Rock, Paper, Scissors...

[Mei]

Mei followed Sev out of the river, her soaking fur clung to her body. She shivered. Was it from the cold water orrrrr...
"I've found a few interesting rocks, though im not to sure what they are..." she shrugged. "I heard this place was a good one to find shinies, so I thought i would come explore. The water glistened off of Sev's hide. "I love shiny
things." She added, hypnotized.

After they were clear of the water, Sev briefly had his back to Mei. She took this opportunity to drop her tail and arms and shake off what excess water she could. What she wasn't expecting, however, was to make such a shower with her water droplets and re-drench Sev. "Eep!" She squeaked, realizing what had happened. She froze in mid-shake, tail floofed, mortified that she had just been so rude to a stranger offering her such kindness. She had forgotten to cover up...

[Viciviser]

They talked a lot. Their banter was mesmerizing to the satyr. They did it so well too. It was not certain it could do the same. It picked itself up as it realized they were moving out of the water, but it stopped as it became distracted by its hunger again. The whiny gurgling was increasing. It turned to the water and started to breathe deep and evenly while staring at its reflection, no, into the water.

A soft glow sprung to life in its eye. The light did not seem to be a reflection of the little bit of sun remaining or from any other source around it. After a few moments, a fish swam right up to it with blank eyes having a similar light in them. The satyr reached in its hand and slipped the fish out of the stream with no fight from it. The satyr paused a moment before bashing the fish on the ground. It then shoved the whole fish into its mouth despite the dirt caked to it and its scales, fins, organs, and bones... And actually began trying to choke it down. The satyr nearly vomited as the fish's fins caught against the sides of its esophagus. It spit the stunned fish out of its mouth while coughing and sputtering. Did it even know how to eat? The satyr groaned hungrily and retrieved the now injured fish.

It held the fish as it started out crawling on its hands and knees again, but after a little ways it angled itself and went on all fours more befitting of the unguligrade legs and feet it has. Still, having human arms made it look awkward. It shuffled through the grass, eventually breaking free of its cover just after Mei shook water off onto Sev. When it was out of the grass it stood on its hind legs once more and approached the two fascinating and foreign creatures.

Its skin prickled as it became a little self-aware that it was attempting to establish communication in what had been a very long time. It seemed to stand somewhere between 6 foot and 6'3". The fur of its body is brown and shaggy; dirty and matted in many spots. It is emaciated enough that its ribs are showing. Its tail hangs heavily behind it, padding the ground here and there before curling up slightly again.

It held up its beaten, dirty fish like a trophy and garbled out, "Haurrhh isshhh fiss ishh caffch ta eeee."
Its voice was guttural and cracked, let alone its tongue would not help it form words.

It blinked, adjusted its tongue, and tried again, "Here is fish. Catch to eat."
It seemed to have trouble talking without its tongue lolling out of its muzzle. It then nodded with what seemed like a grin and pointed to them merrily with its free hand.
"No clothesh."
And pointed back to itself, "No clothesh."
As if that somehow is what made them approachable. Or maybe it felt that common aspect made it more accepted?

[Roose Hurro]

Naked Truth...



Yes, Sev had turned briefly away, so he could see where he was going... important during that transition from river to dry land. And yes, even after that, his eyes on his skimmer and gear. As he listened, his mind going over what needed to be done, with night falling. Practical things. A grin when Mei mentioned shiny things, after a slight sigh, when she didn't say he was the most interesting thing she'd found in the river. Yes, a bit disappointed, but then...

... sound of "wet dog" shaking, him showered with the result. Her, mortified.

Sev turned, ears back, quills up... dropped to all fours, subarms still clutched to chest. Another grin, playful...

... "I believe this is the point were I pick you up and toss you back in the river.......*"

But he never had the chance to make good on his "threat"... not even a moment to comment on her sudden lack of shyness. No. Sound, scent, sight... a very odd creature, male, wild looking and smelling, with mangled fish and mangled words. Sev froze, this unexpected... person... obviously what had twitched his senses earlier, from his scent. Yet Sev's mind flashed, senses and intellect overriding instinct, though his desire to protect Mei had led to his sudden, guarded movement and defensive position between her and this stranger... yes, his movements sure and swift, muscles tense, nostrils flared. Then he stood up, sighed... grinned for the third time, eyes on Mei, and...

... "So much for a romantic night... just the two of us." Then, eyes on this odd strange creature... "Looks like we have another dinner guest."

Kah'Saun, male or female, had the physical capability for great violence, if provoked. But they also knew this about themselves, and so made a point of practicing restraint. Yes, still able and ready, trained to make quick... and more important, accurate... assessments of threat levels. In this case, no threat existed. Well, at least not enough for Sev to attack and rend limb from limb. Beside the whole "rude" aspect such behavior tended to show.

Wild and free, inside. Civilized and controlled, on the outside.......

....... and good judges of character. Helped by their ability to see even living "ghosts". Yes, now that he "saw" this newcomer with his Third Eye, he could "see" what he needed to know.

[Mei]

Sev had dropped to all fours, looking to start a play-fight. This instantly eased Mei's mind about him. Warm thoughts and a desire to play herself flooded over her. She grinned, losing her shyness but still alert. She turned her head to see the satyr holding his prize out as sev took a defensive posture in front of her. She was so startled by the appearance of another creature that she slipped and fell on her rear end with an 'OOPH!' "Nnnnngh..." she moaned, standing up and rubbing the impact site. She stood behind Sev, grateful for the protection, still nervous and unsure about the third in the party.


She had reacted purely out of anxiety and surprise when her nap was interrupted by the sound of Sev's skimmer. Once warmng up to him and with him here to protect, she reacted much more calmly this time, but still brought her tail up to cover her upper thighs. She looked the satyr over from top to bottom. The first thing she noticed was how dirty and emaciated he was. Then, that his eyes contained no malice. This creature had a 'gentle giant' presence to him. Her anxious expression relaxed a little bit. She was still unsure as to its intent or species, but her instincts told her he wasn't a threat.

The strange newcomer proffered his fish and managed to form a sentence. Mei's ears raised again from their flattened position. He's just hungry and looking to make friends! She thought to herself. Then the satyr pointed at himself and said, "No clothesh." This made Mei giggle audibly. She set her free paw on Sev's shoulder and gently said, "Its ok Sev, look, a fish! He's just hungry..." then she realized that she was still naked.

She glanced back at Sev's skimmer and his gear. "I'm just going to..." she pointed towards the gear, "go over here for a moment..." she sprinted towards the skimmer and leapt behind it before the new creature or Sev could see her uncovered. She leaned over and grabbed a towel from the pile of gear, quickly ran it over herself once, and wrapped it around her torso.

She walked back over to the group holding two more towels, offering one to Sev and gesturing to to satyr with one hand to show it was safe. "Come over, we won't hurt you... let's get you dried off, then we can all eat. How does that sound?" Her own stomach growled in approval.

[Viciviser]

It tilted its head to the right as it viewed Sev's defensive posture. Not that it was unused to such reactions. Its ears drooped because unconsciously it was ready to be attacked and have to flee although its current state of mind was not recalling having to do such a thing.

"Not two. Now three." It responded.
It held out the fish again for emphasis as its stomach growled and gurgled loudly.
"Yesh fifsh. Eath. Yes, it guest." The last part came out better since he drew his tongue back in. But its tongue lolled back out again and drooled.

It cocked its head again as Mei addressed it and seemed to be trying to understand what she said.
"Dry?" It supposed it had sweat a lot but it never really got in the water.
It walked forward and tried to give Mei the fish by dumping it on the other clean towel.
"Dry fifsh. Ffire to fifsh." It said with a grin.
"Bad sound. Belly beast growl in it and you and other."
It frowned, wrinkling up its brow and muzzle, but then its frown disappeared with a chuckle. It sort of understood why stomachs growled but it didn't understand what exactly made that noise.

[Mei]

(Ooc: meant to say "clean you off". The mud x3. Leave it how t is its fine )


Mei suppressed a laugh as the creature dropped the dirty, muddy fish into the clean towel. "Oh my.. thats... quite the fish you've caught there," she said with a smile. Taking the still-twitching fish out of the towel, she went to the water's edge and dipped it in the river, first making sure that it wouldnt get away by swiftly cracking its head against a rock to finish it and put it out of its misery. She rubbed the mud from its scales gently, found a patch of clean grass near the others, and set it down near them yet far enough away that the newcomer wouldn't want to play with it again and dirty it up.

She looked to Sev for approval. "So, how about dinner for two, plus one?" She grinned, eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

[Roose Hurro]

Fish, Friends, Food...


Sev remained quietly amused while Mei and... ? ... had their exchange, his own chuckle back again when she ran for his skimmer, then found his towels and returned, modest again. She didn't seem to remember, when he'd mentioned a "romantic night for two"... well, he'd had his eyes all over her "un-modest" form. Rather pointless now to cover up, but... Sev understood all the social conventions, or at the very least accepted them. Just as easily as he accepted Mei's offer of towel. Smile on face, warmth in his own heart at her touch, her trust, only moments ago. Her kindness towards this stranger. And while she washed the stranger's fish, he bit the head off his own, chewed the crunchy treat, and swallowed. Then he nodded towards the stranger...

... "Glad to see I'm not the only fishcatcher here... we'll be needing more.......*"

Mei returned. Ohhh, hnnnn... that last bit of sunlight before setting colored her bright eyes. Lit her grin. Sev felt his inner warmth grow. Yes, he really liked this wolven female, so filled with life, so... her aura, her "ghost" in the shell, so delicately layered. So unlike this male stranger's, his own "ghost"... well, barely there. Odd as his outer aspect. Twitchy, as if his soul didn't quite stay aligned with his body. His one giant eye on the outside not in agreement with the one "eye" on his inside. Sev had honestly never seen the like, though his father had mentioned such. Very rare... at least amongst his own kind. And perhaps rare amongst others, given how long he'd been away from his own world, the places he'd been. The people he'd met. The females he'd.......*

Sev shook his head, water scattering from his mane, sliding up and off the ends of his quills. This spray catching the sunset with a colorful sparkle...

... "Yes... fish, friends, food!" He returned his towel to Mei's care... grabbed a kiss to her cheek, then... "But we'll need more fish."

With that, he dropped again to all fours, raced for the river, leapt, dived, fished some more (took him only a few minutes), then came back with four more fish in his grip. Two in the grip of his subarms, clutched to his chest, with one in each primehand... heads already bitten off, ready to be cleaned and roasted over an open fire. All of which had yet to be done...

... "Hah!" Grin towards Mei, then towards their guest... "Need to put meat on your bones... this should do for a start. Though I'd recommend a bath first... I brought bodywash."

Tail waved towards gear... oh, yes, still much to do! And darkness, falling.......*

[Mei]

Mei had noticed the way that Sev looked at her. She was no stranger to looks like this but usually didn't pick up on them, being as spacy as she usually was. When Sev shook his head, sending the water droplets sparkling in the sunlight, she paused, captivated by the array of colors the droplets produced. She was also captivated by the being that produced the droplets. He was strong, assertive, protective, handsome, a natural provider, and a complete charmer. She definitely wanted to get to know him better...

Mei was taken by surprise by the sudden kiss on the cheek. Surprised, but excited... she leaned into the kiss with her cheek, blushing at her own newfound boldness. His exotic scent weakened her at the knees and sent her head swimming. She tried to clear her head as he dove back in the river, but her own hormones were getting in the way.

"Let me try to get a fire going for us..." Mei said as Sev returned with the catch. She lightly ran to a nearby tree and searched for suitable materials. "Ah, this will do nicely!" She had found dry sticks and twigs for use as kindling. As she returned to the group, Sev glanced at her with his beautiful eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. She smiled at him sweetly as her foot caught a log hiding in the tall grass.

She landed flat on her face, tail and rear in the air. The kindling she had collected scattered about the ground near Sev and the other creature. "Mhhmmmph." She managed, muzzle still against the dirt and the grass. Bad timing, BAD TIMING!! Damnit! She cursed herself, pushing onto her knees and wiping off her nose.

[Viciviser]

The cyclopian satyr watched Mei kill the fish and set it aside then saw Sev run off and dive back into the water. It considered the other a strange creature, this lithe thing with multiple arms. It thought of a friend. Or was it a dream? The image seemed more like a silhouette and it lost track of what it was trying to recall.

It blinked in surprise and its misshapen mouth stretched into a grin at the all the fish Sev had caught so swiftly. The grin changed to confusion.
"Meaths-on-bones? Body..wafsh?" It lisped.
It processed a moment. It sort of knew what a bath was. It usually saw others bathing and usually screaming when they noticed it. Then they would run off. Or run it off. This is the first people in a long time to stay.

It missed the exchanges between Mei and Sev, but it definitely noticed her falling down. It let out a bark of a laugh.
"She fall. She ok?" It said and walked over to hoist her up by her waist. Despite its gaunt appearance it was apparently very strong as it moved her around like she weighed nothing before setting her on her feet. It then dropped to its knees and began to pick up the kindling while its large tail swished about the ground merrily.
"Wood isf magic. Bright tonguesh come out an' cook fifsh."
Even with its erroneous understanding at least it seemed to be following what was going on well enough.

"It go get bafth now." It said with a crooked grin as it handed Mei the kindling and patted her on the head.
"She make wood magic. It not know how." It finished before walking off towards the water.

[Roose Hurro]

Night Rush...



All the while he'd been fishing, Sev had been remembering the scent. Mei's response, both to his kiss and to him. Her scent marked her as "interested"... so, perhaps yes. Perhaps no? Either way, he felt content. Happy to find someone to keep this trip, this adventure, from being too lonely. Even if she said no.

Even if she.......*

....... tripped, on her way back from her self-imposed firewood gathering duty. Unfortunately, with night's rush on the way, sun on the horizon now, he'd placed his four fish with the other two. And headed for his skimmer, another head-shake to shed water before he collected his gear-belt... more specifically, his pulse pistol... then dug through his limited supplies, to find his lantern. So, Mei's unfortunate trip and fall? Too far away to save her, only able to give a wince of sympathy before he unlocked and gave the lantern disc a twist. Let there be light! He watched their still nameless guest help... Sev dug again into his supplies, found the body wash bottle ("All the essential oils your skin needs!"), then gave the sunset a moment's attention, just to absorb that bit of life memory.

Done.

Sev approached Mei, ears back, quills half up, mane ruffled. Belt secured around still naked waist, locked against sleek bare hips. All three eyes, sympathetic, as he reached out and touched her shoulders, very careful with his claws...

... "Sorry I missed catching you, Mei..." A wave of tail towards their guest and the river... "Seems our third might need some help." A shake of bottle... "Now looks like you could use some of this... I'm willing and able to help." Yes... an offer given without guile, an offer that recognized she was perfectly able to bathe by herself, but further, acknowledged her earlier willingness to accept what he offered.

Even if what he'd offered before was a stolen kiss.

Even with twilight in the air.......*