Aaaand we're back again :D! My weekend's been crazy o_o... Why you might ask? Well, I'll tell ya why; Adelie and I went visiting our friend who lives by the westcoast; Niko. She's the weirdest, craziest and the most vulgar shemale with an addiction to animals and videogames and on top of all, she has an amazingly severe anger management issue... Thats all you need, and wants, to know (trust me o_o)... But apart from that she's a pretty fun person ^^, at least you're not bored when she's nearby; I thought Adelie was going to die from laughter every single day o.O... And I got to meet the horse of my dreams; the Frisian stallion Bäbyn (V)! And I almost forgot; she's got the weirdest rabbit ever; the Flemish Giant Benny o.O... Seriously, that guy is exactly like King Julian from Madagascar! Only in rabbit form! He lives in the freaking LIVING ROOM! And he eats WINEGUMS! And drinks SODA! He comes when she calls for him! He can friggin HIGH FIVE (when he wants to)! And has claimed the ENTIRE sofa as his throne (in which only his Niko is allowed to sit next to him)! ALL HAIL KING BENNY THE GREAT! LORD OF THE LIVING ROOM!
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Meh it was an okay weekend ^^...
Nevermind, lets continue here now shall we xD?
Sorry for all the sillyness in the previous chapter, it was written during a math class on the morning -_-... Note to self: DON'T write ANYTHING when you're tired!
*** Chapter Twentyone : Crystal Canyon ***
Priss did some final adjustments to the saddle before sitting up. Birdie had been locked up for several days so the outside world was now to him the scariest thing since tumbleweeds came into existence.
"Last one to find our buddies pays for a round at the saloon!" Bentley hollered as his roadrunner did a little prancing step to the side and dashed off.
Priss was soon on his tail, when a shadow above her moved. She slowed Birdie down and looked up A pair of black pants were nailed to the sign above the saloon and were leisurely flapping in the swift breeze. Priss stifled a laugh. So, that's where Rangos pants were...
She looked back at her hyena friend who slowly was disappearing off into the plains. A cocky chuckle escaped her lips as she bent forward and whispered to Birdie;
"Lets show 'em"
The bird squawked and fell into a gallop after the dark brown roadrunner. Behind the two racers, one could hear a scream, filled with frustration and anger;
"BEEEENTLEEEEEEYY!"
Bentley barked out a laugh. Too bad he couldn't be there to see Rangos expression when he discovered his real pants. But hey, that scream was reward enough!
And with that raging shout echoing over the plains, the two riders quickly began to disappear, until two mere dots in the distance proofed that they were still on the same planet.
Meanwhile, the four men from Dry Creek had stopped for a short break at the Crystal Canyon; a large divide, separating a small segment of the road the Giants build, from the rest of the desert.
"I don't get it, why are we here again?" A grumpy looking cockroach asked and crossed his four arms over his armored chest.
"Because there's something weird goin' on in Dirt, Thomas." Elton answered and sat down on the ground, resting his back against a boulder.
Tarrant nodded and continued; "I mean, why would sheriff Rango just head off like that on his own? Especially lookin' fer the Rattlesnakes? First of all, NOBODY with their mind in the right place would just go lookin' fer 'em serpent devils, especially not alone! Second; there was something weird 'bout that 'runner of his... She was a real beauty, but definitively not someone that Rango would ride." He rubbed the bandage that were still wrapped around his head and grimaced.
"No matter what we did, we would only get a beating from that bird! I mean, c'mon! She wanted her food WARM! What kind of bird eats nothin' but freshly roasted seeds?" Elton nodded and pointed to his eye that was still a bit swollen and had gained a greenish blue color. But at least he could see through it...
Thomas the cockroach cocked an invisible eyebrow. "But if sheriff Graham were so worried, why didn't he just ask the sheriff?"
"Because he refused to answer any questions asked regarding Dirt..." The third man, a fennec called Carl, replied. "Sheriff Graham told me he had a feeling in his gut that something was stirring in Dirt... And now, I think he might bee right, cause I too can feel it. Something is definitively happening!"
Thomas was still skeptical. "Meh, I think it's only another one of sheriff Rangos crazy ideas. You said it youself, Tarrant; anyone with their mind in the right place would never go after the snakes alone. But I'm not so sure that the good sheriffs mind IS in the right place!" He shrugged with two of his arms.
"Yeah, you might be right 'bout that, Thomas. But why didn't he at least bring Priscilla with him? I've heard he's having troubles just finding his back porch!" Carl asked and frowned.
Thomas sighed and turned around. "Maybe she tried to talk him out of it so he decided to let her out off the fun? I'll be right back, my bladder'll explode any second now unless I do somethin' 'bout it!" He said and walked away.
The twins looked at each other as their armored friend disappeared amongst the boulders of the quarry. "Bugs have bladders?" They exclaimed in unison.
"Howdy there, fellas!" An unfamiliar voice said. Everyone turned around, hands on their revolvers. Down the steep hill came a tall hyena on a large roadrunner. He wore a dusty, dark coat over a wrinkly and poorly tucked in used-to-be-white shirt, and with a worn floppy hat on his head. However, his most noticeable feature was the wide, almost a big goofy, grin that seemed to reach from ear to ear.
"Sorry for startlin' ya!" He said and stopped his runner. He leaned forward and looked at the three men in front of him. "Couldn't help but to hear your conversation! You fellas are headed to Dirt, huh?"
"Who're you?" Carl asked instead of answering the strangers question. He had seen this guy once before. But he just couldn't put his claw on where, and that made him feel uneasy...
The grin seemed to widen as the hyena tapped his hat. "The name's Bentley, just Bentley!"
Earlier...
The two riders had more or less given up racing and were now riding in a steady pace side by side. Behind them a coralsnake would pop her head above the sands surface every now and then to breathe before disappearing underground again. Priss got surprised when she noticed they were being followed by Coral. But apparently, she was just there to make sure that they stayed in the right tracks. And judging by the looks she gave Priss whenever her head resurfaced, she might have another purpose too.
"Hey, Bentley!" Priss said and turned to her companion. "Why on earth would you do that to Rango? And why his pants?" She couldn't help but to ask. That mornings prank didn't make any sense what-so-ever. But then again, there were few things that Bentley did that actually made sense...
"Just wanted to see what would happen, that's all" He answered gleefully.
"But they were on the saloons sign! How did you get them all the way up there?"
"Climbed~!"
Priss shook her head. 'No more questions,' she told herself. 'You'll only get more confused'... She looked around. They were close to a divide called Crystal Canyon. It was a steep crack in the ground where water had passed thousands of years ago and carved out a swindling path. There wasn't any water in it anymore, but when the first settlers had arrived, they called it the Crystal Canyon because of the beautiful, crystal clear water that passed through it. It used to be a popular stronghold for smugglers.
Suddenly, Priss heard something from far away. Her ears perked up from their place underneath her hat and she turned her head to the source of the sound. The sound of people talking came from the bottom of the canyon.
"I think I hear someone!" Priss said and dismounted the runner and walked up to the edge. She crouched behind a few conveniently placed loose rocks. It took some times to spot the four men sitting in a crescent half circle and talking. Priss' eyes widened when she recognized them.
"Great! Just perfect!" She muttered and hunkered down with her back to the rock and covered her eyes, as if the men down there could see her.
"Yeah, I know! They're all perfectly bundled up together!" Bentley had joined her and stood on all four, looking down on the trio.
"No! It's not that!" She whispered to him and pulled down her hats brim over her eyes.
Bentley tilted his head and looked at her. "Eh?"
Priss sighed. "I know those men... They're all from Dry Creek..." She said and slowly turned around to look at the men again. This seemed to catch Corals attention and she listened eagerly when Priss pointed to each an every one of them as she told them their names. "That fennecs name is Carl. Carl McKenzie. He's an old friend to the sheriff of Dry Creek, Louie Graham. Those twin 'possums over there are called Elton and Tarrant Anderson, they're deputies like me. And that guy is... Hmm, thats odd..." She interrupted herself and frowned.
Bentley looked back at the men and repeated himself; "Eh?"
"I swear I saw Thomas Roach down there a few moments ago." Priss said and looked for the bug, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Yuck, I hate roaches..." Bentley said and did a disgusted grimace. "But, if you know these guys, why not just go down there and say hello?!" He added with a wide grin and stood up.
Priss followed and tried to stop him. "No, don't g...!" She panicked and tried to grab his coat, be he had already jumped up on the back of his roadrunner and headed down the steep path. "No! Bentley!" She almost shouted, but the hyena ignored her. Coral sighed, put her tail over her eyes and slowly shook her head. Priss had to bite her knuckles to not scream in frustration. "Bentley, you idiot!" She hissed through her clenched teeth and saw with pearls of panic running down her forehead how he announced his arrival and the three men jumped by his sudden voice.
"I can't watch this!" Priss winced to Coral and covered her eyes with her palms. No gunshot. No firing. No shouting. Yet. She slowly split her fingers to see between them. Bentley and the three men from Dry Creek were still talking, Carl looked annoyed though. She slowly breathed out a relieved sigh. So far so good.
Have to end it here, sorry ^^! Hope you enjoyed, I have no idea how many chapters this will end up in xD! Perhaps, 30-40 somewhere... Definitively the longest story I've written so far xD! … But then again, I've only written two o.O...
Nevermind, next chapter will be up in a few days~ ^^! See ya 'til then!
Delilah OUT!