Saat'bas tilted his head a little further. Human morals. So concerned about things like nudity. Not that he had meant for the man to shed his clothes, but he certainly wouldn't have objected to it. Either way, the refusal was disappointing. Perhaps the human would be more inclined to eat and drink and be warm once the Revel started.
He laid the blanket down, in easy reach if the human decided to take it. Then, he returned to his previous spot alongside the fire. He sat perfectly still for a moment. His face was directed towards the flames. His closed eyes seemed to belie the impression that he was staring into them, watching them.
It was time. The fire was ready. Though he usually chose to initiate these celebrations in the twilight, once the flames were set, there wasn't much choice.
The heat of the blaze and the scent of woodsmoke began to work into him. He could feel the warmth wash over his skin, seeping into muscle and bone. The smell swirled into his head, into his thoughts, acting like a key to unlock even his few restraints. He dug his claws deep into the earth. His body leaned back and his face turned up to the sky. A deep purring emitted from somewhere inside him.
Saat'bas rose with a fierce, infinite grace. His hands came up, spread out, and the long fingers curved slightly in a way that seemed to emphasize those sharp talons. The flames appeared to dance and leap with his movements.
The flickering glow from the fire threw strange shadows over his features. The red and orange and yellow cast his emerald skin in shifting hues. Maybe it was these things, no more than an illusion -- a trick of sight, that made it seem as though he had become infused with a peculiar wildness. Maybe it was these that chased away what small vestiges of civility that seemed to exist before.
Or maybe it was the almost hypnotic and trance-like way in which he began to sway in eerie synchronization with the flames.
Under those things moved silent mental tendrils. Little fingers of thought reached out, searching for other living spirits in the area. When they touched one, they beckoned... they conjoled, they coaxed, they offered, they gently probed for and tried to draw out the hidden desires and wants and needs in that soul.
And their first find was the dark-haired man.