He lurches through the streets. No - the streets are lurching, he himself goes more upright than he ever did, that's right, it's those damn, lurching, blurred streets, this damn lurching world. And now, this world does a 90 degrees turn and all of a sudden, the street is sticking right at his face, how ridiculous. Everything is upside down.


"Darai."

Huh, Darai? Who? Darai is nobody.

"Darai...hey, Darai. Schahin."

He listens up. Schahin is someone. Him.

The world doesn't move a single bit to get itself back to the right position again; so it's up to him to stand up and - fuck, do these bones hurt.

Then - hands, which touch his face, covering it with a sudden warmth, hands, who gently examine his body. Ou ou ou.

"What...are you doing here", he faintly mumbles. Nothing that could surprise him. Exactly. His falconet girl is here, of course. Right on the street, right in this city, right within the lights, illuminated with greens and blues and neon light and violets and that fucking UV-light which he cannot see and most likely, she also glows in the most ardent infrared colours.
What he sees is slate grey and ivory white and with his flickering tongue, he can taste the traces of feathers, coat, tongue, hands, legs and, damn it, Gemma, mmmh. What are colours anyway? Those are what real smells are.

"I was being busy here."

"What a coincidence. Me too. Well, and certain circumstances led to a nexus of - Godess, I sound like Sesh, just listen. Circumstances, issues. Oh, wait: Situational incidences."

"Darai..."

"Alright, alright. Some shit led to some other shit, just shit-circumstances..."

"You drank." Yes, for example.

"I drank? Honey, there is a difference between drinking and drinking and I just drank. Oh, fuck." The sense of his words literally fly away as soon as they leave his lips.

He gets a notion of his drunkenness suddenly vanishing with lightning speed, making space for returning...sobriety. he already awaits the misery kicking in, lodging itself into his thoughts, but no, how could it: Falcon eyes are looking at his. His falconet is there. There is no shit fucked up enough in this world that couldn't be all healed by his falconet.

"You weren't there, you weren't at home", he says, "a stupid twit without his falconet is only a stupid twit, didn't you know that?"

"But a Schahin is always a Schahin." Her smile is serene and sad and desperate and full of love, all at once; then, she swoops down on his grim, black mouth and he pulls her close, pressing his lips against her wild and hungry beak.

He still holds her, after they have separated from each other again, bleeding and heavily breathing; then, his undamaged hand claws her collar.

"Listen, spontaneous idea. I know a nice little hotel, not far from here - now, stop giving me that look, one night's stay I can rent just fine and won't kill my wallet! - like, for some dirty sex within some nice atmosphere. Well?"

She thinks a bit.

"Ah...I'd rather have some dirty sex within some dirty atmosphere."

"So you mean home?"

"Home". She puts her arm around his waist. "Take me home, Darai."

"Yes." He pulls her close and entangles her with his tail. "Come with me, my falconet."
~

Daraiphios and Velocitas.