Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Of course not," Wolfwood soothed, using the voice of the calm, wise priest that would eventually rise up in a rousing chorus of hallelujah as donations were received. He peered at Vash in bemusement as he defended the foliage, making a face at him in return. "Lakes? Ha! Go on, pull the other one. There's no way such a big collection of water can exist, it'd sink into the ground!" Oh, poor, poor desert-dweller.

"Oh, now it's on!" Wolfwood cried, springing into a run and taking off, mimicking his friend. He concentrated on dipping his wings down then gliding them back up and down again, trying to follow Vash's pattern. As the treeline neared, he dipped down and leaned to one side, letting out a "WHOOP!" of joy as he turned, leaning right-side up and continuing with his wing movements. "Haha! One step down! Just wait, spikey, I'll be catching up to you in no time!"

Wolfwood continued to fly around the clearing, practicing his turns. He turned towards the center of the clearing, his jaw dropping open in protest as Vash retrieved the bottle. What was that spike-head thinking?!

Curiosity stirred in him as Vash boasted and issued a challenge. How unfair, he just learned to fly! And on top of that... Wolfwood threw a glance at his cross, then shook his head slightly. There was no possible way he could even dare to try and carry that. Perhaps later, when he was stronger... No. His cross weighed him down, and served to remind him of what he taught as well as the lessons of the past.

But... it couldn't hurt to leave sin behind once in awhile, right? And if they were in something akin to Eden, wouldn't the Lord forgive him for rejoicing in His bounty and celebrating the life He gave him? He swallowed his guilt and pumped his wings harder, leaning back slightly as if he were on his bike and showing off. Ah, how the kids loved to see him do that! A fond smile grew on his face as he steadily rose, his grin setting into one of grim determination as he followed his friend skyward.

He can always come back for his Punisher later. It's not as if there were more than one canvas-wrapped cross laying around, right?

Wolfwood was beginning to regret his heavy, stylish suit. In the old days, according to the teachings the holy men wore shirts woven out of stiff hairs to as self-inflicted punishment. Since a wound in the desert lead to move suffering than needed, he and his mentor instead wore the dark suits which absorbed the heat. It was akin to the hairshirts, save for the fact that he wasn't scraped raw with every movement.

Now? Above the trees? He was warm, and the sun hitting it wasn't as harsh as the twin-suns of home, but it was enough to bring back memories and sharpen his concentration even more. He envied Vash for not even seeming to be out of wind, but then again he had more practice. Himself, on the other hand -- no, it's a paw now -- had the joys of fatigue and cramping to deal with later. For now, he shoved all those out of his mind.

"That's good to know," he replied airily, turning his head to look at Vash. "A race, hm? So as soon as we see it we're going to turn around immediately and race back? I don't think so, pal. You've yet to prove to me that this "lake" of your's is even real!"

Wolfwood growled at him in mock-threat. "I've seen puddles of wasted liquor, but you're kidding me if you're telling me that there's such thing as a puddle so big it doesn't disappear into the ground. Just no way! Not possible!"

"What the hell kind of a quest... ion..." Wolfwood trailed off as the lake came into view. What... What was it? He thought it was an odd smudge of blue and didn't give it more thought, but now... Wolfwood carefully leaned forward, letting himself fly down and closer to it.

...of course, being as unpracticed as he was, Wolfwood wavered for a moment before leaning back and pulling up, trying to level out. He wanted a closer look, and the crash-landing into the shallow edge of the lake certainly gave him that. He gasped and jumped up in surprise at the cold water, wings and fur on edge. "Vash! What the hell?!" He cried, scampering to the safety of the relatively dry shore.

Wolfwood shook his head in clear amazement. "Well I'll be," he said softly, sitting down and ignoring the protesting squelch of his sneakers to simply gaze and stare in amazement at the lake before him. This was... He shook his head, jumbling his confused thoughts into order.

The sound of Vash drinking caused him to look over at his friend, startling in surprise. He gaped at him, then back to the lake, reeling from the protests in his mind. There's fish-creatures in there! Who knew who was here last? I mean, wasn't drinking from this like drinking from another man's spilled ale? No, of course not. That would be plain silly, although there was that one occasion...

Wolfwood sat up and shook himself, stopping in surprise at the action. It seemed so... so natural and yet so odd at the same time! He approached the water again, this time at a slower pace. At the water's edge, he lifted a paw and poked the water, his eyes widening in surprise at the ripples.

Wolfwood snickered at Vash's reaction, casting a wary eye at the lake. "After you sneezed in it twice? You probably contaminated the whole thing!" Nevermind that they had both landed in it earlier -- mm, paw and sneeze flavored water.

He replaced his paw in the water, not minding that his cuffs were getting soaked. "It's nice and cool," he observed as he took another step in, then another. It was... odd. Wolfwood let his gaze drift across the lake, still amazed by the presence of the lake. Who knew that this thing was real? Vash did, obviously -- and possibly others as well, which left him in the dark.

Wolfwood shivered, this time not from the cold. Was there even more things he didn't know? Probably. And he knew he was stalling now, Vash would probably tackle him from behind or throw something if he didn't act fast enough. He lowered his head and carefully lapped at the water, pleased that the action the wandering stray Kuroneko did on a daily basis wasn't as difficult as it looked.

Wolfwood lapped the water, delighting in the taste. It was crisp, cool... It was like a mug of his favorite beer, save for the lack of the delightful buzz feeling after one too many. As well as the chance of having a rousing song or two while wearing someone's tie on your head. Ah, the good ol' days!

At least the water here didn't taste like metal, as the ice tended to. Wolfwood looked up and over his shoulder at Vash, offering him a grin. "It's good!" He called back, "If I wasn't so attached to a good brew, I'd probably drink this for the rest of my life." Whoa there Wolfwood, he scolded himself, If you can't find a good watering hole complete with a bartender and some serving girls soon, you WILL be drinking this for the rest of your life.

"Dare I ask what you're doing?" He added in a dry tone, turning and walking out of the water to look at his friend curiously.

The priest arched an eyebrow at Vash. "Just th- WHOA! What are you doing?!" Wolfwood's fur bristled as the gun was pointed towards him, tense until the arm was put away. He relaxed, folding his wings back down from where they had flared out in a vain attempt to make him look better. "Man, oh man will doing that get them shot," he groaned, shaking his head and looking back to Vash.

Wolfwood tilted his head to one side, eying it. "What, are you tired of having one little earring?" He teased, adding, "I could bite down on it if you don't mind losing a bit of your ear in the process, but don't look at me. Thumbs are pretty short around here." He raised a paw and wiggled his toes, flexing them once before setting it back down on the ground.