Collect and Capture

[Fluffy]

Leon rode upon horseback to a town that needed his help. This town was dusty looking, but still in his sights. All this travel had caused him to run out of water, as well as food, so he was relieved to see a place that would provide him with it. Washing up didn't sound like a bad idea, either. The sun was merciless, his body slick with perspiration underneath his button up shirt. His black jacket was taken off once the frigid night was over with.

Around his neck was a bandanna, designed with unfamiliar symbols and colours of black and gray. It symbolized the organization, or cult some call it, that he was involved with. Days after he was born, he was chosen to join this band of gunslingers. Once he hit age seven, he was to never see his family again. He wasn't even sure if Leon was the name he was born with...

All he knew, is he had a mission. As to why he was sent by his lonesome, he didn't know. He hoped that more people would join him, because this job seemed too great for him to handle by himself. They were dealing with supernatural creatures here, and lived only to stop them. They were soul collectors for the Devil, however, the gunslingers didn't quite know where these harvested life forms went to. What disturbed everyone the most was the grotesque image these collectors caused to the mortal bodies. It has scarred observers for life, even driven some to suicide. This madness... It had to end.

Leon rarely even smiled, or laughed, because he's been stuck with such a serious position in life. One could say he was just downright emotionless. Some of his allies found the fun in their assignments, even took pleasure from it. To Leon, there was nothing worth grinning about, even if they were the saviours. He taught himself to stare at these issues with a straight face, because emotion was weakness, no matter where or how you directed it.

The cowboy and his horse stopped at the entrance of the town so he could confirm it was what he was looking for. 'Welcome to Ethaia' was painted on a wooden sign; exactly what he was looking for. "Can almost rest, Dixie," he told his brown steed. She snorted in response, as if she understood exactly what he said, and then began walking again further into Ethaia.

 

[Shan]

Ethaia was nice as far as small towns went, in the West. Alexandria sighed softly as she fanned herself. It was a hot miserable day but it was usually like that. As the wind moved through the lace of her fan, imitating a light breeze, a few wisps of her hair fluttered against her face in an alluring manner as some drunk moved closer to her and ran his dirty finger down her cheek to her neck. She closed her eyes so the anger and disgust would now show and her shiver of disgust would be mistaken for one of anticipation. He smelled so badly that it brought tears to her eyes and she could taste the vomit in her mouth. She tried washing the taste out of her mouth with the bottle she had been nursing. Lexi had never let a man touch her since she became a saloon girl. She mostly sat in her little dress and cat called the men into the saloon, until today.

Lexi had been in this town for a while and she hated how the scenery changed but the people never did. Rarely she would encounter an individual that defied all odds and truly shocked her. She had lived two life times and only came across two people that gave her some hope. Her hope never lasted for long though. She had never been one to dote on people as their nature tended to be nasty and she never knew when she would have to leave. The man tor her from her thoughts as he ripped and tore her dress off of her body.

His roughness caught her off guard so she kicked him in the groin, but he was too drunk to feel and pain Lexi found out too late as he threw her against the wall and quickly followed it up by bashing her head into the dresser. She saw stars as his fist collided with her face. She really hated people but more then that she hated the damned. Her hands moved as a shadow crowded the window as it shattered and the saloon shook.

It was the fight of her life. Most of the damned were just plain stupid and never expected any of their victims to be able to fight back. Lexi had slipped and not expected him to fight back so badly. She was trembling and had never been manhandled in such a manner. Lexi had lost it as scream after scream tore through her throat. Curled up in a ball covered in the blood spatter of the damned, she hadn't even noticed that her head was bleeding and her eyes was swelling shut. Lexi had had enough of this life and she just wanted to stop. The dilemma was how do you quit working for the Devil?

 

[Fluffy]

The town was fairly silent as Dixie carried him through it. People were sitting in front of their homes, either smoking or reading a novel. Others were just outside to take a break from working. He guessed that most were inside in order to escape the dreadful heat. Quite honestly, he didn't blame them. Leon couldn't wait to get out of these filthy clothes, wash up, and then take a nap.

Dixie stopped at Leon's command when they heard glass shatter and saw a building shake. The only assumption he could draw from that was a supernatural cause, though there might have been a simple quarrel. As a man with a heroic history, he couldn't just ignore it. If he could at least investigate, there would be no reason to regret leaving it unchecked.

When he stopped near the entrance of this building, this saloon, he hopped off of his horse and landed on the ground with a solid thud. A moment was spent to stretch out his legs before he guided Dixie over to a pail sitting beneath a faucet in the ground. He twisted the knob to fill the wooden bucket with refreshing liquid for his companion to drink. When it was nigh overflowing, he turned it off, then gave the animal a pat on the neck.

Leaving his horse to her drink, he made his way to the door of the saloon. Should there be no problems, maybe he would get a drink. It would take an idiot to not see that he was dying for something cold to sip. Once he got past the doors, he stepped inside, his cold eyes scanning whatever was in his sights. Something unsettling alarmed his mind, and he was prepared to draw out his firearm.

"Hello?" asked his deep voice, heavy footsteps slowly walking through the bar area. He could have sworn he could hear a woman crying somewhere...

 

[Shan]

The bar was empty as the ones who stayed inside when the shaking had started were all upstairs. There was an eerie silence from them as all they could do was stare at the scene in horror. The blood was plastered on everything, the entrails were scattered about the room. It was as though Lexis customer had exploded from the inside, which is what he did as his true form was released. It was one of the worst damned she had seen in a long time. There was a scorch mark on the wood floor from when it happened.

Everything in her ached as it always did when she cast the damned out of this world, but the violence that was done to her body made her ache so much more. She felt faint however she did not want to lie in this tainted blood no matter the cost. Her whole being shook as she used her arms to push her off the floor. Lexi had no idea that every time she moved small whimpers and cries escaped her lips.

The patrons and employees were to stunned at this grotesque scene to be of any use to her. Lexi had heard some whispers of "Devils work" and "Witch" by the time she was on her hands and knees. When she turned her head and cried out she looked so pitiful and pathetic that the whispers and accusations of her being a witch had stopped. Her hair was saturated with blood and bits of what was once her customer were plastered on to her weak and broken body. Yet still nobody moved to help her.

She collapsed onto her self her forehead was on the floor as her body rocked back and forth. "He..he was beating me.. and.. and I was so scared.. the window shattered and that man.. the man.. Oh god!!" Her voice was frantic and shook with what the people took as defeat. Her voice was soft and small like a small child as she whimpered "help me.... please.." Yet still nobody moved forward, people were weak.

 

[Fluffy]

Leon's search continued until he heard some commotion coming upstairs. He should have guessed that the scene would be where the bedrooms were...

His heavy boots walked up the steps so he could investigate this issue. Like his ears told him before, there was a woman sobbing. No matter how emotionless he seemed, Leon knew how a woman should be treated: with respect. From the sounds of it, that wasn't happening. The reason he came here was to protect the people from evil, and hopefully banish whatever's bothering them. That didn't mean he couldn't be a hero for some other reason, though.

There was a crowd of people in a single room, whispers being exchanged instead of a hand being lent to whoever they were crowding. "Shouldn't the bartender be downstairs serving their customers?" he asked, making an intimidating stare to the crowd before him. "Some of us are thirsty."

Leaving no room for a response, he pushed himself through the little swamp of people so he could see this sight for himself. On the floor, there was a blond woman with her clothing torn off, blood splattered all over her as she wept on the floor. Seeing this made his icy heart ache... Leon could admit that he had a soft spot for women. What man didn't, though?

Fearlessly, he squatted in front of her, balancing on his toes as he eyed her. One of his gloved hands reached out, offering for her to take it. "Can ya stand up?" he asked. She didn't seem as weak as she looked right now, plus he didn't want to just outright snatch her into his arms. It sounded like a man just rubbed his filthy hands all over her, despite that she must have just murdered him. This didn't seem like any ordinary murder, though...

 

[Shan]

Lexi moved her head down in a vain attempt to hide her face. Her hair was stained and clumped with only god knew what. She was concentrating on her breathing confused as to how a few punches like this could shake her up. Shed had worse fights with the damned but this was a man trying to take what he could get from her as a woman and that seemed to have changed everything. She froze as an angry voice and some loud footsteps had caught her attention.

Those boots strode right through everyone and stopped in front of her without hesitation. She looked up at him as he offered his hand, what a kind man. If this man knew how few and far between selfless acts really were and how much they truly meant. Lexi reached her hand out and despite her efforts it would not stop shaking even when she had a grip on his hand.

"There was a shadow, covering the whole window before everything.." She had told him, in a voice so low that only he should have heard her but it was so quiet that everyone did. As it turned out she was not the first collector that had came to this town. The last one was about 15 years ago and the people started screaming about the Devil and went down to the bar to have hushed conversations. Some were heated just as some were somber and sad.

Lexi looked around at the sudden vacancy of the door way then back to the dark cowboy holding her hand. Confusion ran across her bloodied face, "What did they say? What do they mean the devil?" She had paused for a moment to realize that he probably had no idea what she was talking about. "I suppose that as you are not from here you would probably not know anything."

She bit her lip not thinking of the blood that covered it. The repulsive taste hit her tongue and she gagged causing her body to convulse as the pain of being manhandled tore through her. She felt helpless and pathetic as her grip on this strangers hand tightened.

 

[Fluffy]

Leon's free hand went up to his face, where his index finger rubbed against the facial hair along his jawline. She was talking about shadows, and the devil. Little did everyone else know, he was a bit acquainted with these meanings. Just a bit. No one in his group of gunslingers knew the whole story behind these collectors that so deeply disturbed all the public. Perhaps, she came face to face with one just now? That made more sense than her killing this man! It filled him with wonder as to how such a beauty could be capable of such dirty deeds.

He watched with some grief as she coughed with some repulse. Not only did she look like a mess, she smelled like one. As she tightened her grip on his hand, he wrapped her fingers around it, giving an assuring squeeze that he wasn't here to hurt her.

"Come on," he said quietly, beginning to help her stand and straighten up. Her hands weren't shaking so badly anymore, so maybe he could get her the medical attention her body seemed to need. Leon kept his other hand available in case she needed to hold on with her other hand and if she might stumbled, his front was completely open for her to fall against it.

"I have questions for you, miss... But I won't trouble you with them until you're feeling better," he told her with promise, then turned his head to give the terrified crowd another bitter stare. He seemed to be able to send some of them on their way. There was no reason for them to stay here any longer, anyway.

"Anyway. Anything I can do for you?"

 

[Shan]

She held her breath as she started to stand the left side of her rib cage must have been bruised. It didn't feel broken but she could not judge clearly. The more she moved, no matter how slowly, the more her body tensed and screamed at her. Eventually her body just stopped moving, it refused to handle anything else. She felt as though she were going to swoon. In her anger over that she found a little more strength to move.

"I have a small cottage about 13 miles North West of here. I also have a black Irish Draught named Azure around the back. Would you mind helping me to him? In return I would like to offer you a place to stay while you visit." Lexi was well educated and it showed in her speech. For her it was easier to speak properly that to use the twisted slang and southern drawl that was more common in these parts of the west.

As she spoke to him she was concentrating on standing and pushing past the protests of her body and the weariness that was seeping through her mind. Her vision was blurring but she kept trying to blink past it. She did not know who this man was or why he was not scared of this gruesome scene like most but she found it comforting. That fact scared her to death. She hadn't taken a mans comfort since the day he had killed her. Still she was brought up a lady and she would not shun the one person brave enough to help her. It was for people like him that she did what she did sometimes she needed to be reminded of that fact.

As Lexi got fully stood up her world spun and she grabbed onto his free hand, attempting to keep her body away from his. The last thing that she wanted was to get and of this nasty vile bloody bits on him. Azure was going to have to forgive her. He would be angry but she knew how to spoil him just right. A sudden thought came to Lexi that rose her spirits just slightly, there was water in her bath and buckets of water ready to be heated for another.

 

[Fluffy]

Leon was still and strong as she used him to help situate herself. He could see that she was in an unfortunate amount of pain. Yet, her determination to stand back up was dominating that. Though, he could tell that he'd have to be her crutch on the way outside to her steed. Not that he minded; she's done enough on her own already.

"That's very kind of you. Thank you," he told her with some gratefulness. That would save him the trouble of finding a motel to stay in until his work here was done. This would also be a lot cheaper.

Now she stood with a hand in each of his, and he had to figure out how to get her down the stairs safely. Getting some of this mess on his clothes wouldn't be too terrible; everything needed washing since it was sweat soaked. One of his arms let go of her hand to wrap around her waist. Leon was gentle and slow about it to not frighten her. After all, she just endured another man's merciless touch!

"It's okay to lean on me. I'll get you outside," he assured her, and began taking easy steps out of the room to the flight of stairs. There were people in the bar area again, casting them some looks once they heard Leon's heavy steps. He didn't bother communicating with them, not even with a stare, since he had a goal right now.

As he guided her down the stairs, Leon had to hold his breath. The chunks of gore all over her body smelled so vile that even he was disturbed by it. It didn't subtract any ounce of her beauty, though. Even with this mess, he could tell she was a looker. With her form this close to him, there was absolutely no doubt about it. Thankfully, he wasn't like that man she previously dealt with. Leon had a good hold on his self control.

 

[Shan]

His body was rock hard. This man was a fighter, a well-toned solid at that. Lexi idly wondered why she would notice something like that and decided it was because of her condition, she just wasn't thinking straight. Her breath shook with every step she took on those forsaken stairs. The horrid smell of her state made her eyes water. She needed to think about something, anything!

"So what brings you around these parts, mister? We ain't got many travelers lookin' as spiffed up as you 'round here." There it was, her brain was moving again she was starting to sound like a saloon girl should. Concentration was the key and she had to keep her act constant. There was many things she hated about doing the devils bidding and this was one of the more frustrating parts. She did her job while he sat on his fat ass getting his souls and a few kicks. At least he never bothered her, well it was very rare.

"Well hell sir," How she despised sounding frivolous and stupid, "I ain't mean to get you all cor'ed up in this..this" She fought back the nausea that the thought and the ever present smell brought up. It took all her effort and concentration to swallow the acidic bile that came up her throat that burned just as badly going back down. “Please get me to my horse.”

By the time they had gotten down the stairs Lexi was almost crawling into his arms with the pain that descending each step caused. It felt like he was practically carrying her and she was leading him with nudges and pointing. As they rounded to the horses she sighed in relief. “Azure..” she said his name like it was a small prayer. She leaned against her kind stranger and almost cuddled into the steel warmth of his body, almost.

She pushed away from him and stumbled to Azure whom pulled away from her and the smell of her. She almost fell to the ground but managed to catch herself on the pole her was tied to. Her arms were shaking with the effort it took to hold her up. “I suppose he’s upset by my state.” She smiled meekly at her stranger.

 

[Fluffy]

"Yeah, I ain't from around here. My work stretches to all kinds of places," he answered. Leon didn't want to have this conversation right now, but fully realized that talking helped keep her mind off of what was making her feel sick. The poor woman smelled like death; it was traitorous to her beauty. She more than likely didn't deserve this, not one bit of it. Was there no human being around that could treat her with respect?

"It's a'right. I can clean this up," he assured her. If not, then he could always get a new jacket and shirt. Since this was his common style, he owned more than one of these clothing pieces.

They got outside, and he instantly steered them in the direction of her horse. Dixie was there as well, who seemed to have gotten acquainted with Lexi's companion. Neither of them seemed too thrilled to be seeing or smelling the vile concoction on the woman he was supporting. Leon gave his horse a look, as if that was all the message she needed not to make a dramatic reaction.

As Lexi pulled away from him, he loosened his grip and watched carefully as she stumbled over to Azure. He scratched his head when Lexi mentioned the horse being upset, and then adjusted his hat. "Dixie'll carry ya if yer horse ain't man enough," he insisted, giving Azure a challenging stare.

Leon then walked closer to her so she could hold on for support if needed, again. She looked very weak; she could hardly even stand up on her own. He didn't verbally offer the help since he was certain that by now, she knew she could depend on him. There was no way he was going to leave her alone until she was healthier.

 

[Shan]

Azure was more intelligent then most people gave him credit for. His blue eyes, his name sake, stared back at Leon as though judging his soul stood his ground as Lexi approached him again. She tried to wipe her hand off on her.. Lexi tensed and stood frozen as now was one hell of a time to realize what she was, or in this case wasn't, wearing.

Now was in inopportune moment to whine and complain about something that vain. He had probably seen more then enough for his imagination to carry on. She tried to lift her arms but didn't get very far before her ribs showed their true colors. She tried not to cry out with the pain of it. Her voice was clinched and squeaky, "Will you help me on to him?"

She had to stop herself from biting her lip with the fear of a repeat of the last time she did it. She sighed as she was mostly leaning against Azures leg, her head leaning against him. "He's such a trusty steed, he knows where home is. I never have to lead him." She just started talking and never stopped she didn't even know what she was saying or if she was even talking anymore, her mind certainly thought it was talking.

The bright side, she was still standing looking at Leon waiting for his aid that she knew was coming. Her eyes were getting fuzzy she needed to get home. At least she knew that this was not what dying felt like. She trembled over something entirely different. The funny part was that she was not as when she was murdered then as she was today. Yet she could still look at Leon and feel her body pulling towards him in ways she has not felt in a long time.

 

[Fluffy]

Leon walked over to help her on Azure, since she was in too much pain to do it on her own. He took one of her hands into his own, ignoring the filth on her palms and in between her fingers. It didn't matter if he got these gloves a bit dirtier; they've come close to so many different nasty substances in the past. He probably should even buy some new ones by now.

"Might hurt still, but use me to help get in the saddle," he instructed, using his other arm to hold behind her in case she should fall backwards. He couldn't remember the last time he got to hold a woman around the waist, let alone help her like this. Most women were too intimidated by him, or didn't like his lack of smiling, so he could never keep a real relationship going. Although it was sad, it was probably for the better.

Should this fail, Leon figured he could take her up to the saddle himself and instruct Dixie to follow them. One of his boots even slid into the stirrup so he could hoist her from the ground. "Can ya reach the horn?" he asked, keeping a secure hold on her body and a reassuring grip on her hand. Lexi was nowhere near too heavy for him, so he was patient with her. He just hoped not to fall backwards... That would be embarrassing beyond belief.

 

[Shan]

This would be much sweeter if she didn't have to keep fighting back the vomit. She had to get on Azure if it would be one of the last things she did. She was really happy for the help that he offered. As mostly his efforts got her onto her horse she could feel her energy draining. "Thank you. If you and Dixie will follow us." She grabbed the reins. The absence of Leon's touch left her feeling cold.

She whispered to Azure before he started on their way home. The reins slipped from her hands, they were mostly for show anyways. The shocks that jolted through her body with each step were almost too much for her to bare. She was mostly curled up over herself holding onto the horn for dear life. Lexi could hear Dixie following close behind.

Her eyes were closing and she couldn't open them back up. Her natural morphine and adrenaline were kicking in her body as her body finally gave into the darkness about a mile out of town. The last coherent thought that Lexi had was one of falling off Azure.

 

[Fluffy]

Once Lexi was safe on her horse, Leon turned around and got right in the saddle on Dixie's back. He gave her neck a pat before signaling for her to move, both of them following Azure at his side. He wanted to stay close to this woman, in case she might need to reach out to hold on to him again. If not that, she'd have an easier way of knowing he was still there for her.

Some minutes passed and, to Leon's dismay, she began sliding off of the horse. That must have been some terrible pain she was going through. How can one man be capable of so much damage, to a woman no less? It sickened him to even think about it.

Nearly falling off of his own horse, he reached out for her, able to let her body land on his arm. That couldn't be comfortable, but at least she didn't fall into the dirt. While gritting his teeth, he pulled her up to seat her in front of him. Leon scooted back so there would be room for her rear. Her legs dangled down that side of Dixie, but he kept a secure hold on her so she was held to his chest, a hand on her head so it wouldn't bob around too much.

"We'll keep followin'," he told Azure, who still led them, despite his displeasure of letting a stranger carry his owner.

Leon made a light sigh and gave the unconscious girl a pat on her arm. Her house finally came into view; assuming that this was indeed her home. As carefully as he could, he jumped down from his horse with Lexi in his arms. "Thank you, my dear," he said to Dixie before walking over to the front door. Hopefully it wasn't locked...

 

[Shan]

It was warm, so warm. Lexi couldn't help but cuddle closer to the warmth that her body sought. She nuzzled the hand that was so gently holding her head. How she missed some of the parts of being human. But this was such a nice dream having someone to hold made her feel not as alone so she would enjoy it. So Lexi scooted closer to Leon wrapping her arms around him, as she was in and out of consciousness and could not tell the difference.

As he carried her into her house she slept in his arms like some small child. Her small cabin was pretty self explanatory and was pretty basic with one closed off room assumed to be the bedroom close to the back. It was your normal house aside from the decorations from across the world. They were small yet nice which indicated money and someone well traveled around the world.

Lexi started murmuring something as she rubbed her hand over his chest and leaned up to kiss him. Her lips ever so slightly brushed against his before she slumped back into his arms again. She kept doing thing like that as she had no perception of her reality and her dreams.

 

[Fluffy]

Leon felt off guard when she began making random moves in his arms. She even went as far as touching their lips together, just not enough for a true kiss. It sent a delightful tingle when she did that and caused his cheeks to darken. He was so thankful that no one else was around to witness that look he had. Still, he tried to not think anything of it. Lexi must have been very shaken up from all that's happened to her. Hell, she might even be running a fever.

Exhausted as she seemed, she was persistent in moving her face to his. It flustered him; what was he supposed to do? To start, she probably needed to wash up. Putting her in bed with this grotesque mess all over her body wouldn't be right.

With her still held closely to him, he searched around her cabin for a washroom. It didn't take too long for him to look past a door where there was a tub and some water. "Ma'am, we should clean you up," he said, even if she couldn't hear him. Leon was arguing with himself about whether or not he should undress her and set her in the water. It would be just his luck for her to wake up while he was in the middle of stripping her!

A fingertip of his glove was put in between his teeth so he could pull it off. The glove was dropped from his mouth to the floor, making a soft noise when it fell. Now that his hand was bare, he dipped it into the water to test its temperature. It felt pretty warm, but she might like it a little hotter than that. Maybe she'd wake and let him know; he hoped so.

 

[Shan]

It smelled like lavender and roses, her bath. That was the best word of her life. Her body went on auto-pilot as she started fiddling with her clothes. Her hand were pawing at her undergarments, damn she was tired though. She got one stocking off and the other pulled halfway down and her corset about halfway undone.before she curled up into her bath water. It was alright, it felt like a nice calm spring with a wonderful smell on her skin.

She grabbed her dream lover, Leon, and pulled him into the tub with her. He was always close to her and she adored that. She sprawled her body across his and nuzzled her face into his neck. Her breathing was even and warm against his water chilled neck. Her arms were wrapped around his body as thought they were sleeping in bed.

Slowly her reality was coming back to her her hand was rubbing the warm, hard chest beneath her partially exposed chest. Chest? Oh no.. She was dreaming she had to be dreaming, had to. She tentatively reached her hand to his face lightly running her hands over his scruff. Oh crap. She lifted her hear up to look at him. She gulped and looked down at their bodies. Well they were clothed but what the hell happened?

Well this was akward but she went with it and avoided eye contact with him as she timidly washed the horrors of the day off of him and her. "I'm not certain how we got here but I feel as though I owe you some sort of apology." As she spoke she kept washing him her hands running over his hard body and over hers, getting the goo off of both of them. The water was red and full of floating bits but she was feeling better and getting cleaner, with a gorgeous man beneath her, even though she still hadn't looked at his face. "We will just get the worst off in one go then we can wash properly." She kept breathing through the amount of pain it caused her to move but it was keeping her awake and she did not need to wake up in another awful situation again.

 

[Fluffy]

Leon felt relieved to see her fingers working at her outfit. Against his wishes, he looked away, as a proper gentleman should. Underneath all that gunk, she looked fantastic. All of this was making his mind wander, which brought a bit of shame to him. People always told him it was natural, that's how a man thinks sometimes. He was always too stubborn to agree.

His thoughts were all broken when she felt her leave his arms and then pull him into the water with her. Leon's hat flew from his head to the floor during the stumble, and he swore under his breath once his body got engulfed by the bathwater. She was making hot breaths all over his skin, sending tingles up his spine. Right now, he was confused, and... Petrified. This woman was making him melt!

A sigh quietly passed through his lips when he heard her speak of apologies and uncertainty. "It's... It's fine," he assured her, feeling clumsy with his words. Leon kept his cool and dearly hoped he could continue to do so. It was such a challenge to not run his palms along her figure and...whatever else came to mind.

"Name's Leon, by the way," he told her, a corner of his mouth twitching briefly. He was trying to smile, but it was very unsuccessful. It was about time he introduced himself, right?

Since she was washing him, he figured he'd return the favour. His hands rose from the water to pull debris from her hair and from anywhere else he deemed appropriate for him to touch. Even though he was still clothed, this felt heavenly. He had been longing for a bath during the past twelves hours, at least. Tonight, Leon and Dixie could finally take a break from their travels. Knowing that made all of his muscles relax, despite the red colouration in the tub.

 

[Shan]

She had laughed softly over the fact they they had been through quite a bit and didn't even know each others names. "I'm Lexi." She shivered under his touch, it was a curious reaction for her. She had never felt anything more then revolution from a mans touch. As her hands moved over his body brushing the debris, that was no longer there, off she felt a small hint of womanly satisfaction with touching him. She ran her fingers through his hair just to touch it, it felt soft despite the dirt and sweat.

Feeling like an idiot she noticed that he still had all of his clothes on, she gulped realizing the state of her clothes. How embarrassing, at least he was being a gentleman about it, even though he was only a man and could only hod strong for so long. She moved her head down almost curling up in the fetal position giving her a great view of his belly button. Pushing her hair to the side she moved it into the water trying to rinse it out more efficiently. Lexi mildly wondered if he always wore his pants this tight.

"It was so kind of you to help me. You didn't have to, I mean you're a stranger. You owed me nothing. What moves a person to show such an act of kindness for another?"

The water was getting cold and now she was shivering because of it and her weariness. Gripping the edges of the tub she slowly stood up are arms shaking with the effort of moving her weight. It seemed that it would prove easier getting in then out, but at least it helped in relaxing her body. She was getting cold and her body was tensing causing the pain of her injuries to creep back. She stepped out of the tub and one of her stockings sloshed to the floor and the other sloshed to her ankle where she could just shake it off. Thankfully her corset was only opened a bit from the bottom, but that didn't stop her from grabbing her bath towel and wrapping it around herself. It was shameful for a stranger to see her in such a state, but somehow she really didn't mind with him. She handed him a towel as well.

"I'm sorry about your clothes and your boots. I don't know how we wound up in such a manner." She bit her lip as she left him to undress from his wet clothes.