shape in the snow 》 Alithís Evgenis visit

[teef]

[table][tr][td]

[/td][td]

THE KINGPIN

golden lung dragon & black jaguar w/ vitiligo & platinum silver fox. unknown age - ancient. bai shi lynn lingré. proper chinese name is lin bai. prefers lynn if close. they/them. blind. wind element & electric element. firstborn son of jerisidie lingré & current head of family/general. courting delilah evergarden & halo mercer. kingpin of alithís evgenis. demiromantic gray-asexual. parent of veris, arvin, leoku, erian, flos, kekhai, evarhi, and laeglin. elder brother of ramona and hope, uncle of quennel and cosette.

[/td][/tr][/table]

peculiar were the scents of the living beings drifting around on the winds, the lung dragon noticed, their head turning to catch each new scent, trying fruitlessly to categorise the scents into one general category or belonging to a species. they felt lost in this land so different from the one that they knew like they knew the halls of their childhood home, lost to time long ago. they could pick up on feline scents, their nose twitching softly as they sought out a common taste in the scent. there, that was something. they could file that away mentally - this was unknown. some place new and alien to them, some place that was unknown to them and their group. comforted by that small fact, the dragon turned their attention back to the forms of life around them, inhaling deeply as they filtered through the scent signatures of rats, cats, birds, rotting fish and moulding wood. exhaling, they eased their weight side to side, wary of the creaking of the boardwalk below, did it need more supports? could it hold their weight? they prayed that it would, at least for the fact that it could support the great weight of the abandoned ferris wheel behind them.

the sound of waves lapping against stone and wooden constructs was soon to be overrode by the sound of paws, small and not a threat, a sound that reached their ears before wind whistled past and made them wonder if they had imagined the sound in the lonely area. no life had breached this far in so very long, not the kind of life that would be good. these buildings falling into the void, collapsing in upon themselves had not known any love in such a long time. they had seen many storms and many years, standing inhabited and then forgotten. they stilled as they heard the innocent sound of paws light on the wood, they were not imagining such a thing. soon, toadwhisker's scent slipped past their nose as his voice reached them, lowering their head the slightest to hear him better. his stutter reminded them that they bore a foreboding and startling appearance, and for a second, they debated on taking a more ... friendly shape. deciding against it as a second scent soon joined not long after, they turned their head once more to hear rhinestonestar's words. such curious small creatures, sharing the size that their own children had once been.

the two voices, and two requests for information, something easy, something that they knew in this strange location. what had the more outspoken tom called it ... ? palmclan? palmclan. yes, that was this place, not the unknown, but palmclan. what were they, their identity, and their reason for being there. they rumbled in soft humour, the dragon stretching slightly to attempt to seem more friendly, aware and perhaps basking in the surprise and awe of these smaller beings. they let out a gentle sound akin to a purr, bemused of the situation, "what am i? my dear, i am a dragon, a beast some consider to be a mere tale. there is no need to be wary of one such as i, harm does not come with me, but opportunity and curiosity. my name is lin bai, but please, call me bai shi. greetings, rhinestonestar, i do not mean to interfere with your duties or tread so far upon your territory. i live down the boardwalk, far into the trees down along the shore, my home a long distance from here. this is surely a unique meeting, to be greeted by you with such interesting names. i lead a group of my own, named alithís evgenis, and that is our home down past the woodland. i've come today in seeking who we might share these lands with," they began as they blinked, unable to make either tom out save for an individual red and single grey blob below them, neck craned to look at them, brows furrowed as their whiskers twitched when brushing against the nearby structures.

this was an odd feeling for the creature, but a welcome interaction, one that they would tell their children of should they ask for a story. "well, rhinestonestar, i have also come with an invite, now that i am here before you. i would assume that you are the one in the charge of this land? i would like to invite you and yours to our group's feast and to get to know you better. we are peaceful, but we have encountered a struggle. should you come to the feast, please be on your guard for any ... bandits if they dare come near the forest. the boardwalk leads into our territory, it would be easy to find our camp, or someone will guide you to our main camp. ah, the gifts. yes. in our territory, we have come across some unique herbs as well as some ores and gems. my group specialises in trading, and should you need anything from any passing merchants, if they still come this far out, these would be good to trade with them. i also bring news of abundant prey in the woodlands, i do not know the state of your prey nor your group's stomachs, but if you need it, there is enough forest to feed both parties. i would have brought prey with me had i known i would find a settlement out here, but i fear that it might be too big for your group." they would speak, head tilted slightly as if embarrassed at the lack of food that they brought with them. they certainly hadn't intended to stumble across this group, nor, they expected, did either tom expect to stumble across a stranger upon their territory.