take me back to the night we met ; joining

[Suiteheart]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]A lone feline padded slowly towards the plains. The green around her would have once filled her with great joy, for her former homes were that of a great city and then a snowy fortress. It had been a long, long time since she had witnessed the rebirth of spring. Now, it enveloped her. It should have made her spirit light, but these days, nothing could lift her up.

Her movements were slow, deliberate. She had traveled hundreds of miles - maybe even thousands, and her body ached from sore muscles and wounds. This had been her reality for far too long. How long had it been? She couldn't say, for after the destruction of her home and family, she stopped caring about the passage of time.

She thought now: her growing Clan. Her children. Her wife. Where were they? Where was she? Her chest felt tight. The wonderful triplets. And her beloved Margaery. For months she had tried to sense her wife through their bond, but when the island collapsed, so did their shared power.

The link was severed. Nothing was left.

What had happened to she and her wife's soft epilogue? What had happened to her children growing up in a safe place? The female's baby blue eyes clouded over.

The ivory feline halted, falling gently into a sitting position. "Hello," she called, voice small and rough after disuse. "My name is Hotelsuites. I've come to join." For a moment, she wished she had used her real name. However, she no longer felt like Suiteheart; this lonesome journey had changed her entirely.

[BASTILLEPAW]

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BASTILLEPAW AURELIUS  ✧
the ascendants — starstruck guardian — tags

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Another day, another useless patrol -- it seemed like no matter how long Bast spent on their borders, waiting for Luna to come back, it was all meaningless. She wouldn't just come waltzing back. He was certain of it, certain that she hadn't gone willingly. Someone had her, and the utter lack of concern was driving him crazy. The lingering guilt of Indi's disappearance was rooted deep in his soul, and he felt plagued by problems that did not belong to this life. Echo's failures should not translate into his, and yet. And yet. Echo's past was still his past, in a way, and Luna was still missing in an eerie reminder of Indigo.

He was going to find her. Of that much he was certain. He was losing patience with the others' complete lack of concern, and he would go alone if he had to. Today, most likely. He was itching to do something, anything, that would feel less hopeless -- today, he would go. He couldn't wait any longer.

First, however, there was this: another stranger on their border, not too far behind the last. They seemed to gain members with relative frequency now, something he might be proud of if not for the tension eating away at him. Oddly, this girl reminded him of the one just before her: she too looked exhausted, worn from a long journey, carrying a defeated energy that did not quite entirely mask the bright, promising aura underneath. Her soul was tired, but it was strong. Bast would not underestimate her, any more than he would underestimate "Margaret".

As he came to a stop in front of her, he eyed her briefly, as if assessing a threat. She too was to the point, introducing herself and stating her business without promptly, cutting out the need for useless, trite questions. Clanners, he assumed -- she and the other girl both. Those who came from a similar background as his seemed to have an innate understanding of the norms and customs, something that Starry had lacked when Bast first arrived in the Ascendants. The leader had looked baffled by Bast's expectations; he had the impression that if he listed off several typical Clan norms, this girl would not bat an eye.

Hotelsuites. With Margaret, he'd had the compelling notion that the name didn't suit her, somehow. With this stranger, it was a different but similar inclination. Bast has highly intuitive when it came to reading others, no doubt inherited from Grimmkit, and something about this introduction felt... reserved. As if there was more this girl was not saying, as if "Hotelsuites" wasn't the whole story.

He wasn't going to ask if she didn't feel like sharing, though. He didn't care about her business. "Welcome to the Ascendants, then," he supplied, simple, "'M Bast. I'll show you to camp and where you can find empty rooms and shit. Someone will probably give you a tour if you want, but otherwise, you can explore on your own. We have maps." With that, he turned towards the Observatory, evidently ready to get going. He didn't linger much on these issues.

[Suiteheart]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"][oh shit Bellamy fc!!]

It didn't take long. Suiteheart let loose an inward sigh. This felt homey... Back in her old Clan, it took no time at all when someone wanted to join. It seemed to be the same situation here. Under normal circumstances, she would've smiled. She would be proud to be somewhere that felt so much like home.

Home.

The word left a sour taste in her mouth, and her face contorted minutely. She hoped the stranger approaching had not seen her momentary lapse. The last thing she needed was someone to view her as week or odd. She didn't want to stand out. She wanted to fit right in. She wanted to assimilate. She wanted to be forgotten. Normal. Nothing special. She had been high profile for some time, and she wasn't ready for that. Not yet.

As he came closer into view, the straight line across Suiteheart's maw dipped into a tense frown. A pang of sadness ripped throughout her entire being. He would have been the about the same age as her youngest son. Her baby blues skirted the group before rising to greet him.

No weaknesses.

Taking a breath to steady herself, she tossed out the frown. She tried smiling, but it was more of a grimace. Whatever the hell it was trying to be, it was a long ways away from her normal lopsided grin. "The Ascendants," she breathed, committing it to memory. This was the first day of her new life. "Nice to meet you Bast. Is that short for something? Sounds like a nickname. Speak of, you can call me Suite, if you'd like."

She silently kicked herself. Suite was her old nickname. Surely it would be fine though, right? This was a new start, but that didn't mean she couldn't reuse things... right?

The alabaster feline stood up and limped after Bastillepaw. Despite how bad it hurt to move, she matched his pace. She was a seasoned warrior. This was easy. It had to be. [color=#73B1B7]"So what's this place like, Bast?"

[BASTILLEPAW]

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BASTILLEPAW AURELIUS  ✧
the ascendants — starstruck guardian — tags

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[ oH YEAh that didn't even register in my head lmao
i was like "oooh, margy's wife also has a lit fc" but didn't even remember bast's fc bc i was too busy imagining clarke and margy LMAO ]

It would be difficult to consider this stranger weak, but Bast also had access to her aura. He could see the strength lingering there, the glimmer beneath the exhaustion and aching. As battered as someone could be outwardly and emotionally, their soul would always reveal the truth. (That was why he refused to believe that he was anything but damned. One only had to look at the three souls that clouded his aura, the darkness lingering there from their past lives: Bast could only ever fail. It was just a matter of when and how.)

Regardless, she didn't give any outward show of weakness -- not any he would consider weak, at least. He wouldn't fault someone for being reversed, for having ghosts to hide. He arched a brow at her question, and actually offered a half-grin, as if amused she'd even bothered to ask. Most joiners accepted whatever he said at face-value, not too interested in actually analyzing what he said. Bast simply assumed that most of them were too busy trying to figure where the fuck they were and what the people were like. Granted, with only him here to address this newcomer, he supposed there was less to focus on. (Imagine that: Bast, the welcoming committee. Gods, it sounded ridiculous, though Starry would probably be pleased.)

"Bastillepaw," he supplied, assuming that she would understand the inherent implications of warrior names. Starry still didn't fully see the point of it all, but Bast was certain that this Hotelsuites knew. His hunch was had yet to die, after all. He gave a slight nod at her chosen nickname -- he assumed it was Suite, and not Sweet, given the context -- and filed it away. Bast usually shortened names, any way. It was not so much out of affection or friendship as out of... well. Laziness, maybe. A general apathy, a tendency to take verbal shortcuts. Sometimes he invented his own (HD had become Imm to him), but Suite seemed suitable enough. The way she said it made it sound more like her than Hotelsuites did.

As they started to walk, he cast a sideways glance at her, noting the limp. If she was trying to hide it, he didn't seem to care; Bast rarely assigned physical injury to weakness, if that was her fear. Everyone got injured. Assuming that someone was weak because they actually bothered to get their paws dirty was ridiculous. "We don't quite have a healer yet, but some of us have basic knowledge and there is a herb supply," he provided without prompting, making no big deal of her limp. Shit happened. She was clearly fine enough to travel, and he wasn't going to baby her. He could, however, supply useful information. "I can show you that shit, too, or you can look into it later if you want."

At her prompting, he glanced at her again, before focusing back on their walk. They weren't too far from the Observatory, which was nice -- less forced small talk. She didn't seem interested in simply talking to talk, though, which was a relief. Bast got the impression she was asking because she wanted to know what she was getting into. "Quiet, usually. Starry -- that's our leader -- is an excitable guy. Very big on stars and shit. We're fuckin' pacifists, unfortunately, but luckily no one has tried to start shit with us so there hasn't been any tension about politics yet."

Bast was not a pacifist, clearly -- the lack of action actually made him feel stir crazy, but he respected Starry and would try to listen. A pause. "Starry is still sort of finding his rhythm, I think. Didn't really know what a Clan was when he decided to make one. S'fine, though -- we more or less have a system now, and nobody seems to hate one another." Well, Bast disliked Roy, but that was because he was a shady fucker. "Uh, let's see -- if you're looking for windows in your room, there aren't any. Last girl asked about those. The roof of the observatory is always open, though. You know, stars and shit," he added, referring back to Starry's nerdy ways. "Rad might steal your belongings, but otherwise everyone is pretty damn harmless."

[Suiteheart]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"][whAT A MOOD LMAO]

Bastillepaw. She committed that, too, to memory. At the name, a true smile did quirk up upon her lips. A ‘paw? She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she heard a Clan-name. It seemed this place was similar to a Clan after all. It set her at ease, but she refused to lower her guard completely. She didn’t want to get too attached, either. That was her weakness.

Suiteheart became attached to everyone she met very easily. Well, she used to. This was especially true for creatures like Bast. He reminded her of her son. Bast seemed like a good kid. Maybe a little rough around the edges, but wasn’t everyone? He, at least, presented her with hospitality. His words were kind but not overly sweet. It felt... normal. She felt like she could finally catch her breath.

She tried to push this aside. She needed to lay low. After traveling alone and only coming into contact with hostiles, she thought it would be easy. But the longer she chatted and the deeper she ventured into this new territory, the more difficult she would find it.

Despite wanting to be cold and uncaring, she had a soft heart. She needed the company of others. She needed a home. She couldn’t live on her own.

”It’s cool to know I’m not gonna be the odd one out. After hearing this place was called the Ascendants, I thought it would be different, ya know?” Different wasn’t bad. Different was often good. Maybe that would be true here, too.

Suite blinked her thanks to the male as he slowed his stride for her. This pace was better. She didn’t feel as pained. “No healer?” That was troubling. Back home, they had healers and damn good ones. She often attended healing classes, so she did know the bare essentials. She at least knew how to support her twisted paw and treat her wounds. “I’d appreciate it if you showed me some of it, yeah. I can pretty well fix myself up. The healers in my Clan taught me a few things, but not much. I’m good at the little stuff, but don’t count on me being able to save anyone’s life,” the girl replied, voice beginning to take on notes of humor. The emotion felt foreign, but she welcomed it.

She quieted down as she listened to him explain about this group. Starry, the excitable leader. She could’ve laughed, for he sounded just like her old leader... What had become of her?  “He sounds like a card,” Suite meowed gently. She did arch an eyebrow at the pacifist statement.

She’d been fighting her whole life. Was this a break? Holy shit...

“No trouble’s good. Wish I could say I knew what this was like, but I’ve only ever dealt with Clans that fight beside each other or against each other,” Suiteheart explained. “The logistics of leading are difficult. Weird. It takes a special type to do it. Starry probably won’t ever stop trying to figure stuff out. I don’t think anyone ever stops.”

She continued listening as Bast explained that Starry didn’t know about Clans. That surprised her. Had he been living under a rock? Then again, maybe Clanlife wasn’t as popular as it used to be. Or maybe it just wasn’t popular in this region.

When Bastille said something about another joining, she wanted to be excited. She wanted to think it might possibly be someone she knew, but she didn’t follow that train of thought. “No windows is okay. And I like stars.” It had been a while since she stargazed last. Maybe it was now time to take up that pastime again.

Rad? Stealing? Hmm...” Suite didn’t say it, but if anyone touched the locket around her throat, she’d kill them. On the spot. Without batting an eye. She’d done it before, and she’d do it again.

[BASTILLEPAW]

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BASTILLEPAW AURELIUS  ✧
the ascendants — starstruck guardian — tags

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Bastille wasn't entirely certain what had drawn him to the Ascendants, honestly. Sometimes he thought that it was just dumb luck, really -- he was finally ready to stop living the life of a loner, finally feeling the anger and pain and frustration fade enough to become something more than just raw emotion. By the time he was finally prepared to readjust back to group living, this just happened to be where he ended up, stumbling into them by accident. Maybe he could have ended up in Tanglewood, if things had been different. (He doubted it. Their leader was a douche.) Maybe it was fate, somehow. A sign from the gods that his chaotic souls needed somewhere peaceful to sort their shit out.

At her commentary, he cocked his head slightly, assuming she was referring to his obvious Clan name -- she bore one as well, after all, and conducted herself in a manner that suggested she came from similar groups as he. He offered her a wry smile. "Not quite. I mean, our leader doesn't have any Clanner background, but I think some of the others more or less do. I was born in a different cluster of Clans, but Starry looked at me like I was crazy when I tried to explain the whole name ceremony business." Something about how your name was special and no one should change it for you. The whole symbolic warrior name thing had been lost of the Seraph, but Bast didn't mind.

He gave a slight nod at her comment, adding, "Nah. I mean, the position exists, and I think Starry will probably look for healers eventually, but none at the moment. He's pretty, uh, positive. I don't think he believes in war, so potential injury and wounds aren't high on his radar, I don't think." Bast gave a slight shrug. It bothered him somewhat, but if anything were to happen, the somewhat knowledge various members possessed would probably be enough. He nodded at her explanation, and smirked slightly in amusement at her inability to "save lives." Idly, he wondered what Clan she spoke of, but he didn't ask. "Yeah. All of that stuff is stashed in the main Circle of the Observatory, so we can stop by on the way to the rooms."

"A card". Huh. Bastille hadn't heard that one before, but it didn't seem negative, so he didn't care. He'd probably have defended Starry's honor if he had to, but hell, it was hard for anyone to dislike the guy. He was just so happy and positive all the time, like an excitable child. Any problem with Starry would be a result of Bast's failure to describe the leader properly, really. He nodded at her explanation of her Clans, commenting wryly, "Sounds like my birth Clan. I think all of these groups are much too new to really get to that level of... complexity." They didn't have allies or enemies yet, really, and so far there had been very little political involvement -- everyone was too focused on getting their own group put together to focus on everyone else. "Politics aren't very active in these parts."

The way she spoke of leader made it sound as if she had some form of experience with it, and he shot her a sidelong glance. He could see it, honestly. She wasn't too old, but he'd seen some pretty damn young leaders; it wasn't unheard of. Besides, her soul seemed capable of it, and this sort of exhaustion wouldn't be unheard of for a former leader. Maybe she'd taken a break because of said leadership. Either way, Bast didn't call her out on it, but he tucked the information away for later. Former Clan leader, or maybe deputy; she could be useful for helping develop Ascendants a little more, logistically.

"She's basically harmless," he said with a roll of his eyes, referring to Rad as he came to a slow halt outside of the Observatory. "Besides, she's not very good at hiding her theft, I don't think. This is camp, by the way - we call it the Observatory, because, well." He shrugged. That was literally what the building was -- they weren't very creative. "The Great Circle is the whole main bit," he added as he entered, nodding around the main portion of their camp. With the top open, everything seemed pretty bright, and there were others milling about inside. "We keep herbs and shit in a room just off of here, over there," he said, nodding towards a curtain on a far wall. He was waiting for her to come inside before he really briefed her on anything, though.

[Suiteheart]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]At the mention of the leader not having a Clan background, she shrugged with one shoulder. She knew of a few instances like this back home. It wasn’t necessarily commonplace, but it definitely was not out of the ordinary. She tried to list all these places in her head. She knew she knew them, but... why couldn’t she recall them immediately? This troubled her slightly, and she fought against the panic rising in her chest. She didn’t want to forget.

When Bastillepaw mentioned he belonged to a different region, her ears perked. Could he have belonged to the same sect as she? She wasn’t sure, and she definitely did not want to press him for questions. She also did not want to give herself up just yet. ”Yeah, I get it. We had some back home who thought it was odd to have a warrior name. And our leader had a - I guess? - regular name. She’d been born into the Clan, but her parents didn’t want to follow the name themes. They wanted her to be different, and so she was.” She thought a moment. Hadn’t she named one of her children a non-traditional name? ... She could barely remember as they had disappeared before the major incident.

“Oh, that makes sense too,” Suiteheart admitted with a nod. Why have healers when nothing bad seemed to happen? Plus, if a handful of their members knew the basics, all bases were covered. Still, she couldn’t help but feel like there weren’t enough precautions. What if someone got injured on patrol? What is someone was attacked and seriously hurt by a rogue? She made a note to bring these thoughts up with Starrynight, if she ever got the opportunity.

The thought of healing made her think of the souls. They would be perfectly suited for this... They could teach everyone.

She did crack a smile herself when Bast smirked. Hey, she was still pretty good at amusing others. At least she hadn’t lost that. ”That would be great,” Suite replied with a nod.

As he continued speaking, she felt her curiosity growing stronger. It seemed he came from an increasingly similar background as she. She so badly needed to know if they once resided in the same region. “Yeah, a few of us back home would help up-and-coming Clans and other groups out. We called ourselves ambassadors. And the last thing to be worked on was relations. Better to take care of your own than focus on others, unless it’s dire.” She had been an ambassador to a Tribe. Often times, she would bring supplies such as food and knowledge about neighbors to them. It was nice to feel like she was helping something get started; it made her feel important.

A leader she was not, but she wished she could have eventually been one. She would’ve followed in great foot steps. It would’ve been good. It would’ve been fun. But that was over now. And she was just a shadow of the once great deputy she had been.

Suiteheart let a small, soundless sigh escape her parted lips as he explained Rad was more or less harmless. It erased her worry about losing her locket. She didn’t know what she would do if it disappeared, for it was the only part of her family she had that was tangible. It meant the world to her. ”Well, that’s good. I hope she doesn’t get any better at taking things for my sake,” the white feline half-joked.

As they stepped nearer to the Observatory, she peered upward. This was one of the bigger buildings she had never seen. No, it was the biggest. It was a marvel. And it looked completely intact. “Damn, this is some place you guys got.” She followed Bastille inside. The sky above seemed somehow bluer from within the Observatory. It was nice.

As she saw others wandering about, she tried to keep her eyes low. She was not used to seeing this many individuals in one place, and it was somewhat overwhelming. She remained calm outwardly, however. Best not to scare anyone off by acting strange.

Blue eyes went straight to the direction Bast motioned toward. It was a nice little space to keep everything. It seemed dry and warm from the outside too. “Mind if I take care of this real quick? I can teach you how to wrap up sprains, if you want. And after, you can show me around a bit more - if you don’t mind,” Suiteheart said, turning to limp towards the herb storage.