The sky, the ground, her fur; golden. All around was bathed in the golden evening light adding a deep richness to the plains. Shimmering grasses danced on the ground as clouds lazily drifted in a fiery sea above. The heat of Summer had come and pass, the ground had shaken and, as rumored, split apart, but where was Hani in all of this? The terras of Alacritia were vast and seemed heavily traveled. Hani had explored them, encountered a few wolves, and yet stayed mostly alone. She silently thanked the gods for this. Though she felt alone from time to time, she was glad she didn't need to rely on anyone else. She had to admit, however, that she wasn't having too much fun.

Grasses brushed against Hani's clean, white shoulders as she walked aimlessly. With the oncoming cold, her coat would grow thick and her markings would pepper out and become darker, but for now it was still pure with solid markings. A cool breeze blew over the land, causing the plants to sway for as far as Hani could see. The last rays of sun were warm and Hani let out a sigh, her eyes fluttering shut against the wind. Evenings like this were perfect and relaxing, but it seemed that all Hani did was relax recently.

"Couldn't something just a little exciting happen? Nothing troublesome, just? exciting??" Hani opened her eyes, taking another look at the gold that enveloped her world like a dream. It really was pretty. The girl stretched and plopped down into the grass, getting comfortable, "Maybe not, though? Maybe things are good like this..."

Thoughts
Speech

Ate the bread that once was stone Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone Still reeling from his encounter with Daegmar, Sucre was on a mission for comfort. He wasn't entirely set on what he wanted, but he craved some kind of destruction. To put it simply, he suffered. Guilt was his main problem but the brute was plagued with a host of other things. The load weighed him down and filled him with a helpless energy that he wasn't sure what to do with. He didn't know how to handle it all. He needed a release. Sucre knew exactly what he was looking for. He'd only been to this place once, but on that trip he'd found something valuable. The brute hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now he was glad that information had stayed with him. However, there was one problem. Approaching the fae, Sucre stopped just short of standing over her. His long shadow cast a gray tint across her as he looked down. Her face was familiar, but if she'd ever given him a name he couldn't remember it. Actually, most of the details of their encounter escaped him. Did he sleep with this one? He wasn't sure. "Long time no see," he said dryly, trying to gauge her reaction to him. A fresh wave of guilt hit him with the realization that if he had slept with her that was yet another encounter that could have had disastrous results. Until Daegmar he'd recognized that every one of them had been a possibility, but now it was real. With this realization he decided to get to the point, "You're laying in my medicinals." Bowed down to get the kings overthrownSucre

Hani Haust It was so comforting? The soft whispering grasses lulling her to sleep, the earthy fragrances engulfing her, it was all? so? relaxing... "Long time no see." Hani jumped awake with a less than ladylike gulp of air that could easily have been a snort, "Who-" Her sight cleared to show a wolf that looked somewhat familiar in the golden light. Hani tumbled upwards, her eyelids struggling to stay open though her blood felt like fire from the scare. She knew this brute, didn't she?"Ohhh frik. What was his name again? C'mon, you know this? S! Sssso? So Cray? No no no, was he crazy or is that actually his name? Or did I dub him that because he was crazy?" Hani gave the brute a sleepy smile, "You too!" she replied, hoping he didn't notice her lack of name calling. "You're laying in my medicinals." Hani's eyes felt like they were opening again as her blood went to fire once more, "Oh! Sorry! I-" she took a few quick steps to the side, then looked the brute over. While the light made the tips of his fur look ablaze and the rest of his was a silhouette- or maybe he was just black- there didn't appear to be anything wrong with him,"Wh- what do you need medicine for? Is someone hurt?" Her eyes searched the male. She knew nothing about healing, but if someone was hurt, maybe she could help. She could help right?

Ate the bread that once was stone Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone She almost nodded off on him. Was he really that boring? Her movements were jerky and nervous, and the more she fidgeted the more Sucre remembered about their first encounter. She was one of those twitchy nervous-y types. Like a wolf-sized squirrel. He hadn't slept with this one; that much he remembered. Her name still escaped him. She scrambled away from his herbs and the brute took her place. He flopped down among them and started looking them over for the choice pieces. The lively looking ones were pulled out by the stems and laid to the side while he hunted for more. It was a good patch and in seconds he had a decent pile going. Already he had enough to keep him occupied for quite some time. She asked him a question and he replied without looking up. "Oh, the leaves of this plant are good for just about everything." A stab of pain shot through his chest and it took Sucre a moment to answer her second question. "Kinda, but you don't waste this stuff on injures. It works its magic from the inside." The brute tilted the left side of his head up so he could look at her out of the side of his eye. "Haven't you ever seen this stuff before? I thought everyone knew about it." Bowed down to get the kings overthrownSucre

Hani Haust Hani's sleepiness slowly started fading off as the brute got to work. After a few seconds, she realized she was standing awkwardly as he was plopped down. She quickly sat, avoiding these herbs the brute was pulling out of the ground. The grasses padded her always too-rough sitting and she was silently thankful. Her last encounter with the brute finally surfaced in her head. The mud puddle? Hani sighed inwardly, wondering if the brute had forgotten her name as well. Somehow that didn't bother her. The male went on a small, vague explanation of the herbs, "They make you feel better? from the inside? Magic? Okay, maybe I did call him So Cray..." "Haven't you ever seen this stuff before? I thought everyone knew about it." Hani's ears perked up. No, she hadn't heard of such a plant, but she knew some plants could heal? Or something? Well, HE didn't have to know she didn't know, right? she could totally play this off? Right? "Ah, well, I mean, I haven't seen these ones before, but, uh, but, yeah, we used to have things like that in my old pack of course. I mean-" She swallowed a second, her sea colored eyes avoiding his,"Of course I've tried them before. Just not too recently."Hani tried to laugh off the awkward feeling in her stomach while her mind shouted at her lies,"What? Do you think I'm just some yearling, fresh out of the den?" She looked herself over a moment, with her fur clean, she could probably pass for someone around two years, right? Maybe a little over if she sat still enough? and held her breath...

Ate the bread that once was stone Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone The pile of "medicinals" was now a small mountain at his side. If he didn't stop picking it there wouldn't be any left for the next time he needed to get away. It was difficult, but Sucre resisted the urge to pluck more. He was well aware that what he had was sufficient for his needs, but his nerves demanded that he take more. He wanted to be completely numb, but picking the whole patch would be overkill. Pun intended. She stuttered out a reply and Sucre looked up at her again. His expression said it all: he was unconvinced. The brute started fiddling with herbs, gently pushing them into a neater, tighter pile. "I'm sure you have." As it was intended to be, his lie was equally unconvincing. His eyes had been drawn to the pile but at her next question the brute's gaze flicked to Hani's. No, he didn't think she was a yearling, he knew she was one. Not that there was anything wrong with being so young; in this wolf it was just particularly obvious. Rejecting her roundabout 'not a yearling' assertion flatly, the brute replied, "Of course not." Separating off a portion of his medicinal mountain, the brute shoved a small hill towards the fae. "Here. It's only fair since you were here first." Eyes on her, the brute placed a stem between his paws and started eating the leaves from it. Bowed down to get the kings overthrownSucre

Hani Haust The girl squinted her eyes as the male brushed off her statements. Okay, so maybe her lies didn't work? Hani kneaded her paws in the ground a bit, beginning to speak, but deciding against it, "Stop while you're ahead?" her mind echoed. She let out a loud huff just so he would know of her disapproval. He called her on her age, to which Hani let out a loud woosh of air that she had been holding to look older. Well, apparently it didn't work, "Well, that's fine. This guy doesn't know anything. He knew that you were a yearling. That doesn't count! He knows, though. You're an open book. Okay!"Hani's eyes scrunched shut as the brute offered her some herbs, "Do it, you can show him now. No don't do it just because of that! He said it was your half, take it. I don't know what it does! He's looking at you." Hani's eyes opened. She stiffened and froze as her eyes locked with the brute's. She looked down at the plants, then to the brute again. Plants. Brute. Plants. Brute. A moment passed where the brute just chewed on the plants, looking at her, waiting, "You're gonna blow it. He knows you won't do it. I WILL do it, okay?" Hani's eyes scrunched shut once more, "Okay, I'll do it!" She said a little too forcefully "I mean, yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I? It's? not? It's not like it's a big deal. Yeah..." Her lids fluttered open and she eyed the plants. Taking a gulp of air, Hani laid down and set to work, eating the leaves, shooting a defiant look at So Cray or whatever. After a moment she had chomped down on several leaves. Probably enough leaves, yeah? "How many do you have to eat? Just keep eating. And die of eating too many? Nope. He's still eating them. Gosh darn it, look what you do." She chewed a moment, thoughtfully, then looked at the brute, collecting herself "Soooo? Ahh? What now?" Do Speech Thoughts You

Ate the bread that once was stone Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone Flustered, the little white wolf stammered out a reply. In response Sucre's lips twitched up briefly in a smirk, but he remained silent, consumed with the task at hand. The leaves didn't taste very good. That didn't slow him down, but it did make it less pleasant. Commence mindless chewing. Sucre was determined not to do anymore thinking. Thinking pained him. He wished the effects of the plants kicked in faster but wishing didn't make it happen, so he continued eating. Was it possible to overdose? He didn't know. Probably. It didn't matter too much at the moment. The fae spoke again, effectively breaking his concentration on nothingness. "We wait. Let 'em work their magic." The anticipation was killing him. Soon he would wrapped in carefree bliss; all his worries would flee him and everything would be well. He'd lay in this field with his mind consumed by peace and do nothing, feel nothing. Very little mattered beyond that. He didn't allow himself to think about his unborn pups or their fate, or his misery because now they would hurt. Soon though? Soon they wouldn't exist. Bowed down to get the kings overthrownSucre

Hani Haust Hani was so set on proving the brute wrong that she didn't even notice the taste of the plant. The brute responded so simply, it made Hani's eyes scrunch up in a distasteful glare for a moment, "You've done this too many times before, haven't you So Cray?" she silently accused. The brute seemed to be quite set on staring straight, or laying down, she couldn't really tell what he was thinking. The sunlight was still strong, but Hani could feel the coolness creeping under her skin. Or maybe that was just her anticipation. Or was it the drugs? Hani's heart began to race. With everything she felt and heard and did she would wonder if it was the drugs. Did the sun seem brighter? Were the grasses usually this gold? Why was her foot tingling? Was she laying wrong, or was that the drugs? What about her mouth; why was it so dry? When did it taste bitter? "Hey, are they working yet? When will I know? How strong are they? Do they make you talk a lot?" Hani's maw closed with an audible click, "No, you're just being stupid, you're talking cause you're nervous. What if it is the drugs? How will I know if I don't ask? What happened to knowing? He saw through that, remember, or are the drugs affecting your memory? Wait, can they do that really? Surely So Cray wouldn't do that! Yeah, because he's SO reliable and SO dependable and you know him SO well. Maybe the drugs make me more open. What if I say something stupid. You definitely will-" The girl blinked, her thoughts coming to a sudden halt. She didn't know if the brute had responded or not because she was so wrapped up in her own ramblings, so she asked again, "How long has it been? Are they working yet?" Furthermore, had she really just spent all this time staring and doing nothing? She checked for drool, realizing how still she had been. Maybe it was the drugs... Do Speech Thoughts You

Ate the bread that once was stone Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone She broke the silence once again and Sucre fixed despairing eyes on the little white wolf. Her yakking wasn't helping his calm any. ?I don't know, do they feel like they're working?? he asked sarcastically. In quick succession he answered the rest of her questions. ?You'll just know. I don't know, it's not an exact science. Sometimes.? She lapsed into silence and Sucre's eyes darted away. He stared at nothing in particular, just the distance. Part of him wondered what all was out there; what parts of Alacritis he hadn't seen yet?there he went again with the thinking?and Sucre, once he realized what he was doing, emptied his mind. Before he had a chance to really settle into his thoughtlessness, the fae spoke again. ?How long has it been? Are they working yet?? He fixed a withering gaze upon her. ?I thought you did this before.? Of course he knew she hadn't and later, if she wished to blame this whole thing on him, she could because he was aware of what he was doing, but he was beyond guilt. A piece of him wanted the company right now, no matter how anxiety-ridden it was. He laid his head down, resting his chin on the remains of his herb pile. Sighing, he said, ?Relax, kid. They're harmless.? Okay, so that was a lie. They were mostly harmless, but not always. Usually they settled his nerves, blanketed him in a feeling of contentment, but every once in a great while they disagreed with him. That was so rare though that it was hardly worth mentioning. She would be fine. Bowed down to get the kings overthrownSucre

Hani Haust No drool, that was good. So Cray answered, but her mind strained to comprehend it. How could she hear when her mind was reeling so loudly? It was usually this loud, wasn't it? So that wasn't the drugs- or maybe the drugs made her think that, ?I thought you did this before.? Hani felt her fur bristle a bit. Of course she had done this before- oh, wait, that's what she had told him and it was a lie, "Frik, Hani, look what you did. No, he's the one that gave me drugs. You took them. Did I have a choice? Yeah, you did. This will probably be fun though, right? He looks pretty relaxed. He's relaxed, right? No, look at him, he's glaring at you. Is he angry? Why? I don't know. Ask him. I can't do that! He's not looking anymore, so is he not angry? Well, he hasn't left yet. Maybe his drugs kicked in. Wait, then when will yours kick in? They haven't yet, have th-" ?Relax, kid. They're harmless.? Hani looked at the brute for a second. What did he say? Her mind mulled over the words until they made sense. She WAS relaxed! Wasn't she? She checked her body and found that it was firmly locked into place, maybe even trembling. Was she trembling? Why was she trembling? Could the drugs do that? Now was not the time for that, Hani tried to let her muscles all relax, laying her head down like the brute before her. See, she was relaxed now. Hani's body shuttered again. Must be getting cold. Nope, the sky was still gold. Hani looked at the sunset and the dancing grasses around her. Hani looked to the silhouetted wolf before her. How did this happen, exactly? What combination of things happened to result in this? Wasn't it just sunset? Wasn't Hani just relaxing in the sunset? "Remember? You were SO bored when SO Cray showed up. Remember your little, 'Couldn't something just a little exciting happen?' Well, congratulations, Hani Haust, you've done it. Adventure and stuff, right? You got it Hani! That's now what I meant! Oh, you meant something not boring and COMPLETELY safe? Well- Good luck with that, you're now on drugs." Hani snapped out of her thoughts and looked desperately towards the brute, meaning to ask if the drugs were safe. She begged him in her head to say they were safe; to say there was no risk. She opened her maw to speak, her lungs sucking in air quickly, ready to burst with her question. She just started to speak when the brute shot her a look. Maybe it was just the sun, but his eyes seemed to glow, piercing Hani's thoughts and question, leaving her voice trailing on an odd, high pitched note which she cut off quickly with a snap of her jaw, her lungs deflating suddenly. Why did he look at her like that? Was he angry again? She hadn't even done anything yet! The anticipation was awful; could the drugs just hurry up and work already? Do Speech Thoughts You

Ate the bread that once was stone Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone The plants were beginning to have an effect. Sucre's eyes closed as a feeling of calm swept over him. He'd been so on edge that it hadn't occurred to him just how tense he was. The brute could feel it now, that built up tension, as it slowly left his body. He pictured it oozing out of him and bleeding into the ground beneath him. It was nice. Of course he remembered why he'd been so tense in the first place, but it didn't concern him now. That was rather the point of it all. He was so caught up in what was happening to him that he wasn't aware of what was happening to Hani. She was as panicked as he was relaxed. If he had known how conflicted she was it would have been a stretch to say he would have been concerned. Whether that was the plants or his natural state would be hard to say, but he was far too self-centered to be of any help regardless. A high-pitched whine slowly drew his eyes open. Sucre blinked at Hani uncomprehendingly. There was a fog swirling around in his head that was making everything inside impossibly slow. He recognized that something wasn't right with her but he couldn't put a paw on it. After much thought it occurred to him that he should probably ask her something, which he did. ?What?? Bowed down to get the kings overthrownSucre

Hani Haust Her head was exploding. Her heart was exploding. Hani was exploding. The golden colors reflected in her eyes and danced in her vision, catching fire before her. The grasses swayed, their molten bleeding into the sky as the sky bled to them. From somewhere she heard a voice and saw the wolf before her, his dark shadowed pelt eating the oozing gold, swirling it into the nothingness that was So Cray. Only his eyes shone out of the darkness, their color twirling, but refusing to vanish in his darkness. Hani, looking down realized her own pelt glowed white, but the cream of her paws began to tint yellow, then orange. They were on fire, as the grasses and the sky. All was fire except for So Cray, who remained an unmoving shadow that swallowed the colors. Hani opened her maw again to speak, to call out, but the glow of fire rushed in. Hani closed her mouth, choking on the sunlight that leaked in. Her heart beat faster, and the colors pulsated with that. So Cray went unmoving, but his darkness grew bigger, wider, swallowing more light, more of the golden and white colors that spun in Hani's vision. White? Hani looked around, following the trail of white light to her own body. That's right, SHE was white. Her light was being absorbed. So Cray was absorbing her light! The brute stared back at her with flaming eyes, peering through her light. Was he moving? Hani couldn't tell. More of the whiteness flowed towards him, and Hani felt herself buckle at the knees. She would die if this kept up. The wolfess gasped, breathing in the light around her, her paws filling with the color as her own whiteness was stolen. If her heart beat any faster, if any more of her light was taken, surely Hani would die. So Cray's form billowed before her, engulfing all that was. Hani's mouth opened, but no sound came out, just light, the high pitched light of a blood curdling scream. The colors blurred around her as she turned. They brushed past her as she ran. Her heartbeat shook the world, and her body traveled through the streaks of light and darkness that surrounded her. How fast was she moving? How much time had passed since this all started. What happened to So Cray? All was lost on Hani. All was light and dark, fire and ice. The girl would travel for an eternity, until her body would give out beneath her and darkness encompassed all. How did this happen? Her heartbeat would even quiet and numb as the girl's mind swirled into silence. The drugs would wear off, and her thoughts would come back to her, but the scare wouldn't leave her for a long time. Do Speech Thoughts You

Ate the bread that once was stone Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone Keeping lazy, heavily lidded eyes on Hani as she lost touch with reality, Sucre managed only a few slow blinks in response. He wasn't sure what her problem was, he himself felt fantastic. Still, it was like watching an accident in progress; he just couldn't look away. First her eyes got all huge and bewildered and all Su could do was snicker. From there her freak out progressed rapidly. Her mouth fell open and then snapped shut with enough force to break through Sucre's stupor and startle him. He calmed quickly, returning to a hazy neutrality in seconds. "Easy, kid..." The words were barely out of his mouth before she screamed, the shrillness of it momentarily deafening the big brute. Once again all he could muster was a few (this time rapid) blinks. In seconds she was on her paws and running away, a scream trailing behind her. Still unmoving, Sucre merely watched. Honestly, he had no idea what her problem was. Why she couldn't just lay there and enjoy the tranquility was beyond him. Sighing, the brute's heavy eyes slowly slid shut. Just because she wasn't going to enjoy it didn't mean he couldn't. Bowed down to get the kings overthrownSucre