OOM: In Coyote's Arizona

[creator_raven]

The night is clear, headed towards pleasantly cool, and the stars are very bright. Two figures on a motorcycle can be seen speeding through the desert, purposefully heading someplace. They'll know it when they get there.

It is possible that Raven is in love with Coyote's motorcycle. Speed without wings is not so bad a thing, really. And the desert is beautiful at night, even as a blur in the corners of his eyes.

He laughs--a purely joyful sound that is muffled, somewhat, by the helmet that he wears.

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[howling_laugh]

She can hear him. Though howling properly will have to wait until she has her helmet off.

The road is empty, except for themselves. It's been almost hour since they passed anyone. "Do we stop soon, my dear?" She calls back. "I believe we can find a spot with a nice view if you don't mind a bit of a climb..."

[creator_raven]

Raven laughs again.

"I have wings, Coyote. Though I will climb, if only to keep you company."

[howling_laugh]

"Fucking cheater." She growls and revs the bike, leaning into a sharp corner. The road winds up slowly, revealing a canyon edge. Coyote pulls the bike off to the edge of the road and coasts to a stop.

She points up to a bluff a short climb away from the road. "Fly up if you will. I will carry this food, and a sleeping bag," she sniffs.

Coyote pulls off her helmet and shakes out her hair.

[creator_raven]

Raven mimics her motion, complete with hair-shaking. He is a silly creature.

"I will help you carry things. I would hate for you to plummet to your death. I have no skill in creating bodies."

[howling_laugh]

She snorts at him, before giving him a shove to 'help' him off the bike. She props the bike up with its kick stand, and unloads their gear. She stows both helmets in saddlebags, then taps the engine block in a quick pattern.

"Lighten my load," Coyote says, tossing the sleeping bags at Raven. She slings a backpack over one shoulder, then scrambles up the hill towards a flat spot at the top.

[creator_raven]

Raven artfully sprawls onto the dirt, then springs to his feet in time to catch the sleeping bags. He slings them into comfortable positions, and follows Coyote up the hill.

"You wound me with your callous disregard, truly you do. I am not your beast of burden."

[howling_laugh]

"You'll never be my beast of burden?" She starts to hum the Rolling Stones song to herself, until they reach the top. The moon is only a sliver in the sky, but Coyote can see the bottom of the canyon here, nonetheless.

She sets down her back pack and settles cross-legged on the ground, leaning against a stone. "Do we want a fire, do you think?"

[creator_raven]

Raven blinks.

"I am not sure why that leads into song, but the sentiment is accurate enough, perhaps."

He shrugs.

"As to the fire, I do not think we need it. Though it is pretty."

[howling_laugh]

She sighs at him. "The first thing we do when we get back? I educate you on what music has happened 'lately'."

Coyote pulls out a bag of marshmallows with a flourish. "We may need it, if you want these. And of course it is pretty. Why would I take something if it wasn't pretty?"

She wanders off to rustle in some bushes for sticks.

[creator_raven]

Raven laughs.

"You have set yourself a difficult task, I think. I have no attention span."

Lies. All lies.

He wrinkles his nose at her.

"You are shallow, Coyote. I do not know how you had the taste to befriend me, I truly don't."

[howling_laugh]

Coyote huffs, dragging back an armful of sticks, and part of a stump.

She tosses them down in a haphazard pile, then snaps once and points at the wood sternly. A fire starts, and if it wasn't inanimate, it would be sulking. She ignores it, and starts to trim two sticks off to appropriate marshmallow toasting length.

"Wasn't it because of the huge cock? I'm quite sure that was it."

[creator_raven]

Raven runs his fingers through the flames, in an effort to cheer them up.

"Well, if it was, you must be quite disappointed. You have seen no use of it."

A pause.

"And that was not an invitation."

He allows a small tongue of flame to flicker along his hand, and up his sleeve.

[howling_laugh]

"Hmph. You tease me so cruelly. I may not give you any chocolate, now." She pokes her stick into a marshmallow and begins toasting it over the flames.

"So. Why are you so itchy, Raven-bird? Molting?"

[creator_raven]

"Remembering."

The flame goes out.

[howling_laugh]

While staring at Raven, Coyote's marshmallow catches on fire. She curses, and blows it out, before peeling off the black spot and slapping in between two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate.

"Things that you did not before? Or are you brooding again?"

[creator_raven]

"I do not brood." This is said with great affronted dignity.

He picks up a marshmallow, and works it onto the other stick.

As he sticks it into the flames, he speaks.

"This body is too small, sometimes."

He shrugs.

[howling_laugh]

Coyote tilts her head at him, mouth full of s'more. "Eyshoodo."

A discreet swallow. "That's one thing I find difficult to understand, my dear. You have always trailed other bits of yourself along after you. Memories, especially. Perhaps friends, too. And when they catch up, you have trouble fitting them all. I... am more self contained."

[creator_raven]

"All of me does not fit, in here."

He shrugs again.

"It is a price I pay."

His voice is oddly matter-of-fact.

He takes the marshmallow out of the flames, and fits it between two pieces of chocolate. He shoves the whole thing in his mouth, chews, a bit, and swallows.

It's kind of frightening, in an 'ew' sort of way.

[howling_laugh]

Show-off.

"It is because you are at the end, I suspect. You didn't have so much trouble, before."

She shrugs, and fiddles with her stick.

[creator_raven]

He smiles.

"More true than you think, Coyote. I remember that, too."

[howling_laugh]

Coyote stuffs another marshmallow in her mouth and turns around to spread out her sleeping bag.

"So, then. What will you do to fix it? That is a silly word. What will you do at all, if anything?"

[creator_raven]

He shrugs, and turns away from the fire.

It is difficult to see his face, and he makes it even more so by laying out his sleeping bag.

"What I have always done. Help where I can, interfere where I choose, and make life as difficult as possible for those that annoy me."

He laughs, softly. It is remarkably free of madness.

"There are still things to learn. I am not finished yet. The end is a boring place--there are no people left."

[howling_laugh]

Coyote eyes their camp, and then the beautiful night. "Why don't we make use of this scenery, then? The fire will still be here when we get back." She eyes it, and it gets the point.

"Shall we run- and fly?"

[creator_raven]

Raven beams.

"That would be very wonderful, Coyote."

And in moments, Raven takes to the sky.

Here and now, he is very simply happy.

And if, on occasion, he flies low enough to grab at Coyote, he's also close enough to lose some tailfeathers.

Silly bird.

[howling_laugh]

She tosses her head back and lets out her trademark laugh, that segues into a howl.

A scrawny coyote lopes away from the camp, following the sound of fluttering wings.

It is close to dawn before they return, and the fire is still burning.