WILL I BE TOO SLOW? ☆ blood division ceremony

[LUMIA CIPHER.]

How long had it been, since she had first joined The Typhoon? She couldn't remember, exactly, but it seemed like ages ago. She had grown so comfortable within the group, knowing that it was ultimately her home, and her greatest love. And yet... she still hadn't gone through with the blood division ceremony, yet. That might've seemed like a surprise, to some at least. After all, she hadn't exactly been shy about her interest in the Grim Rays from the very beginning. She knew what she wanted to do, and what she wanted to be, and she was determined to live her life the way she wanted. And yet... she still hadn't completed the ceremony. Why? Well, mainly because of Vayne and Danny. She had been so incredibly proud of the both of them when they had gone through their own ceremonies, and she hadn't wanted to steal the spotlight away from them. Perhaps that was a little silly, but the both of them had been through so much over the course of their lives... they deserved the pride and respect that came with completing the ceremony, without anyone else interrupting that. Now, a bit of time later, she felt as though she was ready. Finally ready to take the challenge on, and pledge herself to her division of choice.

When she had woken up that morning, the sun was barely cresting the horizon, with the majority of the territory still drenched in sweet, peaceful darkness. It would've been nice to sit and enjoy, but she was on a mission. A mission that began with none other than Diya giving her the map that she would need for the whole ceremony. She had honestly been overjoyed when she had found out that the other would be giving her the map, looking at the other as a mentor figure and friend at this point. So, gripping the map tightly between her two paws, she had given Diya a broad grin, waving at the officer before she turned to go. It wasn't lost on her how tired the other seemed from being up so early, no doubt eager to get back to her wife and get some more sleep. Lumia certainly couldn't blame her, and vowed to do something nice for the polar bear in the future as a sort of thanks.

With map in hand – or paw – Lumia's sole focus was now on finding the three mini totems that she needed for the ceremony. Her first destination, according to the map, was the main dock that held the Anchored Tempest. She was surprised to see the bright red "X" there, figuring the totems would be in much more obscure locations. Still, she wasn't complaining, and it wasn't long before the wheat colored feline began her trek over to the dock. Unfortunately, once she arrived, no totem was anywhere in sight. She spent a few minutes checking all around the wooden boards that made up the dock, as well as digging at the sand that surrounded it. She wasn't able to find anything, though. A huff of frustration left her as she sat back on her hindquarters, looking around a bit helplessly. Was she really going to get stumped on the first totem? Well... no. Just as she was about to go searching the boards of the dock once more, she noticed something. A glint. A small sign of something lingering beneath the dock, rather than atop it, or to the sides of it.

With a delighted gasp, Lumia made her way to the edge of the water, paws resting within the shallows momentarily. She took in a large and greedy gulp of air, holding it in her lungs as she dove down beneath the waves, and swam beneath the dock itself. Her paws and claws grabbed and pulled urgently at the treasure that laid beneath it, eventually managing to yank it free of the wet sand and carry it with her to shore. When she resurfaced once more upon the beach, she took in several large gasps of air, green gaze darting around before it landed on the totem itself. A breath of relief left her as she saw it, pleased that she hadn't dropped it on her frantic rush back to shore. Upon closer inspection, this particular totem seemed to be of the Blackjack Rats. The tiny rat almost seemed to be grinning at her, ace of spades held stubbornly in its paws and a key glinting at the end of its tail. As she grinned down at it, she muttered to herself, "One down, two to go..." Hopefully the others would involve a bit less diving, considering she rather liked having air in her lungs once more.

After shaking off her soaked pelt, Mia inspected her map once more, seeing that the next "X" was right near the railroad gate, and the bell. It seemed like a rather odd location to her, but well... the dock had seemed that way too. So, she made her way over without protest, looking around and beginning to search for any sign of disturbed earth, or anything else that might've been suspicious. Eventually, she found herself in front of the bell, staring up at it for a moment before her gaze drifted downwards. There sat the bucket of black mambas, all curled around and piled atop each other, ready to strike whatever unlucky fool disturbed them. However, they seemed... off, somehow. More elevated than usual. A small glance beneath the bucket confirmed her suspicions – the earth had been disturbed. With her heart beating wildly in her chest, the young Cipher carefully reached forward to grab the bucket, very carefully moving it to the side. The black mambas within writhed and hissed a bit at the movement, but didn't strike out at her, thankfully.

Once the bucket of snakes was out of the way, Lumia dug excitedly at the earth, and it wasn't long before she held the second totem in her paws. It was, funnily enough, the them of the Necro Mambas. The black mamba on it glared up at her dangerously, the vial of poison that it gripped almost seeming to bubble, despite it merely being a wooden carving. A grin rested on the feline's muzzle as she muttered, a bit of breathless laughter leaving her, "Two down... one to go. I've got this." She then moved the disturbed earth back into place, carefully moving the bucket of black mambas back to where it had come from. They similarly writhed and hissed at her, but seemed grateful to be back in their usual spot, without a totem lingering beneath them.

The final destination on the map was... the lighthouse. The girl had actually never really been near the lighthouse, not finding herself needing the books that sat inside all that often. Still, the map told her how to get over there, and it wasn't long before she arrived, staring up at the structure in curiosity. She doubted the totem would just be sitting around inside, so... where was it? Glancing around the cliffside didn't seem to reveal any new answers – that is, until she looked downwards. There, a foot or so below the edge of the cliff, was a small alcove, with a particularly dangerous rocky outcrop. The final totem sat within the alcove, almost seeming to mock her as she stared down at it. Still, she was determined not to give up. So, after taking a deep breath inwards, she very slowly made her way downwards, paws moving from small rock outcrop to small rock outcrop until she eventually reached the tiny ledge. Her paws were practically shaking as she lifted the totem up, gripping it firmly in her jaws as she made her way back upwards. She refused to look down the entire time, knowing that doing so would only send her into hysterics and end the ceremony as a whole.

Once she was back on the cliff proper, she was able to breathe a very genuine sigh of relief, placing the totem down in front of her. The manta ray's tail gripped tightly onto the sword and arrow, and Mia found herself grinning. That was her division. That was where she belonged. She was so close, and despite the exhaustion that seemed to fill her entirely, she wasn't about to stop now. So, she gathered up the three totems she had gotten, stuffing them into the small bag she had, alongside the map. She then started the long trek up the volcano, seeming to hold her breath with every step that led her closer and closer to the mouth of it. Part of her couldn't even believe that she was really so close to what she had set out to do. However, the heat of the dormant volcano seemed to remind her that this was very much real every step of the way.

When she finally reached the top of the volcano, the feline carefully removed her bag, placing it down to the side. Her curiosity drove her forward, head peeking out to stare down at the lava far below. Suddenly, she felt extraordinarily small, with her heart beating wildly in her chest. She couldn't help but imagine slipping. Slipping and falling. Falling down, down, down until eventually she hit the lava and everything just... ended. A sense of panic and nausea suddenly overcame her, and she closed her eyes, taking a step back. As she did so, however, she felt something... wet hit her pelt. Opening her eyes once more, she looked around in confusion, unable to see what had produced the water or hit her. When she glanced back at the lava below, she could see parts of it almost starting to cool, before they were swallowed up once more. It almost seemed as though there had been a mini rainstorm over her head, but... that wasn't possible, was it? She didn't have any answers, but they weren't important right now. What was important was finishing the ceremony.

Moving back over to her bag, she reached inside and carefully pulled out two of the totems – the one for the Necro Mambas, and the one for the Blackjack Rats. She almost felt bad about throwing such gorgeously carved totems into the volcano, but... such was tradition. So, she brought both of them to her muzzle, touching her nose lightly to them before she threw them forward, with all of her strength. Both of the totems went tumbling downwards at high speed, hitting the lava with a rather miniscule splash. They sank down beneath the incredibly hot liquid without issue, and Lumia felt genuine joy fill her. Reaching back inside her bag, she pulled the totem of the Grim Rays out, hugging it briefly to her chest before she held it high, high above her head. She stayed in that position for several minutes, delighted bouts of laughter leaving her at her accomplishment. She was officially a member of the Grim Rays... and it felt incredibly good. She was so happy, and proud of herself. It was a foreign feeling, considering her past, but very much a welcome one.

Once her few minutes were up, she lowered her arms once more, tucking the totem back into her bag before slinging it over her body. She descended the volcano more slowly than she had ascended it, the tiredness truly starting to grip her now. By the time she reached the base of the volcano, she felt happy, relieved, and very, very ready for a nap. For now, though, she needed to take a break before heading home. So, she sat back on her hindquarters, muttering to herself as she rested, "I did it... I really did it, didn't I?" Strangely, puffs of cold and foggy air seemed to leave her muzzle as she spoke, but she didn't seem to notice them. Either that, or she simply didn't care, far too overjoyed and zoned out to really focus on it.

☆ — something's going on underneath your skin

[daniel]

Look, he wouldn't tell anyone, probably because he didn't want to sound weird or something, but Danny had been contemplating when Lumia would finally complete her blood division ceremony and join the ranks of the crew officially. Actually, he was rather excited to see her complete it, whenever she chose to do so. It wasn't like he was thinking about what division she chose, it was pretty obvious, or at least he thought so, given the interest in blacksmithing that she wasn't so subtle about. Not that he thought that was something to keep on the down low, it was nice to see someone so pleased with a new hobby. Or even, if she kept up with it, job? One day it might even be Lumia who handed a new golden hoop to a new, aspiring beta. And besides that, he was just really excited to say that his friend was rockin' the same division as he was. He wasn't touching that fire though.

Was waking up at the asscrack of dawn every day healthy? Probably not. That was sort of the deal with the ceremony, get up at the same time as the sun to make it more of a challenge, more intense. Too bad Danny just had one messed up sleep schedule. On the plus side, it meant if anything went wrong, no one would be on their own just flailing around in the wee hours of the morning...right? Not that he wanted anyone to get hurt, or lost, or whatever else. Especially not Lumia. Friends were hard to make when you were a socially anxious coward, and he couldn't afford to lose anyone else here. Admittedly, he hadn't seen her leave, taking the time to lay in the shallows and stare at the dark sky. But he had realized she had left at some point, a gut feeling or something such as that.

And, much like Vayne before her, Danny would be there to meet her at the bottom of the volcanic trail. Was it intrusive to do that instead of just letting someone make it back to the bay themselves? On one hand, it wasn’t necessarily his fault that he was always awake for these sort of things, and you never know, maybe after such an ordeal someone would need a ride. Or maybe they got injured after pulling his beautiful stunt and rolling down the tail instead of walking it. Which was...still embarrassing. As to not stalk Lumia around the island, the rest of the day was used to do the usual, for a moment he thought of trying to do something a little more intensive but the image of a cranky Roan made him consider otherwise.

The sun crawled upward, and he got more and more bored by the hour, disinterest settling in everything else as long as the thought of looking for Lumia was still restless in his subconscious. Eventually he just had to go, and besides, maybe he would find something to eat on the way over. He was getting so tired of seafood. With a stretch and a subsequent pop of his shoulder, Danny set out without a word to anyone else around, not that it was something to be so concerned about. What there was to be concerned about, or at least what he was always concerned about, is the jungle. Still far too wary about the trees since two subsequent events talking place somewhere nearby. Wasn’t a fun time.

He treaded carefully, lightly, extra quiet near the temple, tracking the scent trail that Lumia left behind to make sure he was on the right track. Lest he forget he had the ability. They sort of met in the middle when he saw her at the base of the volcano, grateful there would be no walking upwards. ”Welcome to the club, Lulu.” Danny wagged his tail with a supportive grin, a little lopsided but otherwise bright. Although, one of his ears did twitch at the fog that left her, it wasn’t what he would consider cold enough for visible breaths, in fact a jungle floor next to a volcano was usually pretty hot and humid. ”Are you, uh...cold?”

[glow=black,2,300]— ❤ —[/glow]

[VAYNE CIPHER-VANTAS.]

[glow=white,1,400]LIKE WE FORGET WHO WE CAN TRUST ! — ｡+ﾟ.[/glow]

The Blood Division Ceremony was an important part of a Typhooner's life, at least that's what Vayne believed. Not many others did it, mostly because it was a grueling task that asked a lot of you - but it was rewarding in the end. Vayne knew Lumia knew of the tradition and was wondering if her aunt was ever going to do it, given how excited and proud she had been when Vayne completed her own. After asking around, the Privateer eventually learned that Lumia was, in fact, working on her Ceremony, and Vayne tried to hurry up towards the base of the volcano (where Danny was, ironically, already waiting as well).

Lumia had shown an interest in blacksmithing, something Vayne admired. She could never do anything like that, but she looked up to Lumia (and Diya of course) for being interested in that hobby. It was also important, she felt, for life in The Typhoon. After all, who else was going to make the earrings that Betas were encouraged to wear? "Congrats, Mia!" Came Vayne's cheerful chirp as she came running, pausing for a moment to catch her breath before getting closer. As she got closer, she noticed the fog coming from Lumia's mouth as well, confusion quickly making its way on her face. "Are you sick?" Like Danny was thinking (not that Vayne was reading his thoughts), being so close to the volcano and being cold was... odd. It surely wasn't cold enough for fog to be coming from anyone's breath.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[LUMIA CIPHER.]

Excitement. Pride. Those had been two of the main driving forces inside of Lumia as she rushed down the path of the volcano, a broad grin on her muzzle. Now, although those feelings still very much remained, exhaustion had joined the mix as well. The journey, although fairly short, had been a grueling one, and the young Cipher found herself wanting nothing more than to sleep. She wouldn't do that yet, though. Approaching footsteps causing the feline to raise her bright green gaze. She couldn't help but smile at the faces that greeted her – Vayne and Danny. She should've known they would be here, waiting for her near the base of the volcano. While she hadn't widely advertised that she was taking on the blood division ceremony, it wasn't as if it was hard to put the pieces together. Gossip was surprisingly rampant around The Typhoon, and when someone was wandering around the territory, a map clutched in their jaws as they dug at the ground, people began to talk. She was sure this wasn't the last time she would be approached about the ceremony today, but others would probably be more interested in asking her what division she had chosen. For now, she was just glad to see a pair of calm, familiar faces. Her friends. Her family.

She addressed Danny first, her short tail flicking behind her as she grinned lopsidedly at the canine, "Thanks... was there ever any doubt about what division I'd choose? After all, I've gotta make sure you don't get into too much trouble." Not that she could ever imagine Danny being the cause of that trouble. He was far too sweet for that, and she had honestly been pretty surprised when he had chosen the Grim Rays as well. As time had gone on, however, she had begun to understand. While Danny didn't really seem like the type to pick fights with others, the wolf did seem like the type to protect those he cared about, no matter what. There was no doubt that the Grim Rays were the best division for that, and Lumia was honestly glad to be in the division alongside him. Her wandering thoughts almost caused her to miss Danny's follow-up question, and it was a moment before she blinked in confusion. Was she... cold? She didn't feel cold. Shaking her head from side to side, she answered simply, "Cold...? Uh, no, I don't think so. It was pretty warm up there, actually." A couple of chuckles left her after that – and sure enough, they were accompanied by coiling puffs of cloudy air.

Turning her attention then to Vayne, Lumia found her smile growing even broader – if that was even possible. She was quick to move forward and embrace the other, muttering once she pulled away, "Thanks, Vayne... I honestly wasn't sure I'd be able to do it." She had tried to project as much confidence as possible while scouring the territory, but honestly, she had been pretty afraid. Scared that she would fail, and end up making her fellow crewmates disappointed. Hell, she had almost thought that the first totem would take her out, the memory of her lungs burning still rather fresh on her mind. Regardless, she had actually done it, and she wasn't sure there was any way for her to be happier. Well... maybe things would be a little better if she didn't have to worry about strange questions from her friends. A similar expression of confusion came across her face as Vayne asked her about her health, and she was quick to shake her head once more. She answered a little awkwardly, scratching at the back of her neck, "Sick? No, I'm not sick. Not that I know of, anyways. I actually feel pretty good..." The fog around her mouth had seemed to lessen slightly, although had not fully gone away just yet.

She didn't want to focus on that for the moment, though. Instead, she wanted to focus on what she had achieved... and a bed, honestly. With another little laugh, Mia found herself muttering, "Anyways... I think I'd better get back to my quarters. I promise I'll celebrate with you guys later, but I'm feeling pretty exhausted right now." She scrubbed at one of her eyes as she spoke, yawning as if to drive the point home. She felt an odd and cold weight in her chest, chilly but not unbearably so, but she simply took it as another sign that she needed to get some rest. It was probably just her imagining things due to exhaustion.

☆ — something's going on underneath your skin

[Simon F.M.]

｢  H U R R Y  U P !  T H E  S U N  I S  G O I N G  D O W N !  ｣

ENGAGED
POLAR BEAR
OFFICER
TYPHOON
BIOGRAPHY

"Congratulations, little one," would rumble the polar bear as she approached, smile on her maw. She would approach the trio, giving a small nod towards her Vayne, glad to see her daughter. Her attention would return to the star of the show though, tilting her large head at the fog that spooled from her. She waved it off though as something that could be dealt with later, most likely a developing power, easily dealt with after sleep. "As Officer, head of the Grim Rays, and your mentor, I'm very excited to welcome you into our ranks." she would say as she brushed her muzzle across her apprentice's head. "Your celebration could easily wait until you have had time to rest, would you like a ride to your room?" she asked. With her massive form, she could easily carry the smaller child.

[LUMIA CIPHER.]

Lumia's somewhat drowsy gaze rose at the approach of heavy footsteps, her green gaze seeming to light up as Diya came into view. Similarly to both Danny and Vayne, she was overjoyed that her mentor was around to see her complete the ceremony. A tired grin graced her muzzle as Diya's touched her head, Mia's words warm as she responded, "Thank you, Diya... I'm really glad I managed to do it." A warm feeling of pride hummed incessantly in her chest, almost enough to drown out the exhaustion. Well... almost. She could still feel the lure of rest clinging to her back, and the polar bear's offer of a ride was especially tempting. In any other circumstances, she might've turned down the offer, valuing her pride too much to let herself be carried. However, she had been through a lot already, and found herself nodding, a groggy mutter leaving her, "That would be... nice, yeah. I'm feeling a bit unsteady on my paws." She had no idea of how long she would sleep once she returned to her quarters, but she had a feeling it would be a lengthy bit of time.

☆ — something's going on underneath your skin