RDR2: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒔

Whiskey With a Side of Rye

Though not possessing quite the open and free feel of the west - with its expansive stretches of barren desert land and a massive sky that seemed to swallow you whole - the east did have its redeeming qualities about its scenery.

One could say the rolling green hills and the flowing rivers of crystalline water had a charm to them. However, for the most part, it seemed lost upon Arthur as his mind roved everywhere except for on his surroundings near him.

He was suddenly snapped out of his pensive state when the girl behind him started humming a tune, perhaps unknowingly.

"Bye, bye Miss American Pie.. Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry.. And them good ole boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye.. Singin' this'll be the day that I die..."

It began softly, barely a whisper above the breeze and swelled out as she continued. It certainly wasn't any song that Arthur knew of, and so, curiosity got the better of him.

"Say, what song you singin' there?"

Anne jumped at the question, now being abruptly pulled out of her own daze.

Looking flustered, she briefly cleared her throat and began to delve into her explanation, "Oh... Uh, it's nothing... just a song my parents really liked."

"Well, alright. What's it called then? Surely it's got a name to it?"

She sighed. "Miss American Pie.."

Recalling a certain line from the song, Arthur repeated, "Whiskey and rye..." almost under his breath.

"Y'know.. That kind of reminds of a song a fella I knew used to sing all the time..." he paused, the image of Sean fresh in his mind's eye, "..The little bastard.." he muttered with a hint of a chuckle. He missed him more than he'd care to admit.

Unbeknownst to him, Anne wore a knowing smile at his comment. "Ya... You're talking about Rye Whiskey, right? I think I've heard it before. It's got a nice tune, sad song though."

Arthur reminisced for a moment before adding, "Couldn't agree with you more.."

As time went on, the once rich green landscape slowly transitioned into that of a wintry land and the previously gentle breeze began to now more bite at them through their coats.

But finally when the wind had elected to die down, there was nothing but silence being punctuated only by the continuous, crunching of hooves upon snow and the occasional, eery call of an elk in the distance.

The environment had a very isolated air to it. The ivory colored snow glistened in the light and covered just about any surface possible, enveloping it in its overpowering form.

"Just take a left here," Anne's sentence wafted out into the crisp air in the form of fog.

Arthur wordlessly heeded her directions and steered the horse left. However, the now suddenly apprehensive animal refused and snorted with a stamp of its feet.

Arthur paused and let his eyes scan the general vicinity. There was no denying the animal was scared. It's ears were pinned back and it reared slightly in protest. Now, it was up to Arthur to locate the source for disturbance before it was too late.

He was on the verge of chalking it up to something trivial - such as a raccoon, if there were even raccoons in these parts - when something caught his eye.

Anne opened her mouth in the beginnings of a concerned comment when Arthur swiftly hushed her and directed her attention ahead of them with a single pointed finger: wolves

Their grey forms stalked ever so closely in Arthur and Anne's direction. Their gleaming, amber eyes were set on one thing.

Hoping not to provoke their attack too soon, Arthur slowly reached for his rifle hanging on the side of the saddle, making sure to keep the wolves in his line of sight.

The pressure of the situation gradually built up until it was suffocating. But, finally, the last straw was added to break the camel's back and it all happened in a flash.

The wolves lunged forward and raced towards their victim and the horse, in response, began to shuffle its feet and eventually broke into a gallop. Anne's grip on Arthur tightened out of fear as the animals continued their chase. Arthur gathered all his concentration into one point as he twisted around to face the feral animals with rifle in hand.

With three ear-splitting gunshots and the odor of gun smoke piercing the air around them, the wolves were left lying utterly immobile upon the snow floor.

A long pause followed the sequence, and ended in a, "Well... shit." From Anne.