Shame

As Maria shifted to the side, the sudden movement pulled Ruiz back to reality. It had been a few hours since they'd settled themselves in this spot, and the storm had died down. The bottom edge of the tarps had long since stopped flapping, being covered in dirt and sand, but now the other edges were calming down, too.

After their talk, they'd sat around for a bit, not really doing too much as they waited for the wind to die down. They'd both opted to just lean against one of the large rocks that supported their tent. Ruiz had spent his time reflecting on her assertion that his existence wasn't a mistake that he had to atone for, and she had dozed off into a nap. This had lasted until she had shifted toward him, and wrapped her legs around his waist like a pillow.

It was already late afternoon, and while he was certainly capable of it, he didn't want to sit out here all night. He was also pretty sure that Maria wouldn't be particularly happy to sleep in the dirt when he had the capacity to bring her to her bed.

He gently shook her shoulder, stirring her awake. "Storm's over, señorita," he whispered. "Time to return home."

She yawned and stretched, several of her joints popping loudly as she twisted and shook. "How long was I out?"

"About an hour and a half," answered Ruiz, his own joints popping as he stood up. "The wind has calmed down, so the dust storm should be over."

They poked their heads out of the tent, and sure enough, the storm was over. As they puffed the sand off of the tarps, they noticed the stains on the outside. They were recent and dark red. These were the same tarps Jed had used to dispose of the dead gryphons, and had forgotten to wash. Still, as long as they were dry and clean on one side, that was the side they needed to make sure they were touching.

The tarp covering the cart had no blood on it, and had successfully protected all of their goods from the sand and dirt. The wheels were entrenched in a freshly-formed sand dune, but after a fair amount of tugging from both parties, they managed to pull it out of the sand and back onto the road. Now that they could see where they were going, the only thing standing in their path was the surface of the road being lumpy, stiff and unstable. It wouldn't stop them, but it would slow them down.

It was just after sunset when they arrived back at the farm. It, too, was covered in a layer of dust and sand, though not as much as they had seen in the middle of nowhere. Some of the buildings, along with the fences and crops, had acted as a partial barrier, and kept the place relatively clean.

"There you are!" called Sadie, poking her head out of the front door. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd even be home tonight."

"We ended up right in the middle of it," replied Maria. "We had to hunker down and wait for it to stop."

"Were ya still in town, at least?"

"No, but we found a place."

As they unloaded the cart into the house, Maria told her mother about the trip, leaving out certain details, such as Meteor hitting on Ruiz, anything he'd said to her in confidence, and the fact that she'd woken up with her head on his chest. Ruiz remained silent, unless asked to confirm what Maria said. It was only after everything was unloaded that she actually had anything to say to him directly.

"Dinner will be ready soon. We couldn't really do that much today, what with the weather, so Jed went out to the barn. Can ya let 'im know that he needs to wash up and come in? You could do with a quick scrub, too, while you're out there."

"Certainly, señora," he nodded, making his way out. Once outside, he removed his poncho and gave it another whip, then ran his hooves all over himself to remove any loose sand to prevent him from needing as much water to wash himself. He would still need some, but a simple wipedown would make the whole thing much easier.

He made his way out to the barn. Jed was supposed to be out here, so it was not at all surprising to find that the doors were unlocked. "Señor?" he called. "Are you still in here, señor?"

There was a clatter, and a soft groan from behind one of the tillers as Jed pulled himself up behind it. He looked worse for wear, as if he'd had a very bad day. His mane was disheveled and sweaty, his shirt was sticking to him, and he seemed a bit lightheaded.

"Are you alright, señor?" asked Ruiz, coming a few steps closer. "Do you need help?"

Jed flopped back to the ground. "What's wrong with you, Louis?"

Ruiz approached, expecting to find somepony else, but all he found was an empty glass bottle, unmarked. A citrus odour filled the air. "Have you been drinking, señor?"

"I suppose I should rephrase the question, Rouis." That was enough to clear up who Louis was. Also, since his breath and the bottle smelled similar, it wasn't hard to guess what was going on. "What's wrong with me?"

Ruiz nodded and sat down next to Jed. "I don't think there's really anything wrong with you, señor."

"Then you must be stupider than I gave you credit for."

"Señor?"

Jed tilted his head back. "You didn't really grow up in the badlands, did you?"

"I've never left them, actually. I was born here, señor."

"Then how do you not know the most basic of concepts? It's everypony for themselves out here. Why haven't you walked off yet? I wasn't expecting you to come back."

"I try not to abandon my responsibilities, señor. The last time I did, I lost nearly everything that mattered to me. I came back because we had a deal."

Jed spat a gob of snot across the room to the far wall. It wasn't an unimpressive shot. "It was a shitty deal. I almost didn't propose it. I thought, "No way does he take this bait. He's gonna run for sure." And then you buy it, without so much as a counteroffer. You could have walked out without so much as a harsh word, and you stayed, for no pay. I reiterate, what the fuck is wrong with you?"