RDR2: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒔

A Serene Summer Night

The fire crackled in a soothing sort of way, reminding Arthur of the solidness and steadfastness of the ground beneath him and world around him. At least some things never change for him.

He didn't have a whole lot in the way of food at the moment, but what he did have he cracked into without hesitation. Vaguely remembering manners, he threw a can to the girl. It would be hard to find the treasure if she was dead. It would also be hard to fight off the guilt too, perhaps. Though he never would have admitted that part to himself openly.

She muttered a quick thanks before delving into the can of peaches. The only thing to punctuate the constant crackling of the fire were the sounds of eating.

Considering she had been tucked behind Arthur on his horse utterly out of view, he hadn't really gotten a proper look at Anne during the entire journey. Save for the end when she hopped off of course, but his mind was focused on other matters at the time. But, finally, here she sat somewhat silently in front of him. In plain sight.

It was hard to make out in the sparse lighting, but she appeared to have very rounded features. Her face sculpted into soft curves and adorned with grey, heavy lidded eyes. Her nose was sloped into a classic button shape and sprinkled with freckles. Her lips were as ordinary as any other. The only thing to stand out from the rest of her face: her eyebrows. She had rather high-arched eyebrows. The kind that reminded you of the likeness of a hawk. They were exceedingly sharp, almost unnaturally so.

Arthur's close inspection was interrupted by a rough clearing of the throat. "Not to sound cliche, but pictures last longer." He blinked to only be met with eyes staring back into his. Lost in his deep observation, he had almost not noticed how intently he was peering at her. It was a wonder she hadn't said anything sooner.

It seemed Anne had opted to rekindle what little conversation they had by simply stating, "You don't talk much."

Arthur came back with a quick rebuttal, "Could say the same 'bout you.."

"You got me there. But you wouldn't be the most talkative if you were in my situation." Her voice had a tired lilt to it. The long and draining day must've finally began to have its hold on her.

Arthur decided to pry a bit. Just a testing of the waters. "An' why's that?" His eyes scrutinized her as the questioned flowed out in his baritone voice. He was only met with a quiet smile.

Again, she twisted her neck back up to admire the sky. She had done that a lot ever since nightfall had come upon them. It was slightly concerning. Sooner or later, she'd be robbed right under her nose and be none the wiser because she was too busy ogling the stars.

"You ain't never seen stars before or somethin'?" Arthur was dumbfounded. Sure, the night sky was pretty, but it weren't nothing new. It was there to greet him every night. This night was no different.

"Not like this, no. The stars.... there are so many.... I feel like I could fall into the sky." She continued perusing the sky with her eyes as if her life depended on it.

"It would probably be advised that you don't do that."

She snorted at the response, "Thanks for the advice... I guess."

He nodded his head in acknowledgment to her response before reaching over to rekindle the fire some. The dying embers jumped about as if they were mocking him.

As he busied himself with furnishing the flames, Anne's gaze shifted slowly over to his horse. It was a sturdy Tennessee Walker of a mostly white and mahogany coloration. A handsome equine indeed. The trusty steed placidly nipped the grass blades below him as his tail whipped back and forth at the bothersome flies. Flies were vengeful in these parts, and the horse was bearing the worst of it.

She continued to admire the horse before commenting, "I like your horse. What's his name?" The horse flicked an ear in her direction as if it understood what she said.

Arthur peered up from his task to give his horse a quick glance, "Ya.. he's alright." Truth be told, he hadn't named the horse yet. The loss of his last mare was still a fresh sting in his heart, and he didn't even know what to call the horse.

"So, no name?" She inquired.

A weary sigh escaped Arthur, "Haven't really thought of one yet...." he couldn't quite fathom why the state of his horse's title really mattered that much and why the girl was so interested. But of course, there were a lot of things about the world that bewildered him and this was definitely not the first and certainly not the last.

"Hmm..." Anne gave the animal a quick look over whilst a single finger tapped contemplatively upon her chin before she continued her thought, "He looks like a Walter to me." She sat back with a pleased smile, awaiting Arthur's approval.

Having finally rekindled the fire to his liking, Arthur had deigned to crouch back down in a somewhat comfortable position and stare into its depths. He looked back up at her in amusement . "Walter?"

Noticing his questioning tone, Anne elaborated, "I like it. It's a simple enough name," she ventured on, "He just looks like a Walter."

Not daring to question her ever so flawless logic any further, Arthur provided her with an uncertain, "I suppose so.."

The two sat serenely for some time before arthur spoke up again. "I reckon we should go to sleep now. You can take the cot over there." It pained him slightly to have to give up his cot, but it didn't strike Arthur right to just have her sleep on the ground. He might be an outlaw but he still had honor to some degree.

He supposed he'd make do with what he could as he nestled himself at the base of a nearby tree and adjusted his hat over his eyes, hoping that sleep would arrive soon enough and caress him into blissful nothingness. The only thing to be heard as the two drifted off into slumber was the tired whine of the wind as it blew through the trees.