strike a match and watch [re-joiner]

[VALE]

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She failed. Vale couldn’t find Clarence anywhere, no more than she could find the magic’s origin or any other fabled legend.

The black leopard, a shapeshifter from another world, hated herself for this failure. Her paws, caked with dirt and muck, took her back to Elysium at the slowest possible pace. Many times, over the past few months, she wanted to return home – only to turn back at the last possible moment. Because nothing waited for her here; the world moved on since then.

Her friends would be gone, she knew that. Clarence would still be lost, somewhere. And she would be her same old combative self looking for anything to throw a punch at. Most of Vale’s problems couldn’t be punched, yet she kept looking for anything to sink her claws into.

With a sigh, she shook out her fur as she dipped into the sandy beach. The ocean breeze stung on the bare spots of pink scar tissue on her shoulder, but the salt smell made it worth it. Seagulls screamed, hurriedly rushing away from her with their clawed feet striking indents in the sand, but she did not rush as she parted their swarm.

Sand squelched, getting between her toes. The occasional piece of shell sliced against her pawpads, cutting them open in feeling if not in truth. No blood marked her path, but she thought the shells damn well deserved to draw blood with how much they pricked at her.

Then the salt waves lurched over her paws, and she changed direction. She heard of how the Ascendants became the Elysium after merging with Sunhaven, but she hadn’t heard much since. By then, she’d been a long way a way into the wildlands where nobody had a last name. She thought she wanted that kind of existence, away from the politics and the memories of England and the memories of Clarence working an oven with his clumsy feline paws.

But she was wrong.

That’s why she returned, even empty handed.

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[teef]

ARISIDE LANECES

✯ — BABY, YOU'RE SO CLASSIC

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the way she held herself was clear enough to the woman, this one held pain and loss. flicking her bobbed tail, the saber tooth settled to watch her, holding her tongue until the dark figure moved along the coast. "you look as if you don't want to be here.", she didn't remember her, but she rarely remembered faces anymore. the face might not be familiar, but the behavior was. "even if you do not wish to be here, let us at least help you with shelter for a night and food. my name is ariside or kade." she murmured, gaze flying to the seagulls above the water.

seeking pain for things that could not be changed in this moment, loss of someone obviously important. she didn't know this of course, she could only guess at what brought the other here in this state. flicking her tail, she moved down the beach towards her, conscious of how sooty her fur was. words were no longer needed, and she knew to let her broach whatever topics she wished. she was merely a friendly presence on solitary patrol.

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✯ — FEMALE. RB & EL. MODERATE-HIGH. REF. BIO. — ✯

#psychosocial.

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Rin had... very vague memories of the stranger at the border.

  Prior to leaving for the mental hospital with no intention of coming back (funny how that had worked), she had seen a black leopard hanging around in the Ascendants. She knew the leopard belonged there, of course, because someone would have chased her out otherwise- but she didn't remember the leopard's name, and she suspected the leopard didn't remember hers either. For all intents and purposes, this might as well be their first meeting.

  Approaching, Rin gazed down at the mud staining the newcomer's paws, then up at her tired eyes. The dissolution of the Ascendants into Elysium couldn't have been easier for her either... assuming of course that this was the same leopard she'd seen back then, and not a coincidental lookalike. "...Not the best day to be walking along the coast," she remarked, twitching her ears. The stranger would probably assume she was referring to how cold it was, rather than the other pressing issue Elysium was facing at the moment.

  Casting her gaze over the ocean, she watched the waves for a few moments, then nodded. "Kade's right- we should get you to the mountain camp," she said, looking back at the leopard. Turning to walk further inland, she flicked her tail and added, "Come on. We can talk on the way."

[nemhain.]

It was odd, having someone rejoining who Nemhain couldn't really place any information to. Sure, much like Rin, Nem could remember Vale, but only in the very back of her mind. Memories of the leopard were fuzzy, from long ago and unfocused. She wasn't sure that Rin and this woman had ever properly met, given the fact that the fenghuang couldn't even call up a name to match the face. It was annoying, not being able to automatically say hello to someone with the usual "lady blank." Still, she supposed she would have to get used to it. Rin couldn't possibly know everyone, and eventually Nemhain would be forced to learn about new people on her own, as terrifying ad that was. It scared Nem, if only because learning about new people and getting to know them... it made her feel too much like her own person. It made her feel independent, and while to most that would've been a good thing, it was just so disorienting and terrifying to Nemhain. To not just be seen as a tool, and to actually be cared for. Rin always said that she wanted Nem to be her own person like it was a genuine request, but Nem could only think of it as a trap. It was just a way to dispose of her... surely, wasn't it?

Nem forced herself to stop thinking of such unpleasant things as she landed nearby, shaking her head and taking a deep breath. There were more important things to worry about right now, like the presence of this newcomer, whom Kade and Rin were currently doting over. Nemhain felt a bit of a frown come to her beak, mainly thanks to the fact that she got a feeling this wasn't the best approach. Just from the look of Vale, the massive bird could tell she probably wasn't a fan of pampering, or being treated like she was fragile. Rolling her shoulders a little bit, the female chirped deeply as she moved over, glancing Vale over, "They are probably right, miss... You are not injured, right?" As far as the persona could see, Vale was covered only in old scars, but that didn't necessarily mean she didn't have any injuries hidden away.

[VALE]

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The leopard’s nose crinkled, and she watched as the others approached. The Elysium scent carried on the wind, enough for her to know the group still occupied the territory. Would’ve sucked to come all this way, then turn right on back because of false information.

Her eyes drifted to Kade first, the tigress she recognized. Though Vale didn’t remember her name, she recognized the smell well enough. For a long moment, the leopard said nothing, and then sighed. “…Sure.” Coming back meant admitting defeat at finding Clarence, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him in the fiercest hug of his life. After all, she dragged herself across dimensions to find him.

“Not the best day? It’s still an ocean, still a coast. Haven’t seen one in a while,” she said, with a shrug of her shoulders. “But I’ll come along. Didn’t know you guys moved to the mountains.”

Her paws dragged through the sand, and she changed directions to follow them. Muscles twitching, she shook her head as her flesh rippled. By the time she got to the party of Elysiumites, she shifted to a heavier jaguar body. Vale’s stride remained unbroken, however, and she did not appear much to care.

“I’m Vale Aston. Kade, I remember, but not you two,” she said.

Her gaze lingered on Nem for a while, one of her dark hazel eyes twitching. Vale hadn’t seen this sort of bird before, and her question came out quick and crass, “You’re a bigass bird. Haven’t seen your species before – what are you?” Some creatures, Vale couldn’t shapeshift into; she could already tell she couldn’t easily turn into one of these. And that was… odd.

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[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]As Nemhain landed nearby, Rin turned around and dipped her head in greeting. She could notice, once again, what seemed like afterimages of emotion- discomfort, distrust even. Still, Nemhain didn't appear to be in distress at the moment, and right now it would be best to get Vale away from the coast. If she wanted to talk, she'd bring it up later.

  Setting it aside, Rin glanced over her shoulder at Vale. "I'm Rin," she answered, twitching her ears. "Warringkingdoms Kepler-Langley if you want to be formal, but I don't, really." Following Vale's gaze to Nemhain, Rin silently reflected that this was one of those rare times that someone wasn't immediately intimidated by her persona. Sure, Vale thought Nem was big, but she seemed more curious than anything else.

  Deciding to let Nem introduce herself, Rin glanced ahead towards the pulleys. Vale would probably be fine, but she didn't want anyone lingering near the coast for right now.

[Alastor]

At the sound of commotion, the canine couldn't help himself but to intrude on the situation. While there were plenty of familiar faces, a new one met his eye. An elegant leopard floated across his vision. Their dark pelt intrigued him, her small spots visible in only direct sunlight. Along with that, her demeanor was bold. Vale walked with swagger and spoke like a brute, surprising Alastor. 'Some attitude on her,' he smugly thought to himself. Despite his dismay, they wouldn't be going their separate ways just yet.

A crude change happened before his eyes though. What was once a dazzling leopard now appeared to be toned Jaguar. The doberman merely watched, a devious smirk curling upon his maw. That same power had gotten him control of Kliment and now Jessica was here with a power of the same element. Interesting.

There seemed to be a lot of newcomers lately. Returners also. After all, they seemed to know her. Alastor had never left Elysium in his life, so he wouldn't know their outside experience. Nevertheless, their stories interested him. The curious Doberman Pinscher always wanted to know where they stayed, how their days went, and who resided in such area. It was something he couldn't help himself from doing. Questions, rather than plain commands, were his getaway. Asking someone was a lot more polite than demanding their presence. Not that he could help himself though.

Nosy as can be, Alastor spoke up from his silence. "Where'd you come from, sweetheart?" came his blunt question. He held no remorse on his name-calling. His filter was non-existent.

[VALE]

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“Yeah, formality’s for posers. Rin’s got a nice ring to it, anyway,” Vale said with a slight nod to the small feline. Her hazel eyes drifted to the woman’s scarf, and she sighed – Clarence had a fondness for human things, too. For some reason, the leader’s gaze shifted back to the bigass bird, and Vale quirked a brow as she followed the look.

What, was she supposed to be afraid of a bigass bird? Avians had fragile as fuck little bones, and most of their wings were feathers rather than flesh. She should know, she liked to shapeshift into a winged creature for the joy of flight.

Attention snapping to Alastor, she sighed an exhale full of smoke. Was it a coincidence that three women appeared with pleasant conversation, but the one male that came in filled her with rage? Probably not, he seemed like one tight asshole. “I ain’t your sweatheart, ya chickenshit.”

She huffed, then added, “I was part of the Ascendants before the merge. Left around that time.”

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[nemhain.]

It was not unusual, for Nemhain to be faced with questions about her species and where she had come from. After all, although she bore the basic appearance of her many avian brothers and sisters, she was quite different from all of them, with her strong feathers and massive size, along with the strange aura that tended to follow fenghuangs around. The "kings of birds," they were called. Nem had never really thought much of that title, nor had she ever really thought much of the form that she had taken up. It had just been what she was when she had manifested into this world, and she never thought twice about it. Vale's questioning was crude and messy, with more cussing than Nem's usual polite and formal nature would stand, but she found that she didn't mind that much. After all, this just seemed to be how Vale operated, and the persona could understand that, even if such a way of speaking wasn't for her. A soft breath of laughter left Nemhain's beak before she spoke, her eyes lingering on Alastor for a moment but flicking away once the male was swiftly shut down by Vale, "I am Nemhain. I'm the persona of Lady Rin over there, and also a part of the species of bird known as the fenghuang. We are mythical beasts, known for being extremely powerful and presiding over all other avian creatures. I've personally never thought much of that, however. I simply am what I am." Nemhain shrugged her slim shoulders a little, seeming far more casual than she usually actually was despite her usual rigid language. Perhaps it was just the fact that having a rejoiner to the group was exciting, and Vale had managed to amuse her.

[Alastor]

Vale's dark eyes entangled his gaze. Alastor, supposed to be put off, was instead intrigued. His purple eyes held her gaze. In the meantime, he kept his cocky smirk. Had he caused Vale to be so vile? That couldn't be so. It was only the kindness he could provide through words, yet she retaliated. "So be it," came his response. His words held an undertone of sarcasm. As per usual, he had misread the situation. The canine was always the odd man out. Physically, mentally, and literally.

"I see," Alastor continued. "I've been here since my childhood-" More like 'hell' to him. "-but I have never seen you wandering around." Usually the confides of his home were he remained though. It made sense in context. Even so, he was perplexed. The Ascendants, now known as Elysium, was a lot bigger than he thought. Perhaps he should of explored like his brothers...