[open] Awoo to you too

[onemanstrash]

Who: Keaton and YOU.
What: Scavenging for treasure, sharing what he's found and testing the limits of his beaststone.
When: November 15th
Where: Various. The beach and the Storyteller's Temple early on, the jungle later.
Warnings: None, will add if anything comes up.

Beach

[The fog does nothing to deter Keaton as he sets off this morning, back to the beach once again since the water receded. Ever since the flooding went away he's been venturing down frequently to see what he can find. At first there was plenty of fish flopped out in the sun and other debris but now he's having to look a little harder.

Careful as you walk around the beach on this foggy day, you might well find yourself tripping over a shallow hole in the sand. And there isn't just the one hole, there are many of them dotted around all over the place. What's worse than falling over a hole? Falling over a pile of days old dead fish, rotting plant life and other questionable material. In both cases the owner of the trash pile and the hole digger can be found not too far away, sifting through the sand.]

So what's it gonna be this time, messed up looking fish or sandy buried seaweed... Neither, broken glass! Neat.

[If you can dodge the holes and piles of junk in the fog, come say hi to the guy with two large ears and a tail who seems to be doing his part in cleaning up the beach.]

Temple

[Whether you're on your way out to the rest of the island or heading to the mana pool to return to the islets, before you can get too far you'll be approached by a very excitable wolfskin. His tail is visibly wagging back and forth, his ears twitching occasionally.]

Hey! Hey. Wanna see something cool? Promise you'll never have seen anything like it before. Never ever.

[And for those that might not be stopped by the promises of something cool, Keaton will follow along after them for a short distance with his hands behind his back as though trying to hide something.]

C'mon, you're really just gonna bail like that? Someone doesn't have very good taste.

[If you do indulge the wolfman then expect to see some sort of gross and disgusting treasure Keaton has managed to find, either from home or what he's dug up on the beach.]

Jungle

[Later in the day, a loud howl can be heard coming from somewhere in the jungle. If it's possible for a howl to sound happy then this is definitely a jovial howl, not one of aggression or anything else. Still, a howl cutting through the air on a day like today when there's fog about? Not the most reassuring thing really.

If you're quick to investigate the source of the howling then you might catch sight of a large white creature through the trees for a brief moment. The creature isn't there for long however, soon replaced by Keaton crumpled up on the floor and panting hard. He looks pretty distressed with his tail hanging low and his ears pressed down against his head. Though he tries getting to his feet his limbs feel far too unstable to support him properly, leading to the wolfskin planting face first into the ground.]

What the heck is this?! It's not meant to feel this way. Why isn't it working, and why is it... Guh, this is stupid...

[It's not like he's in any state to go anywhere right now, so Keaton results to grumbling away to himself until he gets enough strength back he can walk off himself. Unless help arrives before then...]

Comments

[postictal]

[Is this guy...is he a kid? Or - look, the fur and tail are kind of distracting him here, so it's a bit hard to really tell in earnest. He sure is acting like one. An overexcited child who has no idea how to socialize with people in earnest.]

[There's no elegant way to go about this. If he were better at socializing himself, he'd be subtler about it. As it is, he can only be blunt.]

How old are you?

[onemanstrash]

... What?

[That throws Keaton off his groove a little. No one ever ends up asking his age when he shows off his treasures. His ears twitch a little, tail slowing to a stop as he tries to puzzle out where this could be going.]

If you're worried about the quality then don't worry, I've been doing this for years. My treasures are top notch.

[... The age thing does relate to his treasures-slash-junk, right? His hand is still stuffed in one of his pockets as he's hoping it does.]

[postictal]

No, I just mean -

[Great. There's no way to say you're kind of acting like a kid without potentially being offensive in the case that he isn't one. He backed himself into this corner. He really has no one to blame but himself for this.]

Not...related to that. Okay? I was just curious.

[onemanstrash]

Oh... Okay?

[It's clear he's disheartened to hear this has no relation to his treasure- But okay, he guesses. He gives up finding the right treasure in his pocket and ends up folding his arms instead.]

Well, I know you humans have some weird ideas about our ages. Something like for every one of yours its five of ours? [Shrug.] Anyway, that's not the case. I'm 23.

[That said his head tilts a little as he looks at Tim. Is Keaton meant to ask what his age is now or what?? This is strange.]

[postictal]

So you're like - [Oh. Oh. Motherfucker.] Oh my god, you're actually kind of a dog.

[Jesus. Well, it makes sense. He's like - half-dog, or something? The ears and the tail? So maybe he's just...acting the way dogs do? Eagerly bringing home something and proudly showing it off even if exactly no one wanted to see the roadkill it dragged through the yard?]

[Makes sense, actually. He doesn't remember enough about - about Rocky, or about Seth's dog, but he assumes they must have done something like that at some point.]

[Whatever. He's not about to dig up something unpleasant trying to remember.]

I didn't - I'm still kinda learning about all the different...kinds of people out there. And stuff.

[onemanstrash]

[He's so ready to jump on that dog comment. Thankfully he hears Tim out about learning about different kinds of. People. So maybe he can let it slide.

... Let it slide with a very important correction.]

Okay, first? I'm not a dog. At all. Second, I'm a wolfskin. We're fierce, we're noble and we're not dogs.

[That said Keaton shrugs again, this time with a sigh. It's not the first time he's had to make it clear what he is, both here and back home.]

If you're still learning then I guess you can consider this your lesson on wolfskin for the day.

[postictal]

Right. Uh...sorry.

[Well, shit. The guy sounds genuinely offended. He's never heard of a wolfskin, but he can take an educated guess on what that entails based on the name and Keaton's general demeanor.]

Didn't mean to make assumptions there. You, uh, you probably get that a lot, huh?

[onemanstrash]

Way more than I should! Like call me what you want. A wolf, wolf man, wolf whatever- A dog is just a step over the line.

[But it seems Tim gets it now, so that coupled with the apology makes things all square in Keaton's book. His ears perk up as Keaton grins.]

But now you know! So hey, it's fine. Can't really be mad when there are some places out there that don't have any kinda shapeshifters or this kinda thing, huh.

[postictal]

Shapeshifters?

[Is that...what he is? He has no idea what a wolfskin is in the context of, uh, everything. Does he just look like that, or is there more to it? Fuck if Tim knows.]

Do wolfskins...fall under that, then?

[onemanstrash]

Yup! Wolfskin and kitsune both fall under it. They turn into foxes, we turn into wolves... Man, it's like you're getting a real crash course now. Hope you're learning a lot!

[There's an odd feeling of pride being felt there at the thought of sharing all this info about what he is and what he can do. So much so that Keaton's tail starts to wag slowly behind him.]

[postictal]

Kind of am, yeah. Don't think I've ever met anyone from your, uh...world before, exactly.

[There's a lotta people from a lotta worlds that he knows he hasn't met. He's past the point where shit like this might surprise him, but he's definitely at the point where he'd prefer not to offend people, even accidentally.]

[onemanstrash]

Welp, now you'll know what to call someone if you see another guy like me show up. Wolfskin and kitsune! But uh, that's not to say we don't have lots of humans too. Humans are all over, but the wolfskin have their mountain and the kitsune...

[Where the heck do the kitsune live again. It's not something he ever bothered to ask Kaden about.]

They have their place over in Hoshido. Man, the world is a big place but with so many other worlds there's even more remembering to do. Yeesh!

[postictal]

Well, you don't have to worry about me. I'm just another human.

[Mostly.]

[He won't mention that.]

Tim, by the way. Not sure I caught your name, uh...? [He is not gonna be insulting and just call him here, boy.]

[onemanstrash]

Keaton. [He appreciates Tim avoiding any easy jabs at calling him a dog there.] You sure you're just another human?

[Keaton makes a show of sniffing the air a little.]

You kinda stink a little bit of smoke there, buddy. [At least he thinks it's smoke. It's not a campfire smell, but similar to it.] Maybe you're a mage into fire tomes and you're just yanking my tail.

[postictal]

Positive. You never smoke before, or what?

[At that point, he slips the tin out of his pocket and poised a cigarette between his teeth before offering one to Keaton in turn. What? He’s twenty-three, right?]

[onemanstrash]

Nope. Never done that before, honest. Wolfskin don't lie.

[Yes they do, sometimes. But whatever.

It's hard for him to refuse something being offered to him, he's not going to just turn down kindness like that. So he copies Tim in taking a cigarette and holding it between his teeth... He ends up lifting an eyebrow.]

Doesn't taste of much. [Said with his teeth still holding the cigarette. Yes he tried licking it. So what.]

[postictal]

[...yeah, so he's definitely never smoked before. Tim's eyebrows scale the region of his forehead at an impressive rate, but he's otherwise completely deadpan as he slips his lighter from his pocket and sets flame to paper and nicotine, before offering to do the same to Keaton's.]

'S 'cause you don't really eat it.

[This is bad. He is the worst influence.]

[onemanstrash]

[Now his head is tilted to one side, watching curiously as Tim lights up. There's barely a moments hesitation before Keaton leans it to have his own cigarette lit.]

All right... Sooo what're we doing with it?

[GG Tim you're teaching a furry how to smoke.]

[postictal]

You smoke it. It’s a...habit.

[A very bad habit. That hurts your health and is highly addictive. Good job, Tim. He demonstrates accordingly, taking a long drag from his own cigarette and exhaling a plume of smoke. What? The Storyteller never said a thing about smoking in the temple.]

[onemanstrash]

A habit, huh.

[Keaton just watches for a moment to see how it's done, mumbling around the cigarette still clearly held between his teeth. Sadly when he sees that plume of smoke? He has to try it himself.

He breathes in all too eagerly, paying the price when he begins coughing up smoke as his throat stings.]

Oh man, okay that--! Wait, I've got it, that was a test!

[Take two and he goes with a smaller puff, exhaling a trail of smoke. He just wants to get to the point he can make a whole plume of it like Tim did.]

[postictal]

Easy, buddy.

[He almost sounds amused, but he’s not exactly smiling. Just kind of taking it all in as Keaton tries to repeat Tim’s actions and makes the same mistakes every elementary smoker makes. He coughs, but not in excess, which is why Tim sees fit to add:]

Don’t get hooked. These things will fuck up your lungs if you smoke too many.

[onemanstrash]

My lungs can take it.

[Which is said more as a knee jerk reaction than anything. But when he actually thinks on it, taking another slower puff, Keaton furrows his brow.]

I don't think burning your lungs and throat up are worth getting into breathing smoke out all cool like you make it look. [...] Not that it's cool or anything, I'm just saying. [It's a little cool. Addictive for all the wrong reasons.]

[postictal]

[He snorts softly at that. Not wrong, this guy. It’s really not worth the coughing, the stink, the financial drain, the way his respiratory system hates him even more than it does already by continuing to feed an unhealthy habit.]

You’re right. It’s not.

[onemanstrash]

Totally. Not even a little. It's not cool in like three different ways.

[Despite saying all that he still keeps trying, eventually tilting his head back and letting out a stream of smoke above him...

When he looks back at Tim his eyes are wide and his tail is wagging. THAT LOOKED COOL RIGHT it absolutely didn't because this isn't cool but did you see it anyway.]

[postictal]

[Goddamnit. He just looks so excited about it, and Tim has to hope again that he's not facilitating some kind of underage habit.]

Some people figured how to blow smoke rings and stuff. Never learned myself, but...'s kinda neat. [Right after he said smoking isn't cool and everything. Slick.]