ooc: Reti is standing respectfully just shy of the borders.
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IC: In an ideal world each pride would tend to its own business, unaffected by the others, self sustaining and self supported.

The world had NEVER been ideal.

NEveR.

It was a chaotic, bloody, violent, vengeful, selfish, twisted place with occasional bright spots. And Reti knew from long personal experience - that was the way it would always be.

So if one could not have peace, then one must take action to stay atop the violence and chaos. Better to be slicing throats when necessary - than stand idle and have yours slit no?

With the outcome of the not too distant battle between himself and Miaran, and the far more recent events where a plains member challenged for the bluffs - and speaking to @Elaine ♔ regarding Mirai... this meeting was long overdue.

Ideally an alliance could be hammered out - if not between prides (although this was preferred), than between bloodlines (given the family ties).

However he was painfully aware of what kind of family atmosphere he would be courting by visiting this place. And while he had Ghyslaine's explicit blessing and trust to deal with politics he thought needed - in this case he had two reasons for preferring to go alone in this instance.

If it went poorly... well ... better it was just him walking into it, full aware and prepared for what was dangling above his crown. How could he not be? At his core...Reti was still Hunter, the bastard son born of a bastard daughter spawned from an original Dieudonne herself. Who better than he knew the nature of this beast?

Pausing respectfully about two feet from the markers he called for @Louve ♔, Elaine, one or the other, or both... to come speak with him should they be willing. Mirai of course, was welcome to attend as well if she wished to be involved.

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louve didn't know the voice that called her, today. it was strange and unfamiliar and at first she thinks, perhaps, another has come knocking to join them. instead as she slips near to the borders she spies a face that is shockingly familiar, if only for the fact that she had seen him rise from the dead not so long ago.

and then another of his pride had come looking for answers, and louve had warned her of what had happened in her own experience. had zinnia gone home to share?

so she is tense, uneasy and on edge as she approaches, though she does her best to maintain a mask of neutrality. her gaze shifts briefly to her side, half hoping to see @Elaine ♔ come join them, before it settles entirely on @Reti ♔.

"reti." she had never met him but she knows him. her greeting is simple, guarded, and she stands before him to wait for an explanation. this time louve does not sit, ready should things go sideways...

code by scorpixia♡︎ | art by Spu

Elaine isn't surprised to hear his voice calling for them. She had told him to go talk to his co-leader and that she would see him again. She had been putting things off a little, letting him heal and not fully ready to deal with seeing him with her daughter. Elaine had made Louve aware of the fact that Reti was once a mate to a family member of theirs. She hoped it would ease things with her sister but she could read the tension in Louve as she arrived next to her in silence.

You look better. She said as her gaze lingered on him, taking in the areas that had healed and areas that would likely never fully heal. A battle to the death and then dying would last long after wounds healed. She had seen it in her sister's husband and she sees it in her mother. A little more unhinged. How is your soul? She asked the question that she could only guess was lingering in Louve's mind. She had not asked before, trying to get other things sorted out but she had at least talked with Reti before and she hadn't pissed him off then so why not try for it now?

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Could he have joined them?

In another life, yes, perhaps so.

He knew the rules after all, how the family flowed, what they were inclined to. But Reti had designs on a crown and he had acted upon those designs - resulting in this being a talk between royalty rather than another lost soul potentially welcomed past the gates of hell.

'reti.'

"@Louve ♔ . C'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer face à face ." (Louve. Its a pleasure meeting you face to face) he would use his first language, at least for now, as a sign of respect upon meeting her this first time. It flowed from his tongue smoothly, naturally, a better fit for his black silk voice than English - but one he used sparingly over the last few years. After all, so few understood it outside certain bloodlines. Her name meant 'Wolf' and he wondered for just a moment, why Amara had given her daughter that name?

"Préféreriez-vous que j'utilise l'anglais ou le français ?" (Would you prefer that I use English or French?)

@Elaine ♔ joined them and it drew a faint smile to black lips, he was genuinely pleased she was here for this talk. After all the two were tied together in a way - by a daughter they both cared for deeply.

"Thankyou." he tipped his crown slightly in response to her observation "I am fully healed." and just building back muscle now. "I believe intact, none have mentioned changes yet." hopefully they would let him know if they felt something was off. But given he had died before, been reborn, and not changed. He was still certain his soul was his own - only as twisted as it had been from its first forging.

"I came hoping to discuss family and Pride relations."
He looked back to Louve ready to shift his language either way she would prefer going forward.

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was there any surprise that elaine was there? louve turns to meet her arrival with a grateful eye, though she imagined that her sister and her might have differing opinions on the outcome of this conversation. much as reti had some shared history with the dieudonne it wasn't enough to sway the matriarch.

it is nice though, to speak in the much more comfortable family language and she does not hesitate to confirm so. "le français est toujours plus facile pour nous." french is always easier for us. speaking for both her and her sister, and then listening to the questions that elaine has. jumping right in to the thick of it, and causing her muscles to tense once more. she watches @Reti ♔ closely when he answers, though she can't imagine he would be truthful if there wasanything wrong.

"mon mari est revenu d'entre les morts. il n'était pas indemne, même s'il nous a fallu du temps pour nous en rendre compte." my husband returned from the dead. he was not unscathed, though it took us some time to realize it. louve was not going to bite her tongue on her reservations, and she speaks up after reti mentions alliances. she was wary of committing to much of anything -- especially with her friendship with miaran lingering in the back of her mind -- when she had seen apollinaire's deterioration first hand.

"il est devenu assez imprévisible. désarticulé." he became quite unpredictable. unhinged. before this conversation went any further she was going to need some reassurance...

@Reti ♔ @Elaine ♔

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Elaine's gaze didn't leave the male in front of them. She wanted to learn as much as she could about him and see what might give away any issues that could come from him coming back to life. Her ears flicked as he and her sister spoke and @Louve ♔ spoke about things that still stung deeply. The whole ordeal was a mark in their family history that would not be able to be undone.

There was something in Louve's tone that kept her silence between them lingering longer. Reti made the reason for his trip clear but Louve hadn't addressed it. She glanced toward her sister for a moment to see if she could figure things out a little more before looking back at @Reti ♔ to see what he thought of what he had been told about their family, about their past with those who have come back to life.

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'my husband returned from the dead. he was not unscathed, though it took us some time to realize it.'

@Elaine ♔ was quiet allowing Reti to focus fully on @Louve ♔ for the moment as the other indicated French was preferred before pressing forward mentioning her husband had returned but proven not unscathed by the event. Somehow Reti doubted this was in regard to physical limitation.

'he became quite unpredictable. unhinged.'

Ahhhhh. Understanding flickered in his gaze then. So this might be why she seemed uneasy with his presence. That... explained quite a bit actually.

Reti dipped his head slightly then, eyes lowered for a moment in a show of acknowledgment and condolence for what must have been a extremely upsetting experience.

His gaze then lifted to rest on her once more.

"J'en ai vu quelques autres ressusciter. Tout le monde semble avoir géré la situation différemment. Je ne connais pas l'avenir, seulement que je suis moi-même maintenant. Si je deviens autre chose à l'avenir, j'attends de mes alliés qu'ils me retirent du statut de menace et je dirai à ma famille de ne pas riposter si cela se produit."

(I have seen a few others resurrected. Everyone seems to have handled the situation differently. I don't know the future, only that I am myself now. If I become anything else in the future, I expect my allies to remove me from threat status and I will tell my family not to retaliate if that happens.)

That was the only assurance he could reasonably offer. It would be disingenuous to promise eternal stability, nor could he claim to know exactly what his future held.

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While there is some reassurance to be had in his words they are, for the most part, empty promises. There is no way to be certain of them, and Louve is not entirely finished.

"Il est peut-être trop tard avant qu’ils s’en rendent compte. Comme c'était le cas pour mon mari. Au moment où nous l'avons fait... il avait tué un de nos sangs." It may be too late before they realize it. As it was for my husband. By the time we did... he had killed one of our own blood. There is much more to the story, but Louve does not mention it, and gives her sister a quick look as well. Nevermind the full details; Apollinaire in his right mind would never have attacked a fellow Dieudonne, let alone a female who Louve had given power to.

As for his allies -- "Pensez-vous que vos alliés en seraient capables, Reti ? Ce n’est pas une mince affaire de mettre fin à une relation avec laquelle vous entretenez une relation." do you think your allies would be capable, Reti? It is no small feat to put an end to one that you have a relationship with.

Louve would know, after all.

@Reti ♔ @Elaine ♔

ART BY DESSXLY, CODE BY LARS, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

Elaine listened, it was her default mode and had tended to serve her well. She listened to her sister, to @Reti ♔ and as he spoke of allies, of possible family, taking his life should it need to be done. She knew that it was a hard thing to ask of someone who had feelings for them. She had watched her sister enough to know this. Elaine knew what her sister was asking with her question. S’ils ne le peuvent pas, je le ferai. Pour épargner Mirai. If they can not, I will. To spare Mirai. She would kill anyone to keep her daughter from suffering from a mad father and to keep others from holding the guilt that her sister did.

Elaine had a question that had been burning within her, begging to be asked since she had found out that he had been a mate to a family member. One that had not been within these lands. How much had he been told? Vous avez été accouplée à un membre de notre famille avant sa mort. Dites-nous, que savez-vous de notre famille ? Que savez-vous au-delà de notre alimentation ? You were mated to a family member of ours before her death. Tell us, what do you know about our family? What do you know beyond our diet? What would he tell them that they did not already know? He would not have anything to gain by bending the truth, he wouldn't know what they knew and what they didn't. After she had that answer, after they had that answer, she would like the topic to fade to talks about being allies, if Louve wanted that.

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TRIGGER WARNING!
This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. Trigger Warning for mentions of [Maiming, Incest, murder, Cannibalism ]


Ooc: He is speaking French but his writer is being lazy XD
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'it may be too late before they realize it. As it was for my husband. By the time we did... he had killed one of our own blood.'

His head would tilt slightly down for a moment, a show of respect and acknowledgment of the unfortunate situation - and what must have been a shocking double blow.

Lifting his head once more he frowned slightly in thought "I understand your hesitance now. If it might not be recognized at first, what other preparations should I put into place?" it was not spoken sarcastically. It was a genuine question. Reti was doing all he could to show a willingness to work with them.

What more could he do to offer assurance? He could not predict the future, and would not stand still fearing one of countless possible outcomes. Granted more time in this life he MUST live it to the fullest as long as fate allowed. There was no time for fear of 'what ifs' to slow his steps.

'do you think your allies would be capable, Reti? It is no small feat to put an end to one that you have a relationship with.'

"I believe my closest ally, Alexander could. If I was lost to madness I believe he would put me down according to my wish." and if they too became allies? Well he very much doubted the Dieudonne would struggle to overwhelm him by numbers alone and make a meal of him. "Ideally it will never come to that."

'If they can not, I will. To spare Mirai.'

Surprise flickered across his face for a slender fraction of a beat and Reti looked to @Elaine ♔ for a moment before giving her a weighty nod "That too will work if needed. I will speak with her about this. So she will understand... should it come to that." Elaine would not have the same history as Alexander, so she would work well as a back-up plan.

Although again...he had faith he was unchanged, and none of this would be needed.

'you were mated to a family member of ours before her death. Tell us, what do you know about our family? What do you know beyond our diet?'

Ahhhhh, now that was a very important and interesting question. What did he know? Plenty. Some of it from Shinya. And much of it from his first hand experience - although that would need to be left out.

"My mate held her family history of great importance. I was eager learn. The family legacy started with four sisters - Lorelie, Céleste, Lillee and Esmée. Each was powerful and feared " he remembered Lillee most vividly...she was the one still out and about in his first life when he was growing up.

"The family traditions, as I was taught, are these.

The family is Matriarchal, there is always to be a Matriarch. It is usually a birthright but it can challenged for. The looser of such a challenge is consumed by the family.

Females of the bloodline are regarded most highly, followed by males of the bloodline and mates who married in.

Dieudonné are not born with their surname, they must earn it. This is done by killing or eating another lion.

Members of the family mate for life. More than one mate at a time can result in sterilization. The only exception is if a lifemate perishes. Incest is forbidden. "

There was more originally, he remembered more rules being added by different branches as time went on - but those were the original rules as he knew them.

And a few of those other laws that were created over time were not ones he felt really NEEDED to be passed on. if the modern members no longer remembered them then he sure as hell would not be the one to remind them.

"I know the rules with each branch might have grown to be considerably different." he studied Elaine's face then looked at @Louve ♔ , ready to listen and learn if indeed things were now run differently than before.

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