their wasn't much to look at coming into the desert. not that benny expected much of it anyway. for too long he had been away from his home, but he couldn't quite... go back. nevada just wasn't the same anymore. the boot riders were gone, wiped out by the other tribes that he couldn't protect them from.

swank... the fox looked down at the crumpled, aged polaroid he held of his best friend. both of them had been drunk that night, and found an old dusty camera in a rundown cottage. took dumb pictures across the wastes for a bit before it ran out of film. this one in particular had the both of them in frame. with benny's foreleg slung around his friends shoulder and both of them wearing the goofiest smiles on their faces.

light blue eyes blinked at the photo, a soft sigh leaving his lips. he tossed it over his shoulder, letting the sand and dust swallow it up with the wind. the marbled fox nodded his head to the caravaneers that had let him hope on their little trip. they returned the same notion and benny was off, walking through the desert as he had done so many times before. though this time, not home. not back to nevada. not back to his friends and family. just to wander, until something showed up.

over time the wind had settled, and the spots of white on his fur and yellowed with the sand under his coat. a small shake of his pelt helped rid of it, and benny grumbled some sort of annoyed complaint underneath his breath before his gaze caught a jungle ahead.

"holy shit...!" by maria, that better not be some fucking mirage. he bolted for it, using what little energy he had left to dive straight into the river that cut through it. the fox groaned as his burning skin was cooled by the waters, and sunk deeper into it until just his nose and eyes were above the surface. he drank to his hearts content, and climbed out of the river to lay out on the bank. this place seemed good enough, maybe he would stay a while. hopefully it wasn't already claimed, either. it seemed like a pretty good gig to have all to himself.

//kinda rushed but oh well lmao

it was a shame the fox couldn’t claim the land as his. benny would have likely tried reforming the tribe, seeing how he could reorganize and fix it. improve on what flaws were present before the legion had wiped them all off the desert. before their homes were nothing but ash and their women and children were taken off into the night. benny wouldn’t say he was cowardly in escaping while he could, but he felt no pride in surviving. 

melantha's sharp tone had caused benny to jolt up and whirled around to face her. the fur along his spine prickled, though his expression held no aggression; just surprise. ”hey-a girlie, what’s the issue?” he puffed his cheeks up at the ‘runt’ comment, and looked her up and down. he felt no intimidation by her size, growing up in a world where just about everything was out to eat you or just plain slaughter you. he found her... attractive, but with her teeth and claws out it didn’t feel right to tell her that. 

”’m relaxin’. you know there’s a whole fuckin’ desert out there, right?” oh... there was another one. 

shit. shit, shit. okay, back up. Maybe, just maybe he was in the wrong here. maybe he was ass deep in some sort of tribe and- yeah... oops.

”okay, okay let’s take a breather, okay? lets see both sides of this real quick. y'all live in a desert. i see water, it’s natural right? now i see i might’ve done wrong comin’ into your home but... you should put up signs, maybe?” he looked between the two, a casual smirk on his maw as he shot a wink in ninazu’s direction. ”i can make it up to ya’s. how about we strike out some sorta deal, alright dolly?”

"the deal, cool cat, is that i live, and maybe you guys will get something out of it. i mean, i'm a pretty resourceful fella, and lady luck has always been a friend of mine." the fox's white patched muzzle lifts as he gives a cheeky smile toward dante. he paused for a moment to look between the three of them now, considering a chance of escape until another voice broke through to his attention. light blue eye's narrowed and his head turned back to see the savannah sit next to dante.

benny took a step back, their paw stepping in water and he looked over his shoulder to see he was at the edge of the river. he looked back to yes man and scoffed, rolling his eyes. "i don't know who ya are, doll, but you're not talkin' to the same guy you think." he lied through his teeth with an easy tone, tail lashing. "never met'cha in my damn life. get your eyes checked, baby."

he barely had any time to react when blacktide forcefully pushed him over. the fox instinctively tensed and pushed against their back paws to slide underneath from the hybrid, his chest heaving for breath and looking around.

"what. the fuck...?"