Two Eyes Cenote (ap) nukatpiak

Raiyuk eventually found his way back to @Seal, who seemed to have become the center of attention to a party of girls their own age; when he saw this he grew abruptly shy and withdrew to the wall, and from there he could watch and listen and try to make up his mind on what to do next.

A coyote carrying foodstuffs drifted by him, and while the smells were tantalizing they were foreign, and he was not so brave as to reach out for a taste. Another came opposite with shells full of drink and morsels of cactus water, which earned a similar curiosity-rivaling-concern.

Finally he turned from the wall and began to wind his way among the other visitors to the cenote. There were men and women of varying ages and distinction, and not so many boys his age from what he could discern. He missed his village desperately then, and thought of his father's hunt, and how he should have been there proving his worth rather than here with all these people and their strangeness.

Seal was no mind reader, but she did notice that Raiyuk became a wallflower when the party began to liven up. Wolves meandered from group to group as they chatted, cheered, laughed, and sang. Quickly, the volume in the great hall turned to 11 as the celebration ballooned. Seal gabbed to @Chani about the coronation, Moonspear and the Moon Villages, and her apprenticeship with Sialuk. In return, she was eager to listen to any stories of Dragoncrest and the sea!

At one point, Seal became aware that Raiyuk wasn’t at the table. She finished her berry wine and excused herself, only to find Raiyuk wandering through the crowd alone.

Not thinking too deeply about anything at all, she flounced over to him. “Raiyuk!” she laughed, full of mirth. “Meet anyone interesting?” She asked, but she didn’t give him a chance to answer. In the next breath she said, “Come on, tha others are headed to the dance floor. Come dance with us!”

While others tried to engage him in conversation, and he tried to keep up in earnest, Raiyuk was lost for the bulk of his interactions with those not born to Moontide. They spoke rapidly and with accents he could not place, or about things which he was not trained to know, and he fell further and further behind (and further distracted by his ineptitude); which in turn, made him withdraw further.

When he looked back to Seal and the girls, he could not see her. At once the anxiety of the party grew tenfold and he stopped, looking one way then another, and was about to ask a passing coyote if they had seen someone of her description — how could you lose her? You had one job, what will you tell her parents, what will you father think of you now? Can't even protect a girl — she was abruptly at his side as if summoned.

Saying something about dancing, and crowding in close. Raiyuk felt a wave of relief to see her again, and then dread! Dancing? He didn't know how to dance! He had not learned such things, and had no reason to learn, which again fed in to his recent brewing inferiority; but Raiyuk did not want to disappoint Seal either, so he hastened to follow with a half-hearted, Uhhh okay, lets — right, ok.

All the way to the dance floor, which was far more exposed than he liked!

Seal led Raiyuk between the crowds of people until they arrived at the center of the hall where a band performed. Some members used percussion instruments of hollowed wood while others sang in melodies. The rift was upbeat and the closer Seal moved towards the music the more her body vibrated with energy.

In the middle, party guests formally danced in pairs and twirled to the music’s rhythm…. but the closer one moved toward the floor’s outer edge, the more chaotic the dancing became.

Seal looked for their friends, but she was so impatient to dance that she figured they would somehow all find one another!

“Come on!” She roughly shouldered Raiyuk, giggled, and jumped into the crowd! Seal began to improvise her own moves. She had no idea what the hell she was doing, and she loved it.

He did not know what to do! It was obvious that this space was not his vibe, and he fussed for a moment when Seal left him. He followed after her only because he did not know what else to do!
Seal moved, gyrating or quick-stepping. Raiyuk swayed awkwardly and looked around to the older pairs, one group laughing, or another; while Seal appeared to enjoy herself it was not the same for the boy.
Raiyuk knew swimming, diving, hiking, and hard work; he did not move for the sake of movement but for its necessity during work. He could move in a utilitarian sense — and this was very different from that!
Whenever Seal looked to him he would smile, or bob his head, but he was absolutely dumbfounded.

For a moment, between the cactus wine and the thrum of percussion, Seal completely lost herself! She became one with the music, closed her eyes, and let the vibrations guide her body. She danced this way and that, spun around, and even stood on her hind legs! Never had she experienced something like this before; it felt wonderful and liberating.

When she opened her eyes to see how Raiyuk fared, it became clear he was out of his element. The young hunter’s steps were small and awkward, but Seal could tell he was doing his best.

Without asking, the girl clutched one of his paws in hers and began to change his rhythm as they danced together.

She laughed merrily and leaned her weight to begin a spin, overjoyed and full of spirit.

She was so much more animated now! If before he found her energy overwhelming, now it dwarfed everything around them; and at the same time Seal seemed perfectly suited to the festivities. Raiyuk only had eyes for her — the rest was a blur, as she grabbed for him and they began to spin and move together.
It took some quick footwork to keep from toppling, and thankfully Raiyuk didn't falter in this moment. He felt like they were the only two people that made sense among a throng of strangeness—from people to sounds, smells, and the entire situation that was the coronation.
I didn't know you could dance! He called to her as their spinning slowed.

Seal smiled until her face hurt and laughed until she was out of breath. Eventually, her knees felt like jelly and their revolutions slowed. The music continued to bump around them as the crowd roared.

“My body just moved on its own!” Seal exclaimed. She made a wild gesture with one paw to telegraph how surprised she was by the phenomenon.

“You-,” she sucked in a breath, “you are a bonnie dance partner, Raiyuk!” she added.

Her laughter sparked through the music, and he knew in that instant it was the only sound he wanted to hear for the rest of his life! It was a ridiculous thought; but it was better-sounding than all the music and the conversation around them, and filled Raiyuk with the same urge. Soon he was laughing with her.
I've never done it before! He felt that was obvious; while she looked like she had always moved in this way, so free and lively. He felt exposed now, having admitted to this new thing, and feeling very out-of-sorts by the noise around them he sought comfort; a passing fellahin had offerings for the guests, so he reached for some drinks.
Here! And gave one shell full of liquid to her, so they could drink together.
It was his first (and perhaps only) drink of the celebration; the water was strong flavored and sour on his tongue, but he made sure not to pull a face, and tried to copy what he had seen of the warrior men of the cenote—they did not flinch, so he would not.

While Raiyuk perceived his future, Seal was consumed by her present! Alcohol did that - like she looked through a pinhole. Only the here and now mattered. Tonight, choices had no repercussions and tomorrow was but a distant reverie. It was a novel experience!

“I dinnae believe you!“ Seal lightly heckled in a sarcastic tone as she slapped the top of Raiyuk’s paw. The young woman enjoyed this new side of her friend! He had such a lawful character – and she admired that part of him – but the sealhunter demonstrated his confidence by opening up to this new experience and Seal felt the trust and camaraderie between them deepen.

A saucer was shared and Seal, having already started the drinking domino effect, quickly took a few sips. With each glass, the booze became easier to down. Raiyuk showed no inhibitions and so Seal wrongly assumed he must be equally as tipsy!

“Let’s sit down for a sec,” Seal said when she spied a vacant corner of plush pelts nearby. She practically flopped down into them. “So soft!” she exclaimed.

It was quieter here – outside the dance circle – and Seal exhaled a deep, satisfied sigh as she admired the wolves on the floor.

Her mind ping-ponged around. Suddenly feeling like she needed to overshare, Seal asked, “wanna see something crazy?” Then, she pulled the fur of her shoulder back, against the grain, to reveal a hideous patchwork of criss-crossing scars.

As stoic as Raiyuk now pretended to be, he truthfully was overwhelmed by all that transpired around him in this instance. It was too much! The noise and the strangeness of other cultures clashing, and the swaying of these bodies; but he took comfort in knowing he wasn't alone, because he had Seal with him. He finished his draught of sour water just as Seal suggested they leave the dance floor—a prospect that Raiyuk was glad to oblige! She moved for a corner seat and he rushed to accompany her, and laughed an awkward little laugh when she all but collapsed in to the pile.
They could finally be alone together. It was a moment Raiyuk had been waiting for, although he hadn't known it, and outside of the chaos of the party things felt so still here; it wasn't silent, but that feeling that they were alone together in the center of the mayhem had followed them here, to where Raiyuk was certain he could hear her heart thundering. He didn't realize it was his own.
Wanna see something crazy? A question, a reveal—!
He saw the scars of course, the network of many lines and creases to her skin, which was startling; he had not imagined Seal to be a warrior. Woah! How did you...? Are you okay? The boy went from awed to concerned to a mixture of both, not knowing how best to respond to this moment.

The alcohol-pinhole effect continued. The crowds ebbed and flowed, and the music crescendoed, but Seal felt she was in a bubble with Raiyuk. Beyond them, the outside was just bokeh.

“T’was a hellcat,” Seal explained. “S’how I met Frolic,” she laughed at the notion and her head rocked backward. “I ran into her in tha Bramblewood when we were wee pups and we were attacked!”

“My da said a hellcat looks like a cougar, but twice the size!” Seal had never encountered a cougar, but she felt it must look like a kitten besides a tiger. “It had wicked orange fur with long and jagged black stripes. …I had no choice but tae fight!” Seal swung at the air for effect. Then, she showed him another patch of scars on a different arm. It was evident she must have been littered with them. “See?” she showed Raiyuk enthusiastically.

A hellcat? Seal explained, and Raiyuk felt a sudden wave of nostalgia as he realized what kind of monster had scored her skin and how dangerous it had been, and how brave she was. Orange fur, jagged stripes — !

I tried to hunt it once! He erupted, and saw Seal's further scars as she showed them off. His heart was in his throat. When I was very little, and before I knew what I was doing... I had heard stories of this monster cat, and I went to track it down. He hadn't succeeded though, in any form.

You got closer than I ever did. You're amazing, Seal.

Seal’s eyes widened when she learned the hellcat had crossed Raiyuk’s path. In a way, it had strung their fates together. “You did?!” she exclaimed with a slack jaw.

“Och,” Seal laughed. “Maybe you should hunt cats an’ monsters instead of seals!” she quipped with a snort and slapped Raiyuk’s arm in a good-natured way.

But when Raiyuk praised her, his voice felt… more sincere than the moment required. Seal’s laugh faded as a familiar rush of sobriety, the same kind Frolic had incited, ran through her. It felt like all her guts became a tangled knot. She became bashful under her friend’s attention and rubbed the back of her head with one paw sheepishly.

“I woul’av been if… well, if I had actually injured it for real,” she said, brushing off the praise. “Nothin’ stopped it. My Da and Uncle were hurt bad,” she admitted. As if to stave off the memories, Seal grabbed the nearest half-drunk saucer and finished it with one swig.

“Too bad I couldnae dance it to death!” she laughed morbidly, eyes glassy from drink.

The thought of dancing to combat a foe was an odd one, and he laughed! Raiyuk had not had much to drink, not compared to Seal by any margin, but he thought the rise of warmth he felt in his throat and cheeks was from the little amount he had consumed. He felt dizzy, somehow, despite sitting there.

I think you could do anything — but I am glad you did not try to dance! That hellcat was a pure monster. I should expect songs to be sung about its downfall, whenever that happens. It was a mythical beast, the kind Raiyuk could expect to factor in to many stories.

After I go to the ice with my father, and after I have earned my scars, maybe I will hunt for the hellcat next! I could bring you its hide — you could make it a blanket, or something! It would be so big. He laughed again, losing the awkwardness of his boyhood in that moment as the sound boomed from him. Raiyuk spoke of this as if it were possible and knew in the depths of his heart it was not, not really.

Sorry for my delay! Wrapping this for us <3 Looking forward to more @Raiyuk x Seal threads!

Journey to the ice… scars… Seal presumed he spoke of a similar spirit journey the budding men of Moonglow walked. However, the sealhunter way sounded darker and more violent. If Seal wasn’t as drunk, she would have worried for her friend despite the look of confidence in the face of the challenge.

“I’m a varrae talented tanner,” Seal boasted as she turned a shoulder to show him the fishercat skin across her whithers. “Made this myself. If you bring me that Hellcat I’d make it into the finest robe for you!” she promised.

Then, Seal noticed Heph nearby and the Moonvillage trio rejoined to clink their glasses in toast.