FIRE ON THE HORIZON -- joining

forest. dense and dark like a massive hoard of looming bodies, whispering conspiratorially to one another. so unlike the vast open grasslands and rocky islands of her birth. bright amber eyes gaze up at the canopy. emerald leaves, turned pitch black in the darkness, weave together so tightly that no light breaks through. creepy. ismene was born under the stars; thousands upon thousands of tiny twinkling lights shining down upon her. she isn't very sure she likes this place but it's the one that wolf recommended to her at her last stop and she's really hungry. if she plans on eating tonight, ismene doesn't really know of any better options. her tail flicks uneasily, but she advances towards the border. "hello?" she calls in a meek tone, eyes shifting from side to side. ismene does not like the dark, the way the shadows seem to consume everything like a wave of black water. the lioness shifts her weight nervously, drawing in deep breaths in a meager attempt to calm herself. "anyone home?"

the arrival of another creature happens sooner than ismene expected, much to her relief. she is not fond of this all-encompassing darkness. the longer she sits all on her lonesome, the more she craves for another look at the stars. in her short life, she has had many homes in many different places, but the stars were always the one constant. there is an odd sort of comfort to be found in gazing up at those twinkling lights and finding the familiar patterns.

rounded ears swivel and shift at the sound of approaching paw steps, molten amber eyes flickering about in search of the newcomer.

“uh, hello,” stammers the young lioness, tail twitching anxiously. sure, izzy could probably physically overpower the guy and kill him if she wanted to, but honestly all the girl could think about was getting somewhere safe where she could rest and fill her hungry belly. “my name is ismene...i would like to join if that’s alright.”

the arrival of another creature startles the youth, her body visibly lurching at the sudden sound of a stranger's voice. for moment, a petrified expression mars her features as she stares wide-eyed at the new arrival but a moment passes and ismene settles upon the realization that it just just another veil cat. a sheepish smile tugs at the edges of the lioness's lips; a touch embarrassed about her jumpiness. it is not normally this bad. ismene just really dislikes the dark. especially starless darkness. "it's nice to meet you ambrosia and..." she trails off, suddenly realizing that she never got the male's name. "well..it's nice to meet you both." she studies the other felines with renewed interest, feeling more and more comfortable by the second. "what's a midnightbringer?" ismene asks, locking eyes with ambrosia. it can't be literal...hopefully. nonetheless, it is a strange title and there's no better time than the present to start learning about her new home—regardless of how long it lasts.

this time, ismene manages not to start at the appearance of another individual. another smaller feline, but this time carrying an ere of power and confidence. from the moment the small cream feline began to speak, izzy knew the she-cat must be the leader of some sort. the piebald cub bobs her head in silent acknowledgment of the female's response to her question, filing away that information for later purposes. for moment, she is briefly confused as to why a third in command would be called a "bringer of midnight" but then it dawned on her that perhaps it fit the theme of the shadow veil more than it actually described the position. that makes the most sense.

ismene is used to places having just a simple "leader" and "healer" and leaving it at that. but she finds this naming scheme more fun. it's kinda like they all sat around a fire one day and asked themselves how many allusions to darkness they could make. a ghost of a smile tugs on her lips at the thought. ismene has been in more places than she can count. not many established clans like this one, of course, but small gatherings of loners and rogues. she moves often, but there are always outcasts willing to share a home and some food for at least one night.

"it's nice to meet you, miss mercy," replies the youth with a respectful dip of her head. "i--i'm ismene in case you didn't hear." she offers an awkward smile. the girl falls silent for a moment before her thoughts seem to catch up with her and yet another question balances at the tip of her tongue—amber eyes gleaming inquisitively. "there is more than one leader here?" how does that work?

for the most part, ismene has come to terms with the fact that she never really had a home. one time a loner she met called his partner his home. it baffled her that perhaps a special person could be just as much of a home as a place, but not even that was for her. people and places came and went and she moved every couple of weeks. many of them were wonderful, gorgeous people who taught her incredible things and lived in incredible locations, but none of them ever stuck. none of them was home. izzy is starting to believe that she'll never have one, not after what happened to her parents. she doesn't know if they abandoned her or they lost her or if they're dead. all she knows is that the loner who found her crying in the hollow of a log as a baby said that she must of been there for several days.

the road is the only thing she's ever known. aside from never having a consistent group of friends or family, ismene does get to go lots of cool places and learn awesome things. she has many teachers and many friends all over the world, all along the path that eventually led her to shadow veil. izzy doesn't know how long she'll be here but she's excited to see where this all goes. even if it is creepy and dark all the time.

the girl listens to mercy with interest. "shadowkeeper, huh? that's a cool title," she giggles. "it makes you sound like a wizard." it is pretty cool that there's two shadowkeepers. ismene knows that sometimes leading is tough, so maybe splitting up the duties makes it a bit easier. working as a team is always better. "i'm not hungry or anything...but actually a tour sounds nice!" ismene likes to learn, and what better chance to learn than to hear everything from an expert?? plus, she thinks miss mercy is nice so she is in no hurry to part ways.