howling for you / open, visiting

For all the times he roamed his homeland's territory, Raymond found himself less engaged than usual. Not even the tree markers could stop him from moving along through the territory to find something new. After all, Tanglewood, while active and enthralling, was not always as lively as he hoped. The community lacked novel ideas. Hell, even their meetings were rather lackluster. Leroy usually bumbled on about their new disdain for The Pitt while Crow kissed his ass and Aurum simped for any attention he could, even from the lowest of fiends. Not even their events were outgoing. They always seemed traditional. What even is a mask ceremony? And war paint? Why have both instead of just one for battle?

Needless to say, he was considering his options. With nothing left to do in Tanglewood for the time being, he needed something else to do... or perhaps somewhere else to explore. The Typhoon was already a destination of his, seeing that he was their ambassador, and Elysium didn't seem too different these days. The Pitt seemed interesting though. Once the thought of visiting their enemy entered his mind, he couldn't help but ignore it. What lurked there? They couldn't be so bad.

Impulsively, Raymond rose to his feet from inside his home and sauntered away. Soon enough, he passed the Tanglewood border, sashayed through the neutral grounds, and soon wandered into the deserts of The Pitt's border. As he arrived, the jaguar stopped. He inhaled sharply. The fresh air, unlike the swamp's musk, was strangely pleasant. With his satisfaction fulfilled, he lowered his haunches and wrapped his tail around his front paws. A hazel gaze stared outwards. The greenery of the jungle in the distance sat on the horizon. It seemed like a mile away, yet so close. Despite being an enemy, he desired to go further into their territory and explore their land. Whether that was for his benefit or his clan's would be unbeknownst to them.

Now settled, the jaguar let out a stern yell. "Hello, hello?" he called out. "If I may visit and talk peacefully, that would be delightful." He meant no harm currently. The Pitt was not his personal enemy, but being a Tanglewooder did paint a target on him. Nevertheless, their kind had never done anything to him currently, nor did he see their ways as 'cruel'. Even one deranged leader couldn't change that. All of the other groups defended themselves from war and attacked in retaliation, so why couldn't they? Instead of judging them as a whole, he'd prefer to individually assess them. He hoped they would do the same in return.

I'll come back when you call me

An abrupt shape shifting incident led to the petite vixen's unfortunate balance. Wobbling legs. Shifting feathers. Only stubbornness brought the fae beyond the jungle. Though the sun was merciless across the sand, it was open and Aine could walk without tripping over a stray vine or root.

Her walk progressed to a hesitant trot, hazel hues fixated on a beetle scurrying past her. Trailing it as she would before, albeit with frequent stumbling and several near-falls, soft giggles abundant.

A mucky scent threw her off her pursuit, hooves skidding in the sand. Tanglewood? Again? Why can't they leave us alone? A voice. Peace. Peaceful? No, no. Could be lying. A trick. Peaceful? The golden tigress once came 'peacefully', baring 'gifts'. Gifts including the same scent the panther carried. She could still hear the fire crackling around her, spitting flames and smoke.

The winged deer-fox could feel her chest constrict. An invisible boa wounding tight around her lungs. Her ears flattened even as she slowly began to approach, eyes flickering. "..." No. He wasn't a child like Trygve, like herself. He wasn't doing anything more than sitting either but...

She kept her distance. Several fox-lengths. Even that felt too close. "..." Her teeth caught the inside of her cheek, biting softly.

"... Wh-why?" Go away, go away please. "... Plea-please leave." Go away. Even if he truly meant no harm, which he could still, the last friendly visitor had been meant with immediate hostility by her clanmates. Which meant Tanglewood would have reason to come back in full force again. Why can't they just leave us be? "..."

"'m-'m sorry but. But no one. N-no one wants you 'ere."

— aine | the pitt | commodore of the crows | fae druid —

[div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ — Roan was hardly the best example of a Pittian for Raymond to meet first. Mainly because Roan very much wasn't a Pittian. Much like the jaguar currently relaxing peacefully on the Pitt's border, Roan was merely a visitor on their lands. The circumstances between their visits were quite different, however. While Raymond had come to the Pitt of his own fruition out of seemingly boredom, Roan had run to the group as an escape, desperate for somewhere to rest until he was finally ready to face the music. If Roan was a more petty person, perhaps he would've felt a sort of perverse jealousy of Raymond, getting to come and go without the weight of guilt on his back. However, the apprentice wasn't that sort of person, so when he heard Raymond's call from within Silver's hollow, he felt merely curiosity. Dark grey paws pressed down on golden sands as the boy emerged from the burrow, moving over to where the jaguar was currently standing. Roan wasn't sure what scent he had been expecting when he had first begun to wander over, but it certainly hadn't been Tanglewood. Luckily, the swamp scent only served to put the boy at ease, used to it from the occasional visits from their close ally. He couldn't imagine that the Pittians would be too pleased with this newcomer, however.

Swallowing a little nervously as he glanced around, Roan came to a stop nearby, sitting down in front of Raymond and tilting his head up a bit to meet the other's gaze. Despite how much he had grown recently, the draconic apprentice was still far from his full size, and Raymond remained much taller than him, for now. Aine had arrived first, and when Roan noticed the obvious displeasure and anxiety in her voice, he felt his heart clench. Despite them only knowing each other for a short while now, Aine was his family. Group loyalties or not, the boy didn't have any desire to see her suffer, especially not when Trygve had spoken so highly of her. Shifting a little awkwardly, Roan stretched out a wing to gently touch Aine, trying to provide her with some kind of comfort without directly speaking to her. Her words were harsh, but they were probably true. Raymond was from an enemy group, and while Roan was also technically an enemy, he was fairly sure that Kydobi and the others had gone easy on him, mostly due to his age and distress. He didn't say anything for now, figuring that Aine's words had been enough. Besides, he didn't really have any place to speak anyways. He didn't have any authority within the Pitt, and even if he did, he'd probably just end up agreeing with his relative. It was probably best for Raymond to just go, for the sake of them all. Roan didn't want to see this break out into anything violent – although he was sure that Aine wouldn't be the one to start such a thing.
[align=center] [Image: 2x48tfY]

Tanglewood. Silvertides himself had no personal history with the swamp dwelling group, but he had certainly heard of them. It was hard not to, when one was living within the Pitt and making an effort to get out there more. It was difficult to measure whether Tanglewood or the Typhoon was hated more in the list of the Pitt's enemies, but both had come under equal scorn when Silver had listened in. So much so that the fox had honestly been sort of shocked when Roan had been allowed in, although that shock had been mixed in with a great deal of relief. Perhaps Kydobi was just a soft man, or perhaps he just knew that you attracted more flies with honey than salt. Either way, Roan had been accepted in, and Silver had been making it a personal duty to take care of the boy until he went back home. The scientist had just been relaxing with one of his books when Raymond's call echoed down into his hollow, and before the vulpine even got a word in edgewise, Roan was gone. Sighing heavily, Silvertides shut his book, getting up to his paws and heading out into the rest of the territory, moving towards not only the scent of Roan, but the scent of Tanglewood as well. The unfamiliar smell made his nose wrinkle, the wet and humid smell that most Tanglers carried on their pelts much different from the dry and arid scent of The Pitt.

The unusually colored fox arrived just in time to hear the tail end of Aine's nervous orders for Raymond to leave, and he immediately felt himself frown. He was sure Aine had her reasons for wanting the guy to leave, but he didn't want anything breaking out. This Raymond guy didn't seem like the type to hurt anybody, but when Aine and Roan were right in front of him, just a few tail lengths away... it made Silver anxious. As such, the vulpine moved in close, sitting in the space between the two children and Raymond, his body fluffed up. Silver was hardly a fighter, but even if he just served as a meat shield for Aine and Roan to get away in case of trouble, that was enough for him. With his voice slightly shaky, the bespectacled male glanced downwards before speaking, "I... I'm not exactly a high position around here or anything, but I think that you should go too. All you're gonna end up doing is upsetting people, and even Kydobi can't keep certain people from acting up. I mean, you're already upsetting her..." He gestured towards Aine with his fluffy tail, worrying the inside of his cheek with his fangs in an attempt to soothe himself. Hopefully Kydobi or Gael would arrive soon. They always had the more authoritative ways of dealing with things.

decisions to decisions are made and not bought

The people from the swamp were bad. Point blank within Astiar's mind did that statement stand. Even with the most basic brainpower he knew that the people that smelled and felt of the dense water and murky trees were not pleasant. The burning was all to familiar. The shouting came too easily to mind. Astiar knew better than to go there now - even if he felt like he'd left on a high note. After all, he had given them that by all means and purposes was food. Yet later the screaming had still continued, even if it had not been directed at him. They were not pleasant. They burned his food, took it, and then didn't even eat it. Perhaps if his mind worked a little better, he'd know that nobody else but he ate entire trees.

Buzzing sounded his approach, the large dragon trotting over. His sense of smell was odd, but he had registered the stench of the swamp. He could hear the commands, the pleas to leave. Mandibles clicked as Astiar moved closer. "NO BURN PEACEFUL GOOD YES," Astiar broadcasted after a few moments pause. If the other claimed to be peaceful, that was good, yes? He didn't see anger on the other's face - he couldn't feel it in the air. Except from those tense about the Tanglewood native being on the land of those that were threatened to be wiped off the lands if they made one more mistake. Astiar was oblivious to such things, for it was simply the buggy way. If there was no fire, Astiar had no problems. He drops his head a little, chittering noises parting from him.

control yourself and take only what you need from it

TAGS 9/4/19:

GENERAL.
✧ Astiar | Asti, Ast, Bug
✧ physically medium, mentally easy | 7/30
✧ male | he/him
✧ unallianced
— wherever there is food, that is where Astiar will take up temporary residence. Notably most of his time is spent in the Pitt, but has distanced himself from the group due to the lack of food following the raid.

APPEARANCE.
✧ dragon (ref.) | health: 100% | cicada
— a nine foot seven inches tall cicada themed dragon. He has four antennae growing on his head from orange growths on his head. Two grow in front of his twisted horns, and two from behind. Dewclaws point backwards from the body-facing side of all six feet. He has mandibles on either side of his mouth that come from his upper jaw. The top of his upper jaw lays a hardened segment of scales, dotted with yellow dots. These extend as deep green freckles onto the face. A long stinger rests at the end of his lanky, segmented tail. His body has the segmented build of an insect, consisting of a deep orange head, brown body and abdomen, and black spine. His underbelly is a pale navy, with splotches of yellow showing the separation of the sections. His wings are tinted blue, but are translucent. The membrane for them is a bright, vibrant orange. Each wing has one claw at it's second bone, pointing down the rest of the wing's length from the body. His front paws have five fingers, while the rest of his limbs have only three toes. His red eyes are near unblinking, and are built like that of an insect. A series of jagged spikes rise from his black back, and run down his head to his neck.
— tongue and blood is yellow
— current injures: burnt front right leg, deep scratches in his front scales

COMMUNICAION.
✧ Soft Buzzing
— Ambient noise. Pleased. Feels like making noise. Stretching. Curious.
✧ Loud Buzzing
— Angry. Infuriated. Sizing up. Stop. About to strike. Flying.
— IF ALONE: 'Come here'. 'Come closer'. 'Help'. 'Need assistance'. Lonely
✧ Mandible Clicking
— Ambient noise. Hungry. Curious. Nervous.
✧ Hissing
— Angry. Irritated. About to strike. Stop. 'Stay away'. 'I'm uncomfortable'. Testing vocal cords.
✧ Chattering
— Ambient noise. Mimicking speech. Pleasant.
✧ Grumbling
— Irritated. Annoyed. Being pessimistic. Bothered.
✧ Roaring
Angered. Infuriated. Enraged. Sizing up. Stop. About to strike.
✧ Rumbling
— Curious. Intrigued. Friendly. 'Come closer'. Pleased. Happy.
✧ Screeching
— Submission. 'Stop'. 'Go away'. 'I yield'. Panic. Fear. Terror.

PERSONALITY.
✧ Curious, inquisitive, devoted, loyal, open-minded
✧ neutral sided, easily impressed, impressionable
✧ clueless, over-obedient, takes commands without hesitation

RELATIONSHIPS.
✧ adok x yitz
✧ clipyer
✧ demiromantic bisexual | single
✧ friends
— will add

INTERACTIONS.
✧ physically medium | mentally easy | mental manipulation/communication | no weapons | claws, teeth, talons
✧ will start/end fights on command, hard provoke | will kill
— notably this is for instances where Astiar must fight. If able, Astiar will never raise his claws against any other creature unless he has been directly ordered to do so
— commands must be one word. If any words follow the command, Astiar is unable to understand due to his limited intelligence. Heavy presence of emotion will equally tarnish his ability to follow commands.
✧ very limited fighting knowledge
✧ allowed to powerplay peaceful actions | attack in bolded #B21925 | mention [member=7712]Astiar[/member] when attacking

MISC.
— mostly feral
— speaks a wordless bug language
— worker drone
✧ Obeys without question as long as it is a simple command
— eats trees and other hard plant matter
— cannot understand speech

At the child’s arrival, Raymond couldn’t help but crane his head to the side. A confused expression spread across his face. He was dearly wondering why The Pitt’s first line of defense was a cowardly fox cub. They should be with their parent or safe with someone else. Not wandering about in the desert, ready to be snatched by any rogue. Thankfully for her, he didn’t fancy those practices... At least not without a reason.

In lieu of her dismay, he let out a dismissive sigh. For a moment, he considered lowering to the floor and getting on her level, but ultimately decided against it. If they were truly against him, that would leave him vulnerable. Even so, he wasn’t here to babysit. “Darling, I mean no harm,” Raymond sweetly replied. His paw extended outwards, showing his sheathed claws. “I’m not your enemy.” At least to him. Inside he wondered what trauma led to her decision or even if Tanglewood’s reputation was so dauntingly evil here. It seemed, in his mind, that all the groups mutually were sinful. Whatever Tanglewood had done left a mark, while vice versa with The Pitt. He couldn’t help but pity the thought.

With the arrival of Roan and Silvertides, the panther remained calm. Their minimal size proved no threat to him. “I don’t mean to upset her.” His green eyes shifted towards Aine once again, offering a subtle nod of his head. There wasn’t much he could do besides be friendly to her. Children weren’t always his strong suit. “I don’t know what my group has inflicted on you, but all I can offer is my condolences and hope for change.” If his visit could possibly offer somewhat of a change, perhaps even a divide, then so be it. “I don’t wish to continue the legacy of dishonesty, as some of my group mates would.” Not that he necessarily cared about their peace. He merely wanted a way in, nothing else. Whether that provided him information, new acquaintances, or an interesting exploration was unknown to him. ”But I will leave if you wish,” he finalized, despite his disappointment.

At least Astiar seemed to understand, despite their incompetence.

MERCEDE

[table]
[tr][td]

[/td]
[td]

diamonds are a girl’s bestfriend -

mercede f. callahan
the pitt
3 months

pronounced: (mur-say-dee)

general
female - marble cross fox (white, gray, black) - 2 months - Jervis x Fourthwall - no crush - no mentor

powers
mental manipulation

[/td][/tr][/table]

call me your sweet baby —

How many times had she or her sisters told Aine to be tougher? The girl was weak and now she was a wobbly legged deer. The girl didn’t like outsiders in the least, they were not welcome on her territory. Although she expected the opposite when she was the tresspasser.

The girl scowled as she listened to the conversation. She would waddle over with a high pitched growl. Aine was a push over who couldn’t get the job done. In fact all of them were. She didn’t know much about this Silvertides but she didn’t trust him and he seemed soft too. Astiar? Probably had no clue what was going on and she was still angry about the who egg stealing situation.

“Lies!”, she would growl at the jaguar. Who cares if he could end her with a slap? Something told her she would be fine, as if she was blessed.

“You need to leave you ugly stinky tangler.”, her little claws would unsheathe themselves as she bared her pointy little fangs, “You.. you fucking asshole.”

For her, cursing was one of the highest verbal assaults. A lesson taught to her form Noor. Screw being a lady. Mercede decided when she wanted to be all dainty and proper. Some situations called for a more aggressive tactic. Besides, the little girl was always hungry for violence.

“We already have a big ugly black jaguar and I can’t stand the sissy! I’m surrounded by sissies! But I’m not a sissy! I’m Mercede Callahan and I’ll kill you if you don’t obey me!”

She was working herself up. Making a scene as only Mercede could.

♛ GAEL Ó BROIN

The presence of Tanglewood on the border oft brought violence or incited anger. Yet to observe any deviation from the pattern, the vulpine frowned as he padded towards the scent of a swamp dweller. Hazel eyes narrowed, glinting gold in the sunlight.

With no hesitation, the faerie placed himself in front of his daughter, gently pushing Aine behind him. In the wake of her sudden transformation, he hardly saw why she wanted to be away from the jungle in the first place. Knowing her, he suspected an insect culprit.

In silence, Gael observed the panther, ears flicking as others spoke around him. Had the children been absent, he may have considered discovering what it was the swamp dweller sought by this endeavor of 'peaceful' talks.

Living a long life meant he preferred to judge others individually, rather than by their allegiance alone, yet he could hardly dismiss such loyalties, especially when they were enemies. Especially when the group brought danger to his daughter; an unforgivable offense.

"Regardless of your personal convictions," the Irishman intoned, "I believe it is in everyone's best interests for you to return home."

"ISN'T IT LOVELY?" —-- gael ó broin / faerie / pittian / lamby

IM JUST A SOUL WHOSE INTENTIONS ARE GOOD -
♕tags-powers♕

[OOC: ]

The cluster of Pittians would always gather the Ardent’s attention enough to at least stop by and check. When such gatherings took place by the borders or near the jaguar would especially make an effort to hurry over and see what was happening. Typically there was a trespasser or someone wishing to join.

Considering recent events within the group pertaining particular members, Kydobi would like to arrive early before any conflict happened. Damage control and defusing was what a leader was supposed to do.

As he neared he would smell Tanglewood, it was strong enough to be a massive group or any size needed to worry about. In fact majority of the bodies he saw were Pittians, a large percent were smaller than the strange jaguar save for Astiar.

Most were children and that sort of bothered him, but it wasn’t something he could change. Only time could do that, but the Pitt would have some true loyal members. Of course, he would become much more interested when his eyes laid in the jaguar who was most definitely the tangler. If they were perhaps another species then Kydobi wouldn’t be so open minded. Tanglers were crude and crass for the most part.

As he walked up he would look them over, inspecting them. It was an odd quirk Kydobi had, he had this need to analyze fellow felines and decide if they were good specimens. If they were that further improved his opinion on them. It was a dangerous thing but he couldn’t help it, nor was he aware of it.

Growing up in a kingdom solely made of Jaguars gave him his preferences. In situations like these he tended to be more willing or accepting of the feline’s faults. He would hear Gael tell the stranger it was best to leave and something in Kydobi would clench, “No! No. I would like to hear what they have to say.”

He would lie to himself and say it’s because he wanted to leave a good impression. A solid encounter that they could go back to the swamp and spread tale of. But in truth he got minor comfort from their presence, it made the damaged child within feel safe. It reminded him of the home he had lost deep down and it comforted him. Even if Raymond wasn’t of the same giant variation as his own people, it was still pleasant.

“I’m Kydobi. Who are you?”

[sub][W]isker[/sub]

I'll come back when you call me

No, no, no. They'd be nice before. They'd used nice words before. It could be another trap. Subconsciously, her eyes darted around their surroundings. As the jaguar stretched a paw out, Aine scuttled backwards, ears remaining flat against her skull. For once, she found herself in agreement with Mercede. Lies.

She was more than relieved upon her father's arrival, taking the opportunity to take a few deeper breaths through her nose. Watching. Waiting for him to leave. To this be over with. Only for her eyes to widen and lock on Kydobi in bitter shock and betrayal.

A storm of confusion flooded her mind, hooves scratching into the sand in antsy energy. She wanted away. Far away. From the stranger. He could leave. He could just leave but Kydobi didn't want him to? "..." A frustrated, perturbed growl built in her throat. "..."

How could he...? "... I trusted you." The words left, barely audible, in dazed denial. She ruffled her wings, unable to look at the ardent. If this was a trap... If this was a trap... She didn't want to watch anyone get hurt. Not again.

"... Da. S'il vous plaît." Make him go away. Please. Please

— aine | the pitt | commodore of the crows | fae druid —