Hot Pants wiped a bead of sweat out from her eyes, scanning the horizon. Nothing but dry, sun-bleached grass for miles around. She and Diego were going to need to rest soon. They had been travelling all day, and being out in the searing heat for hours on end had taken its toll on her. Had it not been for her horse rocking her every other second, she would have fallen asleep hours ago.
"We don't have much sunlight left, Diego. I can't have my horse do this for much longer; he's more tired than I am."
Diego didn't bother looking back at Hot Pants. The silence between them was only broken up by the steps their horses took.
"This is too early to stop, Hot Pants. There's still an hour of sun left."
"I can't push Gets Up much longer, Diego. Your Silver Bullet isn't going to fare too much better if we keep on like this."
The jockey's mouth twitched to a frown. It irritated him that she was right. She often was.
"I can push on further, Hot Pants. I'm not interested in taking any detours."
"You aren't working alone anymore, Diego. You know what could happen if you were to split apart from me." Hot Pants pulled up beside Diego, giving him a tired look. "We're making camp for the night."
Diego felt the corner of his mouth twitch. The jockey thought for a few moments before he slowed down, pulling back on the reins of his horse. "Fine." Diego swung his legs around to the left side of his horse, hopping onto the ground. His boots crackled in the grass. He tensed and relaxed his grip as he pulled a stake out from his bag, driving it into the ground before tying Silver Bullet up to it.
Hot Pants was a burden.
This was just one instance of many that had happened since they had teamed up with each other. He was a star jockey, and he was being held back by some nun who was more interested in her country's politics than the race she was participating in. Diego needed to get rid of her. He couldn't leave in the night, for obvious reasons. He wouldn't put it past Hot Pants to use her stand ability on him if he tried to sneak away while she was asleep. Killing her was a definite option, but he was worried about any reprecussions regarding the race. He knew that Steel's balloons wouldn't be able to watch him at night, but there always a chance he could be caught. Then again, he wasn't one to play it safe.
He would have to kill Hot Pants in her sleep.
Hot Pants fished a large, thin blanket out from her pack. She took it by the corners and flapped it out, letting it settle down on the grass. The last time she had slept on the bare earth, she had woken up with crushed bugs underneath her. It made her shudder thinking about it.
The nun looked out of the corner of her eye at Diego. She didn't trust him. He was certainly motivated, but it hurt him more than it helped him. His ambition drove him blind. Having motivation is admirable, but the jockey took it to dangerous extremes. Hot Pants feared she may face the brunt of it one day. She had been able to keep Diego in check when they had been travelling together, but she was worried that her effect on him was starting to diminish.
Hot Pants stepped over to her horse, watching Diego fiddle with his rope. She moved next to him, squatting down.
"Let me help, Diego."
The jockey didn't have a chance to protest before Hot Pants took the rope from his hands, loping it around the stake once. She twisted and tied the ends of the rope together into a simple knot, grunting as she tugged at the ends. She let the rope fall to the ground, reaching over for her own horse's line.
"I didn't ask for your help. I know how to tie a knot, Hot Pants."
"I'm only helping, Diego. Whatever gets us more rest for tomrrow is what we should be focusing on."
"You've been 'helping' too much, Hot Pants. I do not need you looking after me."
Hot Pants said nothing, tugging at the ends of her rope as she finished her knot.
Diego sneered. "I didn't allow you to come with me so that you could play babysitter."
The nun kept her back to Diego, walking over to her horse to take something out of the saddlebag. "Am I babysitting you, Diego? All I've done in our time together is help you. Saving your life isn't the same thing as doting." Hot Pants pulled out two things from her saddlebag. First, a hammer to pound the stakes in. Second, her stand, which she hid in the palm of her hand until she was able to slip it into her pocket. She had a feeling she might need it.
Diego took a few steps towards Hot Pants, tensing his right hand as his nails began to grow out, his flesh separating from itself to turn into scales. "That's not how I see it. All of the things you've done have slowed me down, not helped me."
Hot Pants kept her hand on her stand, listening intently to Diego. "You're just tired, Diego."
"I am not your child, Hot Pants." Diego's head was transforming. His lips went flat, and the corners of his mouth stretched out to the middle of his cheeks. Enough was enough; he was going to settle this issue with Hot Pants now.
Hot Pants had caught a slight slur in Diego's voice with that last line. She knew what he was planning. The two stood in place for a moment. The sun was lowering over the horizon.
Diego made the first move. He lunged forward and bared his teeth, pouncing to where Hot Pants was. Hot Pants ducked to her left, catching two of Diego's claws against her arm as she did.
The nun ripped Cream Starter out from her pocket and took a step forward as Diego turned around to get a look at her, spraying in an arc in front of his face. Diego let out a roar as skin was sprayed across his face in a thick gash, covering up an eye and the edge of his mouth. The jockey twitsted his head as Hot Pants made another attempt to spray him, the claws on his left hand digging into her shoulder as he tackled her to the ground.
Hot Pants let out a shocked gasp as Diego shoved her to the ground, the weight of the jockey on top of her. The nun's arm shot over to her neck, getting caught in Diego's jaws as he snapped at it. She let out a sharp cry as Diego's teeth dug into her forearm, blood smearing across her pale skin. She reached up to punch Diego in the face as he wriggled his head to and fro, opening up deep channels in her arm. The dinosaur let out an awkward grunt as Hot Pants punched his snout, loosening up his grip on her arm.
Hot Pants brought her stand forward and pointed it straight at Diego's eyes. She pressed down on the trigger as hard as she could. Thick dollops of foam sprayed across Diego's eyes, sticking and hardening as he let out a screech, slashing at her with his claws once again.
His right hand raked down the side of her face, tearing open her cheek as he flailed and raged. Hot Pants let out a harsh shriek as Diego tore her face open, pulling her arm down towards Diego's snout. She sprayed across his nostrils, and then went for his mouth. Her legs went frail as she drew flesh from them, foam filling the dinosaur's maw.
Diego's screams were silenced as the flesh hardened in his mouth, the jockey gagging and choking as his air supply was cut off. He fell to the ground and writhed from left to right, tugging at his neck as he drew the last bit of air from his lungs.
Hot Pants crawled back a few feet, her legs too weak to support her weight. She panted as she watched Diego suffocate, her heart beating out of her chest. The nun supported her weight on an elbow as Diego's movements began to slow, the jockey twitching and curling up slightly as his brain began to shut down. Hot Pants drew a bit more flesh from her legs as she sprayed her cheek shut, lying out in the grass. She took deep breaths and looked up at the sky, spraying a thin layer of skin across her arm. Silver Bullet and Gets Up had both run off, and she was alone. Her mind raced for a few moments before quieting down, the nun allowing herself to drift off into an exhausted sleep.