<hr/><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/thumb/e/e4/Natehunter.png/437px-Natehunter.png)</div><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Nathan Hunter<br/><strong>Faction:</strong>Senior Deputy (Law Dogs)<br/><strong>Date:</strong>May 2nd, 1876<br/><strong>Time of Day:</strong>Night<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Vigilance Ranch<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Margeurite, Closed<br/><hr/>He kept a hand to the arms wrapped around his waist, a reassurance that she was still behind him even if the feel of her body pressed against his was adequate to that purpose.  He made small talk on a few occasions – pointing out where a fork in the road would set her feet on the path towards Shan Fan, Lost Angels, or the delightfully titled mining town to their north, the 'Devil's Armpit.'  He regaled her with stories from time to time – to offer a soothing voice, and to keep himself awake when dehydration and exhaustion threatened to make him pitch from the saddle.  He told her of the 'tame' Maze Dragon in Dragonhold, and the mad 'Emperor Norton' who had declared all of California as his empire, and a Chinese warlord who had made much of southwestern California into Kwan Province and declared it under his protection.<br/><br/>But as morning began to light the sky, he grew quieter.  His voice had grown hoarser, gravelly as his efforts to keep alert and protective had drained his strength.  When she'd pointed out the ranch, he'd started slightly, snapping awake from his sleep in the saddle.  He'd been greeted by the rancher and his wife, the horse taken by an eleven year old boy.  He was recognized by all three – or rather, by the rancher and his wife.  The boy had recognized the horse on sight, and run out to greet the steed.  The rancher and wife both seemed concerned, opening theirs doors without a second thought.  The rancher had all but carried the staggered lawman inside, and his wife quickly fixed a plate from their larder, and whatever thoughts she had about the strange way Margeurite was dressed, she set them aside for a pair clearly in need.<br/><br/><strong>“He's a good man,”</strong>she'd offered.<strong>“Helped us out when those blood-ticks came through last year.  Kept us from losing our entire herd.”</strong><br/><br/>Then the rancher had let her within, promised them peace and quiet for the night.  The lawman had drifted in and out of consciousness, assured of her safety and finally relaxing enough to drift off in earnest. He'd drunk the water obediently, taken a handful of the food, murmured a question about Ergo and then drifted off.  When she'd pulled up the chase lounge, his hand had drifted closer to hers, as if needing a reassurance in his sleep that she was well.<br/><hr/>