(ooc note: private to any except for Dieudonne family. I will try to keep this moving quickly, so would like to reply within the next week!)


Cassine was long absent from the Bluffs. Without a word (that she knew of) the matriarch had disappeared, and Louve was left feeling more frustrated than one might have expected. Her upbringing had been lacking the guidance that she believed she deserved; not only had her father died but the head of their family was gone. Amara, as much as she had tried to uphold the family beliefs, was only one woman. Not to mention she was not a Dieudonne through blood, though the daughter had little desire to point that out unless it was necessary.

The seed had been planted some months ago and had been watered by her talks with Apollinaire. Who else was there to take up the mantle? Louve would ensure that all of those born to the family would be taught everything. There would be the rituals that they were entitled to, the hunts that they deserved. Louve and her siblings had gone too long without tasting that sacred flesh.

Others had appeared that were born of her blood, some that were not a part of Wolfbron. This is why the Heiress moves outside of the pridelands, to the badlands she knew so well. Hovering near her home, perched on a rocky outcrop that would give her a vantage point to see those that came.

Then, with her heart beating a loud cadence in her ears, Louve loosed a call for her family. Not only for Amara and Elaine but for any of those that carried the blood of the Dieudonne -- the blood of Gods. It was time to usher in a greater future, to show the whole damned world the strength of their family.


@Amara @Elaine @Apollinaire @Hazarin @Vermier @Tripfire @Ludivine @Oleander @Xavier

A star touched ear flicked as she heard her sister's voice rise from lands not within the Bluffs. She was calling for the family. A flicker of confusion rolled over her features. Her sister had been heiress for awhile and seemed to want more. The effort that her sister put into being something more than just a fighter was to much for the cloudy princess. She didn't have a drive or desire to do anything but serve the family at this point, to protect what was theirs. She rose and shook the mud from her coat before setting off to see what her sister was up to this time.

She arrived in the badlands to see @Louve looking different. Like something had switched on for the heiress and she was here to let it shine. Blue gaze lingers over her for a long time trying to work out what her sister was here to do and then it dawned on her what this might be and amusement spread across her features. This would be a fun show, she wondered what Sev might do if she was still here. Test her. Elaine had not drive to lead the family but she also wasn't going to just let her sister walk into the stop without earning it. She gave her lustful sister a smirk before sitting down and waiting to see who else would arrive. If no one answered the call, she would test her sister and leave her life in her paws.

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GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

The lion male was remiss at many things, but never call him late for dinner. He was second to arrive but only because he stopped for popcorn. The pregnant hare had practically jumped under his paws. Now it hung predictably dead from his slavering jaws, and he was grateful to hide his expression behind a carcass. Power struggles were, like fireworks, exciting from a distance; yet when they were set so near his own paws he felt antsy. His gender protected him from the struggle for true leadership but he could still be caught in the crossfire. Made an example of. Any head could roll, coup d'état!

He approached, wise to be silent and wise also not to sit. He gnawed the hare fitfully. Its little spinal vertebrae pop and furls of red intestines spill.

ooc: ** means French speaking, too lazy to translate. There were times that Tripfire reflected upon his adopted parents, Ambrosine had been his entire world and he took her disappearance hard. And then when Manes left too it made it so much worse. Though years had passed and they wouldn't really recognize him based off personality alone. No longer was he the cocky little shit talker he had been in his youth, though he was never one to shy away from a verbal fight. A sense of maturity seemed to rest now on his red shoulders, and hearing the call he moved to go to it. It was not Amara but it was family nonetheless, and he wouldn't dare ignore them. With his family tucked safely in at the Bluffs Tripfire shifted his bulk towards the Badlands, he bore no catch in his jaws like his uncle who was chewing it obscenely. Yellow eyes flicked from each family member taking his place keeping Vermier in his line of sight. A loose cannon was always worth keeping an eye on. Refusing to sit he would wait for the rest, a family meeting it appeared to be but for what he wasn't entirely sure. "talk"

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i bite before i bark // she minces her way through amaryllis with her attention wholly on the badlands - where she's just been summoned. oh, not on purpose, she's sure; she's only just arrived, after all, and though they might be expecting @Ludivine, they certainly won't be expecting her sister. she's not even sure ludi will be expecting her. not yet, anyway. or maybe she was long overdue. she's lost track of time, truth be told, she reflects with her brows furrowed in contemplation.

it lasts only a moment before she rolls her shoulder in a shrug and skitters towards the call to find a handful of unimpressive lions. a young woman, blessedly scarred, seems the one who beckoned them - and a smirking dark lady sits just to the side. her eyes narrow on the two creatures, pupils shrinking as she regards them carefully. nothing about their genes are familiar and while leo shouldn't be surprised, she's still disappointed. she'd been hoping, perhaps, that maman had other relatives here in amaryllis. closer relatives, she amends to herself, letting her gaze slide slowly across @Tripfire and @Vermier.

it's the latter that she approaches, ears thrust forward and tongue swiping across her lips. he'd got a prize that she wants - because she imagines none of the lions here were to be food. pour moi? tu ne devrais pas avoir. for me? you shouldn't have. she croons with a low voice as she approaches, flashing her fangs at the man with only the faintest hint of a threat. she's used to the dieudonne men wilting under her gaze and expects him to be no different. she attempts to crowd him, pressing close enough for their shoulders to touch and her head slinging low with a vicious smile. without hesitation she flexes her claws to attempt to sink into the flesh of the rabbit and jerk it - or at least a chunk - to her to claim it.

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The call is a surprise — an unwelcome one perhaps.

She didn't dwell on the family that lingered like nightmares across the lands, as they had yet to truly reveal themselves to her. A quick meeting here and there had done nothing but stoke the fire that burned deep in her gut. One of betrayal. An instinct bred into her, stoked to grow hotter and hotter by the day. None had actually sought her out since her arrival in Amaryllis — none had truly welcomed her to the family. Was her bloodline too poisoned for them? Did they see themselves as better? It was agonizing.

With much hesitation, she finally turns and heads for the direction of the call, limbs working beneath a heavily furred pelt like a well-oiled machine. A true apex predator. She is a true monster of her kind, and there was no more hesitation in her stride as she draws close — legs, quicken still, as a familiar figure is spotted upon the horizon.

Could it be—?

Fervent longing to be with kin again, she lengthens her stride until she is practically bounding towards those already gathered — but her attention is on only one of them. Close enough, she slows to a stalking pace, joining the nightmares by slinking into their very presence. She'd only met him briefly — @Vermier — and had no feelings either way of the blood that she shared with him. But she takes her sister's actions in stride and mimics her, drawing up along Vermier's opposite side. Not as close as dear @Léontine — but close enough to give the effect of the beast trapped between the superior kin.

“Oh, Léo,” she chastises her sister with a soft croon, the familiar name rolling with glee from her serpentine tongue. “Il est poli de demander, d'abord,” It is polite to ask, first, she continues, her pink gaze traversing over the features of the larger Dieudonné beast; curious, as to how he might react to the female kin's infraction.

ooc. sorry for the quick reply, this is just development and sister stuff and her actions didn't rly change - she's still tryna do the same thing.

a familiar scent folds itself around her a moment before @Ludivine offers a soft reproach. immediately, the mohawk'd girl flattens her ears and leans back, all contrite. her paw plucks itself away from the rabbit before it can even come close. oh, she says with a little pout of her dark lips. her tail tip twitches and she slides her gaze across the male between them, dismissing him entirely, to peer at her dear, dear sister. vous avez raison. je suis désolé. you're right, she tells her kin. i'm sorry. but there's laughter in her two-toned gaze as she slides it, then, to @Vermier once more. her dark lips draw back in a grin wide enough to flash the points of her fangs. puis-je? may i? she all but purrs batting her eyes at the man. and then, without waiting a moment for a response, she continues her attempt to steal his meal from right beneath his nose. quite literally, with a quick: oh merci.

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He's not welcome — at least, he assumes so. But does that stop him?

Hell no.

He may not bear the weight of the Dieudonné name, but the blood flows just as easily through his veins as it does theirs. It's the only reason he recognized the summons, ears perked as he catches the call on the wind. Wherever the beast was most unwanted was, truly, the place he was most going to show. Besides, he had yet to meet any of his kin — name similar or not — and this was a good opportunity to see what he was working with. What he could... Feast on.

He moves swiftly for a monster of his size, but languid enough to reveal he isn't too intent on being punctual. Which is what makes it such a surprise to see he was one of few that had shown up for the meeting — though, he doesn't know how many to expect, either. Hellish, mismatched eyes are quick to zero in on the lion in the lead, the one to have called the merry band of cannibals together—

Ah. How amusing.

A quirk of his brow and the slip of a criminal grin as his gaze lands on @Louve. The selfish little girl that had failed to protect her home from him, should he have actually cared to do more harm than merely sunbathe on their borders like a blasphemous heathen. He makes sure his arrival is well noticed by the mottled lioness, his tail lashing back and forth as he settles himself in a free spot on the outskirts. Lazily he lounges back, unafraid.

It was time.

There is nothing greater than to watch the leaves of a seed he'd planted so long sprout, promises of a much greater future poisoning a young mind that soaked them in so willingly.

But was it, really, poison when it was her destiny? More than anybody else, his little wolf deserved to be at the helm... his rise would be a subsequent advantage. Above all else, Apollinaire Dieudonne served his family... or so he liked to believe. In the depths of his mind, however, the demons served their desires for stature & glory. For blood and flesh served on a silver platter, for him sitting as Queen consort and as the Matriarch's most beloved hound.

He arrives to strangers among the few familiar. The unfamiliarity of the two women and one man brought questions to his mind, but he entered in silence. It was not his place to question women, and the heathen's instinct for preservation forced him to stand on the sidelines. For once - he was grateful that attention was on another male Dieudonne. The experiences of his many years had taught him that whenever he stood among his cannibal kin, he was treading on thin ice.

His skull dipped low to greet @Louve - a single glance of encouragement sent her way. She will rise today - there was no doubt. He settled down to listen, daring not to display favoritism. Until the victory was certain his life was hanging on a thin line.

Was she surprised by the call? No. Her daughter had made her intentions clear, even without saying it outright. Amara had denied her the seat next to her in the pride, for now. Going for the head of the family was the next step right? How would things change if her daughter was then in charge of the family? Would anyone step up to challenge her? If not, was it her place to make sure that Louve was ready for this? She really didn't know. She had never been to anything like this. The star covered sovereign moved toward the Badlands and spotted the gathering, far more than she was aware of. Where the hell had they been hiding?

Amara arrived in time to see that @Vermier was having his meal stolen by an unknown female. The french poured from the stranger's lips and were the only saving grace that was offered as Amara pushed in between the familiar @Ludivine and Vermier. Had @Léontine been even a slightly familiar face Amara likely would have allowed her to take the meal but she wasn't keen on an unknown younger female, even a family member, to slip in and steal from her male. She might dislike Vermier enough to want to eat him but she also wouldn't allow him to be walked over just because he was a male in the family. He had given a lot to the family, this female had given nothing. Amara's claws dug into the meat that was being stolen as she attempted to lock her gaze with the younger lioness. Ce n'est pas à vous de le prendre.thats not yours to take. The older Dieudonné spoke firmly.

This would be a very quick test to see if these strangers, unknown to Amara who had been holding the family together, would be able to fall in line. One of them knew who she was but the other, the thief, didn't and none of the newcomers here knew that she wasn't blood. Would they respect an older family member or would more blood be drawn? She hadn't been able to look to her daughters yet and she knew that Vermier would likely be shocked to his core that she had stepped in but here she was.

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