first love. joining

[GABRIEL]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-size: 9.4pt; line-height: 1.4;"]He hadn't left his family so dramatically; it hadn't been Gabe packing his things and leaving at his first opportunity. His mother would have personally tracked him down to beat his ass, after which she would have hugged him and never let go. It wasn't that he'd been unwelcome at home, or that an awful event separated him from his family. Gabe had been overtaken by an itch, the kind that set young men's eyes bright with a hopeful fire and ushered them off into the unknown, where they might make a difference. More often than not, they lost the youthful optimism. He'd seen it happen many times, both in other faces and in the mirror; his lack of familiarity with himself kept Gabe from ever returning, doubtful that his mother and sisters would even recognize him, not to mention the possibility that they had moved on. He could only believe that they had kept their heads above the water, and remembered Gabriel as he had been, not as he'd become. He wouldn't subject them to the many changes of his person, both physically and mentally.

Besides, he was...content, for the time-being. He had mice to terrorize, plenty of people to scrutinize, and a child to keep an eye on. Well, two, though the most recent ward wasn't aware of that the way Laz was. It hadn't been an adoption when Gabe found Myliu, but that didn't mean he wouldn't watch over him just the same. After a childhood of helping his mother take care of his many sisters, he supposed that had cemented itself into habit. It wasn't one the hybrid wanted to kick.

He did want to shove out a few other things from his life, though they were biological necessities. Pellets, specifically. Gabriel would never come to accept it as normal, so at the moment, he was a bit grumpy, stalking through the territory and resolutely ignoring any signs of mice. What he couldn't overlook was Myliu's figure, with that other guy Gabe hadn't met yet nearby, both in front of a stranger. A joiner, he assumed, and he made certain to approach noisily to avoid startling anyone, primarily Myliu, whom he kept in sight while leaving a bit of distance between them so he didn't crowd him. "This is The Ascendants' territory, if you don't already know."
[align=right][i]——INFO