A shock of white hair on a youthful head, gleaming red eyes, a dipping 'v' of a maroon bodice deep enough to be risque—Verity couldn't imagine why such a specimen was gesturing to her of all people. Just to be sure, she turned around, expecting some young man to be waving from behind. What she found instead was different enough to make her start, eyelids blinking before she canted her head and stared. 

[i]When, exactly, did they start letting children into bars? And why is she looking up my—[/i] Verity cleared her throat, tugging the hem of her skirt further down her knee. “Darling, if you'd be a little less obvious about ogling, I'd be much obliged. This isn't The Rosy Maiden, after all.” As she spoke, Verity waved at the green-eyed girl with the back of her fingers, not unlike shooing off a naughty pet. [i]When did I start putting off testosterone instead of estrogen? Well, it's not so bad, I suppose; these ladies aren't eyesores like the rest of these misfits.[/i]

Verity grasped the new mug of beer the barkeep had left in his hurried wake and turned on her stool to examine the voyeur of a patron more fully. With her adorable little headband with its wing and the overall dress with puffy sleeves, the creature's style was miles ahead of just about anyone else in the saloon. Such a soft chin, wide eyes and a pert little nose—why, she seemed just on the verge of womanhood. Not [i]quite[/i] there yet, however, so Verity couldn't help but look over the crowd to see where the girl's misplaced chaperone was. Dust was no place at all for darling little birds to be fluttering along alone, especially when this particular little bird was already brewing up trouble with eyes alone.

“Someone stop him!”

Verity glanced over at some panicked old fellow. A small crowd had surrounded him, and his nearest companion appeared to be none other than Tiberius. But then—was that a shadow flitting out the door? She barely had a second to comprehend what'd happened when the old fellow burst out into a shout.

"Whoever catches that scoundrel gets 100 gold, plus another 150 if you retrieve the book for me!"

“Oh, bothe—” Verity had just enough time to turn and shelter her drink on the bar as the saloon exploded. Wooden chairs clattered to the floor, glasses smashing downward in their wake. An exhilarating buzz shocked through the atmosphere of the bar, an alchemical sort of displacement caused by dozens of human hearts bursting with adrenaline at once. Suddenly the air was thick and hot, a single mass of bodies squeezing through one door in a flood of hooting action. Guns went off, their metallic blasts met with a shock of cries from the street outside.

The barkeep, whose hands hadn't quite left two little sacks he'd set on the counter for his green-eyed customer, blinked. A crack of a smile settled on his face, growing into a toothy grin as the last of the thief’s pursuers flooded out the door. “Well, naw. I wunder how many pieces they gonna bring 'im back in! Last time it was seven—they all went n' claimed the killin' shot was them's. Confounded the sheriff 'till 'e shrugged n' split the bounty between all's of 'em.”

[@Lord of Evil] [@Mega Birb] [@KoL]