Bad Beginnings (A RDR2 Fanfic)

Wolves and Books

Arthur practiced shooting often. Surprisingly, Hosea told Arthur how good the boy was getting, but Dutch scolded him because of how loud the gunshots were. Arthur was actually a quite talented shooter. He had very good focus and his aim wasn't terrible either.

Arthur also relished in his newfound freedom that came with having his own horse. He frequently rode to the store on his new horse with his new gun tucked into his belt, while Dutch and Hosea sat at camp and continued to plot their trip. Despite still being only 15, he felt more manly than ever.

The weather was getting cooler, signaling the start of fall, and they were anxious to leave. On the last night in Valentine, Dutch, Hosea, and Arthur decided to take an evening ride. All the way to the Grizzlies and back down to camp.

It was windy outside, and their jackets flapped behind them as they continued along the trail on their horses. The sun fell in rays through the trees with a soft orange glow, illuminating the leaves and dust in the air and creating dark shadows across the men's faces.

The path turned, and when the wind picked up, Arthur's long hair blew into his face. Dutch and Hosea laughed at him, and Arthur pretended to scowl at them.

"We should get you a haircut before we leave," Hosea said. "Can't have you looking feminine now!"

"Don't antagonize the boy," Dutch laughed as The Count tossed his head. "He'd probably try to steal a haircut if given the chance."

Arthur laughed at that. It seemed like years since when they first met, when, in reality, it had only been a couple of months.

Their loud laughter was suddenly interrupted by howling. Arthur had heard wolves howl from a couple miles away, but his instincts told him that they were close. It was confirmed when Beatrice paused, kicking and swinging her head. Arthur patted her neck trying to calm her down, when he saw them. Glowing eyes coming from the trees. Wolves.

"Let's get out of here," Hosea said, before digging his heels into the horse's sides and taking off. Dutch and Arthur quickly followed, the pack of predators on their heels.

The chase lasted what felt like years, bringing the men farther and farther from camp as the sun quickly sank below the horizon. The horses tossed their heads and kicked their feet, making them hard to control, as wolves nipped at their hooves.

After what felt like hours, the wolves were tiring out, and they made it out of range. Arthur released a premature sigh of relief, before his horse bucked him off, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

Struggling to breathe, Arthur stood, dizzy. Hosea yelled out to him to look out, causing Arthur to turn. There stood a single lone wolf, looking ready to eat the boy.

Without thinking, Arthur pulled his gun. As soon as he did this, the wolf leapt forward, ready to sink in his teeth. Time seemed to slow down as Arthur pulled back the hammer, then fired. The bullet lodged itself in the wolf's chest. It gave Arthur a few seconds to take a couple steps back, then fire again, this time hitting the wolf in the head. With a loud cry, the animal dropped dead in the dirt.

Arthur sighed with relief, dropping his arms and tucking the gun back into his belt.

Hosea was the one to break the silence. "Well, it looks like we have some more food. We should hurry up before more of them show up."

Arthur goes to try to lift up the dog, Dutch following. He manages to get the animal up onto his little shoulder. Dutch holds out his hands to take it, but Arthur manages to shake his head 'no' and get it into Beatrice.

Beatrice sighed with the feeling of extra weight, but gets a move on just fine. They hurried back to camp, Arthur riding the hardest he's ever done, but gets a feel for it quickly.

They manage to get home before midnight, but everything was still dark. Hosea gets a fire started while Arthur gets the wolf off his horse. Even though he managed to get it once, it was more difficult the second time, so Dutch had to take over with getting the wolf over.

"Good work, today," Hosea complimented Arthur, as Dutch was skinning the dog. "I thought for sure we were going to have to bury you."

"Or whatever was left of you," Dutch added with his evil grin.

"Thank you, Mr. Matthews," Arthur replied, ignoring Dutch entirely.

Hosea and Arthur both laughed at the hurt look that crossed Dutch's face. Dutch grumbled a bit before finishing the skinning of the wolf.

That night they had a midnight meal of the hearty wolf meat, then saved the rest for tomorrow and their travels.

Hosea was the first one to bed, leaving Dutch and Arthur to sit quietly by the fire. Arthur worked on drawing Beatrice in his journal, while Dutch read a book.

Before Arthur knew it, he was shaken out of his thoughts, and Dutch was showing him a page of the book, covered in the tiniest print of the symbols.

"Look at that quote there, son," Dutch said, pointing a ring-clad finger to a line of the page. Arthur pretended to read it, skimming across the symbols.

"It's really something, sir," Arthur replied, pretending he knew anything about what he just read.

"It really is," Dutch replied.  "Have you ever read any philosophy, Arthur?"

"I can't say I have, sir."

"At some point, I'll let you borrow one of my books. I think you'd enjoy it," Dutch said, clapping Arthur on the back.

"Maybe I will," Arthur agreed. Arthur felt bad for lying to Dutch, but he was so deep in it, there was no turning back now.

"Well, I'm off to bed, son," Dutch said. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

"Yessir," Arthur replied. "Good night, Mr. Van der Linde."

"Good night, Mr. Morgan," Dutch replied with a nod, before going into his tent.

Arthur felt himself sigh, before crawling into his own tent. Arthur slipped off his boots and his belt, and slid under his blanket.

He dreamt of wolves and books.