my beta boy | ✎

Orion

The moon was gleaming brightly by the time they finally chanced upon a small hut.

"That can't be right," Sistine couldn't keep the spite out of her voice and Aem shot her a grin.

"Unless you enjoy getting poked in the back by roots and rocks," the dark haired girl peered into the paneless window. A gaping hole in the face of a structure built with mud, planks, and primitive cement.

The three wandered in. It's quite amazing how bright night can really be when the sky is not polluted with lights and when the moon is shining at full power. Moonbeams danced across the various objects in the hut, lighting the thin film of dust that lay over everything. Sistine ran her finger across the surface of a rickety crate that looked like it may have been used as a table at one point or another. Her finger came away coated in dust and she pounded her palm on the shimmery dress she still wore.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a while," she said softly, garnering a muted scoff from Aem.

"It's an adventure, Sistine!" She insisted. Pulling open a woven basket, Aem glanced inside, "Look!"

B73 and Sistine crowded Aem, wondering what she might have found in such a desolate and bare place. The girl lifted a bottle filled with liquid out and lifted it high, out of the shadows. Suspended in the ochre liquid was a thick coil, which at first glance, looked like rope. But the Rho gave a little yelp as she discovered gleaming fangs glinting in the moonbeams.

Before the glass could shatter on the packed earth, B73 snatched it out of the air and set it gingerly on the crate.

"Anyone get the feeling that we're not supposed to be here?" He looked at both of the girls, "Stuffing a snake into a bottle seems like an ominous warning, don't you think?"

"Is our Beta afraid?" Aem narrowed her eyes at him.

"Wary would be a better word." He answered flatly, rubbing his index finger against the bridge of his nose.

"How about you, Sistine?" Aem's gray eyes gleamed, "Does Floaty scare you?"

The blonde girl, emboldened by her friend's presence, picked up the bottle that B73 had set down and peered into the liquid, seeking the snake's vacant gaze.

"I don't think this is a warning, I think this might be medicine," Sistine said finally. Popping the cork, she gave the concoction a little whiff before doubling over.

"Or not!" She made a choking sound in between coughs, passing the bottle over to B73 who took it from her and put the cork back on after giving it a tentative sniff.

"That's no medicine," he said with a small knowing smile, "it's some kind of moonshine."

"Moonshine?" Aem grabbed the bottle back from him and glared into it.

"An ale," he frowned, "or something like that–"

"Like those bubbly drinks we get during events?" An excited expression flashed across Sistine's face.

"Something like that, some of the boys make their own out of grain and wheat. But it's the first time I've seen one made from a snake." B73's face was wrinkled in apprehension.

The three appraised the bottle of snake wine before Aem broke the silence, "Who wants to try it?"

"Do you dare?" Though Sistine was eager before, the appearance of the snake did nothing to encourage her.

Without hesitating, Aem popped the bottle open once again and took a swig.

"It's not half bad," wiping her lips with the sleeves of her green sweater, she passed the bottle to Sistine who accepted it reluctantly but she too swallowed a mouthful before passing it to B73.