here in this topsy turvy place — joining

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    Winter kissed wonderland sprawls as far as the eye can see. Once presumably lush and lovely meadow now blanketed in pale powder, tucked in tight as the cold season comes to visit with little care for who is bitten by frost. Perhaps the terrain was even tinged a shade of blue to the melodramatic. Suzume was far from being a part of 'the melodramatic' however, instead hardly even capable of pausing long enough to dwell on such a thought what with his jittery paws and restless mind. Instead, youth finds himself contemplating the snowy field with a giddy feeling rushing through him and the intense urge to bound through ceaseless white is enough to spark an entire inferno. Barely is little sparrow boy able to contain himself, coming to a halt on foreign borders with hum caught in his throat akin to that of the drone caused a strong electrical current.


    "Good mooooorning!" he calls out in cheery voice after taking a moment to survey the land, distinctly delighted glimmer ablaze within wide eyes of pumpkin orange. Everything from the amicable expression painted vividly across his features to the seemingly subconscious spring in his step seemed to suggest a sense of purity that was barely preserved past the first moments of budding youth. Docile was certainly not the way that he came across, loud mouth and fiery eyes pointing more towards him being a bit more of a wild card, but Suzume, at the very least, appeared to be harmless. In spite of his impatience, that being direct product of the excitement threatening to swallow him home, the midnight furred feline is willing to wait where he stands for someone to see what the problem was, sparrow's wings tucked neatly to his side for the time being.

    ◞➳ untouched, freshly fallen snow to dot and crisp their meadowlands all over again. the days have grown shorter, nights colder, and as chicagocrimes moves along these fae touched meadows, a recollection of the day only a few hours ago rears sharply within her thoughts. the dead girl had just started to parole the village's winding pathways, the flickering of a wisp now and then, and the distant cries of sobered spirits only company in such late hours. splatters of dime sized snowflakes began to drift and settle amongst the dirt and the already deadened grass from brilliant blackened skies above, their cold kisses sinking into her fur until flame and amber brimmed her paws, her spine, her lips, in defense against their chilling advances.


    she's not so different now either, kisses and flickers of embers and smoke to warm her feet as she glides through the gentled currents of icy powder. it parts away with each step made, fiery corpse of a queen paving own path through this wintry wonderland. whispers of the deceased curve against her ears, an enchanting hum that leaves her easy, her energy electrified and spiked by the masses of her fellow phantoms, and her mind grows lax in wake of their murmured lullaby.


    "good mooooorning!"


    obnoxious, the call shatters whatever strands of her thoughts she tries to connect to one another. fire flares briefly up her arm, a soft tsk scraping past her tongue and her teeth to show her fleeting annoyance as she moves to meet chipper creature, and the ringing call steadied against her ear drums. in the lull of snow and smoke, the dead girl is quick to spot him along the pockets of ivory, the meadows can't hide anything in weather such as this. little boy, little aviary boy, the warmth of songbirds is a heavy dip ebbed into his vocals, his wide eyes a candle's glow. heart softens slightly, for this woman has always been oh so fond of children, little youth no acceptance, and her voice comes a tad kinder than it would have beforehand. "mornin'." chicago begins to call out, a long, gravelly drawl curving over her tongue before she even reaches him fully, her gait even strides, powerful and long, "what brings ya all th' way 'ere ta our meadows, kiddo?"


    - welcome to the sanctuary! ;0

    Bright eyes spot oncoming stranger before she calls out to him, large ears perking up in a comical fashion and he goes about making himself look a bit more presentable. Back straight, chin up, smile at the ready. Snow clings to his blackened coat as drowning man does to life preserver and he decides that, what with the few seconds grace between woman's own greeting and her arrival infant of him, it is not worth trying to brush it all off. As he is, dappled chessboard, will have to do.


    "Hello, ma'am! I hope you've been having a wonderful day so far," he chirps, sunshine smile flashed at the stranger before him with all of the radiance he can muster. Polite are the words that pool from his lips amongst a puff of steamy breath, youth clearly having been brought up well by whoever had raised and cared him previously though that is a past that he would rather not reflect on. No, the present was much more significant and Suzume makes sure he emphasises this to himself, attentively listening to the query asked of him.


    Amicable way in which the woman addresses him brings comfort, warmth seeping into hollow bones and calming any frayed nerves. Varied reactions have been provided over time to the typically upbeat nature he possessed, oftentimes invoking irritation and, on some occasions, even driving others away. It hardly bothered him though. If anything, the process was one of natural selection, giving him the opportunity to weed out those who certainly would not care for him as time progresses as early on as possible. After all, being genuinely liked was much more important to him than simply being tolerated. Based on what he had seen thus far, he hoped that the former would be the case here.


    "I'm Suzume and I came out here looking for the Sanctum... no, that's not it. I'm looking for the... the Sanctuary!" Although it takes him a few rather awkward moments, he finally gets there and looks rather proud of himself when he does. Having heard of the group from the idle chatter of passersby, it was no wonder that he had not been able to fully commit the name to memory though that hardly mattered anymore. "I wanna join! Oh, if you'll let me, that is."


    / thank you! it's nice to be back :eyes:

    ◞➳ chipper, attentive, sunny, bright. a bubble of thoughts churn and toil within her mind rotted, ruined. he's an enigmatic spirit no doubt, an eager one with energy spilling along the very marrow of his bones, fixated to the pulsing of his veins, the ripple of his muscle. it's a sharp contrast compared to the way the sanctuary collects and holds itself currently, and in the back of her thoughts, her interest does find itself piqued in his being, a fleeting sensation to pin prick her brain.


    he stumbles, he stutters over his words like a roiling of waterfall crashing into rivers below, mistakes lapsed into the sentence, corrections righting wrongs. she finds herself clinging to his name firstly, suzume. odd upon the tongue, even stranger for her to sound it out but then, she's certain a level of hypocrisy might linger behind such thoughts, especially her own. " chicagocrimes " has drawn in a few startled blinks of the eye before.


    plume of velvety breath withers against the currents of winter cold as she exhales, sugar plum moons grazing across his figure, from the snow clinging to his rib cage like snippets of ivy to the pride flushed upon his cheeks, his lips at how he catches himself. oh little one, so full of light. "yer joinin'," she'll echoe plainly, a deep intonation roiling from her chest, before her head bobs in the moments following, a stretch of her lips signifying toothy grin to take its place. "o' 'course you can join. th' name's chicagocrimes. don't s'pose you wanna stay out 'ere real long now, do ya? i can show ya back ta our camp."

    Breath held captive within ribcage cell, Suzume peers up at the wild woman with lantern eyes full of anticipation and hope. Surely she would not turn him away, bright young boy searching for a new home. In spite of the fact that he would be yet another mouth to feed during the times of hardship which winter, a beautiful yet cruel mistress, provided, he was certain that him being an addition to their ranks would be worth it. Though, he had no way of proving that to this individual presently and that put him in a rather uncomfortable situation.


    As she echoes what has already been said, cogs whirling within his mind upon tasting the idea Suzume had presented to her like sipping fine wine, he feels his chest tighten. Snow speckled tail swishes in subconscious anxiety, unable to stop himself from hanging off of every last word, eager to be sentence with whatever verdict the woman, this singular member of the jury stood before him, arrived at. Then she smiles and it is as though colour comes flooding back into his world, birdsong laughter chiming in his throat as breath which he had barely realised he had been holding escapes his body.


    "Chicagocrimes! That's such a cool name, I bet every bad guy in the world is scared of you!" he exclaims first, maw split open in joy as he beams up at her once more. No jest is to be found lingering within the depths of his words, genuine fasciation pouring out past grinning lips. Something akin to smouldering embers of admiration burn in his gaze, childish innocence encapsulated within his use of words. 'Bad guys'. Sweet little Suzume, yet to truly comprehend the atrocities that the world had to offer.


    At her next words, he is quick to acknowledge his surroundings once more, delight melting down into neutral curiosity as his gaze flickers away from Chica. Endless snow, bitterly grey skies, and chilled winds. "Right, yeah. Everything looks the same to me out here and I'd rather not get lost trying to find my way back. I don't think I'd be much use to anyone as a catsicle buried in the snow," Suzume remarks, only half-joking. As if perfectly timed, a shudder stole through him and he swiftly became aware of the snow still clutching at his dark fur. Throughout the duration of their conversation, more snowflakes had taken up residence across his body, silently settling into homes where they were not wanted.


    Briefly, he takes a few steps back before trying to shake himself off a little without flicking snow at Chicagocrimes, certain that she would not appreciate it. It is only when his charred fur is fluffed up once more that he pipes up, "Alright, lead the way, miss! My legs are a lot shorter than yours but I'll try my best to keep up."