HE'S SO BAD BUT HE DOES IT SO WELL | PRIVATE

[Ilijas]

[b][color=gray]▴ ▴ ▴

If Ilijas was being honest, he felt little to no allegiance to any group in particular. It was people who he was loyal to, and within the Typhoon, there had been none that piqued his interest. Admittedly, he felt as if something was missing from his life- some puzzle piece that he had managed to misplace on accident. It frustrated him to no extent but it wasn't like he could exactly do anything to fix it. He knew too little about himself - about his purpose in this world - to even attempt to try to assemble the fractured memories of his past life.

And so he wandered day in and day out, letting his paws carry him closer and closer to the Ascendants. He didn't know why he was drawn to the territory, just that it felt as if fate was beckoning him in, urging him to abandon all else in attempt to perhaps understand himself better.

He just hoped that he was received well.

Ilijas was a naturally skilled fighter somehow but possessed no desire to engage in unnecessary combat.

It wasn't his style.

[Beverly Resurgam.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; line-height: 100%; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px;"]★ — Like Ilijas, Beverly felt no loyalty or attachment to anyone or any group. She found that life was easier when she wasn't bound to anything: She could come and go as she pleased, never worrying if she was hurting someone when she left. Oddly enough, though, the girl did sometimes leave places feeling like she was walking away from someone, like there should be another animal at her side. The feeling was strange, yet so familiar.

Everything in her life was so vaguely familiar.

For the time being, she settled in the Ascendants. Bev still didn't find herself spending a lot of time in the territory, though. Her room was mostly empty, but clearly lived in, and she spent most of her spare time wandering around the outskirts of the territory, beyond the tree line. Every day, when she set out, there was a small part of her that was longing for something to be out there. Most days, though, there wasn't anything.

"Hey!" Bev called to the stranger, walking towards him. Unafraid. Unassuming. "What're you doing out here?"

[Ilijas]

[color=gray]▴ ▴ ▴

Though Ilijas did not particularly enjoy his perpetual confusion, he had begrudgingly gotten used to it at least. In the beginning, the vague awareness that he should be remembering something damn near drove him mad, the force lingering and omnipresent as he struggled to regain something from his past life. Eventually, he had just accepted his fate - as cruel as it was - and lived side by side with his amnesia.

But this girl... Ilijas would be lying if he said that she didn't spur some sort of familiarity within him. He wanted to say that he knew her, that they had crossed paths before, but that seemed unrealistic. Impossible. [b][color=gray]"Wandering," Came his flat response, a frown curving his silver colored lips as he continued to study her. [color=gray]"That necklace," He suddenly murmured, the glint of blue catching his eye, [color=gray]"That's mine."

He didn't know how he knew that, just that he did. That ring belonged to him and nobody could change his mind- not even this strange girl who he felt so oddly attached to suddenly.

[Beverly Resurgam.]

[align=center][div style="width: 450px; line-height: 100%; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px;"]★ — For her, the confusion was so unending that she hardly even noticed it anymore. In  truth, she was so far away from her old self that she didn't even know. That nagging feeling was there, but Beverly had learned to live with it, and she could ignore most of the time. As she got a good look at the stranger, though, she couldn't push away that feeling anymore. She reminded herself of how many people she'd met since she started her travels, and she likely saw someone that looked like him.


"Yours?" Beverly challenged, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the way he spoke to her. "Someone gave this to me when I was a kid. You probably had one like it, but this one is mine." After the words came out, she realized just how childish they sounded, but she didn't care. This was the second time since coming to the Ascendants that she had been challenged about the ring.

[Ilijas]

[color=gray]▴ ▴ ▴

For a moment, Ilijas only stared at the ring, the unwavering certainty that that was one of his belongings nearly overwhelming him. He wanted to reach for it, to pull it from her neck and place it around his own but he couldn't... He had already forgotten his manners once, rudely informing Beverly that he was just wandering instead of even introducing himself. That wasn't like him, not at all. He had let himself be consumed by the familiarity of her and that immediately threw all reason from his head. Which wasn't a normal behavior of his, he realized suddenly. What was going on?

Her response succeeded in throwing him for a loop though, some strange part of himself suddenly amused in her defiance. Why? Why? He was so confused and if anything, there were far more daunting questions than answers at this point. He supposed his only choice was to actually say something in return, make up for his graceless behavior. [b][color=gray]"My apologies," Ilijas extended smoothly, though there were notes of reluctance - no, worry in his voice, [color=gray]"My name is Ilijas and I'm a wanderer. That ring... You're right, I must have just had one like it. What's your name?" It'd probably be better if he dropped the subject entirely... even if he knew that that ring was his.

[Beverly Resurgam.]

[align=center]

beverly e. atkins

[div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px;"]Truth be told, Beverly had no idea why she felt so defensive over the ring. She had had it since she was a child, but why? Margaery explained that it was a family treasure, but to what family? Regardless, she had no family, at least none that she knew of. Her books and the stars had become her family, and she could always rely on them to be there, day in and day out.

Detecting a flash of amusement on his face, the short feline resisted the urge to hold the ring in her paws, to make a point that it was hers. "I... It's fine," she answered hesitantly. "I'm Beverly. Bev for short. I used to be a wanderer, too." She didn't say anything else in regards to the ring, wanting to drop the subject as quickly as possible, and instead commented about their other commonality.

Talking about the ring was weird. She had very patchy memories of when she got the ring, and the hazy figure her brain created in place of who gave it to her made her feel uneasy.

[Ilijas]

[color=gray]▴ ▴ ▴

Like Beverly, Ilijas had no family that he was aware of. His parents had both been nonexistent in his life, leaving him the moment he was self-sufficent enough to care for himself. He had hazy memories of the both of them but admittedly, he'd rather think about anything else over his mother and father. Being alone... it suited him he supposed, and while he was often times lonely, he had to accept his situation for what it was. His brief time in the Typhoon had been nothing short of a mistake as had been his blossoming friendship with Beatrice. He had been foolish to even believe anything otherwise.

Shifting his weight, the dark gray bengal absently flicked an ear. Beverly was a pretty name- at least he thought so. The more he studied her (and the less he studied the ring), the more he realized that she was actually really pretty overall. Huh. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to think about that either. [b][color=gray]"I like your name," He finally responding, deciding to simply leave it at that. While he greatly enjoyed being able to talk to someone again, he wasn't the greatest at socializing and feared that he'd scare her way if he complimented her any further. [color=gray]"And I like traveling... going new places... Sometimes I just follow the stars because they feel like my only constant. I don't know why I'm like that, just that I am."

Ilijas realized that he was probably oversharing now but he didn't care. There was something about this girl that was familiar to him, and in that familiarity came a comfort he was unfamiliar with. A comfort that he wanted more of. [color=gray]"Used to be? Where do you live now?" He asked as if he actually contemplated joining her. No, no... he could never do that.

Especially not for a stranger.

[Beverly Resurgam.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px;"]Loneliness was... Well, it was lonely. She supposed there was a difference between solitude and loneliness, though she had crossed that line long ago. The young girl accepted her loneliness for as long as she could, as she was too focused on her travels, but it grew tiring. Someone her age isn't meant to be by themselves. She's supposed to be out and about, socializing, being a kid. Being a part of the Ascendants now, though, gave her that.

"Oh, thank you. Yours is... Interesting," she spoke. Truthfully, Beverly meant it more as a compliment than anything, but it probably wouldn't be perceived that way. She had never heard a name like Ilijas before, after all. When he spoke of following the stars, it immediately piqued her interest. "I live in this huge field now. The group here is called the Ascendants.

"The stars were my map to this place, actually. Like, for a little while, I stayed with a group of loners and they had told me about this place. Said it was north of where we were. I used the stars - and the current, too, actually - to sail my way north before I hit land. Guess I got lucky that there were no other northbound territories before this one." The girl realized now that she was rambling, and cut herself off.

[Ilijas]

ilijas arthur mikaelson

reckless gentleman | noble stag

He supposed that he, too, was at that age where socializing was an almost necessary thing, though he didn't quite see it as such. If anything, his stance on interactions with others was a bit... skewed. He liked talking to and meeting new people, yes, but he wasn't very good at it. Maybe he tried too hard... or talked too strangely- really, he didn't know. He was vaguely aware of an odd and almost pressing desire to not frighten Beverly away however, actually quite enjoying whatever this was (even if she did have his ring).

The bengal listened to her speak intently, frowning only slightly when she mentioned his name. Ilijas had never particularly understand why he had such a peculiar name to begin with, especially given how mundane his siblings' names were in comparison. [color=gray]"Uh..." He began uncertainly, [color=gray]"Thank you?" Ili didn't think that she meant it as an insult but still felt weird for whatever reason- he rarely received compliments in any capacity. [color=gray]"The Ascendants? Sounds fascinating."

Ilijas could not fight the smile that replaced his frown as she spoke, that once hesitant and almost untrusting gaze softening. He didn't know why this felt so right, so familiar, just that it did and he never wanted to have to depart from her. Which... was pretty creepy, honestly, but he didn't mean it in that manner. [color=gray]"What was it like to sail? I've only ever dreamed of it... the opportunity hasn't yet presented itself, I'm afraid. But tell me about your experiences! I want to hear them all!" Ilijas existed eagerly, finding that he was warming up and more and more to Beverly. It helped that she was a traveler like himself, he believed. He could talk for hours about the places he's visited and the things he's seen and, by the looks of it, it seemed like Bev could too.

cause god, i never felt young

[align=center][sub]TEMPLATE BY FAUNA[/sub]

[Beverly Resurgam.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px;"]Talking this much wasn't necessarily something she was accustomed to, but she was surely enjoying it. It was like she never got to talk about her travels, just kept them locked away in her memories, and being able to put it into words for someone who was interested... It meant a lot more than she would've thought. Not to mention, Ilijas was still so strikingly familiar to her that it made talking significantly easier.

"Sailing was incredible. It's really weird at first and I got super lost but I figured it out eventually. The loners I was staying with actually helped me build this... Kind of a sailboat, but not exactly," Beverly started, realizing just how difficult it was to put her thoughts into words. "It's so quiet out there. Just me and the water. A storm came through while I was sailing here and that was pretty terrifying, but I mean, hey, I lived.

"But that's mostly what I've done. Traveled through different lands or islands, stayed with some locals for a bit, and then left for some place new. I've met some really interesting people and seen all kinds of stuff. I try to gather up trinkets or mementos for every place I've visited."