Jericho hasn't traveled much since Sunhaven settled — even the furthest reaches of the mountains are unfamiliar to him yet, for most of his attention has been directed at the little sea town on the beach.  He's a leader now, after all, as odd as the word sounds to his ears; there's no time for him to wander the territory picking flowers and herbs as he once did so often.  In his free time he tries his best to become familiar with the terrain, but such times are few and far between.  And all that's beyond is completely alien to him — the people, the land, the groups.  It's why he's here now, for he knows to keep Sunhaven safe and prosperous they cannot live in isolation, and he'd rather get that much sorted sooner rather than later.

It's somewhat of a miracle that the blind tabby has made it this far, considering how small and weak he is.  Jericho often has to take breaks when going long distances, but he's reached the canopy and made rather good time.  At his side is his leather satchel, dragging lightly along the ground (he's too short for it, even when the strap is as short as it'll go) behind his white-tipped paws as they gently move across the forested earth.  The peaks have long since evened out, the terrain here much flatter, but above him the sun remains blotted out by the trees.  He's no longer in Sunhaven territory, yet where this is he does not know.  Though he hobbles forth still, his steps steadily become more hesitant, more cautious the further he strays.  He tastes the air every few paces for foreign scents with jaws that hang just slightly ajar.  He's found nothing yet, but this time when Jericho inhales there's something — someone, maybe?  No, multiple someones. 

The ginger-furred feline halts abruptly, a paw still lifted in the air as if uncertain of whether to proceed.  The blind male's ears swivel behind him with a slight turn of his head, hoping that his clanmates have been following.  Jericho wants to be a leader, but he knows a someone as tiny and feeble as himself could certainly use some backup.  He exhales — he doesn't want to think about that; it makes his stomach turn.  He faces forward, his unseeing amber eyes flickering searchingly as he attempts to pinpoint with scent and hearing where strangers might be.  No one.  Jericho relaxes slightly; he knows this is a border, and he doesn't want to anger any potential groups by intruding, but at least he's left with a moment of silence to gather himself.  Among the trees in peaceful quietness the Helion waits, unsure of what's to come.

© MADI

Thea made her way over, offering a grin to the feline, even if something nagged at her, for some reason. A blurry orange figure is all that appears in her mind, like a camera lens that refuses to focus, for a few moments, fading away before she could even grasp it's meaning.

"Hi! Are you a joiner? Or just a visitor?" She asked, ears flicking, and she sat down, front paws covered by her tail.

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Oh goodness, there's quite a few of them here, aren't there?  Jericho's sightless amber eyes widen a bit in surprise — it's certainly a good thing they all seem friendly enough.  Blindly goes his gaze move (though it never quite looks at any of the creatures as it passes over them) as he quietly tries to take in all of the words and match them with each scent.  He appears hesitant, waiting in polite silence for all of them to arrive, though he does his best to acknowledge each with a dip of his head and a gentle kindness within his unseeing eyes.  His ears prick at the sound of more approaching footfalls, unique from the others who have since arrived in that these sound to come from behind.  As she speaks he realizes Bridgette has joined him, met with a relieved smile from the ginger tomcat.  He's rather glad to have someone familiar with him, surrounded by all these dizzyingly unfamiliar voices and smells. 

"Well, ah, we're rather new," he adds, specifically in response to Gabriel, with a rather sheepish smile.  It's no wonder they likely haven't heard of them — this is the Helion's own first encounter with the Ascendants, as they call it.  "I-It's very nice to meet all of you!  We, um, w-we just settled in nearby and wanted to visit."  He again offers a smile, this time directed at all the strangers standing before him.  Jericho is not radiant, but he is indeed warm; and his smile, while slight, is genuine.  "I also was wondering... I mean, w-whether you'd all be interested in an alliance.  We have lots of shopkeepers in Sunhaven — I f-figured we could come by and trade sometime."  The feline falls silent for a moment, meditating on his own words before he adds to Gabriel again with a bigger smile this time, "I-If you... ah, were looking to sell that rock of yours."