BOO // open, python

[Mocha.]

The reticulated python was quite aware that there were other intelligent beings in the jungle. In fact, she lived quite close to one of the treehouses that someone called home. She was much less sophisticated, preferring to sleep in the crevice of a tree, or curl up on a large branch. However, due to her bright and odd coloration, she had little success hunting in the jungle. She was an ambush predator, meaning she would lurk in the shadows and undergrowth, waiting for her prey. Instead, she often hunted close to the beaches of the archipelago, where her colors blended in with the environment much better. She was naturally quite a massive creature as well, capable of taking down large prey such as monkeys and deers. There was no way to hide every bit of her with foliage in the jungle. The beaches, however, she could partially bury herself in sand.

On that particular day, she had planted a small rat carcass along with a bundle of berries upon the sand at the border of the jungle. Upon closer inspection, one would find that the rat had been drained of its blood. She didn't mind eating predator or prey, thus the combination of meat and herbs. In fact, she didn't eat her prey whole like other snakes - no - her digestive system was quite different. She feasted solely upon blood, as it gave her life and energy, unlike meat. She had learned early on that her stomach simply rejected meat, plants, or otherwise. For whatever reason, she had been born with the ability to suck blood, and could only digest blood. The reticulated python was covered in sand, snout poking out ever so slightly so that she could smell and see anything that tried to approach the rat's body. Waiting, watching, hungry.

[michael t.]

pills don't help, but it sure is funny!  ☆  ☆  ☆

MICHAEL TOWNLEY

THE TYPHOON

DEALER

Although he had been called a snake several times in the past – and even had a snake form of his own – Michael didn't actually know all that much about the creatures. He usually tried to avoid them, knowing that certain breeds could have venom that would bring him down quite easily, and even breeds that didn't would still hurt like hell. Of course, the dealer would've never expected that a snake would show up that was like himself, and Diya. A vampire, to put it in simple terms. Although, the reptile was a bit different, since Michael was able to eat meat and plants, as well as drink blood. Trying to imagine a life without being able to eat anything else... well, it sounded pretty damn awful to him, if he was honest. He loved the baked goods that his sister was able to make for him and others, and he also enjoyed the meals that Goldie made for the group as a whole on occasion. Blood, meanwhile, didn't have much of a distinctive taste to him, and he certainly didn't go seeking it out, not unless he was feeling particularly starved after a while of not feeding.

The thief did find himself drawn in by the trap that the snake had set, but it wasn't because he was out for food. Rather, he had made a habit of taking in rats as pets, and when he saw a rat that looked like it was just injured – at least from afar – he found himself frowning. He moved in long strides across the sand, short legs pushing him forward until he was next to the pile of berries and the rat carcass. Immediately, the bobcat found his ears pinning back, a soft displeased hiss leaving him, "Ah, shit... I'm sorry, little guy. I don't know what kind of person would just kill you and then leave you..." He leaned down to sniff lightly at the berries, wondering what kind of offering the pile was. As he stood up straight once again, he glanced around him, wondering whether he had simply missed someone who had left the rat as a future meal. He was unaware of the python's presence – at least for the moment.

☆  ☆  ☆  gimme, gimme some of that vampire money, come on!

— Reggan

[bubblegum]

DEAR FRIEND as you know,  your flowers are withering
your mother's gone insane, your leaves have drifted away.
but the clouds are clearing up
and i've come reveling, burning incandescently,
like a bastard on the burning sea.

YOU'RE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER,
BURIED DEEP UNDER THE WATER.

The tigress had experience with vampires, given both Michael and Diya had such a mutation as well as a few other crewmates she'd known in the past, but she personally honestly didn't know much about the whole thing besides sometimes they craved blood instead of meat. A little weird, but not the most brutal thing so long as they weren't going after their crewmates or harming the flow of prey.

Snakes, however, were quite offensive to the tigress. Simply living in their jungles and on the beaches was a fact of life, and she would not disturb them if they would not disturb her, but she despised the creatures. She did not trust them, did not want to be near them, did not want to see any of her crewmates within close proximity of them. Even Michael simply being a snake through shifting was enough to make her quietly uncomfortable. They were deceitful, violent, and hurt with the intent to do so. One snake, in particular, is someone she'd been hunting for a full year now. But, she wouldn't know of the current python's encounter today, only being drawn in by the sight of Michael stopped in the middle of the foliage.

"Oh, gross," the tigress would state, nose wrinkling up at the sight of the corpse. Michael seemed displeased too, although for slightly different reasons, obviously, considering the fondness he seemed to hold for the rodents. She knew they were smart and could make good companions, but she personally wasn't all that interested in them in such a way. She shakes her head, thinking a bit further about the display in front of them. It likely wasn't a feral jaguar or anything of the sort - rats are too small for them to just want to leave on the ground instead of eat in one sitting. "Maybe a bird, although it's unusual for 'em t' leave their prey in the middle o' the ground, rather than in a nest." The female would offer as a half-explanation.