The pirate had felt herself brown stagnant for too long. The lands of Amaryllis had started off exciting, but she also had found herself quite lonely. Therefore, Jade had set out on an ambitious journey to find the sea. And she would not stop her travels until she would finally meet with the ocean once more.

She would only sleep for a few hours, and only stop when she needed to eat. But other than that, she adventured for hours, days, perhaps even weeks.

There she was. The beautiful and gorgeous ocean. Yet, she couldn’t help but realize that something was completely stopping her. A border??? A damned border? She guessed it made sense. If she adored the sea so much, why would others not feel the same. She groaned and let out a call, wondering who would answer to her.
@Tiamat @Tinúviel

code by scorpixia♡︎

No matter how long she lived here, it reminded her much of Caladan.

There was a peacefulness in the Lagoon that had not spared the shores of the Cove. Once hurricane-battered sands and sheer cliffsides that left a thin sliver of beach in between had been her home; by comparison, the peninsula of the Lagoon was far more peaceful, far less battered by the brutal winds. As the autumn settled deep into the lands of Amaryllis, Scilla's trees did not change; they did not brown, they did not fall. But the weather still shifted, an everlasting overcast hung in the sky and promised snow in the far north.

She stalked along the border; her eyes shifted between the weather in the far-off distance and the borders that stretched on endlessly. In this dim low light, she can see far more of the territory than she could before; the curl of mangroves that stretched inland, and the palms whose fronds danced in the autumnal wind. As she neared toward the shore, a call interrupted her steady promenade; it was in the direction she was heading, and as Tinúviel shouldered through the underbrush and came upon the pale lioness standing in the distance.

The sea's been calm lately, she observed, pausing a short distance away from @Jade. A blessing from the bay, I suppose.

---

+20 (x2) Discuss the features of a territory with someone (1/2)
+10 (x2) Study the weather (1/2)
+10 (x2) Explore the borders of a pride (1/2)

The weather was cooling with the coming of autumn and the places near the sea were often cooler than some of the interior areas, so exposed to the wind and open air they were. But Tiamat did not mind that at all. She had grown up in a dry land near the sea and she loved all that it had to offer, from its beauty to its dangers.

There was only a single border to keep watch on here on the spit of land that connected them to mainland Amaryllis. She patrolled when she needed to, refreshing border markings, but it was rarely approached, let alone blatantly crossed. Today was one of those days when someone chose to approach it, it seemed. A call came from the border and it was one Tiamat didn't recognize. Her ears pricked forward, alert and curious, and she began to make her way over from the other side of the Lagoon.

By the time she can see any part of what might be happening, @Tinúviel was already there, greeting a stranger who waited at the border. The woman who waited was somewhere between Tiamat and Tinúviel in size, though perhaps closer to Tia. Her pelt was a similar color to Tia's, if perhaps darker, and was accented by markings that were simply lighter wheat, with a little white on her chest and forehead.

Tiamat approached, brushing her fur just slightly against the fluffier fur of her counterpart. She had grown quite fond of the woman in their time ruling together. They were an odd pair, one kind and soft and one brash and spiteful, but somehow it was working.

She stopped beside Tinúviel and lowered her haunches to the ground, relaxed in her home. "With winter coming there will be more storms," she commented, adding to what Tinúviel had already said. "But perhaps you don't mind such things?" Her question was directed at the stranger, @Jade; she was probing to see what it was the stranger wanted here at their border.

image by rabbit, code by anyu

It did not take long for someone to answer her call. A very small and fluffy lioness appeared, and she spoke about how the sea had been calm lately. Perhaps it was some sort of blessing due to the bay.

“Aye, I would consider that rather lucky,” she spoke to the stranger. Then another lioness appeared. She was larger and of a similar coat color to Jade’s. She spoke up about winter storms, and how perhaps the pirate wouldn’t mind.

“I don’t mind, the name’s Jade. I’ve been searchin’ for tha sea for a very long time,” she told the two. “I’m a pirate, I belong beside the sea,” she added. Surely that was enough explanation as to why she was here.
@Tinúviel @Tiamat

code by scorpixia♡︎

She was suddenly joined by her sister-Queen, a small smile unfurling onto her lips as she dipped her head in greeting toward @Tiamat. But swiftly did her gaze return to @Jade, watching as the sea and sands curled behind her in the cold autumnal winds. The winters on the beaches had always been mild, but snow did not often spare the Lagoon, and it would be likely they would lose the cover of the palm trees as their fronds froze and fell to the ground. For now, however, they continued to have warmer days, when the sky was not quite so cloudy and the sun bore down on the coast.

The newcomer calls herself a pirate, a word unfamiliar to Tinúviel but one that did not quite frighten her. At the very least, the woman before her did not seem to be quite so intimidating, and she had remained respectful of the borders the Scillan Queens had been patrolling. Were you hoping to just pass through? she implored, a slender brow raising. She hoped, quietly, that she were looking for a home; for no matter how the Lagoon grew and grew each day, there would always be more room for the tired and the weary. The sea is most beautiful here. Every night we see it glisten orange in the sunset.

---

+10 Discuss the features of a territory with someone (2/2)
+5 Study the weather (2/2)
+5 Explore the borders of a pride (2/2)

"Amaryllis is surrounded by the sea," Tiamat answered with a chuckle. There would never be too far to go to find it here, so perhaps this self-named pirate was in the right land. And, rather fortuitously, the right pride. The Cove was also along the sea, but the Lagoon was practically in it.

The autumn breeze brushed against her fur. Though she wasn't fluffy like @Tinúviel, she didn't flinch away from the cold or start to shiver. Soon she would feel it more readily, but for not the cool air was not overbearing. The oceanside desert and savannas she had grown up in had been cold at night so she could withstand some of the chilly weather. Her co-queen voiced the question she herself wanted to ask. She didn't repeat the words, but instead watched the stranger, @Jade as she called herself, with open interest.

The word pirate certainly meant something to Tiamat. "Been a long time since I met a pirate," she said casually. "Most of the ones in my homeland were thieves." She raised a brow in silent question, wondering where this woman fell on the spectrum. Some pirates had been well enough, minding their own business, but others had been downright troublesome.

image by rabbit, code by anyu

The smaller lioness asked if she was just passing by, and Jade shook her head. The other one then noted how the lands were surrounded by the sea, and Jade shrugged. "I ain't the best at navigatin'," she said. She then spoke of how it had been a long time since she had met a pirate, and how they were thieves. "I ain't here to steal from ye," she said. "I want to live here if that's okay," she told the two. "I won't be much trouble, I just want to enjoy the sea," she told the pair. "I'll do as ye ask when I need to," she added.

@Tiamat @Tinúviel

code by scorpixia♡︎

@Tiamat was far more intimately aware of @Jade's kind more than Tinúviel, but despite the tragedy of her history she had been rather sheltered. All she'd ever known was war; never the wonders of the world that stretched far beyond that bloodied and blighted thing. However, as the rogue lioness piqued an interest in joining them, Tinúviel could not hide the delighted smile that sprawled across her lips. You're most welcome to stay, she said, sparing a glance at Tiamat, hesitating just long enough in case her other Queen had an objection. Though, given that she appeared just as stranger to Tiamat as she did to Tinúviel, she doubted that she did.

Though, she didn't speak quite highly of pirates. And yet, Jade denied being anything of a thief, and the healer-Queen was inclined to believe her.

@Jade explained that she only wanted to enjoy the sea and wasn't here to steal from them. Being only one lioness - though perhaps she was merely a scout - Tiamat was not particularly afraid of her being here to steal from them. It wouldn't make much sense anyways. She lowered her brow and nodded, accepting the explanation at face value for the moment.

@Tinúviel seemed inclined to trust her too, and quickly responded that she was welcome to stay. When she glanced at Tiamat the queen nodded her head once in Tinúviel's direction, agreeing with her easily. "Yes, you're welcome here," she said, speaking to show her own support to the woman. "All we ask is that you help with hunts and make use of your skills to help the pride." Whether that be fighting, healing, advising, or something else entirely, it didn't really matter.

"We've got plenty of dens to choose from. You're welcome to any of them," she finished, waving a paw in the direction of the Lagoon proper.

image by rabbit, code by anyu

The smaller queen offered a smile and welcomed Jade into the pride. The larger scarred queen then agreed, welcoming Jade as well. She merely asked that Jade would do her fair share of work and the pirate would give a nod. "Aye, I be pretty good at sleuth work," she would inform the pair. Then Tiamat told the pirate that there were plenty of dens for her to choose from. Jade finally would cross the pride border, and a new sense of excitement washed over her form. Finally, she would be reunited with the sea and the waves, pleased with herself and both queens. She would look back at them with a silly toothy grin, "Thank ye," she added, before slipping deeper into the territory to find a den for herself.

/exit Jade

code by scorpixia♡︎