haw yee -- joiner

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]This was just a damp little mess of a place, now, wasn't it? That would've been perfect for Reedy, in theory. The marsh was his natural habitat, after all, and all that water and shade would help keep him cool. Plus, he'd never be wanting for a drink. It was a set-up for paradise.

  As he approached the border however, Reedy almost gagged, his eyes beginning to water. He could smell the nastiness coming from the center lake, the trash and filth wafting up his nostrils. That water definitely wasn't drinkable, and he got the feeling just swimming in it for too long would dissolve him like sugar in acid. "What 'n tarnation happened 'ere?" he coughed out, shaking his head. Was this really a good idea?

  Ah, it was too late to turn back now. Opening his jaws as wide as he could, he yelled out, "'Ello? Anyone out 'ere?"

[selby roux !]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]The swamp, admittedly for Selby, took some getting used to. The sights of mutant creatures had long become normal, but the smell of the swamp on a hot day still punched him in the gut. He refused to use soil found in Tanglewood for gardening, and collected rain to water his plants. The polluted environment did not lend itself well to the maintenance of plants, but Selby made do.

The call of someone brought him to a particularly nasty corner of Tanglewood. Though Selby had lived here much of his life, he still avoided this area. Breathing subtly through his mouth to avoid the smell, he said, ”Hello. Not sure quite what happened, only that it did a long time ag-“ he cut himself off abruptly, seeing the creature’s form. A.... gator? A sentient gator. That shouldn’t be possible. The heat’s making the radiation worse? How’s that work?

Realizing he had been silent for several awkward moments, he attempted to complete his thoughts politely. ”I’m, er, Selby. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]He'd be darned, someone was still kicking in this place. And a cat, at that- not the kind of animal he'd figure would like the water. When the stranger spoke up, Reedy turned his head to look at him and listened in. Even he didn't know, huh? Strange.

  When the cat saw him and froze for a few seconds, Reedy raised a brow. The stranger looked plumb shocked, like he'd seen a ghost. When he came back down to earth and introduced himself, Reedy nodded, but still had to wonder- what was that freezing up all about? "'Course. I'm Reedwhistle, but y'all can call me Reedy," he responded, forming the brightest grin he could. "This place open to joiners? I ain't got much money for payment, but I can build a mighty fine trap- if y'all got intruders needin' a thrashing, or prey for eatin'."

[beatae]

alligators... how nice. mikolaj had never met one that hadn't tried snapping his neck before, thus, he was cautious. despite knowing his own strength and power, the sable shepherd knew when to not pick a fight. instead he held back, listening to their conversation quietly. he stood so still it may have looked as though he wasn't even breathing. unblinking. eyes completely focused on reedwhistle. what an interesting name... just two words pushed together?

then of course came the inquiry of becoming a part of tanglewood. mikolaj expected for selby to say hell fucking no they wouldn't allow the beast in. at least in his own terms, no one knew his status. for all they knew he was a dog with a funny accent and barely ever spoke. an alligator, though, they were predictable. there was no fighting against that sort of nature, or even trying to.

still, he remained silent. no use in even speaking here.

"SPEECH"

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tags

[selby roux !]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]As Reedwhistle inquires about payment, Selby was shocked. Was that a requirement in other places? While the feline pulled his own weight and helped when and where he could, he had never been under the assumption that he’d be kicked out if he didn’t contribute.

”Oh, no, sir; no payment required!” Selby said quickly. ”You’re free to set all the traps you want, but I don’t put much faith into the quality of prey around here. Radiation’s tricky, you can never be sure... Anyway, welcome aboard. It’s a pleasure to have you.”

As he spoke, his thoughts trickled back to the gator he had killed not that long ago. Had that one been sentient? Had he killed something innocent? No, no. he reassured himself. I tried to scare it off first. It would have taken my leg off if I had let it. Still, a hint of uneasiness prickled at his spine.

[toboggan]

A smirk slowly spread out upon his muzzle in response to the offbeat reptile’s presence.

When one learnt to associate alligators with ferity and brutishness, it was quite the experience seeing one that, not only refrained from chowing down on an unwary Tangler’s savoury limb, but also possessed the ability to fully form coherent sentences. Reedy, as he went by, expressed a paradoxical amount of interest in becoming one of the swamp dwellers himself.

Clearly, Mikolaj wasn’t seeing the humour in this.

Gracelessly shambling towards Selby and the stranger, who spoke similarly to a redneck bum, Leroy allowed his sharp grin to morph into a full-blown toothy smile. "Maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover that there’s a resident gator population in Tanglewood," the guardsman chimed zealously, "though, you’ll find that they ain’t as kind as you. Maybe you could tell ‘em to fuck off, or somethin’?"

A while ago, a gator had gotten to him. Bit the hound’s leg, he did. Had to wear a stupid bandage for a month while his appendage healed itself. If Reedwhistle here held the expertise required to lessen the threat of the gator population, then the cold-blooded creature could very well prove to be an essential individual to Tanglewood.

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Next to come up was a mutt, and a strange-looking mutt at that- staring quietly, unblinking. He also didn't seem to feel the need not to be a stranger, not even introducing himself. Was he just the hush-hush type, or was he being rude? Reedy wasn't the best at reading people.

  When Selby confirmed that they didn't want payment, Reedy couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. Not that he wasn't going to contribute, but it was nice to know they wouldn't give him the boot if he didn't make enough coin. Bad prey wasn't really a surprise given the nasty water; he didn't really know what radiation was, though. Probably a sort of pollution, he reckoned. "Aw, shucks, pleasure's all mine," Reedy answered after a moment, grinning sheepishly.

  Someone else ambled up and offered him a smile, but his words weren't so pleasant. There were gators here, but not nice ones... the biting type, Reedy figured. When folks talked about bad gators, they were always the biters, and for good reason- just one crunch could plumb kill a creature. Still, he could probably give them what-for if he needed to. "They fixin' ta cause a ruckus? I'll fix 'em right up," he said, swishing his tail in affirmation.