LET'S GET WASTED [&] open

[EXODUS--]

★ -- Polished wood. Bright lights and the heavy yet sharp scent of something sent an indescribable shiver down her spine. The air was pregnant with foreign smell.

How she had gotten here was probably a mystery. Another adventure, trailing the scent of a Typhooners. A careless member. A door left open far too long. And then she was in.

The bartender balked at her as she slipped inside. Tiny little legs bunched as she eagerly leapt onto a stool, cawing loudly and reveling in the success of another exploration-- a new territory soon to be explored, and conquered. Triumph coursed through her body, and now the tavern was all hers to explore at her leisure.

Keen, beady yellow eyes drank in her surroundings greedily before landing upon an abandoned cup of jungle juice. Something sparked within her eyes, and the instant her vision landed upon the beverage, the bartender's eyes widened. Worry filled his gaze as a frenzied babble escaped his lips.

Heeding him no mind, Exodus leaned forward to tip the bottle over. Liquid, intoxicating spilled forth like blood burbling from an animal wound. Against her natural instincts, and compelled by forces unknown, she leaned forward to lap st the substance. Cautiously at first. And then boldly.

Nothing happened.

Then Exodus's gut tightened. Clenched as if the earth was about to shatter and break away beneath her, and then she quivered as the world buzzed around her.

[GABRIEL]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-size: 9.4pt; line-height: 1.4;"]"Does anybody know how to child-proof anything? At all?" Was it that hard to keep the hallucinogenic shit kept behind the counter somewhere? They should treat it like poison or something, meaning abandoned cups weren't ignored for incidents like this, where children had too much curiosity and too little temperance- because that was the responsibility of an adult. But evidently, the adults in this joint didn't mind the idea of a child tripping on jungle juice. If she was experiencing side-effects. Gabriel couldn't read whether she was like this normally or if quivering was a result, though he wasn't going to bet on the safer outcome, so the hybrid approached the small creature slowly, lowering to appear less threatening. "Hey, kiddo? You okay there?" Gabe wished he at least knew who she was, because then he might know by extension whoever acted as her guardian. If someone did. Hopefully so.

[align=right][i]——INFO

[ARGUS]

ʜɪᴅᴅᴇɴ sᴄʀᴏʟʟɪɴɢ

Like the good drunk they were, argus was a common enough face around the joint. enough to have a regular around the bar and know a few of the bartender's by name, typically the one's from early morning bumming the too aggressive drunks. they were on their way to the bay when they spotted the tavern, and a light drink before getting into business (interactions, ugh) would have gone a long way. until argus spotted the kid who sat on one of the stools sitting infront of a bitter seeming liquid that had the same aroma of freshly crushed herbs.

JUNGLE JUICE WAS IT'S OWN KIND OF DRUG, there wasn't much that could be dome about the effects, and unlike booze it wasn't easily diluted by eating. the fact that it was out at all, open like a common bottle of liquor was dangerous, it was how jacob ended up getting high of his horse and getting traumatized - or so the story goes. But it was an essential part pf the place. a right of passage, something that was offered to kids when they grew older. not to some feral child without a lick of knowlege. the fact that the raptor was feral was another thing untested about it. the rite meant to show the owner's biggest fears or most valued desires before their eyes. would it even work properly?

A light glare at the bartender was quick and without fanfare. the quartermaster's own thoughts reflection gabriel's open speech. "Ain't like no common liquor though. stuffs nastier, probably a trick gone wrong"

I LEARNED THE VOICES DIED WITH ME

[EXODUS--]

★ -- The air fizzled and exploded around her. Her body trembled slightly, wobbling on the stool as the drug settled in, taking her off of her feet.

So far gone was she that she could barely register the presence of the two beside her. All she saw-- were flashes of color. Things she didn't understand, twisting before her vision. She was a simple minded creature; hardly able to understand what was seemingly taking form in front of her eyes.

Indefinite shapes swirled. Colorful and awful all at once. Hightened sensitivity gave way to agitation-- she fidgeted within her seat.
She saw a predator. Streaked with blood. Ragged and vicious.
Powerful. Dangerous. Every inch of the feral she was aspired to be. Felt it's suffocating aura.

What she recognized to be black spines jutted from this raptor's muscled form, akin to mother's armor, stance imposing and utterly terrifying as it trampled nameless faces under heel. Claws and teeth and all, and she saw--

Virgo.

Her sister. Alpha, lying prone and powerless beneath the beast's feet. A glimmer of white feathers and golden maw was all she needed to know. Outside of her hallucination, she stared blankly, a bubble of spit working it's way past her jaw as she gave a weak squawk of indignation.

To even begin to think of hurting Virgo was blasphemy. Her sister was powerful. Strong. Infinitely powerful, in fact. Her indignant squeak gave way to an enraged hiss, her dazed body wriggling as she prepared to lunge at the vision.

It promptly swirled away, replaced by a haze.

Her deepest desires-- her innermost wants, and what she had failed to recognize as herself, had been unveiled,and unrealized.