OOC

Forward dated to 5/1
Aisling  

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At the edge of the mountain, Calyx lay dormant in a low-hanging branch. His body wavered, limbs lingering below the canopy as a lazy smile expanded across his lips. Somehow, his smile glowed, teeth slick with glittering saliva as he hung his paws downward, tail curling gently over his back.

His gaze would drift, falling below him as he watched his counterpart. La Rosa. She slithered diligently along the earth, and he watched her with a piqued curiosity.

The warmth (and perhaps other things) made him lazy, his smile wide and heavy. He was nearly reptilian in his motions, his toes stretching one by one as he slid a glowing tongue over his teeth. Golden eyes would catch hers, and he noticed it: Aisling's hesitation was heavy in the air. And her determination was heavier, still.

You're worried, Rosa?

A brow would rise, his smile unwavering as he slowly lowered his head, dangling himself below the branch he rested on.

For a moment, he hung in half-suspension, head upside down.

And then, piece by piece, his body would retreat from the tree, each paw touching the earth in gentle succession. And he would approach her. In a way, it was predatory. But for anyone who knew him, it could simply be labeled as the intensity of his curiosity. Why? And his face would hover forward, eyes blinking as his inquisition demanded an answer.

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OOC

Skill: 

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Calyx would slither from the branch, paws systematically touching the earth as his tilted head twisted toward her. The twitching edges of his smile did not waver, and he dared to edge closer to her. Truth be told, the Cheshire Cat did not venture close to many ... none but Cedar had garnered any of his attentions (or affections). But with Rosa ... hm ... he supposed it was different.

And where is 'home'? He questioned her gently. There was no challenge, just a curiosity as his gold-rimmed ears pushed forward. Calyx never had a home. Home was where Cedar was. Home was never a place, just a glorified idea. Just a place for his challenged mind to rest before it could refuel.

Púca, she called him.
Calyx, they called him.
He liked both.

And he smiled. She always had so many interesting things to talk about! And he would watch the way she moved, observing the twist of her brows and the concentration of her bright eyes. How interesting she was. Rosa. Ais ... ling. Aisling.

He tested the word on his internal tongue.

But instead of saying it, he twisted his head the other way, clicking his teeth together. A Beltane. The word whispered from him, nearly a question. It was genuine, his curiosity, seeping between his glowing teeth. I love parties, you know, he would continue, explaining it to her as his feet swayed beneath him. There was a sort of unspoken question there, perhaps wondering if he could dance closer.

But hesitating.

And he blinked. His smile was unwavering. And his head tilted in the other direction. Do they do the same thing every time? On purpose? The Cat would grin, the awkwardness of it all lost as his teeth click-clacked together. Teeth on teeth. It sounded like insanity to repeat yourself. Again. Again. Again! But Calyx was the pioneer of such things.

What do you do? It should have been obvious, but ... sometimes, a man just needed instruction. And maybe, just maybe, he needed Aisling to show him what she needed.

What home was. What Beltane was.

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OOC

Skill: 

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He listened with a vacant sort of thoughtfulness, his eyes somehow hazy despite their intent focus on her. The edges of his features glittered with an unnatural blue glow as he lilted his head left to right. Home was an odd sentiment to Calyx. It had once been a cozy cavern. It had then been a misted mountain. It was now a Big-Fucking-Rock (so well-described by Briar ). But Calyx did not feel the same fealty to places as perhaps Aisling did.

His fealty was driven by curiosity.
To those few who maintained him.

She described to him a magical place of pink meadows and red grass. In his mind's eye, he could see it ... rolling fields of flame and sunset. He wondered, briefly, if it was hot to the touch. How curious! Snow and flame! "I've never left it - until now." Well, he started, running his tongue over his teeth. Memories can always continue to be collected, hm? Celebrated! And just like his cozy cavern and misted mountain, so too would the memory of the fire field persist for Aisling. For a memory that was forgotten ... never was. His voice echoed into the air around them.

Why be sad about a place when your memory could keep it so alive?
So vibrant?

His smile deepened, almost too knowingly.

And Aisling slithered closer, ready to share with him more of her unique memories. The stories of Beltane were undeniably fascinating. They reminded him very much of the wonderful parties he had with his family! Tea parties, birthday parties ... parties just because! "Ye would love Beltane, then." That much was apparent by the excited glimmer behind his hazy eyes, pupils dilating as she continued to talk to him. He watched her fur glitter, unusually luminescent, as the sun outlined her delicate edges.

He was still learning what a Beltane was, but there were certainly some words that he did understand.

Dancing.
Mushrooms.
Fermented berries.

"Sooooo... What d'ye think o' a Beltane party, Púca?"

It was hard to know if Calyx's smile read as wicked or joyous, his ears pressing forward as his tail jittered behind him. I think we have all the fine makings for a Beltane party right here! His skin twitched over his back, energy radiating off of him. Well, other than the pink fire grass. He would disengage his eyes for a moment, blinking a couple of times as he searched around for his purse. ¿Y ahora dónde está? (Now where is it?)

It would only take a moment, nose to the earth, before he found the dried, stinking squirrel hide that he used to house his Medicine. Careful jaws would pick up the collection before he brought it back to Aisling, placing it gently between their feet. Delicate jaws, working with an unusual but familiar precision, would open up the hide, revealing what was inside. At the moment, it was only Jimsonweed and some of Cedar's spare Psilocybe.

Every adventure requires a —First step, he announced casually, finishing his own thought out loud as he nosed some of the mushrooms in Rosa's direction. Instinct would drive him, imbibing on a few of his own ... and the familiar, warm tang spread across his tongue. His head would lift, eyes finding hers once more. If you want, he considered as an afterthought, still smiling. Still vibrating with energy.

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OOC

Skill: 

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Warmth spread from his throat to his gut as he rubbed his tongue over the flats of his incisors. The effects of the mushroom took some time, but he was used to the casual slowness of the drug. It was a strange thing, the grip of psilocybin; it was not his preferred Medication, but for Rosa ...

... for her, he'd imbibe.

She thanked him for his kindness, her muzzle dipping to take the caps into her mouth and to settle them against her palate. The brute continued to smile, saying nothing but expressing everything with a silent persuasion. He wanted to see her when she imbibed ... to see her released from the shackles of a world she believed to be everything.

What if something else could be her everything?

What if ...
... his thought bubble would dissipate.

"D'ye want me t'show ye th' dance?"

Oh, shit. She was talking to him.
The dance?

His body twitched, a subtle fear of touch resonating strongly from his terse frame. Cedar was the only one who was ever able to get so close. And yet, his breath caught in his throat. And yet, he would follow her scent so closely, his nose edging toward her ear before pulling back.

"It's simple - we just need a tall tree ... like that one."

She would motion toward a tree, her eyes bright and movements happy. A dance? He'd repeat her words back at him, the swell of his drugs reaching a symphony all at once as his eyes dilated. The Cat would trail after her ... carefully ... eyes bright and smile twitching. 

His body hovered near her own, hesitant.

I've never danced with someone else, he told her. There was honesty there as he shuffled his paws, glancing upward at her for a few moments as his eyes glazed. Just like I've never celebrated a Beltane, he offered quickly, by way of perhaps amending his mistakes. And his gaze would shuffle, toddling towards his paws.

A moment of silence encapsulated them, and his smile would twitch. His eyes would glitter. And the Cat would slide ever-closer, chest suddenly testing the closeness of her own. It was as much as test for him as it was for her, for he had not lied when he'd told her he was a loner. That he'd never spent time like this with another ... and that he was, perhaps ... afraid of the gentle touch of another.

Trees know how to sway, he would start, drifting toward her, once more testing her boundary with him. Testing their boundary with one another. I could try to learn from them. His eyes would brighten, looking toward her for a moment. And from you, Rosa. His thoughts became numb, and perhaps he spoke without meaning. Or, perhaps he spoke with more meaning than he'd ever realized.

He would draw near to her, and yet, he would shy away.

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