never wanted to dance - [OPEN, COTC]

[Romulus]

After parading through the neutral lands, the lion never expected to see a desert lying before him. Not only that, but one with a jungle in the distance. His brow furrowed in confusion. Looking up at the sky and tracing his eyes between the horizons where the sun and moon set, the lion offered a sigh. This was the place... right? So much for Elysium's 'mountains.' Although, Romulus held his tongue and let his mind wander as he watched the cacti in the distance. Something wasn't right. Had he missed the territory reconstruction? Was this the Coalition of the Condemned's new home? Stryker couldn't of turned the mountains into a desert that fast, could he? A furrowed brow raised. Strange.

As always though, he wanted to seek answers. If he was in the wrong place, he wanted to know. Hell, knowing more about the territory and it's strange group didn't hurt either, but something about this place seemed vaguely familiar too. Not being able to place his paw on it, the lion let out a call. "Hello, anyone?" came his calm holler. "Can I know where I am? I seem to be... lost." His face crinkled up in displeasure. For an intelligent being, he should know how to take directions... Then again, his father's monologuing while telling directions didn't help either. Oh well.

[COSMIIX]

With both ears perked forward, the sound of someone's voice was enough to make Dominoeffect walk over with some curiosity. He had already been here a few days within the Pitt and still wasn't familiar with everything but he was certain that it would come to him eventually. Though it seemed that someone was lost and Domino couldn't help but snort at that, he couldn't say much either given the fact he had gotten lost and stumbled upon the Pitt during one of his fits. "Well, that's rather unfortunate for you." Uttered the serval as he approached hating that he had to glance up to even get a good look at the lion that was there in front of him. Domino was moreso hoping that his friends would turn up but that didn't seem to be the case, he didn't know anyone here either so that was troublesome to say the least. Perhaps, he would make a new acquaintance from this interaction or possibly someone to yell at given the fact that this big brute could've just been a big asshole hiding behind that calm demeanor of theirs.

"You're on Pitt territory," The serval would utter with a curt nod of his cranium, his expression was disinterested and his eyes narrowed in a skeptical manner. "Who the fuck are you exactly? Aside from being a dumbass who has gotten themselves fucking lost that is." Domino said with a soft snort with his tiny tail lashing to the sides, his large ears twitching in the slightest as he awaited a response. He was supposed to introduce himself, wasn't he? He often forgot his manners even if for the most part if felt like he lacked them to begin with. "I'm Dominoeffect Vantas." That's how most people introduced themselves anyways, he would sit down only to stop looking at Romulus given the fact that having to look up at the lion was infuriating and his neck was beginning to hurt.

[Kold]

The kiln felt quiet after recent events. Still taking control, still in their burning body, if only to release internal heat. But they... She was no longer hunger-driven. Instead the Kiln simply moved and swerved among the desert, catching sight of the appetizi-... interesting fellow.

Blue vision masked Romulus' true beauty, but that mattered little to the beast. He wished knowledge of his location? The kiln consoled with the child's voice. 'The desert and jungle belong to the Pitt.' The beast hummed lowly. Uncaring of what Romulus would think. Shaking her head, she lifted her head and let out her own call, mighty and powerful, "This desert and the land deeper within belongs to the Pitt, stranger."

Unfortunately, their arrival would be a second one, which aggravated the beast. The pulsating blue got quicker. Purposefully slamming her paw down on the sands next to Domino, they slinked ahead of the feline.

[color=#fc681f]"Kiln Speech"+"Kold Speech"

[rhosmari]

"Wow, someone is trying exceedingly hard to sound like a badass. Makes me fucking exhausted just hearing it." His drawling voice came forth, uncaring of the weight of his words as he showed up to this shindig. Some lion, double colored lion at that had ended up wandering where he shouldn't be. But really he could say he didn't care. None of these animals were that raptor so he kept them at arms length. It was a good idea in his book and he glanced aroind to see if Blue would show up here. Man, he would hate for her to try and make a meal out of this guy. But then again maybe he wouldn't mind it after having his ears assaulted like that. The thought made him chuckle, black eyes shifting over the strangee and his three pupils seeming to shift in the darkness of his eyes. The massive wolf tilted his head a bit before he sat down, snow white figure a little tinted orange from the sands of the desert. He was getting used to this place, hating every moment of it truly.

It was a fucking desert after all. Who would want to live where the sun was actively trying to burn them to a crisp. It would have been better if he had continued on but unfortunately...there was a large creature he just couldn't convince other wise. "Where did you even spring out from, pal? Gotta be a place better than this one."

[Romulus]

Eyes drifted to the monochrome feline as they approached, offering a subtle nod out of respect. Romulus' arrival was unfortunate, but he didn't have many other plans anyways, so a short detour wouldn't hurt anyone. His expressive confusion faded though. Dominoeffect's answer humbled him easily, despite their cruel tone, and caused him to slightly smile. That was the group he was thinking of. The Pitt was his father's former home. Stryker led the group twice and seeing the expanse of the desert before his eyes for the first time was rather impressive. Reminiscing on the stories the Kingpin told him, he took a moment to look off into the horizon one last time before responding.

Periwinkle hues returned to Dominoeffect, a curious glint in his eye shining. "A fine establishment you've got here," he offered back. Romulus wasn't going to return the feline's discontent. "A former home of my father's actually." Perhaps the wanderer shouldn't have mentioned that, but he hoped the rest would have an open mind and allow him to observe from the sidelines of the border. Not that he was harming anyone. Nevertheless, after given an answer, he was probably going to head off quickly back to his task. Elysium was waiting and, while Stryker was patient, there was no time to waste.

Small chat before he parted ways wouldn't kill him though. After all, the crowd that had gathered seemed rather intriguing. His gaze surveyed them carefully. "My name is Romulus Malus, wanderer of the Coalition of the Condemned," came his answer. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dominoeffect and Co." As for the rest, he didn't mention their names. None of them had introduced themselves yet, after all. With time, maybe they would.

His brow furrowed at the larger, scaled figure though. Two voices erupted from them. One small, the other harsh and direct. That was never something he would have expected in his encounters, but the dual-minded beast seemed knowledgeable enough to answer his next question. "Can you point me in the direction of Elysium then? I've got some pressing business to attend to." His eyes shifted to the sky again, tracing the cloud's movement carefully and watching as the sun slowly traversed further forward.

Eyes darted downwards at Iconoclast's entrance. Slitted eyes looked the wolf up and down, offering a sneer in response. "I was born this way, baby. Perhaps you should be more accepting yourself before putting others down." His attention redirected towards Domino momentarily. He found it quite childish, really. If someone swore like a sailor or accessorized themselves, it didn't make them any less intelligent or wise.

Thankfully for this snarky bastard, if he was truly listening, Romulus already answered his question. He wouldn't repeat it again.

[COSMIIX]

A fine establishment? This guy certainly had a posh way of speaking and Domino couldn't help but snort in amusement as a nonexistent eyebrow would lift up slightly as he sat there. Suddenly, the guy was telling him that this was his father's former home which cause his big ears to flick back until they briefly pressed against his skull, Domino hadn't really asked about that but he supposed that it often slipped from people's lips before they could stop and take into regard that some people didn't give a fuck about those type of things. "A mass of sand and a few plants isn't what I would call a fine establishment but fucking go off, I suppose." A faint smile on his maw though it faded away as quickly as it came, he wasn't sure how to respond to the father bit so he simply shuffled his paws and shrugged lightly in a nonchalant manner "Must've been a shit experience since the desert heat is the fucking worst part of this place." Domino decided to finally say, he visibly grimaced as he lifted a paw up to shake some of the sand from in between his toes.

Eventually, some of the other Pittians would arrive though Dominoeffect would only spare them a brief glance seeing as he wasn't entirely interested in any of them. His ears swiveling forward as Romulus stated where he was from and some interest twinkled in his amber eyes, he had only been in the Pitt for a few days but... Maybe he would find his friends during a little trip. He was growing antsy as of late and staying in one place without the others was growing tiresome to say the least. "I see... It must be far if you managed to get yourself lost in the fucking desert of all places," He said as his whiskers twitched lightly as there was a pause before he added with a slow nod "Or someone gave you shitass directions, which is a common occurance." Cursing was a usual thing in his vocabulary, he had sworn so much that it was simply a habit of his. Nobody could get him to stop saying shit like that and it only got worse when he was angry which he wasn't fortunately for Romulus' case.

The Elysium another place that he didn't know. Maybe he could end up travelling with the other to find out where that place was too. His pupils narrowing in thought before he would nod slowly "And it's nice to meet you too, Romulus." He said as the other introduced himself, he glanced to the side to the other people that were gathered there only to rise to his paws as he would answer with a frown still on his maw "I could show you where the Elysium is... I know a shortcut there," Maybe he'd have more fun travelling than waiting for his friends to come along... That would teach them for making fun of him. Besides, it wasn't like any of these Pitt people would care much if he left after his stay, it was a temporary trip anyways, it wasn't like he was going to follow the guy back to his home or whatever.

[Romulus]

The lion merely shrugged at Dominoeffect's reply. He hadn't really explored the desert, so their territory was novel to him and The Pitt held history. At the very least, he was being polite. The stranger's eyes diverted to the ground as the feline raised his paw to shake off the sand, offering a furrowed brow in response. When he was finished, blue hues shifted back up towards the Pittian. "The Coalition of the Condemned is quite warm," Romulus enthused. "I'm sure I could handle the desert for a few." A cocky smile appeared onto his maw. What was the difference between the sand of the beach, compared to the sand of the desert anyways? You know... Besides the technicalities, of course.

With a satisfied hum, the snorted. He couldn't help but be amused by this small creature. What an attitude. Somewhat helpful, yet so vulgar. "'Shitass directions,' indeed," he reminisced. Stryker may be intelligent, but his confident monologuing filled with metaphors could lead to some confusion. Nevertheless, the wanderer admired his father. One mistake wouldn't put him off from attending to his needs anytime soon.

A firm nod graced his figure. The pleasure was his, especially since he encountered such an endearing place. No wonder his father was apart of The Pitt many years ago. "I surely would enjoy the company if you wouldn't mind leading me there," the lion responded. His paw gestured outwards, hoping the feline would lead the way. "The neutral lands is nice, but sometimes the wandering loners can be quite... intriguing." He didn't want to say strange. That would be quite rude and closed-minded of him, especially given that he was wandering through their lands as a traveler too.

"Let's go, shall we, Dom?" He wasn't quite sure if the name would stick, but for now, he tried to remain playful to show his gratefulness. With a wisp of his tail, the lion raised from the floor and onto his paws, ready to traverse forward.

[COSMIIX]

Hearing where the other came from was warm just as the Pitt made the small serval frown and only raised an eyebrow when the other offered a cocky smile. A stupid cocky grin that Domino didn't like for one moment as he continued to shake the sand from his paws "I'm sure you could but personally, I'm not the biggest fan of being in the heat with such a dark coat as mine." Dominoeffect would glance down at his claws for the moment before setting his paw down entirely and slowly rising to his paws deciding to stretch out a bit before actually making the journey to wherever the fuck the lion had wanted to go to. He was sure that they would end up going there, he could always just act as if he knew where he was going and pray on luck that they would be there in no time flat. "Is it a desert too?" He eventually decided to ask about where Romulus had come from, now it was just his curiosity wishing to find out more.

When the other agreed that the directions had been poor, a faint smile found itself present on the small creatures maw though it only lasted for a few moments before it would be replaced with that trademark frown of his. He rolled his eyes at the other and would offer a shrug "Maybe next time that'll teach you to get directions from someone else." Although, Domino was the worse person to get directions from but he made an efficent liar when he needed things to go his way. His tail lashed to the sides for a moment as he added in a quick manner "But you didn't hear this from me," He would rather not have Rom's father getting all huffy about his directions being called shit especially since Domino safely assumed that the other was a large wildcat too. Horrible, the small servaline thought with a shake of his head.

Taking a few steps forward, Domino would twitch his giant ears only to press them flat against his skull "Yeah... Company would be nice," He agreed as a snort left him recalling how he had left behind his friend group, part of him did regret it but his more stubborn nature shoved that thought away as he concentrated on what was happening as of right now. Hearing Romulus calling loners intriguing made him frown and raise a nonexistent eyebrow at the other but he shrugged it off as he added with a click of his teeth "I suppose that's true... In a sense, I guess." He decided to say instead of downright calling the loners of the neutral lands a bunch of weirdos. After all, it seemed that Romulus tried to take a more polite way of describing others when Domino would simply spit out whatever was on his mind.

Dominoeffect was ready to start his journey until the other called him a nickname did it make the fur on his spine prickle upwards. It was an attempt at being playful but frankly, Domino didn't feel like he knew the guy enough to be called a shortened version of his name. The tips of his ears and face grew like warm with embarrassment though he would say with his tail lashing to the sides "That's Dominoeffect to you," But before the other can say anything else, the small serval already began to trot onward.

/ out bItCh

[Romulus]

Romulus wanted to chuckle. As if he didn't know what a dark fur meant. The lion could feel the difference between the two shades on his pelt. Nevertheless, he led Dominoeffect bicker on. They didn't seem like a very positive guy anyways, but he kept that to himself. "Not at all. It's a tropical island," he remarked back. Though both technically had sand. Maybe part of it could be considered an island, but he didn't want to delve into the technicalities with a stranger. That would be strange.

A snort left him. What made this servaline think he had better directions then the rest? After all, he was 'someone else.' Once again, he tried to hide his amusement with Dominoeffect, seeing the clear contradictions within his statement. Nevertheless, they were about to go on an adventure. He shouldn't push the smaller feline's buttons, otherwise he wouldn't have a tour guide. This one seemed like he'd snap easily too. Trying to avoid stepping over boundaries, seeing he had already been told off with his little nickname, the lion merely straightened out and prepared to move along.

The lion offered a wave of his tail before moving along. With a short goodbye finished, he proceeded to follow Dominoeffect out into the neutral lands. What the hell were they getting into?