UNTIL WE COLLAPSE // Sympathy

[A. MORGAN]

RIDE TILL I CANT NO MORE

ARTHUR MORGAN

Amelia Gillis- no... Morgan. Amelia Morgan. He would've laughed at the thought of their shared initials if he hadn't been consumed by the wave of emotions he didn't know how to process. All too quickly he found himself picking out little details about her he hadn't given much regard to before; the way the sunlight makes her hair shine, the way her eyes spark, even the way she carried herself- it was like looking in a mirror. Almost. He was admittedly much more scrappier. To look in a mirror at his teenage self, hell he'd be covered in dirt and gunpowder, there was no doubt. Other than the fact that Amelia had been bathed more regularly that him, they weren't much different at all. There was a small part of him that was smug knowing that his kid didn't succumb to the fruity upper class lifestyle Mary had tried and failed by the looks of it brought her up in.

He was unfortunate to not have the time to even answer her questioning if he was in fact Arthur Morgan. To him it looked like her mood changed on a dime, causing him to take a step back as she regarded her grandfather with such disdain it even rivaled him. But seeing her scared of him, hurrying to shrink beside Dutch, it planted seeds of guilt in Arthur's gut. He must have done something wrong. He did do something wrong. Bringing up that man was a mistake, yes, but he wasn't ready for how badly it affected her and he didn't know what to do other than stand silent and cast Hosea a pained look.

--

Dutch peered down at the girl, offering her a small pat on the head. Hosea meanwhile, hurried on to usher the crowd to scatter. "Go on! Get back to work, the lot of you. Dutch and I will handle this." And one by one, the crowd disperses and while the tension in the air is still thick, it lightens some now that it isn't confined to one space. Dutch offers a comforting smile to Amelia. "Arthur? That big teddy bear? My dear, Mr. Morgan here wouldn't hurt a fly- let alone a sweet girl like you. 'sides, if anyone wanted to hurt you, they'd have to answer to me first. And that's a promise." he assured. "Now-" He motions Arthur over and makes a slow and gentle attempt to separate from the girl. "Why don't you two get the chance to get to know each other?"

--

Arthur takes a few steps forward, still leaving a wide enough space for Ame to breathe. His hands wring nervously, Eventually though, he greets her. "Hullo." He pauses, thinking. "I am.. um, Arthur Morgan. It's nice to finally meet you, miss." Hesitantly, he holds a calloused hand out to her and does his best to smile.

#psychosocial.