I DON'T LOVE YOU // joining

[ROSEMARY]

[align=center]SHE LOST HER VOICE DOWN BY THE RIVER, SCREAMING FOR COURAGE

For the second time in as many months, the young woman found herself packing up her books and herbal medicines to move out of her home. Unlike when she came to the Typhoon, she felt terribly uneasy with every pawstep she took. The mage, now permanently cast out of her family's coven and finding the Typhoon increasingly isolating without the limitless Roux population, needed a change of scenery. Usually, she would stick it out in the Typhoon and try to fit in -- but now she could hardly look at the territory without feeling as though a snake coiled around her ribs.

Still, she walked into the rainforest home of the Rosebloods. Eri, her massive saltwater crocodile, diligently pulled her cart behind him -- its twin lines and their pawsteps marked the dirt, showing their path easily. Another thing she hated about needing to move her book collection, carefully packed glass instruments, and gardening tools. For someone with such high social anxiety and terror of being found first, moving about so openly made her jittery.

By the time she got to the scent markers in the rainforest canyon, her stomach felt twisted into ten snakes with her four eyes each scanning the area. Shakily, she leaned against a large tree and waited for Eri to catch up to her, his mouth half-open and nibbling on her leg until she started to scritch the top of his head. She felt better with the action, but her head continued to swivel as she reacted to every sound and smell that potentially meant a Roseblood member found her. Oh, how she hated the introductions part; she'd much rather invade everyone's mind to download all information she needed about them, inject false memories so they'd know her already and think of her as just another member, and bypass this whole terrifying nonsense of introducing herself to a bunch of strangers. And then needing to get used to living around said strangers.

Petting Eri couldn't soothe her from this necessary step. She knew she needed to do it -- as much as she hated joining a group, she felt even more anxious off alone when she only excelled in magic and healing -- but that hardly made a dent to the anxiety itself!

[ pls only 3 people or less respond otherwise she'll probably have a panic attack ]

[Matias]

Sorbet had never struggled with the same feelings as Rosemary. There wasn't much in his life to cause him any anxiety, except maybe the looming thought of his inadequacy. Even so, that was more of a sick kind of sadness, not the unfamiliar and painful coil of fear. Perhaps if he'd faced any danger in his life aside from pathogens and the threat of his body turning against him, he'd know true fear, but for now there's no way that he could empathise with the former Typhoon member. He still had yet to get used to all the noises and smells of the rainforest, but by now he had grown familiar with the sound of something large moving through the foliage. The snapping and rustling was hard to miss. The wolf happened to be nearby when he caught it, ears pricking and rotating towards the source before his paws did the same and he began in her direction.

When he emerged from the thicket of ferns that had been blocking his path, he found himself off to the side of a wildcat. He had never seen anyone of her species before, nor had he seen anything like the saltwater crocodile that tailed her. Sorbet tilted his head, a childish gleam of curiosity in his eyes as he studied the pair. "Hey," he greeted somewhat snappily, the tone completely unintentional yet no less harsh. "Who are ya, an' what's that thing?" He closed in on them, snaking from the foliage and shaking some frozen shards of leaf out of his fur. When Sorbet deemed himself close enough he stopped, although his tail continued to coil in the dirt behind him. There was a strange smell that coated the female. Salty and foreign, different to anything that he had ever smelled before. His nose wrinkled. "An' where did ya come from?" He was still unaware of the presence of other groups, the Rosebloods being new to him itself.

[Grey]

[div style="margin: 0 auto; border-width:0; width: 70%; text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5; font-family: arial; font-size: 9pt;"]A change of scenery. In an attempt to summarise his original reason for joining the Rosebloods, one could say that he too needed a change of scenery. There was something refreshing in staying in one place, contradictory to the norm because usually it was traveling that felt anew. And yet, living a nomad's life, meant that frequent changes of the environment around him was something he expected. The road, endless and long, was filled with all kinds of life and biomes. Sometimes, he got tired from change, the frequently buzzing differences, the instability. It was nice to just stay in one place, it was a change he was willing to embrace because it meant that the world could finally stay still. His whole life had been an uneasy shuffle, fidgeting with a lack of clarity, no solid ground. Even then, moving to the Rosebloods didn't welcome a whole number of positives. He was, more or less, basing his opinions on what he expected to be reaped from the future - a future where he'd finally be used to the social life of living within a group, depending on each other to survival. They flaunted themselves to be great and so he expected it from them.

As of now, he was still surprised by a number of things. He didn't expect there to still be so much walking, patrolling and checking for newcomers, intruders or other foreigners. It was good to be on high alert. He hadn't kept his guard up when he was journeying to the Rosebloods himself. He had a leather bag, filled with documents, medicines and other items of interest - stolen. Perry didn't have anything to defend himself and so he came to the group empty pawed, vulnerable. To be honest, he wasn't afraid for his life. He wouldn't mind if his chapter were to end here: erased, vanished, gone. It didn't matter to him because the universe felt too mundane for him to care about. He did, however, miss the collection of plays he had bought from merchants. One of them was an absurdist play, written by Samuel Beckett, under the name Waiting for Godot. It wasn't exactly a read for anyone and he doubted the thief would have had any interest in the text. Existentialism usually bored others but he found it absolutely fascinating. Even though he hadn't ever finished reading it, he knew the ending from the very beginning. It was how they were always written. The beginning was the same as the end, nothing ever changes. Some, for that reason, might have dreaded the philosophy, but Perry loved it.

The coyote wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for. He wasn't sure if he was patrolling the border or just exploring like a wanderlust child. His eyes twinkled at the look of shiny moss growing at the roots of trees, glittering from the droplets of water sitting between the spaces. Perry made sure to step over it, wary not to slip, and wincing a little when extensions of a plant scraped at his insect bites. He managed to treat it a while back, able to recognise a few of the plants that grew closer to the Rosebloods' main base, but he was cautious not to take too much. Although he was a member here now, he still felt as if he was stealing, as if someone would rain down a holy punishment and leave him to perish. He doesn't like pain - no one did, otherwise it wasn't pain to him. His paws crunch over a bundle of dry twigs, the male huffing because he realised he wasn't well equipped to roam about the rainforest as he did. He was sure that there were plenty of predators, invisible to his senses, lurking and watching him. He could bet that they were calculating their odds, licking their lips, wondering if they felt like eating coyote for a meal. If given the chance, Perry would try to explain that he probably wouldn't taste very nice. Then again, what feral listened to reasoning?

In any environment, one was always on the lookout for anything unnatural. Inconsistencies were easy to spot, especially considering the thick splodges of greens and browns that dripped within the rainforest. Sorbet, for example, stood out to him. He saw the wolf walking around, glittery like shaven ice, and suddenly animating to move in a particular direction. He found himself following, not exactly stalking or out of ill intent, but probably looked like some kind of admirer because he was horrible at justifying his decisions aloud. Perry just assumed that whatever the wolf was doing, he probably noticed someone at the border. His assumption, as he too arrived at the scene, was correct. Aside from the startling appearance of a woman with four eyes, he was more intimidated by the saltwater crocodile who accompanied her. He realises just how perfect the humid environment of the rainforest was for the reptile before suddenly wondering if he had found any large bodies of water within the territory outside of the main base, dreading the idea of going for water only to be greeted by a large water-living predator. Since his joining, he hadn't thought of the dangers of snakes or alligators. The companion that the stranger brought with her was only a brimming reminder for him.

"Cro...crocodile," he says plainly to Sorbet, pointing at Eri. He wonders if Sorbet, by now, had realised that he didn't stammer because he was meek or nervous, but instead because he couldn't control it. He didn't really mind what the icy male thought. He was merely curious. Perry's nose takes a whiff of the scent that the fem gave off, the smell only faintly differentiated from the territory's because he was still overwhelmed by the strength of all the odours. Slowly, but surely, they were beginning to be filtered out by his brain. It was a tedious and frustrating process. Beach, he wonders if she lived by a beach. He heard it to be luxurious. He was tempted to ask her reason for being here but he had a feeling that with Sorbet's bombardment of questions that she was bound to mention her business. It would be too awkward and strange to stop at a border, announce your name and backstory, only to walk off. It seemed like a waste of energy to the small canine.

[purgatory]

Koda knew well of the anxieties that followed putting yourself out there and meeting new people. The energetic, extroverted cub couldn't help but succumb to the terrors of introducing yourself to someone you've never met before. He couldn't tell what they were thinking or how they perceived him. In general, he wanted to be liked and have as many friends as possible, but a small voice in the back of his head - not "himself" - told him to be weary. People wore masks to conceal who they are and their intentions all the time whether to keep themselves safe or the purpose of deception. That alone was enough to make him hesitate and timid. Not knowing who someone really is was a frightening thought. He didn't even know who he was and "he" wasn't giving any clues to ease his troubled mind. He was lost at the worst of times and pretending at the best. It was probably a sad, depressing thought to most but Koda does his best to remain optimistic about it. Does he think he's too young to be having a fucking identity crisis? Absolutely. But it's what he's dealing with so he needed to figure something out before it drives him mad. Others must have it much worst than he does, right? Him complaining would not only get nothing done, but it would be rude to those who're suffering much more than him and are doing their best to work something out too. For example, Rosemary. Despite how hard it must have been to leave her previous home, she braved through it and found herself at their doorstep. Koda could respect that. Could he do the same? Could he place roots somewhere then go to a completely different place? Probably. He adapted to the Rosebloods quickly enough so doing so to other places shouldn't be that hard. Granted, being reunited with his siblings took a lot of the pressure and nervousness off.

What drew Koda to the scene was the familiar scent of saltwater. When he saw Sorbet and Perry standing near the source, he then began to wonder if Goldenluxury had returned again - she was the only one he knew of from the Typhoon. She really shouldn't be making the journey like this in the state she's in. Concern started to well up inside his fluffy form as he scampered over to join the three, stopping when he realized Goldenluxuary was nowhere to be seen. Instead, standing before him was a serval with four eyes and a- was that a crocodile? Alright. "He" tells himself "he's" seen more peculiar situations and Koda doesn't question "himself," not interested in prolonging the conversation at the time. He still isn't interested since he knew "he" wouldn't give himself any details to clear up any confusion he will definitely have. Bright blue eyes glanced nervously from reptile to feline before timidly taking a step backwards, nearly bumping into Sorbet's hind leg as he did so. The brief contact his long tail made with his leg told the child to stop, though he remained close to the canine. He should... Definitely... Quickly write something down instead of just staring at her. Dropping his supplies to the ground, he swiftly wrote out a greeting before holding it up for her to see. "Hello!"

He really wanted to skip the introductions and become friends already.

[align=center]✯ "speaking" / "writing" ✯

[ROSEMARY]

[align=center]SHE LOST HER VOICE DOWN BY THE RIVER, SCREAMING FOR COURAGE

Three males -- well, two adults and one boy -- came out to greet her and Eri. Her forked tail flicked behind her as she watched them for signs of aggression; she itched to check, to double-check, before she said her name and got invested in this group. She lost time and energy by staying in the Typhoon for as long as she did, and she hated running the risk of so poorly fitting into another group yet again. Thankfully, they seemed altogether curious, if not a bit uneasy about her piebald crocodile.

"I'm Rosemary Roux, and this is Eriocalyx. He's a saltwater crocodile -- he won't attack if I'm not threatened," she replied to the first person, her ears flicking. She felt a little nervous about Eri's adaptation to the jungle, but she felt confident enough to risk it. If he got sick, she would take him to the ocean again, but the thought of parting with him so soon after leaving her home dug a hole in her chest. After a pause, she added, "I'm here to join. I'm originally from the Typhoon, if that will be a problem...?" She remembered the exchange between the two groups' leaders at the Typhoon's borders, and assumed the Rosebloods might hold a grudge from that. Her brother tended towards blunt -- and she, as well -- though she knew some people found offense in that kind of attitude.

[purgatory]

As Koda listened to the feline before him, he felt his nervousness trickle away little by little, just enough to smile and dip his head politely when she finished introducing herself. Rosemary Roux... Was she related to Goldenluxury? Interesting. But none of that mattered now. The Typhoon and the Rosebloods were enemies so he shouldn't be thinking about others from that clan. It wasn't as though he didn't care, but thinks would start to get complicated if he allowed his emotions to get the better of him. As much as he wanted to welcome Rosemary with arms stretched as wide as they can go, he needed to think about this rationally. It'll be a pain in the ass later on if there was a dispute over loyalties and whatnot and the commotion alone was enough to make his head pound. At least "he" thought it was too much trouble. The child just wanted to hug her and show her and her rad reptile companion around camp. Mentally sighing, he maintained his friendly smile despite his thoughts as he wrote down some words. "It's nice to meet you~ I'm Maekoda but you can call me Koda! It's nice to meet you and your crocodile friend. I'm not sure how to spell his name though, sorry!" He turned the notebook to show her when he finished writing down his introduction. When he felt she had finished reading, he turned the book back to himself and continued to write, holding it up to her when he finished. "The relationship between us and the Typhoon is pretty bad. I'm not sure what his name is but the leader seemed really mad and deemed us enemies. I'm not sure if there'll be complications but I think if you stick with us no matter what, everything will be fine. I don't mean to force you to pick sides, but that's just the kind of situation we're in at the moment." He didn't hold a rank, he was just a child and to top it all off, he doesn't fully understand the situation. Whether she can join them or not wasn't his decision to make but he also didn't see a problem if her loyalties to the Typhoon is dropped.

[align=center]✯ "speaking" / "writing" ✯