<center> no time left now for shame
horizon behind me, no more pain
windswept stars blink and smile
another song, another mile
you read the line every time
ask me about crime in my mind
ask me why another read song
funny, but i bet you never left home
</center>
Itaaski nibbled at a hunk of cheese somewhat awkwardly, his large, hollow, venom-bearing fangs folded back against the roof of his mouth carefully to avoid accidentally puncturing a hole in his own hand. Not having molars, the snake anthro was forced to enjoy the rare treat of human food in small bits, sharp needle like fangs used to carefully gnaw off bits of the rich cheese and long tongue pulling them into his mouth. It was good; he rarely got to eat simply for the pleasure of eating, because while whole rabbits are wonderful for filling the belly for a week or two, they don’t taste exceptionally good, and Itaaski had long since learned that he was far better off dealing with meager food lacking much taste and no contact than he would be if he went in to town more often than he did, simply to buy those little things which brought him pleasure.
He so loved the sharp tang of cheddar cheese, even if it was difficult to eat; this was one of the few times when he’d actually bothered to go into a city. He needed new clothing, new weapons, new equipment…and he had a very large pile of very nice furs he needed to sell. Furs always fetched higher prices in the larger cities, and he anticipated an even nicer payoff since these were pelts from animals in the far south, the ones from the exotic places, pelts these northerners rarely saw. Itaaski was further north than he preferred to be, especially at the onset of winterâ€"a dangerous time of the year for a reptile in a place where, so he’d heard, snows were common and deep.
If there was one thing Itaaski would readily and without shame admit he feared, it was winter, and cold. In all his life he had never seen a true winterâ€"the ones he heard about which were so common hereâ€"and for that he was grateful. Even now when the others around him seemed to be comfortable with the temperature, he was feeling rather sluggish and cold, chilled by the wind whichâ€"to himâ€"had an unpleasant bite to it. In an attempt to stave off the cold he was wearing three shirts and two pants, but without the ability to produce heat himself they did little; his long, powerful tail, scaled and beautiful with its glittering array of colors and patterns, was the largest indicator that he wasn’t normal, at least until someone got a look at his hairless head and fine, bright scales, and large, bright blue eyes with slit pupils.
People were giving him a wide berth as he meandered through the streets, looking through the vendors with coin in his pocket, not yet interested in buying but wanting to see what was available. He was feeling rather lonely, and regretted the fear people exhibited; he liked people, and liked to interact with them. How could he convey that to them, that he wasn’t going to hurt anyone, when they all flinched if he so much as smiled?
<center> fourteen seconds until sunrise
tired but wiser for the time
lightning thirty miles away
three thousand more in two days
and on a good day
i know it ain't everyday
we can part the sea.</center>
