From: Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 23:22:09 EDT Subject: do you like your meat rare or well done? The clouds were dark overhead. Dark, and bloodred, and rumbling. It was a menacing evening that bespoke of an angry, frustrated Higher Power. A higher Power known as a "Narrator". Only one of the land knew of such a being, such a being of intense power, and so only one sightless person looked up to the sky with a smidgeon of understanding. The rest gazed at the sky, and felt a thread of uneasiness come into their being. Something was happening. The red rain crashed through the clouds in a pelting downpour-- instantly soaking those who were witness to the heaven's fury. Teri looked up and frowned... "is this normal?" she asked Clip, who had also greeted the rain with a surprised and up-turned face. "I've never seen rain this color before... it tastes foreign." "Foreign rain. That's got a poetic sound." Stana was holding her hands out, letting the watery-red liquid pool into her hand. "You know-- this stuff is going to stain... badly," she said. Teri looked up with worried eyes. "Stain!?" Stana grinned. "just kidding. It's water-soluble. It's rain." Teri glared. "Don't tease me like that." Shinji was staring at the ground, at the rivulets of blood mingling with red- rain that were now seeping into the earth. His eye twitched. *** Estela bit back a curse as the sky cracked and opened-- drenching them within seconds. Her walkman was thankfully tucked within a fold of her cloak (for some reason, the batteries were almost dead.. as if it had been left on all night or something), but aside fromt hat, the rest of her belongings were probably drenched. Chiun kicked his horse alongside estela's, a worried frown on his face. "I've never seen this type of rain before--" he glanced upwards again, warily. Wataru, not wanting to be left out of the conversation, urged his horse forward. "Then what the heck is this? Rain the color of blood? How sick can this world possibly get?" Estela was giving him a warning glare, but he chattered on obliviously.. "First soldiers attack us out of the blue... then they burn the town..." Chiun nearly snarled. "And YOU wanted to rob them!! whos calling who sick!?" Estela looked up and frowned. "Red rain? I hope it doesn't stain my clothes.." **** Paul swore as the rain crashed down around his head. He'd just taken a bath-- just combed his hair.... and now the rain was going to make his hair all pouffy again! He just couldn't win. Could NOT win. **** Flinn looked around, expected to be pulled in to Tel'aran'rhiod any moment now... but nothing came. He was still in the real world, still very thoroughly soaked. And worse, he could feel strange tingles on his skin.. spreading.. *** Teri screamed and looked down at her arm-- "What'?! what's wrong!?" Shinji said, next to her in a heartbeat, stirred from his red-reverie. "Nothing," she said, "I just got bit by a mosquito." *** Bubbles sniffed the damp air, the rain splashing against her long snout as she looked around. "Is there something wrong, bubbles?" Estela asked, holding her cloak tightly together. "Yabsajubru become hungry...." her eyes gleamed. Chiun's mare shied backwards. Chiun replied, alarmed, "Hungry for WHAT?" Bubbles just licked whatever passed for lips on a dragon, and eyed the three horses. Wataru flinched and gritted his teeth-- "Damn, this rain stuff sure stings my leg.." Estela, without turning to look at him, muttered sarcastically, "When you're not used to washing, it might." Bubbles emitted a purling growl that somehow managed to be more cute than menacing-- to Estela, anyway. The horses were having a problem, regardless of how cute the dragon might be... "Now, Bubbles-- bubbles hold on a minute.." Chiun started, his horse dancing around behind estela's, who was just sitting calmly, chewing on some scrub brush. "Bubbles, honey-- if you're hungry, we can get you something to eat--" Estela said, a bit annoyed that they weren't making progress down the road... In fact.. her stomach was starting to feel very hungry, as well... She licked her lips worriedly. The leather horse-reins almost looked like.. beef jerky to her... *** Clip was munching on a leaf before he knew it. "mmm, tasty" he muttered, reaching up to grab another fistful. Stana watched him with incredulity in her eyes. "What are you DOING?" she demanded, grabbing a leaf from him and examining it. "This is oak! you dont' eat oak leaves!" Clip blinked, half a leaf dangling from his mouth. Teri's stomach rumbled-- way too loudly. They all turned, adn she was beat red, with her hands clamped over her stomach. "I'm relaly hungry.." she murmured.. "is there an Uh-Buh-Puh around here?" "Uh-Buh-puh? is that one of your weird words?" Shinji asked, frowning. "Oh.. um.. "au bon pain".." she said, trying to pronounce it correctly and failing so miserably that even stana had no clue of what she said. She sighed. "Nevermind." Stana sat on the ground iwth a thump. "I'm really really hungry." she looked at Shinji. Teri looked at shinji. Clip munched contentedly on a leaf. Teri's stomach rumbled. She met stana's eyes. Stana met Teri's eyes... Shinji began backing away. **** The guard had come to collect Paul when he saw Paul chewing on the edge of his boot. Paul's mind cleared instantly, a red-film seeming to vanish, and he realized quite acutely how awful he looked. His hair was nearly on end, and he was.. chewing.. a boot.... Clearing his throat, he tried to smooth his unruly hair and slipped the boot back onto his foot. "Is there a mess hall around here, sir?" Paul said, gathering whatever dignity he had left around him in a grandoise fashion. The guard was still staring at paul's boot when he murmured, "yes.. certainly.. right this way, sirrah." Ten minutes later, paul had devoured the entire banquet table as well as three of the other soldier's meals... needless to say, there was a bit of melee action going on in the mess tent. *** Finn had devoured what he thought were non-poisonous berries he had found by the riverbank... he had originally popped a berry from a half-mile down the bank, but something had made him spit it out. he hoped, for once, that spiffy was paying attention, and was "maneuvering" things so that he was eating the right berreis this time.. otherwise, he was going to have a really bad stomach ache in about an hour.. *** Wataru screamed in surprise as his horse went down, throwing him to the ground. Chiun threw his reins to Estela and leapt off his horse, running to wataru. Estela grimaced, yet was unable to turn her eyes away from the gruesome sight as bubbles attacked Wataru's horse repeatedly. Chiun had managed to grab wataru away from the horse before he was crushed under it-- and the two watched, horrified, from a few paces away. Bubbles eyes were filmed red-- Estela frowned. That wasn't right... but then her stomach rumbled... she began feeling uneasy. That horse was just looking too delicious for her to be sane... *** Teri supressed a hysterical giggle, and saw stana lick her lips for the fourth time. Shinji was on the verge of running. "CLip! Clip-- do something! Teri! what's gotten into you! STana! Stana, dont' look at me that way!" Clip munched on an oak leaf and smiled. He iddnt' care one way or the other if the mortal was eaten. *** ha ha ha ha! This post courtesy of Teri the narrator. MWA HA HA. Note: you can easily break the spell in the next post. just something to keep us all entertaining.