Coconut Grove pineapples in her hair

Come one, come all!

Life wasn't as bad as she had imagined it to be a few weeks ago. The dread she felt so keenly began to subside, albeit slowly. It wasn't that she felt for Furiosa any less [the fallen red herring would always be remembered as the one who brought her to the family and introduced her to true unity, and nothing less] but time was the salve that healed all wounds, emotional, physical and spiritual. This existential fact had been proven over and over again, from the disgraced women Olive convened with near the beach to Dakarai, torn and bleeding from his mad escape. They both had healed and time, once again, proved its efficacy in the form of her muted grief and abating misery.

Whereas before she had been drawn to the waking shadows, Olive now felt her soul redrawn to places of light and life and energy. Isley's words played continuously in her mind, as there was much truth to them. Harness the good, rather than feed the demons of this world with prostration and affliction. To do so, she communed with both soul and nature, coming ever closer to each with the purpose of their blessed union. Just as there was love amidst the bleeding titans of the forest, there was light in the darkness, renewed life in death and balance to be found wherever she looked. 

Life was to only get sweeter! It has been decided that Teaghlaigh's cautious heed would be lifted and the greyscale sylph felt as if a weight had been taken off her shoulders... though, really, during the lockdown Olive left Teaghlaigh many times and spent many nights away from den, her home. She didn’t do this to deliberately disobey Ceannsach’s orders, but it were just in her nature and it was a force that was impossible to stop, nor did she want it to stop. It was no matter now, as it hadn't seemed to truly bother Arturo... he had barely reacted when she brought home Armand, blantantly having disrespected the rules. For that she was thankful, as she would easily martyr herself in the name of exploration and discovery. But Furios's death was now behind her, and as difficult as it might be, it was time to move on.

Her feathered, willowy legs carried the woman far from Ravensblood Forest. She moved rhythmically, meditatively, soul bobbing along inside her body as she moved. Her flecked peridot gems drank in the stark scenery, the freshness and the chill enliving her very nerve endings. Her toes crunched and gripped the snow but they never got cold; and so she moved, heated from the inside by the virtue of her divine movements. When she reached the grove of sugar dusted palms, her restless feet finally felt comfort in stillness. The land was quiet - so enrapturingly quiet. Here the spirits of the forest settled and quieted; it was a small oasis, and the grove knew it. It was so unlike her home, the bleeding wildwood that she loved. There, the titans sang low, sonorously… consistently. Though these voices were infinitely wise, it still pleased olive to find quietude. 

Olive stepped carefully and lithesomely in the snow, determined not to disrupt the winter scene. Olive picked up her legs and pulled them close to her ribcage, over the snow, before stretching them out and gingerly placing them upon the ground. Then a dainty foot met a hard round object and the inconsistency gave the her pause; she nosed it out of it's sleeted camouflage and tilted her head towards it, trying to understand it. The chestnut orb, roughly the size of her head, was fibrous and rough to the touch. The Druid nearly left the strange object in the snow but she suddenly smelled a most delectable scent. The heavy notes [the honeyed scents] were enticing. Olive traced the perfume to a broken chasm in the hard, brown thing - the flesh had contracted and cracked in the cold, and the saccharine aroma wafted from within its darkened depths. 

Curiosity overwhelmed her and she picked up a nearby stone, trapping it between her jaw. She struck the coconut with the stone and the frozen flesh cracked under the pressure. The two halves split open to reveal an interior almost as white as the snow within which it bedded. The purity of it was dazzling and the sickly-sweet scent lambasted her nares for the disturbance. Unperturbed, her  rosy tongue caressed the puckered interior of the coconut in an almost intimate matter; luxuriating in how the fatty nectar coated her tongue. How she enjoyed the coastal fruit, scraping and tonguing the tropical flesh with her hungry maw. It was delectable, a true fruit of the earth, sent straight from the sun. It was a last remnant of summer, left to freeze in the snow. 

while the gray lass enjoyed her peaceful moment, a storm brewed dead ahead of her. why, it was none other than the infamous pirate, Sadie Sea Salt! Back again was she? this time, it seemed she wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon. though she was small in frame, that didn't stop her from rushing down she shoreline in the freezing water, feeling the chills bite at her skin and hair ferociously as if the two were in mortal combat. a crazed grin was plastered on her face as her rambunctious laugh echoed through the seaside and bounced off the waves.

she was home, finally home. calypso asked her to migrate then come back, and boy was she glad to be home. did she miss her crew mates? course she did, a pirate sticks with the other pirates of the world! but for now, she thought nothing of them, it was her time today, not theirs. the wench tumbled and yelped around, rolling in the tidewater and feeling winter nip at her body. but she could not feel such pain, she was enjoying herself.

she didn't notice the gray woman at the coconut trees covered in snow, not just yet. Sadie was focused on the strange fruit that appeared in front of her. "what this be?" she asked, skidding to a halt and tilting her head comedically side to side. she walked around it, poked and prodded at him, and even bit at it. she nudged it with her nose, then deemed it dead. the coconut wasn't open, so she didn't have the luxury of being able to taste the sweet flavor. she instead saw the chance of a game, a wild game, a game only she knew of (course, she made it up herself!)

the coconut was rather small, small enough that she could grasp it tightly in her jaws. it was heavier than she imagined, but that wouldn't stop her from playing with it. she threw herself a grin, then threw it towards the sky, towards calypso, her goddess. "one game, aye calypso?" she asked aloud, then grabbing the hard coconut in her mouth before flinging it towards the open ocean. she chased after it, surprised at how well it rolled. while the coconut rolled, it managed to get punctured by a shard of rock before continuing its' role, slowly draining out the water.

Sadie raced after it, dashing through the water and latching onto the now lighter-weighed fruit. she laughed loudly, then threw it towards the open beach. once more, she raced after it, tumbling every now and then while enjoying every moment. the cold water and wind gave her power, it pushed through her and encouraged her to run. she could hear the wind howl in her ears like the ones she had killed did before they drew their last breath. oh, how fresh those memories were in her head! 

while one would wish to forget such monstrosity of events, sadie would rather go through them once more. she was often called sadistic sadie at times when she lived with her old crew. she took pride in her killings, it showed others what she was capable of. it proved what she was worth, what she could do, and what she wasn't afraid to do.

ah, sweet memories indeed. while she would love to kill something, she settled with her game of one-wolf fetch.

So consumed with the cloying, fruity flesh was she that the incoming spirit almost went unnoticed. Again the rosy, soft tongue parted lips to dash along the smooth interior, carousing in the smooth sweetness of it all. It was unlike anything that had ever graced her lips and she loved it — but the sound of splashing caused her ears to rise, her gaze quickly following suit. 

She was not alone in her merriment, it would seem. Another woman cavorted about in a spritely bacchanal, throwing one of the strange fruits amongst the lazy winter tide. It was a spectacle different than the placid quietude from moments before and it was quite welcome. Though Olive needed, craved solitariness, she often appreciated it when her adventures were punctuated with the presence of another. Olive glanced back down at the food grasped tightly between her paws and pressed it gently with her maw, watching as the fibrous bowl rocked back and forth in the snow. Her coconut, wasted from Olive’s striking efforts with the rock, would never again bounce and roll like the woman’s did. The sylph hoisted her small frame from the ground and sauntered closer to where she played upon the frigid sand.

“Fun as they may be, they make splendid fare,” Olive greeted nonchalantly, tail lashing low between her creamy hocks in a friendly manner.

her coconut was practically empty by the time her game was finished, or at least, interrupted. Sadie felt satisfied with her game, she had won (of course, she was the only player while calypso was her referee). her tongue rolled out of the side of her mouth as her body panted, almost gasping for air. she decided to settle down, far away enough so that the water could not touch her, but close enough where she could feel the mist hit her.

the coconut rested beneath her paws as her small head rested atop of it. she was rather fond of the strange fruits, not knowing of the nutrition the shells provided with their innards. she relaxed for a mere minute or two before hearing the voice of another. her ears perked up as her golden honey eyes locked onto an oncoming wolf. she stood slowly, focusing on the gray lass. "food 'ye say?" she asked loudly, her head tilting. she let out her ragged and hoarse laugh, patting the coconut with her paw. "for the yearso'ive been alive, oi would've never thought of these things as food" she laughed to herself and aloud.

the wench left her coconut in the sand as she walked only a few steps closer to the gray lass in a friendly and open manner. "what 'ye name? is it... smartass lass?" she asked, bellowing another fit of laughter at her own joke. she meant no harm in the small insult, she meant it in good fun, though many were butthurt with Sadie's rude jokes (she would always find them funny though).she shook her head, ending her spurt of laughter before crookedly smiling. "but really, what is 'ye name?"  she asked, her head tilted in a peculiar way as her eyes were filled with curiosity.

 

omggg yesss

The girl was loud and crass, which at first left Olive reeling with distaste. It seemed that the hoyden’s amusement was not limited to play, but remained consistent through her exchanges and remarks. Olive’s aversion quickly melted into interest and she lifted an invisible eyebrow at the agouti babe. The druid had never been overtly playful and came off rather serious at times — but Olive lived a serious existence, rife with spiritual reckoning and catechism…even as a young pup. Youthful exuberance left her years ago, leaving a placid and poised woman in its wake.

But, theatrics were her specialty and Olive could definitely play the part assigned to her. Swift of tongue and quick of mind, the druid could easily assume different roles — even if they were inauthentic. Olive’s black lips twisted into a grin, her gentle chuckles drowned out by the bellowing laughter of the other party.

“I am Olive and I’m just trying to do you a favor,” the nymph lifted her chin in mock braggadocio, lifting a dainty paws to gesture towards herself. “I would hate for you to miss out on this delicacy.” Without leaving room for a response, Olive spun on her heels and danced back to her spot beneath the tree. She picked up the half shell gently with her pale maw,  carting it back to her new friend. “Taste,” Olive offered, dropping the broken husk at her tan feet. There was no more milk left, but the frozen flesh could easily be broken and swallowed by teeth of another. 

the pirate looked towards the gray one, curious about her reaction to her light insult. her grin never faded away, it was still on her face as she eyed the other female. at first, sadie was almost positive the other woman took great offense, but then- she was surprised. the other was laughing! sadie felt glad to know her humor was being shared with someone. her golden eyes remained locked on olive until she heard the said wolf speak in a dignified tone, though quite a joking one while she motioned to herself. sadie let out another fit of laughter, softly shaking her head.

"why, excuuuuuuuse m'oi for addressing such a lady with high-class standards" she teased olive, surprisingly, without putting in another cuss word into her sentence. it was nice to know there were other wolves who had some sense of humor besides sadie, being funny got quite lonely without comradery. 

she listened to the other speak of the coconut again, though she didn't stop olive from running back to grab an opened one. sadie cast her a confused and amused glare, but only smiled when the thing was dropped near her toes. her brow raised itself, but her shoulders rolled in a shrug before she dipped her head down and had a taste. though the texture was weird on her tongue, sadie remembered something that tasted this sweet. it was not the metallic taste of blood or the saltiness of fish, no no, it was something even better.

"rum," she said after licking the innards of the husk. that was it! rum! the sweet taste of the fermented fruit and burning liquid it dripped reminded her of the crew she once lived in. however, the coconut was much sweeter and didn't burn as much as the rum did. the lass laughed to herself, licking her chops. "tastes just like rum, what a treasure," she noted, tossing a look towards olive. she wondered if she knew what rum was, or even what it tasted like. "'yer a smart one, where do ye hail from? inland? by the sea? far away?" sadie was quite curious, for she hadn't met anyone with (what she considered) a strong brain beside herself (at least, that's what she believed she had).

The hoyden enjoyed the taste, just like Olive knew she would. It was creamy and thick on the tongue, with thick undertones of suet and overtones of sugar. The texture, admittedly, was a bit odd but Olive was not averse to these types of things. She, herself, largely upheld a vegetarian diet — supplemented by meat whenever the opportunity arose. The druid was averse to the act of killing in almost every way imaginable and was determined not to let her cravings rule her values. An occasional small hunt fulfilled that intrinsic need to hunt and consume flesh, but she was often found sucking berries from bushes and nibbling on tender leaves [all of which honestly provided her small, lithe body great nutrition]. Hey, if bears could do it… she could do it, too.

“I do not hail from one place… I’ve wandered the world, ever since I was a pup.” Olive mused about her detached, nomadic existence… which had all changed so drastically in only the span of a few months. For the better, she reminded herself. Love and family was fantastic, but had only seemed to cause pain and heartbreak recently.  “To stop my traveling, you would need to cut off my paws!” This wasn’t true, but Olive felt it was a sentiment that Sadie would appreciate and spoke it anyways. 

Olive did not lie to her friend, but she did not yet yield any information about Teaghlaigh. She did not yet know this woman well enough to divulge information about the family or the forest where they resided. She needed to be careful, and those who need to know… well, they already knew this type of information, so Olive diverted. “You seem like the wayfarer type too, no? What is your name?” Olive allowed the stranger to respond before her own downy ears flicked back, suddenly remembering the word uttered by the other moment before. Rum. This was foreign to her, but had seemed to please Sadie so! Olive was curious to learn more from this woman who seemed so different than her.

“Rum? What’s rum?”

Her responses were amusing but nonetheless relatable to Sadie. She too loved to travel and would need some limb chopped off before she would stop (though she didn't know that Olive was stretching it a bit). Sadie grinned at her before answering the other lady's question.

"I come from a bay north of here, Seal Back. Lived as a pirate all my life in a crew in the ship. Fine life, though I'm seen as a toy over an actual wolf" she said, shaking her head with a grin. What fond yet bad memories she had there! There were a handful of good men with good hearts in them that once in a while arrived at the bay, but they never stayed. Besides, none of them would even want to talk to the freckled wolf. It was as if she was invisible while the other wenches were right there on a silver platter.

sadie continued to think deeply about her past before an earth-shattering question was asked. What was rum?!

her jaw dropped as she let out a loud chortle. "Lass, you're telling [b]m'oi that you've never tasted rum?"[/b] She questioned in a surprised tone. Was this wolf deprived of the good things in life? probably not, in fact, it was mostly the pirates' custom to indulge in rum.

"Rum is like liquid gold, tears of the gods!" She exclaimed, getting slobbery at the thought. "It's fermented fruits, though the juice from them is where it comes [b]from,[/b]" she said to her, looking at the coconut husk.

"ye could even make rum from this,[small]" she said, nudging it with her paw. She looked Olive in the eyes with a shimmering glare, one that edged a bit of a crazy side and yet, roughly charming. "It burns in your throat, melts in your stomach, and makes you feel as if ye lying beneath the burning sun. The burn- it's wonderful" she [/small]said as if she was some poet.

“The tears of the gods, you say?” 

The fae shifted her body, leaning towards Sadie and crooking her eyebrow in interest. Olive liked the way this woman spoke, with zest and color and earnest. Her gaze sought the lass’s and Olive searched for any sort of fabrication. But the spunky Sadie seemed, at least to the druid, sincere. Sadie’s advent had been jocular [when no one had been looking] and that quality of character had not changed throughout the course of their conversation. This authenticity not only made the confession of her piratetude all that more alluring, but Olive felt that she wanted to be honest to her [not that Olive was ever anything but].

“I, I don’t really understand.” Olive grimaced at her naïveté, unable to truly wrap her arms around this concept.  As a naturalist who often sought stories, knowledge and wisdom from others, Olive was familiar with the idea of psychoactive vegetation. It produced euphoric sensations when consumed and often came in the form of mushrooms, or flowers [at least she had been told]. But a fruit, like the coconut she had just finished ravishing? Would the new fruit Olive consumed soon have her rolling amongst the light dusting of snow and sand, as if she was underneath a hot and heavy sun?

Of that, Olive was not deeply concerned. She were much too interested in the botany of it all, It was beautiful to think about: the earth and its flora so clearly connecting and influencing a person’s spirit.  What a truly divine connection! Olive, a wolf who primarily subsisted off of a vegetarian diet [much to the dismay of Dakarai, who strove to keep her plump with meat] had never heard of this and was curious.“How does a fruit make you feel all of these wonderful things?” If Sadie had any more information about this phenomenon, Olive would root it out.

“Do you have any?”

"yes!" she exclaimed to Olive, feeling her tail wag a mile a minute. Rum was an essential to pirate life, even the swabbies got to have a taste of rum every other day. It was the captains who had the most amount of rum and why they were often the drunkest and angriest. She looked at Olive, seeing that she was quite curious. Sadie was raised with rum, it practically runs in her veins. Her mother introduced it to her when she was a bit younger and boy did she grow a taste for the burning liquid.

Her ears twitched at Olive's words. She didn't understand? Sadie tilted her head but still grinned, happy to explain everything to her. "it be the juice from fruit, fermented and such. the juice be rum. it burns in ye mouth, but the taste is still sweet of the fruit and barely bitter," she said, salivating at the thought. "the burn runs through ye veins, warms ye body up, and makes ye feel whoosy-- but it be an enjoyable time!"  alcohol in Sadie's veins was like igniting a fire within her, making her burn from within but enjoy the time completely (even when completely drunk and can barely stand). she looked to olive with a sympathetic visage. "if ye taste it, ye will know what I mean."

Olive's question made the pirate laugh lightly, shaking her head. "it be a question no wolf can answer, it be almost impossible to explain. it just- happens. and ye gotta enjoy every moment before it leaves," she explained, looking around the coast. "in fact, rum might be here."

she desperately wanted olive to taste it (besides her asking for it) so Olive could taste what Sadie would die for. The wolf stepped back, taking a good look 'round the seaside. So far, nothing could possibly ferment in such weather conditions, but something in the water caught her attention. Sadie's eyes widened-- it was a coconut! The coconut was drifting in the water, lapping against the waves gently and almost begging sadie to go after it. The pirate heeded, rushing to grab it in the water by swimming towards it (though the cold water bit ferociously at her paws). One might think she is dumb, but sadie knew rum was rare in these times and it was every pirate for himself in the rum world competition.

She came back to shore, dripping wet from her belly down, but held the sopping wet coconut in her jaws. The coconut looked as if it was already open from saltwater, which was very good in sadie's favor. it was good that it was open because the coconut would be exposed to the bacteria that helps it ferment and turn into alcohol. she gave olive a hopeful look before slowly tearing into it, removing pieces of the outer shell that were soaked in saltwater. She could already smell success, for the coconut looked and smell old, but another scent wafted into her nostrils. the scent of strong rum.

she yipped and begin to open it faster, her heart beat increasing rapidly. Finally, she opened the damned thing completely and saw the liquid drip from the sides of the coconut. the pirate gave a lick and felt her senses grow numb for a second. she hit gold. she gave another greedy lick, the alcohol burning her tongue and warming her body up. before she dared hog the entire thing, sadie nudged it towards olive.  "taste."

pina colada, anyone?

The thing that Sadie described led Olive to believe that rum was not good, but the lass’s entire mien made her think otherwise. The prophet generally turned away from death and decay [preferring to instead face the world from a place of light], so naturally the idea of it made her skeptical.  However… The fact that simple ferments fruits could [would?] inspire such fervor in a wolf intrigued her so. It was not the taste or this burn which piqued her curiosity, but the beatitude she felt radiate from Sadie; Olive wanted to know more about that. feel that. experience that. 

If there was something, anything that could produce happiness… Olive wanted to experience it. That was something that had changed within her since sidling up with Teaghlaigh and becoming comfortable. The pale sylph actively sought pleasure, from the security of family to the ardor and passions of her dark paramour. She wanted more and craved more and more — and though the universe saw fit to throw many sadnesses her way, it also saw fit to dote greatly on her in the form of earthly delights.

Olive did not stop Sadie when she swung her head ‘round to locate the source of rum, instead hoping silently that she would find what was needed. It was quickly located and retrieved and Sadie seemed skilled in opening the object, as if she had done this many times before. The coconut opened and Sadie imbibed deeply, offer the shell to Olive. Olive’s black nose sniffed the liquid curiously and dipped her pink tongue into the stuff.

She felt the warmth run across her tongue and drip down her throat, lighting the route deep into her chest. Immediately Olive understood how Sadie could stand the biting winter waters. Her entire being had been heated from the inside, even though her delicate palate was reeling from the awful taste of it. Olive pulled back her lips in a grimace and she exhaled sharply, feeling the effervescent overtones of alcohol riding on her breath. She looked up at Sadie from where held her head close to the shell of the coconut. Yes, the liquid warmed her but did not do must else - so what was the big deal about this stuff? She didn’t truly feel any different then she had a moment before. Olive took another lap for good measure and rose her head, not exactly sure what to say about rum’s slow nature but wishing to relate to Sadie all the same. 

“I spent a lot of time in the south, where the air remains heavy and humid from the sea. Some fellows showed me a fruit that was often eaten — they called it a pineapple. It was sour, yet sweet… like your rum, but less sharp. I bet those two flavors would balance quite nicely, when eaten together.” A sly grin was tossed towards the pirate. “Alas, I haven’t seen any around this coast. It must be too cold here.” But, really, the snow that sat around them probably would have made a good addition to her imagined frozen slurry, too.  "When does it do the...thing?" she said, quite uneloquently.