Dahozhoni Meadow Ridin since sunup.

All welcome!

Cassidy, letting his youthful curiosity drive him away from the prairie in the flatlands, led him to a desert. It has been warm that morning, so he stopped at a large lake, serpent lake, unbeknownst to him. After that he followed a little stream trickling from that lake, and then turned to his right at some point, arriving in a beautiful desert meadow.

He had himself some fun, chasing little mice and rodents, trying to catch what he could. He caught one, but that was more of a snack for him, on the other hand, there wasn’t much else in the way of “food”.

From that point, he sort of mingled.

Why did mice have to be so hard to catch, Paeon thought, as she watched her little foe scurry off into the desert foliage. She didn't merely want to snag it between her jaws, she wanted to be precise. Capturing it without killing it. A display of technique and control... the latter she much lacked.

Any excuse she could give herself to further her craft, at least that's what she told herself. But really she was looking for something to do, anything to do at this point. And when her mouse fled into a gathering of light purple and pink flowers her attention shifted. A familiarity settled within her as she lowered her head and took in a deep breath of thriving mint.

He sniffed around at the different flowers, glancing at each one and it’s uniqueness. His nose had led him further towards the edge of the meadow, when he all of a sudden he bumped into something. Someone’s head to be precise. “Ouch.” He lifted his head up, still sort of shell socked, “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry miss!” He apologized, but then caught himself looking into her beautiful eyes.

Thank you so much for joining!

The refreshing scent blocked out Paeon's other senses, as she closed her eyes and let her mind and head clear themselves. That was until something hit her over said head. 

She winced, tucking her head in and staggering back a few steps. "Dammit... What the heck..." she mumbled before opening her eyes. As she did she caught sight of an apologetic young man. A spiffy combination of earthy browns and lighter tans.

'I am so sorry miss'

She was not often called a 'miss'. It didn't sit positive or negative in her mind, but few after meeting or speaking with her would give her such a graceful title. Would it stick with this one?

Then a pause. His eyes lingered over her face. "What...? Oh god, is my forehead swelling up?" she asked looking up cross-eyed for a moment in a futile effort to view her own forehead.

In a moment, she backed up a few steps, cursing as she tucked in her head. He felt bad for hitting that lovely dark forehead of hers. But yet, she didn’t seem to be hard on him, rather confused and mumbling.


“Your head looks lovely—“ he paused, catching his tongue, “Ahem, uh, Fine. No swelling.” He grinned sheepishly, but man, was she lovely. He almost couldn’t help it. 

“Putting this little mistake aside, I’m Cassidy. And you are miss…?”

'Your head looks lovely'

Well, that was a relief to hear... Wait did he say 'lovely'? 

As soon as the thought materialized in her mind he corrected himself. Perhaps he's been hit harder on the head than she initially thought. But the conversation changed course quickly and she followed suit.

"I'm Paeon. Nice to run into ya Cassidy... or rather you into me." she remarked humorously with a playful smile. "What's got your down to the ground?" she asked.

They stared at each other, waiting for one to speak. Thoughts ran through his mind, and he had no doubt, some ran through hers. She introduced herself as Paeon. “That’s quite a special name. Well, I’m pleased to meet you Miss Paeon.” She then asked what had been keeping his nose to the ground: “Scents, many scents. New ones I’ve never smelt before. Ya see, I’m new to this place, a traveler looking for his own place in the world.”

A traveler. A spark twinkled in her eye.

"Where are you traveling from? How long have you been traveling? Do you have any cool stories?" she asked eagerly in quick succession. Her lack of self-restraint once again bleeding through.

For what Paeon heard was adventurer when he said, traveler. And any opportunity to delve into the hero's journey must not be passed up.

At his words, a twinkle in her eyes. Her face lit up like a child’s, and he felt like the spotlight was shining right on him. He didn’t have much in the way of “hero” stories, but some that were passed down, things he had heard. 

The excitement building between the two made way for a long conversation: “To start, little missy,” he began with a wink, “I’m from a place called Wyoming. Great plains, forests, geysers, Rocky Mountain ranges, and oh so many other things to see.” With each word spoken, a bold passion backed it. Oh, how he loved being able to talk about his home. “As for stories, being that my life only started a year ago, I don’t have much to offer. But I’ll give you what I can.” So he thought for a few moments, thinking, and then one good one came to him. “My father is a master Bison hunter back home. He’d always lead the hunts when they were after those big thundering creatures. On every full moon, our pack would have a small feast of all sorts of edibles, and he would be the one to present the bison meat.”

Once he finished his short story, he now turned the tables to Paeon. “What about you, miss Paeon? What’s your story?” His eyes showed a youthful curiosity.

Sorry for the wait. Really busy past few and upcoming weeks at work draining my energy to write. Hoping things change soon.

Wyoming. Plains and forests didn’t sound too exciting.. but geysers did and the implication of more to come.

He claimed to not have many stories given his age, but Paeon’s mind thought of herself not too long ago, eager to change that fact.

His father. A master bison hunter. It made her think of her own parents. “My father was our lead warrior. Taking on contestant after contestant and never being defeated. Though a small injury here and there is how he meet my mother, our head healer. Together they had me.” She said filling her chest big and proud. “A star pupil. A combat medic… My birth pack is filled with legendary individuals that have done all kinds of things. And one day I’ll return with stories of my own.” There was confidence in her voice… but disappointment lingered having not yet achieved her goal.

She spoke of legends, her very own father undefeatable, and her mother, a healer. What a tale, almost as it was a fantasy, and as she spoke, he could see all her confidence. “That’s amazing.” He replied, with wide eyes. “Man, I’ll bet it would be an honor to meet em’. Do they live in these lands?” What a coincidence, both of them had such similar pasts, or at least bits of them, as they only just met.  

“Do you have any plans to go from here? Are you a fellow traveler like myself?” He inquired.

Her energized mood took a small dip. Paeon didn't often miss her parents. She thought of them fondly but didn't feel homesick. The road home was a known one, one that required a great accomplishment under her belt. One she did not yet have. And that is what had her feeling down thinking back to home. "No. My birth pack is quite a distance away. I'm an adventurer... though... I'm short on an adventure right now." She revealed.

"Do you have a destination in mind?" perhaps she could tag along.

Her mood went from high and energetic to a low, almost melancholy, as she spoke of her pack and her lack of an adventure. His tail slowed, and he gave her reassuring look: “I don’t have a certain destination either, but I’m sure we can find an adventure. Would you like to tag along, be like…. My partnur or somethin’? He offered her to travel with him, and perhaps they could fulfill their dreams of being adventures together.

“And if we ever need a break, a friend of mine gave me a cave for a den. I can go freely to rest from traveling.”

When he said he did not have an adventure in mind Paeon was initially disappointed. Another dead end she thought. But his response quickly changed as he suggested they could find one... together. 

The shift towards possibility sparked something in her "Really!?" she responded ecstatically her tail a flutter, eyes wide.

A smile arose on her face and her tail shifted to a sway. Her humorous confidence restored she continued. "Well I suppose I could come along and help you out." she said playfully.

"I'm not one to need many breaks... but shelter from the elements with mother nature's most turbulent time just around the corner could be beneficial."

Taking a step forward and closing the gap between the two, she looked up to him and said "Lead the way".

Thanks for the thread! Want to finish this one and continue with another? I'm open to any location.

There was a moment of disappointment on the lady’s face, but that change in an instant. She must have liked his statement of sticking together, as her  whole body lit up, and her tail swayed with glee. This brought a happy feeling, which flooded his body and he too swayed his tail almost in sync with hers. “Yeah!” He exclaimed, “I don’ mind a bit! Ain’t no way I’ll turn down help an’ good company.”

She then gave him the go to lead on. “I say we head west, towards the settin’ sun. Go where the wind takes us.”

---

Sounds good to me. I’m gonna be busy with college starting back up, so things might be slow to continue.