we were sure god was dead / open, joining

[madster]

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it was raining.

alabaster paws sunk into puddles, mud staining perfect white fur. what had once been pure had been corrupted by the mortal plane, and now the spirit wandered. he couldn't remember his real name. the name that his father gave him. he couldn't even remember his siblings, or why he was here. all he knew was that he felt sick to the core.

sick from being so distant from his creator, with nothing to worship but the sound of rain against the earth. perhaps this was just the hymn of the earth- he tried to distract his wandering mind. god had created this world too, surely, then all was well. he was in his father's realm.

"oh," he sighed, accidentally stepping in yet another cold puddle. this time, though, he peered down at the rippling reflection, this version of himself beyond the rainwater. a feline, powder-white, with baby-blue eyes. still, there was an air of unease around the boy. he was tired and aching, and looked sickly. he was pale, his eyes distant, and his paws trembling. at least he still had his wings. they were lovely, but even they reflected his sickly nature- his feathers were dull and some fell off with any sort of touch of the breeze.

he left a trail of feathers and pawprints in the mud as he reached the border. he collapsed, unable to continue. it was cold. so cold. he wrapped himself in his wings, shivering. was he to die here? cold, and without the grace of his father? in unknown territory?

and so, the angel wept.

[arcy]

[div style="margin: 0 auto; width: 65%; font-family: timesnewroman; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"]Jim could be described as having a bleeding heart. Give him half a reason to fuss and he would, at least in his own personalized way. Which .. his hovering wasn't very obvious unless you knew what to look for. And his groupmates didn't, because he hadn't bonded with literally any of them. This fresh start sucked. .. At least he felt welcomed.
Even so, there's something that makes him droop about the sorry looking feline trodding through the territory. Feathers scattered on the ground, obviously from their wings, and they looked so .. small. Jim doesn't have any blankets or anything to offer -- he doesn't have a bag to carry stuff, and maybe he should look into that?
"Hey, are you alright there? Can you get up?" Jim circles around the downed feline as he arrives, covered in mud up to his belly as he regards the angel with something like concern. Fuck, obviously they aren't fine if they're collapsed. Jim is a dumbass, who asks dumb questions when he can't just yell for the Enterprise. Quickly, the wolfdog steps closer to sit next to the angel, leaning close to try and provide warmth. They didn't look injured, but definitely sickly, and even a bad, but simple chill like this could probably kill a sick person. He attempts to gently nudge them. "You shouldn't even be out here. In Tanglewood, but especially not the cold.. I can probably bring you to town, to figure this out," To hell with what may as well be protocol, Jim couldn't bring himself to be suspicious of such a pathetic bundle of fur, anyways. Being so much larger than the feline, it'd be a piece of cake to carry the guy on his back or by the scruff or something, right? It'd be faster than making them walk if they collapsed. .. Should the feline try to get up, though, Jim would definitely assist where he could.

[glow=black,2,300]— ✰ —[/glow]

[Morgan]

Morgan joined the pair shortly after sensing an unknown aura sitting alone with Jim. He had shielded himself from the rain using his powers; he appeared just as fluffy, friendly, and dry as usual, especially as he forced a smile to lighten the mood. He sighed, then said,

"This... this might be one of those times where we'll just bring this outlander in to be cared for."

He attempted to shrug. He had to be quick, so he gathered rainwater and formed it into a cushion for the collapsed stranger.

"I don't smell any particular group on this one, so maybe they're here to join."

"We should get to town, then. Take point if you can, Jim -- I'll stay in the back to keep my focus up."

[madster]

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voices surrounded him, and out of pure instinct- something new to him- he curled tighter into a ball, gritting his teeth. these new desires bubbled in his head, firmly rooting his place as nothing but an animal. he couldn't recall what he had been prior, but defending himself was all he knew. he wasn't going to die out here, in the cold and in the rain.

eventually, though, he relaxed. the voices were... calm, and friendly. he wasn't smart enough to think it could have possibly been a trap. "oh..." his quiet voice rang out, repeating what he had said earlier. "i-i can... walk, don't worry," the winged feline muttered, pushing himself to his paws.

"please help me. i'm.... so lost," he begged. he didn't even know his own name. what did he know? he knew that he felt awful, so nauseous, so ill. malaise. that was what he'd call himself until he could remember his real name. "my name is malaise. it's... i'm... so cold." he shivered. "here... to join?" he clarified, unsure of what that meant. "what do you mean? are you a group.. or something?"

[arcy]

[div style="margin: 0 auto; width: 65%; font-family: timesnewroman; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"]Oh thank god they were conscious. Jim was no doctor, but straight-up passing out in the cold probably wasn't great. Jim won't lie, he's awfully relieved when Morgan shows up -- gaze turning to the Samoyed for a moment.
"You got it, boss man," He grins crookedly. He doesn't make to stand up quite yet, gaze turning back down to the small feline. There's something almost soft to his gaze, and ah, there's that bleeding heart thing of his. He tries a small smile. "We'll take care of you, don't worry," He assures, finally making to stand, slowly. Hm ... should he provide as stability now that she insisted on walking, or take point as requested? ... .... He elects to walk only a step or two ahead. "Yup. This is Tanglewood. Nothing but mud and nice people," And radiation, but that's probably not a thing to mention to a stranger. .. Or even to himself. Fuck, he'd nearly forgot about that death, and also the radiation. Okay, no problemo, don't think about it anymore. He begins to walk slowly ahead, trying to match the pace of Malaise once the other begins walking.

[glow=black,2,300]— ✰ —[/glow]