TRIGGER WARNING!
This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. Trigger Warning for mentions of [an egregious act toward a cub, death, manipulation]



They ruthlessly butchered their frailest kin, and it was through that gruesome act of betrayal that they carved a path to power. With each life extinguished, they ascended, claiming the titles of Executioner, Judge, Jury—titles that echoed with the weight of death—and, for a male yearling who survived the brutal rite or secured a marriage within the family, the coveted title of Deputy. She involuntarily flicked her ear back, a fleeting expression of her discomfort, before rolling her shoulder, the weight of her legacy settling heavily upon her.

This woman, forged in blood and fury alongside Velasco, had earned her Marital name through the violence that coursed through their veins. She was the very embodiment of the nightmare that haunted the nights. And when she would bring forth new life, those whelps would not know gentleness; they would be trained to embody the same merciless spirit that lived within her. I have always been both, she asserted emphatically, her voice cutting through the lingering silence like a blade.

After a moment, Miaran broke the quiet again, I am to bear Velasco's children, yet a shadow of doubt lingers in my heart—I know nothing of his father. Icefang, I see, is a force unto himself, fierce and unyielding, carrying a darkness just like mine. She had crossed paths with Cassius, the present Patriarch, but deep down, she understood he was not the answer to the question that tormented her soul.

@Arcania ♔

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Arcania chuckled low in her throat at the mention of Velasco's father, because she knew him well enough for reasons that would shortly become clear. He is my father as well, she revealed. Renozuri's darkness eclipses Icefang's own. He was a demon made flesh. My birth mother feared him, abandoned me in a different pride because of it, but I found him in the end. She was not the only woman who feared him. He had high expectations for the family, especially his sons. His daughters were more prized for their ability to birth more sons, however we could still earn his recognition, she continued. She had precious few memories of the man simply because he had been busy with propagating the X'uekai, and then dealing with Nikiri, but those memories she did have had shaped her into the woman she was then, along with Icefang's tutelage of course. She might have been closer to Nikiri before her betrayal, but afterwards she had continued to integrate herself even more firmly into the family. Yes, she should have done more throughout the years when it came to continuing the line, but she hoped to make up for that now however she could.

@Miaran

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The Executioner hung on every word that flowed from Arcania's lips, each syllable pulsating with an electric mix of anger and sorrow as she passionately spoke of her estranged connection to Renozuri—a bond between father and daughter stained with the weight of fear and disdain. Her disdain for men brimmed over, as she recounted the limitations they imposed, their narrow view that reduced women to mere vessels of creation, disregarding the boundless potential that thrived within them. With a sharp flick of her tongue across her lips, she shook her head, defiance etched across her features.

Renozuri is nothing but another self-entitled male, blinded by his own arrogance. He views women solely for their ability to give birth, unaware of the fierce and incredible strength that courses through our veins! A man once tried to snuff out my life, and yet it was he who met his demise at my hands. Another male sought to rip Morrigan apart, yet I was the one who plucked out her eye—she bears no crown now, just as a reminder of her hubris, she spat, her voice dripping with scorn aimed at the once-mighty Queen of the Summit. Miaran's words dripped with bitterness, recounting how Miaran had lost her own power when the young boy dared to strike at Caladan while she languished in the shadows of war’s aftermath.

A heavy silence descended over them, the kind that felt like a weight pressing down on their hearts, before Miaran steered the conversation down a different path. @Arcania ♔, she said, her tone shifting, urgency sparking in her voice, I have a question. What do you truly think of Cassius? Icefang introduced him to me, saying he was the Patriarch of the family, but I need to hear your thoughts, raw and unfiltered.

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For just a moment, irritation flickered in the depths of her eyes at @Miaran's words regarding her father. She was tempted to snap that it wasn't her place to speak on him, that she wasn't X'uekai, not by blood, and so how dare she. And perhaps she would have if the precious lives within her hadn't meant more than defending a man who was no longer around. She couldn't really argue with the statements anyway. He had been self-entitled. But, to be fair, the whole damn family was. The apples hadn't fallen far from the tree, in that. So she said nothing, her expression easing back to impassivity just as quickly as it had changed.

All the better if they underestimate us, she commented, conceding the point to the other woman. It makes them much easier to destroy. And all the more fun to.

At the mention of Cassius, her gaze darkened, and she looked away for a moment. What she said here could damn her, if repeated to him, and she refused to put her unborn, defenseless children in harm's way. Temero could fend for himself, or run, she knew, but the leopons within her? They had no such ability yet.

He concerns me, she admitted finally. I don't know what he views as my place within the family, and I worry for my soon to be born cubs because of that. I... She trailed off, because here was what might amount to treason. I wish father had chosen Velasco to lead. At least I know where we stand. But I suppose he wanted a younger male. It made sense, but she didn't have to like it.

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The Executioner's proclamation was not merely aimed at Renozuri; it cast a dark shadow over every man who dared to exist, even her own husband. They were all painted with the same brush, driven by an insatiable instinct to sow their wild oats, to propagate their lineage, yet turning a blind eye to the crucial role of nurturing the very lives they brought into this world. In the Mob, however, the chosen Deputies stood in stark contrast—many of them were genuine Fathers, fiercely devoted to guiding and raising their children alongside their partners. Miaran noticed a fleeting flicker of emotion cross @Arcania ♔'s face, a subtle recognition of this truth, but she chose to let it hang in the air unspoken.

As Miaran ran her tongue over her lips, she felt that electric thrill of anticipation coursing through her. With her heart pounding, she tuned in, fully engaged, as the Vermeda Queen echoed Miaran’s thoughts on the undeniable strength of women. Yet, when the conversation veered off course, she held her tongue, allowing her mind to drift into a tempest of contemplation, aware that her claim within this family web was tenuous at best. Matrimony was her only tether to them—no blood bound her. She could sever those ties, shatter them like fragile glass if it suited her, just as she had done before.

Why would your father choose a male so distantly related? A mere boy instead of a true son to bear the weight of the mantle? The words slipped out casually, but they were laced with the fire of conviction. If Death is the key to progress, shouldn't it be Death that paves the path forward? In the Mob, Death wasn’t an end; it was the force that breathed life into new beginnings. In the Dieudonné lineage, the mantle of Matriarch passed from one to another through the shroud of Death—just as it had in the X'uekai family, where Cassius seized the Patriarch's title following Renozuri's tragic fate. Was it treasonous to ascend the hierarchy? Was it rebellious to embrace the strength of the fiercest beast?

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The question was one that Arcania had been wondering ever since Cassius had been proclaimed patriarch, had said that he had slain Renozuri. I don't know, she had to admit. Perhaps he wanted someone younger than Velasco. Perhaps Cassius was simply in the right place at the right time. I suspect we will never know. Because how could they? Dead lions told no tales, and she saw no reason to doubt that Renozuri was dead. That wasn't the sort of claim one made without knowing for a fact that it was true. Cassius said he came upon Renozuri and defeated him. Without my father being here to tell his side of things, we must believe he is telling the truth.

Of course, any male of the family was presumably able to challenge Cassius for the role, but she knew how that would go. If it wasn't one of his own sons, they would likely be killed for the attempt. Unless they won, of course. In which case they ought to kill Cassius to prevent him from coming back from the title. They didn't need to be spilling the family's blood, though. Not like that. Sure, there were many more of them around, but at the same time most of them belonged to Cassius at that moment in some way. The remaining branches of the family needed to thrive as well.

@Miaran

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The Executioner fell into a profound silence as @Arcania ♔ spoke, a tempest of thoughts whirling through her mind. She was struck with a piercing clarity, memories of her family melding with the shadows of her past in the Mob, starkly contrasting yet inextricably linked. Her tongue flicked against her lips, a habit, as she shifted her weight to stand. Perhaps, she whispered, the word laden with unspoken weight. In this family and in the realm at large, she felt like a ghost—unseen and unheld, a solitary figure on the outskirts.

She cast a contemplative gaze at the older lioness before rising slowly, each movement deliberate, as if she were standing on the precipice of something monumental. Leadership cannot be an automaton that is blindly obeyed, she declared, her voice steady but charged with an undercurrent of defiance. Cassius may hold the title of Patriarch, but in my mind, Icefang commands far more respect from me, a fortress of strength that far outweighs the hollow legacy of a man who simply knows how to breed. Breeding does not equate to true Leadership, and he mustn't forget that, she continued, her words cutting through the air like a blade, forthright yet devoid of emotional flourishes—merely an unvarnished reflection of her beliefs. Perhaps the truth will emerge, should it turn out to be nothing more than a web of lies.

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@Miaran's statement regarding Icefang was something she couldn't deny, and a soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She does for me as well, she agreed softly. She would follow the men of the family because it was expected of her, but should Icefang ever decide to go rogue, as it were, she would follow. Not that she expected that would happen. She and Icefang both had seen what had happened to Nikiri when she had done so, though that was different in many ways.

It is possible. I will not hold my breath, but it would be nice if that were the case, she commented. She just didn't know how it could be proven or disproven given the only other who could confirm or refute the story was dead, surely. Renozuri had been old the last time she'd seen him, and that had been quite a while ago.

Lies have a tendency to catch up with one in the end, she concluded, rising as well and stretching out, shaking herself off slightly. She was tired of having her weight on her paws, both hers and her children. It was time to return to her den and get some rest. I will see you around, I'm sure, she said as means of farewell, a little flick of her tail a wave of goodbye as she vanished into the underbrush.

-exit arcania-

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