[dragonflyINN]

LANCE

_{The light drizzle poured down from the dark, cloudy heavens - a damp, sticky, humid shower that made Lance feel clammy and uncomfortable. Still, a wide grin was planted on his cheerful face. He skipped over puddles, mud caking on his paws and splattering all over the worn path. He jumped at the sound of thunder, watched a streak of lightning arch across the black sky and laughed aloud. "A bit stormy around these parts, I suppose," he chuckled, shaking rain from his fur. He pranced onwards, plowing through the gritty muck. He settled beneath a nearby tree, wiping mud from his face. He was here looking for a Moonling, though he really questioned Moonlings would come out in this weather. "Ah well, my bad," he giggled to himself.}

[Carlie]

Not too far away was a kuhna named Cujo. Despite how close the two of them were, Cujo couldn't see Lance through the trees. She was here for a moonling as well. She was humming quietly as she looked around her when she heard a sound nearby. She grinned. Could it be a moonling? She quickly walked to where the sound came from and saw Lance. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were a moonling." She said, laughing.

[dragonflyINN]

"A Moonling? Me?" Lance gasped, pretending to be incredibly offended by this. He laughed, swiping water from his sea-green eyes. "I guess I can see the similarities, sorta." He laughed again and rose to his paws. He kicked a bit of water off his hind left leg and grinned broadly at this Common Kuhna. "Name's Lance. Have you got a name, darling?" He smirked, his twin blue tails wagging merrily. He liked this girl's laugh - it was much more carefree than others he had heard. He always enjoyed a good laugh.

[Carlie]

She smiled. "Nice to meet ya, Lance. The name's Cujo." She said. Something about her seemed rather proud but sweet at the same time. Her tails wagged slightly as well. "So..." She started, trying to decide what to say. "As you've probably guessed, I'm looking for a Moonling. Why are you here?"

[dragonflyINN]

_{"Likewise, though I'd think that a Moonling would have more sense than to come out in weather like this." Lance sighed, glaring up at a leaf that dripped cold, stinging water into his eyes. He didn't like to get too dirty, even though he was a Hydrokuhna. He glanced around, shaking himself off before grinning at Cujo. "Where'd you come from? D'you live 'round these parts or something?" Lance cocked his head at Cujo. He liked her haughty, sugary demeanor. All the girls he had been around were timid, mild things with fluttery eyelashes. He liked spoiling his special lady friends, and they all stuck around until Lance lost interest.}

[Carlie]

"Not really." Cujo said. "I wanted to find a moonling and heard they were here." She gave a slight shrug. She was looking at him, trying to figure out what he thought of her. It wasn't that she was insecure or anything like that, she was just curious.

[dragonflyINN]

"I'd be surprised at anyone who did live here," chuckled Lance. He peered through the clouds of mist and drippy fog at the muddy, beaten path that led through the forest. "Hey, I'll race you to that hedge of heather o'er there," Lance smirked, his tails giving a challenging wave. He trotted around Cujo once or twice, inspecting her comically before taking his place on the path. "Unless you're scared, of course." The rain dribbled down his sleek blue fur and made the fur tuft between his ears become saturated with rain. It drooped over his face, and he plastered the wet mass of fur against his scalp with an impatient paw, his smirk growing wider.

[Carlie]

"Scared? You must have no idea who you're talking to." She gave a smirk as well.  "Although I guess I can forgive that...since we just met and all." She gave a slight chuckle and stepped beside Lance. She looked at him challengingly. "You're on." Right as she said that, she took off running and didn't look back.

[dragonflyINN]

_{Yipping energetically after her, Lance kicked off the mucky ground and shot forward. Unfortunately, he didn't plan his route carefully and had to run through mud and muck, only reaching Cujo's hind flank at his best speed. He grinned and, when the hedge of heather was just within reach, he gave a hard push against the ground. They sank into the earth, and Lance toppled into the mud. He laughed as he slid, bumping and crashing into numerous obstacles until he crashed right through the heather, right after Cujo. When he stood, he was covered with grime and heather leaves were sticking out of his fur. "Good race, good race," he laughed, wiping mud off his face.}

[Carlie]

Cujo laughed and nodded. "You finished a lot closer than I expected." She gave a playful smirk. "I think I know where there's a pond where you could wash that out of your fur. I passed it earlier." She said, amused by the way he looked. She tried to remember where exactly she had seen said pond.

[dragonflyINN]

"Much obliged, madam," laughed Lance, stepping out of the deep mud only to trip on a submerged rock and fall face first into it again. He emerged spluttering, mud caked on his whiskers and eyelashes. He used his shoulder to rub off the layer of grime and grinned. "Well, I'd better watch my step," he chuckled, shaking mud off his hind legs and using his front paws to wring muck off his twin tails. "You've got keener eyes than me, Cujo, I can give ye that much."

[Carlie]

"You alright?" She asked, clearly trying to suppress a laugh. She began walking in the direction that she though the pond was, stepping very carefully. As they walked she was humming quietly as she often did. This time, the song was Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind. After a minute or so, she looked at Lance. He really did look ridiculous. She giggled slightly.

[dragonflyINN]

"Been better, I'm afraid," Lance chuckled, following Cujo. He was careful to take the same route she did, as she didn't trip and fall flat on her face. He grinned as he heard the song hummed by Cujo, and offered a few bars of the song himself. "You like music? How 'bout this one -

Anything goes but don't blink you might miss
Cause heaven ain't close in a place like this
I said heaven ain't close in a place like this
Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight
Never thought I'd let a rumor ruin my moonlight

Catchy disco dance song, if ye ask me," Lance said, blinking rainwater out of his eyes. He cocked his head at Cujo. "You like dancin', Miss? Refreshes me quite nicely, I think."

[Carlie]

Cujo grinned, rather impressed. She decided to pick up the song from where he left off.

"Well somebody told me
You had a boyfriend
Who looks like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It's not confidential
I've got potential"

She laughed. "I love The Killers." She shrugged in response to his question. "I don't really dance, although I guess it could be fun." Usually, she would say no to avoid embarrassing herself, but Lance had probably already embarrassed himself with the whole slipping-in-the-mud thing. So why not?

[dragonflyINN]

"It's really quite fun," Lance grinned, then continued the song in his cheery falsetto.

"Pace yourself from me
I said maybe baby please
But I just don't know now
When all I wanna do is try"

As he sang he twirled around in the muck, doing a somewhat clumsy attempt at dancing in somewhat deep mud. He grinned, catching himself right as he stumbled and laughed. "Yeah, I'd better not try dancing on this dance floor." He brushed leaves out of his fur and chuckled.