JUSTIN: * Shane has any number of things to snap at her, but for now he's more interested in making sure she'll live long enough to hear them. He gets quickly back to his feet, putting his weapons away, and he rushes to her side. "How badly are you injured?" His voice doesn't quite hold venom, but it certainly isn't happy. Whether his displeasure is directed at her or the situation, he isn't interested in clarifying at the moment -- to himself or otherwise.

JENNA: * She backs sharply away from him -- clearly her legs are uninjured -- but there are a couple of shallow slashes across her collarbone, and as she moves, she keeps her left arm well out of sight. "It's nothing I can't deal with," she snaps, temper working into her voice.

JUSTIN: "Jo, there is a time and place for stubborn pride, and this isn't it!" Shane gets to his feet and moves to get his pack, hauling it back over to her. He almost throws it into the ground beside her, crouching down again and fishing arounhd for whatever meager first-aid supplies he might have. "Damn it." He pulls out a couple items, inspects them, and then throws the useless stuff back into the pack. "If you don't want help, at least get back into the house before you try to deal with yourself."

JENNA: "I'm not the one staying in the house," she growls, taking another few steps back. She gives a hiss of pain as her mauled arm brushes the wall, and in the process of pushing away from it, she stumbles over the carcass of the lizard she took care of. Unable to catch her balance in any way shape or form, she falls to the ground, managing at least to angle herself so she doesn't crack her head open. She struggles briefly to get up again, then a wave of weariness convinces her it's better to just lie there and bleed a while.

JUSTIN: * Shane cusses under his breath, kicking the dead reptile out of the way and leaning down to scoop Jo up, regardless of what she might have to say about it. He tries to avoid aggravating her injuries and still make his way to the house as quickly as possible, knocking insistantly at the door with his boot.

JENNA: * Jo's immediate response is to struggle, snarling something barely coherent about the stable being just damn fine, but she can't muster the energy for an escape, with her good arm pinned against Shane and her other arm practically useless. Her swearing dies down to exhausted panting, however, as the door swings open, Elise's father framed in the dim light of the house. He steps wordlessly out of the way after taking in the situation, biting down on his immediate question. He calls for his wife to bring supplies instead, then slips out the door to have a look for himself.

JUSTIN: * Shane brings Jo immediately to the bedroom, knowing of no other place to put her, and he lays her down on the mattress before turning toward the two women of the house. "She'll probably put up less of a fight if I'm not in the room. Whatever she tries to tell you, ignore it. Just patch her up." He doesn't wait for a response before moving to the front door again, intending to retrieve his pack and lantern -- and make sure three monsters is all there were.

JENNA: * Jo is only half conscious of the tending of her wounds, though the process is punctuated with curses and occasional lashing out. Before too long, however, she's passed out, whether medicinally or from the pain it's difficult to say. Outside, the man is inspecting the corpses of the three lizards, frowning. He glances up at Shane's approach, smiling briefly. "Is your companion all right?"

JUSTIN: * Shane looks a great deal more weary by the time he makes it to the pens, and it takes effort just to look up to match the man with his eyes. "She'd better be, after all the fuss she put up." He frowns sharply, shaking his head. "I hope she will be." He adds, voice more somber. "She'll have words for me when she wakes up, I know that much. I told her she could leave, but I still can't help feeling like I dragged her into this against her will." He rolls one of the lizards over with his boot, inspecting a bullet entry wound.

JENNA: * The man arches an eyebrow, glancing at the lizard. "Don't seem so big now, do they?" He sighs wearily, straightening. "Well, I hope she turns out all right. We have her to thank as well." He glances at Shane. "You should get some rest -- we can tend to them in the morning. Though the sheep probably won't sleep the rest of the night."

JUSTIN: * Shane nods absently, still staring down into the hole, which is wet with dark ichor. "You're probably right. I'll sleep as best I can, but I'll keep an eye out until sunrise. Just in case." He turns away from the corpse, moving to grab his lantern and his pack, and make for the stables.

JENNA: * It's nearly morning when Jo wakes again, sitting up slowly to find herself alone in the room she thought she'd successfully avoided taking. She swears, mostly for her own benefit, and slings her legs over the side of the mattress, levering herself upright and staggering grimly out the door. She makes her way as quietly as she can out of the house, at least successfully avoiding any encounters with the family that lives there, and stumbles out the door to make her way back to the barn. Her arm, heavily bandaged and caught in a sling, throbs resentfully as she goes, but sheer stubbornness keeps her going until she makes the stable doorway, leaning heavily against it before she finds the energy to move toward her gear.

JUSTIN: * Shane is up in the loft, not yet having gone to sleep, though he's recently put out the lamp to conserve what little oil is left in it. It is for this reason that Jo doesn't seem aware of his presence, he guesses, and he walks to the edge, slipping into a seated position with his legs dangling. He watches Jo for a moment as she walks toward her gear, then quietly lowers himself to the ground, the sound of his drop muffled by the soft dirt.

JENNA: * Jo, if she hears -- which is doubtful, takes no notice of his approach, sifting wearily through her pack until she's determined everything -- except two knives -- is accounted for. Then she lifts the pack awkwardly with one arm and stands up, making for the ladder into the loft. She waves a weary greeting to her peco as she passes it, muttering a promise that they'll be on the road again soon.

JUSTIN: * Shane stands off to the side, arms folded over his chest, and is genuinely surprised when Jo manages to turn and walk without actually looking at him. A playful part of him wants to see how long he can keep it up, but playful is far outnumbered in his chest of emotions right now. "Don't you ever watch your back?" He says easily, and there is the slightest hint of bite to the remark.

JENNA: * Jo's shoulders jerk, and she turns to look at him, the motion robbed of its grace when she's forced to lean against the ladder to keep her balance. She only stares at him for a long moment, then turns her gaze up to the ladder again, taking a better grip on it with her free hand before getting a leg up on the first rung. "I suppose you're going to try to take a chunk out of me now?"

JUSTIN: "I already have, depending on how you look at it." Shane nods at her bandaged arm, watching curiously as she attempts the ladder. "You should be in the house, resting. You're only going to aggravate those wounds."

JENNA: "I'll heal just as fast out here," she replies, beginning the somewhat laborious process of pulling herself up the ladder one-armed. She pauses after a couple of rungs, panting. "Don't see how it's your problem." Then she continues stubbornly on her way, apparently determined to make it up the ladder on the energy of spite alone.

JUSTIN: * Shane tilts his head, fighting the urge to attempt helping her. "Like my decision to help these ranchers wasn't your problem?" He walks around closer to her, so she can measure how slow her ascent is by his height. As it stands, he can still almost look her straight in the face.

JENNA: * She doesn't appear to care, hauling herself up the next few rungs before stopping again to catch her breath. "Even if it was stupid -- even if I didn't want to --" She pulls herself up another step. "Partners -- work together, right?" She returns her concentration to the ladder, trying as best as she can to speed her ascent. "Not a problem you need to .. worry about."

JUSTIN: * Shane shakes his head, trying hard to keep his cool. He stares up at her with a distinct glare of displeasure, his voice rising just a little. "If I'm as 'misguided' and 'stupid' as you claim I am, then what good would I be as a partner? Clearly it would be in your own financial and physical interests to break ties with such an idiotic partner."

JENNA: * She pauses, glancing down at him, face completely unreadable. As weary as she is, and as muddled as her thinking might be, her voice, when she speaks, is perfectly serious. "Is that what you want?" She appears ready to wait for the answer, balanced against the wooden ladder and barely aware, for the moment, of her aches and pains.

JUSTIN: * Shane cocks his head to the side, favoring her with a neutral look of his own. Neutral, at least, except for the fire in his eyes. "Don't try to turn that around on me. You've made it clear enough that you expect me to settle down eventually and stop following you. You always doubt me. My ability. My ideals. My /intelligence/. But I've always trusted your judgement, with every job we've taken. And we've gone through worse than this. Is this really about my... 'misguided idealism'? Or do you just have a problem with me making a decision for myself for once?"

JENNA: "Ah," she says, question apparently answered -- at least in her own mind. Then she shrugs, too weary to actually emote, and settles for going right down his list. "You always say you don't like to travel. Don't travel if it isn't what you want." She decides to start moving again. "I don't agree with your ideals ... but if I really thought that little of you.." She pauses again to catch her breath. "As I said.. I would have left a long time ago." She starts moving again. "I always consult you before I take a job," she says finally. "If you have objections.. I expect you to raise them." She pauses, then shrugs. "Anything else?"

JUSTIN: "Plenty else." Shane says without missing a beat, but he isn't sure he wants to dig everything up just now. "Those are all fine answers, but they don't change anything that's happened. I could counter every one of those overly simplified retorts, but I won't bother." He steps away from the ladder and turns, tired of craning his neck up to watch her. "Here are the facts, Jo. I saw someone who needed help, and I saw nobody else helping. You saw the same thing. The difference between us is that you would choose to be another one of the many who chose to walk on by. I couldn't make that choice. And I will /never/ make that choice. You're quick to talk about me throwing my life away, but you threw yours right after it. How do you explain that? And don't give me some ridiculous excuse like 'partnership'. Someone who is concerned about their own survival doesn't follow a 'misguided, stupid' partner if they choose to throw themselves into harm's way."

JENNA: "Mm." She looks away from him and starts climbing again. "I guess I'm not the soulless mercenary you think I am, then." She looks up, relieved to see she's at least nearer the top than the bottom. "Maybe.. if you'd said something -- instead of galloping off on your white charger ..." She heaves herself up another rung. "I'd have a reason to believe you think before you act."

JUSTIN: "I don't need to prove anything to you, Jo." Shane doesn't look back at her, staring hard into the dirt at his feet. "I might have gotten hurt if you hadn't stayed to help me, but I know I stood a chance. I don't need /you/ to think I'm capable or smart to /be/ capable or smart. How many jobs have you done on your own, before I came along? How many of them were dangerous? If you're angry because I didn't... /consult/ you... maybe I didn't think I needed to. I trusted to my own judgement for once. It's too bad you couldn't, but then, that's your own problem."

JENNA: * Jo pauses to look down at him, some irritability finally breaking through her weariness. "If you don't need to prove anything to me ... if you don't need me to think anything of you ..." She pauses, pulling herself up another couple of rungs. She's beginning to feel quite tired. "Then /why/ does my opinion matter at all? Or, if it doesn't, why are you still lecturing me?" She glances up again and gives a faint sigh, getting ready to pull herself up the last few rungs to where she can finally lie down.

JUSTIN: * Shane snorts, kicking at the dust. "Maybe I was hoping you wouldn't be as stubborn as you make yourself out to be. That maybe you'd listen, get some sense in your head. Obviously I was wrong." He walks to the other end of the stable, slouching to the ground with his back against the wall. "But you're right, what is the point in talking to you? You're impossible to have a serious conversation with."

JENNA: "That's the spirit." Jo finally reaches the top of the ladder, using her her good arm to pull herself over the edge. Staggering to her feet, she searches for a decent patch of straw, then abandons the effort and settles for the nearest, dropping her pack and settling against it. She rests for several minutes, trying to catch her breath, and trying harder to ignore the throbbing from her wounds, which apparently didn't much appreciate the journey. "I always said I'm not worth the time or trouble -- took you long enough to figure it out."

JUSTIN: "You can say and think whatever you want. Doesn't make it true." Shane isn't sure that it's /not/ true, though. He slumps a little further, crossing his arms over his chest again and pouting at the far wall. "I have plenty more to say to you. I just know you're not going to listen, anyway. So why waste my breath?"

JENNA: "Whatever you want," Jo replies agreeably, eyes half closing on their own. She forces them open again, reaching her bad hand up to rub at her eyes, then flinching when it throbs and switching to the other with a tired, "Ow." The motion doesn't help her stay awake, however, and after another moment, she's drifted off to sleep.

JUSTIN: * Shane sits in the silence, his frustration festering. He forgets to get back up again and go to the house, and eventually his hard glaring at the wall becomes staring into space. Not long after, he drifts off into a deep sleep of his own, mentally, emotionly, and physically exhausted.

JENNA: * Jo sleeps until partway into the afternoon, stirring at last when the sun spills through the slats across her face. She sits up slowly, wincing a little, but flexing her arm against the bandages anyway. Shortly afterward, she decides not to do that again. It's with great care that she starts down the ladder, pack slung awkwardly over her back.

JUSTIN: * Shane is right where she last saw him, sitting against the back wall of the stable. He's fairly deep into his sleep, and doesn't notice the movement or the sound, and it's likely that nothing short of stepping on him would rouse him at this point.

JENNA: * Jo flinches at the sight of him when she reaches the bottom of the ladder, though after several minutes of continued silence she determines he's still asleep. Relaxing, she makes her way over to her peco, clucking gently at the bird and hurriedly -- thought with particular care to be quiet -- straps on its saddle and bridle, leading it out of the stall. She mounts up with only minor difficulty, then kicks it into a quick trot, out of the stable and off down the road.

JUSTIN: * Shane stirs slightly at the sound of the peco leaving the stable, but he still doesn't wake. He manages to slide further down the wall, almost falling over before getting caught on a protruding beam of wood.

JENNA: * It isn't long after that an alarmed pounding of footsteps reaches the stables, and Elise runs in, calling, "Mr. Veribaent! Mr. Veribaent! She's gone!" The girl stops in midstride, looking puzzled for a moment, and she looks faintly astonished to find him asleep where he is. It passes quickly, however, and she kneels next to him, giving his shoulder a shake. "Mr. Veribaent, please --"

JUSTIN: * Shane wakes with a snort, utterly confused for the first few seconds. He stares at the girl's face, the proximity of which makes him initially assume he's started a new dream. "What can I do for you, miss?" He half-smiles, but then quickly realizes where he is and who is in front of him, and he startles half to his feet. "What did you just say?!"

JENNA: * Momentarily relieved that he's awake, Elise takes a step back, wringing her hands when her worry catches up with her. "It's -- it's your friend -- she's not in her room." She watches him unhappily for a moment. "I'm so sorry.. Mama and I were busy, but we didn't think she'd wake up --"

JUSTIN: * Shane relaxes slightly, the previous evening and the morning's events coming back to him. "Oh, no, no. It's all right. She came into the stable this morning, she's up in the loft." He folds his arms, rubbing at his arm. "She must still be asleep, or she'd have commented by now."

JENNA: "Oh, thank heavens ..." The girl gives a low sigh of relief. "She shouldn't move around much with injuries like that ..." She manages a small smile. "It would really be better if she stayed another day or two." Her fingers untwine, and she bobs her head slightly. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you -- as long as everything's all right."

JUSTIN: * Shane shakes his head, moving a hand to remove his lop-sided hat. "It is quite all right, I assure you. I tried to tell her she should stay in the house and rest, but she'd have none of it." He sighs, turning a look toward the ladder. "I know she wouldn't agree, but... I should probably check on her. If you'd wait for a moment? I may need help getting her back to the house if her injuries have flared up."

JENNA: "Oh! Of course!" Elise stands aside to let him get up, looking around the stable to see what he's gazing at. "She went all the way up to the loft ...? Not by herself ..." She frowns a little, expression worried. "We should really change the bandages."

JUSTIN: * Shane nods his agreement, face twisting almost unnoticably with a tinge of anger, but also guilt. He probably should have stopped her, but she was a victim of her own stubborness -- surely he shouldn't feel responsible for that. He starts up the ladder gingerly, trying not to make too much noise on the rungs. Once he makes it up, he looks around and moves to look behind a larger mound of hay -- only to find it also empty. She isn't up here. "What on earth..." The panic starts to creep in slowly. "Oh my gods. She's gone! She's not up here!" He rushes back to the edge of the loft, and sure enough, her peco is gone from the far end of the stable. "Elise! Help me get my peco saddled, quickly! There's no telling how far she's gone already!"

JENNA: * Elise looks alarmed. "G-gone? But --" She does, however, start for the peco, pushing into the stall and getting it saddled. "She -- she can't have gone far -- she was hurt so badly." There's a note of doubt in her tone, however, as if she thinks anyone who can make it up the ladder can probably do whatever she pleases.

JUSTIN: "You underestimate her stubborness--" Shane grabs his pack, lying where he left it in the loft the night before, and hops down to the ground below with a grunt. "I'd find her determination admirable, if it was put to better use." He jogs over to help get the peco saddled, and leads it out of its stall before hopping up into the saddle. What politeness can manifest itself in his panic causes him to hesitate, and he turns to look down at Elise with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry to run off like this, honestly -- I had intended to speak more with you and your parents before leaving. It is doubtful I can convince her to come back if I do catch her, so I best say my farewell now."

JENNA: "No -- of course! It's quite all right." She backs away from the large bird, bowing slightly. "Thank you for your help -- we're grateful enough that you came." She turns her head back up, smiling at him. "You should hurry -- Mama and Papa will understand. You're welcome here any time you should return."

JUSTIN: * Shane bows his head quickly, returning his hat to his head and smiling. "It would be a pleasure to visit." With that, he snaps his heels against the side of his peco and races out of the stable and out to the road. He pauses only briefly, attempting to decide which way she's likely gone. In the end, he decides to make toward the closest edge of town, intending to ask if anyone's seen her.

JENNA: * The town is fairly empty, as most of its inhabitants are working the fields or stores, but there are a few clustered around the town's entrance, chatting idly. They shift apart as they see Shane approach, waving a friendly greeting. Apparently word's traveled about the demise of the lizards.

JUSTIN: * Shane is mildly puzzled by the warm greeting -- he's not particularly used to warm greetings -- but he's in too much of a hurry to offer more than a hasty tip of his hat. "Tell me, please -- have any of you seen a dark-skinned, pale-haired woman ride out of town on a peco this morn? It is a matter of urgency."

JENNA: "Oh, eh. You mean the girl who was helping you with them lizards?" one of the men volunteers, after several minutes of puzzled silence. "Yeah, she went past not too long ago.." He glances among his companions for a few nods of confirmation. "Hour at most?" another offers, clearly wondering why he isn't aware of this to begin with.

JUSTIN: "Damn it!" Shane makes to charge off again, but stays his haste for just a moment. "Did she continue on this direction, just straight? Please, she's..." He tries to think of an excuse, and decides to settle for half-truth. "She's injured, delirious -- she needs to be treated. Hurry!"

JENNA: * The men look momentarily alarmed, and the first answers quickly, "Yeah, right off along the road, really. Didn't seem to care much where she was headed," he adds helpfully. Then one of his companions says, "Leastways she kept on going that way 'til we couldn't see her no more."

JUSTIN: * Shane looks down the road with a mix of dread and relief -- at least he knows what direction to go. He just hopes she's still there, in more ways than one. "Thank you -- your help is most appreciated." He tips his hat again and strikes his bird into the fastest run it can manage, ignoring the squawks of protest.

JENNA: * The men wave a puzzled farewell, calling for him to come back whenever he wants. The village is soon out of sight, though Jo has yet to appear on the road ahead. The road's well-worn, so there's no sign of her track to follow, but nothing leads off to either side, so presumably he's still going the right direction.

JUSTIN: * Shane doesn't let up, and doesn't even look back. His eyes constantly dart back and forth, searching gullies and looking behind rocks as they fly past him. He's beginning to get a heavy, sinking feeling in his chest, worrying that he's lost her.

JENNA: * It's shortly afterward, however, that a peco and rider appear on the road ahead, moving at a steady trot. Their pace, though relatively fast, is still considerably slower than Shane's, so it won't take long for him to catch up. The rider, it appears, has not yet noticed his approach.

JUSTIN: * Shane's spirits leap immediately, and he urges his peco to go faster -- not really noticing when the peco very obviously doesn't pick up any more speed at all. As he starts to close in on his target, he begins to ease it down to match her pace, not wanting to barrel past her. "Jocasta!" He calls out, a strange wobble in his voice.