[AW] The Night Is Illuminated By Firelight

[Eik]

"as real as they come," the stranger says with a playful raise of the hoof. Eik's ears hover backwards, unable to tell in his intoxicated stupor if this is all some big splendid joke. But he quickly decides that joke or no, real or not, his companion is far too fascinating for the truth of things to matter. The alcohol is catching up to him quickly now and his concerns seem to all be floating away. He feels a bit exposed without them, but even that feeling eases away as he relaxes into the river of Seree's laughter.

He tentatively nibbles the morsel they offer him, surprised by the new flavors that bloom across his tongue. In truth, he had hoped it would have the same short hallucinogenic effect his earlier pastry had- but this one lacks the earthy bitterness of the first and is far more enjoyable, so he figures it was crafted for taste and not the experience afterward. He nods his head in gratitude to the serving mare before she turns and disappears into the rolling, swaying crowd.

He has only smelled citrus before, never tasted. And while similar, each type is distinct- lemon, orange, grapefruit, the list goes on. "I think you're right! Lemon. But. How much... d'we really know? about anything??" Mind burst wide open, he (dramatically) looks to where the bonfires blur into the sky in lazy plumes of smoke. He feels his own insides blurring in the same way, boiling away as though there were a fire beneath him. White, orange, grey, and black... What is left, when everything is gone?

His waxing philosophical mind returns to the pastry as he tries in vain to lick the sticky powder from his lips. He finally gives up with a snort. "I prefer apple." he admits, words slurring in drunken disappointment. The drinks run fever-hot through his body. He imagines every scar of his is glowing bright red, because they feel like a hundred embers in his skin. He is sharply aware of the intoxication burning through him and despite the way his head is spinning he wants to run and buck and roll in the snow- not in merriment, as Seree might, but in... something else we aren't sure of. For now, we call it revolution. It consumes his attention, drawing it away from the gooey, citrusy treat. He suddenly, violently, needs to move. 

And he wants this goddess (for that is how they appear to him, verdant and timeless and the only solid thing in the currently slip-slippery world) to come with him.

"Lets see the view from up there." he says, pointing with his nose to a large, snow-covered hill that looks over the rolling fields. From the top, they might even be able to see the torches scattered across the tinea swamp. He takes off towards the hill in a crooked line, stumbling over his own legs and bumping into Seree in his utter lack of coordination.  

Eik does not turn back to make sure they are following. In his sudden excitement, it does not occur to him that his newfound companion may have tired of his drunken, attention-deficit company.

-     -     -
There is no better way to know us
E I K
than as two wolves, come separately to a wood

@Seree glad to see you around again! <33 shhh we don't talk about the secret Terrastellan dairy farms (and what goes on there)
edit: I'm gonna count this as his official exit, seree is welcome to follow or not <3