( for anyone in the pirate crew <3 pref to keep it to one or two at a time so that the thread doesn't drag, we can create more threads for anyone else interested! )

It's quiet, alone with her own thoughts. Time moves on without Kimagure. Beyond her grave, the jungle forgets the white sovereign. Her scent has faded completely upon the borders, replaced with that of Avreya's, and occasionally of Reyes', some others'. Part of the Rurik's mind has forgotten the smell.

The ache hasn't gone away, but it's dulled somewhat. She's grown accustomed to it. There's a nervousness that replaces the intensity of the feeling, however -- a fear of losing someone else. It makes her paws itch with each moment she rests beyond what she needs, each time she relaxes rather than working. And so she sates that itch with a patrol.

Her pace is quickened, with purposeful and steady strides as she trots her way between major scent markers. The exercise helps burn off the anxious energy -- and tires her out enough later so that she'll be forced to rest. At least it's a healthy way of coping.

( +5 Patrol the border [1/2]
+5 Exercise to gain endurance [1/2] )

under a black flag we sail

and the sea shall be our empire

In his young life, Argo had never been part of a traditional pride structure. Used to frequent wandering and an unstructured sense of freedom, he thought joining Firnen would be unbearable. Surprisingly, the rainforest was interesting, and still new enough to keep Argo's fickle attention. There was a lot to like about the place - food and shady trees - really, the only downside Argo could find was that it wasn't a beach. That was a forgivable sin though, as there were scatterings of pools that he could relax in, and maybe push Miette or Teuta into, if he could get them close enough. In fact, in the short time he'd been here Argo hadn't found anything to be nervous about...

With one exception.

That exception was walking quickly towards Argo, though she hadn't seemed to have spotted him yet. With a groan, he moved from his spread-out position on the ground to sit up, as he didn't want Avreya to have to awkwardly move around his paws.

It wasn't that Argo disliked the High Sovereign; they had hardly even spoken, and he was always endeared by lions who also had cropped tails. It was just that she was, well, a sovereign. The only authority Argo trusted was his Captain, as far as he was concerned all royalty wanted to do was exploit their subjects. Kiton was perhaps the exception to this rule, but Avreya was a stranger. He watched her approach with a slight tilt of his head. It was possible that she could be like Kiton, and he decided to take advantage of this moment to find out.

"Hey there," he called out casually, as if she weren't a virtual stranger. "Patrolling the border, boss?"

code by corvus

+5 Walk the pride borders

Look, a forest might have been the last place that Teuta was interested in living in, but if the captain said that was what they were doing then so be it. She definitely wasn't opening her big mouth and putting her paw into it. There were others among the crew who were more than willing to do that for her. Like Miette.

Still, Teuta wasn't going to just laze about under a tree, mourning the loss of the sand under her paws and the wind in her braids. No, she'd do something useful, even if it was just wandering around the edge of the pride and seeing what she might find.

Turned out, she'd find herself meeting up with the boss lady doing her own rounds. Uhhh, damn, she hadn't caught her name during the little gathering on the sands. Well, she'd just have to do her best without it. Luckily for her, Argo was there too

"Ahoy there!" she called with her usual exuberance, walking up to the pair and moving to attempt to ram her chest into the male's shoulder as a form of greeting before turning a cheeky grin on the pale woman.

@Avreya

Chest rises and falls with a slightly-labored pant. The Commander regulates her breathing, keeps her pace swift but yielding, putting a steady strain on her muscles as she seeks to make good time in giving a good sweep of the border. She pauses here and there to examine a worrisome scent, but most are false alarms.

It's during one of those pauses that she becomes aware of the rustling of the foliage up ahead. The golden form is familiar -- she recognizes one of the lanky yearling from the crew at the Passage. Their names are all jumbled up in her head. She remembers them all, both from their meeting and from Roarke's explanation on the way here, but not exactly which calling belongs to which off the top of her head. Avreya figures it'll come to her.

The High Sovereign is still wary of the group. Their numbers are strong, and from the looks they'd given their captain at his choosing of the Rainforest, they were far from loyal. A part of her kicks herself for the naivete of allowing them here, giving them access to the food caches and the shelter of the pride, but she hopes that what Roarke had said would hold true -- protection for protection. She hopes the Captain will call his kin to follow up on that offer should the opportunity arise.

She picks her walk back up, albeit at a slower pace now as she strides casually through the undergrowth toward him, her thoughts uncommunicated beneath steeled, resting mask. Ears flick as the youth greets her, though her tail twitches unseen behind her bulk at the word boss. She's still not convinced of the validity of all of these titles -- in classic Rurik fashion -- but knows that those here respect the hierarchies and the claims to land, which she'll need for her kin should they relocate here. It's a necessary evil.

Sharp yellow eyes roll over to a fresh disturbance in the underbrush -- the tiger-striped figure of... Teuta. This one she remembers (tiger, teuta) thanks to the maned woman's unique markings and fangs not dissimilar from her own. "Just Avreya is fine," she responds evenly to the other right before Teuta's exuberant greeting rings out, unknowingly providing the approaching woman with her name, while also hopefully preventing the uncomfortable titles.

She looks between the two. Without being able to help it, she feels a private tension in her chest, a wariness -- she's at an advantage, older than them both and much more intimately familiar with the Rainforest's terrain. She's aware of the feeling of the undergrowth beneath her, ears alert to the sounds of the jungle in case these weren't the only two who would arrive.

Avreya had been doing her best to keep an eye on them, but wants to test the waters, see how hopefully-non-mutinous they were feeling. "How have you both settled in?" she asks in stony inflection, surveying them both with affable gaze.

( +5 Patrol the border [2/2]
+5 Exercise to gain endurance [2/2] )

under a black flag we sail

and the sea shall be our empire

There was a flash of orange Argo spotted out of the corner of his eye before Teuta was rushing into him. This wasn't an uncommon way for her to greet him, so he only gave out a small "Oof," from the force, but otherwise didn't react. Despite the lioness's somewhat volatile nature, her presence was a soothing and welcome one. Argo immediately felt himself relax, after all it would be hard for Avreya to try anything against two lions.
Not that he thought things were going to end with bloodshed, but it never hurt to have the advantage.

"It's a pretty good set up you got here," he drawled, "It's not what I'm used to but I can't complain." If he were a different lion, Argo would have probably thanked the Sovereign for her willingness to let a group of strangers into her land, but the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He knew some type of deal had been made with Roarke, and a high-ranking lion didn't make a deal with rogue leaders unless they were opportunistic. What was it that Avreya needed, that made her willing to accept them into her pride? Argo doubted he would get the information directly from her, but this train of thought was a persistent one.

"How did you get this pride anyway?" he asked, conversationally. "I assume the rainforest would be quite sought after." Argo had seen some of the other prides, and they had left him disappointed.

@Avreya, @teuta

code by corvus

It clearly didn't occur to her that she could potentially hurt her crewmate. He was big and strong, right? He'd be fine! Never mind that she was coming at him like a miniature freight train. Well, her goal wasn't actually to hurt him, so naturally he was okay, though she kept herself from snickering at the grunt he offered.

Her ears picked up on their mighty leader's name and she tucked it away to spare herself from future embarrassment. "It's not bad," she replied to the question. "Trees aren't usually my thing, but it's fine." She just wished there was a fishing hole somewhere within the pride... Maybe she could somehow make one?

"Girls leading must be a thing around here," she added, after nodding in agreement with Argo's words about settling in. "Pretty badass, I gotta say." Clearly no one had washed her mouth out with soap root when she was a cub. Maybe they should have. She couldn't help that she was impressed though!

@Avreya @Argo

Avreya watches the pair with sharp yellow eyes, appraising them both. She gives a slight nod at Argo's acknowledgement of the territory's suitability, betraying nothing more with the gesture than affable agreement, and accepting that it's not the youth's usual fare. Argo is young yet -- he'll get used to it in time, she assumes.

Teuta echoes the sentiment. Gaze flicks over to her as she comments on her place in leadership -- Avreya raises a brow. She's always surprised by the... well, surprise at women ruling that seems to crop up in these lands. Growing up in the mountains, gender didn't dictate your place, only your strength and your ability. The backwards misogyny is still a foreign and fury-invoking concept for her. They may be smaller than males, but smaller did not mean weaker, and her claws and teeth still rip flesh all the same as their larger counterparts.

"Thanks," she says neutrally with a flick of the ear. It also raises another question, which is sent in the direction of Teuta: "Where your from, are women not... Captains, also?" She remembers the term, but takes a moment to consider if there's another term for a female captain. Captainess? With the word being wholly unfamiliar to her, she doesn't come up with a potential equivalent, at least not one she's willing to stab in the dark at.

Argo's question comes with a familiar sting. Kids -- they're too perceptive for their own good, always able to ask the right questions without the dulling influence of niceties and politeness. She gazes at him for a moment, then offers the answer.

"The sovereign before me, Kimagure --" While she'd led during the crew's initial arrival, her death had been shortly after, scarcely leaving room for many of them to have met her. "--chose me to rule beside her." Lips purse as she gazes briefly into the shadows of the jungle, then returns her eyes unyieldingly toward Argo. "She passed, recently -- gored by a buffalo during a hunt." It's something she doesn't tell outsiders, but these two are a part of the pride. "Leaving the pride to me." She surveys them both, searching for any reaction. Avreya hides her own behind her carefully-composed mask. It slowly becomes easier to talk about, but she still has to do the work herself of hiding the pain from her features and her tone, carefully choosing her words in a way that detaches her the most easily from the pain.

under a black flag we sail

and the sea shall be our empire

That....was unexpected. Argo searched the woman's features for any trace of emotion, but her tone and expression remained even. Though, there was a certain look in her eyes that hinted this was a recent loss, he didn't think he was imagining the ache in her yellow gaze.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, putting as much sincerity into his tone as possible. He was no stranger to loss, and this pang of empathy replaced the suspicion. "It must require a lot of resilience, to lead such a large pride on your own." Though Argo disliked authority on principal, determination and strength he could respect. Lionesses, in his experience, often had more of it than lions, and it seemed Avreya was no exception.

With his guard down, Argo sat back down at his initial spot under the shaded tree. He wondered if Teuta would stay and join him, or move on to wherever she had been headed before. "Is there anything in particular you expect from us? I'm not used to having two Captains." This formal pride structure was new to him, and he wasn't quite sure what the sovereign wanted from him. To hunt? To spy on other prides? To follow her orders? If it came down to it, Argo was always going to answer to Roarke.

@Avreya @teuta

code by corvus

"Eh, sometimes," she replied with a slight shrug. "Not too often though." She'd heard of maybe one or two. It wasn't that it was forbidden or anything, it just wasn't tradition, and they were creatures of tradition at the end of it.

"Oh shit, that sucks. Can't imagine what that's like," she said, making a face that was a cross between sympathetic and someone trying not to express sympathy because she knew not everyone liked/wanted that. It just wound up being a weird grimace that she wiped from her face as quickly as possible because she realized it wasn't great. She had no idea what it would be like to lose their captain, and she didn't want to.

Argo's question was a good one, and her ears perked forward with interest to catch Avreya's response. She'd need to know the answer to this too, and unless they'd gone over it before she had gotten to the gathering, it hadn't been said at the passage.

@Avreya @Argo