Summer Auction, Open to all~!

[Sephiramy]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 1st, 1869 11:30am - 2:00pm Last year Buffalo Creek Bay held a Summer Auction, bidding off a few of the ladies in town along with their packed lunch baskets. Well, this year the town has decided to change it up some. It's the men's turn this time around to stand up on stage, located between the orphanage and schoolhouse. This year however, instead of the men bringing home cooked meals(as half of the men can probably cook nothing more than beans), the highest bidding woman will win herself a lunch date. This lunch date does not have to happen today after the auctioning is over with. It can take place on any day. Perhaps a day or two from now or even a week. Just men, be sure not to stand up the ladies! All the proceeds will be going towards the orphanage. Contestants(in bidding order): Nathan LaHaye Robert Munroe Henry Scarborough Rusty Scarborough Davion Murphy Cyrus Savage Sam Felix Gabriel Creed Charlie Prince Daniel Helm Liam Nolan Harrison Fox Round 1: Arrival of all townsfolk Round 2: Presenting of and bidding on the men Current Round; Round 1: Arrival of all the townsfolk 11:30am - 12:00pm Notes: --If you are joining this activity be sure to post below here. --There is no need to post in order. Anybody can post whenever. The only order we have is the order in which the contestants will be presented and bid upon. --If you failed to sign up a female character, but want her to particapate there is no need to worry. She may join in. I only had everyone sign up their females characters to ensure there would be enough women for each man to walk away with one. --Any and all Bystanders are welcomed. --After every contestant has to post at least once before Round 2 will begin. Also do not forget to tag the character you are interacting with. You of course may of course leave it open if you so wish.

[Isabella Scarborough]

Isabella Scarborough

July 1st, 1869

Little Danny was far more excited than his mother as he ran ahead of her and turned around only because she had panicked and yelled at him for wandering too far. The little boy stopped and turned around to look at his mother with his big goofy smile. "Don't run off your father would be so upset if you got lost." Danny ran around in circles with his arms out until he noticed all the strangers walking around. True to his nature the little boy came running back to his mother and the familiar faces of his family. Throwing his arms around her legs Danny hid his face into her skirt and crouched down next to her. Bell nearly tripped on the toddler now, all she wanted was to get the pie she had made and put it down on the table but Danny had to make her life difficult all the time.

She finally reached the table and put the pie down before Danny made her drop it and she was left there a little angry and yet just having to shrug it off since when you had kids shit always happened. Her hands were now free and ruffled up Danny's little curls trying to calm him down while he clung to her leg but Bella refused to pick him up. She was doing her best to make him social especially today. Evelyn was close to his age and Danny needed someone to play with as he got older. Bella and Ellie couldn't be his only friends. Danny looked up at his mother sticking his thumb in his mouth. He didn't seem to eager to hunt Evelyn down now and try playing with her. "It's okay Danny. Do you want Chris to go walk around with you?"

Looking around a second she couldn't even find the two oldest kids. Ellie had run off with some girls from school trying to hang out with them even if they didn't necessarily like her at school. Danny would never run into the issues Elizabeth did. She was straight from New York and her parentage was shady at best. Not only that but she had been born out of wedlock and her mother had 'left' her to become a whore. Danny was the son of the banker and one of the wealthiest men in Buffalo. Chances were he was going to be very popular in school. Taking her son by the hand Bella lead him around through the crowd of gather people to hunt down Chris or her daughter, maybe even Henry wherever he had gone off to. "Come on Chris lets see if we can't find someone for you to play with. I am sure Evelyn wants to play with you."

[Wen Ming-Chen]

July 1st, 1869

In general she avoided crowds of foreigners, especially in towns like this where she stood out like a duck among geese. But holding true to her early education, she didn't let her acute discomfort show. She'd come for Miss Darla anyways. This was the first time she'd been to town since the miscarriage, and the preparation had seemed to distract her from her sorrows for a time. Her employer had lent her a western style dress. It was different from anything Ming Chen owned; a robins' egg blue with a square neckline and white lace trim. It wasn't the sort of thing you could wear without the proper underpinnings, and the already petite maid's waist seemed mythical tiny, accented by the flow of the bell-like skirt. She wore white gloves and a broad-brimmed hat over her black hair. An affectation meant to shield from the sun, but she was already brown to begin with, owning her father's duskier Southern complexion.

Hand and arm with her mistress, she stepped carefully in her high heeled boots, the small, flowing steps recalled from long practice in the silks she'd worn on special occasions in her home country. Those days were long, long gone, but the poise and gentility learned in her early education remained. Her mother had done her best to make a lady of her, and sometimes....just sometimes, it showed. Today there was no telling between the two women that they were not social equals instead of servant and mistress.

It was a bright day, and promising to be mild for July. There was a good breeze sweeping down from the north, herding fat clouds in front of it, providing shade but no promise of rain. There was to be some sort of activity to raise funds for the orphanage, but Ming Chen's grasp of what was going on was nebulous. She had considered volunteering at the orphanage, perhaps teaching spinning, weaving and sewing. Trades that a girl could always find use for in the future. But she'd been so busy lately she hadn't the time. She was trying to make sure they had enough laid by for winter, taking care of the house, seeing to Miss Darla. She kept a tight schedule that didn't leave much time for extra activities. Usually her spare time was spent sewing and mending clothes.

"What is this auction to be again?" She inquired of her employer as they walked towards the schoolhouse.

[Matilda Watson]

It had taken a lot of work, but Mattie had finally convinced her Ma to let her go to the auction they were holding in town that day. She had wanted to go and take part in the auction they had last year, but Ma had thrown a fit when Mattie had asked about it, despite the fact that she had tried to tell her that the money would be going to a good cause. Her mother had won the argument, though, saying that they’d never allow a fifteen year old to take part, for that was how old she had been at the time. The girl had only been allowed to go this time around because she swore she would just stand back and watch. She had had her fingers crossed behind her back the whole time, though, she technically she wasn’t breaking a promise.

She was couldn’t dress in her best outfit without risking drawing suspicion, but she did try to make herself look presentable. She took a great deal of time to make sure her hair was neat and well-groomed instead of the usual mess her mother called a mop. She grabbed the meager amount of money that she had saved up doing odd jobs around the house from her dresser drawer and stuffed it into her tiny handbag before bolting out the door and calling out a goodbye to anyone who happened to be there, careful to avoid her mother on the way.

She had saddled Apple before her brief but strenuous debate with her mother. The girl had had a feeling that she would win the argument since it was the men who were being auctioned off this time around and her mother probably thought that she wouldn’t have enough money to ‘do any damage’. Mattie herself actually wondered if she’d be able to afford anyone. She wasn’t even entirely sure who was being auctioned off. She certainly wouldn't be bidding on any of the older men. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck with one of the older men in town. That would be terribly awkward. Perhaps someone her own age would be there. She wasn't even sure if the people running the thing would let her bid. It'd be fun to watch, if nothing else.

By the time she reached town, a crowd had already started to gather between the schoolhouse and the orphanage. She left Apple at the livery as usual and headed straight to where the auction was to be. She couldn’t see anyone she knew particularly well after her initial look around, but it was hard to see every face there since people kept moving around. She was content to just sit and watch people until the event started, though. It was one of the things she did best, after all.

[Mary Murphy]

---

July 1st, 1869
About 11:30am

Four or five years ago Mary would have holed up somewhere at the sight of a crowd, not wanting to be any part of anything people related as she alienated herself from everyone for fear of being recognized. However those days were laughable now, everyone here knew her and everyone seemed to be perfectly okay with her past, sure she had attempted to rob the town bank . . . but she gave the money back. Not to mention the only people she ever killed were outlaws. No one hung vigilantes anymore, they were just like bounty hunters, with the exception of killing the lawless outside of the legal system.

So there she stood, her hat brim low as she looked out over the swinging door of the saloon, the wood aged and greyed, bleached after years in the sun. The crowd was milling about down at the school house and orphanage, where she would be auctioneer for the noon event. A larger gentleman with a milky white eye stepped into the practically empty establishment, with free food just up the road who wanted to pay for it? Mary didn’t pay him much mind, still watching the street until he came back and just stood there, his sweaty beer belly hanging over his belt, breathing heavily like he could no longer breathe through his crooked nose, a scrapper this one, “Yer real purdy.”
“You’re not.”

---

The foreman of the Hellfire Ranch was on his lunch break, though he had taken it a little earlier than usual he planned to be in town for a little while longer after of course asking his boss if he could participate in the fund raiser. The orphanage meant a lot to him and Russell spent at least a few hours almost every day there helping out with the kids. Perhaps he would never be married and have any of his own but he loved kids. Since the benefit was for the orphanage he had been helping all morning to get them ready to go out and mingle with the crowds of people and actually witness the money being raised and some of the older children were also giving out food and helping set up the stage. From the oldest at thirteen to the youngest children that couldn’t even walk yet, getting everyone dressed was a chore. Logan liked to take his overalls right back off after they were put on, Sissy spilled juice on her shirt and Jesse was upset, about what no one knew. Rusty would go over and pick him up and he would scream and kick before going limp trying to wriggle free of the foreman’s grasp, “Jesse son . . . you need t’calm down.” he tried to assure the three year old in a firm tone but the child was just grumpy this morning. Those watery black eyes just looked at him and Rusty knew they may have to leave him here with one of the other volunteers who was staying with the four or so babies in the center. Looking out the window with the squirming boy in his hands, Russell spotted the other kids helping to set up and figured he would hand Jesse off to someone and go help as well.

As the barmaid from the First Chance Saloon was walking down the street, a cigarette in her mouth and her eyes cast down examining her freshly bruised knuckles she heard someone running up behind her and was too late to avoid the sudden embrace that lifted her off the ground and spun her around. Immediately she knew just who it was as he set her down and kept running, “Dammit Rusty!” she shouted after him and stooped to pick up her fallen hat, which was more difficult than usual, being nearly six months pregnant, “One o’these days I’m gonna shoot you on accident! . . . goddamn boy, if I wasn’t married.” she added with a smirk and put her hat back on, casting a quick glance to Darla and Ming as they approached the festivities, she tipped her black felt hat with a good natured ‘howdy’ and continued on her way.

---

Well the banker was trying to get down to the event but his secretary seemed to be feeling somewhat incompetent today and had forgotten to give him something and now he was behind, sitting at his desk upstairs watching the goings on outside his window. Rolling back over to his desk Henry took up his pen and kept working. He watched his friends file past, his wife, his kids, including Chris who opted instead to go to the livery, no Danny so far. He missed his friend and knew the man was going through a really tough time but seeing Darla out there sparked a hint of interest and Henry knew eventually he would need to speak to her, whether she wanted to ever see him again, he owed her an apology. But who was that on her arm, that couldn’t have been the China doll Rusty went on and on about, but the dark hair was a given. His cousin talked about her to the point that Henry stopped him one day and asked if he had feelings for her and of course Rusty went off on a tangent about how he lived with her so he was bound to talk a lot about her right? Heck nodded, supposed he was right, then had to listen to Russell talk for fifteen minutes about a dish Ming had made last week. Good lord the boy could talk. Wait, when was he being called onto stage again . . . second, third? Shit. Closing his books and setting them off to the side . . . putting them all into the floor and clearing the desk completely, expecting Bella to bid on him and then skip dinner and go straight to second base.

Heading downstairs Molly was asking him questions again and Henry stopped her, with her frizzy red-blonde hair pulled back and her big eccentric earrings, she was just . . . so innocent looking but he really needed to bypass the cute puppy dog look and leave for a bit, “Molly, Molly . . . Molly . . . everything is okay, everybody’s down at the benefit, we have no customers, you have plenty of time for the proposals okay?” she went to say something else and he shushed her again, “I believe in you.” he whispered in an amusing tone and she finally smiled, he wished her luck and left for the auction.

[Henrietta Farrington]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TAG// Everyone and anyone, I suppose ! ;;
July 1st, 1869
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She had never enjoyed coming to gatherings early; they were always so dead and lifeless when there were only a few people about. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case with the Summer Auction - why, who wouldn't want to attend, even if it was just to watch? After all, there was a good cause behind it all, and she knew people were just itching to see who would bid on whom.

She smirked; a small smirk, but one nonetheless. Ever since she had offered to partake in the Auction, Henrietta had formed a good bit of a plan in her mind; she knew her boss, Mr. Felix, had been scheduled to enter into the Auction as well, and Hettie would bet every penny in her purse on him if it meant she could have him cook for her. The simple delight of having her own boss cook for her was a juvenile thing to be so riled over, but she just couldn't help herself.

The sun was warm in the sky, and as she pushed her hands down her skirts, the young woman glanced about at the gathering peoples, noting that her coworkers were not yet apart of them.

For a moment, she regretted to have left Mary in the Saloon; she knew the woman was going to host the event anyhow, but Henrietta could have at least been keeping her company instead of standing in the warm sunlight, talking to no soul at all. The young woman had done the best she could to look presentable, wearing clothing that rivaled the niceness of her church-wear.

This dress had once been her mother's, she knew that. A woman of upper-class breeding could have afforded something like this, she guessed; a white, flowing gown with a square-cut collar that displayed the collarbone, and a lacy over-skirt and blouse - fit to match with it's own lace sleeves. A pale blue ribbon cinched the dress at her waist, and she couldn't stop herself from fiddling with the thing, thought it wasn't tight nor frilly. Her small purse hung from her wrist, carrying a small sum of dollars and coin; she planned to offer up the rest of what she didn't pay to the charity afterwards, anyhow.

As bodies gathered, and her pale green eyes scanned the crowd, Hettie tugged at a curl of her fiery hair, patting against her skull and checking mindlessly at the white ribbon that held her curls in an 'updo' of sorts. Perhaps she had over-dressed? Under-dressed?

For a moment, she feared the worst; this was all for fun and games, and yet she feared her boss would be displeased with the prospect of being 'won' by such a silly young woman of her particular character. Henrietta knew she wasn't exactly a vision, and her personality rivaled that of a bright-eyed youth; she couldn't expect simply everyone to put up with her.

"Oh, listen to you, blatherin' on like a fool... what have I to worry about? It's merely an auction, for charity. It's nothin' serious."

Quite aware of the fact she had been talking to no one in particular, the young woman smiled thinly at the very few people standing about her, returning to fidgeting nervously with the ribbon about her waist. This was nothing to be worried over; things would work as normal afterwards, like they always had. Hell, she wouldn't even mind if she didn't win; she would still pay, and that would be that.

It wasn't a bad thought, though.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Arrah Jennings]

July 1st, 1869

It had taken Arrah unusually long to get ready, and as she pinned her last, rogue curl into a neat chignon, she let out a sigh. She glanced into the small mirror in her tiny bedroom, and for once really took stock of what she looked like. On regular days, her hair would have just been braided back and tied with a plain colored ribbon. It seemed to never want to stay in place without the use of an obscene amount of hair pins, so when all her day consisted of was taking care of her horse and cleaning at the saloon, there was no point in taking the time. Today however, was different. Today, she was determined to actually socialize, something that she had not attempted since moving to Buffalo Creek Bay.

For the occasion, Arrah had even went out and bought a new blouse and skirt. Between working and never really going out, she had plenty of extra money saved up. It was no vast sum, but it was more than enough to splurge on an outfit. It was just a thin and light cream colored blouse and a deep, emerald green skirt with lace trimmings. The skirt was larger and fuller than she was used to, with petticoats, and each of the buttons on the shirt were lace covered. As she buttoned the skirt, she again took a look at her reflection and was generally pleased. The overall effect was elegant, yet not overly done, and she couldn't help but be happy as she saw how small her waist looked. As she laced up her plain brown boots and clipped on her mother's gold heart bracelet, she felt as though the day was going to be great.

Glancing at the small clock she kept next to her bed, Arrah jumped into action realizing that she was running behind. She snatched her small leather purse and a biscuit and ran out the door. She stopped only to saddle Rev, and soon was off towards the auction. When she arrived, she dismounted as gracefully as she could, and tied her horse next to a few others. The whole place was bustling, busier than normal in anticipation. The year before had been calm, but now that there were men up for bid, the ladies seemed to be coming out of the wood work. In all honesty, she wasn't too sure that she was going to even get a chance at any of the men, but she was determined to at least bid on a few.

[Nathan LaHaye]

-----------------------------------------
July 1st, 1869
Tag: Open
-----------------------------------------

'Why did I ever let her talk me into this..'

The town's sheriff strolled along the street dressed up in his Sunday best, excluding his stetson which he wore upon his head even now. Nathan had cleaned himself up rather nicely to match the suit, actually taking the time to shave and even went as far as to run a comb through his usual disheveled dark hair. Even though he looked the part Nathan was no where near ready for this little endeavor, the summer auction that was. His younger sister had been apart of the last auction Buffalo Creek had held and because Jane had enjoyed herself so much she went ahead and tried to convince Nathan to join this year. At first he had turned her down. There really would have been no point in signing up at all, especially since Jeanine wouldn't be there as she was to be out of town for the week of the event.

Somehow though, like the evil little conniving sister that Jane was and has always been, she went ahead and told Jeanine of his refusal to go and attend. Now being the sheriff Nathan had planned on at least making an appearance to help keep everything running smoothly, but no. That just wasn't enough for either one of them. The next time Jeanine had met up with him she taunted him a bit saying, "Come on Nathan. It's time you put that enigmatic 'authority figure' appeal of yours toward a good cause." After all, all the money was going towards the orphanage. A great purpose really. So, being the wavering man that he was when it came to her alone, Nathan relented and signed up.

It wasn't long before Nathan arrived to the specified location. Already there seemed to be a decent amount of townsfolk who had come out for the afternoon with hopes of participating or at least watching the event go down. He gulped nervously, while taking his place among the crowd, at the amount of woman who had shown up as there was surely more to arrive. Would any of the ladies even dare to bid on him? More than half of the town new of his ongoing and growing relationship with the saloon's singer as they were just recently engaged. Jeanine was a fiery one and on a few occasions had grown rather jealous in the past. Had she not thought about that? Well, depending on the outcome he'd just have to remind her that she had been the one to convince him to participate.

[Gabriel Creed]

July 1, 1869
Tag; Open to everyone.

Gabriel dismounted his horse and started walking toward the crowd where the picnic and auction were going to take place. He would say he didn't know how he got roped into it but that would be a lie. He heard it was for charity and he wanted to help in anyway he could. He scanned to crowd hoping to see if anyone he knew was there. As his gaze swept the crowd he had thought in the back of his mind hoping that Addie was there and that she might bid on him. But he pushed that thought away admonishing himself. "Look at you acting like you've never been smitten with a woman before. Get a hold of yourself." His mind said. He just walked into the crowd and if he bumped into someone he knew then it would be great. But he also had no expectations. He was damaged goods in his mind. Although apparently some people saw past that. He looked around seeing the towns banker and the sheriff and a few other people he might have seen around town and tipped a hat to. Was he actually nervous? Hell yes he was. Why? Because he was basically putting himself out there for people to take a look at, "This would be a good time to put a little swagger in your step boy." He could hear his dad saying something to that effect in his mind. He shook his head a bit and decided to take a walk around the area getting a good lay out of it.

He was dressed in his best clothes. A nice blue button down shirt with a nice vest, black pants, and of course his boots. No hat today. He shined his boots, cleaned himself up. Hell he even got a shave and a hair cut. He was told that he cleaned up well but he didn't really see it. He just knew that he had to look presentable today. His hair was slicked back and he tried to make himself look as dapper as his southern gentleman roots would imply. He put on a smile even though his nerves had him shaking like a leaf in a gentle breeze. He tried hard not to show any of it preferring a mysterious cowboy look to the more open and out there persona.

[Adeline MacPherson]

Walking into town, Addie had a very antsy feeling go through her. Today was the picnic auction, the exact reason why she was in town today. For young and not so young women to bid on handsome fellows for a date. She was doing this mostly because she reasoned with the fact that she was 19 years old now, she had to get around to finding that special man sometime. And also because the money would help the orphanage. Always think of the children. Right? Adeline was quite curious to see what poor fools put themselves out there to be bid upon. Addie only described them as poor fools because she knew that some of them would be regretting there action to do this. Who wouldn't? The public attention would make Addie very self-conscious if she were up there. So why not take pity and bid on those who were? Though she hoped that Gabe would be there, she believed him to be a kind enough soul to do this for an orphanage, and of course his path of redemption he explained to her.

What would Adeline do if someone outbid her if Gabe was there? Be insanely jealous, a common girl reaction. But she was smitten, how else would she react?

[Cynthia Vaughn]

The only way out of here was marriage. That was all Cindy knew. Papa shipped her off here because of Bertha, that whore..Cynthia thought. Cynthia was stuck here with Uncle Gregory, a drunk. He wasn't recovering in the slightest. He had lied in those letters he sent. Gregory wasn't only a drunk, but he obviously liked women a little more than Cindy was comfortable with. So she needed out of that house, soon. So somehow she was going to have to fall in love with some man as fast as she can. Not the best way to go about things, but it was the only way out. Even if it was just a way to get out, she would. The auction was a stroke of luck Cindy had been waiting for.

Gregory had already approached her once, he was drunk, but she still wasn't okay with it. She wasn't comfortable in that house at all. What if he did it while sober? Cynthia couldn't really squirm her way out then. Which was why lately she was out of the house almost all the time except at night. Uncle Gregory hardly ever noticed, so what so horrible about it? It wasn't like she was selling herself to other drunks for their pleasure. Cindy was just taking strolls and chatting with ladies her age. Cynthia looked into the crowd as she approached it, hoping to make conversation with someone.

[Robert Munroe]

Robert almost did not show up. He was having a hard time imagining even how this arranged event would even work. He had been told he just needed to come and then stand up with some other menfolk in front of the expected crowd. From then on women would bid money on them. He'd never heard of such a thing.

Didn't slave auctions work something like this down South before the war? People bid on the blacks, purchased them then used them to work in the fields. Well, at least the consequence wasn't anywhere near so drastic. The fella just had to cook the gal a meal, or failing that, at least buy her one.

It all seemed very odd to him but a couple of reasons convinced him to show up in the end. First off, it was for charity, the orphanage specifically. Now he'd been in an orphanage himself as a young boy and could definitely sympathize.

Secondly, Mattie was supposed to show up. Bobby figured the girl was the only person who would ever try and bid on him thus saving him from the embarassment of standing up there in dead silence.

So, yes, he would just grit his teeth and go thru with this because he honestly did want to fit in in this town.

[Sephiramy]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 1st, 1869 11:30pm - 2:00pm Current Round; Round 2: Arrival of all townsfolk 12:00pm - 12:15pm All of the gentleman have arrived. Now it is time for the townsfolk to crowd on up next to the stage and the women to bring out their coin purses. Let the bidding commence! Note: Only the male characters who have been posted up to now will be presented and then bid on. If others show then we can add them in.