Under the Moonlight

[Tex Hex]

Characters Appearing: Tex Hex, Sally
Location (s): Nightshade Cemetery
Previous Thread Name.: None
Plot Summary.: Tex Hex meets up with Sally for an important date.

[Tex Hex]

As the night fell, a cold fog covered the ground, freezing the tombstones in a forgotten and neglected cemetery. Barbed vines, with dead leaves, crawled up the tall monoliths of dark stone angels weeping over the graves of the deceased. Breaking the silence, footsteps began to echo as a man in what looked like Wild West garb and a leather overcoat strolled along the moss-covered cobblestone pathway.

The man was alone and seemed unarmed in this dangerous place. He leaned against a nearby mausoleum's wall, reached up, and ran his claws over the crumbling, dank stone, creating a loud screeching noise. He smirked, knowing the sound would alert a certain resident, and continued along his route, innocently whistling to himself.

[Sally Smithson]

A hum echoed throughout the halls of the empty crypt as Sally made her usual rounds through her domain. The cemetery reminded her much of her old stomping grounds in Crotus Prenn, or rather the stomping grounds that mimicked the old asylum. The Entity always missed a few key details. Sally had grown to prefer Nightshade Cemetery to Crotus Prenn, it offered her freedom she never had in the Entity's realm. Perhaps even more.

Sally paused as the cries of crows rang in the distance, the sound of their cawing was amplified for her. Someone was disturbing her cemetery. And she knew exactly who. Lifting a hand toward the source of the disturbance she blinked through the air, an ear-splitting screech echoed throughout the cemetery as she passed through stone and dirt to the cemetery's surface.

Panting softly she smiled as she spotted a certain cowboy. "Well, howdy there, partner!" She greeted with a curtsey, her accent stifling the faux cowboy accent she had tried to put on. She never was good at impressions. "You're early."

[Tex Hex]

The figure smirked as Sally emerged behind him, hearing her heavy breathing. He smiled even more when she attempted to imitate his thick Texan accent using her soft British accent. Turning to look over his shoulder, his dry, cracked smile could be seen beneath the shadow of his wide-brimmed hat.

“Heh. I guess ah just couldn’t stay away dar’lin…” Tex Hex was extremely thin; his clothes hung off of his lanky and emaciated body as if he were nothing but walking bones. His face was sunken in and tight around his cheekbones, and his large red eyes glowed in the darkness as he approached the nurse, who was now hovering a few inches above the ground.

Hex extended his hand and made a twisting motion in the air. As he did so, purple smoke gathered around his fingers. Suddenly, a stem started to appear and large indigo rose bloomed in his hand. As he stepped closer, he took off his hat, revealing thin white hair. Hex then held the hat to his chest and bowed, offering the flowers to the floating nurse.

“Been far too long Sally,”

[Sally Smithson]

Sally’s face softened into a smile behind the cloth that concealed her face, which in retrospect she was quite thankful for as her face seemed to burn something fierce at the sight of Tex’s grinning face. The two of them had become fast friends as of late, so much so that she looked forward to their usual meetings. It was nice being able to speak to another again. The Entity had done a good job keeping her and the others under lock and key.

“Couldn’t stay away, hm? I didn’t know I was so irresistible!” She teased as she floated over to the cowboy, her fingers playing with the hem of her dress as she watched his hands. She gave a small gasp as a flower seemed to materialize out of the blue.

“Oh, good heavens! How did you do that?” She asked as she gently took the flower turning it over in her slim pale fingers. “It’s beautiful, Tex.” She said breathlessly as she dragged a fingertip over the soft indigo petals.

“Hmph, now I think you’re just trying to spoil me!” She jested as her hands worked to attach the flower to the front of her nurse’s uniform.

“It surely has. Come to think of it you owe me something, do you not?” She said mischievously as she floated around the cowboy, stopping just in front of him, extending a hand to him.

“Care to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

[Tex Hex]

"Ya know it, darlin'…" Tex greeted the nurse with a dry cracked smile as she approached. Recently, he had met Sally while she was hunting down a pair of lost tourists. Watching her work was impressive, and Tex couldn't help but notice her beauty. However, he respected her privacy and didn't question why she hid her face behind her mask again. When Sally took the flower from him, Tex grinned even wider. He had gained his powers from a monster, but using them to make Sally happy was worth it. Tex knew this would annoy Stampede, regardless of whether he was present or not.

"Ahm just full of tricks.." as she floated closer to him and circled around him, he raised an eyebrow. "Do ah now?" he asked, tapping his chin with a claw. She stopped in front of him and extended her hand. He chuckled gruffly before taking it and suddenly pulled her closer, wrapping his free arm around her waist with a mischievous look on his face.

"Oh, now ah remember," he said. He then took her hand, and they started dancing around the graves as if they were listening to the most beautiful music. Even though she was wearing her mask, Tex's expression softened as he could see her features through the woven mesh.

"There is gonna be a gathering soon," he said as they danced around the large monument of the Grim Reaper holding a massive stone scythe. "A lot of the crimelords want to discuss choppin' up all this new territory. Ahd like you to come with…"

[Sally Smithson]

Sally couldn’t explain why she found Tex so endearing. Perhaps it was the rugged charm that came with being an undead cowboy, or the way he seemed to work his ways to her softest spots in a way only one man had before. Though her undead heart remained still it seemed to ache at the memory. Poor Andrew. She wondered what he would think of the person she had become. No, of the creature that she had become. Stripped of humanity by her own madness and another force far out of her control. She pushed the thoughts aside as Tex’s hand found hers.

He was warm where her own hand was cold. Rough hands aged from work under the sun and a rough life long lived were an odd, but not unwelcome contrast, to her own smooth pale hands.

The nurse gave a small gasp as she pulled into his arms. Suddenly, she felt thankful that her face was hidden behind cloth as her face seemed to burn bashfully. She followed his movements fluidly, a cool breeze ran through the graveyard. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his shoulder, humming to a tune only the two of them could hear.

“There’s gonna be a gathering soon.”

“Oh?” She said softly not lifting her head from his shoulder as he went on. Though as he made mention of her coming along she paused. “What? You want me to go with you?” She asked as she lifted her head to meet his eyes. “Are you sure? I’m no gangster, Tex. I might not be of much use there. Why would you want me there anyhow?”

[Tex Hex]

Tex's face pulled into a tight smile, his skin almost cracking under the strain like dry-rotted leather when he felt her stone-cold hand in his. The cowboy's life back on his own world was indeed harsh. Under a planet with three suns, if you didn't learn to tolerate the constant blazing heat, you find your end as a pile of bleached bones in the desert. When he took her hand, he heard a slight hiss like water on a hot skillet. Cold felt so good since his skin was always burning to the touch. Cold was a rare commodity, so he closed his eyes momentarily, enjoying the feeling. When she spoke, his eyes opened and glowed red in the darkness.

"Ah know you ain't. But yer also the baddest lady with a bone saw ah could ever hope ta have my back." He said, his voice tinged, as they continued their dance. "Ah also want ya there cus' this world is yers too. Ah figure you should have a say in what's what just as much as any of them greenhorns. They are gonna be squablin' over their little corners of this planet. Grabbin' land by the handful and fighting over borders. All the while ah have something else in mind." He then leaned closer.

"See, livin people think Obsidian Shades ain't nothin' but a wasteland full'a toxic smoke and dead trees and just ain't worth fussing over. But toxins don't mean nothin' to undead folks like you an me." Tex then paused in their waltz and held up his hand, snapping his fingers. Just outside the cemetery, eight round eyes lit up and glowed red in the darkness and a strange cicada-like sound was heard. A giant stone scorpion that sat just out of view climbed over the jagged iron fence and crawled toward the pair. It stopped short of them and seemed to carry a wooden chest in its pincers. The beast then dropped the box and backed up as Tex let her hand go and stepped closer to it. Putting his foot on the chest, he shoved the cover open to reveal several pounds of glittering jewels. Stooping down, he ran his hand into the shiny stones and let them fall through his bony fingers.

"The volcano…" He smirked before standing up. "Lava tubes that run under it, and it's loaded with riches jus' like this…" Picking up a large ruby, he walked over to the floating nurse and gently took her cool, slender hand before placing it in her palm. "My scorpions are already digging out loads of it. Enough to buy out this entire world ah bet. No one but me knows about it, and now ahm tellin' you…"