Half of my heart knows just what it wants of me
The moment of intensity between them passed as quickly as it had come, and he felt the girl beside him nose into his shoulder, felt the smooth-rough skin become pointed and moist, and a bit lower to the ground. He snorted at her last comment.
"Yes, that's me, the Painful Optimist! And I'm painfully optimistic that you're going to get dunked in the next stream we pass by." He laughed teasingly towards the young she wolf. Her water manipulation was something that only worked in her horse shape, which was a fact he enjoyed taking advantage of when he could.
He was stepping carefully now, unfamiliar with the lay of the land. Already it seemed hillier than the main island, their upward walk evidence of that. A pesky tendril caught one of his rear legs, and he had to jerk it forcefully to free himself. That was the issue with these outer islands. Paths were narrow and overgrown if they existed at all, and it made for a treacherous journey when you couldn't see where you were stepping. The pale man enjoyed the challenge of it, though. Especially with Nyxa as his guiding eyes, it was more of a game than anything. As for this spice... he thought it was a spice, anyway. They hadn't had time to find out for sure before. He considered the memory, deciding the right words. "It was spicy, I suppose? But not overly so. There was warm, nutty kind of undertone with it. Almost like that tree we found a while ago, that sassafrass." He described as well as he could. I hope it's edible. Her voice was huskier in her canine form, still feminine but with that feral edge she'd hinted at that first night.
He'd thought he'd been imagining things then, but no, little Nyxa had a wild side that the painfully ordinary boy could only dream of. With no special talents, and blind to boot, there was a piece of him that felt... less than. Less than she deserved in a friend. Less than she should even know existed. He'd never voiced this thought, knowing she'd just laugh and call him silly for even thinking that way. Maybe he was. But maybe he wasn't. There was going to come a day when Nyxa grew up, and wanted more than a simple playmate in her life. He dreaded that day, fearing that with it would come her realization that there was more out there than the poor blind boy she had brought home one day. Now that was an unhappy thought.
He shook his head vigorously, trying to shake out the invasive voice that told him he wasn't good enough. A new scent caught his attention, shutting down his pity party. It was different from what they had set out to find. Potent, and almost but not quite, animal. A smelly animal. The background of plant life was still there, and he heard no rustle in the undergrowth. Nostrils wrinkled, his curiosity surged to the front of his mind. "You smell that? It's not what I scented before, but this is new too." He spoke while walking, leaving the narrow path they'd been on to stumble through thick ferns and over knotted roots. He was sure he looked comical with his high stepping gait, but it was the only way he was going to avoid falling on his face every other step. At last the scent took over everything else, and he could sense the break in the trees as they let him out into an open meadow. He was standing shoulder high in a field of what they would come to learn was wild marijuana.
The redded grey youth turned his head to listen behind him, waiting to see if his fluffy companion was close behind him. "What did we find, Nyx? What's it look like?" He asked excitedly, sure this was something new. At the very least, it wasn't something they had come across on the other islands. He could feel feathery sharp-edged leaves brush against his sides, and the thick scent clung to the air and coated his mouth just from his breathing it in.
@[Nyxa] sooo I know we discussed something slightly different, but... why mess with a classic?
