A Beating Heart of Stone (Joining)

[Vendetta C.]

A blue tabby set herself at the edge of what appeared to be great rolling hills that seemed to lead to an observatory far off into the distance. Seeing that she had finally made it to her destination, she loosened the leather harness on her right shoulder that had a series of small throwing knives and one large hunting knife sheathed into the built-in scabbards of the harness. At least she was pretty sure this was the Ascendents anyway. Before leaving her home she had taken the time to read a bit about the groups in the area, and if she recalled correctly, it was the Ascendents that had a large observatory as their main camp.

Whether this was the Ascendents or not, she was just glad her long journey was over and she'd be able to get some rest for a couple of days. Hell, maybe she'll even get lucky and find what she was looking for too. This place seemed right up her target's alley, but then again he seemed to have changed since the last time she had met him. She didn't know what had gotten into that bastard, but she had to find him before the wrong people find him first.

She didn't really know what she'd do if he wasn't here, maybe she'd move on to the next clan and stay on the road or perhaps it'd be better if she stayed and used this place as a base of operations. It'd be nice to have a place to call home again, even if it was just temporary.

As Vendetta sat at the edge of these rolling hills, she couldn't help but notice how picturesque it looked. It seemed like something you'd see in a painting, not quite in real life. Though despite the pretty and peaceful surroundings, she couldn't help but feel uneasy here. She was alone and outside of her element, should she get attacked out here by something bigger and stronger, she didn't know if she would be able to deal with it. Though her face hid her emotions behind a wall of stone as she sat there and waited for a patrol to find her out here. She just hoped it didn't take them too long, already she felt like she was wasting precious time here.

[BASTILLEPAW]

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BASTILLEPRISONER AURELIUS

BY THE GRACE OF THE FIRE AND THE FLAMES

Sure, the scenery was pretty, but Bastille had never really had much of an eye for nature or pretty sights. He could appreciate beautiful literature or even art (art made by others, that was), knew a gorgeous waltz when he heard it, but other such general beauties? He barely even wasted a thought on how the night sky looked or the wide expanse of flowers dotting the Ascendants' territory. Often times he would meet newcomers who commented on it during their first tour, so naturally he knew it was beautiful, he just... didn't care, or rather, just didn't notice.

He was not, however, at odds with the beauty of the place. It didn't quite suit him much -- he was not personally a peaceful person, even if he was obligated to be given his role -- but he had come to consider the quiet plains his home, and he was relieved that they were finally out of the Observatory. He'd take weirdly serene views over being trapped inside. He was patrolling that morning, taking advantage of the freedom to do so, when he came upon the stranger waiting on their border.

[b]"Yo," he greeted idly, eyeing her briefly but not really wasting time of meaningless small talk, "What'd'ya need? You're on the Ascendants border."

[B]ASTRAL SERAPH — THE ASCENDANTS — [color=#e2e2e2]TAGS — [color=#e2e2e2]MOODBOARD — [color=#e2e2e2]PLAYLIST

[Margaery]

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MARGAERY MIKAELSON-FOLIE

The picturesque scenery had admittedly been one of the selling points for Margaery when she had decided to join all those months ago, immediately endeared by the rolling fields of flowers and the natural beauty the territory seemed to exude. She had always felt comfortable surrounded by nature and here especially, she was able to plant and maintain a garden quite easily to further the already lovely views, another almost necessity that the vampire needed wherever she went. Tanglewood had once been of interest to her, its darkened swamps and too-long shadows once of great interest to her, but in the recent days, she had come easily to the conclusion that she'd never be happy there. The Ascendants with its lush meadows and riveting ruins was the place for her, no doubt about it.

Margaery had been wandering around when the sound of voices piqued her interest, direction changing as she decided to go and investigate. Was this stranger another joiner? Interesting. The chocolate point would fall into place besides Bast, studying Vendetta through curious blue eyes. She still wasn't used to seeing faces she hadn't in a week and a half out and about again, but it was a welcome change. A very welcome change. [color=#b59693]"Hello, love."

[ONISION.]

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ONISION M.F.
FIREBALL && ASCENDANTS
TAGS

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[div style="width: 310px; font-family: verdana; color: #B07224; text-align: left; padding-top: 15px; padding-left: 10px"]BROKEN, RUINED, DEAD.

Onision had been roaming the territory, enjoying the fresh air now that everyone had been released from the observatory after a few days. He had tried to avoid going back in there, to be honest. He just wanted to never go back in that place, it made creepers roll up his spine.

He heard the sound of both his mentor and mother, and soon ended up strolling over himself, favoring his right leg in the process. There seemed to be a lot of felines in the Ascendants, it was just a bunch of pussies. Hah, that was a good pun. If he said that out loud he'd have gotten the shit smacked out of him.

Not that it mattered, though. Margaery's attention seemed to be set on the newcomer, and Onision needed to learn how to welcome others without being a rude fuck, apparently. Blue eyes seemed to cast themselves on the new felidae, before the small chocolate feline pranced forward, his head held high and proudly.

"My name is Onision Mikaelson-Folie, it's a pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself, before glancing at both of his mentor and mother in unison, somehow seeking approval. As all ambitious Fireballs did.

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© MADI

[Vendetta C.]

Ven straightened up as the first ascendent approached and gave him a brisk nod in greeting. Fortunately it seemed she was indeed at the border of the Ascendents, so hopefully, her quarry was actually here. "I'm Vendetta Clemens and I'm looking for someone. He looks a bit like me, carries a knife and he has white feathered wings. He's also probably using the name Vindicate. Don't suppose you've met or heard of him have you?" She asked in a clipped tone, almost hoping that the male didn't know anything. Although it'd be disappointing to not find Vin, she knew the journey to get here had pushed her to her limit and she needed at least a couple days of rest to get back to full strength. Then she could continue her search without her paws feeling like they're about to fall off.

When the next ascendent arrived, Vendetta turned her hazel gaze onto the attractive she-cat. She noticeably took a bit longer to look Margaery over than Bastille before she finally rested her gaze onto the female's eyes and also gave her a nod in greeting. Although Ven frowned as Margaery called her "love", not quite amused by the way the other female had decided to greet her. Sure she was pretty, but she wasn't quite in the mood for flirting.

Then finally another came, and he looked quite a bit like the female. Upon seeing he somewhat amusing performance, her frown disappeared and was replaced by a more neutral expression. She didn't quite know why, but there was always something about kids that softened her up a bit, perhaps it was that motherly instinct that all women are said to have. "It's nice to meet you too Onision." She responded in a slightly softer tone to the boy before she finally moved her gaze back to the first to arrive, patiently awaiting his answer.

[ANIMA B.]

[COLOR=#FF6666]TAKE WHAT YOU NEED FROM THE DEAD

Oh, shit.

Somehow, the possibility that Vindicate Clemens could still be alive and could be here, amongst the groups, makes her feel sick. It is not the same way that she feels about thinking that her brother might still be alive, with the dread that makes her heart sink and makes her want to tear him limb from limb yet again, tear him to shreds and rip apart what little remains of his soul until there is no way he can come back. But she knows his curse, he will never die and never will she, doomed to repeat until there is nothing left but ash and dust, and even then they may not be released from the cycle. Such was the curse.

But this is not Vin, this is Vendetta. She faintly remembers him mentioning that he had siblings, but she doesn't think that they've ever met. And therefore, she believes with some lingering sense of hope that Vendetta has no idea who the winged panther is. If not, her day is about to get a whole load shittier and she's gonna be back to square one in terms of well, trying to get her life back together. Moving on was important, but how was she supposed to move on if things like this were thrown at her.

"Haven't heard of him, nah. Not been round here anyways." So she lies, blatantly, offering a non-committal shrug as an apology. "Someone might of, name's Haerii Blair Alae Anima - nice to meet'cha." It really isn't, but there's no point in acting outwardly hostile towards a stranger - especially one that she has something to hide from. 

© LEXASPERATED

[★ HAZEL]

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as love filled night gives way to day

The scenery had always been a plus for Hazel's artistic side; her romanticism always searching for that golden ratio, that thing that would make the page pop to life. She missed that about art: being able to capture the land on a piece of paper. It was so different from photography, but brought a similar satisfaction. Hazel desperately wanted to draw again - just wanted to feel the charcoal on the page and listen to the graphite scratch and etch. But there was still that gap of pointless, worthless, useless blocking her from reaching it; still that ringing echo of Genevieve's words that felt like a slap to the face.

Regardless, what drew her to the border was both her aimless, thoughtless wandering about in complete freedom and the subconcious tug of the tether that bound her to Bastille. It rarely surprised her these days that he was somewhere nearby just about everywhere she showed up; it had become a habit. In fact, it was more odd to not see him.

Golden optics focused on the stranger at hand: a seemingly normal feline with very not normal accessories. (Actually, they were normal for this land and world, but that didn't raise Hazel's confidence level.) The girl hovered next to Bastille, suddenly remembering what it was like to be around people she didn't know anything about. Shyness clouded her mind as she nodded to the femme. "Hi," She greeted, trying not to stumble over her words. "I'm Hazel. I like your name." The cocoa feline offered a rather bashful grin, trying not to blush harder than she already was. She had considered a lot of effects the observatory lock-down would have on her mind and powers, but never had she thought that it might make a reappearance with her social awkwardness.

HAZEL E CAELUM — THE ASCENDANTS — MOODBOARD — PLAYLIST — TAGS

© MADI

[Vendetta C.]

Fortunately for Anima, she was correct in thinking they've never met. Better yet, Ven hadn't ever gotten the chance to talk to Vin for him to ever tell her about Anima too, so neither the name nor appearance of the next one to approach raised any alarms. Though it did somewhat dampen her spirit in thinking that with her luck, her little quest was far from over. Perhaps there was still hope that maybe someone around here had at least heard of him, even if he wasn't here surely there were people that traveled among the groups? Either way, fate or luck seemed to want her to stay here at least temporarily and maybe even go ahead with her idea of using this place as a base. She supposed the people and the location was nice enough, and she wasn't going to risk a trip to the next clan over just to find out it was some shithole.

Though before she could respond HBAA (God knows she wasn't gonna repeat that name anytime soon) another kiddo came along. While she was older than the last, that didn't change just how adorable she was, and Ven let her guard down for a moment, giving her a small smile in response. "Thanks, your's isn't half bad yourself kiddo." Though the smile quickly disappeared as it returned to the others.

"Well, you don't suppose I could stay for a while now could you? I can pull my own weight if you're worried that I'll be a burden, and I'll be sure to not cause any trouble while I'm here." She said with a small sigh, her tone a little less formal than it had been before with disappointment tinting it only slightly. While it'd be good to get a small break, she'd never forgive herself if she didn't find Vin in time. Though perhaps he wasn't as defenseless as she thought. If the reports on him were true, then he could be even more dangerous she cared to think of him. Still, she'd hate to risk finding him too late either way.

[BASTILLEPAW]

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BASTILLEPRISONER AURELIUS

BY THE GRACE OF THE FIRE AND THE FLAMES

Bastille glanced over his shoulder at Margy as she arrived, offering her a half-smile in greeting before his attention was back on their newcomer. [b]"Never heard of him, boo," he provided with a shrug, the name Vindicate lost on him. They did have a lot of newcomers come and go, but he at least typically got their name, and he had yet to forget one. Unless he was going under an alias, Vindicate had never turned up here. "Sorry. Have you tried the other groups? Three of them are pretty damn close by, might be over there."

His attention slid to Oni as his Fireball appeared, and if he was looking for validation, he received it; he nudged him lightly with his shoulder, minding that he didn't knock the younger boy over with his injuries, and gave him another of those sideway grins. He was trying, at least, which was really all you could ask for, in Bast's books. And this stranger was alright by him, given that she seemed to soften towards Oni, too.

The sudden warmth of the bond and Hazel's presence at his other side was vaguely expected and not, too. Yes, she was often there with him when it came to greeting newcomers, and more often than not he found her by his side or vice versa. It still surprised him a little bit every time, though, and so did the slight nerves radiating off of her. Bast leaned a little in her direction, not quiet touching, and glanced at her before he was turning his attention back towards Vend.

"Yeah, you're free to stick around," he said, vaguely amused that she felt the need to "pull her weight". He supposed that was important to most groups, but Bast personally didn't really care. They were a home for anyone who needed it, even if they decided to be a hermit in said home and hide from all responsibility or social interaction. "Don't worry 'bout it. We're not gonna throw you out if you skip a weekly task or two," he teased, idly, and added, "Wanna tour? If not, we can just show you a room and you can explore."

[B]ASTRAL SERAPH — THE ASCENDANTS — [color=#e2e2e2]TAGS — [color=#e2e2e2]MOODBOARD — [color=#e2e2e2]PLAYLIST

[Vendetta C.]

Again by Bastille's words, she was disappointed that her brother wasn't here. Though the mention that there were several other groups nearby brought back some hope. Though then again she wondered what he meant by "pretty damn close by". Either way, she'd have to stop by the next closest group in a couple days from now and continue her search. Though provided he failed to be in the next group, she supposed she could come back and use this place as a base of operations. "No, but I'll be sure to check them out later." She replied with a small shake of her head.

Had Bas mentioned his lack of care for his people pulling their weight, she would have found that rather strange and somewhat lazy. Where she came from, you were expected to be able to hold yourself up and sometimes even others depending on the situation. If you couldn't pull your own weight, then you were useless to the Company and even a detriment to the people you worked alongside. Though, she supposed a mercenary company was far different from this place, whatever it was.

At his offer of a tour, she stopped for a moment. While that would be pretty helpful she'd rather just be given a room and turn in for the night. The walk here had had its toll on her, and with the disappointment that came with finding out Vin wasn't here, she suddenly just felt tired. "You're up in the observatory over there right? I think I'll be fine with just the room for now." She responded, using her tail to point to the old observatory way out in the distance as she spoke.