Originally posted by Darth Revan
After what seemed like forever to him, Jim, his pursuers still hot on his trail, became desperate. Acting without much thought or consideration, he dove off Buck and into a dry streambed. Buck followed him, jumping none too carefully into the ditch after his rider. It was six or seven feet deep, and there was a large, flat rock conveniently overhanging one side of it, just more than a horse's width over the edge. The two crammed themselves into the small space and waited to see if the goons would find them.Several minutes later, a horse could be heard galloping flat-out behind them, on the nonexistant trail they had been following. Another half hour passed. Nothing else. Then, just as Jim was ready to find a way out of the ditch and leave, the sky opened up and it started pouring. Soon thereafter he was standing almost waist-deep in brown, dirty rainwater from further upstream.
The rain continued to pour out of the sky, and didn't show any signs of letting up. It was getting dark now. The storm raged on through the night, and the rain slowed to a drizzle by morning. Jim climbed out of the muddy streambed before realizing that his mount was not very capable of following him. "Damn," he said under his breath. He jumped back into the stream with a spash, and started to wade upstream, hoping it would be shallower further up.
The gunslinger had made his way to these lands, wandering the endless terrain of the frontier without purpose or direction. His eyes were the most bombarding of blue and upon a glance they seemed to penetrate the inner workings of the human heart. His face was strong, deeply angular so that the dark icey shadows on his cheeks and creased brow appeared as if the sun itself could not melt their icey glaciers. His figure was lean, bound aplenty with muscular sinew-like flesh. He was lithe beyond the very deffinition of the word. At either hip dangled two large revolvers. They were custom made so that the barrel was irregularly long, so that it was a mere two inches short of length as to be classified as a rifle. Two belts criss crossed at his crotch and brass cartridges lined them. He sat atop a crimson steed, the reins clutched firmly in those hands. A stetson did grace his scalp. Long mane of golden fleece touched down to his shoulders. Long, muscled legs were encased in denim. A simple shirt was worn along with a duster. The shirt clung tightly, revealing every finely toned contour of his upper body. Afforementioned duster rested atop his horse's haunches. He was tired of drifting, mayhap he could find a place in town to live. Maybe even a job. He was some distance away from a river, and he reckoned his horse could use a drink. The rain was heavy and coming down at a slant, pelting him relentlessly. His ears were touched by the sound of someone wadding in the water. He followed that sound and came upon a man. He said nothing for a time, then spoke. " Somthin' wrong, mister? "
Jim tilted the brim of his ancient hat back and looked up at the man on the bright chestnut. "Oh, I'm alright, me and Buck here were just, uh, camping out down yonder in the stream bed, when the sky opened up and all of hell and tarnation started to pour down on us. And since my... 'companion,'" Jim said, referring to his ill-tempered horse, "ain't very well equipped to be climbing six feet up a muddy bank, I have no choice but to try to find a place where the ditch is shallow enough for the both of us to climb out. I figger if we go far enough up the crick, it'll start to level out, mebbe two or three miles upstream." Jim glanced back downstream from where he had come, and then in the direction he was heading. Water coursed down his face and completely soaked every part of his body. He was completely wet, totally saturated with moisture. He felt like a sponge under a waterfall. "'Course it's hard to tell with all this damn rain in my way."
He looked to the man, brows arching in consideration. Rain slithered slowly from his hat and onto his denim breeches. One hand turned the reins while the other opened a saddle bag, pulling out a rope. He spoke again, his voice barely audible over the thunderous cracks of lightning and the increasing wind. He had to shout in order to make himself heard. " I reckon I could pull the two 'a yah out if you want. "
((Jesus christ Tidus you're not in the Matrix, you can't do that
The only reason they could do it in the movie was because the physics of the computer-generated world let you do crazy shit like that... in other words, it's impossible in real life))
"I appreciate your offer, mister, but I'm not too sure Buck here would do too well with bein' lifted out of the ditch--he don't much care for strangers, especially ones that go tying ropes around different parts of his body and whatnot," Jim said, somewhat reluctantly. "I think we'll be alright. Hell, if the water gets high enough, we might be able to climb right up onto land."