Tell me where did you go // m&g // I've been searching high and low

[clarence a.]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]Clarence couldn't sleep. It wasn't a trait unique to this new form. It was the only thing that wasn't new. He'd suffered from nightmares for a long time. Night terrors, really. He was lucky he knew how to control his physical reaction to them. Recently they'd been more about drowning and about the moment he had died or... whatever had happened. He still didn't understand it. He was half waiting to wake up in an asylum somewhere, stuck in some sort of cell and told he'd never been in the navy at all, that his mind was broken beyond repair after Jordan's death. Yet he was still here. He'd expected that on the ship too. Maybe he had just hoped he wasn't in the watery hell that surrounded him. Maybe his only way of coping had been to force the situation into a fantasy. Maybe if he hadn't been so distant, maybe then he would've moved fast enough and Finnis wouldn't have been killed. Maybe he wouldn't have fallen overboard, maybe he wouldn't be stuck as a... panther? Yes, a black panther. That was what he was now. He wasn't sure how to deal with that so he mostly tried to ignore it. He liked to think he'd sort of accepted the talking animals situation but he was still rather distressed about the whole thing. In any case, he's sat inside his house long enough until he decided it was a respectable time to come out without garnering too much suspicion.

The man emerged and his first response was to go on a run. He needed some kind of exercise. As much as this new life confused and frightened him, he had to admit it was nice to be off of his ship. The Queen Charlotte had been a fine navy vessel but not good for much else. It wasn't particularly roomy or comfortable and it was nice to run somewhere that wasn't the deck of a ship. He still wasn't completely familiar with the territory, though, so he stuck to running in a large circle before wrapping back around to where he'd slept and then heading to the small waterfall he'd found some time ago. There were less people here than there were at that lake-like body of water so he felt a bit more protected. He felt rather odd not wearing clothes but was able to get past it given the sensation of his fur was enough to remind him of his old uniform, but when it all stuck to him, it felt... different. He just wasn't a fan. In any case, he sat an soaked in the cool water with his eyes closed for some time, trying to steady his own breathing before climbing out and shaking the water out of his fur. He'd had the same schedule for about a week now and no one seemed to notice him. Today, though, with water still dripping from his body, he heard something nearby and tensed but didn't move, waiting to see what it was before approaching.

[ATTICUS]

―――― Atticus could recall the day that Clarence had arrive in the Ascendants, confused, scared, and denying the reality around him. While they had never quite been able to figure out where he had come from, aside from blabberings about a Queen Charlotte, a few seemingly significant people, and some battle in a strange place- England, was it?- the man had still decided to join among their ranks. After that, Atticus wasn't sure where he had gone. He'd see him time to time during the day poking around for food, but he had never quite seemed to become integrated into Clan life like the rest of them had. The lack of assimilation was strange for Atticus to puzzle, and puzzle over it he did. Clarence was now some sort of puzzle, some sort of strange story to figure out in his free time. Where did he come from? What life had he lived if seeing animals like the rest of them was a strange sight, especially when he himself was a panther? What was this Queen Charlotte, if not more than a ship? They were all questions that Atticus told himself he would ask at one point or another, but between work, and the man's absence, he had never yet found the opportunity.

Except it seemed their friend, much like many other Ascendants members, had found his own routine. Was Atticus secretly glad he was getting out of his hut and doing things? Why, yes, but he would never so boldly admit that. And, truthfully speaking, he had no real intent to follow him. Yet, that morning, he found his paws drifting towards the waterfall on his own daily routine of the border watch, keeping an eye out for any potential joiners, dangers, or situations that needed attention out in the territory. He heard the shaking of a pelt and the dripping of water as someone moved from the lake's depths, his paws briefly pausing as his ears flickered towards the sound. It took him a moment to consider, glancing to the sunrise before it clicked in his head. Clarence. He exhaled idly as he turned and detoured from his own path, making his way closer to the falls and the man that now stood tensely at his approach. For a moment he smirked, but the expression was quickly smothered as he stepped his way out, kind enough to step out in front of the man's gaze, rather than sneak up behind him. "You should be mindful of what's around you," he warned in a low, albeit soft rumble of his voice. "Were anyone wishing harm upon you, it would be far too easy." In true Atticus fashion, despite the plainness of his voice, the warning was well-meant, quickly transitioned as he continued on. "Good morning, Clarence. How is everything going for you?"

  [color=black][b]

[clarence a.]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]Atticus had been one of the first talking animals he'd ever met upon his arrival in Ascendants. At some point over the last week or so, he'd stopped thinking of the man as an animal. They hadn't talked much but Atticus reminded him of some of the men back on the Queen Charlotte, which he found as a sort of comfort. He seemed level headed enough. Perhaps if Clarence was more sociable, he would've thought to actually reach out to the other male in search of a possible friendship. But, unfortunately, Clarence wasn't that sociable, and instead he'd dealt with the strange circumstances by shutting himself away and forcing himself to fall back into old habits as though the situation was completely normal and as though he wasn't in a completely unfamiliar area with unfamiliar beings, who just happened to be talking animals, and that he himself had been turned into a sort of talking panther. It was a lot to take in. It was only now he was even willing to go outside and see what there was to explore in this new place. For as many questions as Atticus had about him, Clarence had never ending questions about this place and what it was and how all these animals knew how to talk. He didn't even know if he was in the same world he'd been in when he'd... well, whatever happened when he fell off the Queen Charlotte. 

When he saw the man step out from among the trees, he visibly relaxed and a small smile even came to his maw. "You're right. They taught me how to be more alert before I left, but I guess being on a ship for so long weakened that a bit," he admitted. He remembered the first few nights he slept on the ship, unable to sleep. He'd stared at the ceiling for hours because he was terrified someone would burst into the room at any moment to accuse the surgeon of witchcraft. An innocent man shouldn't have felt so guilty. There was a part of him that wondered if there'd been a reason for that but he pushed it away. Eventually, he learned that the rest of the crew either didn't care about the rumors against his family or, more likely, didn't know about them. He knew Finnis had to be aware, although the man never brought it up to him.

At Atticus' second question, the man hesitated. How much was he supposed to tell him? If this was all a hallucination, then it wouldn't matter what he said at all. But if it wasn't... how couldn't it be? How could any of this be possible? But it felt real. It felt real enough that he wouldn't say the complete truth, but that didn't mean he'd deny the man of an answer. "I'm well. Better than I was when I arrived, I think. Things here are still... odd, but I'm glad to have some kind of routine here. It makes it easier."

[JERSEYBOY]

JERSEY
BOY

Just what in the hell would Jerseyboy doing out and about at this hour? None of anybody's damn business, that's what. Sometimes, he could be a particularly shady son of a bitch and it was really just best not to question anything that he did ( unless you wanted to receive an earful from him ).

The tuxedo winded towards the base of the waterfall, the roaring of the water relaxing and soothing to his ears. It wasn't often that he took strolls about nature and truly enjoyed the sights and sounds of it, but tonight? It could have not been more perfect. His green gaze caught sight of Atticus and the new guy having a casual chat, and that was when he managed a mocking smirk and padded over. He slowed his pace, commenting teasingly, "So, did the 'shrooms finally wear off? Did with British win?" There was no doubt that this guy had been on drugs when they had first met; was there any shame in teasing him about it?

© MADI

[clarence a.]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]Clarence knew there had to be more than a few people who thought he was a bit... odd after his first introduction to the clan. He knew the way he behaved likely hadn't been considered normal but he didn't regret his actions. There was no way he could've known he was suddenly going to be dropped into a world where animals could speak and had complex societies. When he had thought of the afterlife before, this certainly hadn't been how he pictured it. Still, it wasn't all bad. It had been unexpected, sure, and there were plenty of things he was upset about if this was the real afterlife, such as not being able to see any of his friends and family, but otherwise it wasn't terrible. He at least wouldn't mind staying here for just awhile longer until he figured out if there was a way to return home (although, admittedly, he wasn't even sure where to begin with that). Maybe he could even learn a few things that'd be useful when he came back. If he really had access to all the updated information, it certainly seemed like a good idea to bring some of those things back with him.

However, even knowing that his behavior had been strange in the beginning, Jerseyboy's question seemed to catch him off guard and an expression of complete confusion crinkled his face. "Excuse me?" The words were incredulous. Shrooms? He wasn't even entirely sure what that meant. However, when the man went on to ask about if the British won, his confusion shifted to an expression that appeared a bit hurt, although he seemed to mask that one a bit better than the last. "No, they didn't, but you already knew that. There are books here that talk about it, I found them. That day on Lake Erie was one of the worst battles of the whole war, apparently. That's what it said," he answered, his tone tightening a bit as he spoke. Why would this strange cat ask him such hurtful questions?

[tikki]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; opacity: 0.60; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 2px;"]Paper found himself drawn more and more towards Clarence. He wasn't sure what it was, but the other feline seemed interesting to him, and he couldn't shake that feeling. Ears pricked as he heard voices - one of them being Clarence's of course - and he would pad over, listening to the words that were being spoken as he did so, before sitting down and offering a smile to those around him. Paper didn't know about Clarence's past - they'd never spoken about it before - but he did know about how he seemed to find things around him strange. Upon hearing the conversation on the books about history and a war - something he hadn't ever lived to see - he would tilt his head slightly before opening his maw to speak. "You'll have to show me this book some time Clarence. I didn't know there were battles on lakes."

[clarence a.]

Clarence was relieved when Paper arrived. While he might have some questions, he didn't seem like the sort to assume he was lying about everything. Because, of course, he wasn't. Clarence had really been aboard that ship in September 1813, and then he really had woken up here, in the Ascendants, hundreds of years later and in what he assumed to be a later winter month based on the weather. Honestly, he still wasn't sure if it was a later month or if the weather was just like this year round. He supposed it didn't really matter and if winter dragged on too long he'd eventually ask someone about it. With all the other questions he had, though, he didn't want to ask anymore. He had seen and heard a few references to the holiday season being near so he supposed he had to be at least a month or two ahead, unless this world had completely different traditions to what he was familiar with, which was also possible. Honestly, he didn't think anything was a given when he had woken up in a strange world full of talking animals with complex social structures.

When he heard the man's statement, a light smile touched his maw and he found himself shaking his head slightly. "Well, they do call it a lake but it's one of the biggest lakes I've ever seen and it connects to a lot of other, bigger waterways. It was an essential location and we didn't want the Americans controlling it. After we lost, the book said they kept it for the rest of the war and it was vital to their overall victory. I don't care much about all of that, though. Neither country was in the right, in my opinion, and a lot of innocent men died for ridiculous reasons. But that's all in the past now, I suppose, and there's no sense in complaining about what happened so long ago." It had only been two weeks for him. Two weeks. "I'm happy to lend it to you if you'd like to take a look at it. I don't think I'll care to read any more of it."

LISTEN UP; HEAR THE PATRIOTS SHOUT

BLOOD LUST IN A HOLY WAR

© LEXASPERATED