At their feet lay the remnants of the wagon they had been sent out to collect, wood ripped apart and thrown carelessly with no evidence of supplies ever being there save for the 'seven' scratched into a crate left on the side.
Holding for some hope of being able to salvage something, they searched the area but found nothing to take back to Maggie.
She clicked her tongue to break away from that silence, brushing her hands against the materials of her skirt as she pulled away from lifting one of the old wheels. "She ain't gonna be happy when we get back."
"No an' I ain't happy about all this neither, how can someone get away with stealin' a whole damn w-wagon." He cried, carelessly throwing a splintering plank away, expressing his frustration at the ordeal with a huff as he marched over towards his horse.
"I mean, I know them Lemoyne Raiders aren't exactly shoved to the side over here, but surely somebody had to have tried intervenin'."
"I doubt it, or they killed anybody who had done so."
Lem turned back to face her but gave no response, the anger written bluntly across his face. She knew it wasn't directed at her but as she walked the distance to join him at where their horses had been left she could not help but feel guilty under the intense glare.
While she traipsed across the grass she was able to pick up on the unpleasant comments Lem made, some insulting him and others insulting the raiders for having thrown a wrench into their plans.
This was meant to have been an easy job and yet even they failed in retrieving one wagon from the next state over, something any child could have potentially done. He blamed his bad luck, something like this usually always happening whenever he tried to help out with the business and honestly, he wondered why it was that Maggie still allowed him out on errands anymore.
"Why don't you go buy some replacements for the ingredients, Lemuel, I'll go tell your aunt about this."
"No, Maggie's gonna be a lot less harsh on me than she is you." He objected quickly despite knowing this was never any arguing with Nora Morgan. She ignored his plea, slowing down on her ride as to walk at the same speed as he. "You covered for me last time."
"Last time we both didn't do what was asked."
"No, but.." He started but found it difficult to say what he had been meaning too, not without sounding too harsh. "Maggie don't trust you right now, not since.. you know."
She was already aware, still observant as an individual and picking up on the lack of faith Maggie held with her no later than a week after they began to grow worse. It hadn't been surprising and Lem just retelling her it all gained no response, at least, not one he had been hoping for.
"If she gets rid of me, then that's her choice just as it is mine to tell her that we didn't get them ingredients."
"Morgan." He tried, but Nora refused to listen any further. She simply shrugged before kicking into a gallop to get a head start on the journey back home.
Lem cursed under his breath as he saw her ride off. In any other case he probably would have gone after her, but today he was in just no mood to argue any longer and so he stayed behind, deciding to listen to her instructions and divert his journey through Rhodes to buy anything they could replace the ingredients with.
...
She took a few minutes to prep herself before actually entering the shack, the reality of what Maggie could do unknown and scary.
Nora wasn't sure if her approach should be blunt, if she should walk on inside and tell the woman straight out about their failure in taking a wagon back or if she should sweeten her way into the subject, start a conversation which would then lead to the lost ingredients.
