step on the glass . joiner

[fae .]

She needed a new beginning.

That's what everyone needed, right? Even the worst kinds of people, the murderers, the people who would abandon their children for no reason, the ones without empathy - they just needed second chances. It wasn't just a fairy tale that everyone could change, she told herself, because if second chances couldn't help people, then how was she going to get better?

As the domestic feline slunk inwards towards the border, pausing next to the distinct smell, she wondered if it was all worth it. Was it really? Did she really deserve a second chance? Hell, did she ever have a first chance? Maybe her parents were right, maybe they realized that she was awful, and that's why they left. Maybe, maybe, maybe. She sat down next to the border, half tempted to start kneading the earth, still cold from the remnants of winter, her bright pink fur undoubtedly standing out in harsh contrast to the mountainous scenery. She had nothing to go on regarding the existence of a group here besides hearsay and a scent, though her trust in her abilities was limited at best. Never had much experience with smells anyways, even less experience than she did with people - for all she knew this was an old territory, and she was just going to be sitting out here in the cold.

Frankly, the temptation to just give up and leave was rising by the second, but she didn't let it show, trying to look as positive as possible - though her expression was more likely to be seen as cold and distant than anything else, despite her best efforts.

Not that she could do anything about it anyways.

"speech"

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]If only new beginnings truly existed.

  Maybe on some level, this world had been a new beginning in the sense that the only thing present from the old world was herself. All the faces and all the places were completely foreign to her when she had first woken up, and even when she had recovered her memories, neither the Ascendants nor its inhabitants could be found anywhere in them. If she'd wanted to start over, absolve herself of guilt for the old world and move on, she could have lived a completely different life.

  Some of the old world's locations still existed- the ruins of the hospital had still been there when she'd gone back- but all of them were deserted, like some deity with a sick sense of humor had disintegrated every last creature within a hundred mile radius. Elysium, the Typhoon, the Rosebloods, Tanglewood, the Pitt, and the surrounding territories appeared to be the last bastion of animal civilization.

  Yet, the memories of the old world continued to follow her. Maybe once she had her vengeance, they would cease, and she could be at peace... if not, she wouldn't know what to do.

  The wound on her foreleg was almost fully healed by now, but Rin was cautious not to put too much weight on that leg as she approached the bright pink feline. A curious color, but hardly alien to her. The stranger had waited at the border, so most likely she either had official business to attend to or was a joiner.

  "Greetings. What's your name?" Rin asked, twitching her ears. The newcomer seemed closed off, a state of being she understood well; it was useful as a survival mechanism from time to time.

[fae .]

She was a few seconds from just dropping the idea of this place entirely, frankly, when the other animal popped up - perhaps she should stay more focused, really, because she was taken a little bit by surprise. The seemingly cold exterior faltered for a bit as her eyes widened. She didn't think she'd actually get this far.

The animal - person - the Other looked a bit out of it, as if something was wrong with her. Absentmindely, as her blue eyes flitted around the Other's form, she noted the wound on her leg. That would explain it. She didn't feel anything at the revelation, frustratingly, not a single hint of sharing that pain, just glossed over the knowledge as if it were something as simple as eye color. Second beginnings were a lie, yes - people didn't just change out of nowhere. This moment was enough evidence of that. Why should she deserve to be around these people when she thought of a seemingly horrendous wound so casually - what if she ended up being something that would cause that sort of damage to other people?

It's probably not that bad, she told herself, she made it here, after all. Frankly, that line of reasoning only made her feel worse, because now it seemed like she was downplaying other people's pain just to save herself some trouble.

Her rapidly spiraling mental state, a series of thoughts that took place in nothing more than a few seconds, was halted by speech. Greetings. Her name? "I'm Fae," she said, before she could stop herself, immediately biting down on her tongue. Great, now she gave a name. At least she couldn't turn away and run now - that was one thing she learned. Once you say your name, it's like a contract. No choice but to keep talking to them.

"Umm... who are you?" Despite her cool demeanor possibly coming off as cool and confident, her voice was riddled with a certain sort of insecurity, one that betrayed such a cool façade. Not that she really noticed - her brain was too busy taking everything in and fighting itself to pay much mind to how she was acting.

"speech"

[Tena M.]

[div style="width: 527px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify; font-family: constantia; font-size: 11px;"]Tena Moonspinner —
Though she had her pessimistic moments, the petite sand cat possessed an opinion second chances existed.  The fact air still moved through her lungs, that no chains clung to her ankles were all the proof she needed of that.  A second chance to live.  Had she even been given a first?  Born into that horrible life.  Yes, the young Demdji felt fairly certain she'd been given a second chance.  A window of opportunity and she had taken it, snatched it and ran.

Only now the new problem became going back.  Friends and family.  Her brother got out too, but no one else.  And she had tried, tried and failed to use her chance to give them what she had.  Freedom.  Could she try again? Maybe.  Maybe not.  She'd nearly died the last time.  She had people to lead here now.

Maybe second chances existed but third chances certainly seemed nonexistent.  Tena knew it may be better to take it or leave it, accept it, but she swore she'd try again one day.  The Djinn blood running through her veins would certainly make sure she'd have more than enough time to think it through.  Until then, she kept herself focused on running Elysium.

A tail the shade of sand twitched to and fro as she trotted towards the border.  Bright blue eyes skittered over both her fellow Elysite and the newcomer.  A friendly smile.  Always the friendly Magna.  But everyone would stay at arm's length. Always.  Lightly, her head tilted.  "Hey," her voice rang out sharp and amiable.  "I'm Tena, Magna of Elysium.  Could we do anything for you?" So many on their borders lately, she mused.
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free

[fae .]

"Joining." Once more, she had to bite her own tongue for speaking out without thought, each subsequent one raising the likelihood of drawing blood - she should really stop her replying, she told herself idly, mind more focused on how to amend her statement. "I mean I'd like to join. If-if that'd be okay, of course, miss Magna." The way she introduced herself made it sound like Magna was her first name, sort of a second and then first type introduction, so Fae went with it - then again, it might be a title, like 'mother,' and she didn't exactly enjoy being called that. Maybe she should fix her statement again - she didn't want that nice warmth to leave the appropriately desert-colored cat.

Before she could anxiously stutter out a few more words, she caught herself having a hangup on another thing Magna - or Tena, as she actually was - said. Elysium? That sounded like a fancy name. Probably a name for a place, though she had never heard of any place named so fancily. "What's-" Before she could spit something out and cause some damage to her tongue, she stopped, and really thought her sentence through. She really didn't want to sound stupid, like she probably did to miss Tena - or Magna? - and she really really didn't want to bite her tongue again, so she gave some more thought before speaking again. "Is Elysium where I am? Or - where you are?"

Mission failed in that regard, but at least she didn't have to bite herself again. Instead she just shuffled her paws a bit in an uncomfortable fashion, eyes blinking between Rin and Magna - or Tena - and wondering who would speak next. Or would someone else approach? That wasn't exactly an exciting thought, but... it did seem possible. She could only hope otherwise.

"speech"

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Truthfully, the wound was not much of an issue now. It had bled profusely when it had first been inflicted, but she saw wounds like that all the time; learning to stop bleeding and prevent infection was just the first step of becoming a medic. Having given it time, it got better, and a more thorough examination upon returning to Elysium (aided by Hope) had suggested the wound would heal fully.

  Her name was Fae, and now she was asking for a name in return- in an uncertain voice. If she wasn't launching right into a message, then most likely she was either lost or a joiner. Before Rin could respond, though, Tena had already introduced the group; she carried herself like an experienced leader, Rin had noticed. Had she done this before in a previous life?

  Well, it was no use to muse. And indeed, Fae did want to join. "Yes, Elysium is the name of the group that resides here," Rin clarified, twitching her ears. "And you can stay here as long as you need." Looking over at Tena, she added, "There's an... oath, that she can take at the next meeting to become an official member, right?" Such a thing had never been practiced in any clan she'd been a part of before, but she supposed it made some sense, and definitely made keeping records of the actual members easier.

[beatae]

LIGHTS GO OUT AND ALL I SEE—
the direwolf approached the girls with a quizzical look, mainly toward the newcomer.

"fae?" she was a fae... was she saying her name was what she was? lilja couldn't sense anything remotely familiar to herself... just an odd name, perhaps. "well, my name is lilja. i am rather new here myself along with my baby brother conrí." as well as her father raziel, but he normally was not stationary for long periods of time.

"oh- yes! you can take an oath when tena hosts the next meeting. it's very empowering." lilja reassured with a gentle smile.

—ARE THOSE EYES, A WOLVERINE

tags

[fae .]

The Other spoke again, still not giving a name - maybe she didn't have one? Oh, dear, how rude would she look, asking someone for a name when they didn't have one, or go by one. She wouldn't ask again, to fulfill that tiny possibility. They were strangers to her, she didn't want to be like that, to be so ignorant. She was practically unnamed herself, so to treat someone else like that would be so rude. Unless she did have a name, and she just forgot to give it, and then not calling her by name could be rude... The constant barreling train of anxious thoughts could only be stopped by a distraction, something that blew the wind out of its sails real quick - or removed its tracks, per the metaphor. She was being welcomed in? Just like that?  "I... I can? Oh, wow, thank you, that's great, I'm..." There was no biting her tongue this time,
just looking at the Other's eyes with her own sky blue ones and giving her a very thankful look. "I appreciate it a lot."

She was too overcome with emotion to start shaking at the thought of an oath. Who was she to be able to keep an oath? Well, she was Fae, apparently. Yes, the name did sound nice, now that she used it as her own. Even this next Other that approached agreed, apparently, looking at her curiously after having heard that. "Yes, that's my name. Fae, nice to meet you." Wait, she - Lilja, apparently - had already heard that. Oops. "I mean you already knew that, I was just - um, excuse me. Anyways, I'm... glad to hear that. I guess I have something to look forward to, then." God, soon she'd be ripping her tongue out so she didn't mess anything else up. The oath being empowering did sound nice. Maybe she wouldn't break it. She didn't have experience breaking oaths, or promises, or hurting people, but lying did come naturally to her, and she had always been told lying only led to worse things,
and if she messed up here, well, she didn't know what she'd do, where she'd run to...

Well, better avoid thinking about that, and focus on not messing up instead. That's probably for the best. "Thank you, again - I'm sure I'll like it here. The name sounds lovely, and you're all nice, so..." Trailing off without a good conclusion wasn't a good look, she thought, but she didn't have a conclusion to give. She just needed to find a bed and cry in it.

"speech"