Arthur wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up in this situation, he'd been split up from Dutch and the others by the bounty hunters and everything happened so fast, now he was tied to a tree with a big black kid.
Arthur snarled as one of the neering bounty hunters got too close, making the man take an involuntary step back. "Damn, Van Der Linde's kid is even more of a beast then the witch half breed. You sure they want him alive? Can't we just burn 'im with the darkie?"
The other hostage scoffed at the hunters words, Arthur can see him moving in his peripheral and was making an effort to distract the mem whenever they'd look over.
"No, we can't do that again. Sheriff was not pleased, pparently hafta look round for 'is family first." Both men had turned away from the two young men they'd captured and were poking at their campfire. "Course I think that's givin' em too mucha a chance. Them witches always got a way out." The word witches was spat out with a lump of chewing tabacco.
Arthur felt the ropes loosen and side-eyed the now loose witch-man, the man holding up a finger to his lips as he began cutting through Arthur's ropes with startling efficiency. Though as soon as Arthur is free both men had jumped to their feet and were shouting and grabbing for their guns.
The closer one had his gun raised and pointed at Arthur but in the precious seconds before pulling the trigger a massive black shaggy dog appeared and ripped it out of the man's hand. Arthur watched stunned as the dog grabbed the now fallen man's shoulder and started shaking and tearing chunks out as the witch-man had made quick work of the second man. The dog pinned the still alive and very much bleeding bounty hunter down by his shoulder as the witch-man pointed a shotgun at his face.
"How'd you know where to find me?" The dark indian, as it was clear now that Arthur had gotten a good look at him, had a deep and clear voice.
"You were sold to us" the bounty hunter spat out between heaving gasps, spitting a glob of bloody mucus towards the indian, but missing by a foot. The dog seemed to take offense to this and in one smooth movement snapped the man's neck and released him.
The indian looked over at Arthur, taking calming breaths as he looked the young outlaw up and down. "Charles Smith."
Arthur smiled at the man "Arthur Morgan." He rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks fer the save there partner, what's his name?" The man, Charles pauses, his eyes furrowing at Arthur's accent, before shrugging and looking down at the dog.
"Thanks for the help." He glanced around before whistling, Beodicea and an appaloosa mare came trotting down, surprising Arthur to see his beloved ornery mare. "Mind taking us to the nearest Haven? I can figure out where we are from there." Arthur furrowing his own eyebrows at the man talking to the dog, confusion only growing as the dog seemed to stare pointedly at Arthur before looking back at Charles. "I'm sure he's safe, you just saved his life."
The dog seemed to acquiesce as Charles mounted the appaloosa, Arthur rushed to collect his own belongings before mounting his horse, choosing to not ask any questions.
After a few hours of complaining and running in what seemed like circles through the woods the dog finally rounds a hill, though when Arthur and Charles follow him it's a dead end and only a tall pale man with long black hair stands, he's wearing poshman's clothes with the exception of what looked like a black leather dog collar. He stood in a confident pose that radiated power, holding a stick pointed in Arthur's direction as he stared at Charles.
Arthur opens his mouth to speak when Charles jerks his horse to a stop suddenly upon sight of the man. "You're a high-born." He says, like its obvious.
"I am one of the high-borns. If that's a problem you can turn around and find your own place. Our Haven is non-discriminatory, you'll be lucky to find another place willing to accept the Ordinary in with you." The man responds, eyes narrowing at the indian man, who just raises his hands in peace, before dismounting he pulls a thread of beads out of his hair and hands it to the man. Now that Arthur is looking he can see severel strands of beads and feathers in Charles and his horse's hair. The dog-man also has four beads tied on his collar with a thread.
The man quirks in eyebrow in seeming sympathy as he passes the beads back to Charles "Damn, no idea any of you survived. You the only one?" The man shook his head at Charles nod. "Padfoot. Pleasure to meet you. Welcome to the Marauders Den. You won't be able to find your way back here after today, we're switching secret keepers on a regular basis." Arthur ignores the absurdity of the situation, but he can't ignore how the mountain seems to fold away behind the man revealing a small encampment filled with people.
As the dog-man, Padfoot, leads them in he points out a few tents with a lot of foot traffic. "Trading hub and kitchens, stop in and get some supplies 'fore you leave."
"Pads! You bringing in more strays?" A messy haired indian nearby shouted, garnering the groups attention, a large smile on his face as he walked up. A beautiful woman with fiery red hair and green eyes right beside him, holding a very young toddler who looked just like the man with the womans eyes.
"Greetings Lord, Lady. We are only passing through, getting a lay of the land so I can send this Ordinary back to his family. Bounty hunters brought him into your forest unaware of the consequences." Charles had given a bow to the two that approached, Arthur just kinda stood there and tried not to seem out of place as the two approaching peoples eyes flit over him appraisingly.
"No need for all that, James Potter at your service. This is my lovely wife Lily Potter neè Evans, and our son Harry Potter." James seemed taken with his wife as he stared at her for a moment, hazel eyes bright with love.
"I'm sure Padfoot can send you on your way, but you should stay the night, set off refreshed. I'm sure today has been an ordeal for you."
Charles had sat down and explained a lot to Arthur as they sat in what was apparently a witch coven, beneath a vast open sky. Arthur sketched the dog pinning the man, Charles sitting tall on his horse, the dog-man standing confidently, an open rock wall behind him, the lord and his lady holding a child.
The next day, when Arthur returned fed and loaded up with the spoils from the robbery, Dutch and Hosea didn't believe his tales of dog-men and witches.
However, when thirteen years later, after Blackwater and Valentine's messes, a shaggy furred skinny black dog wearing a worn black leather collar with beads tied to a thread around it herded a small indian boy with short messy hair and emerald eyes into the camp, Dutchw as left speechless as Arthur jumped to his feet with a shout of "Padfoot!" And the dog seemed to melt into a gaunt man, with eyes that seemed to scream crazy.
Weeks later, the boy and dog-man had started to adjust, the dog-man telling a grief-stricken story of betrayal and heartbreak. He seemed to take a step back and pull himself together, shaving and trimming his mane of a hair, he introduces himself as Sirius Black, Lord of some fancy English family that has Charles taking a step back with a worried crease on his face before he's waved off by the dog-man.
Harry Potter seems to slip right into the camp, happy to help with any task and taking to guns like a fish to water. Sirius Black does too, but he's particularly good at gambling.
The two new additions don't help in the end.
Arthur sends Sirius and Harry with Charles to help Rains Fall, he doesn't get a chance to learn what happened to them.