Making amends

The sun is blaring. As you grab hold of the door handle to the sheriff's office you can practically hear the sweat of your palms sizzling against the metal knob.
You carefully heave the door towards you as you enter the building. Glares from the cells are felt upon your neck, like thinly veiled threats spat upon your backside.
Aayesha is looking down in a book. It's probably some kind of register. Even as you near her desk, she doesn't acknowledge your presence.

"Mornin'." you calmly say. You aren't calm. Not by a long shot.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she gnarls, still not looking up. Her deep raspy voice reverberates in the small office.

"I wasn't." you admit.

"Damn straight you weren't. You could have been killed. You could have let Emily be killed. Why didn't you grab a gun?"

Wait... that's what she's angry about? You hesitate, unsure on how to broach the topic of what you did. The bandits in the cells seems dismayed as well, but they don't say anything. They just continue to silently judge you.

"Listen..." Aayesha starts finally looking up, her brown eyes piercing yours: "What happened in the stables is not unusual for this part of th-"

"What happened is I beat a guy to **** when I didn't have to. Don't you fucking dare sugarcoat this. Do you want a deputy or nah?"

"D'you know what I'd had done if I was in your stead?"

"Let me guess, bring a gun?"

"Of course I would have. It's just common fucking sense. If you're gonna earn any money here, I need to know that you have that..." Aayesha yells and then takes a deep breath: "I would also have shot the bastard. He would be dead, like he is now. Your method may have been cruel, but the outcome would have been the same. Don't do it again, and we won't have no problem."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Aayesha sighs: "Unless you'd like to apologize for your actions."

The office is as quiet as the dunes. You look over the cells. The kobolds stare you down, crooked mouths turned to snarls, nostrils flared, eyes overflowing with animosity. You keep their glances at bay with a cold look of your own, until you shimmy your vision to the side to look at the cell with the gargoyle woman, Trisha. She stares coolly and indifferent out the cell window. Her head turns slightly as she feels your eyes on her. She still looks like shit after the bar encounter, but then again, you probably do as well. After a couple a seconds, she returns her gaze to the window. You look towards Aayesha once more.

"I guess I don't." you finally say.

Aayesha nods as she puts a revolver on the table: "Then go make your rounds, and take a gun with you this time."

You pick up the pistol and leave.

***

As noon starts to press on, you find nothing out of the ordinary in the quaint little town. There is a chance it could be a normal day for once. Just one day where your life isn't on the line.
As you move past the now abandoned grocery store, you spot Farah bending over a crate, writing something in a ledger, no doubt working on distributing the goods to the rest of the town.
You approach her. As she sees you out of the corner of her eye she stands up. In a swift motion she throws her silver hair backwards, the fine strands glistening in the oppressive beams of the sun. You haven't talked to Farah since yesterday, before the event in the staples, and that encounter wasn't exactly friendly.
Farah tilts her head slightly to the side and raises her eyebrows in anticipation of what you have to say.

"Hello." you start.

"Hey." she answers.

Silence. You sigh.

"I'm sorry you had to see that yesterday."

"Yeah, because that guy who harassed and threatened me at the bar, asking to have a "go at me" was such a big loss to me." Farah replies sarcastically: "I'm absolutely devastated."

It is painfully clear, based on her body language that while she may not be angry at you for what you did in the staples, she has a hard time talking to you. Not that you blame her.

"What I did must have had an impact on you." you reply tersely.

"No, not really." Farah shrugs: "I mean, I was surprised, but... I've seen some shit."

You decide not to press further. Instead another silence falls upon the two of you for another long while. The silence is oppressive. There are no people talking, no critters walking, and no wind moving. Just pure silence.

"Why did you do it?" Farah asks once again filling the air with sound.

"I don't know." you sigh dejected.

"You just wanted to do it that badly?"

"More like I needed to do it."

Farah humphs and then adds: "You sound like an alcoholic. I should know; I've tended quite a few."

"Yeah..." you just trail off.

Another silence. Talking to this girl has proven to be quite difficult. You both just look down at the ground.

"I'm sorry that I threw myself at you." she says. You're a bit surprised that she would apologize for what happened, considering what you did to her hand and the things you said to her.

"Don't be." you shrug it off: "You were just trying to look out for yourself. If there is one person who can understand that, it's me."

One more silence takes over for a little bit, but this time you want to be the one to speak up.

"I shouldn't have crushed your hand."

"You were just looking out for yourself too. You shouldn't worry about it."

"I wasn't." you lie.

"Yeah sure." Farah rolls her eyes.

"It was protection you wanted, right?" you ask monotonously.

"Something like that." she half-chuckles.

"Well, I will give it to you." you reply determined.

"And what will it cost me?" Farah asks, a mischievous smile appears on her face.

"Nothing."

"Well, that's a shame." Farah responds, her voice turning slightly sultry: "I love a good barter. And the previous offer still stands."

"I don't want to hurt Emily." you admit.

If that revelation surprised Farah, she is not letting it show.

"Well, that's not a definitive 'no'. I mean, she could just join us. I wouldn't mind being with her either."

You're unsure how much of what she is saying is sincere, and how much is just to taunt you. You decide to merely shake your head and move back towards Claire's house.

"Aww, you leaving? Darling, come on, I'm just teasing."

You head inside and brace yourself. This is going to hurt in a way you haven't experienced before.