strayed from the path - open; return

[rhosmari]

He had never been the outgoing type, never really one to challenge anything or ask too many questions. At the time he had been just the child of two leaders who had found themselves in a interesting position. Their story wrapped up in what anyone would say was magic. He was always in the background, too wrapped up to think of himself as ever having any sort of story. That was how he enjoyed his life, he didn't anything more. Just those sweet trips to go across the ocean and see his father when he could. That was it. That was just how it should have been before things got worse. Now there was nothing, no him, no feeling. Just a sense of floating but nothing more. It was almost surreal really. He didn't even think about how it had all happened just that he was there now. Time seemed so sluggish, or maybe it didn't even exist at all. It seemed to last for a long while till he finally felt something, a stinging, clenching muscles. Groggily he moved, feeling stiff. Stretching out long limbs and swallowing against a dry thought. Wait...moving, swallowing.

Golden blue eyes slowly opened up and his jaws parted on a sudden intake of air. He almost broke into a coughing fit with how harsh it was as he looked around himself. Something was off, he could feel it and slowly the maned wolf like creature pushed himself to is paws. Limbs shaky he tittered there and tried to look around himself. He knew one thing though, he had surely died. He remembered being dragged down into the depths of the ocean almost as if he were just watching the scene. His final moments having been a plea to the others before darkness had consumed him and now he stood here instead. Alive but feeling so odd. Silks draped his night sky colored form and he slowly moved a leg forward, taking an experimental step. The grace and sureness of the form helped him along as he began to walk, not really knowing where he was going but that he needed to get home.

Twin tails lingered behind him, soft grey of his paws pressing delicately against snow and ice before he actually found the forest. He twitched his pierced nose, looking at it and causing himself to go cross eyed for a moment before he slipped his way almost too quietly along the foliage. Keeping the stillness that hung oppressively in the air. As he departed the forest and came to the beach, there was no fear as he looked at the water and instead the gladiator called out with a light tone, looking an hoping to find them again. ''Guys....um, I'm back. I, I guess I'm in this body now and it's kind of weird.''

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How, how much to light up my star again and rewire all my thoughts? Oh baby, won't you remind me what I am? And break, break my little cold heart. I'm living someone else's life. Suppressing who I was inside. I don't know if I can be alone again. I don't know if I can sleep alone again.

%u2014 Sorbet Monroe Roux

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[RHINESTONE.]

RHINESTONESTAR ❝ RHINE ❞ LEGATE
"TALKING" || "TELEPATHY"

Sorbet's death had hit the Glades as a whole particularly hard, as every death in the past had hit them with full force. Sorbet's death, however, had been a special case. It had been so sudden, and violent, and he had made a connection so strong with Medusa by that point... she had fallen apart. In fact, his death had led to her own sort of "death," in the end, although she had returned much more quickly. Albeit, not exactly in a great state.  She seemed so disoriented, as if she was barely able to remember where she had come from, or who her friends were. In fact, he had to wonder if Medusa even remembered who Sorbet was. He desperately hoped that she did, considering how close the two of them had been. He couldn't imagine Sorbet triumphantly – or rather, confusedly – returning, only to find out that the woman he had seen as a mother no longer remembered him. Hopefully, though, by the time she showed up on the scene, her head would be in a bit of a better place... Rhinestone could wish, anyways. If not, that meant he would have yet another person whose mental wellbeing he'd have to put on his own shoulders. Not that he ever regretted caring for all those around him, it just... weighed heavily on him, at times. He hoped that he didn't show it too much, considering he didn't want anyone else feeling guilty about putting their baggage onto him.

The sound of Sorbet's voice was what immediately drew Rhinestone excitedly over, relieved and overjoyed that the other had indeed returned. However, the slightly strange lilt to the other's words caused Rhine to move even faster, worried that the gladiator was still in an injured state. When the serval reached the place on the beach where Sorbet was, he found himself at a loss for words. Medusa had recently had a similar form change, but... at least she had shifted into something that was vaguely like her own body. In the case of Sorbet... it was just so wildly different that the legate couldn't help but just stare for a couple of seconds. Once he was able to speak once again, Rhinestone moved in a bit closer, questioning in a breathless tone, "You... Sorbet, that's you? You look so... different. I'm so glad to have you back, though. I'm sure Quasar and Medusa and everybody else will be so glad, I'm just... wow. Medusa recently changed forms too, but nothing quite so... drastic." Not that Rhine really thought that Sorbet's new form had been an intentional choice on the other male's part. After all, the feline himself hadn't had any input on what he came back as when he had died and taken up a new form. If he had, he certainly wouldn't have chosen his current blue serval body – not that he disliked it, the messed up eyes were just a bit of an inconvenience for daily life.

tags + roleplayed by stilly + the palm glades

[SirDio]

MEDUSA, THE FIRESTARTER

Her body, though new, was easily gotten used to. Very shortly after her little mind-wipe, she remembered everything, included the pain she felt, the anguish of losing her son. She truly thought he was gone, so hearing his voice again? She couldn't help but let a fire flicker down her back like a shiver. "My boy.." She hushed as she started toward his direction.

She halted behind Rhine, taking in the new form that her son had donned. Her voice was shattered, deep and hoarse, "Sorbet? Sorbet, my boy, is that truly you..?" Blue eyes searched his form, mind hoping that life wasn't so cruel as to trick her but also hoping it was truly him. No. She was positive Sorbet was there, that he had only changed forms. "My boy.. I.. I-I thought.."

I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR AN ANSWER BUT I AIN'T FOUND ONE,
I'VE BEEN KNOWN TO TEAR SHIT UP AND GO OFF LIKE A GUN!

— Reggan

[METEOR]

From a distance, Sorbet’s return looked like nothing out of the ordinary. Plenty of odd creatures joined the Palm Glades over the months Quasar’d patrolled the border—including an ice cream man. Rhinestonestar and Medusa looked to have the whole thing covered, so his presence wasn’t actually necessary… but his paws took him there, anyway. Probably because he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts, being all moody and sad ever since Sorbet died disappeared under the waves.

However, as he ventured closer, he heard Sorbet’s name being spoken. His yellow ears perked forward, and his walk quickened into a trot. His crush friend returned? Came in another body, like Rhinestonestar had?

Accelerating to a sprint, the vaporwave mess exploded past the dry underbrush. His blue eyes squinted—the cold wind brought tears to them, somehow—and he could barely see his paws. Yet he ran and leaped past every obstacle in his path without crunching a branch or tripping over a stray rock. He raced so fast, his paws didn’t even feel the ground beneath them.

To an observer, Quasar wasn’t running at all. His paws had metaphorical wings, allowing him to run a few inches above the ground at any point.

Quasar attempted to tackle Sorbet, regardless of the maned wolf’s lankier height. So what, right, Quasar was a muscular dog, and he’d fought bigger opponents in the raids.

“Don’t you ever die again. Ever.” A growl rumbled in the back of his throat. He couldn’t lose Sorbet like—BRAIN GLITCH—the others.

[rhosmari]

The way that Rhine stared at him he was beginning to think that something was wrong. Really, he should have known that his change was a bit dramatic, especially since he went from a hybrid of two animals to one that looked as if it was walking on stilts. He felt tall but he also felt a bit fragile. He felt his ears go back with a little embarrassment as the leader began to speak. A soft chuckle finally left him and he understood completely as  he looked down at his soft grey colored paws. It was definitely a change and one he had been an unwilling party of but he was glad that he wasn't actually dead. Though he was a bit worried as to who this body had belong to or if it had been empty and just waiting for him. ''Yeah...it's definitely taking me some time to adjust to it. But I'm sorry for..what happened. I...was attacked by this thing and I think it poisoned me. I couldn't feel anything, my body just stopped working.'' He felt pain at the idea of what he could have possibly inflicted on his own mother. He needed to find her as soon as possible and let her know he was alive and well. But well, he didn't have to because soon she was here and she did look different.

''Wow....'' He muttered gently but her words made him pause and he realized she was distressed and so he quickly walked forward. Carefully he attempted to rub his head gently underneath her chin. ''I'm so sorry. But it's me and I'm alive. I didn't meant for it to happen...I'm here now, mom...'' He breathed out softly before he took a slow breath in. He felt secure and safe with Medusa and he felt that now as he pressed against her, laying his head on her shoulder for just a moment before he backed up and was about to speak when the wind was simply knocked out of him. He was so caught up in all of these moments that he didn't hear the running paws but then again halfway though they had stopped running at all. The maned wolf found himself sprawled on the ground, sight taken up by multiple colors and he stared into the them before he heard the growling words flung at him. The voice was all he needed and he cringed slightly, looking rather apologetic as he watched Quasar. ''I promise I won't, at least not on purpose. One time experience at least for a little while.'' He tried to make a joke out of it because old age was sure to get him. After a moment he tried to boop his nose against the eyesour of a canine. ''Um, can I get up now?''

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How, how much to light up my star again and rewire all my thoughts? Oh baby, won't you remind me what I am? And break, break my little cold heart. I'm living someone else's life. Suppressing who I was inside. I don't know if I can be alone again. I don't know if I can sleep alone again.

%u2014 Sorbet Monroe Roux

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[METEOR]

Quasar’s growl broke in his throat. He understood the lanky gladiator hadn’t intended to die, of all things, and why was he looking so apologetic? Right. Because the pastel rainbow’d tackled and growled in his face. Oops. He licked his teeth.

When Sorbet touched their noses together, the centurion, eyes widening, froze. His face burned, and a fwoosh of air puffed out his fur. Quasar, still oblivious to his haywire new power, grinned like a goofball.

“Oh, yeah, you can get up now.” The sparkledoggo remembered the nonsense he’d done and scrambled off Sorbet. His paws levitated a good centimeter off the ground, but why would he notice a trivial thing like that? If his paws didn’t feel the ground, it was because his brain was occupied with dumb sappy shit.

“Sorry for tackling you and all. But I’m glad you’re alright. I was really worried, you know, after you… disappeared.”

He glanced behind him to Rhinestonestar and Medusa, remembering them for the first time in at least a minute. “Yeah! We’re all glad you’re safe.” He nearly bit his tongue to avoid mentioning Medusa’s breakdown; it seemed like a thing for her to tell Sorbet, not for him to blurt out the first time he saw Sorbet alive. “You, uh, doing okay? How’d you even… you know… do the musical bodies thing?”

[SirDio]

MEDUSA, THE FIRESTARTER

Medusa rumbled a bit, trying to purr but finding herself unable to, when Sorbet made contact with her. But as he was tackled by Quasar she couldn't help but laugh, feeling alive. Truly alive. For a moment she forgot what had happened and the events before Sorbet's return. Her mental turmoil had been rough, but she rebounded with great haste.

"Truly, it was.. it was extremely rough." She spoke with simple words, unable to bring herself to tell him what had happened to her just yet. She sat down and grimaced a smile for a moment, an ache suddenly in her heart.

I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR AN ANSWER BUT I AIN'T FOUND ONE,
I'VE BEEN KNOWN TO TEAR SHIT UP AND GO OFF LIKE A GUN!

— Reggan