try to lose all of your money — open, locket

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

somebody make me alive,
and shatter me !

Family was a bit of a touchy subject for Atbash. At one point, she had been happy with her parents and her two brothers, though they eventually got torn apart as her youngest brother, Caesar, had gotten a craving for power and attempted to murder the Shaman. Caesar grew worse from then on, eventually killing the King and leaving their Home Dimension to rot. Luckily Atbash and Vigenere were able to escape (with Caesar's help, ironically enough; those he was clearly saving them to manipulate them) but they eventually separated as well, with Vigenere chasing Atbash away because of the stress he felt.

During her time in Snowbound, Caesar had discovered she lived there and soon attacked her. He attempted to drown her first, and then tried burning her in a second attack. He was the reason she bore a triangle brand on her shoulder now, and Atbash tried her hardest to ignore it as much as she could. The only person she was remotely close with family-wise was Vigenere, since their parents had died whenever Caesar set their Dimension to flames. For the longest time, Atbash had considered Snowbound home. After all, the tundra reminded her strangely of home. Funnily enough, Snowbound was destroyed the same way her old home was.

And now Atbash was here, in The Ascendants. Truthfully, the former leader wasn't sure if she could ever be happy here. She felt alone, thinking she was an outcast among her new clanmates. Guilt clawed at her heart almost every day, her mind screaming at her that she should have done something more to protect her tribemates. None of that would have happened if I had kept Snowbound strong, The savannah thought to herself bitterly, biting her lip in irritation at herself.

The sound of water made Atbash halt in her steps, knocking her out of her thoughts. Her ears were pricked, faintly hearing Billie's words. Slowly, the she-cat approached Billie, catching a glance at Kris as she made her way over. Clearly, they had the same questions as her, though they didn't voice those questions out loud. "What was that all about?" Atbash's tone was soft and quiet, as if she wasn't wanting to offend Billie. "You alright?" She paused for a heartbeat before she continued, "If you want to talk, that is. You don't have to explain everything," After all, they literally just met, did they not?

bio | female | observer of the ascendants

© madi