#####Her self-concern was nothing that could be considered high, judging from the way she walked without purpose, as if she belonged everywhere that her dainty feet took her. However, her sense of property was heightened today, so she had taken her faded leather bag with her, as if it were filled with treasures that everyone would surely want to steal if they had found it in the crook of the tree she habitually slept beneath. Lolita was not one to be overly-protective of her few belongings, but it seemed to be something she was going to be dealing with today. The fact that she had not met anyone in Dahlia who seemed interested in stealing her lovely herbs, of those that had seen her smoking (such a small number it was), did not escape her, but it did nothing to reassure her. Despite this, she was not feeling at all paranoid. In fact, giddy might be a good word to use to describe her mood.


#####Lifting the rolled blunt to her lips, Lolita inhaled the fruity scent sharply, enjoying the pungent memory of the blueberry flavor of the one she had smoked with Rurik. The package of this one had featured a strawberry, so it was certainly different, but she hoped it would be as great as the first one had been. The lighter in her hand was one on its way out, so she had to fiddle with it for a bit before getting a useful flame, but when it finally lit properly, she lifted it and inhaled deeply. It was not the first thing she had smoked that day, but rather something that could be considered overkill, more than necessary. It only served to better her mood, however, and she absolutely loved the lightness her body took when she was high. The feeling was amazing, better than almost anything she had ever experienced in her life or death. She almost felt as though she were alive today, and she was not feeling the usual pangs of loneliness and depression she often felt now.


#####Among the trees, Lolita could only remember vague parts of her meeting with the Inferni male who had found her in a bad state in this area. Fortunately, the herb was lovingly chasing away those bad thoughts, and her mind was a buzz of happy rhythm. Pausing beneath one tree, she allowed her gaze to drift upwards curiously, following the moving leg up to the body it was attached to, up in the tree as she had found herself recently. It was reassuring to know that she wasn't the only one who climbed trees, since it was not something most of the canine persuasion ever did. Reluctantly pulling the blunt away from her lips and finally exhaling, Lolita studied him curiously. "Hi there," she called cheerily. The flamboyant woman was curious about what he was doing up there, and whether he might like company among the branches in whatever it was he was occupying himself with.

#####The fact that he was visibly muscled was not lost on her, and Lolita found herself staring openly as he retrieved his bag, a curved smile on her lips as the blunt went almost forgotten in her hand. The key word there was, of course, "almost." The excitement of having company in someone so obviously interested in being around her - as opposed to the ones who seemed less receptive, or down right unpleasant, like the other Inferni male she had encountered - could only be made better by the sweetness of her lovely herb. He did not seem put off by what she was holding, which was pleasant. It was far more common for her to encounter those that did not like smoking, and if it came up, or they found her in the act, it was rarely a good experience. The dead girl rather enjoyed finding others who did not seem unhappy by what she did. Smoking was as much as a part of her as her own arm, although perhaps it was even more important. It did keep her able to walk, after all, and it was her only semblance of livelihood left.


#####"It seems you have," she purred, studying him happily. It had been a long time since she had been in the company of someone so wonderful to look at, with the exception of Rurik, but their meeting had simply been the sharing of drink, smoke, and words. Kaena had given her advice that she wanted to act on, eventually, and along those same lines, her life was a rather lonely one. Happily, Lolita accepted the bottle he offered and held out her own gift. If it were to be rejected, she would understand that he was one of those that did not partake, although she would be thoroughly confused. In her mind, smoking and drinking went hand in hand. She supposed the same could be said for the human smoking sticks Rurik had given her to try, but she could not say she was fond of those in particular. The smell and taste had been far too different for her liking, but at least she had been willing to try it just that one time. Once was enough of a fair attempt.


#####Any encounter that began with the exchange of alcohol and marijuana was bound to be a good one, her past experiences told her. Lifting the bottle to her lips, Lolita gratefully swallowed some, considering the different taste. It was something she had never tried before, certainly. . . Sweet was one word she could attribute to it. The vast differences between the various human drinks never failed to astound her, but she could certainly appreciate them all the same. They all seemed to have similar effects on her, as well, unless she already happened to be in a less-than-happy mood. Then, drinking was never a good idea, even when it was coupled with smoking. Taking note of the distance he had placed between them, the cream woman stepped closer, closing it once more despite his intentions. "Lolita Monroe," she offered sweetly.

#####It would inflate her ego a great deal if everyone kept complimenting her on her blunts, and Lolita decided that she would keep carrying them around anywhere she went, if possible. If she was always going to get a positive reaction like the ones she had gotten from Rurik and now Anselm, she saw no problem with continuing to carry them in hopes of getting even more positive feedback. Even if someone was not a smoker, then there was always a chance that she could sway them to that side of life. Some might consider it a bad thing to try and convince others to pick up such a vice, but Lolita only saw it as a form of happily sharing something that gave her such wonderful feelings. And if alcohol was allowed to be passed around freely, then the flamboyant woman saw no reason that smoke shouldn't be shared as well. It was only fair, and Lolita found smoking to be as enjoyable as drinking, if not even more so because it kept her walking.


#####Almost as perplexed as he was, though Lolita would not have known he was unless he specifically said something, she knelt across from him, leaning in a bit. There was still some distance between them, but now they were settled, and it seemed as if the distance was going to stay the way it was. "Maybe I could," she said with a grin, glancing down at the faded leather bag she had placed next to her. Normally, she did not bring it with her on her outings, so she usually did not have anything with her. However, today it was with her, as was all of her herb and wraps. She would need to find a smoke shop around here soon to restock her bag, but for now, she had enough to last her a while. "How about after we finish this one?" she suggested, waving a slim, pale hand in the direction of the blunt he was holding before taking it from him after it had been offered. "How did you come across this?" she asked, shaking the bottle in her other hand delicately. It was very different from what she was used to, and very, very nice.

#####In general, Lolita indulged in her few vices alone, never having found anyone who was particularly interested in spending a great deal of time smoking and drinking with her. There was the occassional partner, such as Rurik and now Anselm, but she had grown very used to spending her time in her own lonely haze. It was not something she kept as a secret, as she was perfectly willing to share with anyone that seemed interested in trying it. Never had it occurred to the dead girl to attempt to get anything in return for sharing her lovely herb, but she would not argue with the Inferni male about his plan to return the favor later. "That sounds like a good plan," she said, lifting the sweet smoke to her lips again and inhaling deeply before holding it out for him to hit. There was still so much left, and mixed with the sweet alcohol that Anselm had provided, it was sure to be a good afternoon.


#####Smoking out of bowls was a much stronger, harsher hit than smoking something that was rolled, Lolita had realized long ago. In a way, she supposed that was actually her preference. The strength of the hit always made her feel better, which is why she frequently carried her bowl with her, rather than a rolled bit. Still, she was able to appreciate both kinds of smoke, although she was not a fan of the old tobacco sticks that the humans had smoked. Rurik had offered her one and, not one to pass up much, Lolita had tried it with an open mind, but found it not to be to her liking. She would simply stick to marijuana and alcohol, as was her preference all along. "We should make a trip there soon, then. I'm relatively new to the area, so I haven't really found anywhere to find supplies and stuff. I grow my own, but I always like new things," she added, glad that she had found someone who seemed willing to share his knowledge of the area in relation to their shared habits.


#####The difference of taste was noticeable in the alcohol he had given her, though Lolita did not have the faintest idea of what a syrup refinery--or for that matter, a syrup--was. Apparently, though, the humans had been on the right track in that department, too. It was the humans that had first begun to smoke, and Lolita had to say that what they were creating in this syrup refinery was marvelous, as well. It was much sweeter than what Rurik had given her or any of the other things she had scavenged, and she rather enjoyed the thickness of the liquid and the sticky scent rising from the mouth of the bottle that Anselm had gifted her with. "Is it easy to find good things around here, then? I have not taken much time to look around," she admitted. For once, it seemed as if she might be hanging around for longer than a few weeks, as no one had kicked her out yet. Human buildings were still very foreign to her, however, so she had not taken much time to explore them yet, not even the ones within the confines of Dahlia.

#####Lolita often wondered what it would have been like for her to begin smoking during her lifetime, rather than beginning after her death. It might have been more euphoric to smoke when she was alive, but she supposed she would never truly know. If it had been discovered before her death, Lolita could have introduced the herb to her sister, and maybe they could have used it to escape. She always felt free when smoking, so maybe she and Pippa could have finally gathered the courage to leave their brother and sister forever. They could have found a new life together somewhere else, where they would not be under the control of a dominating brother, and their love would not have been looked down upon, for no one would have known that they were sisters. It would have been a lovely way to live, if only she had discovered marijuana even just weeks before her untimely and unfortunate death. Maybe they could have even come here anyway, by some twist of fate, and they could have still met the ones here she genuinely liked.


#####Nodding, she listened intently, momentarily forgetting the fact that he had passed the blunt back to her. She had been to the city a few times, but she had not actually looked into any of the shops and buildings there. Surely they could figure out somewhere to meet if she could actually remember anything about the paces she had seen, or they could just hope to run into one another again. “Maybe if we planned a day or something, we could just hope to run into each other. . . But then, I wouldn’t actually know what day it was,” she added, dismissing the idea as she lifted the blunt to her lips again, inhaling deeply. “I guess I’ll just have to hope to run into you again,” she further said, deciding that would be an acceptable agreement. It was not as if it was hard for stoners to find each other instinctively. At least, Lolita did not think it was overbearingly difficult to do. Somehow, she seemed to have very good luck in finding others without actually going out of her way to look for them, which was always a pain in the rear end to do.


#####Passing it back to him, she leaned back on one of her lithe arms, the other hand running through her hair absent-mindedly. She sighed, a contented sound coming from her lean shepherd’s muzzle. It would be nice to eventually make a trip into the city for some supplies, but there was no guarantee it would happen any time soon. The human dwellings gave her the creeps, truthfully, though she could not actually explain why. “So what do you do around here?” she asked vaguely, mainly wondering about his pack and status within that pack. She was still not sure how she felt about Dahlia de Mai, so of course she had to ask him about his pack. It was not that she was planning on looking into leaving her pack, but she was very curious.

#####The fact that they had no concrete plan did not bother her at all, and she merely nodded, agreeing that this would be a good course of action to follow. Nothing else would really work, though, as she probably would not remember when she was supposed to meet him in the first place, and she would feel terrible for unintentionally leaving him to wonder where the hell she had gone off to. There would be no need for making a concrete plan, anyway, considering the proximity of their pack lands. Lolita had not visited any closer to Inferni than this, but eventually she would—she saw no reason for her not to. She was friends with Kaena, and now with Anselm, and if she could provide a link to their clan, then she would probably not get into too much trouble for getting close enough to visit with them. She was not stupid enough to trespass, but she could always stop by to say hello. Conveniently, her mind blocked out any recollection of her bloody encounter with Snake, also of Inferni. He was not important, in her crazy mind.


#####“Me, I don’t do anything exciting,” she said with a small shrug, taking the tiny smoking bit back from him, holding it gingerly between her nails. She did not mind the burning that often came from holding it, but if it could be avoided, it was always better. “I’ve been in Dahlia for a while, don’t really know anyone. . . Haven’t met anyone, really, but I did meet Kaena,” she added, knowing that the two would surely know one another—or rather, guessing, since she had no way of knowing for certain. “She was pretty cool.” It could not even be assumed because of the fact that the two shared a pack, since she hardly knew anyone who called Dahlia home. She really did need to get out more often, if only to try and find someone to talk to for a while to keep her head on relatively straight.

Anselm was certainly surprised to hear that she was acquainted with Kaena; the fact that they had apparently hit it off was pretty amusing, too. That right? I consider Kae like my aunt.. even if we aren't related by blood, he said with a small shrug. Family meant a lot of different things to different people; to some it meant the world, to others it barely carried weight in and of itself. As far as he could tell it was an issue of mind over matter and accordingly he fell somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. Sometimes fabricated connections meant more than the real ones--other times this couldn't be further from the truth.

I've had a couple friends in Dahlia over the years--Cwmfen and Kol, not sure if either is around these days, he stated quietly before lapsing into a contemplative silence. His use of the term "friend" was fairly liberal here.. technically "friendly acquaintance" would have been more accurate. After all, he'd only run into the two dark-furred women a handful of times each--in a region that experienced high turnover rates, maybe a couple of amiable encounters was all it took. Regardless, it was atypical for him to think about others he didn't regularly see--out of sight, out of mind--and he quickly came back to the present.

It seemed as if the strange pale girl might be the third Dahlian to make this semi-exclusive list, tensions between their clans be damned. He'd never seen much sense in judging others by any other means than individually, and when he sat down to think about it the only Dahlian he didn't really like was their psychopath of a subleader. So long as Cercelee was around, however, he wouldn't think much of fraternising with the other members. Judging by this lazy afternoon, he'd made a sound choice indeed. She could show him how to roll that other joint; they'd smoke some more until their vision blurred and their minds grew fuzzy. Maybe they'd stumble upon the greatest secrets of the universe, or maybe they'd talk about nothing at all. Either way, he'd certainly be left with a favourable impression of the exotic yearling.