Two Rivers Isle and you wonder why we're fallin apart

red wasn't fair, and yet she was. the way she'd condescended to his plans evinced a harder grit to the girl than colt could credit himself for, and he saw the loss of control. both over the gang, and over her.
gun had gone on. the island seemed to hum in quiet. colt stayed away from the littleuns, for he wasn't fit company on the balmiest of days, let along in the reek of summer. he began to entertain jealous thoughts about how red might find someone else, or had, or maybe all this was because she wanted to do just that. well go on then. don't let me stop you.
thinking also of boone, of how to put that mountainboy muscle to better use than drawling around a river all day. colt stole into the still coolness of said water and thumped down to his belly with an aching grunt.

Fucking hells, all goddamn nine of them, she was pissed right off.

With @Earp at her heel, Lonesome Dove came rattling through the forest like a woman on a mission to fuckin kill somebody. The rattlesnake’s rattle was its warning, and the rattle of voices in her skull was hers. Her nose flared wide, her head lowered like a battering ram, the doctor had found them.

She blasted out of nature like a bat out of hell, ignoring the boy behind her to gun for the man in the water.

When I fucking said wait for me, Briggs, that didn’t fuckin mean run off without me! Far from the whale eyed creature she had been, Lonesome Dove was focused, driven, storming forward like a woman towards the lover she found in another’s bed.

But worse, because she was about ready to take the Hippocratic oath and beat Colt with it.

"well la di fuckin' da," colt hooted when he saw who had disturbed him from his respite. crossing broad muddy paws in the water, he waited for her tirade to pause. "lissen up, yew know we don't stay one place or another fer long. not safe."
she remembered, she'd put he and sadey back together. "no more runnin' tho. look." colt gestured at the place.
his scarlet eyes shifted to the boy and his shoulders stiffened. "yew pick up a stray there, lonesome?" colt asked, because there was no way in hell —

The doctor slid to a pause beside the water, fever bright eyes flicking over the man in front of her before focusing on his eyes. She huffed a snort.

You, you settled down? Hold on, checking the western horizons for flying pigs.

Then, of course, Colt’s ruby red gaze found the boy. Lonesome’s response to her boss looking at her son?

A grunt.

Truly, mother of the year.

You could say that. I found em, he didn’t have anyone around. And he’s halfway decent at carrying shit, figured I might as well have another set of hands for whatever fuckery occurs next. She licked her nose.

His name’s Earp, you can just ignore him.

He belonged to the small gods. Not her.

you could say that.
fuckin' hell.
colt snorted long and loud. "ya'll act like yew ain't never had t'squat a bit."
earp. fair enough name.
"maybe i was jes' waitin' fer our fair doctor to come back along afore i got myself into more scandals," briggs drawled. "but yer right. i been real antsy, lonesome."

Just a cameo unless someone stops him!

It took him a minute to catch up. It always did. Earp was still clutching that damnable skin, letting it sway and touch the ground every so often in quiet defiance. He was careful not to let Lonesome Dove catch him at it.
He stopped sullenly near her side, slightly behind so that she wouldn't see him glaring daggers at her flank. Then his glare found the ragged looking man. Then it found the territory behind him. Any friend of Lonesome Dove's was bound to be just as nasty as she was, and this one looked like it too, so he didn't spare a second thought for the ugly man. He looked with a dulled interest at what lay ahead.
Knowing he would hear about it later, Earp dropped the pelt in a sudden fit of defiant rage and stalked past the man. He didn't want to hear what they were talking about.