Learning to Speak

I draw the card, and look to see the pink face. As the orb glows pink for everyone else to see, there are a few noises of excitement.

I look towards Alex. "That's a condition one, right?" I ask with a bit of nervousness in my voice.

"You know it. Don't be so nervous, it will be fun." Alex agrees.

I nod and take a deep breath before touching the orb again, watching it spin before it lands on a single name: Cassandra

Cassandra smiles. "Ready, John?" She asks. The way she says my name fills me with a sense of fear, or maybe it's the way she is looking at me. She seems to have a plan, like I'm just her prey ready to be trained. I just nod my head. "Well John, if anyone says the word bark, you must bark." She smiles

I start to chuckle, it's not that bad, and it's even a bit funny. "Bark." Hunter says. I was about to chuckle some more, but then in an almost instinctual way, I bark. I don't just say the word bark, I don't just say the word woof. I let out a noise as close to a true dog's bark as I probably ever could. "Woof!"

A few more people chuckle. "Damn, John. Really going for it. It sounds good. Bark." Bryan compliments, or was it a tease? Either way I do it again, letting out a true bark like a dog. I know I'm the one doing it, but it's still a bit of an odd feeling. Almost like I'm being forced to bark, but I know that's not true. I just am following the rules.