<hr/><div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/f/f2/Beardycox.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Avery Burnam<br/><strong>Faction:</strong>Law Dogs (1)<br/><strong>Date:</strong>May 11th, 1876<br/><strong>Time of Day:</strong>Afternoon<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Babel’s Tower, a table near the bar<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Letty, Corky; Open<br/><hr/><br/><br/>It was not rightly any of his concern.  Involving oneself with strange drunks was not exactly the way to wealth and wisdom in this life.  Avery wasn't certain the woman was a drunk of course, at least in the habitual sense, for he'd known sieves that would hold their liquor better.  In its perversity his brain had tried to make sense of her slurred sentence fragments and Bard quotation, but had come up a little short.  The latter had made him curious again, wondering just where she'd picked it up and if it had anything to do with her disgust for 'fancy' letters.  Somehow he couldn't quite picture her performing Shakespeare between milking cows or roping cattle or whatever it was she did when not drinking herself under the bar.<br/><br/>In the end it came down to a bit of gallantry, a sickness that could overcome almost any man at times if he wasn't careful, particularly when the woman in question was possessed of such a pretty smile.  He couldn't see how letting her wander half-mast through a room filled with men rowdy from free whisky and given to expect a quick poke from anything with breasts was apt to end well for the woman.  He'd caught the hurt in her eyes, and suspected this wasn't her normal element, not really, and knew from past experience how making a spectacle of oneself in a weak moment could have long and lasting consequences.<br/><br/>So when Letty stumbled, he caught her in his arms and found her a seat at a nearby table.  The same one vacated by the bludger with the baleful eyes who'd been sizing up the room earlier.  There was already another occupant there, the girl Avery had seen hanging around the sheriff's office, Hendricks, or something like that, to whom he nodded politely.  He'd rather suspected Flatbush was putting him on when he'd said she was their ace shooter with a rakish wink.  With these yanks you could never be certain though.  They were positively mad when it came to passing out guns and badges, an ability to stand and speak English seemingly the only actual requirement, and not even necessarily at the same time.<br/><br/>"Careful now.  No need to rush about," Avery said calmly as he helped the woman into a chair.  "At the finer establishments, they bring it out to you."  Of course this wasn't such an establishment, at least not today, so he was left to nab one of the passing doxies.  At his request she raised a penciled brow.  "I ain't no waitress.  Can't you walk?  It's already free.  Want me to eat it for ya too?"  A natural charm that perhaps explained why she was still down here instead of already upstairs with a client.  Her attitude changed when Avery produced a silver dollar for her troubles though.  Shooting a quick cautious glance at Mr. Solomon, she tucked it away, and went off to gather a couple plates.<br/><br/>"Letty, was it?  I don't suppose you live somewhere near here?"  Somehow he rather doubted it and saw his evening winning easy money off drunk miners at the gaming tables gradually slipping away from him.  There were rooms here at the Babel of course, but staying the night at a brothel wasn't apt to do a woman's reputation much good.   And in for a penny in for…well, at least a dollar, already.<br/>