New Xeno (RETURN)

The she-cat's paws felt as if they were on air- excitement riddled her entire body and she could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears. The eyes of many cats glued themselves to her, but Xeno seemed to take no notice; with her gaze fixed firmly on the statue ahead of her, she recalled her previous visit here. It felt so different from the time before.

Before, she had been a foolhardy cat barely older than a kitten with zero belief in the Spirits that governed Nandryx. Then, she was pompous in her beliefs regarding only her own power. She hadn't accepted the white leaves upon her shoulder, nor the true name that she now bore proudly. She was young.

Now she was older. Wiser. She had spent many seasons inside the Tribes and outside. She had grown and matured in a cat worthy of the titles 'Scholar, Tribemate, Mentor, and Lover' and felt to be a cat completely different from before. Now, she was ready to try again, more sure of herself and of the Spirits.

Light cloaked her form and an amazing, wondrous feeling washed over her. Xeno's eye closed, and yet, she felt she could see all the power coursing through her in that moment which felt like an eternity. It was odd though- she failed to feel the dull throbs of the earth's energy beneath her paws, nor the slinking feeling of power creeping up her legs like roots through her form, supplying her with power. Instead, an intense tingling sensation could be felt in her chest and in her head, like the sun's warm light, but shining from inside out. This feeling was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant.

A moment more passed before the intensity of the power lessened and the queen could open her eye. The clearest vision she had ever experienced had returned to her- a lens that she had only ever worn when her powers were ignited and one that she had dearly missed during her time spent away from Nandryx. And from how the light emitted from her gaze reflected on the glossy surface of her eye gem, she could detect that she was still a Green Secondary. Her heart swelled with emotion. But, as she twisted her neck to gaze upon her shoulder, she was stunned at what she saw. There were no vining leaves adorning her body- not green, nor her old grey ones.

Overtaken by her worry, she swung her head around in a frantic tizzy until she froze, her gaze locked onto her other side and neck craned awkwardly to peer at her chest. Placed above her heart was a glowing green marking that trailed in a starry spatter up towards her face. She swallowed her disbelief. She was clad in stars and a few soft hearts reminiscent of her old tattoo that shined bright and new. She was a Green-Light.

Leaving TGB

Firstly, to all those which this may surprise- worry not! It isn’t a permanent thing!!

I truly love participating in the group and have happily done so for a few years now. But these past few months have been a bit trying for me as an adult irl and I have been juggling all sorts of responsibilities- working more hours to sustain rent and bills, getting married, developing more of a social life, and the like. And I feel as if I have been neglecting my characters and responsibilities to the group, as limited as they may be. Having so much time in between RP posts and even more between submitted art pieces, I haven’t be managing my part very well and that’s not fair to toss wanting to write with me and to those who want to be active members in the group who have yet to get in.

So, I’ve decided to leave. Like I mentioned above, it won’t be permanently. I love the community and writing fantasy is one of my greatest passions, so there’s no way I would stay gone for long. I just need to get a handle on my responsibilities as well as reflect on myself as a writer. I feel like I fell into a slump that many others have managed to wind up in where one has too many characters with not enough development and I needed to stop and take a look at myself. Was it fair to these characters to just throw them in all willy-nilly and just hope they caught on only to just cast them to the side when they didn’t? I had always taken pride in having many characters all with vivid, expanded personalities and values, and it’s seemed I’ve lost that touch. I need to get it back before I return

When I return, I plan to stick to one character for a good while to remember what it was like to have one solid character with strengths and flaws and many different, colorful relationships with many other characters versus just having them be familiar with just one or two others. And from then on, I will only bring in a new character once I feel the one prior has had sufficient development. And I won’t let them go stale. This is my personal goal.

My reasoning for leaving the group rather than simply going on hiatus, even if it only lasts until the next group tryout is that I wanted a fresh, clean slate. I felt that because I had done so much to disappoint myself, I needed to start from scratch, just like any other member trying to join TGB. Restarting would allow me to start fresh and true and I’m very much looking forward to invigorated feeling I had when I first got to join the group, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Now, onto the more important stuff- what the hell happens to my current characters?!

Happily, none of them have died! My remaining characters have all left Nandryx of their own free will (though for some, it’s a bit OOC ^^’).

To start, Poidzua the Green-Shadow and Sonoshee the White-Fire have become a Black-Shadow and Grey-Fire respectively. After the Great War against the Enlightened, Poidzua was left even more skittish and stressed than before and seeking some sort of solace. This solace came in the form of Sonoshee- Poidzua’s youngest sister. The half-sisters luckily were reunited in Nandryx, and after hearing of Sonoshee’s tales of life with their uncle, the pair decided to bid their Tribes farewell and journeyed off to find their uncle Salem with the hope of having a peaceful life.

Now for my OG baby. Xeno the Green-Earth was very dedicated to her tribe and adopted family, but even more to a Blue-Earth named Cooper. During the calamity which the Enlightened brought upon the Tribes, Xeno and Cooper were stranded together away from their Tribe and spent many moons together in solitude. Xeno declares her devotion to Cooper during this time and even claimed she would following him to the ends of the earth. Such would eventually come to fruition.

After the battle was won by the Tribes, Xeno and Cooper reunited with their tribemates, but Cooper seemed to find it difficult to acclimate back to tribe life after being away for so long. And with former Enlightened cats joining the Tribes- one even taking the position of Silver in their own tribe, Cooper wished to leave. Admitting his feelings to Xeno and taking her as his mate, Xeno became a Grey-Earth and the pair left Nandryx to live their lives together in solitude once more.

But who knows? Maybe when I return, one of these gals will come with me!! Thank you again for all the wonder times I got to share with you in The Golden Butterfly! I’m looking forward to rping with you all again!!

(What’s funny to me is my biggest reason for being upset is sooo superficial- I’m likely to lose all the butterflies I had saved up ;-