One of those beautiful June days has come to visit Oahu. The whole island is drenched in warm sun, and being soothed with warm breezes. Tourists are out en masse and visiting every possible trap they can find. For those that might have explored around the Ahupua'a 'O Kahana State Park, a clearing filled with delightful summery blossoming wildflowers and trees laden with fruit and flowers of their own might be a rather nice to place to avoid the larger crowds. Especially since this place wasn't on any tourist maps.
Blossoming wildflowers, check. Fruit trees, check. Quiet clearing, check. Shade, check. Extra-dark shade, check. Oh, wait, no, that's someone who thinks that black is a suitable colour to be wearing during the day in Hawaii. Grayson has apparently managed to find this quiet clearing and is lounging against a tree with a book, a black leather backpack next to him and a thermos flask on his other side.
Mila may well be one of those that learned to surf and swim before she could even walk, but the beach-going woman seemed to be perfectly content moving through the rich foliage of the Ahupua'a 'O Kahana State Park with Volya. When they came to the clearing with all the flowers blooming and giving extra pops of color along the green grass, Mila raised her brows and whistled softly. "Dang, pupule wahine. You definitely weren't wrong. This place looks like a fairy tale illustration." She gazed around and moved to stand in the sunlight, careful not to break any flowers as she walked.
Mila had dressed for a hike rather than a surf today, wearing a pair of comfortable looking, dark blue knit shorts that fit her very close and left her muscular, deeply tan legs bare. What little there was of them on her 5'2" self. Her feet are covered in a set of comfortable looking athletic trainers that are light gray with light pink laces and accents. For a top, Mila had gone simple with a lighter blue tank, and nothing else aside from that, a benefit of being less than well endowed in the chest, really. To keep it from getting caught up in any branches along the hike, Mila had tied her hair back into a ponytail then braided it, the hombre brown to blonde looking like a rope that had been bleached partially, but it was out of her way.
Joachim usually does his exercising on the beach, running along the sand and such, but today was more of a relaxing hike through the woods, and he was taking his time as he moved. He was dressed for a trip through the woods, wearing a pair of somewhat worn looking boots, faded jeans that fit his muscular legs well, and a bright red shirt with a shark in shorts reading "Casual Friday". He had his hands in his pockets, ambling along and whistling, his toes tapping on the ground occasionally in percussive accompaniment, giving his step a bouncy hop-pop.
Joachm blinked as he came into the clearing, fishing out a pair of sunglasses against the lack of a shading canopy looking about in surprise. He smiled at the sight of it, then chuckled as he spotted familiar figures not far away. Giving a wave, he started walking over. "Aloha Grayson! Found a good spot looks like." He smiled and raised a hand in greeting to Mila. "Aloha Mila! Did you know this place was here? It's great!"
Isaac is out hiking today, at least he has been. For the moment, he is resting near a tree, feeling somewhat 'hiked out' and taking a break to eat his lunch. He is sat cross-legged with a paper bag resting in his lap, the remains of a sandwich in his hands and a bottle of water set on the ground to his right.
He has dressed in rugged clothing for his day out today, a light coloured safari type shirt with short sleeves that has pockets on the sleeves and chest. He has the shirt open at the neck, revealing an odd necklace made of various nuts and washers underneath, possibly a fashion statement. His beige combat trousers are held up by a belt that has various pouches on the sides and the back.
Finishing off his sandwich, Isaac dusts his hands clean of any stray crumbs and then picks up his water, taking a long swig as he watches the people coming up the trail. Spotting Mila and Joachim, he slowly gets to his feet, picking up his bag which he puts in a pocket. "Aloha!" He calls out, offering them a friendly wave and a smile.
Iara is no stranger to the forests around these parts, and in fact she knows them particularly well, having spent a large amount of her time on the island both hiking and camping out here on a regular basis. It is a particularly nice day today, and she is also out here hiking today, dressed in black khaki shorts that show off her long slender legs, and a hot pink tank top. Comfy hiking bots complete the look. With her campsite not far away, she travels light as she wanders into the clearing, marvelling at the sight of beautiful blooms and fruit. But of course she is not alone, and she peers around thoughtfully, catching Joachim's familiar form first. "Aloha, Joachim." she calls out to him with a slight smile and wave. There are others here but no one she recognizes.
Lola is out, but she doesn't have an eye for the idyllic location. Dark clad and flame topped, she's on the prowl. Out here in the middle of nowhere is just as good a place as any to look for trouble. Because where else would trouble plot than away from searching eyes? Across one shoulder, Row'an sits comfortably, the heavy oar balanced by one casually draped arm. She handles it like an old friend as she tromps her way along, uncaring for subtlety, heavy boots ensuring no terrain stands in her way. Though as she draws near enough to take note of the gathering of faces nearby, she pauses to look over, her lips pursing into a distinct, but undirected frown.
Shawn has decided to head out from the waves and get some peace and quiet in the woods for once he's in some cargo shorts and hiking boots and a typical normal t-shirt and a little day pack slung over his shoulders with water and snacks for the day. As he comes into the clearing with it seems like every other supernatural he knows of on the island he blinks and looks around, "Oh well... Aloha everybody! Didn't expect to see such a crowd here."
Volya made a buzzing sound as she spun on one toe, skipping a step and into a grand jete on her way into the clearing. Coming to a stop, she sniffed at the air, humming a note before turning to face Mila. "In all fairness, there was consensus on where the most flowers were. Though... Maybe it's better it isn't a fairytale illustration. Just in case, mind any mushroom circle." Taking another glance about, Vee waved to everyone near the clear with a wide arch of hand, "Aloha!", she offer cheerfully before taking another step to avoid crushing some flowers.
Volya was wearing a neon pink sports bra and a pair of miscut daisy dukes, one side still trying to be shorts while the other was going for thong with a flap of pocket peeking out on bare thigh. She actually had a full-on red hiking pack that gave off that new nylon adhesive smell. The hiking boots appeared to be new as well with a pair of tube sock rolled to their tops.
The streaming sunlight caused all sorts of little motes of pollen and plant dust to dance through the air on the eddies of the warm wind. There was, however, a strange sweep of a cold breeze. It wasn't so much a breeze, though, as it was more like a small, quick, swipe of cold air that almost caused a brief ache, but it was gone so quickly, and passed by each person in the clearing so fast, that it almost wasn't something everyone would pay attention to.
Grayson looks up at the sound of the first voice, then blinks as the clearing seems to fill with people. "Aloha to you all," the Englishman says, then adds, "But so much for a nice quiet spot in which to read in peace. Is there some sort of convention going on, or..." He stares at Lola, "...Or has the beach come to me while I wasn't looking?" He props himself up on one elbow, shaking his head as he looks at something else nearby. "Now I really have seen everything." He looks at Lola again. "Still, at least if you /do/ find yourself up shit creek, you'll be well-equipped."
Mila spotted a dark clad figure in the shadows as her eyes adjusted, and she offered Grayson a nod, her grin slightly incredulous for his dark clothing as she shook her head. "Poor haole is going to turn into a puddle in black during the summertime." Hearing her name, and a called aloha, Mila turned her head and looked at Joachim with a smile, lifting her hand to wave his direction. "Aloha auinala, Joachim... and Isaac. Shawn? I didn't recognize you without the board, brah." She chuckled and gave Shawn a shaka. She gave a nod and a smile to Iara and to Lola, as they were coming up a bit beyond Joachim, following it up with a friendly "Aloha over there!" and then a raised set of brows for Lola. "Well then, looks like we're prepared for shit creek, too, in case we need a paddle." She grinned widely and looked at Volya, winking. "I'll be sure to avoid any mushroom circles, no problem." While she'd been turning her head to look at Vee, though, something caught Mila's eyes. She blinked, cocked her head to the side, and nudged Vee fairly hard with her elbow. "Vee. Uh... I have no idea how to say this delicately, but... do you know them? Or maybe do the, uh, bees know them?" She motioned to the air, where only those that had really spotted something might recognize what she's gesturing at.
Joachim smiled as he spotted Iara, giving her a friendly wave and a nod. "Hey there! Haven't seen you in a while." He grinned at Shawn. "Or you. Same night I think. How've you two been?" Catching sight of Lola and her ever ready oar, he frowned slightly, shrugging as he gave her a nod. "I hope you aren't expecting trouble Lola... Hey Isaac! Good to see you again." He smiled brightly at Volya. "Hey Volya. No drum today?" He blinked, shivering slightly as he looked around. "That was sort of odd..." His voice trailed off as his eyes started tracking something in the air, following first one thing, and then another. He grinned at Grayson, having half heard the comment. He looked to Mila as she spoke, nodding slowly, eyes still following something in the air. "Uh... Mila? Little lights? Maybe blue and yellow?" He glanced to her out of the corner of his eye. "Uh... Volya? I kind of hope you do." He had stopped moving, trying to look as relaxed as possible. "Pixies... sprites... uh... did we walk into a fairie ring or something?" He looked about, his voice low but carrying enough to offer a sort of warning. "I... would play nice probably."
"Blue, Vee!" Isaac blinks, then tries again. "Mila, Vee!" He shudders at the sudden chill wind, a bemused expression crossing his face. "That was fortuitous." He says, almost to himself. Hearing Grayson, Isaac looks over and spots Lola, raising an eyebrow as he spots the oar. "Okay..." Turning back to Mila and Vee, he narrows his eyes as he watches the exchange. "What's that now?" Clearly confused, he sweeps his gaze left and right, quite unable to see what is going on. He raises a hand in response to Joachim's greeting, still feeling somewhat lost. "Pixies, sprites? All I can see are...globes...nothing even." Shaking his head, he averts his gaze, finding sudden interest in the tree he was just sitting at.
Iara "Nice to see you again, Joa, been keeping busy with work and all." she smiles and nods to him warmly, but as always there is that faint aura of sadness about her. She slows down, glancing around nervously as more and more people climb out of the woodwork. So much for a quiet hike. Still, she has been alone and lonely so long, she doesn't half mind the company of others. "Aloha, everyone. What a beautiful day it is today.." she quips softly, a bit shyly. Spying a red Lola, Iara tenses slightly, giving her a wide berth. Grayson's rather abrasive comment is noted with a slight frown, eyeing him almost as warily as she eyes Lola. She moves towards Shawn, nodding to him, feeling most comfortable in his presence. "How are you, Shawn? Surfing later today?" of course, she soon spots the beautiful glowy motes that dance around the forest, and shivers briefly at the touch of cold that passes her by and is gone in an instant. When Volya is mentioned she glances at her curiously. "Glowing..pixies?"
Lola grunts at the gathered. Not seeming deeply sociable today. And she seems about ready to continue on when that strange chill sweeps past her. The involuntary shiver it prompts, for just a moment, seems to annoy her and something catches her eye. Those eyes narrow, snapping to follow in a smooth pan. The corner of one lip turning up as a low, throaty snarl works it's way out. She grows wary. Strangeness. The oar is popped off her shoulder casually, two hands gripping the haft, which has been given a textured wrap. Regardless of how it looks, it's heavy, sturdy and no doubt dangerous in the right hands. Or the wrong ones, in this case. And she seems to know how to use it.
Shawn is just enjoying the sunlight and stuff he glances over at Iara and waves, "Figured I'd spend some time on land to make sure I didn't forget how to walk! Surfing's been great and I'll likely hit up the waves later. How are things with you?"
Volya's nostril arched as she stared at the sunlight, even Mila's motion didn't get her speaking immediately. The shock of cold air caused her to take in a sharp breath, instinctively guarding her breasts with her forearms. "Are we seriously attempting to winterize the meadow... Summer solstice... Like 2 weeks ago?" Her brow twitched as her head slowly to stared at Mila, "They could be wearing name tags and I still wouldn't be sure. Small is more or less difficult to sort out. I mean..." She held up an index finger and thumbed to her pack, "Bongos." Volya's eyes darted about trying to follow the lights, then tracked to the massive wood, nope, it was an oar. "Please don't start swinging that..."
A shimmer came through the streaming sunlight, something that could easily be explained as a tree branch moving out of the way, or perhaps a cloud having passed over head, had there been clouds. Still.. for those really paying attention, it was definitely a shimmer. Then... more motes began moving in the air, like someone had disturbed a flower and sent all the pollen free of it. Only they glowed brightly. Some were bright blue-ish in hue, some yellow, some more of a green that could trick the eye into thinking it was seeing the verdant, lush forest through a brief glimmer of sunlight coming off a mote of dust. They were whizzing around, moving in almost a spiral, shifting together, back and forth, on a breeze that seemed oddly less than neutral. Every so often one of the little motes broke away. Then more.. then they'd come back together. A couple zipped over toward the treeline, looking like a firefly for a brief moment before they hid behind a leaf, got lost in the haze of the darker forest, or slipped behind a person that might be leaning against the trees, or sitting near one.
There's the sound of more footsteps, and soon Rick comes into view as well, having had the same idea as the rest of them. He's well rewarded at the clearing with the beautiful view. He stops at the edge, sticking a hand into his pocket as he looks around, a little smile on his face. He takes notice of some of the other people around, and he may have been about to do something -- a smile, a wave, whatever -- but his attention is caught by something in the middle of the clearing. He squints, reaching up to rub a hand over his eyes before he looks again, and then his head turns to follow whatever it is. It's like a cartoon tennis match -- back, forth, back forth. There's just no ball. "Great," he mutters, but quiet enough so that it's clearly not meant to be heard by anyone. Doesn't mean it //won't// be, but. "Awesome." But still, whatever he thinks about it, he can't seem to stop watching.
Grayson's attention turns from Lola to the middle of the clearing - with another glance for a new arrival. He looks at the middle of the clearing again with a smile, and then his lips move. "'Ello, or maybe aloha," he says, his voice little more than a breath, but warm for all that. "Please don't set me on fire." He closes his book and slowly sets it down, but doesn't make any big or sudden movements, staying lounging under the tree and in the shade.
<The Sight> Joachim has turned on The Sight.
Mila let out a surprised sound, her arms pressing tight to her chest, crossed over them as she blinked. "Do... what... he aha ke hele'ana o ka po?!" Her words in Hawaiian were rushed and she spun around, looking for whatever had made her react. Seeing nothing... she just gapes. "Are we being felt up by fucking PIXIES?!"
Joachim glanced at Isaac, grinning. "We seem to have visitors. Well... probably the other way around." He looked to Iara, shrugging. "You see a thing that fits the description, you use the name. Lots of different terms." He frowned at Lola, eyeing her stance. "Like 'winged teeth'. The little ones aren't the type to be messed with." Even in the midst of such a moment he couldn't help himself. "Good to hear Shawn. Oh you know... doing some traveling. I went bobsleighing the other day. Killed two hundred bobs...." Volya's comment made him stand up a little straighter, and his eyes widened. "Wait... seriously?" He nodded. "Yeah. We should just enjoy this lovely and scenic view and appreciate this rare experience... and leave in a very whole fashion."
Joachim's eyes widened as more and more appeared, and he blinked and looked to his shoulder. He started to grin, the expression growing wider before a shimmer of color crossed over his eyes. After that all he could do was stare. And laugh. He started to giggle, eyes huge now as he took in the sight around them. He'd pretty much tuned everything out at this point, his head going this way and that. When he spoke his voice was filled with wonder. "Holy shit... this is unbelievable."
As he looked around he spotted something, raising a hand to his eyes. "Uh... wow. So... as just freaking awesome as this is? There's... a hole here. To the NeverNever... Oh damn that's bright. The goggles do nothing!" He turned away. "That's where they're all coming from..."
Isaac suddenly leaps up as if stung by something, his face beetroot red and with an expression that is half panic, half something else. Somehow swirling around in midair, his body contorts as if trying to get away from something, his fingers ripping at the fabric of his shirt and then with a truly panicked expression, they shift to his shorts. "Wait, what!" Doing his best to remain calm and quite aware that people might be staring, he backs up towards a tree and goes for his best nonchalant expression that he can must. Something akin to a moan escapes his lips which he quickly clamps over with a hand, his legs jittering left and right as his eyes go wide. Suddenly feeling the need to sit, he lets himself slide along the trunk until his backside hits the grass, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knee in an effort to stop it from moving. "Hmm?" He asks of the group in general, pleading with his eyes for them to look else where. "Code red!" He says through gritted teeth, his gaze locking on Vee for a moment.
Iara squeaks as she feels something touching her ankle, then spins around as something else nicks the back of her knee. "Wha..? What's going on?" but she can see more now, everywhere, and she rubs her eyes, trying to make sense of it all. "What are these, bickering pixies??" she looks back at Shawn and Joachim. "You feeling that too?" she hugs her arms, feeling cold then warm on and off.
Lola doesn't look at Volya as she's spoken to, her eyes fixed on the motes. As many of them as she can at any given moment. She darts her head downs lightly, sweeping the paddle of her oar in a warding gesture. A heavy, low rumble rolling in her throat. "Tell them to back off then," she belatedly answers, not sounding very happy about things going on. The Never Never doesn't seem to interest her. After a few moments she rumbles low in her throat and starts to back off. There is no enjoyable fight here.
Volya let out a yelp, then burst into laughter as she scratched at her wrist and danced from foot to foot. She made to do a gesture before she broke down into giggle. "Stop! Seriously! Anything I do is overkill, and there's the flowers to consider." Making another hop and a skip to grap Mila by the shoulders, and stare wild-eyed. "It's okay, we're fine, everything's fine. Probably, I think I'm a battleground--" She broke into laughter again, stripping her way out of her pack and attempting to look at the back of her legs. She halted herself as Isaac screamed 'Code Red', looking over at Isaac, "What?" With the apparent lack of anyone in his immediate vicinity, "Uhh... Find a pond or something? I mean you can use a cigarette to burn off leeches." She busted out into laughter, grabbing the bottom edges of her shorts to tighten them. "But offering it a smoke sending the right message." She screamed, lifting her knees to her chest as she danced around in circles, as she screamed, "Please back off!"
Iara arches a brow at Joa, "Wait, hope to the never never? Should it even be there? Can it be repaired or..." she's got so many questions, but Iara is interrupted by a more urgent phone call from Doc Keawe. She skips the phone to her ear, murmuring in hurried whispers to the veterinarian, then glances back at Joa. "Well, looks like I have a little emergency to take care of. But I'm sure you won't need my help with this one. Take care.." she waves and hurries off.
While there had already been a large number of sparkling, glowing, flickering motes moving around in the clearing... that number significantly increased. Only now... there were far more green. They streamed through the air, as if the shimmer in the sunlight had actually birthed them, a'la a father sea horse giving up his thousands and thousands of babies to the water. They flurried everywhere, making the sunlight haze in green glow as they started moving much like a flow of a current through the water would, but this was on the air. The scent of something truly un-mistakably wild came with them, like the way the air would smell in the very heart of the amazon rain forest after a solid day's worth of heavy precipitation. The trees nearby groaned softly, and they seemed to almost lean forward, though with trees, it's hard to tell as they move so damn slowly.
The activity of the motes on most people seemed to still, leaving a single, hot point, and perhaps a single point of cold, like having the pinpoint focus of a warm and cold laser on their skin. As Shawn and then Iara ran off back into the woods, the motes that had been on them or bouncing around them kind of weaved and ducked around, before finding other places to attach themselves to, namely other, big, tall people.
Rick's attention is caught -- sort of -- by what Joachim has said, even as he continues to watch the little things in front of him. "A what in the what?" he repeats, and while this may be meant to be heard, he doesn't necessarily expect an answer. At least, not when something is clearly happening to him. He takes a step back, his hand moving to brush his chest quickly as though there was a bug on it or something. "Ow," he exclaims as his other hand smacks his hip, and he looks down, obviously quite uncomfortable. Or just weirded out. Or both. His head jerks toward Isaac as the other man yells that phrase that is really never good, but he doesn't do much of anything yet. What //is// there to do, besides stare? So he stares, watching those green things swirl around in front of them all with wide eyes.
Grayson's eyes go wide. "The NeverNever? Really?" He's all excited interest as he sets the book down on his backpack and starts getting to his feet - before thinking twice about it and settling back where he is. His eyes stay wide, though, as he focuses on the flow of motes into this world. "If only I had something with me to measure all this! I wish I could /see/ it!" He blinks down at his lower body and smiles ever so faintly. "And aloha to you two too," he murmurs. He looks around the clearing at the other apparently-humans, then reaches into his backpack and pulls out a towel - black, of course, with purple and red to make a pattern - then unfolds it over his lap.
Mila let out a shuddering breath as she kept her arms around herself, and kind of pressed her thighs tightly together. "Not enough cloth there kids... Seriously.. NOT ENOUGH CLOTH... stop... trying to hide..." She stilled a little as she noticed everything else but the green motes going still. "Ooooh... well. That's good, just.. don't go up any higher or you're not going to.. shit, are we OK talking to these guys? or is it just.. are we supposed to act like we can't see this?" She turned her head toward Volya with the question, then Joachim, and then Grayson, eyes wide, looking for answers. When Isaac announces his code red and goes to sit, looking entirely too uncomfortable, Mila's jaw dropped. "Oh no, Isaac! Uh.. we have a water bottle? Would that help? Do you have a beer you could do a quick.. eh.. bath in?"
Joachim blinked as Mila, Volya and Isaac seemed to be more personally assaulted. He laughed aloud, not at their predicament but the situation in general. He shook his leg, looking down at it in wonder, then to his left arm. "What on earth is happening?" He looked to Volya. "Getting hot and cold spots too? What the hell is happening here?" He looked bewildered and fascinated. "Do you think this will just... end?" Things seemed calm at the moment and so he took the time to look around, stepping closer to the rift in space/time. When Mila spoke, he suddenly realized what 'code red' meant and winced. "Oh! Shit! Dude..." He held out a hand, speaking in an ancient tongue. Isaac would feel immediate relief from heat, along with a light drenching, though how the pixies in his pants might feel would be another matter.
Joachim swore lightly, shaking his head as he rubbed his eyes. "Dammit that was... really dumb." Blinking, he looked to Grayson, his eyes widening for a moment. He coughed into his hand, smiling widely. His eyebrows went up high. "Do you HAVE something to measure this? Because I would very much like to talk about that if so... either way..." He gestured towards where the rift sat open. "It's like someone's shining a massive light through a veil of green silk. I've... never seen anything like it." He was staring slightly at the man, and realizing it, let his eyes wander. Some Sights he had seen before, others not. The doofy grin on his face was enormous either way. He poked out at it. "I... kind of want to go through..."
"Hot...hot...hot!!!" Isaac leaps up once more, the move made considerably more difficult as he's trying to keep one of his legs straight. Hoping awkwardly on one leg while simultaneously trying to bend at the waist is no easy matter and Isaac decides on another course of action and lets himself fall backwards through a bush. "Too hot, too hot! Argh! Cold!" There is the sound of buckles being unclipped and then some grunting. "This fucking belt!" Another pop and then a slicing noise, as if someone has taken a knife to some fabric. "Will you please get off that...or go slower." From behind the bush, a booted foot comes into view and one of Isaac's hands as he starts wrestling with his sock. "Argh....it's like an icicle just went down my shirt." As the water hits him, he lets out a yell. "What the hell!" There is then a moments silence and then a blessed sigh of relief before Isaac's head pops into view. "Are they gone?"
Lola twitches and spins away from.. something behind her. Growling lowly in her throat as her tension level snaps upward. But a moment before she might do.. something, Lola slows. Stills. Her head cocked slightly. Listening to.. something. Suddenly her head dips, eyes closing. But only for an instnat before her head lifts again, smoothly. Violet and white cascades through her hair, blotting out the red and black in moments. "Sleep, sister. But stay close," she breathes softly, her voice gone from something hoarse and harsh to a more natural, normal tone. She straightens, the oar planted, leaned against as she tries to ignore the things messing with her. "Better to close it. Unless you want more of these here. Whatever they are."
Volya was buckling under the laughter-inducing assault, she went to her knees. Her hands, holding the edges of her shorts white-knuckled as she twisted the material. Pressing her head to her shoulder, her breathes came in on helpless snorts as she started rolling on the ground. "It's in my hair!" Releasing the side of her shorts, she reached back to pick the hairband out of hair, scratching madly madly at her head. "No magic, no magic, no--" She broke out unpowerless giggling as she tried to fold a bicep over her sports bra.
The flow of green, glowing motes seemed to stick together for a while. But then... well. Movement. Sudden movement, like it was exploded from the middle, like the line of green tiny-fae were actually some sort of ticking time bomb. They went every direction, bouncing off of people, flowing over them, and when they came across a yellow or blue glowing mote, they seemed to suddenly attach to them, and drug them away. Everyone was touched, everyone bumped into by hundreds of brilliant, glowing flashes of green. It left behind the scent of supremely verdent life, but there wasn't any longer a touch of cold or hot.
Grayson returns Joachim's look. "I..." he says, then falls silent, looking around without moving his head much at all. Mila. Rick. Joachim. Isaac's foot. He blinks at Lola's colour change, then exhales. Volya. And then his own lap, then back up at the flow of motes. He just watches, eyes wide open, staring at the magic.
The whirling of those green motes is dizzying as Rick tries to keep up with what's happening. Suddenly, however, he looks down at himself, his eyes moving from somewhere in his midsection to his shoulder, and then down toward his hand. He leans down to look closely at it, squinting, before his fingers start to curl around what's in the center of his palm until he's made a fist. He still has that 'what the hell' look, though, even as he holds that fist closed.
Mila's eyes went wide as Isaac dipped behind the shrub, then popped his head out covered in water. She shook her head to him, then gasped. "Wait... no... not... there." Then she started frantically jumping, flapping at the bottom of her shirt, giving an unwilling giggle and snorted laugh as she looked like someone was straight up tickle attacking her. "OH MY AKUA, STOP!" The green lights glowing around her, some going up her shirt, some just bumping against her, didn't seem all that bothered by her flailing. As they moved away from her, bouncing off with their glowing blue and yellow counterparts seemingly affixed, she blinks and catches a long, slow breath. "Uh... so. Is this like.. a pixie innoculation?"
Joachim raised his hands, watching as the green motes whisked away all the others. He grinned, shaking his head. "I... have no idea what this is... I don't even know if anything needs to be done about it." He glanced back to the rift before nodding to Isaac. "They seem to be now?" He was still smiling. "But it's weird. The green ones are mixing with the yellow and blue ones. Hot and cold... and... and..." He paused, squinting. "Oh. Oh uh... well..." He clapped his hands together. His grin was horribly wide. "Yeah. We don't have anything to worry about. This is just a... a uh..." He shrugged. "Let's call it a mass reaffirmation of life."
"Not an innoculation, I think they're after something else." Isaac tugs at his collar as he says this, the cooling water apparently working wonders for him though. "I don't suppose anyone has a towel? Something of a trouser malfunction over here." Raising to his full height, most of him is still obscured by the bush. He looks over and squints at the cloud of green motes, leaning in as he tries to get more detail. "So uh hey guys. It was nice to meet you, I'm Isaac. I don't suppose you have a phone number or anything?" Seeming to spot a familiar mote, he points with a finger. "Totally talented and kinda cute." He nods, the oddness of the situation apparently missing him completely. Looking back to the others, he shrugs. "They're not too bad really."
Lola is concerned. The sudden flow of green that sweeps towards her. And not much she can do to avoid it. She leans against the oar and her eyes close. A soft tension as she lets the sweep of green do it's thing. It sweeps against her, the woman tensed. But, at a glance, nothing happens except for her being brushed by the glowing lights. Though as it does so her stance relaxes somewhat. "Reaffirmation of life? That can be taken so many ways." She then looks towards Isaac and smirks. "It's nothing we haven't seen before."
Volya stops her rolling, panting like she just sprinted a mile. Her dilated eyes tracked to the multitude of green motes around her as he tried to track one or another to discern details of one form or another. Licking her lips, her arm slowly craned upward, holding up her index finger. Her eyes widened when Joachim explain the situation, and she went beet red as her hand oozed back down slowly to reattach to the bottom edge of shorts and retwist the material. Those panicked eyes went to Joachim, then drifted up to the sky. "Uhh... I always thought it would end like this..." Vee just laid there, and kept trying to sort details in the green lights.
One of those beautiful June days has come to visit Oahu. The whole island is drenched in warm sun, and being soothed with warm breezes. Tourists are out en masse and visiting every possible trap they can find. For those that might have explored around the Ahupua'a 'O Kahana State Park, a clearing filled with delightful summery blossoming wildflowers and trees laden with fruit and flowers of their own might be a rather nice to place to avoid the larger crowds. Especially since this place wasn't on any tourist maps.
In the clearing there are just.. hundreds and hundreds, possibly thousands of glowing motes in the sunlight, some of them littered on the ground, some of them in the air. A few around the edge of the treeline. People standing around look a little surprised, admittedly. The scents in the air are just vivid, verdant and lively, like someone took the smells found in the heart of the rain forest after a huge downpour and dropped them into the clearing.
Around Volya who is on the ground, a large group of hundreds of glowing motes can be seen. Likewise, a large group of hundreds of glowing green motes can be seen around Isaac who is mostly behind a bush toward the side of the clearing. Strangely enough... the large groupings seem to split a little. A good half of them or so leave from Volya, headed in a bumbling line over toward Isaac. Then a good half of the group around Isaac leaving a bumbling, clumped group over toward Volya...
On the ground green lights that were somehow very closely melded with tiny blue or yellow lights glowed and kind of rolled around. A few flew through the air together, so tightly pressed it was hard to make out one color from the other unless they came very close.
An open clearing and sunbeams. Like crack cocaine for felines, and the Tiger is no different. However, there are a range of smells that aren't of the forest, and so the feline slowly approaches the edge of the clearing. His face is momentarily visible from between two bushes, and then vanishes again. A short time later, Lola feels a nudge from behind, and then the Siberian leans against her.
Rick still has his fist closed, keeping whatever is inside, inside. Probably 'whatever it is' is one of the little light things. Pixies. Whatever they are. He brings the fist up to his face as though he's going to look inside it like a kid who's caught a bug, but ultimately decides not to, lowering it again so that it's about at chest level. This is what separates the men from the boys, folks. The self control not to look at the bug you've got caught in your fist.
Another exhale, then, "I'm sorry," says Grayson abruptly at Joachim and Isaac's news. "I'm far too British to be able to cope with this sort of thing." And with that he's getting to his feet. The black towel gets wadded up and lobbed underhand to Isaac. "I'll pick my stuff up later, when it's safe to come back." The tall man starts to move away, heading for the thick forest and away from the others. It doesn't take him long to get out of sight.
Mila looked around them, watching the little lights bouncing around on the ground, and still moving through the air. "So this is some sort of.. oh wow. I have no idea if that's crazy or cool, honestly. I mean it's a little of both." Her eyes widened as the green motes seemed to converge a bit around Isaac, and then around Volya. "Oh... wait. Vee? Isaac? Uh.. are you two... OK?" She stepped a little closer in to Volya, looking like she was torn between batting her hand through the swarm of glowing green and kneeling down to help volya get up. "Do you need help up?" She glanced over at Isaac, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Isaac... uh... do you need help? Or raid? or a flyswatter?"
Joachim grinned at Volya, raising an eyebrow. "You did? That's... weirdly specific." He looked from Volya to Isaac and back, his eyes tracking the clumps of motes going from one to the other. "Weird..." Giving a nod to Grayson, he laughed. "That's one way of putting it. Take care Grayson." He watched the man stroll off, keeping his eyes in that direction for a bit and blinking. "Curiouser and curiouser." HE caught sight of Rick, standing looking somewhat confused. "Fairy key party?" He shrugged at his own explanation, taking a seat as he watched the mating frenzy. He looked to Mila with a grin. "Mostly cool. Glad I'm not getting the worst of it. I'm not sure how you deal with frisky pixies." He chuckled, looking back to the rift. "If I knew of a way to get back I'd go right through..."
Catching the towel with a free hand, Isaac offers a nod of thanks to Grayson before he is quickly engulfed in motes. "Help? Oh, I think I'm good." His gaze flicks to Mila and he offers her a reassuring smile before his attention is drawn back to a mote near his ear. "Really? That's a beautiful name..." The words come out a little strangled as he hears something else, his attention drawn to Volya before he is distracted again. Letting the towel drop to the floor, he switches his attention back to the motes. "So uh, how does this wor...Oh...." Glancing quickly around the clearing, Isaac slowly sinks from view and after a few moments a soft sigh can be heard.
With them now moving past and leaving her be, Lola straightens up slightly. Breathing out a low sigh. She glances towards the side when Peter sidles up beside her. A hand dips from gripping the oar, stroking over his head with a casual fondness. She glances towards where the motes are converging, her brows lifted slightly. She glances briefly towards Grayson, then wonders aloud, "What, not enough intellectual curiosity?" She glances over towards Joachim and wonders, "Should we record this? For posterity of course."
Volya kept up her wide-eyed stare as the green motes moved, split and hugged against her. Another giggle slipped from her as it collapsed into a jaw dropping moan. Her expression twisted from a silent scream, her hands moving to hover over her ears as her fingertips closed onto claws in the air over the gathered green motes. Not that she touched them or enclosed over the faeries, touching may have encouraged them. "Uhhh... Code P--" Another moan slipped out of her, goosebumps raising over her body. "Sweet nothings... Just sweet nothings..." Swallowing the knot in her throat, "Mila, babe... I need a word from you... You remember that one time on the beach." A giggle fit took over and twitched on the ground, only managing to cross her ankles and brace her thigh against the other. "Things could get fickle, or bugspray."
Finn is strolling through the woods smoking a cigarette, the six-foot redheaded man running his free hand through his slightly dampened hair, which somehow stays in its artful upright tousling even when his hand returns to the pocket of his board shorts. As he enters the clearing, the shirtless man (who smells strongly of sunscreen) stops in his tracks and blinks several times at all the motes, pushing his gold-lensed aviator sunglasses up to get a better view of...all this. He pulls a flask from his pocket and sniffs it suspiciously, before taking a quick taste test.
There were still pixies dancing in the air, most of them either an even brighter point of green light, like two or more were meshed together to make it more noticeable and bigger, or were a combination of two colors of light, green and yellow or green and blue. Many of them were moving back to that odd shimmer in the sunlight, and then seemed to disappear. Several of the motes bouncing around on the grass in small groupings also seemed to be bouncing their way back toward the rift.
As for the motes over Isaac, the man is currently encased in a writhing, shimmering layer of glowing that moves along in a strangely... luscious looking motion. Of course, that might fit with the sigh. And for the most part he was occluded from view.
The layer of fluttering, flitting motes around Volya was still mostly away from her, but they kept inching closer, and some of them were around her ears, and in her hair, on her neck, every so often some intrepid ones darting closer. The scent of deep, summery rain forest did not abate in the slightest, giving the clearing a sensation of true, hyperactive LIFE happening.
The Siberian tiger at Lola's side rumbles noisily when she pets him fondly. He licks at her hand with a raspy tongue a few times, before he begins to carefully slink forward, towards Volya. His progress is done in fits and starts, blinking and sniffing and backing up a step or two every time a mote or motes come near. He gets to Mila's side and leans against her, meowing loudly. The feline leans in to sniff at Volya curiously.
Rick is standing near the edge of the clearing, mostly watching. Yep, that's right, he's watching. He has his fist closed around something, though, and it's currently held at about chest level. Periodically he looks down at it, and one of the times he does, a more contented smile settles on his face. It's not ecstatic like some of the other folks around, but just...happy. Regular happy. He leans against a tree, just looking around, experiencing it all.
Another mote joins the flowing, floating dance; this one is a deep shade of purple, though the unusual colour is partly occluded with yellow, and there are a couple of green motes getting closer to it as well.
Mila looked at Volya, then at the pixies that were all like a blanket coming nearer to her girlfriend. When the giant Tiger comes closer, Mila looked down at it, her sturdy frame likely the only reason she wasn't knocked over in shock by the nudge. "Oh... Hey there, Peter. Uh... I feel like the pixies are trying to screw my girlfriend..." She twitched then, reaching up with a finger to wave around at her ear. "Oh no, strictly taco, thank you. Not.. even... interested." She glared at the little green mote that flew away from her ear, then shook her head. "Fucking... they were feeling us up! Oh my god!" She looked at Volya wide eyed. "I don't know, Vee, which time at the beach? We're there like.. every day." She sounded dismayed, and looked at the blanket of motes, swooshing her hand at them to get them to disperse a little. "Take it back a notch, guys, go find some.. girls. Or.. whatever. Not, you know. MINE." She pet Peter's head, almost without thinking of it, like she was trying to relieve stress, someone's, maybe her own.
Joachim watched with a grin as Isaac disappeared, shrugging. "I wish I could follow. Just... to see what that world is like." He chuckled, nodding to Lola. "Oh trust me... I'll never forget this." He snorted a bit, looking to Volya with a raised eyebrow. Then back to where Isaac had disappeared. "Huh. Interesting." The arrival of Finn was a bit of a surprise, and he laughed aloud. "Oh man did you pick a weird scene to walk into..." He blinked suddenly, laughing aloud. The grin on his face grew wide. "I am indeed. I'd be happy to make your aquintance." He put a hand out to the dancing motes around him, catching sight of the purple one and giving it a bright wave.
Whatever is happening in the bush, someone is obviously exerting themselves. Heavy masculine breathing can be heard along with very low, muttered conversation; this continues for what feels like a lifetime, the rustling of branches and odd glowing movement that is obscured by foliage. A toe curling moan breaks through the quiet, followed by a lengthier sigh.
Lola smirks faintly as Peter goes to investigate, letting him. She's fine hanging back, watching. And thinking over just why this sort of thing is going on. Theories abound. She cants her head suddenly, a brow lifting. Her eyes pan towards the direction of her head's tilt and her smirk grows a bit. "Sure. This sort of thing could get very interesting. Not just now, but after. Compromising videos are always fun," she states. To seemingly no one in particular. "One of the rare times I'm sad I don't have money. But it will pass." Finn, when he comes into view, gets a casual wave of one hand before both go back to gripping the oar she's leaning against from her observational spot.
Volya let out another gasp, pointing frantically to Mila, "See! Taken! I'm takened, and--" A full body shiver ran through her as she slapped the ground. "Seriously, I have exactly one uterus! No matter how many of you take a run on me, the math doesn't change. Like only one of you--" The woman's protests were cut off as she heard the moan from the bush, and she just stared in that direction. "That is so unfair... ARG!" Frustration boiled up as she patted the tiger and dragged herself up by the beast. "No... No. NO!" Getting her wobbly legs under her, she patted Peter and stumbled over to Mila to press the front of her body to her.
Finn raises and lowers his sunglasses a few more times just to ensure he's not seeing things, before he replaces his cigarette between his lips. Slipping his flask into a velcro-flapped pocket, a coin tucked into his palm prevents his hand from emerging empty. His gold-green eyes slant sharply to one side, and he just barely inclines his head in the same direction. To the...seemingly nobody whispering in his ear, he grins wolfishly and shrugs, answering, "Yep. Sure am." Those gold lensed glasses settling back into place over hazel eyes, the redheaded fellow scans the faces in the crowd, landing on a couple of familiar ones. He returns Joachim's greeting with a grin and an upnod. "Hey there, Professor. Do I even want to know what I walked in on, or should I wing it? Seems like people are really enjoying themselves." His eyes flicker over Isaac and Volya in particular as he says that, Mila's firm speech to the motes stealing his attention briefly. "Strictly taco, you say? Taco Tuesday is my favorite day of the week." The curl of his lips over his wolfish grin suggest that his carefully chosen words may not be those of a foodie. He returns Lola's wave with a two-fingered salute from his forehead. "Hey Trouble. Nice oar. I - HOLY SHIT A TIGER!" It would seem he has spotted Peter as well.
While motes continued to dance around in the clearing, obviously having a merry time and looking as close to drunk motes as they possibly could be considered, the number of them in the clearing was decidedly dwindling. Most of those that looked to be hooked onto, or maybe up with?, another one have gone back through the fissure between reality and the NeverNever. Some others are moving more lazily.
The grouping of glowing green motes around Volya shifts away, giving the tiger wide berth as well as the woman after she'd announced her solid NO. So now... they moved as a group toward Lola. They didn't quite touch her, but certainly made the air glow green around her, moving and darting.
From the bushes, a slow, steady line of green motes started moving toward the rift into the Nevernever. It was one after the other, they weren't all going together. More like.. they had lined up for something and were leaving once their order was filled.
The Tiger rumbles contentedly when Mila pets him, and he looks up at her, his eyes widening ever so slightly at what she suggests. Looking at the woman on the ground, the tiger begins to move closer, his paw raised as if to swat at the cloud of multicoloured lights. And then Volya is using him to pull herself up. The Tiger chuffs a few times, nosing at Volya's leg when she clings to Mila. At that point, the hackles of the beast raise up, and the Siberian turns back to the cloud of lights. His mouth opens widely and he lets out a loud roar, something that echoes into the distance.
As they begin to arc towards Lola, the Tiger snarls and begins to stalk the cloud, taking unclawed swipes at them as he moves along.
Rick is still just leaning on the tree, taking it all in. He isn't totally blissed out, and no moaning or writhing from him. His eyes follow the line of green as they disappear into...well, whatever Joachim was talking about before. At least that's what he assumes, not being able to see it himself. "What the hell, man," he says with a little laugh. It's sort of directed at Joachim, but it's more rhetorical than anything. What the hell, man, indeed.
The deep purple mote joins the yellow and green and blue motes, just another part of the dancing, swirling lightshow, occluded by first one colour and then another. If all this really is an affirmation of life, then the purple mote seems to be affirming a lot.
Mila shook her head and just looked at Volya as the woman used the Tiger to get up to her feet. It didn't take but a moment before Mila pulled Volya in close as fast as volya was moving in for the tight hug. "It's ok, pupule wahine, and it's all good. At least they take no for an answer when you give it." She sighed and blinked, looking more shocked, as she leaned her head back and stared at Volya for a long moment. She might have been about to say something... hell she might have been about to talk to anyone, but her train of thought was entirely derailed and she threw her head back to start laughing in hard, deep, belly-filling bouts of it. She hugged volya close the whole time, stroking the other woman's back, while she still laughed. Peter giving his soft roar at the motes moving to Lola seemed to strike Mila as just as funny, or possibly just added to the funny she was already being hit by, because she began to laugh so hard her breath was having a hard time keeping up, and she had to gasp for air every few moments.
Joachim laughed, resting back on his hands. There was a serious grin on his face and in his voice. "There's a good time to be had Finn. You should join in. Call it a harvest ritual." He looked about, chuckling. "Please do. I'll be happy to return the favor if you can figure that out." He shook his head. "Don't mind the tiger. The tiger's fine." He raised an eyebrow as he watched Peter swipe at the motes of light, suddenly shifting carefully in his seating. "That might not be such a good idea there pal..." He shrugged at Rick. "I dunno man. It's fairy fun time, and that's good enough for me." He laughed along happily with Mila, reveling in the experience he'd stumbled into.
Isaac slowly gets to his feet, looking a lot more disheveled than he did a little while ago. With a wry expression on his face, he waves to the motes as they start to leave, mimicing a phone with his hand and mouthing 'call me' as they go. He spends a few moments buttoning up his shirt and then he draws his hands through his hair in order to get some sort of order there. Picking up the towel, he does his best to dry himself off, flicking the towel over a shoulder when he is done.
Looking somewhat dazed and heavy lidded, he stumbles back into the grove, his hands tapping one of his pockets and then pulling out a drenched packet of cigarettes. Looking skyward, he shakes his head and then puts the packet away, blinking several times as he spots the tiger, he gaze sweeping from those gathered and clearly confused as to why they aren't freaking out. "Can anyone else see a tiger?" He asks the group in general before heading over to Mila and Volya. "Erm...sorry. I tried to warn you but got distracted. Are you okay?" The mask of concern on his face is hard to keep up, for now he just looks... sated and then relieved once Mila starts laughing.
Lola smirks faintly to herself. "My boyfriend is right here," she murmurs casually to no one in particular. "I doubt he'd appreciate it. Besides.. not really my fetish. Unless.." Then Peter roars and she glances at him, sighing. Especially as he tries to bat at the lights. Likely like trying to hit dust. "Down, cat!" Her voice lifted and firm. Her eyes settling on him just as firmly. "Not now. I already had to deal with Her, I will swat you." Yes, Finn, she is lecturing the tiger.
Volya, all blushed and sweaty, wrapped her arms tighter around Mila. "It shouldn't take that long to find the word no..." Resting her forehead on Mila's shoulder, Vee drew in a shakey breath. "Thanks, Peter... The step up..." Her hand loosen enough to offer a halfhearted gesture towards Peter by way of explanation to Isaac, "That's Peter the tiger, I haven't seen him eat anyone, so that's good right?" Making a worried hum, she nuzzled into Mila's neck.
Finn quirks a brow and his gaze trails its way down the lines of his chest, following a tiny green mote of light. "Easy there, Jumbo. I'm a big show-off in every sense of the word, but you haven't even bought me dinner yet. Nothing's free, baby, you should know better. So whatcha offering?" The big ginger puts on a terribly fake looking pout and exhales a stream of cigarette smoke down at his waistband and the little mote of light hovering there. "I'm just not that kind of girl."
Finn nods at Rick and echoes him. "What the hell, indeed. Words to live by." He squints briefly at the purple mote, but that's probably normal, right? At least as normal as anything in this clearing is, anyway. He grins over at Volya and Mila's peal of laughter. "Saved by the yell." He quirks a dark red brow again at Joachim, but nods. "I have honestly never seen a tiger up close, but I did see Aladdin, so...And don't get me wrong, I'm down to Harvest-party with the best of them, but free love is expensive so I'm curious to see what Jumbo and pals are offering for the pleasure of my company."
When Finn spots Isaac, he just tosses him what's left of his dry pack of cigarettes. "Thy need is greater than mine." The tall ginger rumbles a laugh back at Lola. "Peter the tiger is yours? Yeah - somehow that doesn't surprise me. Your kitty is jealous for you." He nods to the big cat as the poor fellow receives his lecture. To Volya, he gives a lopsided grin and points to Isaac. "You need a smoke. See that guy. And I can definitely appreciate not being eaten, so...definitely good."
The majority of the motes are gone now, the last vestiges of them bouncing away, moving along the air. The glow from within Finn's shirt comes out from the bottom hem, spins around his head in a full circle, then dances off toward the sunlight, and the rift to the other side at the Never Never. With the passage of the hundreds of glowing green motes, the scent of the very core of some lush, vibrant rain forest starts to calm, and the scent of the local hawaiian flowers and plants slips back into focus, which is likewise beautiful but likely less overwhelming.
The large feline blinks and stares at Lola, and then lets out a long, noisy complaint. Part growl, part noisy meow. It moves again to her side and bumps its head on her leg. After a moment, the Siberian huffs and lets out another loud meow before snarling at the motes once more for effect. It then looks away, only slightly pouty.
Rick just grins. He keeps the fist clenched, though, even as he watches the line of pixies troop out of this world and into the Nevernever. His gaze shifts toward Finn then, and his eyebrows raise as he tips his head toward the line, the expression on his face pretty clearly, 'Right?!' He might have said something else, but before he can, the thing in his hand has his attention again. He lifts the fist up to eye level again, and then opens it a little bit, peering inside.
Mila finally managed to get herself to stop laughing, and she gave Volya another hug. "Come on, kamehameha, let's go to my place and you can take a shower. I bet you need one after... all that." She chuckled softly and squeezed the slightly taller blonde rather firmly. "You did fine, and I wouldn't have been mad either way, but this way, at least I know we're not going to have any surprises in a few months." Mila winked at Volya and then looked over at Joachim, shaking her head while she grinned. "You're such a trip, Joachim. You be careful having too much fun here, and watch for the mushroom circle things, neh?" To Lola, she grinned, then looked between the purple haired woman and the tiger. "You two be safe and thanks for the assist, Peter." It wasn't until Isaac was tossed the fresh pack of cigarettes from Finn that MIla really noticed the newcomer, and offered him a smile. "Aloha, mahalo for the helpful nicotine." She nodded to him, then glanced over at Isaac. "You coming Isaac? You look like you might need two showers... and a beer, or some mead." She snickered and looked over at Rick, lifting her chin to him. "Hey Rick, you want to come over and have a beer? My place is right off of Waimea, we can catch a wave or two after this. I need to surf, for at least an hour, maybe three."
Joachim was... not paying attention anymore. He fell back to the grass with a dopey look on his face, waving idly at the concerns of the others. The most he could do was laugh along with Mila. He did have the decency to struggle towards some foliage, dropping half out of sight with a laugh and an unmuffled moan. When in Rome clearly!
"So no more eating, this is good!" Isaac nods his head lazily and then seeing the flash of a packet, reaches out with a hand to grab the offered cigarettes. "You're a life saver, thank you!" Tapping out a cigarette, he offers the packet to Mila and then steps away to light up. "Gods I love hiking, I just can't get enough hiking." He takes a long drag from the cigarette and then tilts his head back as he exhales the smoke. "I really needed that." Grinning to himself, he lifts the cigarette to eye-level and then adds, "this isn't bad either." Blinking, he looks over to Mila. "Yeah, that would be fantastic. A cold shower or three and I'll be right as rain." Hearing a moan, he looks towards the foliage and lets out a laugh. "Oh man, they are persuasive."
"He's mine," Lola casually asserts as Peter comes back to her, laying a hand on his head again, fingers curling to scratch the top of his head lightly. "Even if he's a temperamental bother at times." Her voice lightly teasing as she pets him. "But I don't mind it." She nods her head towards Mila, then eyes Finn. "You seem less bothered by this than you should be. Unless you know more than your average man on the street." She glances down at Peter then. "Don't pout."
Volya oozed back off Mila slowly, letting out a long and heavy groan. Picking at her shorts, she gave up on all things ladylike, plunging her hands into them to rearrange the materials. "I gave myself the biggest wedgie. Worst day to wear a thong." Nervous laughter slipped out of her as she took a few hops and pulled her hands out. Letting a heated sigh out, she blinked her disked pupils. "Okay, so still code purple..." Stepping over to her pack, she picked out a water bottle. Cracking the top, she took a sip before pulling at the front bottom of her daisy dukes and just let the bottle drain into shorts, letting out high yelp. She managed only gasped breaths for several seconds, staring into nothing, now that she looked like she wet herself. "Oh... These are going to chafe..." Her eyes drifted closed, and she looked as if she found a moment of peace. Then her nostril flared, her eyelids whipping open. "I got to go or I'm going to climb the biggest palm tree I can find." Snatching her bag, the swinging weight dragging her in a drunken course until she managed to get it under control after several loopsided steps.
Finn snorts and waves a dismissive gesture after his departing pixie. "Cheapskate! You get what you pay for, Jumbo! Hmph." He ashes his cigarette into a bare plot of ground and stubbs it out with his shoe. The red-haired fellow raises his flask to Rick. "Mmhm." Male bonding. He grins back at Mila and nods to her and Volya. "Hey, it's no trouble. Sometimes nothing does the trick like a smoke and a shower. I'll collect next time." He's probably joking?
"So, Professor...WHOA!" He whoops and bows towards the New Rome Joachim has stumbled into. "Don't forget to stretch, Doc!" Finn saunters towards Isaac and offers him a friendly clap on the shoulder. "Don't mention it. You looked depleted of nutrients. I couldn't leave a guy in that state. You can get me back next time. And if they were really persuasive, they'd show us a proper good time first." He subconsciously rolls his quarter over his knuckles.
Sauntering over to Lola and the Tiger, he eyes the big cat for a moment before offering a grin. "Pleased to meet you, Peter the Tiger. Thanks for not eating anyone." He tips a wink at Lola. "What else you got up those sleeves, Trouble?"
When Volya makes her palm tree proclamation and starts her stagger off, Finn watches her and wonders aloud, "Uh...she's not in landscaping, is she?"
What seems to be the last of the little motes flits up from behind the bushes where Joachim had crawled. It dances a bit on the air, then slips through the rift to the NeverNever. Moments later, the strange shimmer in the sunlight is gone, and the clearing in the forest seems.. normal.
The Siberian offers up a wave to Mila and Volya, pawing at the air a few times before setting it down. He glances up at Lola a moment, his head tilted, before he sticks out his great big tongue at her. He meows and peers at Isaac, and then Finn as he walks up. The Tiger grins then, showing off all his teeth, and looks up at Lola, pawing gently at her midriff.
Whatever he's seen or heard form the pixie in his hand, it makes Rick laugh. He catches Finn's eye and and nods back, and just like that they're friends. Or maybe not, but something like it. He looks to Mila then, and after a moment of hesitation, nods. "Sure," he says, "sounds good. Thanks." HOw he's going to go surfing with a pixie in his hand is anybody's guess, but he'll sure try.
Mila let out a sharp laugh as Volya attempted to give herself a cold bath with the water bottle. When the blonde started off, Mila reached back and grabbed ISaac's arm, leading him, as they were leaving, Marines! "Let's go big guy, you're going to need some electrolytes." She snickered, then looked over at Finn, shrugging. "More she's just got to get a few things worked out. But I've got it, no need to be concerned." She winked to the tall redhead before she continued walking to Rick, patting him on the shoulder with her other hand. "Then let's blow this popsicle stand and get some waves. After I make sure these two are functional enough to you know.. not fall off a cliff, or drown themselves in the shower." And with that, she continued til she could help Volya walk in as straight a line as possible. "Aloha, guys, and take care!" She called, turning her head so she could look over her shoulder to Lola, Peter, Finn, and Joa of the Bush.
Joachim straggled upwards, sitting and blinking. "Yeah... shower. Damn." He grinned at Mila and shrugged. "How could I live with myself if I never took this opportunity? He nodded sagely. "It's all about science." He chuckled, a contented look on his face. He looked up and grinned, giving a wave as he carefully got to his feet. He laughed, looking a bit embarassed, but only a bit. "Isaac's right! They really are persuasive." He watched the air around him for a bit longer before shrugging his shoulders with a smile. "I appreciate the advice Finn. Thankfully I keep limber at all times on the off chance this sort of thing happens. Totally worth it." Chuckling, he set off after the others, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Best party I ever found in the woods, that's for sure."
"That would be telling," Lola answers Finn casually. "It's so much better to find out for yourself." She smirks at him, then glances down at Peter. "Don't be jealous," she teases him lightly. She shakes her head slightly and looks to Finn. "I should get this one out of here before he does something to get himself in trouble." She casually grips Peter my the scruff and tells him, "Let's go. Where did you leave your things, hmm?" She turns, aiming to draw the tiger away with her, lifting the heavy oar to lay over her shoulder with her other hand.
Volya was mostly spaced as she tried to keep her legs in a constant pour in a direction. Occasionally rubbing at her skin like it was trying to crawl off. She managed a wave to the world with a craned arm, "Aloha!" She winced at the use of her lungs, straighten out the drunken steps with Mila's direction.
Finn shoots a lopsided grin back at Peter. "You've got pretty good claw manners," he notes, of the massive paw on Lola's midriff. "And I get the distinct impression you want me to keep my paws off." He chuckles and upnods his new best bro Rick. "I'll catch your name over a beer, man. But first I need to replenish my smoke stack." That hazel gaze sweeps over Mila and he chuckles. "So you're the Designated Dragger. That an open invitation for drink. Because this is probably the weirdest shit I've seen all day." He offers Joachim a hand up if needed. "It's a noble sacrifice you made for science, Doc. And I'm glad to hear it, this island looks hazardous for the stiff..." He deadpans. As Lola starts dragging the tiger off by the scruff, he breaks into a rumbling laugh. "Keep your secrets, Trouble, it's no fun if you tell. And you do seem to have your hands full." He steps aside to let Volya and her tender troubles pass with plenty of room. "Yup. Weirdest shit I've seen all day. Smokes!" He slugs back what's left in his flask and turns on his heel, flicking a two-fingered salute from his forehead as he turns.
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