' if there's a chance - return '

✧･ﾟ━ she had been recovering, and finally becoming happy again. no longer was she dreading the night, for she would never be drunk again. she had many friends, and growing relationships with both her lost son, julian, and the cat who had helped her get on the path to recovery- terrasen. then there was her dear friend, morningharbor. it didn't matter if shiloh wasn't morning's best friend, because morning was shiloh's best friend, and that was all that counted. everything was falling into place.

then, one night, while gathering herbs for her stores, she had been taken. taken by a band of rogues.

the succeeding quarter-moon was one of pain and torture. one night ended it all, when shiloh died of an infected wound in her sleep. it was a peaceful way to go, despite her situation. the rift presumed her missing, and she was simply demoted and forgotten as new replaced old.

somehow, she was back. one moment, shiloh had been silently weeping herself to sleep in a cold cell as a dying leopardess, the next she had woken up as a young great pyrenees, coincidentally on the border of the home she had missed dearly. it had been nearly a year since her disappearance, unknown to most of the current members. however, at the scent of the rift, the canine became overjoyed with relief, forgetting the peculiar circumstance and the sudden shift in body.

shiloh would sprint into this unfamiliar territory, only familiar by scent (though she wouldn't notice this). the buttercup yellow dog barked ecstatically, "tarrasen! morning! someone? i'm back!"

any passerby would most likely find her to be quite out of her mind.

//ahhh rushed & tired post but i was too excited to bring her back to not post lol

if y'all didn't meet me in the chat thread, then heyo, my name's mari, and i played a character named shiloh in the rift a while back before i went inactive. hopefully this time she'll stay for good ;)

✧･ﾟ━ her rampage ceased at the feline's words, and instantly reality hit her. she looked down at her paws, which were fluffy and a buttercup yellow color. what really concerned her was that she couldn't sheath her claws. then she felt the wagging tail, and this would cause her to freeze, utterly bewildered. she was... a dog? and how had she ended up here? and why did this place smell like home, but not look anything like it?

'i'm sorry, i'm not aware of anybody by those names.'

the canine's gaze fixed on the stranger- though she recognized him vaguely- and she stifled a confused whimper. she didn't know what to think. was this a dream? was she just going to wake up and have to endure another day of torture on an empty stomach? despite stifling any expression of the cascade of emotions slamming into her chest and collapsing her windpipe, her legs trembled, as shiloh managed to answer, "r-ridgewhiskey. heh, pleasure. where am i? i got lost. i'm shiloh, physician of the rift, b-by the way." she figured maybe she'd lost her way and had picked up a scent that wasn't the rift's at all. after all, that's what torture does to an individual.

//dAng i didn't know i could feel so bad for my own character, whom i'm torturing lol

✧･ﾟ━ 'don't worry, this is the rift.'

realization hit her like the cold waves lapping at the shore. how could this be the rift, unless she had died? shiloh'd heard about those who'd died and then reincarnated. ususally, though, it was right away. there was no way that so much could have happened in a week. there was already a new doctor, presumably a new leader, and a territory change. oh, how much had she missed? all possible bad situations flooded her mind and almost choked her in her spot. along with this came grief, like hot tar being poured over her whole body. it was an inevitable truth. i'll never see them again. morningharbor. terrasen. julian. all of them. gone.

then came denial and distrust of the speaker. shiloh met lanza's soft speech with a tongue sharp as ice, "how can i know this is actually the rift? why don't you take me to your leader, then! or are you playing with my emotions?" this was much out of character for the kind lady, but grief does fickle things to the mind.

✧･ﾟ━ the serval's message flashed across her vision, causing shiloh to flinch in surprise. archipelagoisland. the rift. leader. so much had changed. she'd never seen that lighthouse before, yet she felt the pull of home all the same. maybe this was a dream, but if it wasn't, she'd have to deal with it. letting out a mortified sigh, the canine spoke with a tremor in her voice, "i-i'm sorry. i g-guess this is my r-request to join." she all of a sudden felt horrible for her actions just now, guilt not allowing her to meet eyes with lanza, whom she'd been quite rude to.

the yellow dog gave crashedpaw a nod of acknowledgement, a trembling smile coming across her maw. why would these kind creatures trick her? the canine had been too blind to see that.

✧･ﾟ━ shiloh bashfully met ridgewhiskey's gaze, glowing forest green eyes sorrowful. "thank you," she murmured, "i appreciate it." the canine had nothing else to say, so she sat, eyes nervously flickering around her surroundings, though the rest of her body was calm with resolve.

✧･ﾟ━ the cat shiloh had seen in the message arrived, providing further confirmation as to what was going on. this leader seemed like a kind individual, easing shiloh's nerves. the canine took a deep breath, shifting her weight and ruffling her yellow and white fur. "hello, archipelagoisland," she began respectifully, "it's a pleasure to meet you. i-if i may ask, what is today's date?" shiloh knew it had probably been a while since she disappeared, but she couldn't fathom how long. a moon? many moons? a year? many years? she didn't know, and that frightened the former leopardess.