ever since her accidental foray in to the jungle dalila had made more than one attempt to accidentally cross the borders again. it was a good way to practice her sneaking skills, and those were much more fun to practice than her fightin' skills. not that she'd ever tell vater that; as far as he was concerned she was trying hard to be the best fighter EVER.

but she had slipped away, or at least she was trying to. lila was picking her path carefully this time, steering clear of the mud, leaping on to fallen logs and dry patches in order to be as quiet as possible. plus she didn't want to leave any tracks behind, and the mud was... well, it made it pretty easy to tell which way she'd gone.

soon enough she approached the thorn border, spotting the small tunnel she had found that led to the outside. it was likely made by some other small rodent or creature, it was definitely much to small for either of her dads to wiggle through. but it was just perfect for lila, and with a grin she ducked her head and squirmed through, eager to explore the jungle.

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She was not as smart as him, of this, he was certain.

If she was, she would have known he was watching, comfortably covered in mud and hidden beneath foliage. He wondered then, if she was trying to hide from someone, though if that was her aim, she had failed miserably.

For if she was trying to hide, why then would she leave her thorny protection? Unless…? Yes. It was quite clear to him now. She wanted to be found by him. It was almost as if she knew she belonged to him now. What a clever new trinket he had! That was how it worked, after all. He found something small and pretty and he took it. Such was his right both as prince and Tolliare.

He could not wait to show Father, though only if he did not look too closely.

Trudging out of the mud, the boy approached, looking down at his new…well, she did not have a name yet, but he would think of one in time. The important part was that she was his now.

The thorns would have saved you, gwinig, Little one. Now, the wolf has you.

@Dalila

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dalila was blissfully oblivious to the watching, icy eyes. excitement thrums through her small body as she tastes the air of the world outside, practically vibrating with a combination of eagerness and anxiety. there was the distinct knowing that she should not be here, that she would be in trouble for slipping past the thorns, but that was easily smothered by the overwhelming thrill of escape.

the first thing she noticed was that there were new plants out here! ones that didn't grow beyond the thorns where the ground was far more moist, too much for some of the more delicate root systems. here, where the floor of the jungle was loamy and not sloppy she spots different flowers and thicker greenery and THAT is even more exciting than her initial escape.

with every intention of gathering up a few of these mysterious plants and finding somebody in the mire who could identify them, dalila was poised to take a bounding stride forward. except all of a sudden her path was blocked and she was ceasing whatever momentum she had built, nearly falling down at his paws.

he's bigger than her. older, she decides, as she cranes her neck to peer up at him. big an' dark with eyes that almost seem to glow in the filtered jungle light. he speaks strange words that have her tilting her head almost comically, before glancing back at the thorns.

and then as everything sinks in she jolts up to her full height and looks around her "wolf? where?" not that she really knew what a wolf was, but by the way he said it it sure sounded bad!

@Drauhir ♔

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His new toy seemed to enjoy silly things like the plants that grew from the ground. Peering down at her, he decided that was acceptable. His sister also liked silly things, even if he had never seen her interested in something as useless as plants. But he didn’t need the lovely things in his collection to be smart, only lovely. Beyond that, it was clear she wanted to be his. Why else would she have looked up at him?

Yes, yes, he was certain: this one was his too.

There was only one problem — how would anyone know? If there was one thing he despised, it was someone else’s grubby paws on his things. Thaïs loved to test him in that, no matter how often he corrected her, but perhaps he could avoid these issues with the newest of his collection. To Thaïs’ credit, though he loathed giving it to her more often than not, his things were not always obviously his things.

That changed today — they would look upon his precious collection and know in an instant to whom they belonged.

Now...

His lips curled up into a smile that did not meet his eyes as she asked where the wolf was.

Right here.

With that, he raised a paw and attempted to push her over more gently than he would have otherwise. After all, he had no use for broken things.

Drauhir vs. @Dalila
Minor Maim (Ear Piercing)
Round I / IV
Hits:

Rolling 2d20: 10 + 13

Dodges:

Rolling 2d20: 12 + 20

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 8 + 5 + 9 + 6 + 11

ART BY SCARF, CODE BY DEE

dalila is quite busy looking for the wolf he mentioned, too busy to realize the danger that lurks right next to her. she cannot possible have any idea what he is thinking, nor does she know much about the darkness in the world. it's easy for her to fall in to a false sense of comfort, living the life of a pampered princess, no matter how her vater might try to drive home the reality of life in amaryllis.

when the wolf does not immediately appear she relaxes and turns her head to look back at him -- just in time for him to life that paw and nudge her over. dalila isn't expecting it and she stumbles, blinking wide-eyes up at the boy that looked suddenly not-so-inviting.

"yous not a wuff," she huffs as she attempts to scramble away from him, "yous a lion." duh. even now she doesn't realize the danger she is in, but she does try to skirt away from him, not much liking the weird smile that he wears now. "i don' like that," she tells him.


Dalila vs @Drauhir ♔
for Minor Maim
round 1/3

escape attempt 1:

Rolling 1d10: 9

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

@Drauhir ♔ VS. @Dalila FOR MINOR MAIM
— VOID —

Due to @Dalila successfully escaping, this fight has defaulted.



Please allow the challengers to respond to the fight results first. As per the site rules, if 3 days go by without a post from the challenger(s), they can be skipped. Whichever comes first! Any posts made before this will be removed.

It was supposed to be easy.

He would knock her off and then figure out a way to make it clear she was his. Instead, she wriggled away before he could stand over her. This gave him pause. He was not accustomed to his things running from him. Thaïs, naturally was the exception, but she was one of his more spirited things, fueled by their shared Tollaire blood.

But the new things who he had yet to name? He thought her to be stupid. Why else would she care so much about silly green plants and leave her protection? He would have been irritated that she dared run from him, if the prospect of a chase hadn’t excited him more.

Yes! They would have a hunt.

I am a wolf, he argued, keeping his icy gaze locked on her smaller form. Because I am hunting you now, Aew. Small bird.

And when I catch you, you will be mine. He promised, lifting his chin as though speaking such a thing simply made it true. Forever.

@Dalila

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she slips away from him, all scrambling paws and stupidly shaky legs. lila wants to yell at them, mostly because she isn't sure why they're shaking. nor does she understand the swooping feeling in her belly; fear was a stranger to her, yet. especially the kind of fear that is instinctual, because dalila still doesn't realize the reason for it.

"you's NOT," she still argues with a stamp of one little paw, clearly annoyed now that he keeps saying he is. "daddy says wuffs is big. bigger'n you." there's a small bop of her head, there, as if nodding made it impossible for him to deny. nodding made it an absolute truth.

still she keeps space between them, backing up if he approaches, wary of his claim of hunting. "i's not prey," she squeaks, and then repeats herself, embarrassed by the high pitch of her voice. "i's NOT."

scrambling back another step and shaking her head, as if that, too, could make her next words an absolute truth. "an' i's not yours." with another stomp for emphasis, just to drive home the point, pretending like she can't feel the fear doing somersaults in her belly.

@Drauhir ♔

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He thought he quite liked this new little trinket of his.

Though slippery, it was clear to him that she as still a foolish one. Ha! She could not even speak properly, but that, he decided, would be of no consequence. He would teach her in time to sing his praises, to cry out his name in joy because she was given the honor of being his. Perhaps he could rein in that mouth of her too. In time, of course, a hunt was much more fun. In that way, she could not deny him once caught.

He would have preferred not to hear her silly arguments, though.

Oh, but I am he argued. Wolves hunt and I am hunting you, he grinned, though he did not approached further. Your 'daddy' won't be able to protect you from me. His warning sounds ever bit as scary as he thought himself to be.

You will be mine, Aew, he declared. And you will remember this day when you realize that. He could taste victory already.

But for now, fly away, Aew. Flying away before I decide you are better will broken wings. He bares his teeth at her, attempting his most ferocious roar.

@Dalila

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despite her best attempts at bravery she is still a very small girl, and his words are very big and very mean. meaner than she was used to hearing, meaner than she could wrap her mind around.

and scary.

a cold shiver runs down her spine even as she glares at him, even as she bares her teeth and tries so hard to maintain the facade of fierceness. "wuffs don' hunt lions." adding as an afterthought, as if to emphasize that she wasn't scared of him even when she obviously was. "duh."

still she continues to move away, to attempt to increase the space between them while keeping her glare directed at him. "i's not gon' be yours," she argues still, defiant to her last breath, before she finally does turn and seek to run away, pretending it was her own choosing and not his oh so ferocious roar.

-exit-

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