Redsand Canyon then caleb threw that bottle down and grabbed me by my hair

set before riley leaves RS to find esme! @Derg

Donovan had shown Riley most of the keep; of most interest to the little wayfarer was the cache.

He ate like a glutton, and then when he felt he could not eat another bite, ate some more.

Now, stomach distended, the yearling spread luxuriously out into the shade and issued a hearty, rancid belch.

Derg trotted about, here there and everywhere.
An avid hunter, he wanted to know what made up the fauna of this land - what could they eat?
He'd seen pronghorn, and many lizards and some spiders.
A number of birds lay about, some fish were about - they'd have to regulate the hunting of them.

But all in all, food was sufficient, if only sometimes hard to come by.
So when he caught the yearling Donovan picked up going himself on a cache all by himself, Derg couldn't help but investigate.

"Hope you'll refill that," he commented, flopping himself down not too far away with kind eyes but a firm-set mouth.

Caught red-handed like a dog that had just invaded the pantry, Riley's shoulders hunched as he saw a shape approach -- no doubt to admonish him.

Or perhaps, just provide simple company.

Riley regarded him suspiciously. The male's gaze may have been kind, but there was a shadow under those eyes that spoke of experience Riley had yet to endure. "Okay." The male answered - his intention was simply acknowledgement, though he was not socially aware enough to realize his response came across as flippant.

Derg didn't mind the reponse.
He would've probably given the same one when he was a yearling.
The difference is, Derg would've got chased off to do it in that instant.
It made him the efficient worker he is today though, which was one thing, but the Saints respected each other's word.
And if not, then Derg would enforce it.

A ghost of a smile licked his face.

"Where'd you get found then?"
They all were found somewhere, "And where have you explored so far."
Perhaps he could be directed to a territory that would provide an easy hunting ground and a good veiw.

Riley would rise eventually, and had every intention of earning his keep somehow. He was no freeloader, and before he left to find 'Esme', he would have deposited what meager kills he could find - but for now, the boy simply languished in the shade. He felt at any moment his stomach might burst.

He couldn't decide which to pay more attention to; the discomfiture of his swollen belly, or the inquiries of his superior. Wincing as he set on his stomach, Riley shifted his hind legs out behind him and considered what to say.

"By the world's scar." Riley didn't know what a gully was, or a gorge - but that was what he thought the chasm in the red keep was. Being literal to a fault, he had a hard time answering the second question. "Just that area, this cache, and the place Donovan called the.." What was it? Fighter's heart? "Something heart. Who are you?"

Ah, the worlds scar. Derg had to think for a moment for the meaning but realised he meant the denning area.
"Warrior's Heart," he reminded, "for that is where we live; warriors."

He'd seen some of this land, but not much. Not enough.
He could use being shown some hunting grounds and what is actually edible here; of which Derg was still uncertain.
"I'm Derg," he replied.
"Your name begins with R," he half guessed. He remembered Donovan telling him of a yearling, but forgot the name.
Or wasn't really listening.

"Go find the falls, there'll be something to eat over there," he gestured with his muzzle in the direction he should go.
Even if he didn't make it there, he'd find something else.

Derg was kind as he corrected Riley. Riley did not flinch - he was often wrong, his memory faulty and his ability to transcribe memory into speech even faultier. Warrior's Heart, he repeated to himself -- willing the memory would not run like water through a sieve.

Riley didn't respond right away to the statement of his name's first letter, nor the comment about the falls. He was still wheeling from trying to process that he was a warrior now. He certainly did not feel like a warrior. Granted when push came to shove, Riley was as precocious a fighter as any predator, but he did not live and die by the sword, nor did fighter come close to summing up what he felt his identity was.

Through all of this self-reflection, Riley didn't even realize Derg was waiting for him to supply the rest of his name. Nope, no helpful Riley followed in answer - because, Riley thicc -- and not in the body-type way.

He moved past, trying to think if he had seen water here. "Where is that?" He would go, of course, once he knew the direction to go.

Puzzled, Derg stared at the boy for a few moments.
He thought that there would be supplement; implication towards a name.
Derg could almost hear the neurons whirring as they processed.

Perhaps his brain was having an overload over some sort of praise Derg had accidentally given him.
"The falls are across the eastern border, hard to miss when you get closer. Especially if you happen across a stream. Follow the water in the opposite way it flows."

He thought he'd add on that little detail. Just in case.
"What's your name?" The man finally asked.

Peaches was lucky Derg was so patient: the male kindly provided more information, even going so far as to depict a very easily understood verbal map for Riley to follow. He was already shifting heavily to his stomach, though his contents seemed as heavy as cinderblocks and he nearly groaned as he stood.

Riley didn't even make the connection Derg's previous assertment of his name had been a question, but this time, Derg's query was impossible to convolute. "Riley." He wondered if he should tack on his last name, but thought against it. It probably didn't mean anything to these wolves, anyway. "Did you want me to go, right now?"

Ah, that was it. Riley.
It seemed that he may be perhaps a little slow, and needed things to be spelt out for him - or he had the audacity to ignore things that were implied, not direct.
Alas, Derg knew for the future to give details instructions to the boy.

The lad was quick to rise, with a great effort and a soft grunt.
Shit, he'd probably eaten enough for half the pack.
"In your own time, as long as it's done."
Derg wouldn't rush him, especially if he intended on trying to run of which would almost certainly ensue in him throwing up all that good food.

Even if Riley hurried, a hurried-Riley was akin to a hurried-Sloth. Amusing to look at, but not going anywhere fast.

His gaze flickered from the superior, back to the cache, then to the easterly route that Derg had mentioned. The contents of his stomach revolted, as if taking umbrage for being jostled so unkindly. Riley's cheeks puffed -- for a brief second, it looked as if his food was going to all come back up..

But he mastered the roiling of his gullet, and nauseous, figured he best start moving if he wanted his stomach to stay put. "Okay. I'll check it out now." Simple Riley didn't think to say goodbye, though he walked at a slow enough pace Derg would have no problem calling out to him, or keeping up himself.

Hm.
So he'd decided to continue.
Sure, whatever, didn't bother Derg. Just surprised him.

He hummed softly in response, a soft rumbling sound.
He'd picked it up from spending too much time with Donovan.

He watched the boy take his leave, all to happy to lounge in the dappled shade for some time longer.