JUST DO YOUR BEST | open ; body change

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Troublesome laughter seemed to echo through the air when Arrow managed to spook another victim just walking through the town by blasting "What's New, Pussycat?" for the 5th time that morning, haunting a seemingly harmless little radio, probably found in the junkyard somewhere. It was how she was getting her sick kicks, being an absolute nuisance and reminding all of Tanglewood why technology was a terrible idea after all. Also she hadn't bothered anyone in a long while, and with all that was going on, she needed both a distraction and something to do that wasn't wandering around all pathetically. She'd been moping like a fuckin' loser since Elsweyr had come back injured, and it only got worse with the rising tensions between Aurum, Atbash, Atticus and Kiira. Jesus, she never realized how big the A-Gang was.

Snickering at her latest victim as they cussed her out to the moon and back before taking their leave, Arrow leaned up against the small machine, looking out at her swampy kingdom of decrepit buildings. Technically it was Aurum's kingdom, but hey, she'd been here longer. She was the swamp. A long sigh escaped her, the joy of haunting technology was a short lived feeling. She hadn't been able to shake off the feeling that she wasn't meant to be a ghost. It wasn't any fun after a while, except for the brief shitdisturbing abilities, like right now. She couldn't drink though, or feel the sun and rain, or eat. Only a vague sense of touch, and she couldn't do her job very well if she passed right through everybody. She'd almost forgotten how much it sucked, how lonely it felt, until she saw Sophiea and Goldie bein' all cute. She'd never had a reason to feel bitter and jealous, but she felt a knot in her stomach realizing she wanted what Soph had. One, a partner, and two, the feeling of another's warmth in her bones.

"Boo." The spectre muttered, sliding off the metallic box and stumbling back home, where she expected to be alone again. Elsweyr was still in no fucking shape to be making the march back, no matter how close she said it was. Maybe Arrow would visit her as usual, stay a bit, then bounce when the woman needed her rest. She grimaced. Sounded like a hospital.

There was no creak of the floorboards when she passed through the front door, no sound of paw steps and no echo of any life at all. Same as ever. Although, just inside there was something new.

Els often left her food, forgetting she did not eat, could not eat, and repeatedly felt guilty for doing so, despite the ghost's insistence that it was okay. They'd had a talk about it, and she had to tell the truth about what happened with all the coughing and the blood. And it was that conversation that made Arrow realized that uh oh, she was so utterly fucked. Well, sort of. Did crushes count as bad luck? Maybe if you were Arrow, apparently. How many had she had now? Let's see, Stocking, Aya, the one girl she didn't remember, even Sam for a bit. Thanks, Goldie.

5?? 5 crushes. Sweet Jesus.

Back to the point. Arrow shook her head, a habit she'd picked up and had been doing quite a lot lately. She squinted at the figure, stepping closer with all the lack of fear one would expect from both someone as stupidly fearless as herself, and also someone who was beyond dead. Not like she had anything to worry about. It didn't move. She tilted her head, before realizing this was a little more than another slap of meat, something Elsweyr couldn't even gather in the first place.

This was a body.

Arrow jumped backward, a string of curses released into the stillness. Something brushed past her. A note? A note. Green eyes read it over a few times, noting the handwriting and the manner of speaking was definitely in line with her house mate. For her. Flesh and bone once again.

One minute became two, then 5, then 10, without any sound out of the ordinary. By the 10 minute mark, all hell had broken loose. Crashing, things knocked over, and a whole lot of "God fucking damn it!" To really wake up the neighbors on such a sunny morning. The door swung open violently, and out tumbled the less than graceful resident.

There was no ghost cat of course, only the lanky and bruised form of a cheetah. King cheetah, to be exact, stupid little fuzzy mohawk sticking up in at least five other directions. Her nose was bleeding, most likely from bonking it against something or other. She kicked her legs around like she just discovered legs, rolled onto her back with her tail draped over her bloody face. It might have not looked like Arrow, but it sounded like Arrow, swore like a sailor like Arrow, and who else on this bitch of an earth would somehow manage to forget how to use their legs and tuck and roll out the front door like Arrow? As if the unusual green eyes, for the species anyway, wasn't a dead giveaway.

"ELSWEYR! Help, fuck- can someone push me over? And can someone get me a rag? I gotta nosebleed."

// tl;dr: els left behind a new body for arrow to use ( king cheetah to be exact ), but she is an idiot and forgot how to use her legs and now she's stuck looking like a pretzel outside
i am going to have so many pre body change disclaimers fuckin hell

☆

[rhosmari]

Crack like a whip going through her mind the lioness suddenly awoke. The morning rays streaming over her white and burnt orange figure. A night of sleep and she had finally been able to get it despite her head ringing and her body aching. She was grateful for it but not so much the nightmares that came with it. Glowing figures marked along their bodies, disappointed. Her family. She would be too. She had strayed much too far, hadn't she? Slowly the shadow regent stretched her body as much as she could. Careful to not move her head too much. If she did she was sure that she would cause a wave of dizziness to happen. Slowly standing she put weight on her injured hind leg, it held but trembled and she sighed. At least this time around there was less pain, less bleeding. It was working to an extent but slowly. She was in no real condition to do anything except for keep on with her therapy as far as she knew. With a small chuff the lioness turned her head toward the door only to hear a sudden banging and crashing. Followed by the sudden shouting of her name by a familiar voice. "Arrow!" Which was a bad idea because her head didn't like the volume.

She winced sharply but pushed forward to open the door and stumble out of Moth's home. Her tail lashed back and forth at the sight that greeted her and honestly she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up and spilled from her throat. Despite the bleeding nose which she was sure wasn't life threatening the other woman looked humorous. And cute. Her mind did a backstop on that thought and she flushed before quickly looking away. "Uh ..She sees she found her gift. She'll help her." Where the body came from she wouldn't tell that story but she moved to Arrow's side, aiming to gently nose around her figure before using her uninjured side to try and push her over. The body really did suite her honestly and she was moderately sorry for the one who used to be in there. Just...vaguely. "She thinks she shouldn't tilt her head back with her bleeding nose. But ah, how is Arrow feeling? Pretty sure she needs to learn to walk again." The lioness teased gently as she smiled.

[torren]

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★ | TORREN WINTHER

The symphony of curses startled the scottish wildcat, nearly resulting in a spilled kettle.  With concern and alarm, the youth scrambled over his own paws for the door, subconsciously pulling his housemate's medical satchel over his shoulder on the way.  Shouts and curses were often a direct result of pain or discomfort.

His thick striped tail curled behind him, eyes flashing for the cause of alarm and distress.  The feline quickly bounded for Arrow, bemused by the position but maintaining a polite stature.  She looked well aside from the bleeding nose -- his paws quick to run through the satchel for a clean rag.

"Here," he offered Arrow the rag with a gentle smile, head inclining.  "There's some painkiller in here too, if you need any."

Re-learning to walk as Elsweyr said, did seem to be the next step, one he lacked experience in aiding with.  His support however, he could offer without doubt or struggle.

**selcouth (adj.) ★  torren winther / scottish wildcat / tangler

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”Aw, damn. I thought you’d get here slower than that.”

True, she had called for the other woman, but had expected someone less injured would have helped her to her feet before the shadow regent made it over. Then again, it was sort of stupid to do that to begin with. It wasn’t all bad, despite her embarrassment of being caught in such a state by Elsweyr herself, looking like such a loser in front of a walking goddess, the amusement she got from Arrow’s mishap was certainly a massive improvement over the pain and tears of late. Her response was laughter of her own to offset the parkour her heart was doing in her chest. She was such a sucker for a pretty face.

She did a weak little circle kick with her back legs in quiet thankfulness when Els moved over to help, waving a paw to Torren when he crossed her vision. ”Whoop, your nose is cold, girl- oh hello-” Her ears stiffened up straight and her eyes widened when Els nudged her side before successfully pushing her over onto her paws. She was absolutely not going to admit that she was both ticklish and still adjusting to touch, and how funny was it that the first contact since not being dead was fuckin’ Elsweyr. Homegirl’s god had to have been laughing at her for acting like a dumb lovestruck teenager for their warrior woman.

Standing took a few tries, not unlike a newborn deer, as her tongue stuck out between her sharp teeth. Her large sharp teeth. ”Yeah look at me, a fuckin’ fool. See now you’ve doomed us all, big girl. ‘Cause now I can be twice as annoying. And I can get cold, you better give up that personal space when the sun goes down, ain’t a haunted house no more.” Arrow snorted, shaking her head at her own clumsiness. She took the rag from Torren, holding it up to her nose with a grin. ”Thanks, I really appreciate it, dude. Banged my face up on the floor, I’ll probably be needin’ those.” She didn't want to come out and say she tripped, per se, it would sound more ridiculous if she did instead of spinning it like she lost a fight with the floor instead. Arrow scrunched her sore nose up and sniffed, checking to see if the bleeding had slowed. Sure felt like it, although it was going to take a little more than that before she wasn’t snorting red.

”This ain’t what I really wanted for my appearance right about now, buuuuut...Elsie, girl,  I got the craziest question to ask you. Bein’ alive shifted some priorities around, and I just, y-know-” As a ghost, she had the benefit of being able to properly conceal any physical reactions that would have given her thoughts and feelings away. But now, especially since she needed time to get used to being flesh and bone, Arrow was at least 80% convinced she was burning up and glowing bright red. She had gotten soft. ”Mmmmmm kick my ass for me if this goes badly.”

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[wormwood.]

Love. In heaven, Aurum bad never thought much of it, his mind far too plagued by the despair of the world that he was subjected to with every passing day – or whatever the equivalent was, in a place without time. However, as he had slowly rebelled and pulled free of a creator who had claimed to care about him, the archangel had slowly come to realize that there was good in this world. It was what had initially enchanted him towards it, making him want to break from heaven and rebel. Ultimately he had gotten his wish, but the love of the Earth was not what the male had initially received upon arriving. Instead, he had been the son of parents that were either abusive and far too distant, and a brother he was forced to treat more like a chore, rather than a sibling. It was a while before he was truly able to experience the love that had truly enchanted him down to the surface in the first place. The name and face of his first boyfriend were now nothing more than dust within his memories, but he could still remember the feelings that had come with that relationship. Such happiness. Such freedom. Such pain.

Things after that hadn't been much easier, as a rotating list of names passed through his mind, all meaning different things to him. Draekon, Red, Crowley, hell, even Raymond... all love interests or mere crushes that left an impact on his life, for better or worse. Some said that he fell in love too easily, and he could certainly see that, but it wasn't as if he regretted it. Love of all kinds was what drove him forward, whether romantic, platonic, or familial. He'd never toss aside those old feelings of love, much as some of the related incidents may have stung like a bitch. Thankfully, it seemed as though he had finally landed with the right one, or at least, he liked to think he had. Siborno was so kind, and strong, and gentle... they cared for each other deeply, and the angel couldn't have been more happy to be carrying the other's cubs – even with all the trouble. He'd never deny that it had been a rough journey to get to the end of, but it had also been a satisfying one – although he truly did hope this was the one. The end.

He could sort of sympathize with Arrow in that way, knowing full well that both he and the vassal had never exactly been lucky in love. However, his fortune had managed to change, and he certainly hoped that Arrow's would as well. He had already started to suspect something when he saw how close she and Elsweyr were getting, but... well, to say he had been expecting this would be a complete lie. He supposed it could definitely be a romantic gift, considering Arrow's situation. After all, the feline had expressed her want for a physical body once again, and Els had evidently managed to give her that. However, he couldn't deny that it did seem a bit weird. He had to wonder where the shadow regent had gotten the body from. The cemetery, maybe? Ultimately, he decided that it was probably better not to ask, since it would only end up bringing him grief in the end. All that he cared about was that Arrow seemed happy, even if she was quite clumsy in her newly corporeal form. That was hardly a surprise, though, considering how long she had presumably been without one. He was sure that it wouldn't be long until she was stumbling into the tavern with a grin on her face.

Approaching mostly out of curiosity – and also because Arrow had been screaming like a madman – Aurum looked the other over slowly, taking in the new cheetah form. It suited her, in an odd way, even if he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to not seeing her as a smaller feline. He rumbled softly after taking the situation in, a soft chuckle leaving him before he spoke, "Looking good, Arrow. It's nice to finally see you back on the ground and solid again, even if you are a bit out of practice. Soon as you're able to walk properly, I'll take you for that celebratory gift." He offered her a short smile, before hearing what she had to say to Elsweyr. A question? Oh. Oh. Perhaps it would be best to leave them alone, if Arrow was trying to ask the question he thought she was asking. Clearing his throat a but awkwardly, the luminary gently brushed his tail against Torren's side as he turned, lowering his voice, "Come on... I think that perhaps we should give them a moment." He hoped that the other wouldn't ask too many questions. After all, Torren was old enough now to know about romance and all that, right?

[rhosmari]

Honestly she didn't think about her nose being cold and she was immediately apologetic about it. She pulled back a second before continuing to help her get back on her feet and when she did she looked over her. She wanted to say that she was looking to make sure that she wasn't hurt anywhere else but the other reason was well, she was gorgeous. She was beautiful. A long legged angel and the lioness quickly forced her eyes away. Nervous energy coursed through her and she didn't know what to make of it. All her life she had never felt this way so strongly. Once in her tribe but then he...saw another. The idea had become foreign and she wondered if she should try. Would it hurt again? She was quickly snapped out of her own thoughts when Arrow spoke up giving up personal space at night. A chuckle left the lioness then as she shook her head. It was almost as easy as breathing her own words of acceptance. "She thinks that is fine. They can share her pelts. And when it gets real cold she can use her fire. She has been practicing and if she is honest she doesn't want Arrow to get cold."

Straightforward. She did not mince words and when she realized how it all sounded her pulled back in embarrassment. Was she too forward about that? This place was different and it made her think on how she approached things. If her pale fur was slightly tinged red everyone could tell she was flustered and she watched Arrow, noticing how she was fidgety. Her head tilted slightly and she watched with intrigue. Arrow had a question to ask her, different priorities and she nodded. "She wants to know the question." Why was her heart suddenly racing in her chest. Was she getting sick? The patterned lioness blinked quickly and glanced over to Aurum, though she got confused when he spoke of giving them a moment. What was going on?!

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The introduction of the archangel felt heaven sent, no pun intended, a sort of relief in her soul from having someone around who was a little more than experienced in the uh...romance department. Way more than she was, though she knew that came with a price. Arrow hoped as much as Aurum that Siborno stayed, he deserved the right to be happy and secure with someone else for once, after all. She wasn't sure if being beyond a mortal man made things better or worse, or if it mattered at all. "You got it, boss!" Legs, work damn it. She hadn't even taken the time to think about a celebratory drink or anything, too excited about the prospect of being able to feel again. She hope it wasn't too obvious that she was purposely getting distracted, not quite sure how to word what she wanted to say.

"You don't have to bail right away, y'know..." Arrow cleared her throat, locking eyes with the Luminary as if to silently plead for him to not leave her to her own devices, raising her brow. Elsweyr's shift in expression did not go unnoticed, and the cheetah wished she had a wall to bang her head against, a little softer than the floor she nosedived into for sure, but still. She'd never had a problem speaking her mind before, this was unusual. Uncharacteristic. "Oh, fuck me." She muttered, taking a very deep breath in. Just do it, just do it you stupid bitch. "Right, right. Look, I was doing some...thinking, while you were out cold. You had me scared there for a while, thought I was about to be all by my lonesome again, aha." A nervous, quiet laugh left her before she had the chance to keep it down, swallowing thickly after it instead. Arrow felt lightheaded from the nerves, feeling like her sternum would shatter from the pressure her heartbeat was putting on it. "I was just thinking, you should stick around for, like, ever." No, that wouldn't work. She growled at her own incompetence, a frustrated squeak not making her look any better.

"I wanna be your girlfriend! Or mate, partner, I don't know what the tribe calls it. The point is-" Arrow looked around nervously, wondering if Sophiea or Goldie or even Moth had this hard of a time, or if she was just being absolutely idiotic. Wouldn't be the first time, no? "I never asked anyone out before so I don't know what I'm doing, doll, but you're just out here walkin' around all pretty and tough and, uh, tall...ain't good for my heart, had to get it off my chest before that damn thing burst."

Could she die now? Felt like she was gonna black out.

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[rhosmari]

She was worried, confused, anxious. All of these emotions spinning around and raising her heart rate. Which wasn't exactly good for her head either. Things were moving and shifting in the background. Vision blurring from time to time but she didn't want to let on about how she was suffering. She wanted to know what was going on. As Arrow spoke about the incident the woman felt her ears to back. How she had come back home a mess and passed out at the border. It was humiliating to say the least but she had also showed her attacker a lesson. And one she hoped he wouldn't forget. Taking a deep breath in she forced a smile onto her face. "She is sorry for worrying her. She hadn't went to the Pitt to cause problems. She wanted to see if they wanted an ambassador and things just...went bad. Their leader is not a good one. He didn't care about his own insulting her till she had to step up and defend herself." She remembered. He sat right there and said nothing about the scene. It had hurt her first impressions on them gravely and she hoped they got what they deserved.
Especially since he attacked her first. They called her a child when all she did was defend herself against him.

Shaking her head a bit, she paused and grimaced. A bad move but she pulled herself together and a small light laughter left her. "Well, she certainly doesn't have any plans on going anywhere. Well, at least not in the near future." Her tone was like and carefree as she spoke, trying to make things easier for Arrow. The lioness wanted to let her know she could talk to her about anything. Seeing her this stressed over it made her lean forward a bit, the thought of nuzzling the king cheetah in her head when suddenly she said what was actually on her chest. The tribal woman blinked, the moment seeming to slow down for her. Her eyes widened and then closed as she registered just what was said. Her tail tip twitched in a sudden rush of emotions and she swayed a little. "Oh, Cipactli." She breathed before her bright blues opened up and locked on Arrow.

Her ears pulled forward and she leaned forward this time for real. Attempting to nuzzle her goddess. "She...she didn't expect her to say that. She was going to....it was going to be a surprise." But then she went and got hurt and now she was like this and had ruined it. The lioness winced a bit before shaking her head. "Arrow is who she wants. She likes her a lot. She would love to be her mate...ah, but would she be okay with saying this in front her god? She is sure they will accept.." Embarrassment floods through her as she knows that her customs are weird but she loves her. She wants to be with her, it is there in her soul.

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”Gotcha first, nobody can outdo the Arrow. The ladies can’t stay away.” Joking, obviously, Arrow winked and blew a kiss in Elsweyr’s direction like she was some sort of Casanova. She was not, not even close. The gesture of affection from the shadow regent nearly ripped her composure out from under her for like, the 5th time, wheezing quietly from the strain of a pretty girl touching her. Y’know, like smooth romantics do.

She heard the request, blinking once, then again with widened eyes. Sounded a whole lot like saying vows to her, like, some official shit. The laugh that escaped her was nervous at first, then excited, looking between Torren and Aurum, motioning a paw between herself and Elsweyr. ”I hope your god is ready for me, and I thought meeting the parents was a lot.” She moved to swing an arm over Elsweyr’s shoulders and plant a kiss on her cheek, at least once she was for sure the blood on her face was dry.

”Aurum, dude, bro, lookit, I gotta a girlfriend! Can you believe it? Better watch your back, aboutta be the cutest couple on the block. I want that drink, big man.”

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[wormwood.]

Initially, Aurum had wanted to move away from the scene entirely. Not because he disliked Arrow or Elsweyr, or because he was unhappy with their budding relationship. Rather, he didn't want to act as a third wheel, or make Arrow too nervous to proceed. However, as soon as the luminary gently nudged Torren and tried to tell him that they should skedaddle, he was stopped by Arrow herself. He paused, biting down on the inside of his cheek for a moment before he spoke, "Ah, well... alright, I suppose." The sense of nerves in the air was obvious, both from Arrow herself and from Elsweyr. He couldn't say that he blamed his shadow regent, considering how covert the two of them were being. For all she knew, she was about to be killed or something – not that either of them would ever do such a thing. However, the nervousness was understandable, and the angel chose to send a smile in her direction, hoping it would put her at ease somewhat.

Of course, the thing that served to ease the tension the most was the actual confession itself. It was sloppy, to say the least, but it was also very perfectly Arrow and Aurum couldn't help the slightly goofy grin on his face as he witnessed it. There was a moment where he felt as though he was holding his breath, just waiting for Elsweyr's reaction. A moment later, though, and everything was sunshine and rainbows, and the luminary couldn't help letting out a soft cheer of support. When Els spoke about gods, though, Aurum found himself pausing. Not out of anger or confusion, but mostly out of curiosity. After a moment of thought, he found himself asking, "Your god? You mean Cipactli? Was it traditional for your tribe to do that?" He honestly was curious, considering he still didn't know all that much about Elsweyr's old home, aside from a few things he had picked up. If it had been like his relationship with his old pride, he might've understood her not wanting to talk about it, but... it didn't seem as though her old tribe had been unkind.

He wasn't given that much time to ponder, though, because Arrow was once again looking at him, all smiles. That wasn't exactly surprising, considering what had just gone down. With a soft chuckle leaving him, Aurum then rumbled, "Ah... trust me, I see that. I'm sure that you guys are gonna give Siborno and I a run for our money..." Although, it really wasn't a competition. If it was, they already would've been blown out of the water by Goldie and Sophiea... not because the pair was a better couple than them, just because Goldie's sway over Sophiea was that impressive. Snickering a bit at the thought, the angel then continued, "And I suppose I do owe you a drink... or twenty. I won't mind bringing you out whenever you want, although something tells me you might want a bit of time with Els, for now." He remembered when he and Sib had first gotten together, and they had pretty much just passed out in bed together, happily resting in each other's arms.