missing | stranger in the cloud forest [joining]

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    The last thing she remembered was a blinding light and a loud explosion and before she knew what was happening, everything had gone black. Time had slowed as her life flashed before her eyes, but halfway through the sequence she had jolted back to reality. The open plains she had been strolling through were replaced by shadowy, looming trees. Instead of a great wind that blew her fur against itself, the air was stagnant and draped in the thickest fog she had ever seen. She was speechless in her disbelief. Where am I? To say she was confused would be an incredible understatement. She was flabbergasted; astonished.

    "Hello?" Part of her suspected that someone was playing a trick on her. Her body felt incredibly weird, as did her fangs. She felt heavy and sleepy as if she had awakened from a dream. Get out of my head! No response and no sign of anyone pulling a psychic trick on her. "Hello?" Perhaps someone was near. If she had been thrown into this... forest, someone else was sure to be near.

    TAGS ✦ ✧ ✦ — Ella had been checking to see if anyone had been thrown into the neighboring areas when she noticed the black feline wandering through the territory.


    "Hey, are you okay?" the flower crowned feline asked with genuine worry in her tone. Though this stranger didn't seem to be part of her clan, she still wanted to make sure they were okay. After everything that had happened everyone would need some help. Though she tried to remain strong, she still would need help trying to navigate through this new world.


    "Do you hurt anywhere?" she asked as she scanned her over a bit with her ivy green hues. It didn't seem like she had any injuries, but she had to make sure. Internal bleeding and wounds were a reality after all. So, she was going to take every precaution just in case. There was no way she could do it another way.

    "I would be if I knew where I was." Carmen answered with a slight snap. Once she heard the words come out of her mouth, she quickly retreated back and rephrased. "Yes, I'm fine. Do you live here, or did... ah, did you happen.. to.. be somewhere else before?" You sound crazy. She could still only remember the plains and the light and the noise--no, wait, that was false. She had been feeding. Did she have blood on her maw? No, I don't, because I never actually got to eat. God, I'm hungry. Carmen licked the tips of her canines with her mouth closed, and a certain thought crossed her mind. The snow leopard quickly moved her gaze away from Ella and surveyed the fogged area once more in spite of her hunger. I'm not that hungry. She told herself. And definitely not stupid enough. Plus, she was kind of cute. Double positive. She laughed to herself, in her head, and looked back at the stranger.

    "I feel fine." Nothing really hurt, although she had a little headache. Carmen thought nothing of it; they were normal. "And, uh, what's your name?"

    TAGS ✦ ✧ ✦ — The feline wasn't phased by her initially aggressive tone. She had grown quite used to it due to her past family life. So, when she snapped at her she remained calm.


    Ella listened as she spoke her next few words. It seemed as though she had went through the same thing the rest of the clan had. "I'm assuming you saw the meteors too. As far as I can tell, this is going to be my clan's new territory," she told her honestly. She wasn't sure how she got to this new land, but she knew she would have to adjust somehow.


    She felt a little relieved to hear that she wasn't hurting. It was a good sign considering everything that had happened. Then she asked for her name. "Oh, my name is Ella. I'm a warrior here in BlizzardClan. What's your name?" she asked politely though noted her averting eye contact. She knew something was wrong, but she wouldn't push her. After all, it would be quite rude.

    My clan's new territory... Oh, the clans. Which of the clans lived in foggy places? The Shadow Veil perhaps? That would make the most sense. How many clans are there anyways? Too many in her opinion. Carmen had never been really big on hanging around others for extended periods of time, for certain reasons. Things did get pretty lonely, but she had always told herself it was for the best. She'd probably end up getting kicked out anyways. Sigh.

    "I'm Carmen." BlizzardClan, seriously? This looked nothing like BlizzardClan. Oh, wait. Idiot. "So.. that means I'm technically trespassing then... right?" Carmen certainly didn't expect to get attacked by Ella here, but... No, bad idea. It would be... No. Nope. Although... Fine. "You think... that maybe I could, er," She paused. Was this something alright to ask? Eh, f-ck it. "Do you guys do new members?

    TAGS ✦ ✧ ✦ — The feline gave a small nod as she spoke of her name. She would surely remember her name. She then listened as she spoke of her trespassing. It was a legitimate question, and she hadn't planned on attacking her. She was not one to attack someone unless it was necessary.


    "Technically yes," she said and listened further as she started asking a question. A soft smile though graced her features as she asked to join them. "Of course. Welcome to the clan," she said before motioning with her tail towards where they would likely set up their camp.


    "If you don't mind following me, I'll bring you towards where some of the others are," she said remaining polite. She wanted to give her the option of going elsewhere in case she wanted to explore the unusual territory.

    Carmen suppressed letting out a sigh of relief, and immediately squared her shoulders. She really had to try not to mess up now. While she wasn't one to really care about others' opinions of her, there were.. things about her that did cause her anxiety at times. Surely she'd be fine. She just had to keep herself under control. She'd done it before, kind of.

    "I don't mind at all." Seeing as Ella clearly knew where to go to get out of this foggy h-ll of a forest, Carmen would follow her wherever she went.

    TAGS ✦ ✧ ✦ — The flower crowned feline gave a small nod as she accepted her request. Soon after she began heading towards the others making sure every now and again that she was following along.


    "I admit, we aren't entirely sure how this place is so please be patient with us," she informed her keeping honest. Then again, most of the people in this world were likely confused. Assuming the other clans and such came too. "Oh, do you have any questions for me before we get there?" she asked curiously as she glanced over her shoulder to look at Carmen. Hopefully she didn't have too many as most she couldn't quite answer at the moment.

    "No, no questions." She was kind of hoping she knew what was going on, but alas, apparently not. Part of her didn't really want to know what happened, but she was curious. Everyone was, no doubt.

    "Actually, where was BlizzardClan located before the whole, ya know?" The name was familiar but she didn't recall where they had been located. She'd bet her tongue it was somewhere cold, if the name was related to their former territory somehow.

    THE IRONY HOWEVER, IS THAT I'M NOT ACTUALLY ANGRY —

    Could anyone blame Kady for being very cautious with this new territory? This new life? The obsidian dragoness was making sure there were no signs of danger to make sure her clan would be safe. She was soaring through the skies, but there was no enjoyment. That could be her lack of emotions (which seem to be coming back after the whole change) or the idea of something weird popping up and killing them all. From above she could spot Ella with... a stranger? Hell no.


    She's quick to make a landing not too far away from the pair, but her sanguine wings remain outstretched in mild aggression, which is something she didn't even think she'd be able to feel again. "Ella. Who is this?" There's no way they could trust anyone outside of their clan really. They have no idea if this crazy shit happened to any other clans. This could be someone in disguise trying to see what their clan is like and how to take them down.


    // realizing now kady's gonna be mad sus over strangers

    Important Information

           

    — I'M TRYING TO LEARN HOW TO BE HAPPY, AND THAT IN ITSELF IS A WAR

    TAGS ✦ ✧ ✦ — See, Ella was just to selfless for her own good. While Kady saw a potential threat, she saw someone in need of help. To her Carmen was just as confused as everyone else. Even if she could have been lying she still felt the need to aid her. After all, that was her purpose really in life. Help those in need. In this troubling time help was needed pretty much everywhere.


    "Kady, this is Carmen. She is a joiner," she informed her motioning her head towards the other feline. Afterwards she glanced over at Carmen giving a small, apologetic smile. She knew well that Kady was just trying to protect her clan. With such an unknown land it was hard to tell enemies from friends.


    She soon moved her green hues back over to Kady. She knew there was a possibility that she would remain tense. She just hoped she would believe that she was telling the truth.

    Carmen raised her head and eyes to look up at the horse-sized dragon before. She'd never come across a dragon and gotten close to it before, as she would really be no match for one. She'd only seen a few really small ones in her lifetime and they'd probably been babies. Wise to the mama bears out there, she left pretty quickly back then. This dragon, Kady as Ella called it, seemed... defensive. Great.


    "I woke up here after the whole sh'bam."

    Osiris couldn't exactly say he was pleased to be in a new world, but he couldn't exactly say he hated it either. Considering the territory was much of the same, it would feel natural here soon enough. He hoped anyway...and he prayed without doubt that they never experienced that again.


    "Hey, my name is Osiris. It's a pleasure to meet you. You said you woke up here? Does that mean you were not here to being with? It'd be the case with us, too...we kind of just...flash of light and then bang. Here." The lion had a small frown on his face, eyes flicking back and forth. He'd heard rumors that there were species here he'd never seen before. Like his world had just been picked up and deposited into another animal's world. Talk about fucked up.

    First a dragon, and now a lion. It didn't make her exactly nervous per say--more uncomfortable than anything. In her travels, the most common animals she encountered included coyotes, feral cats and other animals of the same size or smaller. Carmen was used to be at least on the larger end of things. It seemed now she was being dwarfed.


    "I did say that, and yeah, that would mean yes. I was in a field, and now I'm in a forest." She'd never seen a lion quite like Osiris, or any lion for that matter, and he was definitely not what she thought would be typical. Briefly she wondered if the fire-appearing substance was actually some sort of fire, or if it was an illusion. It looked pretty real to her though, so she made a note to keep her distance from this particular individual. Not that you'd need to. Carmen moved her eyes away and surveyed the area again. Would anyone else pop out of the fog? And how long until they got to their destination?

    THE IRONY HOWEVER, IS THAT I'M NOT ACTUALLY ANGRY —

    Kady grits her teeth as she listens to everyone speak. Right...field. Forest. sh'bam... Her nostrils flare for a moment as she takes a deep breath in. In Kady's mind, there were no concerns for outsiders. Only BlizzardClan. But who is she to turn someone away? They always had an open policy when it came to joining them. Maybe she's genuine, and not some sort of spy. "Right.. okay... " A joiner though? Join what exactly? Sure they were still a clan, but a clan with no home. With no food. No idea where a water supply was. A clan that was utterly fucked, but if she wanted to join them then so be it. "Welcome then... Stay safe.. Keep close to one another. I'm going to see if there are any other stragglers around.." And unless she was needed she was now off to go explore more of the area from the sky.

    Important Information

           

    — I'M TRYING TO LEARN HOW TO BE HAPPY, AND THAT IN ITSELF IS A WAR

    Osiris watched as the Vice-Leader took to the sky. She was acting weird, bu the supposed that was to be expected. Everything was quite weird right now. Shaking his head, he turned toward Carmen. "You must be tired, but we all need to eat...would you like to come with me and hunt?"

    Carmen nodded toward Kady. She didn't trust the dragon on the account that she was getting the same vibes off of her.


    And then there was Osiris's offer. Shit. Was she being to obvious? Or was he simply offering because he was hungry? It didn't matter, because a mask was thrown up. I need to calm down, she told herself, it's only something if I make it something. The snow leopard met Orsiris's eyes and nodded, "Sure. I can do that." I'll be fine.


    She supposed that meant she would have to stop following Ella, and follow Osiris wherever he wanted to hunt. It was a shame, really, since Ella was so nice to look out. She'd have to catch up with her later. Too bad she was probably straight. Most of the cute girls were.


    "Lead the way."

    Osiris noted that Carmen was acting a bit off at his offer. Had he offended her? Frowning, he cast a look at her once more as she accepted his offer. Did she really want to? Shaking his head, the lion plastered on a smile, nodding once and then flicking his tail slightly. Right...so...they needed to get to the wooded area. He began to pick hsi way through the terrain, operating on muscle memory of the old place which....well got them lost a bit. But eventually they made it!


    The lion halted, drawing in a scent. He glanced around, searching for anything to feed his Clan mates. Eventually he stumbled upon a lone little deer, not quite a baby but not quite full grown either. He stalked it, before taking it down and killing it. It was a clean cut, leaving much of the meat behind. It'd feed plenty.


    He hunted a little bit more, catching some eagles and some more of these little deer. Then he piled his prey onto the side, before peering around for Carmen. "Hey Carmen? I think I'm ready to bring my kill back."

    "Alright, well, uh, see ya, Ella." Carmen wanted to make sure to say her goodbyes to Ella before she ran off. After all, the plan was originally to follow her. Oh well. The ebony clouded leopard then turned and trotted after the lion. She had no sense of the territory so their "getting lost" was pretty much all of it to her. They went their separate ways, which was totally fine with Carmen. She stalked off to find her own prey.


    Within a few minutes, she caught scent of a coyote. She began to stalk it at first, then stopped. Were those acceptable to kill? Ah, probably not. She turned away and kept going until she also came across some smaller breed of deer. It was fairly easy to catch, but it wasn't as easy to refrain from sucking the blood out of it. That would be a big no-no. She choked out its airways, and when she could feel its heartbeat stop, she let it go. Her venom glands longed to be released, but she didn't. Don't want anyone getting paralyzed, she laughed. It was then that she noticed that they did feel different, but she paid little notice.


    By the time she met up with Osiris again, she had caught that deer and a handful of rabbits. Being nearly half his size, she couldn't possibly carry as much as he could. Carmen didn't care. She expected he would understand.


    "I've got all I can carry. I'll follow you."

    Osiris nodded, loading up his prey on his shoulder. Honestly, any prey that could help the Clan was good to him. Even fi she just caught a rabbit, he'd be okay with that. Hiking up toward where the stone staircase should be, he grunted when he noticed it wasn't there. Instead it was a boat. Curious he stepped into the boat, which started to move. It seemed to stop beside Carmen however, as if the magic propelling it was that strong. "I guess we go up from here?"