midday heat bearing down. gods' marble flesh-warm to the touch. proletariat in shade. children in fountains. sweat running down backs of slaves.

his lectica travels the forum. fine dark wood, four broad shoulders. canopy thin enough to show him, in repose. a horseman for every direction. he thinks on consulship.

his colleague, weak-willed. their predecessors, inefficient. the senate, scheming. pragmatic men would raise this nation to greatness.

today, they will convene - arrests will be issued. the republic will expunge its putrescent. he believes in reason over cowardice.

the rostra rises. the crowd coalesces. mutters. glances. steel glints.

the praefectus leans in, whispers through silk. dismission from within, demanding peace. continuation. palms gripping hilts.

he thinks of merchants, plotting over wine and figs.

it begins.

they are one hundred wronged plebs armed with indignance. they are a handful of men with kindling tongues. they emerge from shaded corners, from shuttered houses. they have the names of his opponents on their tongues. they have glinting blades in their grips.

they flood the equites, drowning them in bodies, in hot blood and hate. horses crush more than blades could cut. in seconds, he is without entourage.

slaves scatter. lectica topples. he is ejected, crawling on hands and knees for the steps, to reason with the mob atop the dais - they reach him in heartbeats.

mothers of corpses grip his soft parts, screaming for gods to hear. crippled fathers pull his joints, cursing the wrongs of those not him. children pinch off bits of him, to feed their sunken bellies. paid blades pierce his skin, claiming their proof in meat.

he feels horror, and horror,

and then, almost nothing.

they tear him apart at the steps of the rostra. the senate had not come that day.

mists sink low.

the vale is thick with white, air biting frigid. snow a slush beneath the boughs.

tangled into the roots and slurry - a shape, a figure.

clumped black fur. forelegs too long. a hindpaw, disfigured. ears placed too low on a skull with a face so wrong--

and to assure the world this were a work of cunning nature: rise and fall. rise and fall.

breath in this half-buried creature.

---

Joxer Jaxxon or anyone from the saints

Skill: Ghost

---

Innominatus

---

The man had returned, thoughts swirling with everything that should be there and everything that shouldn't, eyes scanning along through the forest floor and at eye level. He took in everything he could, trying to take his mind off the kiss and onto the present... Marking the borders...

So the man followed along the scent trails, placing piss markers on the places that needed them and slipping back behind the trees to become a ghost in the mists that hung low in the chill of day. They had overtaken the trunks today and through the haze the man saw a figure...

It was different than what he was used to seeing here in the lands. A hunched figure and he cocked his head to the side in silent question, an eyebrow raised as he slipped from behind a giants leg to approach the thing that had caught his attention.

As he came close the man stopped at the borders, a few feet away and his breath caught in his throat... Suddenly all thoughts of his predicament slipped away, washed from his brain like a wave on the shores taking a shell back to sea... A piece of beach glass scraping along rocks on the bottom of the sands... It was an ape of sorts...

Well damn...

Holding his breath he bowed his head to the creature, smiling warmly the entire time, his eye's closed with his bow and the man spoke softly, only one word escaping his maw in awe.

Wow... He said as he lowered his body slightly, a bow to match the one his head had shown... He wouldn't submit to this creature but he wanted them to know he appreciated them as a being, as a figure of power in this world, that he was certain the creature was superior...

But he was an Overseer and he wouldn't fully bow... So his action was only a half gesture, but enough to show the other respect, enough to show he meant no harm and that he certainly respected them.

laws at work. ancient and new. compromises made in the space of a skull.

they order thoughts and wipe reminders. the man is engulfed in fog. he fades to a silhouette. it disperses, too.

she opens her eyes in the way of daytime dreamers. a flutter. a soft look.

until in her mind is gently placed the concept of teeth.

with a small noise - first tell of her species - she moves herself back by the elbows, until head touches bark of tree. there is the sensation of frigidness, and of wetness. there is the snout, with all its whiskers, and dark fur and flews which could at any moment pull. she is seized by fear that is new, and is all she's ever known.

the caged dancer of her chest picks up its pace. her eyes are rimmed with white as she watches the wolf.

Skill: Ghost

---

Innominatus

---

In awe Jaxxon couldn't do anything in their moments of silence but stare upon the glorious ape he'd been presented with. A sight he'd never seen except behind bars and windows at the damned zoo, for fucks sake... Blinking slowly Jaxxon dragged amber eyes along the frame that stood before him.

I... Wow... You're somethin' else... He sputtered, unable to fully form words as he smiled and sat down. Placing large hips on the cold ground underneath him the man curled a long tail around his hips to place the tip upon his paws, Jaxxon just beamed like a giddy schoolkid as he let out a small chuckle before simply saying Welcome to The Saint's... As they sat across from each other, one on one side of the border and one upon the grounds of the other,. The Boogeyman pulled his eyes from the animals feet back to it's eyes as he huffed a breath of air before him which seemed to disappear as soon as it appeared.

words. does she know words?

a law says yes.

you- and her voice is for a moment alien to her, a woman's - then it is as it has always been.

i'm a poor meal. one hand splays over her collarbone. i- you wouldn't like the taste of me.

she shuffles nearer the bark, pushing her back up it, supporting herself into a half-sit.

please-

and her breath is held, watching the beast.

Skill:

---

Innominatus

---

The creature made words that seemed concerned for her safety, her eyes flickering across his face as she pressed her body against the tree behind her, Jaxxon suddenly had a lock of shock and surprise on his face as the woman explained she would make a terrible meal.

I... I don't wanna eatchya... He explained as he took a small step forward, his body slunk low to the ground to imply he meant no harm, reaching a paw out to her the large auburn man looked at her from his position below her and held his breath for a moment. Jaxxon's eyes were trained on her very impressive face as he removed that surprised and shocked look from his maw and replaced it with something more gentle and soft.

I... I want to welcome ya... I want you to live here with us... You're... You're incredible... The most... Impressive creature I've seen since I've come here... The Boogeyman explained, bowing his head with grace to her, showing he meant no harm that she was in control here... For now...

teeth.

teeth teeth teeth.

the words catch on them, the accent of predators, of hungry things with tongues too shriveled by hunger to tell the truth.

she feels the ramming against her ribs. hand on clavicle drags lower, to feel the warm pulse fill her palm with each heartbeat.

what use am i alive? and in her desperation, there's anger. indignation. you- you don't even- your ilk doesn't-

she'd like to throw accusations, but panic rises as she realizes the black gaps in her knowledge.

there's only teeth, and the implication on them.

why? and she throws her arms up, a sudden movements she could regret if the coil of emotion would leave room for it.

Skill:

---

Innominatus

---

His face skewed into something not frustrated but something similar as he felt his words weren't received well, frustration at himself...

I'm sorry.. I... I don't mean to scare you... I'm Jaxxon... He introduced as he recoiled his body slowly into a sitting position, bringing himself a few feet away with a patient expression now covering his features... Understanding, he needed to be more understanding, more chill...

Are you okay...? He asked her, his eyes trained on her own as he slowly cocked a head to the right, an eyebrow raising to her words, blinking a few times as he hoped she might receive the kindness approach more than the I'm completely awestruck by your kind approach...