lila is frozen. trembling, afraid, uncertain -- aching to run forward and yet unable to convince her legs to unlock from their crouched position. her gaze dances from the white brother to the brown, to her father, each locked in a fight of their own. one for the mire and one for... well, lila is not entirely sure what her father is fighting for.

it's only when @Tai appears, shouting her father's name, that a sob wrenches from her throat. papa was here, too. they were here. they were HERE! here... all along? in this place?

they had not come for her.
they had not come for her.

when her uncle crows his victory she stumbles forward, bursting from the bush, shaky legs carrying her towards her parents. towards her family.

THEY DID NOT COME FOR ME.

the thought runs rampant through her mind until she jolts to a stop, again, mere feet from where tai is. watching as @Bruno ♔ turned away --

leaving me again

-- and feeling her heart crack neatly in two.

@Drauhir ♔

Art by Pretty Bloopa || Code by Zay

Watching her heartbreak was not enough but all the same, it did feel good.

Had he not made clear from the moment he claimed her that she was unwanted? Had he not said that he was her savior, her reason for living. Had he not been gracious enough to bring her to the Cove? Yes, he thought, he had. But no matter, let that be the first part of her lesson: he had been right.

The second part would come when he found her again. There was no need to watch any longer, he thought, for no matter the outcome, she would be at his side once more. And so, he quietly slinked away, hiding among the murky undergrowth and leaving her.

For now.

Exit Drauhir
+10 Successfully stay hidden for the duration of a thread
+10 Sneak into another pride's territory without getting caught
+5 Practice speed or stealth

ART BY SCARF, CODE BY DEE

the lines are drawn, etched in stone. if louve looks hard enough she can see the broken claws and rivulets of blood that birthed them. her gaze is steady on icefang, narrowing slightly at the short answer she is given in return. hardly the conversation of friends now, was it?

several things happen, then. as louve watches the white beast fells the sigrun, and while she feels no regret for the loss of the water-lovers home she does feel a trickle of apprehension at the rike's return to power. once, long ago, they had nearly been friends of the bluffs. things had changed drastically since then and -- she glances towards the starke patriarch, who seemed embroiled in his own uncertainty -- louve had little desire to return to the old status quo. how foolish to think they could have ever met as equals, those that sought to put their women beneath them and the family that lifted their women up.

louve does not balk from luther's look, nor is she blind to the one he gives @Icefang ♔. a sneer tugs her lips away from her teeth before she swings her head back to appraise the woman once more. "i 'ope you know what you are doing," is all she has to say, her gaze flicking briefly to the morbid gift deposited on the ground between them.

with nothing more to add she flicks her tail, tapping it lightly against her sister's hocks, and turns to leave.

-exit-

I am not a woman, I'm a god

code x art

+5 - Observe a fight (Luther vs. Zhara)
+5 - Observe a fight (Rainer vs. Eisa)
+5 - Observe a fight (Morrigan vs. Bruno)

The Rike male won the Mire, and Temero wondered if they'd have a new ally now. They'd need it, if the Bluffs decided not to back them any further, which he was beginning to wonder about given Elaine's muttering. Not that Icefang seemed inclined to discuss it at that moment, so for now it would be up in the air. Lorelei's father won his fight, and the other battle on the sidelines petered to a conclusion. He didn't know what was going on there, but it was interesting to watch nonetheless.

Icefang's order was an absolute, but he lingered enough to make sure @Lorelei was well with them before he left, careful not to turn his back on the rest of her family. He didn't trust them any further than he could throw them (which given the circumstances was not at all). He was grateful he didn't have to deal with the headache that was pride and family politics, now muddied beyond comprehension. He hoped a day didn't come when he had to.

-exit temero-

artwork • coding

This was more than just a mere pride challenge. The drama that stained these roots ran deep, and the tension that stemmed from their hatred and animosity is nearly palpable. Rhys swallows hard as he sits himself up, relenting from the shadows if only just to catch the final throes of the hostile takeover. But he maintains an air of controlled quietness, a final attempt to remain concealed as he slips away.

The prisoners are marched deeper inside the territory, and their allies are left swearing revenge as they retreat to lick their wounds. It is a sight as sad as it is equally sore.

But Rhys is no hero, and he would pick up no one's banner today. Whatever information he learned here—the deep-seated animosity between these prides and these families—could be useful later on, and so long as he owed no side loyalty, he need not care who or what he told. By just how loud they were alone, it was likely all of Amaryllis already knew.

Perhaps now he was just one of many.

---

Exit Rhys.
+5 Practice speed or stealth (2/2)
+10 Learn something about pride/group/family relations (2/2)
+10 Remain undetected in a large thread (5+ characters) (2/2)

Art by rabbit, table by cala

Together, they fold like a fleeting house of cards – with Valentine taking another mouthful of dirt. Damn. She is only grateful that her move wasn't all in vain, for she is soon placed atop her opponent. Valentine lets out a gruff snort in response, and her eyebrows furrow. "Whatever," she sneers.

Her jest is soon cut off by the sensation of a sharp slap against her chest, and Valentine feels the breath soon rush out of her – clever girl. In retort, she rears her paw back and aims it straight for her opponent's head in an attempt to smack her straight across the face.

Two could play at that game.

@Valentine vs. @Toblerone
For Dominance
Round 0 1 2 3

Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 4 + 14 + 8 + 7

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 7 + 20 + 13 + 2

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 15 + 16 + 17 + 7 + 8

ART BY MOOGLE, CODE BY LARS

CREATOR OF MY OWN MASS DESTRUCTION

Grimm shrugged at his brother's response, hearing it as he backpedalled from Luther's sick on the ground. He cast a glance over his shoulder, "Vhenefer you are ready, come." Then his eyes followed what @Everick had been warning him about, but he saw no conclusion to it happen. It would seem the drama surrounding them was beginning to wrap up, and Grimm would recede, too, to the depths of Mire territory to reclaim his old den. /exit

I SET IT ON FIRE AND WATCH IT BURN

code x art

The pride challenge turned into a shitshow as many of them had, and thankfully, in this one he hadn't needed to fight anyone. He was perfectly comfortable in his cover as he drank in every bit of drama that unfurled. The white lion - the one that stayed with them in the Oasis for a bit - tore into another red lioness, assumably the one that led this pride for a bit while he was vacationing in the Oasis.

Then there was the two jarls of the families - that bit he picked up just from their conversations alone - the red lioness with the mane and the grayish male. They tangled with fury. And several others tangled with fury on those muddy lands. The next time it rained, the rivers would run red with their blood, leaving a certain taste to the water... if they even bothered trying to drink this stuff.

His thick tail flicked behind him, smacking a broad-leafed plant with a FWAP. He quickly looked back to make sure it was not another lion, and was relieved to find that it wasn't. It was time to go, anyhow.

So, he broke his cover, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the sucking pop as he pulled his elbows from the mud. He lurched forward; large and ghostly in form. Most of those that were of any importance had either passed out from their injuries or left. His green eyes lingered on the still form of a girl, standing in place as those around her scurried, but he did not remain to learn her story. /exit

the darkness leaps and falls upon you

code x art

From her shadows she observed. Her heart slowed and steadied until she could no longer hear it. Her breath kept its harsh wisp through her nostrils. She felt a sharp edge in her throat like a freshly broken bone. Too many of these Sigrum were too comfortable. In their weakness they even showed arrogance. It was an affront to the natural order of things. This needed to be mended in the Rike way, with blood and curses. There were no gods to thank for their victory. Just an absent space where, as a child, she would have said a prayer.

Luther had won and she had further observstions on the Sigrun from where she had watched them fight. And it seemed the enemy was to stay. This was not her choice. She'd rather they be killed. Or experimented on, or used. Maybe she could earn the right to take to serve her. Maybe... but she didn't want to think of the future. She backed up and disappeared, looking for fresh water to give respite before the anticipated gathering of plans.

-- exit

Just as this female was a pale, inferior shade of pink, so was she an inferior somewhat more gratingly petty version of herself. Toblerone didn't like looking in any mirror. They were all distortions, all dishonest, just as the consequences of her actions were always falsely based on someone else's failings instead of the good things she truly deserved. For one thing: did she deserve to be shoved into the mud, just because she had politely informed this sneaky hiding stranger that she was an ugly bitch? Absolutely not. Toblerone would happily do the ugly bitches of the world a service with her honesty, and if they couldn't handle that --

Well, she'd probably end up under a lot more of them and with a lot more mud in her fur.

"Um, you started it?" she sniff-scoffed, and she didn't even need to pretend to be hurt because she was actually hurt and sore and she thought she'd scrunched one wrist beneath her. Had she broken a nail? Her tear ducts wept and her nose stung. Although her free paw managed to slap the bitch across the chest, she (her royal, self-serving she) still struggled to rise and with a look of utter disgust on her face, a slap interrupted her gaping offended maw. A rattle of spit and hisses fell from the opposite side of her mouth, while the side that had been hit burned with a red pain. "Um. Ohm. My god. Get yer salmon-colored ass off me, you shssmell." Toblerone couldn't actually smell anything, either from this particular female or in general through the snot coming from her nostrils, but this was the kind of bitch that was smelly. She knew it. She tried to flex her spine for leverage while trying to gather both her front paws to shove at the underside of Valentine's chest, trying to heave her away.

@Toblerone vs. @Valentine
Dominance
3/3

Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 4 + 10 + 16 + 2 + 13 + 7 + 9

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 19 + 1 + 15 + 7 + 12

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 17 + 4 + 8 + 9 + 19