tanglewood felt like home.

it was strange, of course- beleth had never been here before. the ginger manx boy was half tangler, though. it ran in his blood. his father, the former medic, had ran away and fathered him, gave him the name beleth, and then promptly abandoned him and his mother. beleth never saw him again. it was for the best, he supposed. at six months, beleth had grown into a slender and elegant tom, his father's red eyes present in his skull. his mother had been a lovely little ginger, skinny and desperate for love, so perhaps that was why she fell for his alcoholic, cannibal father.

more than eye color was passed down onto beleth. a taste for the finer meats, a hatred of the divine, a servitude to superiors. still, though, the boy was different from his father. he was gifted with the gift of fire. he had discovered it at an early age- he could breathe it, and sometimes it lit him ablaze. his own flames didn't hurt- but they could spread. he was dangerous.

he had little control over it. he was a danger to himself and others. why would tanglewood want him? he padded on the beach, water lapping at his paws. generating heat, steam rose from the water as it touched his overheating body. it was quite the sight- a skinny little ginger cat, evaporating the water he came into contact with.

focusing his bright eyes, the male only grinned. "hey, tanglers!" he announced, continuing to walk. "my name is beleth. i'm the only son of malphas- some medic or whatever." he seemed to not care for his lineage, but it was a good icebreaker. "and i'd like to join."

Morgan emerged from his cave as usual, stretching to approach the nearby presence. It hardly took a second for him to recognize the aura, and so he sprinted toward its source as quickly as he could. he yelled, eyes widening further as he neared the long-lost cat.

the samoyed repeated once more, his voice turning soft as he realized his mistake. The difference was subtle, but it was definitely there: the feline was a stranger who only looked like the former Medic. He kept running to approach the newcomer, reaching him just as he yelled out his actual name. the General repeated, stopping in his tracks once he was close. He sensed the physical heat emanating from the younger male, and knew then that it couldn't possibly be the seemingly powerless Malphas. Playing off of Beleth's power, the samoyed pulled the steam forward and around the two of them in a ring.

The canine took a few breaths, converting the ring of steam back into water before evaporating it once more with a burst of faux-flames. His gaze shifted toward the ocean, feeling a bit too uncomfortable to make eye contact as he considered the strange nature of his offer. Taking a long, deep breath, he turned back to face the newcomer.

the first to approach was the leader himself. beleth could tell immediately- the way he carried himself, elegant yet approachable. a air of unrecognizable familiarity surrounded the samoyed- a safe feeling. the words he spoke only further cemented bel's thoughts. he wondered how someone could confuse him for his father; malphas had been a runt, dark grey and never smiled. his son was lit ablaze with orange and white stripes, only sharing their glaring red eyes. beleth was already bigger than his father, despite being only a young apprentice.

"listen, sir," the child grinned, having the same sort of snarky superiority that his dad did. "don't worry about me. i'm no domestic," he spoke, tilting his head. "i'm not like my father. i won't-" he paused, his body beginning to heat up. the water around him boiled, and his confident grin was replaced by a suppressed grimace. "i won't abandon you. or anyone else. i am not malphas. i am beleth."

it seemed like he had to remind himself of this. he was not his father. he was his own person. a pink femme approached the two, and he studied her, sizing her up with his eyes. "it's nice to meet'cha, delilah. i'm glad my sorry excuse of a father was able to at least mentor somebody. could he raise kids? no, no he couldn't, but whatever." he talked with the arrogance of a drama-mongering teenager, but deep down was real burning hatred. it engulfed him like a wildfire and spread throughout. it seemed every time he thought of his father, his body temperature rose, and he began to sweat.

beleth decided he didn't want to burn the clan down, so he'd have to change the subject. "i'm a good asset. i've got fire powers, and they may not quite be under control-" he looked at morgan, who had seemingly mastered manipulation of all things water, and felt a quick pang of jealousy. "-but i'm learning. and danger is my middle name. so don't worry, ok?" he said, with confident reassurance. "anyways. can any of you show me to camp?"

the next to make an appearance was the yellow-and-black serval, dignified just like his leader. he carried an air or deserved arrogance, and beleth knew immediately that he was important. that was one of the child's strengths- a combination of intuition and introspection meant beleth knew how he should act around certain others. he wanted to make his mark, to leave his pawprints on this clan, and he wouldn't get there by being like his father.

no, people like his father died the cruel death they deserved. his body began to heat up again, burning at the core, and he had to cool himself down. "my captain," the boy said, dipping his head in seemingly utmost respect. so this was vigenere cipher. he decided it would be important to remember that. "alright, lead the way, sir," he said, in a more light-hearted tone, showing that he was indeed comfortable in being sociable and not just all about titles and ranks. "hey, uh... general, sir?" he turned to the samoyed leader, narrowing his eyes in thought. "hey, uh, what did you mean by... dangerous?" despite all his firey bravado, he realized he should at least understand why it was dangerous and if he was really ready for it.

he thought of how committed he had to be. this was an all or nothing type deal- he was going to climb the ranks, power-hungry and lit ablaze, and he was going to actually do something. he was always burning, deep down, yet never consumed- this passion was his flame, his drive. he had to amount to something. to be better than his scum father, than his cruel mother. to be a member of tanglewood.

Morgan's nerves were instantly eased at the arrival of his favorite yellow feline. In a calmer voice, he answered the newcomer.

...

The samoyed followed his boyfriend toward town, taking some time to speak more to Malphas' child. He spawned a faux-fire as he walked, controlling the ember's flickering to the best of his ability.

(wowsers this post is late i'm so sorry)