spend your lives in sin and misery

[peacemakers]

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[peacemakers]

[ He sets into the food quickly, only sparing time enough for a quick, grateful glance and a word of thanks beforehand. The stew is hot, fills his stomach with a pleasant warmth, and the first spoonful is enough to remind him that it’s been literal days since the last time he’s had a hot meal, even if he wasn’t aware of time passing. It could have tasted like mud, and he would’ve scarfed it down – but it’s just as well that it doesn’t. Makes swallowing it down a whole lot easier.

He chews on a piece of meat thoughtfully at her question, buying himself some time. Hard to pin down a direct answer, he thinks. “I do what I have to” isn’t exactly the most comforting way of replying, so he decides on the easier response. ]

I play cards, mostly. Guess I’m a professional gambler, if you like.

[griffonix]

Really? You just wander from place to place, gambling?

[ To her credit, she doesn’t seem to be judging him. It’s just idle curiosity. Most folks who came through were on their way somewhere else- headed towards a job in a bigger town, or making deliveries. She’s never come across a roving gambler before. ]

[peacemakers]

Somethin’ like that. [ said around a mouthful of food. ] Mostly I wander. The card playin’ happens when I’m low on funds.

[ he finishes off the stew, leaving the bowl in his lap as he settles back. ]

This place yours? [ A loose little wave of his good hand, gesturing vaguely to the building as a whole. ]

[griffonix]

I guess that’s one way to make a living. [ It also better explains just how the hell he ended up in a place that was barely a blip on the map.

At his question, she nods. ] It is. I inherited it from the little ol’ lady who built the place. It’s not fancy, but it’s home.

[peacemakers]

It’s nice. [ He says it honestly enough, wiping away the sweat on his brown with the back of his wrist. ] Place as small as this, you expect ‘em to serve up rotgut. Cut the whiskey with gunpowder to spread out their profits. Surprised to see you folks don’t.

[ A beat. ]

‘Less you do, in which case, you’re real subtle about it.

[griffonix]

[ She laughs. ] You’ve been in some real dumps, haven’t you?

I make it a point not to cut corners. It’s a matter of professional pride.

[peacemakers]

[ He smirks, lifting a shoulder in a shrug. ] I’ve been around.

‘S good, though, your place. Can’t say I see the wisdom in puttin’ up the random strays you find, but it’s hard to complain about that.

[griffonix]

[ She hums a little, as though considering his statement. True, she doesn’t know him from Adam, but a man that badly wounded wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble for her or anyone else, and if he really wants to turn around and bite the hand that feeds him- well, that was his problem. ]

Maybe it’ll come back to bite me one of these days, but it hasn’t yet.

[peacemakers]

[ He offers her a long, considering look from the corner of his eye. Complete stranger, a businesswoman, but someone charitable enough to nurse a misfit like him back to health – and his isn’t the first case, from the sounds of it.

Odd. Practically impossible, where law and decency were more suggestions than actual rule. Faraday has seen how rough things can be this far west, knows what it does to a man. Kindness like this tends to get trodden pretty quickly. ]

Guess you’ve been fortunate enough to just be pickin’ up the right patient. [ Slightly gruff, despite the forced levity in his tone. ] Looks like your luck’s holdin’ out.