WARNING: This thread contains material exceeding the general board rating of PG-13. It may contain very strong language, drug usage, graphic violence, or graphic sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.
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</style> Private for Ulilohi. Foredated to the 20th C:
Like the proverbial frog in the cauldron, the ex-Dreamer hadn't realised how profoundly the AniWayan war unsettled him until it was too late. Each passing day turned up the heat a little more, with ignorance fuelling concern, and concern fuelling guilt. Work and the kids kept him just preoccupied enough to ignore it most of the time, but it all came to a head once he finally went to visit the lakeside pack. Fortunately, unlike the hapless amphibian in the tales of yore, he didn't get boiled alive. Rather, he experienced a sensational release — his old pack mates were fine! The war was over!
Suddenly, all that built up pressure and tension discharged like a geyser. For the first time in months, he felt genuinely carefree. His kids were fine, his friends were fine, his old home was fine — everything was fine! Naturally, it felt like a fine time to have a little fun. The days following his receipt of the good news were spent in a haze bumbling around Ethereal Eclipse. During this time he was surprisingly introspective. Understanding he could've escaped all this mental anguish by simply manning up in the first place seemed obvious now, but at the moment, it was cathartic. He also accepted that even if he had been in Crimson Dreams throughout the war, he probably wouldn't have been able to change much or stop anything.
And really, it wasn't as if the past two months had been fruitless. He thought back on the time spent with his first-born sons and on his first full scale construction project; the memories seemed warmer now, happier. It didn't feel like he was just going through the motions of life because he thought he had to. He really did love those boys, and he was lucky Axle and Grit were so trustworthy and helpful. It was amazing how stable Crimson Dreams was, through thick and thin. And so were these trees, even stripped of their foliage! The Love of the Universe was raining down on him strong today, and it shown — he was radiating positive energy, each stride was taken in delightful humour, and a winning grin was plastered upon his face.
Ulilohi was not comfortable. Sure, she probably appeared confident, but it was strange to wander in the territory of the pack who had very recently attacked the tribe she was now the leader of. It was hard not to be paranoid: her appearance gave her away as an obvious AniWayan, and the members of this pack would likely not approve of her presence. This was not what dominated her line of thought, however. So many changes! The councilwoman had come here with an ambition to establish and run a messenger system -- and then return home to the Great Tribe. Never had she thought she would be the leader of anything other than small projects. She could never have guessed that at the age of 4, she would lead a branch tribe. Never had her family been shown such a privilege -- but then again she had not yet recieved Chief Aatu's blessing for this arrangement. She hoped he would approve of it, though. It was the only solution to secure the branch tribe's future.
Riding along and exiting Crimson Dreams, Ulilohi tried to process all the changes occurring in her life, particularly those out of her control. This pack, Crimson Dreams -- it was the pack of her commandant. As was the other pack, Cour des Miracles. She would be visiting that one too. The only comfort was the clatter of her mount's hooves, and she focused on this sound for a while before her concentration was interrupted by a stranger's scent. Looking up, a large male was in sight. At first hesitant, she steered the horse so that it would follow a path to avoid him, but she eventually changed her mind. She did not mind some companionship, and this one might not be a Dreamer. He couldn't hurt her, anyway - she was both very large and atop a horse. One hand reached behind her to grasp the butt of her spear, though. It could never hurt to be on the safe side. "Oi!" She called out, her deep voice easily cutting through the cooling winter air. She wasn't one to tread softly - dense, like her short mount.
The distant clip-clop of hooves did not go unnoticed. But enraptured as he was by the movement of the forest floor beneath his feet, he paid it little heed — only when the rider drew closer did he peer up. His eyes were automatically drawn to the movement of her hand to the spear, and when she called out to him, his ears flattened. He paused in his tracks with a bewildered expression. Her vocalisation was authoritative; her presence was commanding. But what did she actually say? He couldn't be that far gone already, could he? Any other time he would've understood it for what it was: a generic alert or salutation. At the moment, it set the gears spinning, alright, but the clutch just kept slipping. He had no idea what she wanted from him. The air around her rippled and pulsed with its own energy; this extraneous movement distracted him and made the whole thing even harder to process. Uhhh... he trailed off ineffectively, blinking twice.
He briefly wondered if she might be naught but a figment of his own imagination. This feeling was exacerbated when he bothered to really look at her — she was decked to the hilt! Her hair fell well past her midsection and was adorned with carefully placed feathers. Some segments were braided; others were not. And despite its impressive length, not a single strand appeared out of place. The upkeep on that mane had to be crazy; thoughtlessly, he raised a calloused paw to the back of his head to comb through his own shaggy locks, as if he suddenly felt ill-suited to be in the company of such an ornate female. It wasn't a wholly unfounded concern — he found a small twig back there and did his best to brush it aside without her noticing. (He probably failed.) Meanwhile, he noticed other things — her ample bosom; her rounded hips; her cerulean eyes, whose colour was amplified by the patterned shawl. The garment's texture seemed to really jump out at him and he marvelled at the subtle movements along its surface. (Movements which coincided with her breath and the slight shifting of the horse, even if he did not recognise their immediate cause.)
All of these observations took place in well under a minute, but it felt like much longer. His brain abruptly started screaming at him to say or do something, lest he appear too out of his wits; after all, he still wasn't sure if her intentions were hostile. Halfway out of his head, it wasn't surprising the spear made him a little uncomfortable. To top it all off, he was utterly unfamiliar with AniWayan culture. Having never met anyone from there, he didn't even recognise her as one of them. (Silvano had described them as a 'tribe,' sure, but such a minor detail didn't stand out in his memory. As far as he was concerned, tribe, clan, and pack were synonymous.) Finally — What's good? he tried carefully, honey-coloured eyes never straying from the spear very long. He really didn't want to run, especially in this state, but he would if he had to.
Still alert, she studied him further. It was not every day that she saw someone the same size as herself, though she would have been more surprised if he had been a she. While his sheer size was impressive, other aspects were... not so much. She watched, still not speaking, still hands on spear, as he pulled a twig out of his hair. Several moments passed before he said anything, and when he did it was a sound of confusion. Ulilohi relaxed somewhat. What threat was this... person? Seemingly lost, or so he looked as his eyes traveled all over the place. Finally, he spoke again, and now Ulilohi was no longer sitting ready to strike, but had straightened in her saddle. She was not worried he would attack her, he appeared almost dim-witted. Both her hands were on the neck of her mount, and she bent forward to look at him, her braids spilling from her shoulders. His question made absolutely no sense to her, and -- shaking her head -- she made a "Tik!" sound with her tongue; a signal for the horse to move closer.His pelt looked even more rugged up close. With one eyebrow arched, she studied his strange appearance. His colors and whatnot were decidedly ordinary, but she could not understand what he was dressed in. Was this an effort from his side, to try and impress, perhaps? There were so many... things attached to his form -- what were they? She had never seen the likes of such garments or backpacks. She could see the function of the leg-dress, it looked a little like her sister's skirt back home. But why would he wander around in the middle of the forest in his ceremonial garb, looking like had not washed his pelt for.. well, to be frank, weeks. Most AniWayan stayed well away from human objects, believing them to be cursed, and she could not understand why anyone would wear clothing that did not have a particular significance or was not a symbol of rank. "Who are you?" she demanded, knowing quite well she had no right to demand anything. He didn't smell of Crimson Dreams, though, and she was unafraid. What could a ragged, lean -- and somewhat confused -- male like him do to hurt her anyway?
Slight powerplay, beat me if you want it changed x:
He knew he wasn't making a stellar impression, but perhaps being unexceptional was working to his advantage. Despite the intensifying effects of the hallucinogens, he experienced a moment of clarity when she relinquished the spear. Adrenaline gummed up the works — as the fight or flight instinct subsided, what dwindling brainpower remained could be channelled to other things, such as holding a (relatively) coherent conversation. Sorry, he muttered. I believe I'm a little under dressed, he added with a good-natured chuckle. It was best to grab the bull by the horns; her sceptical look said it all. As usual, he defaulted to humour to alleviate tension and awkwardness. As if to drive the point home, his tail swished a few times for good measure.
The dusky male held his ground as she urged her mount closer. Although dominant, she did not seem malicious. He even chanced a step forward; when the pair were very near, he held out his palm for the horse to sniff and gently stroked its velvet-like nose. The tactile sensation was immediately pleasing, but he was careful not to get carried away — he withdrew his hand after several lights pets to avoid irritating the animal. It was just as well, for the woman addressed him soon after. Once again, her tone commanded authority. Fortunately, his was a rather yielding personality. Barry, he replied simply; at least that was an easy one. He wasn't really sure where that got her, though.
With a mental shrug, he began to fish around in his pants pocket. He watched her with exaggeratedly dilated pupils all the while; when a faint breeze teased a lock of hair, he found his head inclining along with the straying strand. And how 'bout you, eh? At length, he found what he was looking for. His eyes widened and he straightened back up. You seem like you gotta lot on your mind, he remarked matter-of-factly, popping the loosely rolled joint in his mouth. Oh, he could "help" with that — and he conveyed as much (maybe) through a devious wink. With that, he flicked on his lighter and lit the smoke.
It would appear that waving her spear around did not further conversation. All of a sudden, the male seemed to have a vocabulary, and he used it to make a little joke. She smiled, but still quite uncertain about him. Something was... off. She wasn't certain what, exactly. He had a peculiar scent, something sweet - like the herbs she had smelled burning in the Priestss huts sometimes. And faintly, there was tobacco - and a little bit of filth. Her face was probably arrogant-looking as he approached the horse and patted it gently a few times, but she was not certain even what she was thinking, nor whether it was arrogance or something else. "I'm Ulilohi Ehn." His name was strange. Perhaps hers would be equally odd-sounding to him.
The odd feeling she had about this one did not lessen. He stared at her with large eyes and did a strange head movement while his hands were rustling around in his leg-dress. Was he...? No, he wasn't. Really? She shifted her gaze, not certain where to look. "What about me?" Did they all ask such strange questions out here? Luckily, her tension evaporated again quickly when she saw that he held something in his hand - perhaps he had a belt-pouch under there? She had no idea why anyone would wear their belt underneath their leg-dress, but it didn't matter much to her what he wore. And apparently, it didn't matter to him if she wore nothing. She gave a crooked smile, one eyebrow arched as she looked down on him, but did not comment on it. "I've visited Crimson Dreams from AniWaya."Where I am currently in charge. The words were almost out when she stopped them. What did this guy care, anyway? She sniffed the air curiously, deducing that the sweet scent came from whatever it was he was holding. "What's that?" she said, changing the subject.
Still looking somewhat perplexed, he repeated her name. Ulilohiii. Ulilooohi. It rolled strangely off of his tongue, which was unaccustomed to such rapid-fire transitions between vowel and consonant sounds. He couldn't quite pin down where to put the most emphasis. He desperately wished she had a nickname, but there wasn't much time to dwell on the subject. His brow furrowed in thoughtful consternation as he realised she was looking at him funny. It didn't occur to him she might mistake his wandering hand for something inappropriate or vulgar; he supposed it was for his awkward grappling with her title instead. He shrugged in a What can you do? sort of way and took a long drag on his cigarette as she repeated his rhetorical question. Maybe verbal communication wasn't his strong suite right now.
Otherwise, he was more perceptive (and expressive) than usual. Her raised brow was countered with a quirk of his own as he subconsciously mirrored her expression. When she smirked, he grinned back. He didn't know what the joke was, but it didn't matter. This whole situation was decidedly odd. It went beyond culture clash, given his current state of mind — it was more like a surreal mash-up of two very different worlds. At least what she said next put some of it into focus. Oooooh, he drawled in realisation, as if that single sentence explained everything. To be fair, it did explain a lot: the tension, her austere attitude, the spear.
He was about to say something else when she inquired about the joint. He blinked down at it, as if surprised by its continued existence. Pinching it delicately between two black claws, he held it up for her to take, either for inspection or sampling. Cannabis — one of Mother Earth's greatest gifts to us all, he mused somewhat whimsically. Slinging the backpack off his shoulder, he opened one of the front pouches and produced a few dried mushroom caps. And these are one of the others, yea? he laughed, wagging his tail. You want any? Home grown and freshly cured! he added, alluding vaguely to his primary 'profession.' He was in an accommodating mood, and she seemed like she could use a little rest and relaxation. Although she baffled him, he was rather enjoying her company.
Somehow, she had thought that once greetings had been exchanged, he would appear less weird to her. Something about that first moment when strangers met always put her off, and then it was simpler from there. But not this one. She stared at him strangely as he repeated her name like an idiot, and with wrong intonation at that. What was wrong with him? Had he taken a blow to the head or something? "Uli-LO-hi", she corrected with emphasis. Really, in the last week, as strange as it may have been, this encounter was about to take the cake. She shook her head in disbelief, and hoped that the next time he said something, it would be something she could work with.
She was disappointed, however. He didn't seem to know or care about AniWaya, produced a long sound as if realizing something without sharing the moment with her, and silence followed. Luckily, her question killed it, and now he produced a coherent sentence, even if she had not heard the first word before. He offered the burning object to her and she took it gingerly, studying it. It smelled quite strange. She frowned at his comment - what would he know about mother earth? Just as she opened her mouth to ask what it was for (other than lighting on fire, obviously. Perhaps he was just trying to smell better?), he produced a bunch of other curious items. Now, she could recognize this as dried somethings, maybe mushrooms. Her face lit up somewhat. She was not really hungry or anything, but a little snack couldn't harm her, right? "Oh! You grow mushrooms? My father grows tomatoes." Still holding the burning thing in one hand, she took hold of her saddle used her elbow to swing down from the horse in a manner that said she had done just that a million times before. "I love to try foreign foods." Whenever traders had come from other tribes, she had tried to taste everything they had brought with them. It was hard to tell why it was so interesting to her. Smiling, she reached for one of the snacks, not at all hesitant. She knew knavery when she saw it, and this one was hardly capable of fooling her.
She apparently noticed his trouble and restated her name, this time at a more manageable speed. Ulilohi, he repeated. His face lit up brightly; he was pretty sure he got it that time. Does it mean anything? he wondered, eyes alight with genuine curiosity. The loner shared her interest in foreign cultures and peoples, even if the exotic names of these individuals tripped him up. Hell, stone sober he couldn't get TaeKyung's name right — thus why he called her 'T.K.' In any case, he did his best to file the non-bastardised version of her name away in memory.
Regarding the plants, he nodded eagerly. Among other things, yep! he confirmed. What do tomatoes do? Barrett failed to grasp how utterly not on the same page they were, so his wording was a little strange. As far as he knew, there were only three reasons to grow crops: for medicinal purposes, for livestock consumption, and as intoxicants. Maybe Alae's plants and the butterfly gardens fell into a fourth category — for aesthetics and aroma. It certainly didn't occur to him they might be produced as foodstuffs for canine consumption. Since it was obvious to him they were talking about drugs, he could only assume the 'tomatoes' produced some kind of delightful delirium. Would it be more like the mushrooms? Or the opium? Maybe one of those elusive stimulants he'd heard about? Perhaps they could work out a trade!
His tail swung with blissful optimism as she dismounted. Despite her size, she moved with fluidity and landed with grace. He beamed as she accepted one of his treats, although he was mildly confused by her word choice — the caps weren't very substantial and they weren't made out of meat. How could they rightly be called food? No matter. Of all things, his brain latched onto the preceding word next — foreign. So wait. You're from out of the area? I thought AniWaya was just around the corner. He had no idea the Nova Scotian tribe was just one branch of a much larger society.
He repeated her name, and this time pronounced it correctly. She nodded in approval, but when he asked her for its meaning. she simply stared at him. She wasn't used to anyone not immediately being able to discern its meaning, and now that he asked for it, it felt somehow stupid to let him know. It did mean something, but who was she to tell him she was 'attractive'? In the Aniwayan sense, this was immediately accepted as a token of love from her parents, their own appreciation of her, but if she said it now she felt as if she claimed to be just that. "Not that I know of," she said, at length. And then she didn't say anything else.
She smiled as she reached for a mushroom and put it to her nose to smell it. She could relate to growing things - both her parents had had large crops of tomatoes. They were the only tomato growes in the Great Tribe, because a tribe did not need as many tomatoes as they did meat. She took a small bite of the mushroom and tried to find its flavor, however like much mushroom it tasted little, but earthy. As she chewed, she frowned in confusion at his question? Do? They didn't do much -- what was he on about? "Tomatoes...um" she hesitated, uncertain of what kind of answer he was expecting. "They are just.. food? I like to smash them and eat them with nut bread and deer." She took another little nibble of the mushroom as she spoke. It wasn't bad at all. She nibbled it slowly as he asked another question. "Oh, I only just arrived from the Great Tribe. AniWaya is a branch of our bigger one, it's a good month-long journey by horseback." Really, this mushroom was pretty good. Smiling at him, she finished it. Now on to the strange burning thing. She looked at it with a question mark on her face.
A quiet Oh finalised their discussion about names. He knew his derived from some advanced human contraption his mother found once: a rifle. But try as she might, despite all her technical know-how, she could not get the blasted thing to work. (That didn't stop her from studying its mechanisms of action, as she was endlessly fascinated by such things; Maserati was an odd woman.) Perhaps he was well-suited to his name — just as she never unlocked the gun's secrets, she never really understood her son. And just as the rifle held much potential for devastation but instead lay an inert piece of metal, he shunned his training and intellectual prowess in favour of nonsense like this.
To think, a boy who once showed such promise in combat and the Sciences had turned into a man that could scarcely wrap his head around a tomato plant! That wasn't completely fair, of course, given the circumstances — and failing all else, he'd developed many hands-on skills to the point of expertise — but that didn't stop him from muttering a bewildered Bread? Just as the word came out of his mouth, he shook his head as if to rescind the question. It didn't matter; he was in no place to understand new concepts and any attempts to explain them would be a waste of her breath. You'll have to show me some time, he suggested.
At least travel was something he understood. That's quite a hike, he remarked. Not even a round-trip journey to Freetown took that long. There are lots of branches, then? he inquired. The idea was a little overwhelming. Here he was thinking the Collective was revolutionary in their organisation, but here was a centralised mega-pack colonising the continent! Wow, he breathed before she could even answer; he was completely floored by this news! It was a good thing the war ended before the AniWayans called in reinforcements; if their reach was as expansive as he imagined, they could probably breeze on through and steamroll everyone. His look of awe turned into one of disconcertion, but the thought was forgotten as she gestured at the joint. Maybe he ought to be worried, but he felt immediately comfortable, and the present moment took precedence under the influence of psychedelics.
Besides, she didn't seem too bad, right? (He'd already forgotten about the spear, it seemed.) It helps if you inhale a little, then pull fresh air in on top. You wanna fill your lungs, not just hold it in your mouth, he explained, then smiled encouragingly. New smoking buddies were always a treat, and she was saying some far out shit.
The subject of her name was dropped, and Ulilohi was relieved. Instead, the conversation moved on, and Ulilohi nodded with a smile at his suggestion. Certainly, she could show him nut bread. It was easy to make, given that the tribe had collected enough nuts this fall, and somehow she assumed they had not: times had been busy. The crops had suffered for it, as well. Luckily, the thought of the future didn't stay long: how in hell she would manage to get them through winter, when Maska's war had ravaged their crops, their anmials, and their relationships to ther packs? His procrustean leadership had failed, and right then that wasn't what was on her mind anyway. "Perhaps next fall," she stated without thinking about how he couldn't possibly understand what a nut bread, or its tradition, was.
She nodded at him - it was quite a hike. Her bum had been the sorest she had ever felt when she finally arrive, and she was far from an inexperienced rider. Though, perhaps Gvwalodi had something to do with that, as well. "No, there's only AniWaya. It was not meant to be a branch - the rest of us were coming after to settle here too, but we were delayed for years. Eventually, we settled elsewhere." The tribe had been too large to continue moving. It had been a very ambitious plan to begin with, a plan which her aunt had helped build, but when weather and illness struck them down and Ayegali disappeared, hope had been killed and they had needed some stability.
He explained what to do, and she studied the thing again. It was like a pipe, then? Putting its non-burning end to her lips, she drew air through it, but as she would in a pipe. She had expected tobacco, but that was not its taste, though it was not horrible. Its sweet scent multiplied when its smoke hit her taste buds as she kept her mouth closed for a moment, having to consciously think about breathing in additional air like he had suggested. Ulilohi looked at him awkwardly, as if asking if she was doing it right, when she drew in more air through her nose. While it was nothing like she was used to, this custom for smoking didn't seem that bad. Did they all smoke like this? The femme exhaled the smoke as quickly as she would have tobacco smoke and smiled. "It tastes different, but not bad!" she concluded, once her lungs had decided to cooperate. It was different smoking in numerous ways. Brown tail gave a soft wag as she studied him, joint-in-hand. Oh, if she only knew what she had done to her system.
Sorry again about the ungodly wait. ._. This post is weird, but then... mushrooms are weird XDXD Also LOLOLOL @ the part about her sore bum <___<
His mental processes grew very queer under the influence of this heavier drug — as his brain struggled to filter through the overload of raw, incoming sensory data, less 'critical' systems were demoted to the back burner. The Subconscious — replete with its whimsical abstractions and haphazard connections — then began to dominate ordinary, linear Thinking (which, truthfully, was convoluted enough given his attention disorder). What was obvious before was no longer taken for granted, and what might've slipped under the radar earlier now stood out, clear as day. Thus, while he struggled with the intricacies of her name and origin, the implications behind her remark seemed self-explanatory: she was waiting for the next harvest. He nodded with another knowing Oooh, and swished his tail. I'm hopin' to go all out next growing season, too, he explained, being unintentionally vague.
The mottled hybrid was about to go on about his master plan — likely in a terribly incoherent fashion — but he quieted down again as she explained AniWaya's chance conception. Even though the whole situation was pretty straightforward, he couldn't get his head around it. Why hadn't the split branch backtracked to reunite with its parent pack? Why did they want to move in the first place? What could have delayed them for so long? Was everything ok? His eyes glazed over as his mind generated dozens of hypothetical explanations; alas, he'd forgotten he could just ask about it if he really wanted to know. At the very least, she'd assuaged any fears regarding a random AniWayan takeover. He decided he was satisfied with that. He breathed a soft Mm under his breath, which at least afforded him the illusion of comprehension.
In any event, she seemed to approve of his strain. He beamed brightly. Why thank ya, he chimed. That's my greenhouse variety, most potent 've grown to date! he added helpfully. The effects of the weed would kick in any second (even if the mushrooms might take awhile more). He supposed it would help ease her into the more intense psychedelic experience; then again, he still didn't realise she was unfamiliar with these substances. Dreamily, his gaze followed the movements of her gently swaying tail — which he unwittingly began to mimic. The Primitive brain reigned during these times; unfortunately, there were additional consequences. The motion refocused his attention on the curve of her rump and some of her body's other features: a thick lock of chestnut hair resting against her breast, the smoke swirling away from her muzzle, the way the beads and feathers helped frame her (perhaps slightly confused, but not unkind) face.
His ears slicked back apologetically when he realised he was staring. There's a nice little overlook and a waterfall not far from here, he blurted suddenly. Wanna go sit there or something? Running water was one of the best things to watch while high or tripping, after all. Gravity was starting to feel a little heavier than normal anyway, and at least he'd get a chance to clear his head some while they walked.
Heh, I knew you'd appreciate that And no worries! I'm slow too, but phew, now I'm finally done with most of my exams! Hooray
He appeared stranger and stranger by the minute, but Ulilohi was beginning not to care as well. Or, perhaps she just didn't notice as much - it was hard to tell. He swung his tail and she smield at him as he echoed her statement. "Yeah," she said, smiling dim-wittedly. "We had problems with this year's crops of tobacco," she explained, hands weaving patterns that complimented her words. "Hopefully there will be more to smoke next year." She did quite enjoy smoking the pipe. For some reason, it reminded her of her mother. The scent of it always made her miss her.
He continued his odd behavior and how much she cared continued to decrease. He mumbled a word or something at length, after her explanation, and she merely stopped for a moment before she giggled loudly at him. It wasn't so easy to tell what was funny, but it was, somehow. Finally, he continued to comment on the tobacco, and her eyebrows moved to form a puzzled expression as she considered his words. "...potent?" she asked. What did he mean? She remembered the first time she smoked tobacco, how it had made her light-headed, but now she smoked it only for its taste. The differences in this one, she had merely attributed to the fact that she assumed this one grew a different tobacco, or had perhaps prepared it differently. Now, though, she was genuinely confused. "What's in this, then? Not tobacco?" She wiggled the joint as she asked him outright. She wasn't as upset as she would have been normally, somehow, and found herself smiling a little as she asked. Again, Barrett looked a little funny, but she did not miss how he studied her. When he suggested they move along to a nearby waterfall, she did not resist the idea. "Yeah, can do." She was standing still, but she was moving a little already. How odd.
♥ Powerplay with him grabbing the joint and giving it back, let me know if you'd like it changed. :3 Barry be trippin' balls >__> XD
Barry's gaze followed the movement of her hands. As they passed through the air, echoes of their past locations remained visible. Those most immediate were boldest, but eventually they faded seamlessly into the background. The net effect was a continuous trail that stretched out through time and space, and in some strange way, it gave the illusion of being able to see the air itself. In truth, the neurons that told his brain what his eyes saw were simply firing on repeat; this extraneous "noise" was usually filtered out by the sober, Waking mind, but these drugs stripped that screen away and paradoxically left pure, unadulterated reality in its place. And oh, it was so, so beautiful!
An overwhelming wave of inexplicable joy washed over him, perhaps spurred by her own mirth. It swelled up in his chest, warmed his core, and extended down through his limbs to his fingertips. He wriggled them and grasped at the palms of his own hands without thinking; the effect was nearly orgasmic. He became more aware of each unique sensation; he could swear he felt every strand of fur on his body, and it all felt amazing. When she giggled, he laughed back, a rolling, hearty, genuine sound without true cause. That somehow made it even more delightful and hilarious, but he pulled it together in time for them to start walking.
Even that felt decidedly weird. Simultaneously, he floated above the earth and sunk into it. It was hard to tell where his feet ended and the ground began, both tactilely and visually. The psychedelics dominated his psyche now; soon regular conversation would become a monumental task, with thoughts and musings disfavoured over raw experience. But fortunately, he could hold on just a little bit longer. Sounds like you could use a greenhouse, then, he quipped. Grow year round, I mean. The gaps in their discourse were becoming more prominent. But no... it's marijuana. Pot. Weed. Ganja. Hell, a thousand names for the plant worth thousands! he exclaimed with such passion, all while wondering 'thousands of what?'.
The mushrooms were fantastic, but Mary Jane would always be his one true love. He sighed rapturously and reached for the joint in her hand to take a generous hit. As his lungs filled with smoke, the world before him came to life. The colours of spring and summer danced and swirled among the dull browns and greys of November. They moved in time with the steady drone of the waterfall, which had grown in volume as they walked. They were nearly there! Barry laughed, handed the cigarette back to his companion, and sprinted like a madman for the ledge. Beneath the falls half a dozen feet below, water pooled in a large, deep, slow moving part of the channel. Once he reached the edge he leapt, tucked into a cannonball, and plummeted into the frigid liquid.
IDK if this works with her smoking & beginning shrooms, but I hope so XD It is hard being a newb, okay?
Increasingly confused, Ulilohi watched the male as he seemed to lag behind, staring at her hands. For some reason she found it vaguely amusing, and a slow smile crept up on her face as she walked onward alongside him. Some moments passed before he answered her question with a string of words she could not understand. And yet, she turned and nodded vigorously at him. "Oh!" she exclaimed, as if she knew all of them. She was too distracted by the increasing sound of the waterfall, and his odd action of taking the joint from her, smoking it, and giving it back. Smiling, she took a few puffs from it herself while she looked at Barrett, who slowly, somehow, ran laughing towards the edge and disappeared in a bundle. She giggled again to herself, before taking a moment to choose between swimming and smoking. Oh, perhaps she could do both? "Hey, wait for me!" she sang, playfully. The smile was permanent on her face now, and while she did not understand much of what was going on, she was enjoying it quite a bit. It was as confusing as it was enjoyable.
She began the long journey toward the ledge not even considering her shawl or her braids: she usually took them all out before swimming. There was nothing like usual today, though, but just as she got close to the ledge (it wasn't so far away after all!) the blues swept up across her face with the wind, and she pulled it off and left it up there. It took a few ornaments with it, but she didn't notice - she was staring for a moment at the water, the light more dimly lit inside her head. The joint was smoked once more before she, too, curled up and followed Barrett, the smoke still in hand, not even thinking about checking if he was in the way. As she broke the water surface on the way up, she marveled at the little droplets that flew from her furs as she tossed her braided mane around. "Hey, look." Repeating the action, Ulilohi giggled again.
I think you're fine xD Barry = ten kinds of retarded right now, rofl.
The water hit him like a tidal wave. As he plunged beneath the surface, the abrupt transition in temperature enlivened his senses. He opened his eyes and watched as myriads of bubbles rose around him, tracing out swirling patterns as they went. A disturbance elsewhere in the pond snapped him back to reality, and he burbled out several large globular bubbles before kicking up. His emergence was concurrent with Ulilohi's, and he gasped sharply at the broken stream of droplets radiating away from her auburn locks. He was nearly overwhelmed when she chose to repeat this action a second time — admittedly he was paying more attention to the jiggling of her breasts on take two.
Ineffectively he tried to replicate her display, but his hair simply wasn't long enough to achieve the same effect. He did notice something else though: his hat was missing. It bobbed along a couple feet from where he was treading water, and he reached out to snatch it before it sank. With as much foresight as he'd shown when it came to (not) taking his clothes off in the first place, he put it back on. It dumped a fair bit of water on his head and sagged down over his eyes. He snorted and pouted with a look of dismay so genuine, he couldn't possibly realise how unintentionally hilarious it might have looked.
At length he removed it and tossed it over to the shore. As it spun through the air, beads of water flew off: finally, he'd found a way to do what she had! He laughed jubilantly and searched for something else to throw. Pants! They felt heavy now anyway. He reached down to remove them, then chucked them along in the direction of his poor hat. What a liberating feeling! They landed with a rather comical splat on the muddy bank. Now he was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. At least he was finally getting a bath.
Heheheh. I'm having a little bit of the predicted difficulty replying, but I'm trying my best!
She repeated the action of tossing the water around a few times, sometimes glancing at Barrett as he tried to reproduce the artwork. He somehow moved or bloated in odd places, but her fascination was not complete until a waterfall of water poured from his hat over his face, placing a very comical look on his lips. The giant female could not stop herself, but laughed loudly at him, even pointing his long arm in his direction and very nearly slipping backwards into the water. A very elegant swiveling of her arms saved her, however, all performed while laughing. The water show continued as Barrett threw his hat, and her joyus feeling increased as she watched it fly. As she did, Barretts leg-clothing flew into view, and she turned towards him and joined in on his neverending laugh, eventually coughing up some words. Thick AniWayan accent flowed out of her mouth in a deep rumble, still smiling and her hands gesturing towards Barrett in patterns. "Anasgayv ayv?" She winked, oblivious to how he could not understand her joke. He wasn't bad-looking, this one, even if he was ungroomed. Her braids clung heavily to her upper back, chest and neck, and the whole of her torso shook as she laughed, the giggles tossing her tummy this way and that, making circular ripples in the water. She took steps forward, but everything was moving very slowly. "Tsinusdi uwoduhi!" It was as if it all danced, the water, with or without movement, and Barrett didn't make it any less funny-looking.
Barry's lips rolled together under the flow of hat-water, sputtering and burbling and generally sounding ridiculous. It must've been even worse than he imagined, because by the time he got the damn thing off, Ulilohi could barely stand up. His ears slicked back in fleeting embarrassment, but when she started gesticulating wildly after the tossed clothes, the whole matter was promptly forgotten. He had no idea what the hell she was saying, or why they were laughing anymore, or why he found himself nodding enthusiastically in agreement. Wasn't it generally a poor idea to agree to something when you didn't know what it was?
He found he couldn't help himself. Her foreign tongue was warm and exotic; a shiver ran up his spine as the syllables resonated in his head. Maybe on some fundamental level he understood her, language barrier be damned — as they explored this new-found consciousness together, they began to transcend spoken word. Everything was beautiful. And he was on autopilot. He drew closer as she did the same. When they were near enough — which was frightfully hard to judge — he tentatively reached out to run his fingers through the dark locks which floated along the surface.
The flow and texture of liquid and solid combined was delightful, but shortly afterwards he realised what he was actually doing: absently playing with her hair. His eyes widened and he froze, then slowly retracted his arm to his side. He was almost afraid to look. His wet tail swished across the water once optimistically as he peered up, not unlike a child who was just caught doing something wrong and hoping to get out of trouble.
I had no problems understanding your post, so shush
Had the world always been this beautiful? She watched the glorious patterns all around her, how the world twisted into new shapes that moved like liquids - not to mention the liquids! The water rings that grew from her stomach as she laughed grew and grew endlessly, moving irregularly regularly, fascinating her to no end. She watched one of them as it slowly flew from her, expanding eternally and creating children as it hit things in its path - one of them was Barrett. She smiled at him as she moved towards him, and he did the same. He was strangely appealing, in all his flat and wet fur. Not skinny, but muscular in all the right places. He halted once he was close enough, and did something surprising to her: the hand that he extended was going for her braid. She watched him as he played with it for a moment, before apparently realizing what he had done. His eyes were wide, but Ulilohi laughed heartily again - more at his face than anything else. "Ale ayv vtla dinelvdodi!" While it could have been expressed in offended terms, Ulilohi's deep voice rang with playfulness and gentle taunts. Before he could answer, she clutched her nose and slipped down under the water with a giggle.
Her intentions with doing so were vague even to her, but as she entered this other realm her own eyes burst open. Her braids danced around her head like water weeds, their feathers soaked, but dancing nonetheless. Fascinated, she sxclaimed sounds of joy underwater, releasing a little family of bubbles that fled to the surface, their own little surfaces looking like glimmering ornament-stones as they fled upwards. Sitting there, her legs bent and her arms flapping in the water to keep her down, she studied how everything looked better under water. Better, majestic, elegant. Even Barretts legs and the fur on his tail moved in beautiful waves, and she giggled a little at how he looked both silly and attractive at once. The underwater muffled her deep voice, but she was only giggling to herself, anyway. She quickly swam to the side, and one hand moved foward to pull his tail.
