Oh, yes, this uneventful day was about to get interesting indeed. Without much warning the previously calm field of sunflowers erupted into a flurry of activity and confusion. Dresden was continuing to lead Stranger through the flowers at a slow pace when suddenly a dark-furred figure nearly collided with him. The male hardly had time to do more than blink at her before she yelled and skittered away. The stallion began to paw at the ground in agitation at the stranger’s sudden explosion onto the scene as Dresden watched in confusion. Had that been the person he’d heard call out before? No—he could have sworn it was a man’s voice, certainly not belonging to the skittish female.
The woman tripped, and the sight managed to drag the warrior from his confused state and back to his senses. He gave the nervous horse a reassuring pat and whispered for him to stay put before turning to follow to where the stranger had fled. As he moved forward he found himself facing an interesting scene: a shaking coyote staring up at the weary woman, who had managed to get a hold of a rock and was making frantic threats. Instinct drove Dresden’s hand down to the hilt of one of his daggers, but he hesitated as he assessed the situation. The woman was obviously freaked out, and it wasn’t likely she would be doing much damage with that rock of hers. Pulling out a weapon would only make things worse. Instead the male stepped slowly into view, lifting his hands in a placating gesture. “Hey now, miss. No one here’s out to get you. We’re all just passing through, like you. Why don’t you put down the rock like the nice guy here suggested, and we’ll have a little talk?” The warrior didn’t have much experience in handling things in a peaceful, diplomatic matter, but he was trying his best.