Today  Rubberbutt.exe is enthralled by an old coin thanks to  Caou's creativity

6. Pendulum

The latex werewolf rolled the dull brass disc around in his hands, letting it slip between his viscous fingers as he formed them before sealing the gaps in his liquescent hands again. It was just a large, old looking coin, the features of which were worn away by time to the point that it was impossible to tell its original value. Still, it looked rather appealing. The letters and numericals were eroded enough to the point that they looked foreign, ancient even. Finding nothing particularly interesting about it, Caou was prepared to toss the piece of junk and be done with it. That was before he heard the sound of Zephyr behind him.
“Hey Caou!” Before the werewolf could even turn around, he felt the rubber shark-like creature collide with him from behind and wrap two lithe arms around his waist affectionately. Anyone else might have drawn a defensive response from the dripping canine, but not Zephyr. The embrace warmed him, and Caou raised a claw up to rest it on his mate’s hands, returning the affection.
“What’s up?” beamed Zephyr with a smile, pulling away from the hug. Caou turned to face the unmistakeable visage of his companion; deep, black rubber colouring most of his aquatic looking form, only pronounced by brilliant orange radiating from his hands, eyes, horns and claw looking markings on his upper limbs.

“Not a whole lot; found this coin,” mused Caou. He held the brass object up for Zephyr to see, expecting him to be equally unimpressed. But awe and wonder infected the shark’s expression quickly as he inspected its every facet; unable to make out the inscriptions on it and letting his imagination run wild with possibilities.
“Where’d you find that,” beamed the rubber shark.
“Some old box,” the werewolf shrugged. Zephyr meanwhile still hadn’t taken his gaze off of the dull coin, transfixed by Caou could only guess what. He had to admit, the shark’s interest was infectious, but not necessarily in a way that roused his own interest.
“But it is pretty interesting, huh?” said Caou, holding it in his hand at head height for the two of them. Just as expected, Zephyr’s eyes follow it up, craning his head back a little for the object whilst trying to nod. There was a pause before a strand of thick latex extended down from Caou’s fingers, still holding the coin firmly and letting it dangle just below Zephyr’s chin. Again, the shark’s head followed the coin without breaking eye contact.
“Stop you dork, I’m trying to get a good look at it,” Zephyr giggled playfully.

“Then watch. I just thought this would make for a better show.” With very subtle motions, Caou began to make the coin sway side to side almost imperceptibly. Then, it picked up momentum, swinging a little faster until it had found a steady arc moving left and right in front of the shark’s face. Zephyr’s bright orange eyes followed the coin loyally as it swung, matching the rhythm perfectly.
“What are you…doing?” asked Zephyr, words catching for a moment in his attentive state.
“Want me to stop?” Caou responded rhetorically with a smirk. The shark remained silent, out of stubbornness or because he’d glossed over the question, Caou wasn’t quite sure. But his grin only grew wider as he watched Zephyr’s gleeful expression drop into one of deep focus. Glowing orange shark teeth were exposed as his jaw fell slack and hung ajar; Zephyr had been caught by the werewolf’s performance perfectly.

“That’s it, watch it swing, watch it sway,” said Caou, now egging his enthralled friend on. The little twitches of the shark’s ear were enough to let him know those words were sinking in. “As the coin begins to sink, so will you,” he continued. As he spoke, the stand of thick latex grasping the coin continued to drop further down towards the floor. Every time Zephyr risked losing sight of the pendant, his head sank in tandem with it; the added weight on his neck only increased the sensation of overwhelming fatigue. Limbs went limp and he swayed unsteadily in response to the display, it was intoxicating like a powerful cocktail; the world blurred around the object of his desire, fading completely in and out of awareness for brief moments before the werewolf spoke up again.
“Back and forth, let go a bit more with each swing.” Caou continued to sway the coin with perfect rhythm, holding it the slightest bit closer to Zephyr’s face without breaking tempo. But it wasn’t enough to just follow it with his eyes any longer, the shark began to swing his head lazily in time by the werewolf’s guidance; he was an instrument, and Caou was the conductor. A thin strand of rubber drool hung languidly from Zephyr’s bottom lip, though he wasn’t aware of anything outside of Caou and the coin anymore.

Back and forth, left and right, side to side; it was all he knew. The face of the coin even seemed to glint from some unseen light, dazzling the shark’s senses further. Maybe he was imagining it, lost in his enthralled fascination with the object. It didn’t really matter anyway, so long as he could keep staring. Just as he felt every last facet of his mind wrapped around the dull swinging coin, it seemed to slow its rhythm. It was, in fact; Caou had slowed his momentum until the pendant came to a dangling standstill. Even as it hung there, spinning on a strand of living latex, it was a bewitching sight to worship.
The werewolf chuckled, watching the shark sway with unsteady balance even more wildly than the coin was before. He wrapped his free arm around Zephyr, letting their latex merge and hold them close together in an affectionate hug.
“Feeling alright?” asked Caou.
“mmh…yeah,” the shark blinked blearily in response, still fixated on the pendulum.
“Want to go lie down together?”
“Yeah. …Can you keep swinging the coin?” Zephyr leant into Caou’s form a little harder.
“Anything you want,” chuckled the werewolf.