Judy’s stomach went a little sideways as she stepped into the cramped room inhabited by the sly fox. Nick had extensively played this place up, going so far as telling her he had to split rent with his roommate who probably didn’t exist. The stench of unwashed laundry, burned foodstuffs, and a mixture of gasoline and pungent earthiness assaulted her senses, her eyes going blurry with tears. “Ugh...Nick, the hell is up with the smell in here?” the bunny whined, scrunching up her nose. The melody of some unknown SoundFluff rapper’s song played quietly in the background as Nick flicked his lighter, holding it close to a packed bowl connected to a rather large bong. As the plant matter in the quartz bowl burned, smoke traveled down the glass downstem, travelling through the water stored at the base of the inner portion. The complex system of honeycomb and tree percolators begin to fill with smoke as Nick pulls harder, the bowl burning hotter and hotter as he flips the lighter around and packs the bowl down. Wisps of white smoke began to appear in the top section of the bong, compacting and densening as Nick prepared to pull the bowl. As the cherry reached the last of the unburned flower, the smoke near the bottom began to turn a sickly yellow color, Nick’s cue to pull it. As he gripped the bowl with two digits and pulled it from the downstem, he inhaled a little harder to completely clear the bong and all of it’s sections. Nick’s expression quickly changed from a bored happiness to one of slight disgust and pain as he quickly exhaled, thick white smoke escaping from his lungs and dispersing into the room as he broke out into a coughing fit. Judy, obviously noticing Nick’s discomfort, scanned the table for a water bottle, a glass, or any liquid really. She spied a glass half-full of orange juice on the other side of the table, practically jumped towards the table from the doorway, and pushed it over to Nick who grabbed it and drank its contents in mere seconds, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and slouching back into the couch, the bong placed neatly back on the table. “Man,” Nick started, being interrupted by a few errant coughs. “That thing fuckin’ chugs.” The fox laid his head back on the couch, enjoying the creeping sensations of his high. “Nick, you still haven’t answered my question.” The intoxicated fox craned his neck to meet her gaze. “Sorry, what did you ask? You can sit if you'd like.” Nick patted the couch cushion next to him, crossing his leg over the other as he let out a contented sigh. Judy shook her head, sighing as she shuffled past the small but cluttered coffee table. “I asked why it smells like a burnt pan of cookies had children with a compost heap in here.” As the bunny dropped down onto the couch, she took a closer look at the table in front of here. Different styles of lighter were strewn about, folded up parchment paper pieces were somewhat neatly thrown in a general pile near a blowtorch. A small glass piece that resembled the bong that Nick just ripped was sitting on a silicone mat, next to that was an unfolded parchment square that contained what Judy could only describe as honey. An interesting multicolored metal scoop of sorts with a large base on the other end sat next to an open bag of weed, a grinder not much farther away. “Weed and my failed attempts at using my oven.” Nick replied, staring up at the ceiling of his small apartment. “You get used to it after a while.” An awkward pause accompanied his explanation. “Fuckin’ stoner.” Judy casually replied as Nick looked over to her, personally offended. “Well, Miss I've-never-done-drugs-in-my-life-because-I’m-overly-straightedge, I happen to enjoy consuming my herbs instead of shooting fuckin’ dope into my arm.” The fox spat, feeling a bit too attacked by the small bunny. “...Right. Anyway, what's all this stuff?” Judy gestured to the items cluttering the small table in front of them. Nick sat up straight, clearing his throat as he began to explain the intricacies of concentrate to the bunny. “That's my dab rig, I call her Laquiesha. You don't smoke flower out of those, you dab concentrate out of ‘em, that's the stuff sitting next to it. It's basically concentrated cannabinoids, terpines, and flavinoids from the flower.” Nick explained, the bunny starting to get a little interested in the conversation. She had heard about flavinoids and terpines before, as her mother had been quite the tea-head, especially when she was younger. “They basically crush the flower with a press until all the good shit seeps out, then they collect it on the parchment paper and use the leftover bud in edibles or something. Speaking of which, hand me the blowtorch please.” Nick took a hold of the dab rig and mat, dragging it across the table. Judy pushed the metal torch over to him gingerly, the printed flame graphic across the base faded and grimy. “Now, you heat up this thing, called a banger, until it's at the temperature you want.” Nick pointed to the weird glass looking thing hanging off the side of the rig. “They usually make them out of quartz cause the glass ones are shitty and break easily. They make ‘em out of metal too, but those are expensive as fuck.” Nick grabbed the torch, turned a dial on the back of the “head” and clicked the trigger. A small, constant flame erupted from the nozzle, accompanied with a whooshing sound as he held the flame underneath the “banger”. “After it's at temperature, you drop your concentrate in and inhale. Make sure to carb it too, or you're wasting it.” “Interesting…anyway, do you name all of your drug paraphernalia?” Judy asked mockingly. “I do, infact. The bong’s named Judith.” Nick shot her a shit-eating grin as he turned off the blowtorch and held his paw above the banger, gauging the temperature. Judy snorted as Nick picked up the nail and gathered a small bit of concentrate on it. “You're an actual child, you know that Nick?” “I'm well aware. Your dab is ready, miss.” the fox stated, pushing the rig gently over to Judy. After a slight mental war, she decided that she would be getting high at some point if she was going to befriend Nick. “Alright, but it's my first time, mister.” “It'll be okay, I'll guide you through it. It'll only hurt for a minute.” Nick replied, chuckling. Judy leaned forward, putting her lips to the mouthpiece and looking towards the fox. She began gently inhaling, amused at the sound the water in the piece made as Nick held the nail and concentrate against the bottom of the banger until it all slid off of the metal nail. Judy was surprised that she really didn't feel any sensation in her throat as the clear glass partially milked up as Nick flipped the nail over and placed the carb cap over the opening on the banger. Judy noticed the resistance as Nick carbed it, and drew harder in response, beginning to feel a scratchy sensation at the back of her throat. The milk disappeared from the piece as Nick removed the carb cap, and Judy straightened back up against the couch. Exhaling carefully, she felt the smoke exit her lungs and partially get caught in her throat. She quickly blew out all she could before breaking out into a coughing fit, signaling Nick to get up and pour her a glass of water. As Judy coughed her lungs up, Nick peered over to her from across the apartment, giggling to himself and calling over to her. “What a pussyyyy. Can't even handle a small dab.” He snickered as he returned to her side by the couch and setting the glass of water on the table. Judy, going through one of the worst coughing fits she'd ever had, quickly swiped up the glass and drained its contents. Her throat felt like fire, her whole mouth felt like it was being pricked with needles...But it wasn't unbearable. Judy's head quickly clouded, her eyes gradually half-lidding themselves as she melted into the couch. From a distance, she heard the trademark call of an annoying fox. “How's it feel?” he asked, and Judy turned her head, shooting him a half smile. She really didn't feel like talking at the moment. Nick chuckled, patting her on the shoulder. “You took that like a fuckin’ champ dude.” Nick probably said other things, but Judy was too focused on the intense body high consuming her very soul at that moment. She felt like she was part of the fabric of time itself, an endlessly flowing river in the bleak emptyness of space, always having existed and will always exist. Whatever that felt like, anyway. Her ears tingled intensely, and laying back against the couch felt euphoric at the moment. Meanwhile, her mind was running at a mile a second in the background. Abstract daydreams that were front and center one instant and gone the next flooded her brain. She felt like she was looking at things with a brand new perspective. She noticed the orangeish sky out the window, and realized how beautiful sundown was. The song in the background sounded extra catchy and she hadn't even noticed when a new one played. Time felt like it had frozen as Nick flicked the TV in the corner on, surfing through the channels before he found the on-demand movies. Judy stared at this magical light box intently, watching as Nick picked a cheesy romantic comedy that she promptly forgot the name of. Or maybe she hadn't seen it because she wasn't paying attention. Whatever, doesn't matter.