The Gig, Wednesday

[justlike_a_girl]

Dani had gone between Fandom and her old home in Fremont so often in recent months that she was having trouble remembering where she was waking up before her first cup of coffee. As she stumbled into The Gig, clutching her to-go cup from The Perk and making a note that she really needed to keep coffee in the kitchen of her Fandom home, she noticed that the barn had an extra stall not currently occupied by a horse. Dani stopped and stared at it for a moment, then went around a did a head count. All of her horses were accounted for, and yet there was space for one more. So Dani drained the last of her coffee and got to work prepping the stall for a new occupant, just in case.

The Gig was open.

Comments

[luckywithjacks]

"Pardon me," Faraday said as he appeared at the barn door, the big bay behind him once again attempting to get at his hat. "Would this be the livery in these parts?"

[justlike_a_girl]

"It would be the only livery on this island," said Dani. "Though people usually come here for riding lessons. I don't get many people bringing me horses," she added. Typical Dani, she paid more attention to the horse than the stranger.

[luckywithjacks]

Who the hell needed riding lessons? You got on the horse and you went. Everybody did it. "Not a lot of strangers coming through, huh?" Well, i being an island, he guessed that made some sense. "Do you have a place available? I'm hoping to at least get a roof over Jack's head," Faraday said, palming Jack's muzzle affectionately. "It's a mite cooler here than he's accustomed to."

[justlike_a_girl]

"Oh, we get plenty of strangers, but they usually don't have horses. And as luck would have it, I do have stall ready for another horse," said Dani, smiling. "Does he like carrots?"

[luckywithjacks]

Faraday believed this lady was going to spoil his horse. As if Faraday himself hadn't already more than half done that. "I don't believe there's any treat he'd say no to, ma'am, but I should warn you, he's more than a hair wild. He'll play nice enough with strangers for feeding and being led, but I wouldn't suggest you try to saddle him yourself."

[justlike_a_girl]

Dani chuckled. "That's okay. I've got enough horses of my own to exercise and not enough hours in the day for it," she said as one of the horses huffed in irritation. She didn't need to turn around to know that it was Bold.

[luckywithjacks]

"Well, all right, then," Faraday said, making a mental note to stop by and check on Jack regular-like. "Uh...what are your rates?" He hadn't had an opportunity to search his saddlebags, but he suspected he was still short of funds. Hopefully she would advance him a few days until he managed to pull some cash together.

[justlike_a_girl]

Dani was a businesswoman, but she had been around the island long enough to know that not everyone came from a world with cash. She listed her usual rate for room and board, which were pretty reasonable considering that her closest competition was on the mainland, but quickly added, "I can be flexible with payment, though. The last person who boarded his horse here traded for manual labor and it worked out perfectly for both of us."

It wasn't like she was lacking for money anyway, thanks to her brother's generosity.

[luckywithjacks]

To Faraday's 1870s ear those rates sounded downright extortionate, but he guessed when you didn't have competition you could pull things like that. Still, Jesus. "Well, uh," he said, clearly a little rattled. "I'm not quite sure how much cash I have on me at the moment--I wasn't planning on coming here--but if you can point me to where there might be a poker game going I'll be able to pay you in a day or two..." Maybe. "And I'm not afraid to muck a stall or ten."

[justlike_a_girl]

"Not a lot of us expect to end up here, and even though who do aren't prepared for this place," said Dani. "Go ahead and take some time to get settled. I won't need payment right away. As for poker games, I'm afraid I don't know of any, but you might want to ask at one of the bars."

[luckywithjacks]

If there were bars, there was at least somewhere a poker game could be started, and Faraday felt confident he would then find his way to financial solvency sooner or later. "I thank you, ma'am," he said politely, since he'd met few livery owners who didn't demand payment up front. "I should introduce myself, the name's Faraday. Joshua Faraday." He offered his hand to her, figuring if she was running a livery stable on her own she probably could shake hands like a man.

[justlike_a_girl]

She could definitely shake hands like a man. "Good to meet you, Faraday. My name's Danielle Davis, but everyone calls me Dani."

[luckywithjacks]

Okay, great. Now if he could just avoid offending her like he'd offended the girl who'd pointed him in the direction of the stable, he'd be doing well. Based on the rates of the stable, he didn't imagine he could afford the boardinghouse, but... "Where would those bars be located, by the by?"

[justlike_a_girl]

"If you head that way down Galactica Drive," said Dani, pointing in the proper direction, "you should easily find Caritas. The Devil's Nest is one street over, though, and I think you're more likely to find poker there. It's an educated guess, though. I typically stick to Caritas."

[luckywithjacks]

The Devil's Nest sounded more like the kind of place Faraday usually frequented than the one with the Mexican name (it not even occurring to him that it might be all fancy and Latin). Faraday touched the brim of his hat to Dani. "I thank you."