cassandra

The call for the Hollows was extremely unexpected. Cassandra had been on her way to take Roan up on his offer of a tour of the Hollows when she heard the call go out. Her pace increased, and by the time she had arrived, quite a few others had arrived as well. One of the challengers was unfamiliar to her, but he bore the scent of the Bluffs. Interesting. But the one who was fighting against him - she was a lioness Cassandra would recognize in a heartbeat. Revna. Interesting. Of course she would root for her pride member, as sad as she was to see an ally have fallen. Her gaze would notice some other familiar faces - notably @Keir.

She wasn't sure how to approach the situation, but with the other male next to him asking where he would go, Cassandra figured it prudent to approach and offer the male a place in the Brook, however temporary it might need to be. Approaching the dark male, Cassandra paused next to Keir, not sitting just yet. "The Brook can offer refuge to you and any other Hollows members who need it. You would be welcome to stay for as long or as little as you need." She said quietly. She would prefer Revna to win this challenge, for it would mean another ally rather than another enemy.

text. "speech."

Art by Thrush@dA | Code by Zodiac

become the storm you are hiding from Sometimes she wondered if she was cursed. At her darkest times she imagined it was Vellen; he haunted her dreams, a faceless force in the ocean that belittled her for her failures. Through thrashing waves and rolling sea his voice would boom, and those were the nights she would wake with a start and a cry on her lips. Hiccup had always comforted her, reminding her that it was not real, that He was not real. Without fail her friend had been there, easing her fears -- until one day, he was not. The days leading up had been stressful, with Hiccup caught in the throes of a seizure that left him... different. Dazed and confused and out of sorts, and Asteria did all she could to dote on him in return for the many hours he had given her his care. It was what best friends did, what family did, and her best friend was nothing if not family. Together they had begun a new line, and while it might not have been the intent they were not loved any less because of it. In fact they were loved more, if anything, with the two best friends giving all of themselves to the four tiny bundles. Motherhood changed Asteria, giving her an anchor to this world and a true reason for living. But then Hiccup was gone, and though she searched for him (doing the best she could to keep her sorrow masked) it was a fruitless endeavor. And then the rumble pulled her from sleep and the black wave of panic rose almost instantly. Not our home, too. A fleeting thought as she gathered the children, ushering them through the tunnels as quickly as possible, scruffing any that might have lagged behind. Away from the danger, away from the ruin, emerging in a cloud of dust that made her very heart ache. Asteria turns immediately and sets down Dozy (whom she had carried for the last steps) and calls for rest -- "@Beetle! @Spider! @Aphid!" -- to encourage them to her side. It is then that @Nazonal's voice reaches her through the chaos and she turns, stunned to find that they are already fighting over the remains of her home. Tears spring unbidden to her eyes as she fights a wave of sorrow and anger combined -- "Naz! Here!" -- and she turns away from the challenge in order to gather her cubs and ensure they are unharmed.

code // art // do not use without permission

(2/2) +5 Observe a challenge and learn the results (vermier vs revna)
He would have been quite content to be able to sulk and leer on his own, but soon would his solitude at the edge of the gathering come to a quick close as he would be accompanied by @Ransom. He hadn’t seen his brother in quite some time, and a part of him began to wonder if he had left just like mother. It brought slight relief to see that he had stuck around, the scent of Scilla clinging to his coat. Keir would take a moment to respond to his brother’s question, keeping his eyes on the fight.

“I’m not sure,” he would manage to get out just before @Cassandra joined the two, his eyes then flicking over in her direction as his maw nodded toward her in greeting. Her invitation would not be lost on him, though, and with a trying smile would he give another nod to her. “I appreciate it,” would come his sincere reply; knowing that he had at least one pride he knew would help him in his time of need was comforting, especially with how little he liked most of the current pride leaders within Amaryllis. Eyes would transfix back upon the fight then, his mind now mulling over if he wanted to find reprieve in the Brook, see how he wound fare in Scilla, or stay a rogue again. Oh, how he wished @Vitala was here to help him through this…

_{BG — ART — CODE}

and we don’t need saving

We’re hell raising

@Cassandra may not have liked the idea - if she noticed - but Ygritte followed her on delicate paws towards the calling of yet another pride. Ears twisting as she felt the coolness of the tunnels as she made her way through the caverns of the Hollow had to offer but she followed the High Sovereign and caught the last of her words towards a male she was not familiar but she caught the scent of one she did and pointedly ignored it as she focused on @Keir. If you have any injured I can look over them and patch up their injuries. She would voice towards the brute though her eyes were not focused on him and she used the word look loosely.


She is with Cassandra, Keir & Ransom

code by corvus / image by kim

"3 yrs old, no bonus"

He was content to watch as others showed up to watch the battle, not expecting to see anyone from the Mire so far from home here. A small comfort that was short lived. A figure would appear, tan with mottled stripping, one that he would instantly recognize. His body would tense, leaning forward as the girl barreled towards him. ”Dad! The word would fill his heart with happiness, so much so that the beast would grin. “Kin-Caillen!” He would rumble in greeting. Reunited with his adopted daughter.

She would rub her skull against the thick of his mane and Ronin would lean into the affection, offering his own in the same motion. “Ive missed you.” He couldn’t begin to describe how happy he was to see her, to see how much she had grown. When she mentioned being home he would grimace slightly, “it is good to be back in Amaryllis.” He would try to dodge the ‘home’ in favor of the land as a whole. It was good to be back somewhere familiar.

As if on que another familiar face would appear. The warmonger would nod to @Ghyslaine , noting how she no longer carried the scent of the Mire- but another pride. Head would cock to the side, an invitation, if she wanted to join he and Caillen. If not, he would understand.


@Caillen

code by corvus / image by kim

Well, wasn't this interesting. The Hollows weren't that far from the oasis, so it wasn't that annoying to make the trip and, honestly, he was glad for a chance to get the fuck out of the sandy hell he'd claimed for himself. The familiar voice was just too interesting to ignore, and he wondered if Amara had bigger plans than she'd ever let on.

Hadn't Vermier been her relatively loyal hound longer than he had?

Although, when he finally arrived and spotted the speckled queen, she didn't look half as pleased as he'd expected. Even more interesting.

Ryker would slip up alongside her and settle in to watch, "Now," he spoke just loud enough for @Amara to hear, "that's not a face of a plan gone well." A glance to the side followed, to assess her expression, "I take it he's doing this all on his own?" And she wasn't happy about it, for some reason? Admittedly, he was far out of the loop when it came to internal family drama - mostly because it was really hard to eavesdrop on things when they used their fancy language. He'd figured out the probable meaning of a few things, just from hearing them in context, but he wasn't nearly fluent.

I'm a friend of the devil I'm a dangerous rebel

Fighting my way through the sins of the street I'm feeling psycho, psycho Where did my mind go? Biting my tongue and I'm loading my gun Back to the wind, better run, better run I'm feeling crazy, crazy Go 'head and make me It's the life that I can't escape, can't walk away There's blood in the ocean And I'm losing focus I'm a friend of the devil I'm a dangerous rebel

code by corvus

Who were all these people? Mismatched eyes swung about all those present, all the unfamiliarity and all those who were not his family. Outrage at all those who'd infiltrated his homeland brewed beneath the surface, forced him to quake as he stood on copper tipped paws. How dare they come into his home! How dare they fight for what wasn't theirs to take! No one there appeared to be anyone he knew, anyone he'd met before. Body drew upon itself as he stalked into the shadows, his eyes peering from a corner behind some rocks, observant yet uncertain what to do. None of the Hodaris had come to protect their home, his father wasn't there to drive the bastards off. Roan, who was once his hero in all things no longer remained on the pedestal that he'd always put the great lion on, though of course he couldn't fault his parents for every negative outcome that struck the family. Fear penetrated meager calm, causing ripples of shakes that spanned his entire body as he watched the umbra woman clash against the brown giant. They fought for his home, the only place he had ever called home. Every important thing felt lost in that moment, torn away from the young Hodari as he stood in the shadows, praying to his ancestors to intervene, stop this madness.

+5 Observe a fight

CODE • MANIP

The sweetest sound she could possibly hear came roaring through the growing cacophony of sounds. The ushering in of bodies, of sweat, of blood, came with it a huge wave of aromas and tension. There was no telling if an aftershock was on the way and lions were already fighting for the scraps. They knew they had to find Asteria and her young family before another tremor hit, or before someone more opportunistic found her. And merciful be the greater powers, Asteria's voice came ringing through loud and clear. Asteria! Nazonal shouted into the dark and plunged ahead with all her speed and might to get to her friend's side as she was busy trying to usher her children to safety.

We have to go. There's so many lions around already, I don't know if it's safe. They couldn't tell who these souls were, whose benefit they acted upon, their morals, their mission. As much as they hated it Asteria and her family weren't safe here right now. In what should have been their home. They have but a moment to try and meet the magenta gaze of @Asteria. I'm sorry. They say with a gulp and then stand ready to scoop up any children that fall behind, otherwise though Naz wanted to stay ready to move and engage anyone that came towards Asteria with malicious intentions.

GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

The echoes of his own voice always pleased him. And they gathered. Gathered after the ruins of the Hollows, calling and seeking those who were lost. They were not vultures, but flies on the corpses of a long battlefield. Those who were to fight no longer concerned them, in comparison to the retrieval of the probable dead. (Most of these interlopers would probably not eat their fallen relatives, either out of moral weakness or because Dieudonné got there first.)

What angered him was they were not looking at him. Was he not a magnificent beast? Scarred, triumphant, half of a smirk mocking the paralyzed half of his face, and none of a tail showing off his beautiful ass. He snarled, raising up slivered lengths of lips and threatening unblooded canines at each interloper that did not dare to face him. He wanted to already be engaged in combat by the time Amara arrived. He wanted her to feel helpless to stop him.

The greatest insult would be for her to not show, or not care. But she was not capable of that. She could not drop the leash any more than he could break it. He could insult her by openly defying her command. But he was not capable of that.

She would be here. He had nearly as much faith in that as he did in the superiority of his blood. And therefore he engaged each onlooker with a challenging scowl, no great depth to his apparent aggression, until one arrived whose manner of arrival quite tipped him off that she was intending to arrive herself right into him. One tattered ear slant back into his mane, and the other jittered halfway there. His eyes narrowed deliciously within coal circles. Maw unhinged, patchy whiskers askew, he waited. His toes ground into the dirt for footing. He was a little surprised to feel dirt and not sand or stone, such as in the Lagoon or Bluffs. But that was fine. The dirt would betray others, fallen within their caverns! It would not betray him!

He exhaled a deep snarl as the larger lioness crashed into him. That felt so good, felt so bad. The bad kind of pain, bruising across the front of his chest, agonizing the attachment tendons of his front limbs - but the good kind of alive, a fire he would burn himself on again and again. Sorry Amara, sorry Lycaonia, sorry even poetry. All existed on a lower plane of existence than himself in the midst of combat. His taut claws wretched up dirt as he stumbled backward, not in danger of losing his balance but also not capable of using any limbs to attack without risking that danger. She caught a moderate-depth grip in the underside of his neck, somewhat in the middle between the bottom of his chin and the base of his throat. She was rather a bit bigger. Vermier was an outstanding presence, but without the puffed-uppitude of his personality his frame was rather average. Blood dampened the autumn-russet of his mane, whet by its mature growth and not dripping - yet - to the yet-unblessed ground. Her naked neck was a sounder opportunity and Vermier aimed to crane his fangs down, trying to skewer her scruff along the back of her neck toward her shoulders.

Vermier vs @Revna
Obsidian Hollow
1 / 5

Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 18 + 19 + 10 + 17 + 15 + 1

Dodges:

Rolling 6d20: 15 + 20 + 1 + 12 + 14 + 11

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 7 + 6 + 11 + 17

OOC: I apologize for Ransom's inner tantrum XD

Golden boy was often a popular figure in these events, so Ransom had come to learn. It was no different today. Even homeless @Keir has lured a lioness to him (@Cassandra) to offer him refuge from rogue life. The giant's features shifted, regarding the earthen coated lioness with only a moment's interest, switching his cool gaze between her and his brother, who did not commit to a 'yes'.
What is that? On the air?
Ransom did not suppose there would be any who would rush to offer a place to him should he become prideless. But though his natural jealousy spikes, he finds that it is only a shallow feeling. He does not care to be liked. The bonds of family should probably force him to offer the Lagoon up as an alternative residence. But Keir was a big boy and capable of asking should he wish for it.
Interest leaned back toward the fight, shaking his broad skull free of the scent that had become stronger, contaminating his airways until he might choke upon it.
There she was.
The sound of her voice snaps his head around severely, bright cerulean eyes widened, hungry, as if he might devour her whole. @Ygritte stood, playing innocent as she spoke to his brother. As if she would not smell him nearby. Hairs along his spine prickled and raised. If he thought Keir wanted her, he might just have to take a swipe at his sibling...

No. He pushes the feeling down. Understanding his intense reaction to be only his natural impulse for chaos. Tongue lashes out across his lips as he fixes himself resolutely in places, allowing only the faintest grunt to escape him. To signal to her, that he knows that she knows that he is there.

code by corvus