Her crop was a miscellany // open+joining // when all was said and done

[vellichor]

The first thing she'd noticed upon waking up was how tiny she was. Either that or everything had grown to be a thousand times bigger than her, which she knew was possible from other worlds she'd visited before (though she believed it to be unlikely). She also wasn't human. She'd never not been human before and she may have been troubled had it not been for her history of... odd spiritual encounters, to say the least. This was just another bump in the road. No, what was more troubling than all of this was what happened before she arrived. What had she witnessed? She had thought that Otherworld had been her home, her sanctuary. There had always been something odd about it but she always brushed it off as a new, fresh, hot bowl of soup was served and she was able to climb into a soft bed every night. But it had become impossible to ignore and the confrontation had led to her literal flight. She wasn't sure how she became a bird. She just remembered panicking, noticing the crack in the wall, and then willing herself out of it as soon as she could. It felt like it'd all only happened moments ago, though it was obvious she'd either jumped in time or location or both.

Now she was alone again. She hadn't been alone since her doe found her all those years ago. She wasn't even sure how long it'd been. Time wasn't an object in her fantastical Otherworld. She should have known it was all too good to be true. But she couldn't do anything about any of that now. Now, she didn't even know the way back. While she had traveled through different worlds and realms on many occasions, she didn't know how to do it without the support of the portals that beings in the Otherworld opened. She knew she certainly didn't have the power to do so. She just hoped no one was looking for her now. She didn't recognize this place or this realm or this body but she was sure she'd find a way through it, as she had so many times before. "Hello? Is anyone here?" the tiny bird called as loud as she could.

[the trash man]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 550px; min-height: 9px; font-family: arial; line-height: 109%; text-align: left; color: black; padding: 20px;font-size: 12px;"]Life was hectic, and not even that long ago Daphne was so sure of where his one would lead him. How naive- it made the older Daphne want to travel back in time to laugh at his younger self. Life's variety provided it's spice and maybe Daphne should be the one to embrace that seen as how his life was all about living it to its fullest, but somehow the merge with his brother's Nautical Mile hasn't been something that had gone quite as smoothly as the trouble Asson had been hoping. Praying. It left the typically assertive and assured feline mix feeling rather vulnerable and guilty; he was in charge of his people's safety; was this really the best decision that Daphne could have made? In a more metaphorical way then it was as if the world around Daphne was becoming bigger and more looming as the young leader began to feel so very small in this world he had once naively thought he knew like the back of his paws. But the Gods always found ways to surprised the young adult and maybe this was just there way of testing Daphe's integrity. If so, the somali mix was determined to meet and exceed their expectations tenfold.

Lightly snow dusted paws moved methodically as the Asson unconsciously made his way down towards the soft sands of the Typhoon's borders, milky hued eyes not even paying the slightest of attentions of the everchanging surroundings. The male was merely succumbing to the calm serenity of his blessed lands and letting his troubles ease in their gentle warmth. The fluttering of tiny wings had not even registered in the male's mind, just melding into the rest of the idle background noise filling and overtaking Daphne's conscious. Well, that was until the fluttering of wings were then accompanied by the sounds of a hesitant voice. Who? "Mon dieu," Cursing under his breath from startled shock, Daphne stumbled around with his tangled up paws for a few moments as the mix came to recover his bearings and tried to locate the source of the noise. Clouded gaze finally came to notice the little bird's form seemingly lost and bewildered alongside the Typhoon's serene borders and instantaneously Daphne was drawn to the sight of the foreign girl. "Bonjour!" Calling out in a cheering, airy tone, the feline came to approach the small girl with a beaming, but still abrasively curious, gaze. "Are you perhaps.. lost? How unfortunate."

[vellichor]

The tiny avian let out a soft gasp and her eyes widened as she saw a great creature approach. However, she relaxed the moment she realized he obviously wasn't here to harm her. She would have been surprised when she heard the animal speak if it weren't for the fact such things had occurred in the Otherworld on a regular basis. In her old life, in the one before she met her doe, she'd been surprised by such things but not anymore. She wondered what else was different now, especially now that she was away from that beautiful, vile place. She recognized the words the man spoke as French, though it'd been a long time since she heard another language. People of all nationalities had frequented her little pocket of the universe but something there had made her able to understand every language and, at the same time, speak every language. Of course, she'd learned a few things before she went out on errands in various worlds but some of those were so long ago, she couldn't even remember what she'd learned. Those missions had only come at the start of her time in that place, by the end she spent every moment there trying to look after all the lost ones that drifted to her, looking for a home.

Was she lost? She wasn't sure what to do with that question. She didn't know where she was but she didn't want to go anywhere before. What did that make her? She'd technically found what she saught, a safe home far from anywhere she knew, but what if she wanted to return? She wouldn't know her way back. That was ridiculous, though. After all she'd seen in the past... time (the concept itself was fluid in that strange, twisted place and she was unsure of how much time had specifically passed), she didn't think that'd ever happen. Whatever ideas she had about it were gone and replaced only by the horrors she'd witnessed and, unknowingly, aided. "Um, hello. And I suppose you could say that. I don't really know where I'm going, though, so I'm not sure that matters. My name is Daphne, it's nice to meet you. What is this place?" Even if she didn't know where she was, she intended to learn about it. Perhaps she'd even make a new home here, with a new family. That'd be nice. But she knew better than anyone nothing was nice forever, even if it was promised to you.

[Verdigris]

  Indeed, the winds of destiny could change in the blink of an eye.

  Growing up in a wasteland of dust and detritus, where even the landscape shifted from day to day, the jackal had quickly learned not to trust in the status quo. An oasis that was there one day could be barren the next, the water sucked up by thirsty creatures and the prey slaughtered and swallowed down by hunters. A pack leader that stood strong one night could die of dehydration, and their corpse swarmed by flies, by morning light. An enemy pack defeated one day could return and leave them all for dead the next.

  To some degree, he had grown to embrace change. The gods and devils alike knew that his current position was undesirable. He was powerful, to be sure, but he was not at the top of the food chain yet- and in some ways, that was more dangerous than simply lingering at the bottom. If you slunk low enough, remained stick-thin and lacking in muscle, most creatures wouldn't waste their time on you. In the middle links of the food web, however, you were strong enough to catch attention from the apex predators, and that was where you found yourself in trouble. Once he reached the top, however, and secured his place there, that was when he could trust in the status quo.

  For now, metamorphosis was his motivation, method, and end goal, all at once.

  Papercutter had not actually heard the bird's call at first, due to his position on the beach, scrutinizing the volcano that loomed overhead. However, when the jackal glanced aside for a moment to check the sun's place in the sky, he noticed Daphne heading quickly towards the land bridge that he had entered on, and padded off in that direction. He couldn't be sure what had surprised the bengal, but if he had to guess, it was another straggler hoping to join their ranks.

  A few yards away, he caught sight of a tiny bird talking to Daphne, and stifled a scoff. The newcomer was clearly lost; no one this small and flimsy would knowingly and willingly approach the borders of the Typhoon unless they a) were willing to bet that Daphne would be the one to find them, as opposed to Pincer, b) actually had enormous amounts of power beneath their exterior (which, while possible here, seemed unlikely), or c) had a death wish. Expressing such a thought now, when he hadn't yet proved his skill to the Typhoon's members, would certainly get him scorning looks, but it was true.

  When he drew close enough to hear her name, though, Papercutter blinked. Had he heard that wrong? It wasn't outside the realm of plausibility, though technically, neither was the option of both the bengal and the bird having the same name. (In the latter case, he was almost certainly going to have to come up with nicknames or some other way of differentiating the two of them, which was easier said than done.) Twitching his left ear, the jackal mused for a moment, then answered curtly, "This is the Typhoon." He certainly wasn't going to ask for her name again, nor was he going to risk looking foolish by trying to repeat it himself, only to potentially be wrong. Eyeing the bird more closely, he continued, "We're the most powerful fighting force in the region. Not sure if that's what you're looking for."

[vellichor]

Oh, there was another one. It seemed she was drawing a crowd. "Technically, I wasn't looking for anything," the girl stated with a light smile tugging at her lips (was that even the word to use for her mouth anymore? A beak didn't technically have any lips). At the second statement, she barely suppressed laughter. No, Daphne wasn't much of a fighter. She'd never been very strong, even when she was human. She'd always been unusually short and skinny for her age. She could do some damage with a knife, maybe, but her movements were clumsy and anyone with any skill would be able to catch her easily. However, there was also a reason she'd taken to thieving when times had been hard for her family. Even in her human form, she'd been as a shadow. Silent and out of sight.

It was a skill that aided her well in the Otherworld and in her old home, when she'd raided stagecoaches on a regular basis with other children who decided to take matters into their own hands. Daphne had been the oldest and therefore led them all and she was the one that came up with the plans, that found the little places no one would look, that seemed to gather information no one else could possibly have. Her strategy was simple enough. No one suspected a little girl and, while she never hurt anyone, it was easy to get information. She cleaned up a little, gave a nice smile to any nobles that passed through and asked when she'd be able to see their horses and she'd get their time of departure. From there, she found a nice spot in the road (a different one each time, if they attacked at the same spot or at the same time, someone would realize they were related) and they get into different positions. The first time had been the most difficult because they had to throw rocks at the coaches to get them to stop. Eventually, though, they stole some of the nicer clothes and each time they'd have someone dress up in it and stand out in the road. Any respectable person would stop. Then any respectable person would get robbed for all they were worth.

It'd all worked out fairly well for her and such skills had served her well in the Otherworld but now she didn't know what to think of all of it. The stealing hadn't bothered her when she'd been doing it for her family. She'd been taking care of them. For the Otherworld, she'd been told it was the same situation. All the things she did were to take care of her new family there. Now, though, after what she'd seen, she wasn't so sure about that. It was hard to tell what was true and what'd been a lie there. While she'd been the oldest in her band of thieves, she'd been the youngest and smallest Caretaker by far. Most of the Caretakers were adults but she was different. They'd use her to fit into little spots, to get information an adult might not share with another grownup, and even to shape stories and change the minds of influential people. She'd been a valuable asset and she thought that she'd done it all for her family. Now she wondered if she'd been the one to doom them. "Besides, if that's true, then you also know that size and strength isn't all that matters in a fight. The trick to fighting is to be smart enough to never get in one. If no one sees you, there's not much of a fight at all. Technically, you don't even have to be smart. You just need to be clever, which I think is much easier."