CASHING IN MY BAD LUCK ☆ maude

[LUMIA CIPHER.]

The Coalition of the Condemned. The majority of the time, Lumia preferred to stay far, far away from their territory, not wanting to deal with anyone who lingered within the group, associating with their bloody past. It was almost funny, how her sister's presence within the group was merely one part of why she avoided them so much. Either way, she normally wouldn't come anywhere near the mountains that the group called home, not wanting to risk causing trouble for The Typhoon. This time, however, special circumstances were at play. Danny's recent... incident with the dead body at the tracks had set something off in her mind, and left her wondering. Why did he seem so fascinated by artifacts of the past? Not just any artifacts of the past, however. Ones from a very particular and very old group. It had taken a bit of asking around for her to discover where the necklace Danny had stumbled upon has actually come from. She had gone from older blacksmith to older blacksmith – considering she knew most of them at this point – and had questioned them about where it could've come from. Hell, she had even brought a messy little sketch of what it looked like with her.

When she had eventually been pointed in the direction of The Ascendants – and by extension, Elysium – she had been both intrigued and concerned. She had wanted to go and scavenge, thinking that perhaps she could find more trinkets that would help Danny with whatever was bothering him. However, things had become all the more complicated when she had learned where the necklace had come from, and where any other remnants of the past would be. Within Elysium's former territory... the Coalition's territory, now. Still, she refused to let this discourage her. She had something in her mind that she wanted to do, and she was now determined to do it. She wouldn't let any Wanderers stop her. Besides, everything would be fine... provided she was stealthy enough. All she had to do was sneak in, look around a little, and then head back home, hopefully with something she could show Danny. It was a simple enough plan, and one that she felt she could pull off.

That was how the young feline had ended up on the Coalition's territory, her paws gently pressing against snow that had fallen long ago as she moved silently over the border. Wrapped around her shoulders was a green cloak with small golden accents, the hood pulled up and her head lowered, to both conceal her and fight against the natural cold of the mountains. As she moved along, she tried to think of what the other blacksmiths had told her – what little they could remember of Elysium's territory. The Starpool. That had been important, right? That seemed like the ideal place to start, the girl hopeful that any remnants of the group would still be near the crystal clear waters. With this hope driving her, Mia had moved along quickly, trying to make as little noise as possible as she trekked through the territory, carefully avoiding spots where the scent of the Coalition grew even stronger. She grew sloppy when she drew near the Starpool, however. She was feeling overly confident, having not only navigated the sea between the Coalition and the mainland, but also part of the territory as a whole. Her heart was swelling with pride as she stared down at the Starpool, finding herself slightly breathless. It really was beautiful, wasn't it?

However, just as the young Cipher took a step forward, it hit her – a Coalition scent. And not just the general scent of the territory, but one that was approaching. Initially on filled her with fear and apprehension, but she was quick to shove those down deep inside of her. There was no reason to fear just yet – no one within the Coalition even knew of her, save for Aphra. With this in mind, Lumia turned towards the scent, and the sound of someone approaching, her green gaze narrowed. She took a bold step towards them, voice sharp as she questioned, "Hey! Who are you? What do you want?" Her lip was half pulled up in a snarl, as if she was the one who had reason to be angry. Perhaps she could seem as if she belonged – even if the Typhoon scent on her fur was still only freshly smothered.

☆ — something's going on underneath your skin

[MAUDE P.]

[LUMIA CIPHER.]

Shit. It seemed as though she would not be lucky enough to work this whole situation out peacefully. It was a shame, considering she had really been hoping that her little trick would work out. Unfortunately, the scent of The Typhoon definitely gave her away, something she would have to remember if she ever returned. That is, if she made it out of this whole situation alive. With her ears flicking back against her skull as the other stepped closer, Mia found herself hissing lightly, "Look... I don't want any trouble. All I wanted to come here was to look for something for my friend. Trust me, I'll be out of here before you know it... we don't have to fight." And she meant that genuinely, strange as that seemed. Despite her group's hatred of the Coalition, she didn't see a need to stir up trouble, especially when she had only come to see if she could get something for Danny. It didn't seem as though Maude shared that same peaceful sentiment, though, which was a shame. That made things... significantly more complicated.

As Maude came rushing forward, a frustrated grunt left Lumia, her back paws slipping into the Starpool as she was shoved back. She and Maude were about evenly matched in terms of size at the moment – with the other being slightly larger and still growing – but that armor gave her a distinct advantage, didn't it? Feeling her heart sink at the realization that she would indeed have to fight, a soft snarl left the young Cipher, her gaze narrowing and her claws slipping out. The strike against her shoulder caused her to let out a soft yelp, shaking her head as she snapped, "Damn it... I told you, I don't want to fight you!" With that said, the Typhooner knew that she couldn't back down. Not fighting back would be like asking for death, and she had no intention of dying anytime soon. So, she flung herself forward, attempting to dig her claws into the other's shoulders and yank herself on top of Maude's back. If she was successful, it would give her an advantageous point to strike from, at the very least.

Whether she was successful in landing on Maude's back or roughly shaken off, Lu's next action would be to swipe hard at the other feline's face, attempting to rip off the half mask that sat there. It was pretty much the only piece of armor she could actually hope to get off at this point, and a good one to pull off at that. If the wanderer's face was exposed, then Lumia could aim for vulnerable places like her eyes, and hopefully ward her off for long enough to bolt. The smaller feline didn't exactly want to flee, considering she hadn't accomplished what she had set out to do, but it also seemed like the smartest plan of action at the moment.

☆ — something's going on underneath your skin