don't put me down .. joining

[TinkerLoam]

looking around, toes dug into wood grains, water dripping from short coat, seaweed tangled around legs and breath short, stood a ebony-toned she-cat, her ears standing up, shivering from the coastal breeze. huffing softly, she groaned at the cold, licking at her fur, trying to chase out the cold sea water. she had been elsewhere, a beach, hunting for fish when a dog had come up behind her, grabbed her by the scruff, and thrown her out to water. she didn't remember anything other than the dull throbbing pain of her head, the molly cautiously raising a paw to touch the back of her skull, half expecting to find herself injured and bleeding to death. much to her surprise, she found no such wounds. inhaling shakily, she looked at the dock under her paws, inhaling a breath as it swayed but remained stable. twisting her head up, she gazed at the light, recalling having seen the bright light while her body was adrift in the current, and swimming towards it. gazing around, she took in the massive tree half swallowed by mists, shivering at the eerie sight before her eyes took in the hill before her. did she have to climb that? she hoped not.

it didn't seem like there was any other way in, and there was a pathway merging with the base of the dock ... it had to be safe, right? swallowing anxiously, the molly began her climb up the hill, trembling legs bringing her to a boulder where she leaned and huffed out a tired breath. urging her legs onward, the dark molly climbed upward, taking her time, suspiciously eyeing the gentle orange glow at the crest. trudging forward, she slowly took the crown of the hill, resting against boulders on her way up, eyes treated by the sight of some inn, warm and welcoming. her nose was filled with the scent of brine, unaware of any borders being crossed. exhaling, she sat down near one of the roots, licking a many toed paw, drawing it over her ears, emerald eyes fixed on the doors as she cautiously spoke, "hello? is anyone there?", this place certainly looked inhabited, why else would the lanterns be lit?

[teef]

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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.

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the she cat would be greeted by another feline, the kingpin in their black jaguar body, rumbling softly as they padded towards the inn to check on the food supply and how their groupmates were faring. pausing as they heard a voice, they turned their head to the darkened sky quizzically before turning their head, catching her scent before turning their head to the smaller sized feline before smiling. red antlers a dead giveaway of being something more than just a jaguar, they made their way over, golden scales peeking through around their scales, dark fur pushed about by the breeze coming off the coastal cliffs. "hello there. my name is lin bai, but please, call me bai shi. are you lost my friend?", they asked, watching her out of curiosity, half blind eyes making out her shape and general colors though the lantern caused her to be lost to shadow, only seeing her emerald eyes looking back at them. sitting down, they let her come closer, "here, why don't we bring you inside? you smell of the sea and a long story best told over a warm drink and food. this is our inn, our current gathering place.", they murmured, getting up and leading the way to the inn, pushing open the doors to let her enter before them, into the warm atmosphere.

[¿¿]

        Hearing the call Sam came all perky to greet the newcomer. "Hello I am Sam nice to meet you. I see Bai got to you before me let's all three of us head to the inns suggested." Sam showed herself as calm and spoke quite smoothly.

[TinkerLoam]

eyes widening at the sight of the regal melanistic jaguar, she bowed her head despite her fur standing upon end, breath paralyzed in her lungs, "a-ah, he ... hello. my name is loam ..." she murmured, ears laying back as sam approached, eyes darting over the wolf, reminded of the dog that had thrown her into the ocean. swallowing desperately, she panicked silently, forcing down her fear, barely hearing either of their names. "um ... the inn?" she managed to gasp out, shivering slightly, her fur soaked.

shaking herself out, she licked her lips, looking past the two bigger creatures to the safe building behind them. maybe that was the inn? maybe ...  she hoped so. looking back over her shoulder at the dark sea and the light at the end of the dock far below, she shivered, turning her head back to the two greeting her. "i-i would very much love to go inside and warm up."

[teef]

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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.

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listening to her speak, they smiled in a gentle way, realizing that she must be frightened, "of course loam, we can go inside and warm up by the fireplace.", they murmured softly, dipping their head to sam in greeting as they opened the doors, letting the two enter. once they had entered, they followed suit, humming softly to themself as they entered, letting the doors close behind them. yawning and stretching, the jaguar hopped over to the fireplace, keeping one paw from the ground, tongue bit between their teeth as their injured paw brushed the ground. holding it up higher, they hobbled to the nests of blankets in front of the fireplace where they slipped into one of the comfortable nests. stretching out, they yawned, tail curling up as they rumbled in content, looking over at loam when she had settled with a smile, "do you mind sharing your story with us loam? if you don't mind us poking our noses into your business.", they chuckled warmly.