RDR2: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒔

The Bombshell At The End of a Rainbow

They nibbled at their meager meal as the snow lay silently around them and the cold kept the two enclosed in its frosty embrace. It was a scene fit for a painting, but at the time only food was a priority and the consumption of it.

Anne observed the meat in her hand with scrutiny. Her jaw continued to work as her face made a variety of expressions, not quite negative or positive. Finally, she came to her conclusion."

Huh... Honestly, this isn't that bad."

Her declaration grabbed the attention of her sandy-haired companion across from her. He barely even lifted his head from his meal before he put simply, "Well, when you're hungry... rabbit generally does the trick."

Anne began to elaborate on her expression. "I mean..." she stumbled slightly on her words, as if trying to figure out how to deliver them more precisely, "it's not what I expected a rabbit to taste." She ended with a more sure tone.

There was no hiding the quizzical look that spread flat on Arthur's face, mostly being centered on his expressive eyebrows. This time he lifted his head fully to view the unusual girl in front of him."Well how'd you expect it taste?" His voice was layered with keen interest. It wasn't completely unheard of for someone to not know the taste of rabbit meat, but Arthur was intrigued nonetheless.

She pursed her lips in thought for a moment as she had finally scarfed the last remains of her food. Her eyes swiveled back to Arthur and she concluded unsurely, "Gross... I guess."

There was a brief split in the conversation and Arthur mulled over her reply, not entirely surprised. However, his attention had been drawn to a newer subject as his eyes landed on her clothing that peeked beneath his old coat.

"Hope you don't mind my prying, but where exactly are you from?" He inquired in his gravelly voice. Anne's ears perked at the question, though it didn't seem to be out of eagerness.

"Not here." Her voice bore a flat tone with light irritation nipping at the side.

Arthur didn't attempt to disguise his disappointment at the statement as he quipped, "Not one for exact answers, are you?"

As Arthur had provided his reply, Anne began to occupy herself with her ferociously knotted hair and started to fiddle with it; trying to undo the lumps that had formed and brush her fingers through the locks.

Being interrupted from her task, she huffed and peered back up at him. Her mind looked to be at war with itself before she finally caved and said, "Alright, I'm from California. Born and raised, not that it matters or anything."

Arthur noted her attire with a swift, "Your clothes from there too, by any chance?" Despite his persistence to ignore the feeling, curiosity about her clothes had been repeatedly prodding at his side the entire trip.

Anne drew a disgruntled sigh. "My clothes are from my closet." Arthur gave her clothing one quick lookover before retorting, "So that's a yes?" He leaned forward with a more intent look in his eyes.

Anne's eyebrows ascended almost into her hairline. She flung her arms out exasperatedly before exclaiming, "What's it with you people and my clothes?"

Arthur almost appeared sheepish at the reaction, perhaps pushing her a bit too far and settled with a, "Just curious 's'all.."

Anne flashed him an impatient glance before switching the topic. "We should go ahead and get moving, if I remember correctly - the treasure shouldn't be far off."

The first thought to pop in Arthur's head was a snarky "if there actually is treasure" but he mentally waved it off. He wanted to get done finding the gold bars as quickly as possible and resolved to focusing on just that.

By the time he emerged back out of his thoughts, Anne had already began to shamble towards the horse. She turned and looked at Arthur expectantly.

Arthur hadn't really thought about it, but the girl had started to grow on him some. She was quick with her tongue when she wanted to be, but not exceedingly so. She certainly came out of her shell a quite a bit since they first met, seeming considerably more sure of herself around him.

Arthur heaved himself onto the animal and held out a hand for Anne to grasp onto. Even her getting on and off the horse was more precise, taking less time to awkwardly squirm onto its back.

Once the two had situated themselves comfortably upon the horse, Arthur commanded it forward and they continued on their journey towards the treasure.

A lot of the trip was filled with icy breezes here and there, seemingly to remind them of the frigid climate they were in - and Anne's mumbled singing of various songs to which Arthur had never heard of.

A few conversations sprinkled the time they traveled. Though, most died as quick as they came to life and before Arthur realized, they had arrived at a rather desolate looking shack.
Its peeling wood was splintered all about and the roof was partially caved in. It was no wonder that it was abandoned. Just the sight of it could depress anyone who laid eyes on it.

"This should be it. Hopefully." Anne stated. She narrowed her eyes at the building as if it owed her something. In this case, it kind of did.

They both hopped off the horse and fought through the thick blanket of snow to the house.

Arthur curiously peered though the doorway, wondering who in their right mind would hide two gold bars in a spot like this. He still didn't completely trust the girl on this, but it was too late to change his mind.

Not willing to wait a second longer, Anne clamored over the mess of splintered wood and made her way inside. Some scuffling ensued - most likely due to her hurried search for the treasure.

Arthur crinkled his eyebrows and dared another glance through the bent doorway, "Uhh... need help?" He asked a bit uncertainly.

More shuffling and a loud exhale.

"That would be preferred. This floorboard is putting up a fight."

"Well, why didn'ch'ya say so?"

Arthur stepped carefully into the building, making sure to not bump his head on the low ceiling which had forced him into an awkward half-crouch.

Anne sat on her knees, with both hands spread onto the floor next to her. She reached up with one arm to brush her hair out of her face before sparing a glance at Arthur. "It's this one, right here. Has to be."

She indicated a rather scuffed up rectangle of wood right in front of her. Unlike the rest of the shack, this floorboard was constructed of a slightly lighter shaded wood than the rest. Or maybe it was Arthur's eager mind jumping to conclusions. There was only one way to find out.

Arthur surveyed the piece of wood before moving in to take action. He bent down and brushed along the sides of it with his fingertips before trying to lift it. It creaked and groaned under the strain.

After what seemed like a good minute of a battle between Arthur and physics in general, the board finally gave way and complied to his efforts.

This, in turn, revealed a dusty box.
Without a moment's hesitation, Arthur's hands acted of their own accord by snatching at the latch of the box and prying it open.

It seemed the girl wasn't cracked after all. Because, 'lo and behold: two gold bars.

Or at the very least, two very good impersonations of ones.

Anne appeared to be overcome with relief at the sight and let out the bated breath she had apparently been holding. A grin had overtaken the features on her face, making its round appearance that much more.

Arthur gave her an appraising pat on the shoulder before commenting, "Well how 'bout that."

However, they barely had time to fully celebrate their find before the ominous click of a gun punctuated the moment.