IT'S REALLY QUITE PLEASANT, EXCEPT FOR THE SMELL — JOINING

[rushy]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: 0px; font-family: verdana;"]If anyone ever threatened Gabriel's life over having to describe himself, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't lose his life in that moment. Gabriel had been through some shit. Between bouncing around all different dynamics of groups, witnessing the death of his siblings and mother, and losing half of his face as his most hated sibling had, there was really nothing left that could permanently traumatize or damage the serval.

If there was one thing that he was certain of, though, it was that he wanted to out-live and out-stride and out-everything his older brother. Deep down inside, Gabriel knew that wasn't possible. Serpentine had faced God himself and walked backwards into hell and still lived to tell the tale. All Gabriel had ever done that was worth a single shit was become some wackjob mafioso and lose half his face to a jackass who told him he wasn't good at his job... And then proved it.

That had been peak humiliation for Gabriel. At the time, he wished that they'd just killed him off. Ended his suffering then and there. What was a prideful narcissist who was missing half of their face? A failure, that's what. And after all that, he'd gone into complete seclusion and hiding. He was ashamed. When Serpentine had lost half of his face, people had feared him- they had praised him and revered him as some war hero. All that had happened to Gabriel is that he looked like some pathetic reflection of his older brother. He was trapped in his shadow, perhaps forever and always.

However, one could only spend so much time in complete seclusion like that. Especially if one was Gabriel. His pride had been soiled, but it hadn't been destroyed... And of course, there was always a need to feed that monster.

It seemed like The Pitt was the obvious choice. There was no group that really fit Gabriel's vile, ruthless aesthetic like The Pitt did, and he was satisfied to discover that their territory was located in the desert, similar to another of the serval's former homes. No matter how comfortable he was already becoming though, he was sure to stop at the border. There was no point in coming here if he was just going to end up getting turned into ground beef.

(my trash baby returneth, also jfkehk where'd that muse come from)

[EROS]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width: 55%; font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: -1px; color: black"]History was a known and an unknown as it pertained to different things. There were stories that had been discovered, telling vast and unbelievable tales of what life used to be and how things became as they were now. But then there was stories yet to be discover that might hold awful truths and things that might be better left undiscovered. Though who knew which was which at all and it certainly wasn't the large dark creature with smoke that seemed to pour forth from his very body. His own past was not as storied or so he believed. He didn't remember anything before his fifth month of life and perhaps that was something to be over looked yet it nagged at him. The vague impressions that he got as he slept on the dirty ground underneath the moonlight. But what about? The life he had before he was a slave? It felt hollow and empty and he thought it was something he would rather not go back to. Whatever it was he just thought that his parents had failed to protect him and now this was his life, this was what he had to work with and after so many grueling hours in the heated sun, so many beatings and pain he was accepting of it. It was where he belonged and even as long limbs moved across shifting sands he kept peeking over his shoulder.

Looking for that familiar image of a Pitt member coming to drag him back into the jungle. After all the desert was off limits to him. He hadn't exactly thought of why but he wasn't going to go anywhere. This place was too ingrained into his being for him to even think of escaping. But he just wanted a change of scenery and seeing the lush green turn to blazing orange sand was enough for him. Watching as the wind whipped that very sand up into a spiraling torrent amazed him and even when his eyes scanned across the horizon to see a strange upon the edge of their lands. Wait. His pink marble hues blinked once and he focused more on what appeared to be a small wild cat upon the border. A stranger but still someone higher than himself. His tail tucked between his legs and he slowly walked over, body hunched and ears flattened and pulled back against his skull. The rule was still in place and he slowly bowed to the serval, lowering himself as much as he could to be underneath him. His chin brushed the sand and he tried not to inhale the particles as he spoke, never once meeting the male's gaze with his own. "I'm sorry.... I shouldn't speak before you address me but how may I serve you?" Was this appropriate? He wasn't sure but he stayed low all the same, even if it pained his large form.

[rushy]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: 0px; font-family: verdana;"]Gabriel had seen many pitiful things in his years, but none so pitiful as this. He was sure he understood that this stranger, who smelled so strongly of the Pitt, was a slave. Otherwise he'd gotten the premise of the entire group wrong... Or he'd smoked way too much weed... Either way, as the sha groveled before him, a snicker of amusement blossomed at Gabriel's lips.

Someone kneeling, no matter how required of them, in front of Gabriel definitely stroked his wounded ego. It was satisfying to see. But at the same time, he did like when people looked him in the face. When they took in his scar and his remaining eye in all its pitiless glory.

"It's no problem," Gabriel croaked in response, alarmed by how his abused vocal cords sounded. Well, he supposed that's how it was when you smoked all the time and didn't ever speak to anyone for about a year or two. "I'm Gabriel," he continued, not bothering to give his full name by any means "Pleasure to meet you..." He trailed off, unsure whether or not to tell this individual that he was looking to join or if he should wait for another to address him.

[CHERRYWINE]

♕ Cherry had joined the Pitt not too long ago - a little over a week, at the most -, and so far, she was actually kind of liking it. Or, she was liking it  much more than she thought she would. It was a lot like her old home, not in environment, but when it came to the core ideas and the way the place was set up, with all the ranks and whatnot, they were pretty damn similar. Similar enough for her to be able to notice and appreciate, at the very least. She'd been working on keeping up with everything, since she hated to be out of the loop when it came to news and shit, which apparently included meeting all the joiners and stuff.

So, that was what she'd been looking to do when she spotted Gabriel and Valkyr. She'd only seen Valkyr once or twice, but honestly, he was kind of depressing to be around. He was utterly pitiful, stuck under the thumbs of each Pitt member. Cherrywine would rather die than live humiliated and under others' command. Striding over next, the striking femme looked over Gabriel with a soft "hm", raising vibrant blue visionaries to meet his gaze with a soft tilt of her head. "So are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna tell us what you're doing here?" Joining? Probably, but she wasn't about to assume and end up being wrong.

"speech"

[EROS]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width: 55%; font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: -1px; color: black"]It was no problem but it was still a rule broken. Though the large beast didn't comment on it and instead he let out a soft and partially relieved breath. He wasn't going to be in trouble, at least not yet so he could breath easier. Then he moved back a bit after such evidence in case things went sour but he still kept his low potions. Eyes flicked up for the briefest moment but never rested on Gabriel's form long enough to see anything as he took a light shiver that rippled through his lanky form. Shifting from one paw to another as the other hinted that he wanted his name he slowly sat down because the bow was really beginning to strain his muzzle before he spoke up. "Valkyr....my name." His soft voice fluttered out of blackened lips as he allowed himself to relax just somewhat. His eyes then flicked over when he felt the presence of another, this one a pitt member he did not know yet. But the way in which she carried herself was all that matter. She was above him and he kept himself hunched down. This exchange now didn't need him and so he stayed quiet so that they might talk and if they call upon him he would move into action to do their bidding but nothing more.

[guts]

Cosette herself had been here for a while now, and had met plenty of the members, though some of them she didn't know the name of yet. Either they had introduced themselves or she heard their names in passing. Nevertheless, she recognized most of the people here now, which was all that mattered to her. As for the clan's customs, they were something she would have to get used to. The slavery part wasn't so unfamiliar, but she would have to get used to not being one herself. It was hard not to go around and do the slaves' jobs.

Padding up to the small group, she would study the newcomer before her eyes dropped down to her paws, avoiding his eyes as Valkyr was. It was just a habit of her's. The serval would glance up at Cherrywine, but would remain silent, waiting for Gabriel's response. There was no way to tell what people came for, at least not to her.

[glow=black,2,300]— ✘ —[/glow]

[rushy]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: 0px; font-family: verdana;"]Gabriel's gaze flickered over to watch Cherrywine approach, saying nothing as he supposed she wouldn't want to be spoken over. So of course, he was ever so slightly taken aback when the femme questioned him with a slightly hostile sentence. He didn't really detect any venom to her words, but the phrasing was still... Whatever.

"I'd like to join The Pitt," the serval stated bluntly in turn, his nose crinkling a bit as he addressed her. His remaining eye glanced downward as he heard the slave mutter something again. Valkyr... He'd keep that in mind. Though his thoughts were dragged elsewhere as another pitt member approached their slowly growing group. Gabriel wondered vaguely if this one was a slave as well, but higher in rank. She avoided his gaze like Valkyr had, but she didn't put her face in the dirt in the same way. He wouldn't dare ask though, for fear of getting his ass handed to him.

[GRIMNYTE]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 540px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; color:; padding: 20px"]In truth, Esklav had never seen the worth in an auto-acceptance policy. It seemed unwise. Most of the lost souls getting stranded on their borders tended to be of the forlorn kind, scrawny and too snappy to stray from their dependence on others. They were like leeches, sucking at The Pitt's resources until a swollen welt remained in its place, wounded and tearing up at the seams. "So it seems." they all were, weren't they? The leopon walked forth, blue eyes indifferent but stuck to Gabriel like a fly on stick-paper besides. "You're accepted. Welcome. My name is Esklav, the remaining warpriest here. You'll be expected to carry your own weight unless you prefer the life of a slave. Do you have any questions?"

[rushy]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: 0px; font-family: verdana;"]The truth was, Gabriel had had absolutely no problem fending for himself in the past. If anything, the solitude was welcomed- perhaps even bridges of time in his life when he had made the most personal development. He could hold his own. The only problem was that being a loner wasn't exactly fantastic for one's ego. He didn't like when people blew smoke up his ass, per se, but he was definitely into being praised.

He just hoped that The Pitt would get that. If anything, his array of scars, both facial and bodily, would show off how resilient he could be. Gabriel hoped. The serval's gaze swept towards Esklav as he approached, searching the much larger wildcat's expressions and mannerisms for some grasp of his personality... To no avail. He scrunched up his nose slightly as the leopon spoke, responding in kind with a small gratuitous dip of his head "I don't have any questions- thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you."