Bye-bye, baby blue.

Where was she? Why did everything hurt? How did she end up so... alone? So many questions swirled in Blue's head as she stared upwards, mint green eyes taking in the trees that towered above her. When she tried to recall how she had gotten here, her mind mainly just... came up blank. All she could remember was flashes, really. She and her siblings, running through the neutral lands, desperately fleeing from... something. She couldn't remember it clearly, but it had been big, and angry, and it had wanted to eat them. Why had their parents just left them to that? Why did they just leave the cubs in a basket, for anyone to stumble across? Why weren't her siblings here, with he—it was gone. The panic, the beasts, the faces... all gone in an instant. Locked away, where her mind couldn't access the memories that wanted to tear her apart.

Instead, the young lioness was once again left sitting there, staring up at the trees of the Twisted Forest as she tried to figure out what to do. She felt so tired, and her eyelids were so heavy... part of her just wanted to curl up and sleep right there, among the roots that surrounded her. However, something told her that wasn't such a good idea. The part of her that left her on edge, her pelt pricked and her jaw clenched as if everything was out to get her. As if on cue, her bright gaze jolted to the side, staring into the shadows for any sign of life. When she found nothing, she relaxed only minutely.

Ultimately, Blue decided that she could sit there no longer. Trying to rest was a lost cause, and trying to just sit in place? She'd end up having a panic induced heart attack before she properly figured anything out. So instead, the girl allowed her paws to guide her, small body slipping through the tightly packed trees as she walked along. After a while, the smell of salt reached her, combined with something else. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it drove her forward, through the brambles and thicket until she came out the other side. To her own surprise, her paws soon sank down into soft and warm sand, causing her to jolt and glance downwards. She was on... a beach? The girl really hadn't been expecting that, but she supposed it made sense. An island would naturally have some kind of boundaries, eventually. It also explained the salty scent that she had been following.

Maw cracking open slowly, Blue still struggled to identify the other scent that she had been following, although it had grown unbearably strong. It almost mingled with the scent of the sea that was already presence, but also had a faintly earthy and woody touch to it. Unbeknownst to her, it was the scent of the Palm Glades, the group whose territory she had already trespassed fairly far into. Still, having not encountered anyone just yet, Blue kept padding along until she reached the edge of the water, tracing the line of where sea met sand with her paws. The young lioness had no particular goal in mind as she followed the water, but it wasn't as if she had anywhere important to be. She had no idea where her parents were, or if her beloved siblings were even ali—what had she been thinking about again?

With her head and heart suddenly feeling very heavy, Blue was startled from her thoughts when she walked right into something. Jerking her head back, she slowly inspected the landmark she had come across – a bar, or at least that was what it looked like. A trio of palm trees, all curled around each other with plenty of rocks to hold coconuts nearby. With how exhausted she felt from her travels, the cub slowly made her way over to one of the large rocks, settling down between a couple of them. She had every intention of just resting in the safe little alcove, sleeping until she knew what to do with herself.

As soon as Blue began to drift off, though, the sound of approaching footsteps reached her. Immediately her head snapped up once more, mintt green eyes alive with panic and fear. She pressed herself stubbornly against the rocks behind her, trying to sound as intimidating as possible as she spat, "Who... who's there? Show yourself! I won't let you hurt me, you know!" She was being a little more hostile than was truly needed, but she had no idea of that. For all she knew, the footsteps were those of an approaching enemy, looking to gut her.

— Reggan

It was funny, how Blue and Drayden had came to The Palm Glades passed out. At least, that's what it seemed like what happened to the other cub, given how she was starting to doze off by the time Drayden arrived. He was going to call out for help whenever the blue-colored lioness called out to him, which... startled him a bit, actually.

"Uh, I don't think I'll hurt you." Drayden said rather awkwardly as he decided to show himself, ears pricked as he stared at Blue. "Are you okay? You seem tired. I can, um. See if Winterhymns will allow you to stay a night here, if you want." He was rambling at this point, not entirely sure what he was supposed to say. He brought up the Legate of The Palm Glades, as if that would have any significance to Blue.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

Surprisingly – to Blue's frightened mind, anyways – the first to approach her wasn't some bloodthirsty murderer. Instead it was just... a boy. He definitely looked older than her, but still not old enough to be an adult, and that put her somewhat at ease. Until he opened his mouth, that is. As soon as he did, Blue found her ears flicking back against her head, tome slightly frantic, "You... you don't think you'll hurt me? That's a pretty big thing to only think!" In the back of her mind, Blue could identify that perhaps she was being a little paranoid. However, she found that she just couldn't help it. She was alone, in an unfamiliar place, barely able to remember what had happened to her... it was a stressful situation. She at least seemed to ease up a bit when Drayden mentioned her being able to stay, a fact which caused her to pause.

It wasn't as if she had anywhere else to go, considering the circumstances. She didn't have a family left to return to, nor did she have a group she had aligned herself with. If she turned down the offer, there was no guarantee of where she would even end up. It was because of this that she eventually muttered, her tail flicking to and fro behind her, "Stay...? I wouldn't mind staying here, as long as I'd be safe... who's Winterhymns?" Despite the obvious sense of respect in Drayden's words as he spoke about the other, Blue still had little idea of who the legate could be. It wasn't as if she had kept up a lot with the politics of the larger groups, after all.

When Wyvernkit approached, Blue's mint green eyes were quick to snap over to the other, wide and wary. Still... Wyv seemed even younger than the lioness herself, and she seemed as though she was aligned with Drayden in some way. That was enough to consider her "safe" in the paranoid cub's mind, for the moment at least. After a brief second of silence, Blue eventually spoke up once more, "M... My name is Blue. Just... Blue." It only seemed fair to introduce herself. After all, she had inadvertently learned Drayden's name through Wyvernkit's approach.

— Reggan

Drayden's head pulled back in surprise at Blue's sudden outburst, narrowing his eyes and frowning at the lioness for a moment before he looked back when hearing Wyvernkit's voice. "Winterhymns is our, uh. Leader. You should be safe if you stay with us, though. Whether its just for tonight or as long as possible." He remembered when he first stumbled upon The Palm Glades and was offered to stay, he originally only intended to stay a couple of days. And yet here the snow leopard was, a whole-ass Gladiator.

"Looks like we might have someone staying with us tonight, Wyvernkit." Drayden finally answered the kitten that had joined him, lowering his head and smiling at the kid. "Do you think you can get Win for me?"[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]