JUSTIN: * Sometime before the sun has started to rise, Shane rouses from his uneasy sleep, the fire little more than smoldering ashes. He wipes at his face as he sits up, clearing dirt and grass, and looks with sullen soberness at the small camp. His and Jo's unfinished fish lie cold in the grass, the pecos have settled down against the tree and are resting quietly. Everything seems normal, except there's no Jo. He stands to his feet, looking about for his missing travel companion.

JENNA: * Jo's sleep was surprisingly peaceful, despite her cramped position near the root of the tree. In the course of the night, her grip on her knees loosens, and she slumps over slightly, face now resting against her arm. Far away from the fire, however, the sudden burst of activity does not disturb her.

JUSTIN: * Shane begins to search the area just outside the camp, looking for any sign of Jo's passing. The lack of clues, and his lack of tracking ability, leads him in circles fruitlessly. He is just about to give up when he spies one of her boots around the corner of a tree trunk, and he jogs over to see if she's okay.

JENNA: * Jo's health is as good as it ever is, and she's clearly not in any mortal danger -- just asleep. She stirs at his approach, but she doesn't wake, apparently caught up in some sort of dream. A murmur escapes her -- but it's just that. None of what she says is very clear.

JUSTIN: * Shane's torn between a few different options presented. He could leave her there and go back to camp. He could try to carry her back, instead of leaving her to the mercy of the undergrowth. Or he could stay here with her, and wait for her to wake up. He rubs at his face, muttering under his breath. "Nothing can ever be simple with you, can it?"

JENNA: * At the sound of his voice, however low he spoke, she stirs again, muttering something very drowsy and attempting to lever herself up on her arm. She isn't quite able to manage it in her half daze and slips, awakening completely as her face nearly collides with the tree root. ''Gnh --"

JUSTIN: * Shane stoops down, half-crouching to peer over her. "You could have slept by the fire, you know." He steps around to crouch near where her head is. "You'll catch cold out here in the dew."

JENNA: * Jo jerks away from him, reaction made all the more exaggerated by her hazy grasp on awareness. When her gaze focuses on him, she reddens and scoots back again, colliding with the tree. "I didn't.." she says after a moment. "I didn't sleep out here on purpose." She puts a hand to her head, looking much as if she's gotten no rest at all.

JUSTIN: "Well, regardless... come back to the fire, it's a chill morning." He stands to his feet again, offering her a hand after a moment of consideration. "We can figure out what to do for breakfast."

JENNA: * She scrubs at her eyes for a moment, looking at him suspiciously before taking his hand and staggering carefully to her feet. "There are some provisions.. don't have time to catch any more fish."

JUSTIN: * Shane tugs her gently to assist, then turns to amble back toward the mostly-dead fire. "How much time we have could be a point of debate, but I'll agree with you anyway." He skirts around the rocks and logs of the small clearing, seating himself to poke at the embers with a stick.

JENNA: * Jo curls up next to the remains of the fire, giving a low, tired sigh. "I want to get back as soon as possible.. they'll be expecting me by now." She glances at him, expression extremely tired, then turns her gaze back to the embers. "It's bad enough I didn't accomplish my objective.. if they think I'm running out on the job ..."

JUSTIN: * Shane tosses a couple pieces of the remaining wood onto the fire, at least wanting to be warm for a little bit before they have to start off again. "Well it's a long road, and anything can happen. They'd be fooling themselves to think they can place an exact time limit on you."

JENNA: * Her eyes half close, watching the fire slowly kick up again. "Well, we know about how long it would take given the plan ..." Her eyes close the rest of the way, and she sighs. "But those plans didn't work out."

JUSTIN: "I suppose you'll blame me for that, no doubt." Shane shrugs his shoulders lightly, tossing his stick into the fire now that it no longer needs his attention. "I can't say I feel a hundred-percent guilty, considering the circumstances."

JENNA: * She glances at him, expression momentarily disgusted. "You didn't sink the ship, I don't think," she says flatly, straightening and scrubbing at her face again. "Unless you found some way to summon a gang of strouf intent on destroying it." Then she sighs and lies down, stretching out lazily for a moment. "That was just bad luck."

JUSTIN: * Shane isn't sure if he should point out all the delays in her trip that he /is/ responsible for, as long as she deems fit not to mention them. "Well of course that wasn't my fault. I may not be useless, but I'm certainly not a god." He shifts down to sprawl his legs out ahead of him. "Though I do seem to have horrible luck..."

JENNA: * Jo decides that not arguing is better than the alternative, and she declines to bring up the point that he brought a great deal of that bad luck upon himself. She settles for a noncommittal grunt and rolls away to put her back to the fire.

JUSTIN: * Shane turns a stare at her back and frowns, brow furrowing briefly in an uninspired glare. He sighs, flopping onto his back and watching the last of the stars, as the light of dawn threatens from beyond the horizon. "You know, I'm really beginning to wonder why I came all this way."

JENNA: * Her voice, when she responds, is drowsy. "I haven't been able to figure it out, myself." She pauses, half glancing back, but she can't crane her head far enough, so she drops it again. "You're welcome to leave any time you please."

JUSTIN: * Shane is disappointed at admitting his doubt out loud, since he doesn't have any defense for it. "I know that." He closes his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. "I have to finish what I started. I'm just beginning to wish I hadn't started it."

JENNA: * She rolls back over, watching him with interest. "Quite a spot you've put yourself in," she says after a moment. "It's not ..." She gropes for a word, not finding any particularly satisfactory. "It's not /weak/ to stop, if you think you're going down a bad path," she says finally. "I don't think so, anyway."

JUSTIN: * Shane fidgets, feeling her eyes even though he can't see them. "That's not it at all. I -- I don't know, it's not that simple."

JENNA: * She arches a brow, then shrugs faintly. "Suit yourself ..." It doesn't make much sense to her, but she doesn't see the sense in arguing about it. She rolls over again, speaking into the lightening darkness beyond the fire. "We should probably get used to conserving water ... if all goes well, it shouldn't be a problem, but the desert is.. unpredictable."

JUSTIN: "Everything's unpredictable." Shane mutters bitterly, squeezing his eyes against... something. Her, the fire, the growing light. Headache, memories, the future, bad decisions, weariness. He rolls over, putting his back to her. "Whatever we need to do." He says finally.

JENNA: * Jo stares into the forest for a few minutes more, then gives a low, repressive sigh. "No sense sleeping any longer, I guess." She pushes herself upright and stands, dusting herself off lazily before making her way over to the packs. It only takes a few minutes of digging to locate a pack of jerky, and she tears it open, taking one to chew on as she makes her way back to the fire.

JUSTIN: * Shane edges himself back up to a proper sitting position, turning to stare at what Jo's got dangling from her mouth. "What is that?" He gets up to his feet, stretching in the process, and walks over to have himself a look.

JENNA: "Jerky," she says, voice muddled by the piece she is chewing, and fishes him out a piece. "Dried meat. Salted. Keeps well, so it makes good road rations." She then concentrates on finishing up her piece, swallowing hard to get it down all at once. "Chewy."

JUSTIN: * Shane takes a piece, giving it a strange look. "It looks like it's weeks old..." He sniffs it, and takes a small bite -- which turns into a big bite, as the stubbornly chewy meat won't give to anything less than a full-sized chomp.

JENNA: "Might be." Jo portions out the rest, giving him half the small package before returning to close up the peco's saddlebags. "Like I said, it keeps forever." She then returns to the fire, which is flickering down again, and goes about extinguishing it and scattering the campsite's remains.

JUSTIN: * Shane drops onto his butt again, giving his jaw a workout with the dried meat while Jo goes about her work. It isn't bad, and it puts something in his stomach, so he can't complain about how odd it seems. "How many more days before we reach the desert?" He asks idly, noting that she probably already told him at some point. But he's been preoccupied lately.

JENNA: * Jo stamps on the last of the sparks, grinding them absently into the dirt. "Just a couple days. Travel's going to be a little slower in the desert.. that's the only reason it takes so long to reach Morroc." She stops, scratching her head and giving him a brief once-over. "You really should pack the coat away."

JUSTIN: * Shane stops halfway to a bite of meat, turning to look at his coat. "But I like my coat..." He says, the only weak argument he can think of at the moment. Belatedly, he realizes it probably sounds childish.

JENNA: * Her level stare confirms that notion, and she runs her hand through her hair, scowling slightly. "You're going to boil alive," she warns him irritably. "There isn't any shade out on the sand -- you'll want to cover up, but you'll want something looser."

JUSTIN: "Like what? If you hadn't noticed, I have no change of clothes." Shane stands up, undoing his belt to inspect his clothing underneath -- no less loose, and definitely not meant for desert hijinks.

JENNA: * Jo sighs faintly, swallowing a counter-productive comment about his attachment to his clothes. "It's fine, it's fine. There are cloaks in the saddlebags .. you can wear one of those instead of the coat." She shrugs. "I am. I was just telling you. If you want to boil in the coat, you can do that, too. But I'm not picking you up when you fall off the bird."

JUSTIN: * Shane gives her an annoyed glare, drawing the belt closed again. "I didn't say I wouldn't change if it got that bad. I just don't like to be out of my uniform when I'm on duty." He trudges past her, shoving the jerky into a pocket for later and working on untying his peco from the tree.

JENNA: * Jo rolls her eyes, untying her peco and leading it a little way out from the tree before mounting it. "Believe me .. where we're going, you don't want to look like you're on duty." Her expression becomes weary, and she tugs out another piece of jerky, tucking the rest away in a similar manner. "It's like painting a target on your chest."

JUSTIN: "What, Morroc doesn't have a city guard?" Shane leads his peco away from the tree before hopping up into the saddle. "Of course, if they do, they must not do a good job."

JENNA: "They do the best they can," Jo replies, sounding amused. "But yes, they stay largely out of the way of guild movements." She glances back at him, then pushes the bird into a trot. "Your uniform isn't Morrocan, anyway. A guard and a foreigner at once would tickle the bandits silly."

JUSTIN: * Shane looks completely unhappy, staring off to the side as he nudges his peco after her. "That is plain ridiculous. An officer should be treated with the same respect, regardless of what city he represents." He snorts, turning back to look at her. "After all, officers put their lives on the line every day to protect people like you. Well... maybe not people like you."

JENNA: * Jo shrugs very slightly. "To each his own. I didn't say it was right or wrong. It just is. A foreigner is an easy mark, especially if his traveling group is small." She glances skyward and pushes the bird into a faster trot. "Come on. The next campsite is still a while off."

JUSTIN: * Shane sighs, debating the merits of sulking again. In either case, he falls silent and tries not to think too hard about how much different the world is from how it should be. He concentrates on following after Jo, matching her pace as they ride.

JENNA: * As predicted, the jaunt through Payon Forest takes only two more days, with the water rationing beginning as soon as they reach what Jo terms the point of no return. As the rocky prairies transform steadily into drifting sands, Jo halts temporarily to don her cloak, pointing over the edge of the ridge they've stopped on. "That's the lighthouse," she remarks, indicating a spire, barely visible in the distance. "It's one of the waystations. Or it used to be. I think one of the guilds is controlling it now, so we may have to use a different one."

JUSTIN: * Shane, despite his attachment to his uniform, similarly sheds his coat in exchange for the travel cloak. "What on earth is a lighthouse doing in a desert?" He asks, giving the distant structure an odd look.

JENNA: "I'm told the shoreline used to be closer," Jo replies, clucking to her peco and starting it carefully down the slope. "It's really very old. But then ... a lot of things in Morroc are." She pauses at the bottom, waiting for him. "Morroc has been as Morroc is for centuries -- so I'm told."

JUSTIN: * Shane eases his mount over the edge of the ridge, guiding it down the incline with care until he reaches the bottom beside Jo. "Forgive me for saying so, but it doesn't seem to have aged well."

JENNA: * Jo shrugs. "I just work there .. it isn't my city." She turns and sets off at a steady trot, clearly using the lighthouse as a guidepost, even though she doesn't make for it. "There's an inn this way -- sort of a half village. I think my credit is good there .. we'll try it instead of the lighthouse."

JUSTIN: * Shane turns his peco to follow after her, moving along at a decent clip. "If it isn't your city, then where do you consider home? You have to sleep somewhere."

JENNA: "I don't have a place I call home," she replies comfortably. "I could say I carry my home with me, but that would be a lie." She glances at him with a sharp grin. "I haven't found a place that I like well enough to stay put."

JUSTIN: * This revelation seems especially shocking to Shane, and it shows on his face. "That's horrible!" He brings his peco around to trot beside her. "Doesn't that make you feel restless? Out of sorts? I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my own place to relax in."

JENNA: * Jo gives him an indignant look. "How is it horrible? I can't afford to have much to tie me down to begin with ... I travel /because/ I feel restless. I like it on the road." She scowls at him, clearly offended.

JUSTIN: * Shane swallows back whatever he was about to say, apparently unsure what to do about her reaction. Eventually he settles on a cross look, perhaps a defensive reaction to her scowl. "You can say that if it makes you feel better, but I certainly don't buy it." He shivers, feeling very bristled. "Everyone needs a place to call home eventually."

JENNA: * Jo gives him a hard look. "Think what you want, living up on that chunk of rock," she snaps, pushing the peco into an even faster run. "I'm fine!" Her shoulders take on a slightly sullen slump, and she wishes she could think of a good way to wipe out that attitude of superiority he has.

JUSTIN: * Shane half growls, wondering why she's being so difficult, and kicks his peco into a run after her. "Honestly! If you're so fine, then don't get so upset! It isn't like you give much thought to anything else I have to say!"

JENNA: * Jo is about to send a biting retort over her shoulder, when her peco stumbles, uttering a squawk of what is probably terror. She struggles to maintain her balance, pulling back on it to halt its forward movement, but finds that the ground in front of her is giving way into what looks like a whirlpool of sand. She curses, then that curse turns into a shriek, as a many-fanged mouth suddenly rears from the sand, supported by a thick, worm-like body -- and lunges at her bird.

JUSTIN: * Shane's annoyance turns quickly to surprise at the sudden scene ahead of him, and his bird rears in similar shock -- and horror, as more of the creatures come bursting from the sand all around. "What in the world is going on?!" He asks frantically, trying as hard as he can to stay in the saddle.

JENNA: * Jo doesn't answer immediately, attempting with little success to steer her peco out of harm's way. The lunging mouth manages to nearly tear the bird's wing -- and her leg -- away as it lunges past, but her safety is only temporary, as yet another worm bursts from the sand to her left. "I don't KNOW -- they don't -- this isn't normal!" she says, voice going somewhat shrill.

JUSTIN: * Shane is beginning to question the safety of remaining on his bird, as he doesn't seem to have anything in the way of control over it by this point. The animal squawks loudly and frequently, bucking and jumping as the monsters swipe at its legs. "Well we'd had better /do/ something before they injure the pecos!"

JENNA: * His statement is unfortunately timed, as at that moment Jo is flung from her peco as two of the worms decide to fight over which gets to eat it. She hits the ground awkwardly, and for a split second lies there, stunned, before scrambling unsteadily to her feet.

JUSTIN: * Shane calls out in worried horror as Jo falls down amidst the chaos, and he quickly abandons his peco in favor of assuring her own safety. He hits the sand back-first, his peco taking an awkward spill just as he was swinging his leg off of the saddle. After a brief second to catch his breath and his wits, he stares in horror as the peco is immediately buried beneath writhing, worm-like bodies. He scrambles over onto hands and knees and dives after Jo before she can meet a similar fate.

JENNA: * Almost before he reaches Jo's side, however, the giant worms suddenly go still, abandoning their meals with apparent reluctance, and vanish beneath the sands. Jo utters an exhalation that sounds almost like a whine, hands shaking. "What.. was that.." Then she starts badly, nearly stumbling into Shane, as a low, throbbing howl sounds nearby, shortly answered by several others.

JUSTIN: * Shane's response, whatever useless information it might have held, is stopped in his throat at the sudden appearance of a new threat. He stumbles to his feet quickly, grabbing Jo and dragging her upright with him. "There are /wolves/ in the desert?!"

JENNA: * Jo swallows another, uncomforting noise, looking at him dazedly. "Of course.. there are wolves in the desert. There have always.. but.." The howls repeat, echoing across the hot sand, and suddenly a blur of dusty yellow lunges at them from out of nowhere. Jo gives Shane a sharp shove, pushing him out of the way at the same time as she lunges for her packs, still half hanging on the corpse of her peco.

JUSTIN: * Shane lets out a startled sound as the large, canine form flies past his tumbling body. His hat finally leaves his head, skittering across the sand and grabbing his attention for a split second. Before he can lose anything else -- say, a body part -- he leaps to his feet and prepares to dodge any other flying wolves.

JENNA: * Jo, meanwhile, is on her hands and knees, digging frantically through the pack as the howls draw nearer, accompanied by a thunder of canine paws. "Here!" she shouts suddenly, fingers curling around the object of her search, and she flings the package of bullets in Shane's direction, making a lunge at the wolf to get its attention while he's dealing with the gun.

JUSTIN: * Shane dives to catch the wild throw, for the moment not sure what it is he was just given. Tearing open the package, he bites down a pang of guilt when he sees the stolen bullets. For the moment, however, he deems survival a hair more important than his dignity, and so he quickly takes hold of his gun and starts slamming ammo into it.

JENNA: * Jo, meanwhile, is fencing with the wolf, which seems oddly disinclined to outright attack her, instead making feinting lunges and growling threateningly. She has little time to puzzle over this behavior before another of the animals breaks ahead of the pack, leaping as if to tackle her. She manages to skid most of the way clear, and it only clips her arm -- which is quite enough to throw her off balance -- and she finds herself in the unenviable position of being pinned between two wolves.

JUSTIN: * Shane hefts his gun, drawing his sword with his free hand, and dashes across the small battlefield. More and more of the wolves start circling around, closing them inside a ring of barks, growls, and flashing teeth. He does his best to shut out the sound, lest it drive him crazy, and instead focuses on one of the beasts that has Jo pinned. Raising his right hand, he aims down the sight of the barrel and squeezes hard on the trigger. There's a resounding crack, loud enough to momentarily drown out the wolves -- and startle half of them to silence -- and Jo's forward adversary flies suddenly off its feet, a misty spray of blood erupting from its side.

JENNA: * The gunshot startles Jo badly, and she stumbles almost into the jaws of the other wolf, skidding to a halt with a spray of sand. She manages to pull her thoughts together enough to slash her knife warningly at the animal before scampering back to join Shane. The rest of the pack is circling warily, waiting to see what other magic tricks the pair has in store -- at least until one of the younger wolves becomes impatient and springs.

JUSTIN: * Shane is already breathing heavy with adrenaline by the time the two meet back to back again, and he swallows down a lump in his throat. "S-sorry, I should have warned you first." He says, likely referring to the startling gunshot. He hefts the instrument, cocking back the hammer in preparation. There isn't long to wait, as the young wolf comes dashing in from the side, too quick and too close to get off another shot. Shane dodges, raising his sword in an attempt to deflect the tackle away from the himself, and from Jo. It is half-successful, the sharp edge grazing the forepaws of the attacker and causing it to second-guess its momentum.

JENNA: * Jo borrows this distraction to lunge in from the side and sink her knife into the side of its neck. She jerks away rapidly and with another spray of blood, as the wounded animal stumbles, attempting to attack once again in spite of its injury. The wolves seem momentarily hesitant, but shortly something seems to propel a few more forward, almost against their will.

JUSTIN: "Well, they clearly can't see when they're outmatched!" Shane says brashly, though the sound of his voice is anything but confident. He dodges back quickly, firing off a shot that catches a wolf in the ear, causing it to yelp loudly and stumble, rolling through the sand. Halting his backward momentum, he quickly leaps forward again to bring his sword down on another. Dancing between defending himself and attempting to get in a strike, he finds fighting four-legged creatures to be quite outside the bounds of his usual training.

JENNA: * Jo, having had to defend herself from animals in the past, finds it less foreign, but possibly more alarming. She's never encountered groups of animals that attacked en masse before -- even if, strangely enough, they seem to be avoiding any real attacks on the humans. "This is not normal," she says again, and another wolf skitters away from her, bearing a new cut on its face.

JUSTIN: * Shane wouldn't know, and is inclined to show it. "Well maybe they're having a bad day! I'd certainly be agitated if I had to live in this heat!" He points his gun menacingly, causing one approaching target to skitter backward uncertainly for a moment.

JENNA: * The already-reluctant wolves back away further, wheeling suddenly to flee into the sand as a piercing sound -- something like a whistle -- screams out over the dunes. Jo stumbles, nearly falling on her backside, and draws a shuddering breath. She's back at attention in an instant, however, when a critical voice calls "That didn't go so smooth, Ike ..." from a nearby ridge.

JUSTIN: * Shane shoves his gun into his belt and grasps Jo's arm, attempting to help her back to her feet, when the familiar sound of human voice comes unexpectedly to his ears. He stands suddenly straight, turning to look in the direction of the sound.

JENNA: * Sitting at the top of the ridge is a small cluster of folk, clearly identifiable, at least by what they are saying, as bandits. "I thought you said they'd be easy marks," the first speaker continues -- a tall woman with cloth covering the lower half of her face. "Sand sharks," Jo hisses, irritation in her voice more than fear or worry.

JUSTIN: * Shane lets go of Jo's arm and pulls his gun out again, not liking the look or sound of these new arrivals. "Would it be safe to assume that 'sand sharks' is a fancy term for bandits?" He refuses to take his eyes off of a potential threat, but he does manage a brief side glance at his partner.

JENNA: "A specific breed, but yes." Jo scowls heavily at the leader, clearly feeling affronted. "They shouldn't have attacked -- not without some kind of ..." She trails off, fumbling in her tunic for a moment. Up on the ridge, the conversation continues. "Well, I guess we can take care of the hard part for once, right?"

JUSTIN: * Shane takes a half step back, pointing his gun warily at the ridge. "Not without what? Since when do bandits ever need a reason to attack innocent travelers?" He glares up at the supposed 'sand sharks', ready to move if anyone so much as twitches in his direction.

JENNA: "In case you'd forgotten," Jo retorts snappishly, "I'm not an 'innocent traveler."" She steps hurriedly around him, holding up what looks like an insignia for the benefit of the bandits. They glance at each other with surprise, and the leader opens her mouth, but Jo cuts her off with an aggravated shout. "My name is Jocasta, and I hail from the Black Dagger Clan -- since when did the sharks attack guilds freely without provocation?!" The leader scratches her cheek, looking surprisingly embarrassed. "My apologies, there, Miss, but you didn't answer the query, did you now?"

JUSTIN: * This turn of events does not seem to relieve Shane at all. Rather, it only manages to make him more flustered and angry than he was a moment ago. "What is all this? What query, what are you people talking about?" He marches over to Jo to grab at the insignia and look for himself. "Oh, it just figures that bandits and thieves would respect each other, but not the people they steal from." He lets go the emblem and turns away in relative disgust.

JENNA: "If you don't shut your damn mouth, I will personally shut it for you. I am trying to keep us from getting /killed/," Jo says crisply, then calls back to the bandit leader. "I saw no query -- maybe you were a little overenthusiastic and didn't flash it the requisite time?" The leader looks momentarily uncomfortable, then she gives a hoarse chuckle and bounds down the slope toward them. "All right, then," she says apologetically upon arrival. "Black Daggers, is it?" She peers at the insignia, then nods, pulling out her own. "Sharky's Pride, them's us."

JUSTIN: * Shane gives up on all of them, not much liking the company or the attitudes, and heads back toward their now dead pecos. He shoves his weapons away with a great deal of disgruntledness, and snatches his hat out of the sand before rummaging through their saddlebags to see if anything has been ruined.

JENNA: * The leader's gaze follows him with interest, but Jo recalls her attention with a sharp stamp of her foot. "I've heard of you -- would have thought you'd know better." The leader laughs again, weakly. "We misread your party, miss, do apologize. Best we can offer is that and a bird to get you on your way again." Jo sucks in a deep breath, careful to maintain her air of indignation when relief threatens to obliterate it. "That'll be payment enough."

JUSTIN: * Shane manages to salvage most of their goods, though he notes that a good deal of their jerky supply is mysteriously absent from one of the overturned bags. He scoffs at the ridiculousness of this, wondering how anyone could stand for this kind of highway robbery. It would never happen on his watch, if he were in charge. He scoops up what he can, piling it all into the less damaged of the two bags, and then slings the pack over his shoulder. A brief moment of hesitation stays his feet, but he manages to overcome it and start back toward the mingling group of bandits. His face, however, does not look any more appeased.

JENNA: * In the meantime, one of the bandits has led over a surprisingly large and sturdy-looking peco, and the bandit leader pats it fondly. "This here's my very own, and he'll get you as far as the next waystation. Mind, if you try to keep him, he'll only run, but that's the most I can grant you." Jo nods shortly, taking the reins as the bandit leader relieves the bird of her belongings. About to step away, she stops. "Mind let your leader know we've got nothing against his clan. Was a mistake and nothin' more. Got naught but respect for old Teague, yeah?" Jo's mouth curves into a faint smile. "I'll be sure to let him know." With that, the bandit leader whistles sharply, and she and her crew vanish over the ridge, leaving Jo and Shane alone with their packs, two dead pecos, and the one on loan.

JUSTIN: * Shane doesn't spare Jo a look as he throws the saddle bag over their replacement, strapping it in place and fixing his hat on his head. "I suppose you'll want to take the reigns." He says with a short, crisp snap before briefly checking his gun to see how many shots are left.

JENNA: "Unless you know where we're going," Jo replies mildly, giving him a hard look, as if she's having difficulty determining what he's angry about this time. "It could have gone worse, you know," she says acidly, swinging herself up onto the bird and waiting for him in spite of a momentary desire to take off and leave him in the dirt.

JUSTIN: * Shane hops onto the peco behind her woodenly, clamping his legs to hold him in place. "It could have gone better, too." He says icily. "But the irony of the situation certainly isn't lost on me -- though I'm sure it might be lost on you." He sets his hands on his thighs and waits for their ride to start moving.

JENNA: * She pushes the peco into a slow trot, skirting the other birds' dead bodies with a faint scowl. "I don't see how we could have avoided losing the birds, frankly. It was a sneak attack." She glances back at him, expression cold. "If the situation's ironic, you clearly have no idea the situation you're in."

JUSTIN: "I'm not a simpleton." Shane says defensively, face scrunching with a glare. "I know exactly what just happened, and I still think it was ridiculous." He stops for a moment, then adds as if in afterthought: "And the pecos wouldn't be dead, if people wouldn't try to take what isn't theirs."

JENNA: "Then I trust you'll understand it was a simple matter of self-preservation," Jo replies snappishly, almost craning her head around to look at him, but deciding against the effort. "If it had been just me, there wouldn't have been an attack," she adds as a sour afterthought.

JUSTIN: "And if it had been just ME, I'd be half dead, stranded, and zenniless!" Shane almost slips off the back of the peco with his sudden, angered movements, and he has to clamp onto Jo's sides to steady himself. This only makes him more upset. "Nothing worth preserving about a person who makes their living at another's expense! But I suppose you'd beg to differ, wouldn't you?" Despite the question, it seems clear that he doesn't want to hear any attempt at a defense.

JENNA: * Jo's spine goes rigid at his sudden grip, quashing a startled shudder she's almost certain has nothing to do with the argument. "The best place to be on a battlefield is out of the crossfire," she snaps, face heating. "This isn't some wink-and-nudge collusion between thieves and murderers -- it's a matter of life and death." She falls silent for a moment, gaze fixed on the apparently unending sands ahead. "It's warfare and politics. Nothing more and nothing less."

JUSTIN: "Well pardon me if I don't feel even a /speck/ of pity." Shane growls, loosening his hold on her once he's certain he won't be tumbling off. "You choose your way of life, you all do -- and all the drama and selfish backstabbing that goes along with it. What /is/ a pity, is that in the end, the ones who suffer the most are those who want nothing to do with you and your kind at all! But I suppose that doesn't occur to thieves and murders, does it? Not when you make your living preying on others." Despite trying his best to hold on just a moment ago, now Shane has to will himself not to leap out of the saddle.

JENNA: "I don't want your damn PITY," Jo barks, half turning in the saddle and resisting the impulse to shove him smartly off the back of the bird. "A war is a war, whether it's between bandits or kingdoms! Innocents will die in either case. What we do to earn our bread hasn't got anything to do with it -- except that I can probably keep us out of harm's way." She turns back around, stewing and wishing she didn't keep rising to the bait. It isn't as if he's going to listen to her, whatever she says.

JUSTIN: * Shane almost laughs, finding her attempts to defend her criminal underworld simultaneously amusing and enraging. "Your damn wars are petty and unjustified squabbling -- how can you even compare them to the affairs of kingdoms? Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound, carrying on like this?" He does release something of a short, bewildered giggle. It's just all too much. "You wave your little badge around, and so now I should show some respect? So what if you can keep us out of harm's way -- it's your kind's damned fault there's harm in the first place!"

JENNA: * Jo pulls the peco to an abrupt halt, going very still. "Then get off. I invite you to survive in a world outside the confines of that floating cage you call a city. I don't want your respect. Nor do I want your company." Her voice is toneless, though underneath it there's a clear sense of boiling rage, and her hands are clenched so tightly around the reins her knuckles have gone pale. "Otherwise, /shut up./"

JUSTIN: * Shane is so unnervingly outraged by her words, he has no idea what to do for nearly a full minute. He sits in silence, but he doesn't sit still -- he is practically /vibrating/ with the urge to dismember something. "And you have neither!" He finally says, practically exploding. "No respect -- you are not even worth to /say/ the word." He almost stands in the saddle, every fiber in his being willing him to clobber some sort of sense into her skull. But her refuses the violent desire, thrusting himself off the back of the peco instead. "You go, then! You have no need of me, and I think I would fall terminally /ill/ if I had to listen to any more of the putrid rot that comes out of your mouth!"

JENNA: * She looks back at him with mild surprise and a glimmer of what might be respect. Then she shrugs slightly, opening up the saddlebags and tossing him a canteen. "Your share of the water," she says, pausing to dig out another package. "And food." She points ahead of them and slightly to the east. "The waystation isn't far. Just follow the shadow of the lighthouse. You can probably find someone there you can hire to take you home." She speaks with no particular venom, watching him for a moment after she's spoken.

JUSTIN: * Shane snatches the thrown items from the air almost reluctantly, hating the idea of taking any more of her help. "I'll find it." He says bluntly, tying the canteen to his belt, and fitting the package of jerky into a pocket that is already half full. When she doesn't take off right away, he glares up at her as though she's mocking him with her continued presence. "Go, already!"

JENNA: * She shrugs again, then clucks to the peco, which starts at an uneasy trot. "Good luck," she calls over her shoulder, then kicks the bird into a faster trot. And before too much longer, she's not much more than a dust trail far ahead of him.

JUSTIN: * Shane waits until she is nearly out of sight before he gathers himself for the walk ahead of him. For a while, his boiling anger and irritation is all the fuel and motivation he needs, and he makes surprisingly good time for someone who has never walked the desert before. As nightfall looms, however, his mind has started to cool, and he begins to wish he'd never gone down to the surface that morning in Juno. But he's far from regretting taking a stand against that woman. She has gotten the better of him at every turn, simply because he's had something to lose and she hasn't. Sadly, it looks like taking a stand has very well caused him to lose.

JENNA: * For her part, Jo has made excellent time, reaching the waystation just before nightfall and taking a room on her guild credit, which she is relieved to find is still good. As promised, she releases the peco, which immediately tears off into the desert, and she settles down for the night in the Spartan room, feeling strange at the thought that she's finally alone on the road. Which is not to say she regrets the loss of her companion -- though her relieve is tinged with a feeling almost like guilt.

JUSTIN: * The night for Shane is spent walking at a steady, deliberate pace. He's afraid any change in speed will either wear him out, or lull him into complacency. So he trudges methodically, taking sips of his water and chewing at the jerky to keep him occupied for the majority of the trip. His mind does often wander, however, and he begins to feel the slightest hints at regret for making such an emotional decision. By the time morning is breaking, he has come within distant view of the waystation inn, and he determines to reach it before he gives in to weariness.