"We should part ways...For now, at least."

The idea of staying with Emmy after your exchange lingered in your mind as you waited, still connected with her. However, as your sexual fog cleared your head, you concluded that it might be better if you returned to Scarlet. You were pretty sure you were supposed to wake her up by now and would most likely regret it if you let her sleep longer than she wanted.

When you explain this to Emmy, she nods understandingly. “Come back sometime~!”

After getting dressed up and leaving the massage parlor, you return to Tiny’s Tavern, finding it in the same condition you last remembered. Primarily vacant, and nothing to take notice of. The only difference was that another person was behind the counter. Still, they didn’t pay attention as you went to the rooms. The door opened without noise, and you stepped in carefully, not wanting to interrupt Scarlet in case she was still sleeping…Which she was.

You poke Scarlet awake, and she angrily kicks back at you. You grab her leg and pull her, making her jolt. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

“It’s time to wake up,” you tell Scarlet. “I even gave you a little bit of extra time.”

“Shit,” she murmurs. “Time to get busy again, eh?”

Despite her expression being less than graceful when you first **** her awake, Scarlet smiles slightly at the realization. “

Scarlet stretches like a stiff cat waking from a nap and then lets out a pitchy yawn before she twists her body, popping her back with a few loud pops. She looks at you and smacks her lips, looking slightly disgruntled. She frizzles her red hair and chirps something that sounds like an unsatisfactory curse before she gracefully stalks over to the table to renew her equipment for use again.

“That was more Sleep than I wanted,” she tells you idly. “What did you do while I was asleep?”

“Got a massage,” you say. “But I’m thinking I should have just slept like you.”

Another yawn comes from Scarlet, but this time she rubs her eyes. The blue iris burns brightly against the milk of her eyes as it becomes bloodshot. “Bah. Whatever. I’m sure we would still be asleep if you crashed too.”

She becomes distracted with her gear for a second, but she returns to your gaze and tilts her head to one side. “Grab your gear, partner. We still got a contract to focus on.”

You do as you’re told, but when you get back on the trail, you can’t help but notice that the tension between you two has decreased considerably. Her back turned away from you, and the silence you shared with her didn’t seem awkward. Every so often, you heard her sniff heavily against the cold and then let lit another deep yawn. Eventually, she slowed down, and you started to walk side by side.

“You can talk,” Scarlet said.

“About what?”

She hummed to herself. “Anything.”

You exhaled, your breath becoming vapor in the air. “What a pleasure.”

Scarlet coos. “Business and pleasure are often good combinations, you know?”

“So, this is your way of introducing our conversation from earlier this morning?”

“Hm?”

“The women selling their bodies for money thing.”

“Oh,” Scarlet muses and then chuckles slightly. “I forgot the whole premise of that conversation. Did we agree?”

“Depends…where do you land?”

“It’s fucked,” she answered quickly. “Imbalances and ruins relationships. Tilts morales and corrupt the mind.”

You knit your brows, still finding yourself surprised by her point of view. “How about the killing you do then?”

Scarlet doesn’t answer you; instead, she presses forward, leaving tracks in the snow. It takes several long minutes for her to answer your question finally. “I’m not justifying my work. I just don’t understand how a girl could get off at whoring herself for not even a dozen men but hundreds…thousands! Not even decent guys, but creeps, geeks— the works,” she tops and then faces you. “You’re not terrible, I guess. You’re worth my time with you, but I’ve been with better boys.”

“Oh?” You grin somewhat. “Better boys? You mean ones that don’t contract?”

She nods. “Exactly. I might have slept with men that actually loved me.”

“How many is that exactly?”

Scarlet turns her back. “2. Perhaps 3.”

“You’re a heartbreaker if you’re leaving your would-spouse behind, Scarlet.”

“They—“ she finds the words but falters at the last moment. “It never worked out, you know? Look at us. Do we deserve affection?”

You nod but realize she can’t see you. So answer with your mouth.

She scoffs. “Porn is a waste of time for those not directly involved. How’s that for an answer? I might be dusting, but at least I’m not some poor sap wishing he was something he wasn’t.”

“That still isn’t—“

“Whatever,” she spits. “I don’t want to talk about it any more than we have. Stupid conversation and I’m not invested in it.”

“You’re the one who wanted me to talk.”

“And now I’m the one wishing I didn’t,” she stops abruptly. “Do you really think people like us deserve a second chance?”

“We all have to retire someday. Consider the things you’ve done for a moment. Think you could go to sleep every night with a clear conscience if you were alone?”

“Yes,” she says. “I do not quarrel with the people I’ve killed and the men I’ve tortured. Our decisions brought our paths together, and I just happened to be better at what I do.”

She turns to face you. “And you’re going to bed at night tossing and turning with regret, then perhaps you’re not cut out to be in the line of work.”

Scarlet’s face twists suddenly, and she continues. “There’s no retirement for me. I’ll just get slow enough to kill one day. Don’t you get it? I got nothing to fall on. Family’s all I— you know what? Just forget it.”

“Sorry,” you say when you start moving again. “I didn’t mean to poke at you with a sensitive subject.”

When Scarlet doesn’t answer, you feel an awkward air build. You might have let it go in different circumstances, but you decide to press her. “Is there anything you truly appreciate in your life? Guilty pleasures or cheap thrills?”

You hear her exhale and see her head tilt back. “I really like clear nights.”

Your eyes dart up and see that the sky is evident but isn’t yet completely dark. “Clear night kind of gal, uh?”

“Yeah, it’s cheesy. But I have some good memories with my kin on clear nights. Summer. Winter— fall, and spring. My, uh,” she hesitated, and you could hear her gulp. “Dad would barbecue for me and the…”

She trails off briefly, stepping over a fallen tree, and splits to a less familiar path towards the torched shack. “And the others. My ma and brother.”

“Brother?” You ask. “I’m an only child. When I was younger, I wanted a sibling. Older some days and younger some others.”

“Well, I had an older brother. He was good. No… he was great.”

When she stops talking, you have the feeling that you’re approaching sensitive ground, so you don’t go back to your original question—the one about guilty pleasures and penny-worth pleasantries.

“I enjoy the forest. Another one of those kid things, I guess.”

“Kid things,” you muse. “The things we grew up with are worth their weight in gold. Imagine having candles with your favorite smells.”

She chuckles and makes a noise that tells you Scarlet is about to express something else, but her words are swallowed. “Aight. Stop it. This is unprofessional of us. Let’s knock this chatter off.”

The mood becomes more than tolerable, and the cold becomes bearable. Vapor continues to spill out of your mouth, but somehow you can ignore it. You hadn’t seen this side of Scarlet; she’s much more secretive than you thought but was also fragile in some aspects.

But, those aspects were shielded and protected, not just by her personality but also by the task on hand…You approached the shack and found it busy with movement. Tents are pitched, and there are several fire pits around the border of the treeline. About seven men are walking around, armed with Woodstock rifles and heavy clothing. It looks like they’re getting ready to turn in for the evening, already comfortable at the campsite despite the loss of their comrades and building.

“We’ll wait,” Scarlet whispers. “They’ll send out sentries, and we’ll just pluck each one off like feathers off a dead chicken.”

Apparently, she was expecting a response from you. “Unless you think otherwise?”

“You’re the leader,” you tell her.

“No,” she snaps but then exhales. “We’re partners. What do you think would work best here?”