FILL MY HEART WITH MUSIC ☆ o, joining

[number nine.]

How long had it been, since he had been near even the barest fringes of society? Nine wasn't exactly sure, mainly because he had given up on trying to keep track of the time that went by. There was no real point to doing so, not when one was so utterly happy with their station in life, as he was. He was with his husband, wrapped up in their own little loving solitude for so long. For some, perhaps, the isolation may have been lonely. One person might not have been enough for them. However, Nine didn't think that way, not when he was with Lewis. He loved the other so dearly that it was impossible to feel unfulfilled, not when he got to return each day to the home that they had built together. It had been a long and difficult road for the both of them to get to that point, but the jaguar wouldn't have changed a single second of it. Not if it meant he wouldn't end up in the arms of his lover, curled up each night within their respite.

So, why was it then, that he was here? If he had been so utterly happy, then why would he end up on the border of a whole new group, away from the home he had made? Well, it wasn't because anything had changed for his or Lewis's home life. Rather, it was out of a sense of obligation, or duty. Number Nine had always been a bounty hunter at heart, and while Palmclan didn't present any bounties for him to track down, it didn't present something else – innocence. A clan full of those pure of heart, just looking to protect themselves and foster a home where they felt comfortable. That alone was enough to intrigue Nine, and as time had gone on, the hunter had felt his pelt practically itch with a desire to go there. It hadn't been hard to tell Lewis, not really. They both understood what it meant to feel a sense of responsibility, even for places unknown. Lewis had his own jobs to do, and it wasn't as if they wouldn't see each other. They always ended up back together, no matter what the circumstances were. Hell, for all Nine knew, Lewis would end up in Palmclan as well, before he was able to return back to his beloved hellhound.

Long strides eventually brought Nine to where he had sought to be – Palmclan's border, right where the forest met the rest of their surprisingly large territory. The piebald jaguar had no desire to get on anyone's bad side so early, so he instead just settled right near where the scent marker was, waiting for someone to come along that he could talk to. He raised his voice minutely, just enough that he could be heard for some distance as he called out, "Hello...? Is anyone from Palmclan here?" Number Nine had no doubt that he would be an oddity amongst those who lived within the group. Or, at the very least, something more peculiar than usual. Not only was he a large feline, but he also had the feathered white wings that rested upon his back, along with the crown of flowers that nearly covered his eyes. The greenery that surrounded his neck and legs was also odd, although the pink painted patterns along his fur thankfully almost seemed to blend into the pleasantly messy piebald pattern his body naturally had.

HELLBENT ON MAKING YOU LOVE ME TOO

[Grimm]

[align=center][div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5px; width: 310px; text-align: justify; line-height:120%"]Familiar comfort the arising tide whispering in hushed hum, churned surf forth reaching, futile each attempt to extend beyond set boundaries. Yet short it stopped with each cycle, retreat a slow creep revealing smoothed grains darkened by ceaseless siege. Forth extending miniscule paw, among sodden grains pressed, sand streaked the opaque crescents cutting shallow grooves. Back drawn, uneven and varying the shaky lines left in wake. Eager the bubbling brine rushing closer, filled those indents he had made once more, repetitive give and take cleared away with the next withdraw. Further ruined the paw that once more settled in light press, yet elsewhere attention turned, pursuits briefly abandoned.

Beckon overlaid against the sullen murmur the ocean voiced with tepid waves, soothed beneath the scenery of a calm autumn day, beneath gentle lilt of a query softened edges roughened by increased volume. Confusion his own arose against soft features, slight the manner head tilted as across the minimal land vision moved. Interrupted his search with the triumph of the tide submerging extremity grown lax, pulled back with a brief grimace. Along damp strands he ran his tongue to remove some of the offending moisture, further screwed up his face as the salt grew overpowering.

Forgone any further attempt, useless such pursuit with sand clinging between his teeth and disgust apparent even from what little he had been capable of, begun his trek along shoreline buzzing with dwindling activity the further he travelled. Numerous those he passed, grown busy with retaining their regular routine in hope kept some sense of normality in the new time that had forcefully been dragging into, preparations for the coming cold months picking up the pace. Halted some as he passed, known his proclivities for wandering outside the rather well established boundaries, their prior business necessitating their attention and so unaccosted Foam as he continued.

It was, as such, once more solitary his approach to supposed origin point, distance still between as he halted with the other in full view. Oddity may be a rather correct term, at least in a time before others had been drawn to secluded beach, a sight captivating of nothing else. Unconscious his approach, proximity closing in small, unsure steps, at war curiosity and fear against dual toned visage. Along woven growth entwined about extremities, the pale plumage adorning lightly resting wings, all drew his eyes and sharp the shake of cranium when it grew too much, head spinning with the intake of information present.

"Hello." Soft the greeting he uttered with the sweeping curl of a tiny smile, upon the face of the stranger finally focusing, though upward drifted his gaze all the same. Pleasant the assortment of flora woven into loose formation, among brightly hued petals eyes he briefly looked to. Bracing his weight upwards lifted a sand speckled paw, to the flowers gesturing with a wide sweep. "Pretty."

[METEOR]

“I am. But I am not much of anything.” The young canine grimaced, his upper lip curling on the right side of his maw. Heat built in his body, burning under his skin, and he swiped his pink tongue over his teeth. The urge to drive his head through a tree scratched in his stomach. “I mean I’m an apprentice. Hardly anyone important.”

Yet, he promised himself. His tongue swiped over his white fangs again.

The German shepherd stepped over Foamkit, standing over the kitten protectively. His blue eyes never wavered from the snow leopard. The stranger appeared calm and showed no signs of hostility, but Quasar knew better than to relax his guard. The wildcat looked tough—not as tough as Vaas, but tougher than Quasar could hope to last even five rounds in a fight.

He visualized grabbing Foamkit by the kitten’s scruff and bolting out, but outwardly the child only appeared irritable and hyper. His three tails lashed erratically behind him. One at a time. One after the other. Quasar’s blue gaze dropped from the snow leopard’s face to take in the wildcat’s strange features, from the plants growing out of his body to the fluffy long tail. But Quasar knew he couldn’t judge, given his own flamboyant appearance.

“You looking for anyone in particular? What’s your purpose here?” Quasar said. He took a step forward, crunching orange leaves under his paw. “And your name? You’ve gotta have a name.”

© LEXASPERATED

[number nine.]

Soft and small pawsteps caused Nine to raise his head, bright green eyes blinking in surprise when he saw the child there. Foamkit seemed genuinely fascinated with the jaguar's appearance, which he supposed wasn't entirely surprising. He was probably unlike most other creatures the boy had seen, and that would no doubt necessitate some level of curiosity. Number Nine couldn't help the smile that curled along his muzzle at Foamkit's greeting, his fluffy tail flicking behind him before he responded, faintly amused, "Hello there... do you live here?" He wasn't sure how much his words would actually get through to the kit, considering he seemed to have only a basic grasp of language so far. Nine then watched as Foam's gaze was drawn upwards, a soft laugh leaving him at Foamkit's comment about the flowers. Sitting back on his haunches, Nine sweeped the flowers up a little, just so that he could see Foamkit clearly as he spoke, "Why, thank you. I can try making something similar for you." It wouldn't be too hard to make a flower crown for Foam, especially with Nine's natural gifts with greenery.

Nine's attention was then pulled away by the attention of another child, although this one was older. Apprentice aged, if the jaguar had to guess. And just a moment later, his assumption was confirmed, causing Nine to chuckle a bit to himself. Shaking his head from side to side, the winged warrior said simply, "I don't believe that's true... trust me, I got into plenty of pretty important antics back when I was an apprentice. I'm sure you will too." The male could still quite clearly remember his days as an apprentice, training alongside Lewis and everyone else back at his home. He didn't remember most of that time very fondly, but some of it was still positive in Number Nine's mind. After all, without that apprenticeship and everything that came with it, then he might not have met Lewis, and that would've made his entire world so much worse.

Shaking off his little walk down memory lane for now, the bounty hunter found himself pausing when Quasar stepped over Foamkit, a soft chuckle leaving him. He could understand being protective over the kid, especially when they didn't know anything about him yet. Wanting to change this, Number Nine shook his head before speaking, a little smile on his muzzle, "Looking for anyone in particular? Not exactly. I actually came here to join Palmclan, if I'd be allowed to. I've heard a great deal about you all..." He glanced around for a moment, taking in the golden beach and the deep blue sea beyond it. He then said, his fluffy tail coming to wrap around one of his own legs, "As for my name... I'm Number Nine, although most just call me Nine, since it's easier. And trust me, I am aware of how odd my own name is." He didn't know how many times he had gotten weird looks because of his name, but it was a pretty long story to try and tell.

HELLBENT ON MAKING YOU LOVE ME TOO

[METEOR]

“I hope so. I want… something like that.” The young apprentice’s ears flicked. He didn’t really know what he wanted. Well, he’d erase that bad day if he could, but… he didn’t know how to begin picking u phis life’s pieces. He couldn’t imagine returning to life with an easy grin and no fog cluttering his head for most of the day.

Quasar hesitated, his hyperactive twitches freezing for a second. He watched the winged jaguar, his narrowed gaze relaxing. But once he noticed the slip, his tails lashed one after the other again. If he didn’t have a young child here relying on him, it would be too easy to trust this smoothtalker.

“Oh, you’re joining? Yeah. That should be fine.” The sparkledoggo exhaled, pawing at the ground. He could relax now, right? THen why couldn’t his jaw unclench? “Honestly? Nine’s not that weird. I’m Quasar. I? Don’t? Know? What a quasar? Is?”

© LEXASPERATED

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

The sound of talking was what often drive Rhinestone towards the border, but this time, it was a bit of a special case. It had been talking that had initially drawn him over, but then the scent of both Foamkit and Quasar had reached him, and he had quickened his pace. While he trusted Quasar to help with someone joining or speaking casually to an ally, both he and Foam were still children, and Rhine didn't want to risk their safety if the visitor wasn't so friendly. Thankfully, when he grew close, he heard Quasar speaking about how Number Nine wanted to join them. That caused him to relax, the fur along his spine settling as he took in everything about the jaguar. He was certainly... unique, but that was hardly a deterent in Palmclan's joiners anymore. There were still some among them that clung viciously to their traditionalist roots, Rhine had been trying his best to move away from that – if only slightly. That way, there could be less discrimination against out of the ordinary newcomers.

With this in mind, Rhinestonestar had a friendly smile on his face as he came brushing up beside Quasar. Offering the boy a little smile, the rusty red feline sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws, a soft hum leaving him, "Did I hear that you're joining? Welcome to Palmclan, then. My name is Rhinestonestar, and I'm the leader around here." He then couldn't help the soft snort that followed up his words, hearing what Quasar had to say. Honestly, he wasn't sure how Quasar had gained his rather unique name either – the tom could only assume it was because of his even more uniquely colored pelt.

NEVER OPENED MYSELF THIS WAY
LIFE IS OURS, WE LIVE IT OUR WAY

— Reggan