(Untitled)

[braveomaticaya]

Outside, there is a whooping, laughing sort of shriek as Tsu'tey falls--rather gracelessly--from one of the larger trees, landing on his feet at the last moment before impacting the earth. He's still caught in the middle of a rare laugh, leaves stuck in his braids and looking exceptionally like a fifteen-year-old boy

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[remindmeof_me]

There's a round of applause from nearby. Just because Shephard's not actively hunting at the moment doesn't mean he doesn't like the opportunity to roam a forest where everything isn't trying to kill him, after all.

[braveomaticaya]

The spoils of Tsu'tey's little adventure--clutched in his hand and consisting of several bone-white beads and a few dozen short red feathers--are held carefully as he brushes himself off, looking up at Adrian with a grin.

"Hello Adrian," he greets, shaking out his hair: about half of it is unbraided, falling straight past his shoulders in a fall of black. He was planning to have it re-done after all the tiny plaits were free, but apparently that will have to wait.

[remindmeof_me]

"That the way you usually git down from trees?" Shephard asks, leaning back against the nearest one. "I got to hand it to you, you stick the landing way better'n I would."

[braveomaticaya]

"Only when pushed," he says with a wild yet boyish grin. "It is easy to land on my feet."

It's a whole lot easier when he's anticipating being suddenly not in the tree he had been, but he suspects Tanari will be forgiving of his momentary disappearance. "The tail helps."

[remindmeof_me]

"'Magine it would," says Shephard. "Can you hold shit with it? We got us some monkeys down South America way with tails that'll wrap 'round a branch'n hold on if they got to hang from it, but that don't look like it's as thick as theirs..."

He's looking up at one of the trees now with a speculative sort of expression.

[braveomaticaya]

"Ah..." the tail flicks a few times. "Not really. It's more for balance than an extra limb."

The downside to wearing so little int he way of clothing is that Tsu'tey has no pockets, still holding the feathers in his hand as he shrugs, mirroring Adrian and looking up.

[remindmeof_me]

Shephard nods. "Just wondering," he says. "Balance ain't nothin' to sneeze at. Fuck knows I'd'a given an eyeball or somethin' for a tail to help me balance, some of the places I've had to go and fight in the past."

He glances at the feathers a moment. "I interrupt you at somethin'?"

[braveomaticaya]

He looks down at the feathers, and back up at Adrian, and shakes his head slowly. "Hair things. Tanari--one of the girls--was helping me with the braids."

Tsu'tey isn't particularly a ladies' man, at least not yet, but he's fairly popular with the girls. "It developed into an argument." And he was the closest to the platform edge, thus him not being in the tree anymore.

[remindmeof_me]

Shephard's idea of hair style involves a razor on a very low-height setting, regardless of what his user icons show. On the other hand, he's got female relatives, and there's plenty of people in the Resistance with long hair and an interest in impressing people. So he nods and says, "Must've been one hell of an argument if'n she knocked you clean the fuck out of the tree."

[braveomaticaya]

Tsu'tey chuckles. "Oh, no, not with Tanari. Another boy wanted the feathers. I didn't want to give them up."

He likes the feather-tips at the ends of his face braids; they give a stark contrast to his skin and black hair. "It was a friendly enough argument. No one is angry."

[remindmeof_me]

"Like bear cubs wrestling," Shephard says, nodding. "Got it. Good luck holdin' on to 'em when you git back. Sounds like you earned 'em by now."

[braveomaticaya]

He shrugs lightly; it isn't as if there's any real fierceness between them. "Well. I like the ornamentation," he says. "And Tanari wanted to help."

He smiles; Tsu'tey does like her. She's younger than he is by a fair bit, but he doesn't mind letting her think what she likes. "All the avatars keep their hair unbraided. It...must be difficult to care for," he decides. "You always keep yours so short?"

[remindmeof_me]

"Marine Corps standards," Shephard says. "Man joins the Corps, he's got to git all the hair on the sides'n back of his head clipped down short as short c'n be, less'n he just shaves it all off at the skin. Hair on top gits to stay so he c'n wear a helmet to protect his skull, but that's got to git cut short too so it's neat'n simple to look after. Woman joins the Corps, she mostly gits to keep her hair but she's got to tie it up if it comes more'n halfway down her neck."

[braveomaticaya]

He cocks his head at the notion. "Why? This is easy to maintain," he says, shaking his head in demonstration. "It isn't any harder to look after long."

[remindmeof_me]

"You ain't got to git a helmet over all that," says Shephard. "Shit, you fall out of a big motherfucker of a tree'n don't so much as bang up a bone. I get hit in the head by anything big'n heavy, I'm in a fuckload of trouble. I got to wear somethin' to protect my skull, and it's easier to get that shit to fit'n stay on if I ain't got much hair under it."

[braveomaticaya]

"Hmm. True," he admits, running a hand over his head. "I don't think I would be able to shave all mine off."