Phoenix Maplewood Dust

The sun was high in the sky when Reno passed into the forest and was met with a blanket of shade on his lean frame. Summer burned as hot as ever, even in the new terrain he had found. The cowboy wondered if that was simply the way the world was – scorching beneath the touch of sun or covered by feet of snow, not much in between.

Reno paused near the base of a large tree. He lifted his gaze to the surrounding areas and observed for a quiet moment. Birds chattered over his head, drawing his snout upward to peer at them through the boughs of the trees. A light breeze offered some relief from the heat, but it was only for a moment.

A large squirrel raced down the trunk of a nearby tree. Reno followed it with his gaze, drawing his tongue across his snout in hunger.

if neon ends up with a crush on cowboy men after this thread, call it a success <3

the beach was nice, the waves lulled her to sleep and the salt clung tightly to her coat. but after some decent grooming in the river, the noble has found her way along the coastline up north inland. she's done her best to avoid the heavily scented areas along the way, instead searching for open places to camp, rest, and find time to kill.

and for now, it seems the girl has found a new favorite snack: berries, specifically red and blackberries that grow abundantly on the bushes. a once pristine face now is smeared with juices, giving off a sickening resemblance to the clown prince of crime.

she can be heard giggling to herself as she wiggles deeper into the bushes, head first in a crawling state. a large raspberry was staring at her in a tempting manner and she was convinced it had to be hers. a bystander would probably end up seeing just a wagging white tail sticking out of the bushes.

little did she know, she was only a few mere yards away from the lone ranger searching to settle his own stomach.

A happy giggle startled the rugged cowboy from his trance. It was enough to startle the squirrel, too. The creature paused for a moment at the base of the tree and peered into the woods for signs of a threat. Better than risking the loss of life, the squirrel raced back up the tree and disappeared somewhere in the foliage and boughs. Reno followed it for a moment before his eyesight failed him and he was forced to recognize that he’d lost a snack.

The cowboy smacked his lips. There was no use getting sour over it. He’d just have to keep going, find something else that he could quell his hunger with.

The white tail drew his eye. Reno froze in his place and stared at the swaying white. He could have been ambushed and he’d have been non the wiser, but he was grateful that he’d caught sight of the other wolf.

Drawing toward where she was buried head-first in the berry bushes, Reno chuffed out a soft grunt of a greeting.

Ain’t ever tried berries before. They taste alright?

the gruff voice of a man snatches away her attention from the delectable fruit in front of her for a moment. though, it was for a moment. as the girl retreats from the bush, with leaves and twigs abundant in her coat, she holds onto a little stem holding up two blackberries. she had already snatched up the large raspberry for herself.

her ears airplane for a moment, embarrassed for appearing in a messy state to the man. not to mention the heavy smears of leftover berry juices against her mouth. she was caught red-handed, like a kid with her hand in the cookie jar. 

"mmhm" she gets out with a muffled voice before setting down her little bundle. "if you prefer sweet things, that is." a pink tongue reaches to attempt and wipe off the evidence of her previous snacks. "try one," she encourages as she noses the berries closer to the man, "they may end up being your favorite snack yet."

The girl smacked her lips clean of the berry stains and, with no hesitation, pushed some toward the dusty cowboy with a smile that easily swept her features. The man stood awkwardly, unsure about accepting her generous offer without speaking further. She might have just been hoping to share her moment of delight, he thought.

Folks sure were nice around those parts.

Reno dipped his head and scooped up a row of the berries on his tongue. When he bit into them and juice erupted in his mouth, he found the flavor to be strong and sweet. The cowboy was pleased enough with it. He hummed thoughtfully before flashing a quick and rough grin at the girl.

Yer right, miss. Sure is sweet on the lips. Some of these’ll make a man sick, won’t they?

Reno wasn’t too well educated on berries or other herbs. He knew that there were some plants that could kill a man. It was best not to mess with those things.

she liked his rough appearance, it was much different than the uptight boys at home who were always told to be pristine and clean and sharp. his accent surely caught her attention as well, and neon couldn't help but quietly fawn over the outlawish man.

"they can, or worse. if you don't know 100% what you're doing and eating, you're better off going hungry than poisoning yourself." a small word of advice from the girl, as she had seen poisonings take place before due to the common error of what was safe and what wasn't. neon would need to brush up on her herbs and such but at least had some common knowledge that may help her counterpart.

"do i get to know the name of the man I'm sharing berries with today?"

The cowboy grunted at her description of the more lethal berries. He didn’t have much of a mind for that. In fact, he wasn’t positive how one would even know whether a berry would cause damage, or death, without trying it firsthand. He figured someone could watch and wait to see if anyone else brave or foolish enough would try them, but then that seemed like a long waste of time.

Reno, he offered to the girl with a small nod of his head. The dusty cowboy glanced to the left before settling himself. She didn’t seem like she meant any harm. If he hoped to find the rest of his gang, he knew that he would need to ask questions of the natives. No question about it, most folks would recognize when a band of outlaws roamed into town.

How’d ya get to know all this without hurtin yerself? the cowboy asked.

"reno, what a charming name." 

oh neon, if there's any lesson from anyone, it's to not get involved in childish, romantic affairs with cowboys when you know nothing about them. she would have to keep her small stranger crush under wraps. when asked about her knowledge, though, neon thinks for a moment. 

"mostly learned from my parents, though if you make enough friends with smart wolves, they'll give you any knowledge they already have." hopefully reno was keen on being friendly, though neon wasn't quite sure what to make of his personality. he seemed friendly enough, which was always a plus to her. "I could give you a mini-lesson, to get you started so you don't eat the wrong things in life." 

a small gesture of kindness. one she hoped would be remembered.

It seemed she found his name charming. The man offered an expression of mild surprise. He’d never heard it called something like that. They were simple folk who had simple names. He hadn’t spent much time thinking about whether it had any charm to it. The berry-hunter did not offer him a name in return, however. The cowboy squinted at her curiously.

The girl did expand on her knowledge. She’d learned some from her parents. She’d learned some from the kindness of others. Reno thought that he knew enough rotten folk that he’d have been poisoned a long time ago. It was curious to know that others navigated the world in a different way. She even offered to teach him some of what she’d learned.

Well, miss… I’d be real obliged if you did teach me a think er two. Might do me some good in the future, I s’pose.

The dusty man nodded at her.