the cheap ending shot is just that: the ending shot. her paw thunks the side of her sister's head as they pull apart and @Ludivine flashes her bloodied gangs in her direction. a simpering smile plays across her lips and she stretches out her sore muscles, leaning to lick at the blood along her limb. when she cleans herself enough that she's not still dripping, she tips her head to eyeball her sibling. tu dis ça seulement quand tu gagnes. léo quips, you only say that when you win. it's not true and they both know if, but she enjoys taunting ludi all the same. she splashes blood around and the maroon dieudonne presses her lips together in a thin line, feigning annoyance ( but they both know she loves it ).

she stretches one final time, pushing the adrenaline from her limbs and kicking her hind leg to release the lingering tension. her eyes flash from ludi to the walls of the pit and she eases into a jaunty trot without preamble. there's something off to the side that she wants to look at - and it takes only a moment for her to find a bit of a slope at the edge of the pit. it's steep and thick with dirt that slides when she places a paw to it. it's angled just enough that she thinks she can scramble up it.... and it could be a good exercise to help strengthen her travel-lean muscles. fais la course vers le sommet. race you to the top, she says with a wicked flash of fang before shoving up the slope. whether ludivine will follow up the same slope or find her own way up, léo isn't sure - but she doesn't want to spare the thought to ponder.

her attention is on her footing as she pumps her legs rapidly, shoulders and haunches already burning with the steep incline, the footing of the sliding scree and dirt threatening to pitch her back to the floor of the pit - and only dogged determination ( and, truthfully, a bit of skill ) keeps her on her feet.

EXECUTION FANTASY

A huff of laughter — it's all her sister receives in return for her snarky comment about her winning. True as it might be, the Dieudonné didn't quite want to admit she was a sore loser.

The fight done and over with, she takes to wandering around the pit, taking into view the many scratches the line the stone bowl — the bloodstains, too ingrained to ever wash out. What kind of fights have been carried out here — what kind of lives have been lost here? It was a ravenous hunger that burned deep in her gut, wanting to know more about such a macabre place. But before she can dwell on it too long, the singsong voice of her equally macabre sister catches her attention once more.

A race? She can neither decline nor accept before the little minx is already making her way to the top — the serpentine muscles rolling beneath darkened flesh, a prime example of what made @Léontine such a primal huntress. A scoff and a roll of her eyes — and then Ludivine is following her sister up the embankment, although far enough along the wall that hers is much more rocky than a nice smooth surface to run. It forces her to jump and slither her way up the incline, muscles burning from the fight and blood splashing onto the ground underfoot as she danced further and further up.

léontine thinks she'll win - she starts to crest the top and throws her head back with a wild, wicked laugh - and that's her mistake. her front paw, injured from the fight, slips and she slams into the ground with an annoyed, breathless snarl. her sister leaps ahead, kicking off with her muscular haunches, and the maroon woman scrambles back to her paws. furious with herself, now, she hurtles after the other lioness, cursing under her breath as she hits the top of the pit a heartbeat behind her sister. agitation prickles her fur and she licks the tufts of mane sticking out from her chest to soothe her irritation. her sides are heaving as she pants, muscles burning in a way that makes her feel satisfied. a meal, she thinks, and she will be content. still, she eyes her sister with agitation. je devrais te jeter de la falaise, i should throw you off the cliff. she quips, though there's no heat to the words. she's accustomed to ludivine being faster, stronger, better in many ways - it's always been this way: with her in front, leading, trailblazing. and léontine behind, supportive and just a bit too chaotic to be considered leadership material.

she eases to her butt with a heavy sigh and tips her head back, dramatically wiping a paw across her brow. so, she says with a little sniff, eyes roving the pit before settling on her sister. what are we doing next?

EXECUTION FANTASY

It's a scramble to the top, lungs burning, adrenaline pumping — it feels good to feel so alive again. Her hips begin to ache as a dull reminder of her no longer being whole — but that burns the fighter in her that much stronger. That much hotter.

She misses the stumble, an error on @Léontine's part, as she's too focused on her own ascent. But as she finally clambers to the top and turns to face her opponent, a gleeful, wicked grin spreads across her maw as she realizes she won. Again. Her pride sister pouts and crassly suggests she should toss Ludivine from the cliff for her victory. But they both know the cannibal babe would never do such a thing.

“Non,” Ludivine purrs as she steps close enough to brush her snout against Léontine's shoulder in a comforting way. “Je te manquerais trop.” You'd miss me too much.

She pulls away so that she can scope the horizon as her sister asks her what next. What next indeed...

“A hunt?” — a rhetorical question — “to see what these lands have to offer us again. You didn't have a chance to taste the local cuisine last time you were here, did you Léo?”

ludivine brushes against her shoulder and léontine grumbles, aggressively butting her head against the side of her sister's neck, a purr rumbling deep in her throat. it's true but that doesn't mean she needs to like it. she pushes against her with a clawless paw as she pulls away, encouraging her to go be cool somewhere else.

her sister's attention soon turns to their next step and at the suggestion on @Ludivine's lips, she grins. her eyes go dark and her skin prickles but for a reason beyond irritation this time. only the bitch's weak blood, she murmurs, thinking back to the too-short fight with the star-speckled dieudonne in the bluffs. her fangs peek out from behind dark lips as she grins, rising to her feet, weariness forgotten. peut-être que la base des falaises offrira de riches proies. perhaps the base of the bluffs will offer rich prey, she suggests, the face of nonchalance as she strolls a few steps forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her sibling. and then she delves from the mouth of the pit with another devious grin, excitement pushing her a little faster as they head in the direction of the badlands. exit

EXECUTION FANTASY

Even as adrenaline still continues to make its way through her system, the comfort of having her littermate next to her is enough to slowly allow the fire to cool from her veins. She would give her life for @Léontine — and almost already did. Memories of that day flash through her eyes as her sister brings up the lioness that, in her opinion, had started the scuffle with the family in the first place.

Indeed... She had tasted delicious.

“Peut-être qu'ils s'offriront comme nourriture,” Maybe they'll offer themselves up as food, Ludivine agrees sardonically, pressing herself against her sister for comfort before they set off, shoulder to shoulder, in search of prey. Any kind of prey.

exeunt Ludivine
Erudite Experience (x2 EXP Event)
+20 Win a strategy game or best someone else
+10 Study the natural world
+10 Use a strategic move in a fight (aiming for Léontine's face to prevent her from biting Ludivine's face)