about this? I’ll go to the mine for a bit, and as soon as I get back, I'll put the ore and my tools in the delivery box for Mi-an to hold onto until Monday.” She shrugged. “That way, I won't even be able to do anything else for the rest of my break.”

Logan immediately raised his brows in true consideration. Little bit of time in the mine in exchange for makin’ it so she can't break orders again…? He chewed on his cheek as he mulled the proposal over. That honestly seems like a pretty fair deal to me…

“Well… I do need to check in with Justice…” He finally began to relent. “So, in the meantime, I suppose you could go pull some iron off the top floor– and only the top floor– while I take care of anythin’ he might need me to do,” he counter-offered tentatively. “But, if he tells me I’m in the clear, you’re done the minute I come and get you. Deal?”

Lusi’s face immediately lit up. “Deal!” she agreed brightly, breaking into a wide smile.

The hunter chuckled as he pulled Rambo's reins up. “Alright then, I’ll ride over with you and do a quick sweep just to make sure nothin’ snuck in durin’ the rain, and then leave you be for a little bit.”

“Oh, that's not necessary,” the builder declined nonchalantly with a shake of her head. “I just need a little while. Besides, I’ve got my cane, so even if something did get in–”

“Wait– cane?” He interrupted. “You don’t have a gun…?”

The builder instantly stiffened in the saddle. “ Oh! They, uh– they're… at home…” she haltingly confessed, the smile on her face faltering as she did.

Alarm bells went off in the hunter’s head as he straightened up in the saddle. “Well, hang on now.” He frowned. “I’m afraid you figured wrong, because that actually changes everythin’…”

With a giggle, the builder waved off his concern. “Logan, it’s fine. Hell, before I got my claws figured out, I’d sometimes go over the bridge bare-handed just to spar with Jacks!” She snickered, lifting Merle’s reins with the intent of passing him by. “So, you just focus on hunting down Justice, and I'll see you in a bit, alright?”

Sensing the time for gentle coercion had ended, Logan preemptively spurred Rambo forward to block Merle’s path. “Lus’, I’m sorry, but… I’m serious about this. The deal’s off– you’re goin’ back home.”

“What?” She blinked, the smile fading from her face. “But… you just said–”

“I was under the impression that you’d at least have enough sense to bring a gun.” He shook his head. “Hell, if I had known you were unarmed from the start–”

“Did you miss the part where I just said I used to punch Jacks in the face for fun?” She asked incredulously. “Seriously, Logan, I’ll be fine!”

“And If you weren’t currently on medical leave for literal exhaustion, I’d be inclined to agree; but this isn’t a game, Lusi! The desert is dangerous.”

“Oh, for…” Lusi tossed her hands up in exasperation. “Logan, it’s the Station mine! We both know the upper floors are about as safe as they come!”

“It ain’t the mine I’m worried about.” The hunter shot back. “If somethin’ runs up on you, you ain’t in a good state to defend yourself! I mean, do you really think that cane’s gonna do sh*t against a Tripion–”

She scoffed. “Oh, like a Tripon could've actually squeezed through the damn doors! Besides, I’m not even going far. It’s literally right there–”

“I don’t care how close it is!” He raised his voice to indicate that he would brook no argument. “Look, we’re obviously goin’ in circles, so lemme just go ahead and put it in a way you can understand: either you can turn Merle around yourself, or I can turn her around for you. But regardless of how it happens, you ain’t goin’ to that mine today, and that’s final.”

Evidently dumbfounded by his sudden inflexibility on the matter, Lusi simply stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief for several long moments. Just as he thought that she would finally back down, however, something… strange happened. All at once, her demeanor shifted, almost as if a switch had been flipped inside of her.

“Excuse me?” She co*cked her head back in legitimate offense. “As if it wasn’t bad enough you got me tranqed yesterday, but now you’re just waltzing on up and telling me what I can and can't do?”

“I sure am.” The hunter nodded. “And, while I’m sorry about what happened with the tranq, that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna sit here and let you run off into the desert completely defenseless.”

“‘Let’ me?’” she repeated, her contention palpable as she pulled the reins up slightly, angling Merle as if to go around him. “Logan, while I appreciate the concern, need I remind you that you don’t ‘let’ me do anything. I’m not your f*cking responsibility, and I sure as sh*t don’t answer to you, either!”

“Actually, right now, you’re wrong on both accounts.” Logan nudged Rambo over again. “Nevermind the fact that makin’ sure everyone stays safe outside of town is literally half my job, when I took you home yesterday, I gave the Doc my word that I’d make sure you followed through.” He narrowed his eyes sternly. “You know how seriously I take my promises, and I have absolutely no intention of breakin’ one just because you wanna act like an actual brat, Brat.”

Lusi’s jaw went slack. “You did what?!” She exclaimed, downright incensed. “Logan, it’s not your place to make a promise like that! I’m not your goddamn kid–”

“You’re right– you ain’t my kid!” His temper began to get away from him. “Andy actually listens when I tell him ‘no’, cause he knows I’m sayin’ it for his own good!”

Lusi huffed sharply. “Are you actually comparing me to a nine year-old right now?”

“Well, you sure as sh*t ain’t actin’ like a twenty-five year-old!” He shot back, heated. “So if you wanna insist on actin’ like a petulant child, then I’ll gladly treat you like one and ground you!”

“GROUND me? Are you f*cking serious right now?!” The builder screamed, wild-eyed with disbelief. “What’s next? You’re gonna send me to my room without supper? Deny me dessert? Bend me over your knee and give me a spank–”

She suddenly stopped to shake her head. “Actually, nevermind.” Her lips twisted up as she sneered, “For all I know? You might actually enjoy doing that...”

In an instant, his anger dissipated, completely superseded by outright shock. Even at her angriest, she had never stooped so low as to intentionally cross the line like that.

“What the absolute sh*t ?” He gaped, completely appalled at the verbal low-blow. “Where in the hell did that come from all of a sudden…?”

Lusi rolled her eyes. “Oh, suck it up, Choirboy. I got bigger things to worry about than your delicate sensibilities today.”

Logan set his jaw firmly. “Lusi, if you think I’m just gonna take that kind of–”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” The builder snorted. “You know what, yakboy? Lemme put this in a way that you can understand, alright?” She sneered, baring her teeth as she spoke. “The town I‘m dedicated to serving is in goddamn shambles, and I’ll be damned before I let you or anyone else stop me from fixing it. So, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll mind your own f*cking business, and get the hell outta my way!”

At that, Lusi abruptly kicked Merle into gear. With a startled bleat, the doe dashed forward, nearly barrelling through him and Rambo in the process. In order to avoid a collision, the billy quickly reared up of his own accord, forcing Logan to momentarily shift his full attention to keeping himself in the saddle as she cantered past.

“LUSI!” he yelled after her as he worked on getting the goat settled down. “Dammit, Lusi! Don’t MAKE me–”

The builder didn’t even turn around, merely flipping him the bird as she made her way down the tracks.

Logan grit his teeth, silently weighing his options as he watched her go. Part of him wanted to just let her have her way to cool off for a bit, but he knew that would risk setting a precedent of letting her bad behavior slide in the future. On the other hand, he could stand his ground for her own good, at the cost of her being incredibly pissed at him for who knows how long.

In the end though, it wasn’t a difficult choice– in fact, she had barely gotten halfway across the tracks when he made up his mind.

Well, so much for a nice day out on the trail… He sighed glumly before setting his resolve and quickly sucking down a breath.

FWEET!

Upon hearing the whistle, Merle instantly skidded to a stop on the tracks. In spite of the distance, he could clearly make out Lusi’s understandably confused cry of “What the f*ck?”

As the builder wasted some time trying to cajole the goat back into motion, Logan took a moment to mentally brace himself for the looming confrontation.

It’s for her own damn good, he reiterated to himself as he deeply drew in his breath again, this time releasing it in a specifically trilled FWEE-UU-EET!

On cue, Merle abruptly performed an about-face and began trotting back towards the Sandrock side of the tracks, completely ignoring all of Lusi’s attempts to redirect her. And within a few seconds, the doe was sidled up next to Rambo once more, pawing at the ground nervously as her rider locked her sights on the hunter.

“What the f*ck did you just do?!” Lusi demanded, nothing short of seething.

“I recalled Merle, and she came back,” Logan said matter-of-factly, his face and voice having been partially forced into a state of neutral. “Just like she was trained t’do.”

Lusi’s eyes widened in outrage. “Are you seriously telling me my goat is trained to act on your orders without question like a f*cking… ruminant sleeper agent or some sh*t?!”

“Technically, she’s Haru’s goat,” he contended, keeping his tone even. “But, before she was Haru’s, she was Pa’s.”

At that, the builder blinked. “Wait…” She faltered slightly as she glanced down at the animal that had been entrusted to her care. “Merle was Howlett’s–”

“Sure was,” the hunter said plainly. “And while Haru ended up teachin’ the goats some tricks here and there, back when we first got ‘em Pa and I trained ‘em to do a lot of things. Comin’ back when someone tries to steal ‘em bein’ one of the first…”

Meeting her gaze, he slowly raised his eyebrows, almost daring her to challenge him. “So, unless you’d like me to drag you back home after she bucks you off on my signal, you should probably choose your next words very carefully…”

Lusi stared blankly for a few moments, seemingly unsure how to properly react to the threat. “Just… what is your f*cking problem, Logan?” She managed at last, gaping at him in disbelief.

“My problem, Lusia, is you,” he replied in a low growl. “I didn’t wanna have to recall Merle. Hell, I hoped you’d never haveta find out that I could recall her in the first place! But then, you decided to act out to be stubborn just for stubborn's sake and left me with no other goddamn choice! And while yesterday–”

“No choice?! Like hell you don't have–”

“Dammit, will you HUSH for five goddamn seconds and Let. Me. Talk?!” Logan shouted back, his tone formidable enough that the builder actually shrank back in the saddle slightly as she slowly closed her mouth.

Once he felt certain she wasn’t going to interrupt again, he gave her a small nod of acknowledgement before continuing on. “Now… as I was sayin’… Yesterday, I knew you were in pain, which can make even the best people lash out. And while it isn’t an excuse for your behavior, I still tolerated a great deal of disrespect from you simply because you were hurtin’. Today, however, your pain seems to be managed pretty damn well! And as such, I ain't nearly as inclined to put up with yer antics in the slightest…”

As he regarded her sternly, he straightened up in the saddle once more, intentionally towering over her to a degree. “Now, I’ll give you two choices: you can either pull your head outta your ass, apologize, and we can talk this out like adults; or, you can stick to your guns and make today so much more difficult than it really needs t'be.”

Narrowing his gaze, he lowered his voice in true warning. “But if I were you, darlin’? I would pick Option ‘A’. Because believe me when I say I’m not afraid to show you just how much of a hard-ass I can really be if pushed to my limit.”

The woman took in his words somberly for a few seconds, only to then break her own silence by abruptly forcing down a laugh.

“Pffft. Yeah right…” She brushed him off with a roll of her eyes. “You know, Logan? You really had me going there for a second, but… c’mon. We both know you're actually too much of a gentleman to do jack f*ckin’ sh*t, so why even bother pretending you’re not?”

Logan paused for a moment as he processed her audacious claim. “Is that so…?” He chuckled at last, slowly smiling in true disbelief. “Well, seems like a demonstration is in order t’rectify that little misconception!”

Setting his sights on her cane, he casually leaned over and swiped the rod clean off her saddle before she even had a chance to react.

“HEY!” she yelled, lunging after it as far as she could without falling out of her seat. “What the hell?! Give that back!”

“Hard pass,” the hunter declined smugly, holding the cane directly above her head and lifting it just out of reach whenever she tried to snatch it back.

After a few failed attempts, Lusi eventually gave up, gritting her teeth with an agitated huff.

“Logan, that’s not funny,” she growled, gripping Merle's saddle bar angrily. “You have absolutely no right to take my f*cking cane!”

“I disagree,” he contended, shaking his head as he swapped the cane to his other hand. “You wanna throw a tantrum? Fine, but I’m well within my rights to disarm you for my own safety while you do so.”

“Disarm me?” She seethed, wringing the bar in her hands. “You just said it wasn’t good enough for me to use to defend myself with, but now it’s worth confiscating?!”

“Sure is. Because while it’s definitely not good enough for the desert, as many times you blindsided me with it at brunch yesterday? As far as I’m concerned, this thing’s a legitimate threat in your hands to me, if nothin’ else.” He snorted. “And, as pissed as you are right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were plannin’ to whack me with it first chance you got.”

When the builder visibly stiffened and averted her eyes, he rolled his own. That was exactly what she had been planning to do.

“Yeah– you ain’t nearly as slick as you think you are, Brat,” he muttered with an unimpressed snort, sliding the cane onto the opposite side of Rambo's tack and fully out of her reach. “So, sorry-not-sorry, but you’re only gettin’ your ‘people beatin’ stick’ back after I’m reasonably sure you’re gonna behave, alright?”

“But–” She glanced at the cane again but struggled to find a good counter argument. “I… I need it!”

Tilting his head, he squinted at her dubiously. “For what? The goat’s doin’ all the walk–” His eyes widened in realization. “Actually, come to think: didn’t I also tell you yesterday that I’d really prefer for you to not ride solo until you were completely off the cane…?”

She averted her gaze once more. Busted again.

He let out a breathy chuckle. “So, let me get this straight: not only can you not follow simple instructions from the doctor, it seems you’re also just bound and determined to go for broke on major f*ck-ups with me specifically today, too!” He shook his head in disbelief. “Tell me Lus’: are you tryin’ to beat your own record of ‘how fast can I get in deep sh*t with Logan’? 'Cause, if you are, I think it’s safe to say you’re already just about tied with the tunnel– which is honestly kinda impressive, considerin’ you haven’t even fired a single shot!”

Lusi opened her mouth to retort, only for her brain to apparently fail her in her time of need. After faltering for a few more seconds, she seemed to finally give up on trying to argue her way out of the situation in favor of simply screaming out her frustrations instead.

“AUGH!” She caterwauled, beating her hands against the saddle bar as she howled. “f*ck this! f*ck you! Go to f*cking HELL you f*cking BASTARD!”

“Tch!” Logan merely rolled his eyes at the outburst while giving the woman a testy scoff. “Please. Havin’ to deal with your stubborn ass? I daresay I’m already there…”

Inhaling sharply, he let the breath out in a FRE-EP! while spurring his own mount into motion. At the whistle, Merle began trotting in tandem with Rambo back towards Lusi’s homestead.

While the group made their way down the tracks, the riders fell into a fuming silence that remained unbroken for the duration of the trip. However, while they may not have been on speaking terms at that moment, that didn’t stop their steeds from having a conversation amongst themselves…

‘Rambo…’ The doe snorted nervously. ‘The Hoo-mans are fighting. What do we do?’

The billy tossed his head lightly. ‘Why are you asking me? I don’t know. They’ve never fought like THIS before!’ He eyed the woman on Merle’s back warily for a moment before letting out a hesitant grunt. ‘But… is it just me, or is she acting kinda funny…?’

‘No, you’re right,’ Merle whined softly. ‘She was in such a hurry to leave this morning, she didn’t even feed us breakfast. The others said she’s never done that before!’

Rambo watched the woman for a few more moments, taking in her odd demeanor and the strange twitch of her hands as she stared at the cane on his saddle.

‘Yeah… Something about her is definitely off,’ Rambo eventually decided as they approached the workshop gates. ‘So, until she seems back to normal, just keep listening to him over her, alright?’

‘Okay… I guess,’ Merle mewled with a flick of her ears. ‘But… I really don't like this.’

‘You think I do?!’ The billy bleated as his rider began dismounting mid-stride. ‘It’s weird!’

As the builder rode ahead of him through the workshop gate, Logan already had his plan of attack mentally mapped out. Once the white goat came to a stop, he silently instructed Rambo to keep walking for a bit to cover the sound of his movement as he slipped from his own saddle and approached Lusi in her blindspot.

Then, after positioning himself directly behind her, he gave her just enough time to get her bad leg up and over the goat’s back before finally making his move. Reaching up without a word, he snatched the builder by the back of her shirt and yanked her off of Merle’s saddle before she even registered his presence.

“sh*t!” Lusi screeched as she was lifted into the air like a scruffed cat. “The hell do you think you’re doing?! Lemme go!”

“No can do,” Logan replied simply, adjusting his grip to carry her in one hand by the back of her pants. “It’s high time fer you t’re-learn some damn manners, and I reckon: if carryin’ you off like a suitcase worked for that one guy…”

“Oh you can f*ck right off with that, asshole!” She snarled and flailed her limbs in his general direction, incensed that his first inclination was to use her overall portability against her. “Logan! Put. Me. DOWN!”

“Don’t you worry… I'm plannin’ on it,” he muttered, holding her at arm’s length while casually maneuvering her just out of strike range every time she thrashed. “Though honestly? You should be countin’ yourself lucky that I’m actually kinda pissed. Otherwise, I’d be kickin’ your ass right now instead of puttin’ you in time-out…”

“What…?" Lusi cried, "The f*ck is that even supposed to mean?!”

Logan didn’t answer, instead setting his sights on Merle. Clicking with his tongue, he gestured towards her open stall; the goat eyed the dangling Lusi for a moment but eventually did as instructed.

As the doe made her way inside, the hunter started hauling her rider over to the stable entrance as well. “Well, for starters…” He began– only to finish the sentence by harshly flinging the builder inside the structure behind her mount.

Caught off guard by the rough throw, Lusi’s first instinct was to simply yelp and flounder erratically as she sailed through the air to land halfway down the length of the stable. Right before she hit the ground, however, it seemed her tumbling muscle memory kicked in, as she tucked to clumsily roll ass-over-end onto the dirt floor of the aisleway before finally coming to rest flat on her back.

Although the builder groaned feebly from her sprawled-out position, he didn’t approach to make sure she was alright. He’d seen her take harder hits than that in worse shape than she was now.

And sure enough, by the time Logan had his hands on either stable door, she was already rolling herself up onto her knees.

“Now, I’m gonna go talk to Jane,” he said in a tense voice, pulling the doors in around him to block her only exit as he spoke. “In the meantime, you’re gonna stay here, untack the damn goat, and cool your f*ckin’ jets. Got it?”

As Lusi lifted her head to meet his gaze, he couldn’t help but take note of a peculiar look in her eye– one that was almost hauntingly familiar, but in a way he just couldn’t seem to place. Still, he had no time to dwell on the matter, as she had already opened her mouth to speak.

“–Good!” He preemptively cut her off with a sarcastic smile. “Bye~”

In one swift motion, Logan slammed the stable doors closed in tandem and bolted them shut from the outside. No sooner had he gotten the heavy latch set into place did he hear a cuss from the inside, followed by a thud as Lusi threw herself against the doors with her full weight.

A testament to her craft, the bolt rattled somewhat from the assault, but otherwise didn’t budge at all. It seemed she didn’t cut corners on quality, even when building something for herself. Still, after the fourth slam (and the third set of insults in a language he could actually understand), the hunter couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her stubbornness.

“Lusi, the sooner you stop cussin’ and get to untackin’ that goat, the sooner you’ll get let out!” Logan shouted over the noise, though he knew he didn’t really need to bother. If previous experience was anything to go by, it was only a matter of time before she started to lose steam.

And just as expected, a few seconds later the assault did indeed begin to wind down. Once the tantrum had seemingly met its end, he nodded approvingly towards the door. “Yeah, that’s what I f*ckin’ thought…” he muttered to himself, taking a deep breath to help expel his anger before quickly striding over to the front door and bringing up a fist to knock on it firmly.

“ Jane! ” He called out loudly enough to be heard inside. “It’s Logan! You up?”

When the first attempt went unanswered, he tried again. This time, he was greeted by the sound of movement, followed by a somewhat-disheveled Jane appearing on the other side.

“Logan! G-good morning… Um…” The teacher glanced around nervously. “Sorry. I was in the restroom for a little bit. I hope you weren’t knocking for long.” She smiled politely, and as she met his eyes, he took note of their redness. “Was everything okay at your place last night?”

Wait, has she been cryin’…? The hunter pondered to himself, immediately alarmed by the fact that she was trying to cover up for her shaken composure. “Yeah, we were just fine, but nevermind us…” His brows furrowed in concern. “Jane, are you okay?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I… just woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep, that’s all.” She chuckled softly, “Anyhow, safe to say you’re in for a pretty quiet morning. Lusi isn’t even up yet.”

Logan’s breath stopped short. “What?”

“Mhm– but, don’t worry! It’s normal. Those meds tend to knock her out for about half a day, so I wouldn’t expect her to be awake for at least another hour.” She chuckled, rubbing her arms absently as she spoke. “Gotta say, I’m a little jealous! By the time five rolled around, I finally got fed up trying to get back to sleep and just came downstairs to make some breakf–”

“Jane…” Logan’s voice was gentle as he finally shook off the stun. “Lusi… isn’t asleep. Hell, she isn’t even upstairs…”

“W...what?” The teacher blinked, giving him a perplexed smile. “Y-yes she is. Aside from my trip to the restroom, I haven’t left the kitchen all morning! I would know if she had come down.”

“Well, I’m tellin’ you for a fact that’s not the case.” The hunter shook his head softly. “I caught her ridin’ out to the mines on my way here, and when I refused to let her go over the bridge, she turned hostile.” He gestured towards the structure next to the house. “I ended up lockin’ her in the stable to cool off while I figured out what was goin’ on.”

The woman paled. “She…? No! T-that’s…” She backed away from the door for a moment before turning to rush upstairs. Logan ran after her, keeping just a few steps behind as she threw open the door.

Glancing into the room, he could immediately see the bed was empty– no shock there. But what he didn’t expect to see was the window on the far side of the room wide open, with the curtains blowing in the breeze. There's no way…! We're two stories up and she's got a bum leg!

“Oh… oh no…” Jane whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. “I swear, I didn't even hear her get up!”

Logan let out a small sigh. “She once told me that she put sound dampenin’ in the bedroom to keep from bein’ bothered by the generator outside, but... knowin’ her? She prolly put it in the floor as well as the walls.” Noticing that the bed itself was stripped, the hunter slipped past Jane in the doorway and ran over to inspect the open window. Sure enough, he found the sheets knotted together to form a rope that trailed down the side of the house.

Seeing that they appeared to be just barely hanging on to where they were attached to the storm shutter, he risked giving the messy knot a tug. To his dismay, it detached from the shutter’s chain almost instantly.

That girl knows she can't tie knots for sh*t, but she still risked makin’ a rope just to sneak off to the mines…? He shook his head in disbelief at her lack of self preservation.

“Oh, Light.” He heard Jane whimper behind him, followed by a soft thud as she crumpled against the doorframe. “This is all my fault.”

“Jane, Lusi climbin’ out a dang window 'cause she was hellbent on workin’ is not your fault,” he rebutted firmly while reeling the rest of improvised rope back into the house. Once the linens were inside, he tossed them onto the bed and latched the window shut once more. “If anythin’, this just goes to show she’s more unpredictable right now than any of us really expected her to be…”

“No, you don’t understand!” The teacher shook her head in protest. “Around one last night, something close by got hit by lightning. Not only did the thunder end up waking me up, it also–” Jane shook her head. “Nevermind. The point is… I couldn’t get back to sleep afterwards, so by the time I went down for breakfast, I was just so tired that I must not’ve shut–”

“Hey, hey. Shhh… ” Logan walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think that thunderclap was loud enough to wake up damn near the whole town last night. Not your fault you couldn’t get back to sleep afterwards.”

The teacher huffed softly. “I mean, sure, but… the door–”

“Jane, whatever happened, there’s no sense beatin’ yourself up over it, alright?” He squeezed her shoulder gently as he spoke. “Now, you said you already ate?”

“Well, yes, but–”

“Okay, if that’s the case, gather up your stuff and go on. You have places to be.”

“What?” Jane asked, blinking in surprise. “I can’t just go! Lusi–”

“–is more pissed than a Yakmel with a toothache right now, and kicks twice as hard.” Logan finished for her. “Now, once Elsie gets here, I’m hopin’ she can help me get ‘er settled down– but if it ends up comin’ to blows? While she and I can easily take a few hits, can you say the same?”

“I… no.” She admitted quietly.

“Exactly.” He nodded. “So, let’s stick to the original plan: you head on out to get to the school and leave handlin’ Lusi to me, alright?”

The woman opened her mouth to argue, only to apparently reconsider. “Alright,” she said at last with a sigh. “Thank you, Logan.”

He merely nodded in reply before leaving the room to give her some space to gather up her belongings. Heading downstairs, he ducked into the guest bathroom briefly to splash some water on his face. While drying himself off with the hand towel, he glanced up at the mirror and sighed.

Viv was right. I gotta get to the bottom of this before she gets herself hurt, he thought, nodding to his own reflection resolutely. He exited the washroom just in time to see Jane coming down the stairs, carrying a duffel bag. As a matter of course, he went to open the front door for her.

Once she got to the doorway, she stopped short to meet his eyes. “Logan… thank you again for looking after her.” She sighed gratefully. “I… can’t tell you what it means to me– what she means to me…”

The hunter lightly shook his head. “Don’t thank me, hon. I’m just doin’ what needs to be done,” he murmured with a soft, reassuring smile. “Now, go on. I have this well in hand.”

Jane hesitated for a moment longer. At last, with one more word of thanks, she walked out the door, towards the Yakmel station across the tracks. Once Logan saw her safely board the cart, he let out a sigh and composed himself once more before heading back to the stable.

“How’s it goin’, Lus’?” He called out blithely. “You done untackin’ that goat?”

“Shove it up your ass, jackwipe.”

“Charming.” He rolled his eyes. “Still, I ain’t lettin’ you out until I’ve got at least some idea of how close you are to bein’ done, so you wanna try that again?”

As a reply, he heard the unmistakable thump of a saddle hitting a rack.

Well, at least she’s followin’ instructions, he thought to himself. “Alright, I’ll give you a bit longer, then.”

“Whatever,” she growled tersely.

At the blasé response, the hunter let out a hopeful sigh– still pissed, but he’d take progress where he could get it.

“Logan!”

Upon hearing his name, he immediately turned to look for its source. To his surprise, he spied Elsie barreling full-tilt towards the workshop. With a frown, he walked towards the front of the yard to meet her. “Else? What’s goin’ on? Everythin’ alright?”

The monster whisperer skidded to a stop in front of the gates, leaning onto her knees while gasping for air.

“I– should be askin’– you that!” She wheezed. “I was finishin’ my last sweep– heard yellin’– looked down–” She sucked down a long breath. “Why t'hell did ya throw Lusi in the stable?!”

Logan let out a long sigh. “I caught Lus’ sneakin’ out to the mines on the way here. When I wouldn’t let her go, she completely flipped out and I had t'lock ‘er in the stable until she calmed down. But the craziest part is? Jane didn’t even know she was gone until I told her– Lus’ crawled out her damn window instead of goin’ out the front door.”

“She what?!” Elsie cried out as she finished catching her breath. “But, why would she–?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Else.” He shook his head, as a familiar flash of yellow and orange caught his eye: Justice was walking past the Commerce Guild on foot patrol. Good timin’.

He clicked once, and Rambo appeared by his side. Retrieving the cane from the saddle, he held it out to the yakgirl in his off hand while opening up the gate. “Here. I’m gonna go talk to Justice real quick. In the meantime, take this upstairs and put it on the weapon rack next to her bed.”

Elsie’s eyes widened like saucers. “Why the heck d’you have–?!”

“It’s a long story." He didn’t even try and hide the vexation in his voice. "Just put it away before you open the stable, alright?”

“Wait– me?” She balked. “Why do I have’ta be the one who lets ‘er out?!”

“Because she’s pissed at me but not at you,” he paused. “And... also ‘cause if she decides to open with a kick to the dick, I ain’t wearin’ a cup.”

Elsie hesitated for a moment longer before finally letting out a begrudging sigh and taking the cane from his hands. “Fine. But if end up gettin’ punched as a cane-nappin’ accomplice, you owe me!” She snarked as he jogged past her. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to forage, Rambo followed casually behind his rider, breaking away as they approached the Oasis to nibble at the greenery on the other side of the tracks.

At this point, Justice was now standing by the fence, taking in the Peach statue while shaking his head. Following his line of sight, the hunter was surprised to see part of the recently-repaired statue now damaged, with sections crumbling away to expose the rebar beneath.

sh*t, guess now I know what got hit hard enough to cause that boom last night, Logan internalized before shaking it off to call out to the older man. “Justice!”

Upon hearing his name, the sheriff immediately turned around. “Hey, mornin’ pardner!” he greeted brightly with a laid-back smile. “Some storm that was, huh?”

“Yeah, sure. Storm was nuts,” Logan said quickly. “Listen, I need you to go to the Corps office and freeze all of Lusi’s active Ruins passes right now.”

“Uhhh… Okay?” The other man blinked, understandably confused by the unexpected demand. “Any particular reason…?”

Logan let out a tense sigh. “Well, for starters: she shimmied out her goddamn window this mornin’ to avoid complyin’ with doctor's orders.”

Justice’s eyes flew open wide. “She did what now?”

“Yeah, she ain’t allowed to build, mine, dive– nothin’– until Monday at dawn. You can confirm with Trudy after you're done, but I promise she already gave me the go-ahead yesterday to make the call to freeze ‘em if necessary.” Logan spoke briskly as he became vaguely aware of a high-pitched argument starting in the distance behind him. Well, so much for not bein’ pissed at Else…

“Uh huh…” the sheriff replied absently, his eyes understandably wandering to the budding confrontation in the yard. “So… is she also not supposed to be ridin’ either?”

The hunter creased his brow at the oddly specific question. “Well, Doc didn’t specifically forbid it, but why do you ask?”

“Uhhh… well…”

As if to answer for him, a shrill whinny pierced the air, causing Logan’s stomach to drop as a worst-case scenario he hadn’t even considered suddenly popped into his mind.

f*ck me sideways! He cursed internally. I forgot about–!

“LOOOGGGGAAAAN!!!”

Upon hearing the scream, he whipped around to discover an epic battle of wills already taking place in the yard.

Elsie, desperately trying to hang on to the lead rope she seemed to have just barely managed to grab, was doing everything in her power to gain enough ground to tie the horse to the stable doors. While the rancher dug in her heels, Lusi struggled to keep her balance atop the thrashing animal beneath her, gripping onto the horse's mane with one hand while trying to detach the lead rope from the horse’s halter with the other.

And, the center of it all: the demon palomino herself, hindering both of their efforts as she balked and shook her head in protest of the combined manhandling on two fronts.

Realizing it was only a matter of time before the rancher’s call for aid was answered, Lusi temporarily abandoned the clasp in favor of the reins, swinging the horse around in order to kick Elsie square in the chest with her good leg. Caught off guard by the unexpected blow, the monster whisperer was knocked flat on her ass, giving Lusi just enough time to unclasp the lead for good and chuck the rope a distance away.

As soon as he saw the initial stand-off, the hunter let out a swear. “sh*t– Rambo! Double time!”

Hearing his name, Rambo looked up mid-chomp from where he was snacking before finally taking note of the confrontation across the tracks. Realizing they were suddenly on the clock, the goat let out a startled bleat and made a beeline for his rider.

After vaulting into the saddle, Logan reached a hand down towards Justice to help him up. “C’mon, let's go!”

The sheriff shook his head. “I’ll only weigh you down! That horse is fast as f*ck– if she gets too much of a head start, you’ll never catch ‘er!”

And his concerns were warranted; by the time the builder had gotten the lead off, Elsie was already back on her feet and lunging for the horses reins. However, her attempt was immediately thwarted by a stirruped boot harshly kicking her hand away. With a yelp, the yakgirl recoiled from the hit as horse and rider at last took off, vaulting the fence to head back in the direction of the Shonash bridge.

At the second unwarranted attack on his monster hunting partner, Logan grit his teeth. “In that case, I’ll send up a yellow flare if I need help– but otherwise? Don’t follow.” He growled as he took the reins in hand. “I’m puttin’ an end to this nonsense. Today.”

“Roger that,” the lawman replied. “I’ll post up at the office and have everyone steer clear. You just worry about gettin’ your girl!”

“‘Preciate it,” Logan nodded, setting his sights on his mark right before she disappeared around the bend. “HYAH!”

sh*t, they weren't kiddin’– that horse is f*ckin’ fast!

By the time Rambo even got close to catching up to them, horse and builder were already over and past the bridge.

While the mare's speed and minor head start certainly did him no favors, it wasn’t the only thing working against his pursuit. Much to his annoyance, he discovered that Lusi was also well aware of how to use her small frame to her advantage, tucking down like a jockey and giving the horse just enough of an edge to keep the distance between them and their pursuers.

No sooner had they passed the first Yakmel station did Logan realize Rambo was no longer gaining ground– the goat was hardy and swift, yes, but unfortunately he just couldn’t quite surpass the raw speed that the demon mare possessed.

So, first and foremost, Logan knew he'd have to find a way to slow down the horse. The question was… how?

Then, in a stroke of sheer luck, his query was answered by his target herself. As they approached the junction in the tracks, the builder instinctively leaned to the left in order to ensure the horse stayed on the hard surface of the straightaway and off the sand.

As soon as he saw the accidental tell, his heart leaped into his throat. That’s it! She has to stay on the tracks to keep speed!

The problem now was: how was he gonna drive her off into the sand?

Logan quickly racked his brain for an answer. He didn’t dare send off a warning shot over her shoulder– that could that go bad so many ways, so f*cking fast. And if he tried to lasso either one of them now, the unruly mare might throw Lusi outright, which would be a death sentence at this speed on the solid ground of the tracks. As they rapidly approached the Shipwreck Ruins, however, something caught his eye.

Wait– would that even work…?

He would have to test it first.

With the ease of practiced precision, he unholstered the heavy revolver on his hip and raised it upwards to fire a shot straight into the air. As soon as the gun went off, Lusi jumped and whipped her head around to look at him, but he didn’t care about her reaction right now– his focus was solely on the horse.

Sure enough, at the sound, the animal shook her head and faltered, weaving on the tracks ever so slightly until her rider pulled her back under control.

Bingo.

Lusi herself had once told him the mare easily spooked from loud noises– gunshots especially– and his .44 magnum wasn’t exactly quiet.

And just like that, he had a plan.

Lowering his gun into position, he took aim at his target and waited for Lusi and the horse to close the distance between themselves and his mark. Then, right as they were about to be parallel, he fired, this time sending a bullet into the center support bar of the Shipwreck Ruin’s Yakmel station.

The shot blew through the bronze piping like a hot knife through butter; but more importantly, thanks to the combination of the station’s awning and the rock face behind it, the sound of the bullet hitting the metal reverberated and magnified immeasurably.

Spooked by the unfamiliar clang, the horse whinnied and bolted away from the tracks and into the open sand. Rambo, on the other hand, was completely unphased by the deafening sound. In fact, as the mare veered off course, the goat intentionally tugged at the reins to ask for his head.

Understanding his intent, Logan dropped the leather strap to allow his mount to continue the pursuit of his own accord while the hunter focused on holstering his revolver and retrieving the lasso from off of his tack.

While the perfectly synchronized hunter/goat duo continued their hot pursuit, the horse and builder weren’t faring nearly as well as a team. The moment they hit the sand, the mare's speed was cut practically in half, and to make matters worse, the half-trained horse ignored all of her rider’s attempts to redirect her. In contrast, his own steed’s cloven footing was completely unhampered by the soft surface of the dunes, and by the time he had the lasso at the ready, they were already close enough for Logan to make his move.

After threading the end of the rope up and over the bar of his saddlehorn, he whipped the lasso up above his head a few times to pick up momentum before letting it fly. Unfortunately, right as he released the lariat, the pair unexpectedly veered, causing him to miss Lusi entirely. But, as luck would have it, he ended up snagging the horse dead-on.

He could work with that.

A few heartbeats later, he had the slack pulled taut and the end of the rope looped into a hitch knot, allowing him to reel the animal in without the mare being able to gain ground in return. As soon as the mare felt the pressure, she skidded to a stop in the sand, throwing her head and whinnying as she pulled against the rope.

“Dammit!” Lusi screamed, leaning forward in the saddle to try and undo the knot of lasso itself, but he knew her short nails would make getting a precise enough grip on the rope in such a small amount of time nearly impossible.

While the builder continued her futile attempt at escape, Logan gradually kept reeling in the mare on the other end of his line. Eventually, Lusi gave up trying to free the animal and made an attempt to dismount, but it was truly a case of too little, too late. She had just about gotten her leg swung over the horse’s back when he rushed them, leaning over and plucking the diminutive woman by the waist to pull her into his own saddle.

“Let. Me. Go. You f*ckING Bastard!” She shrieked, dragging her fingers against his arm as if to slash him with invisible claws. He couldn’t help but snort at the instinctual response– it seemed she herself had momentarily forgotten just how woefully under-equipped she was to take him on at present.

While he worked on shifting her in his arms to better hold her down, the scrappy builder abruptly craned her neck around to take aim at his shoulder, her teeth coming together in a loud, distinctive click. No doubt about it: this girl was out for blood.

When her first attempt failed, she wriggled in his grasp for a better angle and tried the tactic again. This time, the hunter brought up a bracer for her to bite down on instead. At the short-sighted attack, he scoffed incredulously, “Girl, do you really think you’re gettin’ a chunk outta me that easily?”

When she tasted padding and leather instead of the intended fabric and flesh, Lusi’s only response was to howl in frustration around the mouthful of armor before releasing it to double-down on her efforts to escape the man’s grasp.

As he felt the pressure from her jaw let up, Logan quickly focused his own efforts on getting her properly under control, and after a brief struggle, he finally succeeded in getting her wrangled to a degree under one of his arms.

Once he felt he had a decent handle on her, the hunter quickly tied the lasso off onto Rambo’s saddlehorn. With the goat now in charge of the belligerent palomino, he was free to work on sliding out of the saddle with the wriggling builder in tow.

“You can bite and scream all ya like, Lus’, but y’ain’t out of this!” he shouted as he attempted to keep the thrashing girl pinned under his arm while dismounting. “So I suggest you simmer down before I really get rough!”

“If you don’t want it rough, then Put! Me! DOWN!!!” The builder snarled savagely, and much to his chagrin, as they slid down from the goat’s back, her squirming at last paid off. His grip on her slipped ever so slightly, allowing her just enough space to swing her hyper-flexible right leg backwards and up at an angle, aiming to kick him squarely in the temple. Feeling her weight shift in the nick of time, Logan just barely managed to spin with the kick, throwing it off course enough that the heel of her heavy boot only brushed the edge of his ear.

“Goddammit!” He growled through his teeth. “Fine. Have it your way.”

Digging through the saddlebag with his free hand, he retrieved another length of rope– only to be almost immediately forced to swing her again to avoid yet another kick in the same manner. This time, her boot lightly tapped him on the side of the head, setting his hat slightly askew. With a huff of frustration, he finally tightened his grip to pin her back down properly before dragging her a safe distance away from the dangerous showdown between the goat and horse.

“f*ck you and the goat you rode in on, you f*cking ASSHOLE!” Lusi caterwauled in his grasp, punctuating the nonsensical insult with an attempt to spit in his face. Although she missed her mark entirely, the attempt alone made his fury spike in a flash.

“Okay, THAT’S IT!” The hunter roared at last, tacking her face-first into the dunes and inadvertently forcing a mouthful of sand down her gullet as he pinned her beneath him.

While the builder sputtered on the grit she had been unceremoniously force-fed, Logan used the opportunity to sit up and grab both of her arms, wrenching them back behind her harshly. Lusi immediately screeched from the manhandling, but he knew if he let up for even a second, the wily girl could get away. No, he was ending this right f*cking now.

Holding her arms behind her back firmly, he briskly bound her wrists and forearms together while still taking care to slip a finger between the rope and her skin to ensure he didn’t accidentally pull it too tight and cut off her circulation in his rush.

Once he had her arms immobilized, he lifted off her, serendipitously dodging her right leg as she arched another kick not unlike a Tripon trying to sting with its tail. Using the attack to his advantage, he grabbed her foot with his hand on the back-swing and deftly looped the loose end of the rope around her ankle.

True to her stubborn nature, Lusi made one final attempt to break loose before the tie was fully in place, and in his haste to get her back under control, the hunter dug his knee into her back with just a bit too much force, inadvertently slamming her face into the ground once again.

Hearing her gasp and gag as sand was forced up her nose in addition to her mouth this time, Logan couldn’t help but wince. He knew from experience it wasn’t a pleasant sensation, so in a small act of leniency he decided to leave just enough slack in the rope that she would be able to roll herself over if she so desired. With his bind now secure, he tied off the ends of the rope out of her reach and deliberately yanked her face from the dune to force her to look up at him.

“Stay. Put.” He ordered harshly, setting his hat straight as he turned his attention to the other battle taking place about twenty meters away. “I’ll be back in a second.”

The entire time Logan had been dealing with Lusi, Rambo had been locked in close-quarters combat with the mare attached to his saddle. Even without being explicitly told, the seasoned hunting steed knew exactly what his job was: keep the demon occupied, not wage a war of supremacy with the volatile beast. As such, the goat had intentionally just barely kept the upper hand, deftly avoiding the wild horse’s flying hooves and gnashing teeth, but not throwing any blows in return.

“Attaboy!” Logan called out as he marched up to the standoff. “Clear me some space!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the goat sprung into action, swinging his rump around to knock the mare off balance enough that Logan was able to slip in and grab her by the reins.

“Easy girl…” he soothed, only to almost immediately be forced to dodge an incoming bite. “Whoa– hey! Settle down!” He chuckled placatingly. “There’s no need for us to fight!”

The horse, however, didn’t seem to agree with that sentiment, lunging forward and knocking his freshly-straightened hat completely off his head as he ducked the attack. As the accessory fell to the ground, he felt his temper flare again– permission be damned, he was putting an end to this once and for all, too.

“Ah, to HELL with it!” He snapped at last, lunging forward to headbutt the horse squarely in the forehead with all the might he could muster.

Completely stunned by the unexpected blow, the horse stumbled on her feet momentarily before quieting down at last. Glancing over at Rambo, she snorted in bewilderment. ‘Did he just…? ’

The goat, in turn, shifted his weight on his hooves while proudly tossing his head in the air. ‘Yeah. I taught him that.’

Finding no quarter there, the mare then looked back to Logan, still unsure how to react.

After taking a long, slow breath, the hunter began to calmly release the lasso from around the mare's neck. “Go on, now,” he commanded firmly, jutting his chin back in the direction they came as he pulled the rope free and dropped the reins. “Get on home, y’hear…?”

The animal released, he turned his attention back to his hat. Once the accessory was back in its proper place, he straightened up again– only to find the horse still there, staring at him.

“What’re you still just standin’ there for?” He asked the awestricken animal, now decidedly agitated by the mare’s non-compliance. “GIT!”

As the horse slowly shook off the trance, she at last set her sights on her master. Tossing her head with a snort, she nickered as if to say, ‘This dude is nuts! You’re on your own...’ before turning tail and cantering off back in the direction of town.

As he watched the horse disappear into the distance, the hunter couldn’t help but shake his head in mild disbelief. How the hell did Elsie ever manage to even saddle that thing? Logan pondered to himself as he untied the other end of the lasso from Rambo’s tack and rolled it back up with a monotonous ease.

Once the lasso was looped back into its proper place on the saddle, he slipped a sugar cube out of one of his hip pouches and handed it over to Rambo for the job well done. As the goat savored his prize, the hunter took one final moment to at least somewhat re-compose himself before turning his attention back to his literal captive audience.

By now, Lusi was also staring at the man in bewilderment, having pulled herself up at some point to sit on the tied leg beneath her.

“Did you just… headbutt my horse?” She managed at last, gaping at him in wide-eyed disbelief.

“I sure f*ckin’ did.” He nodded gruffly, still petering off the adrenaline. “And, if you don’t know what’s good for you, you’re next.”

“Okay, fine! Light…” The builder yielded, taken aback by the display at large. “Still, man… I know Butterscotch is a handful, but did you really have to–”

“Wait– Butterscotch?!” Logan shouted over her. “That fire-breathin’, she-devil of a hack actually has a goddamn name?!”

“Well, yeah! I mean, sure, everyone calls her ‘The Horse’ because she’s THE motherf*ckin’ horse, but–” She paused in realization. “Wait… Did you actually think this whole time that I owned a horse just named… ‘Horse’?” She squinted up at him dubiously. “Who the f*ck even does that?”

Every fiber of Logan’s being wanted to scream out in pure frustration at that very moment, but at the last second, his final tether of self-control managed to hold firm. After all, her questionable naming conventions were truly the least of his concerns right now.

Still, as he trudged back through the sand to retrieve his captive charge, he couldn't help but let out a long, exhausted sigh. Barely even eight in the mornin’ and somethin’ tells me I'm already in for another long-ass day…

Chapter 8: A Series of Unfortunate Events

Chapter Text

Following the less than stellar showcase of his animal taming skills, Logan was pleased to find Lusi truly cooperative for the first time that day.

Once he had roughly hoisted her into the saddle up and taken his place behind her, he wasted no time kicking Rambo into gear back towards the Gecko Station. To his minor relief though, the ride itself was almost blissfully silent, giving him ample time to get his temper back in check. After all, both of them being pissed off would be counter-intuitive to his goals at large, and he knew the hard part was only just getting started.

Unfortunately for the builder though, the original destination he had in mind was now completely off the table. He’d never taken anyone else there before– hell, not even Haru knew of its existence!– and following a bull-headed display like the one she just put on?

Well, the privilege of being let in on that particular secret of his was one she was now gonna have to earn back, as far as he was concerned.

Instead, the hunter set his sights solely on Gecko Station once more, and as they approached the entrance, he wheeled the goat harshly left to guide him up the twisting metal stairs that wound around the exterior of the building. They were nearly to the cable car platform itself when they unceremoniously jumped the busted guard rail of the penultimate landing, the goat’s hooves coming down on the narrow platform that led to their ultimate destination: the maintenance room.

Having reached their stop, Logan slid off Rambo first before pulling Lusi down from the saddle again and ushering her through the doorless entryway. Because everyone with at least two brain cells to rub together had the sense to not enter the room full of whirring gears of their own volition, a proper gate had never been installed– however, Logan had a strong suspicion that after today, that would likely be changing.

As the two stepped into the maintenance room, Logan had Rambo press his body into the doorway, effectively blocking the builder’s only means of escape. As she looked at him curiously, he gestured for her to wait and ducked under the main gears. Seconds later, the machinery suddenly ground to a halt; he had flipped the emergency kill switch, leaving no way for the cable cars to span the canyon unless they were hand-cranked.

Reappearing once more, he placed a hand on her bindings and half-dragged/half-walked her to the farthest corner of the room beneath the primary engine housing. As they marched, he noted their surroundings one last time. With the engine disabled, it was now dead quiet, so if anyone came up, he’d be able to hear them approach before the interloper even knew they were there. Additionally, the sheer distance between the two stations, combined with the thick chain-link fence, gave them a bit of visual privacy as well.

Satisfied with his choice of location, Logan finally loosed the bindings on her forearms and clicked to send the goat away. But even though the door was now wide open, they both knew she had virtually no chance of slipping past him; he could close the distance from anywhere in a room of this size faster than she would even be able to blink. She was effectively trapped, and wouldn't be leaving anytime soon without his say-so.

And thus… it was time to get some answers.

“Mi-an’s gonna be sooo pissed at you later.” Lusi muttered, rubbing her wrists where the ropes had met skin. “That kill switch is a pain in the ass to disengage.”

“She’ll live.” He replied dismissively, walking to the corner opposite of hers and leaning back against the heavy link fence. “I’ll catch ‘er a good sized Mudfish later and all’ll be forgiven.”

The builder scoffed and rolled her shoulder as she plopped herself down in her designated corner. “Why’d you drag me up here, anyway? Couldn’t have been for the view.”

“I thought that much would be obvious. I needed to put you someplace where you couldn’t just bolt while we talked some sh*t out.” The hunter replied, crossing his arms with an air of disappointment in her continued sass. “But make no mistake: the courtesy of lettin’ you explain yourself without the risk of the whole town overhearin’ your business is the last one you’re gettin’ from me for quite a while…”

Lusi scoffed disbelievingly. “Oh now you want people to mind their own business!” She sneered. “Where was this yesterday, when you were telling everyone and their mother about me being in the clinic?”

Logan sighed, rolling his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic, you know I have more discretion than that.”

“Do I, Logan?” Lusi spat back, “Tell me: who all knows I was at Fang’s yesterday?”

“Well, Pablo–”

“Pablo doesn’t count.” She interjected. “He knows practically everything– thanks to someone filling in quite a few blanks for him last month.” Glancing up, she took in the state of his disheveled hair beneath hat as she narrowed her eyes in critique. “Don't remember if I told you already, but... nice haircut, by the way– though, if I’m being honest? It might be about time you thought about a shave. But I’m sure next time you’re in Pablo’ll give you a good deal…”

Logan immediately winced at the verbal blow. “Okay, I deserved that one…” He mumbled guiltily. “Look, I’m sorry about that. I swear, didn’t even realize I was givin’ him info until after the fact, and I promise I went back to rectify the situation later.”

Her lips lifted in an intentionally strained, ironic smile. “Oh I’m sure you did, but just because you paid in cash doesn’t put the genie back in the bottle, now does it…?” All at once, the smile dropped. “So Pablo notwithstanding, who else did you tell I was in the clinic with your own damn mouth?”

Logan thought back, making up a mental tally list. “...Jane, Mi-an, Elsie, Owen, Andy, Vivi–”

“Oh great!” Lusi cut him off with a facetious sneer, “If Vivi knows, Heidi knows; and if Heidi knows, the whole damn town’ll know by noon– IF they don’t already…”

He hesitated on the final name, “...and Trudy.”

Lusi sat up straight, her eyes flying open wide. “You ratted me out to the MAYOR?!” She yelled, seemingly incensed at the audacity of him getting her boss's Boss involved in the situation.

“I didn’t ‘rat’ you out,” He shot back, slightly offended at the wording. “Hell, I didn’t even really realize somethin’ was wrong until Trudy mentioned her concerns to me yesterday.”

“What?” Lusi co*cked her head back, dubious of the notion. “Why the f*ck would Trudy be concerned about me? I’ve been doing nothing but busting my ass for this town non-stop since those Duvos sh*tstains got wiped up. She should be ecstatic!”

“Exactly, Lus’! That’s exactly the problem!” Logan huffed, exasperated by her blindness as met her eyes, trying to convey how serious the situation had become. “You haven’t stopped!– You’ve been pushin’ yourself, makin’ more work for yourself, not lettin’ yourself have a moment’s peace–”

“I don’t WANT ‘peace’!” The woman growled, baring her teeth as she snarled. “I want to work and be useful to the town!”

“And look where it landed you!” The hunter rebuked. “Five days on ice and two weeks of light duty! Now, you HAVE to rest, whether you want to or not!”

“There you go with the demands again.” An obstinate gleam appeared in her eye. “I don’t ‘have’ to do anything, Logan! YOU aren’t in charge of me! You aren’t my f*cking dad, you aren’t my boss–”

“No, but Trudy is!” He interjected, feeling his own temper start to rise within him again before quickly pushing it down– he had to keep his head here if he was going to succeed. “And Wei. And Justice… technically.”

He then narrowed his eyes as his tone naturally shifted to one he was used to using when reprimanding Andy for various dumbassery and bullsh*t. “So rest assured: if you don’t straighten up and get your act together, you’re gonna start facin’ consequences.”

“Consequences?” She repeated with an angry laugh, incredulous of how he was actually scolding her as if she were a child. “Bull. sh*t. This town can’t RUN without me! Mi-an and Wei–”

“–can handle the full workload of this town without you, actually.” He finished the sentence for her. “Or at least, for a little while. Because, unlike Yan, Wei seems to actually want to support his subordinates.” Logan looked down the bridge of his nose at her. “Though you’d probably know that if you’d ever bothered to ask for help.”

“Never needed to,” the builder fired back, wrinkling her own nose in indignation. “Because I don’t need anyone’s f*cking help.”

“You did yesterday.” He stated plainly, as it was a matter of fact.

“Yesterday was a moment of weakness.” She brushed him off. “Though, I sure as sh*t wouldn’t have accepted if I had known you’d be such a cun–”

“Watch it.” He warned, intentionally cutting her off.

At that, Lusi scoffed, seemingly emboldened by the warning more than anything. “Logan, why the f*ck are you even here– what exactly do you want from me?” She asked, throwing her arms out as she questioned him. “New weapons? An expanded outpost? A f*ck buddy?”

“A what– No!” He gaped, horrified that she would even imply the notion. “Again with the?– Lusi, what in the hell would possess you to even suggest that?!”

“Well what else am I supposed to think? After all, you have to want something from me!” She snapped, venom dripping from her voice. “No one ever does anything purely out of the goodness of their own heart. There’s always a reason; it’s just how the world works. You gotta have or BE something worth exchanging with to get anywhere in life.”

Logan blinked, the conflicting worldview compared to her past actions startling him somewhat.

“I… don’t think you actually believe that.” The hunter replied truthfully, dubious of her sincerity overall. “I know for a fact that plenty of people have done the right thing by you without ulterior motives– and vice versa.”

“Who said anything about ulterior motives?” She asked, smirking joylessly. “Sure, there are those cases, but… I’m talking about how human nature works. Be it physical goods, rendered services, or even just a warm fuzzy feeling inside– humans trade and barter and exchange things with others for the sole purpose of getting something they want in return. No exceptions.”

“What about your Seesai family…?” Logan countered, frowning as he spoke. “They took you in for two years and did their best to fix you up and help raise you right. That has to count for somethin’.”

A strange shadow passed over her eyes. “Logan… do you really think they took me in just because it was ‘the right thing to do’…?” Lusi laughed coldly, a slight bitterness staining her voice. “Sure, an emotional bond was formed, but... that doesn’t change the fact that an exchange was made. My guardian doctor wanted the opportunity to observe how well I would recover when treated using new, untested methods for a certain amount of time, and in return, I got a chance at living a semi-normal life again.”

“Wait a sec– ‘untested’…?” He repeated, startled by the implication at large. “But–! The way you described it yesterday, I thought they were just monitorin’ your recovery as you went along, not… tryin’ stuff out on you like a goddamn guinea pig!”

Lusi shook her head, smirking at his naivety. “Well, sorry to burst your bubble yakboy, but that’s exactly what they were doing. Though, don’t get the wrong idea…” She waved his concern off flippantly. “It wasn’t like they were just pulling random nonsense out of their asses and throwing it at the wall to see what stuck– almost everything they tried on me had already shown promising results when used to treat less severe dislocations on their own. I was just the first case they got their hands on that was extreme enough to warrant testing a combination of therapies on.”

Something about her blasé attitude about the matter in general immediately unsettled him. “You’re… really okay with the fact that you were treated like a human science experiment by people you considered family…?” He murmured quietly, trying to mask his concern.

“Of course I am!” Lusi asserted sharply. “Logan, my limbs were out of their sockets for so long after the accident, the experimental treatments were the only real shot I had at not being stuck in a chair outright for the rest of my life.” She looked away for a moment with an angry huff. “Literally the only goal we had in mind going into them initially was getting me to the point of being able to walk on my own again with assistance. In fact, the whole reason I got so ‘good’ with that cane in the first place was because I fully expected I would be on it ‘til the day I died…”

At that, his heart sank. “It…” He started, only for his words to catch momentarily as he swallowed down the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. “sh*t, Lus’– it was really that bad…?”

She didn’t respond to the question verbally, merely scoffing bitterly before giving him a small nod and continuing on. “...So suffice to say, when we found the combination of therapies worked so well I was immediately put on track for a full recovery? f*ck!– They all but declared me a goddamn miracle of modern science!” She shook her head with a breathy laugh. “And after ‘Efficacy of Experimental Recovery Methods in an Andalusia-Type Injury Case as Observed Over the Course of Two Calendar Years’ was published, the Seesai medical board immediately greenlit more widespread trials of the therapies. Nowadays, those ‘experimental methods’ that were tested on me are considered standard practice for treating severe joint dislocations in general.”

“Whoa, okay– back up…” Logan threw up a hand in pause, his mind still reeling from the sheer amount of information she just threw at him. “Lusi, I’m sorry, but… you honestly lost me about halfway through that goddamn title.” He blinked, shaking his head. “A what-type injury, again?”

The builder immediately froze. “Ah, beans…” She muttered quietly, the tips of her ears turning red. “There I go again, gettin’ caught up in the moment and letting f*ckin’ cats out of bags…”

“Now, I confess: my medical resources are more than slightly out of date…” He admitted with a light shrug. “But, is it safe to assume that’s the name they came up with for your condition, or somethin’?”

For some reason, the question seemed to completely throw her off course; she merely stared at him in dumbfounded, blinking disbelief for several seconds until at last she seemed to finally recover.

“Well… yes, actually! As of about 93, an Andalusia-Type Injury was accepted as medical shorthand for ‘a complete bilateral dislocation of the glenohumeral joint and hip joint’...” She muttered softly, her overall anger seemingly petering out for… embarrassment? “Now while obviously dislocated joints are nothing new, a case like mine– or, rather, a case as severe as mine that ended up recovering to the point of living a relatively normal life– hadn't been documented since the Old World. And as such… my guardian doctor took it upon himself to name the specific set of injuries I had…”

Lusi then hesitated, averting her gaze nervously, “...after… me.”

The gears turned in Logan’s mind– perhaps longer than they should have.

“Wait–” He said at last with an incredulous blink. “Lusi… is your first name actually… Andalusia?”

At the question, her expression went flat. “Well give the man a goddamn prize– took ya long enough!” The builder exclaimed sardonically with a roll of the eyes at his slow comprehension. “Also, I hope you feel honored. You’re now one of literally four people in this town to know that not-so-fun fact about me…” She muttered, scraping at her bottom lip. “And… the only one I’ve actually told myself since moving here … ”

“Are– are you bein’ serious right now…?” Logan gaped, still somewhat stunned by the completely unexpected revelation itself.

Lusi sighed softly before giving him an awkward nod. “…Besides Jane obviously, the other two are Trudy and Wei, and they only know because my legal first name is on the original copies of certain documents.” She paused for a moment as her mind began getting caught up in the details. “...well, I guess five people, if you count Yan, but that’s assuming he even looked at any of my paperwork. Or… maybe six, if Matilda happened to notice it while she was interim mayor– though, given how that story panned out, I highly doubt it…”

As she rambled and his surprise gradually wore off, guilt began to softly pang him. Once again, he had learned something personal about her completely by accident– something she obviously would have very much preferred to keep private.

“Lus’… I’m so sorry.” He apologized sincerely as he sheepishly glanced away. “I honestly didn’t mean to react like that, it’s just– I… never expected ‘Lusia’ to be short for anythin’, let alone… ‘Andalusia’ ...”

“Yeah, no sh*t. Why the f*ck would you ever expect that?” Lusi muttered peevishly as her face flushed an even deeper shade of red. “Look, I’m well aware of the fact that my name’s dumb as hell. sh*t, when I took the Builder surname, I wanted to legally change it to ‘Lusia’, too. But because I completely forfeited my family name, the Alliance bureaucrats wouldn’t let me– said it would’ve f*cked up the filing system too much, or something…” She grumbled with a bitter snort. “So… as much as it sucks, I’m officially stuck with it for the long haul…”

“Aw, c’mon– I wouldn’t say you’re stuck with it.” He tilted his head slightly with a small smile. “I mean, it’s actually a really prett–”

“Okay, don’t even start with that bullsh*t– and while you’re at it? Stop trying to change the subject.” Lusi cut him off as her embarrassment seemingly wore off and her anger ramped up again. “The point I was trying to make before you got me off track was: whether you want to admit it or not, you have a reason– a motive– and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that you want something from me, so what IS it?!”

The smile dropped from his face. “Dammit, Lusi!” He muttered, irritated at her for intentionally rekindling the fight more than anything. “Fine! If you need a ‘reason’ so damn bad: I’m concerned about you, alright?!” He admitted with a small, exasperated sigh. “A lot of us are– Trudy, Pablo, Vivi, Jane; you’re bein’ reckless with your health, and… none of us want to see you get hurt. I shouldn’t need more motivation than that!”

“Well I’m fine,” She replied, almost automatically. “So you can all stop worrying about me, because I know exactly what I’m doing and I have it all under control. But even if I didn’t? I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much.”

“Lus’, if you were properly takin’ care of yourself, Fang never would’ve iced you for goddamn exhaustion in the first place.” He asserted firmly, grinding his teeth lightly in agitation at her stubbornness. “And if this is legitimately your idea of havin’ things ‘under control’, we have bigger problems, because I know for a fact that you don’t.”

“And how the hell would you know that?” Lusi challenged daringly. “You’ve known me all of three f*ckin’ months.”

“That’s true.” He agreed. “But Viv’s known you since you got here, and she told me you know better than to push yourself this hard. Said you even lectured Mi-an and Elsie about it once.”

Although her face went blank, he couldn’t help but get the feeling she was actually surprised.

“Well, looks like someone did his research…” She murmured, her tone a mix of impressed and annoyed as she threw her hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, fine– you got me! So I’m pulling a little overtime, big f*ckin’ whoop.” She dismissed with a light shrug. “Once the factory is properly paid back, I–”

“That’s another thing!” Logan cut her off gruffly as she brought up the very subject he had made it his mission to get an answer about that day. “You’ve been lyin’ your ass off left and right lately! You lied about what time you went to bed the other night, you lied about Pablo tryin’ to light up a smoke, and you’ve been lyin’ about owin’ payment on that factory, just to name a few!” He met her eyes. “And I’m tellin’ you right now: we ain’t leavin’ until I at least get an answer about that last one, if nothin’ else…”

A thin smile spread across her lips. “Alright. I’ll give you the first two.” She admitted with an agreeable nod. “But… I never lied about the third…”

“Lus’, stop tryin’ to cover your ass!" He retorted, shaking his head in disbelief at her continued attempts to lie. "Viv told me about Heidi’s commissions– that factory’s been paid off in full since before it was installed! I know you don’t owe any money on it, so stop–”

“Money? Logan… when the hell did I say anything about owing money…?”

“W-What?” He couldn’t help but be visibly startled by the interjection. “But… at the bar y’said–”

“Oh, Logan…” She murmured, a smile growing on her face. “Logan, Logan, Logan… I think I see where you got your wires crossed.”

Suddenly, a small giggle escaped her, the smile spreading wider still. “Now, if I recall correctly, that night I told you that the factory ‘didn't come cheap’. But… I never said what the ‘cost’ was, or how I was ‘paying it back’…”

All at once, something clicked in the back of his mind; No– She couldn’t mean…

“…the Duvos commissions.” He finished the thought aloud before cautiously looking up to try and meet her eyes. “Lusi… you didn't use Heidi’s money to pay for that factory– did you…?”

And to his growing consternation, the builder slowly began to shake her head.

“Forty-seven hours, Logan…” She chuckled darkly. “Forty-seven Light-forsaken hours, they were in my town, f*cking with my sh*t, trying to persuade me to defect with promises of fame and fortune and mother f*cking cabbage soup…!” Lusi snarled through gritted teeth; in spite of the distance, he could practically hear them grinding as she spoke. “But... by the time I regretted using the money from the Duvos commissions to pay for the physical factory itself, there was just no taking it back.”

She then abruptly paused to draw in her breath, bringing herself back to a semblance of calm, but there was no mistaking the fury still dripping out of every pore. “No, after everything they put me through? After everything they did– everything they planned to do? In my eyes, using their dirty money to pay for just one factory didn’t seem like quite enough ‘reparations’ when it was all said and done.” Lusi explained with a rueful chuckle. “So, I sat down, gave it some thought, and eventually… I came to the conclusion that the best payback for everything they did would be to put it to work for the benefit of the town they tried to destroy…”

Her gaze then raised up to properly meet his at last, an eerie smile on her lips. “…one legitimate commission board request at a time.”

Logan’s chest tightened. “And, since then…” he started, almost afraid to hear the answer to the question he had to ask, “just how many ‘factories’ worth of commissions have you done so far…?”

“Twenty-one.” The builder replied instantly, the smile never leaving her face. “With just twenty-six more to go…”

At the admission, a chill ran down the hunter’s spine.

“Lusi…” He breathed, hardly believing what he was hearing. “Y-you… you’re actually intendin’ to work non-stop until you’ve paid off the cost of that factory forty-seven times over…?!”

Lusi nodded, her conviction steadfast and unwavering. “A ‘factory’ for every hour they f*cked with Sandrock.” She giggled with almost child-like glee. “…I thought it was fitting.”

Logan swallowed dryly as the realization truly sunk in. Peach, Light, and Darkness Below… He swore silently, scrubbing his hand across his mouth. This… sh*t– she’s further gone than I ever could’ve imagined…

Glancing up, he met her eyes again from across the room. “…That’s what this has been all about.” He murmured, slowly shaking his head in horrified astonishment. “The long hours, the senseless overwork– all in the name of… vengeance against Duvos…?”

“Yep! That’s about the long and short of it.” She replied brightly, waving off his blatant concern with a wave of her hand. “But don’t worry! I’m not planning on doing it forever! The current plan is to use the leftover Duvos money to pay for the greenhouse materials. After it’s up and running, I can start taking request board commissions for crops in addition to regular comms, which’ll help pay back the remaining hours even faster.”

At the thought, she let out a soft sigh of contentment. “And once the last hour’s quota is fulfilled, I’ll finally be able to properly close the book on the whole affair, and my work schedule can go back to how it was before.”

“Not if y’work yourself to death before then!” He exclaimed, standing bolt upright from the fence and taking a few steps towards her. “Lusi, bein’ angry about the occupation is one thing, but this…” He shook his head softly again. “Darlin’, this is takin’ things way too far…”

She chuckled wickedly. “Oh, on the contrary!– I don’t think I’m taking things nearly far enough.” Lusi rebuked before sadly exhaling through her nose. “But alas! I’m trapped here in the desert, so my options for direct retribution are a tad limited– hence the ‘make the town they tried to kill thrive out of spite’ tactic. And while I’ll be the first to admit that it is a bit of a roundabout way of doing things, it certainly seems to be gettin’ the job so far!” She stated brightly with a nonchalant shrug. “And after everything’s all said and done: I’ll be satisfied, the town’ll be doing better than ever, and Duvos will’ve thoroughly gotten the middle finger. Happily ever after on all accounts!”

“Well it ain’t on mine.” He declared firmly, crossing his arms again. “And it sure as hell ain’t gonna fly with the people you do answer to, either– I can tell you that for a fact.”

An obstinate gleam appeared in her eye. “Oooh goodie! Are we back to the ‘consequences’ threat again?” She snarked with an almost giddy smile. “Oh, I LOVE this game! Okay, uh, lemme take a shot in the dark and go with… my diving passes are likely gonna be frozen– if they aren’t already– my expansion paperwork is undoubtedly gonna get ‘misplaced’ for a few days, and… all the hazardous ruins are probably gonna get declared ‘unsafe’ before too terribly long.” Lusi glanced up to meet his eyes again. “…Am I at least in the ballpark?”

He couldn’t help but visibly tense up in surprise, which in turn caused her to snicker. “I gotta hand it to you guys: making me rely on whatever scrap I happen to be able to scrounge out of the desert on any given day to recycle into usable materials? Oh yeah, that'll absolutely slow me down, without a doubt!” She admitted with a sincere nod. “Additionally: you were also spot-on earlier about Mi-an and Wei being able to handle the full workload of the town–” She paused before adding with a confident flick of her brows. “...‘for a little while’."

As the hunter shifted nervously on his feet, a dark chuckle escaped her. “So by all means! Force me to take a break, throw roadblocks in my path, but… it won’t change the fact that you’re only delaying the inevitable.” She grinned smugly. “Because, let’s face it: sooner or later, I’m gonna have to be allowed to go back to work without restrictions, simple as that.”

“You seem pretty damn certain that’s actually gonna happen…” He observed cautiously, her unbothered attitude itself making him more uneasy than anything else.

“Should I not be?” She replied with a relaxed smile. “Logan, there was a reason you approached me and not Mi-an to make the anti-lock device– with that ‘reason’ being I’m the better builder, no two ways about it.”

When he didn’t rebuke her claim, she snorted and continued. “Though there's also the fact that Wei and Mi-an aren’t licensed to do maintenance or repairs on some of the things that keep this town afloat– like the Hydrogel, for example. But if that wasn't enough for you, there's also the teensy little detail that: as it currently stands? This town would very likely die without me.”

He opened his mouth to rebuke the hyperbolic claim– only for her to raise her hand to cut him off. “Hang on there, yakboy, I ain’t done yet. Y’see, as much as I hate to admit it, Yan was completely right about one thing: those extra plumbing courses he insisted I take? They were absolutely necessary in the long run…”

She sighed softly to herself as her expression turned serious again, giving him the distinct impression she wasn’t playing around. “...As it turns out: the relic generating water for the town is just barely limping along as it is; and to make matters worse, it’s buried too deeply underground for us to even try and assess a repair. So, until we figure out a long-term solution, any f*ck-ups with the piping or auxiliary tank would undoubtedly screw Sandrock over in a heartbeat.”

As Logan furrowed his brow at this new information, Lusi relaxed again as she reclined against the wall. “…Therefore, with Yan shipped off to Atara, and Mason in the wind, that just leaves me as the only builder-slash-master plumber this side of the Eufaula qualified to work on the Oasis plumbing. Trudy doesn’t want anyone else touching it with a ten-foot pole…”

When he again didn’t have an immediate rebuttal, she snickered softly. “So push comes to shove? My ruin passes are eventually gonna have to be unfrozen so I can get back to doing my job of keeping Sandrock alive– and when that happens? I’ll also be free to get back to business as usual on the payback front as well, at least somewhat refreshed and ready to serve Sandrock by fulfilling commissions as fast as people can post them…”

She crossed her arms with a casual air, an almost gloating smile plastered across her face. “So sure, you guys can slow me down for a few weeks, but make no mistake: one way or another, I’m gonna keep working to pay those f*ckers back for what they did.” She met his eyes seriously again. “…Even if I have to run across the desert collecting scrap sunup to sundown every goddamn day to do it.”

Logan took a few moments to digest her words, anxiously chewing the inside of his cheek as he pondered his next move. Finally, he drew in his breath again to speak.

“Alright, Lus’, I’ll admit: you’re absolutely right.” He said at last, legitimately impressed with her tenacity, if nothing else. “The ‘consequences’ we had planned will only end up slowin’ you down for the short term– and none of ‘em will do jack-all when it comes to you runnin’ off on your own to collect scrap when or wherever you damn well please…” He chuckled softly with a conciliatory nod. “But… there is one thing you’ve forgotten to take into account…”

“Oh?” She said, an almost bemused smirk on her face. “And that would be…?”

“Me.”

The builder arched her brow inquisitively at the declaration, but otherwise said nothing. Logan took that as his sign to continue.

“Lus’… I don’t think you’ve fully grasped the concept that I’m a Hunter by both name and trade.” He started with a small laugh, locking his eyes on her own as he straightened his posture. “As such, once I’ve set my sights on a mark, I'll do whatever it takes to learn its patterns and figure out what makes it tick in order to pursue it relentlessly for days, weeks, months– hell! My current record is just shy of three goddamn years…”

The smirk slowly began to fade as she blinked in surprise.

“Wait. Are you actually threatening to… stalk me…?” She squinted, clearly taken aback by the realization. “Like, ‘follow me around without my consent’, STALK ME, stalk me– is that what’s really happening right now?”

He let out a dismissive snort. “Oh, I wouldn’t call it ‘stalkin’, per-se! After all, part of my job is ensurin’ both residents and visitors of the town alike stay safe outside of town– doubly so if they’re plannin’ on headin’ into hazardous terrain.” He countered, tossing his head casually as he spoke. “Granted, escort duty does tend to take a backseat in the warmer months, but with Winter on the way? I’m actually about to have a lot more free time on my hands! Could probably use a way to keep myself occupied until Spring rolls around.”

All at once, the mirth evaporated from his demeanor as he narrowed his sights on her tersely. “…Escortin’ you specifically on any given day seems about as good a ‘hobby’ as any.”

She gaped at him, co*cking her own head back in slight disbelief. “You’re… actually being serious, aren’t you…?”

“You’re goddamn right I am.” Logan confirmed with a sincere nod. “And after the weather warms up again? Well, let's be honest: if I really put my mind to it, I can easily find ways to keep givin’ you a hard time for as long as it takes– especially if it’s for your own damn good.” Looking her over briefly, he snorted again. “Though, if we’re bein’ honest, as fragile a state as you’re in right now– what with the literal exhaustion and not havin’ your head screwed on right?– I reckon keepin’ tabs on you while out and about will be easier than huntin’ Duvos ever was…”

All of a sudden, a spark of recognition flickered across her face, and for a moment, he thought he might have actually gotten through to her.

His hopes were promptly dashed when she let out a cold, disbelieving laugh.

“Well where have I heard all that before?” The builder shook her head slowly. “‘It’s my job to look after the weak, so I’m keeping an eye on you for your own good!’ ‘You don’t know how to defend yourself, and the desert isn't kind to the fragile! ‘ ‘You know, the only reason I give you such a hard time is to push you to higher limits!’” She smiled up at him, but it was honestly more akin to a sneer. “Seriously, man! The only thing that was missing was a bit about rescuing a motherf*ckin’ damsel or delivering justice with a swing of your fist…”

“And just what exactly are you tryin’ to imply with all that, might I ask…?” He questioned warily, not liking the familiarity of her mocking tone.

She scoffed in disbelief. “Oh come on– you really don’t see it? I mean sure, I did paraphrase a bit, but still…!” Lusi said sincerely, before dropping the smile all at once. “…Don’t you think it’s about time you got some new material, Pen?”

Logan felt his blood run cold.

“…excuse me?” He questioned, his volume and tone dropping to a dangerously low whisper. That she would have the audacity– no, the gall– to put him in the same league as that bastard…

Lusi on the other hand, just seemed to be thrilled to have finally struck a nerve. She had to have known she had crossed the line, but... judging from the reckless grin spreading across her face, it seemed that right now, she simply didn’t care.

“I mean, am I really wrong?” She continued on, letting out a sharp laugh. “Though, at least with you, I’m reasonably sure that ‘selfless concern’ isn’t part of a larger scheme to whisk me away to Duvos anytime soon…” She stopped, eying the man appraisingly. “Though, you never f*ckin’ know…”

By this point, Logan had forcefully pushed his knee-jerk anger down in order to lock his features into a state of neutral. Something told him he needed to hear where she was going with this– and ever the performer at heart, Lusi seemed perfectly content to press forward with her monologue unhampered, regardless of whether or not she even noticed his shift in demeanor.

“Course, I'm not sure my ‘recruitment’ was ever his first priority. He always struck me as a one track mind kind of guy, y’know?” She clenched her fists, tapping them against her thighs as she spoke. “I mean, for almost my entire first year here, he was just constantly trying to get in my pants. I’m telling you, the guy was downright relentless with the flirting! All the little touches he liked to get in whenever no one was looking– a pinch here, a smack there…”

Logan suddenly felt his fury spike– only for it to be abruptly snuffed out by an uneasy foreboding when she followed it up with a truly indifferent shrug.

“Honestly? The handsyness didn’t bother me all that much. I mean, it was annoying, sure, but… eh. Nothin’ I wasn’t already used to.” She dismissed casually as she shook her head. “No… the main issue I always had was the sick sh*t he would whisper just low enough for me to hear, and the staring.”

At the recollection, he watched her physically shudder in revulsion. “Light, the staring! I swear– it was like every time I turned around, he was always f*cking THERE, just… watching me! Unless I was at home or outside of town, I could never seem to get a moment’s peace!” She gradually shook the memory off with a shaky breath, scraping anxiously at her lip. “…And while I always kept my distance the best I could, it didn’t really matter when we ended up facing off in the Showdown!”

She shook her head slowly with a sigh. “I really thought the fact we were in public view would be enough to ensure he’d behave, but… apparently not, because once it was just him and me in that ring in the last round, he grappled me down for a pin and his hand ‘slipped’. Repeatedly.”

As the rage silently welled up within him again, Lusi’s lip curled up in distaste at the audacity. “I mean, sure! I’ll be the first to admit I have a great ass– but to have the balls to try and grope me with the whole Peach-damned town watching?” She snorted. “Unfortunately for him though, I was ready to take him on at that point. And I had been intentionally holding my cards close to my chest– even went so far as to take the horse whenever I trained outdoors to make sure he wouldn’t follow…”

She shook her head softly, rapping her fingers against her leg in agitation. “So once I was down, it wasn’t all that hard to keep up the ‘novice’ act a little longer. I let him get me into the position he had always wanted me in, waited until the angle was juuuust right, and then… right when he least expected it…”

*BAM!*

Logan barely kept himself from jumping when she abruptly slammed the metal wall with the side of her fist, a manic darkness clouding her features as she grinned. “The LOOK on his face when I locked him into that triangle choke with my legs and countered every one of his attempts to break out?– Oh! Absolutely priceless.” Then, her face dropped all at once with an almost sad sigh. “Though, I do wish I had known I wouldn’t have been penalized for a K.O, or else I would’ve ‘misread’ his tap and choked the co*cksucker out right there in the ring…”

When her foul language didn’t garner a reprimand from him, a small, petulant smile graced her lips. “…But regardless, his stupidity of trying to cop a feel in plain sight ensured that quite a few more eyes were on him after that day. Guess he didn’t want to risk his cover being blown, because he finally started keeping his hands to himself– just doubled down on the staring instead.”

She shuddered again, shifting uncomfortably in her seat on the cold metal floor. “But… even after that, he still insisted on calling me ‘Skinny’. Said it was because: ‘While my legs had potential, there still wasn’t any REAL power in my arms’– Jackass.”

As she scoffed, her eyes abruptly flashed up and connected to his once more– volatile verdant green challenging unreadable icy blue. But it didn’t take him more than a heartbeat to notice that her gaze was now noticeably more distant and unfocused than it had been before– like she was looking through him rather than at him while she spoke.

“So… tell me, ‘Protector of Sandrock’.” Lusi started slowly, her features now wild and harsh. “What’s your reason– what do you get out of all of this? Hmm? Maybe… a sense of superiority with the added bonus of stroking your savior complex–” She paused abruptly, “Actually, on second thought, that might be a little bit advanced for you, all things considered…”

She leaned in, jeering as she hugged her knees to her chest. “No… the better bet would be that you’re just hoping to straight-up charm your way into my pants. I mean, in theory it’s a solid tactic– but to be honest? You’re hardly the first person who’s gone that route, and I highly doubt you’ll be the last…”

When he didn’t react to the verbal blow, she crumpled slightly with a small pout. “Aww, still with the silent treatment?” She whined, pushing a sarcastically disappointed sigh through her nose. “C’mon– I’m asking you a legitimate question here! And it shouldn’t be that hard to answer, even for you…”

With a casual ease, she hooked one of her thumbs into the side of her boot, her nails tracing circles as they absently ran along the stitching at the top. “All I want… is the reason… ” She said softly, her disconnected stare staying locked onto his own as a smile slowly spread across her face– which Logan immediately recognized as the same cold, dangerous smile she gave to Yan back in the cell a few months prior.

“...tell me the real reason you’re here, Pen–”

The bastard’s name was hardly out of her mouth before he was on her, slamming his forearm across her collarbone and pinning her back against the wall. Caught off guard, Lusi cried out sharply from the impact as her shoulders and head made contact with the metal structure behind her.

Before she had a chance to recover from the minor blow, Logan bore down on her with his full weight, forcing her knees tightly against her chest to effectively pin her legs in place. Grimacing, she instinctively lashed out at him with her right arm, which he caught mid-swing by the wrist with his free hand before pressing down harder on her shoulders with his forearm, incapacitating her left arm at the weakened joint through sheer strength alone.

Even as she continued to struggle with all her might, her overall physical exhaustion ensured she was no match for him, and as such he had little problem wrenching her right arm up and across her chest to transfer his grip on it to his restraining arm. Her dominant side now properly secured, he wasted no time sliding his own right hand down to her boot.

Slipping his fingers between the leather and the back of her leg, he quickly retrieved the object he spotted her reaching for in his peripheral vision as she made her final taunt– a long, metal straight pick– and promptly placed it in his mouth to hold momentarily while he checked the other boot.

Upon finding its angled mate within, he reunited the pair in his hand. Then, with the confidence held only by one well-versed in throwing knives, he whipped his arm back behind him, expertly flinging the lockpicking instruments up and over the fence. Seconds later, a soft clink-clunk was heard in the distance as the tools landed somewhere on the roof of the ruin below, likely to never be seen again.

The builder now safely disarmed, Logan closed his eyes and took a breath, allowing himself to relax slightly, but without relenting in the hold he had on her just yet. He didn’t dare underestimate what she might do next if he released her too soon.

“...those were my favorite lockpicks, too.”

His eyes instantly snapped up, meeting her gaze for the first time since he pinned her. And sure enough, there it was again: the same familiar look he had glimpsed right before he locked her in the stable. A damnable glare composed of equal parts reckless abandon, seething fury, and bitter indifference throughout.

But this time, he could place where he recognized it from– and the realization about shook him to his core.

“That’s it.” He narrowed his eyes, leaning in closer. “That look– the anger and recklessness and… indifference in your eyes. You have the look of someone who doesn’t give a singular, solitary f*ck, so long as you get what you want– cost to yourself or others be damned.” He growled, gripping the wrist of her captive arm tighter. “There’s your answer. That’s the real reason I’m here.”

She faltered slightly as he tightened his grip, but soon enough the cold smile returned to her face.

“That… that’s it? The ‘look’ in my eyes– seriously?” The smile widened as she laughed disbelievingly in his face. “Why the f*ck do you care about that?”

“Because, Andalusia,” He replied, intentionally enunciating her full name. “The last time I saw it was in a goddamn mirror…”

He leaned in closer still– enough for her to feel his breath on her skin as he spoke. “…shortly before the Temple collapsed.”

As his words registered in her mind, he watched various emotions flicker across her face: surprise, discontent, confusion– but… he didn’t see the ones he was looking for. And worse yet, the somewhat eerie disconnection and her unrelenting obstinance in the face of reason still lingered, as even then she continued to struggle feebly beneath his arm despite having to know she didn’t have the leverage to break free.

Sighing softly, he lowered his face for a moment to mull over his next move.

There was no guarantee there’d be a second chance to get the message across after this, and her current volatile state made letting her go an extremely dangerous concept– for his safety as much as hers.

So once again, he had two options: He could either wait for her to calm down and attempt to get through to her again after she had come back to her senses.

Or… he could try a true last-ditch effort, by rolling the dice and switching to more drastic measures.

But… did he really want to risk destroying everything they had built up? If the attempt failed, he could very well end up losing the last true confidante he had in this town. More than that, though, the idea of losing Lusi– no, losing them– … Light, it would kill him inside.

As he silently debated however, his mind was gradually drawn back to something Lusi herself had inadvertently brought up just moments before: the vow he had made to his father to protect Sandrock. And… after everything they had gone through together the past few months, at this point, if there was any one person in this town who might as well be Sandrock to him…

Well. It couldn’t be anyone other than The Builder, herself.

…f*ck me. There is no ‘other’ option, is there? He laughed silently to himself as the revelation washed over him. ‘Cause when it comes to keepin’ Sandrock safe... I gotta pull out all the stops and do whatever it takes. The cost to me be damned…

With his mind now made up, Logan knew what he had to do next.

Drawing in a steadying breath, he mentally slipped on the mask– the persona– he had built up extensively within himself over the course of the last few years.

And… after exhaling his emotions away and slowly lifting his head, he met her eyes confidently again– King of the Bandits once more.

“‘Now then,’” He started calmly with a cruel smile. “‘Here’s how this is about to go down…’”

Lusi’s half-hearted struggling instantly ceased as she froze on the spot, her eyes in unmistakable recognition– and alarm.

At the very least, he had seemed to have gotten her full attention; and as much as he hated it, the initial results were encouraging enough to steel his resolve. The scare tactic was a go.

“Before anythin’ else, let's make one thing clear: you know just as well as I do that you ain’t gettin’ up until I decide to let you do so– and as such, it would be in your best interest to not test me further.” He growled tersely, dropping the smile as he gripped her captive wrist tightly for emphasis. “Is that understood?”

He felt her body immediately start to softly quiver, but she eventually replied with a shaky nod. Guilt and self-loathing stabbed into him like hot knives, yet he didn’t break character, keeping his hold on her steadfast.

“Good.” He hissed through his clenched teeth. “Now, as for your earlier question: all I ‘want’ right now is for you to fill me in on exactly what the hell’s been goin’ through your head today that would cause you to end up in the… situation you’ve currently gotten yourself into.” He chuckled humorlessly with a confident smirk. “So, with that in mind: I’m gonna start askin’ you some questions. You, in turn, are gonna be givin’ me answers– and you’re gonna keep givin’ me answers, until I say you’re done.”

He then once again lowered his voice to a menacing whisper. “Do I make myself clear…?”

When she replied once again with a barely perceptible nod, he knew her adrenaline must be starting to peter out and legitimate fear had to be setting in. At this point, he would have to keep her talking, otherwise she might lock up in outright panic, and that would do neither of them any favors.

“Tut-tut-tut!” He clicked with his tongue, giving her a disapproving shake of his head. “Now, now! No more of this non-verbal bullsh*t, sweetheart! We both know that you know how to use your words, so let’s try that again, shall we…?” He demanded harshly as he forced her chin up to look him in the eye. “Do I make myself clear: ‘Yes’ or ‘No’?”

“…Y-yes…” she stammered in reply, and beneath his arm, he could feel her heart start to beat faster within her chest.

“Well look who’s finally learnin’ t’listen!” He nodded, intentionally cutting the praise with a sarcastic smile that faded as he pulled his hand from her face. “Practice round’s over, though– and you can bet I ain’t gonna be nearly as forgivin’ the next time you fail. Got it?”

She began to nod her head– only to immediately squeak out a “Yes!” as his eyes flew wide in warning.

“Attagirl~” He purred, a false warmth tinging his voice as his features relaxed again. “Alright, first question: Why the hell did you f*cking run?”

The quiver turned to a tremble as she opened her mouth to respond. “…I…I w-was mad that you were trying to t-tell me what to do.” The builder whimpered in a small voice, timidly averting her eyes. “The town– I just needed to get some iron–”

Without warning, he harshly ripped her forward off the wall, gripping her bad arm tightly in his free hand with enough strength that she cried out as he forced her to sit up.

“Stop LYIN’ t’me!” He bellowed in her face. “I was there when Mi-an checked the inventory yesterday! I bet that factory could be smeltin’ bars all damn weekend and you wouldn’t come close to runnin’ out of iron!” Narrowing his gaze, he leaned forward to growl through gritted teeth, “And even if you did? It sure as sh*t wouldn’t have warranted climbin’ out a goddamn window just to restock yer supply…”

As he moved towards her, she instinctively recoiled in fright– internally, the flinch damn near broke his heart, but he kept his stone-faced demeanor all the same.

“So, lemme rephrase the question:” He declared, shaking her lightly at every word for emphasis as he spoke. “Why the f*ck did you sneak out in the first place?”

Lusi took a shaky breath before opening her mouth. “I was …sed…” She started, her voice barely above a whisper as the words trailed off.

Legitimately unable to make out what she said, he furrowed his brow. “You were what…?” He inquired, leaning in closer again. “Speak up, dammit!”

“I was… e…” She squeaked again, “I… I–”

While the words continued to catch in her throat, her breathing became more erratic as she started to tremble even harder than before. Beneath his arm, he suddenly felt her heart begin to beat faster still, pounding in her chest like a frightened bird slamming against the walls of its cage.

sh*t– She’s startin’ to panic, he realized abruptly. He couldn’t let her freeze up now– if she did, the gambit would fail and all this would be for nothing!

Thinking fast, Logan thrust out sharply with the arm he had barred across her chest, shoving her shoulders back against the wall once more to intentionally startle her. Although she yelped from the impact, he knew the hit itself wasn’t all that hard, only enough to jolt her back to the present moment as the sound of her body hitting the metal reverberated loudly throughout the room.

Just to be safe however, he simultaneously brought his free hand up to cradle the back of her head right as he slammed, shielding her skull from potentially receiving another blow. At this point, he could only hope– no pray– that the small gesture of protection would manage to convey his real desire: that he truly, deeply, achingly did not want her hurt in any way that actually mattered– even as he bore down on her again.

“Goddammit, Andalusia! For once in your life, stop being such a stubborn ass little bitch and just ANSWER the f*ckING question!” He snarled savagely into her ear, the words souring on his tongue.

Although she didn’t immediately reply, he knew this was now a waiting game. He didn’t dare make any further demands quite yet; if he pushed too soon, he might accidentally panic her again. So as he waited for her to sort herself out, he slipped his hand from the back of her head to better press against her more, using his weight to further ground her to the present moment.

The moment turned to seconds, the seconds turned to minutes, and after a few had passed, he was relieved to find progress was in fact being made.

The first improvement was her breathing, which steadily became less erratic the longer he continued to press her against the wall, followed then by the feel of her heartbeat slowly stabilizing beneath his arm. And by the time he judged she was calm enough to safely push again, the trembling had greatly lessened as well.

Slowly, he began to draw in his breath to speak again– only to end up stopping short as he felt her do the same, almost in tandem.

Please Lus’... He begged her silently, swallowing dryly as he rested his cheek against her temple. Oh darlin’, please just–

“I was embarrassed!” She wailed at last, cutting his silent plea short and prompting him to release his held breath all at once in sheer relief.

Still, he didn’t even have a chance to respond before he felt her unexpectedly tense up beneath him again while adding a quietly murmured “…and scared” in a small but firm voice.

Something about the unprompted secondary confession itself made Logan immediately pull back in order to look her in the face again. Right off the bat, he was elated to find that– intertwined with the understandable fear and nervousness that had appeared as a result of his performance– he could finally see what he had previously sought in her eyes in the first place: understanding and comprehension of his actions at large.

But more importantly, her eyes themselves had changed too. The strange haziness that had permeated her pupils since earlier was completely gone, leaving them now once again sharply in focus as she stared back at him with an undeniable sense of recognition above all else. Looking into them now, he couldn’t help but feel as if a fog had been lifted from her mind– or… perhaps it was more akin to her being fully awake.

The two stared at each other silently for a few more moments as he continued to gauge her level of hostility– or, rather, lack thereof– until finally, he decided to test the waters.

“Lusia...” He opened cautiously, allowing his voice and face to soften ever so slightly as he kept his eyes locked on her own. “…do you know where we are right now?”

“The m-maintenance room on top of G-Gecko Station.” She lightly stammered, her voice quiet but confident in the answer.

“Correct.” He nodded curtly. “Do you know the reason why I restrained you in the first place?”

“To… s-stop me from shanking you while I was being a complete and total dumbass?”

Once again, he found himself having to fight breaking character and laughing aloud– that certainly sounded like her normal self.

“Also correct.” He praised, allowing true warmth to slip back into his tone. “Last question, hon–” He paused, almost hesitantly. “Lusi… who are you looking at right now?”

Swallowing, she collected herself for a moment before whispering a single word in reply.

“Logan.”

He had never been happier to hear his own name in his entire life.

“That’s right, Lus’.” He nodded gently, dropping the facade completely with a soft smile. “Oh, darlin’– it's so good to have you back…”

Releasing his grip on her wrist, he pushed himself off of her completely, letting her up from the wall. The moment she was free, she sat bolt upright and opened her mouth to speak again; but to her own surprise, no words came out. Perplexed, she tried again– only to furrow her brow when it was to no avail once more.

At the same time however, he could see what was happening clear as day: the emotional dam she had walled up within herself was finally cracking leaks.

Despite her best efforts to keep it contained, she couldn’t help but softly snivel as the welled-up tears began to run down her cheeks. Wiping them away, she quickly sucked down a breath to push it all down and try to speak yet again– but rather than the intended effect, she instead found herself abruptly clapping a hand across her mouth to muffle a solitary sob as it escaped her.

As he watched her fight her looming breakdown, Logan felt hot tears start to sting the corners of his own eyes as his heart ached. But before he had a chance to decide on how to best respond, she ended up making the decision for him, suddenly leaning forward to pull him into a tight hug.

Without an ounce of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her to reciprocate the gesture in kind– a mutual physical apology for their actions leading up to this point.

However, as they held the embrace, he became acutely aware of her continued attempts to desperately control her breathing. Even now, she was still trying to do her damndest to bottle the emotions back up again as she was accustomed to– like she had been doing– for who knows how long.

No, that simply wouldn’t do; the time for stoicism on the girl’s part had long since passed.

Making a split-second decision, he rocked backwards to pivot on the floor, seamlessly lifting her up and carrying her with him as he moved. And while normally he knew such a blatant overstep would have been met with a swift rejection of some kind on her part, this time she didn’t fight his hold in the least, allowing him to maneuver them both until he was sitting with his back against the wall and her partially in his lap.

Once they were initially settled (and he was reasonably sure she wasn’t going to go on the attack), he at last drew in his breath to speak again.

“Lusi–”

Her name had barely left his mouth when he felt her immediately jump beneath him– likely an involuntary response, considering how the trembling in her arms still lingered from earlier. Still, he immediately dropped the hold he had on her, offering her the opportunity to escape if she so desired.

No sooner had his arms gone slack did he feel her body stiffen again, and he instinctively knew she was weighing her options. He patiently waited the process out until eventually he felt her relax her body once more. And while she didn’t look him in the face, she did give him a small nod to continue– it appeared she was now willing to hear him out, at the very least.

“Lusi, before I say anythin’ else… I just want you to know that you have every right to still be angry about what happened.” He began again, his voice filled with as much sincerity as he could muster. “I’m not gonna sit here and tell you to just ‘get over it’ or ‘move on’, because… honestly? I don't think that's entirely possible. sh*t, I know it’s not for me, that’s for sure.” He admitted plainly with a small scoff. “Maybe one day it will be, but… after everythin’ they did? Killin’ my Pa, drivin’ me to the brink of madness, forcin’ me to embrace becomin’ somethin’ I never wanted to be– Lusi, those bastards cost me three goddamn years of my life! I don’t think anyone can or should just ‘get over’ somethin’ like that…!”

Realizing his freshly resurfaced anger was beginning to get away from him, the hunter took a moment to swallow it back down before pushing forward again. “To tell the truth? There still ain’t a day that goes by where I’m not furious at them for takin’ so much from me. But… I also know no amount of ‘retribution’ is ever gonna bring back what I lost.” He shook his head gently with a shrug. “So… a long time ago, I decided to refuse to let that anger consume me. Instead, I started usin’ it as fuel– motivation to keep at it, day by day. And while it ain’t ever been easy to keep it in check, I’d still like to think that I’m at least on my way to ‘eventually’…”

At that, he paused to glance down and try to gauge her expression– only to find that she had tucked her head down in a way that completely hid her face from his view. Undeterred, he continued onwards, placing his hand on her arm to stroke it softly with his thumb as the last of the residual tremble gradually ceased.

“That said: this grudge– no, this revenge you’re so hell-bent on seein’ through? Darlin’, that’s the definition of lettin’ it consume you…” He muttered with a small frown. “There’s just no sense in it, d-hon! You know you aren’t really hurtin’ them this way. And when it’s all said and done, the only one who’s actually gonna pay the price is you, Lusi.” He sighed deeply. “I can tell you that much from experience…”

Slowly, he began to wrap his arms around her again, taking special care not to clutch her too tightly as he did. Her only audible response was a resigned sigh and a small sniffle, yet all the same, he felt her gradually relax more against him. In truth, he wasn't sure if it was due to his words actually getting through to her, or her sheer exhaustion finally taking its toll. But in either case, it at least seemed like she was listening, and that was good enough for him to keep going.

“So no, don’t outright forgive and forget; but at the same time? They’re gone, Lusi– he’s gone– and if any of ‘em are ever so stupid as to try and come back, we’ll just slam the door in their faces all over again…” He chuckled softly, carefully adjusting his grasp as she allowed herself to start curling into him more. “Regardless of the ‘what ifs’, though… hon, there’s just simply no need for you to keep fightin’ them anymore. At this point, the only thing you're really fightin’ is your ‘eventually’– and deep down inside? I think you know that.”

When he heard her softly hiccup, he knew it was now only a matter of time. With a gentle ease, he pulled her in closer to tuck her head beneath his chin and simply wait out the inevitable.

“And…while I don’t know if you need to hear this…” He murmured delicately as she willingly settled beneath him. “It’s over, Lusi. Please, you have to believe me when I tell you it’s over. We beat the bastards back, the town’s gonna be fine, you gave Duvos both middle fingers, and now…”

Logan sighed, rustling her bangs softly with his breath. “Well… now all that’s really left is to let yourself feel about the ending after closin’ the book.”

At the words, he felt her suddenly tense up again– and for a moment, he was afraid she was going to try and force it all down once more.

But, to his relief, his worries quickly proved to be unfounded. All at once her tension deflated as she relented at last, burying her face into his shoulder as the first gasping sobs began to rack her body.

“Ohhh… There you go, sweetheart– that’s right…” He murmured approvingly, tightening the embrace as her cries became more fervent for the praise. “Attagirl… it’s time– no, it’s well past time you let this all out…”

And with those last few words, the dam shored up within her at last broke loose and the tidal wave of bottled up emotions began to engulf her. Completely overwhelmed, Lusi desperately clutched a fistful of his cloak and vest in either hand, unabashedly clinging to him as a lifeline as she began to bawl unhampered into his chest.

As the builder’s anguished howls began to echo throughout the room, Logan leaned his head back against the wall for a moment, taking a few deep breaths to get his own emotions in check. He knew he couldn't allow himself to break down completely for her sake, but… when he felt the tears well up in the corners of his eyes again, he didn’t try to stymie them as they fell.

Initially, they were shed merely out of empathy– heartache for her, that she felt it necessary to go to such great lengths to continue a fight that was already won in the first place, while simultaneously keeping everything to herself to the point it had festered and eaten through her very sense of reason.

At the same time though, he just couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the whole situation still didn’t add up. For one: how had it been possible that she could do so much for everyone in Sandrock, and yet somehow, she didn’t trust anyone enough to ask for help when she had so desperately needed it?

At that, the empathy rapidly made way for anger – anger at the bastard, of course, but… anger at the realization that, at its core, at least, that lack of trust probably made perfect sense to her.

For over nine damn months she had been persistently hounded and harassed day-in and day-out. Yet Justice, Owen– hell, not even Grace had noticed anything amiss and stepped in beforehand? Or worse, they had just allowed it to happen until the point she was forced to take matters into her own hands, arguably pushing her to the brink of her own madness in the process?

Abruptly though, the anger turned to familiar guilt again– after all, he had no right to point fingers at others when he was just as much at fault for allowing this to happen as anyone else in town. He had picked up on small things here or there– things that absolutely should have clued him in weeks ago that things weren’t at all as they seemed. But he had ignored his instincts, and as a result of this personal negligence, he had been forced to push them both to the extreme just to try and set things back on the right track.

Though… it wasn’t long before the initial guilt subsided, ultimately leading to tears of relief more than anything else.

In the end, the gambit had paid off. He had gotten a few answers– albeit, some of them were to things he didn’t even know were questions to begin with, but… regardless– not only could he take solace in the fact that his vow to keep Sandrock safe was still intact… something also told him she was going to be just fine once this storm had finally run its course. And while he couldn't change the past that had had brewed it in the first place, at least now they could working on addressing the damage it had caused in its wake.

Now satisfied for the outlet, Logan at last released his emotions in a long, resolute sigh before at turning his full attention back to his charge.

Leaning down to nuzzle his cheek against the top of her head, he quietly murmured placations and reassurances into the wailing girl’s hair as he cradled and rocked her, the remnants of his own tears mingling amongst the soothing words he gingerly left along the pitch-black locks.

Chapter 9: Murphy's Law

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry.”

At once, Logan lifted his hat and turned his head to look at her where she sat nestled against him. He had thought for certain she would’ve tried to distance herself as much as possible after calming down, but once again, she surprised him by immediately tucking into the crook of his arm after extracting herself from his lap to finish pulling herself together.

Although he wouldn’t admit it aloud, the fact that she was still willing to even be near him after everything that happened earlier probably brought him as much solace as his presence somehow seemed to bring her. It gave him the feeling that they were probably gonna be just fine, too.

“No, hon, I’m sorry.” He shook his head softly, absently strumming his thumb across the laces of one of the boots that still laid draped across his legs. “I could've done things differently– waited for you to come back to your senses–”

“Logan, you only did what was necessary– I couldn't be reasoned with in that state of mind. Not to mention, considering the three best words to describe me in general are, in fact, ‘stubborn’, ‘ass’, and ‘bitch’? It was gonna take a lot to get through by default.” She paused, glancing at him with a small smile before adding, “…though, I did take some offense at the addition of ‘little’.”

Logan eyed the petite woman up and down appraisingly for a moment. “Eh,” he finally decided with an almost dismissive shrug, “I can live with that.”

As Lusi snorted deeply through her sinuses, he eyed her ever-reddening wrist. “You’re gonna bruise like hell though…” He murmured, shame tinging his voice. He knew it was only a matter of time before the red turned to black, and the mere thought of the eventual dark handprint– his handprint– on her skin made him sick to his stomach.

“And?” She instantly replied, her tone decidedly unbothered. “Logan, I’m a builder. Bruises come with the territory, and even more so with me. A day or two using one of Fang’s salves and it’ll be like nothing ever happened, I promise.” She assured him, tossing the offending hand flippantly before scratching at her scalp. “Besides, you never would’ve come near me if I hadn’t tried to pull my pick–”

At that, she flinched with a guilty sigh, rubbing her eyes with her hand. “Light, what was I– well, no– I know what I was thinking. I was feeling ballsy because…” She lifted her head, meeting his gaze for the first time since her breakdown. “Well. I guess because I got complacent, if nothing else…”

“You, complacent?” He snorted, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. “Perish the thought…”

“It’s true though! I got so used to hanging out with the real you that the other version who didn't even hesitate to crack one of my ribs during our first fight completely slipped my mind.” She admitted with a half-shrug before breaking into a small smile. “Though, between you and me? It’s kinda nice to know he’s still rattling around in there somewhere.”

Logan chuckled softly at the sentiment. “Yeah, well… let’s try not to need ‘im again anytime soon, alright?” He implored blithely, belying his true unease. “Didn’t much care for lettin’ him off his leash…”

“Well I, for one, am glad you did. Peach knows I need someone who can and will kick my ass on the other end of mine…” Lusi asserted instantly, glancing back up to meet his eyes. “And even though ‘his majesty’ can be scary as sh*t… at the end of the day? I know you'd never try to actually hurt me on purpose.”

As their eyes met, Logan was once again relieved to see that damnable look was now completely gone, instead replaced by one that wasn't any less familiar: a look of remorse, guilt, and determination to right a wrong.

However, behind it all he picked up something else: a sense of total and complete faith in him. She truly meant what she said.

Upon the realization, he couldn’t help but be touched by the obvious trust she placed in him– if not somewhat surprised.

“How could you be so sure?” He murmured, not trying to hide his curiosity as he voiced the thought aloud. “I mean, you’ve known me as a wanted criminal longer than we’ve even been on a first-name basis.”

“So?” She replied with a squint. “Logan, I don’t blindly assign trust to people based simply on how long I’ve known them. They have to earn it, through their actions and intentions. And after everything that went down in the Ruins, I probably trust you just as much as I do Jane, if not more.”

“Seriously?” He exclaimed, now legitimately surprised. “Three months in and I’m on the same level as someone who’s known you since before you were born?”

“Yeah…?” Lusi questioned, seemingly surprised herself at his surprise as she tilted her head in confusion. “Is there a reason you shouldn’t be?”

“No! No, I didn’t mean it like that!” He quickly backpedaled with a hint of an embarrassed blush. “It’s just– …you do remember the part where I shot you, right?”

Lusi’s jaw lightly dropped. “Oh My Light, are you really still hung up on that?” She arched her brow with an amused smile. “So you nailed me a few times with some non-lethal rounds. I almost got you like six times over with real bullets in the tunnel, so I’d say that makes us pretty much even on the ‘shooting each other’ front.”

“Well, yeah, but… you weren’t actually tryin’ to hit–”

“Logan, not even an hour ago you threatened to follow me around against my will, physically overwhelmed me, slammed me into a wall– twice– and quite nearly made me have a f*cking panic attack. If I didn’t already trust you with my goddamn life, I otherwise would’ve done everything in my power to castrate you with my bare hands the instant you let go of my wrist.”

The hunter went silent for a bit, staring at her blankly as he processed the bold declaration.

“...Well.” He muttered at last with a slightly bemused snort. “When you put it that way…”

Lusi let out a snort of her own. “Besides, if you were gonna do something to me, you would’ve done it by now. Peach knows you’ve had more opportunities in the past twenty-four hours than most guys in this town have had all damn year.” She asserted before glancing away to add as an aside, “Though… I also may’ve always been just slightly banking on your Pa rising from his grave to smite you if you ever so much as thought about pulling a fast one.”

A surprised bark of laughter escaped him. “Oh, you’re damn right he would!” He nodded vigorously before blowing a nervous puff of air from between his lips. “I mean, hell– ‘bandit business’ aside? That little scare tactic was the first time since maybe my early twenties that I got even close to breaking the ‘P’s of P.P.P.S…”

Lusi snapped her head back up to look at him. “I’m sorry. Could you run that last bit by me again real quick?”

“P.P.P.S.” He repeated naturally, holding up a hand and counting off on his fingers as he spoke. “Always be Polite, always be Professional, and don’t Push others unless they push first.”

Lusi blinked as a slightly bemused smile fluttered across her lips. “How the f*ck are the first two not the same– actually, nevermind.” She waved her hand to dismiss the question as the smile grew wider. “Logan, it was obvious enough that your Pa raised you right but… are you telling me there are actual hard-line rules in place here?”

“Oh, you better believe it! And for good reason, too.” Logan replied immediately, his tone dead serious. “Back in my teens, I was surlier than your goddamn horse.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “You’re f*ckin’ with me…!”

“With Peach as my witness. Heck, just ask Justice and Owen sometime! They’ll gladly hang me out to dry.” He asserted, stretching his arm out to gesture towards town before leaning his head back against the wall in embarrassment. “Light, I used to pick fights just to fight. No real rhyme or reason, I just liked kickin’ people’s asses for the fun of it…”

Lusi grinned, shaking her head. “Okay… now I know you’re f*cking with me!”

“Why would I make that up?” He asked incredulously. “Lus’, believe me: I was already well acquainted with that jail cell before this Summer. Hell, I used to spend so much time coolin’ off in there, I started leavin’ a book to read…” Logan chuckled darkly. “In fact, it eventually got so bad that the host of the Showdown ended up bannin’ me from participatin’ for three years after I broke some poor bastard’s leg on a whim when I was fifteen.”

The builder immediately wrinkled her brow in confusion. “Wait, but– …I thought Howlett used to host the Showdown?”

“Yeah. He did.” Logan replied bluntly with a slow nod. “So needless to say: Pa was pretty much fed up with my nonsense by the time my sixteenth birthday rolled around. Started gettin’ real creative when it came to reinin’ me in, too.”

She giggled softly in disbelief. “And, by ‘creative,’ you mean he came up with a whole-ass acronym for you to live by?!”

At that, Logan broke into a small smile. “Hon, you gotta remember: my Pa was just tryin’ to do the best he could when it came to raisin’ me on his lonesome. And, for the most part? I'd like to say he did a pretty good job.” He explained gently with a light shake of his head. “Though, granted, from the time Rhonda passed ‘til I was about ten, he and I were hardly ever apart. That alone probably did a lot of the work– made it so he was able to instill a solid foundation in me by the time I was about Andy’s age; a.k.a. the first two ‘P’s.”

Still smiling, he let out a long, almost wistful sigh. “But… when I hit my mid-teens– got into that rebellious phase…” He paused, averting his gaze somewhat awkwardly. “Well… let's just say he ended up havin’ to add a few rules more or less on the fly… and went to great lengths to ensure they stuck.”

The builder snorted. “Do I even want to know?”

“Prolly not.” Logan answered instantly, shaking his head with a thin smile. “Nowadays, the legality of some of his teachin’ methods might be considered… questionable, at the very least.”

“Noted.” She snickered. “Well, whatever he did, I'd say it worked. I absolutely would have deserved you legitimately kicking my ass after–” She winced. “…Sorry about the ‘Pen’ sh*t, too, by the way. ” She murmured apologetically, glancing away in shame. “I was being a real asshole with that, and I honestly wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me. I mean, I knew you were furious, but I still–”

“Oh Lus’, I wasn’t angry at you–'' He cut off her rambling apology before pausing abruptly himself. “Well, I was, but… it had definitely passed by the time you were pinned.” He ground his teeth lightly as he fell deeper into thought. “Or, maybe I should say it had shifted instead…”

Sensing her eyes on him, he swallowed the resurfaced fury back down with a guilty sigh, “But on that note, I can’t apologize enough, either. I never shoulda done that– made it so… personal. I completely crossed the line–”

“I crossed it first." She rebutted instantly. "I know you didn’t make that choice out of malice, and while I doubt your method of… handling the situation will be winning you any psychology awards anytime soon, I’ll be damned if it didn’t work!” Lusi chuckled with a lopsided grin. “So… how about we just think about it the same way as when I tried to pull my pick? I initiated, you reciprocated. It was self-defense.”

He studied her face for a few moments before finally responding with a soft, conciliatory nod. “Maybe so, but… did you really think you were gonna get me with a lockpick?”

The builder half-smiled with a small shrug. “I was sure gonna f*ckin’ try…”

Logan couldn’t help but chuckle at that, making a mental note to try and find the lockpicks later or replace them if they were truly lost.

“So…” She said quietly after a moment, curiosity dancing in her eyes. “…what about the ‘S’?”

The hunter cut his eyes back over to her before smirking lightly in return. “What about it?”

“Oh, come on!” Lusi scoffed disbelievingly. “You can’t just drop the fact that you’re apparently living your life by a… ‘yakboy code of honor’ or some sh*t and then hold out on telling me the last rule!”

He paused in somber contemplation. “Alright…” He started slowly, eyeing her now-perpetually disheveled hair, “Think you’ll let me help you fix that Bandirat’s nest that you’re callin’ a braid right now?”

“Oh, f*ck no!” She exclaimed, reeling back with a wicked grin. “Logan, I may trust you, but there’s no way in hell you’re braiding my hair.”

Logan considered her words for a moment before giving her a dismissive shrug. “Fine.” He said casually. “You know my price.”

Lusi scoffed in response with a smile. “You dick.”

“Hey–”

“Okay, seriously!?" She exclaimed, lifting her hands in slight vexation. “Is being a hypocritical killjoy also in your little rulebook? Because, not only have I heard you use that one yourself, you also cuss all the time!”

“First of all, I cuss a heck of a lot less than you do.” Logan stated matter-of-factly. “And secondly, cussin’ and bein’ uncomfortable with certain words casually comin’ from a lady’s mouth is different.”

The builder rolled her eyes. “Oh, so now I’m a ‘lady’? Where was that at brunch yesterday?”

“Now, don't you pretend I didn't take my hat off at the table!”

Her only response was a scoff, followed by a tired sigh. Sensing the conversation had hit a lull she took the opportunity to close her eyes and bask in the sunlight that had since begun to filter into the room.

Logan saw no reason to discourage her taking the short rest– in fact, he'd be more surprised if she wasn't wiped out from the day's events so far. So when she leaned her head against his shoulder to get more comfortable, he took the opportunity to tuck his hat down again and settle in for another short snooze of his own.

The pair dozed quietly for a time, simply content with each other’s company as they shared the mid-morning sun’s warmth as it rose above the evaporating cloud cover. Still, he eventually felt the need to check if she had fallen asleep. And much to his surprise, he found that her hands betrayed that she was very much awake, absently playing with the end of her shoddy braid as she twisted and twirled it around her fingers.

Girl just can’t seem to ever stop movin’… He silently chuckled to himself with an almost sad smile. However, as he looked over her relaxed features in the newfound sunlight, the smile slowly began to twist into a frown.

It may have just been a trick of the light, but… as one of the few remaining clouds passed in front of the sun, it ended up casting a harsh shadow across half of her face, inadvertently drawing his attention to something peculiar he had never picked up on before. Beneath the remnants of her post-cry makeup were what appeared to be dark circles under her eyes– circles not unlike those gained from a prolonged lack of sleep.

At the realization, a sinking sensation began to wash over him. Oh, don't tell me...

“Lusi...” He murmured quietly. “Are you wearin’… concealer around your eyes right now?”

When the builder’s hand froze with her braid mid-twirl around her finger, his stomach dropped. That alone was enough to tell him she knew she was busted.

A few more moments passed, and eventually she let out a long sigh. “Yeah.” She admitted quietly at last, slowly opening her eyes. “I am…”

“Oh, Lus’…” He murmured sadly, gently lifting her chin to try and judge the severity through the makeup to little avail. “Just how much have you actually been sleepin’ lately?”

She didn't fight the inspection, allowing him to manipulate her face as she paused in thought. “Maybe three or four hours a night since the development dinner…?” She finally confessed with a shrug, sheepishly averting her gaze. “Which is better than it was. The first week or so after the factory opened, some nights I was getting as little as one…”

His eyes immediately widened in alarm. “You busted Andy’s balls about skippin’ sleep while you were runnin’ on–”

“I know. Trust me, I know…” She cut him off with a sincere whine. “Though, in my defense, I’ve never outright skipped sleep, I just… haven’t slept enough.”

The hunter gave her a disappointed sigh as he finally pulled his hand from her face. “Still, it was pretty apparent you were lookin’ kinda rough those first few weeks after the factory opened, and somethin’ tells me you knew that I could tell then, too.” He deduced, his tone taking on a more fatherly sterness as he spoke. “So, when exactly did you start tryin’ to hide this from me…?”

He felt her tense up in hesitation. “Since… the day you came over for your first materials list.” She confessed with a guilty sigh. “Haru said I didn’t need to be completely bare-faced in the photos, just not have any makeup over the scar. So when I got up that morning, the first thing I did was put concealer around my eyes so you wouldn’t freak out when you got there.”

Logan blinked as a sudden realization hit him. “sh*t, no wonder it didn’t take you practically any time to get your makeup on in the mornin’.” He muttered, her almost suspiciously proficient speed now making perfect sense. “All you’ve been doin’ is coverin’ up the scar and puttin’ on the finishin’ touches, haven’t you?”

She nodded lightly. “And, initially, I only put on additional concealer on the days you were scheduled to come by,” Lusi explained with a small shrug. “But… once I realized how bad it was really getting, keeping these panda eyes under wraps became my top priority makeup-wise. f*ck, I even went so far as to wear concealer to bed last night just to avoid Jane finding out.”

“Wait. Jane doesn’t even… Lusi, does anyone know how much sleep you've actually been gettin’ lately…?”

“Fang does… sorta. It’s why he extended my sentence nine extra days in the first place. My sleep schedule is trashed, and it’s gonna take a while to fix.” She admitted with an awkward smile. “Though, I also may or may not have given him the same approximate bedtimes that I initially gave you yesterday…”

Logan blew a puff of air from between his lips, slumping his back against the wall, “How did we all manage to miss–” He paused in sudden cognizance, looking her in the face. “No, actually... how’d you manage to hide it so damn well in the first place? Hell, if I hadn’t been able to compare and contrast when the light changed a few minutes ago, I don’t know if I ever would’ve picked it up!”

At that, the builder merely stared blankly at him for a few moments before vaguely gesturing to the right side of her forehead.

“Oh that’s right– I forgot. You’re a goddamn wizard.”

Lusi suddenly snorted in surprise, obviously caught off guard by the off-the-wall statement. "W-What?" She stammered, confused.

"You heard me!” He asserted seriously with a perfectly straight face. “The way you cover that scuff up without a trace– girl, you keep workin’ magic like that and the town’s liable to burn ya at the stake for witchcraft one of these days!” He then leaned in closer, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “S’matter of fact… I have half a mind to toss you in the Oasis when we get back just to see if you float…"

Lusi processed his words blankly for a moment until all at once, she burst into a loud fit of laughter. Bringing his arm up to help better brace her against him, he couldn’t help but break into a small smile as he watched her cackle until she literally gasped for breath.

Guess I can count today as a success after all… he chuckled to himself before letting out a slightly regretful sigh. As pleased as he was that both of his original goals for the day had technically been met, it didn’t change the fact he still needed to address the newest elephant in the room.

“Well, sleep schedule aside…" Logan started once she had begun to calm down, dropping his voice softly. "Lus’, though I promise not to slam ‘em outta ya this time…"

She replied with a small nod of understanding as she finished wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. "...Yeah. You’ve earned your answers.” She agreed, dipping her head softly in resignation. “Ask away, compadre.”

He snorted softly before taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “Alright then… I guess I’ll start with the same question as before.” Logan began gently, “Lusi, why did you feel the need to sneak out of your own dang house in the first place?”

“And I’m gonna give you the same answer as before.” She replied plainly. “I was embarrassed because I'm pretty sure I said something to upset Jane after I took my meds yesterday, and I was scared that I may have ruined our friendship as a result."

“After you took your meds?” Logan repeated, somewhat puzzled by the notion itself. “But… I thought they made you sleep?”

“Oh, yeah, they do!” She nodded enthusiastically. “Last thing I remember is laying in bed, talking with Jane, then I blinked mid-sentence and poof! She was gone! Like a Peach-damned magic trick.”

Logan blinked in surprise. “So… they did knock you out?”

“Yep! Out cold for, like, nine straight hours.” She confirmed with a snort. “Probably the only reason I was able to fight so hard in the first place– f*ck, I hadn’t had that much energy in months!”

He tilted his head curiously. “Then what could you have possibly said to upset her?”

Lusi smiled widely as she shook her head. “Oh, that’s the best part! I have no f*cking idea.” Seeing the confusion on his face, she sighed. "Look, it's complicated, alright?”

Logan arched his brow. "Darlin', if there’s just one word that actually describes you, ‘complicated’ would undoubtedly be it.”

She paused in consideration for a moment with a blink of surprise. “Three months in and it's already that obvious, huh?”

“Oh, no. I knew that as early as the kidnappin’. First thing I asked Grace after we regrouped was ‘Hey, what was the deal with the girl with the claws?’ And she came back with, ‘Oh that’s just Lusi, she's a ballerina-turned-builder from Highwind’– like it was a completely normal sentence to describe someone with!”

“Snrk.” She snorted, fighting to keep a straight face. “And… how did you respond to that succinct summary of my history at large?”

“I laughed in her goddamn face.”

“Valid reaction.” She agreed with a soft chuckle before taking a deep breath and letting it out a long sigh. “Anyway… after we learned the pain medication I was prescribed in Seesai couldn’t be imported, my doctors began rotating me on a few different types of meds for a couple years, mainly to figure out what was most effective, while also weighing the pros and cons. We tried a bunch of different things, but in the end, only two meds really ended up doing a damn thing for me.” She explained, tapping her finger on her leg absently in thought. “Truth be told? The ones I took last night manage my pain better overall, but… I eventually decided to reserve them for ‘bad’ day use only, mainly because they cause some odd side effects in me.”

He nodded in recollection. “Yeah, Jane mentioned there were side effects, but… that’s all she would say. She didn’t want to tell me more details without askin’ you first.”

At that, Lusi instantly straightened up.

“Wait. She didn’t tell you–” She started in a puzzled tone, when suddenly something seemed to click in her mind. “Oh, sh*t… I guess we haven't really had time to go over who’s who in my circle of friends here yet, have we?” She murmured to herself, and he could practically hear the gears of her mind whirring as pensively leaned her mouth into her hand.

“Is there a… problem with her not sharin’ personal information about you without your say-so…?” Logan asked, furrowing his brow in slight confusion.

She immediately tossed a hand up to dismiss the notion. “No! It’s… Actually, I’m kinda touched that she’d still be so protective, considering how long we lost contact…” Lusi admitted sincerely. “But, if she didn't warn you beforehand…”

She chuckled nervously through a smile. “Well, f*ck me if this isn't about to become a fairly awkward conversation…!”

The hunter frowned. “Lus’, if you aren’t comfortable with me knowin’ about this, I–”

“No no, it’s nothing like that.” She interrupted, firmly shaking her head. “I mean, sh*t! Considering how the past couple hours or so panned out? I’d say this qualifies as ‘need-to-know information’ for you specifically, now!” She snorted softly before drawing in her breath. “I’ll get to the more pertinent one in a sec, but lemme get the weird one out of the way first: a few hours after I take them, the meds throw me into a fugue state where I kinda ‘wake up’ again for about twenty or thirty minutes. And while usually nothing happens during that time, on rare occasions I do end up talking in my sleep.”

He blinked. “That’s… it?”

“That’s it.” She nodded simply with an easy shrug. “Now, granted, sleepwalking was actually a legitimate issue when I was testing a milder dose of them for long-term use, but the heavier dose I take after a lock-up hits me so damn hard, I’m not even coordinated enough to sit up if I wanted to until about eight hours after they hit my system. And the talking aspect is also pretty hit-or-miss as well.”

“Lus’, while I’m not tryin’ to downplay your feelin’s here…” He gave her a small half-smile, “…S’far as side effects go? That honestly doesn’t seem bad enough to warrant avoidin’ them like the plague…”

“Yeah, on paper it’s completely manageable.” She agreed, tilting her head. “However, the talking bit is actually the main problem I have with taking them in the first place. It only occurs if my brain registers something of interest in my environment during the short period while I’m ‘awake’– namely sound– but it’s super inconsistent. Like, the sound of someone talking might set me off one night but not another.” Lusi let out a deep sigh. “But, when it does happen, I apparently become quite the annoying chatterbox.”

He arched a brow. “Well, I can understand bein’ uncomfortable with the concept, sure, but… Lus’ you live alone. Why would–”

“I’m not done yet, yakboy.” She cut him off. “Sure, I live alone, but that doesn’t stop me from having a problem with it on principle. The talking isn’t just random, stream-of-consciousness chatter; I ask questions and answer them in return.” Lusi met his eyes seriously. “Meaning, someone can have a full-blown conversation with me that I have no memory of– and I apparently don’t sugarcoat my responses, either.”

His smile instantly faded. “…Do you think Jane might’ve asked somethin’ she shouldn’t have?”

Lusi shook her head quickly. “Oh no, Jane would never take advantage of that state to get info outta me– unlike my mother…” She muttered peevishly before shaking it off. “No, I’m worried that I got set off by a general sound in my environment, rather than a voice. Whenever that happens, I tend to just ramble about a memory associated with the noise rather than asking questions.”

“Okay, but still…” He chuckled softly with a crooked smile. “Lus’, you know earplugs are a thing, right?”

She nodded with a smile of her own. “Yeah, but they can also be forgotten, fall out, or be removed by someone trying to trigger the response intentionally.”

“I’m sorry– removed?” The hunter cut in, not hiding the apprehension in his voice. “Do I need to start bein’ more concerned about the non-weather reasons you left Highwind…?”

Seeing his obvious worry, she gave him a reassuring grin. “…I should probably go ahead and clarify that my parents initially tested a few things with permission once we figured out there was an issue.” She explained before pausing for a beat to cut her eyes up at him with barely contained amusem*nt. “That said though… Ma just couldn’t help herself when I was on the meds for a whole week a couple years back after partially re-dislocating my hip. I refused to tell either of them how it happened, so you can imagine how bad she felt after unconscious-me finally spilled the beans that I tripped playing tug-of-war with the dog and just didn’t want them to laugh…”

As Logan abruptly choked down a startled laugh of his own, the grin widened. “So, when I started building the house, I figured adding extra soundproofing measures to my room was the easiest solution overall for the long-term.” She shrugged. “And, while it’s not perfect, so long as the door’s properly shut, the dampening makes it so only exceptionally loud sounds can be heard from inside.”

“So… I take it that means you’ve a particularly bad memory involvin’ a thunderstorm…?” Logan murmured, frowning.

Lusi nodded softly with another small sigh. “A couple, actually, the night of the accident included.” She replied with a half-shrug. “But… the one I'm worried about happened about a year after I got back to Highwind. And even though I was still in contact with her at that point, I intentionally never told Jane about it because I knew she would be upset.” She glanced up pointedly. “And before you ask, no. I don’t wanna share.”

“Alright.” He said immediately, jumping ahead to the next question in his mental queue. “So, basically: you’re worried that durin’ your… state, you told Jane somethin’ she wasn’t supposed to know, and you got scared that she’d be angry with you?” He extrapolated, brow furrowing deeper.

“That’s about the jist of it.” The builder nodded. “When I first woke up and she was gone, I wasn’t bothered. I knew she would be leaving early, but her bag was still there, so I knew she hadn’t left. But… when I got on the stairs and saw her crying at the table…” Another deep sigh escaped her.

“Still, why didn’t you just talk t’her?” Logan tilted his head curiously. “That seems like it should have been the logical next step– not climbin’ out a window to run off to the mines…”

“Yeah, it does! But here’s the thing…” She scraped at her lip with her teeth. “When I saw her crying, my first instinct was that something had happened that my fault, and as such, I panicked. Which, in turn, triggered one of the more pertinent side effects…”

Lusi paused for a moment before slowly looking up at him with a sheepish smile, “…of a hyperactive fight-or-flight response, in part due to lowered inhibitions overall.”

His face fell flat as the understanding instantly clicked into place. “Are you tellin’ me that these meds actually impact your judgment…?”

“For the first twelve-ish hours after they knock me out.” She confirmed with an apologetic nod.

“I see…” Logan sucked in a deep breath to get his agitation under control. “And, would you mind goin’ into a little more detail on exactly how severely this sh*t affects you?”

“Oh, not that badly.” She dismissed flippantly. “I mean, it’s not like I jumped out the second-story window. I still had the sense to make a rope first!”

He shot her a withering glare. “Lusia, need I remind you that, earlier, you were makin’ some very uncomfortable allegations–”

“And now you know why I said this was gonna be an awkward conversation.” She nodded in full understanding with a nervous laugh. “Yeah, believe it or not? It also pretty much kills my mental filter, meaning I tend to just say whatever the f*ck pops into my head during that period. So that, paired with me being in full ‘f*ck off’ mode, and the fact I really do try to make an effort to tone my crass-level down around you because I know it makes you uncomfortable…” She trailed off with an apologetic shrug.

He let out his breath in an irritated sigh. “Still, don’t you think that particular tidbit of information was somethin’ you should’ve shared with the class yesterday?” He rubbed his temples with his hand to abate the headache that had abruptly sprung up.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely! But, after you inadvertently got me tranqed, I didn’t give two sh*ts about making sure you got filled in on any of the specifics of what to watch out for.” She admitted with a self-aware snort before grimacing. “…And, while I honestly thought Jane would have at least given you a head’s up about the lowered inhibitions issue in my stead, it’s ultimately on me for not letting her know she was even allowed to tell you anything in the first place.” Lusi murmured, dipping her head sincerely. “And for that… I’m so goddamn sorry.”

Logan considered her for a moment before at last letting out a soft sigh. “Well… at least you’re aware of your own shortcomings.” He mused, rolling his eyes. “And, seein’ as Jane did at least fill me in on why you hate gettin’ sedated like that… I suppose I can understand why you might not have been in a sharin’ mood.”

“Yeah.” She nodded before letting out a sigh of her own. “I cannot stress enough how much I hate getting shot up with that sh*t.” Lusi growled, spitting towards the gears in distaste. “Those first six months back in Highwind, I got the naptime needle practically once a week. Now whenever it happens, it just makes me feel like I’m being treated like a f*ckin’ animal that needs to be ‘dealt’ with…”

At that, the hunter winced. “And, I also meant what I said by the bridge, too. If I had known there was a possibility he was gonna do that– or, at the very least, that you hated it so much– I promise I would’ve backed you up before I left.” Logan asserted before shaking his head lightly. “Though, t'be honest? I don’t know if it would’ve done much good. Fang seemed pretty confident that it was necessary. Even said he wouldn’t apologize.”

“Oh, I’m sure he will eventually. Or, at least, he’ll definitely apologize for tricking me into getting jabbed in the first place…” Lusi said with full confidence. “Motherf*cker told me was gonna give me a shot of vitamins to help get my energy back up, but the second he got done injecting it, I knew exactly what it really was.” She muttered tersely. “I’ve never had B12 burn after going in…”

“Fang did what…?” Logan asked, and when she nodded in confirmation, his jaw instantly dropped. “Well, sh*t, no wonder you were so pissed when I got there!” He exclaimed, now somewhat aghast, if not slightly incensed, on her behalf. “And why you decided to pull out a whole ‘nother language to chew his ass out in.”

At that, Lusi sent a deep wheezing snort through her sinuses. “Oh, that? Nah. I always make a point to use Seesaian when it’s just him and me.” She laughed breathily. “Second languages, especially when learned later in life, tend to be a ‘use it or lose it’ kind of thing. And even though I’m only conversational, I’d still like to keep what I have.” The builder shrugged. “Never know when it might come in handy, after all.”

“And… does he actually talk to you in it?” He inquired, not trying to hide his genuine curiosity.

“Eh, only about as much as he does in Common– albeit, less choppy.” She shrugged. “But while he only occasionally responds verbally, he's obviously way more fluent than I’ll ever be. All his research notes are written in a bastardized combination of both languages, and I know for a fact he corresponds to my Seesai doctor in it pretty much exclusively.”

“His notes?” The hunter repeated, taken aback. “You mean you can actually read his handwritin’?”

The builder softly scoffed. “Logan, I lived on an estate full of doctors. Compared to some of the scrawls I’ve seen, Fang might as well be writing in f*ckin’ calligraphy!” She attested with a grin before waggling her brows conspiratorially. “You wanna know a secret? He was actually that fourth reason I applied to be Sandrock’s official Builder.”

“What– Fang was?” He exclaimed, not hiding his legitimate surprise. “But, how? At that time, he would’ve only been practicin’ here for a year, if that.”

At the notion, Lusi grinned. “Now that’s actually kind of a funny story. See, before I pulled the trigger on the application, my Seesai doctor sent a letter alongside a translated copy of the paper about my case to the clinic, just to ensure the doctor here would have a chance to familiarize themself with my condition beforehand. But, when Fang wrote back, my doctor actually recognized his name; he was attending the medical school my guardian doctor taught at during my sabbatical!” The builder explained with an incredulous shake of the head. “But, if that wasn’t enough, Fang told him in his letter that he already had a original Seesaian copy of the paper on hand and didn’t need another– so, what did that quiet bastard do? He returned the one my doctor sent him with goddamn annotations in the margins!”

“Hang on– whaddya mean Fang already had a copy of the paper written about you?” Logan muttered, squinting dubiously. “Lus’, the Doc moved here with barely anythin’ aside from the clothes on his back, a few personal effects, and a couple books of reference materials. Why the heck would that paper of all things be important enough to bring with him…?”

“Beats me! But, he does seem to have an interest in studying joint conditions specifically.” Lusi shrugged indifferently with a casual snicker. “Regardless, the day after Fang’s unprompted peer review got passed to him, I got a goddamn telegraph from my guardian doctor telling me I needed to do everything in my power to get the position here. He was adamant I would never be able to find a better physician anywhere else in the Eufaula– and f*ck if he wasn't right!” She nodded in full agreement. “Hell, forget the desert. Fang’s by far the best damn doctor I’ve had since getting back to the Alliance!"

“W-wait a sec. You mean you like Fang?!” He stuttered in startled surprise before adding quickly, “as a doctor, I mean.”

She blinked incredulously. “Are you kidding? Of course I do! Logan, he was already familiar with my condition, is stupid well-versed in joint health– also, keep in mind he was attending that school as a full-fledged med student at the age of, like, fourteen! If nothing else, Fang’s a f*ckin’ prodigy!" She attested with a serious look before adding as an aside, “And, yeah, I also prolly would’ve tried to climb ‘im like a tree at least once if I didn’t have such a hang-up about dating people younger than me. Man, he’s pretty…”

That last part irked something in the back of Logan’s mind, but he decided not to think too deeply about it. “Okay, but, still… if you respect him so much, then why th’hell were you so gung-ho about not goin’ to see him yesterday?”

Lusi gave him a look. “Because, while he may be a fantastic doctor… Fang’s a sh*t acupuncturist.”

“...He’s what now?”

“Oh, yeah! By far the worst I’ve ever met.” The builder asserted decisively. “I would know– I lived with nine of them back in Seesai, and Fang sucks compared to even the least experienced of the bunch.” She let out an incredulous snort. “Still, as soon as I felt how bad my hip hurt yesterday morning, I just knew he was gonna insist on loading me up with more needles than a cactus. And at this point, I just prefer not subjecting myself to his piss-poor needlework unless absolutely necessary.”

He stared down at her in true bewilderment. “So… the only reason you were avoidin’ goin’ to the clinic yesterday… was because you didn’t want Fang to give you acupuncture?”

At that, Lusi chuckled. “Bandit, acupuncture is a skill that takes decades to develop properly, and Fang’s only been out of medical school for, like, six years, if that. However, he refuses to believe me when I tell him he’s in serious need of some remedial training, so… we constantly butt heads on the subject.” The builder shook her head with a snort. “And, sure– at the end of the day he does manage to get the job done, but… I swear…” She looked off into the distance for a moment, as if trying to collect the right words. “...After every session with him, it feels like my brain’s been… I dunno– reset, or something.”

She shook her head, chewing on her lip in thought. “I’ve never had that issue with any other acupuncturist who’s ever worked on me. sh*t’s f*ckin’ weird.”

…Well, at least now I know getting her to listen to the Doc normally isn’t an issue. Logan chuckled to himself at the silver lining, shaking his head lightly as she turned to look back up at him.

“But, all that aside?” Lusi started again. “When it comes to the lowered inhibitions issue? It’s usually a complete non-issue, because normally the meds knock me out for the entirety of that twelve-hour timeframe.”

“Then... what went wrong this time?”

The builder drew in her breath before letting it out in a sigh. “My best guess is that Jane must have forgotten to shut the door when she got up. It was wide open when I came to, which, in turn, let a draft into the room.” Lusi chuckled mildly with a snort, “And, let me tell you: if there’s one thing that’ll wake me up without fail, it’s being in a cold room for a decent length of time, meds be damned.”

sh*t, that’s what Jane was tryin’ to tell me this mornin’… Logan internalized, but kept the thought to himself. “What happened after that?”

“Well, once I was awake enough to comprehend time as a concept in general, I knew I was gonna be in a fog for a couple of hours. That’s how it always is if I wake up before that twelve hour period is up.” She explained with a shrug. “There’s honestly not much I can do about it other than wait it out, so… I just threw on the first clothes I saw, re-applied my foundation, and went looking for her. I hadn’t put my shoes on, so she didn’t notice me on the stairs. But as soon as I saw how upset she was… I just knew something had to have happened during the night.”

Sighing, she leaned her head lightly against his shoulder. "I was so freaked out in that moment, all I could think about was getting as far away from the problem as possible. I went back to the room, grabbed the essentials, tied the sheets together best I could, and…” She made a motion with her hand. “…out the window I went.”

He arched a brow. “So… you had the presence of mind to grab your cane, but not use the damn door to get out of the house?” He inquired, trying to fight down a bemused smile.

“Look, meds make brain do dumb, alright?” She grinned softly in spite of herself. “Besides, going out the door would have required going past Jane by default, and when your fight or flight is cranked up to eleven, what’s a second-story window if not just a smaller, elevated doorway?”

As she spoke, the smile slowly began to fade. “You should probably be thanking her, though. Janey insisted on locking down my weapons last night just in case, and even went so far as to hide both keys somewhere in the house after I fell asleep.” She met his eyes, now half-lidded from the exertion. “Otherwise, I would’ve had more than just the cane on me for protection when I left– and, full disclosure? Not only was I absolutely planning on digging straight down as far as I could go the second I got to the mine, I would’ve put up one hell of a fight if you had tried to drag me out…”

After she closed her eyes to take another break, Logan let out a soft sigh. It didn’t take a genius to understand the implication. As the two sat quietly once more, Logan studied her overall demeanor. The short rests were obviously helping, but he couldn’t shake the feeling she was running on fumes. So, after giving her a few more minutes to properly recharge a bit, he gently removed her legs from his lap and started getting to his feet.

Feeling him slip himself out from under her, Lusi’s eyes softly fluttered open. “You… goin’ somewhere?” She murmured questioningly as he began to stand up, fatigue still patent in her voice.

“Yep, and so are you. You’re done.” He declared, cutting his chin upwards. “Let's go.”

“That’s… it?” She blinked, clearly confused. “No more questions?”

“Lus’, you’re exhausted– questions can wait. Besides, I got the answers to everythin’ I set out to ask and then some, so that’s good enough for me.” He gave her a stern, fatherly look. ”Plus, considerin’ you went out the window and not the front door, I also have a sneakin’ suspicion you haven’t eaten anythin’ today, either…”

She winced, cutting her eyes away. “Its too bad you aren't much of a betting man. You’ve got one hell of a winning streak going…” She muttered sheepishly.

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time Owen invites me to a poker night.” He chuckled dryly. “In the meantime, though… let’s get you home, hon.”

He held out his hand to help her up, consciously offering his right so she’d feel more inclined to use her stronger side. With a tired smile, Lusi accepted, letting him help pull her to her feet. Once fully up though, she immediately winced in discomfort.

“Uuuugh– I’m sore as sh*t…” She groaned peevishly while she began stretching out the areas that had gone stiff after sitting still for so long, starting with her left shoulder. As she casually rolled it over her head, however, she suddenly froze. Creasing her brow, she rolled it back again, repeating the process a few times over, her expression nothing short of puzzled.

“Somethin’ up, Lus’?” He asked, his lips curling into a quizzical frown.

“Maybe…?” She murmured, still shifting her shoulder back and forth. “Meds make it so I can’t really feel pain at the moment, but… there’s a weird hitch now that I know for a fact it wasn’t there earlier this morning.”

Logan instantly stood up straighter, wide-eyed with concern. “Lus’, I-I didn’t hurt you, did I…?”

“No, no! I don’t think it’s anything you did…” She shook her head quickly. “It actually feels kinda similar to how it sometimes does before a sandstorm. But at the same time… it’s sorta different?” She pursed her own lips in concern. “It honestly might be nothing. But just to be safe, could you go check the horizon real quick?”

The hunter nodded and briskly exited the machinery room. With one quick jump, he was over the broken railing and back on the main landing, heading towards the stairs leading to the penultimate cable car platform.

He had hardly cleared the first two steps when he spied the top of the massive wall of dust looming on the horizon, low and thick. As soon as it registered, Logan's stomach dropped and he immediately dashed up higher to properly confirm the phenomenon to be just as he feared: a haboob.

Light damn me. He swore to himself. I knew I was gonna pay for that luck…!

Unlike a regular sandstorm, which would have been on top of them by now, its rarer cousin moved almost lazily in comparison; but what it lacked in speed it made up for in sheer proximity. It was close, already eclipsing the entrance to the tunnel leading to Atara and filling the landscape in the distance. At this distance, he’d be surprised if they made it even halfway across the bridge before being overtaken by the cloud.

“sh*t!” Logan cursed, turning on his heel as he whistled for Rambo. “LUSI!” He shouted down into the machinery room below him through the grate by the stairs. “We gotta GO!”

A second later, she appeared on the other side of the grate. “Sandstorm?”

He shook his head. “Haboob.”

Lusi’s eyebrows shot up as she briefly glanced down at her chest. “What about ‘em?”

He huffed with an exasperated eye roll. “Dust storm. Big one.” He clarified quickly, raising his voice as she disappeared from view to meet him on the platform. “Think… a wall made of dirt that’s fine as fog! They’re rare as hell, too. Usually only happen–”

He jerked his head suddenly, realizing the obvious, “...when there are drafts in the desert caused by thunderstorms– sh*t! RAMBO!”

By the time he was halfway done with his explanation, Lusi had made her way out of the machinery room and onto the stairs, climbing farther up so she could survey the horizon herself. Once she saw the opaque wall of dust looming in the distance, her eyes widened.

“Ho-ly sh*t…” She whispered, her face breaking into an awestruck smile. “That’s so cool…!”

“Th’hell is that goat?” Logan muttered under his breath, agitated and more than slightly nervous as he glanced up at her with a nod. “Yeah, ‘cool’ on the outside, ‘can’t see sh*t’ on the inside.” He looked up to meet her eyes, trying to convey how serious the situation was. “Lus’, we can't be up here when it hits, or else we’ll never be able to get down safely.”

She glanced down at him, and he could see the worry begin to flicker across her own eyes. “The… town’s not in danger, is it?” She asked hesitantly.

“I gotta set off the warnin’ flares up top first, but the second I get confirmation they were seen, we’re gonna make a mad dash to the outpost.” He explained while turning to go up the stairway. “In the meantime, go ahead and saddle up. I won’t be long, but while yer waitin’ for me to get back, take that scarf you got on under your goggles and tie it over your nose and mouth. It looks pretty thin, but it’s definitely gonna better than nothin’…”

“Wait, hold on– the outpost?” She questioned, grabbing his arm to stop him before he passed. “We’re not gonna try to get back to town?”

“Lus’, I doubt we’d even make it to the bridge by the time it hits us, and if that happens, the dust’ll be so thick we prolly won’t even be able to see the tracks. Guard rail be damned, I’m not gonna risk both our lives just to get across.” He shook his head firmly, trying to make it clear with his tone that he wasn’t looking for an argument. “It’ll be better to just play it safe and bunker down for a bit while it rolls through. The one bright side is this type of storm doesn’t last too terribly long.”

Apparently satisfied with the answer, Lusi nodded and released his arm to do as instructed, hoisting herself onto the goat as Logan dashed past her up to the main cable car platform. Once in the saddle, she wrestled the goggles off her head and around her neck before turning her focus on getting the scarf they had been resting on unknotted.

Meanwhile, Logan set about his task. Reaching the end of the top platform, he sent up the orange smoke flare first– Dangerous weather. Once it reached its apex, he loosed the second one, this time in red– Coming in hot.

Warning sent, he wasted no further time pulling his own well-worn bandana from his pocket and securing it around his face, keeping an eye in the direction of the Corps office as he tied the knot. Just as he was about to give up and go, he saw exactly what he was looking for: the spark of a standard-issue signal flare rising above the rock face over town. Justice got the message.

With a sigh of relief, Logan turned to head back down to retrieve his charge, only to be surprised as Lusi barrelled up the platform on goatback to meet him, reins in hand.

Since when did Rambo start lettin’ her drive…? Logan pondered in slight shock, but had no time to dwell on the matter. As he vaulted into the saddle behind her and reached around to take the reins, he realized that she was holding the goggles out to him, rather than putting them on herself.

“Lusi, what the hell are you doin’? Put on your damn goggles!”

She turned back to look at him, brow furrowed. “You don’t wanna use them?” She asked, voice only barely muffled.

sh*t. That scarf's not gonna cut it if we’re in it too long… He thought nervously to himself as he wheeled Rambo around, trying to calculate the fastest route down. “Girl, I don’t NEED your damn goggles!” He snapped, agitated by his worry more than anything. “I’ve been livin’ in the desert so long, I can walk around in sandstorms without any eye protection. A little dust won’t bother ME none, but it will you– so put 'em ON!”

Lusi hesitated before finally shrugging, hastily donning the goggles as he steered Rambo to the crane platform and over the railing onto the roof of the station itself. By this point, the wall of dust was over the Shipwreck ruin, creeping towards the outpost at a steady clip.

Gonna be flying blind for some of this. Thankfully, Rambo would eventually be able to make it to the outpost without visuals if need be, but in order for him to do so safely, they would still need to be on the ground before the dust hit.

Guiding the goat diagonally down the building’s side, they quickly made their way along the section of railing that ran along the pipes. “We’re gonna have to take a shortcut,” Logan stated decisively. “Hang on tight– this is gonna be bumpy.” He felt her nod and brace herself against him in anticipation, to which he leaned forward in the saddle to better cage her under his body.

About half way along the pipe’s length, he abruptly slowed Rambo to a near stop to sharply pivot up and over, jumping straight down to land hard on the metal awning of the stairs below. Beneath him, he heard Lusi cry out from the bone-rattling hit; she might not be able to feel pain at the moment, but at the very least the rough jump had to have been uncomfortable on her hip.

He had no time to dwell on the issue however, as the goat’s hooves started to slide as soon as they made contact with angled metal. Nudging his mount into a trot in order to keep some control, they made it to the second awning before jumping straight down again, eliciting another soft hiss of discomfort from the builder upon impact.

They had to pause momentarily as Rambo’s hooves sank into the sand, but as soon as he felt him get his footing back, Logan dug his blunted spurs in and they took off towards the direction of the outpost. It had already been swallowed up by the storm, but the closer they were to the building in general when they entered the haze, the faster they’d be able to find it once inside.

“Take a deep breath!” The hunter shouted as they approached the initial cloud, immediately drawing one of his own right before they finally entered the wall itself.

And then, day turned to sepia-tinged twilight in an instant.

Once inside, he immediately slowed Rambo to a stop to allow the goat to catch his breath. Below him, his mount sneezed hard once before his breathing began to gradually steady again. Thankfully, his fur afforded him a natural layer of protection from the dust, and the sandmask of his tack ensured his eyes were unaffected entirely.

The last landmark Logan could make out visually before they entered the cloud was the nearby rock formation, but now he couldn’t see anything through the haze. Judging by the sound of stone beneath the goat’s hooves as he shifted restlessly, he guessed they had stopped on one of the flat rock outcroppings about sixty meters away from the outpost. That was close enough for him– push came to shove, Rambo would undoubtedly be able to make his way to the building on his own from there.

Satisfied, he at last released his held breath before cautiously taking another one in, testing if his bandana was thick enough to give him sufficient coverage. Luckily, it seemed to be the case so long as he didn’t breathe too deeply at once. “You alright, Lus’?” He murmured carefully, turning his attention to the girl below him.

He heard her exhale hard, apparently testing her own face covering the same way. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She finally said, her tone decidedly relaxed. “I gotta say though, aside from it being dark as f*ck and the wind not blowing a gazillion miles per hour, this doesn’t seem that much different than a regular sandstorm. Hell, the way you described it, I was honestly expecting it to be more like smog or something…”

“I can assure you, it’s different.” He stated nervously; the fact that she wasn’t making any attempt to control her breathing to compensate for her comparably poorer protection unnerved him right away. Worried, he began to draw his cloak up around her to try and better cover her face. “Hang on Lus’, lemme just…”

Much to his chagrin, the builder gently pushed his arm away. “Logan, I’m telling you: I’m fine! This isn’t that bad!” Lusi dismissed with an almost casual laugh at his perceived overprotectiveness. “But, f*ck– you weren’t kidding about the ‘can’t see sh*t’ part. Are we even gonna be able to find the outpost?”

As he lowered his arm with a soft sigh at her stubbornness, Logan instinctively nodded before remembering she obviously couldn’t see it sitting in front of him. “Yeah. Bein’ downwind, Rambo’ll eventually be able to sniff it out if nothin’ else. But if we get close enough, we oughta be able to see the lantern outside. Pa had it designed to be able to be seen in a sandstorm from the main tracks, and while it ain’t nearly as bright as it used to be, it still gets the job done.” He blinked a few times, before muttering a quiet “sh*t” to himself.

Lusi shifted to look up at him through her goggles.“You good?”

“Yeah, it’s just– the dust is finer than I anticipated.” He murmured, still trying to blink the irritation from his eyes.

At that, he heard her softly ‘snrk’ beneath him. “Can’t say I didn’t try~” She murmured smugly, and even though he couldn’t see her face, he knew she was smirking.

“You needed ‘em more.” He asserted firmly, but inwardly he was slightly embarrassed by his oversight. “Hell, if I’m havin’ trouble, you would’ve been blind the second we entered the cloud…”

“Maybe, or– here’s a crazy thought– I could’ve f*ckin’ closed my eyes if it bothered me. After all, on the totem pole of ‘who shouldn’t be visually impaired’, the guy actually steering tends to take higher priority than the passenger.” She countered, adding with a snort. “I mean, it's not like I ever use them as actual eye protection anyway.”

“You don’t?” He asked, not even hiding his surprise. “I thought that’s why you pretty much always wore them and the scarf– in case a sandstorm popped up unexpectedly.”

“Nah, I keep the sandhat the church gave me in my saddlebag to protect my eyes because the sand’s never bothered me enough to warrant covering my airway on top of that.” Lusi dismissed nonchalantly with a small giggle. “I just wear the goggles cause they’re cute.”

Okay, I dunno who taught this girl initially, but I get the feelin’ we’re gonna need to have a Sandstorm 101 refresher course before too terribly long… He thought to himself, shaking his head in disbelief as he made another small revelation. “Wait– does that imply you also prefaced jumpin’ out a window with a conscious fashion choice, too…?” He asked, carefully letting out a somewhat amused snort at her naivety all around.

“Hey, what part of ‘meds make brain do dumb’ did you not understand?” She shot back, still looking around to try and make out any landmarks in the haze. “And that ‘conscious fashion choice’ has now probably ended up being the best decision I’ve made all day! Need I remind you which one of us can kinda actually see right now, Mr. ‘I-don’t-NEED-your-damn-goggles’?”

At that, an actual laugh slipped out, causing him to accidentally take in a bit too much dust under the corner of his bandana in the process. “Touche, doll.” He coughed, immediately wincing behind the mask as he cleared his throat. Dammit!– slipped out…

When he heard the exasperated sigh rise up from beneath him, he couldn’t help but flinch– she had heard. “Sorry, Lus’ I–”

“Really?” She whined over his apology, slumping her shoulders. “You’ve known my legal first name for, what, an hour maybe, and you’re already coming up with custom shorthand…?”

Logan paused in startled realization as an opportunity clicked into his mind, and soon enough a smirk spread across his face beneath his bandana.

"Actually…” He murmured wickedly, “I was callin’ you ‘doll’, Dal, but now that you mention it…”

Upon picking up on the differentiation, he felt her immediately stiffen in the saddle. “...Oh me and my Peach-damned mouth.” Lusi groaned. “Any possible way we could make that not stick?”

“‘Fraid not.” He replied brightly. “Already filed away for permanent use.”

“Well ain’t that just fan-f*ckin’-tastic…”

Logan chuckled before blinking again. As much as he was loath to admit, he had just about reached his limit. Judging that Rambo had fully caught his breath, he shifted the reins in his hands to find Lusi’s own and tapped them lightly with the sides of his palms.

“Hate to put this on you Lus’, but… think I’m gonna have to have you steer.” He muttered with a sigh. “My eyes can’t take much more, and I can’t see sh*t anyway, so…”

“Fine by me.” She replied, comfortably slipping the leather strap out of his hands. “You want me to get in the stirrups and take over fully?”

Logan shook his head instinctively again. “Nah, Rambo will only respond to my spurs when doublin’– though t’be honest? I’m not even sure how you were able to get him up to the platform yourself in the first place.” He admitted, not hiding the perplexion in his voice as he shifted in the saddle to better position his heels while simultaneously resting his hands against the saddlehorn. “He’s only supposed to respond to my spurs in any situation unless I verbally tell ‘im otherwise.”

Lusi let out a hearty laugh. “Ha! Guess I’m not such a ‘soft touch’ after al–” her voice was abruptly cut short by a sharp wheezing cough, and immediately Logan frowned beneath the bandana.

“Dammit, that’s what I was afraid of happenin’...” He vocalized with a small sigh as he attempted to bring his cloak up again. Part of him wanted to scold her for not letting him help earlier, but that could wait until they had made it to safety. She didn’t know it, this was now a race against the clock to at least some degree. To his relief, she didn’t fight him this time as he pulled the longer back of his cloak forward again to drape across her shoulders and cover the lower half of her face with the thicker fabric to better protect her airway as she coughed.

“Alright, that’s enough chit-chat.” The hunter commanded gently as he got the accessory situated. “You steer, I’ll drive– click once for yes, twice for no, and three times to tell me to speed up when you see the lantern.”

Once her initial coughing fit had subsided, he heard a single ‘Click!’ in reply. Satisfied, Logan closed his eyes at last before gently prodding the goat to start walking forward. He heard his hooves clacking along the rock for a few steps, only for them to go silent as they hit sand once more.

Now, it was up to Lusi and Rambo to find their way to the outpost themselves.

It didn’t take very long for him to start feeling physically overwhelmed by the eerily loud silence. Aside from the occasional small wheeze or cough from Lusi below and the wind itself, the dust swallowed all other sound around them. It was unnerving to say the least, and the fact that he couldn’t even properly scan for danger even if he wanted to put his teeth on edge.

Perhaps that was what first prompted the alarming intrusive thought: A few of the more aggressive Boxing Jacks sometimes passed by the outpost looking for a fight. And if his eyes were this irritated, any of them that happened to be nearby would undoubtedly be enraged by the storm.

sh*t. He swore to himself. If one of ‘em comes up pissed off outta nowhere, she’s not armed– and she can't handle the recoil of my .44 without getting hurt…!

Before he could act on his worries however, they were almost instantaneously alleviated as Lusi abruptly signaled him with a clear ‘Click Click Click!’

It was music to his ears. If they were close enough for her to see the lantern, the Jacks wouldn’t be an issue– even the troublemakers never got that close to the outpost anymore. He spurred the goat gently in reply, bringing him into a light trot. As he did so, Lusi gripped the reins and wheeled Rambo sharply to the right. Logan could only assume they inadvertently drifted in the direction of the tracks during their march.

Shortly after straightening out, however, Logan felt the goat abruptly slide to a stop, shifting his weight uneasily beneath them. That, in turn, made him nervous

“Lus’...'' He asked slowly, hand reaching up to hover over his holster. “Everythin’ okay…?”

‘Click!’ She responded immediately with a soft growl of annoyance, followed by him sensing her rapidly moving her hands.

Immediately, Logan relaxed and dropped his own hand from his revolver– the reins must have slipped from her grip as they turned, and Rambo did what he was actually supposed to when doubling and stopped automatically.

And here I was thinkin’ he might need a refresher course too… Logan chuckled to himself. At the same time though, it was a mistake he would expect coming from a greenhorn over an experienced rider, so he couldn’t help but needle her a bit.

“Dropped the reins, darlin’? Happens to the best of us.” He teased playfully. “But if you need some help, I can–”

‘Click! CLICK!’ She cut him off sharply with a huff and a cough, managing to completely convey her irritation with the offer despite the lack of actual words.

That prompted the hunter to chuckle again. Still, the rookie mistake wasn't the end of the world, and since she seemed confident the situation was handled, he didn’t feel the need to tease her further.

“Alright, I hear ya.” He acquiesced with a masked smile, shaking his head. “Three clicks when you’re ready then, alright?”

‘Click!’

They sat quietly for a few more seconds as she grasped for the reins again, and soon enough he felt Rambo settle down once more as Lusi lifted her arms back into position with a ‘Click! Click! Click!’

Attagirl. Logan thought proudly, impressed at the quick recovery given the circ*mstances if nothing else. Maybe we’ll make a desert dweller outta you yet.

He spurred Rambo into a walk again, and just a short while later the goat skidded to a stop once again– this time intentionally.

“Made it.” The builder rasped aloud, her voice now notably hoarse but significantly more muffled by the cloak across her face.

Logan pulled his outerwear back from around her and used it to quickly remove the excess dust from his eyes before tentatively opening them again. They still stung, but physically wiping them off and having them closed for a prolonged period had certainly helped clear the worst of the irritation.

He slid out of the saddle, putting a hand on his firearm again just in case something decided to come rushing up out of the din. Once Lusi had also dismounted, he clicked to release Rambo to go find some shelter for himself and walked up the makeshift ramp to get the door.

“Ladies first.” He offered, motioning towards the door with his head as he cracked it open for her.

“Still above all else, huh Bandit?” Lusi croaked softly, immediately followed by another small coughing fit as she headed up the ramp to duck into the small shack.

As she slipped past him to safety, Logan let out a sigh of relief beneath the bandana. They had gotten to shelter quickly enough that he had little doubt a damp rag and a couple sips of water would set them both straight in no time flat; an ideal outcome, all things considered.

After scanning the horizon one last time for danger, he too slipped inside the structure to bunker down, shutting the door behind himself with a firm thud.

Chapter 10: F.A.L.S. Flags

Chapter Text

“You’re right though, that is one heck of a party trick”

The initial few minutes inside the shelter had been taken up by shaking the majority of the dust off themselves and a few quick sips of water off a stale canteen that had been left behind during a previous trip. For Logan’s part, he was mostly no worse for wear; following a brief wipe of a damp rag across his upper face and eyes, he had been able to get straight to work taking stock of his current food stores.

“Told you.” Lusi called over her shoulder from where she sat at the table; on the other hand, her thinner scarf had allowed a great deal more dust to seep through, which in turn had left her with a fine layer of grime across her entire face that she was apparently still trying to remove. “Light, if you think people flipped their sh*t when I announced I had trained for five f*cking years just to move here? The first time we realized I could reliably predict rain hours in advance, Burgess just about threw me a goddamn parade.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Logan chuckled as he rummaged through the shelves. “Hell, you bein’ able to tell somethin’ was off when you did probably saved us a mess of trouble…”

To his surprise, her initial response was a long, almost guilty sigh. “We… actually got really lucky on that one.” She murmured softly, repositioning the hand mirror he kept in the shack as she continued to wipe the dust from her face with a spare bandana. “I don’t know if it’s because I have so little experience with it, but I can’t predict sand nearly as well as anything else. Sometimes I can definitely tell, like, six hours in advance, and other times my shoulder will only start giving me trouble half an hour prior– if I'm lucky.”

“sh*t, that is a bit of a range, huh…” He muttered, surprised. “Hell, most everyone raised around here can generally tell the wind is shiftin’ for sand at least an hour before it hits…”

“Right? And sometimes like yesterday, I’ll think it’s gonna be sand, and it turns out to be rain– or f*cking sleet– pisses me off.” She adjusted the mirror somewhat as she tried to wipe a stubborn bit of concealer off of her scar. “But, considering how much the town has benefited from my rain predictions and the times I have nailed sand, I’ll gladly keep doing encores until a better solution becomes available.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her tense, as if something had just registered in her mind. “Come to think, though… last time he was in town, the Salesman actually mentioned he might be able to get his hands on a chip for Rosy that would let her forecast the weather up to a week in advance…”

The hunter blinked. “She’s a mirror, though– how would that even work?”

“Not sure, actually– something about it’d give her the ability to connect to Old World weather satellites that are still semi-functional or something...?” The builder shrugged. “I dunno, I didn’t really ask many questions because I knew I was gonna pass on it until I had paid for my last expansion. But now that that’s taken care of… I think I might pay the requisition fee the next time he’s around if he hasn’t already sourced it.”

“Wait, why would you pay for that?” He paused in confusion, glancing over at her. “A weather forecast would benefit everyone in town, not just you; Trudy ought’ve been the one he made the offer to.”

Lusi snorted. “Yes and no: While it'd absolutely be beneficial for the town, I’d still be the delivery girl regardless. When I brought up the possibility to Rosy herself, she said she’d only give the forecast to me.”

“Why…?”

“Because that mirror is f*cking obsessed with me, Logan!” She barked disbelievingly, pulling the rag from her face to inspect for any missed spots. “She says she lives to serve me and only me, to the point she actually refuses to do work for anyone else in town…”

The hunter arched a brow in concern. “What do you mean she ‘lives to serve’ you– I thought you hired her on contract?”

“Oh, I do– but honestly? I think she uses our money about as frequently as Larry does, and the whole ‘contract’ thing is just a formality; I insist on paying her because not doing so would feel way weirder.” Lusi snorted while bringing the rag up to wipe her forehead. “Though, I have considered letting her contract lapse for a few days the next time it expires just to get a break from her being constantly up my ass trying to give me a makeover…”

“Okay, so when you say she wants to give you a 'makeover', what does that even mean? ” Logan asked absently as he inspected a bottle of… something from off the shelf that must have dated back to Pa’s time. “Like, she… wants to do your makeup for you?– cause if that’s the case, I’d just as soon let 'er do it once to shut her up…”

“Not quite.” Lusi countered casually, shaking her head. “She wants to depigment my scar so that it matches my skin tone.”

Logan immediately froze, whipping his head back over to look towards her. “You told Rosy – no, more importantly– Rosy can do that?!”

“Okay, first off: I didn’t tell Rosy, she told herself; apparently her makeover software is designed to scan through makeup, so there was no hiding it from her.” Lusi disputed, still preoccupied with cleaning her face in the mirror. “And second: Logan, why are you acting so surprised? Rosy’s an Old World AI Cosmetologist. She could probably turn me bright orange if I asked nicely enough.”

“Then why haven’t you asked?” He asked dubiously before clarifying, “About fixin’ the scar, that is. Not the safety-glo skin tone.”

She snorted softly. “Because she didn't properly explain what she wanted to actually do until after I had already committed to helping Haru test his cream for at least two full months. And even though we’d already started to hit enough of a plateau at that point that he bumped the progress shots down to two instead of three per week, I wasn’t about to leave him high and dry.”

“Lusi…” Logan murmured, legitimately touched. “You really put off gettin’ your scar fixed for the sake of Haru’s project…?”

“Well, not just for Haru’s project– I turned her down for the sake of my sanity as well.” The builder instantly refuted with a soft scoff. “Thing is: I’d have to leave the area completely uncovered the entire time she was treating it to avoid irritating the skin while it healed. And because the scar tissue itself is kinda complex, Rosy said she’d have to gradually depigment it over the course of multiple sessions rather than fixing it all in one go, which could take a couple weeks.”

“And you didn’t want the whole town findin’ out about it in the meantime.” Logan inferred, nodding to himself in understanding.

“Precisely.” Lusi confirmed easily, shaking her head. “Man, you wouldn’t believe how nosy people are in the Alliance! I never had so many issues with people pestering me about it back in Seesai– people knew to mind their own goddamn business there.”

Logan’s head snapped up in shock. “Wait– What?”

“Oh yeah! I mean, sure, people would stare, but they were at least polite enough to look away when I noticed them.” She continued nonchalantly, pouring some more water from the stale canteen onto the rag to re-moisten it. “In fact, I can literally count on both hands the number of times a stranger there just walked up out of the blue to ask me about it there– not in Highwind, though! I’d be lucky if I didn’t have someone flat out interrogate me about it every other goddamn day.” She snorted. “Got real pissy when I told ‘em to go f*ck themselves, too…”

“Hang on– back up.” Logan pleaded as he finally shook off the surprise. “Lus', you’re makin’ it sound like you haven’t always tried to religiously keep that scuff hidden all the time…”

“Probably because I haven’t.” She snickered softly. “I only started covering it partway through my second year of builder’s school after I finally got fed up with people constantly harassing me about it.”

“What…? But, if that’s the case, then why were you so upset about Pablo findin’ out about it after your hair got–” He paused abruptly as something registered in his mind. “Ohhhh… he didn’t know it was a chemical burn, did he…?” Logan put his hand over his mouth, the understanding clicking into place. “He thought–”

“...That I had been previously burned in a fire, hence my major freakout when my hair got singed.” She finished for him, chuckling deviously from behind the rag. “Though, for the record? I never misled him intentionally, I just didn’t correct the story he came up with himself.” There was a beat of silence as she intentionally paused. “…But then someone accidentally spilled the beans about what kind of burn it actually was, and that little false narrative got blown wide open…”

At that, Logan shifted uncomfortably on his feet, nervously clearing his throat as he deflected. “Still though, I thought you two were pretty close friends. Why didn’t you want him to know the truth?”

“Because knowing him, he wouldn’t give me a moment’s peace until I ended up telling him the real reason I freaked out that day and the whole goddamn story on how I got the scar in the first place.” She replied bluntly. “And sure, I may love Pablo to bits, but at the end of the day, he’s still a f*cking information broker! I’d rather not give him more dirt on myself than absolutely necessary.”

“Well, certainly can’t say I blame you for that…” He chuckled in understanding with a curious tilt of the head. “But… once your part in Haru’s project is done, do’ya think you’ll take Rosy up on her offer?”

“Eh, haven’t decided.” She shrugged. “I'm not sure if I’m ready to deal with the constant barrage of questioning again, and I’m also not fully convinced she won’t botch it somehow. I mean, it doesn’t take a Vega 5 scientist to tell that her ‘Fairest of Them All’ program is more than just slightly bugged.”

Logan rolled his eyes at the self-deprecating humor. “Looks ain’t everythin’, Dal.”

“Oh my Light! Is that ‘doll’-’Dal’ thing seriously gonna stick?” She groaned with a vexed sigh.

The hunter hesitated for a moment. “Truth be told, Lus’? I’ve, uh… actually tried to be mindful of not callin’ you ‘doll’ for a while now.” He admitted, making sure to enunciate the word through his accent.

Lusi froze in place. “Wait… you have?” She asked, her tone decidedly puzzled as she set the bandana down on the table, seemingly finished with her task. “Why?”

“Well honestly? I was just tryin’ to be considerate, given your history with a… similar nickname.” He shrugged lightly as he leaned against the shelf. “But, if you really hate it that much, I promise I'll do my best not t'call you that again.”

Setting the mirror down on the table next to the rag, Lusi at last turned around in her chair to face him directly; as soon as he saw her face, however, Logan nearly gasped. Rather than simply wiping off the dust, she had instead opted to remove the remnants of her make-up entirely, and the circles around her eyes were darker than he ever could have imagined– hell, he’d expect to see marks that dark on an actual Panbat over a human being!

But what truly broke his heart was the fact that, from a distance at least, they gave her eyes enough of a sunken appearance that he was able to immediately, unmistakably, identify her as the same girl in the older photograph that Trudy had shown him the day before.

Peach, Light, and Darkness below… He swore to himself, his earlier joke about her performing actual magic with makeup suddenly becoming much less far-fetched. Just how the hell did she manage to hide those without a trace for so damn long…?

However, as he silently took in her poor condition, the builder abruptly sighed in shame before glancing away, causing him to wince in sudden realization.

“Lus', I’m so sorry.” He started, mortified he had unintentionally given her the wrong impression overall. “I swear, I-I didn’t mean to stare, it’s just–”

“I know, Logan.” She interrupted in a small voice, silencing him with a light gesture of her hand. “Hell… you’re the last person in this town I’d expect to give a singular sh*t about what I actually look like without any makeup– and I know for a fact you’ve never cared about my scar.” She glanced up towards the scar over his own eyebrow. “…In part because it’d make you a f*ckin’ hypocrite.”

Logan released a small held breath through his nose. “That it would, wouldn’t it?” He laughed softly, smiling lightly in agreement.

She nodded, a small, sad smile of her own tugging at the corner of her mouth. “No, Bandit… you only care about these goddamn panda eyes I worked myself into.” She sighed, chuckling in spite of herself. “Why do you think I tried to hide it from you for so long? Hell, I got so lucky that I crashed in my makeup the other night, cause otherwise you would’ve figured out that I’ve been barely sleeping the moment you saw my face.”

Logan nodded, agreeing fully with the sentiment. “It is more than slightly obvious, doll–” He winced on instinct as the word slipped out again, which somehow only made her smile wider.

“…And now that I know you’ve been so goddamn worried about it…” She began in a lighthearted tone. “Logan, while I legitimately appreciate the consideration, it’s really not necessary!”

“It’s… not?” He murmured, legitimately surprised.

“Of course not!” She grinned, shaking her head. “Logan, you calling me ‘doll’ and him calling me ‘dollface’ is like night and day. There’s no reason for you to be tip-toeing around it for my sake!”

“But… they’re practically the same word, though.” He stated, tilting his head curiously. “What makes it so different when I call you that?”

“Well, for one…” She sighed, letting the smile fade somewhat. “I’m obviously not worried about what you’d potentially do to me if you ever found out the latter nickname wasn’t true…”

Logan visibly flinched as several layers of understanding abruptly clicked into place. “Still…” He started again, trying to keep them on topic. “If you don’t care about me callin’ you ‘doll’, then why’d you get upset about it on the way here?”

“Because I honestly thought you were just taking the piss outta me now that you knew my legal name!” She exclaimed with a grin. “I mean, you’d never called me ‘doll’ before today, so what else was I supposed to assume?”

“That’s… actually not true.” He admitted quietly, crossing his arms. “I’ve accidentally called you ‘doll’ one other time.”

“Wait, you have?” She asked, co*cking her head back in surprise. “When?”

“Right after the compromise in the square.”

“What? No you didn–” She murmured, creasing her brow in thought before abruptly gasping in realization. “Peach’s preserves– you absolutely did, didn’t you…?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose– it just slipped out.” He clarified with a light shrug. “And while initially, I was just tryin’ to avoid remindin’ you about… anythin’ related to the Ruins while everythin’ was still so raw… after a while, it kinda just became a force of habit.”

“sh*t…” She shook her head in disbelief. “You’ve been worried about that this whole time, and I was so much of a mess that it didn’t even register that you called me that until you literally told me just now…” Looking up, she gave him a crooked grin. “Guess we’re both kinda dumb, huh?”

“Guess so…” Logan agreed with a light chuckle. “Though, I am glad to know I didn’t actually offend you back then.”

“Again– I wouldn’t have been offended then either.” She asserted, rolling her eyes with a smile. “So, just to set the record straight: Logan, you’re fine to call me ‘doll’ or ‘Dal’ from here on out.” She giggled, making sure to enunciate the vowels between the two. “Go ahead, try it out! I promise I won’t explode, or melt, or whatever you think might happen in the worst-case scenario if you use it.”

The hunter considered her words for a moment. “Alright… if you’re sure Dal…” He murmured, testing the feel of the nickname in his mouth once more; despite being so similar, the fact that it didn’t elicit the same knee-jerk reaction in him that the other one now did was almost funny in a way– if not somewhat strange.

“See...? I didn’t even explode a little bit.” The builder teased with a smile. “And to tell the truth? I don’t have a f*ckin' clue which one you called me just now, and I was already very well acquainted with the nuances of a Eufalan accent before I moved to Sandrock.” She paused abruptly. “But, uh, just don’t ask me how…”

Logan immediately feigned offense. “Lusi please! You know I'd never dream of pryin’!” He shook his head seriously as the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “But on a completely unrelated topic: have you ever considered curlin’ your hair? I think it’d honestly suit you…”

At once, Lusi’s eyes flew wide open as she sat bolt upright in her seat.

“No…” She whispered softly. “She told you?”

“You mean about that play with the ‘surrey’ you were gettin’ all up in my face about?– oh yeah, she told me everythin’…” He snickered, breaking into a victorious grin. “Though, she was also pretty surprised you even bothered makin’ a display for it in the first place; seems she was under the impression you hated every second on that stage.”

“Dammit Jane!– I was hoping I could keep him wondering about the surrey thing until at least the end of the year…” She muttered under her breath almost too low for him to hear as she crumpled disappointedly against the back of the chair. “And for the record: I did hate every second of being on that stage; I only made the box because I loved the time I spent with Jane helping her get prepared for her– well, our– part.”

At that, his smirk began to fade. “Yeah… she, uh… told me about that too.” Logan murmured quietly. “Said it was a rough time for both of ya…”

“Well, to be fair, 89 turned out to be pretty sh*t for me regardless from start to finish,” Lusi snorted with a toss of her head. “But… as much as I hated getting roped into that play, it actually ended up being one of the few real bright spots out of that year as a whole. All in all, Jane and I had fun, I learned to project my voice like a motherf*cker, my Nana absolutely loved the show–” She snickered deviously. “Though she did insist that I steal the bows I made for the costumes to get back at the director for drafting me against my will. Even offered to smuggle them out in her bag for me after the final curtain call.”

“Well, I suppose when you have nothin’ to lose...!” The hunter exclaimed sarcastically with a snort. “...So she really enjoyed seein’ you on stage that much, huh?”

“Actually? Believe it or not, I think it was less seeing me on stage as much as the subject matter itself…” She refuted incredulously. “Apparently, my late grandfather had a drawl so thick it probably would’ve rivaled Cooper’s, so the whole goddamn play somehow ended up being weirdly nostalgic for her.”

Lusi snickered at the thought, lightly shaking her head in disbelief. “Light, did she love hearing me put on that over-the-top Eufaulan accent. Asked me to do it so often that I can still pull it out at a moment's notice…”

The hunter’s eyebrows shot up. “You can?” When she nodded in reply, he narrowed his gaze skeptically. “…Prove it.”

The builder raised a brow of her own and briefly glanced above his head. “…Can I wear the hat…?”

“What? NO!” Logan exclaimed sharply, visibly appalled by the very notion. “Girl, you don’t just ask to wear someone’s hat– and especially not mine!”

“Yeah, but… it’s got my initial on it.”

Logan’s expression went flat. “Lusi, both our names start with an ‘L’–” He paused. “…though technically yours actually starts with an ‘A’…”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

The hunter rolled his eyes. “Lusi, you ain’t wearin’ my hat.”

She considered his words for a moment before looking away with an indifferent shrug. “Fine,” she said casually at last. “You know my price.”

He immediately snorted at his own words coming back to bite him. “Brat.”

“Anyway… So, this… abooba?” She shifted casually, giving him a slight nod.

At the change in subject, Logan nodded and cleared his throat. “First: it’s still called a haboob.” He corrected plainly, only to roll his eyes again when she instantaneously broke into juvenile snickering. “Look, I didn’t name the damn thing! It’s an Old World term that somehow carried over.”

“Still, it’s not normal, right?” She asked once her giggles settled down. “I mean, you were acting like they weren’t something that occurs on a regular basis…”

“Because they don’t– or at least, not anymore…” He immediately corrected himself. “Ever since the forest was destroyed and rain became more uncommon, they've become exceptionally rare in these parts– in fact, I’ve only seen maybe a literal handful in Sandrock my entire life. But at the same time, everyone in the desert knows to be leery of ‘em, because in some ways, they’re more dangerous than a regular sandstorm.”

“That's because it’s made of dust instead of sand, right?” Lusi offered inquisitively, tilting her head. “I still don’t get how it’s different, though.”

He nodded in understanding of her confusion. “As Pa explained it: they usually start due to the collapse of a thunderstorm in the desert; probably means the storm petered out closer to Atara– or… maybe turned?” Seeing her blank expression, he shook off the small tangent and raised his hands to gesture the steps as he spoke, “Regardless, the thunderstorm makes a downdraft that collects a big batch of dust in one go– hence the wall. Then, it picks up speed, pulling more of the lighter sand along with it.”

“Like… a snowball that gets bigger as it rolls downhill?”

Logan considered the analogy for a moment before lightly shrugging. “…Afraid I’m also not too familiar with the finer mechanics of snow either, but… yeah! That sounds like a good enough comparison.”

Her face screwed in confusion. “Still, why does the dust wall-thing only happen when a thunderstorm is involved?”

“To be completely honest, Lus'? I can’t tell ya.” He admitted plainly with a sigh, somewhat disappointed in the lack of concrete knowledge at his disposal. “Truth be told, I don’t think the Old World even fully understood how they really work, and since they’re just so damn uncommon, it’s hard for anyone to actually study ‘em.”

“Huh. Wild…” She murmured in slight wonder. “And didn’t you also say they don’t last long, either? Like, what’s ‘not long’; an hour or two, or…?”

“I reckon at least that– could be shorter or a bit longer though.” He agreed absently as he pulled out his pocket watch and flicked it open to check the time, glancing at the clock on the wall as he did. His watch read nine-forty, but... much to his chagrin, the wall clock was off once again, reading about an hour behind.

Really gonna have to have her or Mi-an take a look at that sometime… He griped internally before closing the watch face again. “But considerin’ that three hours tends to be their max, I’m willin’ to bet we’ll be back before lunchti–”

At that, the hunter’s mind was suddenly snapped back to the task he had abandoned. “sh*t– I’ve been just standin’ here yappin’ when I should be worried about you passin’ out from not havin’ anythin’ on your stomach.” He muttered, placing the watch back in his vest pocket before going back to rifling through the supplies.

The builder snorted. “Logan, it’s fine! I promise I’ve survived without food for longer.” She chuckled as she absently began working on undoing the remnants of her main braid. “Hell, before you started coming over for breakfast on a regular basis, more often than not I’d just skip it entirely.”

He cut his eyes over in her direction. “Oh yeah!– You admittin’ to habitually not takin’ care of yourself right in another way makes me feel loads better…” He grumbled sarcastically.

“Oh, Peach in a pinafore…” She swore with a sigh. “Fine! If you’re really that worried about it, just give me a fresh canteen and one of Haru’s ‘cookies’ if you have any over there. I promise that’ll be more than enough to tide me over for a while.” She glanced out the window at the continued dark haze. “Hell, maybe by the time I finish the damn thing the storm will’ve died down…”

Logan froze in mid-rummage, startled. “You want a ‘cookie’...?” He asked, highly suspicious of the request. “You… know they ain’t actually cookies, right?”

“Light, of course I know! But it’s by far the best hardtack I’ve ever had.” She laughed. “I mean sure– the taste still leaves something to be desired, but hey! At least it has one…”

Now Logan was legitimately surprised.

“You know what–” He blinked, only to cut the question off mid-sentence to squint at her dubiously. “…You’ve eaten tack before?”

Lusi looked over her shoulder, now slightly vexed. “Logan, do you have any or not?”

An ex-ballerina from Highwind eatin’ hardtack … He mused internally, still not quite believing her claim. Now this I HAVE to see.

Slowly, the hunter nodded, chuckling softly to himself as he turned back to the shelf to locate the bag of ‘cookies’. Retrieving one along with an empty canteen and a mug to soak the biscuit in, he made his way back to the table. After handing her the mug and brick-like ration, he made his way to the other side to fill the container with drinking water from his potable supply tank. By the time he had finished and turned back around, however, he found she had ignored the mug entirely in favor of scraping at the edge of the biscuit with her teeth.

Seeing her trying to eat the rock-hard biscuit as-is, Logan chuckled again. “Hon. That’s not how you ea–”

“I know, Bandit.” She rebutted bluntly, her expression flat. “I’m just scorin’ the edge so it’ll be easier for the water t’get in.”

Logan blinked back his surprise, raising his brows slightly. “Lus’… a little bit of scrapin’ ain’t gonna make the whole thing soak any faster.”

The builder paused her gnawing to look at him in the face, now clearly irritated. “Will you please just give me the f*cking canteen already?” She requested tersely, holding out her hand.

The hunter threw up his free hand in surrender. “Fine, fine.” He said with a playful snicker, handing her the canteen and taking a seat in the other chair. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though…”

Lusi didn’t respond, as she was much too busy taking heavy initial gulps from the canteen; he could only assume she hadn’t realized just how thirsty she had actually been until the fresh water had hit her lips.

After at last coming up for air, she paused for a moment to sigh contently before taking one last swig from the container and placing the now-scored edge of the dense biscuit against her lips once more. Then, with an air of practiced monotony, she began forcefully pushing water into the hardtack with her mouth, saturating a small portion of the hard bread as much as physically possible before pulling it away.

As the section of biscuit soaked in the backwash, she nibbled at what was immediately softened enough to bite off before at last looking back up at the now slack-jawed hunter.

“See?” She said in an almost bored voice as she bit more off. “No need to wait for the whole f*ckin’ thing to soak when I can just as easily whittle it down gradually.”

As if to emphasize, she took another sip from the canteen and repeated the process once more on another section, gnawing off the soggy areas until she hit the dry edge again.

Logan, meanwhile, was completely speechless, his dubiousness having quickly shifted to a different kind of disbelief as he watched her perform the surprisingly advanced– if not novel– technique before his very eyes.

“A–... W–... H–...” he stammered, struggling to form the words in the correct order out of sheer astonishment before swallowing hard, attempting to reset his mouth while his brain gradually synced back up to it. “...Lusi.” He managed at last, followed by a softly amazed chuckle. “Girl… where in the hell did you learn how to eat hardtack like that…?”

The builder tensed up slightly, and all of a sudden he got the feeling he had made some sort of mistake. However, before he could even try and backpedal, she seemed to come to a decision of some sort, giving him a casual half-shrug in reply as she lifted the canteen up again. “…Same place I got the scar.” She murmured quietly at last before bringing the container to her lips and taking another sip.

Logan instantly stiffened in his seat. “Lus' I’m sorry.” He started. “Forget I even–”

“Don’t be sorry.” She replied at once with a tiny shake of her head as she took another small nibble off of the edge of the tack. After scraping the last of the soggy section off against her teeth, she repeated the process yet again, letting the water soak in more this time before continuing. “After all– I already agreed to answer your questions on the Station, didn’t I?”

Logan immediately shook his head. “Lus’, what I did on the Station was a scare tactic. Nothin’ more, nothin’ less.” He reiterated gently. “I never intended to actually hold you to it– plus, I said you were done earlier, remember?”

“Well, you may think I’m done, but I don’t.” Lusi stated, taking another pull of water off the canteen. “As far as I’m concerned, answering your questions is the least I can do to make up for the hell I put you through this morning.”

Logan sighed softly. “Lus’, that was because of your meds though. You didn’t mean t–”

“But you didn’t know that initially.” She countered instantly. “And you shouldn’t be letting me use that as an excuse either! After all, the only reason you didn’t know in the first place was because I also f*cked up by not making sure you were aware of the side effects.” The builder glanced up to briefly meet his eyes. “So, you should hold me just as accountable for my actions as I held you accountable for yours.”

The hunter shook his head. “Lusi, that was an entirely different set of circ*mstances–”

“No, it wasn’t.” She interrupted once more, scraping the edge of the hardtack as she spoke. “At least, not at its heart: I wronged you, and now I need to make amends. Giving you the answers to your questions seems like a reasonable punishment to me.”

He couldn’t help but wince at her choice of wording. “Darlin’, please don’t put it that way.” He pleaded gently. “Framin’ it like that– it makes it seem like you did somethin’ worth punishin’.”

“Well good! Because I did.” Lusi rebutted again before letting out a vexed sigh. “Look– we’re obviously going in circles, so lemme put it this way: do you remember that bit I said earlier on how the world works?”

Logan furrowed his brow. “About how… no one does anythin’ out of the goodness of their own heart…?”

“That’s the one!” She asserted decisively with a nod. “Now, while medicated-me was definitely more assholish than necessary with the delivery, the notion itself wasn’t the meds talking. The whole reason I spoke up that day in the square was because I wanted you to be at least somewhat inclined to return the same favor to me one day, if need be.” She paused momentarily before letting out a small snort. “Though, you insisting that you owed me an actual favor later was certainly a nice bonus I wasn’t about to pass up.”

“Because I do.” He contended firmly. “As a matter of fact, I still say I owe you two favors …”

“Agree to disagree.” She dismissed nonchalantly with a wave of her hand. “Nevertheless, the point I’m trying to make is: today, you gave me the wake-up call I needed to realize I’ve been breaking my own code over the past few months, and now I want to be held accountable for my actions against you, by you, the same way I held you accountable for your actions while on the run.”

“Now hang on just a second–” He threw up a finger, hardly believing what he was hearing. “Did you just say that you have a code…?”

The builder stared at him blankly for a moment. “Yes…?” She replied at last, decidedly confused. “Though, I suppose it’s less of a ‘code’ and more like a set of rules and regulations that I try to keep in mind while living my everyday life.”

“Lusi. That’s literally what a code is.”

“Okay…! Then we’re in agreement that I have a code!” She blinked, obviously bewildered by the line of questioning. “I mean, I sure as sh*t doubt it’s on whatever level yours is, but if it really bothers you that much, I guess I could throw together an acronym real quick…” She offered with a shrug.

Logan snorted. “No, Lus’, what I meant is: you’re a goddamn ex-ballerina from Highwind.” He clarified with an amused air. “Why in the blazes would you need to live by a personal code when most people tend to just default to the Church doctrine for bearin’s on their moral compass?”

Lusi instantly arched a brow. “Bandit, do you really think I’d have become a goddamn gunsmith if I was particularly devout to the Temple’s rhetoric?” She snorted with a wry smile.

The hunter blinked. “You’re an atheist?” He questioned, legitimately surprised; in spite of Sandrock being decidedly more relaxed when it came to certain aspects of the Church’s doctrine, a true atheist was still a rather rare find.

“Eh… I dunno if I’d go as far as to call myself an atheist, but rather... my outlook on organized religion shifted a bit after going through an ‘I shouldn’t be alive’ on the scale that I did.” The builder shrugged. “And while I still find common ground with the Church’s ideology on a few points, even before the accident I often found myself more drawn to the adages and ideals of Old and ancient Old World spiritual mythologies than our modern interpretation of religion as a whole.” She divulged before snickering softly. “At the same time though, the majority of the church doctrine not really 'doing it' for me did pose a small problem due to the fact that– believe it or not– I can be a bit of a loose cannon.”

“What? No! First time the thought’s even crossed my mind.” Logan replied sardonically, his voice and expression staying flat as a board.

“Cute.” Lusi smirked at the sarcastic blow. “And yet, for as bad as I am now, I could have been way worse if I hadn’t had a personal set of rules and external regulations put into place fairly early on to at least try and keep my own dumbassery in check.” She paused, tilting her head in realization. “…As a matter of fact, you actually saw one of those regulations in action yesterday!”

“I did?” He blinked in surprise. “When?”

“During my little ‘get the heck out of my house’ tantrum. Jane used our safeword on me.” Seeing the look that immediately came over his face, she rolled her eyes. “There’s no law that says safewords have to be exclusive to sex, Bandit– and I’ll be the first to admit that I have a tendency to take things too far when I’m on a roll. So back in our teens, Jane and I agreed on a safeword to use so she could manually shut me down when necessary.”

The hunter looked up in thought. “So… ‘Jud’ was…?”

“Yep.” She nodded simply. “We first came up with the idea during my time in Walnut Groove, and Jud Fry was the name of the ‘villain-slash-sympathetic antagonist-slash-secondary male love interest, but not really’ of the play we were in.”

“…How the f*ck could he be all those things simultaneously?” He muttered dubiously, arching a brow.

“Guy obsessively watched the female lead through her window at night, got manipulated into believing no one could ever love him to the point he was almost talked into suicide by the male lead, and eventually dies via drunkenly falling on his own knife while fighting for her hand.” She relayed somewhat absently as she turned her focus back to finally untwisting the last of her braids. “And while I kinda feel for the character– to me, it always seemed like he was legitimately in love with the female lead, but picked all the wrong ways to go about expressing it– at the same time? He just didn’t know when to stop, went too far, and as a result paid the ultimate price.” She shrugged. “It felt like a fitting enough analogy.”

At that point, Logan's mouth was hanging open slightly, somewhat stunned at the wildly dichotomous impromptu character breakdown.

“And… you said you put on this play as teenagers? In a school?” He eventually managed, his tone carrying an air of almost appalled disbelief.

“Yeeeeah… no idea what kind of Old World drugs ‘Roger Ann Hammerstein’ was on when they wrote it, but that play was something else…” She nodded in sympathetic understanding before suddenly smirking. “For example: the song I ended up having to perform was essentially about the character I played being a hopeless slu*t.”

The hunter recoiled in his seat, wide eyed and aghast. “What kinda weird-ass school had teenagers on a stage singin’ about box socials, drunken knife fights, and bein’ slu*ts all in the same goddamn play?!”

Lusi laughed, obviously pleased that she had hit her mark. “If it makes you feel better, the character wasn’t really a slu*t, she–” She paused abruptly, “…You’re just trying to get me on a tangent so I might slip into the accent, aren’t you?”

“Dammit.” He swore in annoyance, dropping the appalled ruse all at once with a huff.

Lusi grinned wickedly at calling his bluff. “Nice try, yakboy– but you’re gonna have to try harder than that if you want a freebie outta me.” She snickered with a wink while loosing the last of her braids and slipping her hair ties into her pocket. “But back to the matter at hand: getting away scot-free after breaking my code would make me a hypocrite, and we both know my ego is enormous– I can’t stand to be something I hate.”

Logan snorted. “You really hate the idea of bein’ a hypocrite more than recountin’ a story that you previously said you will only tell me drunk?” He paused, slightly alarmed. “...unless how you got the scar and where you learned to eat hardtack are somehow two completely different stories– because if they are? I’m takin’ you to Burgess as soon as this storm lets up. Let a professional handle it from here on out.”

Her eyes flew open wide in disbelief. “First of all: No, they’re all part of the same weird, long-ass story– but more importantly? The concept alone of Burgess being a ‘professional’ in this situation is laughable at best.” She asserted with a snort. “So needless to say, if you even so much as think about letting him give me another one of those f*cking ARC surveys, I’m ripping down that damn watchtower of yours at dawn on Monday. That, sir, is both a threat and a promise.”

The hunter laughed before bringing his expression back to neutral with a shake of his head. “Lus’ I swear: I would never take you to Burgess for ‘pastoral counseling’ against your wishes.” He intentionally paused for a beat, keeping his face flat. “Now Zeke, on the other hand…”

The builder gave a scoffing laugh. “Oh no– take me to Zeke! I’m sure having the agriculturist lecture a former ‘Bloom’ of the Bouquet would be–”

“Wait, a ‘Bloom’... ?” Logan interrupted her, breaking into a smirk. “I thought you were a willow?”

Lusi opened her mouth to reply, only to instead breathe the words away. “Light, Logan, I swear we always end up immediately veering off-topic whenever we have time to really shoot the sh*t.” She chuckled. “Look, do you want to hear my code or not?”

“Oh no, I absolutely have to hear this– and you know what? Since you offered, go ahead an’ make up an acronym while you’re at it…” Logan leaned in, almost giddy. “Somethin’ tells me whatever you come up with is gonna be a treat.”

Lusi giggled with a nod of agreement as she scraped more bites off the hardtack; it was about a fourth of the way gone now, which was far more than Logan had ever expected her to eat of it in the first place.

As she chewed, she tapped a finger against her lips in thought until finally, she slowly raised her hand to count off on her fingers. “...F.A.L.S.”

His face immediately went flat. “Really, Lusi?” He replied bluntly, now genuinely unsure if she was just f*cking with him. “Your code is ‘False’?”

The builder paused as the realization seemingly registered herself. “Holy sh*t, it is…!” She laughed at her unintended humor as he rolled his eyes– much to her chagrin.

“Oh, well excuse me, yakboy for not having a better acronym ready to pull out of my ass– like ‘P.P.P.S.’ is any better!” She shot back with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Though… I could probably be tasked to come up with a better one if I had another example…”

“That can be arranged.” Logan replied dutifully, pointing towards the table next to the wooden cot. “I mean, your hair’s already down, and I’ve got a brush right over there–”

“FIRST rule–” She raised her voice, glaring at him as he snickered. “…is ‘f*ck Around and Find Out’.”

To emphasize, she gave a sly smile while restarting the count on her hand using her middle finger.

“That... might be the single most believable thing that has ever come out of your mouth in my presence.” Logan shook his head in full acceptance. “I have no additional questions or notes.”

She shrugged as the smile widened. “Hey man, I’m trying to be transparent here– which is why I’m also gonna fess up to the fact that the ‘A’ actually got bumped up severely in priority recently, with that being…” The Builder lifted up another finger, her smile fading. “‘Always put Sandrock first’.”

Slowly, the mirth faded from his own face. “Lusi, that ain’t a healthy mindse–”

“I never claimed that they were, Logan. I’m just trying to help you understand how I got to the point that I did before you snapped me out of my sh*t.” Lusi butted in calmly, her voice placidly even. “But, lemme make this much clear before you get your panties in a twist: prior to my, uh… re-evaluation of some of my rules, that one previously served as my reminder to always do my best to keep myself in good condition for the town’s sake.” She explained with a somewhat guilty sigh. “Because believe me when I say that the fact that if I go down, Sandrock goes with me isn’t something I take lightly in the least…”

Logan quietly took in her demeanor for a moment before letting out a soft sigh of his own. “Viv did seem pretty shocked when I told her you had worked yourself to exhaustion…” He replied agreeably with an accepting nod. “Even went so far as to call you the ‘epitome of work/life balance’.”

At that, the builder snorted. “Well, I don’t know about ‘epitome’, but… I have done my damndest to know my limits and stand my ground with my workload since moving here– recent events notwithstanding.” She shrugged, conceding. “And in that same vein, I also try my best to not put myself in overly-dangerous situations unnecessarily unless I feel confident I could manage to keep myself safe without assistance.”

She paused to sip from the canteen for a moment before continuing on. “As I see it: I could’ve– hell, maybe should’ve– died ten years ago in that accident. sh*t, for all I know, maybe the only reason I’m still here is because I tried to fight Peach himself at the Promised Land for his f*ckin’ goggles and it pissed him off enough that he decided to throw me back.”

While Logan choked down a surprised bark of laughter, she gradually broke into a sad smile. “…And in the initial months that followed me waking up in that hospital bed, I tried not to let the whole thing get me down, especially after the treatments ended up putting me back on track to go back to dancing. But then… a few weeks after coming back to the Alliance, I began to deteriorate rapidly due to the climate. I was blindsided– all that work to get me back on stage, only to end up having to give it up anyway...?” She sighed softly. “ Well, it led to my outlook on life getting pretty bleak there for a bit.”

Logan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Jane… may have mentioned somethin’ to that effect.” He murmured. “I meant to tell you earlier, but before she thought to actually ask me how much you had already shared about that time in your life, she let it slip that between your ‘retirement’ and the pain, you actually quit eatin’ for a while.”

Lusi nodded lightly. “Well, it’s not much of a secret that I arrived in town severely underweight. Matter of fact, the whole town got so spooked thinking their new builder might keel over from malnutrition that people still send me food and sh*t in the mail every once in a while ‘just because’, even though I’ve been fine for the better part of a year!”

His brows shot up. “You were so thin people started sendin’ you food in the mail…?”

“Right?! I didn’t even know that was a thing! Hell, Vivi just about fainted the first time I went in for a fitting– though, to be fair, it wasn’t totally unwarranted." The builder snorted with a small smile. "Light, if you think I’m scrawny now, you should’ve seen me back then.”

At that, he winced. “Funny you should mention that…” Logan drew in his breath. “There’s actually another thing I’ve been meanin’ to tell you since yesterday…”

“Oh…?” She tilted her head curiously. “By all means, the floor is yours!”

“No no, it wasn’t–” He cut her off, only to stop short himself as an amused smile threatened to curl up. “Though now that I know that exists– I’m kiddin’!” Logan snickered when he felt her kick him under the table in reprimand. “No, I asked Trudy if she could fill in some of the gaps for me on the whole ‘Builder Project’ thing. But when I questioned why she added marksmanship to your skillset in the first place… she decided to show me the picture of you that was taken when you enrolled in builder’s school in order to make a point.” He confessed, averting his eyes somewhat. “I swear I didn’t ask to see it, she just–"

“Oh thaaaat one…” She chortled darkly over his apology while absently prepping another section of tack. “Yeah, not my best picture, I agree– Peach I really looked like sh*t there for a while.” She stopped to sigh in annoyance. “Though if we’re being honest, I probably don’t look much better now either.”

He looked up, slightly taken aback. “You… aren’t upset?”

It was now Lusi’s turn to look up, apparently confused at his confusion. “About what...?”

“Trudy… said that it was supposed to be a classified document.”

“Annnnd did she also mention the part where I said she could de-classify it as she saw fit…?”

“Well, yeah, but–”

“Then what’s the issue?” Lusi dismissed flippantly, taking another swipe off the biscuit with her teeth. “Look, I told Trudy to use her best judgment when showing it to people– and as far as I’m concerned, if you, Howlett, and Haru are the only three people she’s ever deemed worthy of potentially seeing it, I’d say her judgment’s pretty solid.” She shrugged. “And while that photo serves as evidence that my last years in Highwind sucked complete ass, it also proves that I kept going when I could’ve just as easily thrown in the towel.”

Logan crossed his arms, mulling over his thoughts quietly for a moment. “So…” He started cautiously, “If I were to ever outright ask you about your time back in Highwind…?”

“I’d politely tell you to go f*ck yourself.” She replied with a casual shrug, wincing ever so slightly as she did. “Because while maybe one day I’ll get to the point where I can casually talk about it in one go like I can my accident, as of right now I still prefer skipping to the part where I pulled my sh*t together and decided: if I was gonna be here for a long time, I might as well try to make it a good time too.” She looked up, giving him a small smile. “Even if it meant starting over from scratch.”

He released his breath in a long sigh. “Still, Lus’… you knew the rumors that the town was dyin’– had to have heard how many builders tried and failed before you.” The hunter slightly tilted his head. “The idea that you’d be willin’ to commit yourself so completely to a town that, by all accounts, was on the decline... it still kinda boggles my mind.”

“I totally get that– hell, my parents could hardly believe it themselves– but… when I got word back that Sandrock had accepted my application despite my health concerns? Well, I resolved right then and there to become the best damn builder I could possibly be out of sheer gratitude.” She explained, leaning back in the chair to gnaw on the tack as she spoke.

“All of a sudden, it was like a fire I had let burn down to coals had fresh kindling thrown on top; the pain became secondary, because there was now a tangible goal post for me to reach– one that could potentially allow me to live my life well again. Which was important to me, because…” She held out a third finger on her hand. “… ‘Living well is the best revenge’.”

“Revenge…?” He repeated softly, glancing up at her scar as he tilted his head. “Lus', I… thought you said these ‘rules’ were somethin’ you’ve followed for a while?”

“Some longer than others, but... that one in particular was added shortly after the accident.” She nodded in acknowledgement. “However, I think I should reiterate the fact that I did quite a bit of mental gymnastics a little while back to justify altering my rules for the purpose of carrying out my roundabout revenge– and that one was no exception.” She pushed a regretful sigh through her nose. “In fact, for the past few months up until a literally an hour ago, I’d been following the new ideal of ‘Live for revenge’…”

“But why?” Logan inquired softly. “Why did you feel the need to go so far in the first place? The invasion can’t be the only reason, because even before you shut down your workshop while the factory was goin’ in, you weren’t takin’ nearly as many commissions.”

Lusi hesitated, tapping the corner of the tack gently against the unused mug as she collected her thoughts. “It’s… probably best if I start from the more recent events first…” She began slowly, chewing lightly at the corner of her mouth as she spoke. “The day after the Civil Corps debacle, I went to Heidi’s first-thing and paid for the factory in full using a lump sum of cash. However, she had no idea that that specific cash had originated from the Duvos commissions I completed during the invasion, rather than the ones she paid me for personally.”

“But, you were completely up front about those commissions with me.” He stated with a frown. “So… why did you feel the need to hide it from Heidi?”

“That’s the thing: I didn’t intend to hide anything– I just never ended up telling anyone else besides you that I was actually paid for the commissions I did during that time, and the few people that learned about them just assumed I was forced to do them under duress.” The builder explained with a shrug. “Plus, I knew there was about to be a lot of work on the horizon for the both of us, so I didn’t see the point of bringing up my homestead development plans with Heidi until after the factory was done at the very least.”

“Homestead development plans?” The hunter reiterated. “You were plannin’ to develop your property before you expanded it again?”

“Are you kidding? Of course I was!” She asserted with a scoff. “Logan, being tied to that outdoor generator as my sole source of power was a pain in the ass– so much so that I originally planned to use the money I got from Heidi to have my workshop finally connected to the town’s power grid.”

She crossed her arms, snickering in satisfaction. “…But then the Alliance decided to do damage control with a ‘Hey, sorry we f*cked up yet again, here’s a kick-ass generator’, which ended up making connecting my property to the grid completely unnecessary. And thus: I was suddenly left with extra money earned through legitimate work, a factory bought exclusively with dirty money, and a generator received as a government bribe– all of which, I was perfectly fine with…”

As her words quietly trailed off, she busied herself with prepping the tack again before drawing in her breath once more. “…Right up until day one of the Tour de Rock.”

“The… sandrunnin’ festival set you off on a self-destructive path of roundabout vengeance against Duvos at large…?” He asked slowly, arching a brow quizzically.

“Well, okay, no– not the festival itself.” She clarified haltingly. “See, the factory was set to open on the eleventh, so I knew I was gonna get a lot busier while I played catch-up with my backlog after that. So, since I completely suck ass at sandrunning anyway, I figured I’d just skip the festival entirely in favor of finally going to have that one-on-one talk with Miguel.”

“…And take the photo album you promised to show him.” Logan added, recalling the answer she had given him the day before. “But, what I still don’t get is: Why would an album from your dancer days be important enough to show Miguel in the first place?”

“Because it doesn’t just have photos of my dancer days in it, Logan. There are also pictures directly preceding and following the accident in there too.” She explained plainly. “Apparently, my word alone wasn’t quite convincing enough for him to completely believe the story I told him about how I got injured– Hell, he even had the balls to ask me ‘Do you really expect me to take your claims at ‘face’-value without sufficient evidence?’ while I was putting my makeup back on; with the emphasis on ‘face’ being an obvious jab at my scar.”

“That’s what he asked you?” Logan’s eyes widened in a mix of disbelief and anger. “He wanted you to prove to him you were in an accident in the first place?!”

“Oh no, he believed that much! He just didn’t completely believe the accident itself happened the way I told him it did.” She clarified before breaking into a dark grin. “But I figured: if the man really wanted receipts that badly, who was I to deny him?”

At the notion, Lusi snickered wickedly before taking a quick bite off the biscuit again. “So, I volunteered to cover jail watch under the pretense of letting Justice and Unsuur focus on security for the festival– but in reality, I just wanted to let him have plenty of time to look through the album and come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t talking out my ass.”

“Oh, I’m sure that went well.” The hunter rolled his eyes. “For as long as I’ve known Miguel, he’s been about as stubborn as he is zealous…”

“Actually…? It went great! As of that day, Miguel’s since disavowed Duvos entirely.” Lusi replied brightly before grinning at the shocked look that came over Logan’s face. “…The album gave me enough credibility with him that he was then willing to take me at my word when I started filling him in on some of the additional details about the invasion he hadn’t been made aware of. Like, how the water plan was ultimately a cover for the excavation of the ruins, and to that effect he had been used as a pawn by Matilda–”

She paused abruptly. “I… also had to break the news to him that she got shot into space, because the way he was talking about her made me realize no one had thought to mention to him why he didn't see her again after the invasion got quashed.”

Logan squinted dubiously. “How the hell did he manage to miss…?”

Lusi merely shrugged in response. “Regardless, by the time I was done with him, whatever lingering scraps of loyalty he had to Duvos were completely gone, leaving me with a very apologetic pastor…” She hesitated, swallowing hard while scraping at her lip, “…who then decided to return the favor by filling me in on the fact that Duvos was planning to 'neutralize' me if I didn’t agree to go with them by the time the operation was done. Permanently.”

Logan felt the heat flush from his body in an instant.

“They… what?” He whispered, hoping he had misheard her somehow. When the builder nodded softly in confirmation, however, he dryly swallowed his outward emotions down. “…How could he be so sure of that, though? Duvos abandoned him as a pawn well before the occupation.”

“Because he heard it straight from the horse's mouths.” She stated confidently. “After they thought everyone else had fallen asleep the night before they were shipped off, apparently Lefu and Pen started discussing some things in Duvosian for a long-ass time–”

“Wait, Miguel speaks Duvosian?” He interrupted, surprised by the fact itself.

“Logan, Miguel is meticulous about everything he does. It shouldn’t be that big of a shock that he at least comprehends Duvosian about as well as I do Seesaian." She relayed with a shrug. "And while he admitted he didn't catch everything they were saying, he still got the jist of the conversation at large. Now, a few of the things he told me they talked about I had already suspected– like Matilda putting orders in place to ensure no residents would be hurt during the occupation– but… other things caught me completely off guard. Such as... the fact that Lefu arrived on the scene bearing orders from HQ that superseded hers entirely.”

“Which were…?” He asked hesitantly.

“‘Acquire The Builder of Sandrock as an imperial asset, by any means necessary.’” The Builder in question relayed before looking up to meet his eyes. “And should I refuse? I was to be ‘unilaterally disposed of’ by operation’s end– be it by Lefu, Pen, or Matilda herself.”

All at once, a mix of unspeakable rage and murderous intent welled up inside him– so much so he had to once again consciously force his features into a state of neutral.

“So…” He breathed quietly, intentionally keeping his tone as calm as possible. “In the Ruins, when that bastard was actin’ all sad and sayin’ sh*t like how he was gonna miss you–”

“Possibly, if not probably.” Lusi nodded, her eyes trained on his face as she cut off the question; he could only assume she had actually picked up on his shift in demeanor. “But I doubt we’ll ever know for sure. Shortly after that, Pen noticed Miguel was awake, shut the whole conversation down, and didn’t say another word the rest of the night.” She shook her head before adding with a disdainful snort. “Though, to be quite honest? I think I may have preferred the f*cker following through on his orders over what he cooked up all on his own…”

By this point, Logan had moved his pistol hand into his lap to hide the furious involuntary tremor that had begun to set in. “Why though?” He murmured, scrubbing his off-hand against his mouth. “Why go so far as to order not one, but three commanders to kill an innocent builder for non-compliance?”

“Well, first of all, I’m not just a builder, Logan. I’m also a gunsmith-slash-master plumber, thank you very much.” She reminded him with a sniff. “But more importantly, do you happen to recall what I did the second time I took apart your Pa’s shotgun?”

He gave her an absent nod. “Yeah, you said you made–” His breath stopped short as the realization sharply clicked into place. “…a diagram.”

“Bingo.” She chuckled ruefully. “See, Bandit, I've been taking really weird sh*t apart and diagramming the pieces for reproduction for so long, nowadays I can make schematics for just about any functional object I get my hands on– be it modern or relic in nature. Now granted, if it’s particularly intricate or extremely customized to begin with– like your Pa’s shotgun, for example– the best I can manage to log is a very close replication…” The builder shrugged, adding with a small sigh, “But, when you're likely looking to arm battalions of soldiers with mass-produced relic-based weapons, I suppose quality taking a nosedive somewhere along the line is probably to be expected.”

Thousands of soldiers armed with weapons even a fraction as powerful as Pen's relic gloves…? A chill ran down his spine at the implication alone. “But Lus’, plenty of builders know how to draw their own diagrams. That shouldn’t be somethin’ worth orderin’ a goddamn hit over…”

“Yes and no, to the first.” She immediately rebutted. “While basic diagramming is a standard skill taught in builder’s school, the ability– let alone the willingness– to diagram relic weapons and firearms via disassembly is much more rare, and those of us who can do it tend to be immediately snapped up by the government upon graduation.” Lusi rolled her eyes. “That extra ‘liability’ paperwork they sprung on us last minute? Yeah, that was more-or-less the Alliance just trying to kneecap me yet again following my refusal of their final offer of going to work at some research facility in Atara instead of honoring my commitment of moving to Sandrock.”

He took in a deep breath, trying to bring himself back down to a semblance of calm. “A builder with the skills and trainin’ to make their mass-production dreams come true, but without any real government protection…?” He shook his head slowly as the understanding truly sunk in. “sh*t, one look at a resume like that and Duvos must’ve thought they hit the goddamn lottery.”

“Now you’re getting it.” Lusi agreed with a solemn nod. “And as for the ‘disposal’ bit? I’m pretty sure that was just Duvos ‘upper management’ deciding that if they couldn't have me, they sure as sh*t didn’t want me changing my mind and jumping in bed with the Alliance after the extraction was all said and done…”

She chuckled darkly, taking another swipe off the tack. “But believe it or not? I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet: the only reason Duvos found out about my skillset in the first place was because Miguel was legitimately trying to do me a favor by sending reports to Duvos via Pen on a regular basis, detailing my abilities specifically.”

“A favor?” Logan repeated, incredulous. “How the hell could he possibly see sellin’ you out to an enemy state as doin’ you any goddamn favors?!”

“Oh, no, that's the thing: he wasn’t selling me out. He was trying to save me from a terrible fate.” Seeing the look of continued confusion on his face, Lusi sighed with a breathy laugh. “Let’s rewind a bit, shall we? According to Miguel, back when the water scheme was in its infancy, he and Yan came to an agreement with Mason for him to maintain the plumbing for the auxiliary water theft system. And so long as he kept his mouth shut, Mason would both continue to receive a cut of the profits and eventually be allowed skip town scot-free– aka ‘retire’.”

She paused for a moment to take another quick sip. “However, that agreement also meant he wasn’t allowed to leave until there was a qualified replacement on standby to take on his job of servicing the pipes and manually reducing the amount of water the relic was generating before it started doing that on its own– which, incidentally, ended up rendering me completely unnecessary to the plan by the time I got here.”

The hunter arched a brow. “But… one of the few things Yan was actually decent for as a builder was plumbin’; though, same could be said about Mason too.”

“That’s true! But again– it was Yan; why would he do something himself when he could instead make someone else do it for him?” She snorted with a shrug, “A few years in, however, it got to a point where they didn’t really need Mason anymore, they just kept him around because A. He was also a master plumber and thus better at plumbing in general, and B. If he left, pretty much all the builder work of the town would fall to Yan– which, of course, was the last thing Mr. President wanted.”

At the notion, she rolled her eyes. “But just as Yan was starting to get nervous about Mason finally asking to ‘retire’ at long last, Trudy pulled him into a meeting out of the blue.” She looked up to catch his gaze pointedly. “And during said meeting, he learned all about the crippled young lady looking to become Sandrock’s official Town Builder– with a tailored education and everything!”

“The extra plumbin’ courses.” Logan breathed softly. “That f*cker thought he could strong-arm you into bein’ an accomplice from the start…!”

Lusi gave him a small nod. “Not that it ever would’ve worked. I knew our ‘beloved president’ was a rat from the get-go. Though between you and me? Manipulating his ass into thinking I wasn’t anything less than an obedient peon was way easier than it ever should’ve been.” She snorted. “Anyway, when I passed my proficiency tests the next year and the option of me graduating early without the extra courses was first brought up, apparently Yan freaked; went straight to Miguel and spilled the beans about whole ‘Builder Plan’ in its entirety, in the hopes that the good pastor would back him up in the next meeting.”

The builder snickered wryly. “However… that actually turned out to be a bit of a misstep on his part. Because while Miguel never showed it, he told me he was completely against the idea of me coming here the second he found out.”

“Wait– Miguel was workin’ against Yan…?” He asked, blinking in confusion. “Why the heck would he do that? They were on the same damn side.”

“Because in his eyes, I wasn’t a twenty-something year-old woman just trying to start a new life, but rather a helpless child being corrupted by the whims of a doomed town!” She relayed dramatically with a bemused snort. “So after reluctantly being accepted into the fold on the Builder Plan front, he immediately voted to have me stay for the additional training in Highwind– not for the sake of me being able to take Mason’s position in the plan, but rather to try and break my resolve to move to Sandrock in the first place.”

Lusi let out a dark chuckle. “…And after that obviously didn’t work, the good pastor then decided to start taking notes on my skills to encourage Duvos to see my value as an asset worth recruiting. That way, after the town eventually dried out, I would at least have the chance of being ‘saved’ by the Empire, and my ‘deviant abilities’ put to use for the greater good under ‘proper supervision’.” She relayed, throwing up air quotes around certain phrases as she went.

“All in all, his only real hang up was the climate I would end up being subjected to– you know, the near constant rain that’s present almost everywhere within the Duvos border at large? But apparently when he brought up his hesitation in passing, Pen assured him that Duvos already had a treatment available that would fix my joints right up good as new!”

“Oh yeah, cause that sounds legit.” Logan growled, grinding his teeth in agitation. “Did he also try to sell him a bridge while he was at it?”

“You know, I’m not sure! But I’ll try to remember to ask him the next time I’m at the office.” She mused blithely as she gnawed on the tack. “Anyway, about that time the goddamn cat finally arrived to relieve me, so I ended up just walking home in a daze. And after I got there, I parked myself at my kitchen table, downed a bottle of whiskey, and just… stared off into space for a few hours.”

The hunter creased his brow, glancing the petite woman up and down dubiously. “You downed an entire bottle of liquor in one go?”

“Focusing on the wrong part, Logan.”

“Right.” He cleared his throat, but made a mental note to circle back to that particular subject at a later date. “So you got sh*tfaced and spiraled for a bit.”

“Yup.” Lusi nodded. “The whole time, my brain just kept circling back to the notion that: living well just wasn’t enough of a revenge this time. I needed to do more – something, anything! – no matter what.” She recounted with a sigh. “But at the same time, I was way too drunk to come up with anything of substance– or if I did, I sure as sh*t don’t remember it. Still... eventually I passed out, and the next thing I knew, the head Alliance engineer was banging on my door at seven sharp the next morning to get me to sign off on the final generator inspection.”

She swallowed hard. “...But I'll be damned if a little voice in the back of my head didn't pop up the second my hungover ass walked into that finished factory and go: ‘It’s f*cking perfect… and it’s all thanks to them’…”

“And all of a sudden… you had a plan.” Logan sighed as the understanding at last clicked into place.

“Well, there’s obviously still a little bit more to it– I mean, who the hell dives into the deep end of revenge on an enemy state due to a single hangover-induced intrusive thought?” The builder tossed a hand up with a small snort. “No... out of everything, I really think it was the irony of the whole f*ckin’ situation that got stuck in my throat the most.”

“Honestly Dal? I don’t know if ‘irony’ even covers it.” He replied while absently cracking his knuckles on his pistol hand to dispel the last of the tremor. “Gettin' sold out to a country where you’d had a snowball’s chance of survivin’ in an attempt to save you from the only place you could actually thrive?” He laughed joylessly. “That’s not irony, Lus’– it’s a goddamn joke…”

“Yeah, I guess it is, in a way…” Lusi nodded amicably. “And… when you also take into consideration the fact it’s entirely their goddamn fault I had to change careers in the first place, the punchline only gets worse.”

At that, Logan's eyes immediately snapped up in confusion. “What did you just say?” He asked, legitimately unsure if he heard her right, and with a soft sigh, Lusi calmly met his eyes.

“Y’know Logan, considering how smart you can be when you really set your mind to something, I honestly thought you would’ve put the pieces together yourself a long time ago.” She chided gently as she took a casual sip off the canteen. “I mean, it's not like I haven't dropped enough hints at this point…”

“Lus’… I-I’m afraid I’m not followin’…” He stammered in surprise; surely, he must be misunderstanding something.

“Oh come now, Bandit– surely you’ve had to have thought something was off!” She snorted lightly, tilting her head with a humorless grin. “Hell, man!– back when you first recruited me into the ‘gang’, you barely even got the word out of your mouth before I said I was in. That alone should’ve been your first tip-off that there was some sort of history there…”

Logan felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck as something echoed within his mind. “I always thought you were just talkin’ about the details of the event itself not linin’ up,” He murmured, his voice barely higher than a whisper. “But this whole time… 'sh*t' actually meant…?”

“Well, first of all: what is ‘sh*t’ if not just another name for Duvos– am I right?” The builder chuckled airily, her demeanor almost unnervingly relaxed. “But regardless; the ‘questionable circ*mstances’ behind your Pa’s infection? Haru of all people somehow f*cking up a bomb so badly that it caused an explosion damn near quadruple the size intended? Miguel immediately rallying the town to completely discredit and demonize you rather than conduct any sort of proper investigation?” She rattled the points off, smirking lightly with a small snort. “Oh no, from the very start, the whole thing just reeked of being a half-assed cover-up of some sort. But for the life of me, I just couldn’t quite place why it felt so familiar…”

Lusi shook her head lightly, seemingly in disbelief of her own blindness. “That is, until you told me your Pa’s final words, and– all of a sudden! The whole thing made perfect f*ckin’ sense…”

The hunter could hardly comprehend the words that were coming out of her mouth. “Lusi…” He practically laughed. “You can’t actually be implyin’ that Duvos–”

“–was responsible for my accident?” She finished for him, meeting his eyes again before breaking into a sad smile. “…Yes, Logan. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

He stared at her in disbelief for what seemed like hours as multiple points of understanding connected within his mind. Her instant willingness to help in the investigation; her intentionally glossing over details when discussing her accident at large; her seemingly overblown pursuit of revenge– all of it lined up.

And yet… at the same time...

“…that’s impossible.” He managed at last. “I mean, you were a goddamn ballerina for fu–”

He abruptly froze, eyes snapping wide. “You were a ballerina, right?”

Lusi arched a brow. “If you’re asking if you have yet another ‘Grace Situation’ on your hands…? You’re in the clear.” She clarified with a snort– only for it to turn into a giggle when he instantly deflated in relief.

“Nah, Bandit… up until Winter of 89, I was just another dancer-slash-tumbler in the Bouquet travel team– albeit, an extremely talented one.” She reclined against the back of her chair, confidently waggling her brows at him. “I mean, why do you think I was doing a gymnastics set during a dance performance in the first place? Those things are not easy to pull off consistently, but I was just that f*ckin’ good…”

“Humble, too.” Logan blurted out before slapping a hand over his mouth in shock of his own rudeness as she instantly broke into a fit of laughter. Once she had settled down again however, he apprehensively met her eyes once more. “But still… how?”

Slowly, the smile faded from her face. “Let's… finish what we started before we start digging into that debacle, alright?” She murmured gently, taking a moment to prepare her biscuit again. “Now, when it comes to my ‘S’: my parents knew since the day I was born that there was a very good chance I was gonna be cursed with a personality and internal drive similar to that of my mother’s– which unfortunately isn’t fueled by kindness or goodwill, or even anger, like yours. As such, my Ma tried to instill from an early age a firm understanding of a phrase that she takes to heart as well, with that being:”

The builder held up a fourth and final finger before taking a decent bite off the hardtack. “…‘Spite is the Acid that Eats the Container’.”

“Spite?” He repeated, tilting his head. “You’re seriously driven by spite?”

“Oh you better believe it!” Lusi confirmed wryly with a chuckle. “For example: I meant that ‘day I was born’ thing quite literally. The only reason my birthday ended up landing on the Winter Solstice in the first place was because my Ma was completely pissed off at her doctor at the time. So when she realized she was actually going into labor on the twenty-third, she kept her mouth shut and intentionally waited until right before midnight on the twenty-fourth to tell Pa it was time to go– all in the name of ensuring the good doctor had to drop whatever he was doing and come in during the wee-ass hours of the morning to deliver me.”

A low chortle rose from the back of her throat as she took a decent bite off the hardtack. “f*ckin’ ruined his holiday plans…”

Oh good, it’s genetic. He groused internally before pausing. “But, wait a sec– Lusi… the Solstice isn’t until the last day of Winter’s first month, though…”

She stopped to consider the counterpoint. “Oh right, I always forget no one can f*ckin’ agree when to celebrate that damn holiday for some reason.” She finally snorted, rolling her eyes. “It’s the twenty-eighth here, the twenty-first in Seesai– sh*t, I think Portia actually does celebrate it on the twenty-third!– but in Highwind, it’s celebrated on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth.”

“The twenty-fourth and the twenty-fifth?” He reiterated with a confused blink. “Why both?”

“Oh, that's cause they tend to split most holidays between two dates, in order to keep at least one of the cities running at any given– wait! No, sh*t– we’re veering again.” She waved the tangent off with her hand. “Look, the point I’m trying to make with all of this is: are you now able to at least somewhat comprehend how one, singular throwaway thought amidst a hangover to end all hangovers could end up derailing my entire thought process at large?”

Logan leaned his mouth into his hand pensively for a moment before slowly nodding. “…Seems to me like you got so worked up tryin’ to spite Duvos for screwin’ with your life– apparently multiple times over– that you let that spite warp your own goddamn rules.” He glanced up pensively. “Am I close?”

“Not just close…” Lusi winked, clicking her tongue in admiration. “You got it in one.”

When he merely chuckled in response, she grinned wider– only for her face to abruptly fall all at once. “Ah, beans.” She muttered, blinking in sudden realization.

Logan frowned at her sudden change in tone. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, funny story– I got so caught up talking about my spite-based revenge and Ma being a bitch to her doctor that I only just now realized I’m freezing my ass off.” She chuckled in spite of herself, flushing slightly red in embarrassment while gesturing with her head towards the climate control system behind her on the wall. “Would you at all mind turning on the heater, please?”

Logan’s eyes went wide. “sh*t, is it cold?” He asked, immediately standing to make a bee-line for the stepstool he used to reach the unit. “I’m so sorry, Lus’, I always forget most people aren’t as hot-natured as me. Hell, I'm barely bothered by the lower temps unless it’s well below freezin’...”

“Honestly? It’s probably not very cold at all, I’m just stupidly overly-sensitive to it.” Lusi replied casually as he passed her, pausing for a moment to soften the hardtack again before resuming her progress. “One of the many downsides of being this thin is that I don’t retain my own body heat well– and if you can believe it? In my rush to fling myself out a window this morning, I failed to layer as much as I usually do this time of year!”

Once she heard the heater rumble to life behind her, she added as an aside, “Oh, but while you’re over there… you also might wanna get your flask– that ‘not sober’ story is up next.”

Before he even had a chance to respond to that, she threw her free hand up over her head to preemptively cut him off. “And don’t say: ‘I don’t know what yer talkin’ ‘bout, doll!” She rebutted, puppeting the words with her hand as she gnawed on her meal. “Yeah– Haru told me that you and Howlett used to keep a flask of 190 proof in the Outpost at all times as emergency disinfectant-slash-booze, and after seeing how much random sh*t you have jammed on those shelves, I have little doubt it’s still around here somewhere.”

Logan stared at her back from his place on the stool, mouth slightly agape. “…How in the hell did that ever come up in conversation with Haru?” He asked, squinting dubiously.

“Eh, we’re pen pals, we talk about a lot of random sh*t in our letters.” Lusi half-shrugged while prepping another section of the biscuit. “Oh, which reminds me: he told me to tell you he got an ‘A’ on his last organic chemistry exam.”

“That’s a hard subject.” Logan acknowledged, impressed by his brother’s lofty accomplishment before realizing what she was getting at. “But ‘celebratin’ Haru’s test scores aside– Lusi, I know this must also be a hard subject, but I’m not gonna let you drink with pain meds in your system!”

“Logan, I only said it wasn’t a sober story– never said I was the one who needed to get sloshed!– …though apparently it does wonders for my delivery.” She rebutted, adding the last bit under her breath while putting the bread to her mouth to prepare another section quickly.

“Wait, the flask is for me?” He laughed incredulously while stepping down from the stool. “Lusi, I ain’t takin’ a shot of 190 in the middle of the goddamn mornin’!”

“Well, I would highly encourage you to temporarily reconsider your stance on day-drinking.” The builder admonished as she took another bite off the biscuit. “Because while I’ve made my peace with this weird-ass aspect of my life story, I’ve determined through observational trial-and-error that it’s not a particularly pleasant story for others to hear without downing a shot or two of hard liquor beforehand.”

“But you told it to Miguel, and I know for a fact he was completely sober at the time...” Logan countered as he unsnapped the collar of his cloak from where it was attached to his vest and pulled it off over his head.

“Yeah, and I apologized for that later.” Lusi admitted matter-of-factly. “See, in my pissed-off-ness, I inadvertently ended up throwing his ass into the deep end with a hell of an opening line– though, it probably doesn’t help that I’ve also been told that I just really suck at telling this story in general.”

“Well then, I’ll consider myself sufficiently warned…” He chuckled softly before unceremoniously dropping the accessory over her head as he passed her chair.

“Peach!” Lusi yelped, jumping in her seat before registering what had just happened. “Logan, asking you to turn on the heater wasn’t my way of coyly requesting you also toss your... cape-thing over me without a damn heads up!” She hissed, her face flushing hot again as he continued making his way to the opposite side of the table.

The hunter scoffed as he pulled the chair back into position. “I know that, but I’m not gonna let you sit here and freeze when I don’t even need the damn cloak right now.” He smirked with a tilt of his head. “Also, you would’ve said ‘no’ if I offered.”

“You’re damn right I would’ve.” She agreed immediately before taking a moment to spite her own words by adjusting the collar on her shoulders while simultaneously wrapping the longer back around herself more to better cover her arms. “But… thank you.” She finished sincerely as she picked up her progress on the biscuit once more, which was now about half-way finished.

“You’re welcome,” He accepted graciously, sitting down and taking a quick sip off the canteen himself while she was busy eating. “But in return… I kinda wanna hear whatever ice breaker you told Miguel that led to him bein’ shaken up that goddamn badly.”

Lusi paused mid-bite. “Youh hure…?” She asked, lifting her eyebrows up in uncertainty. “Ich heally wahnt gheat.”

“Dal, this time last year I was literally hijackin’ trains at gunpoint. I’d like to believe I have at least slightly better nerves than a man who only committed white collar crime.” Logan smiled wryly before adding as an aside, “Y’know. With the exception of the time he tried to shoot me…”

The builder regarded him wide-eyed for a moment before shrugging with her head, taking the now-shared canteen off the table and pulling a sip to prepare another section. “Alright, if you insist…”

As she pulled the hardtack away from her mouth and allowed it to soak, she sighed, fully averting her gaze while taking a deep breath.

“‘I spent my sixteenth birthday in a Duvos prisoner of war camp’.”

After a few seconds of silence, she cautiously glanced over to check his reaction– only to immediately lift her eyebrows in admiration. “Okay, yeah!– you took that WAY better than he did!” She remarked with an impressed nod of approval before squinting in consideration. “Though… you do kinda look like you wanna faint juuuust a little bit.”

“Start from the actual beginnin’, please.” The hunter requested firmly, trying to cover the shake in his voice with a cough.

Lusi nodded. “I was planning to, don’t worry.” She adjusted the cloak around her again while gnawing on the back half of the hardtack. “Just… gimme a bit to literally warm up first, okay?”

Logan nodded lightly in agreement, grabbing the canteen for another sip of water to calm his nerves. I really hope I don’t regret not grabbin’ that flask…

Chapter 11: Seventy-Three Days

Chapter Text

“...We were on our way to perform during the Seesai National Ice Festival in Lunan.”

Logan immediately broke from his light doze at the table, lifting his hat from his eyes to look at Lusi where she now sat on the hard sleeping platform. Her relocation had been his doing– even after she had eaten her fill of the hardtack, she had still been feeling cold, leading him to badger her to go sit in the heater’s direct path. Still, once the warm air had hit her, it hadn’t taken long for the exhaustion to take its toll once more, and the pair had settled in for another short siesta.

Looking at her now though, the only thing that told him she hadn’t fallen asleep outright was the fact he had just heard her speak; propped up against the corner of the wall and headboard with her eyes closed, she still looked totally out of it. Still, as he took in just how easily his cloak swallowed her small frame as it draped over and around her propped-up knees, Logan couldn’t help but feel slightly concerned. Light… how can she eat so much and still end up bein’ so damn tiny…?

Oblivious to his silent worries, however, the diminutive woman continued. “The dance program at our academy wasn’t the biggest to exist in the Free Cities, but we were still the premiere troupe this side of Walnut Groove, with about thirty Flowers in the travel team alone.” With a tired air, she at last opened her eyes to regard him. “The Highwind Bouquet.”

He immediately nodded in recognition. “Jane mentioned that was the name of your troupe, but… did y’all seriously call yourselves ‘Blooms’ and ‘Flowers’?” He murmured with a disbelieving smile, pulling his hat off and setting it on the table once more.

“You better believe it.” The builder let out an amicable snort. “Fun fact about Highwind, Bandit: they just love shoe-horning the plant motif anywhere they can– even in places where there are zero actual plants involved. And my academy took no exception.” She smirked lightly. “I started out as a ‘Seedling’ at the age of five in dance and gymnastics courses, and over the years gradually worked my way up the ranks through ‘Sprout’ and ‘Bud’ until I eventually reached full-fledged ‘Bloom’.” She then sighed, almost wistfully. “…And had things turned out differently, I was well on my way to becoming a lead dancer after we got back– aka, a ‘Rose’.”

“A rose, huh?” He grinned softly. “Eh, still. I think I like you better as a willow, myself.”

“Oh do you now…?” She arched a mischievous brow. “Any particular reason?”

“Mmm, maybe it’s just everyone around here bein’ a little biased towards trees but… I dunno. It just feels more fittin’?” The hunter mused with a shrug. “Flowers in these parts don’t tend to last very long, but a willow’s more resilient any way you slice it.”

The builder couldn’t help but smile at that. “Well, as nice as that sentiment is, up until New Years Eve of 89, being a Rose was all I ever dreamed of. My parents always encouraged me to go into the arts in some capacity– and while I decided early on that I didn’t want to get special treatment due to their theater connections, there was really no escaping the nepotism.” Lusi released another long sigh. “The whole reason I was even able to enroll at that particular academy was because the director was an old family friend. My parents had known him since their traveling days, and when he saw how much potential I held for dance at an early age, he saw to it that my application jumped the waiting list when it came time for me to start school.”

He nodded gently in understanding. “Well, I suppose it makes sense why they’d trust him enough to be your guardian abroad, huh…”

“Yeah. Growing up, he was like an uncle to me– and when I entered the academy, he was a fantastic mentor. Always pushing me to excel at anything I set my mind to, but never sugar-coating areas I needed to work on.” Lusi murmured quietly. “And when the lead travel team tumbler got sidelined with an injury a few weeks before they were set to depart for the festival booking, he was adamant I was up to the task of taking her place.” She shook her head with a slightly bitter snort. “I felt like I'd hit the f*ckin’ jackpot…”

“Still… I don’t know if I would’ve let my kid travel all the way to Seesai if I wasn’t goin’ with them.” Logan muttered with a soft shake of his head. “I mean hell– I don’t think I was ever more anxious than those six months I had to leave Andy in the town’s care, even though I knew it would be safer for ‘im in the long run…”

“Well, in my parents' defense, they wanted to go with me, but at the time they were still completely swamped with getting the last of Nana’s affairs in order after her passing.” She reasoned plainly. “And even though I was technically a smidge too young to be on the team, when they took into consideration that I was gonna be turning sixteen during the trip, along with the maturity I held as a performer– I said as a performer, not as a person.” She quickly added when she saw him open his mouth, cutting his incoming snide remark off at the pass, “–they signed off on it, and an exception was made.”

The hunter let out a small huff. “But still, Lus’– this would’ve been before the peace treaty. It just feels like maybe they shoulda–”

“Logan, I highly doubt one of them being with me would have changed the ultimate outcome; and if anyone was at fault for me going on that trip, it was me– I begged them to let me go.” She retorted bluntly. “Besides, the trip itself was incredibly safe on paper: Take the train to Ethea, travel up the middle of the country via bus to avoid all the Duvos bullsh*t, enter Seesai via the protected border, and head straight to Lunan. Not to mention, we were supposed to have an Alliance squadron escorting us for the entirety of the Ethea bus leg; had everything gone according to plan, we would've been there and back before the third month of Winter even started…”

“‘Supposed’ to have an escort?” He frowned, concerned about the emphasis put on the word. “Did… that not happen?”

“Oh no, it did– at first.” She chewed at her lip slightly as she spoke. “The escort squadron met us at the train station and traveled with our buses for the majority of the trip. But when we were about half a day away from the Seesai border, they received word from the Alliance that a skirmish with Duvos broke out farther south. They were then ordered to drop what they were doing to head out immediately and back up–”

“Wait, hold on– the Alliance dropped your escort?” He interrupted incredulously. “Why didn’t they finish their job of gettin’ y’all to the border first?”

A bitter smile curled at the corner of her mouth. “Because… it was never actually their job in the first place. As it turned out, the Alliance was only offering escorts for civilian groups so they would have a plausible excuse to keep more support troops in Ethea than they were technically allowed to have at the time.” Lusi dropped her head onto the top of her propped up knees with a humorless chuckle. “Though, they only admitted that was the case after ninety-nine percent of the troupe had safely returned home…”

“So guarding y’all was just a cover?” Logan breathed, mortified. “And they didn’t even have the decency to let y'know that ahead of time?”

The builder shook her head softly. “Oh, and it gets better!– Had he known there was a chance we might be left high and dry, the director would’ve undoubtedly contacted our booking party directly to arrange for additional security for the duration of the trip, because they certainly had the resources to provide it.” She muttered into the cloak, her voice slightly muffled by the fabric. “But… that was precisely what the Alliance was trying to avoid happening. Their reasoning was: if a Duvos informant in Ethea took notice of us, they would find it suspicious that such a small group of non-combatants would feel the need to double up with both military and private security. After all, there should have been no reason to– unless, of course, we were anticipating the possibility of potentially losing one of our escorts at some point along the way…”

“Optics…” The hunter muttered, scrubbing his hand across his mouth in understanding. “They were more worried about optics than keepin’ their own people safe…”

“Indeed they were.” She agreed with a small nod. “Though, I think you’ll be glad to know that the Alliance did learn their lesson and changed that particular policy right after what happened to us– you know, ‘regulations are written in blood’, and all that…” She let out a long sigh, and Logan got the feeling this was where the story would start to take its turn.

“We waited a few days at an inn in the middle of bumf*ck nowhere for our escort to come back, but by the time the first tenth rolled around, we realized that likely wasn’t happening.” Lusi scoffed with a shrug. “So, after talking with the drivers, it was agreed we would divert from the original plan of traveling only during the daylight hours and instead pull an all-nighter to get to the Seesai border as quickly as possible. And since our Ethean bus drivers were familiar with the area, they also opted to use a lesser-known shortcut to make better time, which ended up taking us off the main road to and onto one that was pretty rarely traveled.”

Lusi sucked in her breath. “…In fact, it was so rarely traveled, the small battalion of Duvos soldiers that was using it to illegally move well within the Ethean border was understandably surprised that they crossed paths with anyone– let alone two busloads of Alliance civilians– at three in the goddamn morning…”

Logan felt a chill roll down his spine. “Always did think it was a little weird that you didn’t seem at all surprised when we told you Duvos was in Sandrock…”

The builder gave him a rueful smile. “Yeeeeah, I may have already had a bit of first-hand experience with their bad habit of playing in other people’s yards without permission…” She chuckled, leaning her head against the wall above the headboard more and sending her bangs slightly askew. “Needless to say, they weren't exactly keen on the prospect of their illicit stealth operations getting out the moment we made it to Seesai, so they commandeered the buses and whisked us across the Duvos border to the nearest detention facility– which just so happened to be a P.O.W. camp…”

She paused, jerking her chin towards the canteen on the table in a wordless request; Logan immediately picked it up and walked it over to her, sitting down across from her along the edge of the bed. “But… ain’t P.O.W. camps supposed to be for military detainees, though…?” He murmured quietly as he handed it off.

She nodded affirmatively while she took a sip from the container. “Technically... yes! But it was the only facility in relatively close proximity that was large enough to house a group our size for an indefinite period of time. That said, we were treated as civilians the entire time we were kept there, and they later moved us to an actual civilian concentration camp closer to the Seesai border.” She smiled softly. “…Though, that still doesn’t change the fact that I celebrated my birthday locked up in a prison cell– you know something about that, don’t you, Bandit?”

He couldn’t help but let out a small bark of laughter. “Why am I not surprised you of all people would be able t’relate to the experience of spendin’ a birthday behind bars…?” Logan chuckled to himself with a rueful smile. “Though, I’ll admit, you prolly have me beat when it comes to insane sixteenth birthdays…”

“Oh…?” Lusi arched a black brow curiously. “Care to share with the class, yakboy?”

“Hey, you have your ‘not sober’ story, I have mine, alright?” The hunter denied with a playful smirk. “Keepin’ on topic though, even if they treated y’all as civilians, housin’ y'all with military prisoners couldn’t have been safe.”

“Yeah, you’d think that, but… credit where credit is due: the P.O.W. camp actually treated us exceptionally well, all things considered.” She refuted with a shrug. “Sure, they kept us locked up in our cells for almost the entirety of our stay, but that was done mostly with our safety in mind– we obviously weren't accustomed to the smog in the air, and the few times we were let out, they took extra precautions to avoid us accidentally running into any actual prisoners. In fact, they kept us so sequestered, I never met anyone there who wasn’t a guard or a member of personnel specifically assigned to work in our cell block.” She hesitated in thought for a moment, before adding somewhat reluctantly. “…Well, I say that; the majority of us did end up getting acquainted with one member of the general prison staff during our stay…”

Something about her subtle change in tone got him nervous. “No one… hurt you or nothin’, did they, Lus’…?” Logan asked, clearly concerned.

“Oh no!– well, yes, actually – but… not really?” She replied haltingly, only to wince as his eyes widened in alarm. “Okay yeah, that probably sounded bad…”

“Little bit, yeah!”

“Right, um, lemme start over.” She muttered, quickly trying to gather her thoughts. “So… pretty much everyone I interacted with there was as nice as they could be. The majority of the male guards who watched us were like Stev– polite, respectful– but I also didn’t see them much after the female guards were transferred over following the incident in our cell– ohhhh, I just made it so much worse, didn’t I?” She hissed as panic started to set in on his face.

“Girl, it's like you're tryin' to give me a heart attack!"

“Look, in my defense: I did warn you that I suck at telling this story.” The builder laughed nervously as she lifted the canteen up again. “But I should still prolly back up a bit.”

“Please do…” He groaned in light exasperation.

Lusi nodded, but didn’t answer right away, preoccupied with taking a long drink off the container, allowing Logan a moment to get his emotions back in check until she finally came up for air.

“Right, so. The general guards?” She started again as she pulled the canteen away. “There were no problems with them– if anything, I think they legitimately felt bad we were there. After all, it wasn't our fault we accidentally tripped over their country’s blatant espionage; and in that vein, the female guards that were brought in actually took quite a shine to us–” She paused to shrug sheepishly. “…To the point that I actually ended up coming back with a few non-Jane approved bad habits…”

Logan’s face instantly dropped. “You literally picked up ‘cussin’ like a Duvosi’ from a bunch of Duvosi ladies…?” He exclaimed as a small peal of ironic laughter slipped out. “Well sh*t! No wonder he–”

“M-hmm…” Lusi pursed her lips with a curt nod, her demeanor nothing short of disgusted. “Light, you don’t know how much that pissed me off, too. Hell, if I had known he actually liked it, I would have cleaned my own mouth out with soap ages ago!” She growled, adding, “and thrown out that f*ckin’ lipstick…” under her breath as an aside before moving on. “The general grunts aside though, most of the officers were also completely professional, too. That said, there was a little incident right after we first arrived where three bottom-rung lieutenants tried to play grab-ass with me and a few of the other girls in our cell–”

“They WHAT?!”

“–but a swift beat down and reprimand from the Captain in charge of the cell block put an end to that kind of nonsense immediately.” She finished calmly despite his outburst, her tone almost boredly placid.

As Logan gradually came down from the emotional whiplash, he couldn’t help but feel more than slightly troubled by her now recurring blasé attitude when it came to the subject. “Lusi… you do realize this is now the second time today that you’ve told me that men seem to have a habit of puttin’ their hands on you as they please?”

“Yeah– I’m sorry.” She apologized with a small shrug. “I know it’s gotta be an uncomfortable subject for you–”

“For me?!” He reeled back, astonished that that would be her first concern. “Lus’, does– does that really not bother you in the least…?”

“Well, of course it bothers me, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth getting myself all worked up over! Garden variety sexual harassment is something I've dealt with since I was, oh… twelve? Thirteen-ish? Just comes with the territory of being a ‘pretty little thing’ that looks good in tight-fitting outfits.” She explained casually before giving him an almost perplexed smile, “How do you think I put up with Pen’s touchy-feely bullsh*t for almost a year? I already had plenty of practice…”

“…Twelve?” He repeated, plainly horrified by the notion– if not somewhat heartbroken for her. “You mean you’ve had people… grabbin’ at you since you weren’t that much older than Jasmine…?”

She studied his expression quizzically for a moment until suddenly, something seemed to click in her mind and her expression completely softened.

“Logan… you need to understand that I was a performer: someone who, by definition, puts themself on display for the sole purpose of entertaining others.” She explained, an almost sympathetic gentleness to her voice. “Now, in a perfect world, everyone would be able to make that distinction between performer and performance– public and private– but… sometimes people simply forget you’re also a person and not just twenty-four-seven walking entertainment.”

“But why would be so willin’ to subject yourself to that in the first place?” He murmured incredulously. “Lettin’ people put their hands on you without your say-so; treatin’ you like… like a play-thing–”

“Because I loved it, Logan!” She cried out abruptly, her voice breaking ever so slightly before she recomposed herself. “Or, rather… I loved being a dancer. But being a professional dancer meant coming to terms with the fact that doing my job well required objectifying myself in other’s eyes to at least some degree. And while oftentimes that objectification was actually pretty innocent at its core– people just getting excited and forgetting not to ‘touch the art’, so to speak…”

She let the words trail off as she swallowed her burgeoning emotions down, leaving the implication unspoken. “Well, after a while? It just becomes kinda normalized…”

“Normal.” He repeated, somewhat aghast– if not somewhat appalled– at her apparent lack of self respect. “So... you just allowed Pen and those guards to touch you because you felt like it was normal? ”

Instantly, her eyebrows shot up. “Uh, excuse you!– When did I imply either of those f*cking things?” She snapped, seemingly appalled that he would even make the assumption. “Now with Pen, there were other factors in play– but when it came to those guards? Logan, I just said they got a swift beat down!– By us! In the cell!”

“What?!” Logan shouted, co*cking his head back in surprise. “You…? But– how?!”

"Bandit, please! You’ve seen how scrappy I can be if the situation calls for it.” An ominous glint appeared in her eye. “Now multiply that times eight…”

He almost physically shuddered at the thought alone.

"…Still though–” He faltered uncomfortably, “it would've been three trained soldiers versus a bunch of teenage ballerinas! How could– y’all’ve... possibly…?" The hunter’s question haltingly trailed off a dark fit of giggles began to escape her.

“Sorry, sorry– didn't mean to laugh…” She apologized with a genuine smile. “It’s just… it still tickles me how people always underestimate how much raw leg strength is required to properly pull off the whole ‘effortlessly gliding across the floor on the tips of your goddamn toes’ thing…"

When he raised his brow somewhat at the implication, she waggled her own confidently. "...And for the record? That time, I’m certain the instigator had to be sent to medical.” She asserted smugly, the smile warping into a wickedly satisfied grin. “His knee was facing the wrong direction by the time his buddies managed to drag his ass out of the cell…”

Just what in the Hell are they feedin’ ballerinas up in Highwind…? He pondered to himself, unsure how to respond.

Seeing his bewilderment, she merely chuckled again before continuing, her satisfaction gradually giving way for annoyance. “But... in regards to the second part of your allegation: I said it was normal, not right– and in Pen’s case? It was neither.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I mean, if the staring and stalking weren't bad enough on their own, that f*cker even tried to follow me home once!"

All of Logan’s inner thoughts instantly ground to a screeching halt.

"He. did. what…?" The hunter breathed, his furiously placid voice no louder than a whisper.

"Yep. In fact, the whole thing was actually what finally spelled it out to me that he was bad news and not just an overly-affectionate guy who couldn’t take a hint.” Lusi reiterated peevishly with a nod. “Allegedly, he wanted to teach me his stupid Space Punch move– because I totally have the weight necessary to pull that off, right?– and after a few days of him badgering me I finally said yes just to get him off my back. But after our little ‘lesson’ was over, he just kept following me around under the guise of ‘escorting me home safely’; mind you: we never once left the outskirts that entire day.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes in disgust. “Still, I was still pretty new in town at that point, so I wasn’t quite comfortable rocking the boat too much just yet–”

“But you eventually got your footin’.” Logan interrupted. “You obviously made friends; people who would’ve helped you if you’d just asked. Hell, you even became an honorary member of the goddamn Civil Corps. So why did you let it go on for so long?”

Lusi instantly bristled at the inquiry. “Again, for the second time, I didn't ‘let’ Pendejo do anything.” She retorted sharply. “Once he had firmly established himself to be a creep, I avoided him as much as humanly possible– which was honestly the best I could hope to do given the circ*mstances.” She then cut her eyes over to him with a flatly annoyed look. “Also: honorary or not– Logan, don't pretend that being in the Sandrock Civil Corps means jack f*cking sh*t. After all, Pen was practically a Corps member himself– and to be quite honest? Until I got to know Justice better, I couldn't be certain that he wouldn't have covered the whole thing up.”

“You were actually concerned that a man who called himself ‘Justice’ would cover somethin’ like that up?”

“You mean the man who legally made a cat deputy?”

“I rescind the question.” Logan instantly yielded, clearing his throat uncomfortably. “But what about the other people in town? Owen, Rocky, Hugo– any one of ‘em would’ve had your back in a heartbeat if you had just told them what was goin’ on!”

“And they did– right after they picked up on Pen’s questionable handholds at the Showdown.” She agreed, nodding tersely. “The problem was: literally no one had seen Pen ever do anything to me before then, so if I had made a huge stink right off the bat, it would’ve inevitably devolved into a he-said/she-said between the beloved town protector and the new bitchy builder. People would've taken sides, and putting myself at risk socially before getting a solid support system in place would’ve only ended poorly for me in the long-run– if it even solved the problem in the first place.” Lusi explained coolly. “So… I did the only thing I could do in the situation: I strategized.”

“Strategized?” The hunter’s brows shot up. “So… you’re insistin’ that you didn’t ‘let’ him do anythin’, but at the same time, you intentionally kept quiet about what was goin’ on? Lusi, that doesn’t make any sense!”

“It does when you’re a sick girl all alone in a new town with no idea who you can actually trust.” She asserted curtly. “Now, if he had screwed up and someone saw him right off the bat? I would’ve had no problem addressing the issue right away. But that f*cker was sneaky as hell, meaning my only real option initially was to take the path of least resistance to build up my strength while I waited for him to make a mistake.”

“See, there!– That's what I don’t get!” Logan exclaimed. “Why in the hell did you bother with waitin’? Pen respected strength– if you had beaten him in a one-on-one spar as soon as you were ready, I have no doubt he would’ve left you alone!”

“Which is precisely why I had to wait, Logan." She rebutted while meeting his eyes. "He definitely would’ve left me alone– but what about the next girl? I couldn’t run the risk of him just moving on to another target– such as, for example… the other cute builder who had recently moved to town.”

“The other…?” He swallowed dryly as the realization struck him. “You… you were worried he’d go after Mi-an.”

Lusi gave a firm nod in reply. “...As The Builder, I have a duty to watch out for not only the town, but my junior builder as well. And while I’d seen his type plenty of times before, Mimi is about as sweet as she is naive. So if I had just quietly given him the boot before Mi-an had a chance to get her own footing…” She shook her head softly. “I couldn’t be everywhere at once, Logan; there needed to be more people aware of what he was truly capable of, and it’s as they say: Seeing is Believing.”

The builder narrowed her gaze tersely. “So… for the third and final time: I didn’t ‘let’ him do anything. I tolerated and endured him just long enough for him to finally slip up and give me what I needed to make sure I would be the last: witnesses who from then on out would always be at least a little suspicious whenever they saw him trailing after a girl heading off the beaten path.” Slowly, she raised her chin in challenge. “…And in the end, it f*cking worked.”

Logan had to stop himself from letting out a sigh; as much as he hated to admit… he could almost admire the tactic– at least, to a degree. After all, at its essence it wasn't much different that a plan he himself might employ on a hunt: She had found a problem animal that she couldn't take out, so to keep it from wreaking destruction unchecked, she drew its focus just long enough to set a trap that would ensure it wasn’t a problem in the future.

The strategy itself was clean, efficient, and objectively something the hunter might be proud of– if he only disregarded the fact that her first inclination was to use herself as the bait when setting said trap. But for as much as he wanted to address that aspect, he could tell by her tone he was starting to press his luck on getting information out of her on this particular topic.

So reluctantly, he decided to drop the subject for now until he could get some context and answers and that she wouldn’t be able to give him– such as… why he was only just now learning about the situation in the first place.

Seems like a little chat with Owen is gonna be in order before too terribly long… He resolved silently with a soft sigh; but before he let the matter lie with her, there was at least one more thing he needed to clear up first.

“Fine, I see your point…” Logan conceded at last. “But… goin’ back to the day he followed you home: Did he ever try t’get in your house– or, do you think that’s what he was plannin’ on doin’ in the first place…?” He posed the question calmly, all while his trigger hand unconsciously twitched against his holster just out of her line of sight.

“Tch. f*ck if I’ll ever know.” The builder replied with a casual shrug of her shoulders, “See, at the time, Unsuur was also in the middle of a platonic crush on me, so he was patrolling by my house way more regularly than he does now–”

“I’m sorry,” Logan interrupted, startled. “He had a what now…?”

Lusi broke into a wide smile. “Yeah. Bless that autistic man’s heart: he honestly thought he was in love with me for a while! We straightened it out a few weeks later– I explained platonic versus romantic love, built him a shelf for his legitimately cool rock collection, watched paint dry together– Peach, that man’s a hoot! But at the time, I was incredibly grateful for his confusion, because as soon as he saw ‘Suur by my gate, Pen made an excuse and f*cked the hell right off.” She forced a puff of air from between her lips, wide eyed. “Otherwise? Boy, that really could’ve sucked for you…"

Logan blinked, shaking his head lightly as he was abruptly flung into hapless confusion once more.

"Wait, hold on–" He held up a hand, mystified by his sudden inclusion into the story. "How th’heck do I factor into any of this? I didn’t even really know you existed until the day I rode past your house after the Water Tower blew up!”

The builder immediately straightened in her seat. “You remembered that…?” She asked, her tone nothing short of touched.

“Of course I remembered that! A girl screamin’: ‘Seriously, you jackass?! Like I don’t already have enough to f*ckin’ do around here!’ while flippin’ me the double birds from the yard of what I still thought of as Mason’s workshop in nothin’ but a robe, work boots, and a pair of goggles– what the hell?” He stopped abruptly mid-rant as the realization caught up to him, “You had your goddamn goggles on then, too?– Why?”

Lusi squinted in thought as she recollected the memory herself. “Oh, yeeeah– I was using them to keep my bangs out of my face while I did my makeup that day because my usual clip snapped. I was just about to get dressed when I heard the explosion, so I pulled on my boots real quick and ran outside.” She paused to give him a light smile. “Though for the record? They weren’t the same goggles– at this point I have, like, four or five pairs in a few different colors so I can accessorize appropriately.” The smile then abruptly warped into an odd smirk as she added in a darkly gleeful tone, “…and eight pairs that all match.”

I don't even wanna know. Logan decided instantly. “Well, needless to say, Dal– you kinda made one heck of a first impression…”

“As is my aim, Bandit.” She agreed with a satisfied smile, seemingly delighted by her memorability before she glanced back up at him. “Still, technicalities aside– I know you can’t seriously be asking how that would have affected you?” Lusi laughed with an incredulous snort. “Logan, if he had tried to get into my house, I would’ve shot him dead, and you would’ve ended up living your entire life thinking you killed your Pa!”

“Hang on– you had a gun?” The hunter gaped, not hiding his surprise in the least. “But, how? I thought you couldn’t own one until after Trudy got back to town!”

“Oh I couldn’t.” Lusi agreed with a nod and a devious waggle of the brows. “…But during the ‘extraneous circ*mstances’ of the tram debacle, Justice ended up ‘lending’ me the spare .38 special that he had been conveniently carrying on him since I first moved to town, and ended up just… ‘forgetting’ to ask for it back afterwards.”

Logan’s eyes widened in realization. “Peach on the prairie…” He murmured, breaking into an impressed smile at his old friend’s ingenuity. “Justice actually found a loophole…?”

The builder chuckled incredulously in agreement. “And while he couldn’t officially sign it over to me until after Trudy signed that form, my gunsmith training still allowed him to issue a concealed carry permit on the down-low– with the understanding that I would only use it in a life or death situation.” She stated matter-of-factly with a wink. "But that said: if that bastard had set so much as one toe on my welcome mat, I would’ve filled his ass with lead in a heartbeat…"

An odd mix of infuriation, pride, gratitude, and relief welled up simultaneously inside him; it was such a strange combination, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"Well… sh*t.” He shook his head, trying to settle the emotions as his hand casually slipped from its place over his holster. “I suppose you’re right. That could’ve ended badly for me, huh?"

“Yeah, told you.” Lusi snorted with a lopsided smile. “So… are we good now, or…?”

He chuckled softly with a soft nod. "Yeah. Yeah, we’re good, hon– but, before we move on…” He glanced up, meeting her eyes. “Just for my own peace of mind, if nothin’ else: has anyone besides Pen ever tried to put their hands on you without your say-so since you moved to Sandrock?"

"You mean aside from the occasional drunk tourist at the Saloon? Nah." She easily waved the question off. "And at this point, both Owen and Fang have given me the go-ahead to handle those situations myself so long as I don't break anything."

He gave her an apprehensive squint. "...In the Saloon, on yourself, or the handsy drunks themselves…?"

"Yes."

"…Reasonable enough." He approved with a brief nod. “Alright… where were we, again?”

“First couple days in the Duvos P.O.W. camp: myself and seven other ballerinas had likely just crippled a man for life after copping a feel on then-fifteen year old me.” Lusi recounted plainly as she picked up the canteen to take another sip.

“Right.” Logan muttered flatly, still somewhat unsure how to feel about her almost too-casual attitude towards the subject matter. “How could I forget?”

Hearing the vexation in his voice, she giggled. "And once he heard what happened, the Captain in charge of the cell block was absolutely furious; wasted no time punishing the ones who could still walk and immediately had additional female guards transferred in to be assigned to watch over us exclusively.” She met his eyes seriously. “But I promise Logan: that was literally the only time something like that occurred while we were held there.”

He sighed as his mixed emotions churned within him. “So… the camp itself was… alright?”

“Are you kidding? It was Duvos in the middle of Winter, so obviously it was like staying at a five-star luxury resort!”

“Lusi…”

“…They provided the basics, and the conditions were humane, just… bare.” She replied seriously this time, taking another sip off the canteen. "And because it was technically a prison camp, food in general also left something to be desired, but as time went on, it became pretty obvious that quite a bit of effort was made on that front to make us more comfortable. We received more ‘luxuries’ in our rations than the prisoners normally got– condiments, different drinks– simple stuff, but it was better than nothing. Like, for example: you know those peppers Grace used to sideline Pen…?”

She waited for him to nod affirmatively before breaking into a grin. “Yeah… those were actually the base ingredient of the hot sauce I liked using to give my near-daily hardtack ration some flavor." She snorted, smirking to herself as she added “f*ckin’ wimp…” under her breath.

Logan chuckled. "Well, guess now you knowin' how to eat hardtack makes a lot more sense, but… why’d you eat it like that?” He asked, tilting his head curiously. “If I want flavor, I usually just let the stuff soak in coffee, myself."

"Yeugh!” She made a face, revolted by the very thought. “The coffee thing notwithstanding– ew, gross– soaking it takes f*cking forever and just turns it to mush. I'd much rather just whittle it down and have the added benefit of getting some texture variety, at the very least." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Also, if I wanted a change of pace on the fly, it made it that much easier to swap the water out for my ration of booze."

"Booze?!" Logan repeated the last word loudly, blinking in disbelief. "They were giving y'all alcohol?"

"Well, not a lot, but... yeah! Sixteen is the drinking age there, so I started getting hard liquor in my rations like everyone else starting on my birthday." She giggled, “But as much as it sucked being there for so long, after the grab-ass incident, the higher-ups at the P.O.W. camp really seemed to make a concentrated effort to put our safety first and foremost. The guards weren’t shy to let us know that we were being handled very delicately–” She paused abruptly, shifting in her seat uncomfortably before correcting, “…Well, as delicately as possible…”

Something told him her uneasiness had nothing to do with the hard piece of furniture beneath them.

“…You mentioned meetin’ a member of the general staff earlier, right?” He murmured, doing his best to not let his concern color his words.

Lusi nodded gently.“Yeah. But… honestly, all things considered, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. After all, aside from some nicks and cuts, no one really got hurt; and now that I’m older, I can actually understand the necessity behind the decision.”

“Necessity of what, Lus’…?” He pressed gently, but keeping his tone firm enough that she would know he wouldn’t be swayed from getting a proper answer.

She hesitated for a few moments, rolling her lips inward and biting on them as she gradually collected her thoughts.

“Once the Commander of the camp got word that we would be staying for an extended period of time rather than just shuffled back over the border like they initially expected… they made the decision to send in the camp barber to buzz down everyone with hair longer than about shoulder length.” She murmured haltingly, averting her eyes. “And... it wasn't exactly optional…”

“Wait. They… forcefully cut–” He blinked, the comprehension sinking in sharply. “So… your ‘freak out’ at Pablo's after the damn Doom got you last year was…?”

Lusi simply confirmed the unfinished question with a small nod. “While patting out the flames, I caught sight of a chunk of my hair breaking off out of the corner of my eye and… all of a sudden, it was like I could practically feel the guards’ hands on me again while they held me down and–”

She stopped short, swallowing the words with a shrug. “…well. You get the idea.”

And all damn mornin’ I’ve been teasin’ her about messin’ with it… Sighing he gently leaned his head back against the wall as the guilt needled him. “That's why you have such a hang-up about people touchin’ your hair without your say-so…”

“Well, there’s actually a more pertinent reason nowadays, but… since the chicken incident, Pablo’s been working with me on the regular to get me more used to it being handled again. He’s actually the first stylist I’ve let touch it in years; before I moved to town, I could only stand having my friend Nia trim my bangs every once in a while and that’s about it.” Lusi chuckled dryly, but beneath the cloak, he could see her arms move to pull her knees closer to her chest. “And even though objectively I know it’s a stupid thing to still be bothered by–”

Lusi blinked in startled disbelief. “Seriously?”

“Seriously!” Logan grinned. “Keepin’ it long meant I didn’t have to worry about cuttin’ it as often, and… well, if I’m bein’ honest, I just enjoyed the length. So needless to say, the day I met Pa at the salon for my annual trim and Pablo just chopped it off without running it by me first, I just about killed him.”

The builder reeled back. “Wait, Pablo was the one who cut your hair?” She gaped, clearly aghast. “Like, PABLO Pablo– my Pablo?”

“The very one.” The hunter chuckled dryly. “Turns out: Pa had put him up to it– told Pablo before I got there that I had finally decided to take it short, and since he was still new to hairdressin' at the time, Pablo didn’t think twice. So after I walked in, he sat me down in the chair, pulled out the big shears and–” He mimed a ‘snip’ motion with his fingers “–that was that.”

She swallowed hard. “What’d you do…?”

“What do you think, Lus’? Soon as my ponytail hit the floor, I absolutely lost it! Turned around to throttle Pablo right then and there, but… before I could get my hands on ‘im, Pa already had me by the shoulders. Made me look 'im in the eye and said: ‘Boy, I’m sorry I had to do it, but it’s for the best. You can’t be a professional in our line of work with hair that long– plus, you shed a goddamn sheepdog!’”

Logan let out a long sigh. “Now to his credit, Pablo did legitimately apologize afterwards, and has always made sure to ask before doin’ anythin’ to my hair since. But as much as I initially hated it, I eventually decided to keep the length on the shorter side from there on out.”

Lusi tilted her head curiously. “But… why? If you liked it long, why didn’t you grow it back out?”

“Well, at first it was a compromise: I could grow it out just long enough to pull it up and out of my face, but still short enough to keep Pa satisfied. But as time went on, I had to admit the maintenance was much easier. And after Andy came into the picture, I realized there was some truth to Pa’s claims– hell, between him and Haru, you could smell those birds nests half a league away after we'd been on the trail a while. So as much as I hated to do it, eventually I had make Andy and Haru to cut theirs short, too.”

She arched a brow. “Andy’s hair is what you’d consider ‘short’?”

“As short as I could get it on a squirmin’ tender-headed boy who barely even combs it to begin with.”

“Fair enough.” She snickered agreeably. “But doesn’t Haru keep his shorter than you and Andy do anyway…?”

“Only ‘cause I started naggin’ him after one ‘combustion incident’ too many– but that’s a whole nother issue.” He muttered peevishly. “Still, our time on the run is what made me finally understand that Pa had a legitimate point about the length bein’ a liability. So, even though I’d like to grow it out again… I know now that objectively it’s just not practical in my line of work.”

He then hesitated somewhat sheepishly. “...And as much as I hate to admit it? Pa also had a point about the sheddin’ thing, too; Light, as many hairballs were rollin’ around our house at any given time, you’d think we owned a bunch of fancy white cats!”

He had to pause as she fought down a fit of giggles that threatened to escape through her sinuses. After giving her a few seconds to settle back down, he gently pressed on. “But… if they considered y’all to be civilian detainees, why did they decide t'buzz all y’all down like they would the prisoners?”

She shrugged her head lightly. “Well, there were two main reasons they made the decision. The secondary reason was actually the same as yours: it was just more practical. After all, they didn’t exactly have unlimited resources, and letting us keep our hair long would have meant providing more supplies for us to keep it maintained. But the primary one that I didn’t fully understand until way down the line was when they said they just weren’t willing to take any more chances when it came to our safety.”

“Your safety…?” His eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “Shearin’ y’all like sheep against your will was done under the premise of keepin’ y’all safe? What kind of backwards-ass sense does that make?”

The builder studied his expression before drawing in her breath. “Logan. We ended up being kept there for close to two months before we were transferred, and during that time, we were allowed outside maybe once a week, if the weather cooperated.” She elucidated, keeping her tone patiently calm. “Meaning: we spent the vast majority of our time stuck in bare, windowless cells with only the guards to keep us company. And sure, they gave us cards and books to keep ourselves occupied, but… the higher ups were well aware that the whole situation was depressing as f*ck. So, when you take that and combine it with the fact that most of us also had hair at least as long as mine is now? Well…”

Lusi let the words trail off as she drew her good arm out from underneath the cloak and retrieved a lock of loose hair in her hand. Then, without a word, she used it to fully encircle her neck once over before gingerly pulling it taut for emphasis.

“…it would have been all too easy…” She murmured with a sad smile.

The sharp realization weighed on him heavily.

“Oh, Dal…” Logan whispered, placing a hand over his mouth. “They were really that worried y'all might–”

“Yeah.” She cut him off quietly, releasing the noose of hair and brushing it back behind her. “And although now I completely understand and agree with what they did, when you're a fifteen year old girl who absolutely loved her long hair...?” A small sigh escaped her as she shrugged. “Well, just goes to show that some sh*t sticks with you whether you like it or not.”

Logan lowered his gaze. “Don’t I know that…” He muttered empathetically. “So they really were goin’ above and beyond to try and keep y’all safe, huh?”

“Absolutely– and for good reason, too. Any one of us getting seriously injured under their watch could have potentially sparked an international incident, and truth be told, it wasn't until we were moved to the civilian concentration camp that things actually started getting actually bad– aaaand I did it again, didn’t I?” She winced, picking up on his abrupt shift in expression once again.

“Light, you weren’t kiddin’ when you said you really suck at tellin’ this story.” He agreed with a slightly panicked nod. “Just how long did this whole sh*t-show last, anyway?”

“Well, if you don’t take into account the time it took for them to get us to the camp itself and the fact that we ended up being released slightly earlier than initially intended…” Lusi delineated, rocking her head side to side in thought. “All in all, we were held captive for around seventy-three days in total.”

“Seventy-three…” The hunter reeled briefly before shaking off the stun. “And… how long did it take for the Alliance to realize y’all had been taken?”

She paused to do some quick mental math. “About… three weeks.”

“Three weeks?!” He cried out sharply. “It took almost a goddamn month for them to realize that thirty-somethin’ girls had just up and vanished into thin air?”

“Twenty-four girls and eight men, including the director.” She corrected quickly. “But yes… sorta.”

Logan squinted dubiously. “What do you mean ‘sorta’– how could they only ‘sorta’ notice y’all were missin’?”

“Weeeell, that’s actually where the political aspect of the story starts to get messy.” She began with a breathy laugh. “See, when the ice festival’s opening ceremony kicked off and their headlining act didn’t show, the organizers were obviously concerned! So, the first thing they did was write a letter to the academy asking what was going on.”

“They wrote. Your academy. A letter.” He reiterated. “People– teenagers!– were missin’ and they didn’t even think that might be somethin’ worth communicatin’ with the Alliance directly about?”

She let out a soft sigh. “Logan, you gotta keep in mind: the Winter holiday season is already a chaotic time for any government as it is. And in the grand scheme of things, a dance troupe being late to curtain call isn’t exactly telegraph-worthy communication.” Lusi shrugged softly. “Besides, at that point, there was absolutely nothing suggesting foul play; hell, for all Seesai knew, we had just been delayed, or there could have been a miscommunication of some sort with the booking itself.”

“But still– a letter?” He repeated incredulously. “They had to have known how long that would take to get there and back!”

“Of course they did!– But at the same time, the delay in communication allowed a bit of leeway in case we were just running late, and had we shown up after it was sent, they would’ve had no problem justifying a low-priority telegraph being sent to the academy telling them to disregard the letter entirely.” She expounded calmly. “Though if it’s any consolation, that was the only time Seesai came close to dropping the ball during the whole kerfuffle, because as soon as they got the academy’s reply of: ‘What are you talking about? They should have arrived mid-month at the latest’, the organizers realized something must have happened and went straight to their boss to sound the alarm.”

The builder snickered deviously. “…And later that same day, a flash-priority telegraph inquiring about the situation came through to Alliance Central HQ via a restricted channel…”

“Well at least someone took the situation seriously…” Logan muttered tersely. “Though I gotta say, I do wish it had been the nation y’all were actually citizens of…”

“Oh yeah, Seesai wasn’t playing around. Crawled right up the Alliance’s ass to launch an investigation under the guise of: ‘If you don’t find them, we will. And if it comes to that, we’ll also make that fact they disappeared on your watch extremely public’.” She grinned vindictively. “…So following another week of the Alliance trying to figure out what the hell happened after they ditched us, they finally decided to reach out to Duvos with the political equivalent of ‘Hey… do you guys happen to have our f*cking dancers– and if so, why? Because they were definitely last seen minding their own goddamn business in the middle of f*cking Ethea’…”

“It really took that long for them to suspect Duvos had somethin’ to do with y’all not makin’ it to the border?” He sneered, disgusted by the piss-poor response.

“Oh if you’re mad at the Alliance now, you’re really gonna be pissed by the time this story is over…” She chuckled cryptically, picking up the canteen to take another sip. “Anyway, that was the moment Duvos realized they were now in a bit of a pickle. Almost all of their plans for us up to that point kinda hinged on dumping us somewhere under the pretense that we got lost– and cut off all our hair, for some reason– but… regardless, they had quite a conundrum on their hands. After all, publicly confessing that you illegally kidnapped a bunch of innocent travelers for no good reason isn’t exactly a good look to anyone– including your own citizens!”

“No sh*t it isn’t.” The hunter snorted. “So lemme guess: they lied and said they weren’t involved?”

“You know, considering that lying their ass off in the face of scrutiny seems to be their preferred tactic, you would think that would be the case. But believe it or not, they actually outright admitted they were detaining us!” She snickered admiringly. “Granted, I’m pretty sure they only owned up to it because Seesai was also breathing down their necks about the situation, and Duvos was way more nervous about them than they ever were about the Alliance. So, rather than try to cover up their involvement completely, Duvos decided to instead go the route of pushing all the blame on us, saying we were caught traveling across the border on foot and had been subsequently apprehended as potential spies.”

“On foot?” He repeated, once again confused. “What raggedy-ass Cotton Llama did they shear to spin up that f*ckin’ yarn?”

“It was the best they could come up with that would still fit into the narrative ‘backed up’ by the Ethean bus drivers.” Lusi replied with a shrug. “Since they were already in active conflict with Ethea, they didn’t really care about pissing them off, so Duvos would often detain their citizens that stumbled over their operations for short periods and then release them before the government had time to notice or care. As such, a couple days after we were taken, they returned both the vehicles and drivers to where they were taken while threatening them to say there was a ‘disagreement’ which ultimately resulted in us voluntarily disembarking to find 'alternate means' to get to the border ourselves.”

“And people fell for that?!”

“Of f*cking course not! But it was way easier to shut up a couple of scared-sh*tless drivers than thirty goddamn dancers. Plus, after what happened in the cell, Duvos had reason to believe we wouldn’t be silenced easily–” She paused with a sheepish grin. “…as well as probable cause to detain us; we did kinda go above and beyond simple self-defense with the whole ‘potentially crippling an officer for life’ thing…”

Logan couldn’t help but laugh quietly in spite of his mixed emotions. “You’ve had a gift for gettin’ yourself into trouble for a long-ass time, haven’t you…?”

“I kinda like to think the doctor hexed me at birth in retaliation for Ma’s little stunt.” She mused amicably with a sly smile. “Anyway, there wasn’t much anyone could do to prove they were lying– after all, we were the only ones who could dispute that claim, and we weren’t exactly available for comment at the time. So, after several more weeks of back and forth bickering with Seesai acting as a mediator, it was finally agreed that half of us would be released to Seesai during their next pre-established prisoner exchange, while–”

“Half?” He interrupted as his mind caught up with her words. “They were only plannin’ on lettin’ half of you go?– Why?”

She let out her breath in an annoyed sigh. “Officially, it was a ‘sign of good faith’; but in reality: since there were so damn many of us, apparently the empire decided they might as well get the best bang for their buck prisoner-wise and negotiated the return of an equal number of their own captives from both countries– sixteen from Seesai, and sixteen from the Alliance.” Lusi snorted, adding as an aside, “Though, we weren’t actually made aware of the fact we were gonna be split up until shortly beforehand…”

“You have got to be sh*ttin’ me.” Logan gaped disbelievingly. “They actually had the balls to use y’all as… bargainin’ chips after wholesale kidnappin’ y’all from across a foreign border?”

“Welcome to the world of high-stakes international politics, my friend.” The builder snickered darkly, setting the canteen back down between them with a soft thud.

As he took in her laid-back attitude, he couldn’t help but feel almost… unsettled by her calmness in general recounting the tale. “How the hell is she so damn detached talkin’ about all of this?” He mumbled under his breath– only to be startled when her eyes abruptly flashed up to firmly meet his own.

“How do you want me to be, Logan?” Lusi asked simply. “You… want me to break down and cry? Bitch, moan, the whole ‘woe-is-me’ routine? Cause if that’s what you’re looking for, I’m sorry to disappoint.”

The hunter blinked. “No, I-I didn’t mean it like that…” He stammered, slightly embarrassed. “It’s just– compared to how you were while we were talkin’ about your hair–”

“That’s because, necessary or not, that was something that deeply impacted teenage-me’s overall self-worth for a long, long time; same can’t be said about everything else that happened.” The builder relayed bluntly, her voice low and even. “Now, did the whole experience suck? Absolutely– but in the end? I f*cking survived, and nowadays I just don’t have the time or energy to sit around and mope about the sh*tty hand life dealt me ten goddamn years ago.” Lusi asserted with a half shrug. “It’s like they say: time heals all wounds–”

She paused, pointedly blowing a puff of air up to rustle her bangs with a small smile. “… eventually.”

The hunter considered her words quietly for a few moments before acknowledging the gesture with a small dip of the head. “I… s’pose you’re right about that…” He acquiesced at last. “Hell, took me almost a year to just be able to think about the night Pa died without at least tearin’ up. And even now…”

Looking away as the words trailed off, he gave her a sad, almost apologetic smile instead. “Well… I guess grief and hurt heal on their own separate time tables, huh…?”

“Yeah. That they do, Bandit…” She murmured gently in agreement while shifting in her seat, wincing lightly as she did.

The pained expression instantly got his attention. “You alright there, hon…?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah.” She dismissed with a small grimace. “But… before we get into the grand finale of this thrilling saga, I would very much like to go back to the table. I think this sh*tty slab you call a ‘bed’ made my ass fall asleep…”

He couldn't help but snort. “Yeah, that tracks.” He nodded sincerely, snagging the canteen and standing to clear her path, only to tilt his head as she began to pull his cloak off over her head. “You sure you’ve warmed up enough…?”

“Oh, I've actually been fine for a while now; I only really delayed giving it back because it’s surprisingly cozy.” She professed, holding it out to him with a wink and a grin. “Matter of fact? I might just start stealing it off you more often once the really cold weather starts setting in.”

Rolling his eyes, Logan reached out and took the accessory back from her. “Tell you what: I’ll get you your own for your birthday in a few weeks.”

“Aww...! Still, as tempting as that sounds? There’s honestly no need– I already have five really similar ones.” The builder waved the notion off as she started scooting towards the edge of the sleeping platform.

“Five?” Logan repeated, unsure if he heard her right. “Why in the blazes would you need five cloaks?”

She stared at him blankly while shifting to sit on the edge of the bed. “To… match the goggles. Duh.”

Logan stared back at her for a few moments before finally letting out a resigned sigh. “Girl…” He chuckled with a small shake of the head, turning to walk back towards the table. “If I wasn’t sure before, now I’m certain you ain’t quite right.”

Behind him, he heard Lusi snicker as he slipped the accessory over his head and snapped the collar back into place. “Hey, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Bandit:” The builder attested through a grin as she began shifting her weight to her feet. “Hasn’t been a lot right with me for–”

FWUMP