Shame

"Come on, it won't be that bad," waved Maria, prompting Ruiz toward the stairs. "You're overreacting."

Ruiz didn't think he was overreacting at all. Meeting Maria and apologizing to her wasn't easy, but he at least felt that he had the grounds to ask for her forgiveness. He didn't feel that he deserved it, and he certainly wouldn't be forgiving himself for it, but he had the grounds to ask for it. Such was not the case for her family. When it came to the rest of them, he'd done nothing to earn their forgiveness through his actions.

Nevertheless, he was in her house, and that meant she set the rules, so long as it was reasonable. If she needed him to go downstairs and meet her family, then so be it.

At the bottom of the stairs, a left turn took him into the living room. The entire family was there. Sadie was sitting on the couch, holding his poncho in her hooves. It was brighter than he remembered, and far more vibrant. There were also some faint pink stains that peppered the cloth, and with the needle in her hoof, she was patching a hole right over one of the pink stains. If he followed the position of it, it lined up with his most prominent laceration from the night prior. The stains then must have been his blood, and with them being pink instead of red, it had likely been scrubbed clean.

The young mare that he had taken hostage was on the floor, feeding straw through his sombrero and clipping the ends. This had already been half begun when he'd come down the first time, but in the dining room. The holes torn in it during the fight were being repaired. What had stopped her might have been her mother telling her to take over the washing while she went out to pick potatoes.

Jed had been sitting at the desk, but as soon as he saw Ruiz, he spun to face him and grabbed his slingshot. He did not load, charge or aim the weapon, merely displaying that he was well-versed in its operation and was ready to leap into action if necessary.

Ruiz looked around the area. He'd not taken a good look after his escape attempt. The laundry room, or what he could see through the doorway, had been cleaned up, as had the trail of his blood from the hardwood flooring of the living room. The sconce on the wall next to the door, the one he'd hit with the coat rack, was badly dented. The dish that kept the wax from dripping onto the floor was so badly dented that it now acted as a spout, pouring any hot wax from the basin out onto the floor, and the whole apparatus had been twisted to one side.

"Put it away, dad," growled Maria, coming down behind Ruiz. "I'm pretty sure he won't do anything this time."

"Will you?" asked Jed, holding up the weapon to remind Ruiz that his choices would have consequences.

"No, señor," he replied, shaking his head. "I do not wish to cause you any more trouble."

With a curt nod, Jed placed the slingshot on the desk, keeping it well within reach. Ruiz could tell that he wasn't trusted, and why would he be? He completely understood Jed's apprehension toward him, and even supported his perceived train of thought. The incident several hours ago was not something any of them wanted repeated.

"How do ya feel?" asked Sadie, glancing up from her sewing. "You'd better not have torn my stitching, again."

"I'm fine, señora," Ruiz winced. "I think it's all still there."

"I'll tan your hide if I find out you're lyin'."

Ruiz swallowed hard. He was sure she would, too. How she held such sway over him, he didn't know, but despite her outward appearance being no different than any other mare, she was terrifying.

"So, I know you've already met," said Maria, stepping forward, "but let's go over it again properly. This is my mother, Amber Saddle."

"Call me Sadie."

Maria gestured to the floor. "The young mare working on your hat is my sister, Mintberry."

"Hello," she waved briefly. She'd moved away from Ruiz when the conversation had started, a clear indicator of her discomfort with him.

"And my father--"

"You may call me sir," he interrupted. "Or señor, as you seem to prefer."

"Jed!" admonished Sadie.

"Let me be perfectly clear," he continued. "We're not friends. The only reason I let you in is because you were allegedly injured while protecting my daughter. I thank you for doing so if it's true, but you'll understand if your little stunt earlier has called into question whether or not that was a good decision."

"Dad!" growled Maria.

"It was not, señor," confirmed Ruiz. "I have no way to repay your kindness, nor can I undo any of the pain I have caused you. As I said, I do not wish to cause you any more trouble. The only way I have to help you is to relieve you of my burdensome presence at earliest opportunity. If you would return to me my belongings, I will leave you in peace right away."

Jed leaned back, opened his desk drawer, and pulled Ruiz' belt out. Much like his poncho, it had been cleaned, but there was no repair necessary. Right where they were supposed to be, the handle for his knife, the arms for his slingshot, and his stepfather's belt buckle were attached.

"Jed," admonished Sadie again, standing up and dropping her sewing on the table. "Stop pushing him out the door."

"I'm not making the decision for him," Jed responded. "He wants to leave. He's already tried to leave, in fact. I'm not forcing him to go, but I'm certainly not stopping him."

Ruiz bowed his head in Sadie's direction. "I appreciate what you've done for me, but I don't want to overstay my welcome. I owe you all a debt I can never repay, and I'd like to keep it from increasing further. Please, señora."

"Your injuries aren't even close to healed," she growled back. "I didn't put in all the effort to keep you from bleeding out just so you could die of infection. On top of that, you have no canteen or food. Do you really want to waste my time and energy by dying?"

Her words hurt more than his injuries. Her tongue was sharper than the claws of any gryphon he'd ever met. He couldn't answer her question, not really. He didn't want to seem ungrateful to her, but he also didn't want to take advantage of her generosity.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to answer the question. A loud crash rang out behind the house, drawing all of their attention. "What in the name of Tartauros was that?" asked Jed rhetorically, grabbing his slingshot and proceeding to the backdoor.