| Chapter 2 Nola arrived home as fast as her legs would take her. She searched her little home for something in which to make her wine; this search brought her to a large barrel. It was the right size for such an occasion, several feet wide and a few feet deep. Next Nola went to find the ingredients to make wine. Outside of her home grew a large tangle of vines, upon which grew tiny red fruits. They were large-leaved fines that looked like those of poison ivy, and the fruits looked like tiny cherries. "What are these?" Nola asked herself. She picked one of the fruits from the vines, analyzed it carefully, then put it in her mouth; the taste was sweet and tangy. It lingered on her tongue for a few seconds, and for that time it felt as if her tongue had gone completely numb. "Asmodo will love these," she said. "I will take all that I can carry. I should show him these vines as well." Nola picked hundreds of fruits and put them into a basket. She rushed them home and poured them into her barrel. One load of berries turned into dozens, and soon Nola found herself with a full barrel of fruit. Nola looked upon her gathering. "Now how do I make wine?" she asked herself, her hand to her forehead. She looked down at the floor as she thought and inadvertently saw her dainty, little bare feet. She giggled to herself, shaking her head. "I see." After several minutes of cleansing her feet and legs, Nola lifted the bottom of her skirt up and stepped into the barrel of fruit. Even as she got situated, the tiny berries began to crush under her. Squish, squish, squish went the stomping of the fruit as Nola jumped up and down and walked in circles in the barrel. The process took hours. Nola stomped the berries down until all that remained was a large blood-red pool of juice. She finally stepped out of her barrel and onto an old carpet on the floor to admire her product. Her legs were stained reddish-pink from the knees down, and were very tired from all of the leg work. Nola found that she was not strong enough to lift the barrel by herself, and she owned no smaller containers. She went back outside and found two of her friends; one was a lovely young jaguaress named Corsine of Nola's age, the other a leopardess named Lyna, who was a little older. They helped her carry her concoction to the center of the village to present to Asmodo and his guards. Asmodo waited for quite a few hours for Nola to return with the wine he and Juvid requested. Juvid, particularly, began to grow impatient. "Where could she be?" he said, looking far into the forest, squinting. "How long can it take to make wine?" "She will come," Asmodo assured him. "She is a very diligent girl, always doing as she is told without delay." Juvid looked further, then saw Nola, Corsine, and Lyna carrying the great barrel of wine. Asmodo stood up. "Juvid, go help them," he ordered, pointing to the three girls. "They are tired and too weak to carry that." Juvid assisted the three women in bringing the wine to Asmodo. Nola bowed before him as she had done once before. "Here is the wine you requested, master," she said. She then handed Asmodo the vines. "I hope you enjoy it." Asmodo looked at the frail, wiry vines. "This is where you got the fruit from?" he asked, intently. "Yes, master," Nola replied. "It's very sweet and pleasant. Please, master, drink the wine." Asmodo produced his cup and dipped it into the barrel, allowing it to fill to the brim. He raised the cup to his lips and took a sip. He smiled wide. "It's fantastic!" he exclaimed. "I've never tasted such wine in my life. The best I've ever had!" It was then that Asmodo climbed onto Juvid's shoulders. "Attention, my brethren!" he cried loudly. "Nola has made us all wine. Come and enjoy it and applaud her for her work!" Cat warriors all over the village brought their cups and drank. They congratulated Nola on her wine, but they only wanted more. Nola gleefully made more for them. For most of the celebration, Nola spent her time at home crushing berries and making wine for her village. She made three entire batches, and by the end of the final batch she could barely walk. Instead, she sat down with Asmodo and enjoyed her creation along with him, along with the many forms of entertainment of the festival. As the evening went on, the mood of the entire kingdom began to shift from being merry and joyous to being silly and absent-minded. Several hours after drinking the wine Nola made for the first time, he found it increasingly hard to stand up straight. Nola looked out upon the entire kingdom, noticing the same behavior among her other friends. "What happened to everyone?" Nola asked Juvid, turning around. But Juvid was not there. Instead, Nola saw him creeping up behind Corsine. "Juvid, what are you doing?" she called out to him. Juvid simply turned to her and prompted her to be silent. Juvid snuck up behind Corsine, stimulated by her beauty, and tugged at her skirt and bra-like top. Corsine tried to resist him, but in her struggle, Juvid managed to remove all of her clothing, revealing her naked body for all to see. Instead of forcing Juvid away, all the cat warriors fell down laughing, even Nola. Juvid then began to advance on Corsine. She then began to run away, with Juvid in close pursuit, his broad purple cape waving behind him. All that cat warriors laughed as Juvid chased the naked Corsine into the woods; they were also laughing and screaming as well. That was not all that happened that evening. The men all seemed to be so frenzied from Nola's wine that they could not stand, and many fell into the grass and simply fell asleep. The same happened to the women. Nola watched and laughed hysterically; it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. As Nola laughed, she decided to go find Corsine and Juvid, who were likely still chasing each other around in the woods. She stood, then walked a few feet, but then fell hopelessly to the ground. She crawled a few more feet before falling flat on her belly on the moist ground. Finally, she lay her head down on the ground and fell asleep. Chapter 3 |
