find me somewhere at the bottom / joining

[VALE]

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Filthy and covered in mud with no possessions to her name, the black wolf stumbled onto the border with her nose wrinkled in disgust. She never realized how smelly the world was as a human. Or how easy it was to get dirty when you walked with your belly hovering above the ground. At first she enjoyed this odd world -- turning into an animal seemed like something out of a fairy tale! -- but it quickly became irritating. She'd spent the last few weeks hunting her own food and eating it raw; it beat going to sleep hungry, at least.

Otherwise, she spent most of her time trying to track down her brother. Even if her spell turned out different from her expectations... well, she got it mostly right, hadn't she? After all, she ended up in this world. If she made it, then Clarence had to. Unfortunately, without anything -- not even a dumb map -- she'd been forced to interact with the sentient animals and hunt down anyone named Clarence that the traveling merchants and nomads knew about. She ran into five not-brother Clarences so far, and the wild young woman started to feel her optimism fade.

But she wasn't going to give up. She dragged her brother's soul into this world, and she wasn't going to force him to live here alone after fucking up as royally as she had.

Parking her ass at the Clan's border -- even if the damn thing stank to high heaven, she'd learned this was the proper etiquette from a previous social blunder -- the she-wolf raised her muzzle. "HEY, ASS-SCENT-ANTS, I'M LOOKING FOR A CLARENCE ASTON, DOES HE LIVE HERE?!" she howled as loud as she could. The merchant she'd met told her that the group controlled a fairly vast territory, and she didn't fancy waiting around for hours for someone to show up only to meet some other not-the-real-Clarence.

[member=2934]clarence a.[/member]

[clarence a.]

Clarence was having a relatively normal day. That was something he never thought he'd think about a world with sentient, intelligent animals and their complex social structures, yet here he was. Somehow this life was more peaceful than his former one. The idea confused him, but he didn't question it. He was glad to be off the Queen Charlotte and he was glad to be in a place where he felt as though he had a bit more freedom. It'd been a long time since he hadn't had the pressure of taking care of both his sister and mother and, while he missed them terribly, he had to admit that, even if he didn't quite know what to do with himself, it was nice not having any sort of responsibility. He was allowed time to breathe and process the events of the last few months. Despite all the strangeness and all the loss he'd experienced in the last month or so, he had really been trying to move on. He still didn't sleep well and he still thought often of his family and friends who were left behind. Sometimes he could even swear that he heard their voices, but he knew it wasn't true. Once he'd followed a whisper through the trees for hours before realizing it'd only been some birds that matched a pitch close to what his mother often used.

Today, though, he heard something impossible. His sister's voice. Even with months of separation, he would recognize it anywhere. Besides, most others wouldn't have such a specific request. Without hesitation, the panther began to sprint in the direction of the sound before skidding to a halt in front of her a wolf. He was face to face with a wolf. Not his sister. Not in appearance, anyway. But he would've sworn that her voice, that the request for him, had come from his sister. His dark eyes had widened and he was breathing hard, just staring at the woman before him. It wasn't possible. He was alone. He'd been alone for a month. Why would she have taken so long to find him? If his suspicions were indeed true and his sister had brought him here, why would she arrive so much later? None of it made any sense. While he'd abandoned the idea of this world being a result of his decaying mental state, it didn't seem to take much for him to return to that line of thinking. That was why, rather than a greeting, the only words that came past his lips were, "I've gone mad." His grief must have drove him to this. He must be worse than he thought. Now he was seeing things. Wolves with his sister's voice, asking specifically for him. But it wasn't possible. None of this was possible. 

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BLOOD LUST IN A HOLY WAR

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[VALE]

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Her ears pricked as she heard the crashing undergrowth. Soon enough, a giant black cat stood in front of her, with her brother’s dark gaze and voice. She recognized him, even if he failed to understand him – but she supposed she’d cut him some slack. After all, she’d been the one to tear their souls into a different reality; even if she fucked up, at least she understood why she appeared in a different world after her death. Her brother, on the other hand… he had no such knowledge.

Regardless, it stung that he rejected her – even if he didn’t mean to. Growling, she huffed, “Come on, Clare-bear, you’re not going mad! I promise it’s me! One of a kind, Vale Aston, here to annoy you all the way to the grave.” And beyond the grave, honestly, but he appeared a bit too glum for that discussion right now. Sighing, she gestured with her paw to her disgusting, dirty fur. “Yeah, you probably thought you were going crazy, but I did, too. And you look like you’ve taken a bath in the last month. How do you even do that without getting horrifically cold in the wild? All the water I’ve found is freezing.” Okay, she rambled a little bit there, but the point was that he wasn’t going crazy. She knew his logical to a fault mind pretty well, and she’d anticipated the moment she realized she’d ended up as a wolf that he’d have a much harder time adapting than she would.

But he surprised her. He managed to join one of the bigger groups in the area. Based on smell and sight, anyway, he didn’t appear too bad off. Unlike her dirty, smelly self.

“Yeah, you’re a fucking cat. Deal with it. I’m a literal bitch! A literal bitch! This world is fucking crazy, but don’t you lose your mind on me, Clare-bear. I did not just spend a month running over this dangerous territory and getting into brawls with territorial beasts just for you to stare at me like I’m not still your sister.” She huffed, finally done with her little stupid speech. She didn’t know how to convince him that he wasn’t going mad if he was already convinced that the world was an illusion, but damn she’d try.

[clarence a.]

It sounded like her. It was her. She was right. He wasn't mad. His sister, his beloved Vale was right here. Right in front of him. He didn't seem to process what she was saying besides murmuring a soft, "There are worse waters." The rest of it seemed to go over his head though as his eyes grew hazy and he became more distressed. "They're all dead, Vale. Everyone. Mum, Thomas, Finnis, everyone. Everyone is dead but us. I thought you were too. It's been two hundred years-" his chest was heaving a bit more as his breathing seemed to pick up and tears began to gather in his eyes as he moved closer and then attempted to wrap his paws around her in a tight hug before baking up. "I tried, Vale, I really did. I tried. I promised I would protect you all but first it was Thomas, and then I had to leave you and Mum all alone, and then Finnis- I let him die. I saw him. I tried to get to him but they were too fast. He was all the way across the ship. I was almost there. I almost made it. I swear. You know I wouldn't lie. I tried to get to him but they saw me- the French. They were all over the boat and they shot me and I fell but I didn't mean to. I tried, Vale, I tried-" His voice began to shake more and more as he nearly broke into audible cries.

This was something he would've never done before everything. Before Thomas died, before the war, before his sudden death and arrival in this place. But something had deeply ingrained itself in his mind. This was somehow all his fault. His time didn't have the words to describe what he was experiencing, with it's limited medical knowledge and biases, and that made him feel horribly alone. As lonely as one could feel when they were hundreds of years in the future. Some soldiers came home with a 'long stare.' No one told him how terrible it was. It was a stare you couldn't break, it was one that haunted you at night, it was one floating just below the surface, waiting for a chance to breach. No one told him you couldn't get rid of it.

"I shouldn't be alive, Vale, something is horribly wrong and I think it's all my fault. I should've died two hundred years ago with the rest of them. There were forty-some men on our side that died that same day as me. Something is wrong. All the broken promises. They've added up. And now we're being punished. I couldn't protect anyone I swore to, not you, not Mum, not Finnis, not even Thomas at the beginning. He was my friend and I just watched him fall in the ice. I let them die. I promise I'll find a way back, I have to, especially now that you're here. Something is wrong-" His tone grew increasingly distressed as tears now freely flowed down his face. This was the first time he'd talked about any of it since his initial arrival and it was clear he'd bottled most of it up until now. The appearance of his sister, who was also trapped, was enough to send the man into sheer panic and guilt. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for any of this to happen-"

LISTEN UP; HEAR THE PATRIOTS SHOUT

BLOOD LUST IN A HOLY WAR

© LEXASPERATED

[JERSEYBOY]

[glow=#000,1,400]YOU AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT A HOUND DOG — TAGS[/glow]

[glow=black,1,400]"Whoa, am I interruptin' somethin'?"[/glow] Jerseyboy always managed to show up at the most emotional and inappropriate moments, didn't he? Yikes. Not that he could ever relate to a teary-eyed family reunion, mostly because his mother would never know where the hell he is and his brothers wouldn't even put in the effort to track him down. He knew that Jacob was in the Typhoon and living his best life with his new family, so he wouldn't even bother with him. So, he supposed he could never relate to the relief and sentiment a reunion could bring.

The tuxedo tom's green gaze darted from Clarence to Vale, brows knitted in confusion. It looked like both of them were freaking out over "being animals", but he just figured that the apple didn't fall far from the tree as far as craziness was concerned. Although, she seemed to have it more together than her brother did. [glow=black,1,400]"This your sister, British Guy?"[/glow] Asked the New Jerseyan, and he stepped forward to make his presence known. His eyes flitted onto Vale, and a devilish smirk adorned handsome features. [glow=black,1,400]"Name's Jerseyboy, how you doin'?"[/glow] He debated on whether or not he should actually go forth with smooth-talking; was this chick even worth it? He supposed he would find out.

[VALE]

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So moody, her brother always reacted to everything with moody righteousness. “They’re not dead, they’re just… somewhere else,” the she-wolf answered, not sure how to best phrase the odd magic she performed. But she did know her magic translated differently in this world; she doubted she could get them back, so why bother explaining how the spell worked and how she fucked it up in the first place? But as he continued to ramble on and grew distressed before her eyes, she knew that keeping this secret completely from him wouldn’t work.

Sighing, she sat down and attempted to grab the side of his face with each of her paws – like an idiot sandwich, but less mean. “Listen, big bro, this isn’t your fault. You got dealt a fucked up hand in the card game of life – it’s not your fault what happened to Thomas, to Finnis, to the crew, or anyone else. You did your damn best, but our damn best doesn’t always work out that well,” she said, trying to reach him with logic and snap him out of it.

“And you know how I know that? Because after you died… I found a way to try and fix our shitty hand from life. But I fucked up. We’re animals here because of my mistake, not yours,” she admitted, with no small amount of reluctance. Mum always warned her that Clarence’s heart was too soft for their hereditary magic. Adding that he went off to war to protect her after the rumors of witchcraft… well, she didn’t think it was best to admit to being a witch just yet. “We’re stuck here because of me. It’s not your fault. I’m the one that toyed with our souls, okay? Mum is just fine. You did just fine.”

She didn’t expect to see him so distressed; the woman heard of what happened to some soldiers that came home from wars. Most drowned themselves in the bottle or self-medicated in some fashion, but she supposed in this wild world that hadn’t been an option. Or, perhaps, Clarence was strong enough to not fall to that – yet. And damn her if she didn’t help when he needed her.

“It’s not your fault,” she muttered, ears flicking. She wanted to say more – wanted to reach into his head and take away the pain, the memories – but she didn’t know what else to do to help him. “I’m here now, okay? The Aston siblings are gonna go wild on this wild world, and this time you don’t need to sacrifice yourself.” Because that’s what he did, everyday.

As Jerseyboy came over, the black she-wolf turned her muzzle towards him and leveled an annoyed look at the tiny feline. “I’m in the middle of talking with my brother, Jerseybrat. Not a good time,” she said, not aware that she fucked up the tuxedo cat’s name.