Will We Survive? (1X1 w/ BurntPickle & Amandar)

[Valeska]

Ferrell perked her brown eyes when she heard Leyt attempt at an apology. She could hear him struggling to choose words that he hoped wouldn't offend her further. Suddenly Ferrell felt like laughing out loud. Never in her wildest dreams could she ever imagined Leyt apologizing to anybody, let alone her. His apology was pretty heart felt from what she could tell. Being serious didn't work very well for him, she realized. She'd much rather have the old humorous Leyt in attendance then the serious Leyt, though it was reassuring to know that he even had a heart. Ferrell opened her jaws to respond to Leyt's question about being able to see through him so easily when he ended his apology with two questions. She flinched herself at how easy he was able to see through her cover-up. "I guess when you're alone for so long, you become more aware of the people around you." Ferrell commented trying to bring her thoughts and memories together.

Ferrell tried to decide if she should tell him or not. She pushed herself to her feet, now in a sitting position. Her eyes met Leyt's curious yet expectant gaze before starting heher little speech/story. "Well first off, I want to make it clear that my anger had nothing to do with the stupid rabbits. I could care less about them really." Ferrell told him with a shrug. "What really irritated me was your actions. I've had enough people in my life stealing things from me that where more often than not, irreplaceable. If you know what I mean." Ferrell was trying to hint at killed loved ones or her bright future and a few other things, without speaking them out loud. "And I've had enough people lie straight to my face, that I'm sick and tired of it." Ferrell growled in disgust.

Ferrell tried to think of the best way to continue without getting into the deep details. "Yes. To answer your last question; there is something else besides you that pisses me off. If you can believe it." Ferrell grumbled with a small wolf smile. She turned her blue gaze on Leyt, watching his expression. "Let me ask you a question Leyt. Why do you think I shifted when I could have so easily walked out of this cabin?" Ferrell asked him, as she moved a little closer to where he was sitting against the wall. She would be extremely surprised he answered the question correctly. Ferrell felt her stomach growl again, but this time she didn't ignore it. She stood to her feet, hopped over to the kitchen counter, grabbed the rabbit carcass with her jaws, then brought back with her to eat as she waited for Leyt's response.

[exixst]

Leyt, who felt incredibly awkward after trying to choke out the words to form an apology, nodded in agreement. Not that he could really agree in the same sense that she meant, but he tried to understand to the best of his ability. "I guess so," he said, clearing his throat and licking his lips in an absentminded manner. He didn't really know how to reply without sounding either stupid or pathetic. So, instead of taking either of those routes, he just simply kept his mouth shut. A rare occurrence, honestly.

To her speech, he held her gaze for a while until he dropped it to the floor. He was ashamed, but was also surprised by how she was able to actually make him feel that way. He was also confused by the emotion, considering he wasn't familiar with it. "I know..." he whispered, the muscles in his neck working as he swallowed tensely. "I shouldn't have done those things. I... I was rude. And insensitive." He kept his eyes on the ground for the most part, though did occasionally look up for a flitting moment to try to gauge her expression and responses to his choppy reply. He was no good with words, and yet she'd been able to pin him down with just a couple sentences. How in the world was that fair? His mother had been able to do the same exact thing without even trying. Was it just a female thing, or what? "So... are you planning to stay mad at me for a while? If you are, I... I won't bother you. For a couple days, that is."

Leyton was a little surprised by her question. He didn't know the answer. He didn't have a clue, honestly. To him, it could've been a million things. But he was a little relieved that he wasn't the only reason she was upset. And he was also worried, because it was very possible that he could've done something six weeks ago that was coming back to bite him. "Ah...because you were mad at me and we sometimes tend to do that when we're mad?" He tried to answer, tilting his head a little bit in an 'I-have-no-idea-help-me' kind of way. "I don't know; I'm bad at guessing games." He shrugged lightly, this time able to hold eye contact, rather than just stare at the floor like a wimp. "And hide-and-go-seek. I suck at that, too."

[Valeska]

Ferrell dug into the brown rabbit like her life depended on it. Her teeth ripped at the meaty flesh, pulling the meat off the rabbit's bones and into her mouth. She chewed the meat only a couple times before swallowing. Ferrell felt instantly better than she had before her angry outburst. She guessed that she had low blood sugar, causing her to become angrier than usual. Ferrell realized there was blood on her snout, so she used her pink tongue to slurp the blood off her face, then continued on with her meal. She was trying her best to eat while still listen to Leyt and take in his responses but it was challenging when one was so hungry. Ferrell had just taken another bite of rabbit when she heard, "I shouldn't have done those things. I... I was rude. And insensitive," come from Leyt himself. His words were so uncalled for that Ferrell spit the meat out before she could choke on it. Her blue eyes widened in shock as she took in Leyt's ashamed posture. She had no idea her words had affected him so much but was glad he had gotten the message. She hoped it would stop him from stealing any of her prey or belongings in the future.

Ferrell quickly covered her shocked expression by finishing off the rest of the rabbit. She licked her chops in satisfaction of the small but nutritious meal she had devoured. She opened her jaws to say something in response to Leyt's words when out came a loud belch. Ferrell's eyes widened in surprise before she turned them downcast to try and hide her embarrassment. "Excuse me!" Ferrell quickly responded. She looked up when Leyt asked if she was still mad at him. She gave a deep growl before speaking. "Yes I'm still slightly irritated at you but I won't let you have enough time to sit around and do nothing. You'll be sorry you ever touched my prey when I'm through with you Mr. Leyton Arias." Ferrell threatened Leyt with all seriousness but with a little bit of teasing in her voice. Ferrell's blue eyes sparkled mischeviously when she added, "And I know how to follow through with my threats."

The light in Ferrell's eyes simmered down a bit when Leyt guessed at Ferrell's reason for shifting at the door when she could have so easily let herself out. She sighed deeply at the actual truth. Her brown wolf head shook sadly. She glanced up to look at Leyt with a sorrowful gaze. "I wish it was that simple but it's not. It's a pretty long story but I'll keep it short. It's not very entertaining to say the least. Ferrell breathed in a shaky breath. "About five years ago I was living by myself. I came in contact with a passing werewolf who seemed really friendly. I was stupid enough to believe him and all the lies he had told me just so I could call him a friend. I followed him to a "werewolf gathering" but it was actually a testing facility. I quickly found myself as the facility directors guinea pig." Ferrell said almost in a whisper, while her body started to shake. "At that time I had almost mastered my ability to control my shifting, making it very difficult for the scientists to give me the right dossage of test syrums. This made the director mad, so he urged his workers to create a syrum that would give them control over my shifting. I never dreamed they could do it but they did. I then was put through more nightmares." Ferrell shuddered at the memory, looking at the floor. "And so because of them, I no longer have control over my shifting. My shifting is very random, which is very dangerous on my part. I even have shifting fits where I shift back and forth between forms for long periods of time. When the fits are finally over I am left very weak." Ferrell flinched as if pained by the memories. She gave a fear shaken laugh. "So there's your answer. I am stuck here until I change form or you open the door." Ferrell shrugged in a 'I-don't-care' kind of movement. She looked at the floor with a sadness in her heart.

[exixst]

Leyt lifted his eyebrows when Ferrell suddenly spat her food out. It hadn't seemed like she didn't like the taste of it - she was practically inhaling it, and he almost took the liberty of reminding her to breathe. But he only got a glimpse of her surprised expression before she wiped it off of her face with the help of the disappearing rabbit in front of her. He was surprised with how hungry she was. Silently he thanked himself for leaving the majority of that carcass uneaten, or else she'd probably still be extremely pissed. Then again, she had mentioned not caring about the rabbits, but now he was wondering if she was just saying that. But when she let out that burp, followed by such a fast excusing for the unexpected action, a sudden grin broke out onto his face, and an airy chuckle lifted out of his lungs. "That was cute, Fer," he said sarcastically, "I'll give you an eight out of ten on that one. Maybe an eight and a half." His grin kept up for a few more seconds, coming much more naturally and comfortably than his pathetic attempts at an apology. And then she growled, and a more neutral expression came back, maybe even a little anxious. "I'm not sure how to take that, actually. I fully believe you if you mean you're going to give me hell, but I am curious as to what you're actually implying by the threat. What do you plan to do, exactly?"

As Ferrel explained her story, Leyt sat and listen, not giving any sort of a reply while she talked. A fairly sad expression was on his face, actually. And he wanted to do something to make her feel better, at least, because when other people were sad, they didn't really enjoy his little jokes or teases. And so that made him neutral, and bored. "That's... awful. I don't really know how to reply, honestly," he copied her nervous laughter with his own awkward one. "Other than opening the door, which I am doing now, is there... anything I can do to, uh... help, I guess?" He asked, quickly standing and moving to the door to open it up. He pushed a shoe into the door to prop it open, since he was only in socks at the moment and had no use for them. Once that was finished, he glanced back to her. "Help with the random changes, I mean. Surely there's something you can do to have some control over it, even if its just a little bit."

[Valeska]

Once Ferrell had finished her sad tale, she quickly thought about other things, not wanting to stay on the painful topic for long. She thought back about what Leyt had said earlier when she had burped in front of him. She couldn't believe he'd called her "cute" even though she knew he wasn't being serious. Still, it made her feel disgusted that- Ferrell froze in thought, recognizing what the problem was now. I'm letting him get to me when he pushes all my buttons but I'm not doing a darn thing in getting back at him. Well that's going to change really quickly! Ferrell thought to herself with confidence. She had many a few tricks up her sleeve. Some she just couldn't wait to put into action. Ferrell only wished she had a camera to capture all the upcoming hilarious moments. Oh well. She'd just have to do without one. Ferrell planned on putting her first prank into a action later that night. She was suddenly all jittery from excitement. She knew the perfect prank and one that didn't involve fire. Leyt better not be thinking of striking her first but she made a note to herself to be prepared for anything, just in case.

Ferrell was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard the creak of the front door opening. She stored that information in her mind for later that night, if she chose to sneak into Leyt's cabin while he was fast asleep. With great concentration she was able to catch the last glimpse of Leyt's words. Something about wanting to offer her help or something about believing there must be some way to help control her shifting. Ferrell held back the urge to laugh. The was one way she knew of that gave her some control per her shifting, but it wasn't something she was going to tell Leyt anytime soon. He probably would just use it to his advantage, something Ferrell didn't need at the moment. If he was smart enough, like she thought he was, he would most likely figure it out sooner or later. The secret to having a small control over her shifting was her emotions. Most of the time, if she displayed a strong enough emotion she'd shift forms but not always if she quickly smothered the emotion she had been feeling.

Ferrell cocked her head to the side in a kind of an uncertain position. "There might be one out there. I just don't know about it...yet." Ferrell worded her sentence carefully, making it sound as truthful as she could make it. She hadn't really lied to him but she hadn't told him the full truth either. She had probably already told him too much already. "I'd be careful tonight Leyt if I were you. The wolves are on the prowl." Ferrell barked, giving him a secret warning to watch out for her. Ferrell had just exited the cabin when she came face to face with a three year old buck. And not just any buck, but her pet buck named Thorn. Ferrell stood there in utter shock and surprise to see her companion, besides Leyt out and about. The buck's brown eyes lit up with recognition at having found his friend. Ferrell didn't have time to wonder how he had escaped his pen, and she wasn't about to tell Leyt she had a pet deer either.

Ferrell gave a blood thirsty snarl and lunged towards Thorn with all her strength, wishing him to think her terrifying for once in his life. As expected, Thorn wasted no time in fleeing from the threatening wolf before him. His tail turned up to show a white flag as he thundered off of Leyt's front yard. Ferrell took off after him, obviously not going as fast as him because he had four legs, but still, she kept a pretty good pace with him. Ferrell just prayed Leyt's hunting instincts wouldn't take over, causing him to take up the chase. She already was going to have a hard time convincing Thorn that she wasn't really going to hurt him, let alone protect him from a fit werewolf with muscle, speed, and four working legs on his side.

(Okay I completely left this post open for you to decide on where you're taking Leyt with this. He could go in many different directions. It's up to you. This way your writer's brain can plot and scheme over all the possibilities.)

[exixst]

(Sounds good ^^)

"I'd be careful tonight Leyt if I were you. The wolves are on the prowl," she'd said, leaving him utterly confused. He stood there, a look of hopeless attempts of trying to understand what she was saying on his face. "But... I... I am a wolf. Sort of. Partially, I guess... Ferrell, what are you getting at?" He looked to her, but by the time he'd gotten the words out of his mouth, she was staring at some deer. His initial thought was that she was just hungry, and instincts were taking control. He didn't even think for one moment that she knew it. Not that he really would've cared, he just didn't think she'd actually do something like that. He'd never seen it before, nor had he ever heard her mention anything about it.

And then, suddenly, she took off after it. To him, it sounded as if she meant to tear the thing's throat out. His ears naturally picked up on that sound. He recognized it immediately. It was very similar to the sound that someone would make when they started a chase. Now, Leyt really wasn't all that hungry at moment; he'd just woken up, his stomach wasn't ready to work at the moment. However, his instinct was telling him to chase, anyway. Help out the pack, he was once told. Even if he wasn't benefiting from it, someone else could use the extra pair of eyes and ears.
Also, he assumed that Ferrell was still hungry, considering how she suddenly started after the deer. A rabbit couldn't have been too filling. And he'd been the reason she was still hungry, so he was sorta-kinda in debt to her.

Leyt's body suddenly morphed, locking him down on four legs and a lower height. While the transition took no more than a second or two, and he'd done it countless times before, it still felt weird. A muzzle and tail grew from his body, and dark colored fur sprouted from the pores in his skin. Hands changed into paws and nails into claws, and the bones and muscles in his body shifted and moved, popping into place and stretching to fit in different ways that weren't meant for a human male. His sight sharpened, and suddenly he could smell everything in his house - including some old pair of socks which were, apparently, underneath the cushions of his cot. And he could also hear so much better now. Though, the little fly that was about was really bothersome. He'd have to swat it later.

With a playful little yip bouncing from his lungs, he launched out of the doorways. His paws slapped the earth, bunching up dirt in between his toes. At first moving way awkward, as things were still trying to get used to this form. It was even a little painful to move his legs at first, but after a few slow strides, things felt more natural. Still a little tight, but they'd loosen up in time. Leyt gave his head and neck a shake to free some extra fur that was caught together, and finally he felt the teeth grow in around his lengthened tongue. Those always came in last for some reason for him. They seemed to take the longest to change. When he finally felt 'wolfish' enough, he locked his eyes first on Ferrell, checking for her position and speed, and then next on the deer, which was fleeing for its life. What had it even been doing so close to the cabin in the first place? That didn't normally happen. But maybe it was just hungry and looking for a snack. That was a fully acceptable excuse. Leyt accepted that idea, and then started on his journey to catch up. Working with another wasn't as familiar to him as it used to be, though. He was used to doing things on his own, thus normally had to be on its tail, and cautious of kicking hooves or wild antlers. But now he was trying to figure out her 'plan of attack', or so he thought she had one. Was she planning to trap it in or something, and then take it down from there? Or was she going to simply trip it and make it quick and simple. Ferrell had the speed of a werewolf on her side, though her missing leg couldn't possibly make it easy. Did she even hunt anymore, or did she normally trap her food? He'd have to ask her. Either way, he simply wanted to help her out, in some way to 'redeem' himself through more than an apology.

[Valeska]

Ferrell's heart was beating so fast that she could feel her pulse throughout her entire body. It was thrilling to be on a chase but not when she was chasing her scared pet. She was starting to feel relieved that it sounded like Leyt wouldn't be joining in on the chase, when she heard paws thumping against the forest floor coming towards her. Ferrell held back a groan of annoyance back. She didn't know how long she could keep going at this pace. Her phantom-pain was really bad whenever she ran in her wolf form, causing the rest of her body to slow down. She took in Thorn's speed and the direction he was heading in. If she knew Thorn well enough, she'd guess he was heading back for the safety of his stall. Great! Now he'll give me away. Ferrell ran through all the possibilities in her head as she continued to follow Thorn. Her thought processing was cut short when Leyt ran up beside her. She looked to her right and took in his dark wolf form. He looked really different in wolf form apart from his strong build. When in her wolf form she looked very much the same as he human form except that her eye color changed.

What a mess this has turned out to be! I would understand if Thorn never wanted to trust me again. Thorn seemed to be tiring by the way he started to slow down. Ferrell was slowing down as well without knowing it. To Ferrell's horror, she realized her cabin was just around the bend of trees ahead of them. Ferrell was running out of options and fast! Leyt was still beside her, but he seemed to be powering up to attack Thorn. Ferrell knew it was now or never if she was going to do anything to help out her pet. Ferrell gave a loud bark as she lunged at Leyt, aiming to bowl him over. She rolled around in the dirt growling, as she tried to make sure Leyt didn't get back up and chase down Thorn. Ferrell's head hit the ground with a hard thud, leaving her head throbbing. "Don't hurt him! He's my pet okay? And no, I would not appreciate you turning him into a deer burger." Ferrell added in all seriousness but also so it would fit Leyt's language. She hated fighting in her wolf after she'd lost her arm. Ninety-nine percent of the time she was the one who ended on the ground, under the control of her attacker. Ferrell looked up at Leyt's towering form over her, trying to slow down her racing heart. "You sure have a gift at pissing me off. You know that? Maybe you should be nominated for the most annoying male to ever walk the face of the earth award!" Ferrell teased, then let her brown head fall back against the dirt, her blue eyes closed in thought.. She was not at all aware that she was in the wolf submission position with her tail tucked tight between her legs and with her brown throat exposed to her opponent.

[exixst]

Leyt had been completely 'in the zone', when suddenly Ferrel barreled into him. At first he thought she'd stumbled, but then he heard a growl from her, and realized it was intentional. He lost his footage for a moment from her momentum slamming into his side, but managed to at least not break anything from the tumble. Surprised and caught off guard, he snarled out a warning, initially thinking she was actually attacking him in a violent manner, and not just trying to defend her pet. Fur bristled and teeth bared out of defensive instinct, he stayed that way until she gave him her explanation.

"Your... pet?" He repeated, simmering down to the point where he was pretty much calm again. His tail, which was raised, fell down to a natural position, and his muscles relaxed out of their tense state. "Okay then, I get it; we all get lonely. But then why did you start chasing him?" He asked, cocking his head to the side out of curiosity. He was panting lightly from the excitement and sudden raise in pulse that had happened. He liked those kinds of things, but didn't normally expect them to end so abruptly. "Nominated? Honey, you're behind the times. I already won that one, and then some," his eyes grinned, though the facial muscles of the wolf form wouldn't allow him to smirk like he normally did, thus he just had to swish his tail once or twice to compensate. That was when he noticed he noticed he pose, and then grew even more confused. "What are you doing? We weren't actually fighting, you know," he reminded, stepping away from her to give her room to stand. He didn't shift back yet. Mostly because it was draining for him to do so too often. Plus the rate of his heart might've been too much for that of a human's, or at least the change would be hard to adapt to in such a body without him passing out. So, instead, he just plopped his rump down. "By the way, how did I piss you off this time? I mean, I know I do that quite often, but I don't know what I did wrong this time." He paused for a moment, still getting used to the changes in senses. "Oh, and by the way, you might want to go get you, erm... pet, before he runs off. Unless you've got him trained or something."

[Valeska]

“What pose?” Ferrell asked in confusion before she realized what she had been doing. She rolled over onto her left side so she might be able to get up easier. She stood up too fast, causing herself to nearly fall over again. After she regained her balance, she shook herself to get the dirt off her and to shake herself into focusing on what was happening. What am I doing? Have I done that so much that I no longer see the need to win a fight? Ferrell was really confused by her own actions, which is something that didn’t happen very often.

Ferrell’s hackles bristled at hearing all of Leyt’s…questions. “What is this? Twenty questions?” Ferrell barked. She perked her ears to see if she could hear Thorn make it back to his stall. To her great relief, she heard the clip-clopping of hooves on wood. A huff of air emerged from her lungs with the whole calming down process. Her black nose twitched, sniffing the air as she thought about her answers to Leyt’s questions. Her blue eyes locked on to Leyt’s eyes before she spoke. “Yes, I have a pet buck. His name is Thorn and I rescued him as a baby from a mountain cat. I took care of him before he was old enough to be independent. I released him back into his habitat but he had grown too attached to me so the best thing I could do was keep him as my pet and protect him.” She scuffed her paw against the dirt, head down, contemplating what she was going to say in response to his next question. “I chased him because I knew if I didn’t act quick enough he would lean down and kiss my face. I don’t know what you think, but to me that is downright unnatural. Besides I believe deep down he knew I wasn’t going to hurt him. Personally I think he learned a lesson today. You don’t go up to any wolf and expect them to be friendly." Ferrell’s brown tail wagged from side to side at the impossible picture she had created in her mind.

Ferrell then turned her sharp gaze on Leyt. She glared at him a few seconds with her teeth barred, then turned her scarred back to him, heading in the direction of her cabin. She motioned with a lazy sweep of her tail to follow if he so chose. “I’ll let you answer that last question yourself. You’re smart and if it is really that challenging, then think about it from my perspective. Then get back to me on that.” Instead of heading towards the actual cabin, she led him over to a dead tree. At the base of the trunk lay a big hole in the earth that had her scent all over it. She looked over her shoulder at Leyt before proceeding by entering the hole. Once inside the hole, it widened into a long passageway going in all directions. Every so often, the passage would even widen further to give room for a wolf sized body to move around. The deeper they ventured in the passages the darker it got. Luckily werewolves had keen eyesight in darkness. Ferrell continued forward with confidence, not bothering to check and see if Leyt was still behind her. After what felt like a lot of going around in circles, did they finally arrive at their destination. Before Ferrell was a heavy round wooden trap door which took all Ferrell’s strength to open it. She gave it a big hard shove with her left shoulder, causing the door to open up to show off her small two room cabin.

Ferrell was panting hard by the time they had emerged from the passage. She automatically closed the door by pushing a button next to the door with the help of her nose. The door sealed with a loud thud. Ferrell nodded with satisfaction, then turned to head over to a water station next to her kitchen. “Thirsty?” Ferrell asked Leyt. She dunked her snout into the refreshing cold water, not wasting anytime in squelching her thirst. When her thirst was no longer, she made her way over to one of two couches with steps next to them. Ferrell climbed the steps with ease, then laid down on the comfortable cushions. “Wolf proof and three legged proof,” Ferrell joked with droopy eyes. If she wasn’t careful she might just fall asleep.

[exixst]

"Well, we can play Twenty Questions, if you'd like. But you and I both know I'm terrible at guessing games. We've gone over this. Quite recently, actually," he answered her sarcastic question with his own humorously-serious reply. His eyes sparkled with a naturally mischievous look that he wore often, just from those few sentences he'd spoken. He liked being more of a joker, rather than some serious bum. He wasn't good at being serious, as he'd made obvious. "That was nice of you. I didn't know you were the type to keep a pet. Well, I'll hesitate next time before going after a deer. I'll try to, erm... smell you on it? I don't know. I'll try not to kill your pet. There." He nodded once in a way to basically end the statement. Honestly, he had no idea what to do. What would happen if he did kill her pet? Then she'd really be pissed at him, probably. And a simple 'I'm sorry' probably wouldn't get him very far in that case. And he had no idea how to know which was which. Maybe he could just smell it, and see if it smelled in any way similar to Ferrell. Perhaps that would work. Hopefully. Guess and check wasn't going to get him too far, though.

"You were worried about a deer kissing you?" He chuckled lightly, wanting to smirk, but not really able to. "Did you think I would get jealous or something?" He teased lightly, purposely putting a playful tone in his voice so she would, hopefully, know he was kidding. "But, yeah, if you hadn't had shoved me - which was not very nice, by the way. You could've hurt me - I probably would've bit him. A good thing he won't walk up to one and try to play nice, then," he said, his shoulders twitching in the attempt of a shrug. He was too used to doing human movements, so didn't really know how to work his wolf body as well. He just made for a big, awkward wolf that stood out in more ways than one.

"What?!" He yelped, ears sliding back for a moment in confusion, though his upper lip curled slightly in annoyance, and also out of instinct, since she growled at him. "That's not fair," he stood and followed her at the motion, however, partially wanting to simply figure out what in the world he did wrong. "Is it because I tried to attack your pet? I was just doing what I was taught, y'know. I didn't know he was yours!" He whined pathetically, but slipped into the hole anyway, suddenly feeling quite vulnerable by being surrounded in an unfamiliar place. It made him want out, honestly, where he knew where he was going. This way was new to him. But he followed a few paces behind Ferrell, keeping his eyes out for anything suspicious that could jump out and slit his throat. Paranoia? Perhaps.

When they got inside, Leyt was both relieved and terrified. This was not what he was prepared for, honestly, but he enjoyed the opportunity for more space. He didn't like being cramped. Being under a roof was bothersome enough when he was so used to being outdoors constantly. At least he didn't have to live in the middle of civilization. Then he'd probably die from the culture shock. He scrambled out, holding back the temptation to shake himself off and spray dirt everywhere from when he'd brushed up against a wall or something. So he settled with being dirty, and simply sat down. "No, thanks. I don't think you'd appreciate my slobber in your drinking water," he replied, "I'm trying to be polite. Bear with me here. This isn't easy."