LESSER GOD | o, injured joiner

[CROSSFADE]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width: 60%; font-family: georgial; font-size: 11pt;"]Like one of the many dogs that appeared to inhabit this land, Corryn greeted the next stranger with a tilted head. Mutated, fish-like in appearance, yet baring a smile that was a rare spot of warmth in the crowd of the fearful and the fearmonger, he could look past the physical aspects of the strange creature to offer them the closest thing he could to a smile. So many questions entered his mind, beak slightly agape even when he felt a twinge of guilt for staring so much. Between he who wore metal and he who had gills, Gordon certainly seemed to be the most normal in this crowd and it left the bird of prey wondering what other strange specimens were around. Come on down... finally snapping his gaze away from the Havener himself, Corryn gave a nervous look towards the ground, unsure if the lump in his throat came from his nerves or the fur and bones of an old meal. "I... I don't think I'm ready," he admitted, picturing several more beasts running out of the wilderness with their foaming jaws snapping. Could Sparrow really fight all of them off? Even one with a weapon might struggle if they were outnumbered. You can do it, go on... it's just like branching.... he tried to reassure himself, but how was he supposed to get back his precious high ground if things went wrong?

Distracted momentarily at the chance to offer his name, Corryn would bow his head slightly. "I'm Corryn. It's good to meet you, Monroe,". He realised that he didn't know the other two's names at the moment, but the barn owl was sure that wouldn't matter soon. They'd give their own if they were decent creatures, he wouldn't pressure them into it when their presence had already done so much for him. If apprehension had come in the form of a brooding shikoku inu before, then imagine the shock and horror in the poor young one's expression when Sparrow quite literally walked up a tree. An animal normally known for its quietness, the sight of a predator climbing up the way that the Sunhavener did caused him to squawk in alarm, shuffling about clumsily on his chosen branch as if trying to get away from the other, only stopped by the threat of falling. Could all dogs do that? His stomach churned with the thought of what had happened if the dead mutt had been able to pull off such an enigmatic feat. A gaze that threatened to pop his ebony eyes out of their sockets briefly flashed towards those on the ground, as if silently asking if they knew that could happen, before forcing himself to hop closer to the other.

Even if words were spoken with an edge of coldness expected from someone who could end a life so easily, in a weird way, they were still appreciated. It was a kind gesture, Corryn couldn't look at it in any other way, seldom cynicism be damned so long as he was wise enough to heed the warning. Don't touch the skin? "Wouldn't dream of it," he reassured, though words were most likely just aimed at himself as a reminder. Giving a crouch, keeping his bad leg lame for the time being, the male would give a little wiggle of his tail feathers before jumping up, hoping to clamber onto the other's back following a frantic flap of recently fledged wings. Nothing was smooth about the gesture, a little curse may have even escaped him as he bumped his injured appendage against the hardened material he found himself on, but Corryn was at least careful not to graze up against any of the damaged skin marring the other's body. "Thanks again, I mean it,".