I'M ONLY TRYING TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR US || open, joining

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

lorem light the night up,
you're my dark star

It's been at least a month since she escaped her brothers. Atbash halted at the border of Snowbound, having heard talk of a group that was around this area. The feline sat down, taking in a deep breath to calm her beating heart. Surely Caesar won't be able to find you here, She thought to herself. She honestly didn't mind Vigenere, the eldest of the siblings; Caesar, however... Was a different story. Atbash wanted to cherish and love him again, but she wasn't sure she would be able to. He was too selfish, too aggressive, too... gone.

Atbash exhaled slowly, closing her eyes as she listened to her breath. This is fine. You can start all over again. She told herself, opening her eyes now. This is going to be a whole new start. And thus, the she-cat would wait for someone to approach her (as that's what the loners told her what to do).

bio | female | member of group

© madi

[jacob w.c.]

WHAT A PRIVILEGE IT IS TO LOVE — Jacob's family was a complicated, sticky mess that only seemed to hold itself together by the seams when it was most important. While he'd never had any terrible family experiences, there were certainly moments when things hadn't gone so well. While there was no doubt he loved his Babbo and his Pa, he couldn't deny the fact they were far from being good people. Even Jerseyboy wasn't a good person, even if it wasn't to the extent of the other two. Still, despite that, Jacob loved them just as much as he loved Harrison or his Ma. Even when he'd moved away from the city, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to. There hadn't been much of a choice in the matter, given the immediate threat to his safety, but sometimes he wondered if he would've still left even if that hadn't been a factor. He never wanted the family business, he didn't even want a part in it, but he adored the people that were there with everything in him. Still, there was no denying he was more peaceful in Snowbound. As the months continued on, he was becoming less paranoid and more open. He'd found friends and even new family members here. This was his home.

Jacob's thoughts were drawn away form his friends and family, both old and new, when he caught an unfamiliar scent near the border. He'd been out on a walk to stretch his aching legs when he realized someone must be nearby. It was odd how someone always seemed to be out here when he was but he didn't mind it. Meeting new people was always nice and it gave him an opportunity to rest his legs, if only for a moment. That and it gave him a good excuse to head back to camp a little early when his legs were particularly bothering him. He approached the girl with a light smile on his maw, settling down almost immediately. He felt his muscles relax as he spoke, "Welcome ta' Snowbound. What's your name n' why're ya' by our borders?"  —A GREAT HONOR TO HOLD YOU UP

"SPEECH"

tags

[melantha]

[align=center][div style="max-width: 600px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt;"]Dragging a doe, even an adolescent one, all the way back to Snowbound's tunnels requires an unbelievable amount of strength and energy. Luckily for Melantha, her biological adaption to carrying prey greater or equal to her weight plus her experience living and hunting on her own allows her increased mobility. It does not take as long for her to return home from the loner lands, where more unaware prey roam, back to the comfort of the tundra. The only downside of dragging a large kill all the way back home is the fact that she loses her stealthiness. There is nothing silent about lugging a carcass through the dirt. But these lands are safe enough that she does not have to worry too much about potential food thieves. Melantha still is not fond of it, though, as she prefers traveling undetected.

Crimson blood stains her blood, spilling out from beneath powerful jaws clamped around the neck of the doe and down the young female's chin. Aside from the killing wound, Mel took down the animal quickly and cleanly. In the beginning, when she was first learning how to hunt, it was not rare for her to return home with bruises and welts from powerful kicks than any prey at all. Those were starving times, but she is stronger now. Powerful muscles ripple beneath a sleek pelt of tempered gold, Melantha's lithe frame tense as she drags the doe along with short strides, ever careful not to trip over a rogue leg. At first she is far too focused on reaching her destination to notice the presence of the silent stranger. No, it is not until the wind shifts, bringing Jacob's herbal scent along with it, that she becomes aware of others in her vicinity. Obeying her natural predatory instincts, Melantha is quick to store her kill within the relative safety of a close-growing copse of trees, covering the carcass with pine droppings and leaves to prevent its detection. Only once she is assured of her kill's safety does she depart to investigate the newcomer.

Melantha arrives just as Jacob begins his line of questioning. A subtle frown tugs at the corners of black lips. He is far too nice to strangers. The young female is of the type to assume the worst of everyone until they can prove themselves otherwise. She is not judgmental, just suspicious. The world has taught to never let her guard down. It does not help to comfort Mel that the stranger possesses a pair of soulless black eyes. Superstition is apart of life when living in isolation. And it is safe to say that Melantha's backwoods upbringing contributes to her instantaneous assumption that the savannah cat at the border must be of demonic nature. All she knows of demons is that they are evil and bad (that's what the bedtimes stories told her), so she was very much inclined to distrust this stranger. The cougar maintains a neutral, albeit cold, expression as she takes a position beside Jacob. It is clear that it is a defense stance, as if preparing to defend the husky should things take a turn for the worse.

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

lorem light the night up,
you're my dark star

Atbash truly did love her siblings. She just didn't get along with Vigenere very well, due to him wanting to be cut off from Caesar and herself. Atbash had to respect that. Vigenere had once been a strong soldier of their former home, and she had to respect his wishes (though mostly because they were littermates). Caesar, however, was long gone. Although he wasn't Corrupted, his mind certainly wasn't all there. Atbash couldn't bare to watch her youngest brother's mental state deteriorate and thus, she got away from him.

As Jacob neared her, Atbash's ears pricked. When he spoke to her, her head tilted, as if she was having trouble catching onto what he was saying. To her, he definitely had some sort of accent, and it was a bit tough to understand. After a couple minutes of thinking, the she-cat responded, "My name's Atbash Cipher, and I was hoping to join Snowbound?" Was it just that easy? She hoped so.

The scent of blood caught Atbash's attention, and her focus was turned to a cougar that followed after Jacob. The large predator didn't carry any prey with her, but it was obvious she did recently catch something. It was tempting to ask about it, but Atbash forced herself not to mention anything. Atbash noticed the frown that was across Melantha's face and the way she held herself, and shuffled her paws a bit. Although she couldn't tell what Melantha was thinking, she would reassure that even though she was a demon -- a dream demon, to be specific -- she wasn't a 'bad' one, per say. Atbash might have had a rough past, but that was mostly due to Caesar. Atbash didn't have any ill intentions, and was probably the opposite of how demons are usually portrayed.

bio | female | member of group

© madi

[pallid-i]

Harrison stalked along the snow (even though he stuck out like a sore thumb with his black pelt and all) and watched his father and Melantha talk to a stranger. He wiggled his haunches and then sprang into action, bounding across the snow with his tiny paws. The kitten released a yowl and threw himself at Atbash, dull amber eyes flashing bright for a second. "Trespasser!" He squeaked and attempted to gently bat at Atbash's nose, growling.

❄ i couldn't even keep you

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

Even though Harrison may have stuck out, Atbash didn’t noticed him. Her focus was mainly on Melantha, watching the cougar carefully. She didn’t seem very comfortable with her being here, and Atbash wanted to understand why. So when Harrison jumped out, Atbash was clearly surprised. The she-cat visibly jumped whenever Harrison came after her, and her fur puffed out.

Atbash quickly relaxed though, upon realizing the little kit was the one who spooked her. She laughed, letting Harrison bat at her. ”I haven’t crossed your borders!” She responded with a purr.

//mobile

[pallid-i]

He squeaked and stop, realizing his error. The kit, however, just shrugged it off and attempted to lick her nose instead. "I did a good job of protecting my clanmates though!! Don't you think pa?" He then turned to look at Jacob, tailing wagging as he waited for a response.

❄ i couldn't even keep you

[melantha]

[align=center][div style="max-width: 600px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt;"]The sight of Harrison’s tiny body flying towards an unknown and potentially dangerous newcomer nearly causes Melantha to faint from panic. All she can think is that Harrison will be captured and held against his will, perhaps even eaten or killed. But things do not turn out that way. Instead of the worst case events, Atbash warmly adresses the rambunctious child with a purr. As much as Melantha is resistant to the idea of letting down her guard, she must admit that the stranger has proved her trustworthiness simply by being kind to Harrison. Begrudgingly, the young female abandons her offensive stance. Perhaps the demon is more harmless than she originally thought. This does not mean that she is letting down her guard, however. She’s just being...less aggressive. ”Yes, you were quite ferocious,” hums Mel in a much softer tone than she used to address Atbash. Children are her only weakness—she absolutely adores them. ”I nearly screamed, myself.” A faint smile flickers across her features. Harrison’s heart is in the right place, but she hopes that he will soon learn discretion in his behavior lest a seemingly innocent interaction turns horribly wrong.

Finally, she returns her attention to the savannah cat on the border. Melantha doesn’t want to believe this stranger is harmless, but she knows that is just her paranoia and superstition talking. It’s okay to be cautious, but she knows that these behaviors must be overcome if she is to truly become comfortable in Snowbound. ”Welcome to Snowbound, Atbash,” she says in as pleasant tone as she can manage, though it’s obviously forced. Friendliness is not an area she is skilled in. ”My name is Melantha.” She could continue talking, but she is sure that Jacob will take over in that department. The chief is a lot kinder than Mel could ever hope to be.

[ATBASH CIPHER.]

ATBASH CIPHER

light the night up,
you're my dark star

Indeed it was okay to be cautious. Atbash herself was cautious for the most part, although these beings did not seem very threatening (although Harrison did startle her) at all. At least not nearly as much as Vigenere or Caesar could be. Atbash continued purring and laid down a bit to allow Harrison to lick her nose, relaxing a bit as she watched Melantha relax out of the corner of her eye. It was good to see her relax, even if Atbash didn't entirely know why she was on edge the first place.

When the cougar started to speak, Atbash looked at her and breathed a sigh of relief. So it was that easy, then. Good. She was worried about there being some kind of trial to go through. "Thank you, Melantha." She chirped. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

bio | female | member of group

© madi

[cry]

"The kid couldnt scare a rat." Cry cawed as she swooped down to the group. The raven yawned, ruffling her feathers and eyeing this eyesore of a cat over. What was she pretending to be a bumble be? Let her guess, shes as graceful as a butterfly too. The raven cooed in the back of her throat.

When were they going to close borders already? It was not like this is a club. They lived here. The land wont be able to support them eventually. You could only grow so much in the tundra. The raven stayed silent, tilting her neck. She was probably going to have to come up with some whitty oneliner over someone yelling at her for insulting the kid. She was the only damn person in this place that knew an inkling of parenting. If he was praised and cheered mediocre work, hell be lazy and snobish in the future. He needed to learn to work for what he wanted.

"SPEECH"

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