The rest of Connor and Annie's patrol had passed without incident, and the Stranger found she had a little time to herself before she took the Deputy back through the ravine and into the mines she had found. They'd decided to do a thorough investigation of the place together since Annie hadn't been in the best shape during her initial sweep, but Connor had to have a quick chat with the Sheriff before they disappeared for several hours trying to hunt down a lead.
So Annie now found herself with a bit of free time before the long grueling hike back to the mines, and she'd decided the best use of that time would be to stand in the steaming hot shower for five minutes and attempt to clean herself up a bit. So now she stood basking in the stream of near-boiling water and watching the stream of reddish-brown water flow down her legs and into the drain. She hadn't realized quite how dirty she had gotten, and had spent more time than she'd have liked scrubbing down every available inch of skin to get off the blood and grime.
Her five minutes of water ran out far too soon. She was tempted to let it run just a little bit longer, but she thought of all the smashed tables Tallis had to deal with in the lobby and couldn’t bring herself to add even more to the girl’s bill. So she very reluctantly killed the water and leaned out to grab a towel from the rack as she stepped out of the shower. Drying her thick and tangled mess of hair always proved a challenge, and today was no different. She rubbed the towel at it vigorously and shook her head, scattering a shower of droplets across the walls and bathroom mirror.
She tended to avoid mirrors whenever possible. Annie didn’t get many chances to look at a mirror anyway. She didn’t carry one with her during her travels, she had no room for such a vanity, and getting to sleep in a proper room was a very rare luxury indeed. She spent most of her nights in a small tent, at the mercy of the elements and the chill of the night air. No one looks their best after sleeping in a tent during a rainstorm, and Annie was no exception.
So seeing herself in the mirror now, naked, battered, and bruised to hell and back, came as a bit of a shock. The shock of red at the ends of her hair was beginning to fade and the red of her irises was framed by the bloodshot tint of sleepless nights. Her tattoos lined her muscular frame, spiraling out from the blooming flower over her heart in wavy geometric lines dotted with smaller flowers and glyphs to trail across her arms and down her legs, the small dots at the tips of each finger were more familiar to her than her fingerprints. To anyone else her tattoos would appear a master piece, years of hard work and refinement etched into her skin for all to see. But to Annie? It was just another bitter reminder she was better off forgetting.
She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, hiding the lines from view as she turned from the mirror and shoved the bathroom door open, letting the steam billow out in a wave as swung. She patted at her damp strands of hair with the towel draped around her neck and let out a weary sigh, then winced and pressed a hand to her side. Maybe Connor was right, she should see a doctor. Except she wasn't a fan of doctors. Used to be she could just take care of things like this herself, but now...
A polite cough tore her from her thoughts and her hand shot to the other towel wrapped around her chest to pin it in place, "Who the hells...?"
She stopped. A woman stood in her doorway, leaning casually against the frame. Strands of white hair that had been tied in a loose ponytail framed her cold grey eyes, and black armor covered her body like the carapace of some enormous insect. Her hand rested lightly on one of two pistols strapped to her hips on either side, and a finger tapped against it.
"Vrath," Annie’s eyes widened and then quickly narrowed, "Long time. Most people are polite enough to fucking knock"
"Hey Stranger," the woman, Vrath, smirked, "That's what you're calling yourself these days, right?"
Annie ground her teeth, "How'd you find me?"
Vrath ignored her looked the Stranger up and down appraisingly, "You're looking well, the monster hunting life must suit you."
"I look beat to shit," Annie said, gesturing to her numerous cuts and bruises, "Fighting demons tends to do that to a girl."
"I'll bet," Vrath game a mirthless smile, "That shit you inject yourself with is doing wonders for you."
"Fuck off, Vrath. How did you even find me?"
"I'm a bounty hunter now, it's what I do." she shrugged.
"Great. Good for you. Go do that somewhere else, preferably in a ditch somewhere far away from me."
"How about you come with me instead? Though I might suggest you get dressed first." she glanced at Annie's towel and raised an eyebrow.
Annie bristled, "How the fuck did you find me Jaigra?"
The other woman raised her hands in mock surrender, "Okay, okay. Here," She slowly reached a hand into her breastplate and withdrew the red sphere, allowing it to dangle from her finger, "This is it. A token of your house."
"My house?" Annie realized she'd shouted the words. She recognized the red sphere immediately. It was a Theran Hound Sphere, a small device that used blood magic to track whoever was unfortunate enough to have their blood inside of one. She'd seen a few of them before, mostly in the possession of bounty hunters intent on claiming some poor sap's head.
Andromeda Flynn, unfortunately, tended to be one such poor sap.
She collected herself and in a lower voice said, "It's been years since I left. I'd have thought they ran out of blood to throw at cheap bounty hunters." She spat the words.
Jaigra’s face twitched in an almost imperceptible sneer, "I guess your family traded in a few favors just for you, sweetheart."
Annie's cheeks reddened, "If they're thick enough to give it to you then I guess you're still the lapdog of the only house that'll take you. They let you sleep at the foot of their bed too?"
If that barb struck her, this time she didn't show it. With a sudden air of seriousness Jaigra took a few steps towards Annie and said, "This has gone on long enough Andromeda. You've had your fun, it's time to come home. Please."
Annie leaned towards her, "The only reason I'll ever go back to that place is to burn it to the ground," she growled in a low voice.
"Be serious. Nobody can resist Therult, not even the Lord Herald. The amaryllis always blooms."
"Oh don't try that stupid catchphrase with me," Annie groaned, "I'm no Herald and if the amaryllis wants to bloom so damn bad then they can send a real Amaryll Lord to do the job, not some two-bit bloodhound."
"Oh honey, you're not that important," the two-bit bloodhound chided, "You'll just have to settle for little old me."
The two women glared daggers at each other until Vrath sighed. She pressed her fingers to her temple and ran them through her hair, "Andromeda..."
"No."
"You don't even–"
"No!" Annie shouted, "Leave. Now. I'm not asking."
Vrath took a step back and then paused. “Please come back Andromeda. I’m the only one who’s going to be nice about this, no one else is going to be as kind.”
Annie lunged at her, pinning the bounty hunter to the wall with her forearm and tearing Vrath's gun from its holster, “I'm done fucking around, Jaigra!” she snarled and shoved its barrel into her ribs under her breastplate, forcing a pained wheeze from the other woman.
"Looks like Seraph armor still has the same old gaps in it." she sneered.
Jaigra pressed her hand against Annie's side, eliciting a ragged cry of pain from the Stranger as she quickly pushed herself away; gun still leveled at the bounty hunter's chest. A red stain was creeping down white towel wrapped around her and Jaigra looked at the blood glistening on the black leather of her glove in shock.
"Andromeda!" she started, hand outstretched.
Annie had slumped onto the bed clutching her wound, gun unsteady in her hand but still pointed at the bounty hunter, "Don't," her voice was quavered, "You've done enough." The words hung in the air between them.
“Miss Annie?” A voice called from the hallway. Jaigra turned to look. Connor was standing there just beyond the door, hand on his sword and his eyes darted between the Stranger and bounty hunter, "Are you ok?"
"I'm..." she winced, "I'm fine Deputy. It's just..." her eyes rolled back and she collapsed onto the bed, limp.
"Andromeda!" Jaigra ran towards the bed.
"Stop right there, ma'am." Connor ordered, his voice full of steel, "You are trespassing and suspected of committing assault. Leave now or I will place you under arrest."
She whirled on him, "Listen here you little shit-"
The air in the room changed, flooded with a buzz of magic as a silhouette appeared behind the Paladin, outlining him in a halo of golden light.
"That was not a suggestion, ma'am." Connor stared her down.
Jaigra slowly retracted her hand and placed it on her remaining pistol, "Will you get her medical attention?" she asked.
"Yes." Connor was a bit taken aback.
"Okay," Jaigra sighed, glanced at the old pistol hanging on the back of the chair, and rubbed her eyes, "I'm leaving. Damn it!"
Connor followed behind her and didn't take his hand off his sword until the bounty hunter walked all the way out the motel's front door, then he dashed to the bedside.
"Annie!" he lifted her torso gently and pat her cheek a few times, "Annie can you hear me?" No response except her steady wheezing breaths, "Damn it Annie, you told me that alchemy of yours would patch you up. Alright, hang on!" He pulled a loose blanket from the bed and draped it over her, hurriedly grabbed her clothes from the bathroom, then lifted her off the mattress and carried her back out into the hallway.
"Tallis!" He shouted, "Will you run ahead and tell the doc we're coming? Annie needs help!"
Tallis nodded and hopped the counter, taking off out the door and down the street.
"Hang on Miss Annie, just hang on..." he whispered.
