world weary - open, joining

[chippedstone]

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Chip knew little about the town that sat mere pawsteps away. It sat floating upon the sea, its own planet of color that brightened even the grey expanse of water below. And Chip sat just outside the border. Frozen. Her shoulders slumped with an exhaustion that defied her instinct to to appear polite in the wake of a first meeting, though she at least covered her tattered paws with a curl of her tail. The gesture felt oddly feline for the binturong.

With a shiver against the slight ocean breeze, Chip fluffed her blue grey fur to soak up a bit more of the sun's warmth. It sunk into her bones and soother the weariness that had built up in her core. She hated the experience that it implied. This little bay town would hopefully provide rest and chip away (ha) at the remains of what sapped her strength, but already she could tell the canyon-patterned scars along her pelt would be lifelong reminders of war even after recovery.

At the very least, Chip's knowledge of battle may allow her entrance to the Crayola village before her. And perhaps, with time, she could relax back into the old herbal studies that laced her only memories of peace within her previous home. The thought of such a simple hobby was dreamlike. But then again, so was the seaside village she wished to enter. In the moment the border felt a mile wide, impenetrable to anyone tainted by the world as she was, as if it existed in a painted artwork. Those in reality could only gaze at the swirled oils of the town's color and wish for such a soft landscape. in their own world. It made Chip feel like she lived in concrete.

The binturong remained silent in her thoughts. She would wait, passive, until someone either pulled her into their painting or forced her to look again to the stone world that greeted her back.

[madster]

sunhaven seemed to be a utopia for all who joined, a safe haven. amnia could see why- it was truly beautiful. he could appreciate every little thing about it - the way the sun rose, the way the village looked in the daylight. the child had fallen in love with the world and was just honored he was now a member of the prettiest clan.

of course, he knew children weren't supposed to go out alone by themselves like this, but he couldn't understand why, and so he went anyways. he saw a new face and quickly bounded over, strange-colored eyes wide. "hello!" he greeted, looking at the femme. she was a bearcat, or a arctictis binturong. she was so cool-looking! "my name is amnia! welcome to sunhaven! what are you seeking today?" the cheery child asked, beaming as usual.

[PIERCE]

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[div style="margin-top: 30px; text-align: center; font-family: timesnewroman; font-size: 35px; color: white;"]pierce parker

☀ — just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me

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Pierce hadn't been in Sunhaven long, but already he was getting back into his previous behaviors and activities, with his painting and, of course, working around the clan. Even without a rank, something he had grown so used to when living in that clan before Snowbound, he felt a need to be doing something to help, felt a need to work. What was he supposed to do in his free time without responsibilities? He already spent a lot of time with his little girl - though, admittedly, she could never have too much attention from him after what happened -, and he still did his artwork. Aside from that, there wasn't much to do. Without Hana or Riddler, all he really had was Clem, so he filled that void by busying himself, helping out around the clan.

The young man had been strolling down the border when he spotted the two of them - Amnia, a little boy he had seen around, and a stranger. Quickly, he approached, uttering a soft,  "You really shouldn't be out here alone, Amnia," to the child as came up from behind him. Pierce turned large honey optics to Chippedstone, offering her a kind smile as he looked her up and down. She was tired, clearly, likely having traveled a long way to get here, and he couldn't help but note the scars along her sides. Briefly, there was a pain in his right leg, but, aside from the small twitch of his lip, he ignored it, knowing it was only old phantom pains. They would pass.  "Pierce Parker, miss," he went on to introduce himself, only adding a quick, "Mind if I ask your name?" for Amnia had already posed the other most obvious question.

"speech"

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[chippedstone]

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Chip couldn't help the soft smile that fell across her expression as Amnia approached. It felt like she hadn't used those muscles in forever, making the smile a bit lopsided, but surely that would be forgiven. The sleep in her bones made her reaction time slow. The binturong hadn't even thought of her response to Amnia before Pierce approached with his own question. Chip merely shifted her awkward grin to the new greeter, feeling it lax a bit as her nerves registered adult as more of a potential threat than child.

But that was ridiculous. Chip was the one at their doorstep, so any suspicion should go the other way around. And anyway, if they wished to end her here she would have no strength to stop them. Her blue gaze dulled with acceptance as she responded to the air between them. "I'm seeking haven, I suppose." The words were guttural, ripped from vocal cords that had sang only war cries in their development. "Name's Chippedstone, go by Chip. Need a place to rest and live if you'll have me."

[madster]

everyone had their own reasons for joining sunhaven- whether it was sanctuary, like this woman had said, or just curiosity, like amnia. it seemed their little clan was growing quite exponentially, and amnia was glad to be apart of it. he grinned, hearing her speak. "of course you can live here! we're open to everyone nice!" he said, his tone light-hearted. "hi, miss chip! my name is amnia!" at the prospect of making a new friend, he began to tremble in excitement. "everything is so pretty here! you'll love it here!" he beamed, still shaking. 

[GRIMNYTE]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 550px; min-height: 9px; font-family:arial; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; color:; padding: 20px"]War. Sanctuary. The only battles Stella had ever fought were the metaphorical kind, the fights that only went on in your head - mainly because she had been too lonely and on the move to settle down like her mother had. That was what was expected, wasn't it? Find another clouded leopard, do the devil's dance and pop out a litter of children you'd never see past their own childhood. After that, you let them go. Stella's kind had always been tough, and as rough as she believed herself to be, she was too weak to entertain the idea of making a family just to leave them into the unknown. Especially after seeing what could happen if you lived with those same relatives past being weaned. What had her mother been like? What could she have been like? What about her father, if she had ever gotten the chance to meet him? If everything had been different, would she even be here?

It was too early to decide if that was a good thing or not - not being here, that is. She knew few people, and was friends with far less. Stella was wonderfully capable of caring little about the ordeal, though. She'd done it her whole life.

It was mainly why she dallied outside of the main camp more often than not, seeking her own sanctuary in fields of flowers and the strange trees these animals payed little attention to. She loved stretching her muscles, keeping herself on her toes - the clouded leopard was oddly shaped but not in an unattractive way; everything was proportional, even if she did have an above-average version of everything: eyes, paws, teeth, even her tail!

"Ironic, considering the haven you speak of is called Sunhaven."

She'd gotten curious enough to approach the border, even when most joiners got stuck in mountains much like herself. Stella was a stoic-looking feline, eyes narrowed in the direction of - what even was that? She'd never encountered anything that looked like Chippedstone before. "My name's Stellamaris, and the camp's beyond the mountains. It's not hard to miss - a little beach town, colorful, next to the ocean. Will you be able to get there?"

[chippedstone]

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Chip's short grin didn't grow, but her eyes brightened as she looked again to Amnia. If only his childish energy were infectious. "Thanks, Amnia. I'm already loving it," she said, lifting her tail from her battered paws and curling the end in a wave.

If relief hadn't already drained her senses, Chip would have shifted back to a defensive stance at Stella's approach. Instead she merely let her tail fall back to the ground as she studied the leopard's expression. This one felt cold. But she was at least helpful, so Chip gave a polite nod without lowering her own gaze. "I got it. Small enough trek, I'll just soothe my paws when I get there. Thanks all."