a beautiful lesson in humility! ; joining.

[AXXO.]

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AXXO'VIINTOCH

INFORMATION PLOT ROLEPLAYER MISC.

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Axxo had been drawn towards the humid air and the scent of rotting wood.

There was something familiar about it that they knew exactly how to explain. Humidity often meant the presence of a great deal of water, which was more than ideal for them. Despite the mucus layered over the alien's skin and clinging to the attire it donned, it didn't need moisture to breathe as one might expect. Plainly spoken, it but needed mucus to regulate its temperature.

On another note, the sickly smell of various rotting flora and death could mean an easy meal. The deer-like creature wasn't adverse to such an opportunity no matter the presence of maggots and other disgusting insects. The slime about its muzzle appeared to undulate as a hidden smile manifested beneath merely at the thought of food.

Wide feet kept the beast mostly above the slick mud, grime splashing onto its underside as long limbs carried it forward. The only thing it didn't enjoy the thought of was cleaning its clothing later.

There was a clattering noise behind it, thin branches of some bush shifting either on wind or against some other animal. Axxo paused then, claws scraping against a rock barely exposed above the muddy ground as its head darted up into the air as far as it could. Beady black eyes searched the landscape as their ears rotated in separate directions. They inhaled sharply, poor sense of smell trying to pick up anything other what was decaying a few feet away, just out of view.

Predictably, it hadn't a clue it'd crossed into a clan's territory.

TLDR; Axxo's unknowingly trespassing on their hunt for a meal and just heard something move in the brush. Weather it was your character creating the racket or the wind is, obviously, up to you!

━ [b]I WANNA CRUMBLE, TUMBLE LIKE A LANDSLIDE. ━

[arrow]

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Hunting, what a coincidence. That’s what she’d been set out to do, to at least make sure she still had it in her. People had to eat, after all, and the swamp was no place to just let available prey slide on by, edible prey anyway. Hunting was a little more difficult for her these days, being bigger than she’d ever had to worry about being, and a lot escaped her grasp due to her having to relearn how to be the sneaky huntress she used to be. Naturally, when she caught sight of the strange creature before her, Arrow’s first thought was it was some poor animal mutated by the radioactivity, which was a big no-no to eat or give to the rest of Tanglewood to eat. And she was almost disappointed, she had gotten this far and it looked like a rather large thing. At least, until the rest of it came into view, and the colored fabric that the creature donned was...interesting. Actual clothes, that was a new one. She’d seen scarves and jewelry, some for fashion some for spirituality or presented as a gift by a loved one, she’d seen it all. But a full outfit, that was interesting. Weren’t they hot out here in such a humid environment?

”Alright stranger, I’m gonna have to stop you right there.” Arrow crawled out from her hiding spot, shaking off leftover remnants of the brush and undergrowth. Guess she was gonna have to conduct business for once. ”I’m afraid you’ve crossed into a currently occupied territory, you’re gonna have to tell me who you are.”

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[rhosmari]

Though she knew she had to keep it simple she was getting her stride back after being injured from an unwarranted attack. She was for the most part confident in her abilities to keep things going. Doing her best to try and at least get out when she could. It was harder sure but she had endured things that she could consider as worse. Plus she had others that could handle things and at least carry their own weight while she was healing. It just wasn't easy for her to sit and let others do things. She was prone to moving and getting things done. She always had been. There had never been a day in which she sought to sit around and training and fighting were her strong suites. She was still learning how everything worked here. Tanglewood was different. Not the home she expected and she honestly still didn't know where she stood with the group. But she knew one thing. She had a love here. Someone she could talk to if things got rough. She would be moving back into their home soon. But for now she was just stretching her limbs. Most of her bandages had already been removed save for her injured back leg.

But her walk was cut short when she heard Arrow's voice. Eyes of glittering skies narrowed just slightly as she emerged from the foliage. The lioness allowed her gaze to focus primarily on the stranger. Not sure what to make of them but then again it seemed that the swamp was a hot spot for all things. The woman moved to brush lightly against her mate before she looked to the other. "Yes, this is Tanglewood. Is this one looking to join? If not then they will have to leave. They may call her Elsweyr,  she is the deputy here." She indicated to herself before motioning to the king cheetah next. "She is Arrow. "

[wormwood.]

Unlike Arrow or Axxo, Aurum had not come out into the swamps of Tanglewood in order to hunt. Instead, he had been doing a usual border patrol, broad paws carrying the pregnant tiger up and over the muck that had claimed most of the available ground. The luminary was willing to get his paws dirty if it was absolutely necessary, but if there was some other way around? He would definitely try his best to take it. Of course, utilizing such shortcuts was getting more difficult as time went on, considering he was getting bigger. It was actually sort of funny, how he could move so fluidly throughout the territory in his lion form, while struggling in his current tigress one. Then again, his lion form had wings to make use of, which made traversing Tanglewood as a whole a great deal easier. Just like last time he had been pregnant, he found himself yearning for his old body and his wings, but he didn't mind waiting. It would all be worth it, when his and Siborno's children finally arrived.

The large feline had a smile on his face as he moved through the trees, his attention mostly having drifted into his own head, rather than on the task at hand. He was snapped back to reality, however, by the sound of voices nearby. With his tail twitching a bit anxiously behind him, Aurum turned and made his way over to where Arrow and Elsweyr stood, his blue gaze turning towards Axxo and then... pausing. They certainly were an interesting looking one, weren't they? They seemed almost like the various mutated beasts of prey he had encountered in the past, yet somehow even more... alien. Not only that, but they were wearing a full-on outfit instead of accessories, something he wasn't sure he had ever seen before. Still, the angel didn't want to be rude and stare for too long, so he instead decided to tag onto what Arrow and Elsweyr were saying. Dipping his head in Axxo's direction, he muttered to them, "Hello there... my name is Aurum. I'm the luminary, or leader of the group that owns these lands, Tanglewood, like Elsweyr said. If you have any questions before you might consider joining... you can feel free to ask." He had to wonder if they were even sentient, or indeed just another mutated beast. Sure, they were wearing clothing, but perhaps they had been put into it by someone else?

[AXXO.]

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AXXO'VIINTOCH

INFORMATION PLOT ROLEPLAYER MISC.

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Axxo gaze - though, not apparently due to their entirely black quality - first flicked to Arrow as she approached. In that brief period of silence between her approach and her speaking, Axxo did not move save for the rotation of an ear towards the sound of her pawsteps. While they weren't entirely a prey animal given their partial diet of fish and carrion, there still was some tension at having another predator directly approach them.

' Alright stranger, I’m gonna have to stop you right there. '

She had their attention; their head turned to examine the stranger in their central vision as their ears perked.

' I’m afraid you’ve crossed into a currently occupied territory, you’re gonna have to tell me who you are. '

So it seemed their olfactory senses proved yet again they were lacking in anything but potent, sickly sweet scents. Axxo's head dipped, ears still perked forward as their tail too lowered. Their mouth parted, mucus stretching between upper and lower jaws as they spoke, "Sincerest apologies. I am Axxo'viintoch," they replied, but they knew it'd take more than an apology to make up for their trespassing. However, before they could continue, they witnessed the approach of another predator. The alien was growing uneasy despite the lack of aggression, and it was shown in the slight widening of their many eyes and the swiveling of their ears.

' Yes, this is Tanglewood. Is this one looking to join? If not then they will have to leave. They may call her Elsweyr,  she is the deputy here. She is Arrow. '

Their jaws momentarily closed, they carefully observed their gestures and silently noted their manner of speaking. The deer-like creature's tail swished, becoming momentarily distracted by the newfound presence of a tigress. They were beginning to feel surrounded; then again, it was only natural for such things to occur when a stranger encroached on the territory of an established group. This was something they would've expected should they have known they had crossed boundaries.

' Hello there... my name is Aurum. I'm the luminary, or leader of the group that owns these lands, Tanglewood, like Elsweyr said. If you have any questions before you might consider joining... you can feel free to ask. '

"Goodness," the word momentarily escaped through a wet maw, small bits of mucus being flung onto the mud as the thought slipped from under their breath without their realization. "The leader is even here - what are the odds?" Their thoughts raced, "I don't quite like the idea of being eaten should I reject joining."

Their only measure of comfort was the more friendly demeanor of the Aurum fellow. However, realizing their exposure of fear coupled with the little bit of friendliness they had received compelled Axxo to release themselves from terror. They need not fumble; it was a simple mistake.

"Surely forgivable, right?"

With that thought, the creature raised their head, breaking the brief moment of silence between themselves and the others, "Just to be clear, I did not mean to cross the border. My sense of smell isn't quite right." A decent start, but where to go from there? "And I've never been a member of a group before." Honesty, always good to lead with honesty. Axxo looked to Aurum then, not that it was exactly clear other than by the tilt of their head. "If you would be so kind to explain this Tanglewood to me, I'd be grateful."

TLDR; Axxo is nervous from all the predators but they're trying to appear friendly. You really need only read the stuff in blue.

━ [b]I WANNA CRUMBLE, TUMBLE LIKE A LANDSLIDE. ━

[rhosmari]

The woman could sense the nervousness in them and she knew how that felt. She had been nervous too when she had first gotten to Tanglewood. The lioness was not a native to these lands and thus everything was new and different. Back then she had been a king cheetah but a lot of events had changed her. She still had a nagging feeling in her chest that there was more to come but for now she was peaceful. The calm before the storm she supposed. "This one thinks that it is okay that they didn't mean to cross the border. No harm was done. " She spoke with a light tone of accepting before allowing a smile to pull across her maw. Her septum pieced nose twitched before she tilted her head a little but. "Well, Tanglewood is this place. All of it. The swamp to the forest and shoreline. Tanglewood claims this territory and she supposes it works much like her tribe does. We all live together in the town not too far away and we protect and care for one another. Hunting for those who can not and training to be exceptional warriors." The woman tried to answer their questions as they asked them.

Frankly she was excited to lead a new face to a new home. Her flaming mane crackled with that energy as she looked to Arrow and then back to the stranger once again. Intrigued by their appearance.

[AXXO.]

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INFORMATION PLOT ROLEPLAYER MISC.

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A few of their hind-muscles reflexively twitched as the lioness spoke. Their ears pinned for a moment before they forced them forward.

' This one thinks that it is okay that they didn't mean to cross the border. No harm was done. '

The alien dipped their head, "I am grateful for your perspective," they stated.

They were unused to seeing so many predators in one place and so close together. In youth, they were taught the strong but poor minded creatures survived alone; however, the both strong and intelligent survived together. Axxo was told they were poor-minded by Lyc, their caretaker whom they were permitted the term "father." As time went on, even their physical strength was proven to be the same.

' Well, Tanglewood is this place. All of it. The swamp to the forest and shoreline. Tanglewood claims this territory and she supposes it works much like her tribe does. . . '

Thus, watching these clans from afar, seeing these strong creatures work and prosper together - even if only in spirit when food was scarce and war aplenty - Axxo knew they weren't meant to be among them. "For I am weak in mind and body," they thought, quoting Lyc silently. Thus, the words of the lioness which came next struck them with surprise.

' We all live together in the town not too far away and we protect and care for one another. Hunting for those who can not and training to be exceptional warriors. '

"'Hunting for those who can not?'" they couldn't help but quote them aloud, but in the tone of a question. Such words contradicted much of which Axxo had been taught. Their head would cock slightly to the left as one of their ears flicked, "You care for those who are less able? I was taught otherwise, that clans will leave the weak behind. Is this untrue?"

OOC; Fixed the mistake! My brain got confused about who was who for a moment and I apologize.

━ [b]I WANNA CRUMBLE, TUMBLE LIKE A LANDSLIDE. ━