sugar, milk, and molasses / joining

―――― Nanohana was certainly a sight for someone like Atticus, whose familiarity with mythical creatures and powers were, while present through his life, was not prepared for something like this. He had seen and met many people in his lifetime, many with strange capabilities, friends, or families that were deemed otherwise 'uncommon', but this was a first. A dragon, but not just a dragon- no, the dragon wasn't even necessarily the forefront of the matter- a feline, one speaking a tongue that he did not recognize, perched atop the great beast and treating it as though it were a tiny little kitten. He wasn't sure what drew him forth in the first place; perhaps the low rumble of the dragon, the shadow of a wing overhead, or the woman calling out across the plains of the Ascendants, but he was there, quickly approaching the border with sure and steady steps as the melanistic jaguar stared up at the face of the dragon and the oriental feline now waiting. "Welcome to the Ascendants," he spoke quickly as he crossed the last few feet to be in front of the woman, sitting his haunches down as he straightened himself up properly. For a moment, his steely golden-eyed gaze found the woman's dragon, eyeing the creature for a moment before he looked back. Hopefully, this woman meant no harm. She'd be a valuable asset if she stayed, and a hell-ish enemy if she didn't. Thankfully, it seemed his luck held out as she herself took the first step in asking for a place within the clan. "You are welcome, of course," he answered smoothly, dipping his head at the seemingly familiarity the woman had with Clan business and perhaps the repetitive border greetings. "First, though, your name? And that of your companion?" He gave a moment pause before continuing on, at least being fair. "I am Atticus, the Astral Seraph of the Ascendants. You are welcome to any lodging within the observatory, though if you need further accommodations for your dragon, we can figure that out as well."

Clarence wished he'd had some sort of knowledge about this place before his arrival. Of course, that would've been impossible given where he came from but he wished he'd at least heard of a world like this in stories or something similar, but he'd never heard of or seen anything like this. A place where all animals spoke and a place where there seemed to be a new form of magic in every corner and a place where said speaking animals had complex, intricate societies with social and political structures nearly as intriguing as those that existed in his former home. Originally, he had thought that this new world was more peaceful than where he hailed from, but he quickly discovered that was not the case. It was disappointing, but not particularly surprising. He supposed it was impossible for anything to exist for long without attracting conflict. Even those that avoided it, like himself, seemed to be thrown into the very thing they did their best to avoid. It was everywhere and there was no escaping his fate as a soldier, it seemed. At least her it was his decision to fight for his clanmates, whereas in the past he'd been forced into it.

Finding new creatures at the border had become a regular occurrence and he learned that the criteria for accepting someone into their little society was rather light. So far, he had yet to see anyone turned away at their borders, even when they had scents of old enemies. He supposed if someone came in a show of violence, they wouldn't be accepted, but he wasn't really sure what the criteria was. It seemed like anything that wasn't a threat wold be accepted here, which was both comforting and a bit concerning. It was nice that everyone could have a home here, but it was a bit troubling there didn't seem to be any sort of process to make sure those who came in didn't have ill intentions. Thankfully, no one seemed to be harboring any hatred towards the clan and there'd been no issues with actual members of the Ascendants.

It was when he was out on his walk that he came across one such scene and noticed Atticus greeting a young woman. He made his way over and was shocked to see a pure white dragon. A thing of legend and myth in his day, although Atticus seemed unbothered by it. He supposed after seeing a dinosaur, he shouldn't be surprised by much but he still looked at the being with slightly widened eyes before he was able to compose himself. It was rude to stare, after all. He wasn't sure how to tell which animals had human-like intelligence and which didn't, but he didn't want to insult the creature (both out of respect and concern for his own safety). Seeing as Atticus had already welcomed the pair, the man simply dipped his head in greeting and spoke, "It's a pleasure to have you. My name is Clarence Aston. If there's any way I could help in offering guidance here, just let me know."

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