i followed fires | open, joining!!

[Barbedwire]

Barbedwire grumbled; the ground beneath her feet had been hideously marshy for the past couple of hours, and the mud that squelched between her toes sounded nearly as miserable as she felt. Barb languished in the humid air, her tongue lolling, her eyes drifting in and out of focus as she tried to keep her mind on her surroundings but could only think of rest, of water.

With a sigh, she stopped, dropping herself unceremoniously onto the ground. The mess was only a small annoyance--at least, she tried to tell herself that. She was dirty literally all the time, almost couldn't remember a time she'd been completely clean. But this was somehow different, the clumping mud more urgent than the thick film of dust that coated her homeland.

"Fuck this," she spat, staring daggers into the earth. "The second I find some water, I'm gonna fucking... I'm gonna drink half a lake, dirty the rest of it getting clean, and then I'm gonna kill whatever bastards were living in it. Ugh, mark my words, if I get out of here alive..." She trailed off, not actually having anything to mark--just thinking that it sounded good to demand that the hypothetical listener mark her words.

She sat for a moment in silence, clawing marks in the dirt, before she heaved herself to her feet. If she didn't move forward, she'd die here, and what could be worse than dying in this hellhole?

[Luciferr]

FENRISULFR

▼ — when the weak court death, they find it.

space

"You should really stay by the borderline, not only because you've trespassed but also well, step not five more steps and you'd have ended up gator food most likely" a dark voice rumbled, followed by a colossal canine like creature, pale eyes narrowed on the stranger stumbling through the murk of their home.

"what brings you trespassing stranger?" he barely kept annoyance from his tone, he'd long since grown exasperated to people blundering straight into the territory rather than waiting where the scent markers clearly indicated a border - they had only themselves to blame for any misfortune thereafter.

space

▲ — TANGLEWOOD. PROXY. EXTREME. REF (9FT). BIO. — ▲

#psychosocial.

[Morgan]

Morgan followed a few steps behind Fenrisulfr, joining him on his daily rounds. The cream canine was the one to warn him of the unfamiliar presence just past the border; luckily enough, it seemed that they had gotten to the mountain lion just in time to confront her. The samoyed stepped out to his side as the large male confronted the stranger, allowing it to serve as backup if needed.

"Is a joiner?" it asked, noting the outlander's poor condition. It would not at all be surprising if it were true, especially considering the feline had no scent resembling another group's. However, the dog remained on guard, putting its trust in its fellow Proxy's judgement.

[Barbedwire]

Barb eyed up the two canines--one looked like he came straight out of hell, and the other... just seemed a little off. Either way they weren't the worst things she could have run into--especially considering the apparent alligators--even if they were a little ticked with her. Colony folk were always so strict about their borders, even with people who had absolutely no reason to know about them. What distinguished between one set of scent markers or another? She figured, though, that it wouldn't be particularly productive to complain about that in front of these people, and kept her mouth shut about it.

"Didn't mean to trespass," Barb rasped. She probably could have done a better job of concealing her disdain, but hey. These people probably wouldn't attack a half-dead stranger-- and if they did, well, they couldn't kill her more times than she was going to die anyway. "Just wandering through, ending up where I end up. Don't mean no harm to anybody, but if y'all could direct me to some clean water I'd be... obliged to you."

[beck.]

    As much as he hated the vulnerability of a predictable schedule, obsessively checking his various traps scattered throughout the polluted wetlands was becoming quite the routine for the poltergeist. Whether or not boredom or pride of his handiwork drove him to stalk through the brambles, fixing groundcover over waiting nets and collecting whatever happened to stumble into snares or legholds, didn't matter. The only thing Beck cared about was that it was distracting work that required all of his concentration to accomplish without temporarily losing a finger -- or paw, whatever, it was the same idea.

    His current stop actually seemed to reward his efforts with a catch; ears perking in foolish hope at the tell-tale sounds of a creature struggling to escape one of his cruel inventions, Beck wasn't greeted with a trespasser ensnared by the jaws of a crude conibear trap. Freckled features set into a disappointed scowl at the crooked magpie sprawled between the metallic jaws, its neck having been snapped the instant the trap was triggered. Puffing out a ragged sigh up at a matted cowlick that kept falling into his vision, the boy reset the trap with practiced ease, frigid paws prying apart the trap's frame and freeing the bird's broken body. Only a causality of his trapping methods in an attempt to defend their borders, but at least someone would end up eating it -- definitely not him. Dusting off its ruffled feathers and picking it up to hesitantly carry between razor-sharp teeth, Beck hovered over the trap to fold back its jaws again before abandoning it to secure another unsuspecting creature.

      A new scent, one reeking of mange and foreign lands, prompted his curiosity to rear its ugly head, the boy's once relaxed gait stiffening up with paranoia. Teeth shifting the magpie in his mouth around slightly for a better grip, Beck halted for a nonexistent heartbeat, inky nose twitching as he failed to identify the other scents thanks to the overwhelming tang of blood wafting up from his bird. He did hear voices, familiar ones at least, and that coaxed him into finally approaching, a skittish ripple causing his apparition to falter from its physical state as he shouldered past a buttonbush. Ignoring the leaves briefly phasing through his being and recovering his physical state, his lantern-like eyes at first only offered a glazed-over stare towards Barb. The little feline was easily dwarfed by the battle-worn cougar, albeit in terms of scarring, both were equally matched.

    Spitting out the magpie at his feet, Beck gave a childish tilt of his head before wheezing out, "We ain't got much clean water 'round here, but Morgan --" A dark-furred paw gave a jerky little wave at the samoyed, recoiling as soon as the gesture had made its point. "Morgan here, uh, was cleanin' up some of it." A strand of electric blue drool was beginning to drip from where his cheek had long since been burnt away, and while he didn't mind bad first impressions, he did his best to smear most of the lingering chemicals away with the back of a shackled wrist. Flicking away the acidic saliva, Beck refocused with a whistling inhale, before returning the unnecessary air by continuing to hoarsely rasp, "I'm Beck, by the way, just Beck. Ya can stay with us here if ya want," the typically hostile poltergeist offered, bloodless lips twitching as he fought off a devilish smirk. He extended a paw in both an attempt to help her up from the mud and as one of those handshakes he'd seen on t.v., careful not to reveal the voltage charging in his dark paw pads. If she accepted his paw, she would be met with a nasty prank similar to a joybuzzer, a friendly little shock of electricity that he couldn't help but mischeviously smile about just thinking of.

[align=center]»――➤

[COSMIIX]

AMUNET GHANA ✧ FIREBRAND — TANGLEWOOD — TAGS

The smell of mange made her nose wrinkle briefly but the expression had removed itself from her face as she walked over with a lash of her creamy tail, Victory tilted her cranium to the side in a bit of curiosity before she brushed up against Fenris by now it had become one of her "bad" habits. She almost felt embarrassed by referring it as such since she never seemed to think twice about it though she reassured herself that it was fine since War would often brush against her until fur touched scales. She could always feel the warmth pulsating off of War's scales and well, Victory found comfort in War ironically enough. She managed to break away from her own thoughts turning her golden gaze towards the cougar, she hadn't seen one in a good while not since. . . Vladimir that is. Remembering him made a soft ache blossom in her heart but she would offer the female a gentle smile nodding slowly "What's your name?" After she asked that, she would add with a curt nod "I'm Amunet,"

© madi

[Barbedwire]

Barb sighed, surveying the somewhat motley crew that had assembled before her. They'd really sent out the welcome wagon--it had been a long time since Barb had encountered even one person, let alone four. She wondered if she shouldn't be self-conscious of her disheveled state--but, you know. Nah. That sort of thing was all horseshit anyway.

She dipped her head politely, just the slightest bit nervous about what would happen if these people decided they didn't like her. Besides, the little one seemed to have authority, and that was something she hadn't dealt with in a long time--nor had she ever really enjoyed it. But he seemed polite enough, and spoke with an accent that sounded nicely familiar. It was a shame, though, what he said about the water. And the welcome, she figured, even if the whole idea of being allowed to do certain things by others didn't sit especially well. Barb paused for a moment, and then nodded.

"I reckon," she began, though she had the sort of feeling that she might regret this, "that I could take you up on that, for a while at least. I've been travelin' for... ooh, a dog's age." She turned to look at the canines. "Beg pardon." She saw that the little one was holding his paw out to her, and though she was only vaguely familiar with the concept, she extended hers proudly and... got a nasty surprise. She let out a yelp, and nearly jumped out of her fleabitten fur--before righting herself and cracking a wide smile.

Reckon I'll get along with you just fine, she said with a wink. And then, satisfied, she turned to the jaguar--who had bothered to ask her name. Barb would probably get along well with her, too. I'm Barb, by the by. 'S... good to meet y'all.

[Nayru]

[color=#6b7e99]✦ ✦ ✦

Nayru had been particularly on guard that day, each step of hers done with contemplation and extreme thought. Usually, she trekked through the swamp with something akin to reckless abandon, knowing her way well enough and expecting the normal presence of a gator here and there. She was always afraid, that much was true, but the more time she spent within Tanglewood, the better she got at concealing her anxieties. The only reason she appeared so visibly disheveled as she paused before the small group was because of the baby alligator that rested upon her head, hissing contently as it drank in the sight of the Tanglers- its friends.

[b][color=#6b7e99]"Hello," She extended faintly, trying her best to ignore the creature before her's rather rough appearance (Father did always tell her that it was wrong to judge, though he did his best to judge her every move), [color=#6b7e99]"My name is Nayru. I'm the medic here if you ever need anything." Just to be safe, she quickly surveyed Barb's figure, searching for the tell-tale sign of an ailment. [color=#6b7e99]"And this is... Chadwick, but we call him Chad," She introduced, referring to the reptile that still continued to hiss. He was quite talkative today but Nayru was proud of him- he had been behaving spectacularly as of late.

[Luciferr]

[align=center]

But Heed this lesson well,
When the weak court death, They find it -

Fenris nodded, hm yes true it seemed more likely she'd stumbled through the territory on the way to wherever she was heading - of course now Beck had shown up shortly after Morgan and seemed to take care of things, so the War god simply shrugged and shifted back while they talked - the familiar presence of Amunet sliding up alongside him turned his head to give the jaguaress a quick smile, always a relief to spy the familiar golden form.

his skeletal bladed tail flickered behind him to curve around himself and Amunet as they sat close as usual, with a nod to the scruffy stranger - he did not blink at the mange, he'd seen people in Far, far worse conditions on a battlefield. finally he spoke up to intriduce himself as Nayru finished "Fenrisulfr Grimm, Fenris for short" well aware some found difficulty with his full first name.

[sub]TANGLEWOOD - REGENT - TAGS - REF (9FT) - EXTREME[W]isker[/sub]

[Barbedwire]

Barb nodded obligingly to Nayru, shrugging her shoulders when she noticed her giving her the once-over. Yep. She was a hell's mess, and while these people looked like they took care to keep themselves in decent repair, it didn't really matter to Barb. It wasn't like she, as a wanderer, had a whole lot to do with her time other than walk and hunt, but she still figured that things like basic first aid and regular bathing would be a waste of it. Besides, people knew what she was about right when they saw her, even though she didn't come with any wings or horns or intimidating colors like this bunch.

This bunch, who had come out in spades seemingly just to gawk at her. Save the one at the beginning--Fenris?--who had asked her business, none of them seemed to be looking for a fight at all. If they weren't a bit of a motley crew, they were generally polite, and had taken a hot second to offer her their hospitality. Even if they did, apparently, have gators. Even if one of them... seemed to be holding... a small gator. Or just a regular lizard. Barb frankly had no goddamn idea.

So why the hell not? Stay for a while. Rest up. Get some first aid--even if it is a waste of time, the mange was starting to itch. Hell, maybe she'd have some fun--and Barb was always, always up for fun.

"Good to meet y'all too, Nayru, Fenris. Uh... lizard. Chad? It's good to meet the lizard. I, uh, I'm sure we can be friends." Which was a little stupid, but whatever. She hadn't seen a group of people this big in.... maybe a year. Let her live.