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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Oct 28, 2017 1:33:46 GMT
The nights were cold. Too cold for the reptile to endure alone. They ought to find a hot savanna to hang at or den to hibernate in during the coming winter months, but that was not the life the polycephalic duo were used to. Winter was an active time especially in the city underground in which they had spent over eleven years.
But here they were instead in an uncharted forest, preparing to endure the night. An empty burrow had been found for shelter. The underground was warmer than above.
But a fire would be warmer still.
Snap. Snap. Mutant winghands handled flint to set a spark to gathered tinder. The fire was hesitant to start. "Come on..." One head growled in frustrated feline, a language the conjoined twins had been using for ages.
He turned to his sibling. "You could help out you know." He noted,
but there she was starting out past the fire. 'There's a wolverine over there...' She warned in a reptilian hiss. There wasn't any such beast, but the dominate head was unsurprised. "He won't bother us see?" He gently covered her eyes with a wing for a moment. though he knew this would not make the vision disappear. That beast was as real to her as the fact that that the two headed snake was here right now.
And that the fire had yet to start.
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Post by 0 on Oct 28, 2017 5:58:01 GMT
A plump orange mouse strode through the forest, enjoying the chill autumn weather. A freezing wind from the north slid in between the trees, which shook their branches in the most musical of performances. Even as his bare ears burned the slightest bit, he grinned and twisted a finger around one of his curling whiskers.
He was more than used to the cold; born in the mountains, he had to be.
The sun was setting, the days were getting shorter. The leaves were crinkly, a collage of colors twisting about in an almost ever-present wind. Bugs, frogs, lizards, and snakes slowed down, all the while birds and mammals sped up, blazing in a frenzy to stock up for the harsh winter ahead. Crunchy nuts and bitter berries ripened across drowsy branches, just waiting to be roasted and smoked over a fire, ready to be bit into!
Ah, how he adored autumn!
Walking briskly through the woodlands, the long-footed mouse had tied a big leaf across his back, which at that moment appeared close to bursting at the seams. He'd filled it to the brim with edible substances that he'd found laying in the leaf litter, or climbed to pick fresh from the plants that bore them. A few bugs had been tossed in as well, mostly beetles and the rare lucky cricket, and freshly killed, of course.
All he needed to do now was build a fire.
It was getting a little dark, however, the shadows filling the air and making it more difficult for him to spot the materials he needed, which, puzzlingly enough, seemed to have become rather rare in this neck of the woods. A lack of decent pebbles he could understand, but wood chips? Dry grass?
Why, it was almost as if...as though...the mouse's feet stopped moving, the tuft of his tail twitching in tune with his whiskers. He'd managed to stumble onto the campsite of another, far larger beast. Two heads hissing in a strange tongue.
His first temptation was to drop his bag of goodies, leap forward from behind the shrubbery, and smack it upside the face. This was swiftly overriden by his greater goal of starting a fire, which was driven by his empty stomach that was just aching for a meal. Food is greater than fighting, after all.
Stepping further down the narrow dirt path that he'd been following, the mouse poked his head out from underneath the yellowing leaves of the bush it had led him under. He noticed the gathering of materials at the creature's feet, weird wing-like appendages struggling to spark even the smallest of flames by scraping two shards of flint together.
The tiny rodent wrinkled his nose, whiskers twitching with it. This might have been quite the fortuitous circumstances, him finding a campsite all ready to go--if only there were a fire!
Hauling his bulging leaf backpack with him, the mouse stomped out from beneath the foliage, storming straight over to the pile of tinder to try and determine just what was the matter. His tail lashed about behind him in irritance, the murid examining the substances that had been used with the intent of starting a fire.
A finger teased the surfaces of the dead grass within, noting the slightly soggy nature of them. The air in the forest had been a meager less crisp the last few days, laden with moisture as clouds roamed the sky, each day revealing thicker cover than the last. It wasn't quite an overcast sky yet, but it was slowly getting there.
Nothing a bit o' li'l ol' magic tricks couldn't fix!
The mouse stepped back, his tail twisting around to stretch lengthwise to the tinder. One crack, two sparking, three lashes and the tail was set aglow, the wispy hairs that trailed from its tip bursting into a blazing brush of fire.
He rubbed his paws together, and then dove straight into the gathered tinder.
Smoke began to drift upwards from within, first a thin haze of white, then a thick plume of dark clouds that poofed up as in a gasping breath. A second later the tinder was lit up, the mouse somersaulting out.
His long tail was marred with fresh burns, the now hairless tip wafting its own trail of smoke. A small lick of fire coursed across his leafy pack, which he had hastily removed the second he was out of the newborn fire.
He threw his whole body over the bulging leaf, pressing down to kill the flame. It worked, but not without some casualties.
The leaf's already weak bonds were severed by the seconds-long fire, and as he peeled himself off of it the leaf became undone, unfolding to reveal its piled contents therein. Those items that had been too close to the flame had been burnt.
True, they were cooked, but they hadn't been cooked the right way! Either charred to the point of bitter tastelessness, or unevenly cooked so as to provide the most unpleasant of textures. Not to mention completely without the proper spices.
Shoulders slumped, the orange mouse shed a tear that slid down his face, rolled down a whisker, and then hung from the tip, unwilling to let go.
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Oct 28, 2017 16:36:17 GMT
A mouse that showed not the slightest look of fear at the presence of the three foot snake.
How curious.
Aside from pointing it out to his sister with a gentle nudge, the Malayan pit viper did nothing, letting the rodent do its thing.
The quiet head didn't make a sound but the more active of the duo began to chuckle at the rodent's antics in starting up the fire.
Well less work for them, but it was clear the fire starting had not come without a cost. "Come on, you didn't lose that much." The snake pointed out, transitioning to an even more common tongue though his voice maintained a feline accent nearly warming into a purr. Tears fixed nothing, though the drama from the mouse was certainly entertaining.
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Post by 0 on Oct 28, 2017 19:42:37 GMT
The mouse's ears twitched as a voice met them, one in a language he could actually understand. He made a short sniffing noise, tilting his nose up, which caused the tear to roll backwards until it had dripped from his scruffy chin.
The stranger was right. It was only a small portion of the pile, a pile big enough for a buffet of at least two mice his size.
Warmth coursed across his face as he turned around, eyes met by the fire he'd started. Embers rose into the dimming air, a small spark flicked down nearby.
He watched it disappear among the rolls of soil before standing and grabbing the stem of the leaf, dragging it further from the fire before the whole thing could turn to ash. After setting it down at a safe distance, the mouse began to nose around the surroundings for small rocks and sticks, ready to make himself comfortable and get the cookin' started.
He paused briefly after he started to glance towards the serpent, an unfamiliar species he now began to think of "two-headed claw-winged leaf litter purring rattle-less rattlesnake". The name didn't exactly roll off the tongue.
"M'name's Pumpkin," he greeted, sitting up to hold out a paw, eyes flickering across the serpent's two faces. His tail tip was still smoking, but he didn't seem to notice.
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Oct 28, 2017 23:58:56 GMT
The snake offered out a wing, holding the 'fingers' close to keep the membrane from getting in the way, while a thumb, and grip pad acted much like a hand. Though massive in comparison to the little rodent's the gesture still ended up like a handshake. The snake was quite gentle, but the claw at the end of that thumb was no joke.
Only the one head continued to speak. "Name's Sevaan, and my sister's Awhi. I usually speak for the two of us so don't mind her."
The quiet sibling was staring at the mouse, eyes dilated despite the light from the fire. She was seeing things no doubt, maybe truth or lie, the visions wouldn't specify on their own. A good many creatures could find her seeing but not seeing, stare unsettling, especially given that snakes don't blink.
Sevaan glanced at his sister, then glanced back at the mouse. "oh, watch your tail. you've already lost enough fur tonight haven't you?" He pointed out. Nowdidn't seem like a good time to let such a thing suffer without notice.
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Post by 0 on Oct 29, 2017 1:33:10 GMT
The mouse couldn't help but notice the other's wicked thumbclaw when he went in to shake hands. He could he miss it? It was probably the same size as him--bigger even!
He twitched an ear at the snake's words, glancing at the head of Awhi, and returning the blank stare with his own. It was hard not to think that the other head was dead, or some sort of fake.
After a moment he broke eye contact with the comment of, "Weird names," and turned around to continue poking about for materials. What even was a sevaan and an awhi? Maybe it was "nuts" and "berries" in a foreign tongue.
He stopped, head twisting about to stare at the tail behind him once the serpent had made mention of it. "Ack--!" He quickly pulled it aside and began stomping on it, putting out the small embers that had begun to simmer on the heated end.
"Thanks, pal!" he said, offering a quick smile towards the serpent once the deed was done. No smoke remained, but the tip of his tail was as black as charcoal. He threw a bit of mud over it and caked it in to make sure it wouldn't start burning up again.
Then he hopped off to the edges of the small campsite, nosing through dirt and leaves until he managed to gather a handful of twigs, toss them beside the edibles-bearing leaf, and then return to roll a few pebbles over, one of which was him-sized.
He paused to look over the new gathering, tail twitching in thought. "Ya live around here?" he asked. He took a berry and a beetle from the pile, cracking both open over a particularly sharp pebble. Dark juice and a greenish yellow blood stained the stony surface.
"Oh, crud," he whispered, realizing something.
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Oct 30, 2017 21:18:04 GMT
Sevaan chuckled in agreement. Yes their names were a bit unusual. "Where we are from its quite commonplace." Sevaan answered, also implying an answer to the latter question to whether they were local or not.
"We've been wandering out of necessity lately, but..."
A shiver ran through the snake which was not at sevaan's bidding and a bone chilling hiss emanated from Ahwi. Their body tensed, thumbclaws digging into the ground for stability, as too minds conflicted for dominant action. Ahwi's gaze was focused on something behind the mouse, but there was only the forest beyond.
"Hush." Sevaan reigned back control, not letting ahwi strike at specters that no one else could see. Her head and neck still squirmed about some, but everything beyond fork between their two necks was back in Sevaan's full control.
He whispered some other words to his sister to calm her.
"Sorry about that. She thought you might be up to no good ." Sevaan explained, knowing anything was possible, but not always likely. "Because of a wolverine thats been haunting her." Sevaan didn't sound worried about it. If he let her act too much they'd be constantly jumping at shadows.
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Post by 0 on Oct 30, 2017 21:36:03 GMT
Almost at his whisper a noise rose, a hiss that emanated from behind him. The mouse's ears shot up tall and his body froze, tail beginning to stretch out and writhe in the dirt behind him, all by instinct alone.
His muscles were pulled taut as he whipped his head around, legs tensed for a leap. Nothing nearby...but the snake was doing the most curious dance.
The mouse stared with a quirked brow as he watched, instinct overridden by curiosity and with the possible danger now in full view. He didn't relax until the spectacle was over, and the talking head did the explaining.
"Wolverine sounds like a fun fight," he commented, cracking a grin as he straighted his spine and looked towards the writhing head. "I'd be happy to beat 'im up for ya."
He stole a glance behind him, silent as he peered into the forest beyond. Of course there was nothing there, and his gaze soon returned on the winged serpent.
"Naw, I'm just gon' use the fire there to cook some stuff," he explained himself, thumbing towards the fire and his pile of goods. His whiskers twitched, drooping at the tips as he tilted his head. "You happen to like anything I brought?"
He knew that snakes ate mice, but...he wasn't sure what else they might have a taste for.
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Oct 31, 2017 2:54:02 GMT
"Its an intense fight thats for sure. A wolverine will take a hit that would kill anyone else, and just keep going." The snake described smiling widely. Seemed the mouse was a fighting type. Love of battle, reckless willingness to fight, and no fear regardless of the odds, matched what the snake knew of a bane follower archetype. It would be cool to poke a few battles the rodent's way sometime and see what happened.
"You go ahead and cook. We're not really a foodie." They couldn't be. They were stuck swallowing things whole, making fine nuances of food something they'd heard of but couldn't really enjoy. Today was fortunately for the mouse not a feeding day. Otherwise the snake probably wouldn't be so easily talking to the mouse now.
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Post by 0 on Oct 31, 2017 3:58:12 GMT
The mouse's eyes sparkled. Intense fight...takes otherwise fatal hits, and just keeps on going? Great gobbling giblets, he needed to find himself a wolverine!
He blinked, and nodded as the snake essentially told him that naw, his pickings were shite. He returned to the pile (all by his only bonely lonesome) and began to prepare various edibles. He removed only a small portion, sliding many of the items onto sticks, which he then stuck into the ground near the fire, or held right into the core of it after wrapping his tail around the tip of the sticks. Some he sprinkled with various herbs he'd picked from around the forest, or the blood and juices of bugs and fruits, and still others he would slick down with dew and sap from the leaves and grasses that edged the campsite's little clearing.
All while he cooked he would speak with the snake. "So, what brought ya ta wanderin' then, if ya don't mind me askin'? I'm a down'n'dirty vagabond myself! Always find it interestin' ta hear how others got into it."
Eventually he would be left with a few shish kabobs and a flat rock piled high with roasted berries and nuts, a stuffed beetle, and almost a whole leaf of uncooked food remaining. Enough to cook for himself the next day, and the day after that!
The mouse picked up his plate and kabobs with paws, tail, and mouth alike, carrying them all over closer to the snake (but still well outside strike range, or at least as he determined; he still wasn't so sure about that other head, and didn't fancy gettin' bit while he ate!), where he then sat down on the ground, staring hungrily at the food. He wanted to dig in, but, gosh...it felt so weird to him, eating in front of someone who wasn't going to!
His whiskers drooped at the thought, wishing he had something to offer the stranger. Well, besides himself.
It just wasn't right.
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Oct 31, 2017 15:55:21 GMT
The snake curled up once more, cradling the delusional whispering head in a wing. "You wouldn't have any saint john's wort would you? It might help." Plants weren't really food for a snake, but some worked alright as medicinal supplements for moments like these.
They gestured for the mouse to go ahead and start eating. They of course would have little if anything, but it seemed better for them and kinder for the mouse to abstain. They shouldn't make him watch a creature his size or larger being swallowed whole.
The snake would begin its tale of ending up a wanderer. "A Vision showed us. True chaos was going to break out into the community in which we dwelled, one where we would end up becoming a casualty. A scrying ritual we used told us to leave. So We faked our death so we wouldn't be hunted down for it as is typical for deserters, and left." There was a lot of detail of the story they could have added, but no need to make things confusing.
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Post by 0 on Oct 31, 2017 19:20:26 GMT
The mouse twitched an ear, immediately standing from his new spot to walk himself back over to the pile of edibles. He pushed through the nuts 'n' owt, searching for the barely familiar array of long dotted leaves. He sometimes pulled aside various plants from his surroundings that he didn't even recognize on first glance (who knows how many times he's garnered a rash because of this bold tactic). The plant wasn't much use in cooking, nor would it would be blooming this time of the year, so it took him a moment to recognize a small sprig that might be the herb in question.
He picked it up, carrying the short twig of narrow, oblong leaves over back to his new spot. He held it up to the fire's light to search for translucent dots (and to make sure it was definitely not something toxic), nodding as the snake finished her story.
"Neat-o...," he mumbled, finding a sad delight in the tale as he fell to momentary silence.
It was his turn to share, and he cracked another grin as he told the snake his own, a simple story he found rather silly now. "I got bad lost when I was but a wee pup. What woulda been a death sentence ended in a new home. Performin' roamin' types. Toddled off nearly a year ago now...." He trailed off, staring at the fire through the leaves' veins. He'd started regretting the decision a while back now, not so much because he couldn't handle himself, but because...well, they were his family.
He blinked, and finally certain that the shoot was either the correct herb or something else of harmless nature, he reached over to hand it to the snake. Some of the leaves were brown, even ready to fall off, and of course there were no seed pods either. He only picked fresh from the forest; its flowering and fruiting season was over, and it was nearly time for the related bush to go completely dormant.
"Do you need a carrier oil?" he asked. A few of the nuts on his plate were hazelnuts ripe for pressing into the oil, and there were certainly quite a few uncooked ones left upon the leaf. Unfortunately he didn't have any containers to hold the liquid.
But perhaps the snake had something else in mind for the herb, or a different way of preparing it himself.
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Loner, Kazetatsu, Kaze
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Post by Loner。 on Nov 3, 2017 19:14:10 GMT
"Good thing you found a home for that season." Sevaan noted knowing many small animals needed to spend a significant span under parental care to thrive. Snakes and many other reptiles didn't get to have that.
"We'll manage, but thanks." Sevaan added regarding the plant, holding it up with their tail to get a good look at it in the light.
On examination it was easy to see that the oblong leaves were indeed the correct plant. It would be better to use the flowers but the leaves would have to do since nothing fresh or blooming would be available this late in the season.
The snake poked into a pouch resting snug on a strung right around the fork from their necks, and produced a small glass vial of clear fluid. After using the wing to hold it and his jaw to uncap it, the snake stuffed the herb inside and stuck the thing near the fire to warm. It was still not ideal, but Sevaan figured they'd have to make it do.
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Post by 0 on Nov 3, 2017 19:58:30 GMT
The mouse sat back after the herb had been taken from his fingers, pulling himself comfortably close to the fire as he set the plate upon his lap, the kabobs like fence posts to either side of him.
He watched the snake for a moment as it began to prepare the leaves, before letting his gaze rest upon the dancing flames. His tail twitched, and finally he began to eat. The speed at which he gobbled down his food shifted between moments, the mouse often taking his time when biting into something new, then choking it down after the taste had been sufficiently savored.
His stomach rumbled in frustration and glee alike at his uneven pace, the hungry rodent trying to enjoy the meal without disrespecting the food itself. It was like fighting a war with his own belly!
After about a minute or two the stony plate was set aside, his hunger quelled enough that when he took up the first of the kabobs, he could nibble on them in relative quiet and notable lack of gluttony. He even gnawed through the twigs themselves as he ate, though once he reached the end of the food, he'd toss the remaining wood into the fire, watching the tiny shower of sparks as the flames gobbled it up in kind.
Once the last shish kabob was through, he turned around to stand up the stone he'd been using as a plate, pushing it into the soft soil behind him. Then he leaned back against it with a satisfied sigh, arms folded behind his head and one leg crossing over the other's knee. His tail and whiskers flicked in tune with the crackling fire.
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Post by Loner。 on Nov 4, 2017 23:42:50 GMT
When the liquid began to turn brown the snake tipped the small jar over onto a flat stone, and sopped up the liquid with his mouth like a sponge. It didn't matter which head actually took the liquid. Their biology meant food and drink alike all went to the same place.
Beyond that, aside from occasional 'nonsense' words from Awhi the snake let things be quiet, and did not facilitate conversation.
Sevaan kept one alert eye on the mouse, but otherwise was content to remain coiled up much like a pile of thick rope and let things be.
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