Hungry for Glamour (Harvest)

[Sonnie Wu]

Sonnie Wu had just finished a delivery, a manila envelope of documents for a local business, when she felt it. Coming out onto the street, using her phone app to mark the package as delivered, she paused and looked around. The monkey girl could sense the emotion, gnawing and desperate. Hunger.

It was probably the most basic and primal form of Desire. Everything needed to eat. Life must consume life to survive. Every fiber of her being as a Beast understood that need. Animals comprehended hunger on an instinctual level, and made no qualms about fulfilling their want. Meanwhile, humans got picky and entitled about what they ate. Yet the desire remained.

Looking down the street, past the oblivious pedestrians, sat a homeless man. He was middle-aged, dirty and scruffy, dressed in an old army jacket that had seen better days. A cardboard sign rested in his lap, and an upturned hat sat on the sidewalk before him. Occasionally, a pedestrian who wasn't willfully ignoring the man dropped a few coins into the hat.

Sonnie got closer, and she could see the sign identified him as a veteran who was asking for help. It saddened her, but first her own needs took precedence. The young Lost moved just close enough to fully feel the homeless vet's hunger. The yearning for food. Something hot and substantial. The man looked across the street often. Sonnie followed his gaze to a hot dog cart. Steam wafted out of the cart every time the vendor opened it to sell a dog to a customer. She could smell the beef franks from here. The scent of food he couldn't have must be torture for the starving man. His hunger was old and intense.

Closing her eyes, the Spring Courtier soaked in the needful Glamour. It tingled across her body in a pleasurable fashion before settling in her gut. Sonnie's stomach rumbled. Her mouth began to salivate. The smell of the food cart went from pleasing to teasing.

Weird. I had lunch an hour ago, and now I'm suddenly hungry. Is glamour like this for everyone? Does it affect them on a primal level like this? Or is it just me? Is it my animal instincts?

Following her new urge, Sonnie crossed the street, hopping past annoyed motorists, and made a beeline for the hot dog vendor. She bought four dogs with the works. The vendor looked surprised a short, lean woman want so much food, but he didn't say anything of it. These weren't measly little dogs either. They were hearty beef franks. Sausages, really.

Food in hand, the Beast crossed back over the street, and by the time she was on the sidewalk again, half of her first frank had been devoured.

Sonnie approached the homeless vet and handed him the other three hot dogs. He looked up at her, expression hopeless and wary, but the sight of the food uplifted his spirit. At least a little. He accepted the gift with a weary smile.

"Thanks," was all she said, and the one word covered multiple meanings.

Before the man could respond, the young woman had already slipped into the flow of pedestrians and vanished.