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The others didn't need to be told twice to have a go at the beer, and that alone lifted Noah's spirits a little. He couldn't imagine anything sadder than having to finish the entire stash alone. That'd be a great last memory of him; Noah the fuckup, puking out his goddamn guts in a shared tent. Hell nah, if he was gonna be an embarrassing mess by the end of the night, so would the rest — he'd make damn sure of it.

Noah took a gulp of his fresh can, nearly choking when it was revealed this was Conner's first. The redhead wiped at his mouth, wide-eyed as a deer. The[i] fuck[/i], did he misunderstand, or...? Seriously, [i]this [/i]guy had never drank before? Even [i]Gray [/i]had, be that it was at Noah's own insistence. Yeah, he knew Conner's parents sucked, of course, but he'd assumed the dude had told 'em to go fuck themselves long ago. Man, he really had to grab Connie and take him out on the town.

Milo and David returned from their run just then, and it was the talk of food that made Noah realize he was starving. Huh. Guess he'd forgotten to eat, then. [i]Again[/i]. With a sigh, he fastened the tent's rope and rose.[color=#723425] "At this point, I'll take charcoal."[/color]

[center][color=#723425] — [/color][/center]
They didn't need to settle for charcoal. The more responsible dudes had packed actual food, and the less responsible ones helped eat, if nothing else. Noah stuffed his face like no tomorrow, pausing only to drink and offer an occasional wry comment. His melancholia hadn't gone anywhere, but the night sky was pretty cool and so were his friends, so he could deal for now. 

[color=#723425]"[i]Forever[/i], yeah? That's a [i]really [/i]fucking long time, Connie, sure you ain't gonna get bored of our ugly f—"[/color]

[i]... Huh?[/i]

Noah's eyes narrowed into a squint. What was [i]that? [/i]Did he have one beer too many, or did the stars just...

[i]Holy shit,[/i] was that a[i] tentacle?![/i] He'd seen where this kinda shit went and it wasn't—

Light flashed so bright it seemed to burn away everything. The sky, the beach, his friends, whatever dangerous thoughts were threatening to form in Noah's head. The next he knew, he fell, fell and [i]fell[/i], until he'd forgotten what it felt like [i]not [/i]to fall, so it was practically like he was standing again.

Except when he blinked open his eyes — not even having realized he'd shut them — Noah realized he was lying down. It felt like the aftermath of a bad trip; he had no idea where the hell he was, why and how, or whether his head would ever be the same again. Something [i]had [/i]to have been permanently damaged, he felt so groggy.

[color=#723425]"What the... [i]shit[/i]... I swear I didn't pack... anything that hard."[/color] Though looking at it now, maybe he should have. He should have [i]at least[/i] brought weed, because the second he stood and took in his surroundings, Noah felt like he needed some serious mellowing out or he was gonna [i]freak[/i]. They were absolutely, definitely not in fucking Kansas anymore.

He looked the group over and made a mental note that they all seemed to be fine — physically, at least. Milo had lost the plot and was eating the mangled corpse of a marshmallow, and Gray was... yeah. Yeah, fuck.

[color=#723425]"We're all gonna fucking [i]die[/i], aren't we." [/color]

If so, please just let him go first.

[center][color=#723425] — [/color][/center]
Coiled around a branch of a nearby oak, a small, earthen dragon watched the arrivals with hungry curiosity. He smacked his lips, eyes narrowing at the redhead. Something he couldn't place was calling him to this strange creature.

He uncoiled from his resting spot, starting to stalk his way down the tree and towards the — potentially tasty — morsels mulling about.[/color]