✯ — got spirits in my head and they won't go

tapping, stepping, tip-toeing. how he hated the feel of mud between his toes and getting stuck between his pads. quiet exasperated sigh, pelt bushed against the cold as he padded into the perimeter of Tanglewood's borders, the merchant all but silent except for the occasional sucking of mud about his paws, ears swiveling as he listened to the sounds around him in a constant check for danger. his heart was a-pounding in his chest, feeble that heart, the traveler's body trembling as he kept himself in a constant state of high alert.

this was not a favorable situation, the swamps having taken his satchel and with it his notebook full of his language. being mute was certainly not looking to be in his greatest favor at the moment, but when did it ever really? shaking his head as a bug flew past his ear, wide green-gray eyes following it in it's path as some part of his senses awakened and caused the tabby to follow the small bug to sturdier ground. pausing to shake out his paws and lick down his ruffled chest fur, the mute would turn his head before sitting down on the boardwalk he had stumbled across.

cautiously, he rolled a pebble with his paws before taking it in both and cracking it down on the wood, aiming for the nails holding the wood together, hoping for the resulting sound to catch someone's attention. tail nervously flicking behind him, gazing around and drawing in scents with quiet and quick exhales. he'd heard about a group living in the swamp, and it had been part of his journey and well, this swamp was beginning to feel a bit more like home as strange as it was - more like the swamps he'd traveled a long long time ago when he'd been a bigger threat than just a mute tabby cat with claws.

✯ — MALE. TANGLEWOOD. MEDIUM DIFFICULTY. REF. LANGUAGE GUIDE. — ✯

✯ — got spirits in my head and they won't go

head swiveling at the voices and new scents filling in the air around him, ears swiveling back in nervousness, the mute swallowing anxiously. upon his shoulders there were the faintest green sprigs than soon quickly grew into a bed of grass, blossoms of allium and branches of aloe beginning to quickly take root amongst his fur and the greenery upon his shoulders as he lowered his head. shit. shit. god he was going to panic now. shakily raising a paw, the small tom would point to his throat and the three ugly and deep jagged scars crossing his throat. they were the reason he couldn't speak, not in a normal way. if he had his notebook, he could write to them, and he could point out the meanings of the flowers blossoming upon his shoulders, he could speak with them in a way.

taking a deep breath, his gaze frantically searching around him for a flat surface. he just hoped they could read .... finding the trunk of a water-logged tree, he got up and walked over to it before pulling off a section of soaked bark and dropped it on the boardwalk. extending one claw, he pinned the bark down and tried to scratch into the pliant surface a few words, 'i am aesior. can't talk.', as he once again put his paw to his throat and the ugly scarring across it and around his neck. that was a story he would rather not share until he was ready. paw fiddling with the dark collar around his neck that rested against his shoulders and chest, 'want join.' he would scrawl again a bit messily with his claw before pushing the bark towards the both of them, his tail anxiously wrapped around his paws as his eyes worriedly fixed on the both of them.

✯ — MALE. TANGLEWOOD. MEDIUM DIFFICULTY. REF. LANGUAGE GUIDE. — ✯

Eon was concerned as Aesior pointed to scars crossing his throat. The fox would wince, paw raising slightly as he did so. They looked painful. Was that perhaps why they were so quiet? They could have trouble speaking with the injury across their neck.  It wasn’t long until Eons theory was proven correct. He wasn’t great at reading, but he was able to make out what Aesior meant. He frowned slightly, ears twitching.
[color=purple]
“I see” a smooth voice would finally escape his vocals. “We are going to have to wait for the Luminary, she typically handles new joiners, I believe.”

He was new, but he did know it was Firefly who had accepted him into Tanglewood when he first stumbled upon these parts. It was probably best to wait for her.

✯ — got spirits in my head and they won't go

well that sucked balls. he understood having to wait for a higher up to permit him, but the Tom was tired and weary and he just wanted somewhere to rest, some place to call home again. Home was something he hadn't had access to in years, home was a mystery to him now. Nodding after a moment of listening to their words, wincing at a pain acting up in his chest. Turning his head to cough to try to clear the pain, a shiver running through the small tabby. taking a deep breath through his mouth, he held it before exhaling.

What could he give to this group to prove his worthiness? Well, he had his smithy and forge but those were all long abandoned and probably mostly overgrown truth be told. Would there be members of his last group still in the area? Pain flashed through his eyes at the memories of those he'd left behind to go out trading, and those who had disappeared when he had returned to a desolate home, his loved ones long gone. Sitting there, his head bowed in a tired acceptance, fighting back the tears that tried to well. Arlo, Fraggelrock, Seth, hell even Damion and Cleopatra. They all felt like home, a place he'd finally belonged. Now they were gone and here he was, trying to start again. Ragged the breath he inhaled and exhaled, looking at the two kindly faces.

They didn't know who he was, and neither did he know who they were. That was the nature of things, as most it always was. He couldn't help the small blossoms of begonia and puffs of willow that began to sprout upon his shoulders and back like a cape of greenery. He was sad, he knew he was. Looking at the bark at his paws before hesitantly he clawed into its surface, who is Luminary? Names?, the way it was written might come across rude but it was much easier to write small sentences or words, they got the point across so much faster than longer articulated words and sentences.

✯ — MALE. TANGLEWOOD. MEDIUM DIFFICULTY. REF. LANGUAGE GUIDE. — ✯

✯ — got spirits in my head and they won't go

looking back up to the faces, nodding as he made a mental note of kiara's scent, face and name. this was who she was, and he just had to remember it, so he wouldn't forget the next time they met. yes, the small bodied feline was tired, and the sadness pulled itself to the surface. how embarrassing it was to almost breakdown into tears in front of so many other faces he knew little about. taking a breath to calm the volatile feelings in his chest, feelings he hadn't thought much about since his discovery. it had been two years, he should be past it by now.

twisting as he caught a new scent, gaze landing on the woman making her way towards them, the tigress' body making him almost wince in sympathy. the small bodied grim could understand the pain of a body that didn't work the way you needed it to. firefly. this was the luminary before him. dipping his head in greeting, offering a weary smile of his own. amaryllis flowers blossomed on his shoulders next, this tigress was of interest to him. perhaps the suffering of another soul wasn't so far from his own, not that this body was so badly ... injured as her own. one with a body that didn't work as she pleased, and one with a voice that would never be spoken with again.

rest? he would love to rest, he'd love to find his place here. nodding softly at her words, wishing he had his satchel, it made communicating so much easier than anything else. the mute tom was more than happy to take the suggestion of rest, his tail curling about his paws. would he be a good fit? he hoped so.

// amaryllis - of interest/unique //

✯ — MALE. TANGLEWOOD. MEDIUM DIFFICULTY. REF. LANGUAGE GUIDE. — ✯