figure it out - [COTC VISIT]

[VASS .]

It wouldn't have been much of a surprise, if Vaas was in a bad mood that day. The drugs going sour, or the sun was just too fucking bright that day. Vaas was known to have them seldom. Rare were the days that Vaas actually roared with a fury, clawed down concrete walls and his home once a boisterous paradise to the hungry eyed and unproven became a brawl pit against the king of his own concrete wasteland. No, days where Vaas was truly victorious were rare to come, but his temper was another thing entirely.

He lived in a constant state of flux: it came with his rather protected youth- and up until recent years: near scant information of the clans. Vaas was a foul temper, he didn't respect authority, didn't respect the clan ways. It was the reason why he was always and would always be- an outlier, an outcast to the places he stuck himself to. A wild card in all manners of speaking if not for how easy his temper was to predict, quite simple really: Just don't fuck with what was his.

Quasar's appearance was a balm against the tiger's own nerves. Facing a stranger no matter how outwardly curious the tiger led on wasn't something that was well known. Yet the familiar face of the young sparkledoggo eased him: rhine approaching to a lesser extent: as much as he appreciated the leader, his own known crew would be always be a more trustworthy balm: yet rhine had accepted them in, gave them a home where most were unable to find comfort in the rotting docks. Vaas trusted the man, just.... not trusting himself with the other.

Vaas was too volatile, too eager to fight himself. As the only one bigger than the lion the large tiger let out a low menacing growl along with his own crew's insults. The grumble that rasped from his throat cut into the Kingpin's words as he made his own steps closer. Tail lashing behind him and the twitch of a challenging snarl lit the tiger's face.

"Eres insignificante mancha de mierda" The tiger took great pleasure in stroking the fire of Quesar's own ire to match his own. He stepped around the two who were offended: medusa- in covering her own weakness with his own strength. A small moment of protective fury only higher stroked as he met Quesar's own stance beside the dog.

In the moment, the sight of the leader- the deputy; was not enough to strike the tiger as a discouragement. Someone had come and insulted his people. There would be no peace here, not if Vaas had anything to say about it. "you need to get better at reading the situation, you're utter shit at it"

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"take me into your heart , accept me as your savior nail me to the fucking cross and let me be reborn" — an antagonist with a silver tongue , a pirate with nothing to loose and everything to gain .  vaas montenegro ; he who lives to fight demons should be weary he himself does not become one ." it's not like i am fucking crazy — "

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[number nine.]

It seemed as though he had arrived a bit late to the party, eh? Or, at the very least, he had arrived too late to see the very best bits of the drama that were going down. Alliances were nothing new to Number Nine, the jaguar having become quite well acquainted with them throughout the multiple places that he had come to call home. However, he very rarely saw them as actually being of much use to anyone. Allies were prone to betrayal, or just straight up not showing up in the other group's time of need. It was the reason why Nine had always preferred to work alone, as a solitary bounty hunter, rather than with some kind of partner. He supposed that Lewis could've possibly counted, but Lewis was his partner, not his partner. His husband had more than enough to worry about already, what with his whole "ferrying dead souls around" thing. Nine wasn't about to toss helping his love out with bounty jobs on top of that considerable pile.

From what he had heard of Vaas so far, it wasn't too uncommon to see the tiger in a bad mood, but this seemed to be something special. Special enough to draw Nine in, the large feline wondering what exactly it was that had caused so many to gather. When he spotted Stryker, he felt his fur stand on end, oddly unnerved by the other's presence. He hadn't heard anything about the Coalition's leader in the past, but it was pretty easy to figure out who had pissed everyone present off. For once in his life, Nine made an attempt to be the diplomatic one, coming up beside Vaas and rumbling casually, "Woah, woah, what's going on over here? One second everythin' around here is all pina coladas and sunshine, and now all I can hear is a bunch of threats being tossed around. Maybe everybody should chill out a little bit, especially if you aren't Medusa, Sugar, or Rhine, considering they've got the big boss words around here." Nine knew he was being a bit hypocritical, considering he had gone against his leaders and caused trouble in the past, but nobody around here would know that. For all they knew, he was a model citizen.

Turning his gaze towards Rhinestone, Nine questioned curiously, long fluffy tail lashing and flicking behind him, "How are you feeling about this guy, boss man? It doesn't exactly seem like he'll be winnin' any popularity contests around here anytime soon..." He didn't want to tell Rhine not to consider the alliance, since that really wasn't his place, but he hoped that the guy would have a bit of common sense. Or at least a little bit of diplomatic leadership skills.

HELLBENT ON MAKING YOU LOVE ME TOO

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Starclan, things had really gone to shit awfully fast, hadn't they? One moment he was just standing there, wondering what Stryker was doing at their border, and the next moment, things had just exploded into noise. Rhine hadn't been expecting such an uproar from Quasar approaching, but it seemed as though his kid had other plans, something the tom knew very well that he had no power to stop. Despite this, the leader couldn't help wincing slightly at Quasar's harsh words, along with the argument that followed. Rhinestone was pretty firmly against violence breaking out at his border, and this seemed like something that could break out into a fight very quickly. Even with Vaas present, the rust colored feline wasn't particularly enthusiastic at the idea of fighting a lion – let alone a mutated one. With this in mind, Rhine let out a relieved sigh when Number Nine approached, trying to calm things in his own... odd way. The tom just shook his head briefly before speaking, keeping his voice firm, "Alright, everybody just... calm down, okay? Things have obviously gotten off to a bad start, but quarreling won't do us any good. Especially when Stryker here... apologized." It wasn't a very good apology, but it was technically an apology.

With several questioning looks thrown in his direction – along with an actual question from Nine – Rhinestone knew that he had to act. With this in mind, he turned his pale gaze on Stryker, looking the other leader over before he spoke, "I would be interested in an alliance between our two groups, provided you've got something to offer us. Palmclan has plenty, including our warriors, food, and supplies from our boardwalk... needless to say, we've got our own benefits for allies." Looking at their alliance with Alithís Evgenis was enough to show that, considering they had offered up their warriors to defend the other group. Glancing at the others around him, the feline hesitated only slightly before continuing, "That being said, I don't believe in making decisions that affect my group, all on my own. I want all of my clan members, no matter their rank, to have a say in how Palmclan develops." It was a philosophy that he had taken from the start, and one that he had devoted himself to ever since he had turned his back on Starclan. He still wanted to believe that there was a guiding paw out there somewhere, but if there wasn't... Palmclan would need to lead itself, as a whole.

Needless to say, Rhine's gaze was then redirected to all those that had come to see what was going on. Nine, Vaas, Medusa, Quasar, Suga... all of their opinions mattered to him, along with any that hadn't shown yet. Clearing his throat, the male questioned them all, tail held high behind him, "So, then... how do all of you feel about an alliance between Palmclan and the Coalition? Even if Stryker has made a bad first impression for some of you... it could be a positive for us as a whole. Although obviously if the majority doesn't want this, then I'll turn him down." He didn't mind asking all of them in front of Stryker, mainly because he figured the other probably felt the same way. Most leaders took the opinions of their people into account beforehand, right?

NEVER OPENED MYSELF THIS WAY
LIFE IS OURS, WE LIVE IT OUR WAY

— Reggan

[trojan g.]

[align=center][div style="max-width:400px; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify; padding: 10px;"]Although Palmclan was that of more an anti-leaning group, Sugarspice had found herself to be more on the peaceful side thus far, and figured she would only fight if the time came for it and it was absolutely needed. Something at the border due to a word someone didn't like among some other semantics was not something she was ready to fight for today, especially given that the stranger at the border had come peacefully, with the thought of a potential alliance.

When Rhinestonestar and Nine chimed in to try and calm things down, a small sigh would leave the deputy, and she would think in response to Rhinestone's words. "I think it'd be a good idea," She would begin, "At least a trial run and continue from there. We all have our bad days with first impressions, and we didn't give off the best one ourselves." She wasn't afraid to tell it how it was, considering the tension in the air. They all needed a reality check.

[SirDio]

Medusa

Tension in her body faded slowly as she was reminded that Stryker was looking to make alliance with the clan. She let out a sigh before straightening up to look at Stryker. "Sorry for my outburst - I've been testy." She said distactedly. Sitting down with her tail coiled around her, she looked to Rhine, Nine, and Sugarspice.

"I agree as well. Since we are slowly getting out into the island, it wouldn't hurt for team-ups. Again, I am sorry, Stryker," She sent the lion a sparing glance. Irritation from lack of sleep really did put the edge on her, and she never liked compliments - lies to her. But her shoulders rolled in a shrug.

"All in All, I do believe we should ally with Stryker's group. Who knows how any other groups will try to do with us. We should be prepared, anyway."

[number nine.]

Relief flooded Nine's body as soon as things began to calm down, something that he hadn't been sure would happen from the start. Thankfully, it seemed as though the words of he, Rhine, and Sugarspice had gotten through to everyone. Petty fighting wasn't going to help their relations as a whole, especially over something as small as a misdirected compliment. Besides, this would hopefully mean that Stryker would reel it in a bit the next time he came to visit – or, it told him he should just send someone else to do so.

Either way, there would hopefully be less conflict in the future, something Number Nine was all for. Even if he was a bounty hunter, he didn't enjoy senseless violence. He enjoyed enacting justice on those that deserved it, and getting paid for it, but violence over an argument? That was just ridiculous. That being said, Nine chimed in at Rhinestone's question, long tail wrapped around his large paws, "I agree with Sugarspice and Medusa. There's always safety in numbers, and even if Palmclan is pretty massive right now, having allies never hurts." Part of him knew that he was lying through his teeth, but he fought against that part, for now. After all, just because alliances didn't work out for him didn't mean they couldn't work out for Palmclan.

HELLBENT ON MAKING YOU LOVE ME TOO

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Sugarspice and Medusa. Both voices that he had come to trust, and voices that happened to hold higher positions within the group. The pair both said that they thought it was a good idea to ally with Stryker, and that was really enough for Rhine. Number Nine's input was really just an added bonus, which helped to solidify Rhinestone's decision. Nodding at the trio of them, he said with a smile, "Thank you, all. With all of that being said... I'm pretty sure I know what the right decision is here." Turning back to Stryker, Rhine allowed his tone to firm up slightly, if only to make him seem more like leadership material, "Despite some mixed up first impressions... I believe that an alliance between your group and Palmclan would be a good one. We can both benefit and protect each other, which is something that I'd never like to think of turning down. So, if you'll still have us, I'd be happy to accept your alliance request." Maybe he was being a bit too formal, but he couldn't help it. This was a big deal, especially considering this was only the second ally they had ever made.

NEVER OPENED MYSELF THIS WAY
LIFE IS OURS, WE LIVE IT OUR WAY

— Reggan

[METEOR]

TW: gore warning and quasar angst in the spanish dialogue tags

Quasar nodded with Vaas’s words. A corner of his maw turned up in a grimace, and he snorted. “Está caliente por una paliza,” he hissed. “Se burlan como un masoquista zorra. Lo negaré, lo dejaré insatisfecho!”

The apprentice bit his tongue, tempted to continue the verbal assault. Why’d everyone act all chummy all of a sudden? Bullshit. His toes flexed, digging into the dirt, and he wanted to crawl in there to hide, himself. He ducked his head and huffed an exhale, trying to calm down. The rage burned his skin hotter than any campfire, but he couldn’t pull away from the consuming inferno.

“I’m not apologizing. I told him to stop, and he replied by doing the same damn shit with a mocking tone. Fuck if I’m gonna apologize for defending my boundaries.”

Gnashing his white teeth, Quasar lashed his hot pink tail, all rage. How dare this motherfucker call him a name his mother used! Why didn’t anyone care—except Vaas? Could nobody see what a slimy fuckshit this shit-for-breath lion was? If this was how the leader acted about being called out on his bullshit, then he didn’t want to be in the room when Rhinestonestar needed to negotiate for resources.

His lips pulled back. The growl stirred in his chest, low and deep again, as he stirred his mind into a frenzy all over again. “Te arrancaré los ojos! Te carajo las cuencas oculares! CON MI CHOTA!” His three tails lashed one by one, like a wave.

Scowling, he turned around and headed off to sink his teeth into flesh with a heartbeat. He needed. He needed to consume. Before his anger consumed him.

/ out unless he's stopped !

© LEXASPERATED

[Stryker]

⸺ STRYKER, THE KINGPIN ⸺

pleasing everyone isn't like you, dancing jigs until i'm crippled

Whoever stuck up for him was a blessing. Stryker merely stayed still, a smirk slowly fading onto his maw, knowing he would eventually get his way. Political relations were not his best quality, but manipulating a crowd was his specialty... but aren't they sort of the same thing? After all, winning over the majority was the basis of both. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but know that whatever happened today, for better or for worse, would eventually work out in his favor. He'd make sure it would.

Seeing that there was no more to discuss, as the group had already devolved into their own quick agreement, the alliance seemed to be on. "Why, I would love to," the lion piped up. "If you'd like, we can discuss some other issues in private, as my group does have it's own qualms with The Typhoon and our island's decrepit state." Rhinestonestar seemed quick to jump to an alliance though. Who knows if they'd help him on a whim too. At least he hoped so.

His gaze momentarily shifted towards Quasar, stifling a snicker. Tough crowd.

"TALKING"

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Loud. Quasar's words were loud, and harsh, and they caused Rhine to flinch, a soft hiss passing through his clenched jaws. He had known that the apprentice probably wouldn't be happy with the decision, but he had hoped that it wouldn't end up evolving into even more of a scene. Watching as Quasar went, Rhinestone managed to raise his voice just a bit, calling after the pup, "We can talk about this later!" The feline really did care about Quasar's opinion, but the majority had spoken. Rhine had pledged that he would listen to the needs of his clan as a whole, rather than cater to a select few.

Allowing Quasar to trudge off into the distance, Rhinestonestar looked back once Stryker began to speak, initially nodding along with what the mutated lion was saying. However, he faltered slightly when he heard mention of the Typhoon. Stryker's group had qualms with the Typhoon? Concern bleeding into both his gaze and tone, the rust red tom found himself explaining, "While I have no issues with discussing things in private, I should probably tell you that Palmclan has no qualms with The Typhoon. Or at least, we haven't thus far. One of their children wandered over our borders at one point, and we took them in briefly. When their mother came to get them, she introduced herself as the leader of The Typhoon, and she was quite reasonable. We haven't had any reason to dislike them..." Granted, that was really only one brief encounter, but it seemed odd. If their leader was a reasonable and kind person, then why would they be causing trouble with others?

NEVER OPENED MYSELF THIS WAY
LIFE IS OURS, WE LIVE IT OUR WAY

— Reggan