Starglow Basin Rojo

The evening shadows had grown long. The sound of musical bugs became more prominent, sounding out from the rocks and the brush like a sideshow act. Juárez had ventured ahead of his brother, only a few miles. His intentions were to scope the southern territories for signs of the plantlife he would need.

When the man saw the plump cacti growing in batches, round and small, he snickered.

Peyote, peyote, he hummed aloud, sniffing at the base of the plants before plucking one out with a tender mouth. They were known to cause visions, images that were not there. If he could combine them with the other herbs he carried, Juárez would have a cocktail designed to daze any who partook.

Saguaro was not one to linger in the shadows. She liked to intrude upon others' peace, to sniff out secrets before they could be used against her. But this was new territory, new land. She knew not which wolves were in charge. And she was always careful to save her showmanship for those who were.

But she was close enough that this wolf would likely pick up her unfamiliar scent, even if he couldn't see her. She wondered if he had a sense of showmanship about him too. Regardless, she was hungry. The plant he gnawed on was unfamiliar to her, and she wished to know if she'd survive eating it. Either he knew what he was doing, or he was dumb enough to prove an example.

"Peyote?" she responded, with a lilting note. "Tell me you're not eating that." Her muzzle in the air, she emerged from darkness to face the other wolf.

Dark eyes shifted back, landing on an unfamiliar woman who had boldly approached him while he searched for his ingredients. The jaguar regarded her with a sly smile, exposed teeth showing from the slice of missing flesh at his lip. His black-tipped tail waved twice before he placed the plant at his paws and himself protectively in front of the others.

Lo he probado antes.

Ah but she spoke in the northern tongue to him. She would not understand Juárez unless he struggled his way through his little known English.

You… you try. Sí? Is very good, señora. You see visions!

The jaguar watched her with his predatory stare.

The darkness had hidden some unsavory bits from her sight. She wished the flash of white fangs were just a trick of the rising moon. But she'd never been one to give up on a hole half-dug. Saguaro only fled when she was neck-deep in dirt and desperate.

"What do you see? When you eat it. Demonstrate." She sat back on her haunches to wait. Saguaro always demanded too much. But it'd been a long time since she last saw a man refuse a challenge from a woman.

The woman did not partake of his offer. She asked questions and then made a demand that he demonstrate for her. Anger washed through the man, white and hot. He would make her do more than taste the plant, if she was not careful. A woman with her guard lowered was an easy target for a man like Juárez.

No, no, no, he growled, flashing a quick smile to soften the tone of his voice. This not for me.

Juárez licked his lips, pink tongue swiping across his snout and whiskers. The dark of his eyes remained fixed on her face. If she wasn’t curious, she would have left. He might have accepted her challenge, if he did not fear the rest of his herb stash being stolen out from under him.

For sale. As though that would make it clearer. But… señora can try as a- a gift.

What you see will be only for you.

Saguaro felt his anger like a strike to her snout. False mercy dripped from his smile, like her presence was enough of an offense to warrant any harm that should come her way. He was nigh saintly for not tearing into her throat.

She did not think his "gift" would treat her kindly. But she'd pay a high price for a fuller belly. Her eyes darted towards the fruit.

"This is bad to eat." She did not fall for deceit. She made poor decisions knowing full and well the consequences. The man should know that.

Still, she folded her ears and lowered her head in submission as she approached. Saguaro sniffed the fruit carefully, as if there could be more wrong with it than what she already knew.

"How much do you charge?" She gazed up at him. What does a man give for a moment of sight?

Eh- 

He could try to ease her worries. Some considered the fruit of sight to be wicked. Cruel in the way it held them, creating need where there was once none. Addiction, Juárez had found, was a powerful weapon. 

And that hungry glint in her gaze was all he needed. 

It is not like meat. Not for filling hungry bellies. For filling hungry minds. 

She drew nearer still and the jaguar pushed the peyote toward her with a gentle paw. The roundness of the treat should be enticing enough. It was plump and perfect. The visions it would grant her would be unlike anything she had ever seen. They always were. The herbs were an escape for the desperate - a means of soothing the mind into bliss. 

When she asked what he would charge… 

A small favor, señora. You spread my name to these wolves. Tell them to come to me, that I will give sight. Do this and I will feed you prey when you come from the vision.

Saguaro did not quite understand how a creature could be motivated to eat past hunger. How someone could chase after what could not sustain them. She was frightened by the prospect, surely, and certain that there was some kind of magic holding her there, trance-like. The fruit called to her, like an oasis in a desert. She'd never quite been so thirsty.

Still, she hesitated. Her head remained bowed, but her ears perked. The man would bring her food, real food, if he could watch her succumb. And yet, he hadn't answered the question she'd been asking.

"Not me. The others. How much do you charge them?" She didn't quite know why it was so important she know. She had no pack out here, no one to protect. Nothing but her own hide to look after. But that could still change, right?

Whatever I want.

Were it not for the gleam in his crimson eyes, it might have seemed innocent, even avoidant. Her questions were direct. Juárez appreciated this. Transactions of this sort were best when both parties did not skirt around the facts. Her curiosity - while irksome - was only a sign that he had her interest. It was up to him to close the sale and lure her in.

Depends on the day, ya sabes?

Juárez reclined to a seated position. His black-tipped tail tucked neatly at his side. The man canted his head, questioning. Concern creased his brow in a way that was almost convincing. One ear swiveled to the side, wondering if Soto would find them before the woman had a chance to try the fruit.

If you are worried, señora- I will watch. Do not be afraid.

The glint of his exposed teeth, Juárez nudged the fruit to her and leaned close. Pantherine, his eyes were frigid and intent.

Eat it.