"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both," says the shopkeeper as he moves out from behind his desk. "I'll go get some crates ready for you."

"I'll come help," Riley says but not before Jacob is a few paces ahead of him. He quickly slips a piece of paper from next to the till towards Nina and gives a mischievous wink. It states that the store will be delivering bulk supplies to the sheriff's office in Annesburg at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. That's a lot of goods to intercept and either keep for themselves or sell on to another shady character. "Best behaviour, ladies," Riley gives a smirk says it in a way that suggests they can steal a few things but remain subtle about it. With that, Riley heads to the back with the shopkeeper.

Dustyn looks on at Layla and Joshua as Erich speaks all the while thinking about what he has going on with Dallas. He's sure it's more than just sex. Dustyn is insanely attracted to him and their friendship has gone back five years now. He feels deeply for him. It may even be love. All Dustyn is sure of though is that he's scared and making things messier day by day. He's scared of confessing his love to Dallas in case it doesn't work out. Even if he does, he still doesn't want to tell the rest of the camp because of how they might react. He's also not exactly staying away from Dallas either. He knows that he can't have his cake and eat it too. The day where he has to make a brave decision is looming nearer each time he wakes up. "Is there someone in camp you'd like to give extra portions too?" Dustyn asks with a giggle. He's glad that Erich made a statement regarding love in the camp. It allows him to push the conversation a little further.

"Oh no, you've done enough. I'll feed myself as much as it pains me. A woman's work is never done, Mariko." Mercedes yawns and stretches before running her fingers through her hair to move it back from her face. "You know, I wish we weren't on the run from Pinkertons. I'd like to put on my finest gown and go see a show in Saint Denis. I think Cher is playing tonight."

"It's 1899! She needs to hang it up already!" Dustyn pipes up from across the way.

"I'm definitely going to see a show as soon as this is all over. We need a much deserved break," Mercedes says as she closes her eyes and feels the rays from the sun beaming down through the tall trees that surround the camp. Horseshoe Overlook is a very beautiful spot and Mercedes has been working hard so it'd be stupid not to lay down and bask in what nature has to offer.

"You're overly optimistic." Scott interrupts the conversation with Mariko and Mercedes in his usual gruff, drunken manner. "We'll never see Saint Denis again. Not that I'd ever want to. All them rich folk with their electricity and baths." Scott spits on the ground in disgust. "We are on the run from Pinkerton agents. Billy's plan is to keep moving but it's always a matter of time before they find us. We're being herded like sheep. They'll eventually close in on us. Face it, we'll have to leave the country in the end. Mexico or some place." Scott spits again.

Oscar walks by clutching his books, wearing his glasses and rather crisp attire, looking far smarter than Scott and most others in the camp. He's the brains and far from the brawn. He stops in his tracks as Scott spits again, almost getting it on his shoe. "Charming as ever, Mr. Wellington. You'd make a fascinating case study in the theory of evolution. It appears the process can halt itself midway..."

"Get on out of here..." Scott grumbles, raising a fist to Oscar. He can't stand him with his big words.

Oscar stifles his laughter and nods at the ladies before making his way to one of the tables.

Dustyn is taken aback when Erich tells him that Erica is more than just a friend. "Really?! I wouldn't have guessed it. You two seem...well, actually, about as wild as one another. Guess it makes sense." Dustyn giggles and kicks around some of the little rocks within the blades of grass. He looks down at his shoes, as a way of trying to centre himself before pushing the conversation even further. "Do you think...n-never mind..." Dustyn shakes his head, not feeling brave enough to get the rest of his sentence out.

Back at Worth's General Store, Riley walks out of the store room holding an empty crate, ready to stock up on supplies. That is of course until he hears the sounds of screaming and two gun shots being fired from outside. The colour drains on his face and he places the crate down on the counter. He gives a knowing look to Nina and Erica. There's no denying who has caused trouble. "This fucking guy..."

"Ah, Jules Verne! Such a wonderful writer!" Oscar hears Mariko's quip and brightly gets up from the table, turning on his heels. "Though sadly as his work grew and words spread, the very harsh and cynical contemporary critics formed a very skewed perception of Mr. Verne and his pen. When a select few believed in him and supported his work, he was championed in the literary world. As his audience widened and many outside voices, often uneducated voices, chimed in...well, Verne's work was simply viewed as mainstream storytelling. Basic tales with no real depth. Unworthy of academic study despite his brilliant pieces. He wasn't taken seriously, which I can sadly relate to..." Oscar looks over at the beer swigging Scott with a look of utter disdain that says it all. "Still, I firmly believe he'll go down as one of the greats. Even after his passing, his words will transcend generations. When we are pushing up daisies, our great, great, great, great grandchildren will be getting lost in his magnificent works. Words hold so much power. Words matter, Miss. Mariko. Remember that!" Oscar cheerily saunters away.

"Is that so? Well I got a few choice words for him!" Scott grumbles and narrows his eyes, watching Oscar closely as he walks away. He takes another swig of beer. "When we get to Mexico, there's a big spiny cactus with his name on it."

"Well, I was...wondering..." Dustyn sighs and continues to kick at the little rocks, not really knowing what he's doing right now. Part of him wants to tell someone and get it over and done with. Part of him is too afraid to complete his sentences. Dustyn doesn't even have a plan should something bad happen once he reveals the truth. He has found himself in an awkward position, in the middle of a conversation but no clear way of steering or shutting it. He's piqued Erich's interest. He takes a deep breath and decides to eek it out a little more, finding it more comfortable to drop it piece by piece. "What you said about being more than friends with Erica...having relations with another member of the gang and all that...d-do...do you think it would still be OK if it...if it..." Dustyn sighs and closes his eyes for a second, centring himself again. "If it was with another man?". Dustyn looks Erich straight in the eye, trying to communicate the fact that this is a personal question and not a general one. A look that says don't make me spell it out.

"Yeah, no time for groceries now, I'm afraid." Riley darts out of the store, taking hold of his revolver as it seems things are getting hairy. He doesn't wish to defend Blake and his shitty actions but he's part of the gang. They're all riding back on the wagon together. It's only a matter of seconds before they're guilty by association anyway.

Sure enough, Blake is seen running backwards on the muddy main street of Valentine, firing his revolver towards some men outside the saloon. "Hey it's not my fault your cousin's a whore!! It ain't my fault I don't wanna be pissing needles either!!". Blake fires two shoots and one of the men fall down. As the guys lifeless body splats down on the mud, the sound of a lawman's whistle blows.

"Williams what the HELL have you done this time?!" Riley scolds as he crouches behind the wheel of the wagon. He quickly assesses the situation, seeing the handful of armed men and local sheriff down the street taking aim and firing. Won't be long before more law arrive on horses too. Staying in the town and shooting them all up is going to result in a bloodbath with even more heat, making it even harder to ride away. Climbing up onto the wagon and allowing their horses to pick up enough speed is the perfect opportunity for one or more of them to get killed and also allow the law to close in. They'll have to meet in the middle, ride AND shoot anyone who dares follow. "Erica, Nina, who's the better shot and who's the better driver?!"

Mr Worth comes out of his store to see all of the commotion. He notices his customers seemingly at the centre of it, yielding weapons. "Y-you ain't no ranchers! Just who the hell are you people!? You st-stay away from my store, you hear me?!". Jacob runs back into his store, effectively banning them from their local supply source. Still, they have the information on the Annesburg delivery coach.

Dustyn nods along with a rathe neutral expression on his face. He doesn't know how to feel right now. On one hand, he's happy that Erich hasn't raised the alarm and choked him out. On the other hand, Erich is right about public displays possibly bringing him trouble. It's going to be extremely tough navigating it in life. "Do you think that it could bring trouble in the camp?". Dustyn looks over in the general direction of Scott and their leader, Billy. Scott is abrasive and narrow minded. Billy, although great friends with Dustyn, holds a lot of power and if he's not happy for whatever reason, it could lead to dire consequences. Blake would also be included in the group he fears most but thankfully he's out on an errand right now.

Andrea finally makes an appearance, stumbling out of one of the tents with sleepy eyes and wild hair. If her night wasn't filled with booze and a sing-song, it was a terrible one.

"Hi Andrea!" Lincoln perks up, giving her a friendly smile and a wave.

"N-no...I can't..." Andrea mumbles, holding a hand up and stumbling away from Lincoln. He's a lovely boy but she doesn't have the energy to deal with him right now. His perkiness is too much at the best of times let alone when you're nursing a hangover. She makes a beeline for the crate of beer, taking out the very last one.

Scott however, grabs the bottom of the bottle in an attempt to snatch it from her. "That one's mine!"

"Try me you goddamn son of a bitch!!" Andrea yells, whipping out a pistol and pressing it right against Scott's chest.

Meanwhile, in even more chaotic scenes, Valentine is getting rowdier by the second. More shots are being fired from the armed men spilling out of the saloon while two horses with lawmen arrive on the scene down by the church. "Wagon. Now!" Riley exclaims as he hops on board, sitting next to Erica at the front. She can ride the group to safety while Riley protects her head and takes care of any threat that comes towards them. Blake jumps into the back of the wagon alongside Nina, laying low and picking off those shooting at them.

"Woohoo! Bullseye!!" Blake exclaims as he shoots one of the lawmen in the head, causing the body to fly right off the horse at high speed. He laughs and sports a huge grin on his face as he fires into Valentine. Even for a bunch of outlaws, Blake seems to get a very questionable thrill out of killing. "Don't worry, Nina. I'll protect you."

Dustyn doesn't really wish to say who he's with as Dallas hasn't given the all clear. Plus, he finds it more comfortable to drop little pieces of information. Stating that he and Dallas have been in a secret homosexual relationship for months and have been consummating it behind a big tree above the camp may be a little too much to reveal all at once. "You...you don't feel any differently about me, right?" Dustyn asks with a little smile. He's pretty sure Erich has figured out that these aren't just general questions and is a subtle way of coming out. Dustyn just wants to be 100% sure things are cool with Erich before he can even consider relaxing around him. He's had his guard up for such a long time.

"I'll take it!" Lincoln says with a smile, taking hold of the basket of meat and not getting the innuendo as predicted. He screws up his face while looking at the contents. "It smells like blood and dead things but don't worry, I will make it nice, OK?". He smiles sweetly at Mariko before heading over to his cooking station. Only Lincoln could be so cheery about cooking for 19 people every single day.

"Well I think she had enough beer last night!" Scott bites, still holding onto the bottle.

"And I think you've had enough right now...and right now is all we got!" Andrea kicks Scott in the shin, causing him to let go of the bottle. "Follow me and you're dead," she warns, still pointing her pistol. Scott isn't her favourite campmate.

"That was Mr Worth's wife!" Riley exclaims as he looks back to see who Erica had ran over. "Well, it's not as if we were welcome back to his store anyway," he says flatly. Despite bullets flying around, Riley keeps his nerve. Sure, he has the fear of catching one between his eyes but he represses it as much as possible. A steady hand, unclenched jaw, calm breathing and firing on empty lungs makes for a good shot. Riley takes aim and fires at the other lawman, killing him and sending him off the horse. That's the law dealt with for now but it's only a matter of time before backup arrives. "Stay on guard everyone," Riley states as they exit the town and head towards the path home.

"Woo!" Blake chuckles and lays on his back in the wagon, clearly satisfied with the buzz from all of that carnage. "The rumours are true. Valentine IS actually cursed. Everyone there is a fucking moron. That's their eternal punishment." Blake then winks at Nina after her Lincoln quip. "Well, I hear he's making amazing progress on his ABCs".