☼ - This land was familiar in a way that made her heart ache. It was not the heavy humidity of a swamp but air that burned her lungs as she inhaled it, the crispness of northern snows lingering in the air as late summer slowly shifted to early autumn. This was the sort of environment the kitsune was raised in, a chill she associated with home, no matter how twisted or evil that "home" had been. It had given Delphinium her sisters, it had given her Iota, but it had taken all of them away from her as well. But this quaint group in the mountains did not have sinister intentions. She could sense it, in the lands and the souls of those that inhabited it. It was so... different from Tanglewood. While Beck was in charge, it was a dog-eat-dog atmosphere - the only thing that kept the girl in the warbound group was Iota. But without Iota, with the ability to pack seedlings, with nothing chaining her to Tanglewood but the residue of loyalty she held not for the group but her closest friend, it was finally time for Delphinium to depart from Tanglewood. She had left silently - she doubted her absence would be noticed, she had no one to say goodbye to. In her own way Delphinium would miss the musty swamps, what she had come to know as familiar.

The heavy satchel thumping at her side was a sharp reminder that she shouldn't wallow in the past any longer. She had let it consume enough of her life enough, and while the better part of her knew it would always be chewing at her mind as she gazed ahead at the tundra with mountains looming in the distance a buzz of nervousness and excitement ignited her veins. She could sense lifeforces near her. Delphinium knew she wasn't alone, at least for much longer. "Hello?" The mythic called out, eight tails swirling behind her nervously as Delphi slowly lowered herself into a sit. She did not have to go through this process in Tanglewood. Rather, she had brought directly in by Iota. The fear of messing up her chance at staying in Snowbound was nearly suffocating. Pulling her clipped wings in close to her body, olive green eyes grazed across the unfamiliar lands slowly. "I'm - I'm, ah, looking to join Snowbound?"

ATBASH CIPHER

i know i should stop believing
i know there's no retrieving

bio | female | hailcaller [leader] of snowbound

Gwen was a bit late, but offered a soft smile to the stranger nonetheless, even if she felt a prickle of discomfort at first, seeing the kitsune. Not that it was her fault, but it reminded her of her family. That was what she was trying to escape, and pupiless eyes settled on the newcomer as Gwen came to a stop next to Atbash.

"I'm Gwen, pleased to meet you. M-may I ask what your name is?" She had taken note none of them asked, and figured it would be safe to, tails twitching and moving this way and that as she waited, an odd habit of hers.

.. After that one week of no joiners, Izuku was pretty relieved about the sudden influx of them. And also very concerned, because of the Pitt. But regardless!! He was very invested in Snowbound's wellbeing, after all.
This being said, Izuku, too, was hot on Atbash's tail. The Frosthealer-Snowseeker-??? was a worrywart, partly by nature, partly not, and it was perfectly reasonable for him to trot after Atbash like a duckling. Though .. he ... did that even when Atbash was ... healthy. Because Izuku was an anxious wreck and liked being around his friend. Cosette was a pretty new addition to this, but one Izuku took to nonetheless. And so, as they halt between the newcomer, it's Cosette that gets a tail loosely curled around her, along with Atbash. And .. probably Gwen, too, since the three of them were all together. Not touching -- Izuku wasn't even aware he was doing stuff like this. But Izuku was a protector above all else.
"Um, okay! Welcome to Snowbound!" He chirrs, ear giving a nervous flick as he grins. His eyes are a little wide, but he still maintains that bright, friendly look about him. Even if he was, y'know, massive, and maybe just a little scary-looking. "I'm Izuku, the, uh, Frosthealer, and ... Snowseeker." Gwen had already asked for the newcomers' name, luckily. Izuku was ... a bit of a wreck today, wasn't really willing to go beyond saying the usual. So. Great.

☼ - What an odd creature to approach her first. Not the first of his kind Delphinium had seen, and certainly not the last in this unusual land beyond the walls of the Sanctuary, but not the first soul she expected to encounter on Snowbound's edges. Tamaghna, he had introduced himself as. Not a name Delphi could repeat. The navy kitsune offered a soft smile of her own at the chipper greeting, not able to match the fledgling dragon's enthusiasm. A language she had never heard before rolled smoothly from Tama's tongue, causing the girl's ears to angle backward. The tone told a tale of no malice, but Delphi was discontent with the fact she did not understand what was being said. Her hesitant smile did not waver however, giving a small dip of her head. "Nice to meet you, Tama," she greeted, unsure of what else to say. His question had already been addressed when she had spoken to the distant lifeforms - perhaps he had not been one of them?

The arrival of a new face seemed to confirm that thought, evergreen gaze snapping down from Tama to the damaged form of Atbash. Delphinium did not know of Snowbound's oppression, of the great war they were facing - she knew only that the speckled feline before her seemed to be missing an eye. The wound did not seem aged. "Hello," Delphinium greeted quickly, attention quickly drawn away as even more Snowbounders greeted her at the border. It was nearly overwhelming. "Ah - " Delphi's throat closed around her words, struggling to find what to say to this group of strangers. The sight of another kitsune held Delphinium's attention for a longer while, temporarily fixated on the idea it could have been one of her lost sisters - the monochrome was reminiscent of Chlorophytum at first glance. But instead the five-tailed mythic introduced herself as Gwen, and Delphinium did her best to hide her disappointment. Such a childish wish, to think she'd find her family here. Clipped wings pressed tightly into her side as Izuku approached last, noting his own feathers. Unaltered, wild, capable of flight. Delphinium was grounded. She knew not how to fly, nor did she have the ability with her flight feathers cut.

Tamaghna, Valinor, Cosette, Gwen, Izuku, and a girl that did not introduce herself. An... unusual cast, but far from unwelcoming. Tails coiling around each other like snakes as a nervous habit, she finally addressed Gwen's inquiry. "My name is Delphinium. It's an, uh, it's nice to meet you guys."