He arrived late to the scene, and while there were many, many familiar faces that he wished to address - the most pressing matter proved to be that of @Kvare. The sight was gruesome, but some part of him had become...desensitized to this. To death, to the morbidity of it. Something about watching two women you loved rip each other apart did that to someone. Quickly does he slip past the others, offering a flash of acknowledgement to anyone he knew before all focus zeroed in on the patient.

"I have a poultice made of yarrow." The Prince murmurs, his mind whirling for a moment as he attempts to think about which steps to take first. @Hanneth was right in that they need to stop the bleeding, luckily the poultice would help do that. "The yarrow will help stop the bleeding, it's more effective if ingested, but that'd be a bit hard right now." He talks more to himself than to anyone else. Quickly does he begin pulling items from his pouch, bound gently to his chest - it now fell to the earth as Dominic plucked items from it.

A leaf was rolled out, showing a thick substance already within. Moving in, he'd assess the wounds, determining which ones needed to be tended to faster. "Here..." He offers some yarrow to Hanneth, the leaves specifically, "You can try to see if you can get it down his throat." He instructed - though, he knew she was older than he, Dominic was certain she already knew. After, he would focus gathering other herbs that might help.

code / artwork

Absence Post 2/5 for Zabrina

---

It was all she could do to stay rooted to the spot, to not scream out Kvare's name for fear of distracting him and causing him to fall to the grey woman. Her taol twitched behind her as she felt an angry gaze level on her, and she followed it to see her former ward @Zinnia. She didnt understand the hosting the young woman's gaze - from her understanding she had found someone else she wished to be raised under, and as such Zabrina had let her go willingly without a fight or a word. She had been under the impression that the youth had not liked her as a Guardian, and had instead found @Aphrodite a better one.

So when a young multihued cub came stomping up to her, demanding answers about a sister, she would simply give @Remanent a confused look. She had already started to back away when Zonnia approached, unsure of how to handle the situation. She didnt need this right now - not when Kvare's life hung in the balance.

And then --

He won. He survived victorious, albeit very wounded. Calling out for her and @Drauhir ♔, the chimera glances at Kvare's son before rushing forward. Another had reached him before she did - a bronze lioness who spoke of stopping the bleeding and getting him to a place where he can rest. "I have a den that's quiet and secluded. It's not too far from here. We can take him there." She said, glancing to @Hanneth. Her attention would be caught by a youth coming up and offering herbs to the bronze lioness. An ear would flick, and she would lower her head to leave a gentle kiss on Kvare's forehead before pressing her head to his. "Iubirea mea... stai bine, suntem aici."


*iubirea mea... stai bine, suntem aici. - my love... hold tight, we are here.

text. "speech."

Art by Drifty | Table code by Zodiac

black hole sun, won't you come

TRIGGER WARNING !!
This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. This post contains mentions of gore and corpse mutilation.

Gwynevere continued to sharpen her claws against her stone seat, her mismatched gaze was locked onto the main battle. Multiple lions approached Louve, but as they did so, more Wolfbron lions showed too. From what she could tell, there was mostly peace, save for a pale tiger attacking another lioness.

She remained perched above her Wolfbron companions like a hawk, ready to strike if someone decided to make the wrong choice.

Everything happened so quickly, the grey woman fell and her blood pooled on the ground. The knight then ripped her apart, presenting her head, heart, and eye.

Gruesome, but Gwynevere found it beautiful. Whatever that woman did, surely she had deserved the mutilation afterwards. There were reasons certain lions did certain things, and who was she to question the one who came out victorious.

A woman began to wail about the body, how it deserved a proper burial, and more lions came to take their piece of the prize. Gwynevere scoffed, and couldn’t help but feel satisfied when another lion attacked the weak-minded girl. If she was friends with the loser, then she perhaps needed to be taught a lesson too. A lesson that life wasn’t fair.

― ★ ―
June Y13 | 2 y/o | Wolfbron Bluffs Lioness | at The Pit

Darhke’s Double XP Boost

+10 Barbarian XP: Observe a fight (Khadija v. Avreya) - 1/2
+10 Barbarian XP: Observe a fight (Kvare v. Miaran) - 2/2
+10 Barbarian XP: Maintain your weapons - 2/2

and wash away the rain

code x art

Aneistri, is it?

Ani blinked, her head snapping to look at the strange voice that had spoken her name with a startled, bewildered expression. A tiny little lioness, pale as a cloud, sat at her side, her attention seemingly fixed on the battle below though somehow she still spoke to her. When had the lioness gotten there? And for how long had she been beside her? Aneistri wasn’t even certain how long she’d been staring down into the pit, entranced and horrified by the fighters and their violence, too far gone to notice her sudden company. But, most importantly she realized: how did she know her name?

Orei. Another blink. Her brother. He was supposed to— Almost as if on cue, before the panic of his absence could overwhelm her, she felt the firm touch on her paw, the brush of fur, drawing her gaze to her opposite side. Warm relief flooded through her at the sight of Orei's calming teal eyes searching for hers, tearing right into her thoughts and disarming the memory that had her so tangled in it with only a few precise words. It’s not them. She turned her head again, slowly, back toward the fight, and it resolved itself into the truth: two strangers, only strangers, battling for their lives over some unknowable reason.

A shaky sigh escaped her lungs as she leaned against @Orei, barely registering the sweet tone his voice took on as he addressed the little lioness—@Genesis—who was close to him. It was a distant matter, one that would surely reach the forefront with time, with space, with room to think. For now, Ani focused upon the feeling of her sibling at her side, his paw on hers, all of it grounding and real and tangible. “It’s not them,” she whispered to herself, at last believing it as the tension finished easing out of her frame.

It was easier to observe, to watch, with Orei there. His words repeated themselves through her mind—it's not them—as she saw the fighters both bite and claw and wound and maim, breaking each other piece by piece until only the larger male remained. Not the same…and yet some things didn’t change. She felt bile rise at the back of her throat and turned her face into her brother’s shoulder, sparing herself from watching the wreckage that was made of the lioness’s remains and blessedly allowing the ongoing conversations around them to mask most of the sound. “It’s not them,” she repeated, wishing the sick, roiling feeling within her stomach would settle.

She swallowed, blinked her eyes open, and turned her head to stare off into the crowd—anywhere but at the mess that was the remnants of the fight. She recognized a few of the faces among the onlookers—Temero from the Brook, Thella from the Hollow—but the sound of another fight following close on the heels of the first drew her attention. A fresh uneasiness clawed around in her already sick stomach, worrying whether this was only the beginning. Would this be another war? Another impossibly large fight in which she might find herself on the wrong side? No. Orei was here; he would make sure she stayed with him, safe, protected.

Aneistri watched the fight, the two lionesses, with an absent sort of attention, finding their small, simple dispute so much easier to stomach than the first.

+5 10 Attend a spar or challenge to assess the wounds (2 of 2)
+5 10 Observe a fight (Kvare vs Miaran) (2 of 2)
+5 10 Observe a fight (Avreya vs Khadija) (1 of 2)

IMG - CODE

Transfixed by the horrendous acts of brutality in front of her, something she never thought she'd ever witness held her captive. The grey woman turned her own claws on herself, tearing at herself rather than her opponent. Of course the Tollaire wasn't the only one who noticed - the stuttered, halting words next to her alerted her to the presence of another whom she hadn't noticed arrive. "She is." Helena returned on a slightly disgusted whisper, before turning her freckled face towards her new companion. A handsome face, but more than that, an easy amiable smile as he apologised. "Not at all, I'm happy for some company."

Which was absolutely true, though the gears already spun heavily in her mind as she turner her full attention onto the handsome stranger. "Necessary death - that's an interesting thought. Why are their deaths necessary?" She questioned, bright voice tempered somewhat as commotion broke out. The grey woman fell, her opponent victorious but obviously seriously injured. And then, others converged on the body of the tattered lioness. "Are they - What is happening here?" She asked, revulsion and confusion colouring her tones. Her family, her mother especially, might be ruthless and sneaky and work under nefarious means, but cannibalism was certainly not one of them.

@Isildur
+20 (x2) Discuss pride, group, or family relations with another character (1/2)
+10 (x2) Learn a character’s full name and rank (0/2)
+10 (x2) Have a conversation about politics (1/2)

code by scorpixia♡︎

Another voice that she knew very well, blasting out the damning title for all to hear. @Caydin had to have been on her heels the entire time, as he barrelled forward within moments towards @Velasco and @Kincade. Her mouth opened, wishing desperately to call them back but knowing it was just wasted breath. And more than that, she had caught a great deal of the older X'uekai's words which stilled the admonishment in her throat at Caydin's words. Velasco had answered her son, playing along with the facade of parentage to declare that his daughters had been stolen. By their own mother and aunt, apparently.

Aghast, she cast her attention back to the battling lions, taking note of the catastrophic injuries tearing each one apart. Freja was not a bloodthirsty creature by any means - many would say she was too soft for the X'uekai altogether. But perhaps there were some crimes worth punishing, some sins that did not wash out. I'm sorry your daughter's are still missing. She had managed before Velasco's softer voice addressed her, asking for help protecting their sons. The thought still left it's sticky, oily feeling on her mind, her heart. I always am. She declared softly.

It did not end there - one of the lionesses @Cassius ♔ had confronted spoke of saving rather than stealing, of Miaran's 'better' nature. It was all very overwhelming, words thrown back and forth between all parties but she tried her best to keep up. It seemed the lioness knew more about the missing girls, but in reality it was Cassius' words that snagged, that chafed and stung. He weaved such a pretty picture, laid out careful half truths and exaggerated others - facts that Freja knew to be untrue. The mention of his marriage to the Dieudonne Princess raised a savage lump in her throat, one she found difficult to swallow around.

She was nothing - no-one to him.

Freja would not have interrupted anyway, even if she'd had something to say on the virtues of the X'uekai. But it seemed to placate the lioness called Khadija, who had turned to Velasco and promised to return his daughters if they were to be raised as promised. The sick feeling in her stomach deepened when she thought of Kamaria, taken from her mother and sister. She had no choice in the matter, in a cruel parody. Her attention once again shifted back to the fight as the male eviscerated his opponent, a gasp of shock opening the piebald woman's mouth as he tore head and heart away, collecting the eyeball Miaran herself had removed.

Freja thought she might puke. For a whole multitude of reasons. She turned her gaze to fix upon her boys as others converged on the body, as Khadija peeled away to defend her friends remains.

code by scorpixia ♡︎ || art by editjackson

With clenched jaws she was trying not to be too agressive but the grief and hurt she was feeling was making it hard for ehr to grasp her usually collected demeanor. She knew she had to be strong for her daughters, one of them being there to see this. Ears pinned as part of her wanted to let go and herd her cub away from these mean lions. But she also owed this to Miaran after all she did for her, things no others did. Soon she was woken up back to reality when the woman herself threw her own paw at her face. Attempting to move her face out of the way by moving it to the left, she made those claws rake through the side of her neck. Thankfully, she had her good amount of patients; she wouldnt have an issue with patching herself... yet... she knew she had to fill her promise to the men of returning their cubs safe and sound. All for keeping her own children out of others's targets. She then stepped between Miarana's body and the woman, making of her a barrier. "She still deserves a proper burial! No one else here has to see this!" Then she lounged at the woman, but this time returning to her not so savage way to fight, she only wanted to drive her off. By slamming her right shoulder into her chest. She was going to do one last act of camaraderie to her fallen sister. To at least stop these vultures from profaning her body any further. "After this ill escort the cubs back to the Brook..I am not a monster!" Khadija vs @Avreya for dominance 2 of 3 Hits: Rolling 6d20: 4 + 19 + 18 + 1 + 3 + 2 Dodges: Rolling 5d20: 15 + 1 + 20 + 5 + 19 Luck: Rolling 5d20: 11 + 16 + 8 + 2 + 7

art and code by shazaki

code (c) daanyen // art (c) Celestial-Drifter

TRIGGER WARNING!
This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. Trigger Warning for mentions of [Dismemberment, cultist activity, cub tomfoolery.]

The girl listens to the instruction with a hint of interest as she turns her head just at the right moment to see the lioness collapse on the ground; her eye leaking some disgusting fluid only a lowly commoner could. The girl would flick her whiskers forward as she peers up at Khadija for naught but a moment until a dark shadow is cast over them both as another lioness attacks — the princess could only scowl as she commits this offending peasant's face to memory.

What machinations would she throw at this rogue that interrupted her conversation for something as brutal as combat? Ciela would have to gift her with poison sometime later. But for now, the cub focuses her attention on the body of the fallen lioness and a pale lion that was also carved into it.

Ciela waits.

He was opening it up so she didn't have to stain her claws with such a dirty task. The peasantry was always so helpful; the girl would muse momentarily to herself - her whiskers twitching forward before she too saunters towards the body; waiting for an opening. Once spotted the girl would try to lunge forward toward the corpse; her head, shoulders, and upper half trying to burrow into the deceased lioness's stomach as she tries to swiftly steal the liver.

[ EXP ] ( Double from Darhke )
Medic
+40 Learn something from a Master of your trade (2/2)
+10 Learn something from another about your trade (2/2)
+10 Attend a spar or challenge to assess the wounds (2/2)

[ Tags]
@Khadija @Asphodel

Avreya had not intended to break skin with her attack, and yet she saw the side of the woman's neck glisten with shallow cuts. Great. If by some miracle there were any others here who were on either her side or that of the deceased, then this would not bode well for her. Still, though, she persisted, determined not to allow this otherwise innocent lioness to out herself further and place a target on her own hide.

Perhaps a part of her was taking out some irritation sparked by another as well. Surely @Asphodel had not thought things through when he had invited himself down here amidst such an emotionally charged crowd? Unless, of course, that was why he had invited her to join him. She did not much like the idea of handling the consequences of another's poor decision.

Thankfully, that did not seem to be the case, for during her dance with the mourning lioness Avreya caught sight of others coming to swarm the corpse's remains. At least Asphodel was not the only one with this idea. A snarl ripped from her then as her opponent collided with her head on, a shoulder sending the wind from her chest. Stumbling back a few steps, Avreya shook off her unsteadiness and charged right back in, attempting to grapple the slightly larger lioness and hold her back from the vultures beginning to appear from the audience.

@Avreya vs. @Khadija
Dominance
Round 3/3
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 16 + 12 + 17 + 15 + 2 + 9 + 19

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 2 + 19 + 16

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 8 + 10 + 4 + 2 + 18

art by moogle

alexander is quiet and she assumes he therefore does not mind her presence. louve sits while others join them, watching everything around them like a hawk. manon is not far behind and has questions of her own -- ones that louve listens for the answers to without supplying them herself.

as the moments tick past she is more and more certain that she must separate herself from miaran, that the women louve had seen so much promise in had been little more than a fake. the mask had slipped and true selves had been revealed and for the sake of her family and her pride louve must keep distance.

a quiet look to @Manon might convey this, before her gaze slipped to @Gwynevere with the same silent indication. they would not stand with miaran, not when it would pit them against the whole of amaryllis. besides that she saw much of the same madness in her once friend as she had in her husband, making her wonder if miaran's refusal to accept a rise from the dead stemmed in her own past experience.

@Velasco adds in his own bits of information as louve's eyes wander from the fight to the woman sitting nearby, the very sister claimed stolen. the very sister who is revealed and thrust in to a fight of her own; louve does not watch it long.

it is @Zinnia that pulls louve's focus away from all of the madness, feeling an unusual softness towards the girl. "oui, of course." though unsure of her connection to the male she knew the girl was, certainly, rooting for miaran's death, and privately louve could not help but feel it would be the best for all.

she might have watched the rest of the fight without any other curiosities, had her gaze not been drawn towards the arrival and appearance of one particular cub. one cub that looked shockingly like a male she knew well. a male that had, in fact, recently fathered her own grandchildren. children that she had believed to be his first.

louve's eyes narrowed, squinting as she studies this remarkable boy, before sliding towards @Cassius ♔ himself who was speaking loudly and clearly of the very thoughts she had. of cubs he had fathered. cubs that were most defiitely not as old as this other boy.

alas -- now was not the time to puzzle over these mysteries. for @Kvare had finished the task at hand, doing what all here seemed to be hoping for, and he had dropped the head at their feet. louve... forced herself to look. forced herself to see the life disappear from miaran's eyes, a quiet witness to her soul moving beyond this world, half thinking that should any try to snatch it from it's journey she would intervene.

and then she watches as kvare hands out pieces of the women -- noting exactly who he brought them to. to the caladan queen and king, children of his. children that she, perhaps, should travel to talk to.

her gaze connects briefly with @Zinnia before taking note of the further chaos that erupts around them, before tipping her chin to seek alexander's eye, ready to leave and be done with it all but wanting to ensure the well being of her friend before doing so.

I am not a woman, I'm a god

code x art