The Bostaurus Settlement; Pit Stop!

First topic message reminder :



Buck would lead the newcomers on into the heart of the Bostaurus Settlement, past many cowpokes of many types. Many of them looked onto the newcomers with warm, welcoming eyes, though some of them found the two of them rather strange looking; possibly because they were the ones that hadn't ever seen their kind before, wherein many of the older ones probably had, since they dealt with the trade more often than the younger ones.

"This way!" he said, reaching a nice little log cabin house with a field beside it. This was the Wilde House.

El's eyes gleamed happily at the idea of bartering, it was a skill well respected in his world. He wouldn't brag, but he liked to think that he was pretty good at it. Most of time though, it was more like him betting the person that he could do a feat that they thought was impossible. He always got what he needed that way. So, he wasn't good at bartering, but at gambling!

"Well I like to think I'm pretty good at this type of thing." Though, looking around, he could see all the eyes of the various shopkeepers and such locking onto Mildred and Tzita both, and understand the other method in which they might receive supplies. And why Mildred was considered their secret weapon.

"What should we get first then, Lady L'sia?"

Buck laughed a bit, not really sure what they'd do with her. "Well, if you can produce, they'll take!" He said pretty simply, rubbing his hands together in a scheming manner. With Milly and Tzita, it probably didn't matter where they went.

???: Well, well, well! Look what decided to hop outta the haystack!!

The feminine voice called out from beyond the crowd, and to Mildred's disdain. "Oh, no... Not this'n..." Her face quickly became sour, hoping that they wouldn't run into her today...


Another cow girl, naturally with considerably smaller breasts, but a bit taller and slightly older than both Buck and Mildred, at the very edge of her teens.

"... That's Molly-Anne," Mildred said begrudgingly, "One of town's rich girls..." It was clear from her speech that she was a bit better off than the Wildes, as her accent was less heavy and her words were much more polished and proper. She still sounded like she was from the country, but her demeanor was less of that of a farm girl and more of that of a pampered princess.

Buck: H-Heya Molly... We're just takin' our new friends here out to stock up on some stuff 'afore they gotta head on out.

Molly-Anne: That right? *peeks over at Mildred* Didja have to bring the fertilizer with ya, or did she just kinda happen to get stuck to yer heel? *snicker*

Milly: Ooo...!! Thinks she's so smart... *stomps heavily*

Molly-Anne laughed, muscling her way past Buck and straight toward El, not even paying Tzita any mind, "And what's your name, big guy? Y'all got some dirt there on your arm... Might wanna brush it off before ya get your fine self dirty."

"Hmm.." El had met this girl's type before, especially with the way that she spoke to Mildred and how Buck described her, more times than he liked to admit. There were many times were a princess or duchess presumed they had the right, by hierarchy, to approach El however they pleased, and disrespect the lower born lady that he may have been keeping company at the time. Unfortunately, he never responded to them in a way that they liked.

His expression remained soft, and he smiled, even as Tzita spoke up after being sufficiently ignored. "Well, Miss Molly-Anne, I'm Elliott Faulkner, first of my name, and as my friend's have said Lady Mildred is escorting me around the market to gather supplies for my crusade. I happen to find Lady Mildred quite charming and am honored to have her company." He moved a hand to place it upon the one that Mildred had wrapped around his shoulder. If anything, he decided to play up the fact that she was wrapped around his arm by pretending they were probably much more than simple friends.

He stepped forward, past Molly-Anne, to continue to where they were going to go, bring Mildred along with him. "Come, Lady Mildred, Buck, Lady L'sia, lets continue. I was enjoying Lady Mildred sharing her vast knowledge of the land with me." He looked down to his side, smiled and whispered quietly to Mildred, "Keep your head high, Lady Mildred, you've already won this battle."

Milly was happy to see that everyone (including Tzita) was on her side... But was a little disappointed in Buck for not standing up for her. He thought that Molly-Anne was pretty and slightly intimidating, and he wasn't the type to know how to deal with women like that, anyway, so she wasn't TOO surprised. It had always been like that. Every now and then, though, when she really grinded his gears, he'd speak up, but it was very rarely since he kinda just let her walk all over him on account of her good looks and prestige. Milly nodded her head and did as El instructed, holding her head high and walking off with him, flicking her tail as they left Molly-Anne in the dust. "Hmph!"

The rather impudent Molly-Anne scoffed and went about her business in the market place, but definitely kept an eye out for the lot of them and kept the words of Tzita in mind. They'd won the battle, but definitely not the war. She didn't pursue them anymore.

Buck followed behind El and Mildred, kind of lost for words now. He was feeling sorry for himself since he didn't stick up for Mildred; not that it was anything new when it came to Molly-Anne, but this time, in front of the guests, it made him feel that much worse. He hung his head low and fell silent.

Mildred, on the other hand, was feeling pretty good about herself, exceptionally so with El by her side and coming to her rescue. She was more than happy to be wrapped around his arm and fawned over him, coddling his arm more closely now that she had the chance. "You were so braaave~" she swooned, little hearts bubbling and popping up around her in a cartoonish fashion. "If only Bucky were more like ya, then maybe Molly-Anne would shut her hole~!"

Excellent ideas from Tzita, as always. Food was a primary concern, though El was used to roughing it and could find them find just when without stocking up. His primary concern was finding things to sleep on and in, like tents and sleeping bags and the like. He was fine with sleeping on the ground, with the way that he was feeling recently he probably wouldn't sleep at all, but he felt Tzita would be less than pleased with that idea. There was always the idea of her cuddling up beside him though, which made him chuckle and tap Mildred's hand.

"Buck dealt with the situation admirably. Many, from where I come from, would have bowed out without saying anything at all. I think he was rather brave too." El complimented before turning his attention to Tzita, "Splitting up could certainly yield us a better haul. I trust Lady Mildred to take me to the best places, and I think that you and Buck would make an excellent team as well." He smiled before turning back to Mildred and nodding his head towards the side so that they might be off. He'd noticed how much of a shine Buck had taken to Tzita, and figured that it would be good to give them some alone time. They were leaving soon, so Buck only really had the afternoon if he were to try and make a move.

Buck remained silent, but lifted his head up and smiled slightly at El. He was happy that at least he was trying to cheer him up, but inside he wasn't feeling it. He didn't mind the idea of splitting up and going with Tzita, though. "... Yeah, I'll take 'er 'round to the produce section..." he said kind of lowly. "Well, let's go, Miss Tzita..." He would make a hard right, down one of the isles where they sold their fresh foods.

Milly, on the other hand, was actually quite happy to have some alone time with El, herself. "YEAH~! I'm all fer that idea~!" She would quickly tug and yank at El again, leading him off further into the crowd. "C'mon, El~! Lemme show ya this mighty fine place up here...!" And just that fast, the two of them would be gone, further up in the Market, where the clothes and the other materials of fabric were. There wasn't too much, but there was definitely enough to at least have a pretty decent variety. Of course, there was their share of human clothes, since many of the Bostaurus could (and liked to) wear them, but there were also things like loincloths and togas for those that were too big for shirts and such, or just didn't prefer them.

"Oh this is exactly what I was looking for, we'll need tents for sure." El said to Mildred, looking around at the area that she had dragged him into. There were shops with clothes and fabrics of different kinds, so El was sure that he could find tents and bedding for him and Tzita to use on their journey. If they were lucky, and could get really quality stuff, then they could use the stuff for the duration of their pilgrimage from the Sacred Beasts. El was banking on finding some diamond in the rough kind of stuff for a pretty good price. If need be, he'd bet on his new found gifts to acquire them.

Buck appreciated what Tzita was trying to do for him, but he was tired of always letting that happen. "Thanks, but... I dunno, just sum'n about that there girl..." He didn't know why he couldn't stand up to her. "... I just get all weak in my knees an... Well, then my tongue gets all twisted an'... Then my head... S'like it just goes all blank!" He couldn't figure it out, himself. "I can talk to 'er just fine when she ain't actin' all funky, but... Whenever she gets like that, it'sa whole diff'rent story..." The two of them were in the produce section, walking up and down, Buck barely paying attention on account of his problems. "... Oh, uh. But here we are, Miss Tzita! Anything strike yer fancy?" He didn't want to distract her too much with his own silly problems when she had food to get.

With El and Milly, they were already two steps ahead of the other two, having found a shop to fit what their needs were relatively swiftly. The shop keep sat there with a kinda glazed look in his eyes, pretty half attentive. Milly was just happy that El found what he was looking for.

Milly: Y'all found it?! Alright! Well uh, guess y'all better ask the shop keep how much fer however many yer looking for, huuuh? I'll pick up the price for ya iff'n need be!

El nodded his head to Mildred, but didn't step towards the shop in question. Instead, he turned around with Mildred and leaned down to whisper to her. "How about we try and get this shop keeper to bet on a feat of strength hmm?" Relatively speaking, after meeting Mildred and Buck's father, Joe, he felt that the males of this species held exceptional strength, but El was betting that his new gifts were more than a match. If they could pull it off, then they could get the supplies that they needed for free.

"Like her?!" Buck exclaimed with eyes darting about feverishly, "I-I couldn't... I mean..." He started to blush, "She... She doesn't seem..." Trying to gather his thoughts and feelings, which seemed to be suddenly running high, he became more than flustered. "I-I mean... She is real purdy..." He wasn't so sure of it himself, but the way he got all steamed up, he just might be. "... 'S-sides, she's all rich and whatnot an' I'm just..." He kinda lowered his head, still blushing, "She wouldn't wanna waste half a heartbeat on a feller like me..." He looked up shyly, trying to figure out how to guide the conversation away from talk about Molly-Anne, "... Uh, well, uh, anyway, you see anything ya like, yet? We only got an hour'r so."


Milly quirked a brow, wondering what El could mean by that. "... Who, him...?" she pointed, the shop keep barely seeming to keep focus on his wares nor his customers.


Milly snickered a bit, "... Shucks, if ya think so..." She stepped forward slamming her hand on the table, "HEY! YOU!" The shop keep jumped up with a startled moo, suddenly becoming attentive, "Hrmmm?! Wh-what's all tha hubbub?!"

Milly: Betcha somma yer wares here that my fine friend here can do anyyyy feat of strength y'all want, no matter what!!

Shop Keep: Huuuuuuuh?

Milly: That's right! You name it, he'll do it! *nudges* Tell'm, El!

El stopped forward, unknowingly looming over Mildred powerfully. He cleared his throat now, taking a deep breath and preparing himself to play a role that he hadn't done in years. He slammed his hand down on the table as well, right beside Mildred's, the lingering sound was like a thunderous boom after a streak of lightning. Surely, it was likely to draw more attention towards the commotion. El hoped it would put pressure on the shop keep to go along with the deal. "That's right! I betcha I could lift Milly here with just my pinky while balancin' your tracker there on the palm of one of my hands." El spoke in his natural southern accent, which he'd learned how to speak without when he'd went to the capital of the kingdom to become a knight.

El leaned down a bit, his cheek almost brushing against Milly's as he looked the shop keep dead in his eyes. "Come on now, you don't wanna look like a yellow belly in front of the prized Mildred, do ya? You ain't gonna let some fancy dressed, city slicker punk ya, are ya?"

The shop keep that was stationed at the bread shop sat at with a piece of straw in his mouth with eyes just as sharp and as stern as could be, already looking as though he was ready to drive a hard bargain,


Buck hopped back, "YEESH!! Fer ONE loaf?!" He might need to haggle that price down a bit... 2 Gallons was a lot. He must have either been low on his milk or needed some to sell for currency to the humans or something like that.

Bread Shop Keep: Take it 'er leave it.

Buck yanked his collar, not wanting to waste up all of the milk his family had on one little measly loaf. "Uh... Miss Tzita, you reckon maybe we could uh... Get sum'n a bit cheaper...?"


On Milly's end, their methods of intimidation seemed to be working. The guy was basically scared out of his wits, not really knowing what to do nor how to respond to them. They were being really pushy and all he really wanted to do was just sit there and not really have to deal with any customers. "Uhhh... Well uhhh...!!" He was at a loss for words, but if it would get them out of his face... "Well, sure... I guess that's... Alright there..." He was already pretty scared of humans in the first place, let alone one that was as tall and strong as El slapping his desk, with a pretty young maiden there looking him in the face with her beautiful jugs there. He could barely figure out what he needed to focus on, so he basically ended up just going along with them.

Yet, things weren't going as smoothly as though originally would have liked.

Molly-Anne: HELP!! Y'ALL, THERE'S A MAD COW ABSOLUTELY DE-STROYIN' EVERYTHING NEAR MAH HOUSE!!!

It was the same cow girl that the group had seen earlier, except now seeming to be in a fit of danger. She tried to get the crowd to come help, but everyone seemed to just want to sit back and play spectator. There weren't many bulls out at the market that day, most of them were women, and the shop keeps couldn't leave their posts on account of needing to watch their wares. But out in the distance, loud crashes and violent moos could be heard, both of which seemed to shake the earth with an unnaturally powerful force, almost like that of a stampede.

Suddenly, both the Ankhs on the respective parties of El and Tzita would begin to glow brightly again, not too long after the desperate call of Molly-Anne.

El was ready to capitalize on this man's meek demeanor, but before he could his ears rung to the screams of the cow from before. He turned around to face in that general direction to see if he could see anything from where he stood. "Lady Mildred, find Buck and Lady L'sia." He said before taking off at full speed towards where the screams had come from. El wasn't sure exactly what he was about to get himself into, but the sounds of a stampede clue him in enough to know that he probably wouldn't be enough. Still, he was ready to test the limits of his gifts now.

As he traveled, like a dark blue streak, through, and out of, the market El noticed the glowing light of the Ankh in his pocket. This has something to do with finding the sacred beasts, maybe, so he poured it on.

Milly was startled by the commotion, confused as to what to do and what was going on. She felt just like the rest of the herd, kinda lost but ready to get into a stir, as the roaring crowd suddenly did as they heard the cries of the infamous Molly-Anne. But, thanks to El's quick thinking and instruction, she immediately snapped out of it and didn't fall into the panic like they were starting to. "R-Right!" she said, running off through the crowd, searching for Buck and Tzita.

Meanwhile, near Molly-Anne's estate, which was relatively larger than the others, there seemed to be an old man, pounding the ground vigorously and mooing loudly, seemingly uncontrollably, knocking over bull after bull that tried to stand in his way. He overturned wagons and ran rampant through the streets. It was only when El showed up that Molly-Anne ran toward him and cried, "Oh thank goonness!!!" Her accent seemed to come out a little more now that she was in a panic. She pointed at the wild bull going crazy all over the place, showing El just what the issue was. "Th-th-thas the one wut did it!! Hurry afore he 'stroys mah house!!" Upon closer inspection, El would find it to be none other than Grandpa Tank.

Eventually, Mildred shoved her way through the crowd and found Buck and Tzita in the produce section of the Market, and ran up to them in a huff. "Bucky!! There... There's a... Commotion nearby an... An El went an..." She was clearly out of breath, partially from being in a frenzy herself, and also because of how swiftly she'd run over. "... Over yonder..." She pointed, trying to get past where the crowd was to show them where it seemed everything was going down.

Buck: What?! *stares at where Milly points* Why, that... That's near Molly-Anne's House!

He thought about what Tzita told him just a little while ago as well as what Milly said about El going to see what was going on and figured it would probably be best if he did so, too. He felt like, somehow, it would do his old man proud to go and deal with something like this instead of letting the bigger and older bulls do it, especially since El had already jumped into the fray. His face suddenly became rather serious and he snorted, being randomly invigorated by the chaos and finding a burning passion within himself to want to correct it. "Y'all just sit back an' try ta keep the crowd unner control!! I'll han'le this!!" He immediately took off, shoving his way through the crowd, nearly knocking people over in order to join El as swiftly as he could.

When El arrived at the scene, and was able to witness what was occurring first hand, it was to his surprise to see the culprit was none other than Tank. "Stay calm Lady Molly-Anne, I'll see what I can do." He instructed with a, hopefully, reassuring pat to her shoulder before rushing in to join the others that were trying to calm Tank down. Certainly their efforts were valiant, but to no avail. Tank's level of strength seemed to be unmatched by any of them in this berserker like state.

El stepped forward confidently, yet cautiously, "Fall back men, his strength outmatches yours, I'll try to talk him down, but be ready for any opportunity to subdue him." El commanded comfortably, as he was instructing his light cavalry unit back on his own world, before approaching Tank at a slow pace, putting himself between the old and wise bull and Molly Anne's house. Her fields and such that Tank had already rampaged through were collateral in relation to her house. He would help with protecting that much as best he could.

"Sir Tank, can you tell me what's wrong? What's happened to you?" El asked, his hands out in front of him to make sure he was ready to take action at any moment, but more so to show Tank that he didn't mean the man any harm if he could see the gesture. This has something to do with the Ankh again, it glowed while I was moving. El thought, frowning a small bit, It's caused nothing but trouble since we've got here, me and Lady L'sia may have to leave earlier than expected. We can't bring anymore grief to these people. It was sad, but if the Ankh's were causing this much of a disturbance then El couldn't, in all righteous thought, continue as if these occurrences were unrelated.

Milly followed Tzita to the outside of the crowd, watching as she did her 'magic trick.' Even with all that was going on, something as simple as that was more than amazing to her, since she'd never seen anyone do anything like it before. It was enough to have her mouth agape in awe and her mind dumbfounded, for this seemed like some sort of miraculous work that she'd only gotten to see and hear of in fairy tales. "Wooooow..." she finally said, "That was so COOL!! Bucky's gone be so jealousa me when I tell'm 'bout your magic chains!!" Before she got too distracted, Tzita called for her to lead her to Molly-Anne's house, which would take a bit longer since they couldn't just rush straight through the crowd now. But at least they wouldn't be adding to the calamity. "Th-This way!" she stuttered, trying to get a grip on herself. She would immediately take off along the trail and around the corner, leading her Fae friend toward the house.


Back at the scene of the crime, the men that were already there which had been thoroughly outmatched were put to shame rather quickly by Tank's strength. When El told them to fall back, instead of feeling like they should butt heads, as they usually would, they instead did as they were told, curious to see what he was going to do that was any different than what they did... And to see how strong this little human man was, himself. They figured that if they couldn't do anything, then certainly he couldn't either. Yet, he was brave enough to stand in between the wild old bull and the house he seemed to be mangling in his berserker fury, so they watched carefully and waited, just in case they were needed later. Something about his tone made them want to listen to him; like he had experience in this sort of field, which would always show when one took charge. People would definitely listen.

Tank didn't say a word; he had El in his sights, but was only seeing red... Especially since he was a human. The look in his eyes didn't look to be his own, yet at the same time, it seemed fueled by his own inner hatred, passions and desires, giving him a faint fiery aura over himself. He huffed and mooed aggressively, striking the ground with his hoof and scraping it a little, as if he were getting ready to charge... But that's when his grandson came into the fray, as well.

"GRAMPS!!!" he cried out in shock and disbelief, "WUT IN TARNATION!?!?!" He could barely believe his eyes; to think that his very own grandfather would be the one to be making so much trouble. It just didn't make any sense to him. Tank turned to face him once he was called, a certain familiarity twinkling in his eye that stopped him from charging, but didn't take him out of his crazed state. He stood there, gazing at Buck deeply, but with seemingly no intent to charge at him. He remained in that state until Molly-Anne screamed again, randomly and for seemingly no reason, being far too flustered about the situation to think about anything else. "THAT'S YER GRAMPA!?" She shouted, drawing Tank's attention toward her. In that instant, all the calmness that he'd found looking at his grandson flew out the window just as fast as he flew down the trail with a mad dash at the young cow girl.

"MOLLY!" Buck cried, rushing over to her and scooping her off of her feet before his grandfather could run her over, "NOW WUTCHO GONE AND DO THAT FER!? I HAD 'EM!" She was speechless as she narrowly escaped injury, probably even death, at the hands of the great old bull passing them both by. She couldn't find any words for him, yet found herself gazing deeply into his eyes, saying everything she needed to with just the stare. He put her down, "You... Wait here! I'll deal with Gramps!!" then rushed over to El as Molly nodded, running closer to her house and out of the direct line of sight of Tank.

"El, wuh... Wut is goin on here!?!? What is wrong with Gramps!?" Tank, having rushed far off along the trail, would suddenly stop once he'd seen that he'd missed and turn back around to look at both El and Buck, to where he heard his name called again by a familiar voice. He scraped the ground again and huffed, shaking his head and mooing aggressively once more before taking off in a full speed charge at the both of them again.

The rampaging Tank hurdled at El with great force, his eyes mad and lost like that of a wild beast. Though freedom rang in his heart and soul, destruction was the result of his reckless revert to animalism. As his hooves tore the ground under his feet up with each damn near leap from the ground at his target, the charging bull crashed with a mighty impact as his horns met with the hands of the seasoned soldier, whose feet were planted firmly and securely to ensure he wouldn't be knocked down nor over. Surprisingly, his strength was more than that of the other Bostaurus men that were casually knocked to the side, which came as an immediate surprise to the elder. He strained his neck to toss El to either side, or up into the air and heave him out of the way.

Meanwhile, Buck would stand there puzzled, trying to piece all of this stuff together. He heard El, but was still rather shaken about seeing his grandfather acting so wildly. He couldn't understand where his rational mind had gone nor why he would turn against his own people like that. Yet, when he looked his grandfather in the eyes, he still saw him there. Something about the way he looked at Buck...

Yet, whilst he was off putting things together in his head, the sound of a thunderous crash between the two before him snapped him out of his daze and back into the heat of the situation, to which he could only see the mad beast his grandpa had become whilst in this state. Did he really hate humans that much? Or... Was it the strange doohickey, like El said? Regardless... This was a decision he wasn't sure of what to make of. To help his new Human friend that he just met, or... To let his grandfather do as he pleased until he calmed down? Even still, it was a lot for him to go through. He remained speechless as he watched the two of them struggle, unsure of which he should be helping.

Soon, Milly and Tzita would come into view in the distance, rushing toward the scuffle from behind the house. "This way, Tzita!!" Mildred called out, waving her hand for her to come closer. She was lagging behind, it seemed; probably because the Bostaurus were naturally very swift runners thanks to their hooves. They would see Molly-Anne cowering, yet peeking out from behind the house and watching the entire battle. "You gon' use sommore of your cool magicy chains~?" Milly asked as they came up behind her, "I think it'd be really cool!" Molly-Anne turned around and saw the two of them and sighed with relief. "MILDRED~!" she said with a pleasant chime, "BoyamI gladtaseeyou!" She pointed around the corner, "Yer brother and yer boyfriend are fighting yer gramps!!! He went all crazy and tried to destroy my house!!"

Milly: WHAT?! Gramps!?

Molly: Yeah, take a look...

Mildred would peek around the corner and find both El and her grandpa locked in a conflict, going head to head whilst Buck stood by and basically watched. They were all watching them. She, like her brother, didn't know exactly how to feel about it. "Gramps..." she muttered, "... What are ya doin..?!"