set directly after ex-bf support group

Aarani was numb. She supposed the feeling she should have had was anger, but she felt none of that. Pity above everything else, for the lioness who had become so utterly lost in a pride that threatened to do the very same to Aarani. She wouldn't let it, of course, and had the strength to rise and stay above whatever petty lies were whispered to her throughout her stay. A stay that was.. ending shortly, she certainly hoped. No attachment to any man would anchor her somewhere she felt herself miserable, and she would fight day after day if need be to free her children.

It wasn't an ideal situation by any means, but she did not know what else to do. There were tears just behind her eyes that threatened to fall, yet she kept them sealed behind a mask of indifference. Emotions showed weakness, she realized, and the lioness was anything but.

table by ferus, artwork by grav3wolf

Circe was as she always was, busying herself with some sort of self-proclaimed duty. She was sure Zoticus wouldn't mind if she simply rested, but she was something of a... Workaholic? Staying still for too long wasn't exactly in her favor. It was a double-edged sword however, as sometime she seemed to miss when newer members were brought into the pride.

She didn't know the woman a few paces away from her now, she'd never gotten the chance to meet her formally but she knew well enough to know she wasn't any sort of intruder. She could only assume she had come in as a recruit. The Noble was none the wiser about any issues that had been had prior.

All she saw in this moment was a woman who looked... Troubled.

"Is everything okay, miss?" She questioned with a softer chuff, not wanting to startle her in any way.

@Aarani

table by sentinel / lion + sky

Aarani wished for nothing else than to see Viné or Dior, but not for any good reason. She wanted someone large enough to handle her pathetic attempts at wrestling out some anger, and those two were certainly capable enough to laugh as she tried to do some damage. The lioness had not been so upset for quite some time, and it seemed her desire to be alone and wallow in it would not go unchecked by another wolf at her door.

Aarani turned to face the woman, undoubtedly a contented follower of Zoticus, and did her best to remain as neutral as could be. For a woman who felt emotions so strongly, it was a difficult task. "Things will work out in the end, they always do. No worries, dear." It was a lie, all things considered. Nothing ever worked out for Aarani. She was either brokenhearted or cut off from her children at any given time, moved from pride to pride as quickly as they fell, and was overall stressed. All the time.

All the time.

@Circe

table by ferus, artwork by grav3wolf

She gently tilted her head, at the dismissiveness of it- though she couldn't blame her. Showing one's self to another you didn't know wasn't wise, not in Circe's eyes. But still... The pale dame was a pride mate, even if she was a new one and still a greater stranger to her.

"You're not wrong. But the means to the end can be rough, that's for sure..." She said simply, trying her best to offer... Something. Some sort of understanding. Although she wasn't exactly the best at dealing with another's emotions herself. "If you need to speak of anything, please... Don't hesitate. Or if there's anything we can do to help you settle in."

But beyond that, she wasn't going to push it. In fact, she was more content to walk off and leave it at the offer, if she so wished to remain closed off. If a woman didn't wanna talk, she damn sure wasn't going to make her. She wouldn't want to be pushed if she was in that position, either.

@Aarani

table by sentinel / lion + sky

"Yes," Rani replied softly. There was only one thing the lioness could think to ask, and that was a simple: "What are your thoughts on Arjana?" Arjana now, Zoticus later. Aarani knew @Circe would be biased towards the sovereign, but a regular pride mate? Maybe not. Aarani needed to know, needed to discover what Oberon had seen in the russet woman. It didn't matter too much, she supposed, as Oberon was quite absent and would likely not be returning. It meant she was stuck in a pride she didn't want to be in, trapped with others who didn't like her. What a joyous occasion.

"We were both in a relationship with Oberon before he left. She's quite displeased with me." And Aarani couldn't find it within herself to care anymore.

table by ferus, artwork by grav3wolf

An eyebrow raised, curiously. Followed by the slightest of squints of silent scrutiny. Arjana? Why was she interested to know what she thought of Arjana? Her first thought of why she'd be asking that was related to the challenge, but she really wasn't... Sure. Circe would think carefully about how she worded her reply, given the unknowns.

"Arjana is one of our best hunters, she's a strong woman. Dedicated." She started, and even given recent events she would still stand by that. She knew Arjana was capable, she'd proven that beyond the shadow of a doubt. It was her emotions that had gotten her into trouble, and ever since she seemed determined to overcome her blunder.

Circe wasn't about to say anything more than that, not to someone she didn't know. Even if this woman was- curiously enough- also in a relationship with the former leader of Scilla before his... Departure? Full details weren't exactly known to her, not yet.

But in any case, she knew Arjana and had done something to fall out of favor with her. "What exactly happened?" She questioned with serious concern, hoping that there wasn't more to the underbelly of the situation going on- mainly, on Arjana's part. Was it something that would effect them once again? Or simply... Lingering emotions between two women who were emotionally hurt?

@Aarani

table by sentinel / lion + sky

The information revealed was nothing beneficial. She hadn't wanted anything too in depth, but something more than what she was given would have been preferable. The lioness sighed and shifted her weight, anticipating the question that was then immediately posed.

"She seems to have been told that Oberon was selfish and in general not a good man," the woman began, tiptoeing heavily about who had done so. "And she became quite upset when I explained he was none of those things, and that she should not be letting others dictate her heart. She told me I needed to go, which was quite fine. I was tired of hearing her rag on the man I love." That's all it had seemed to be -- complaint after complaint. "She acted as though she was the first and only woman to experience loss or heartbreak." And Aarani was proof enough that was incorrect.

table by ferus, artwork by grav3wolf

Ok. So it was lingering emotions. She wasn't exactly in any place to make a comment about this (yet), there was just as much glass that Circe had to tiptoe on as the other woman had to tiptoe on with her- she was clearly loved Oberon. But to Circe? The only thing she knew of the man was the situation he'd put Arjana in, his brief leadership of the lagoon, and the suspicion she had around his intentions. No more, no less. By speculation she could say she didn't blame Arjana one bit for thinking he was selfish.

"People have different reactions to being hurt." Anger, sadness, stupidity, and other things that blinded logic. She wasn't above them either. Was anybody? "But you're both experiencing pain. It's not exactly a competition." Not that she was implying it had been made that way, but that was simply the fact. Whatever... Disagreement this was could be ironed out with time... Maybe. When emotions didn't run as hot, and wounds weren't so fresh.

One thing in her previous statement stuck out though... Not letting others dictate her heart? So she wasn't the only one to notice Arjana's... Malleability, in her emotional state. "We had a similar conversation." She sighed. "About not letting others make decisions for her."

@Aarani

table by sentinel / lion + sky

"I know," Aarani offered in response, her voice lacking any of its usual emotion. "It's not a competition at all." Did Arjana know that, though? Between the sobbing about Oberon and the whinging about Wolfbron, she genuinely didn't know how the lioness couldn't see she had shot herself in the foot. She inhaled deeply, listening to @Circe with a flick of her ear.

"That was what I told her, too. To stop letting others tell her how to feel and.. she said I was being one of them." Aarani's eyes welled with tears as she dropped her attention to the ground, wiping the minty orbs with the back of her paw. "I just.. it felt like she was attacking Oberon and I just.." Missed him. Loved him. She had made a mistake and been pushy, yes, but Arjana's heart was not the only one broken.

table by ferus, artwork by grav3wolf