Welcome to Gaia! ::

Easter!

"Man to man. Nice change of pace."

Hoss stretched his legs as he swung on the porch swing, eyes closed and head resting against the back of the swing. It was nearly dusk, and a recent rainstorm had destroyed the formerly oppressive heat. A breeze tousled his sideburns, and Hoss was momentarily at peace.

The child scowled as the front door squealed. It was probably Shiloh or Opec, there to spoil his wonderful evening. But the footfalls were too quiet to be Shiloh, and there was no chatter. Rusty.

Indeed, the petite blonde man sat on the swing, gently rocking it. "I brought you thome tea." He offered. Rusty opened an eye and took the proffered glass, smiling at his hands. They were useful now.

"Thank you." He sipped the tea. So different from what it had been like on his home planet. Sugar was so common here. Food was common. It was a much simpler world, it seemed.

Rusty was content to sit and rock in silence. Both men sipped their drinks and watched the sky fade to stars.

"You want somethin'?" Hoss asked, putting his empty glass on the worn wood porch.

"What did you do?" Rusty asked him

Hoss sighed and stood. "Let's take a walk." He said, nodding out towards the road. Rusty stood and followed him. "I was a woman, you know."

"I thaw. There wath a picture, in your pod." Rusty nodded.

"Mmhm." Hoss remembered the picture. "Well, I was a Madam. Do you know what a madam is, Rusty?"

"A lady."

"A Madam is a female pimp. I had girls I sold for sex." Rusty didn't look too pleased at that. "Women weren't worth very much where I'm from. I always had to fight to show what I was worth. I became respected, and I had power." Hoss smiled, remembering that life. It had been good.

"And then one day, I bought a slave. Normal, normal. She wanted to get away from her Daddy that raped her, wanted to live somewhere else. Anywhere else. Well, Daddy followed her out, tried to get me to bend to his will cuz I was a woman. So I killed his little girl, and I left him a trail of her body parts to follow." It'd been a sad thing, really. Jasper hadn't wanted to kill the girl, but it'd been a matter of principle. "I got sent here because my brother was weak and wouldn't kill me."

Rusty watched his son, frowning. After a moment, he wrapped an arm around him. It was oh so easy for him to show affection to the small little monster.

"I still love you." He said softly. Hoss paused for a moment, but continued walking.

"I know." He sighed, draping an arm around Rusty's shoulders as well.