1861/07/12 Welcome to Grimwood
Scene Welcome to Grimwood
Characters Charlotte Mercy
Place Grimwood
Date July 12th Late Morning
Scene Theme

It's bene three months since the death of the former catholic father, of course, she didnt expect a quick responce, but she didnt expect the church ti allow the people to go this long without it's sheperd. Granted, she is as good of a guardian as any, more of a wolf hound then a sheperd, but the lambs are safe. The She in question is Mercy, tall, towering over most, if not all, the men in town, with a hard gaze and a double barrel shotgun at her hip. Her reason for being at the terminus today is to have a telegraph sent to the cardinal, about where their new Padre is, just as the train arrives in the terminus apparently. Who… besides eager prospectors for the gold, could be arriving she wonders.

Charlotte's first taste of Colorado air is tainted by the rolling black smoke from the coal-driven engine of the train that pulls into the station and by the large clouds of vapor that come with the loud hiss of hydraulic systems hard at work. But when she steps off that train, with nothing but a suitcase in hand and the clothes on her back, she can already tell it feels different. This is nothing like the heat of Kentucky in the deep summer. She doesn't feel stifled by the presence of her blouse's collar around her neck, or the need to sweat so profusely that it's running in rivulets down the side of her face. No, she does not feel as if she's stepped right out into a pond the second she's left her door. The air here feels different. Crisp. Dry. It's warm, for certain, but it's not an oppressive heat that urges her limbs into lethargy. And when she makes it a few steps away from that train, to where the open air is clear? She takes a deep breath. It feels like the first breath of her life, and Charlotte closes her eyes. Her lips move, but she doesn't speak aloud, and her head is slightly bowed, with both hands in front of her on the handle of her suitcase.

Mercy looks at those departing, not many of them, but her gaze stops on the youthful woman… eather she is someone's wife, or, a professional of some sort. Mercy, being the mother hen type, walks over and waits for the girl to finish her prayer. "Hello, I'm Sister Mercy, welcome to Grimwood, might you need some help?" She asks, giving a rare smile, though that smile doesn't touch her eyes.

Charlotte murmurs an audible, "Amen," before opening her eyes to discover someone in front of her. The surprise is enough to give her the slightest start, making her breath hitch and her pulse pound erratically. Clearing her throat, however, she gives a polite nod, and removes all doubt that she's not from around Colorado the second she opens her mouth. "Thank you for the warm welcome, Sister Mercy." There's a drawl to her words. A certain twang of drawn out consenants and combined sounds. "My name is Charlotte Wright and I'm here about the position of teacher." A lack of ring on her left hand and the mention of teacher is telling in and of itself. "You reckon rightly, ma'am. I could use a little help. It's my first time here." It's obvious, but she states it nonetheless, cheeks looking flushed what what might be embarrassment or discomfort.

Mercy smiles and gives a nod. "Ah, that might take abit of a load off of myself then, I've been trying to teach the children their letters in sunday school, but having a much better trained teacher will benifet them." She says with a smile, extending her arm. "I do hope a side room within the church is well enough for a classroom until we can sober up the menfolk enough to put their backs to good use." She says with another smile as she begins to walk alongside the younger woman. "That accent reminds me of home, you are from appalacia." She says with a smile, noting the mountains in the kentucky area.

"It will by my first time teaching, Sister, just so there is no confusion between us, and I'm sure you've done a mighty fine job with the children." The extended arm is an easy enough sign to follow. Charlotte steps forward with the gesture, placing herself side to side with the much taller woman as they head for the exit of the station amid the hustle and bustle of people arriving and people getting ready to leave. She keeps her chin turned to the side, eyes dancing between where she's going and the face of the woman next to her. "I had no expectations, ma'am. A side room in the church is very welcome." It's her turn to smile at the cracked joke, but it's a reserved humor. One lacking that comfort level of familiarity. "Farther west, ma'am. South of Louisville and the Ohio. Elizabethtown." The smile she's adopted strains a little. Ah, bittersweet homesickness. "Have you been here long, yourself, Sister?"

Mercy blimks and tilts her head. "Ah, civilized country then." She states about where Charlotte is from. "I've been here six months, I came with the former Padre.. funny, I'm all that's left of that little group, I'm waiting on the arrival of another group, but the cardinal in Denver has seen fit to postpone the newest Padre." She says softly as they walk, she does point out a few places. "That's the doctor's office, his Nurse, Miss Morton, is a very well learned woman, could be a doctor in her own right, that's the sherrif's office, and the pony express office down that road." She stops when she spots Davey's saloon, a very discusted taste to her mouth. "That's a whore house and den of ill repute… were it up to me I'd burn the place to the ground, and have it's owner on the next rrain out of here." She says before continueing her walk twoards the church.

"Padre?" Knitted brows and the inquisitive nature of her tone spell out her confusion at the used term. A slight mispronounciation of the word cements it. The mention of being the only one left out of the group encourages Charlotte's face to a more sombre expression. Rather than invite unpleasant conversation between them, she continues to listen rather than speak. Her head is on the swivel, turning to and fro as the various establishments and those associated with them are pointed out to her, trying to memorize names. She comes to a halt alongside the Sister, taking note of the place that's pointed to. Rather than share the disgust, there seems to be a hint of fear lurking about her. It's laced through the words when she speaks again as a sort of nervous energy. "The town hasn't been here for long, has it?" Focusing on something else seems to calm her. The town feels new. Maybe it's the lack of clumped up buildings or large crowds. To Charlotte, it already feels a little like she belongs. A new girl in a new place. Her eyes rise higher, to the distant countryside, which is as foreign to her as the air and the dry heat. "It's beautiful country, ma'am."

Mercy looks at the girl and places a hand on the bakc of her shoulders. "Beautiful, and dangerous, roaving bands of bloodthirsty indians, outlaws who try and run from the law, I do hope you dont come across a rattler eather." She says as they approach the church. "It's a dangerous place, and a dangerous time, but I feel that us womenfolk should stick together, reguardless of who we are, it's a chance for us to shine, and build upan our own merits, not those of the men we associate with."

A tremble that was impercetible before is detectable by the hand that settles between her shoulderblades. It's prominence seems to increase at the mention of such dangers. "We had rattlers back home, ma'am. I'd recognize one if I saw it, and know to stay away." On the topic of bloodthirsty natives and villainous outlaws, she is mum. Charlotte nods along with the mention of womenfolk sticking together, but she has as much to say about the topic of building their own merits as she did the aforementioned dangers. She does, however, express other sentiments. "I put my faith in God when I came out here, and I will continue to put my faith in Him. His will be done." It's a surprisingly pragmatic view for someone so young, but there's also a hollowness to it. A fresh naivety that speaks of mostly untested faith. "I will certainly try to make myself of use. I don't abide being lazy, and I won't let the children be, either. I hope my presence here relieves you of some of your burden, too, Sister, so that you can get back to your important work. It must be difficult, being the last one in the church." A sympathetic expression, if there ever was one, adorns her face as they reach the church itself, with Charlotte looking up to Mercy and trying to convey that sense without words.

Mercy nods and opens a side door, leading Charlotte into what the town uses as it's schoolroom. It's clean, not dust to be seen, with a well used broom in one corner, as well as a stack of leather bound bibles, probably what Mercy has been using to teach the childrne theuir letters, as well as markings on the board for numbers. "It's not much, but it's what I could od with as little as I've had, donations for the church arent plentiful." She says, not saying where she gets a vast amount of the church's money from, someone like Charlotte need not conern herself with the gritty work the lord asks her to do. "We also have a few unused beds in the nun's dormatory if you need a place to rest or a few days, and please, ask me for anything you may need, it's hard enough having to fight the fronteer, we shouldent be fighting amoungst ourselves." She says with a warm smile as she places her arms behind her back.

Following Mercy into the church proper, Charlotte spends a few moments becoming acquainted with the interior of the place. The tap of her booted feet against the floor echoes with the room's natural acoustics, lacking the scuff of a slower pace as she keeps up with the Sister's naturally longer gait. The small room she's shown prompts from her a slightly long exhale and a settling of her shoulders. It's not much, but there's something liberating about having arrived at her destination. "We'll make do with what we have, Sister. Anything is a blessing." Her steps around the room lead her to the stack of bibles, first, which she sets a hand on top of briefly as if to test the cover of the one on top. She ends at the board, brushing her fingers along its surface just as she had done with the bibles. The two textures are radically different, and her fingertips are brushed by her thumb when she comes to a halt after completing the revolution. "I appreciate your kind offer, ma'am. I was told there was a boarding house here in town, as well. I couldn't possibly impose, especially when you have your new group coming. I will be sure to let you know if any needs arise for the children, though." She returns the warm smile with as much as she can of her own. There seems to be a twinkle of excitement in her eye with it, too.

Mercy nods and leans against the door frame. "I'm glad you aproove, we just completed exodus with our reading, and they are used to starting the school day with a quick prayer to st. john, as well as the pledge." She says as she motions to the Union flag that hangs in one corner of the class room. "Oh, I'm not expecting the next group of clergy for quite a while, so you are more then welcome." She states with a smile.

Charlotte's gaze wanders to the pointed out flag, before sweeping back down to the Sister. She nods in regard to how Mercy has been doing things in the morning, but says nothing about the routine itself. Instead, she seems to take on an almost shy air. "With all due respect, ma'am, I think it might be best for me to use the boarding house. I've spent my whole life livin' under someone else's roof. It's time I started doin' some things on my own. If you don't mind me sayin' so, ma'am." She has yet to set down her suitcase, too. This she now adjusts from one hand to the next, putting the burden elsewhere for awhile.

Mercy nods. "I see." She says, of course, it's not her church, as much as she cares for it, like all things, mercy feels it belongs to the lord. "Well, I'll be here should you need anything." She says with a smile as she pushes off the door frame and brushes her skirt. "As for myself, I have chores that need attending too, I'll be sweeping the main room should you need anything."

Not sure how to take how easily that went, Charlotte takes half a step forward before she even begins to talk. "Sister," she says, trying to catch Mercy before she leaves out of the room and intot he church proper. "I'm not doin' a thing until tomorrow, and I've got nowhere to be. If you need some help with some chores here around the church, I'd be happy to help. It's the least I could do, seein' as you took time out of your day to show me around and everything." Regardless of the answer, she's crossing over to the door itself, since the only way to leave is through that way.

Mercy blinks as she is stopped and offers a smile. "Sure, grab a broom and start at one end of the room." She says, as she reaches for another broom. "After a good sweep, I was going to wash out some of the linens and then start a stew."

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