Mary stayed silent as James talked. She stared at the woman coming out of the house. The man with the gun called her Irene, and Mary was comforted by the fact that she was a woman. She glanced worried between James and the limp National Guard as they bickered. This was going the wrong way. She gently poked her elbow into the ribs of James to make him shut up. The guard obviously didn't appropriate his humor. 

She got scared of the seemingly trigger-happy limp guard as he waved around his gun as if it was nothing serious. Though her mood lifted as Irene told them they could come in. She smiled widely and let out an excited yelp as she made her way into the guard, her arm getting poked by a part of the hedge. She held the wound on her arm and stepped into the yard, waiting for James to follow. They could now see her whole body, including her gun. But she wasn't trigger happy and hadn't even used it once, so she hoped they wouldn't see harm in it. 

Mary was just about to thank Irene for her kindness when she too heard the rustle. She looked in the way James was looking, still holding her stinging arm. She walked towards Irene, her eyes still focused on James and mister trigger happy who approached the cacti, not wanting to be in their way.