"A trend...? I suppose. I was simply thinking of a way to exchange herbs and things without everyone suffering. But trends are fine too." He was honestly surprised by her suggestion... Not offended, or upset, just surprised and perhaps confused. But he perked up at the comment about tests, and looked thoughtful. "That could be something worth doing. It might take multiple tests... Does it always start the same distance out, or does it change, depending on the Kin and the location? These are things worth knowing."

He was about to respond, when the announcement of the game came up. He turned, sitting directly up so he could see better, his expression curious. He considered, then looked to his companion. "I hope you do not mind... I wish to try this myself. I will return once I am done, but... I do love a challenge." He gave her a bright smile, then darted up, heading over to the rows of drinks.

He grabbed his first mug, and threw his head back, drinking as fast as he could without choking, and enjoying the sweet taste. He set the mug down quickly, controlling the urge to slam it. His next... He seemed to find the right angle for this one, as he practically just poured it straight down, no need to pause for air, and he was not even sure he really tasted this one, other than a hint of dry. The next... Well this one slowed him down some, because it was bubbling and it was a lot harder to get down without the bubbles going up his nose or making him sneeze. However, when that was finished, he once again managed the feat of draining it dry in seconds. He got to the final one, and was starting to do the same, when the bubbles from two previous decided to remind him of their presence by forcing him to burp, interrupting his flow for a moment... But just a moment, and when that mug was done, he thumped that mug down with a gentle finality, grinning in pride.

Lutz wrote: ↑Sun May 26, 2024 2:20 pm

Steals Kisses had heard rumor and scuttlebutt about some mysterious forest within the Swamp. There were conflict instructions on how one went about finding it, but the one thing she was certain was that she wanted in on it.

Either it was dumb luck, or her desire to find it was what drew her to the strange trees (or was it the other way around?), but Steals Kisses found a tree thicker than most. The unusual growths and the air was different here, but it wasn't off-putting nor was it frightening even if the insect song was louder here than she was accustomed.

She almost missed the door had a breeze not blown an overhung braid of flowers just hard enough to reveal the entrance. She was normally cautious, she'd had to have been due to things in her past, but she'd gone through all this trouble to seek this place out it would have been a wasted opportunity. So despite no clear indication of safety, she entered.

---

The difference in her form took a bit to get accustomed to. Rather than her acha features, she was more feline in her ears and tail, though her patterns and markings would still be calico. Here, she was known as Kau'layao, and would be happy to go by Kau or Yao. Her cat tail swayed excitedly behind her,

The festivities was in full swing by the time she arrived but she was glad to hear that a drinking game had just begun. What better way to catch up on all the fun than by joining in? She found the taste was nice and she would have preferred to savor the flavors but it was a game and her competitiveness couldn't help but come out and she tried her best to gulp things down.

Dive In wandered into the merry crowd. The party was in full swing, and all around her, kin were lost in conversation or dance. By chance, she had followed the sound of voices to this new world and she was eagar to join in.

Her ears perked up at the announcement of the game. She loved a competition. Drinking was decidedly not a strong suit of hers, but being willing to try anything once definitely was. She made her way to the table where the mugs were waiting and chose herself an empty row. It didn't much matter to her what was in the mugs; she would finish them all the way.

At the signal, she grabbed her first mug and lifted her head to chug. Not bad. It was very sweet, with a distinct taste of alcohol, burning as it went down her throat. Not her drink of choice, but it was passable enough and easy to swallow. The next mug not so much. It burned almost immediately. Smoky and strong, it was harder for her to down, but she'd also rather not sip at it. She persisted. Already feeling a little warm, she reached for her next mug. This concoction felt more familiar to her, herbal and bitter not unlike the kelp soup she liked. She finished the next one easily as well, sour as it was. This was almost certainly more than she usually drank, but she was too competitive to notice. The last mug was filled with something bubbly and dry, and she burped loudly after she finished it. "Oops," she said, laughing. She lifted her empty mug in cheers to the others by the table.

The world was spinning a little as she left the table. She grabbed a bit of food and found herself a comfortable seat. Perhaps someone would join her. She was open to meeting new kin, but also happy to be on her own and to soak up the energy of the party until the next opportunity at a game. She stared up into the canopy in awe as she gulped down her food.

Ditzy got herself pretty lost this time after running around the outskirts of the swamp blindly for the last few hours, but this time she found herself in a completely different place with a completely different body--and that hasn't ever happened to her before! Last thing she recalled before appearing here was that she tripped on a bunch of vines, then some moss on a tree trunk, the bounced off of a BIG leaf, then fell onto a hole in a giant tree that was covered with a flimsy enough piece of bark for her to burst through.

Now she was in the trees--or more accurately, on the trees? She was short, but upright, with arms and feet and a full head of unruly orange hair that carried all manner of junk and knickknacks stuck in her locks. She liked this new form; she felt just as agile and filled with boundless energy as she did when she had hooves and a snout, but this way she could get into some really hard to reach places! She felt like going by a new name in this form--from hereon, she will be called La Bomba.

Her attention was immediately drawn to the lights and the noises in the big tree house at the center of the village. From outside it looked like lots of people were gathered for a big celebration. She decided to wander on over to see if she could make the party even livelier.

-----

Entering the long house, she saw various beings in a myriad of shapes and sizes mingling, eating, but mostly lined up in front of the biggest table downing drinks. Seems like some sort of friendly contest was going on and lots of people were otherwise occupied. La Bomba took a look at all of the food on the other tables and thought that it couldn't possibly all be eaten here today. It would be such a waste...unless she repurposed it...

This gave her a bright idea. Wringing her hands while staying low, she went to different spots in the long house, gathering empty barrels, loose pieces of wood, big spatulas and serving spoons, some rope, and some wooden plates. Already her mind was racing as to how to make her little contraption of chaos. But first, she needed to decide on a power source.

Popping her head back up to see all the people in the room, she scanned all the activity to try to identify who might have been in charge of the place, or like owned it? Eventually she spotted a colorful winged lady flitting from small crowd to small crowd, encouraging people to eat and drink, and welcoming newcomers into the venue. She was probably it. La Bomba scooted to the winged lady as she landed and tugged gently on the feathers on her hip to try to get her attention.

"Hey! You own place? I La Bomba! You have big fire rocks or always moving rocks somewhere lying around?"

Beejoux wrote:

"Oh, certainly," she agreed. "We'd need a few willing kin to help us, I think, to see if it's individual dependent or if there's some sort of invisible 'line'." Maybe they could even find a few kin who were thinking about visiting the Swamp anyway to see at what point the Ache began to affect them. Feronia was used to running different trials with her healing medicines but to upscale to living kin...that would be a challenge, but an interesting one at that! So long as they could find willing participants, of course.

She nodded as her companion stood and moved over to where the drinking game had been set up. She watched from her seat, cheering on Uri as he did pretty well. She wasn't much of a drinker, the one she had her in hands more than enough for now, but she wouldn't begrudge others for indulging and having fun.

Aria Starstone wrote:

Iyat watched, grinning, as several contestants stepped up to drain their drinks, ranging in speed, but all of them enthusiastic and cheerful. When the fourth one had finished her turn and wobbled gently away to find a spot to sit, he moved up to try his own skills. The first drink was strong, and he didn't rush it too much, letting it go down easy. But the next four were pretty easy, going down swift and smooth. He set the final mug down with a click, and bowed with a flourish -- and without losing his balance, although he could feel the effects of the drinks hitting.

He wandered back over to where someone new was calling for Merry's attention, tilting his head a little in inquiry. "Big fire rocks?" he asked, not quite sure what La Bomba was asking for.

Beejoux wrote:

doomsayer wrote:

Clawtip held carefully between her teeth, Merry watched on in delight as guest after guest wandered up to the beverage table to throwback mugfulls of strong drinks, and one by one, she could see the effects of those strong brews creep into their movements and voices. She giggled to herself, grinning even more brightly when Iyat stepped up to try his luck, giving an encouraging whoop before a tug on her wing pulled her attention away rather suddenly.

With a curious blink she looked at the woman that'd pulled on her feathers, brows arching high at the question. "Yes, this place is mine," she confirmed with a nod, her her head was tilted in confusion.

Iyat was back, asking an important question. She added to it. "Or always moving rocks?" Merry smiled apologetically. "I'm not sure what you mean."

doomsayer wrote:

prolixity wrote:

Uri leaned back, now that his drinks were done, and blinked a few times. He'd done well... He was not sure if anyone had beat his time yet, but he was done and for the moment, he figured he would head back to his companion. He moved slowly, as those drinks were hitting him, and he was trying not to let them take over his brain.

It took a long moment before he got back to his seat, then he carefully settled down. He looked at Feronia with a slightly drunk grin, but he was still pretty with it... He hoped. "Well that was certainly an experience. We'll see who wins, but for the moment, I think I need to settle back into my seat... And have some of the foods on my plate to soak up the power of all that..." His last half of the sentence was accompanied with a wave of his hand, before he lifted the plate he had set aside, and went straight for his noodled. "So uh. Where... Were we? Sorry, brain is a little buzzy."

Lutz wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 3:39 pm

Feronia had to hide her smile behind her hand as Uri came back, a bit of swagger to his stride that could either have been his pride at how well he'd done or the alcohol already hitting him. She wouldn't be surprised it if it was a bit of both, given how quickly he'd downed most of those drinks!

"I think you're the one to beat right now," she said as he found his cushion again. The other guests were doing well but no one had been able to get them down quite as quickly as Uri had managed. It was impressive if she did say so herself!

"Oh yes, some food is definitely a good idea," she agreed. "Though I'm not sure you've got much room left, five drinks is a lot!" Thankfully the noodles that Uri seemed to be happy to chow down on would help soak up some of that liquid in his belly. The night was young, it would be a shame if he had to tap out sooner rather than later.

"Oh, we can talk about that another time. We'll have to meet up back in the Swamp. I'm sure I could find a few willing participants to help us out in our experiments."

Aria Starstone wrote:

"Well we'll see if anyone manages to beat me. We still have plenty of time, I'm sure!" He grinned, and took another good bite of his noodles, making a soft and happy sigh at the taste. It was so nice, these cooked foods that they could not really make back at home. It almost was enough to keep him in these worlds. After all, the varieties of things they could eat here, the things they could do.

But his life was back home, even if it was ever so tempting to stay.

Her comment about not being much room had him chuckling, and controlling a slightly saucy comment. "Mmm I think I can manage, but we shall see, we shall see. I just don't want it ALL going to my head." He gave a half shrug, and a bright smile, before getting a few more bites in, before he set his plate to the side for the moment, not wanting to gobble it all either.

He blinked a few times, about the discussing it later, back in the swamp, and he made a soft hmm sound, looking out the window for a moment as he considered that. "Yeah that might not be a bad idea. What part of the Swamp do you generally spend your days in, that I might be able to find you after? After all, I'm more of a traveler and it might be easier for me to find you, rather than the other way 'round."

Lutz wrote:

"I tend to roam a bit as well, but recently I've been trying to cultivate a garden near where I grew up. It's on the border of the plains and the Swamp, near where two rivers diverge from the plains and into the Swamp." She'd taken to gathering up the knowledge she'd gained from her travels and had set to work putting it all to use, growing plants that she'd never seen before to see if she could nurture them enough to have them grow near her father's tribe. That way she could continue to work with the new plants and better understand their healing properties.

"If you happen by and I'm not there, hang around for a day or two. I'm not going too far these days," she added with a little smile. "Growing plants is harder than I thought it would be. They require a lot of water!" That was the hardest task, though she was fortunate that she wasn't far from a small pond. Bringing the water to and from her garden was the most difficult part of the process and she knew once the winter came, she'd re-plant her seeds closer to the pond.

"Is there a place you call home?" she asked, sipping her drink again with interest. "A place you always go back to? Family or friends that stay put?" Nomadic kin were certainly out there but she'd never met one that truly let the wind take them from place to place. It must be lonely, she thought, to not have a home base to return to after all those adventures.

Aria Starstone wrote:

La Bomba looked at the scaley grey man in black who suddenly decided to talk to her, followed shortly by the winged lady in charge who seemed to follow the scaled man's words with her own. She didn't understand why both of them were talking to her at the same time when she only came up to one of them. She just shrugged it off--maybe they were both in charge. And neither of them knew what she was talking about.

"You no know those? That fine. La Bomba always have mechanical option. Nice place you got here, real lively. Forget La Bomba asked anything." she said as she walked away and went underneath the long table once again. Without heat or attraction-repulsion to power her little doohickey, she would just have to settle for a mechanical short term burst power source.

With adept hands, she took to the used barrels, ropes, big spoons, and plates, and put them together to form a moving object that would scoop out its contents and fling them outwards in a random direction. But in order for this contraption to move autonomously, she took a wooden pole and the straightened band of a wine barrel, then put all her weight on it to push it into the shape of a spiral around the pole. The metal pushed back, desperately trying to go back to its default straightened form. This is what La Bomba was counting on. She would insert this improvised lateral spring on the bottom of her device and then let it go out onto the party floor. She filled the barrel with crumbled cake, mashed potatoes, and whole servings of rice--soft and squishy foods that would be perfect for flinging--set the spring on the bottom of the barrel, and let it loose to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting revelers.

With a slow start, the device slid from under the table, the spoons and spatulas tied to is side slowly dipping into the inside of the barrel to scoop up food matter. Then the spring kicks in, causing the spoons to fling outwards as the thing lurches and spins unpredictably.

Food flies in all directions, a whole serving of mashed potatoes with gravy landing squarely on the face of a black-brown-orange feline lady just putting down her drink.

La Bomba giggles loudly before jumping out from under the table and shouting out loud "FOOD FIGHT!" Then she scurries across the floor on all fours--a massive pile of bright orange hair bouncing on her head as she moves--also now avoiding being the target of her own creation.

A few giant spoonfuls of food also make close calls or glancing contact with:
1. Beejoux
2. Astoria
3. Illusei
4. Aria Starstone
5. Lutz
6. Baneful
7. Dizzy-Kat
8. Prolixity
9. LOLLI qaq
10. Celestial Requiem

Astoria wrote:Just a little food fight chaos if you're feeling up to participating or maybe admonishing me

HuniPi wrote:

Yao was a little disappointed in her performance. Just a little bit. The heady buzz was a welcome reward from downing as much as she had in the time that she did. She was using it to convince herself that she didn't mind sitting by her lonesome, an empty mug her only company. She was, of course, lying to herself. She prefered the warm bodies of other people, no matter what form she or they were in. Certainly there were exceptions but they were few and far in betwe-

SPLAT

Her ruminations had distracted her long enough to realize too late what direction a glob of food was going to reach. Already a little tipsy, her reflex wasn't as fast as they usually were and she caught the mashed potatos square in the face.

She was frozen in shock for a good few seconds. Before Humiliation and Anger had her wiping the food stuff clear. But rather than throwing away the mass of messy starch, she decided to get even. Pulling her arm back, she joined in on the food fight, while yelling "Who started this???"

doomsayer wrote:

Running and tumbling from cover to cover across the long house, La Bomba could not help giggling to nearly cackling out loud as her contraption randomly tossed giant spoonfuls of food in all directions. She had already fallen victim to her own chaos as proved by the chunk of cake embedded in her big orange hair.

Hearing the black-brown-orange feline lady yell for who was at fault for all of this, La bomba could not help but stop for a moment and make eye contact with her. Once her glance was held, La Bomba scraped the chunk of cake out of her hair and tossed it in the already indignant lady's direction, accompanied by a loud battlecry: "LA BOMBA!!!"

HuniPi wrote:

This time, Yao was more than ready to avoid any edible projectile coming her way. She ducked down, but quickly stood up to send a glare at the one calling herself La Bomba. Despite that there were other people drinking, she snagged a full mug of drink with full intention of dousing the scurrying woman. "You're rather messy, let me help clean you up!" she snarled, before trying to give chase.

And if she ended up bumping into other people, oh well.

doomsayer wrote: