I'm Haught. You?

Mission #8: Be a badass

Waverly went to the Homestead, got a bottle of wine, and drove to the Blacksmith's place. The place looks like a junkyard and she's feeling skeptical about going in, but she's already there so might as well. She remembers Wynonna telling her that the Blacksmith puts fake booby traps to fool the outsiders so she walks with as much confidence as she can muster. She whistles for the woman inside trying to not make any noise and looking around for anyone who might see them or attack. The sliding door opens and a young woman appears within with a few cuts and bruises on her.

MP: "You did see the No Trespassing sign, didn't you?" she says pointing towards the giant red sign near Waverly. Waverly looks at it and sees a small drawing of a penis on it. Yep, Wynonna's signature move. Her sister had drawn various of these art pieces on every one of her casts.
WE: "Uh, I was wondering, um. I need to talk with you." says Waverly feeling a little nervous about the woman's demeanor.
MP: "And you think an $8 bottle of pinot's going to make me listen?" says the Blacksmith sarcastically. Better than the $1 whiskey Wynonna keeps stashed under her pillow, Waverly thinks.

WE: "Hell, no. No, the wine's mostly for me." Waverly says moving forward a bit. She startles the Blacksmith and steps back again. "My favorite uncle in the world just left me this." she moves the box with the skull forward letting the Blacksmith see.
MP: "Curtis McCready. I shoulda known. Hurry up." she says as she walks back in. Waverly practically runs after her nervous and excited about what she may discover. The Blacksmith, Mattie, is a part-time archaeologist who has been looking for this skull for three years to complete two fossils of some abnormal couple of humans that may have been a part of an old Nomadic tribe no one knows about. This discovery could place her on the map within the archaeologist society.

Waverly, not interested in fame, just wanted to help her figure out if this is such an important part of history. She spends the afternoon reading up on the time from which the fossils belong and learning about Mattie Perley's part-time job. Mattie also is seen as a witch, she swears by spiritism and the belief that everything should be bonded and that nothing happens without reason so she does a little ritual with Waverly and the skull. The whole time Waverly is skeptical about it. What could a bond between her and the skull mean? Will it do anything? Will she be cursed too?

Mattie asks Waverly to place her hand on top of the skull and begins.
MP: "I ask the Earth to give up this ash. " She spreads some on the back of Waverly's hand. Waverly shudders at the feeling and almost pulls her hand away to wash it, her OCD kicking her ass and yelling for her to clean that up. "I ask the air to silence its name." She blows air on the ash, it falls all over the skull and the table. Her OCD was now screaming for her to wipe away the dirt. "I ask the water to cleanse this girl." She grabs a fistful of water and slowly spills it on the ash. Amid all this Waverly just opens and closes her eyes, breathing in and out, skeptical at what this ceremony means, but letting Mattie do her thing. She reminds herself that everyone has their own beliefs and even if you don't like them you should respect them. "I ask the fire...to loosen its hold." Waverly panics thinking this woman is going to burn her hand, but Mattie just moves the stick, hot from the fire, on top of the ash in a circular motion. A wave of smoke comes out from it. Waverly clears her throat trying not to cough, but the smell of the place is also getting to her. The smell of old wet books and probably a dead rat somewhere may be used in a ritual.

MP: "Free from the tethers, purified by the elements, Waverly Earp, you are now open to receive this fragment of a man into your life. Do you accept?" Waverly doesn't think about it until the words come out of her mouth
WE: "I do. " She whispers to Mattie trying not to interrupt the ritual "Wait, did I just marry a skull?" Oh God, I just got rid of Champ, I don't need another man tying me down, Waverly thinks during her panic. Mattie continues as if she's possessed.
MP: "You are connected. You are as one. The Keeper of the Bones and the God-made Son." A chill runs through Waverly and she gasps. A gust of wind rushes through the room and blows out the fire. "Ok, uh, when I bonded Curtis to the skull, I didn't know whose it was. It never told me. "

WE: "What? Told you? It's a skull." Waverly wonders if she messed up letting this weirdo do this ceremony. "And I thought you didn't know Curtis had it."

MP: "I didn't. I bonded him with the skull almost three years ago. He got scared and took off with it. He never admitted to having it even if I had my suspicions, but it was safer with him than it was with me so I 'let' him keep it." Mattie looks past Waverly as if she sees something. "She's gonna be coming for me. I need protection. I, uh, I need to find some salt." Mattie runs around the place looking for it, feeling scared.
WE: "What? Who's coming? Am I in danger?" Waverly stands up and looks at the skull trying to see if there's any sign of it being haunted.

MP: "Of course you are! I mean, this is what it means to be blessed. You poor sweet girl, what was Curtis thinking?" She looks at Waverly with a worried look on her face. "Ok, you need to go. I need to make a salt circle and protect myself."
WE: "What about me?" "Sweet girl hope and pray the stone witch doesn't find you because she will strike you down."

Waverly went home after being kicked out by Mattie with no further answers.
WE: "Ok, so I may be married to a skull and now someone is coming to look for it. Oh God could my life get any more complicated?" Waverly was pacing back and forth shaking her head. Abruptly she halts in the middle of the living room. "No! I am going to have a normal, uncomplicated life and that's it. I'm finally free of Champ. Maybe I can date Nicole if she's interested. I could invite some friends over. I know Stephanie got engaged recently and we haven't hung out in a while. Yeah, ok, Mr. skull you are going to be here behind this pillow which no one moves and I'm going to call Steph and Chrissy." With the decisions already made and the skull hidden behind an ugly pillow on the sofa, Waverly runs up the stairs thrilled about her new life and all the changes that were starting soon.

She has a few missed calls from Champ, a text from Wynonna saying she will be home soon and a message from Nicole with a picture attached. The picture is of a view of the mountains with a message written by Nicole.
NH: 'Dear God, I've met one of your angels in disguise. I will take care of her for you.' Waverly smiles at the gestures and sends 20 heart-eye emojis with a reply saying you're the sweetest. Nicole wonders what Waverly is doing tomorrow since she had the graveyard shift thanks to Nedley. Waverly mentions the party but doesn't invite her. She doesn't think her friends are Nicole's kind of people. Plus she doesn't want to share Nicole with anyone.