Those Soiled Doves

Oh, yes... there are soiled doves in Deadwood 2.0 - at least four prospective houses / saloons opening up!  There's Trixie's down by the butcher's shop, the beginnings of the Bella Union toward where you come into town, Cooper's Tent somewhere in the middle and Daisy's Phoenix.   And that don't even count the independent women working out of tents and cabins.

  Seems the big rush of  girls due to arrive hasn't  happened yet.  There was lively and lengthy discussion on the Deadwood 1.0    forum, started up by our own very respectable (um, I think) Madam DuFaux, about why there just weren't enough regular saloon girls /parlor girls in town.  Consensus seemed to be that there was confusion amongst typists about whether or not the "working girls" were really doing some IM "working" -- was it role play or sex for Lindens in IC?


In addition, we had an unrealistic amount of proper ladies in DW 1  many of whom took to hanging around the saloons as if they were tea shops.     I plead guilty to being one who started a "Ladies of Deadwood" group, for the *nose up in air* proper business women and ladies of Deadwood (Madams were included, but not their *ahem* employees).  And it appears a similar group has started in DW 2.0.

Of course, ladies gotta be in Deadwood and not everyone can play a Madam or prostitute, a saloon or parlor girl.  

But lots of effort is going into making the new Deadwood more like the old Deadwood, where the men were men and most of the women early on were outright whores.  Possibly entertainers or saloon girls, but they weren't exactly "ladies".   Still, there was a great happiness on the part of the miners at the arrival of the prostitutes and there was no proper middle class set that would have frowned upon these girls.  They would have been part of the rather rowdy and unruly community.  And in fact, prostitution in Deadwood stayed on long after the Gold Rush ended - "No city ordinance was ever passed to outlaw the practice, despite state laws forbidding prostitution. Several months before the l980 raid the police chief defended non-enforcement of state law."   Note that that's NINETEEN 80, not EIGHTEEN 80.
(source: http://www.deadwoodmagazine.com/archivedsite/Archives/Girls_Raid.htm)

In an effort to support and encourage those who would like to role play doves, a group has been started by Daisy Stratten and Lolaraine McGinnis - invitations will be sent out but anyone who is playing a shady lady should contact one of them if an invitation hasn't been received.   No men allowed ~   Loose women unite!


Questions and discussion might include - how far can you go in open chat role playing?  How can you make it clear to your 'customers' that this is role play?   How do you make it clear to other typists that this is role play - you aren't .. uh....   And what happens if real SL "escorts" come in and want to make money - how can we help them put role play first?   The group can talk amongst itself!

Here's a good sampling of some excellent role play only hanky panky going on that plays a scene without crossing any lines.
 ..
[17:16]  BlackJack Landar turns and sees a stunning redhead and smiles....Hello Miss.
[17:16]  Lillian Tomsen looks around and arches a brow at Copper "This all they is? Ain't losin' yer touch are ya, Copper?"
[17:16]  Lillian Tomsen turns to the man who addressed her and offers up a honeyed smile as she sashays closer "well hello there, if you ain't 'bout the finest specimen of a man I ever did see..."
[17:17]  BlackJack Landar holds up a finger....whiskey if you please.
[17:17]  BlackJack Landar smiles back....My dear Miss, I must say you take my breath away.
[17:18]  Lillian Tomsen rests her arm atop your shoulder and leans in, moistening her lips "Name's Lil, and you gotme gaspin a bit m'self...reckon you could feel of m'heart and see if itsa beatin alright?"
[17:18]  BlackJack Landar pulls out several coins.....This will cover her drink as well.
[17:18]  Lillian Tomsen draws in a deep breath, forcing her already ample chest out even furthery.
[17:18]  Lillian Tomsen: aww now you're a sweet one, too..nice t'see a gentleman.
[17:19]  Lillian Tomsen leans up and whispers in his ear, flicking her tongue along the lobe "I swanee, if you ain't handsome"
[17:19]  BlackJack Landar smiles.....My dear, I think you and I will become very good friends.
[17:20]  BlackJack Landar slips his arm around her waist pulling her in close.
[17:20]  Lillian Tomsen presses up against him with a smile as she reaches for the drink and tosses it back, offering up a deep moan as he pulls her closer "I think you may be right"
[17:20]  BlackJack Landar picks up the drink and tosses it back as well.....
[17:21]  BlackJack Landar looks down into her face.....You know, you remind me of someone I knew once down Texas way.
[17:22]  Lillian Tomsen rolls around in his grasp to the front of him, looking up in challenge "well I always was fond of Texas...you a Texan feller? They say everythangs bigger in Texas.."
[17:22]  Lillian Tomsen leans up and traces the outline of his mouth with her tongue as she whispers "reckon thats so?"
[17:23]  BlackJack Landar smiles....Not originally, but I been around a bit
[17:23]  Lillian Tomsen lowers her face and looks up at you through thick coal painted lashes "well I ain't one t'hold bein' worldly against a man. Fact.."
[17:23]  BlackJack Landar leans down and nuzzles the side of her neck and then whispers in her ear.....perhaps we can find more private quarters to discuss our transaction.
[17:24]  Lillian Tomsen runs her hands down your chest as she surveys you "I reckon i kinda like that quality"
[17:24]  Lillian Tomsen looks up with a wink "Don't waste no time, I like that, too"
[17:24]  BlackJack Landar grins....Life is too short to waste.
[17:24]  Lillian Tomsen leans around the man and nods to Copper
[17:25]  Lillian Tomsen: Tell you what, why don't you an' me take us a little walk?
[17:25]  Lillian Tomsen chuckles at the man's exclamation "not yet but directly"
[17:25]  BlackJack Landar: I think that is a splendid idea my dear. The language here is a bit course.
[17:25]  Lillian Tomsen winks up at the man
[17:26]  Lillian Tomsen: oh yes and I'm a lady of tenderness...
[17:26]  BlackJack Landar frowns back at the man.
[17:26]  Lillian Tomsen presses her hips against him
[17:27]  BlackJack Landar lets his hand slide up her spine.....
[17:27]  BlackJack Landar: Now where are you from Lil?
[17:27]  Lillian Tomsen reaches for his belt and runs her fingertips down the front of his pants "daylight's wastin"
[17:27]  BlackJack Landar: Well lets get going then my dear. I hate to waste time.
[17:28]  Lillian Tomsen turns and walks towards the front of the tent, swaying her hips seductively as she tosses back her hair and winks
[17:28]  BlackJack Landar walks behind her enjoying the the view
[17:29]  Lillian Tomsen walks around and reads the signs "you up for a challenge? Docs place looks empty"
[17:30]  BlackJack Landar: I enjoy a challenge Miss Lil.
[17:30]  Lillian Tomsen looks about the room with eagle eyes as she spots a large jug on the desk and turns with a twinkle in her eye
[17:30]  Lillian Tomsen: and I enjoy a real man for a change
[17:31]  Lillian Tomsen steps closer to you and runs her fingertips beneath your lapels, gripping and pulling you close in a swift movement
[17:31]  BlackJack Landar grins....Now you are talking my dear. I do enjoy a quality woman.
[17:31]  BlackJack Landar slips his arms around her waist looking down at her
[17:31]  Lillian Tomsen leans up with parted lips "we shoulda brought more whiskey, I just love the taste of whiskey on a man's lips"
[17:36]  Lillian Tomsen reaches down and tugs at the front of his pants "Feller, you better disarm so's i kin git to the gun i'ma aimin' for
[17:37]  BlackJack Landar reaches down to unbuckle the gunbelt.
[17:37]  Lillian Tomsen takes note of how expensive his guns look and mentally begins guessing how much he has on him as she presses her lips to his and delves in with a small hot tongue
[17:38]  BlackJack Landar reaches over and drops the rig on the boxes
[17:39]  Lillian Tomsen smiles as she tugs him back towards the desk, talking with her lips still against his "Reckon you're man enough to handle old Lil?"
[17:39]  BlackJack Landar returns the kiss, his own tongue moving to meet hers...
[17:39]  BlackJack Landar smiles....I think you are about to find out.
[17:39]  Lillian Tomsen feels the desk against her backside and hopes up on it, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling him closer to her
[17:40]  Lillian Tomsen reaches behind her for the jug and gets a white knuckle grip on it
[17:40]  BlackJack Landar kisses her harder as her presses against her.
[17:41]  Lillian Tomsen moans as the kiss deepens, trying not to think about how damn handsome he is as she brings the bottle up and down hard towards his head
[17:42]  BlackJack Landar drops to one knee from the hit, eyes watering, he looks up.....
[17:42]  Lillian Tomsen looks down at him and leans down, pressing her mouth hungrily to his as she twists her tongue around his once more and brings the bottle down again
[17:44]  BlackJack Landar presss back up to her grabbing the wrist with the jug ...
[17:44]  BlackJack Landar squeezes the wrist unmercifully hard...
[17:45]  Lillian Tomsen widens her eyes in confusion and gasps as he squeezes her wrist, falling to her knees with a yelp
[17:45]  BlackJack Landar looks down at her as he holds her wrist, the pulls her up.
[17:46]  Lillian Tomsen jerks away as he pulls her to her feet, setting her jaw in anger "feller if'n you know whats good for ya.."
[17:46]  BlackJack Landar unslings his shotgun....If I know whats good for me?
[17:47]  BlackJack Landar: My dear, you do not know who you are dealing with do you?
[17:47]  Lillian Tomsen steps away and narrows her eyes, flipping open her skirt and drawing a derringer from her garter belt to point at him with eyes of fire "well then, I reckon we're both of like situations in that respect"
[17:49]  BlackJack Landar looks at the little derringer and grins.....Lilian, I think you and I are one of a kind. I have plans to get rich. Maybe you would like to be part of it?
[17:50]  Lillian Tomsen arches a brow and offers a half smile and uncocks her gun "I'm listenin'"


 

The Alderton twin's blog

My new characters, Marr and Mary Alderton, will be keeping their own journal of their experiences and feelings about Deadwood.

The new Deadwood is an awesome experience -- there's a  very real feeling about it that made me realize this is not the easiest place for someone to play a child, and brings more light to the problems folks have with child avs in places.  It strikes me that if one wants to play a child in Deadwood (and this may translate to any sims in Second Life that are not child focused, but allow children), a typist needs to be sure to be realistic and responsible not only to their character, but to the effect of their character on their fellow typists who are attempting to role-play realistically.

Deadwood 2.0 isn't (necessarily) a hot bed of sex which is the thing that starts most anti-child alt people going. For those not convinced that people like me are 50 year old balding male pedophiles, there are those who worry that having us "creepy" child av's around puts a damper on their style in adult situations which aren't always tied into sex.  And as I enter into the new Deadwood, which is excitingly close to that series I watched on television, I can suddenly see how having child avies around, while adding something positive, can also take away from the quality of role-playing.

Our new roleplaying town simply isn't the place for children to be found wandering aimlessly around alone.  Nor is it a place where a woman would feel comfortable by herself.  Hell, a woman might not even feel comfortable traveling with her husband, brother, father.    It's rough and dirty and there's no nice and familiar place for a woman to stay.

An adult female avatar can probably find a way to survive alone, for a little while anyway.  Realistically, she would have to find support fast - whether with a man, an employer or a group of people.   We have a number of typists who like to play tough gals, intelligent and the ancestors of today's liberated (pardon the term) modern woman.    It's a stretch that the sim allows -- we can accept the argument that many of the women who freely went to Deadwood would have been more outgoing, independent, intelligent, educated, free-thinking, etc. than the typical woman of her time. 

Children  are a different story.  Children were not heading to Deadwood independently to seek their fortune.  They would have ended up there by chance -- their parents or guardians moved there, or were on their way there, and the child followed.   Any child - orphaned or not - will be spotted if alone and questioned by an adult, this being the nature of  the characters and the typists who play in Deadwood.  Some will want to know and tell the kids to scram -- some will want to know and get them back home - some may want to know and put the child to work scrubbing floors if the child has no protectors.    Realistically, no young child would survive long alone, stealing food and finding places to sleep - but anyone who wants to play their child avie that way needs to remember to look lean and hungry, have roughed up clothes and to stay away from most adults who are going to question them. 

Speaking as a sometime child avatar, I believe child avies need to take extra care of and have much consideration for their affect on those who would be their adult back up.    They need to not interrupt adult story lines where an unescorted or unknown child would not be - they need to not disrupt role play by trying to be the center of attention. The way this sim is at this moment in time means a child avie cannot just jump in where adults are and start role-playing without realizing they are part of an ensemble that may add a burden to fellow role-players. I say this even though I think most of my friends will say "Oh, no, no problem," because my friends are really nice people who don't like hurting other people's feelings.  A child avie needs to realize this -- your friends and some others (childavatar-phobes aside) may say it's OK when it might not be.

 I'm not one who wants to play a child as part of a mommy-daddy family unit -- not my thing -- I prefer to play the independent loner child who is orphaned and whose care-takers are vaguely interested in them, so I can roam about like I want.  In Deadwood 1.0,  as a child avatar I could wander and come and go as I wanted - it was easy to find excuses to be hanging around most anywhere where adults were.  My excuses of doing errands, or having a grandmother - aunt - parent somewhere on the sim worked because it had gotten more civilized and safe.

That isn't gonna fly in Deadwood 2.0,  not for any child under 12, and probably not for any female child under 16. 

At this point in the life of this developing little town, it isn't likely there would be abandoned or orphaned children yet.  As Wyatt Alderton asked (in what "sounded" like an anguished IM, which reflected the thoughts of the typist) as he led his wife and children through town, "What kind of a man would bring his family into this?"    Wyatt, of course, is the exception to most rules --  he's a visionary alcoholic entrepreneur who was probably convinced this was a good idea when it occurred to him. And though this was a question the typist was asking those playing his wife and children.. I think it might have been a thought that passed through the mind of the character when reality sank in.

There is some temptation on my part to have the twins sent back home to a safer world while the parents (Wyatt and Grace Alderton) go about their business.  That is something realistic that could happen.  I'm aware that their having twin teen-agers to worry about can put a damper on their roleplaying.   Marr and Mary, age 13, clearly cannot wander around Deadwood unattended.  The Aldertons wouldn't allow it - the girls (well, Mary anyway) wouldn't want to -- there's little for them to do yet that is appropriate for youngsters and most likely in the early days of Deadwood, there were few if any families.

But part of me wants to stick around and see how we can work this out so that the adult Aldertons don't have an albatross around their necks when their children are in Deadwood, spending their role-playing time worrying about and supervising the activities of their daughters.

 For anyone considering playing a child in the new Deadwood, I'd have to urge some very serious thought about who their character is and how they are going to play a child without being a pain or burden to others - both those who are part of their storyline, and those who they may come across.

Clear and open communication, some thought and thoughtfulness among each other (child avies to adult avies and vice versa)  can make sure everybody is doing what we all want to do in Deadwood - be creative and have fun.

Notes for Child Roleplay in Deadwood

I wrote up notes for being a kid in Deadwood, my one (lazy) contribution to Deadwood 2.0. Thought I'd also post them here, slightly edited for those who might be considering role-laying a child in Deadwood or any other Western or Victorian sim. I left out some of our rules for role play in the sim (there are very few).. this all comes from different sources gathered over the past couple of years -- people, books, websites .. some of the books and websites are listed at the end, but there are really too many to remember!


What’s a Kid like You Doing in a town like this?

The Wild West was rough and unsettled. In the town where I play, most children would not have survived alone – girls especially (sorry!) would be in need of adult supervision because girls were not allowed as much freedom as boys.

You can be in the Wild West for some good reasons – mostly because your family is there –or was there. If you don’t actually have a family, you can still talk about having a Ma or Pa who is around doing errands or who sent you into town to do errands.

You may have been orphaned or abandoned – you may want to hide that or lie about it or hang out at the orphanage (if there is one) or find someone to let you work for them in exchange for a place to sleep and a little food.

What Kids Wore in the 1870’s in the Wild West


The Wild West in the mid 1800’s, where I role-play, was cold in the winter, and we play it warm in the summer. Depending on how much money a kid’s family had, a kid might dress in layers of rags or be dressed (still in layers of clothing!) like a miniature adult.

Girls would dress like their mothers did, but their skirts would be a bit shorter and their hair let down longer. You could generally tell the age of a girl by the length of her skirt – a 7 year old’s skirt might be just below her knee – by 16, her skirt would be full length. Boys could be expected to wear knee britches until they were 12 or 13. (Boys under 4 commonly wore dresses sometimes with a bustle! And short pants beneath)

Everyday wear for girls under 16 would include a pinafore or smock to protect their clothing from dust and dirty. Older girls might wear a housedress or apron, like their mothers.
Leggings and shoes would be worn, even in the hottest weather. Well to do families would certainly include in their daughter’s wardrobe a camisole, pantaloons and slip. A son from that family would be expected to wear long johns, socks and shoes and a tie with his jacket. They would, of course, attempt to be current with the times.

Although heavily trimmed and decorated, children's clothes were nonetheless usually simpler than those of adults.

Daughters of miners or working class people might have less clothing, simpler designs, and cheaper (though sturdier) fabric sewn by their mothers. Sons of miners might wear overalls or suspenders. Their clothing might be cut from clothing of their parents or hand me downs from older siblings.

Because paleness, not tan, was considered fashionable, a child from a fashion conscious family would wear a stylish hat. All children would wear some kind of a head covering outside – for warmth in the cool seasons, for protection from the sun during hot weather.
However, it isn’t unlikely you will find children running barefoot and hatless in the Wild West in the summertime!

What do I DO with myself?

A child in the Wild West needs to keep busy in order to keep adults from telling them to go home or asking them annoying questions! What can you do?
Children in the real Wild West probably would have been seen more than heard, and not seen a lot! But in our town, children can do several things to engage themselves in the role play.
1. School. Much as 21st century children might not like school, school was often enjoyed by children in the 19th century. It was where you went to see other kids, do things that weren’t demanding chores, learn things that would help you with a job, borrow a fiction book (which were as exciting as video games and TV back then!) and perhaps have a meal not gotten at home (some teachers often provided breakfast and lunch).

2. Errands. A child could be sent into town to do errands – picking up some flour or eggs perhaps on credit at one of the shops, bringing a letter to be sent out or a message to someone. You get the idea (and it doesn’t hurt to have in your pocket a note explaining this from the errand sender in case you get stopped by some nosy adult!)

3. Jobs. Children could have apprentice jobs or little jobs – sweeping, mopping, sorting, learning a skill, fetching water, hanging clothes, watching a baby, grooming horses, feeding chickens..

4. Play! If there is more than one child in The Wild West and school’s out, children can certainly play. Play in the streets, play quietly outside a saloon, bar, shop where there are adults. Wade in the water (if there’s water nearby), climb the hills and explore. Explore the town and peek in windows. If you want to get in trouble, think about Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer – there’s a lot of trouble you can get into just by being a kid.

About Role-playing a Kid in Deadwood

This is from a piece written by one of our child role-players some time ago – hope you find it as useful as many others have!

-- Remember you're ignorant. Kids aren't born knowing everything. If you want your character to know something, ask yourself how you would have learned it. Was it in school? From your parents? From adults you would have been exposed to?

The longer you rp a kid in Deadwood, the more knowledge you'll accumulate... often hysterically distorted if you listen to everyone. So incorporate what you hear into what your character knows.

Also, kids often "know something" without having a clue what it means. Big abstract concepts like "America" are words kids use long before they really understand things like a nation or the world's size. So also try to ask yourself "Even if my character 'knows' this, what don't they understand about it?"

-- Practice selective listening. OOC you hear everything. IC, adults are mostly boring. Particularly dramatic incidents, indecent language, tidbits that reinforce things you already believe, or things that appeal to your unique interests - these are the sorts of things your character will be listening for. For a good example, note how Liza's a morbid child, and so whenever the topic turns deathward her interest level goes up.

Figure out what interests your character most and what doesn't. If it's boring pretend you didn't hear it or didn't pay close attention. If it's interesting perk your ears up and start asking questions.-Geoff Alderson


And I'll add some other thoughts on rping a kid in these times – children were expected to be obedient to adults. A child would not speak out to adults as equals, would not talk back and would Yes ma’am and Yes Sir most adults. Though a child might reply with a surly tone, even that might get a less than pleasant response from the adult or other adults. This is not to say your character cannot be disobedient – just don’t expect a tolerant response. However, children can think (and type out their inner thoughts) whatever they want as they respond “respectfully”.

Children might be involved when there is a bank robbery or shooting on the street and should react as their character would (see suggestions about interacting with adults).

Any shooting experiences should be realistically related to what children would have done in the times, within a well thought out storyline. For example, children might learn to shoot a rifle so they could hunt, carry a slingshot for fun, have a knife for carving purposes and might (occasionally) use these in self-defense.

Resources

Some Thoughts on Role-playing a Kid In The Wild West (more of Geoff Alderton’s suggestions)
http://www.theroadtodeadwood.com/forum/index.php?topic=1391.0

Pictures and Thoughts on 19th century kids
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/march1/child-030106.html

What Children would have read
http://www.merrycoz.org/kids.htm

Children’s Amusements in the 19th Century (an article)
http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu/classroom/curriculum_6th/lesson13/bkgdessay1.html

Children’s Fashion (pix)
http://www.costumegallery.com/children.htm

Obituaries –children in Prairies where life was not easy
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/harvey/children.htm

Books

I survived Deadwood 1.0 - self explanatory...

I survived deadwood 1.0 by RatherBeinDeadwood
See other Deadwood T-Shirts

I survived deadwood 1.0 by RatherBeinDeadwood
Buy t-shirts at zazzle

i survived deadwood1.0 by RatherBeinDeadwood
View other Deadwood Mugs

Nothing stays the sammmmmeeeeeee

The original Deadwood (described by many as Deadwood 1.0) is about to end, being replaced by Deadwood 2.0.

Deadwood will be going back in time, restarting. Those who are staying have choices about what to do with their characters, as the town burns just as it did in 1879, and then reopens a week later in real time as Deadwood, 1876 - the old beginnings of the town, with mud streets, tent shops and no law!

This should be exciting, if a bit messy.

It's a bit sad, too, as over the past couple of years, history has been created -- a lot of folks have come through Deadwood. One wonders how many of the old timers will recreate themselves, how many will never appear in this second life of Deadwood and how many new characters will be born from the old.

Lola Kanto, one of my favorite characters, won't be back. She's with JF, I know that - in their place in the hills of Kentucky with their children and grandchildren. Whether JF takes a trip to Deadwood remains to be seen - but Lola's busy.

This typist has tried out different roles and I imagine I'll show up as an adult since playing only children does limit your roleplay a bit.

But the kind of role I like the best is that of a youngster -- back to the days when you held an optomistic view of a world where anything seemed possible. Right and fairness conquer wrong and evil, without compromising your sense of self. Playing this age in the context of Deadwood brings with it the experience of that transitional period of coming of age - and that isn't a sexual knowledge - but a widening realization that things aren't always fair, the good guys don't always win...

It's an enjoyable age to play - like we probably all did as we grew up, the character of a child in Deadwood can one moment try to be brave and "grown up" in his or her actions, and the next revert to the protection of adults.

I'm sure I do this because I wish I could in real life, where life has been fairly difficult, where I've been a single mother for decades and now take care of my own mother. My escape from the demands of my own real life are to revert to the relative freedom of childhood, where I had no idea what lay ahead!

So Marrant will be back - with her twin sister,Mary - played by.. me. You can call them Mar and Mar (heh heh). These are the daughters of a new couple in town. The girls look only vaguely alike, though the parents insist they are identical twins. Their personalities are different and they are 13 - that awkward age when the mind and body seem totally out of control to their owners and those around them.

Somehow fitting as my youngest goes off to college and I'm left wondering what the hell am I supposed to do now? And while my own body goes through the changes at the other end of adolescence and the typist shrieks, "Who the hell is THAT in the mirror?"

Woohoo, a coupon for you!

hey, here's a coupon you can use in my Rather Be in Deadwood shop! $5.00 off your next purchase of $20.00 or more: ERYPSKYAHBXHRMMQTOYK. This code expires on 3/25/2010.

Jemima follows her feelings...March 1879

It was past midnight, the first day of Spring, when Jemima loaded the wagon with food supplies, cotton diapers, blankets, sleeping bags and a few more items before tucking the empty spaces with infants and toddlers. Last one up was young Elizabeth who gave the stately Negress a strange look.

"Are you sure we need to do this Miss Jemima?" the young girl asked.

"Yes'm I sure am sure," Jemima said as she made sure her own baby, little Earl, was peacefully asleep with the rest of the babes in the back. "Glad you comin' wit' me," the woman added. "Don't know as I could be handlin' all of them alone."

"Oh, we aren't alone," Elizabeth said, half smiling as she tucked her braids under her wool coat. "Morton will be our guide and guard."

"Hmpfff," Jem tightened her bonnet and shifted her skirt as she clambered up beside the girl and took the reins from her hands. "Well don't 'spect he be ridin' up here wit' us. Molasses got 'nuff of a load ta pull." She flecked the horse lightly and the small wagon began moving away from the orphanage on Main Street.

The large black and white dog trotted by the wagon, on Elizabeth's side, as the girl looked down the dark streets.

"Nobody's even up yet," she said softly.

"Nope, most jes' be settlin' down." The woman looked at the girl. "You leave the Streeters a note?"

The girl nodded. "I told them I was with you. On a.. a mission." she added.

"Hmpff," Jem said, then added another "hmpff". She nodded a bit. "Well, suppose you could say it a mission."

They rode slowly down the street, over the bridge and as they moved further away from the town, Elizabeth turned and looked back, watching until there was nothing to see.

"It's.. dark," she whispered. "Kinda .. scary. Are you sure we need to go."

Jemima nodded. "Sure as sure," she said. "I don't get these feelin's offen but when I does... " she paused. "I learnt the hard way, it best ta follow 'em. Even if everybody else think I outa mah mind.. "

After a few moments she suddenly stopped the wagon and cleared her throat.

"Dog." she said. "You kin come up here, iff'n you want. They room 'tween Lizbet' n me."

Elizabeth motioned and Morton softly landed between the two females, settling himself on the floor as Jemima flicked Molasses again.

"Git on, now," she said the horse. "An' don't you say nothin', " she said to the young girl, who closed her mouth and swallowed her giggling "i-thought-you-said" before it rolled out. "He keep us warm," Jemima added, looking straight ahead.