<blockquote class="uncited"><div>"I... I am sorry, Miss Sherani. I am not used to life out in the wilderness... and after all the walking..."</div></blockquote><br/>"Aw c'mon, it wasn't that far-"  Sherani begins. Try as she might, though, she can't find it in herself to stay upset with Ureck, or even muster a half-decent ire. Looking at his hurt expression, it's clear that the collie is already beating himself up pretty well- and hey, he did TRY to stand watch, even if he botched like some kind of...<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">City slicker. Right.</span>Sherani's shoulders slump in defeat as her own share of guilt finally sinks in. As able-minded as he may act, Ureck's just a cub when it comes to the Falteen lifestyle: no outdoor experience beyond a walled garden, and no more stamina than it'd take to hoof it cross-town on a paved road. Hell, the poor guy's probably never even slept outside before... expecting him to last even half a watch after an all-day hike was like expecting a newly weaned cub to lead the hunt- it just wasn't going to happen.<br/><br/>With a sigh of resignation, the tigress walks over and gives Ureck a heart clap on the shoulder. "Look, it's no biggie," she says. "You tried, and you did okay- well, maybe not 'okay' okay, but nobody got eaten, so no harm done this time. If ya wanna make up for it, c'mon; I'll teach ya how to take apart a camp."<br/><br/>~Several minutes later~<br/><br/>"... And then we toss in some<a class="postlink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malabathrum">malabar</a>to cover up that nasty smell," Sherani explains, giving the handful of deep green leaves a good rubbing between her gloved hands before sprinkling the crushed remains to sprinkle over the campfire. "Actually, anything really strong works- you can toss onions if ya got 'em, or nepeta. Or drag a carcass on top- that'll really throw 'em off."<br/><br/>The shifter gives her leaf-stained glove an experimental sniff, and jerks back coughing in surprise. "Oh yeah... that's potent," she says. "Nobody's followin' us once they get a whiff of that, lemme tell ya. Alright, that oughta do it. Lil-"<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>*TELEVORE SOUND*</div></blockquote><br/>Sherani turns toward Lilium just in time to see thee kitsune's stomach magicking itself full, bloating from washboard-flat to predatory paunch in a matter of seconds. It's a fortunate thing she was already in a crouch from covering the fire- it's less distance to fall as Lilium's trick sends her tumbling backwards with a less than insightful cry of, "GUH?!"<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Akiada wrote:</cite> "GREETINGS!" </div></blockquote><br/>And then she does an encore performance for good measure, collapsing back onto her rear as Lilium's stomach bellows a greeting -<span style="font-style: italic"> no, it's not the stomach,</span>she corrects herself. That would be silly. It must be whoever's inside addressing the campsite. Which is still pretty damn strange, but a lot better than a talking belly.<br/><br/>Sherani listens in wide-eyed astonishment as Lilium's belly guest makes a surprisingly calm and confident argument for release, and Lilium's own similarly reassured (if somnewhat less reassuring) counter-offer. Whenever the mystery meal speaks, the tigress strains her ears to listen, trying to match the voice with one of the local clans. However, between the muffling of Lilium's skin and the gurgle of her impatient stomach, it's impossible to make out anything of use. Cautiously, Sherani shuffles toward Lilium and gives the kitsune's stomach a quick poke to gain the speaker's attention. (And to confirm that her eyes and ears aren't playing some really creative trick on her.)<br/><br/>"Hey, buddy?" she asks. "I dunno who you are but, um... if you're from around here, which clan are ya with?"<br/><br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Sherani finally has a character portrait that's not a Gaia avatar! Thanks to Nyuu over at FA for the lovely commissions!<br/><a class="postlink" href="http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4407112/">Cool and confident, with a nice tush x3  The one on the left has the best, hair, in my opinion.</a><br/><a class="postlink" href="http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4407179/">A more detailed pic, showing off her sexy barbarian curves.</a></div></div></div>