LIKE THE MOON SAYS TO THE DARK — Playing truth or dare with Roxie was a huge mistake on Michael's part, and he really should've known it would be. He knew his sister well enough to know she'd either take the opportunity to embarrass the shit out of him – and laugh at his suffering – or make him do something that she didn't feel like doing. As it turned out, this time it would be the latter. The two of them had just been laying around in her hut, chattering casually while the bobcat occasionally took a swig of the whiskey he had brought. The thief had felt his heart sink when the reaver had slowly turned to him, a smirk spreading across his muzzle as she spoke, "I dare you to go and find this plant." She had then gone into rather specific detail of a plant that was apparently within the jungle. Michael had immediately caught onto the fact that Roxie was just using him to find an herb for Roan, but he hadn't backed down fron the challenge anyways. Backing out of the challenge would've led to Roxie making fun of him all night, and there was no way he was going to deal with that.

Still slightly tipsy and annoyed by the obvious chore, the gold covered bobcat had headed out into the jungle, shoving his way through the broad leaves of the thickly clustered bushes. His mismatched blue eyes searched back and forth for any sign of life, the scent of the damp jungle and various prey invading his senses and making him wince. How was he ever going to find this highly specific plant, especially without the finely tuned medical eye of Ahab, or Roan? Digging his claws a little bit into the dirt beneath him, the thief could feel frustration bubbling in his chest, mixed with a healthy dose of drunkenness. The whiskey was beginning to tire him out and he barely made it twenty minutes before he was searching for a dry place to lay, eventually dragging himself onto a large log and curling up into a ball. He figured that nothing much would happen back at Roxie's hut, considering she had probably already forgotten about the dare and gone to sleep. With this in mind, it wasn't long before the privateer dozed off, the world becoming blurry until it eventually faded into sheer black.

This had probably been Michael's most fatal mistake. When the fugitive woke up in the morning, he was surrounded by the thick and clustered tropical trees of the jungle, and a raging headache. Everything felt slightly off, and he had very little idea of where he was, several curses falling forth from the male's muzzle. It wasn't long before he was padding around aimlessly, desperately searching for a landmark that would lead him out of the thick jungle and back to his own home. Unfortunately for him, such a thing was not meant to be. He had gotten himself hopelessly fucking lost while slightly drunk, and it had come back to fuck him mercilessly. He had ended up searching around for an entire week, shoving his way through the trees and plants, his original quest completely abandoned in favor of searching for a way back to familiar territory. His jaw was slightly clenched as he moved along, and he silently cursed Roxie's name and his own as he moved along, regretting every decision that had brought him to this point. He occasionally stopped to sleep, just in order to allow his body a chance to rest, and relax.

Eventually, however, the privateer had found his way home, practically crying with joy when he shoved through the trees and found himself back in the soft sand of The Typhoon's beach. He pressed his nose into the warm sand, laughter bubbling up and out of his muzzle as tears stung his eyes. Once he was done with his celebrating, he got up to his paws, still a bit shaky from days without decent meals – he had hunted, but he hadn't eaten any tavern food, or anything else he usually enjoyed from the daily Typhoon affairs. Despite the weakness of his body, Michael raced across the sand, spewing up the terrain in his wake as he headed for one place – Roxie's hut. Clearing his throat, the bobcat called out a little angrily, his voice sharp, "Roxanne Roux! I am gonna kill you for getting me lost in the jungle for a fucking week!" Technically a large part of it was also his fault, but he thought he had the right to be a bit angry. — WE WILL NEVER BE APART

Well if that wasn't fucking weird, Brandy didn't know what was.

Watching the bobcat first burst free from the undergrowth then nearly cry over sand made him stare, just a bit, and Brandykit wasn't known for keeping his eye contact. Slowly, he blinked, then hazily shook out his fur as Michael stood back upright, starting to head for a hut in particular. Hollering his head off. Brandy chuckled to himself, before standing up himself, heading after Michael with a wicked grin on his face.

Brandy, himself, had never been lost in the forest. Being lost in the jungle sounded nigh impossible, especially considering Brandy had never been in the Jungle far by himself. Brandy picked up the pace some to compensate for his shorter legs and Michael's adult form. Brandy muttered to himself as he ran that he would get there soon enough, but he called out as he ran- "Why are we killing Miss Rox?"

"SPEECH"

The forest was Aphra's second home, in all honesty; she rather liked the poisonous and dangerous flowers that grew there. That being said, it would be rather easy to get lost in the place, especially if you didn't go there often. Seeing Michael come running and sobbing on the beach was a rather amusing sight, so Aphra decided to follow the bobcat and see what was going on. "Clearly, Michael lost a bet." Aphra mused at Brandykit's question, her tail twitching in what was clear amusement in the scene that was about to unfold.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

The Reaver had been occupied fretting over her child, Trygve, who had quite the unruly coat. If anyone asked her where Michael had gone off to, she would've likely told them that he was probably being a lazy ass and sleeping within his home with his smelly partner, Trevor. The thought made her snort though her amusement was shortlived when she realized that Trygve had a knife within his possession. A frown tugging on her maw as she would lightly scold the young boy on why he had such a thing in his grubby paws, Trygve complaining back on how it had been a birthday present. Her fur immediately fluffed up and she would inquire him as to who would give him such a thing then her mind wandered to a particular tom. Michael. She was well aware that her son and Michael had a bond between them, her ears pressed themselves flat against her skull and she would move outside hearing the sound of her full name. Usually, she wasn't addressed as such but the voice was familiar and she was already making her way outside to confront her sibling who had been gone for a week. Trygve couldn't help but let out a soft groan as he kept his birthday blade close to him, he had been wondering where his uncle had gone off to.

Roxanne opened the door of her hut only to glare at the bobcat that was standing in front of her, well, he was definitely a lot thinner than the last time she had seen him. She nibbled on her bottom lip only to shake her head briefly only to mew with her own sharpness "What the fuck are you talking about?" Roxanne Roux wasn't all that good at holding down her alcohol and well, for the most part, she usually forgot most things after her drunken daze. The frown still tugging at her lips and her whiskers twitching in mild frustration, god, it looked as if Michael hadn't eaten or bathed in a while which was a large contrast to his usual appearance. It took her a few moments to remember Roan asking her if she had gotten the plant this morning, she had completely forgot about it and it seemed that wasn't the only thing she had forgotten. Now, it was coming back to her. Her mouth forming an 'o' shape only to lash her tail and snap back "YOU'RE THE DUMBASS WHO STILL WENT! YOU COULD'VE STAYED!" She would shot back, well, it was partially her fault in a sense since she had dared Michael to do her dirty work. A sloth, quite the sin but she had been pretty busy with her own duties as a Reaver. [glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

LIKE THE MOON SAYS TO THE DARK — Perhaps he should've confronted Roxie in a bit less of a public way. After all, not only were Brandykit and Jaime present, but Aphra as well, and he had no doubt she'd have even more snarky comments to make. However, Michael Townley was never one to pass up the opportunity to be dramatic, so he just responded to Brandy's question with a huff, his thick black pelt fluffed up considerably. When he actually responded, his – barely, anymore – pink claws sank a little bit into the sand, displacing the beige particles beneath him, "Because she sent me on a wild goose chase that got me lost for ages." He doubted that either Brandy or Jaime would be able to comprehend the prospect of getting lost within the jungle, considering the massive size of the place and the fact that they were hardly allowed even a few paw steps in, but he couldn't help but express his displeasure. Especially seeing as Aphra seemed more than a little amused by his earlier predicament, and that only added onto the festering flames of annoyance bubbling in his chest and lapping anxiously at his ribs.

Eventually, none other than the main subject of his ire emerged from her home, looking rather annoyed herself, as well as confused. Although the thief should've known full well at this point just how bad his sibling was at holding her liquor, he still felt a renewed wave of bitterness when she asked what he was talking about, sputtering, "What am I... what am I talking about...?" The privateer's short tail was bobbing and lashing behind him, usually meant as a sign of his happiness or pleasure, but now a sign of his barely restrained and poorly managed anger. Thankfully, before he could fully launch into a tirade of some magnitude, Roxie spoke up, another surprised look flitting across her face. The fugitive hissed furiously at her response, his back seemingly trying to arch into something skin to threatening, but really only managing to make him stumble somewhat thanks to the dizziness brought on by hunger, "I was drunk, Roxie! I would've done whatever stupid bet you gave me! I just wish you hadn't given me one that would get my inebriated ass stuck in the middle of a bunch of same looking goddamn trees!" Truthfully, even though he was spitting and whining, the anger was already beginning to drain from Michael's voice, as well as his body. His anger at Roxie had mostly faded away over time, instead replaced by hunger, and a homesickness that was finally being sated by the presence of familiar faces.

In addition to all of this, the male was tired. Although he had occasionally rested in his quest to get back home, he couldn't deny how exhausted he still felt, and his earlier attempt to arch his back finally came back to haunt him. His short form swayed a little bit before he just let himself fall into the sand, a soft grunt of oof leaving him. He knew he was far from at his most dignified for the moment, but he also really didn't care. — WE WILL NEVER BE APART