LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR DEAD // SUNHAVEN LEADER

[buckingham barnes]

God, the maine coon hoped he wouldn't have to show up at the Ascendants so soon after becoming neutrals again. The former assassin came padding up to the border, dragging a mangled, bloody corpse with him. He took his steps slow, as he was pulling dead weight with him. Bucky was barely bothered by the bad smell of the corpse, as the male is a former assassin- murder and blood has become desensitized to him. Bucky didn't have a pleasant morning, his morning patrol was interrupted as Fairylight and Ymir's screams echoed through the territory, along with the smell of blood and the Ascendants invading his nostrils. Bucky's hopes of the mysterious murderer dying in a ditch somewhere died the moment he saw the mangled corpses. The killer is still at large, and he refused to retaliate in a raid like they originally did. They are suppose to be neutrals, and someone in the Ascendants is going against their leader.

He dropped the mangled corpse at the border, wiping blood off of his muzzle. The corpse reeked of the Ascendants, the smell wouldn't fade away in a journey to the other clan's border. Buckingham's ears were flattened to his skull, his light blue eyes scanning the territory. "I need to speak with Atticus," He called out clearly, "That unknown murderer is back- we found three Sunhaveners dead at our border, and the Ascendants scent were all over them." With that, he'd wait for the panther to arrive, wondering how Atticus would react to it.

[ [member=2678]ATTICUS[/member] ]

[ATTICUS]

―――― I need to speak with Atticus was a simple enough request, yet what followed it was enough to make the man's heart sink slightly in his chest. He knew only slightly of the unknown murderers that had plagued Sunhaven and the Ascendants; and kenw it was that, largely, that had seperated them as enemies the first time. However, as leader now, there were far greater implications to it. Only two possibilities. One was that there was indeed an unknown murderer, and the second that assumed that an Ascendants' member themselves had betrayed the neutrality. He was hoping for the former, but the latter remained as a lingering though in the back of his head, not yet something to be ignored, though not to be acted upon without good reason or leads to do so.

At Buckingham's call, the jaguar was quick to abandon what he was doing and turn his paws to greet the Sunhaven leader, his paws deftly carrying him across the territory until he came to a slow stop before the maine coon, his eyes ultimately catching the mangled body, the smell of blood and death, and unfortunately a lingering scent of the Ascendants. His brows furrowed only slightly, the barest hint of emotion crossing his face as his mind worked through it all, considering the possibilities as he shook his head softly and brought his gaze higher up to Buckingham. "I am sorry for the passing of some of your Sunhaveners," he'd begin lightly, sitting heavily back on his haunches for a moment as he sighed, looking over the dead body once more. "This was not the work of the Ascendants, as far as I am aware. I did not order this, and I have sincere doubts any of us would have done so... If this is indeed an unknown murderer, I thank you for the warning, and can only hope this will be the end of it." But that was simply no more than words, nothing that he could assure, or even promise to the leader who now had lost three of his own.

"If you have any leads, the Ascendants would be more than happy to devise something to catch the murderer in his or her tracks. If it is indeed one of my own- which again I cannot see cause to-, it would also be dealt with." For a moment, he lingered, allowing that to rise in the air as an unspoken question as his gaze lifted back to Bucky. What do you want me to do? was all it said.  He could not bring the dead back, but he could offer what he could to ensure it never happened again, or that the Sunhaveners would not regret changing their standing with them.

  [color=black][b]

[clarence a.]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]Accidental deaths and murders were a topic that plagued Clarence's life. He could still remember that night when Thomas sank beneath icy waves and he'd tried to save him. He remembered the slew of deaths that surrounded his family conspicuously, placing his sister in the middle of it all. However, she wasn't just charged with murder. No, that would be too simple. There was too much evidence that she hadn't actually been there when any of the individuals died. No, the only explanation then had been that she must have been a witch, despite not having ill intent or anything to gain from those that died. For the most part, anyway. Some speculated she was jealous of her older brother, some that she knew her mother needed money from her father's death, some considered she couldn't stand all the time Thomas and Clarence spent together. It was all ridiculous. His sister had been a kind, loving girl who wouldn't have ever considered hurting him. He was sure of it. There was always a little part of his mind that questioned it, though. No matter how much he believed, the words of others sometimes invaded his thoughts and drams. No, he had made the right decision. She wasn't guilty. She deserved to be safe and happy.

Clarence hadn't been here for very long. He'd only arrived a few weeks ago now but he was starting to get used to things, as much as a man could expect to be used to a world full of talking animals, including himself. Things were strange but for once he had peace and quiet, which he couldn't argue with. It was nice. There were no ships, there were no canons, there were no rumors or accusations. He'd heard a rumor that there had been conflict before his arrival, but he didn't know much about what that entailed or how it'd all began. That didn't seem to bother him, though. As far as he was concerned, it didn't matter. If he did believe that all of this was just part of his mind, it didn't matter what the history of this place was because it only existed within his own mind. It was getting harder and harder to believe that, though.

He caught the scent of blood and scrunched his nose. Things smelled so much worse in this new world, something he attributed to his own heightened senses. Either way, he made his way towards the area and felt panic poke at his chest when he saw Atticus and he found himself moving a bit faster than before. The man was one of the only friends he'd made since his arrival and he wanted to be sure he wasn't hurt. However, as he drew closer it was clear from the way he sat and spoke, nothing was wrong. Instead, Clarence noticed a different figure just past the male directly before him holding a mangled corpse, something that made him flinch. Now that he'd been here so long, he found that he couldn't bring himself to use the excuse that those around him were 'just animals.' They clearly had lives and intelligent, organized communities. They were just like human beings except... not, and he couldn't dismiss their value. He quietly listened to the conversation as he settled down, glancing between the two men. "I know I haven't been here long, so I'm afraid I'm not as familiar with the situation," he began slowly, "But do you think it'd perhaps be wise to set up guards in both territories during the night? Or maybe we should visit the scene of the murder itself? If someone is trying to harm either of our... groups, it may be best to try to be proactive in case of another attack."

[Character Graveyard.]

TEEN IDLE

Susie — Female — The Ascendants — Observer

Accidental deaths and murders. The first thing, was idiotic. What kind of dumbass accidentally got themselves killed? A weakling, for sure. As for murder, Susie wasn't a big fan of that word. The utahraptor hadn't killed anyone before, but she knew she was capable of fighting. Back in her previous home, she'd been known as the outcast. The bully. The delinquent, that everyone wished that she would just be expelled from school. The only good person at her school was Kris, who never spoke a word. Quiet people pissed her off. They never spoke a lot, but you could tell what they were saying in their minds.

Upon smelling a stranger on the border, Susie had decided to investigate. Not out of curiosity, but she was yearning for some entertainment. Maybe some bloodshed would be nice. The feathered raptor marched up beside Clarence and Atticus, hidden yellow eyes focused on the Sunhaven leader. A shame. The stranger wasn't hostile, nor were the others being defensive. Then she found herself staring at the mangled corpse beside Bucky, scrunching up her nose. Disgusting.

"I got a strong nose. Maybe I could be of some assistance in finding the killer of these poor bastards." Susie offered.

#psychosocial.

[PIERCE]

☁ Bucky Barnes; he had been one of Pierce's peers, once. They had joined Sunhaven at essentially the same time but life had evidently brought them in two very very different directions, one having completely moved clans (though that hadn't originally been by choice), and the other having taken over the other clan, which Pierce, if he was being perfectly honest, had had no idea had happened. He couldn't help but be slightly relieved that he had moved clans- he had never liked Bucky much; thought he was a bit of an asshole. Had he been wrong? Considering a few of his experiences back in Sunhaven and some things he'd heard here, he was going to go with no.

However, despite his dislike for Sunhaven's current leader, Pierce couldn't help but feel badly for the rest of the Sunhaveners currently recovering from the loss of one of their own. Back in his first clan, there had been attacks far too often, including captures and murders, and it could be rough, even if you didn't know the victims personally. When you're in a clan, it's kind of like most of your clanmates are a part of you, in a way, and you have a sort of responsibility to them- losing one always felt like a sort of failure to Pierce. That was only him, of course, and lately, he'd felt that sentiment beginning to fade.

Drawn over by the overpowering stench of blood, he approached after Susie, placing himself near Clarence, who was pretty much the only person here he'd really spoken to before. Pierce looked Bucky up and down, his gaze flicking over to the gruesome pile of flesh and bone at the other's paws. It could barely be considered a body anymore, only barely intact. Memories of clanmates and family bloodied and mangled resurfaced only momentarily, for Pierce pushed them aside and instead fixed amber optics upon Bucky. Not greeting his former clanmate in any way, the serval simply questioned, "So you have no idea how exactly they were killed?" Some sort of weapon could have been used, though it would take quite a bit of dedication - a kill fueled by raw emotion rather than a purposeful, planned one - to mangle a corpse in such a way with a weapon such as a sword or a knife. Most likely, the killer had been in the body of a big cat or canine, but even then, there was no way to be certain. 

"speech"