Andrew looked down to the grass underneath him, nodding in response. He wouldn't hesitate to run---it was what he and Tide were best at, after all. As Night's hoofbeats grew distant, Andrew felt a chill settle over his damp skin and shuddered. He was used to being alone, but the silence that fell for a few minutes after being left was still uncomfortable. He swallowed, sitting up and getting onto his knees, crawling back to the water and dunking his head in, swallowing a few mouthfuls and sitting back on his heels to pull his hair back. Maybe he should have asked for some twine or a little leather before Joey had gone... He looked down at his pants, sitting back and tearing some of the frayed ends off and tying them together. He gathered up his hair, tying it securely at the base of his neck and shaking his head. That was good, at least it was something.

He looked at Tide, who seemed a bit uneasy. It immediately put Andrew on edge and he stood. "White... What's wrong?" He knew she couldn't answer but it put him on steady ground to talk to her. He always had. "What's wrong, girl?" He could hear something moving, and immediately swooped down to grab a rock from the ground. It was sharp and flat, and could be used as a makeshift knife. The shifting was coming from the grass, and he looked carefully. It was small, but long. A snake. A rattlesnake, he realized as soon as he heard the shaking. He backed away and it seemed to follow, coiling up at the edge of the grass and getting into striking pose. White Tide whinnied, backing away toward the tree she had been under.

He breathed out. White would run, but she would come back within a minute. She'd had close calls before. He reached out, toward the snake, snatching his hand back when it lunged and grabbing its wriggling tail, slinging the snake into the hard ground and grabbing its head, stepping on its squirming tail as it flailed and slamming the sharpest edge of the rock on its neck. It twitched hard, and he brought it down again, severing its head entirely. Andrew gasped, watching blood pump out of the body and the head's jaws work a few times before the muscles stopped spasming. Breathing in shakily, he threw the head far away from the water and grabbed the body. It was a source of meat, and fresh at that. It was just hard to get all the bones out. Smiling to himself, Andrew looked up to see a black horse returning. Joey would probably be glad to see he wasn't entirely useless.