Dahozhoni Meadow he was living on borrowed time

Her stubbornness grated on him. It took a whole new level of patience not to snap something hurtful at the kid for her unwillingness to cooperate. Surely by now she had figured out he was trying to help? Other than the fact that he knew his words would fall on deaf ears again (pun intended), Butterfly simply didn't have the energy to argue with her.

Patiently, he waited until he could hear her pawsteps behind him before travelling further. As he lead her towards a shallow canyon carved out by a now dry riverbed, he wants to ask her where she's from; did she have family? Travellers were common in the desert, hell, he was one himself, but it was unusual for one that appeared so young to be out here all alone.

The boy thinks of his sister and how lonely it had become since she'd said goodbye. 

A group of prickly pears nestled up against the low cliffside - Butterfly spots his prize and leans in carefully to snatch a mouthful of red fruits which he promptly deposits at the girl's feet. The deliciously sweet juices are a welcome relief from the dry air as he bites one in half and offers her the rest, hoping it would be enough to convince her she wasn't about to be poisoned.