Lost in a Rain Storm, Ben

[Anabel Cass]

Autumn 14th, Year 1868
Early Morning

“I'm out!” Following these words, the screen door of the Cass homestead could be heard as it slammed shut behind a young girl as she hurried off the porch, heading towards the barn. Her grandmother was soon seen inside the door, and gently she pried it open and called out after her young charge, “Mind the weather, dear! It looks like rain!” Ana lifted a hand to wave at her grandmother to acknowledge that she had indeed heard her, without turning to look back. If she did she may have seen the momentary look of genuine worry and concern cross Betty's facial features as she glanced up at the clouds. She really wished Ana had chosen a different day to do this. Once Midnight was saddled, Ana did look over at her grandmother and offered a smile and a wave, a basket dangling from one arm as she rode the horse out of the area. After again calling to Ana to watch the clouds, Betty went back inside.

Today Ana was going out berry hunting. The rain really didn't concern her much, it had rained off an on a little last week and this was one reason why she was eager to go and see whether or not one of her favorite treats was producing. The patch she had in mind was located several miles from the Cass homestead, indeed it was the only good one in the area, but she did not mind the time for she got to ride her favorite steed, Midnight. Not that this was an unusual thing, just, she enjoyed every chance she got.

Glancing up at the clouds, she did consider that they looked more dark and foreboding than the ones had last week. More threatening, and scary. However, she had her mind set to do this and, so help her, she was coming away with at least a couple handful of berries. Even if they had to be water-logged ones. The rain won't be that bad, she told herself as she and Midnight continued on. She had her hat on, and was in her usual attire of overalls, she even had on an over coat - what did a little rain hurt?

At length she finally made it to the patch. She looked over the patch in a state of almost glee, seeing as it had indeed produced a few juicy looking berries. She dismounted and looped Midnight's reins around a low-hanging branch of a nearby tree. The patch was on a small incline, she would start on this side and then work her way around. From the start she couldn't help put plopping a berry or two in her mouth as she picked, and grinned to herself, enjoying the taste. She even began to hum, happy to see the bottom of the basket with a few berries rolling around in it. Hopefully soon she wouldn't be able to see the bottom of it for the berries.

Not ten minutes into her berry picking, and it started to rain. Ah well, she thought with a shrug, glancing up at the heavens. Surely it won't last that long.

She began make her way around the thicket, looking at the patch instead of her footing. Which proved to be quite the mistake. She let out a yelp as she slipped on a patch of mud, her foot flying out from under her. Her basket went airborne as she herself went down hard, but manged to catch herself with her right elbow...well, it was more like she had landed on her right arm. She cringed, feeling only the pain in her arm and the rain on her person. Even her hat had fallen off. Looking around for it, she gingerly reached out and grabbed it with her left hand, and placed it back upon her head. Granted, it was a little muddy, but the rain would eventually wash it off.

Releasing a pent-up breath of air through pursed lips, which made a loose tendril of her hair dance, she determined that she would see this thing through. Slowly she climbed to her feet, picked up her basket with her left hand, which miraculously still had a few berries in it, and, transferring the basket to her right arm, she continued picking. As time drew on, the rain became more persistent, as did the ache in her arm. She only had a few handfuls though, she wanted a little more.

By the time she had the basket half-full, it had gone from just a little rain to a down right downpour. Ana sighed and decided enough was enough, and headed over to Midnight. Hefting up the basket with a grimace, she set it on top of the saddle as she reached into her pocket with her left hand and got out a handkerchief. She set it on top of the berries inside the basket, tucking it it at the corners and hoping it would provide some little protection from the rain for them. Lifting herself up with her feet and left hand alone, she made it into the saddle, and kept her right arm around the basket as she held the reins with her left. She usually directed the horse through her leg movements, anyhow.

And so Ana began the trip back to her homestead, in the pouring rain. Only, the clouds had truly moved in and it was much darker now. It was as if it were nighttime instead of around seven in the morning. Ana picked the trail she had thought she had come in on, but as time went by, she was not recognizing anything. Could it be just the darkness that had her feeling turned around? Ana reined in the black to a stop and looked around her, frowning.

She was cold, wet, muddy, her arm hurt, and... she was lost.

“Great,” She muttered to herself, ending with a sigh. Pressing with her knee, she directed Midnight to a stand of trees that still had some leaves. They would hopefully provide a little shelter as she waited for the rain to clear a bit. She was wishing for a peek of the sun, a small break in the clouds, anything. Something enough for her to get a good look at her surroundings.

So, she waited.

And waited.

And waited...

This might be a while.

[Benjamin Dover]

"Are you sure you're wanting to ride out today, Father?" Foot set in the stirrup, a gloved hand grasped firmly at the saddle's horn as Benjamin Dover swung himself up on the borrowed mare. There was a soft smile set on his lips, a gratefulness for the concern of the older gentleman who leaned heavily upon a cane whilest setting lips to an elbow's crook for a racking cough. "You're plenty welcome ta stay another night." Benjamin's sapphire eyes drew a short glance upwards where, high above, the sky glared a menacing grey and opened it's maw to grumble out a peel of thunder. Tempting. Those Heavens looked none to happy to see him. But there was still a whole day's ride ahead of him just to reach home...and then another day's worth of work fixing a part of the old roof that had started to show signs of leaking.

"Thank ya, Mic." Benjamin reached down from his perch, hand out in farewell to the sick farmer. "Looks like I best be getting back, though, 'fore the Church becomes an indoor watering hole." Wink. The two men chuckled together.

It had been a good, hard couple days work, what with old Mic coming down with something fierce. His wife had come to service the week prior asking for prayers and Benjamin had taken them up, along with the promise that the plowing would not go undone whilest Mic recovered. He'd taken a horse on loan from a neighbor and set out the very next day to the far-flung residence nestled just over the mountains. A beautiful time it had been. An escape of sorts since he'd made Mic promise to stay in bed and be pampered by his wife. Benjamin had been all alone for a good two days...just he, the plow, his thoughts and God's word. It had been a beautiful time to just get back to the basics of faith. Mic, the while, had taken to recovery quite well and was back out and taking the reigns within just a few days.

"You be careful out there, Ben," he said in parting. "Well seeya at Church come next trip into town." And a pat went to the horse's rump. Benjamin waved and set out on the path that would lead him home.

Hours later, the elements above had decidedly taken it upon themselves to be offended by any sort of traveling. The wind had licked up, enough to send a palm to the top of that old black hat. Eyes that had been tugged with exhaustion had sharpened and narrowed against the bite of a steady rising chill. So. Hmmmm. Maybe staying another night would have been the better option. Benjamin was beginning to wonder if he should turn back. But the promise of shelter only another couples miles away dissuaded against the notion. There was an old hunting cabin used by some of the fellas back in town that Benjamin had been promised for use whenever he needed. And though never one to take advantage of kindness, it seemed the best means of making it through the coming assault of weather. Only thing was...it was a few miles or so of hard going 'off the path'. Benjamin leaned forward to whisper some encouragement to his tawny-shaded traveling companion and then with a click of the tongue, a pull of the reigns, had changed their course.

By the time Benjamin had made it half way, the rain was a lashing mess of fury. Lightning lit the grey in intermittent forks. There was the howl of wind, the roll of thunder that seemed poised to build into something of a roar. God in Heaven, have mercy. He'd thrust his bandana up over his face, dipped his hat low and pressed close to the neck of his mount, urging with sharp grunts to keep going. Almost there, girl. Keep going. And that's when he spotted it...a faint outline pressed against a grouping of trees off to his flank. Probably just a trick of the elements, but something in the illusion seemed almost real, the way the mass of it through the sheen of rain stuttered back and forth beneath cover. Benjamin halted his horse and stared...

That was no illusion.

"Ho, there!" Benjamin hailed in a loud, low baritone. A wave of the hand went up. And he spurred the horse 'round to approach what looked to be a woman holding her arm. Yeah. A short few cantering strides brought the small girl well in sight. A couple things were obvious...: she looked hurt, not bad, but enough to guard that arm with her other. She looked to be alone, maybe lost. She looked like she'd been there a while. And he was betting the poor thing was damn cold. Nevertheless, Benjamin approached slowly, hands in plain sight, bandana tugged back down to reveal his minister's collar...to assure the girl he wasn't there for no other reason than to offer help.

"You alright, ma'am?" He called, keeping a few yards between them to further enforce the fact that his intentions were set in the right place.

[Anabel Cass]

Instead of clearing up a bit, it seemed that the rain was doing just the opposite – the storm was intensifying. Her little tree stand was proving not to be as much of a shelter as she had been originally hoping for, sadly. Ana lifted her head up to glare through the scattered tree leaves, the clouds mocking her with an answering low rumble of thunder. A brilliant streak of lightning shot through the sky with a sharp, loud crack of thunder nipping soundly upon its heels. Okay, that one had made her jump. It had sounded like it was directly overhead! Though she could respect and admire the beauty and power of a storm, she didn't much like being out in one when this unprotected. She shivered to herself and wrapped her drenched and somewhat muddy overcoat closer around her person. Some of the mud was still clinging, refusing to be washed away even in this downpour.

Honestly, she was starting to give up hope on ever making it home tonight. She'd have to camp here and wait out the storm, unless she wanted to go wandering off in search of familiar territory and probably wind up getting both herself and Midnight killed. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as Anabel wrapped her good arm protectively around the other with that ache that still persisted deep within and leaned forward over the neck of her horse. Lowering her head with a frown, Ana watched a small waterfall cascade down from off the brim of her hat to land on Midnight's neck. Yep, it looked like the storm was sticking around a while.

"May as well try 'n get comfortable, Midnight." Ana said a loud to her horse, her voice not carrying far at all due to the curtains of rain that had them surrounded. Sticking out her bottom jaw, Anabel sat up straight in the saddle as she was about to make to slide off the side, when suddenly something out there, in the thick of the storm, caught her attention. Turning her head in that direction, her eyes narrowed as she strained to make out a silhouette of a horse and rider through the curtain of rain. And then, she heard a voice call out, the owner distinctly male. Anabel's eyes widened and her lips parted in a surprise, a slight sound escaping. Someone had found her? But, the voice was not one that she immediately recognized. Pursing her lips, Anabel waited to respond until the voice, the person, came closer.

Because it was a man and he was apparently alone, the thought went through Ana's mind of actually not wanting to be found. Not that she so despised interacting with men, but for her it always seemed so awkward. It was uncomfortable. But she knew she had no choice here, she needed help. Again straightening herself up in the saddle, she mentally prepared herself to meet whomever this was coming towards her. Finally, the curtains of rain fell away to reveal...

...The Preacher? At present she could not recall his name, but there was no denying that tell-tale piece of clothing, the collar. A moment of honest surprise had flashed through Ana's eyes, she'd not been able to act quickly enough to suppress it. Well, honestly, he was about the last one she would have expected to see riding around these parts. He was at least a full day's ride away from the town and the majority of his flock not to mention his home; what was he doing way out here? While she may have been idly wondering these things, the answers were, of course, none of her business and there were much more pressing issues just this moment.

Midnight's head swung around, ears pointed towards the newcomers. Midnight was not real easily distressed or startled but Anabel still reached forward with her good hand to stroke along his neck to be sure he knew it was all right, glancing down at her horse as she answered. "I – I'm sort of lost," She called out over the din of the storm, wincing inwardly at the sound of her own voice. It had betrayed her, it'd cracked initially. She didn't want to seem to be in that great of distress, she only wanted to be pointed in the right direction for heading home. Well, actually, she wanted this storm to be over. That would have been even better.

Inclining her head a little, she looked back at the Preacher. She didn't know him all that well, her grandma Betty and herself had gone into town on probably only a handful of Sundays thus far in order to hear his sermons. Each one had been enjoyable, that wasn't the issue, it was the journey. It was a long way and they couldn't always afford to make it each week. They'd usually have to make it at least a two-day trip, staying a night or two in town. Whenever they did that they tended to also fill up on supplies, which, when that was the case, worked out quite nicely. But it was still a bit of a journey to be taking all too often.

[Benjamin Dover]

Though not typically the type to be traipsing 'round with a girl all by his lonesome, there was a very definite threat making it's known in waves of furious droplets. Gentleman's propriety took the unfortunate sacrifice when Benjamin reasoned out the clearer sight of mud and chill and hurt. There was no way he was leaving the girl alone to face things out with simple directions and a good luck. Lord, no. So it was, the old pastor lifted a silent prayer to the angels of modesty that they might understand this one time.

"Listen." He knew her name. It was in the back of his mind. She was the gal with the grandma who stopped by occasionally on trip to town, if he reckoned right. "Ana?" Being fairly proficient with names came with the territory of his profession. "This storm ain't gonna be lettin' up any and that arm of yers is lookin' like it may need some attention." He'd spotted her ginger of hold of it earlier on. "I got a spot some ten minutes ride from here..." Benjamin squinted past a shot of wind, come through the pass and hard on their location. Damn it all. It was certainly no call he should have been making in his position as pastor and the words burned coming off the tongue. "We can regroup there, get outta this mess, take a look at that arm..." There was simply no other alternative.

His horse gave a loud snort of irritation at the stalling and skitted a few steps back. Benjamin was fast to bring the girl back in line and call out the next: "What do you say?"

Whether yea or nay, there was one thing he was going to do for the poor girl...and that was to save her little body from any further beating. He swung his long jacket from off his back, accepted the immediate soaking without a thought to it and stepped his mare forward just enough to the side that he might drap the heavy, protective material about her shoulders. Any argument against the act would go unheeded, unheard. She needed something better than what she had on, no matter her decision to stay or go.

And Pastor Benjamin sought out her eye, the weight of his own betraying his earnest respect and the hope that she'd see the necessity of safety over all else. He wasn't going to drag her to the cottage, but he also wasn't about to leave her there by herself either.

[Anabel Cass]

When the Preacher had started to speak, Ana lowered her head a little and leaned forward in the saddle, concentrating on picking out his words from among the sounds of the storm. It seemed as if he were suddenly stalling for something; perhaps trying to remember her name? Well – she reflected with a small smirk – he had at least gotten that one right. Her smirk, however, dissipated quite rapidly upon hearing his next words. Her arm -- he'd noticed?! Unable to stop herself before she realized she was doing so, Anabel glanced down at the offending appendage with wide-eyes and, in so doing, had unwittingly confirmed what he'd said.

Ana let her good arm drop from the other for a moment as she looked back up at the Preacher, about to argue that she didn't need that kind of help – she only wanted to know where she was, that was all. She could handle the rest herself; she hadn't grown up in the wilds for nothing. But he had seemed kind and sincere in his statement, stating mere facts rather than making insinuations to the ends of making her out to be either a weakling or a burden. Before she could open her mouth in some sort of response, he went on to say that he had a place about ten minutes ride from here, where they could regroup and get out of the storm.

Anabel considered this for a moment, leaning back. Her arm really was nothing, yeah it smarted a bit but she figured it was just bruised. A really deep bruise, sure. But nothing a little time wouldn't heal all by itself. The prospect of having a place, a safe dry place, to wait out the storm was what she was more thoroughly chewing over. It sounded really good, 'specially 'cause it was getting noticeably colder, she thought as a new chilly wind blew through the pass and in spite of her, granted drenched, coat she still shivered. But, thing was Ana couldn't help in wondering to what place he was referring. She did not know of any homesteads within ten minutes distance...unless she had really gotten herself lost but good. Surely she'd not gotten herself even further from her home now than when she'd started off from the berry patch, had she?

As she was mulling these things over, the Preacher had gone into action mode. She'd not even noticed when his horse had stepped forward, not until she saw motion coming towards her from the corner of her eye and felt a sudden heaviness upon her shoulders. Startled, she looked up to see the Pastor had taken off his own long jacket, now getting drenched with the cold rain himself, and had put it upon her shoulders. Even if one of her first thoughts was that it was somewhat ridiculous a notion – why should they both get cold and wet? - she was rather appreciative for the warmth it provided.

"Thank you, Pastor." She said a little shyly, smiling equally so, as she dipped her head and tucked the jacket a little more securely about her person. His gaze upon her, telling of an earnest respect within him, was what tipped the balance more in his favor, in favor of the place to wait out the storm. "Ah," she started a little too quietly, then remembered that there was still a storm raging on about them and, lifting up her head, she tried again with a more raised voice. "A place to get in an' outta this sounds right nice." She replied, smiling thinly as she continued looking at him another few seconds, waiting for him to led the way. "We'll follow." She added aloud, reaching down again with her good hand to touch Midnight's neck. The big black had lowered his head and then was shaking out his mane, growing as tired as his rider was of this storm.

[Benjamin Dover]

Acquiescence given by the gal, Benjamin wasted no time spurring his mount 'round to lead the way. To be sure, the going was no leisurely jaunt through the pass. The wind whipped, the rain beat, the thunder roared it's displeasure and harkened forks of lightning to warn of the storm's gravity. Things were only going to get worse, both in weather and in their coming trek. So it was, though in need to get to shelter as quick as possible, the old pastor took things more gingerly than he would have liked. After a good few minutes of traveling over level, forested ground, the terrain slowly began to evolve into mountainous rubble. Horse hooves clattered upon stone. The trail disappeared. And soon enough, they were navigating a perilous and wild slope, downwards.

Benjamin, all the while, took the greatest pains to ensure Ana and her mount was safe, throughout. One particularly rough junction saw the pastor swung down to grasp both reigns and maneuver the mounts on foot for a good twenty yards or so...they were almost there. Forty hellish minutes it had been, but they were finally almost at the small, abandoned hunters lodge. And the pastor prayed for strength in them both. The chill of before had cut to the bone what with the soaking of garments and the harrassment of wind. Beneath the raised bandana, Benjamin's teeth bore down in a clench to fight the want of a ceaseless chatter. They had to get out of the storm.

And a minute later, sanctuary was found.

Opening up to sight, a small cabin nestled amidst a circle of trees. It's location proved prime hold-up for any hunter in need of a half-way point...and any lost girl and pastor in need of refuge. Benjamin picked down to the leveling off where it would only be a short minute's ride from there-on. There was no small amount of relief, a length of breath released to the barrage of elements. He wasn't going to say...but he'd not ever actually visited the spot before...only heard of it in passing from chatty elders of the village. Thank you, Lord, for chatty old men.

He released her reigns, kept his own, however, and guided his mount in a jog up to an over-hanging of roof that served to house horse and wood. There, the pastor roped off his grateful mount and then quickly assisted Ana, if she needed. And then it was into sweet, sweet respite from the barrage of weather. Benjamin opened the door and entered first, not out of selfish desire but rather that ever-protective nature. Hand on his gun, he wasn't about to assume absolute safety until the place proved itself, indeed, abandoned. A three-legged table sat off to one side. Nearby, two chairs, upturned and looking none the better in state. There was a bed off to the side, sheets strewn at it's feet, no pillow to be found. Yep. Hunter's lodge. But Benjamin didn't care much about the state and amenities...

It had a roof. That was fair enough.

"I'm gonna go check to see if there's any usable wood out by the horses..." He said in a chilled breath and then was on his way back out.

[Anabel Cass]

Midnight was not normally the type of horse to follow another without a bit of a fuss, 'cause he preferred to be the one up in front. However, it seemed that today he didn't mind quite so much to be following in the wake of this mare. At first the black had started to crowd the tan-colored mare, but Ana had taken quick notice and pulled him back to a respectable distance. After that, the journey itself had become treacherous enough as to hold and keep the horse's attentions away from the fact that he was following another horse. Ana's attention had been on trying to follow the little trail they were moving along. It had been difficult to see even from the beginning given the conditions, but as time progressed, Ana could not find it at all. The trail had disappeared; so what were they following? With a gulp, Ana hunkered down in her borrowed jacket and prayed that the pastor knew what he was doing.

Ana had been hoping that with the passage of time the storm would lighten, the wind would calm and she'd be able to go on her own way. But she wasn't even real sure where they were right now, even though she'd been living in the mountains for a few years now. They'd left the trail a ways back there now and the storm had already messed up her sense of direction and location. Anabel had to forcibly bite her lip in order to prevent herself from jerking the reins out of Ben's grasp when he'd taken them from her, he was only trying to help and it was kind of him to do so. She, however, was not some child who needed her hand held. She knew what she was doing; he'd, he'd only been able to get off his horse and walk faster than she had.

If she were to be completely honest, right now she didn't even know if she could get off the horse and walk. She was thoroughly soaked and cold, shaken a little from having been out in the unkind elements for so long, and even if she was able to dismount without ending up on her face, the likelihood of her slipping on one of these rocks and causing even more trouble was quite high. So, holding her tongue in check, Ana sat quietly and focused on keeping her seat while the pastor guided the horses down the steep incline. … Wait a minute, what if he slipped and fell? A sudden shock of worry shot through Anabel. If he got injured, there was no way...Ana didn't even know where they were going herself, forget trying to somehow get the older man there if he'd somehow become injured. Closing her eyes, Anabel sent up another silent prayer.

It seemed to go on forever. She was getting tired, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep but she knew that was not an option. She forced her eyes open and tried valiantly to stay awake. The crash of the thunder, sounding like it was perpetually right over them, proved to be a valuable assistant in this endeavor. At length, Anabel raised her eyes from where she'd been keeping the collar of the long jacket close around her to see a small cabin nestled amidst a circle of trees. She couldn't remember having seen a more beautiful sight in recent years. She now only wished that they were in there already.

Midnight's reins finally released, Ana leaned forward to gather them up with her good arm and directed the black up to the shelter of the over-hanging roof right next to the mare. Tossing the reins over Midnight's neck, Ana gingerly began to move her frozen members. It felt like her legs were icicles, grown along the sides of the saddle. Ana accepted Benjamin's assistance only because she didn't want to be sprawled out over the muddy ground, or the wood pile, or the porch... She'd only really braced herself by putting out a hand on his shoulder as she'd gotten herself down, but still. Standing there a moment, she turned to the horse and hesitated. She wanted to take care of her horse first, and then there was the matter of the berries.

Quickly she took the container with the berries down off the saddle, set it on the porch and then looped the Midnight's reins over a railing, went back and as quickly as possible released the clip of the girth from around his belly. Then she braced herself and heaved the saddle up and off his back, setting it down under the overhang and hopefully out of the worst of the weather. Ana was used to working on a ranch so it hadn't been too entirely difficult a thing for her to lift and carry, even in this situation. Though, she'd winced rather nicely; the pain in her arm had just intensified, many times over. She'd almost forgot about it, the cold may have been numbing it somewhat before but it wasn't anymore. But, she was glad for some work to do in order to get her blood moving again, even if it'd hurt some. She then rubbed her good hand along his back under the blanket, in loo of a brush, but left the blanket on and that was really all she could do for the horse at the moment. Giving her old friend a sad smile and a pat, she then picked up the berries and carefully made her way towards the doorway of the cabin. While she'd been busy finishing up with her mount, taking longer than he would've no doubt, Dover had actually been checking out the interior of the cabin so it'd worked out. Anabel stepped inside after the pastor and briefly glanced around. That's when he spoke up and said that he was going back out to check on the woodpile.

"Hey wait a sec!" Ana called out as she rushed over to the three-legged table and placed her basket upon it, then shrugged out of the long jacket, her head turned away from him when she'd eased the material over her bad arm to conceal her wince, and hurried after the pastor hoping he had waited up when she'd called out. "Here. You'll need it out there more than I will in here." She pointed out, though they were both already soaked anyhow so it probably didn't matter much. Still, with him actually going out into the elements and her with no plans to, he should have it right now.

[Benjamin Dover]

Ben was already half-ways out the door when the call came to catch his step. He turned back and then there was the poor drenched girl holding out his jacket; sight alone enough to spur on the new resolution to somehow get a fire going. He could see the slight tremble of her frame, the rise of telling chill-bumps on her arm. The pastor accepted the proferred thing with a grateful nod and a calm, reassuring smile...the kind that spoke what words needn't: it's gonna be ok. On went the jacket and then he turned to face their foe once more. The blasted storm hadn't let up an inch. If anything, it amped it's challenge with the addition of tiny hail stones, come to beat a merciless taunt.

'It's 'cause I slipped those last bites of Mac's experimental breakfast ta the dog this mornin', isn't it?' Went the padre's silent prayer to The Master of those raging heavens. Whatever the cause for trial, though, he let out a long breath and slipped the wet bandana back up over his face, resolute to get the job done. And then it was back out into the hell of things.

The pastor made quick work of getting over to the pile of wood, but not before spending a precious moment checking over the horses. Both seemed content as could be. It even looked like Ana had managed to strip her's down. Ben did the same and shouldered up his pack before wheeling his attention 'round to the short stack of kindling. It didn't look at all good. There was a leak from the shoddy roof that had ruined most of the larger pieces. Nevertheless, the old pastor rifled through and picked the best he could find, careful to hug the bundle beneath his coat. A minute later, the door swung open and there was Benjamin, dripping, beaten by the hail and ladened with his load.

"Can you get the door?" He asked whilest headed on to the fireplace. The padre knelt, focus set wholly on the current mission of fire. He had tinder and flint in the bag and put the things to good use, sparking up whisps of flame but none lively enough to catch. It was tedious work, to be sure. Tedious made the more so what with his own trembling hands. "Damn it all," went a mutter. And Benjamin shrugged the jacket back off to free up a layer of the wet. "C'mon, c'mon now..." His whole upper body was disappeared into the fireplace, bent over and guarding the precious work.

"Ana," he called out from his place. "You got anything to use as a starter? Nothin's catchin'. You see any loose bits of somethin' round here that might work?"

[Anabel Cass]

Good, he'd taken the jacket back without a fuss. Anabel was glad for that, she was feeling mighty tired and did not want to spend all the rest of her energies on fighting with the pastor over niceties and common sense. Then he'd smiled at her and given off a look that said, 'It's gonna be okay.' Ana blinked and responded with an answering half-smile of her own as he turned away. Honestly, she wasn't really all that worried at the moment, just tired. … But the more she thought about it, the more she realized just how awkward this whole situation was. And what would her grandmother think?

Her grandmother – Betty! Anabel frowned into the darkness of the cabin, thinking about the older woman. She must be worried about now, Ana thought, glancing out the window upon hearing the newest eddition of the storm, the hail. Her frown deepened and she hoped that the pastor would be all right, and the horses, and that her grandma wouldn't do something foolish like go out to try and find her in this. No, Ana knew she wouldn't; Betty wasn't a foolish one, thankfully. But Ana would no doubt receive some kind of a tongue lashing once she was back home, safe and sound, for going out when the storm clouds were so heavy. Who could've known it would have ended up being this bad, though?

Since she now had the small, dark one-room cabin to herself for a few moments, Ana thought she may as well do a little investigating to see what they had to work with here. Shivering to herself, Ana attempted to ward off the damp chill by rubbing her hands together and blowing on her fingers. At least that didn't hurt her arm very much, though bending it to bring her hand to her mouth did. Hm. She took a mental note of the scattered items in the small room; there looked to be something in the corner there so she went over to get a closer look. It appeared to be some sort of old, wadded up paper, eaten away by rats. It was all jumbled up so she couldn't really tell what it used to be; perhaps an old newspaper, or maybe a Wanted poster or two..? Who knew.

The rest of the cabin was covered in cobwebs and everything seemed to have, at minimal, a thin layer of grime. She almost thought twice about putting her basket of berries on the dirty table but there really was no where else to put it, besides it was only the basket that came into contact with the table anyhow. Ana lifted her hat and let it drop to her back, still held 'round her neck by the string. Tilting her head to the side, Ana shifted and looked around to the other side of the room and was met with more cobwebs, dust and dirt. Walking over to the bed, she leaned down and felt the sheets at the foot. Even those felt mighty grimy, dusty. The mattress itself was undoubtedly the same. Hm, she wondered how long ago someone had last set foot in this place.

The door swung open and with the blast of rain and chill, in came the pastor carrying quite an arm load. Straightening up at once, Ana nodded her assent to his question and headed over to the door. Grabbing a hold of it, Anabel quickly closed it against the storm raging outside and latched it as tightly as she could. Turning around, she waited a second or two before heading over to Benjamin. "You all right? That sounded like hail..." She said, concerned that he may have gotten hit even though the hail hadn't been all that big. She knew from experience that even small hail hurt, though. And then she heard him muttering a curse, so she decided it was best to hang back for the moment.

And then he'd called her forward, asking if she had any kind of a starter for the fire. Her first thoughts went to the handkerchief that she had over the berries in the basket, but no, that was soaked through. Then she remembered the wadded bits of chewed up scrap she'd seen in the corner. "Yeah, I think I saw somethin' over there. Hang on," With that, she scurried on to the corner she'd seen it in, knelt and grabbed as much of it as she could, then brought it back and, kneeling next to the pastor, she one-handedly offered forth her findings. "Here. Dunno what it was, rats or somethin' been chewin' on it, but it should work." She said, tilting her head and smiling thinly, a little hopefully. 'Cause it was cold, and a fire would be awesome.

[Benjamin Dover]

Ben pulled out of the fireplace just enough to take the scraps from hand. A moment of perusal over the things...scribbles of randomness left over from a patron. He couldn't quite make it out and didn't spend more than the briefest of absent seconds in trying. They needed the warmth, right then. He knew by his own odd tremble, here and there, that Ana was no doubt suffering from the same. So it was, back inside he went and after a few more strikes, up the those proffered pieces of paper went in a faint crackle of blaze and smoke.

Thank you, Lord.

That was all he needed. It was not much longer before he was pulling back out, making room for the girl to warm herself as best she could in the fire's infancy. It would grow quickly. He'd positioned the wood to catch well enough. "You get closer, here, and warm yerself," said the padre, rising to concede the entirety of the small pit. With their most obvious need met, there were others, now, to consider. The first of it made known in the rude chill that accompanied his sopping clothes. Drenched. Ben gritted his teeth against the feeling of it and let out a low breath...over a pace or two he went to where he'd dropped the bag, instincts reacting quicker than the thought process. Up the thing went to be rifled through: get new clothes, change into something dry, look at that arm of Ana's...

The pastor stopped mid-search. A dawning realization...wait a minute.

Ben hadn't recalled anything on the girl aside from that basket of berries. No packs...no extra clothes...

Up those sapphires traveled in a slow, pained look to the Heavens. No doubt, somewhere up there some winged prankster was rolling 'round on the clouds with laughter at the situation...no doubt. He quickly dug through his clothes but found only the expected extra pair of trousers he'd brought...and two shirts. That was it. Yeah. He hadn't really planned on needin' anything more for the day or two up with Mac...Lord knew he hadn't planned on being hold-up with a mountain gal in some deserted cabin, soaked to the bone.

"Ana-...ok, so-..." He mumbled...for once in his pastoral life, not quite sure what to say. "Looks like I have a shirt that'll prolly do..." And suddenly even the paleness of chill could not compete with the rise of flush. He combated it by making a show of digging further in the bag, turning his back an inch or so. "Um," and over he went to the window, cycling through their options, forcing a miracle with the weather: "Ya know what? Actually. I think it might be clearin' a little-" CRASH. The thunder struck with such ironic defiance, it brought a roll to Ben's eyes. Of course. Ben drew in a long length of breath.

"Alright. Um...we just, we both gotta get into somethin' dry..." His gaze went up, then, to search out the place...which stood devoid of a single nook to serve propriety. OF COURSE. Ben shook his head. He swallowed hard...looked back down at his bag. Yeah. Next time?...questions be damned, he was so packing a dress for any trips into the mountains from there on out.

[Anabel Cass]

The scrap of whatever it was had caught a spark, Anabel could hear a faint crackle from where she knelt by the pastor's side. Ana smiled to herself and felt the relief flow through her; they'd finally managed to get a fire going. It seemed not even a moment or two later that Dover was rising and moving aside, giving her instructions to get closer and warm herself as he left the area entirely, heading towards his pack. Not needing to be told twice, Ana shifted her position, feeling the cold wet cloth brush uncomfortably against her skin. It made her give off another involuntary shiver, before she seated herself in front of the small fire. Reaching out her good hand toward the flames, she closed her eyes and allowed her thoughts to drift for several moments.

Her thoughts were actually rather pleasant in their meanderings, wondering if her parents had ever spent time in a lonely cabin like this on a rainy day. Maybe she had even been born in a cabin like this; she knew her family had moved when she was about four years old, but she couldn't remember anything about the place they had moved from and had never thought to ask, and well...now it was a mite too late for that. Blinking her eyes open as she heard the pastor start to speak, mumbling words she had to concentrate on to hear, she turned her head towards him and wondered what had gotten him into such a state all of a sudden.

'Looks like he has a shirt that'll prolly do'? … What in the world was the man speaking of? Ana's brows drew down as her thoughts tried to catch up with his words, working as she tried to make sense of them. Her head started to hurt as she tried, at first coming up empty on the reason for his strange behavior; what did his mention of a shirt have to do with the weather clearing up a little? A sudden and very loud crash of thunder had Ana glancing fearfully at the window. It was just a storm out there, right? This was one of the fiercest she'd ever experienced thus far in her years of living around Buffalo Creek. She'd turned towards him now, her back to the fire as she sat, staring up at him with her hurt arm braced against her chest while her trouser-clad legs were bent and being hugged loosely towards her with her good arm. She was really beginning to get concerned for the preacher's sanity when his last words finally connected the dots in her mind and she gasped.

Cheeks flushing, Ana quickly turned back around to face the fire, her back to the preacher now. She gazed at the fire for a second, thinking on how she could possibly get out of this, and came to a sound, in her mind, conclusion. She would simply stay in her wet clothing. She'd faced worse before, she was sure of it. "I'm fine," Anabel insisted with a shake of her head as she glanced at Benjamin. "I've had to wear soakin' wet clothes for longer periods before...I'll be fine, if I just sit here by the fire." She said, offering him a thin smile as she returned her eyes to the fire, quickly adding, "But if you wanna change, I swear I'll not be peeking." Even as the words left her mouth she felt her cheeks flush again, but for the moment she'd not been able to think of any other way to put it, and...oh heavens, she wished the storm would be over and they could both just head off to their respective homes and put this behind them.

[Benjamin Dover]

One thing Ben knew of his God, one resounding thing he knew of the Creator of all things: there was no shortage of humor. Just look at some of the creatures out there, some of those odd things that existed almost out of necessity to bring a smile to the lips. A dog's inherent need to wage war upon it's own tail...the platypus. Yep. God had a sense of humor and apparently, it wasn't restricted to the animal kingdom. There they were, hold up in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to go in that most awkward moment of mutual understanding. Of course, both had their immediate solutions. Ben sought to use all the force of his will to calm the storm, a modern Jesus on the water...yeah, that didn't work out too well. And, now, poor Ana, shaken to the bone no doubt with the same chills affecting the old padre and worse in it for that lingering injury. Ben drew in a short breath. Lord, what a situation.

"Ma'am," he said with the kind of honest respect only a man of truest respect could muster. A few fingers went to the damp noose of white hugging his throat. "This collar, here, is a promise to you: there's not a thing you got ta worry about except that arm and the raised risks of sickness the longer you stay soaked. Now, I know you're a strong girl. You've proved it enough with what I've seen of ya. Thing about it is that we don't know how long 'the long' of it's gonna be this go around. And just 'cause you faired well once don't mean there's not the possibility of a caught cold still in your future..."

The old padre laid the length of shirt out beside the old chair, nearest her. Though, perhaps, one of the most difficult situations he'd found himself in, propriety versus safety, Ben was an honorable fellow and felt it only fair to ensure Ana understood:

"Now, part of this promise," and he tugged the thing once more, this time to release it from it's hold, "is that I ain't gonna force you ta do nothin'. You're a strong girl, but yer also yer own woman. If keepin' the propriety is what's most important, here, then I'll respect that and you and we'll just pray that resilience of yers sticks."

[Anabel Cass]

If she concentrated enough on the flames, maybe the heat from the fire would increase enough to dry up the rain outside. If she thought about the hot, dry desert, maybe all the moisture in the clouds would just go away. Dry up. The storm would suddenly cease and leave them in peace. … Or, she could try doing it the other way – imagine the worst, because then that meant that it couldn't happen, right? Her eyes briefly flickered downward as the thought crossed her mind of the roof of this humble abode being ripped off by extreme winds; or a tree falling through a wall...Ana startled to attention when the sound of hail hitting the window, accompanied by the fierce whistle of the wind. Okay, so maybe not such a great idea? She'd lay off the imagination for a little bit.

Then the padre addressed her, and she looked to him with large eyes. Eyes that were quickly narrowing as she looked down to his collar, clearly contemplating his words. She didn't like what she was hearing, but she had been placated by his acknowledgment of her being a 'strong girl,' she likely would not have accepted had he played the 'female-therefore-you're-weaker-and-need-pity' card. Besides, and not that she was going to let him know, but her nose was already starting to feel stuffy. With a resigned sigh, she nodded her head. "Darn it, y'had to go an' make sense." She said, her words coming out in a crossly tone.

"'Lord only helps those who help themselves, right?" Ana said with a bit of a sigh as she struggled to her feet and then headed over to the old chair upon which he'd laid the shirt out. Gazing at the shirt for a moment, she now looked up to Ben and asked the all-important question; "So, how are we gonna do this?"

[Benjamin Dover]

Well that was a relief. Seemed Ana had a good strong head on her shoulders to compliment her natural strength. No need to be fretting over the very real danger of illness. Nope. Now, all that needed concern was the rather apt concern she raised in question...the one he'd not so fully thought out. Round the pastor's gaze went all around the place, even leading him in step across to a corner where he thought he'd spied a precious, needed handle to some tucked away little cubby. Maybe a room? Nothing. What he'd spied was the nothing of a beaten hook to hang pelts and such upon. Ben gave a long sigh to tell of their renewed predicament. Well. They'd both said it. They'd both admitted it: Not a worthy thing in the world ever came easy. And there was not thing in that small world of their's more worthy than keeping safe. Sickness in those days and so far from anywhere else was a slow killer. It was something no one could afford.

"Alright," said the man with all the comical conviction of a man with a plan. "You take that corner, there," And he pointed across from the one he currently occupied. "We..." A long pause. He was obviously running through the processes. He cleared his throat: "We change and keep gaze to the wall 'til both have called out the 'all's well'." Blink blink. He ran through the plan in mind once more and then nodded his approval of what to him seemed the best course of action. There. Yep. All set and all clothing disbursed and, if Ana agreed, it was just the matter of getting to it and...

Pause. Wait. Something in the thought...

Something in the clutch of the things in-hand.

Only one pair of pants...

Ah, ta hell with it. What with the thick of their situation already, what did it matter? And especially in the mutual understanding of things as they were. He raised the leggings and couldn't help a short chuckle at their luck.

"Flip ya for 'em?...though I can promise, these bare legs would be a might scarier than yers."

[Anabel Cass]

Anabel watched with a mild interest as the older gent walked around to the other side of the single-room. Acting as though he were looking for something, studying the walls very thoroughly. She amused herself here by imagining he may be thinking about where an add-on might have been best located, as if he could spring one out of thin air. That would have been simply wonderful, but would not be the case here. She had already resigned herself to the fact that this one-room place was no more than just this, well, one room. There was no where else to go and nothing else of immediate action that could be done, so they would have to make do with things as they were.

Now, he was finally getting to the action part of things. Ana looked over her shoulder, glancing towards the corner he had pointed out as her assigned place. She nodded, facing forwards once more, and then reached out with her good arm to grab onto the material of the dry shirt he had laid out for her. Ana paused in her own motions to stare at the padre, it was obvious he was thinking something over. As he held up the trousers, however, she gave him a very strange look. She felt a bit like slapping him for discussing her bare legs, though it'd only been for the briefest moment and in passing. Still it was a reminder of how wholly uncomfortable this whole situation was, and she'd be darned if she ever went out from her home without at least an extra set of working clothes.

Gripping the shirt he had allowed her to borrow in front of her person, her grip at the collar of it so it would show how far down on her person the shirt would fall. Which was pretty far, the preacher man was tall and Ana was more on the short side. "No, thank you – you take the trousers. Look, this shirt goes all way 'near to my knees anyhow. And," She made a bit of a wince as she let her bad arm fall to her side again and let the shirt dangle from her good hand, though whether the pained look were from actual pain or the shameful words she was about to utter remained unknown, "Pretty sure I'd have to roll up the pant legs t'fit, so..." She briefly shook her head, though her cheeks were flushed and she looked away again. "Though I still think y'should take 'em, it don't matter t'me." She turned towards her corner, not walking towards it yet but was honestly more mortified by the thought of the preacher not fully clothed. Either way would be equally mortifying she was sure, but at least she wasn't so unused to wrapping up in a blanket or something. She wasn't sure about him. But, regardless the first place she planned on going after changing was under the sheets, dingy bed or not. She could cover up there.