#rolly*

[klodas]

I JUST FOUND A WORM AND A SNAIL TOGETHER IN MY BACKYARD THEYRE BEST FRIENDS

[ghoulluck]

Coté stared at the three animals with a mildly suspicious squint as she pointed at the otter with her cereal spoon. The pretty cockatoo that occasionally visited the flat sqwaked as it settled on the balcony railing as if it was confirming her still half asleep muttering. It had been visiting almost every day, although the pink haired artist did feel comforted by its presence, she was none the wiser about the god’s disguise.

 Echo spread out his wings as he hopped along the railing to the plastic table and pecked at the cereal as he watched Coté deal with the situation at hand. He hadnt thrown the otter into the mix, but had a good idea of who had. His brother had a terrible sense of humor. She put her spoon behind her ear squat down as the creature dragged it’s little hind legs to sniff her over. They sized each other up mutually as she picked it up much like she would rolly. She didn’t know the first thing about otters. 

Coté put it back down on the cement. “Don’t tell me you’re hungry,” she stated as she stood to take her cereal back at echo who ruffled his feathers at her, “you ate like half my cereal.” Taking the spoon back from behind her ear, she sat back on the lounge chair to watch the animals eat their own breakfast, or rather all eat dog food since they all seemed excited about that. Echo picked out a fruit loop here and there and occasionally coté would give him an orange one because she didn’t like them. 

The morning was quiet, dawn still hadn’t exactly cracked so she chucked it up to lack of sleep. She didn’t sleep well. Coté would sleep maybe two or three hours, wake up from whatever she had been dreaming of and go to sleep again in eight more hours only to resume what had been playing in her head. She didn’t have dreams, not the plural kind, she had what she called a story. It was one fixed dream that kept going. It hadn’t changed from when she was little.

 Coté called it her lack of imagination. It was probably why couldn’t get a job or keep it. Echo’s claws padded as he shimmied his way under her arm to drink the milk she had left standing. As long as she remembered, animals were just drawn to her, so this didn’t seem too weird. In fact, she flipped out her camera for a selfie. “Say I’m a pretty bird.” Echo immediately sprang his head up as he screen in delight, “I’m a pretty bird!”

Coté laughed a little. "Someone must miss you,” she stated as she put the camera down. “Yes!” It’s intelligent response amused her some. She figured if it was evolved enough to learn speech, it was evolved enough to think for itself too. “Bye!” Just like that, she was alone and only one animals extra of what she had started with. Today was going to be a long day. “Coffeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.”

[ghoulluck]

Coté’s feet sank into the warm mud. The call of birds hung in the air above her head. She looked up at the trees to try to see the obscured light. They were packed so densely together, it was hard to make out where one tree ended and another started. The intense smell of rotting foliage and rain filled her nostrils. Where she was, she had no idea. She separated herself from the tree she had climbed down from before she spotted it. 

Ever since she was little, she dreamt about this thing. It stood in the darker shadows. She drew it constantly, mostly it’s hazy glowing eyes peering out of a stag’s head. It didn’t ever seem to see her. Or acknowledge her. She simply had the opportunity to follow it if she could keep up. She moved to see what it was looking at. Hunter’s. They looked like the people depicted in the Mesopotamia. She didn’t quite understand what they were doing in this jungle. Every time she rejoined this creature, it went to where the hunt was the most enthralling. It was motivated in equal parts materialism and sadism. 

Coté sat slowly by its side as she noted it wasn’t moving. It was watching, so she climbed up to watch too. “Why them?” It didn’t answer. Coté tried to focus instead on their costume. It was interesting to see the various tones and jewels they wore. If she could place them, she would have put them in the early AD period. The air blew on the sweltering grass and like that, the people dissipated like ghosts. Her brows knit together. She had never seen what she thought a potential meal was disappear. 

She slid down the tree, her feet catching the side of the bark to lean against the lopsided lower branches. It was still looking at where the people were. It gave a grunt and it turned its head almost towards her only to go past her. “Hey wait up!!” She chased after it only to realize she was sitting up in the couch to scratch the back of her neck hard as she stared at the wall. 

Her dreams centered around this thing. She fished in her bag to find her phone for the time. She had been asleep for about four hours, which was rather fair considering how little she slept. Rolly was curled into a little ball in her lap. Roger was on his back snoring on the floor. The otter–? She looked around for it to find it on her pillow curled like it had surrounded her head. She pursed her mouth at the mysterious animal. 

Where it had come from was a mystery. She was sure she was just seeing it and it didn’t actually exist. Since she was little, she knew she wasn’t exactly in the right mind. The saying went that people didn’t know they were crazy, but Coté knew growing up on the reservation something was wrong with her. Probably because she was mixed and had dealt with hatred even within her own families. 

Eventually, coté had become a smudged out mess even she couldn’t discern. She had no sense of self, only the intense sense of preservation for others. She felt the back of her neck warm and this time she touched it with the pad of her fingers to see tiny spots of blood. Coté sighed as she laid back to look at the ceiling, willing herself to sleep to see more of this thing’s life.

[ghoulluck]

Roger gave a gruff and low bark. Michi sprang up to sit almost instantly. Her head was still spinning from last night, although more from the expirience then the alchol. Looking over at the dog, he sat patiently. Her brows knit at the sweet animal and she looked over at Uma and echo. 

Echo was snoring rather loudly, probably due to the exhausting night and Uma was half draped over him and her other hand still tangled in michi’s long hair. She smiled a little as she rubbed at her eyes sleepily. She checked the time. Five in the morning. Carefully untangling her hair, she slipped out of bed to grab a satin robe and the dog plotted out of the room ahead of her. When the goddess returned, she lifted Roger into the bed. Rolly had found his way unto the bed and was sleeping in the gap of echo’s head and neck. Roger settled by Uma and she took a quick photo before climbing into bed to give them both soft pecks. It was probably still too early to wake them up. Sighing to herself, she went to the kitchen to start cleaning the mess they had left. It was seven when she was done cleaning and she had started on breakfast. She had put on coffee and made migas with the left over tortillas from last night. Checking the time she came to the bed to gently rouse them with kisses. “Amores–” each of them got the same amount of soft kisses, “despierta (wake up).” cool dark blue tendrils of her personal magic waved out to ease them from their dream lands. Echo felt her call and his brown eyes opened with a groan. He nuzzled rolly who made a sound of discontent from being woken up. She rubbed his rounded scaled back as apology and the animal rolled until he was on his stomach and crawled across the bodies in the bed to snuggle with his warm wrinkly friend.