Copper and Gold

Counting Tombstones

Rayne crouched on the bank of the stream as she watched the light of the nearing sun illuminate the horizon, casting soft pinks and oranges across the lingering clouds. Her hair hung down around her neck and shoulders, remaining unbound from when she had woken hours before. Billy and Goodnight had remained awake as well, but they laid back down where they had been before her nightmare left all three of them in fatigue. She hated that neither man would get the sleep they deserved because of her, but she was grateful for the time she had spent in Goodnight's arms, and for Billy waking her before her nightmare progressed further.

Reaching up to run her fingers languidly through her hair, she continued to bask in the sunrise with the lulling sound of the stream distracting her from otherwise dark thoughts. They would be leaving nearly immediately, getting another day's ride behind them—Chisolm wanted to make a slight detour to look for Jack Horne, who was rather well known in the group. She had heard of him through stories told by Goodnight, and apparently Chisolm knew the man personally.

They could use all the help they could find, so hopefully Horne was willing to lend his talents.

"Ray," Billy called from a few feet back, above the bank where she sat. Twisting to look over her shoulder, the Korean gave her a short nod before leaving. She knew that was her cue to get up, meaning that the others were rising for the day; the blonde woman rose onto tired legs and began the process of pulling her hair into a large bunch at the back of her head. Her fingers were nimble and carried a familiar, practiced movement as she twisted the pin into her hair before sliding it through to bind her hair in place.

The group was just beginning to rise when she approached, rolling up blankets or coats and stashing them back in their saddles. They were each given some bread and dried meat to eat on the way, rather than unpacking everything for another cooked meal.

Emma gave her a worried look when the other woman approached and accepted her black vest from Billy. Her appearance was rumpled and unkempt, not like she had been sleeping but more as though she had not slept at all. The faintest shadow was beginning to appear beneath her eyes, telling the older woman that her assumptions were correct.

Something had kept Rayne awake throughout the night, even though she had seen the other woman tuck down to sleep with the rest of them. She was reminded of Billy's protective presence nearby, and the warning look she was given when he noticed her attention. He and Goodnight knew something about Rayne's insomnia, the cause or prevention, and they were doing their best to keep it hidden from the others. Emma wasn't sure what their relationship was, but the men were startlingly protective of the woman travelling with them; even though she could apparently care for herself without issue.

However, Rayne did an amazing job of hiding any lack of sleep as she fell into easy conversation with Vasquez, which only Chisolm could actually understand since they refused to speak in English. With how much the Spanish man was laughing and he shot quick glances in his direction, Faraday strongly suspected that they were talking about him. Chisolm would neither confirm, nor deny.

Rayne didn't come across as someone who was overly talkative to begin with, so it wasn't considered unusual when she went quiet during their ride to Horne's, sticking near to Goodnight but not joining in on any of his conversations. Anyone watching would have noticed the now-and-again glances that he was giving to her. When he would see the look on her face that told him her mind was beginning to wander, he would direct a question to her so she was forced to answer and therefore wasn't lost in her thoughts. Other than that, he and Billy left the distracted woman to her musings. So long as she didn't delve too deep into her own mind, they weren't overly concerned. In the light of day, it was much easier for Rayne to block out her past and focus on the task at hand. Riding for hours at a time, however, prompted them to keep her grounded.