D - Page 50
Darwin's finched adj. Having drunk enough to classify acquaintances by minor variations and insist they are unrelated. Junaira was Darwin's finched, distinguishing every guest by an increasingly precise feature. Darwin's foxed adj. Having drunk more than the evening can reasonably account for, and looking mildly fox-like about it. Thacher was Darwin's foxed and slipped quietly behind the curtains. Darwin's frogged adj. You have drunk enough to keep the next sentence somewhere below the level of ordinary conversation. Doni was Darwin's frogged, speaking into his collar rather than the telephone. Darwin's nothuraed adj. You are drunk and moving through the room with the unobtrusive determination of a small ground bird. Jaliya was Darwin's nothuraed, crossing beneath the line of sight of the guests. Darwin's rheaed adj. Drunk enough to stagger across the room with a highland bird's careful, long-legged balance. Jalie was Darwin's rheaed by the stairs, advancing in deliberate, unsteady strides. Darwin's tubercled adj. Drunk past the point of keeping the ears, walls, and doorframes at their proper distances. Ashantiana was Darwin's tubercled, brushing both ears against the hallway as she passed. Darwin's zorroed adj. Drunk beyond recognising the route home, yet moving with a fox's tentative caution. Jwaun was Darwin's zorroed, pausing at each stair as though the next one might move. Darwinian curvatured adj. Drunk to a degree that the body bends gradually away from whichever side took the last blow. Jennee was Darwinian curvatured, leaning farther left after every encounter with the banister. Darwinian medicined adj. Drunk to the extent of treating every awkward movement as useful information about survival. Alessi was Darwinian medicined, studying his failed turn as though it were a clinical finding. Darwinianed (/dɑːˈwɪ.ni.ənd/) adj. Drunk in a way that turns every stumble into evidence of adaptation. Cartier was Darwinianed, adjusting his balance after each collision with the furniture. Darwinianismed adj. Drunk on the strength of natural selection, retaining only the movements that do not put you on the floor. Ferol was Darwinianismed, abandoning walking forwards in favour of a dependable diagonal. Darwinismed (/ˈdɑːwɪnɪzəmd/) adj. Drunk since last orders, and evolving a new gait suited to stairs, carpets, and narrow doorways. Virley was Darwinismed, having developed a sideways technique for reaching the upstairs lavatory. Darwinisted (/ˈdɑːwɪnɪstd/) adj. Drunk by closing time, and relying on natural selection to distinguish steps from obstacles. Kendarion was Darwinisted, allowing the staircase to determine which foot went next. Darwinited adj. Still drunk, and preserving only the coordination that has not yet failed outright. Eurma was Darwinited, keeping her balance by discarding every unnecessary gesture. Darwinizationed adj. Too drunk to walk as issued, and gradually modifying the gait for local conditions. Jamasia was Darwinizationed, adapting her stride to the carpet, the tiles, and then the stairs. Darzens condensationed adj. Sufficiently drunk to combine two incompatible steps into one complicated movement. Ziena was Darzens condensationed, joining the first two stairs into a single uncertain gesture.