The laden smoke-colored clouds were spitting a combination of rain and snow, creating a layer of icy slush underfoot. The bottom cuffs of Kansas' skinny dark pants were soaked, freezing his legs up to his calves, but he barely noticed. He was bundled in his scarf and a tight black sweater, plenty warm. And he was too excited to feel cold, because he was headed into Halifax, to his favorite building in the world. The last time he'd been to the library was over a month ago, when he'd taken Gotham to pick out some kids books. By now Kansas and his puppies had worked through the sizable stack, so he decided to go fetch another to get them through the cold winter months. They were old enough to read on their own now. They were even able to read novels, probably!

The creamy-furred boy turned down the street that lead toward the library, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He was very startled to hear the clip-clop of a horse, and immediately, he recalled Cotl. Eager to see if by chance the hybrid was the shadowed figure on the horse, Kansas began to run, eyes straining through the curtain of wet snow. It wasn't until both of them were almost to the library stairs that he was assured of Cotl's presence, though if Kansas hadn't recognized the appaloosa horse, he would have taken longer to realize this. Because Cotl had some strange shit on his face. Kansas's bright eyes grew quizzical. He had no clue what that thing was; it looked to be more than just some ordinary mask. "Hey, Cotl! What...?" But he trailed off as his eyes followed the movements of the mutt's hands. Cotl used a lighter on something in front of the muzzle of the mask, and suddenly it dawned on the poor boy. "Is that... pot?" One may have mistaken his awe for disgust. Really, Kansas was simply ever-curious. He knew what marijuana was, and honestly, he'd always wanted to try it.

If there had been any prior doubt that the sweet-smelling green nugget in front of the gas mask was weed, Cotl's face wiped it cleanly away. He was smiling, his face happy. Kansas did not know the man too well, but he was certain Cotl was not exactly the smiley type. His outrageous screams were still prominent in his speech, but his tone itself was much more upbeat, and he seemed to have more to say. Yeah, he was high.

He explained a few things to Kansas, first that he was not smoking a cigarette (obviously); then about the gas mask. The Sadira boy's eyes were wide in wonder and perhaps a bit of self-assurance that he was naive as hell. He'd no previous clue that the thing was a gas mask used in human wars, or that it could be used to smoke pot. The information was extremely thrilling to him. He knew that he was smiling stupidly as the hybrid handed him the mask, but Kansas took it in his hands staring at it thoughtfully. He was slightly hesitant for many reasons. Savina and he had promised one another that they wouldn't drink ever again. And, most outstandingly, was the memory of Naniko and her drugs, and how they'd fucked up his little girl, Cambria, for weeks. "I dunno, man..." he said quietly, almost to himself.

Was this any different?

Perhaps a little. It grew in the ground; it wasn't a chemical, per se. It was a plant. And it could only make him happy, right? Plus, he somehow trusted that the coyote wouldn't offer him anything truly harmful. It wasn't like they were snorting lines together. With another grin, Kansas looked up at the mounted mutt, and gingerly put the mask over his face. "Hold the bowl up, and I'll light it. Eh, please," he added. He'd used lighters before, to light candles. This was a very different situation, but he thought he could handle it. Kansas's heart was much aflutter, with a combination of anxiety and delicious excitement.

Cotl probably would have been surprised to know about the shenanigans Kansas had gotten himself tangled up in only a year or so ago. The creamy-furred boy thought of this only because he had the idea that the coyote mix regarded him as an innocent and unaware nave. But Kansas was the opposite, really. In a flash of memory he recalled bits and pieces of the drunken night he'd spent with Naniko and Lucifer. He pushed them out of his mind. Perhaps that was a story to tell Cotl after... the current task had been accomplished. The words may flow more readily, then. In any case, Kansas released his inhibitions, taking the lighter firmly in his hand as if it were a torch of victory and ceremonious rebellion, having listened carefully to his friend's instructions. "Thanks, Cotl," he responded softly, gratefully. He was happy that he was not being mocked, but rather helped by his new found comrade.

Feeling extremely hardcore with the mask on and a mounted coyote hybrid holding the nug up to this mask, Kansas grinned beneath it. He exhaled all the wind in his lungs, held the lighter up to the bowl, and flicked it. He could see the green light up orange and red as he inhaled slowly and deeply. The flavor was magnificent, unlike anything else he'd ever tasted. It was strangely fulfilling and satisfying. After Cotl had let go of the carb, Kansas drew in the remaining smoke, feeling warm in his face and head. The hand holding the lighter fell to his side as he savored the feel of the hit, which was pretty big for a newbie. He exhaled, smoke filtering through the mask, and suddenly began coughing up a storm. He doubled over a tad, beating his chest with his fist as he coughed out the remainder of the smoke in his body. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, straightening. A warm, comfortable sensation filled his brain. He couldn't really recall what it had felt like to be drunk. But he was certain that this was different, and that was okay.

He took the mask off and handed it in Cotl's general direction. The hit he'd taken was large and he was apparently enough of a lightweight, because his eyelids steadily drooped as if he were tired. Things seemed unreal. after he cleared his throat, Kansas spoke with much more enthusiasm than was the norm for him. "So, so we're at the library, smoking weed? Aha. That's funny, I just took my son here a few weeks ago!" Maybe he was noting the irony. Whatever. He blinked, realizing that Cotl was still on the horse, and busted up laughing. He couldn't stop laughing. Seeing the other man, still up on that speckle-assed horse, was just hilarious for some reason. "What the hell, man, you're on a horse. H-hey, did you get that horse from my sister? Her name's Ember. Huh?" He had forgotten to ask last time, hadn't he? It would be so exciting to know that Cotl was riding a horse raised by his sister, right?

Kansas's face was blank for a moment when he saw his friend's surprised expression. Again he thought about how young he was and the age of his children; they were almost a year old, and he was barely over two! He couldn't get out of his mind how strange this seemed. He must look that young, too, from the surprise he saw on Cotl's face. He understood the oddity of this, but didn't understand why he understood it so well. It was weird how things were so clear and yet so unclear to him in his present condition. He didn't know what to make of it exactly, so he simply laughed.

Cotl grabbed the mask and the lighter, babbling about where he'd gotten the weed. The entire structure of the sentence Cotl spoke completely disturbed Kansas into a fit of laughter, so severely that his eyes watered. "Pfff, 'vagina'..." All his immaturity flared, so that the very notion that his companion had said "vagina" seemed obscenely funny. Wow, Cotl was just a funny guy. Kansas felt so free with him, like whatever he said didn't matter. The weed was probably helping with that, too.

Cotl cracked up in the midst of lighting himself another bowl. How could he take so much? Kansas was pretty ripped at the moment, and figured he'd pass out if he had any more. He blinked and shook his head just as the coyote-medley of a canine answered his question about Ember. Kansas had lost track of that thought, but it came back. Cotl's words seemed like they should be wrong, and should be something Kansas got upset about. "Did you seriously jusssst talk about screwing my sister? Aha, clever," he grinned a messed-up grin, wondering if what he'd just said made sense. Another thing occured to him. That story he'd wanted to tell. "Ha, I screwed my sister. Well, adopted... adoptive... whatever, sister. Her name's Naniko. We got drunk and I fucked her. Bad idea... I think I had sex with a dude at the same time," Absently scratching his ear, Kansas spoke with ironic graveness. He still felt terrible about this, but since they were talking about sisters and whatnot, he figured it a valid, if not tragic, tale to tell. Yeah.

What had he just told this man? Kansas spaced out for several seconds, worry working its way through his entire body; his torso and abdomen tensed and he fidgeted with the strap of his satchel. Why had he shared with Cotl that he'd had sex with Naniko? Paranoia momentarily took him over, and he was only able to release an almost involuntary laugh at Cotl's continuing comments about Ember. What if the coyote hybrid told someone who told Savina that he'd been bragging about the threesome and then she hated him? Kansas shook his head to and fro, try to shake away his troubling thoughts, thoughts that reiterated in his mind like a broken record. He recognized finally that Cotl was holding out the gas mask; it was almost touching Kansas' nose. Oh yeah! He took the mask and secured it over his face. Getting more stoned would relieve him. He'd forgotten that he didn't want any more.

He swiped the nug from his friend and lit himself another hit, breathing in deeply until he felt his lungs would implode. He removed the mask and let it dangle before Cotl from his finger, coughing loudly. The warm, fuzzy feeling that enveloped his senses intensified, so that it was as if nothing he saw was real. Everything—the color of Cotl's eyes, the pattern of speckles on the horse's ass, the stone of the concrete library steps—was extraordinarily beautiful. His companion's voice came to him from somewhere in the distance, and Kansas again shook his head and came back to life. That outburst had hit a nerve, and Kansas laughed so hard his eyes watered. "Christ, man!" He sighed and proceeded to the 'yote's question. "The fuck, why you wanna know about my family?" he questioned, grinning. Then he poked Cotl's arm as if this was cool. "Just kiddin'. I have so much family! There are Sadiras everywhere, even if they don't share the "Sadira" name. I worry that one day some'a my relatives are gonna start inbreeding without even knowing it." He giggled. "But I didn't. My girl is from Italy, and if you're talking hot... Mmmm."