heavenly blue — joining

[candorosa]

[align=center][div style="width:65%; text-align: justify; border-left: 1px #648CBA solid; padding: 1px;"]— He woke up. It was an odd sensation, like coming up for air after being submerged in water or focusing after zoning out. All of a sudden, Marlon was keenly aware of the winter wind ruffling his fur and prickling his eyes. The tom frowned, throwing back his mind in search of any memories to tell him where he was. Nothing. Everything was obscured by a dense fog and all he gained was an unexplainable emotion that pressed against his mind then faded away along with the wind.

Curiously, he didn't feel any panic at the realization that he couldn't remember anything prior to waking up. Something told him that all was how it should be. He let that feeling soothe him, though there was a faint voice in the corner of his mind that sneered, 'this isn't like you, you know?' Marlon ignored the nagging to focus on the horizon. 'I should find someone.' Being alone wasn't an appealing idea. He silently got to his paws and began his trek.

Marlon let his paws carry him all the way to what seemed to be a border. The territory in front of him seemed to be a marshland, which was...unfortunate. He could already imagine what the damn humidity would do to his long fur in the summer. The thought did nothing to soothe the perpetual frown that marred his face and with a click of his tongue, he returned his attention to the space in front of him. There was no way he was going to turn back because of humidity. He wasn't a pussy. "Hey. Is anyone home?" Marlon called out. He would wait until someone responded in order to ask to join. No reason to waste his breath if nobody was around after all.

[suvi.]

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— kiira | tanglewood | medic —

Home.  Odd concept.  One a confused soul oft prodded and ran away from.  When one woke up, as if suddenly thought into existence, they struggled to find such meaning in a place.  Kiira still remembered that day.  The gentle lullaby of waves on a beach.  The cry of birds above the water.  That was a long time ago.  No҉̵t̵͡ ̀l̵̴̨į̸͢k͘e͞ ̵̴t̀͠ḩ̕ey͜ ̷͟͠m͟͞ìs͢͏s̀͏҉ y̶o̸̡u̵.̡

Snowy paws glazed over the moist ground, adept after some time, in treading lightly over this strange biome.  A flash of gray and white among brown and green.  Until, suddenly, the color disappeared, as instability moved the small, fragile form.  A split second later, the vixen reappeared, materializing before the stranger who asked about 'home'.  W̸̷͜h͏at'̶̸s ̷̴t̷͜h̶̕͠ę͝ ͟͝u̸͘͞s̴͘e̛͘͟ ̀i̡͟n̢͢ ̧̧'̴͟h͢͝o̴̵͠m̸̡͢e̴'?

"H-hey." Soft, stuttering voice.  A ghosting ear twitched.  "C-can I h-help you?"

[color=#da1633]— N̶̶OW͟ [color=#c32452]WE͢͜͞'͜͟͞R̸̡E LO̷͟Ś͜͞T S[color=#ad3271]O̷UL̵̛S̵҉ AL̛͏[color=#9e3a85]L ST[color=#8f449a]U̶CK I͞͠N T҉̵HE͡ PA[color=#804cae]S̷̶͘T̕͟ —

[Crow Roux]

[align=center]action — "speech" — thoughts

PHYSICALLY HARD | MENTALLY MEDIUM | MAGICALLY MEDIUM | ATTACK IN [b]#757f96[/b]

[div style="background: linear-gradient(to right, #464C5A, #757f96, #464C5A); width: 500px; height: 2px;"]

A few months back, Crow had found himself in quite a similar situation. When his eyes opened for the first time, he was lost and confused with no place to go, no place to call home, and it was cold... so cold. It frightened him. He felt helpless and vulnerable.

Something clicked in the feline's brain when his sight landed on the newcomer. Had they met before somewhere far away? He was not able to put a finger on it.

"Uh.. h-hello."

[toboggan]

Home. It was an object, and similarly to every object, homes had the potential to be solid, just as homes had the potential to be broken. Many of those who skulked into Tanglewood’s territory uninvited had found themselves on fault of a broken home. Awful families, unlaundered living conditions, destitution, each an affliction that could birth an imperfect dwelling. In the hound’s case, it was all of the above, and all it took was a single dire event to send him this far west and into the bogs. These disarrayed mires were not at all a bad habitat for those who needed it. Tanglewood was unlike the remainder of the nearby groups - one was not expected to dedicate all of their time to needless responsibilities, nor were there inordinately restrictive rules to abide by. As long as another Tangler was not harmed on your part, and you welcomed each lost cause moseying along, you were good.

Leroy was good. He followed the few principles that the swamp-bound tribe had to its name. It was not in his code to harm a fellow comrade, unless absolutely necessary, and he did his outright best to greet the newcomers, as ugly as he (and they) were.

The holiday season may have been drawing to a quick close, yet today was just like the rest. The ground was soppy, the gators were gnarring, and the radioactive fluids were likely bubbling. And his fucking head hurt. The migraines were ailing the Guardsman once more.

On this completely humdrum day, Leroy’s surroundings were donated the conventional gift of a fresh face. Totally normal. Nothing off the beaten track. Top-to-bottom unremarkable.

Also present was Kiira, who spoke the essential words of welcome, and Crow, whose mere greeting supplied the encounter with basically nothing. Leroy simply added, "Dittoin’ the glitch. What’s it ya specifically need?"

[arcy]

[div style="margin: 0 auto; width: 65%; font-family: timesnewroman; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"]Jim lost his memory once, long before Tanglewood. It was just temporary, and it sucked. He'd even had memory issues after. Y'know. Khan. They weren't too bad, but still upsetting, and so Jim would like to stay 10 miles away from that. This isn't really the point, though.
Jim likes newcomers -- the repitition got bland, but it was comforting, and not even halfway as uptight as Starfleet, and that's all that really mattered to him. Let's see .. Uno, Does, Tres, Quatro. That's a lot more Tanglers than he sees in one place most of the time despite their dogpiling tendencies, cool.
"Well, it'd suck for you if there wasn't, huh?" Jim can't help but say, somewhat desperate not to just be another nameless face just saying 'hi' and watching ominously. If he had to tell a shitty joke than so be it. Jim flops to seat himself as they wait for a reply, head tilted. Fur kind of sucked in the swamp in general -- Jim spent a lot of time fretting over how it'd be for the poor longer furred animals. Hopefully the guy here wouldn't back out instantly 'cause of it.

[glow=black,2,300]— ✰ —[/glow]

[candorosa]

[align=center]

— Some time passed until Marlon caught sight of a form shambling towards him. He watched as the individual materialized and disappeared before him, brows creasing ever-so-slightly. That was definitely not normal, but hell. It was a kid and it seemed practically harmless so he wasn't going to raise a fuss. "Yup," he sucked in a breath and released it as a long-suffering sigh, "I'm here to join, name's Marlon." No going back now - he couldn't go 'sike!' and turn away to prance off into the hills. Hopefully whatever possessed him to crawl all the way here wouldn't make him regret it.

Then more animals trickled in, their arrival observed and noted with grim eyes. He was about to respond when he caught sight of Crow and looked. Marlon almost flinched. The tabby's expression grew pensive as he stared at the other male. 'Respond, dipshit,' he snarled at himself. "Hey there." A beat of observation and then he opened his mouth, "You—" He cut himself off. It was as if the whole world melted back into focus. This wasn't the best time to discuss the other's familiarity. He'd...deal with it later. Marlon's frown deepened as he tore his eyes away from Crow to look at Leroy and Jim.

Two canines. By principle, they were larger than he was, as he was just a regular cat so he had to crane his head slightly to look them in the eye. He registered the words, responding after a swift glance to Kiira. "Joining. What do you mean by glitch?" Marlon had an inkling of an idea as to what Leroy meant. Clarification never hurt. Actually— "Need your names as well, I'm terribly at coming up with nicknames," he glanced away for a moment at the confessison with a sigh. He was severely lacking in the creativity department.

"Oh boy, what does that mean?" Marlon asked dryly. He focused his azure gaze on Jim, brows raising in response to his words. "If I hadn't been here for something, would I have been two breaths away from going to kitty heaven?" The corners of his lips quirked in amusement before falling back into his usual scowl. Man, it must be rough for anyone who got lost within the area then.

[suvi.]

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— kiira | tanglewood | medic —

Kiira did flinch.  Specifically at the sound of her nickname before she could continue speaking with the newcomer.  One she'd assumed may come about but had yet to hear directly from someone in her near proximity.  Alarmed ears flicked back sharply, teeth biting into the inside of her cheek.  With muted energy, her paws shifted, one over the other and back again.

Since the day her eyes opened for the first time, awake and alive on that strange beach, her body had been in constant flux.  More than once she'd gotten into troublesome situations or positions -- the top of trees were not meant for foxes -- because of it.

"I-I'm Kiira," she offered, unmatched hues glancing down.  "J-Just c-call me th-that..." Once... There'd been one with nicknames for her... They had gone and left her long ago, hadn't they?  Before she'd ever set foot in this place...  A̵s ͘i͟f͡ t̸h̀ey r͏eal̛ly ͏ca͜r̵ed҉.  "[color=slateblue]I-I'm a med-medic here b-by the w-way, s-so if you ever n-need an-anything, come s-see me."

[color=#da1633]— N̶̶OW͟ [color=#c32452]WE͢͜͞'͜͟͞R̸̡E LO̷͟Ś͜͞T S[color=#ad3271]O̷UL̵̛S̵҉ AL̛͏[color=#9e3a85]L ST[color=#8f449a]U̶CK I͞͠N T҉̵HE͡ PA[color=#804cae]S̷̶͘T̕͟ —

[Crow Roux]

[align=center]action — "speech" — thoughts

PHYSICALLY HARD | MENTALLY MEDIUM | MAGICALLY MEDIUM | ATTACK IN [b]#757f96[/b]

[div style="background: linear-gradient(to right, #464C5A, #757f96, #464C5A); width: 500px; height: 2px;"]

The feline did not seem to notice anyone else that appeared. Instead his eyes remained plastered on the figure that stood in front of him. It was like he had forgotten how to breathe for a hot second, and instead he was scouring his mind for some kind of answer.

Crow was staring, and when he realized it, he averted his gaze to the ground and took a step back, his breath audibly hitching. No, no, there was no way they knew each other, right? The probability of that was so low that it was practically impossible, not to mention it was just... a dumb thought.

Yeah, it was a dumb thought. That's all it was.

[beck.]

    Who could blame people for losing their memories all the time? They were such finicky things, always slithering to the untouched wrinkles of the brain until one could never remember their slippery tails again. Some desperately chased after their lost memories, hollering out names in hopes of catching one last glimpse. But it was all pointless, really. Beck accepted and submitted to the waves of time, stiff as a dead horse while the tides beat over his head, eroding experiences away. The only information he clung onto included the raggedy scraps of an identity, memorized screenplays and useless trivia from his favorite movies, and practical knowledge accumulated over the years -- the memories that would never wash clean carved themselves into his skin. The rest retreated with the seafoam to drown. But that was okay. It's not. He didn't need those bad, bad memories away. I miss her. In fact, he was better off without them! Unburdeneding most of the past freed him to do whatever he wanted!

    Why didn't they want to be like him?

    Another one chasing their tail after a forgotten life stood beyond the undergrowth, jabbering away in response to the questions his peers launched at the stranger. The scrawny cat twitched his nose at the new scent before forcing his lungs to suck in a steadying breath. Everyone was already engaged in conversation; he wouldn't be noticed. Belly low to the ground and matted with mud, Beck inched out into the open, glossy eyes stretched wide in observation to study the apparent joiner just as intently he watched them. It didn't take long for the first thought that popped into his skull to be blurted out in a string of monotonous words. "Ya know Crow, don'tcha?" A simple inference, given the way Marlon hesitated at a sentence upon the sight of the other tabby, and how Crow reacted. Subtle, but still present enough for the poltergeist to notice. Years of focusing on fine details to predict whether people were threats or not was admittedly helpful. A piercing squeal abruptly sounded from his disfigured mouth and as he flopped back onto mangy haunches, Beck offered a rattling giggle, "It's just like the soap!" Always a fan of the melodramatics on television, this plot twist would be a real kick to the boredom constantly gnawing at his ear. Hopefully.

    Dreamily placing bandaged paws onto his cheeks -- or more accurately, one remaining cheek and the burnt hole exposing teeth -- Beck snickered to himself for a moment. His paranoia quickly returned to control, however, and the dark-furred feline snapped from his giggling to hiss, "Who ar-re ya 'nd why d'ya want to join? Freckled features darkened as he scrambled to his feet, hackles bristling more than usual. "'Cause if you're here to, to 'cause trouble, I'll feed ya to Audrey!"

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