Chapter Ninety-Nine

Dances and Drinks…

So. Um. Yeah. This is my return to VGAAWLOR, after about a year. So, yeah, seeing as some earthquakes destroyed my city and everything, I've been in a bit of a rut. I did post a story a couple of days ago, but nobody reviews any more. Eight months since February 22nd today, anyway. I think it's time I got a move on. And hopefully the earth won't move with me.

Anyway, enjoy. I love writing silly chapters like this. I DO NOT CONDONE NARCOTICS USE IN ANY WAY. I have only included the stuff in this chapter because I tried it myself and it was actually very nice, if a bit woody. For those who don't know, kava is a traditional drink of Fiji, derived from the root of the kava tree. It has a slight narcotic effect, which I have experienced. Pretty much, your mouth goes numb and when that feeling fades, you don't mind waiting, and you only seem to see the good things in where you are at that point in time.

(It just occurred to me there are very few Ghanith 'scenes' #ahem#…Hmmm…)

Lythia

Lythia and Fletcher walked onto the beach, and went, "um… wow."

Skulduggery smiled. "Happy four day anniversary?"

Ghastly, Tanith, Oenone, Kyran, Valkyrie, and Skulduggery were sitting in full Fijian dress, in the traditional circle, and there was a coconut-shell bowl, and a huge dish of boiling something at the other end. Ghastly was stirring it, his muscled body looking the part in the skirt made of grass, and the leafy armbands. Tanith was kneeling beside him, also dressed in a grass skirt but with a very short-sleeved crop top of woven grass on. Valkyrie and Skulduggery and Oenone and Kyran were dressed the same way. They all were sitting cross-legged, because they all knew that in Fiji it is impolite to sit with one's legs stretched out in front on them.

Fletcher held up his hands when he saw a similar outfit on the sand. "You can make me wear that. But please…don't touch my hair."

"I'm not allowed to anyway," Skulduggery said. "The touching of the head is considered impolite."

"The touching of bloody anything is considered impolite…" muttered Fletcher darkly.

Lythia grinned. She reached for the skirt and top and crept away to change. When she returned Fletcher was already dressed and she began to laugh. She sank down into the sand, tears rolling down her cheeks. It wasn't fair really. Nothing was really wrong with Fletcher and his outfit but the disgruntled expression he wore because Valkyrie was drawing on his back with charcoal. Valkyrie winked, and moved away.

"I lied," she proclaimed. "Those aren't really traditional symbols. You now have a bunny on your back."

Fletcher sighed. "It's always the way." He walked over and reached out his hands to help Lythia up. "So, what's this all about?" He took great enjoyment in dusting the sand from his wife.

"We thought seeing as we're in Fiji, we'd do the traditional Fiji thing," Ghastly told him. "A kava ceremony. Come, sit. You're the chief and Lythia can be the advisor to the chief."

Fletcher knelt at the head of the arrangement, Lythia on his right. Skulduggery settled on his left. Ghastly looked at Fletcher. "Low tide or high tide?"

"High tide," Fletcher said boldly, looking at the mysterious liquid. Ghastly nodded, filling one of the bowls. He got up and held it out.

"You have to drink it in one go," he told Fletcher. "Before you do, you clap three times and say 'bula'. Then after you've drunk it you return the bowl and clap three times again."

"OK." Fletcher clapped three times and everybody yelled out 'bula'. Then he took the bowl and didn't wait around – he drank deeply and quickly. His nose screwed up but he kept going. Once he'd finished he handed the bowl back to Ghastly and clapped three times.

"Nice?" Ghastly inquired.

"Woody. And my mouth's a bit numb."

"Might stop you snogging me for a while," Lythia said, amused. Ghastly went back to the vat. Then he turned and looked at Lythia. "Low tide or high tide?"

"High tide."

Ghastly nodded, filled the bowl. Lythia did the clapping and they did the shout and she drank it down.

They repeated this until the whole group had consumed some kava (only low tide for Oenone and Kyran).

"My lips are numb," Valkyrie said. "You were right, Fletch."

"Always the tone of surprise."

"It's the narcotic effect," Skulduggery smiled, stretched out in the hammock. Valkyrie looked over, and smiled.

"Bet it's not the kava that has the biggest effect right now," noticing how he was looking at how she looked in the extremely tight top.

"Yeah, you're right. But it hasn't kicked in yet…"

"Oh god… don't look, kids," Valkyrie rushed, shooing Oenone and Kyran away as Ghastly and Tanith began kissing by the kava. "Run away and enjoy legal drugs." They grinned at Valkyrie's fluster and stalked away, heading towards the restaurant.

Lythia and Fletcher walked off and retuned with two sun loungers, setting them up to look at the setting sun, hands joined over the space in between them.

"Hey, everybody else does it," Ghastly laughed, when Tanith came up for air. Her eyes smouldered, hands on his chest.

"True enough…" said Skulduggery, as Valkyrie joined him in the hammock.

The sun beat down on the three couples… the warm, hot sun. Cocktail glasses gleamed as the twilight drew in and turned the sky into a glorious picture. The warm breeze drifted in from the sea, and everybody was completely, blissfully happy with the world.

How much of that was down to the kava, though, would never be known.