{"id":155,"date":"2023-04-13T01:00:52","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T06:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=155"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:23:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:23:15","slug":"snacks-spirits-and-side-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/snacks-spirits-and-side-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Snacks, Spirits, and Side-Eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

9:17 PM \u2013 Post-show, post-fog, halfway to the hotel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Feral Eclipse tour van rattled down a dimly lit Oklahoma backroad with the hum of overworked tires and the soft rattle of empty Red Bull cans somewhere under the bench seat. The scent inside was a cocktail of dried sweat, fog fluid, string polish, and just a hint<\/em> of nacho cheese. Everyone was either comatose or vibrating from leftover adrenaline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel was at the wheel, all sleek black fur and hyper-focus, one clawed hand gripping a giant coffee he somehow hadn\u2019t let go of since the green room. The bass player was still riding high\u2014singing along to whatever was playing on the radio, drumming on the steering wheel like he wasn\u2019t the one doing 67 in a 55.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane sat shotgun, arms crossed, trying to unwind. A fresh coil of cable rested on his lap like a service animal. His fur was matted with sweat and smoke, and he looked half-dead but proud. “Gabriel, you missed the turn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel blinked. \u201cNo I didn\u2019t. There\u2019s a mini-mart up ahead. I saw the sign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMini-mart?\u201d Mark\u2019s voice croaked from the middle seat. \u201cIf they don\u2019t have ibuprofen and soda, we leave Jonah behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRude,\u201d Jonah mumbled from the back. \u201cAlso fair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The van squeaked into the lot of a run-down combo gas station and liquor store. The neon sign buzzed like it had a grudge. A flickering \u201cOPEN\u201d sign clung to one window like it owed someone rent. Inside, the building looked like a time capsule for 1998 and a tax write-off for whoever ran it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel leapt out first, still in performance gear, and made a beeline for the cooler wall like a caffeinated cryptid. \u201cI need sparkling water. Or sugar. Or both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane followed, slower, dragging a clipboard to jot down gear failures and set notes as he walked\u2014still in tech mode. \u201cIf they\u2019ve got batteries, grab some. Half the in-ears crapped out again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rico stepped into the liquor store next door with all the quiet reverence of a man entering a chapel. \u201cDo not follow me. This is sacred time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cassie and Maya stayed in the van arguing about whether it was too late for pizza while Mark stiffly unfolded himself from the backseat and muttered, \u201cThis is how I die. Not onstage. Not in a blaze of glory. In the snack cake aisle of a Chevron.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonah, half-asleep, didn\u2019t even leave the van. He just cracked one eye open and said, \u201cIf anyone finds sour gummy worms, I\u2019ll trade you a cymbal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the mini-mart, fluorescent lights hummed with the existential despair of overworked ceiling panels. Gabriel, now armed with an armful of random energy drinks and a suspiciously purple snack cake, turned and nearly bumped into Thane, who was standing by the batteries… and holding a banana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel blinked. \u201cWhy the banana?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane: \u201cNo idea. My brain said \u2018potassium.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel just nodded. \u201cThat tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, in the liquor store next door, Rico triumphantly held up a bottle of Platinum 7X like a knight presenting a holy relic. \u201cI summon thee\u2014party juice!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maya, having changed her mind, stormed in behind him. \u201cYou better have Fireball in there, Rico, or I swear<\/em>\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark stood outside between both doors, sipping a soda and staring into the parking lot like he was reevaluating every life choice that led him to this moment. \u201cRock and roll,\u201d he muttered. \u201cAll glamour. All the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, everyone filtered back into the van\u2014some with sugar, some with alcohol, and one (Thane) with a banana and a pack of guitar strings that weren\u2019t even the right gauge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they rolled away, Gabriel cranked the volume again. \u201cNext stop: Hotel Chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark leaned his head back and groaned. \u201cWake me when we crash into the pool.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

9:17 PM \u2013 Post-show, post-fog, halfway to the hotel The Feral Eclipse tour van rattled down a dimly lit Oklahoma backroad with the hum of overworked tires and the soft rattle of empty Red Bull cans somewhere under the bench seat. The scent inside was a cocktail of dried sweat, fog fluid, string polish, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3308,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions\/3308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}