East Meets West 2 (Patreon)

Honestly, this weird ass country I’d found myself in wasn’t all that bad, I thought to myself as I tested the doneness of the bird I had roasting over my camp fire. I’d woken up in a clearing, dressed and outfitted like I'd walked off the set of some old western flick. A flood of memories, of living in some sort of weird west where people used some kind of DragonBall Z shit, but focused on their guns. The memories provided a name for the schmuck whose body I was inhabiting: Jedediah Kiesinger.

Rocco, Jedediah’s horse, was currently eating some grass a short ways away. Satisfied with the give in the meat, I pulled out my… Jedediah’s… fuck it, my bowie knife and brought the bird onto the tin plate that had been in the saddlebags, along with a bottle of whatever booze he’d had stashed in his bags and a metal cup. I allowed myself a single cup of booze, and used the bowie knife to start carving pieces of my dinner off the bird.

Leaning back a little, I took a sip and looked up at the sky. I didn't recognize the constellations, neither did the bits of me that were still Jedediah. Either this country that looked like a more fantastical version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was in a different hemisphere than Jedediah had grown up in, or both of us were a lot further from home than we ever expected.

I sighed. There was no way to know, and I hadn't had a chance to really look since I arrived here a few weeks back. For now, I was content just being able to get a decent meal, and enjoy the solitude of the desert night. It was a welcome change from the noise of the city, back in the Before. There was a mountain range in the distance, the massive natural landmass jutting up into the sky like a toothy maw. The place I was currently at was essentially a massive plateau, the rock having a somewhat yellow hue to it, in the right light.

Sitting there, enjoying the silence, I felt something land on my shoulder. Looking down, I saw Rocco, his muzzle raised towards my face, his lips curling up slightly.

"You're a good boy, Rocco," I said, patting him on the side of the snout. He whinnied, the low sound making me smile as I petted him again. "Yeah, you are."

Rocco nudged my arm with his nose, pawing at the ground as he tried to nudge me closer. His tail wagged slowly. I almost laughed. He was almost like a dog at times, but then he'd act so damned regal. Jedediah had apparently trained him to be a well-behaved mount, though from the memories, a lot of that was Rocco himself.

I stood up, brushing myself off and finishing the booze. I could feel the heat in the alcohol, barely. Whatever magic let me form a ghostly horse behind me also made getting drunk hard as hell. Seriously, from what I’d seen of the drunks in the town I’d bought this booze at, it was some potent stuff, but at a best guess, it would take over a dozen bottles of this stuff for me to even feel a slight buzz.

It was worth it, though. It was a nice change from the burning sensation that came from drinking the watered-down swill they sold in the bar. Setting that aside, I got out my blanket as Rocco plopped down onto his side. The memories of raising and training horses besides Rocco told me that him allowing me to use him as a pillow was really strange, but he'd been all but insisting on it for years, so I went along with it. Besides, the back of his neck was surprisingly comfortable.

I tilted my hat over my face, pulled the blanket up, and went to sleep.

[hr][/hr]

The next morning, I got my day started by brewing the most heavily caffeinated tea I'd been able to find and purchase since my coffee had run out. Since that was the only option available, I figured it was better than nothing. It was a bit bitter, but it seemed to help wake me up. After a quick breakfast, I saddled Rocco and headed off once again.

We rode through the desert, which looked pretty similar to the ones from Jedediah's memories. It was hot, dry, and barren. That didn't mean that it was lifeless, far from it. There were plants growing all around us, including one that vaguely reminded me of sagebrush, except these grew in clumps, while sagebrush was usually solitary bushes or small trees. We also passed a few lizards, a couple of birds flying overhead, and even a snake slithering across the sand. It wasn't much, but it was enough for me to begin to appreciate the grandeur of nature that I knew Jedediah didn't.

After about an hour of riding, I realized that I wasn't alone. Ahead of me, about fifty yards away, stood a figure wearing a set of stately robes. Like every other person I'd met since arriving in this place, he looked Chinese. Curiously, there wasn't a spec of dirt on him, his hair was tidy, and I couldn't spot a crease or wrinkle in his robes. Slowing to a trot as I came up beside him, his eyes piercing and narrowed, I took a moment to remember the words for the question I wanted to ask.

“Need ride?” I asked in my patchy command of the local language. I’d managed to pick up enough to get by, but a conversationalist I was not.

He didn't immediately answer me, his eyes roaming over me and taking in my clothes. Yes, yes, I look different from everyone else in this place, I know. But he seemed to be studying me with a degree of curiosity. Finally, he spoke in clipped tones, his voice deep and strangely musical.

"No."

I honestly wasn't too surprised. So with a shrug, I gave Rocco's flanks a nudge, and continued on my way. As I rode past, the man watched me go, his expression unreadable. If he said anything, it wasn't until I was out of sight. Either way, it wasn't my business.

The landscape changed after another thirty minutes of riding. Instead of the dry, brown and tan sands that covered most of the land, we now saw greenery and water. Farmland, specifically. Terraced fields growing rice and what looked like... corn?

The road began to drop as well, going from flat plateau to hillsides dotted with vegetation before finally turning into the foothills of mountains. The air was noticeably cooler as well, and that was something I definitely appreciated. I stopped Rocco for a minute to stretch my legs before continuing on, just enjoying the view.

"This is the life, eh Rocco?" I asked rhetorically, but he gave a snort that sounded like an agreement. I was probably imagining it, Jedediah’s memories did include animals that were intelligent and possessed powers not dissimilar to what I could do, Critters he called them (silly name to me, but the memories of the chaos they’d caused were quite sobering), but I didn’t think Rocco was one of them.

Nah, Critters typically weren’t normal animals, they were things like chupacabras, snallygasters, dewayyos, wampus cats, and thunderbirds. The most experience that Jedediah had had with the beasties was a time he'd had an encounter with a ball tailed cat that had wanted to eat a calf from the cattle train that he'd been herding.

Riding up to the side of a low hill, I dismounted and led Rocco down the incline. Soon we were looking down on a town, at least that's how I thought of it. It was surrounded by stone walls, with a large wooden gate in front of the main entrance. A couple of buildings in the distance looked to be a smithy and forge. There were no roads leading to it, so someone here must have brought in the materials needed to construct the structure. The surrounding area looked to be mostly arable, not irrigated like the rice paddies we'd seen earlier, but still obviously worked.

Now that I had a better view of everything, I decided to take my time. After all, Rocco and I were in no rush.

[hr][/hr]

His name was Rocco. It had been given to him when he was a colt, before his mind had begun to awaken. For a great many years, his mind had faded in and out, only reaching the point where he was aware more often than not in the last year. His owner, Jedediah, had taken care of him and taught him to be a good horse, even though his siblings had been bigger, faster, stronger, and had more stamina.

However, he was loyal and willing to work hard, which was what earned him such a kind master. In return, Jedediah treated Rocco well, buying him treats and allowing him to sleep close to the fire on cold nights. They worked together, they were partners.

Admittedly, Rocco wasn’t sure if Jedediah realized that he was aware, but that was fine. So long as he could help Jedediah, and take him where he needed to go, Rocco was content. That, and the long walks gave him time to contemplate and meditate. He vaguely knew that he was supposed to focus on a single thing and draw from it to guide his personal and spiritual growth, but he hadn’t quite figured out what to focus on.

All of his thoughts and meditations thus far had been somewhat scattered. He found himself considering all the various animals and plants in the desert, both here and their home, before they’d found themselves in this strange land. The diamondback with its blinding speed and warning rattle. The agility of the roadrunner. The cunning of the coyote. The resilience and adaptability of the desert marigold and the joshua tree respectively. All of them had worthy lessons to impart.

It occurred to him that all of those traits were useful in combat as well; he would have to remember that. No matter what happened, he was determined to be able to protect himself and Jedediah. Which is why he focused on the townsfolk that were stepping up to him and Jedediah as they approached.

The townsfolk most likely wouldn’t cause any trouble, the last several hadn’t, but Rocco was keeping his guard up all the same. Like Jedediah had said on multiple occasions: better safe than sorry. Granted, he’d also said and done some incredibly stupid things when he got into his cups. The most embarrassing was about eight months ago, when Jedediah had made a bet with a fellow cattle driver, and Rocco had gotten caught up in the excitement.

The two humans had somehow also roped the tightly laced local Madame into it, which resulted in Rocco standing on a stage, two corsets tied together around his barrel. Jedediah and the other human had agreed to never speak of the bet after they sobered up, but Rocco kept a very careful eye on how much alcohol his human had from that point on.

Back in the present, Rocco's thoughts on the townsfolk had been correct. There had been no problems with them. They stood aside as Rocco and Jedediah passed through the gate. Several of them waved, others called out what sounded like greetings, and some just stared in awe. Rocco had been delighted to notice that one woman especially seemed to be staring at him intently.

As soon as they were inside the walls, Rocco was directed to the stables, where he was put in a stall, fed, and allowed to rest. Jedediah gave him a quick brush down (which felt amazing as it always did, especially the spot on his neck just behind his head) and headed to the stall near the stables that was serving some sort of noodle bowl. Rocco wondered how long they’d stay here, Jedediah would want to stay long enough to learn some more of the local tongue.