Jupiter lay under a bush on his back. His front paws were tucked to his chest and his hind ones splayed on the ground behind him. He was humming to himself and tapping a simple rhythm on his chest. Every once in awhile he'd whisper-sing a verse or two before lapsing back into pensive humming. "Cold blows the wind over my true love, cold blows the drops of rain..." Tucked under one arm was a bottle of dandelion wine. He was having a pity party of one. The wine was his favorite; of course he'd picked the best for this terrible occasion. He'd considered something with a bite to it that would match his ugly mood, but in the end he'd settled on comfort. He wished to be consoled in this time of great misery. "One kiss, one kiss of your lily white lips, one kiss is all I crave..."

He rolled over onto his side and clutched the bottle to his chest as though it were a shield. In a louder voice now, he sang, "My lips are as cold as clay, my breath is heavy and strong! If thou was to kiss my lily white lips thy days would not be long!" Restlessly Jupiter flipped over onto his back, spilling wine down his chest as he did so. In a pouty voice, he cautioned the subject of the song, "The bitch is dead, don't kiss her, dummy."

Darya really did feel she'd found a bit of her calling with looking after the herds, she knew it wasn't meant to be a permanent position, she was supposed to want to work her way up but there was something soothing for the perpetually jumpy woman about being among the sheep. It was a job she could do mostly by herself and that allowed her to feel she was useful without pushing her too hard out of her comfort zones... and really was that so bad? Still, she knew she had to give her all to her other tasks, she kept a rudimentary store of herbs and tried to keep an eye out for anything that could be useful should an emergency arrive. So it was that she was scouting the knolls for new summer growths. That was until her senses were assaulted by her friend's drunkenness. Darya frowned, the scent of alcohol wasn't totally foreign to her here but something about the inclusion for Jupiter's scent and his caterwauling only gave her a sense of dread. Darya changed her course then, quickly sussing out her friend's location under the brush.  "Jupiter?" She asked as she shoved her head under the brush, immediately regretting it as the stench of his drink was much stronger here. Something had to be wrong though... right? "Говорить"

Art by TakahiroReta

He was preparing to howl another sad song when a familiar face popped through the bush. Jupiter lifted his head to look at her and then dropped it dramatically. "Ugh, Darya. I'm just having the worst day." He let his front paws flop onto his chest for emphasis and in the process lost his grip on the bottle. It slid off of him, landed bottom side down and somehow managed to stay upright. He might have labeled it a miracle had he been a little bit less focused on his troubles.

Jupiter pressed a paw to the bridge of his nose before jerking upright suddenly. He reached out for Darya, intending to grab her by the shoulders and/or neck and drag her inside. "I could use some company. Get in here." His goal wasn't necessarily to drag her on top of him, but in all honesty he wasn't thinking beyond 'Darya needs to come inside' and he hadn't given the direction he was pulling her much thought. She could just as easily step over him to the clear space beyond or evade his grasp. He wasn't putting too much effort into it although he would be disappointed if she rebuffed him.

It took all of two seconds for Darya's intrusion into Jupiter's bush before he started bombarding her with his drunken complaining. For all her infatuation she did have to admit he could be a bit of a drama queen and fought back the urge to roll her eyes, she was about to ask him what had happened when he suddenly jolted towards her, his forepaws wrapping around her shoulders and he pulled. If she'd been more prepared she might have actually been able to avoid falling directly on top of him, but since she hadn't expected his sudden grab well. Darya stumbled, stumbled, then fell. The whole of her weight coming crashing down across Jupiter's form. An exclamation of pain left her lips as she smacked her chin against the ground on the other side of Jupiter. Then suddenly she realized what had happened and scrambled worriedly to her paws, shooting back up to her full height. The branches of the shrub pulling at her fur as her head and shoulder broke free of the top of it. "Sori!" She said as she awkwardly maneuvered herself around her friend, hoping he hadn't been too crushed by her fall. Ducking back into the shrub she spun carefully and finally got herself into position to lay down beside him, though her hind paws and tail were definitely poking out from under the leaves, it wouldn't remain a hiding place for too long with her here. "Da you offtin dringk on bud days?" She asked softly, watching her friendly carefully. There was so much about him she still didn't know, and there was something both saddening to discovering this part of him, but also thrilling. "Говорить"

Art by TakahiroReta

He hadn't expected to be quite so successful so when Darya crashed into him he was a bit caught off. His breath left him in an explosive 'hurck' sound that didn't quite qualify as a yelp and sounded a bit more like a burp/dry heave hybrid. Luckily for Jupiter he was past the point of being able to appreciate pain fully so while a couple places on his chest stung enough for him to sourly rub at with a paw he was largely unscathed. "You're awfully heavy," he complained before prompting forgetting the whole ordeal. He had bigger issues to deal with.

Darya lay down beside him, which was exactly what he'd wanted in the first place, and asked him if he drank often on bad days. Affronted, Jupiter rolled over onto his side so he could look at her. "No," he said in a wounded, I'm-so-misunderstood voice. Heavy drinking was for the things not so easily forgotten. "I fuck on bad days." And good days. "This is the worst days." It didn't even occur to him that his statement made no sense. In his mind it accurately summed up his feelings.

He rolled back over onto his back and threw a paw over his eyes. "I'm getting married to someone I don't know on a day I didn't pick out, because I'm the best nephew ever." And he hated it. These were the worst days of his life. Tyrian was awfully lucky Jupiter liked him. "It's the worst, Darya! Can you picture me married to anyone?" He shook his head sadly, his eyes still covered. "Such bullshit..."