[Worm]

---- THAGHNEEL ----

The Kraileck listened intently to her roommate's rantings. To her they were quite enjoyable. Especially as the fellow upped his dosage of magic powder. It seemed to take an instant effect. "You know, that reminds me of this stuff we had back home. On Kanna." She took a sip of her half drunk chai, still looking at Zeke's spiked cup. After placing her own cup down, she looked back up at him. "Well, we've got a lot of stuff that might drive people bonkers out here." She shed a shy grin. "But uh, mind if I try some? I'll pay you if its expensive." She licked her lips.

It had been a long time since she'd messed with anything mind altering. And perhaps that was the only way she was able to handle living on Kanna. They had uppers, downers, psychedelics and even personality enhancers. Stuff for sleep, stuff for mood, stuff for the silliest things. Krailecks especially were good at coming up with new concoctions. Neel's mother used to give her this tea every time she'd need to do something creative. For some reason, Neel felt like a completely different person on the stuff. She even had an imaginary friend that only showed up when she took the stuff. After middle school, she didn't have any other creative endeavors. She focused primarily on language and math.

"You know. Maybe it was also the mind altering substances they were taking." She tried to keep up with Zeke's fast paced mind. "I know that's a bit off topic, but... I've heard that they used to eat these mushrooms. And maybe they were so primitive that they weren't aware of the psychedelic properties. Or maybe they didn't have the language to properly translate their experiences." Neel had thought about this long ago in her first language class. It was actually about a planet near Earth named Mars. They took plenty of drugs to sustain their own lives on their first colonization venture. Not long after colonizing Mars, it seemed like humanity started branching off into different species.

"I mean, we all use them. No matter what planet or time period. It seems like we're always trying to find a new state of mind and maybe that's what drives evolution. A silly concept I know..." She blushed, brushing away the thought. After Zeke's comment about her intelligence, she began feeling a little embarrassed. Like she had a lot to live up to.

Then he began talking about death. This was a subject that Neel had no experience in whatsoever. Her eyes were wide. On Kanna, they would burn the dead, like most other industrialized planets, and use the fire for fuel. But the death rate was so much smaller than that of ancient Earth. Especially with all of their wars and famines. It blew her mind to imagine a tomb dedicated to a single life. The only one who might desire such a thing would perhaps be the Emperor of the Pleiades. Even he seemed more humble than that.

"I would love to learn more. Please, feel free to show me what you've got." She grinned, not sure what to expect, but nonetheless excited to find out.


---- MEEQA ----

Meeqa could see the concern in Magali's eyes as she asked about other Felis. "Yes, darlin'. I have met some other Felis. Though I wouldn't say they're all too common." She gave her a warm smile. "The ones I've met have been good at what they do and are very friendly. There are currently two that work at Class Acts. And our boss lady is real nice." She grinned, turning her head to rapidly turn to the next attraction.

When they finally got off the bus, she wanted to wrangle Magali towards the art studio before the primo artists started leaving. "This way!" She shouted, running ahead of the Felis. The street was really just a track for the shuttle. It had a long, neon strip where the shuttle would drive. After they exited, it darted off onto the next stop. The art studio was playing some obscure music which could be heard just outside. It sounded like insects or something similar. Meeqa couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The door was a perfect little circle, an eyeball painted onto it. The walls on the outside were also covered in art. As time passed, the walls would shift and show different sides to new pieces. Before they entered, the walls shifted once. Upon entering the place, everything changed. It was dark through the first hallway. And it was surprisingly quiet. All that could be heard was the soft muffles of music that was much clearer from the outside.

The smell of paint and different gasses clouded the rooms. There were respirators hanging on the walls. There were plenty of hooks for the respirators and perhaps your bags. Many of them were empty. As they continued through the dark hallway, covered in glow in the dark art, they reached an archway. This led into the main room. There were three artists set up. One was working on a canvas, the second had four arms and was splattering paint on a wall, the third was tinging bowls with colored water on the ground. They all glanced up at the newcomers, then back at their projects.

"So... Here we are." She chuckled.