I aint ever met a man who, despite not havin' much, had alot of shit to pack. After a bit of back and forth between Lou and Dove, the little birdy had flown up to his nest to collect his things. 

We had traveled quite a distance away from the town and made a small camp for the night. After some unsuccessful attempts at making small talk, I shake my head.

"How 'bout we go to sleep for the night? We got a long day ahead 'til we get to the next town." I say as I roll out my rubber blanket. I motion for him to grab the second one from near Nina.

Without a word, he obeys and rolls it out.

"Thankfully, ya brought a blanket with ya so I ain't gotta worry about ya freezing to death. Sleep well, Dove."

I stir to the sound of a saddle being placed and the soft neighs of my horse, Nina. I sit up and rub my eyes as i begin watching Dove tighten the saddle on her. I give a smirk. So the little Dove is trying to fly the coop? This could kill about ten or so minutes before going back to sleep.

"Tryin' to get the worm, Early Bird?" I call out as I reach into my coat pocket beside me.

I see Dove freeze as he slowly turns to look at me. I pull out my tobacco tin and rolling paper as I begin to make myself a cigarette. He gives a sigh and begins to loosen the saddle.

"What'cha doin'? You want my horse, right? Gon' 'head. Take 'er," I say, licking the side of the cigarette paper. "I ain't stoppin' ya."

He looks at me with absolute doubt in his eyes. I pull out my matches and light my cigarette, waiting for him to respond.

He looks at Nina and looks at me. "You...This is a weird bluff of yours. Whatever. Let's just get this punishment done and over with."

"What i gotta punish you for? This ain't no bluff. You want my horse and to run off. I'm lettin' you go with 'er."

I see the little birdy's eyes dart down toward my guns. I reach over to them and empty both chambers of the guns, tossing them further away from me. "See? Ain't even gonna shoot ya. Gon' 'head. Take the horse."

After a fairly long pause, I see him tighten the saddle, jump on and kick Nina.

Nina doesn't move.

From what i can see, he's confused. He kicks her again.

I laugh as I watch Nina just immediately plop down on the ground. Nina has always been a loyal horse to me and she practically refuses to let anyone else use her for riding except me. Dove angrily looks to me.

"Aww, ya horsey ain't wanna go nowhere?"

Dove growls softly as he gets off Nina's back and sits in front of me. "Just do it."

I continue puffing at my cigarette. "Do what?"

"Just beat me already! Why are you draggin' this all out?!" he yells.

"Ooh! Ain't know this lil' Dove was a Hawk! Trust me, if I wanted to beat ten types of shit out'cha, I woulda did it already. But since you awake, this a perfect time to go ahead and talk to you about somethin'."

I see him raise his eyebrow. "Talk to me? About what?"

"A lil' proposition." I say, putting out my cigarette on the ground. "One I think you gon' be interested in."