joining — tooth and claw

[áine]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; text-align: justify; width: 480px;font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px;"]Kissed and sent along the wind, mailed away to be weathered down by rain and element until she was pure and ethereal. Meant to fulfill a prophecy of her own, one that the stars had strung up for just her and no one else. Not meant to serve her people in strength and glory, but to find her own among the plains. Somewhere a small hope, the brightening embers of a future began to fizzle in the grass, warming it, warming the atmosphere around it, creating a center of life just for her; a nursery for her own existence to begin to grow and sprout.

It started with her toes wiggling in the dirt, malformed paws squishing the lush earth with a tightened inhale and expelling it gently around her steps with a free exhale. And with each step of concentration and confidence were the hesitant and naive sprouts of lily of the valley, curving and seeming to yawn as they quickly stretched and rose from the earth. Her own morning glory was beginning to shudder as a smile on her face as she neared her destination, braving the chill of autumn, the wet ground and the dew that sputtered up with each step. Áine felt incredibly lonely for someone that should be feeling full with the stuffing of an adventurous spirit. But her hearty meal of journey was beginning to soften, and her impatience was taking her mind elsewhere. So, she focused ahead, looking towards the crease of the horizon.

The view of the observatory was arched between the overgrowth, rushing ahead of her through the mile stretch of plain. The sight of her intended location made her laugh a little. What the fuck was this all? Some sort of dream? Like the first instance of impatient was treated with a quick push in the right direction? Must have been in the stars, for sure. She approached the border- not boldly, though not giving in the grace of hesitation either. The black panther's eyes just seemed to flicker around fluidly, in their black-brown pools, searching for intelligent life. "Huh ... I'm not alone out here, right? Someone's got to be around, right?" It was a polite, ginger call out to whoever might hear her, one that coated her richly deep voice in this fizzy web of honey, dribbling out the clear youthfulness of the panther.

[BABY —]

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YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME

YEAH, YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T GO BACK, IT'S TOO LATE TO SAY IT'S TOO LATE. YOU CAN'T TAKE BACK THAT YOU SAID NOTHING. HOW COULD YOU DO NOTHING?

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He had once thought that he knew what his destiny was. He was a child prodigy, able to do things and conquer strengths that cubs his age could only dream of. Titan had been fed words and words; they said that he would be revered. They said that he would become a powerful master of the mind and elements. They said that he would be a strong leader for their pride.

However, things had changed, and those hopes and dreams were no longer. That was when Titan had found the Ascendants. Like a new sprout, he had the chance to grow in a direction and start over.

"Correct." Answered a deep voice, and was soon revealed as a muscular lion stepping out from the undergrowth of the area. His amber pools settled onto the fellow big cat; he noted her size and mass with caution, knowing full well that she would be a fair opponent in a battle. Hopefully their chances pitted against one another would not be put to the test today; if every stranger that came to their borders was a foe then that would've been a cause for immediate concern. No, the panther posed no threat for now. And, as far as he could tell, no scent of Sunhaven lingered in the air. Still, the Lunar Lieutenant was obliged to ask, "What is your business with the Ascendants?"

[áine]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; text-align: justify; width: 480px; padding-bottom: 17px; overflow: stretch; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: 145%;"]Her gaze zeroed in quickly on the lion at once, carved head tilting heavily upwards in acknowledgement. "Hm." She hummed in a noise of return to Titan's answer. Áine knew she couldn't have been alone in this stranger territory. Among all of those conflicting scents of animals, it almost made the air seem alive, old and new waves brushing against the atmosphere, clashing with one another, sharply ending or faintly fluttering away. The wind delivered the smell of the stranger to her with his presence too, strong and bold- but curt, cut.

Her neck lunged forward a bit when she spoke, elongating her posture, a regal silhouette covering up all of the naivety floating in her eyes. "My business ...? I would like to join the Ascendants." The muscular panther responded, response quick but not faded, clear as water rolling off her tongue. Áine pursed her lips softly, chewing the flesh on the inside of her cheek in a preoccupied manner, jaw locking and unlocking like her face was some sort of puzzle to beholders, never maintaining one true expression, always bounding between the lines of serious and playful. "And, my name is Áine, it's nice to meet you." The built feline kept her gaze on Titan, unafraid to maintain eye contact with him, despite the energy that lingered on his pelt, the power she could calculate by his size.

She had been trained, domesticated to fear the presence of a stronger male, to want to conquer him or weaken him in some way. A defense mechanism she had been taught and rinsed and repeated, but it was now just rotten roots that she had dug up and discarded. Instead, she remained timid, waiting, but still as impatient and restless as she was, asking, "There isn't some initiation to join, correct? No entrance ritual or such?" Not that she would have minded, but it was something to say, and if there was something Áine had to say it.

[adomania]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 55%; line-height:115%; text-align: justify;font-family: calibri;"]As far as Myliu saw it, destiny was nothing more than a word (one they didn't even know.) Destiny was what those who believed in fate, or a predestined future believed in, hoping that there was something driving them towards whatever was inevitably going to happen. Myliu had no need for such hopes. What would happen was simple: they would live, they would survive, and then, when their time came, they'd die like those before them. There wasn't enough time left in life to worry about the details, not when the young man was too busy dealing with problems that were relatively more pressing.

The stars did nothing more than give him directions, allowing him to know where North, South, West and East were during his adventures. The stars didn't call out to him like the earth and water did, they didn't scream like the voices, and they didn't come down to send the entire world into fire and destruction. The people around them did that, and no higher forces or destiny had anything to do with it. But at least the stars were useful enough for the man to allow him to explore without fear of getting lost because they were too far gone inside of their head. The visions sometimes proved to be distracting, and they'd find themselves at the edge of some precipice without any memory of how they got there. Myliu didn't remember how many times he had to be saved... but it was enough to have others exasperated with him. That was when he was younger, though, and still naive enough to follow every small stimuli. Now he had grown, and their survival had become paramount to the point that they did not trust any of the voices or people. It had gotten to the point that they elected to assume everything wasn't real until they were told otherwise, everything in the name of survival.

It was a lonely life, one that most didn't understand. Myliu didn't blame them, although it became increasingly frustrating when others didn't understand him and chose to judge regardless. Being different didn't mean he wasn't worth the same respect. Just because words were difficult didn't mean he was dumb.

He had found himself outside that evening, following the numerous scents that surrounded him to try and ground themselves in reality and discern what was real or not. They had noticed somewhere along the way that most of his visions didn't leave a smell behind, while things in the mortal plain did. Among those things were Aine and Titan. He had followed the latter (unknowingly - he had been caught up in his mind and had merely found a strong scent and decided to follow it) and stumbled across the two completely by accident, obviously surprising himself if the man's sudden reaction was anything to go by.

A curt, nervous huff of breath escaped Myliu, violet gaze trained on the two before him warily. They were both real - they smelled not only like the earth and like the Ascendants, but like something distinctly alive. That didn't mean he trusted either of them; currently that was limited to Gabriel, the only individual here the man remembered from when he had still been a child.

Too bad he couldn't understand most of what was being said. Half of him wanted to leave, but the other half picked up on the subtle social cues present to him, and so he stayed instead. A brief moment of silence passed, then the wolf spoke up again, uttering one simple question. "Name?"

At least he knew that. He hadn't come around fast enough to pick up on it... or maybe he had? If so, he hadn't been focused enough to discern it.