[OOC: -standing near @Zulema] The lioness moved, stepping from the brush when the fighting began, noting a few more familiar faces, but coming to rest near her cousin, standing at her left side. "How will the Hollows handle this if the female wins? She...is loyal to the Scillan king." One that not many seemed to like. Sangria herself also held no love for the Scillan beast with the overly flappy gums. The female was unaware that her cousins leader was there, not knowing who he was. She did notice that others of Firnen were gathering and gave them careful looks to take note of who had arrived. She had also unknowingly answered @Magnus's question. After all - those that were active would be the ones she would need to compete against to claw her way to the top. The lioness would return her gaze to the gathered lions, curious to see what sides were being formed. Scilla had quite the gathering and she would look towards @Vermier with a stoic stare. He hadn't done much...yet.. but she would be more than happy to leap on him and give him another dirt facial.

code by koi

When the initial call for her home was made by a complete stranger, Maia had been sleeping. Kiton had told her the importance of resting, and she was not going to ignore that, but the Tolkien could not simply remain put when the call against the safety of her home echoed through the peninsula.

Sooty limbs move through the territory as quickly as they would allow: a strong mixture of scents filled her nostrils, which caused her mind to go into overdrive. She's late, when she arrives. The fight for her home had already started, with some lioness she didn't recognize challenging for her home. A low growl rumbled through her chest, a combination of anger and fury brewing within her stomach at the thought of losing her home. Entering the clearing, dual-toned eyes scan the area as quickly as she could, and she saw only a few individuals that she recognised: @Corinna, @Drakon and @Hanneth being some of them. @Kiton was locked in battle with the challenger, a lioness she didn't know, nor recognise. Walking to @Hanneth, she frowned and looked at her guardianship parent. "Who is challenging Kiton?" She asks, eyes looking to the lioness, studying her carefully.

+5 Gather information about a character (1/2)

code © flea // art © raphaelion

they tumble and fight

and they're beautiful on the hilltops at night

His warning was ignored, and she made her intentions of fighting for the mire clear. Kiton growled as she thrusted toward his left side, their standoff making the approach a little less than a surprise. He took his own step forward to try and knock his jutted right shoulder out against her side, counting on his larger stature and weight to knock back against her harder.
He felt her paw snake around his own limb and lashed out with his left paw and his claws extended, attempting to rake the thorns against the backside of her foreleg while she was trying to use it against him. He roared at the fiery pain of her fangs closing around his lower left shoulder in moderate puncture wounds, instinctively surging his own head forward to try and close his jaws around the scruff of her nape in a counterattack.
Kiton's growl only deepened as her claws slashed down the left side of his flank in three moderate gashes which swelled quickly with red liquid. He took one more step forward while trying to angle his right shoulder toward her instead, encouraging the release of his shoulder from her jaws by trying to knock it against her.

Kiton vs. Genya
for Ecrosia Mire
Round 1 / 5
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 10 + 16 + 2 + 6 + 19 + 1

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 9 + 19 + 6 + 3

code by corvus

+20 Sneak into a pride or group without getting caught
+10 Infiltrate a group thread without getting caught
+10 Observe a challenge and learn the results

[hidden]
Ooooh? The Mire again? It was a place he'd been at least once before, and remembered as...well...generally depressing. Foggy, mucky, not really near the top of his list as far as choice territories went. But hey, some lions were just weird and liked that kind of thing. Others were just desperate.

Silent steps carried him toward the gathered crowd, though shifted his path before he got too close. Agile paws picked a path over soft ground and tangled roots, once more taking advantage of his dark colors and the ever-present fog in the area to conceal himself as he passed over the border and settled into a tangle of plant life that had seen better days. Apparently, he'd missed a leadership shift somewhere. Neither fighter had been the victor in the last challenge he'd watched here. Hm. Needed to get back into the loop, it seemed.

i'll be in the corner takin notes

i got your six while you're workin votes

code by corvus

+10 Steal from a pride or lion without getting caught
+10 Explore a new territory and find something useful
+10 Observe a fight

Until the call reached him, this new land had been...relatively boring. Peaceful. But maybe he'd been hanging around all the wrong places. How often did shit go down at a beach, right? It was a generally chill kind of area. So the commotion from the jungle down the coast piqued his curiosity, and drew him in.

Seemed he'd entered through the back door, though, so to speak. Which was fine - challenges were a kind of free-for-all time, right? Meant the owner was distracted and may be displaced, which meant it was also a perfect time to swing by a cache on his way to the main event. Or, in this case, double back and raid the stores when the scent registered over the muck.

When he finally found the crowd, he came skirting (the inner side of) the border with a half-eaten leg of...something that had once probably been brownish (gazelle?), and settled just slightly apart from the rest of the group. Big crowds were...eh, he didn't like them. But he did enjoy a good fight, and - oh! A good perch. He would abandon his seat in the mud to hop up into a sturdy-looking tree to watch the battle and nibble at his stolen treat.

code by corvus

Genya felt her back legs move back mere inches, ankles straining against the weight of @Kiton and her own body. Still, she held on, relishing in the flood of iron blood entering her nostrils. Just as his paw was ready to rake against hers, Genya felt his grip and she uttered a deep growl. Blood seeped out, but the pain was easy to ignore especially when her fangs were able to meet some of its mark. With her now free but injured left paw, Genya attempted to reach up to rake it down his upper shoulder (Kiton's right) area again, in an attempt to dig deep enough that he would roar in pain. Meanwhile, her right paw attempted to hold onto him for leverage by pushing against the previous wounds she made against his lower left shoulder (Genya's right). His fangs met her neck, digging in until Genya moved, feeling the heavy prickling of pain upon her flesh. She twisted her face to the left, towards Kiton's cheek, and attempted to rake her fangs against the flesh. Blood was pouring down her leg and nape, but right now, adrenaline was keeping her alive.

Genya vs Kiton
for Ecrosia Mire
Round 2 / 5

Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 13 + 1 + 6 + 19 + 12 + 3 + 20

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 7 + 20 + 5

Roseate was at least content now that everyone was sufficiently distracted by the battle and their own conversations that he could peek out a little more. He shuffles to sit just clear of the undergrowth, shaking mud off his paws and lamenting the grooming that would be necessary later to get this dirt out of his fur.

Ah, much better. Ros could more clearly now, and began to assess the battle that was taking place. He wasn't versed enough in the warrior's arts to tell if either of them were getting the upper hand. But, he was invested now and he wanted to see the result. Maybe he'd make a ballad about it later.

Oh sure Brigid had heard the call just like anyone else, in fact it was probably much louder to the blind woman to any ordinary boring lion with sight. At first she had wanted to ignore it but then the Gentry got to thinking that maybe it would be a good thing to go poke around and see what she could find out on her own. She didn't need anyone to narrate the fight for her, she'd be able to pick up those pieces at one point or another. But for now, scoping out the territory wouldn't hurt especially while the others were distracted. The mahogany woman moved through the murky area, noticing in particular how the mud and grime seemed to suck up her paws like toxic waste. The fog was incredibly thick and heavy and musty smelling. An ear flicked as she listened to the sound of scuffling and bodies shifting. Brigid however moved to settle within the murky waters, allowing them to cover her coat as she laid behind a cluster of thorn bushes. She couldn't see a lick but she could hear and smell and that was all she needed. Her family was here, she could smell them in the midst of all the others gathered, and later on she would discuss with them the actual 'sight' version of events but until then she would wait, biding her time. Brigid is hidden +10 - Study the landscape of an area +10 - Observe a fight +20 - Sneak into a pride without getting caught

yumpy

Before his brother can respond, a familiar striped figurine appears by his side - Leander's skin prickling at the very spot @Halimede brushes past him. He hungers for more but stands resolute, a gleam of humour in his mismatched eyes as his counterpart too, taunts @Seneca.

"Halimede, meet my brother Seneca," Leander introduces the pair, wondering how his brother might handle the tongue in cheek remark from the moonlit figurine whom he felt rather protective of.

Meanwhile, the fight continues - @Genya battling the incumbent leader for the right to rule the pride. He had spoken with the inky woman previously about her aspirations for her own kingdom and philosophy with which she would rule.

He hoped that this would work in her favour.

table by ferus, art by munk

A call rang out for the Mire again, but this time, it wasn't a sense of pride that swelled in the dark man's chest. It was one of dread. While he knew this was a risk to every king's reign, the Hodari just didn't want to believe that it was happening to his son. Not now. Not so soon. It only just felt like his family was coming back together. Slowly, but surely.

But Kiton would win. He had to win. Dero was certain of this matter, as any faithful father would be. Already, the fight was ensuing by the time the dark knight had dragged his broken body to the borders of the swamps. Many lions were already gathered, but luckily his family was easily spotted still on the Ecrosia side of the lands. It would appear even a few non-Mire family members had made their way into the swamps as well, spotting Roan, Furia, and Aeneas among the growing collection of Hodari lions. Dero arrived to hear the younger members question who the challenger was. It was only as the father moved up alongside @Aeneas did he finally take in who was fighting his son. It took a great deal of strength to keep himself composed. To think of anyone harming his children, no matter their age, caused the lion's blood to boil. What made matters worse was that this challenger was familiar. "Genya," the socked lion uttered her name in answer to Aeneas and @Maia without tearing his weary gaze from the sight of his son. "She was an ally once, when we lived in the Jungle." Even lived in the jungle to be with Gabriel, if he was not mistaken. His lip curled at the thought of someone he knew challenging for his home, challenging his family. Maybe she didn't know who lived here, or maybe she just didn't care. It had been over a year since he last saw the woman, so who knows what kind of lion she was now, if she even remembered them. All the Hodari could do was watch and pray that Kiton came out victorious.

Table by Amanda | Reference by Celestial-Drift (Permission given to add scars) | Background from unsplash