I'LL FAKE GOD TODAY | open + joining

[elliot.]

It was supposed to be summer, wasn't it? Elliot was pretty sure, since the last place they had stopped in was experiencing a sudden drought. They could still feel the dryness in their nose and throat, so they were determined to believe that the experience wasn't some fever dream or hallucination. This wasn't very summery weather though, they thought as rain pounded down on their small form. In fact, thunderstorms were one of the least-summery weathers out there! How unlucky that the area was suffering quite an intense one right as they decided to pass though. Unlucky for others, that is, for Elliot loved storms. The kid laughed as he pounced from one muddy puddle to the next, thunder booming loudly in the sky above him as he dug around in the dirt.

It didn't take long for them to pull a pile of wriggling worms from the soil, and they gathered the creatures into a messy pile before crouching down to examine them. "Cute," they said to no one in particular, batting at the worms with a mud soaked paw.

[madster]

malphas was only a month older than the puddle-hopping kid, but as he saw him, he assumed he was just a big kitten. for once in his miserable life, he was completely sober, and you could tell because he had eye-bags and his permanent bitch resting face was back. despite being a smaller-then-average apprentice-aged cat, he was intimidating. it doesn't help that his grey fur was stained with streaks of old blood, and even he didn't know where they came from, his unusual diet or his occupation.

malphas had no sympathy for the childish, and so he watched him grab... worms... right out of the fucking ground with a disgusted look on his face. he decided to approach now, coming in on long, slender legs. "you know what's cute?" he paused, a twisted grin forming on his face, about to deliver some cruel mocking statement.

wait. what if this was a joiner? zimavich would probably bite his head off. "uh... fuckin' explaining to me what you're doing here, cause this is tanglewood." it was a lot less aggressive than what he originally intended. was he softening up or just scared of the consequences?

[elliot.]

Elliot was reluctant to tear his gaze away from his new friends. He didn't look up at Malphas as he first approached, consequently missing the disgust and then the cruelty that crossed the blood-streaked feline's face. No, they only looked up about a second or two after he finished speaking, staring at him with wide eyes and an unwavering smile. Lightning cut through the sky above the pair, the sudden light causing the holographic accents that littered the kid's body to shift slightly. They waited a second or two before speaking, their expression finally changing as their smile grew and their eyes wrinkled with a childish glee. "I was talking to the worms." So much for explaining what they were doing there. But then they leaned down to grasp some of the worms between their teeth, standing to step closer to Malphas. Elliot spat them at his paws once they deemed themselves close enough, blinking upwards with ever-shifting eyes. "You can have some too. A gift. I want to stay here, let me in," they demanded, apparently unshaken by the blood that stained the feline's fur.

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]