Every Rose Has it's Thorn

Now Would Be A Good Time to Be Anyone But Me

The desert was hot and there was hardly any gust of wind at all. Rango and Rose walked on, trusting that Roadkill wasn't crazy and that he hadn't sent them to their doom. Rose could feel the underside of her scales scorching from the heat bouncing off the sand alone, while the rest of her was starting to sunburn.

Music could be faintly heard as the burrowing owls began a new tune. Rose glanced at them as the duo walked passed them perched on a cow skull. As soon as they got a good foot away from them, the tune went from slow to an upbeat tune about them dying. Rango stopped and looked back at them causing the to die down.

"Here in the Mojave desert, animals have had millions of years to adapt to the harsh environment. But those two, they're going to die."

Rose rolled her eyes at the owls narrating. The two continued on their way, and Rango began suffering from heat exhaustion. He began muttering which began to get on Rose's nerves, as the heat was making her irritable. Before she could tell him to shut it, a voice called out, "Don't move."

Startled the two reptiles look around but saw nobody but a desert bush thing that almost had a creepy face. "Hello? Who's there?" Rose called out as Rango took a few more steps in the direction of their current path.

"Don't Move!"

Rango froze at the sound of the gruff voice and yelled, "I'm not moving!"

He was shushed before whispering the same thing.

"Try to blend in"

Rango and Rose looked at each other before looking at the bush, "What? Blend in? Wha...whaaa...what do you mean?"

Rose slithered closer to the bush to see if they were both hallucinating or if a creature was latched onto it. Rango on the other hand looked around and walked towards a huge rock lying on the ground. He was slightly startled when an eye appeared on the fake rock on the voice chimed in to blend in once more.

"Huh? Wh...wha...wha...what are you saying?"

Then a whoosh was heard and a shadow of a bird passed over them. Rango looked up as Rose gasped and tried to get closer to the bush, to hide amongst its roots. Prey instincts kick in both reptiles as they panic. "Too late."

Rango began to throw dirt on himself, "No! No! It's not too late! I...I...I...I'm blending! I'm a blender! Ah!"

Rango panics and starts running around in circles around the rock animal thing, Rose didn't know what it was, but that didn't matter. That stupid chamelion was going to get himself killed! "Rango! Stop!"

"Calm down! What are you doing? Try not to look conspicuous."

Rango still running around tries to attach himself to a cactus. Rose can't believe the stupidity of the situation and can only watch as Rango yells out, with the cactus needles sticking out of him. Rango stands very still and puts his hands up so as to resemble the same desert cactus, he just hurt himself with whimpering. Rose glances up at the hawk. She can tell just by looking that it knew something was up.

Rango quickly bends down and curls into a ball next to the creature. Rose hears him grunt and can only watch in disbelief as Rango changes colors. Thus making him a bigger target. The creature seems to think the same thing as he opens an eye to look at the chameleon, "Pssst? What are you doing?"

"I'm blending."

"Well, blend somewhere else."

"Don't distract me."

"No room at the inn!"

"It's an art not a science!"

Rose kept quiet out of fear that the hawk would see her. The banter of the other two fuzzy as she concentrates only on the hawk. She curls into a tighter ball as the hawk cries out above them.

"Oh! Here she comes! You better run, mojita!"

Rango was confused at the sudden change of mind from the stranger, "You what? I thought you said don't move?"

"That was before! Now, you run!"

Rango gets up, suddenly the eagle flies straight towards him and he starts running for his life. Rose felt bad but she chose to survive. She was certain that if she stuck around, the hawk would find her and take her instead. 'How cowardly... I'm sorry Rango.'

"Adios, amigo!"

As Rango ran in the opposite direction, Rose took this chance to go the other way. Her eyes welled up but she couldn't stay. She slithered like her life depended on it... and technically, it did. Only after the chaotic events of barely avoiding death, and Rango sitting in the glass bottle did he realize that Rose was nowhere to be seen.

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Rose was still slithering when she heard the tell-tale sound of another hawk. She glanced up to see another circling in the air. She set her eyes forward and spotted a rocky plateau and sped up as fast as she could. Surely she could hide in some rocks in there. As she got closer she spotted what appeared to be an opening in a cluster of rocks, perfectly sized for her to get into. As she was just a few feet away she glanced up as the hawk gave another screech.

She gasped as it started to swoop down onto her. With the last bit of energy she had, she darted into the hole and heard and angry squawk, as the bird missed it's meal. Rose slithered further into the darkness until she slammed into a rock wall. She panted trying to catch her breath, before flinching at the sound of a rattle. She turned to see whom she intruded on but before she could make any shape out, a scaled form wrapped around her, tightening to the point of pain.

Rose looked up into the red-yellow eyes of hellfire, wondering if she should have stayed near Rango afterall.