ARSONIST'S LULLABY / open, joining

Morgan emerged from his cave as usual, stretching to approach the nearby presence. It hardly took a second for him to recognize the aura, and so he sprinted toward its source as quickly as he could.

"Malphas?!"

he yelled, eyes widening further as he neared the long-lost cat.

"Malphas...?"

the samoyed repeated once more, his voice turning soft as he realized his mistake. The difference was subtle, but it was definitely there: the feline was a stranger who only looked like the former Medic. He kept running to approach the newcomer, reaching him just as he yelled out his actual name.

"Beleth,"

the General repeated, stopping in his tracks once he was close.

"You're welcome to join Tanglewood."

He sensed the physical heat emanating from the younger male, and knew then that it couldn't possibly be the seemingly powerless Malphas. Playing off of Beleth's power, the samoyed pulled the steam forward and around the two of them in a ring.

"My name is Morgan, by the way. I'm the General - the leader - of this place."

The canine took a few breaths, converting the ring of steam back into water before evaporating it once more with a burst of faux-flames.

"Also... Beleth, Tanglewood is going through a very dangerous time right now. If you don't mind... I want to protect you this time. I have a boyfriend, the Captain of the Guard here, who might also want to help."

His gaze shifted toward the ocean, feeling a bit too uncomfortable to make eye contact as he considered the strange nature of his offer.

"Just... Consider it an apology for confusing you with Malphas. I miss him a lot. I miss a lot of Tanglers who've disappeared like him. There's only a few of us left, and almost none of us who remain were here back then."

Taking a long, deep breath, he turned back to face the newcomer.

"That's why I don't want you to go through the same thing. I don't want you to die."