Joy & Woe - An Alternate RDR2 Story | Arthur Morgan x OC |

21. endless fields

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Northern Grizzlies

May 1898

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Watching her house fade into the horizon, Joyce had felt oddly hollow. She'd made her peace, said her goodbyes, everything — but she knew a piece of her would forever remain at that ranch. 

The gang traveled south and a little east, making a slow and torturous trail through Montana and into the northern Grizzlies. If it was truly the goal to throw the pursuing law off, it worked — not a sniff of them was detected since they'd fled. By the time they crossed Montana's border, they were scot-free. 

But the reason for that was the weather. Winter refused to release its grip in these higher altitudes, letting some nasty conditions take the gang by storm. They trudged through, bearing the freezing temps and occasional snowstorm or icestorm. Each day Joyce became more unsure of her decisions, but each day she also lost more of her resolve to fight it — what could they do now? Surely nothing but to keep going. Though her loyalty wavered, she never spoke a word about it, instead letting the turmoil stir her mind. 

They had finally made it into some wilderness — still cold, but not nearly as tumultuous as the mountain range they'd traversed. Joyce was still surprised she'd only had to help an occasional fall or cut here or there; half of her expected someone to plummet to their death at any point. Not to say there weren't a few close calls...

The Robbins tagging along surprised a good chunk of the gang; most of them had bet on the siblings fleeing sometime in the night. And some of them had literally bet on it; Joyce had seen Mac slap a wad of bills into a smug Davey's hand, grumbling, the day that they had set out from the ranch. Though she'd been nothing short of a mess lately, knowing that she'd stumped some of these seasoned outlaws filled her with an odd sense of pride. 

For some of those members, that had earned their respect — or, at least, their baseline trust and mutual acquaintance for being in the notorious Van der Linde gang. 

"Anyone who sticks around after all that—" Karen had exclaimed, pointing vaguely in the direction of Great Falls, "—must really have it in 'em to be with us. Welcome to the team!"

"You two seem alright," Javier had commented optimistically one chilly morning when he'd been on watch with Ezra. "You've been earning your keep, we can all see it... keep it up, amigo."

"As long as you're puttin' in the work while you're here, you'll have a home with us," Susan had assured Joyce one evening as they sewed some torn clothes together. "Just don't let me catch ya free-loadin'!"

"It's great to have some fresh blood and new faces around," Hosea had commented one night around the campfire. His half-smile and crinkled eyes were warm as he added, "Welcome to the family, you two." 

Ezra and Joyce glanced at each other before looking back at the old man. Joyce smiled gently, saying, "Thanks, Hosea..."

"We won't let ya down!" Ezra had assured, lifting his chin. She elbowed him for the cheesy line and he scoffed incredulously, whispering, "What!?"

All in all, it seemed they had been tentatively welcomed. If they hadn't sold out Dutch in Great Falls, one of the biggest cities in the Northwest with hundreds of lawmen, then they were probably alright. There were some gang members who didn't much give them the time of day, as well as occasionally teasing Ezra for his healing arm — but most of it was harmless. Guess they didn't want to get on the bad side of their only sober healer.