*THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...the pounding is relentless, waking Xiao from a deep slumber. His first instinct is to throttle the ogre jumping up and down on his head, but as he opens his eyes, he sees he is alone. He starts to move, and the pounding increases in intensity[SIZE=10]...*[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16]*THUMP, THUMP, THUMP[/SIZE][SIZE=10]...the ogre is gone, but now Xiao is certain a forest giant is skipping rope and using his head as a platform.*[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]*Xiao stops moving, and the forest giant is replaced once again by the ogre. He struggles to focus his eyes, and looks into a sea of straw. Something large and brown is severalinches from his face, and there is a strong odor emanating from it. Through force of will, Xiao manages to keep his dinner from launching itself into the air, and rolls away from the pile. Holding his head to keep the giant from returning, he sits up and catches a face full of horse tail hair, swatting him away like so many other pests.*[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]"Wha...? How.....unggghhhh!" *Xiao's reflexes are slowed, so he barely manages to avoid the hoof that was aimed at his head. At first, he's not sure he actually avoided it, as the sudden movement brings the giant back, only now he's playing hopscotch with two friends.*[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]*Xiao staggers to his feet and begins to get his bearings. He realizes he is in a stall, and makes his way over to the gate, barely avoiding the piles in his path. Once in the center of the stable, he spies a water trough at the entrance. Nothing has ever looked so inviting, save that succubus in Arabel, but that was certainly different, and he'd certainlychoose the trough over her right now.*[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]*Xiao takes some deep breaths, and focuses inward. He stands still for a very long time, breathing and focusing. He looks inward, ever deeper. He listens to his heart beating, and follows the path of the blood toward his head. He listens to the thumping, and makes his way to the vessels moving blood to various parts of his brain. Breathing more deeply, he wills them to soften and relax. Shifting his focus to his bodily fluids, Xiao encourages more water to enter his blood from the surrounding tissue. The blood begins to flow more smoothly, and the pounding subsides. Xiao stands for several more minutes, breathing slowly and evenly. Finally, he walks over to the trough and takes large drinks, using his hands as a ladle*[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]"I do not understand. Derrick was trying drink after drink on me, and nothing was having any effect," he says softly to himself. "What could have happened?" Xiao begins to dig through his bags, and finds 12 empty bottles of various sizes. He smells the remains of each, and recognizes the scents. Some have the lingering sweetness of berries, and others have a more grainy aroma of ale. Finally, he pulls the cork on a small squarish bottle, and memories come flooding back to him.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]"Will-O-Whiskey!!!" Xiao reels back a bit as he sniffs the pungent flask. Tossing the bottles in a nearby trash bin, he makes his way out into the open. The air feels clean and fresh this morning, but certainly a bit cooler than he's used to. Suddenly, a loud scream pierces his eardrums, and he jerks his head toward it to see what is the matter. He focuses on a woman with her two young children, and she is looking right at him with a look of horror on her face, trying to cover her children's eyes. Xiao looks around in wonder, then down at himself, and realizes he is naked. He doesn't have time to focus on the blood vessels, and his face reddens quickly as he turns to run back into the stable. Behind him the woman is heard to be saying something about a constable andindecency.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]Digging quickly through hispack,Xiao finds his robe and pullsit over his head. Heis deeply ashamed that he has offended the woman, but knows full well thatshe would not listen to reason right now, so he decides it would be prudent to leave the area quickly to avoid upsetting her even more. All he wants is to meditate in peace, and decides to make his way to the docks for along overdue trip home.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10]AsXiao is walking towards the dock,a smile shows that has not been there before. Not on his face, but on his head. Someone has drawn one in charcoal on the top, and Xiao is completely unaware of it, as well as various doodlings all over his face. He has noticed thatthere is some itching right above his eyes, but dismisses it quickly as he pulls up his hood and walks up the plank to the ship captain, vowing that the next time he returns to Leilon, he will certainly be more careful....[/SIZE]
