IT'S A GRACELESS DANCE OF EPITHETSat first she's going to skip this one - intent on passing by the pit to find other means of entertainment, of information - but a too-familiar lioness catches her gaze. she sucks in a breath, the name falling from her lips before she even fully registers who the inky woman is: @Nox. something like fear ( is it fear? it's been so long since she's really felt it. ) surges through her and she lurches down into the pit, skirting along the edges where the rogue sits alone. she's unbothered, as always, serene and so-seemingly aloof. there's so many times where wither wonders if she can ever really reach the starstruck woman; if she's ever even really here. and sure enough, as her paws bring her close enough, there's a trailing prayer on the cleric's lips.

wither's tension eases as she comes close, circling around the rogue to rub the flat of her skull along the woman's shoulder and neck. she doesn't speak at first, the words caught on the back of her tongue. you're safe wars with go home and they'll claim you, too. but she catches her tongue between her fangs and forces herself to settle casually on her stomach, paws stretched out before her, at nox's side. she makes to half-curl around the woman, her lower body wrapped behind nox's, with her tail finishing off the circle. the expression on her face speaks quite clearly as to what will happen if ( when? ) someone decides to fuck with her.

in the end, she says only: i'm glad to find you whole. she doesn't need to explain what's been going on - surely nox will smell the strange pride on her skin, despite how little time she spends in the mire proper - and that discussion can continue later.WE LEARN TO MAKE SOMEONE HURT

Jade was at a lost cause, unable to find her way to the sea. She had decided to roam within the pit for now. So far, things within this place were interesting. It was entertaining to say the least, and if she was unable to find the ocean, this place could at least offer her some amusement.

The pirate moved through the stones, watching as lions began to gather once more. She couldn’t help but grin a bit, but she quickly wiped it off her face. She wanted to simply observe, and not get into any scraps herself. She moved down the rocks, watching a dark lioness attack another brutish lion. It seemed that the man had wished to claim a red lioness. The pirate watched with interest, watching the two engage in battle.
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+10 Outlaw XP - Witness drama between prides (Vermier vs. Morrigan for Zahra)
( Double XP from Amara )

code by scorpixia♡︎

Teddy almost never pays much attention to the politics of the surrounding land. Truthfully, things had been peaceful of late and she is only a year old. But now she finds that she wants to know what is going on, and so she follows the trail of her father after the call for an ally's crown rings out across the land. It takes her to the pit, and on arriving she sees that many have already gathered here for the fight, which has already begun. It is not the only fight, either. It seems another set of lions is embroiled in battle with a red-coated woman standing beside them. Curious.

She stays on the fringes, leaping up to a rocky ledge along the wall of the pit where she can get a good view of all that is going on. Her eyes bounce between the different fights, but are mostly drawn to the fierce battle between Queen and hopeful King. Of course, she is hoping that their ally will come out on top. She is too far away to hear her father's words. No doubt if the Queen fell they would do their best as an ally to help clean things up, protecting their ally's members. But Theo is not a fighter, and she is certain that her mother and father would not like to see her put herself in danger.

But that doesn't mean she will ignore a challenge if it is issued to her by an enemy. She is no weakling, to sit back and take it. She prefers knowledge, but she will fight if needed.

(1/2) +10 Gather useful information on a enemy lion or pride (double exp from amara) (1/2) +10 Study the landscape of an area (double exp from amara) (1/2) +10 Observe a fight (arkyn vs amara) (double exp from amara) Well this was interesting. Vulferam had been out of the loop for some time and he knew this would be the perfect opportunity to sharpen his political skills (or lack of) and get the scoop on what prides were allied and which ones weren't. When he caught a whiff of his father's scent right after the sound of a challenge he couldn't help but follow behind, albeit quite far behind; Wolf never claimed to be a punctual lion. Blackened eyes would stare ahead of him as he entered the rather desolate territory, taking in how it seemed to be encircled by jutting rocks and cliffs and stones. It was a dreary place for him, one that was perfectly suited for savage fights. Ears would twist forward as he neared @Alaric's side, catching his words as he spoke to his darling brother. Or should he call him half bro since that was what he really was? Coming to brazenly push into @Luther ♔ with a shoulder he would settle to stand next to the Mire Heir, giving a moment's silence before diving into 'business.' "Who are we against and why, Vater?" The yearling's voice would speak in a low tone, his gaze shifting to look over at Alaric and then to the fight and back. Hey, I'm back. **please contact me before attacking so i have a heads up!**

The pit was not a place Bordeaux really wished to be, but it seemed the only likely location that she might happen across her mother given the size of the gathering. Perhaps they both would think to seek each other out in a place like this, for neither had reason to come otherwise. She knew also that she might come across more unfavorable company however, already searching high and low for the pallid heir of her former home. Should she find him, she would do her best to go unnoticed by him.

Not wishing to waste a long trip, she would make a point to gather some herbs along the way. With spring now in full effect, it was easy to get anything she might need for her collection. Already she had found enough to fill her small bag made from folded zebra hide, which she had crafted only recently. It was stupid perhaps, but she thought the black and white better matched her fur than the tan of her prior pack.

Other plants she would leave alone, be it either because they were not fully grown, had little value, or were unfamiliar. She would be sure to remember their locations for later as well as note what location seemed to thrive best. One of a particularly sweet smell she would take a small sample of, enjoying the taste of it on her tongue. She would have to wait now for any potential side effects to make themselves known.

As she arrived, her eyes scanned hopefully for the presence of pastel pink and blue, but her mother was nowhere to be found. She would see @Luther ♔ there though, alongside who she assumed must be @Alaric. She would study the part for a moment, a fleeting look of contempt for the pair of them. While she had never met the father, she didn't imagine he could be much better than his son, even if her mother insisted the king was a decent lion.

MEDIC EXP
+5 x2 Collect herbs
+5 x2 Study the flora of a neutral territory
+5 x2 Test herbs for their healing properties

Where has my heart gone?

An uneven trade for the real world

code by corvus

The large male had heard a commotion not too far off. It caught his attention, and he decided to figure out what exactly was going on. He entered the territory, looking down and into a large pit. At the very bottom, a crowd of lions had gathered, and in the middle of it all, there was a vicious battle. His icy gaze narrowed and he would jump down towards the closer seats.

He got closer, watching as a few different brawls began to break out. He would lie down, showing that he was no harm. Only someone truly bloodthirsty would attack the resting brute. Kiba unsheathed his claws, sharpening his claws against the stone that he lay upon. He would observe for now, and only would he jump in if absolutely necessary.

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+10 Barbarian XP - Maintain your weapons (sharpen claws or care for teeth)
+10 Barbarian XP - Observe a fight
( Double XP from Amara )

code by scorpixia♡︎

It seems that everyone has been stirred into some sort of frenzy as of late, their ambition's boiling to a head. Myra can't say she minds seeing the flames fanned.

It's been a long time since Myra had last seen the Bluffs' High Sovereign be challenged. The last one had invited a thrum of bloodlust throughout the onlookers, old feuds spilling over into open hostility. Would the same happen again this time? Myra keeps on high alert as she approaches, ears perked and eyes narrowed. There is a another fight already erupting along the sidelines, for some reason that Myra had arrived to late to see. A lioness, perhaps? The thought that the woman wouldn't fight for herself makes the huntress huff.

She settled herself at the edge of the arena, taking stock of the battle down below with no small amount of interest. The snow-speckled Amara is easy to recognize, of course, but her challenger is unfamiliar to the huntress. She'd like to think that the long-standing Queen would endure this yet again, though the brute certainly has a powerful look about him.

But it was too early to tell.

ART COPYRIGHT RIOT / CODE COPYRIGHT ANALESE

~Hubert is attempting to remain hidden~

So another one of their allies is to be challenged, it seems.

Hubert makes his towards the sound of the roaring summons at what he felt was a quick pace, but he finds that quite a few others had made better time by the time he arrives at the dusty arena. Including quite a few lions of the Summit, as if they had business any here. Did they have something to do with this? Hubert doesn't recognize the man fighting with star-speckled High Sovereign, but that doesn't make him any less suspicious. Perhaps the mountain lions had sent someone to conquer the Bluffs as a show of strength before ultimately coming for the Mire. He'd doesn't think it's such a far-fetched theory.

Though anyone who thought that they could win against Vater would be beyond stupid.

As for Amara, well...Hubert supposes he'd prefer it if she won, since there are so many unknowns. A shame though. It might've been good for Wolfbron to have a proper King, otherwise.

Speaking of Vater, he's here already too, alongside Luther and...Vulf? There was another one of his siblings that had appeared to melt away into the shadows, though in the end it seemed that his brother's disappearance had little to do with Giulia's. Interesting. But Hubert doesn't approach them for now, instead tucking himself away within the shadows of the pit's jagged ledges, casting a careful gaze upon the other lions gathered before turning his attention towards the battle. If someone does try to cause trouble, it might work in his favor if his presence goes unknown for now.

Assassin:
+20 Successfully stay hidden for the duration of a thread (Doubled because of Amara)

Sleuth:
+20 Remain undetected in a large thread (Doubled)
+20 Learn something about pride/group/family relations (Doubled)

ART + CODE By Dee

She might’ve wondered what in the fuck was going on with everybody and their brother challenging for in such a short span, BUT when the latest pride to be targeted ended up being the Bluffs, well …

The imp had no idea who was trying to clear out the rat’s nest there, yet she was still rooting for him as she made her way towards the arena. Extreme care was taken to keep her dark body low and out of sight. Léonie was reckless at times — but she wasn’t so stupid that she was going to walk into a crowd of her family’s enemies when they were sure to feel a little murderous over the challenge. It was better that she stayed hidden.

Using the cover to her advantage, the Miroslav lioness slipped in among a cluster of boulders and there she flattened her figure, to make herself as small as possible while she observed the skirmish below. Her focus locked on the challenger, with questions rising in her mind — who was he? Did he have some beef with the Bluffs pride? If he hadn’t already, he surely would by the time the battle was over. Especially if he won.

Win or lose, she’d track him down after the dust had settled ..

Léonie is actively hidden and cannot be discovered!

Double XP from Amara

	+20 Successfully stay hidden for the duration of a thread
	+10 Gather information about a character (Arkyn)
	+10 Practice speed or stealth

artwork | css

code & bg-credit

There was almost always some sort of drama occurring within Amaryllis, today was just another pride challenge. But this wasn't just any challenge, the very moment she caught wind that it was the bluffs Giulia hightailed it out of the mire as fast as she could without attracting too much attention to herself. The Pit was an area that she wasn't particularly familiar with, but the various sand and boulders would do well to help her hide in plain sight with her peach fur. The yearling would brush against trees and rocks on her way, being sure to disguise her own scent as best as she could before slinking towards the many individuals gathered. Typical to her nature she would stay towards the outskirts, finding a tight cranny in-between two decently sized boulders and wedging herself between them. Lowering her frame to the ground she would hunker down and lean forward slightly, peering downward to gauge the ongoings of the fight. @Amara was truly a sight to behold, and her opponent seemed just as ferocious. Perhaps what intrigued her was the size of the man alone, he seemed like a behemoth alongside Amara. Naturally Giulia had her bet on the bluffs Queen, after all she was an ally to her father and Giulia would be sure to stick with the program. However, she couldn't help but get somewhat distracted by a fight on the sidelines that seemed to be brewing, what was that all about? Clearly the woman disliked the man by her words alone but what had caused it? Perhaps it would be something that she could discuss with @Hubert later to get his opinion on the matter. Even though she didn't currently see him among the faces she was almost certain he was probably here somewhere, hidden just like her.


*Giulia is attempting to hide*


[assassin & beatnik exp/doubled thanks to amara]
+10 - Spy on an individual exchange
+20 - Successfully stay hidden for the duration of a thread
+20 - Witness an event worthy of making history