nice to meet ya / joining

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    It was deathly quiet here, much too silent for his taste. The wary apprentice, with ears flat against his skull and narrowed hazel visionaries watched the horizon in a guarded manner. His nonexistent brows were furrowed as he slid through the bamboo forest, well aware that he was well beyond the border. He had passed it long ago, but for some reason, that hadn't stopped him in his tracks. He was a rather pitiful creature, skinny and malnourished. Not only was he miserable in appearance, but in terms of personality he was as well. Scared, flighty, hesitant. The longer he thought of himself, the more negative, pessimistic thoughts plagued his mind. Paperpaw didn't seem himself living much longer, not only because he had been on his own for so long, but because his circumstance seemed.. tragic. His parents were gone; they had left him long ago it felt like. He had no siblings; he had been an only child. He had no true home; he had been traveling for as long as he could remember, flitting from one place to the next. The people he had met along the way hadn't been.. His thoughts trailed off as his eyes appeared distant, growing glossy with tears. Paper blinked them away hastily, not wanting to appear weaker than he already was.


    With a shaky breath, he continued maneuvering through the bamboo, not yet in the place he wished to be. He had heard of a palace within the forest of bamboo, but it seemed his search was not going as well as he would have liked. Pursed lips found their way to his features as he continued along, still wary and attentive to his surroundings. Paperpaw was not growing fond of the green sticks growing from the ground. Though the sun filtered through their few leaves, it was still dark within the territory. Perhaps it was why they were called the Dark Dynasty. A soft, wavering sigh exhaled from the apprentice-aged feline, his limbs shaky as he hopped up onto a particularly large rock jutting from the ground.


    It was when he spotted someone walking towards him that his ears flattened even further against his skull, fear evident in his wide hazel eyes. "Don't hurt me! I'm looking for the Dark Dynasty..!" Paper called out in a rather meek tone of voice, his eyes shut in preparation for the worst. This was it. This was how he was going to die.

    A princess never attacked without reason. A princess wasn't supposed to do anything without reason.


    It was hard, being a good princess. When the only mother you had didn't love you. When the father, the one that gave you your princess title didn't care about you anymore. Keeping this air of royalty was difficult.


    Riku wants to be alone, most of all. Cherry red fur easily stands out against the bamboo forest that they had called home. Even if it was dark, it was hard to miss someone who was the color of cherry blossoms.


    Magenta eyes flecked with gold look around, and seeing a cat on a rock, pink paws move slowly and carefully. The wildcat hybrid's ears flattened somewhat as this dude called out. What in the Abyss was his problem? She tilted her head and coughs. "Well, you found it. So you're not gonna be hurt. Aho." She adds teasingly, a soft smile upon her face.

    ♚ ･ﾟ: isn't it lovely, all alone — TAGS

    JUST WISH YOU COULD HAVE SEEN ME

    WHEN IT USE TO COME SO EASY—

    Malakai was not particularly fond of tresspassers. While his morals were strong and he believed in seeing justice served, the soldier was also very aware of just how cruel and unforgiving the world around him could be. What it could do, with no regards, to the people and places he cherished. And so he was prone to protecting these things fiercely, especially when it came to the borders of his clan. Those borders were meant to serve as an invisibleline that tested the morale of those coming to them, and when they were utterly ignored then to Malakai, there had to be a very good reason for doing so. After all, it was extremely rude to go walking into someone elses house uninvited or unannounced.


    Reasonably so, the large tomcat was alarmed by the scent of a rogue in their territory. The midnight blue fur along his spine would bristle in annoyance as he slipped through the bamboo toward the source, anticipating trouble, as always. But what he found instead was Riku and a stranger that looked... well, he didn't look like he'd pose much of a threat if he tried to cause trouble. Underfed with ragged fur, the younger cat was a mess in terms of his physical state, and by the way he was cowering atop the rock it looked as if he expected them to tear him to pieces. Granted, the silver-striped tom was tempted to give him a good cuff on the ear for ignoring their border, but since the action seemed like it would knock the kid clean out he resisted, and it instead came to a stop beside Riku, letting his fur lay flat. "Although next time waiting at the border probably wouldn't kill you." the scarred male would add, icey blue eyes watching the stranger carefully. "What is it you want with the Dark Dynasty?" he asked, though his words weren't as harsh as they could have been. How could they be, with someone as pitiful as this? They obviously hadn't been looked after well enough, and even if he'd just walted in it wasn't as if he'd done any harm.

               

    When nothing came, Paperpaw dared himself to open his eyes, even just to peek out at whatever was before him. His eyes remained shut tight, and it was only when he heard a feminine voice that he poked one eye open. He peered at her through a wide hazel optic, noting her odd appearance, at least in comparison to him. Eventually, he opened his other eye so that he could get a better look at the pink wildcat, his ears still flat against his skull. He was unaware of what aho meant, but if he had known, he would have been the slightest bit offended. Despite the teasing tone in her voice, he still felt very much on edge. Paperpaw saw no initial threat in the female, especially as he kept observing her. He didn't move from his position on the rock, not getting closer but not furthering himself either. His eyes blinked in surprise as realization passed over his features, only then realizing what she had said. He had found it. The Dark Dynasty. Though he was well beyond the border, he still found it. Perhaps she would be willing and kind enough to lead him to their main camp. He would have liked that.


    Paperpaw parted his lips to speak, but snapped his jaw shut when a male approached, someone much larger than both himself and the pink stranger. He was heavily scarred, as well as oddly colored, much like Riku. Ebony was his main color, while his stripes were silver in appearance. Paper looked down at his paws for a moment, his white mittens contrasting against the gray of the rock. His eyes eventually traversed back up to Malakai when he began to speak, a rough tone to his voice. The feline couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by him. If he wanted to, Malakai could more than likely snap his neck with a quick maneuver.


    The apprentice-aged feline swallowed at the lump forming in his throat before braving himself enough to respond to both strangers. He chose to ignore the first comment made by Malakai, and instead went to answer the question instead. "I-I wanted to join. I need somewhere to stay. Do you.. accept joiners?" Paperpaw explained and then inquired with a slight cock of his head, a wonder in his eyes as he peered at the duo. It was a slightly foolish question to ask, but he had to be sure they would allow him into their ranks. "My name is Paperpaw, by the way," his voice was quiet as he introduced himself to them, his paws shuffling awkwardly. He hadn't expected a pink wildcat and a black tiger to greet him within the territory, but he supposed it was better than killer clowns and murdering psychopaths.

    JUST WISH YOU COULD HAVE SEEN ME

    WHEN IT USE TO COME SO EASY—

    it was hard to maintain any level of anger in this situation. Paperpaw was skin and bones and too skittish on his feet for the older toms liking. He couldn't help but wonder what the hell had happened to the kid to make him this way, and that often unwanted desire to protect what he considered 'fragile' came rearing it's ugly head. He knew it was none of his business really, but he would never be okay with seeing people in this state of health, physically or mentally. To automatically think you had to cower for your life in front of someone was baffling to Malakai, and it only made his hatred for the evil in this world even stronger. Besides, he wasn't about to turn away a starving kid who was trying to join him just because he'd harmlessly crossed the border. Not to mention Gold would have torn his head off, rightfully so."Yeah, we're accepting." he'd reply, his tone holding a note of resignation to it. "The name's Malakai, and this is Riku." he'd say, gesturing to the pink feline beside him in turn. "The camp isn't too far from here, it's hard to miss but I can show you the way there if you want." he'd offer with a shrug, trying to resist the urge to drag him straight to the palace kitchen to force a meal down his throat.