Stellar and Quartz: Ghost Town Showdown

Stellar’s eyes opened after a very sound sleep; she found herself cocooned in Arcus’ embrace as at some point his head had craned down so that his beak was against her muzzle, her calves were wrapped in his tail and his arm was snugly around her waistline. Breathing a laugh, she pursed her lips and gave him a peck just below the eye; Arcus immediately awoke to the sight of her grinning at him.

“This is my lodge you know, it’s not like I was going to sneak out or anything.” She noted.

Arcus realized how much of a hold he had on her and quickly began to undo himself from her side. “Sorry,” He said with a sleepy smile.

“Really the affectionate type, aren’t you?” She asked, stretching her legs once his tail had receded.

“It just felt really good to be close to you.” He confessed.

Hearing that brought Stellar some pause; she slid from the bed and stood over him. “Working today?” She asked.

“Actually… yeah,” He swung his head around to look at the time. “Shit, I almost forgot.”

“Was I that good?” She chuckled.

“Yeah, definitely,” He smiled back at her. “Hey, how about you come by this afternoon for lunch?”

“I’ll think about it,” She promised. “Don’t exactly know what I intend to do today yet.”

“Okay,” He rose and quickly got dressed. “Well, hopefully I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, don’t work too hard, kid.” She waved as he let himself out; with a heavy sigh she went to the dresser and braced her palms on the edge, staring hard into the mirror. “Okay, you made it up to him, ditched your guilt and had another great night… you’re done now. And you’re definitely not meeting him for lunch; for fuck’s sake… the last thing you need is to wind up in some weird, pseudo relationship with some kid who’s old enough to compare life notes with your son.” Her eyes lowered. “I mean, it doesn’t matter if he’s kind… and sweet… cute… and makes you cum harder than any guy you’ve been with in the last twenty fucking years…” Her head hung as she let out a frustrated groan. “Fuck me.”

With no pressing matter at hand, Cloudy took the opportunity to venture into town alone. She spent the morning visiting some of the more low key areas that showcased old pieces of art that had been collected over the town’s history and other western style works. The former jailhouse had been mostly maintained an offered a glimpse into how justice was carried out back in the more lawless times of the town’s heyday. The slightly macabre museum was operated by a rather ghoulish mare who seemed to take great fascination in the subject. Feeling the need for something lighter in tone, Cloudy then headed up the main road until coming across Earnhardt and two buffalo idling in the middle of the road. He took notice of her as she approached but his eyes lacked the cruel intensity from their last encounter. After some hesitation, he went to her and halted her walk.

“Ms.” He called.

Cloudy stopped and looked up at him with her typical calm. “I am not looking for an argument.”

“Me either,” He assured. “I’m sorry about the other night; everyone has jumped on my ass about it and I know it was wrong.”

Cloudy quietly nodded. “I have no doubt that this situation is impacting every creature here, not simply those directly involved in the business at hand.

“Yeah,” He sighed.

“Most anger comes from passion,” She continued. “I am sure you are passionate about your home, which is something to be admired; albeit not expressed in the most civil of manners.”

The minotaur was surprised by her understanding and actually smiled. “I wish everyone else was as forgiving as you.” He laughed.

“I am not one for grudges,” She stated. “They serve no purpose other than harboring bitterness for no one’s benefit.”

“It just doesn’t seem fair, you know?” He carried on. “This is our home and it feels like we don’t even get a say in all this.”

“That is understandable,” Cloudy acknowledged. “Much like a tenant renting a home, you are ultimately at the mercy of the landlord; no matter how much time, care and love you put into that home.”

“Exactly!” Earnhardt slapped his thighs. “I’ve been trying to find a way to put it, that’s it exactly.”

“I can’t imagine a minotaur being native to the region, were you born here?”

“Not born, but my family has been involved with this area for a few generations now.” He explained. “My family and other minotaur came out here to help with the reconstruction of the town when Wheeler’s dad made his investment. We were some of the only creatures able to do heavy labor in this heat without passing out or worse; we also handled a lot of back and forth with the buffalo.”

“You do seem to be often in their company,” Cloudy noted as she glanced over at his friends who were still idling in the road.

“Yeah, my family has been close to them since before I was born; I was practically raised with them.”

“Another reason you would resist being forced to leave.” She reached out and laid her hand to his arm. “I am sorry this process has been so difficult for all of you; I may be aiding in that process, but do not think that makes me distant to the feelings of all involved. Stellar knows that too; but she, like all of us, has a job to do.”

The big bull smiled wide and put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re alright,” He said approvingly. “I won’t hold this against you, and if any creature else does I’ll handle them for you.”

“Hey!” Hatch’s voice sounded from down the road; seeing nothing but the known brute with his hand on Cloudy’s shoulder, he came running. “What are you doing!?”

“What!?” Earnhardt faced him with indignant eyes. “What the hell is your problem?”

“I…,” He looked back at Cloudy. “Are you okay?”

“Of course she is.” Earnhardt growled, angry at the insinuation.

“I am fine, Hatch.” Cloudy raised her hand in assurance. “We were just talking and Earnhardt has been quite kind.”

“He has?” Hatch looked up at the bull. “Sorry, can’t exactly blame me though.”

“You’re lucky you’re right about that, this time.” He poked the griffon in the chest.

“Okay, okay.” Hatch held his talons up.

The scene was again interrupted by the sound of an air horn as a pair of trucks pulling tailers began rolling to town. “Finally.” Earnhardt turned his attention to the vehicles.

“What is going on?” Cloudy asked.

“It’s what we’ve been waiting for,” He explained. “Hathaway’s monthly delivery for the town.” He glanced back down at Hatch. “Give us a hand while you’re standing here.” He ordered more than asked.

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Hatched rolled up his sleeves as he and Cloudy followed him towards the trucks. As they came to a stop, Hathaway emerged from one of the driver seats and climbed down to greet them.

“Sorry we’re a little late,” He apologized. “Took a tad longer to load up than we expected.”

“It’s fine.” Earnhardt brushed it off as he, hatch and the buffalo began heading for the rear of the truck with a pair of flatbed carts they had on standby.

“Well, Ms. Quartz,” Hathaway tipped his hat. “Nice to see you again.”

“Yes,” She smiled. “We heard from Ridgeway that you’ve decided to go along with the sale.”

“Yeah,” He nodded. “Honestly, I have you to thank for that; when you said what you did about your family and mine it felt like some pieces I had been overlooking fell into place. You’d think with ten kids I’d be more mindful of the future rather than the past.”

Cloudy paused in thought of their last talk. “I was under the impression you had nine children.”

“Oh…” He realized the number he mentioned. “Yes, I have ten. The tenth is my second oldest boy; he left our farm a little over two years ago to be on his own.” His face saddened. “If I had heard what you had to say back then, maybe things would have been different.”

“Did he not wish to remain here?” She asked.

“He just felt that he couldn’t do what he wanted to here,” Hathaway elaborated. “Kid was smart as a whip, kind of a wizard with technology. He was always inventing but he didn’t have any interest in aiming all that inventiveness at the farm. I tried to force him to follow the family path and in doing so I pushed him away; like you said, I can’t just assume my children want to do this for the rest of their lives.”

“I am sorry.” Cloudy said sincerely.

“Well, if we get this sale to go through, maybe I can track him down and let him know I understand now.” He pondered as they headed back to check on the work. His eldest daughter, who had driven the second truck, was assisting in the unloading as box after box was loaded onto the carts. Hatch had a large crate clutched in his talons as he left the back of the truck, Cloudy caught his eye as he started down the ramp and as he went to say something to her he stumbled forward. Hathaway’s daughter jumped out of the way as he went forward and just as he cried out, Cloudy quickly reached her right hand up and held the opposite side of the crate; Hatch’s fall stopped and the others stared at the sight in shock.

“Holy shit.” Earnhardt put his boxes down; as the sleeve of Cloudy’s dress fell back to her shoulder he could see the intricate and tight muscles of her arm.

“Do be careful, Hatch.” Cloudy said calmly as she raised the crate to allow him to regain his balance.

“How in the world are you so strong?” Hatch asked as he carried the crate down the rest of the ramp and set it on the flatbed.

“I’ve worked with nothing but stone and rock since I was nine years old,” She informed, fixing her dress. “I may no longer work the field, but the field has yet to leave my body.”

“They sure don’t make them like you anymore.” Hatch complimented.

“Maybe we should swap you out for her,” Earnhardt laughed. “Come on, let’s get this done so we can get lunch. You come too, Cloudy.”

“Alright.” She accepted with a light smile, the feeling of making some new friends after so long a warm one.

After cussing herself out, Stellar found herself headed towards the diner. As the establishment came into view, Stellar started drumming her fingers on her thigh while she walked.

“Ugh… what the fuck are you doing?” She muttered. “You said you weren’t coming here and here you are, ignoring your own good advice as fucking usual.” She grabbed the handle of the door and let out a long sigh. “It’s just lunch…” She pushed the door open to hear laughter; looking over she saw Hatch, Earnhardt, Cloudy and the buffalo sharing a booth. Her thought train derailed and she immediately headed over. “Uh, hi.”

“Oh, Stellar,” Cloudy smiled. “Finally out and about?”

“When the hell did you get so popular?” She glanced at Earnhardt. “With you, no less.”

“Listen, I’m sorry about last time,” Earnhardt again apologized. “Cloudy is one hell of a lady and she helped put things into perspective; no hard feelings?”

“Sure,” Stellar shrugged. “I’m not looking for any more enemies in life.”

“How about you join us?” Hatch offered.

“Actually, I’m here…”

“Ms. Flare,” On cue, Arcus called to her from the front counter. “You made it.”

“Yeah,” She turned towards the counter. “Here I am.” She held her arms out.

“I’ll be out in a minute.” He receded from the counter.

“I see you’ve got a fan of your own.” Hatch slyly noted.

“First time for everything.” Stellar countered as she headed over towards the kitchen.

Arcus soon emerged with his apron over his shoulder. “Lunch break.” He pleasantly announced.

“Who’s going to take my order?” Stellar joked as they took a booth.

“Magpie will be out in a minute,” He noted. “She’s my cover.”

“Sounds good,” Stellar took a menu and started looking it over. “Any recommendations from the staff?”

“You haven’t had the country benedict,” He pointed out. “You should try it; it’s a take on eggs benedict but using biscuits and gravy in place of muffin and hollandaise sauce.”

“So much for my diet.” She chuckled.

“It’s worth it, best in town.” He proudly added.

“It’s the only one in town.” She countered.

“Well there you go.” He grinned.

Stellar laughed and nodded. “Fair enough.”

Magpie came out to take their orders and the two of them sat back and relaxed for the next forty minutes. Their conversation was interrupted by Stellar’s phone, she quickly pulled it out and answered to receive news from the head of the survey team. She offered a few okays and alrights before hanging up, pocketing the phone with a sigh.

“Everything okay?” Arcus asked.

“Yeah, the surveyors will be here tomorrow.” She relayed. “Hopefully this goes smoothly,” Twisting her body around she waved over to Cloudy. “Hey, we’re back on the job tomorrow; make sure you pack your hard hat.”

“I see,” Cloudy nodded. “I will make sure I am ready.”

“That about the mine?” Hatch asked.

“Yes, it seems we will be heading there tomorrow.”

“We’re coming with you,” Earnhardt informed. “They may be pros, but Hatch and I know that mine better than any creature here.”

“He’s right,” Hatch nodded. “We’ll make sure you stay safe.”

“Thank you, that is quite generous.” Cloudy said graciously.

“Alright boys,” Stellar appeared at the table side as Arcus headed back to work. “I need my partner back.”

“If we have to.” Hatch chuckled.

“Thank you, this was a lovely time.” Cloudy thanked as she slid out. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Right,” Hatch waved. “Later.”

As Earnhardt and the buffalo bid her goodbye, Cloudy followed Stellar out onto the roadside. Stellar eyed her with an incredulous smile. “I can’t believe you got that bull on your side.”

“Earnhardt isn’t a bad creature,” Cloudy shook her head. “His anger is not without reason, he simply has trouble expressing what he is feeling.”

“Well, better having him with us than against us.” Stellar admitted.

“What shall we do now?” Cloudy asked.

“Enjoy the rest of the day off,” Stellar answered through a long exhale. “The team is do in pretty early in the morning.”

“Very well.” Cloudy nodded as they started the walk back to the lodges.

Stellar just laid in bed for hours, going in and out of sleep as her mind dealt with everything on her plate. Finally falling into a deeper sleep, she woke up suddenly well into the night after a particularly intense dream about a certain dragon. She sat upright with a hard gasp, realizing it was just in her mind; her hand covered her eyes and she grumbled in irritation.

“God damn it…” She mumbled to herself. “Why can’t I get this kid out of my head?” Pulling the sheets back she stared down at her soaked panties. “This is all your fault,” She scolded her hungry loins. “Why are you never on my side.” Swinging her legs off the side she pulled her underwear off and tossed them in with the rest of her accumulating laundry. Donning some casual wear, she lit a cigarette and left the lodge, walking out into the darkness to clear her head. Her aimless stroll was relaxing, the moon was high but obscured by clouds and the only sound was the dry night winds that blew across the landscape. “Have to admit, this beats the sound of car horns and air traffic,” She chuckled. “Maybe there is something to this whole rural thing.”

“Outsider.” A low, distorted voice drifted over the area.

Stellar whipped around and scanned the vicinity, heart nearly leaping out of her chest. “Hello?” She called.

“Outsider.” The voice spoke again.

“Who’s there!?” She challenged, unable to get at fix on the voice’s point of origin. Her eyes soon fell upon an unnatural form, she recognized it from the description given to her by Hatch. “No way.” She whispered.

“You seek to take this land, you are not welcome here.” The voice still came from all around but its mouth did not move; the long jaw merely hung open as its eyes burned a hole in her.

Stellar was without any form of protection, she flicked her cigarette in the direction of the creature but it didn’t flinch; instead, it took three steps closer. Stellar stared at it, realizing that she could see through it, as if it truly was a spirit. “Look fido,” She started backing towards the lodges. “I don’t know what you are, but the creatures here get to decide what happens to this land… not you.”

“I am this land!” The voice boomed. “You will leave… or you will die!” The creature lunged forward and for the first time in as long as she could remember, Stellar screamed in outright terror. She turned and sprinted for Cloudy’s lodge as fast as she could, calling out to her the entire way. Her screams roused the guests as Dandelion’s had the other night and Stellar ran to Cloudy as soon as she appeared.

“Stellar?” Cloudy took her shoulders as she leapt up onto the porch. “What has happened?”

“There!” Stellar pointed out into the darkness towards nothing but blackness. “What…” She looked back, panting hard. “I… I saw it… heard it.”

“What?” Cloudy asked.

“The Ataata,” Stellar turned back to her. “I saw it, it looked just like Hatch said and… it talked.”

The other guests watched the scene in concern and Stellar realized how she must have looked to them all. As before, Ridgeway appeared although alone this time. He saw the all too familiar scene and hurried over.

“Ms. Flare?” He observed the distressed look in her eyes.

“Lodge, now.” She pointed inside Cloudy’s lodge; he nodded and followed them in.

“Alright, no more bullshit,” Stellar composed herself. “What the hell do you know about the Ataata?”

“The Ata…” Ridgeway began but stopped himself. “Did Dandelion…”

“I just saw the fucking thing with my own two eyes, Ridgeway.” Stellar stopped him. “I don’t believe in ancient spirits, but I believe in my own goddamn eyes. What are you trying to cover up?”

Ridgeway let out a conceding sigh and nodded. “Okay, I honestly don’t know much but I’ll tell you what I know. It is true that that… thing… started showing up when I began openly speaking with everyone about selling the town. I didn’t want to believe it, I mean… I love this town and its history but I never believed in the tales of curses and spirits that came with it; but it happened again and again and all I could do was try to keep it out of public ear. I just… didn’t know what else to do.”

“So do you believe now?” Cloudy asked.

“Like Ms. Flare said,” He nodded. “I have to believe my own eyes. I don’t know what it is or how it exists, but I know it’s real.” He looked to Stellar with shamed eyes. “I’m sorry, Ms. Flare; I don’t want you or anyone here to get hurt. I’ll cancel the sale and see if that makes this thing go away.”

“No,” Stellar refuted. “That’s not how I do business.”

“What?” He looked at her unsurely.

“I don’t know what that thing is either, but I’m not going to let it keep my from doing my job. It got the drop on me this time; going forward, we operate as if it is a real threat.”

“How so?” Cloudy asked.

“No one heads out solo, especially at night; and we keep ourselves protected.” She pointed at Ridgeway. “And no more secrets, everyone needs to know about this thing and everyone needs to be on guard. If it scares some away, too bad; we’re seeing this through.”

Ridgeway gave an impressed laugh. “You’ve got more outlaw in you than most of us, Ms. Flare.”

“Thanks,” She smiled. “Most of the time it just gets me called a bitch.”

“I’ll hold a meeting tomorrow and fess up to everyone who doesn’t know about this yet,” He vowed as he stood. “You’ll be in a large group for the mine work, so you should be alright. There hasn’t been an attack during the day.”

“Keep your six shooters crossed.” Stellar requested.

“Would you rather remain here tonight, Stellar?” Cloudy offered.

“No, I’m fine now.” She insisted. “I already feel like an idiot for losing my cool like that.”

“I’ll see you in the morning then,” Ridgeway tipped his hat and headed for the door. “If anything else happens, just let me know.”

“Will do,” Stellar nodded as he left; she let out a long sigh and shook her head. “Fuck, I need a drink.” She too headed for the door.

“Try and sleep well.” Cloudy bid.

“Not counting on it,” She laughed dryly. “See you in the morning.”

As Stellar left, Cloudy went to window and watched to make sure she made it to the lodge. She turned her eyes towards the darkness that laid beyond her porch and hummed in thought at the bizarre and supernatural circumstances that only a few days ago she would not have thought possible.