Post by Maximor on May 3, 2017 18:36:24 GMT
The air was hot and dry, with a heavy wind that carried tumbleweeds across the desert. Forests of giant cacti stood tall, making shade for those who wanted cover from the scorching sun. Noon had just rolled in, and it was the hottest part of the day.
Two coyote people sat by each other on a big rock that was under the shade of a giant cactus and some other desert vegetation. One was a female with a poncho in place of a top, the other was a male who had a bit more to cover himself, although the heat was really getting to him. They were siblings who worked as patrols and ranch hands for a little village they resided in near the border of Mexico, and they were enjoying their day off with some rest and relaxation.
"So, how has my queer brother been doing with his crush lately?" the girl coyote teased the male one. The coyote guy was clearly embarrassed, "Rio! Why do you always-" but he was interrupted, "You know I'm messing with you," she laughed with a smile. After a pause the male coyote spoke remorsefully, "It didn't go well." "What happened this time?" Rio asked, to which he responded with anger, "The cabron just wanted a sex relationship! Self-absorbed idiot wanted me to do everything for him, yet he wouldn't show me any love!" "I'm sorry Roxie," the coyote girl put her arm around her brother, "I was really hoping that it would work out." The male coyote sniffled, "Why are they always like this? They never care about pleasing you, they never care how you feel! Hell, none of them even bothered to jack me off! These selfish idiots just want to use you then throw you away! What the hell?!" After this statement, Rio quickly embraced him, holding her crying sibling in her arms. "My brother, I'm sorry about all of this. Let's leave this behind, life goes on. I know I've said this many times, but those idiotas were too shallow to see what value you hold. Keep trying to find someone who can understand, I'll be right here by your side," she spoke. With tears running down his face, Roxie asked, "Why does it always hurt this much?" Rio looked to the sky and answered, "I don't know, but I'll be here to get you through it."
The sudden sound of galloping interrupted the moment, a Hispanic human on a horse was headed their way with a desperate look on his face. Rio jumped off the rock and went over to meet the man. "Rio, Roxie, we are being attacked!" he cried out. It took a while to process the thought, she never thought of her village getting raided. Her family was there, this fact quickly brought back her focus. "Roxie, C'mon! We need to go now!" she yelled out to her brother, who then jumped off the rock and followed. The two coyote siblings got on their nearby horses, joined the man, and they rushed off to the village.
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They were only half-a-mile away from home, but the trio pushed their horses to get there as soon as they could. The ride was a blur, they zipped past every rock and every cactus flawlessly. They were very fast, and arrived at their destination in less than two minutes.
Gunshots indicated a large gun fight that was happening between the villagers and the invaders. The trio dismounted their steeds and ran into their town with their weapons drawn. The coyote cowgirl pulled out her personal revolver, it was her favorite weapon and she was really good at using it. After running past many buildings and scared villagers, they took cover behind a wagon and got a visual on their attackers. They were not the typical narcos or thugs that she encountered on the road before, these were an entirely new enemy. They carried large caliber hunting rifles and semi-auto weapons, they were dressed in camouflage as well, and they all seemed to be humans. Their off-road vehicles were parked at the edge of the village, and just nearby were the attackers themselves.
The second one man armed with a rifle popped out of cover to shoot, Rio quickly lined up a shot and emptied his brains all over the ground. The attackers saw this and were shaken by the accuracy of that shot, but still kept firing at the villagers. As some of them provided suppressive fire, others got out of cover to advance toward Rio's location. Roxie saw this and told her, "We have two on the left and three on the right coming this way." Acknowledging this, she focused on her side and got ready to deal with the two men, while the others fought the enemies on their side. There was a building that obscured her view of where they were coming from, so she got out of cover and moved along its wall. With a gun in one hand and a tomahawk in the other, she waited for the attackers at a corner. She saw one man at a medium range keeping his distance, then she dropped him with a single shot to the chest. Suddenly, her gun hand was grabbed by someone who had been hiding just around the corner. Rio struggled, and the enemy revealed himself. He was out of cover, so the coyote brought down her tomahawk and split his head open, it was an instant death. With the enemies on her side dealt with, she made her way toward the position of the attackers. A few of the enemy vehicles took off and sped away, leaving only four active fighters where the vehicles were. This number was quickly reduced to zero when Rio got close and fanned the hammer of her revolver, eliminating all of them in a moment. She looked over at the remaining vehicles and noticed a strange symbol on one that looked like a knife with an antler wrapped around it. She had no idea what it meant, but Rio told herself to remember this symbol in the future.
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As fast as it started, the battle was over. When the other fighters were done finishing the enemy, the regrouped at the center of the town. There were various kinds of people, humans, lizards, snakes, cats, dogs, and coyotes. After looking through the crowd for some time, Rio found Roxie along with their father. They shared a group hug, happy to see that they each were okay, but their father's mood quickly changed to distress. When the siblings asked what was wrong, he didn't answer, he just gestured them to follow him. They made their way to the mission in their village and stepped inside, on the ground were a lot of wounded villagers and their families. Soon, Rio saw her mother on a bedroll with bloody rags wrapped around her torso, laying still. The coyotes nearly sprinted to her, and worried Rio called out, "Mami...."
She grabbed her mother's hand, and was happy and surprised to feel a warm grip. She weakly spoke, "Rio....Roxie....Julio...." She began to smile when she saw that her children and her husband were okay. "I knew you would all be fine, God is watching over you," she told them. Roxie softly cried, "Mom...." She hushed him, "Chiquito, don't worry, everything will be okay." The family was very close, and her children were in tears to see their mother in this condition. Trying to hide his worry, their father spoke up, "Her wounds aren't fatal, but she has lost a lot of blood. She'll be fine as soon as she gets treatment." At this news, the siblings felt relief that the situation wasn't as bad as it looked.
Various wounded people ant their loving families filled up the church. They all were in the same boat as Rio and her family were. Thankfully nobody got killed during the fight or received fatal wounds, all of the injuries were treatable. After spending a long time with her mother, Rio and Roxie went to their home to make lunch while their father went to talk to their local doctor.
When they finished preparing the food, the two coyotes made their way back to the mission to have lunch with their mother. It was a calm and pleasant meal of carne asada tacos with rice and beans. They also made extra food for the other wounded people, who were very thankful for it. They enjoyed the afternoon together, talking about their participation in the battle and what they would do in the future. Rio's mother didn't seem to like the idea of her daughter killing all the people she did, but understood that it was necessary, and commended her for it. With their mother's reassurance, the brother and sister eventually left to go and resume their day.
As they walked through the town, the heard yelling coming from the doctor's office which ended with their father storming out. "Dad, what's wrong?" Rio asked with concern. Julio noticed her and quickly changed his expression, evasively saying, "...Oh, sorry mija, it's nothing." She knew he was lying, but didn't want to make him mad by asking again. "Alright," she rolled her eyes. As soon as he was out of sight, Rio walked over to the doctor's office, with Roxie hesitantly following her. "Hey Rio, pops said that it was nothing, why are you going there?" Roxie questioned his sister. "Can't you read him? He's lying, something is up and it's probably not good," she answered. When she got to the door, she took a deep breath then entered.
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The doctor's office was set up like the kind suited for an old fashioned western setting. There was no machines, complex tech, or anything fancy that a modern institution would have. This doctor, a white middle-aged human, practiced the old ways of medicine, to some people he was more like a shaman. He made his own remedies which surprisingly worked well, and he harvested all the ingredients locally for them. He also was exceptional at diagnosing problems, he had vast knowledge of symptoms and could even understand things like internal injuries despite not having advanced medical equipment. Perhaps the best thing about him is that he never charged his patients, he always seemed to actually care about the town's well being and knew everyone well, and he was loved for his service, so it was odd for Rio to see her father angrily leave his office.
"C...Come in," the doctors voice stuttered with a nervous ring. "Howdy," Rio greeted while walking over to the desk where he sat, "I just saw my dad angrily leave your office. Is everything okay?" "Oh, you saw that..." he replied. "Yeah, I did," she spoke while making a strong eye contact with him, "So what's going on? My dad wouldn't tell me, but it must've been important enough for him to be angry." The doctor looked back pensively like he didn't know what he was supposed to tell her, and before he could think of something to say, Rio continued, "I'm going to find out one way or another. If something is wrong, tell me, I would like to help if I can." She broke him, the doctor finally spilled the beans, "Alright. We don't have enough medical supplies to treat everyone, we're running out fast, I don't think some of these people are going to make it." She suggested to him, "What do you need? I can go get ingredients and whatever else you need for this." The doctor halfheartedly replied, "Rio, it's not that simple. One problem is that I don't have enough time to make the medicines for their wounds, I can only stabilize them with what I have right now. Even if I did get help making with making the medicine, the ingredients aren't in season anyway." Unsatisfied with the answer, Rio persisted, "Those can't be the only solutions, what if we got supplies that are ready to use?" "That's the other problem," the doctor stopped her "We don't have any. Getting some would be the best case scenario. Your father and some others are going to hold a meeting about it this evening." Rio's eyebrow raised when she heard this, "Thanks for telling me doc, anyway goodbye" she said before walking out the door.
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After waiting a long time, the meeting was finally about to take place. Rio shadowed her father to the outskirts of town and into an abandoned quarry where other townsfolk were waiting around a large bonfire. She laid down on a dark ledge that overlooked the meeting but was just close enough to hear what they were saying. The discussion went on about the situation on the need for medical supplies with the people arguing about how to acquire them, who would go, and what to do about the towns defense. Rio tuned out the most of it, but began to listen when her father started speaking.
"Someone needs to get out there and find what we need, our loved ones are dying as we speak," Julio spoke to the others. "We can't form a group for this, we need every fighter here to defend our home. We barely survived the attack earlier!" an owl in the crowd argued. "Where are we supposed to look," another voice questioned, then was followed by another, "What if those fuckers catch wind of our caravan? They'll destroy us." Voices rose into a uproar with everyone arguing about what to do. "Enough!" Julio broke up the commotion, "It's my turn to speak right now. We do need every fighting spirit we can get to stay here and protect the village, our enemies are dangerous and will likely return. However, when it comes to retrieving medical supplies, I never said anything about sending out a group." "What are you talking about?" one voice asked. The coyote man answered, "For the amount of things we need, we need only one person to transport it all." "Going out there alone? Are you loco?!" a hawk woman cried, "Nobody has ventured out of our area in a long time, it's too dangerous." "Maybe it is," Julio answered, "But we don't have any other options. We need every fighter available to watch over our home and the injured, plus just one person shouldn't attract much attention." The others grew silent, it was a good argument. "Who will go?" someone else asked. "I will," Julio stepped forward, "I will go." Rio's jaw dropped when she heard this.
After the meeting was over, Rio went back home and awaited her father's return. She wanted to confront him about what he was about to do tomorrow, she completely disagreed with the idea. Julio was a tough man, one of the toughest in their community, but he developed a heart condition as he aged, this caused him to miss a lot of action and not perform as well as he once did. Aside from that, Rio loved her father very much, she didn't want him to leave his family behind. When he finally got home, all she could do was stare at him. Julio picked up on her demeanor and spoke, "Rio, I'm going on a trip outside of our lands tomorrow. Please take care of your mother and your brother." "Okay," was the only thing that came out of her mouth. She wanted so badly to object to this and even offer her help, but she knew that her father would never agree. "Love you," he told her. "Love you too dad." Nothing else was said for the rest of the night.
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The coyote girl awoke tired from a poor night of sleep the next morning. Rio had a tough time getting herself to go to sleep that night with all the worry about everything that had happened; her mother's state and her father's idea to set off on his own clouded her mind and left her restless. Unable to sit around in bed any longer, she got up, put on what minimal clothes she wore, and walked out of her room. As she made her way down the hall, she saw her parents' room with the door ajar. It felt different without her parents there for her to wake up for once, and her father must have left earlier for his journey. The other person in the household was Roxie, who would soon be disturbed by his sister.
The door to his room was slightly opened, and the male coyote laid on his bed covered with only a thin sheet from the waist down. One hand under the sheet and the other caressing his body, he softly moaned to himself. Rio put on an evil grin, and just before Roxie reached his peak, the coyote girl kicked the door wide open and slammed it against the wall. Her brother screamed loudly out of fear, he was genuinely shocked and might as well have had a heart attack. Standing outside the door to respect her sibling's privacy, she spoke while trying to contain her laughter, "Playing with yourself again? In a time like this?" Roxie was pale at first, but he quickly turned red with embarrassment. The coyote brother whined, "What the hell Rio?!" The coyote girl burst into laughter when she heard the shame in his voice, she had successfully startled him again. Roxie asked his sister, "Was I being too loud?" She answered, "Naw, I just was passing by until I decided to ruin your moment." Her brother protested, "I hate it when you do that!" His sister laughed, "I know."
After successfully disturbing her brother, Rio carried on with the rest of her morning, having breakfast, visiting her mother at the church, and taking care of her duty as a sentry for the day. When the afternoon rolled around, her shift ended so she went back home to take a nap. Before she could slip out of consciousness, she received a rude wake-up call, a banging on the door. She answered it and was met by a short Mexican lady who carried a concerned expression on her face. "Howdy," the coyote greeted. The woman spoke in Spanish, a language that Rio was trying to learn. While she didn't understand much of what the woman said, Rio's ears perked when she understood her mentioning that her father was back in town. "Gracias," the coyote thanked the woman, then quickly took off before she could say anything else. Rio was happy to hear that her father had returned so soon and made her way to the center of town, she wanted to be there to greet him.
She noticed a crowd of people that seemed to surround someone, thinking that it was Julio, she walked on over. She spotted her dad's horse following the crowd, which only gave her more joy that her dad was back home. She ran to the crowd and tried to push her way past the others to get a look. She was right, her father had returned home.
Rio's smile quickly faded away and her heart sank at the sight of her father. He was being carried on a stretcher, unconscious. Patches of Julio's fur were soaked with blood and underneath the rags tied around his body were nasty wounds that caused the bleeding. The commotion dispersed and the wounded man was rushed over to the local doctor, with his distressed daughter closely following. Rio could hardly believe what she was seeing, her beloved father it a deathly state like this, it caused tears to run out of her eyes and her world felt like it was about to fall apart.
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In the desert sunset, the two coyote siblings stood in the doorway of their home with their arms wrapped around each other and grief in their hearts. "Rio, please be careful out there," Roxie begged to his sister. "I promise I will," she answered, "You too, we can't afford to have you end up like mama and pops." The image of her parents popped back into her head, she could see them lying still with shallow breaths and soaked in blood. While the reality of the situation wasn't as extreme as she imagined, Rio figured this was how things would end up if her village didn't get the medicine it needed; the people would just keep getting incapacitated until there was nobody left who could fight, then they would be killed by the invaders or infection. Time was running out, she couldn't stick around any longer, she had to leave now. She let go of her brother and made her way over to a hitch where her steed was tied to. She was going out into the world outside the range of her civilization's lands, something that not many people did in her quiet village. If it weren't for the fact that she would be racing against time to save her mother, her father, and all the wounded people, she would have been happy and excited to be going out there like this. She was set up to travel lightly, with only supplies that would last a few days, a map stained by her father's blood that gave her an idea on where she would be going, her personal revolver, her tomahawk, and her father's personal sawed off double barrel shotgun which she grabbed from his horse's saddle while getting ready to set off. Everything was ready to go, Rio went to visit her mother to say goodbye and check on her still unconscious dad. When she was done, she took off North-West with the people she loved in mind.
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Rio had gotten about a mile away from her town, she turned to get one last look at her home on the sunset horizon before continuing onward. Soon the desert would be getting dark, a good time to travel for those who wanted to avoid the blazing sun, but the night still had its own dangers. Along with the typical snakes and large scorpions that would come out to enjoy the night, there was always the risk of the desert winds kicking up a sandstorm that would make things even harder, but there was no indications of such a thing happening and Rio was grateful for this. It was going to be a nice peaceful night for her to ride through, or so she thought as the evening came around.
As she rode on further, her horse began to act nervous; Rio always trusted her loyal steed to help point out nearby threats, but there was nothing to be seen all around her. The sound of air being cut and the flapping wings sounds of a large creature nearly made Rio jump and caused the horse to sprint away. She had looked all around except for up, where the attack came from. She turned around and was met with the sight of a very large bird gliding after her. It was a Thunder Bird, local legendary monster, although she had never seen one before or heard of people actually encountering it. Its big sharp talons were ready to lash out; the large avian was hunting her, and it was gaining speed quickly and wouldn't miss its target this time. With the window closing fast, Rio made a quick move and reached for her father's shotgun; she got it out and took aim at the bird who was just a few yards away from snatching her up. She pulled one of the gun's triggers and blasted the creature right in one of the wings. The Thunder Bird lost its speed quickly and fell behind, it tried to get back up into the air and keep going after its target, but its wounded wing wouldn't let it keep up with Rio. With her pursuer taken care of, the coyote cowgirl rode away and resumed her journey.
Rio hadn't expected to encounter a threat so soon, much less a legendary beast, but she remained vigilant in her quest to save her people. She rode on for a long time with nothing interesting happening and grew bored of the trip. Her boredom died down when she entered a new landscape transitioning into a different kind of desert than the one she knew. It had much more plants than the other one, but no giant cacti. The terrain was also a lot more rocky and rough, a factor that caused her steed to slow down a bit. From the looks of this area in comparison to what was described on the map, she was at about the halfway point of her trip and things were going quite well. Further on, she got out of the desert and began a trek through some mountains that would lead up to her destination. Rio was quite amazed to see a different landscape than the desert she was used to, the climate was much cooler and there were trees everywhere. Being in a different place than she was used to, she raised her guard and her eyes scanned all over the place for any potential threats, making sure to look up this time as well, but there was nothing around.
She came to a ledge that overlooked the mountain range and stopped to take in the view. The mountains went on as far as the eye could see, but one detail that stood out was a paved road down below her. Not wanting to push her steed too hard, Rio decided to head down and take the much smoother path over the rough mountain terrain. While the road was cracked with tons of potholes, it was a lot easier on her and her horse. About an hour up the road, the peaceful ride was disturbed by the sound of something big and metallic coming up the mountain. Rio turned her head and saw lights down the road coming up in her direction fast. At the point she was at, she couldn't get off the road with the area being surrounded by high ledges, so she spurred her horse which picked up speed after this. The light was getting closer and with the way it was approaching the coyote could tell that it was hostile. Suddenly, two smaller lights came into view from behind the first one, and went faster in Rio's direction. The lights were gaining on her, with the smaller ones in front and the first bigger one behind them. The road ahead changed into a curvy path that ran along a cliff on one side and a steep hill on the other, there was still no way out.
The lights were finally right on her heels the sources were finally revealed, they came from two motor bikes, each with two men on them. The pursuers on bikes maneuvered with one on each side of the coyote, and the second riders on each bike drew club-like weapons that that emitted electricity. Rio reached for her guns, but fumbled with the motion of her horse, so she instead also drew her melee weapon. The bikes started to close in on her from both sides and the clubbers raised their weapons, ready to swing. "Woah!" Rio ordered her mount, which complied and "braked", getting her out from between the attackers and causing them to miss. She then spurred her horse to get back up to speed, ready to deal with her enemies. One bike got right next to her, with the second rider swinging his weapon at the coyote cowgirl. She avoided his attacks with little effort, but was surprised to see sparks fly when she deflected a blow with her tomahawk; she wasn't familiar with electric weapons like this, but her tomahawk's wooden body protected her from getting shocked. Seeing an opening, she delivered a kick to the club man and nearly caused the bike to fall down, although they slowed down to regain their balance. Suddenly a loud crackle noise sounded and Rio's horse whinnied and pulled away from the other bike just nearby that came in for a sneak attack. With her attention turned to the other attacker, Rio engaged him and deflected his blows. The attacker then swung for the horse instead, hitting it right in the nose and almost causing it to fall over. This cowardly attack angered Rio greatly, so she closed in on the attacker and the two clashed. After deflecting more strikes the attacker went for the horse again, but this time Rio went on the offensive and hacked her ax right into her enemies back, causing him to fall off. The driver of the motor bike noticed this and kept his distance from the coyote and reached for something on his bike. Fearing that it was a gun, Rio reached for her own, successfully this time, and shot the biker before he could reach whatever he was trying to. The bike went off the cliff, and the other one soon came to take its place in the fight. The second rider ditched his club and switched out for a large hunting pistol. When the enemy fired, although he missed, Rio was stunned by the sound of the gunshot, it was a big caliber given the sound and was very powerful, something she did not want her or her horse to get hit by.
The cliff the road went along ended, with now a relatively flat but slightly inclined ground, a place where she could get off the road. She guided her horse over there and they got off of the road, but the bike followed. Seeing a bunch of trees up ahead, Rio made her steed go that way in hopes to lose her pursuers. The idea slowed them down a bit, but they went around the woods and continued chasing her. Another shot from the enemy's gun rung out and made a large hole in a log that Rio was passing by, barely missing. That was not her only problem, the coyote looked ahead and saw that the ground transitioned into a slope, and she couldn't see the edge. Her orse was going too fast to turn back now, so she hoped for the best as she drew the shotgun. With her enemy on the right taking aim, she pointed her weapon at him and fired. She ended up missing her intended target but instead hit the driver, causing him to go out of control and take the other rider with him on a deathtrap down the slope. The bike sped down the slope until it disappeared over the then visible ledge, with the living rider screaming as he plummeted to his death. "Woah!!!" Rio screamed to her horse as she pulled back on the reigns. The horse was going to fast, skidding down the slope until the cliff was only a few meters away. They were going over the ledge.
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Rio and her horse hit the ground with a loud thud, one that wasn't as hard though as she thought it would be given the drop though. She looked around and was surprised to see that she had not gone over the edge and plummeted to her death, she had only fell a few feet down into another slope that wasn't as steep and led down to the bottom of the mountain. The two slid down the gravel of the mountainside, getting battered by some of the larger rocks that stood out, but the ultimately made it down with no serious injuries. After taking a small break to recover from the fall, Rio got back on her horse and took a look at the map for where to go next. "Well, that was convenient," she smiled as she saw that the trip down the slope had caused her to skip a long stretch of road. Happy with this, the coyote cowgirl resumed her journey.
As she spent the rest of her trip without any more incidents, her thoughts began to wander and she found herself thinking about her loved ones and her home. Her dear mother was doing well for the most part, but her wounds were going to get infected without the right treatment. As for her father, Rio didn't know what to think about the potential outcomes; he was in an even much worse state than his wife, he hadn't woken up since he was taken in, but he was still breathing. Julio had several wounds to the torso and this discouraged Rio, however the doctor told her that he might be able to save him with the right equipment, but she didn't have time on her side, she was in a race for her dad's life. She couldn't let him die, she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye before she left. And what about Roxie? She couldn't lose him, if the enemies returned she wouldn't be there to protect him. These conflicting thoughts drove her mad, she had to finish her quest as soon as possible.
She stumbled upon a new place, this time it was a community, "Deerhorn Mountain" according to a sign she noticed. She looked back at the map and found that she had reached her destination, she was in the right place. By then it was either midnight or really early morning, nobody was around and all the lights were out, save for a few lamps on some paths. Rio flipped over her map and saw some instructions on the back describing the specific place where she was supposed to go, a small house on the outskirts of the community. The coyote made her way up to the place where the house stood and found not a house, but rubble from one. "It didn't say anything about the house being destroyed," Rio worried as she did a reality check. Looking around, she noticed a small stairway on the side that led down to a door below the foundation of the house. She dismounted her horse and made her way to the door. She had come all this way to get the medical supplies her village needed, and she couldn't fathom the thought of being denied. Rio knocked on the door and waited for a response. "Who's there?" an aggressive male voice came from behind the door. Rio answered firmly, "My name is Rio, I am from the village of San Pacheco. We are in need of aid, is this the Deerhorn Medical Outpost?" "Deerhorn Medical Outpost? No, this is my home." the voice replied with less aggression and a hint of curiosity. "Can you please direct me to the Deerhorn Medical Outpost?" the coyote girl requested. The voice answered her, "Umm...look, there is no Deerhorn Medical Outpost, at least not in the time I've been here. This town doesn't have a doctor or anything like that." Rio's heart sank at this news, she pleaded, "Can you please tell me where I can find the closest doctor, medic or anything? Please, my mom and dad are hurt, and so is-" "Your mom and dad?" the voice interrupted her, sounding genuinely concerned. "Yes, my parents," she responded, "I don't want to lose them...." After a long pause, the male voice spoke up, "Alright, let me unlock the door." After several locking and clicking noises behind the door, it opened up. In the doorway stood an odd young man with a strange form that looked something like a red panda. "Sorry," he said, "Come on in, let's talk about that." Rio followed him inside into the basement of the house where this strange guy lived. As she looked around, she took note of a sign near the entrance that read "Max's Secret Base".
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The odd red panda guy was a kind host for Rio, despite trying to act tough at the door, he invited her in and the two conversed on a salvaged leather couch. The coyote girl told Max about the crisis back at home and her journey all the way to his base which was supposed to be an infirmary. "A medical outpost huh? Well that would explain the boxes full of medical things I found after moving in here," Max realized. "You have medical equipment?!" Rio asked with excitement. "Yeah," he answered, "You can have it if you'd like, I have no use for them." The coyote was speechless, she was in disbelief over this response and filled with joy at the same time. She was even happier with what he said next, "There are a bunch of things you probably wouldn't be able to carry on your horse, and given your desperation, I don't think you've got much time. If you'd like, I can give you a ride in my car over to your village and drop the things off there." The coyote, although happy, began to wonder why this guy was being so generous, she did a reality check, dropping her happy act and asking Max, "Why did you agree to help me? I didn't even offer you anything yet, and medical supplies are valuable." Max looked away at a wall and he sighed, "If you really want to know, then ask me again when this problem is resolved." While it was unusual for a stranger to be so generous, Rio didn't feel any bad vibes around Max and she felt like he could be trusted. "Need some excitement anyway, things have been slow around here lately," he chuckled. The coyote cowgirl sprung up to her feet and picked Max up, tightly hugging him with gratitude, repeatedly thanking him. When she finally let go, Max took a few steps back and explained with an embarrassed tone, "Yeah....I'm not really the cuddly type," trying to disregard the fact that he hadn't been hugged like that in a long time and that he was being held by an almost topless girl. "Oh....sorry about that," Rio apologized. "It's fine," he fretted, "Not really used to that. Anyway, you're welcome, but you can thank me when this is over." They both talked some more about the problem at hand and getting to San Pacheco, and eventually Max got her to agree to some rest before departing in the morning. With Rio dozing off in his couch, Max rested easy feeling some warmth in her company, he thought she was a really cool person.
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The two woke up at the crack of dawn and loaded the supplies into Max's car, a silver SUV. Unfortunately, Rio had to leave her horse behind at the base, but promised it that she would be back. When they were finally ready, they reviewed their route, plotted it in the car's GPS system, and hit the road. Rio was astonished by the speed of the car compared to her horse, it flew up and down the roads quickly and got them out of the mountains in no time. Right at morning, they reached the transition into the desert and sped through the highway. No other cars had been out at the time, they had the road all to themselves, well at least for a while.
At one point, up ahead they spotted a road block that consisted of a few big cars and several people armed with assault rifles. "Looks like we got narcos up ahead," Max announced. "Damn," Rio rolled her eyes, "Looks like we are going to have to turn back and try another way." "That won't be necessary, watch this," the red panda guy snickered as he flipped a switch in the car. A projected interface and HUD appeared on the windshield, and the console flipped over to reveal a panel with buttons and a joystick. After everything was ready, Max put the pedal to the metal and made a beeline toward the road block. The narcos up ahead set up an offensive position when they saw the incoming car and opened fire on it. Rio disapproved of this crazy idea to take them head on, fearing the incoming bullet storm and no place to hide, but was baffled when the gunshots hit the windshield and were deflected like a shield. Noticing his passenger, Max laughed to see her amazement at his car's armor. "Our turn now," he declared as he pressed a button then grabbed the joystick. A prompt on the windshield HUD came up, with a single crosshair in the middle. Using the joystick, Max dragged the crosshair across the screen and locked on to multiple targets, then he hit the button on top of the joystick and delivered a payload to the enemies. Several missiles were launched from a hidden tubes at the front of the car, each flying right to the areas that had been marked on the HUD. The several explosions demolished the roadblock and destroyed their enemies. The car drove through the blaze an continued the trip.
"That was amazing!" Rio exclaimed, "You took care of all of them!" "Yeah," Max agreed, "Haven't used the missiles in a long time, forgot how fun they were." The coyote asked him, "Does this car have any other surprises?" Max listed them for her, "Well we got the missiles, the windshield HUD, a heavy machine gun, caltrops or tire spikes, a rear flamethrower, radar scrambler, a heavy armor kit, leather seats and cup holders. No working radio though." "Wow, you really are equipped to deal with anything," she stated. "Yeah," he said, "Anyway, let's keep going."
The rest of the drive went smoothly without any problems. The two talked for the rest of the way and got to know each other better during the trip, and they took a mutual liking to each other. Time flew by fast and they eventually arrived at San Pacheco. Rio jumped out of the car and made a run to the local doctor, pleasing the man with the great news. After this, she ran back and pulled Max out of the car, they grabbed the supplies and Rio escorted him to the town's mission, where the doctor and the injured awaited.
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"Dad," a voice called out, as the one who heard it slipped in and out of consciousness. "Papa, everything is okay. C'mon, get up," another voice spoke up. "Julio, Rio is back," a third voice announced. The coyote man suddenly jolted awake and sat up, immediately regretting that due to his wounds. "Dad, be careful," one of the voices demanded, revealing its source to be Roxie. "I'm home," one of the other voices chimed, coming from Rio. "Rio...you're safe. I'm so happy you came back," her injured father praised. "I'm sorry that we couldn't save our village, it was a task too big for any of us to take on" he sniffed. "What are you talking about?" Rio chortled, "We got the medical supplies and the doc is treating the others right now. Look, mom's okay." "You....You did what?!" Julio was shocked by this statement. "Julio, she did it," his wife cheered, "Our little girl got the aid our village needed, she saved all of us." The injured coyote couldn't believe what he was hearing, he was shocked that his daughter went on such a dangerous journey, but at the same time he was so proud of his girl and happy to see what she had accomplished, especially when he, one of the toughest people in his village, had failed. Tears of joy watered down the proud coyote father's cheeks, "Oh my God, you really did it. You have no idea how proud of you I am, my daughter." The coyote family shared a warm group hug, happy to be together and have their problems resolved.
Max stood at the edge of town, looking off into the desert, not noticing Rio sneaking up on him until she stood right beside him. "Thank you so much, but I still have to ask, why did you help me like that?" the coyote asked him. "Still want to know," the red panda acknowledged, "Alright then." Beyond them the sun set over the desert landscape as tumbleweeds rolled around the sand. "Your family is so precious, their unconditional love is irreplaceable," Max quavered, "Nobody that has that kind of bond with their family deserves to lose them." There was a brief pause, before he continued, "Seeing how much you loved your kin reminded me of my relationship with my family. They meant the world to me." "Where are they now," Rio asked hesitantly. "In heaven," Max replied with sorrow, "They have been long gone ever since I participated in some cryogenic experiment that had me asleep for so many years. I never got to say goodbye or even find out what happened to them. I just hope that their lives were happy." "I'm sorry," Rio put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't be," Max continued solemnly, "And don't ever abandon them. Don't make the same mistake I did." "I won't," Rio answered, agreeing with everything he said to her.
Rio walked with Max all over the town, getting a look at how much the situation improved. It took a long time, but everyone in the mission was treated for their injuries and would be making a full recovery. There was no activity related to their attackers, everything was nice and calm. The village crisis had been taken care of and things were getting back to normal. Rio was just waiting for another wave of invaders to come along and cause trouble, but no hostiles ever came. As they went around, she told everyone about Max, much to his displeasure, and he was thanked for his donation of medical equipment. Eventually, they ended up at the doctor's office where her father and the rest of her family were. They walked into the room and she introduced him to her family. "Kid, you have no idea how significant what you did for us is," Julio thanked Max, "You have our gratitude." "No problem," the red panda answered coolly, "But Rio's the one who deserves all the credit for going as far as she did for you." "Don't be so modest," they coyote guy's wife laughed, "Not everyone is just willing to hand out something like medical equipment for free you know." "Anyway," she continued, "Do you have a cool story to tell us about your journey?" Rio's eyes lit up, and then she enthusiastically told everyone in the room about her adventure.
By the time Rio finished her tale, everyone was about ready for bedtime. During the time she was talking, Max had noticed Roxie shooting discreet looks at him. "He's pretty cute," the red panda thought to himself. After they left the doctor's office, Rio and Max began a walk to her house, ready to turn in. "Hey Rio," Max asked the coyote cowgirl, "Who's that coyote guy who looks sorta like you, the one that was there during your story?" She replied, "He's Roxie, my brother. I saw him looking at you adoringly." "Yeah," he confirmed, "He's adorable." Rio's mischievous smile grew wide, she was hoping he would say that. "Can you keep him company tomorrow, I need to handle some family things," she asked. "Sure thing," he answered, not picking up on her intentions. They finally made it to her house and got ready to turn in for the night, with Max sleeping on a bedroll in Rio's room nearby her. After saying "Goodnight" to each other, they drifted away into dream land.
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The morning came quickly and the two woke up to another day. Rio crept around and noticed her brother doing his "morning activity" again. "Hey Roxie," she knocked on his door. "Goddammit Rio! Can't you just let me be alone for a while?" he growled. "No," she smirked, "There's actually someone here who would like to see you, someone I think you like." Her brother implored, "Someone? Who? Wait, don't-" It was too late, Rio had kicked the door open and threw shocked Max into the room before shutting the door behind him. "Have fun while I'm gone boys!" She chimed obnoxiously before leaving the house, satisfied with what she did.
Rio met with her parents that morning and held a discussion with them over something she had been wanting to do for a long time. "When I stepped out there, I was amazed by the world beyond our territory. So many things I had never seen before, a whole new experience. Sure, there were dangers, but I think I've proven that I could handle myself." "Rio, C'mon!" her mother protested, "You've just gotten back, you can't be serious about going back out there again!" Julio added on to this, "Aside from that, you may not be so lucky next time. While you were able to deal with the threats you encountered out there, they were not very significant ones. There are worse things than Thunder Birds and small bandit gangs out there. I'm not underestimating you, but you shouldn't underestimate the outlands." Rio sighed, "I know, but I'm just tired of being here all the time. Nobody has left our village in such a long time, but I want to change that." "Rio...." her mother begged. "No! I'm not missing out on this opportunity of a lifetime," the coyote cowgirl snapped, "I've done everything I possibly could over here, I think it's time to move on." The debate went on for a long time, but eventually Rio wore down her parents.
"I'm not abandoning you," Rio pleaded, "I would just be going out on an adventure for a while. I would come back." Despite her mother's protests, her father agreed with his daughter, "Fine, I guess it would be wrong to hold you back with that fire burning in your heart." Rio was so happy when she heard this and was about to thank him, but he interrupted, "But only under one condition. You can only leave if you have someone who will watch your back out there." She already had her answer, and spoke, "Max, the guy who gave us his medical supplies. He has experience out there and is really nice." Her father raised an eyebrow then chuckled, "Not a bad choice. There aren't many people like him out there." Rio's mother sighed, "I guess there is no stopping you now. If you are going out there, please just be safe." "I will mami," her daughter smiled.
Once the talk with her parents was over, Rio took a nostalgic stroll through her town. She remembered all the big events in her life that happened here, but was upset as she thought about how her whole life had taken place here. She loved the village, but didn't want to spend the rest of her life stuck in the same place, Rio wanted to go and see what the big world had to offer. She wanted to leave for the adventure of a lifetime.
After taking in the scene of her hometown at noon, Rio walked over to her house to make preparations for her departure. When she walked in, she was met by the scene if her brother wearing nothing but an apron, making lunch, with Max helping. "Well, you too are getting along well," she joked. The second he heard her voice, Roxie nearly jumped out of his skin before making a mad dash to his room. "Yeah," Max laughed, amused with the sight of the embarrassed coyote. After a while, Roxie returned in his typical clothes, still red about what had just happened. The trio enjoyed lunch together, after that was done, Rio asked Max, "So, when are you going to have to leave?" Max replied, "A little later today. Why?" The coyote cowgirl took in a deep breath then requested, "Can I please come along with you? I want to get out of here and explore the world. Besides, I still need to get my horse from your place." "Sure," Max answered, "I don't mind that at all." Like before, Rio lifted him right off his feet in a tight, grateful hug, causing him to beg for mercy. "Thanks, I can't wait," she declared.
After much preparation, sunset came around and Rio and Max were ready to leave. They were just at Max's car, saying goodbye to Rio's family. "Take care of each other," her father urged the two. "Don't forget about us dears," her mother pleaded, "And come back to visit us so we know you're okay." "Goodbye," Roxie said as he waved to his sister and winked at Max. After some parting hugs, Max and Rio jumped into his car and turned it on. Waving one final time, they took off and began the road trip back to Max's base. "Thanks for all of this, and thanks for giving my brother some much-needed love," Rio said. Max answered, feeling uncomfortable at how open Rio was on the topic, "Yeah...alright. I wanted to make it clear with Roxie that it was just a fling and that I'm not into a dedicated relationship, but he seemed okay with it." "I've never seen him this happy since before he....changed," she stated, "Seeing the smile on his face when we were leaving, you really must've made him howl." "Yeah," Max chuckled, "I actually didn't expect him to do that." Rio burst into laughter upon hearing this answer, causing Max to laugh as well. When they were done, she asked him, "So, what is this place we are going to?" "Deerhorn Mountain, Socal," he responded. "Socal?" Rio pondered. "Socal is the overall general area," Max explained, "Want me to tell you more about it?" "Sound good," she accepted his offer, "Might as well have something to do during this long trip." The two drove off into the sunset, not knowing the adventures they would experience together in the future.
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Finally done with this.
Two coyote people sat by each other on a big rock that was under the shade of a giant cactus and some other desert vegetation. One was a female with a poncho in place of a top, the other was a male who had a bit more to cover himself, although the heat was really getting to him. They were siblings who worked as patrols and ranch hands for a little village they resided in near the border of Mexico, and they were enjoying their day off with some rest and relaxation.
"So, how has my queer brother been doing with his crush lately?" the girl coyote teased the male one. The coyote guy was clearly embarrassed, "Rio! Why do you always-" but he was interrupted, "You know I'm messing with you," she laughed with a smile. After a pause the male coyote spoke remorsefully, "It didn't go well." "What happened this time?" Rio asked, to which he responded with anger, "The cabron just wanted a sex relationship! Self-absorbed idiot wanted me to do everything for him, yet he wouldn't show me any love!" "I'm sorry Roxie," the coyote girl put her arm around her brother, "I was really hoping that it would work out." The male coyote sniffled, "Why are they always like this? They never care about pleasing you, they never care how you feel! Hell, none of them even bothered to jack me off! These selfish idiots just want to use you then throw you away! What the hell?!" After this statement, Rio quickly embraced him, holding her crying sibling in her arms. "My brother, I'm sorry about all of this. Let's leave this behind, life goes on. I know I've said this many times, but those idiotas were too shallow to see what value you hold. Keep trying to find someone who can understand, I'll be right here by your side," she spoke. With tears running down his face, Roxie asked, "Why does it always hurt this much?" Rio looked to the sky and answered, "I don't know, but I'll be here to get you through it."
The sudden sound of galloping interrupted the moment, a Hispanic human on a horse was headed their way with a desperate look on his face. Rio jumped off the rock and went over to meet the man. "Rio, Roxie, we are being attacked!" he cried out. It took a while to process the thought, she never thought of her village getting raided. Her family was there, this fact quickly brought back her focus. "Roxie, C'mon! We need to go now!" she yelled out to her brother, who then jumped off the rock and followed. The two coyote siblings got on their nearby horses, joined the man, and they rushed off to the village.
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They were only half-a-mile away from home, but the trio pushed their horses to get there as soon as they could. The ride was a blur, they zipped past every rock and every cactus flawlessly. They were very fast, and arrived at their destination in less than two minutes.
Gunshots indicated a large gun fight that was happening between the villagers and the invaders. The trio dismounted their steeds and ran into their town with their weapons drawn. The coyote cowgirl pulled out her personal revolver, it was her favorite weapon and she was really good at using it. After running past many buildings and scared villagers, they took cover behind a wagon and got a visual on their attackers. They were not the typical narcos or thugs that she encountered on the road before, these were an entirely new enemy. They carried large caliber hunting rifles and semi-auto weapons, they were dressed in camouflage as well, and they all seemed to be humans. Their off-road vehicles were parked at the edge of the village, and just nearby were the attackers themselves.
The second one man armed with a rifle popped out of cover to shoot, Rio quickly lined up a shot and emptied his brains all over the ground. The attackers saw this and were shaken by the accuracy of that shot, but still kept firing at the villagers. As some of them provided suppressive fire, others got out of cover to advance toward Rio's location. Roxie saw this and told her, "We have two on the left and three on the right coming this way." Acknowledging this, she focused on her side and got ready to deal with the two men, while the others fought the enemies on their side. There was a building that obscured her view of where they were coming from, so she got out of cover and moved along its wall. With a gun in one hand and a tomahawk in the other, she waited for the attackers at a corner. She saw one man at a medium range keeping his distance, then she dropped him with a single shot to the chest. Suddenly, her gun hand was grabbed by someone who had been hiding just around the corner. Rio struggled, and the enemy revealed himself. He was out of cover, so the coyote brought down her tomahawk and split his head open, it was an instant death. With the enemies on her side dealt with, she made her way toward the position of the attackers. A few of the enemy vehicles took off and sped away, leaving only four active fighters where the vehicles were. This number was quickly reduced to zero when Rio got close and fanned the hammer of her revolver, eliminating all of them in a moment. She looked over at the remaining vehicles and noticed a strange symbol on one that looked like a knife with an antler wrapped around it. She had no idea what it meant, but Rio told herself to remember this symbol in the future.
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As fast as it started, the battle was over. When the other fighters were done finishing the enemy, the regrouped at the center of the town. There were various kinds of people, humans, lizards, snakes, cats, dogs, and coyotes. After looking through the crowd for some time, Rio found Roxie along with their father. They shared a group hug, happy to see that they each were okay, but their father's mood quickly changed to distress. When the siblings asked what was wrong, he didn't answer, he just gestured them to follow him. They made their way to the mission in their village and stepped inside, on the ground were a lot of wounded villagers and their families. Soon, Rio saw her mother on a bedroll with bloody rags wrapped around her torso, laying still. The coyotes nearly sprinted to her, and worried Rio called out, "Mami...."
She grabbed her mother's hand, and was happy and surprised to feel a warm grip. She weakly spoke, "Rio....Roxie....Julio...." She began to smile when she saw that her children and her husband were okay. "I knew you would all be fine, God is watching over you," she told them. Roxie softly cried, "Mom...." She hushed him, "Chiquito, don't worry, everything will be okay." The family was very close, and her children were in tears to see their mother in this condition. Trying to hide his worry, their father spoke up, "Her wounds aren't fatal, but she has lost a lot of blood. She'll be fine as soon as she gets treatment." At this news, the siblings felt relief that the situation wasn't as bad as it looked.
Various wounded people ant their loving families filled up the church. They all were in the same boat as Rio and her family were. Thankfully nobody got killed during the fight or received fatal wounds, all of the injuries were treatable. After spending a long time with her mother, Rio and Roxie went to their home to make lunch while their father went to talk to their local doctor.
When they finished preparing the food, the two coyotes made their way back to the mission to have lunch with their mother. It was a calm and pleasant meal of carne asada tacos with rice and beans. They also made extra food for the other wounded people, who were very thankful for it. They enjoyed the afternoon together, talking about their participation in the battle and what they would do in the future. Rio's mother didn't seem to like the idea of her daughter killing all the people she did, but understood that it was necessary, and commended her for it. With their mother's reassurance, the brother and sister eventually left to go and resume their day.
As they walked through the town, the heard yelling coming from the doctor's office which ended with their father storming out. "Dad, what's wrong?" Rio asked with concern. Julio noticed her and quickly changed his expression, evasively saying, "...Oh, sorry mija, it's nothing." She knew he was lying, but didn't want to make him mad by asking again. "Alright," she rolled her eyes. As soon as he was out of sight, Rio walked over to the doctor's office, with Roxie hesitantly following her. "Hey Rio, pops said that it was nothing, why are you going there?" Roxie questioned his sister. "Can't you read him? He's lying, something is up and it's probably not good," she answered. When she got to the door, she took a deep breath then entered.
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The doctor's office was set up like the kind suited for an old fashioned western setting. There was no machines, complex tech, or anything fancy that a modern institution would have. This doctor, a white middle-aged human, practiced the old ways of medicine, to some people he was more like a shaman. He made his own remedies which surprisingly worked well, and he harvested all the ingredients locally for them. He also was exceptional at diagnosing problems, he had vast knowledge of symptoms and could even understand things like internal injuries despite not having advanced medical equipment. Perhaps the best thing about him is that he never charged his patients, he always seemed to actually care about the town's well being and knew everyone well, and he was loved for his service, so it was odd for Rio to see her father angrily leave his office.
"C...Come in," the doctors voice stuttered with a nervous ring. "Howdy," Rio greeted while walking over to the desk where he sat, "I just saw my dad angrily leave your office. Is everything okay?" "Oh, you saw that..." he replied. "Yeah, I did," she spoke while making a strong eye contact with him, "So what's going on? My dad wouldn't tell me, but it must've been important enough for him to be angry." The doctor looked back pensively like he didn't know what he was supposed to tell her, and before he could think of something to say, Rio continued, "I'm going to find out one way or another. If something is wrong, tell me, I would like to help if I can." She broke him, the doctor finally spilled the beans, "Alright. We don't have enough medical supplies to treat everyone, we're running out fast, I don't think some of these people are going to make it." She suggested to him, "What do you need? I can go get ingredients and whatever else you need for this." The doctor halfheartedly replied, "Rio, it's not that simple. One problem is that I don't have enough time to make the medicines for their wounds, I can only stabilize them with what I have right now. Even if I did get help making with making the medicine, the ingredients aren't in season anyway." Unsatisfied with the answer, Rio persisted, "Those can't be the only solutions, what if we got supplies that are ready to use?" "That's the other problem," the doctor stopped her "We don't have any. Getting some would be the best case scenario. Your father and some others are going to hold a meeting about it this evening." Rio's eyebrow raised when she heard this, "Thanks for telling me doc, anyway goodbye" she said before walking out the door.
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After waiting a long time, the meeting was finally about to take place. Rio shadowed her father to the outskirts of town and into an abandoned quarry where other townsfolk were waiting around a large bonfire. She laid down on a dark ledge that overlooked the meeting but was just close enough to hear what they were saying. The discussion went on about the situation on the need for medical supplies with the people arguing about how to acquire them, who would go, and what to do about the towns defense. Rio tuned out the most of it, but began to listen when her father started speaking.
"Someone needs to get out there and find what we need, our loved ones are dying as we speak," Julio spoke to the others. "We can't form a group for this, we need every fighter here to defend our home. We barely survived the attack earlier!" an owl in the crowd argued. "Where are we supposed to look," another voice questioned, then was followed by another, "What if those fuckers catch wind of our caravan? They'll destroy us." Voices rose into a uproar with everyone arguing about what to do. "Enough!" Julio broke up the commotion, "It's my turn to speak right now. We do need every fighting spirit we can get to stay here and protect the village, our enemies are dangerous and will likely return. However, when it comes to retrieving medical supplies, I never said anything about sending out a group." "What are you talking about?" one voice asked. The coyote man answered, "For the amount of things we need, we need only one person to transport it all." "Going out there alone? Are you loco?!" a hawk woman cried, "Nobody has ventured out of our area in a long time, it's too dangerous." "Maybe it is," Julio answered, "But we don't have any other options. We need every fighter available to watch over our home and the injured, plus just one person shouldn't attract much attention." The others grew silent, it was a good argument. "Who will go?" someone else asked. "I will," Julio stepped forward, "I will go." Rio's jaw dropped when she heard this.
After the meeting was over, Rio went back home and awaited her father's return. She wanted to confront him about what he was about to do tomorrow, she completely disagreed with the idea. Julio was a tough man, one of the toughest in their community, but he developed a heart condition as he aged, this caused him to miss a lot of action and not perform as well as he once did. Aside from that, Rio loved her father very much, she didn't want him to leave his family behind. When he finally got home, all she could do was stare at him. Julio picked up on her demeanor and spoke, "Rio, I'm going on a trip outside of our lands tomorrow. Please take care of your mother and your brother." "Okay," was the only thing that came out of her mouth. She wanted so badly to object to this and even offer her help, but she knew that her father would never agree. "Love you," he told her. "Love you too dad." Nothing else was said for the rest of the night.
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The coyote girl awoke tired from a poor night of sleep the next morning. Rio had a tough time getting herself to go to sleep that night with all the worry about everything that had happened; her mother's state and her father's idea to set off on his own clouded her mind and left her restless. Unable to sit around in bed any longer, she got up, put on what minimal clothes she wore, and walked out of her room. As she made her way down the hall, she saw her parents' room with the door ajar. It felt different without her parents there for her to wake up for once, and her father must have left earlier for his journey. The other person in the household was Roxie, who would soon be disturbed by his sister.
The door to his room was slightly opened, and the male coyote laid on his bed covered with only a thin sheet from the waist down. One hand under the sheet and the other caressing his body, he softly moaned to himself. Rio put on an evil grin, and just before Roxie reached his peak, the coyote girl kicked the door wide open and slammed it against the wall. Her brother screamed loudly out of fear, he was genuinely shocked and might as well have had a heart attack. Standing outside the door to respect her sibling's privacy, she spoke while trying to contain her laughter, "Playing with yourself again? In a time like this?" Roxie was pale at first, but he quickly turned red with embarrassment. The coyote brother whined, "What the hell Rio?!" The coyote girl burst into laughter when she heard the shame in his voice, she had successfully startled him again. Roxie asked his sister, "Was I being too loud?" She answered, "Naw, I just was passing by until I decided to ruin your moment." Her brother protested, "I hate it when you do that!" His sister laughed, "I know."
After successfully disturbing her brother, Rio carried on with the rest of her morning, having breakfast, visiting her mother at the church, and taking care of her duty as a sentry for the day. When the afternoon rolled around, her shift ended so she went back home to take a nap. Before she could slip out of consciousness, she received a rude wake-up call, a banging on the door. She answered it and was met by a short Mexican lady who carried a concerned expression on her face. "Howdy," the coyote greeted. The woman spoke in Spanish, a language that Rio was trying to learn. While she didn't understand much of what the woman said, Rio's ears perked when she understood her mentioning that her father was back in town. "Gracias," the coyote thanked the woman, then quickly took off before she could say anything else. Rio was happy to hear that her father had returned so soon and made her way to the center of town, she wanted to be there to greet him.
She noticed a crowd of people that seemed to surround someone, thinking that it was Julio, she walked on over. She spotted her dad's horse following the crowd, which only gave her more joy that her dad was back home. She ran to the crowd and tried to push her way past the others to get a look. She was right, her father had returned home.
Rio's smile quickly faded away and her heart sank at the sight of her father. He was being carried on a stretcher, unconscious. Patches of Julio's fur were soaked with blood and underneath the rags tied around his body were nasty wounds that caused the bleeding. The commotion dispersed and the wounded man was rushed over to the local doctor, with his distressed daughter closely following. Rio could hardly believe what she was seeing, her beloved father it a deathly state like this, it caused tears to run out of her eyes and her world felt like it was about to fall apart.
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In the desert sunset, the two coyote siblings stood in the doorway of their home with their arms wrapped around each other and grief in their hearts. "Rio, please be careful out there," Roxie begged to his sister. "I promise I will," she answered, "You too, we can't afford to have you end up like mama and pops." The image of her parents popped back into her head, she could see them lying still with shallow breaths and soaked in blood. While the reality of the situation wasn't as extreme as she imagined, Rio figured this was how things would end up if her village didn't get the medicine it needed; the people would just keep getting incapacitated until there was nobody left who could fight, then they would be killed by the invaders or infection. Time was running out, she couldn't stick around any longer, she had to leave now. She let go of her brother and made her way over to a hitch where her steed was tied to. She was going out into the world outside the range of her civilization's lands, something that not many people did in her quiet village. If it weren't for the fact that she would be racing against time to save her mother, her father, and all the wounded people, she would have been happy and excited to be going out there like this. She was set up to travel lightly, with only supplies that would last a few days, a map stained by her father's blood that gave her an idea on where she would be going, her personal revolver, her tomahawk, and her father's personal sawed off double barrel shotgun which she grabbed from his horse's saddle while getting ready to set off. Everything was ready to go, Rio went to visit her mother to say goodbye and check on her still unconscious dad. When she was done, she took off North-West with the people she loved in mind.
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Rio had gotten about a mile away from her town, she turned to get one last look at her home on the sunset horizon before continuing onward. Soon the desert would be getting dark, a good time to travel for those who wanted to avoid the blazing sun, but the night still had its own dangers. Along with the typical snakes and large scorpions that would come out to enjoy the night, there was always the risk of the desert winds kicking up a sandstorm that would make things even harder, but there was no indications of such a thing happening and Rio was grateful for this. It was going to be a nice peaceful night for her to ride through, or so she thought as the evening came around.
As she rode on further, her horse began to act nervous; Rio always trusted her loyal steed to help point out nearby threats, but there was nothing to be seen all around her. The sound of air being cut and the flapping wings sounds of a large creature nearly made Rio jump and caused the horse to sprint away. She had looked all around except for up, where the attack came from. She turned around and was met with the sight of a very large bird gliding after her. It was a Thunder Bird, local legendary monster, although she had never seen one before or heard of people actually encountering it. Its big sharp talons were ready to lash out; the large avian was hunting her, and it was gaining speed quickly and wouldn't miss its target this time. With the window closing fast, Rio made a quick move and reached for her father's shotgun; she got it out and took aim at the bird who was just a few yards away from snatching her up. She pulled one of the gun's triggers and blasted the creature right in one of the wings. The Thunder Bird lost its speed quickly and fell behind, it tried to get back up into the air and keep going after its target, but its wounded wing wouldn't let it keep up with Rio. With her pursuer taken care of, the coyote cowgirl rode away and resumed her journey.
Rio hadn't expected to encounter a threat so soon, much less a legendary beast, but she remained vigilant in her quest to save her people. She rode on for a long time with nothing interesting happening and grew bored of the trip. Her boredom died down when she entered a new landscape transitioning into a different kind of desert than the one she knew. It had much more plants than the other one, but no giant cacti. The terrain was also a lot more rocky and rough, a factor that caused her steed to slow down a bit. From the looks of this area in comparison to what was described on the map, she was at about the halfway point of her trip and things were going quite well. Further on, she got out of the desert and began a trek through some mountains that would lead up to her destination. Rio was quite amazed to see a different landscape than the desert she was used to, the climate was much cooler and there were trees everywhere. Being in a different place than she was used to, she raised her guard and her eyes scanned all over the place for any potential threats, making sure to look up this time as well, but there was nothing around.
She came to a ledge that overlooked the mountain range and stopped to take in the view. The mountains went on as far as the eye could see, but one detail that stood out was a paved road down below her. Not wanting to push her steed too hard, Rio decided to head down and take the much smoother path over the rough mountain terrain. While the road was cracked with tons of potholes, it was a lot easier on her and her horse. About an hour up the road, the peaceful ride was disturbed by the sound of something big and metallic coming up the mountain. Rio turned her head and saw lights down the road coming up in her direction fast. At the point she was at, she couldn't get off the road with the area being surrounded by high ledges, so she spurred her horse which picked up speed after this. The light was getting closer and with the way it was approaching the coyote could tell that it was hostile. Suddenly, two smaller lights came into view from behind the first one, and went faster in Rio's direction. The lights were gaining on her, with the smaller ones in front and the first bigger one behind them. The road ahead changed into a curvy path that ran along a cliff on one side and a steep hill on the other, there was still no way out.
The lights were finally right on her heels the sources were finally revealed, they came from two motor bikes, each with two men on them. The pursuers on bikes maneuvered with one on each side of the coyote, and the second riders on each bike drew club-like weapons that that emitted electricity. Rio reached for her guns, but fumbled with the motion of her horse, so she instead also drew her melee weapon. The bikes started to close in on her from both sides and the clubbers raised their weapons, ready to swing. "Woah!" Rio ordered her mount, which complied and "braked", getting her out from between the attackers and causing them to miss. She then spurred her horse to get back up to speed, ready to deal with her enemies. One bike got right next to her, with the second rider swinging his weapon at the coyote cowgirl. She avoided his attacks with little effort, but was surprised to see sparks fly when she deflected a blow with her tomahawk; she wasn't familiar with electric weapons like this, but her tomahawk's wooden body protected her from getting shocked. Seeing an opening, she delivered a kick to the club man and nearly caused the bike to fall down, although they slowed down to regain their balance. Suddenly a loud crackle noise sounded and Rio's horse whinnied and pulled away from the other bike just nearby that came in for a sneak attack. With her attention turned to the other attacker, Rio engaged him and deflected his blows. The attacker then swung for the horse instead, hitting it right in the nose and almost causing it to fall over. This cowardly attack angered Rio greatly, so she closed in on the attacker and the two clashed. After deflecting more strikes the attacker went for the horse again, but this time Rio went on the offensive and hacked her ax right into her enemies back, causing him to fall off. The driver of the motor bike noticed this and kept his distance from the coyote and reached for something on his bike. Fearing that it was a gun, Rio reached for her own, successfully this time, and shot the biker before he could reach whatever he was trying to. The bike went off the cliff, and the other one soon came to take its place in the fight. The second rider ditched his club and switched out for a large hunting pistol. When the enemy fired, although he missed, Rio was stunned by the sound of the gunshot, it was a big caliber given the sound and was very powerful, something she did not want her or her horse to get hit by.
The cliff the road went along ended, with now a relatively flat but slightly inclined ground, a place where she could get off the road. She guided her horse over there and they got off of the road, but the bike followed. Seeing a bunch of trees up ahead, Rio made her steed go that way in hopes to lose her pursuers. The idea slowed them down a bit, but they went around the woods and continued chasing her. Another shot from the enemy's gun rung out and made a large hole in a log that Rio was passing by, barely missing. That was not her only problem, the coyote looked ahead and saw that the ground transitioned into a slope, and she couldn't see the edge. Her orse was going too fast to turn back now, so she hoped for the best as she drew the shotgun. With her enemy on the right taking aim, she pointed her weapon at him and fired. She ended up missing her intended target but instead hit the driver, causing him to go out of control and take the other rider with him on a deathtrap down the slope. The bike sped down the slope until it disappeared over the then visible ledge, with the living rider screaming as he plummeted to his death. "Woah!!!" Rio screamed to her horse as she pulled back on the reigns. The horse was going to fast, skidding down the slope until the cliff was only a few meters away. They were going over the ledge.
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Rio and her horse hit the ground with a loud thud, one that wasn't as hard though as she thought it would be given the drop though. She looked around and was surprised to see that she had not gone over the edge and plummeted to her death, she had only fell a few feet down into another slope that wasn't as steep and led down to the bottom of the mountain. The two slid down the gravel of the mountainside, getting battered by some of the larger rocks that stood out, but the ultimately made it down with no serious injuries. After taking a small break to recover from the fall, Rio got back on her horse and took a look at the map for where to go next. "Well, that was convenient," she smiled as she saw that the trip down the slope had caused her to skip a long stretch of road. Happy with this, the coyote cowgirl resumed her journey.
As she spent the rest of her trip without any more incidents, her thoughts began to wander and she found herself thinking about her loved ones and her home. Her dear mother was doing well for the most part, but her wounds were going to get infected without the right treatment. As for her father, Rio didn't know what to think about the potential outcomes; he was in an even much worse state than his wife, he hadn't woken up since he was taken in, but he was still breathing. Julio had several wounds to the torso and this discouraged Rio, however the doctor told her that he might be able to save him with the right equipment, but she didn't have time on her side, she was in a race for her dad's life. She couldn't let him die, she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye before she left. And what about Roxie? She couldn't lose him, if the enemies returned she wouldn't be there to protect him. These conflicting thoughts drove her mad, she had to finish her quest as soon as possible.
She stumbled upon a new place, this time it was a community, "Deerhorn Mountain" according to a sign she noticed. She looked back at the map and found that she had reached her destination, she was in the right place. By then it was either midnight or really early morning, nobody was around and all the lights were out, save for a few lamps on some paths. Rio flipped over her map and saw some instructions on the back describing the specific place where she was supposed to go, a small house on the outskirts of the community. The coyote made her way up to the place where the house stood and found not a house, but rubble from one. "It didn't say anything about the house being destroyed," Rio worried as she did a reality check. Looking around, she noticed a small stairway on the side that led down to a door below the foundation of the house. She dismounted her horse and made her way to the door. She had come all this way to get the medical supplies her village needed, and she couldn't fathom the thought of being denied. Rio knocked on the door and waited for a response. "Who's there?" an aggressive male voice came from behind the door. Rio answered firmly, "My name is Rio, I am from the village of San Pacheco. We are in need of aid, is this the Deerhorn Medical Outpost?" "Deerhorn Medical Outpost? No, this is my home." the voice replied with less aggression and a hint of curiosity. "Can you please direct me to the Deerhorn Medical Outpost?" the coyote girl requested. The voice answered her, "Umm...look, there is no Deerhorn Medical Outpost, at least not in the time I've been here. This town doesn't have a doctor or anything like that." Rio's heart sank at this news, she pleaded, "Can you please tell me where I can find the closest doctor, medic or anything? Please, my mom and dad are hurt, and so is-" "Your mom and dad?" the voice interrupted her, sounding genuinely concerned. "Yes, my parents," she responded, "I don't want to lose them...." After a long pause, the male voice spoke up, "Alright, let me unlock the door." After several locking and clicking noises behind the door, it opened up. In the doorway stood an odd young man with a strange form that looked something like a red panda. "Sorry," he said, "Come on in, let's talk about that." Rio followed him inside into the basement of the house where this strange guy lived. As she looked around, she took note of a sign near the entrance that read "Max's Secret Base".
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The odd red panda guy was a kind host for Rio, despite trying to act tough at the door, he invited her in and the two conversed on a salvaged leather couch. The coyote girl told Max about the crisis back at home and her journey all the way to his base which was supposed to be an infirmary. "A medical outpost huh? Well that would explain the boxes full of medical things I found after moving in here," Max realized. "You have medical equipment?!" Rio asked with excitement. "Yeah," he answered, "You can have it if you'd like, I have no use for them." The coyote was speechless, she was in disbelief over this response and filled with joy at the same time. She was even happier with what he said next, "There are a bunch of things you probably wouldn't be able to carry on your horse, and given your desperation, I don't think you've got much time. If you'd like, I can give you a ride in my car over to your village and drop the things off there." The coyote, although happy, began to wonder why this guy was being so generous, she did a reality check, dropping her happy act and asking Max, "Why did you agree to help me? I didn't even offer you anything yet, and medical supplies are valuable." Max looked away at a wall and he sighed, "If you really want to know, then ask me again when this problem is resolved." While it was unusual for a stranger to be so generous, Rio didn't feel any bad vibes around Max and she felt like he could be trusted. "Need some excitement anyway, things have been slow around here lately," he chuckled. The coyote cowgirl sprung up to her feet and picked Max up, tightly hugging him with gratitude, repeatedly thanking him. When she finally let go, Max took a few steps back and explained with an embarrassed tone, "Yeah....I'm not really the cuddly type," trying to disregard the fact that he hadn't been hugged like that in a long time and that he was being held by an almost topless girl. "Oh....sorry about that," Rio apologized. "It's fine," he fretted, "Not really used to that. Anyway, you're welcome, but you can thank me when this is over." They both talked some more about the problem at hand and getting to San Pacheco, and eventually Max got her to agree to some rest before departing in the morning. With Rio dozing off in his couch, Max rested easy feeling some warmth in her company, he thought she was a really cool person.
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The two woke up at the crack of dawn and loaded the supplies into Max's car, a silver SUV. Unfortunately, Rio had to leave her horse behind at the base, but promised it that she would be back. When they were finally ready, they reviewed their route, plotted it in the car's GPS system, and hit the road. Rio was astonished by the speed of the car compared to her horse, it flew up and down the roads quickly and got them out of the mountains in no time. Right at morning, they reached the transition into the desert and sped through the highway. No other cars had been out at the time, they had the road all to themselves, well at least for a while.
At one point, up ahead they spotted a road block that consisted of a few big cars and several people armed with assault rifles. "Looks like we got narcos up ahead," Max announced. "Damn," Rio rolled her eyes, "Looks like we are going to have to turn back and try another way." "That won't be necessary, watch this," the red panda guy snickered as he flipped a switch in the car. A projected interface and HUD appeared on the windshield, and the console flipped over to reveal a panel with buttons and a joystick. After everything was ready, Max put the pedal to the metal and made a beeline toward the road block. The narcos up ahead set up an offensive position when they saw the incoming car and opened fire on it. Rio disapproved of this crazy idea to take them head on, fearing the incoming bullet storm and no place to hide, but was baffled when the gunshots hit the windshield and were deflected like a shield. Noticing his passenger, Max laughed to see her amazement at his car's armor. "Our turn now," he declared as he pressed a button then grabbed the joystick. A prompt on the windshield HUD came up, with a single crosshair in the middle. Using the joystick, Max dragged the crosshair across the screen and locked on to multiple targets, then he hit the button on top of the joystick and delivered a payload to the enemies. Several missiles were launched from a hidden tubes at the front of the car, each flying right to the areas that had been marked on the HUD. The several explosions demolished the roadblock and destroyed their enemies. The car drove through the blaze an continued the trip.
"That was amazing!" Rio exclaimed, "You took care of all of them!" "Yeah," Max agreed, "Haven't used the missiles in a long time, forgot how fun they were." The coyote asked him, "Does this car have any other surprises?" Max listed them for her, "Well we got the missiles, the windshield HUD, a heavy machine gun, caltrops or tire spikes, a rear flamethrower, radar scrambler, a heavy armor kit, leather seats and cup holders. No working radio though." "Wow, you really are equipped to deal with anything," she stated. "Yeah," he said, "Anyway, let's keep going."
The rest of the drive went smoothly without any problems. The two talked for the rest of the way and got to know each other better during the trip, and they took a mutual liking to each other. Time flew by fast and they eventually arrived at San Pacheco. Rio jumped out of the car and made a run to the local doctor, pleasing the man with the great news. After this, she ran back and pulled Max out of the car, they grabbed the supplies and Rio escorted him to the town's mission, where the doctor and the injured awaited.
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"Dad," a voice called out, as the one who heard it slipped in and out of consciousness. "Papa, everything is okay. C'mon, get up," another voice spoke up. "Julio, Rio is back," a third voice announced. The coyote man suddenly jolted awake and sat up, immediately regretting that due to his wounds. "Dad, be careful," one of the voices demanded, revealing its source to be Roxie. "I'm home," one of the other voices chimed, coming from Rio. "Rio...you're safe. I'm so happy you came back," her injured father praised. "I'm sorry that we couldn't save our village, it was a task too big for any of us to take on" he sniffed. "What are you talking about?" Rio chortled, "We got the medical supplies and the doc is treating the others right now. Look, mom's okay." "You....You did what?!" Julio was shocked by this statement. "Julio, she did it," his wife cheered, "Our little girl got the aid our village needed, she saved all of us." The injured coyote couldn't believe what he was hearing, he was shocked that his daughter went on such a dangerous journey, but at the same time he was so proud of his girl and happy to see what she had accomplished, especially when he, one of the toughest people in his village, had failed. Tears of joy watered down the proud coyote father's cheeks, "Oh my God, you really did it. You have no idea how proud of you I am, my daughter." The coyote family shared a warm group hug, happy to be together and have their problems resolved.
Max stood at the edge of town, looking off into the desert, not noticing Rio sneaking up on him until she stood right beside him. "Thank you so much, but I still have to ask, why did you help me like that?" the coyote asked him. "Still want to know," the red panda acknowledged, "Alright then." Beyond them the sun set over the desert landscape as tumbleweeds rolled around the sand. "Your family is so precious, their unconditional love is irreplaceable," Max quavered, "Nobody that has that kind of bond with their family deserves to lose them." There was a brief pause, before he continued, "Seeing how much you loved your kin reminded me of my relationship with my family. They meant the world to me." "Where are they now," Rio asked hesitantly. "In heaven," Max replied with sorrow, "They have been long gone ever since I participated in some cryogenic experiment that had me asleep for so many years. I never got to say goodbye or even find out what happened to them. I just hope that their lives were happy." "I'm sorry," Rio put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't be," Max continued solemnly, "And don't ever abandon them. Don't make the same mistake I did." "I won't," Rio answered, agreeing with everything he said to her.
Rio walked with Max all over the town, getting a look at how much the situation improved. It took a long time, but everyone in the mission was treated for their injuries and would be making a full recovery. There was no activity related to their attackers, everything was nice and calm. The village crisis had been taken care of and things were getting back to normal. Rio was just waiting for another wave of invaders to come along and cause trouble, but no hostiles ever came. As they went around, she told everyone about Max, much to his displeasure, and he was thanked for his donation of medical equipment. Eventually, they ended up at the doctor's office where her father and the rest of her family were. They walked into the room and she introduced him to her family. "Kid, you have no idea how significant what you did for us is," Julio thanked Max, "You have our gratitude." "No problem," the red panda answered coolly, "But Rio's the one who deserves all the credit for going as far as she did for you." "Don't be so modest," they coyote guy's wife laughed, "Not everyone is just willing to hand out something like medical equipment for free you know." "Anyway," she continued, "Do you have a cool story to tell us about your journey?" Rio's eyes lit up, and then she enthusiastically told everyone in the room about her adventure.
By the time Rio finished her tale, everyone was about ready for bedtime. During the time she was talking, Max had noticed Roxie shooting discreet looks at him. "He's pretty cute," the red panda thought to himself. After they left the doctor's office, Rio and Max began a walk to her house, ready to turn in. "Hey Rio," Max asked the coyote cowgirl, "Who's that coyote guy who looks sorta like you, the one that was there during your story?" She replied, "He's Roxie, my brother. I saw him looking at you adoringly." "Yeah," he confirmed, "He's adorable." Rio's mischievous smile grew wide, she was hoping he would say that. "Can you keep him company tomorrow, I need to handle some family things," she asked. "Sure thing," he answered, not picking up on her intentions. They finally made it to her house and got ready to turn in for the night, with Max sleeping on a bedroll in Rio's room nearby her. After saying "Goodnight" to each other, they drifted away into dream land.
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The morning came quickly and the two woke up to another day. Rio crept around and noticed her brother doing his "morning activity" again. "Hey Roxie," she knocked on his door. "Goddammit Rio! Can't you just let me be alone for a while?" he growled. "No," she smirked, "There's actually someone here who would like to see you, someone I think you like." Her brother implored, "Someone? Who? Wait, don't-" It was too late, Rio had kicked the door open and threw shocked Max into the room before shutting the door behind him. "Have fun while I'm gone boys!" She chimed obnoxiously before leaving the house, satisfied with what she did.
Rio met with her parents that morning and held a discussion with them over something she had been wanting to do for a long time. "When I stepped out there, I was amazed by the world beyond our territory. So many things I had never seen before, a whole new experience. Sure, there were dangers, but I think I've proven that I could handle myself." "Rio, C'mon!" her mother protested, "You've just gotten back, you can't be serious about going back out there again!" Julio added on to this, "Aside from that, you may not be so lucky next time. While you were able to deal with the threats you encountered out there, they were not very significant ones. There are worse things than Thunder Birds and small bandit gangs out there. I'm not underestimating you, but you shouldn't underestimate the outlands." Rio sighed, "I know, but I'm just tired of being here all the time. Nobody has left our village in such a long time, but I want to change that." "Rio...." her mother begged. "No! I'm not missing out on this opportunity of a lifetime," the coyote cowgirl snapped, "I've done everything I possibly could over here, I think it's time to move on." The debate went on for a long time, but eventually Rio wore down her parents.
"I'm not abandoning you," Rio pleaded, "I would just be going out on an adventure for a while. I would come back." Despite her mother's protests, her father agreed with his daughter, "Fine, I guess it would be wrong to hold you back with that fire burning in your heart." Rio was so happy when she heard this and was about to thank him, but he interrupted, "But only under one condition. You can only leave if you have someone who will watch your back out there." She already had her answer, and spoke, "Max, the guy who gave us his medical supplies. He has experience out there and is really nice." Her father raised an eyebrow then chuckled, "Not a bad choice. There aren't many people like him out there." Rio's mother sighed, "I guess there is no stopping you now. If you are going out there, please just be safe." "I will mami," her daughter smiled.
Once the talk with her parents was over, Rio took a nostalgic stroll through her town. She remembered all the big events in her life that happened here, but was upset as she thought about how her whole life had taken place here. She loved the village, but didn't want to spend the rest of her life stuck in the same place, Rio wanted to go and see what the big world had to offer. She wanted to leave for the adventure of a lifetime.
After taking in the scene of her hometown at noon, Rio walked over to her house to make preparations for her departure. When she walked in, she was met by the scene if her brother wearing nothing but an apron, making lunch, with Max helping. "Well, you too are getting along well," she joked. The second he heard her voice, Roxie nearly jumped out of his skin before making a mad dash to his room. "Yeah," Max laughed, amused with the sight of the embarrassed coyote. After a while, Roxie returned in his typical clothes, still red about what had just happened. The trio enjoyed lunch together, after that was done, Rio asked Max, "So, when are you going to have to leave?" Max replied, "A little later today. Why?" The coyote cowgirl took in a deep breath then requested, "Can I please come along with you? I want to get out of here and explore the world. Besides, I still need to get my horse from your place." "Sure," Max answered, "I don't mind that at all." Like before, Rio lifted him right off his feet in a tight, grateful hug, causing him to beg for mercy. "Thanks, I can't wait," she declared.
After much preparation, sunset came around and Rio and Max were ready to leave. They were just at Max's car, saying goodbye to Rio's family. "Take care of each other," her father urged the two. "Don't forget about us dears," her mother pleaded, "And come back to visit us so we know you're okay." "Goodbye," Roxie said as he waved to his sister and winked at Max. After some parting hugs, Max and Rio jumped into his car and turned it on. Waving one final time, they took off and began the road trip back to Max's base. "Thanks for all of this, and thanks for giving my brother some much-needed love," Rio said. Max answered, feeling uncomfortable at how open Rio was on the topic, "Yeah...alright. I wanted to make it clear with Roxie that it was just a fling and that I'm not into a dedicated relationship, but he seemed okay with it." "I've never seen him this happy since before he....changed," she stated, "Seeing the smile on his face when we were leaving, you really must've made him howl." "Yeah," Max chuckled, "I actually didn't expect him to do that." Rio burst into laughter upon hearing this answer, causing Max to laugh as well. When they were done, she asked him, "So, what is this place we are going to?" "Deerhorn Mountain, Socal," he responded. "Socal?" Rio pondered. "Socal is the overall general area," Max explained, "Want me to tell you more about it?" "Sound good," she accepted his offer, "Might as well have something to do during this long trip." The two drove off into the sunset, not knowing the adventures they would experience together in the future.
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Finally done with this.