Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Oh look, people're here already. That's great!" Reemus enthused a little as he came to the doorway. He was trying to be positive, getting back with it after hitting a bit of a low because of recent events. He squinted. "Anyone we recognize, Vos?" It was hard to tell, what with only one working eye. Sure, his right eye wasn't totally blind, but a good chunk of it was practically useless.

Usually, Reemus was fine with going to events alone. Even the shady, little-to-no-info kind. But he didn't know anyone, still, and he was rather unsure still. The Initiative was known for terrorism and upsetting the status quo. The leader wasn't meant to survive either the troll system or the wild. But she was here, with all these trolls following suit. Including Athene, Voscil...and now, even him. If they were sure of their decision, surely there must be some good to it? Maybe?

Either way, he was letting Voscil lead him tonight; when he had first received the invitation, he checked with her about it. The two lived close by, and it was no issue to visit her. He had been rather unsure about being among all these strangers, and with his blind spot he needed support. Vos was that support.
And so, hovering over her at all times, he came along. Trying to smile despite his burnt face, and not always succeeding. Half the time he wanted to try to scratch the blindness out of his eye as if it was just a blurry-sleepy spot, but no.

It was irritating, but he didn't want to be in a bad mood. He did want to try to be in good cheer, despite everything. Old friends and perhaps new ones would help that along.

Miache balked when he heard the redblood, he eyed her up and down, silently judging her poor fashion taste....but....she most certainly WAS well spoken, he would give her that. She looked like she needed a serious fashion consultation....but he could always appreciate a troll that spoke with class....even if their attire didn't match. After staring for (what must've been for her...he couldn't care less) an uncomfortably long time he looked away. Maybe he was...wrong about lowbloods? Most lowbloods he'd met stood up to standards, they were a bit uncouth but.....oddly endearing.

When the door opened again and a familiar yellowblood entered he puffed himself up, almost excited to see a familiar (and definitely non-threatening) face, but it fell short when he sat with someone else, leaving Miache to slump back a little in disappointment. Maybe he could get Reemus' attention quietly....though, from where he sat he had a good look at his face. He bit the inside of his cheek discreetly as he looked at the scar. It was worse than he'd thought....before it had been bandaged and didn't look like it would be too bad, but with the scar tissue and the look of his eye....was he more injured than Miache's first estimation? Most of Miache's own injuries had healed for the most part.....except his wrists and neck. He'd unrolled his sleeves and buttoned them at his wrists to hide the scars, and to hide his neck better he'd buttoned his shirt more and added a rather fashionable scarf. It had taken quite a while to get his bindings off after being captured and the raw flesh hadn't fully healed, and though the scars scratched uncomfortably against the fabric he vastly preferred hiding it. As for his neck.....Keionx dragging his unconscious body into hordes of the undead had left its mark on him. At least the nails raked down his torso were hid far more casually than the others.

No, he wouldn't bother the yellowblood, maybe if Reemus noticed him he'd say something, but he still felt too awkward to raise his voice in the crowd of rebels. Speaking of awkward.....there was another troll he recognized....perhaps looking just as awkward as him. He stared dumb-founded at the tealblood before snapping his eyes to the blank walls. She was a rebel as well? And what had happened to her? She was more metal than flesh! Though....it had been a long time since he'd seen her, and even then it wasn't like they were the best of buddies....still....he suddenly felt all the more uncomfortable. But....he was a gentleman.....and she looked uncomfortable. He stood and pulled out the chair next to him, gesturing to the seat. "This seat is free, if you were looking for somewhere to sit," he said, voice a little stiff in his awkwardness. Then again....he wasn't sure if she even recognized him, it had been a while.

Voscil had admittedly been staying close to her friend over the course of the weeks as the rebuilding efforts were well underway. Even when she'd slipped out to do a bit of hunting, and stumbled on the game conrner and bratty juggalo troll, she still intended to take him too later. After a bit of fun, Voscil all but raced back to her apartment, lighting fast not wanting to bother anyone. Taking Mamaju with her, they made short work of clearing out her most important things, and quickly returned to her now new hive before she could be missed.

The worst part of going back home briefly was how badly she missed civilization. It hurt to rush away from the city she'd grown up in before this mess. The thrum of the big city, the activity and noise was something she believed was in the very fiber of her being. Yet, things had changed drastically. She'd made a promise to find Afryse again, and while determined to return the gesture, tonight she was needed at another trolls side. Voscil was still on edge about joining the rebellion wholly and truly, but she felt like this was where she belonged, and needed even. The feeling wasn't like life back at her communal hivestem.

The fact of the matter was, Reemus needed her in this present moment and time, no matter how badly she missed her friend. The taller troll had been burned badly all while protecting her of all trolls. Reemus had selflessly thrown himself in the way before it had been her fate when the acid had gone out. Her lusus also had missing fur in some places, and healed scars for the very same reason. Voscil had vowed after that night never to be held back and not allowed to fight. The bite of her electrical pulse she used to carry herself to and from like a speeding freight train was also just as much a weapon if she turned it on someone.

Static electricity however, did not surround her tonight. There was a calmness to her as she walked beside him, acting as a set of eyes to compensate for his nearly entirely missing one, and depth perception issues now as he'd told her how it felt, and was before the meeting.

"Um! Let me look Ree, hang on." Voscil squinted, looking around the room. She began naming a few names of those around the room, and just outside for him. Vos had picked up a couple of them over the course of the last few days. Each troll and their hue and symbol was described briefly to him in a low voice as not to disturb the beginnings of the meeting. Gently, she grabbed his sweater arm tugging at him to follow her, before nodding which direction she had in mind. Instead of zipping to her chair, she pulled one out for him then plopped herself next to him. After names had been announced, she also mentioned that it looked like the head guy with the long sausage dreads was about to start talking.

The fact they'd both received this summons made her feel more included in the tiny village. She only knew a handful of trolls herself, and shifted, moving to crouch in her seat although it looked odd she seemed perfectly comfortable like that.

His legs were starting to ache less and less from the hike over here but it still wasn't an easy trek. Cerpin found himself fonder and fonder of his crappy new hive in the dry underground of Chittentown whenever he had to cross through the slimy swamps of the Outpost. At least he didn't have to deodorize his boots from dust. Swamp ooze was a different matter.

As he entered the room, the first thing he noticed were the Tunnel Snakes around the room. His face lit up at the sight of Forera and he made his way to her with a bit of confusion tugging at the back of his mind. Why did she look so moody? His eyes followed her line of sight and it clicked. The last time he'd seen her, Luxara and Aerona all in the same place had been on that horrible day where he'd been held captive by the war babes and watched their group implode.

Well if he was going to pick a side... Forera had stuck up for him.

"Forera! Gog, it's been too long! I wanna sit with you-" Before he could finish, a sharply dressed blueblood stood and offered a seat to Forera and Cerpin thought this rather nice of the other troll. Grabbing her arm while she wasn't paying attention to him, the young purpleblood looped his through it and tried to move her away from the door and towards the seat offered. It had looked like she'd been thinking of ditching but he was too excited to finally see her again to let her run off yet!

"Thanks for the seats, sir." Cerpin eyed Miache's impressive suit and let out a whistle at the quality of it. The other guy had something nice there, it would be beneficial to befriend him. "I'm Cerpin. Good to meet you."

He was glad he'd decided to come. It would be a lie to pretend he hadn't considered not showing up and working on his own projects instead. But it was worth it to reunite with his role model and potentially make a new dandy of a friend!

"Thanks!" Etsali wiggled her fingers a little as she pulled her hand back, as pleased as always to have been able to replace the gloves she'd been wearing when she'd first arrived in the swamp. In all honesty that had been one of her highest priorities on the trip back to her hive. She nodded along thoughtfully as Aerona spoke, made a note of the answer, and then glanced up with a quick grin as Luxara suddenly swept in.

"Xara! Good to see you too!" She glanced quickly between the two, eyebrows lifting curiously. "War Babes, huh? There's a fun team name." And then the greenblood started in on describing Aerona and oh, super stealthy? Now that was interesting. Her eyes cut back to the redblood approvingly, grin widening. "Definitely sounding cooler with every passing second, yeah." Luxara still had plenty to say though, and soon enough she was nodding again.

"Oh man, yeah, that was forever ago. We'll get Vulpin back eventually though. He's a Tunnel Snake too, after all!" And boy did she miss him. But it was good he hadn't gotten caught up in everything. If he wanted to come here, he could come with her or Forera, all he had to do was ask. And if he didn't then he had that choice. It was good. But he couldn't really ask until they saw him again and...yeah, she wasn't sure when that would happen either actually. She'd have to ask Rera if they'd been in contact lately.

"Ah, what have I been up to?" She blinked, thinking, and then shrugged with a little laugh. "Oh you know, just the usual. Me and Keeper hunting around the city." She didn't think she'd ever actually told the Tunnel Snakes she was a thief, come to think of it. They probably wouldn't have minded, and obviously they appreciated stealthy, but it didn't seem like a good time to point it out. Never knew how people would react. "Dropped by Chittentown a couple times to visit a friend though. Had a gerbil to deliver. Annnd...Hm. Well, then he asked me to check out a meeting with him in some caves and well, here we are."

She glanced back at the doorway. Ephias would be along soon, she was sure. She'd have to make sure he got proper not in the middle of bloody fighting introductions. Instead, she caught sight of a much smaller redblood, one who looked more than a little nervous. Hmm. She lifted a hand to wave to Tevini, flashing her a smile. She didn't have to come over if she didn't want, but maybe knowing someone she knew was here would help?

Gl!tch~

Sypon

Doutei

Healing from her wounds had been torture for Keionx Rutace. She had been forced – sometimes even, to a degree, by force – to stay put in that swampy hut for approximately a literal eternity, waiting for her body to seal its wounds and return to its usual fighting condition. She was grateful for the help of her companions, she really was, but oh gog was she happy to be up and moving again. She had to train to make up the lost time – she was a hero now, and it was not evil she fought. Evil was easy – it always fell in defeat to the hero. The enemy she fought was deeper, darker, and far more complicated... after all, the opposite of hope was despair, it's lack, and what could be more complicated than that? Certainly, it was complicated enough to make her head hurt during the long hours she had spent contemplating it during her convalescence, and she was determined to not think about it for a little while.

She'd heard there was a meeting.

Her abdomen still pained her a little, the skin now taut and new and scarred where there had once been smooth grey exoskeleton. It needed time to stretch, but in the meantime it hurt and she ignored the pain as she made her way to the 'town council' building. She was in this now, and she was done being bored – time to see what she could do for this Initiative... how she could fight for their hope.

”Gre...” she nearly tried to voice a booming greeting at the group, but was stopped both by a very definitive statement from her breathing apparati that they were NOT ready for that yet, and the very definite appearance of a group in session.

Oops. She turned to Zariah, walking behind her – very nearly in her shadow – and gently pushed him in.

”I think we art late...” she whispered, a little sheepish. It had probably been her fault – she wasn't moving as fast as she'd have liked to be, and had probably slowed them down. Speaking of her healing process... she guided them to a seat – she felt like she had to sit down. Except, when she reached the chair, she defiantly chose to stand... seat nearby just in case. She was, after all, a hero – she would not let her body defeat her.

She listened quietly, looking over the assembled trolls, her eyes lingering on certain trolls in particular – Stryke, her friend and ally... Etsali, that b***h... Reemus, the large enthusiastic troll that had been part of her fan club (she'd have to thank him properly for it later, maybe have a conversation or an adventure... he seemed the adventuring sort.)... Miache, that b*****d... (who she was grateful to, even if she also wanted to punch him. It was complicated, but she at least would say thank you to him. Eventually. Properly.)... Byakko, the leader and the carrier of a heavy weight of hope (which Keionx hoped to help with)... and finally, Zariah, her brother. Keionx looked at him for a long moment as he sat beside her.

Sometimes she could pretend that things were as they had been back in Busthind, but other times it hit her – hard – that her brother had lied to her, had fought opposing her, had been leading a whole life of some sort behind her back. She didn't know what to do about that... she still didn't know what to do about that... but she was here now, standing beside him, and she knew she'd fight for him. But did she even really know him?

The yellowblood (head of something or other, Keionx hadn't been paying attention to the titles, just the names and faces, sort of) called for questions. ”Yes.” Keionx said, raising a hand definitively, ”We hath been building this place up,” Well, everybody else but her had been, but that was mostly because she hadn't been able to sneak away to do some physical manual labor of some sort. Apparently, she was not stealthy enough to outmaneuver several trolls concerned for her welfare and her lusus all at once. But, she would have been, and she hoped she could help out with that soon. ”But what are the plans for expansion, aside from hives and homes... What of training and armories?” she asked.

Miache Gahiji
Sir? Plz, stroke my ego moar

Sir? He balked and stared at Cerpin a moment. Sir....he'd never been called sir before.....was this an age thing? Or perhaps he acknowledged Miache as EASILY the sharpest dressed in the room? Even if he DID feel a little off with the sudden addition of a scarf. Though after a moment he eased off and nodded, the smallest hint of a smile. This was one of the trolls he'd been in the swamp with, he'd remembered thinking it odd such a highblood would affiliate himself with riffraff. Though....he was feeling it less and less odd the more he'd over thought everything. Thinking if it was between the Empress and his lowblood friends he felt he'd much rather stand beside them, even more after seeing them so injured.

"We weren't formally introduced before," he added, nodding his head a little in greeting, "Miache Gahiji. This looks far less....hectic a place to meet," he added, his small smile broadening just a touch.

When Keionx made her presence known he immediately got to his feet as if on reflex, eyeing her just a moment before pulling out a chain on his other side, gesturing for her to take it. If not just for the sake of being a gentleman of proper manners, he was also fairly certain she was injured. He was thoroughly doubting that she had just say around resting when he'd left to collect some essentials. She was far too....stubborn. It was annoying to say the least. But he would look into how well rested she was....AFTER the meeting. And quite possibly after he had a chance to actually meet the rebel leader.....and possibly introduce himself to the officers. He wanted to know more about why so many trolls followed her. He'd made his own choices, but he felt like he had little in common with the rest of the rebels.



Zariah Rutace
Casually sister-stalking

Zariah stared in surprise at the gesture. Was it a peace offering? Maybe he liked her? It sure was weird though....he quickly scooted a couple seats so he was sitting in the seat next to the one offered to his twin, trying not to stare too hard at her response. She hadn't said much about her 'damsels' other than blood colours and vague appearances, but he could already see a few. The blueblood probably....and Etsali.....she was one of the few Kei ranted about by name, often complaining about....conflicting morals. He didn't know too many other rebels, and certainly not the other two sitting with the blueblood. What was a purpleblood troll doing with rebels? Shouldn't he be....practicing to cull trolls like them? Mutants, defective trolls, weaklings.....

Swallowing back his nerves he nodded gingerly to the other two trolls in silent greeting, not wanting to draw too much attention. Besides, the older troll was still talking details and Kei (of course) wanted to know about military protocols. Though....he wouldn't say it was useless knowledge.