FEAR IS A LIAR // open, joining

[FAKHIRA CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]WOULD YOU BITE BACK IF GIVEN THE CHANCE ? — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Being alone was... overbearing, to say the least. Fakhira was used to having people around, despite what her twin sister apparently seemed to make The Typhoon think. The way her littermate had reacted to her visit had Fakhira stunned, and quite frankly, hurt. She accused me of killing our mother... Aphra had always been a manipulator, though; she always wanted attention, whether it be good or bad.

"Hello?" Fakhira called out, biting her lip slightly as she spoke. She had traveled far from inside what appeared to be a border of a new group, though it seemed nobody had been close enough to greet her; which was fine, of course. You're just antsy. It's okay. Fakhira thought to herself, deciding to sit down and wrap her long tail around her paws, a comforting measure she used to try and ease her nerves. Aphra won't be here to hurt you... The grey she-cat reminded herself, but inwardly replied back to herself, I hope.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

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THE KINGPIN

golden lung dragon & black jaguar w/ vitiligo & platinum silver fox. unknown age - ancient. bai shi lynn lingré. proper chinese name is lin bai. prefers lynn if close. they/them. blind. wind element & electric element. firstborn son of jerisidie lingré & current head of family/general. courting delilah evergarden & halo mercer. kingpin of alithís evgenis. demiromantic gray-asexual. parent of veris, arvin, leoku, erian, flos, kekhai, evarhi, and laeglin. elder brother of ramona and hope, uncle of quennel and cosette.

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her scent is what lured the dragon jaguar from their perch hidden in the bronze foliage of the group's cherry blossom tree, claws nicking the bark as they made their descent down against the pull of gravity. sniffing the air, they took a leap from the tree to land in the dirt, following her scent trail to where she was. brushing through the long grasses and forgotten crops of their homeland, they rumbled lowly, paws leaving firm prints, "hello" they would murmur softly, blind blue eyes traveling over her form without stopping.

closing their eyes, they offered a smile, "my name is lin bai, but feel free to call me bai shi. i am the kingpin of the group that calls this land home. if you feel like it, let's head back to our inn. it is more safe and comfortable there. what is your name, ms. traveler?" they offered peacefully.  they would prefer to have her somewhere and calm, when they would tell her the bad luck related to their land.

[FAKHIRA CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]WOULD YOU BITE BACK IF GIVEN THE CHANCE ? — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

The sound of foliage rustling made Fakhira uneasy and she had half the mind to turn around and run back off, but the she-cat forced herself to stay still. Eventually, a blind jaguar revealed themselves and Fakhira had to wonder how they even knew where she was. "O-oh, I'm sorry for intruding," Fakhira squeaked out a reply, lowering her head in a respectful manner. Stupid! You should have known you stepped over the border. She mentally scolded herself, listening to the words of the Kingpin before her.

"It's an honor to meet you, Bai Shi." Fakhira went on. "My name is Fakhira Cipher, I'd love to head to your inn, if-if you'll, um. Have me."[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

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THE KINGPIN

golden lung dragon & black jaguar w/ vitiligo & platinum silver fox. unknown age - ancient. bai shi lynn lingré. proper chinese name is lin bai. prefers lynn if close. they/them. blind. wind element & electric element. firstborn son of jerisidie lingré & current head of family/general. courting delilah evergarden & halo mercer. kingpin of alithís evgenis. demiromantic gray-asexual. parent of veris, arvin, leoku, erian, flos, kekhai, evarhi, and laeglin. elder brother of ramona and hope, uncle of quennel and cosette.

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a soft tone of amusement ran through them, amused easily by the small molly before them, her nervousness passing them by. "It's of no concern, Fakhira Cipher. You've done no harm to our land." they chuckled warmly, blind eyes glowing in the light filtering through the leaves of the trees above. lifting their head to the sky, they inhaled the scents from around them, checking for danger subconsciously, "We would love to have you, Ms. Cipher. I'll show you the way to our inn. Don't mind the path, I cannot see well enough to clear the path of it's natural perils.", they apologised, recalling the roots that ran rampant and often tripped them in their journeys.

breaking away with a spin on their paws, the jaguar started off on their own scent trail, ears flicking as their tail swished, head turning side to side to get the best read on the status of the area around them. their paws brought them out onto a well traversed path, boulders inscribed with writing cropping up on either side of the path, bearing faded names and desiccated flowers, a low fog rolling through the area. the sun was covered by a thin calico patterning of clouds, breaking through in soft rays, the land seeming peaceful.

the scent of fire burned their nose, the char reminding them of things that had no place here, their lips curling upwards as they neared the source of the scent, hackles raised before falling flat. it was just a lantern, lighting the path by the inn. exhaling roughly, they turned their head to lick their fur back into place, "We have arrived. This is our inn, inside you will find a second level. The second level boasts our Records and library." they explained briefly, "Rooms to stay in reside on the main floor, where you will meet some of our other members if they are around." they murmur before motioning to the door to the inn and gently nudging it open, the warm scent of their group sweeping over their muzzle.

[¿¿]

        Almost right after they entered the inn Sam barged into the door to rest and eat from her antsy stroll that she takes multiple times a day. She has grown accustomed to having to keep an eye over her shoulder at all times and she didnt change this happit when she came to this village after all she is still quite new to this place. Side stepping Bai she seen a coat of fur she hasn't seen in this village before and by now she is at least a bit familiar with them all. Not reconising this new person she grew more intimidating just to keep her gard up. Sniffing the air to gather her sent and making she there is no familiar scents attached to her. When there was none she relaxed with a sigh from her nose. Reading Bai it seemed that this person is not a current enemy and choosing that she can make a point to not be seen as hostile. "Get comfy". She talked in a rather low voice and chose a spot to sit that has plenty of distance from them but keeping her in her sight while she gets ready to eat.

[FAKHIRA CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]WOULD YOU BITE BACK IF GIVEN THE CHANCE ? — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

It was quite a relief that the leader of the group that made their home here and as Fakhira followed Bai Shi, she slowly felt her nervousness fade. She didn't reply to Bai Shi's comment about the mess of a path, but considering their blindness, it... made sense. Would they be able to make it around without something familiar? It must be hard to be blind and Fakhira knew she was fortunate enough to be to, well, see. She felt bad for Bai Shi in a way though; had they always been blind, or did something happen to them? If Bai Shi had always been blind, then at least they would never have to know what they're missing, right?

Fakhira's ears pricked up as Bai Shi started talking once more, not realizing she had accidently zoned out while the two of them made the trek towards the lounge. "Oh, you have records? Like... history?" She asked rather excitedly, her eyes lighting up at the mention of the library. Without waiting for a response though, the oriental longhair slowly made her way into the lounge, taking in a deep to let the warmth fill her body. There were a lot of scents here, unlike the outside - this place was certainly the commonplace for most of the members, huh?

Another member suddenly barged in after her, startling Fakhira a bit and she watched Sam with wide eyes as she went around the cabin before settling down a place away from Fakhira and Bai Shi. "Does this group have a name?" She asked the Kingpin, looking over at the jaguar. Was it bad that she didn't know the name of this group she was joining? Oh god, what if they judged her for it?[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

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THE KINGPIN

golden lung dragon & black jaguar w/ vitiligo & platinum silver fox. unknown age - ancient. bai shi lynn lingré. proper chinese name is lin bai. prefers lynn if close. they/them. blind. wind element & electric element. firstborn son of jerisidie lingré & current head of family/general. courting delilah evergarden & halo mercer. kingpin of alithís evgenis. demiromantic gray-asexual. parent of veris, arvin, leoku, erian, flos, kekhai, evarhi, and laeglin. elder brother of ramona and hope, uncle of quennel and cosette.

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Gentle amusement filled the jaguar as they walked, more than happy to let the smaller femme enter the building before them, mentally naming her scent. Their blindness could be similar to a curse, brought upon them by Goldie and battles of their own in the time since then. Their chest still ached from where Warringkingdom's arrow had hit them, even months after it had scared over. That raid ... by the gods, that was one of the worst times that they had ever been present for a battle, and they had lost a loved one there. Shaking their head slightly, the beast rumbled in content as they entered the inn, warm scents and the feeling of familiarity sweeping over them and enveloping them tightly.

Each pawstep echoed around the lobby, not too loud but not too quiet to be a mouse's footfall, reminding them that they had their claws engaged, force of habit when walking outside. Exhaling quietly, they sheathed their claws, licking their chest fur swiftly, embarrassed by having forgotten to sheathe their claws. Her question reached them through the memories threatening to overwhelm their mind, their jaws cracking open to answer her, "Like history? Yes, our history and lists of our members throughout the years. We also keep records of weather, soil, trades, and star charts here - we enjoy collecting information and learning from it," they purred softly, pleased to explain of their home's records and talents.

Turning their head as Sam entered, they greeted her with a soft rumble, dipping their head to the wolf, "How was your walk, Sam? This is Fakhira Cipher and she's going to be staying with us for a while," they explained before returning their attention back to Fakhira with a soft chuckle, "The name of this group is Alithís Evgenis, feel free to make yourself comfortable here, Fakhira. We are more than happy to help you with anything that you may need. Please keep your eyes out for a meeting later this month.", they murmured as they took a short break to decide upon the words that they wanted to use to explain the group's current situation with hostiles. It would be better for her to know about it now, rather than to be thrown into the flames later. "There is also something that I would like to tell you about, Fakhira, if you'll take the moment to listen to me." they murmured quietly, motioning to the stairs up to the second level of the inn. There was nothing to hide from Sam, but it might help Fakhira to see more of the territory from one of the balconies, and to explain in a peaceful place without many bodies, that the group was fighting bandits at every turn.

[¿¿]

      Sam faced Bai and nodded in affirmation. "My walk was quite nice as usual. I didnt get jumped which is nice." She listened to the guests introduction and flicked her ear. "Hello Fakhira hopefully you'll get pleasantly comfy."

[FAKHIRA CIPHER.]

[glow=white,1,400]WOULD YOU BITE BACK IF GIVEN THE CHANCE ? — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

Alithís Evgenis. A beautiful name, if Fakhira had anything to say about it. It's a shame she had never heard of the group, but perhaps that was on purpose? Though if that were the case, it seemed strange, seeing how friendly and welcoming Bai Shi and Sam appeared to be. "It's nice to meet you, Sam. Oh, and um. Thank you, in-in regards to getting comfortable." The she-cat dipped her head to Sam before looking back over at the Kingpin and tilting her head in thought. "Of course, Bai Shi." It took a moment for her to register that they had gestured over to the inn and were walking towards it, but as soon as she realized she was meant to follow, Fakhira followed after Bai Shi.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

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THE KINGPIN

golden lung dragon & black jaguar w/ vitiligo & platinum silver fox. unknown age - ancient. bai shi lynn lingré. proper chinese name is lin bai. prefers lynn if close. they/them. blind. wind element & electric element. firstborn son of jerisidie lingré & current head of family/general. courting delilah evergarden & halo mercer. kingpin of alithís evgenis. demiromantic gray-asexual. parent of veris, arvin, leoku, erian, flos, kekhai, evarhi, and laeglin. elder brother of ramona and hope, uncle of quennel and cosette.

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nodding to sam with a soft rumble, they murmured, "report to me your findings later, sam. thank you." they flicked their tail, listening to sam wish fakhira well with a soft chuckle. they were glad to know that she was welcoming others to the group now. taking the lead, they ascended the stairs with careful steps, not used to traversing the steps. rumbling as they stumbled forward, they adjusted their body with a bunching of their muscles, leaping forward up the stairs, tail whirling for balance as they righted their posture. making it to the landing area without further incident, they sniffed around for a moment, letting their whiskers tell them of things in close proximity.

pausing as they let her catch up, they rumbled, inhaling the scents around them before sneezing, rubbing their snout with a paw as they apologized for startling a few NPCs further along the second floor. once she had caught up, they led the way forward, each pawstep light and testing where they would step, making sure that there was a sound floor to rest upon. finding their way slowly, they grew confident and walked along their own path, headed for the delicately carved doorway leading out to the balcony on the back of the inn that overlooked the courtyard, "you probably have a few questions, fakhira, and i would be happy to hear them. first, i'll explain a problem that our group has encountered. we have had the misfortune of ... invaders taking over our lands while i was sick and dying. it's been a tough period of adjustment, and we have all had our own losses on either side of this unfortunate event. i won't ask you to fight for us, i do not expect that of anyone, but it is something that we cannot avoid." they rumbled once they reached the balcony, enjoying the cool air around them as they spoke.