insecta apostate // joining

[candorosa]

[align=center][div style="width:70%; text-align: justify; padding: 1px; font-family: helvetica;"]Hello, sir Cekirse! This is Bokarsi with another report! I have been residing within a settlement named 'the Typhoon.' Have you heard of them? I certainly could not find any sort of information in our manual, but they all seem like fine mortals! I am sure I have mentioned this before, but one of them even held a little knife-throwing demonstration and-

They finish sending off their mental report with a triumphant slam of their journal. It has been a few weeks since they have left the camp and despite not yet receiving reply from their counselor, Bokarsi has found that they have been enjoying themselves. Days have passed and still Bokarsi did not tire of seeing the sea or playing in the sand. It was all so different from their home, they still could not believe it.

They take a look to their surroundings with wide magenta eyes. They blink and tilt their head. Where am I? They did not recognize the area; the smell is different too. Are they lost? They do feel a sense of disappointment at the idea of not seeing the sea again, though they dismiss it with a huff. If the time has come for them to move on then so be it.

With a pep to their step, Bokarsi moves on.

After a few days of traveling, they find themselves in a strange biome. It is wet, just like the beach is, though...muddier? Bokarsi dips a paw inside the murky water in curiosity, watching in amazement as it returns covered in what they assume to be mud. They turn on their telekinesis to move their staff, poking the depths as they move along while keeping their satchel away from the water. The water reaches their chest and they bob along the water as they traverse deeper into the area.

They reach a spot where the water is not as deep. Bokarsi lets out a soft sigh and shakes themselves to get rid of the water. They take another look around, taking in the sights. They spot a toad and scurry over to it, pouting as it hops into the water. Bokarsi keeps moving further, noting that the marsh slowly begins to show signs of turning into a forest.

They begin humming, thumping their staff onto the ground to the tune of an imaginary beat. "No more beach for me~ now it's time to jump in mud and play 'round instead! Mud balls, and turtles, and frogs, and flies too! La la la, hmhm hmmm..." Bokarsi continues with their little song as they head deeper into the territory.

[Ivan]

[align=center]

It was not quite boredom, but a certain restlessness that prompted Ivan further than usual today. As dull as he might seem to be, he could never think of being in a state of boredom. But he had paced the house toe to toe and memorized every nook, and he was aware that other things lay beyond the house, and even the town. He had been out there once, following Aurum, and had met the leader of the Typhoon who was expecting children -- why did it seem like everyone was having kids now? -- and was not at all impressed with the foreign smell.

His large ears pricked up, catching the faintness of a singing voice. He hated singing. As he drew closer, he realized it wasn't even meaningful singing (though for him, to be fair, all singing did not have any meaning) which irritated him further. Once again, the bile built up in the back of his throat as he was assaulted with foreign scents, though he felt that he might have scented something similar to it before. The Typhoon?

Ivan realized he wasn't the first person to happen upon the newcomer. His younger brother Heathcliff was there and was already making an effort to speak. The black kitten silently slid over alongside the other kitten, stretching himself upwards to appear taller. He had nothing to say. Frankly, he was quite ignorant of the greeting customs and Heathcliff had already covered the burning question on his mind. But Ivan tersely hoped that the newest impinger of Tanglewood's borders would quit their singing.

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

Honestly, as of late, Tanglewood had unfortunately been seeing far more people leaving, rather than joining. Some because of the new Pittian policy that had been put in place, some because of gripes they had with other Tanglers, and some simply because it was their time to move along. It had put Aurum in a sort of depressive mood, struggling to figure out how to keep his friends and family around while also grappling with the fact that there would be even more family around for him, eventually. He'd spent a lot of time cooped up in his home, spending time with Roy and Kaito and them alone. He hadn't even been spending time with the father of his cubs, mainly because he wasn't sure how the other would react to fatherhood in general. He had been perfectly fine with this reclusive lifestyle, even though it wore hard on his mental health, but he could tell that his sons were becoming worried about him. Roy had never known his father to be a homebody, and Aurum couldn't deny that he had been neglecting things somewhat, as of late. So, that had been what had motivated him to finally step outside of his home and head out, figuring he could at least get some hunting in if he didn't find anything terribly interesting to do.

Luckily for him – or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it – he eventually came upon something of interest. Two of his nephews, Ivan and Heathcliff, along with somebody new. They smelled of the Typhoon, although the scent hadn't sunk deep enough that it permeated every speck of air around them, something that in and of itself was strange. Usually they only got Typhoon visitors when they were important, or had some kind of message from Goldie to communicate. Coming up beside Ivan, the tigon looking Bokarsi over for a moment before sitting, wrapping his tail loosely around his paws. Aurum felt some small amount of anxiety over both Ivan and Heathcliff being this far from town with a stranger and without a chaperone, but at least he was here now, and he could protect them from anything, even while pregnant. Taking a deep breath inward, Aurum glanced over at Heathcliff for a moment before he added on, helpfully, "This is Tanglewood territory, so your business would be appreciated as well." He didn't like how blunt Heathcliff was with his greeting, but... well, Heath was only a kit, and he'd probably learn over time. Hopefully. Moth had fairly decent people skills, so hopefully she had passed those down even with Selby's side of the family being a bit... odd.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #722227; font-size: 24px;"][color=#c16f78]— AURUM

#psychosocial.

[CAUSTIC.]

Caustic was one of the more recent joiners himself. He had come from the Pitt, but he and Octane made the effort to wash most of his scent away and lie about why he smelled slightly of the desert clan. Most of the folks there were not awful- just children or stupid. The Pitt was in an awful state when he arrived and was still in one when he left. Fixing it was no responsibility of his, and Caustic had few goals in mind: Escape this dimension, with Octavio. He didn't feel any responsibility to the populace or the groups, but he was obligated to follow their rules with minimal exertion.
Unfortunately, that included greeting joiners. He was able to keep quiet, though, as the greetings were already conducted. So, the wolf approached, but watched from a few feet away with his face mellowed into a frown.

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