[D1 LA] Among the reeds and willows

[Marcus Kendall]

Marcus stank. Not like a hound would stank - he stank of smoke. The acrid smell stuck to his fur like the lichen that grew on him. After the unfortunate explosion, Marcus had sneaked out of the city. Not that it was particularly hard - the trailer park where he lived wasn't far from the bayou. So he had 'disappeared', wading through the shallow pools of brakish water. The damp smell of decaying wood and leaves hung in the air. The beast wrinkled his nose. Even the rotting bayou was better than the kerosene fueled smoke, he decided.

Figuring he was decently far away from the town, he took a plunge into the cool waters, surfacing a short time later, looking like a half-drowned dog. The wet canine beast sniffed his arm. Marcus wrinkled his nose again. He didn't smell good, but at least his eyes didn't sting.

[Dilyéhé]

The ranger of the bayou didn't know of all the creatures who entered, lived, or left the place, but it was hard to not miss one so big as this. And besides, he was not the only one who had the thought of retreating to more natural environments after the incident. For Dily, it had hit a peak for her tolerance of loud noises and big crowds, and she knew she needed the peace before the evening's festivities.

Smell as much as sight made her aware of Marcus, and she chose to stop by the water's edge some meters away from him, as if he was an animal easily spooked. "It is not the freshest water," she commented calmly, frost leaving her mouth as she spoke, "but it is better."

[Marcus Kendall]

"Grrr..." Marcus turned towards the voice, wondering how someone had managed to sneak on him. Then again, he had been stinking of kerosene and splashing like a drowning trash panda, so there was that. Had his fur not been wet, it would have stood out, prickly. Now it just clung to his sturdy form like a wet long carpet. Not the most dignified sight. His tail was instead pluffed out, portraying the yellow-green eyes of the feathers, all intent on the 'intruder'.

Figuring that the person was a changeling, the beast huffed. "Smells better here than there, that's for sure." he waved in the general direction of the city. "Some of the people are so filthy." Thick, brown water dripped from Marcus' matted fur. "You wouldn't believe it." Ice blue eyes lingered on Dilyéhé's frame as Marcus tried to make sense of her.

[Dilyéhé]

The antlers were perhaps a give away that she was not a human, and while she had fur too, it was a short coat in comparison. "I believe it." Her cold eyes in return were looking curiously at the eyes on his feathery tails, and on the large frame as well.

"Beware of some of the animals that live here in the bayou, if you plan to take baths here. They are no threat to someone like you, if I were to make a guess," a slight gesture in his direction, "but I think I would be more concerned for them."

A slight pause. "You are here for the gathering?"

[Marcus Kendall]

So... horny. the beast thought to himself, his tongue lolling out for the joke that remained unspoken. The tail seemed more calm down, flattening down against the surface of the water. The grey-blue feathers shimmered eerily in the gloom of the bayou. "I was sniffing some stuff. But I hear there's a party tonight. So didn't feel like running after my food." he reached an arm towards the other changeling in flexed his claws. "Could have, but. Why bother."

"Nah, been here for few months." he waved is claw in the direction of the town. "From Grand Isle, originally." If Dilyéhé knew of the place, which was relatively important harbor, she'd knew there was little grand about the island. The town outside the harbor was home to a thousand or so people. "Didn't really feel safe there after this happened." Marcus reached to tug the damp fur that covered his arms. "You?"

[Dilyéhé]

"Yes, a feast," she nodded in confirmation. "It is a changing of the seasons - autumn rises in dominance now. No need for hunting on a day like today."

Somehow she had a feeling he understood better than the others what hunting was. It was some of the things she appriciated with those of a more beastly blessing, Dily reflected.

"Few places are safe. Minuit is safer than other places," Dily stated as a matter of fact. No place was truly safe in her mind. "I have been here... longer. Years. But not many years. It's difficult to keep track of time sometimes. Everything is different after..." she made a gesture to herself, the horns mostly. "The change."

[Marcus Kendall]

"No need." Marcus nodded. "But it's still fun time to time." the beast grinned as only beast could grin, revealing all this teeth. The feathered tail thrummed against the water happily, splashing water around. His voice was low and rumbling, much like that of the Beast in the Disney movie. The Fae had a perverted sense of humor.

Figuring that he did not need to stand in the water, Marcus strode to the dry land, the water still dripping from his form. "It's still warm, luckily." he nodded at the water. Mortals might have not agreed with his assessment as the murky bayou water was notably colder than the air. "Was going to New Orleans. Thought might find more of us there. Got stuck here. Don't mind."

"It's different, isn't he." the beast laughed, his tongue lolling out. "You are there, minding your business. Taking a piss against a tree. Next thing you know, you're a monster." After a moment of thinking, thought Marcus didn't think too hard, he added. "You don't look too bad, all things considered."

[Dilyéhé]

"From what I see, the change differs for everyone - for some, it is deeper than the eye can see, even our eyes," she continued in her calm and quiet tone. "But you are no monster in my eyes, stranger. The others, they are the monsters. Not our kind."

Usually not, she considered adding, but decided against it.

"But... thank you, I suppose. Your tail is rather fascinating."

[Marcus Kendall]

"Yeah, the Fae are fucking demons." Marcus shook his head, splattering bayou water everywhere. "Like, you know. Like know." his eyes blue eyes sought out hers, the gaze speaking for itself. "Still wouldn't mind not having this fur." he grabbed his shoulder, tugging of a handful of hair. "It keeps growing back. It's a cancer of soul...." the beast's voice was low and full of resentment. "It itches, it does."

"But I am a monster." his tongue lolled out again. "You have no idea what they had me do." There was a hint of sadness in his voice, even if he was mocking her.

[Dilyéhé]

"No, demons they are not. That is something else entirely," she corrected as she squatted down by the water and shifted to wash her coated arms.

The mockery was like water off a duck's back, or in this case. "And I do not need to ask, stranger - such is behind us now, hopefully. The past does not define your present, or future. If you choose to be a monster, that is what you choose though." Dily shrugged, but she was drawn to the sadness in his tone. Even if it was a changeling's and not a human's, it was still a compelling thing.

"Why do you say it is a cancer of your soul?"