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DRUG USE

Hallucinations

Yep Deli trips on acid and it isn't a good time!

Deli

One of the many empty vials that Deli carried around in their bag had found a new use in the last couple of cycles. Where it had once held some kind of colored paint, it had been washed out and now held a grayish white powder with a strange, faint prismatic sheen. It was the result of...a lot of work. A lot of casting the same spell over and over again and collecting all they could without inhaling it themselves. Lots of careful, tedious work for something that might not even turn out to be worth it.

Of course, they'd had times where the spell had failed on them and hit them back. It had never been fun. But it had gotten them thinking - what if it was? What if they'd carefully cast so that it was only the good hallucinations - the fun ones - that came from the released spores? Well, that could definitely be a good way to pass the time!

That's the train of thought that had led them to this point, sitting in the window of one of the broken buildings in Orion, carefully sprinkling a bit of their powder onto their hand. They held their breath, lifting it to inspect carefully, a little bit of anxiety in the pit of their stomach, but then they grinned, pushed the anxiety away, and leaned forward to take it all in one breath.

With the spores inhaled, they leaned back, hoping that they hadn't made a mistake.

It only took a few moments for the effects to hit them and...oh yeah, they'd made a mistake. The world was tilting, the window was melting beneath them. There was a roaring sound in one of their ears and with a shout of surprise, they turned to get away, falling from their crumling oasis and falling straight into molten...something. It was silver and shiny and moved like water but thicker and where their skin connected to it, shocks were sent through their nerves. Hands were reaching out to grasp at them and they pulled away, fear lacing their every atom like a potent poison, but there were too many, it was dragging them around, throwing them against giant monsters that laughed and warped and clawed at them, sinking talons deep into their body and ripping them inside out until everything was exposed, every vessel, every bone, every sin, every laugh that was spilling from their jaws and they clawed at the ground, ripping at the cursed flux that wouldn't stop holding them down, wouldn't stop making them thrash around to get away get away from it all but it wouldn't end, they were lost they were lost they couldn't escape they were disintegrating into nothing they were melting the world was falling apart around them

All of a sudden, they came to with a gasp, lying on their back at some...different spot in Orion. Definitely not where they'd been a few minutes ago. They felt weak and tired and they couldn't move, the lingering feeling of whatever that strange liquid had been still echoing in their mind.

Well...fuck.

@Archimedes

The sight of the multi-colored, clothed dog-creature rolling around on the ground, looking very much to be in a horrified world of their own, gave Archimedes pause. It could hardly do anything else; Deli appeared to be trying to extricate themselves, for a time, from the very ground itself.

Nonplussed, the rat--sitting upright atop the head of his Golden Charger--watched until it (whatever it was) seemed to wear away. Then, he urged the snake to slither closer.

Deli might have been forgiven for assuming this was more of the hallucination: a rat riding a snake over toward them. But Archimedes wasn't approaching for no reason, no. He was wondering what had happened to them; he was wondering if it might, somehow, be useful.

"Pardon me," he called over, dropping down a little to perch more stably as the snake moved. He tried to keep his tone neutral and open, his body language unthreatening, though of course he was hardly of a size to be intimidating to begin with. "But may I ask... what was that?"

@Deli

Deli

Deli did, in fact, wonder if maybe it wasn't over after all when they turned to see a...rat. Riding a snake. And talking. They blinked a few times, trying to chase away the last of that particularly bad trip, but the intense sense of fear had left them. So this was probably real. Okay, so, a rat riding a snake wasn't the weirdest thing that they'd seen, definitely not, and they were honestly in no place to question it.

"Oh hey," they rasped, voice a little strained but with their usual casual tone. "Uh...failed spell? How ridiculous did I look this time?" They grinned wide, thinking of all the unfortunate victims before of their more offensive uses of that spell. "Probably rolling all over the ground, yelling at people and shit...never know what you'll get!"

With a sudden need to be off the ground, Deli pushed themselves up and into a sitting position, head immediately protesting loudly at the movement. They brought a paw up to rub at the side of their skull, nursing an incoming migraine that usually followed a lot of really poorly cast magic. They looked down at the rat, still grinning, although the smile didn't quite reach their eyes. "What of it? You lookin to help or somethin'? Don't need it. Doing it to myself." Oh they sure hoped this rat wasn't about to give them some kind of lecture about magic safety or 'oh but you're hurting yourself!' because that would be really annoying of them.

@Archimedes

He paused to consider the questions, lifting his forepaws to straighten out his whiskers as he did so. Dark eyes remained trained on Deli, considering.

"Not ridiculous," he assured them smoothly; he wasn't really judgmental like that. Maybe someone else would have mocked them, but Archimedes... he was "Interested," he settled on. "It was magic, then?"

That could align with his goals. Perhaps. Would others willingly pay to have... whatever that was, done to them? He mused over this. "Was it particularly unpleasant, may I ask? Archimedes, by the way," he added. He tried to keep his tone fascinated and polite. To sound curious--which he was--but not yet ambitious.

Whether that would have any effect, he didn't know; he didn't know this stranger whatsoever, so whether it would insult or reassure, he had no idea.

"And you inflict it on yourself?"

@Deli

Deli

Deli snorted. "Interested, huh? Was it that much of a show?" Well, it probably was. They'd probably looked like they were trying to claw the ground apart. But at least they weren't getting a lecture. In fact, the rat actually seemed...well, yeah, interested. And Deli really didn't have any reason to withhold what they were doing. There was, after all, no rules against drugs.

"Unpleasant? Yeah this time it was. Trying to make it not, but its hard to control. It's not always, though. Sometimes its nice!" They rubbed at their head a bit more, as if it would do anything to stop the migraine. They closed their eyes for a moment as their head throbbed. "Yeah. Not making it bad on purpose though. Who the fuck would do that? Nah, I'm trying for like. Good feelings. A nice trip out of your body kinda thing. It's easier when the magic is coming straight from me, I can just intend a good trip, but when its been outside for a while, well...you never know what you'll get!" One eye opened and stared at the rat before the smile spread again, splitting their face in their signature toothy grin.

They raised a paw and opened it towards Archimedes. "Wanna try?" They wouldn't actually cast anything until they got confirmation (if any was coming) but the sparkle in their eye perhaps gave away their not-so-pure intent.

@Archimedes

He considered, briefly. "Yes, actually--in a moment." Something seemed to hold him rapt--some specific point he was fascinated by. He leaned in, a little, then hopped from his Charger, taking a couple little ratty-bounds toward Deli.

"It may sound odd, but I happen to be gathering a few individuals that you might find... good company. Likeminded Gembounds," he explained, pausing at a polite distance and sitting upright to peer at the strange dog-creature. "Those who utilize toxins, or hallucinogenics... things like that. One plans to grow a garden for these things." He paused, sitting back, passing forepaws through his whiskers in a gesture he often used as he thought things over. "But it strikes me that if these are pleasurable... and if some of them are dangerous... there may well be buyers for such services. Buyers who might pay in gemstones, in food, in services of their own."

He paused, studying Deli for a moment; he didn't plan to give his entire sales pitch right now, but he felt he'd mostly said enough. "We'll be meeting in a few days' time in the tunnel between the Palace room, Cepheus, and the snow room, Ursa, if you are interested."

Another pause, and he moved a little closer, giving his words some time to sink in. Then he tilted his head, trying to gauge Deli's intentions just a little. But aside from a little sparkle in the canid's eye, he couldn't make out any tells--no signs of malice, and none of kindness, either. They held their intentions, Archimedes thought, quite close to their chest.

"As for that," and he nodded to Deli's offered hand, "Hit me."

He tried, at least, to sound confident--and hoped that Deli understood the phrase to be metaphorical.

@Deli

Deli

Deli quirked a brow at the rat's offer. Likeminded Gembound? Toxins and hallucinogens? Sounded like a group up to no good. Their fingers twitched for a moment, paw retracting just an inch as they considered the offer. Well...they had been bored lately. And they bet they would have a good time, making more of this stuff and with others to help! And maybe it would be a good place to sell their...art. And other things they made (mainly the paints with less then favorable effects).

They stared at this rat, suddenly suspicious. It did seem a little too good to be true, huh? "What was your name again?" Who the hell was this guy anyways? He was literally a rat, too - and he was gonna be gathering gembound together?!

Well, Deli reminded themselves about the little cult that had worshiped a literal snail. What, you wanna be part of the snail cult now? Okay, it wasn't the same, but similar tiny leader. Except the rat was more composed, better with his tongue, even if the offer had come out of nowhere. And besides, it wasn't like Deli had much to lose by checking them out, at the very least.

"Hm, sounds like fun! I got all sorts of goodies in here," he patted the ragged satchel at his side, which clinked at his touch, "and up here." He tapped the side of his head. "Could be worth a shot. As long as you're not gonna be tellin me what to do every minute! I'm not one for cages, you see." He chuckled, as if this was a funny, inside joke and then held his paw back out.

In the split second that Archimedes reached forward, Deli decided not to purposefully make it bad. Of course, he couldn't exactly decide what the rat saw, but he channeled better intentions through the magic, to give him a more pleasurable experience rather then a terrifying one. It was the least he could do, since Archimedes had been so nice to offer him a spot in his little group.

A large puff of grayish spores suddenly erupted from his hand. It was strong, very strong, and would probably send Archimedes into some very real (and hopefully very nice) full-sensory hallucinations.

@Archimedes

It certainly was overly convenient but Archimedes could hardly admit as much. It almost seemed like the unseen hand of some strange fate had miraculously pushed them together.

Funny, that.

"Archimedes," he answered at once, his tone a blend of magnanimous generosity and matter-of-fact pleasantry. He rather sounded like some benevolent school professor in that moment, for whatever reason.

"I am not one to micromanage," he answered the second comment mildly, "I think I'd only ensure that those who work together toward our goals don't actively... hinder one another. That would be counterproductive--I'm certain we will make enemies." He sounded amused, now--and then he took a sniff of what it was that Deli offered.

At first, he wondered what was meant to happen. He also wondered why Deli's eyes were now changing color--those brilliant green irises flashing with the same neon pink that touched their ears and nose. He wondered, too, how it was that Deli made those same colors cascade down their black forelimbs, flashing at their fingertips.

Whatever else Archimedes wondered was lost to the moment, but his reactions were very, very clear. His bulging rat's eyes went glassy, and he took two staggering steps forward before tipping stiffly from the Charger, falling over. The serpent, as if alarmed, jerked its head down to stare at him--forked tongue flicking rapidly, its what the hell? snake thought process very clear. For a moment it might have looked like the snake was about to eat the rat.

Archimedes lay on his back, at first limp and then twitching. His head twisted around to peer half-blindly up at Deli. "When does the rock-ship arrive?" he asked, quite clearly.

Then a little foam flecked from the corners of his jaws, and--like a dog asleep--his limbs went through the motions of running.

The Charger backed hastily away.

Archimedes let out a wistful sigh. "Thank you, neon dog. I have always wanted to sail the peppermint seas. A FROG!" he abruptly cried--and then his eyes slid shut.

His breathing became even for a few minutes, as though he'd fallen asleep mid-hallucination.

...Eventually, if Deli waited around, his eyes would open but for now? The rat was lost in the power of Deli's magic.

Perhaps Deli could draw on him.

@Deli

Deli

Once Deli was sure that Archimedes had breathed in some of the spores, they sat back to enjoy the show, chuckling at the rat's funny little movements and mutterings, wondering on what a "peppermint sea" was. Water that tasted like peppermint? A sea of peppermint leaves? Maybe they would try to go there the next time they breathed the spores.

Once they realized that Archimedes had fallen asleep mid-trip, they slapped their knee and cackled loudly. It must have been such a delightful journey, then, for him to just doze off in the middle of it. His dreams were probably filled with candy colors and nice feelings. Would he wake up groggy or refreshed?

Either way, there was now a wonderful opportunity. A completely passed out rat before them and lots of colors at their side. They flipped open their bag, pulled out a few choice colors, and got to work.

Around the rat's nose they carefully painted a black mustache. They had to lift his head a bit to get to the other side, careful not to wake him. Around his eyes they softly pressed circles of their toxic swirl, like glasses of hallucinogenic colors. And down their spine went a line of carrion green, the obnoxious smell already making Deli's nose twitch with disgust, and it might even be strong enough to wake him up, but they'd done enough damage as it were.

That would be hard to reach to clean off. Haha!

Work complete, they leaned back and picked up a pebble, tossing it methodically as they waited for Archimedes to wake up and see his makeup job.

@Archimedes

He came awake slowly, legs twitching, and his eyes were wide open before he was actually anywhere near conscious again. The entire time, the Golden Charger--experiencing his hallucinations and then dreams along the link, despite being fully awake and not infected with spores--lurked wholly motionless some three feet off, except for its tongue. That tongue indicated intense something from the Lesser snake--it was constantly flicking in and out, the serpent staring off at nothing.

Archimedes groaned.

Slowly, he rolled fully upright, blinking, and looked around. His eyes settled on Deli, his nose working in confusion.

"Ahh-... that was. Intense," he began, voice cracking. And perhaps he still saw a little something; colors and flashes, maybe, but milder than before, because he shook himself a little before continuing. "And where did you say this was from-" A pause, nose working harder, as he sat up a little. "What is that... odor? Was that from me?" He turned, sniffing; it was strong, if drying now, and seemed to come from his own back..?

He could not, of course, see the rings around his eyes or the like--until he turned to check on the Charger, and saw himself (in utter confusion) through its eyes. "I seem to have been. Changed," he said flatly, and glanced toward Deli. "...Is that your doing, or part of the... ahh, experience?"

What a polite way to phrase it.

@Deli