I DIPPED LOW + ATBASH

[toboggan]

+ retro to flooding

There was so many things to talk about, and so little time. The rains were picking up, moulding together a force of nature that his pupils had not dilated on in quite a while. The oncoming cataclysmic clime, coupled with the group’s bloody rivalry with the Ascendants that looked to be worsening with each day, compelled a cognizance over the wolverine’s hunched shoulders. Wendell was sweet on communicating with Atbash Cipher, the former Hailcaller of his old home (which now lay in ruin, if the rumours we true). Upon hearing from smalltalk that she had enrolled with his tribe’s enemy, the dawnguard’s heart sank quicker than it ever had before - which said something, taking into account the many calamities which plagued his existence until this point. To the female, the Brit would apologize for his shifty ways, and confess himself to be nothing more than a deadbeat; owing to the conditions set in stone by political reasons, the weather, and fate, contact would have to be much sooner than first thought.

A letter was prime suspect to inspection, thus the mustelid turned to the tactic of playing telephone with an eager Ascendant. The plan had been simple; on a morning, prior to dawn, bribe an adversary from across the border to send a message, with the promise of fine drink as a reward. Given the time of the ordeal, he’d guessed that it’d just be a lone other patrolling the border, and given the avowal of alcohol (a substance Wendell had been known to own a bounty of), the deal would appear most alluring.

When his idea came to be, his accomplice had been most content to play telephone for booze.

"Tomorrow’s twilight, under a big tree just past the border, Wendell, to talk about everything.”

Knowing Atbash from a month’s experience, she was very proud, so the chances of her showing up had been slim; though, he’d wait. He tried speaking with her at that mass gathering, but didn’t get the chance to resume conversation before the leaders had begun discussing official business. Tonight was going to be a continuation if what could have been that night, as long as she wasn’t a no-show.

Optimistically, nothing horrible would come of this. 

+ lost muse towards the end, sadly

+ [member=597]ATBASH CIPHER.[/member] 

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

somebody make me alive,
and shatter me !

Having just joined The Ascendants, Atbash had no idea of the war that was currently going on between her new clan and Sunhaven. Last she had checked, The Ascendants and Sunhaven were allies, but something clearly happened between the two. All Atbash knew was that they were enemies now due to something that happened, but nobody really ever explained what happened exactly. Whenever somebody had approached her with such a message, Atbash had been shocked, but of course since she felt no loyalty to The Ascendants (yet), the she-cat decided it wouldn't hurt to visit Sunhaven and see what Wendell wanted. Besides, it was Wendell, the very person who had fled Snowbound whenever they had been taken over by The Pitt. He likely wouldn't be one to fight.

Slowly, Atbash approached the area in which Wendell called her to. If she could hear his thoughts, she would laugh. Her, proud? Sure, she had been at that time, but now? Her home - the tribe she came to love and eventually lead and build - was in ruins. Burned to ashes, just like her home. The savannah's pelt was slightly adorned with new burn wounds, but they were slowly healing and she didn't seem to bothered by them. "Wendell?" Atbash called out quietly, her ears pricked for a sign of him or another Sunhavener that could happen to be around.

bio | female | observer of the ascendants

© madi

[toboggan]

Neath the eventide’s overcast gloom, the being’s chocolate stare into the beyond had faltered, so much so that it had almost quavered to the point of dormancy. The bristly pelt that he bore would harbour him against the biting breezes pertaining to November nights, indulging the wolverine to exhibit a sense of comfort. A few times had he slipped into brief shuteye, though he’d instinctively wake up mere seconds after, then reminding himself about the purpose which he held here. Ultimately, his chocolate hues shuttered for a final time, and soon Wendell found himself in a state of slumber; and then, as if a higher power had a hand in picking the timing, a voice which resembled one from yore shotgunned his eyelids open. Next ensued a stretch, a yawn, and a cough, and finally, the tired mammal was on all fours.

His heart rang like a telephone left unattended. Anxiousness, accompanied by anticipation, fueled a flame of promise within his hunched frame. Wendell departed his little rest spot to find the voice’s owner - and mildly gasped when he did. The darkness overshadowed her appearance, hence he could not view the wounds which Snowbound’s former chieftain had attained, though almost immediately could he tell something wasn’t the same. Could it have been the faint bod’s stature, was it one of shame? Again, he did not know. Though, there was a twang to the environment that gave him the impression that this was not the same powerful female he had known before.

Slowly, the mustelid approached, caution aching his paws with each stride. There was always the slimmest chance of this being a setup, yet he did not count on it, as this was Atbash, not quite an old friend, but a former ally (then again, it was an ally which he’d somewhat betrayed by leaving her to deal with the situation at home).

His target now in plain view, the mustelid would prudently query, "A-Atbash..?", soon after picking up the pace a little bit. It all felt so damn surreal, like this was all in a dreamlike state. No, this was real, and things could go either real good or real bad, depending on how his next few actions played out. Immediately, he’d hit her with an apology; ”Atbash! I’m so sorry for ev’rything. I left ya when ya needed me most, and- I’ve been nothing but a selfish numpty- and I swore I’d come back-“.

Way to play it cool with the hysterics, Wendell, if you keep it up, you’ll tear up.

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

somebody make me alive,
and shatter me !

There were a lot of reasons Atbash stood the way she was right now; she was ashamed of fleeing, ashamed of not being able to keep their borders more secure, and she was tired. The stress of being leader practically crashed down on her, ironically enough; technically speaking, that stress had always been there, she just never noticed it. Atbash stopped as Wendell called out to her, blinking at him in the darkness and stepped back a few paces as he approached. Not because of fear or hatred, but mostly because the movement was just so sudden for her.

Even if Wendell couldn't see things very well, Atbash did offer the male a soft smile, trying to make it seem as genuine as possible. "Wendell, it's fine." She tried to soothe him, tilting her head slightly to one side. "I don't hold anything against you. In fact, at one point, I would have done the same. I probably would have, if I wasn't the leader then." She let out a little laugh, though it was more or less out of embarrassment than anything else. "But... you can't come back to Snowbound." Her words came in a sigh, her ears pinning against her head as she spoke now. "Not because of what you had done, but somebody set the entire camp in flames. It's all destroyed."

Her words caught in her throat and she cut herself off a bit abruptly. "B-but you're happy here, aren't you?"

bio | female | observer of the ascendants

© madi

[toboggan]

As the femme let pass his dishonest behaviour, even following it up with a smile, a sniffle rang from his wet snout. No matter what she’d say, and how sweet of her it was to say so, the mustelid would assume lay hold onto the guilt he had built up in his disposition for the rest of his lifetime.

News of Snowbound’s destruction wasn’t exactly need at this point, for he’d heard of it from a handful of other sources by now, though Atbash’s somber earful still coerced a cheerlessness round his plump frame. The wolverine understood that what has happened has happened, and there was no point in getting worked up about something he could not possibly change - yet every time he was reminded of it, dolefulness evoked his emotions, pegging a forlorn Wendell into a fray of disbelief. He had thought that he’d gotten over it by now; evidently, this was not the case. "Oh, Atbash, I’ve heard about Snowbound, and- and I’m so sorry." A shaky inhale entered his system following his stammered atonement, thoughts of the snow-filled paradise intruding the troubled psyche that was his own. All of it was gone, burnt to a crisp. And by whom? Who was to blame for the spontaneous destruction of homes, relationships, and lives?

Ms. Atbash wasn’t finished, though. She had persisted, and had even tried engaging in conversation with him. This brought a smile to his face, one which had become uncommon for his facial features to display these days. The lack of a grin which had become such a typical trait for Wendell clearly said something about his view on the situation he had gotten himself into. The ex-leader had been completely honest to him, hence his answer to the asked question was going to be the same.

”T’ tell ya the truth,” he initiated, his voice equipped with a sharp apex, ”I’ve never been a hundred-percent satisfied here. Even back before I had joined these guys’ ranks, I had come here t’ ask for any help in providing aid for Snowbound (because they were under control by the Pitt, y’know); and I wasn’t given anything, except for unsympathetic looks and a very small herb-pouch.”

”That’s why I never came back,” Wendell continued staidly, ”I’ve wanted to, but I couldn’t, not after trying t’ play hero like that and failing to previail. I’ve been mainly unhappy since, especially with this stupid fighting between my group and yer new one.”

”Speaking of yer group,” he’d quip suddenly, eyes lighting up from their prior greyed state, ”have you seen any former Snowboundfolk since the, y’know, burning? Uh, Dimitri came here, but that’s about it, for me.”

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

somebody make me alive,
and shatter me !

Guilt often clawed its way into Atbash's mind, with her relapsing into memories of her Home Dimension burning. The two events were so similar, but at least Atbash had managed to save some of her tribemates before fleeing. Unlike Dimension FiveX, Snowbound wasn't going to collapse in on itself within minutes. Sure, the cabins would be destroyed and things would be reduced to ash, but at least there wasn't exactly a time constraint. Back home, Atbash couldn't save her parents and she still lived to this day with the guilt of not being able to save them. Vigenere had pulled her away from their burning den just before it crashed, saying that their father had told him to do so. Her parents had accepted their fate... Atbash had not.

But unlike her home, Atbash was able to save at least a couple of Snowbounders before fleeing for good. That was at least a bit comforting but still, the very fact that she wasn't able to stop the flames in the first place hurt her. Snowbound was the first clan she joined upon coming to Earth and the first clan she truly felt welcomed in. She spent months trying to rebuild the tribe and ultimately... she failed. Jacob expected her to be able to lead Snowbound to greatness and she failed him. If she happened to see the former Chief today, Atbash wasn't sure how she would react. But... if she was honest, it was almost kind of a relief in not having to deal with the stress of leading. Atbash finally understood why Jacob always looked tired and stressed out over things, and that stress was increased due to him being both the leader and the healer, training Izuku. Leading was stressful and Atbash felt as if she could finally breathe after so many months, but still... Snowbound should have had a better downfall.

Atbash looked away as Wendell brought up the event that happened, pinning her ears against her head as she listened to him. "I... haven't seen anybody," She admitted, though hearing that Dimitri was here in Sunhaven was definitely a relief. At least he's okay. She thought to herself before looking at Wendell again. Her ears were still against her head as she looked at the wolverine, trying to best to still remain positive despite the crashing wave of guilt and hatred at herself. "To be honest, I'm not sure what Sunhaven or The Ascendants could have done if they aided us with The Pitt," The former Hailcaller admitted. "But what you did was still appreciated, even if you didn't return. You're not a coward." She remembered how he brought that up at the Mass Gathering before Snowbound was disbanded. "It's... hard to be in new places." She mused, both in reference to how Sunhaven was Wendell's 'new' home and The Ascendants was hers.

bio | female | observer of the ascendants

© madi

[toboggan]

In life, the luckless wolverine had desired for nothing more than peace. Peace, equity, and happiness. Some higher power implied that this was impossible, however, and instead of an existence prolonged elation, Wendell had been strapped in to a conveyor belt of nothing but tragedy and suffering. Years ago, he had discovered similar groups in a similar format as the ones local in these parts. Enticed by the promise of family and protection, the Brit eagerly enrolled in their ranks, and no sooner found himself the love and happiness which he had been fiercely seeking. Then, a forlorn circumstance forced him to lose his home, the name of which remains forgotten, and those who shared it with him. While weeks passed by him like snowflakes on a windy morning, his line had been cast into a lake of sheer sadness and despair, and it was only recently that he had finally left those waters and dried off (in a different plane of existence, no less). Snowbound had been his saving grace, it would be the tool in turning his life around; until a dire circumstance, very much akin to the one that lost him his old group, came into play. Emotionally, history had repeated itself. Once more, he had lost everything - his home, his safety, and whatever relationships he had in Snowbound.

Now, there was talk of a potential flood that could cause Sunhaven great catastrophe. Needless to say, Wendell was stressed.

His brown bulbs gazed blankly into Atbash’s figure as she described the lack of familiar faces in her situation, fear briefly rising up in his chest, prior to thinking, Dimitri is here, she’s in the Ascendants, surely there’s others sprinkled here and there throughout. She continued to speak, and Wendell’s fortune may have peaked right now, as Atbash (hopefully) could not view the awkward expression he had made while she renounced him being a coward; it was a mismatched cross between a smile and widened eyes out of percussion, which held faint traces of tears. All along, the dawnguard theorized that the Cipher decried him as a loser, a baby, a jellyfish, a quitter. Though, now he could recognize that the former Hailcaller was not one to hold grudges, and by god was he thankful for it.

Her last remark appeared to be a sentence unfinished, something to be continued. Eagerly, he complied. "It’s very hard, indeed, especially when everything you’ve ever known just disappears like that," the wolverine agreed, his final utterance emphasized by a thud on the moist ground with a forepaw. Furniture, memories, friends, everything, they all came to a close when in the chaotic clutches of a catastrophe, and it was with great hope that the rest of his life could go without an event alike those in the past.

”But, I do like it here,” he’d then ensure hesitantly, ”though, I certainly believe that some better decisions could be made; th’ concept of peace isn’t as appreciated as it was in Snowbound.”

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

somebody make me alive,
and shatter me !

Peace and tranquility was everything to Atbash. It was what she preferred; a simple, almost stress-free life where she didn't have to worry about being attacked or slaughtered in her sleep. Though it was only natural that there were people who would be aggressive, no matter where you lived or what your morals where. Snowbound was just lucky not to have too many problems other than the few they faced before having to disband. The Ascendants, while aligned as pacifist, were absolutely willing to battle if the need arose. That was just something Atbash had to accept, even if she didn't feel perfectly at home there.

"To be honest with you," Atbash's words were quiet as she spoke now, lost in thoughts as she continued to stare at the distance, choosing not to focus on Wendell. "That's not the first time I've experienced my entire life being lost." She let out a breathy laugh, almost as if she was nervous or ashamed of what she was admitting. "It also happened in a fire, no less. I lost my parents and my brothers were no longer tolerant of each other. We all went our separate ways."

bio | female | starstruck guardian [shp] of the ascendants

© madi

[toboggan]

Rounded ears, erstwhile pinned rearwards in a posture of fretfulness, hastened quickly so that they sat tall atop his small noggin in a stance of sympathy. This was an involuntary reaction, a result of what Atbash had to share about her past, and how Snowbound’s destruction wasn’t the first time everything she had known crumbled to an irremediable grit. On the subject, the wolverine did not feel pity towards his former superior; the Sunhavener could almost relate to the entirety of the Ascendant’s account. He, too, lost family, friends, and practically all he had ever owned afore his days in Snowbound, and it was his experience alone with the issue of forfeiture that made his departure from the snow-clad valley all the more heart-wrenching. Perhaps the only difference between the mustelid’s background and the Cipher’s was the manner in which his original home had been lost; his in a fury of ice, hers in an apparent rage of fire.

"Aye, I can relate t’ this as well," he’d follow in forlorn-seasoned admittance, his inhalation following a choppy beat, as if a marching drummer had lost an arm, ”I lost all I knew ‘n an incident similar to what befell Snowbound.” Whenever his mind wandered towards the radius of this portion of his past, the mopes would soon ensue - despite the anniversary of the life-changing event approaching quickly to its two-year anniversary. He’d haphazardly inhale once more, before clearing his wet throat to speak. ”I lost everything, then,” he’d wistfully inform, ”my friends, my sweetheart, my possessions... and it happened again in Snowbound. Now, I fear for th’ worst, and that’t could very well happen once again with these rains.”

Wendell wished not to think about the horrors the days of tomorrow may bring, though it was necessary if he wished to endure another crisis.

Though in this situation, with Atbash, with all these surges of sadness, all these bullies of anguish, it was likely best to talk about the present, and how well life was currently treating them.

”But, what about now? I trust- I hope th’ Ascendants are treating you well. How’re you fairing over there? How’re you doing on the social ladder?” 

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

somebody make me alive,
and shatter me !

At this point, Atbash wasn't expecting sympathy. Tough things happening were normal for her, though hearing that Wendell lost one who was very dear to him made her heart sink. Vigenere did, too. The former leader recalled, remembering how distraught and angry Vigenere had been at Caesar. In fact, Atbash was surprised Vigenere didn't kill him on the spot. "I'm so sorry, Wendell..." The savannah said these words softly, finally moving her gaze to look at the wolverine before her. "I hope you don't lose everything here as well," Rains, huh? What could be so destructive about rain? Despite her disbelief, Atbash could tell that Wendell was worried and she didn't want to shrug off his worries.

At the question regarding her life in The Ascendants, Atbash shrugged. "Things are well there, I guess." She admitted. "I'm a semi-high position there; a Starstruck Guardian." She let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head. "Honestly, despite that, I feel like an outsider there. I can't quite explain it." She went silent for a couple of heartbeats before going on to ask, "What about you?"

bio | female | starstruck guardian [shp] of the ascendants

© madi