[[ Barbarian Master Perk: Ability to take the throne for yourself if your pride is at risk of disbanding

Bishop intended to have Scorpius go missing and disband AO, instead, Zaahir has noticed Scorpius' absence and stepped up to keep the pride together using the barb perk. So this meeting is to get everyone on the same page ICly. Next round starts the 15th (or once everyone has posted, whichever comes first), anyone who doesn't attend will be removed from the pride, but Zaahir will also simply release anyone who asks during the meeting, no strings attached ]]

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Maybe he should have spotted signs. First, their queen's presence had decreased, and then it became impossible to locate Scorpius himself. He hadn't gotten too concerned until he'd come home one evening and realized the scent line around the territory had grown noticeably weak. He'd paused, then, caught in a bit of a conundrum. Weakening of the borders meant their ruler was...well, probably missing. Hopefully not sick or dead somewhere, but he didn't like the idea the man had just run off on them any better. But there stood an opportunity he hoped would not backfire on him too badly. The ambitious opportunist in him spurred his actions for the next hour or so, his purposeful circuit of the territory, laying down his own scent line.

The sun was just starting to touch the horizon when he made his way to the space that had been used for meetings before. There was some slight hesitation, the thought that, perhaps, this might be seen as kind of a dick move to some. But his intentions had been good - he hadn't directly challenged, after all, only made a snap decision in the hopes of preventing anyone from suddenly losing their home to a stranger.

He'd seat himself and call out to summon the rest of the pride. They'd surely notice the change themselves soon enough, anyway. May as well go ahead and see what reaction he was going to get, and if anyone decided they'd rather leave...well, he'd understand.

code by corvus || art by drifty

Set watch over me…

Not again.

Jet had noticed—and how could he not? The last loss of a home he’d endured had been only months ago, and so soon after he’d gained the ability to call it a home. He hadn’t realized how fresh, how raw, that wound was still until now, when the stale scent of the border had finally crossed his attention and stirred it up anew. Immediately his thoughts had turned to worry. What would this mean for his family? Their home was here, in the Oasis, in the desert where they were comfortable and happy. He didn’t like the idea of leaving…

So when the call came, there was no hesitation. His footfalls landed heavily upon the sand, all the typical suave grace he so enjoyed practicing these days abandoned in his need to hear his fate. A worrisome frown creased his pale brow, between black-rimmed eyes that carried in them a dread the chartreux youth couldn’t shake. The voice at least was familiar, and the figure of @Zaahir ♔ did wait in the same location that Scorpius too had called meetings in the past. He took some comfort in that.

Swallowing back his anxieties, Jet slowed and offered the lion a shallow, silent nod, a flimsy greeting but the best the boy could offer at the moment. His eyes quickly moved about, looking for his mother, his sister, but neither had so far arrived. That was fine; they still might. And so Jet made himself sit, while his tail twitched in betrayal of his tumultuous emotions, looking out for those familiar figures while keeping his ears trained on Zaahir and what the lion, now in the position of power and leadership, might have to tell them.

IMG - CODE

you are insane -- my desire

super vague stuff about status because timeline but she's never officially left AO

she notices the faded scent when she returns to the oasis, there is a change but something... familiar about it. she moves towards the caller, interested enough in showing up, but not so sure what she felt about anything else. she is silent as she arrives, taking a seat on the edge of the crowd- rosy gaze fixed on @Zaahir ♔ -- with interest, and expectation.

what did he want? what did he expect of those who came. thus far it is only a boy, and the opening expanse of the oasis. the never ending sands.

a violent daydream

code x art

These sands seemed to devour ambitions. One likely, favored king down. He had liked that one. An aura of legitimacy. One which this untidy female lacked in age and in some queer unevenness of being. George didn't understand it. Just knew that Zaahir had a place and this was not it. That budding competence deserved a place at the hunt of a hunt, or scouting missions, but to lead? George was a gentleman bigot. And so he would hear this out. He wouldn't turn down free information and he gauged that leaving politely afterward, rather than abandoning the pride without a word, would be little risk against his political aspirations in the future.

He sees ahead in the dusk one sitting boy, tail twitching, either nerves or youth - George saw no reason to ponder the difference. As well as a female, shapely and pretty, who seemed set on guarding their outskirts. Give him just an ounce of pretext and he'd be at her side, volunteering company or reassurance... sadly, he never met the girl in his life, and her manners left no easy opening either. Ah well. He found cooling sands elsewhere and let gravity win, slacking himself on his belly but with paws downturned and attentive.

Zahra had taken residence in the pride after Scorpius had saved her from the Mire. And so far it had been a good time for her to recover from her captivity under Luther's harsh tirany. But now she had fully gotten back to full health. She arrived to the meeting not seeing Scorpius nowhere ro be found. And that bothered her. She sat down willing to give the boy a chance to say what was going on and perhaps she would stay. Any longer she wanted to wander, with the possibility of receiving Vellens child she needed a safe place to secure his spawn to grow up safely. ( She was verbaly accepted in AO in this thread but I was never able to exit to make the pride change, but it can be assumed she had been icly part of AO all this time)

art by ulfied+ code by spu

Amaryllis, for all its promise of bounty and ambition, is cursed.

Or, at least, it has hardly taken a liking to Rhys. For all his successes he has equal as many failures, and it seems the grander a coup he attempts the more likely it is to flounder. He could just as easily stay and continue to torment Leonidas, but without Scorpius as king he has not the veil of his name and his father's alliance to conceal any of the bastardry lurking beneath.

As it is, Rhys has his eyes on another—in the mountains of the farnorth where she lay, a wind-battered and frozen kingdom where he would never belong.

When the throne of Andal suddenly lies empty, he can hardly blame anyone for seizing power when they could. Honor would dictate that Rhys challenge this stranger for such gall, to call to question the legitimacy of his claim, but Rhys is far from an honorable man. He has no desire for a crown and the burden of a neck bent under its weight. Scorpius is strong and wise enough to challenge for his pride again or to secede himself to a newer, younger ruler.

What an unfortunate turn of events, he purrs as he emerges from the shadows, regarding Zaahir with an easy smile. Regardless, I wish you nothing but the best.

His gaze sweeps among the growing crowd, before falling on something indiscernible in the far distance.

Alas, I am needed elsewhere.

---

@Zaahir ♔

nyrou
stay wild, moon child
She has kept herself within eyes reach of her mother for the first several months of her life. It brought her comfort to know that @Nyaxia wouldn't vanish from her life, or so she hoped. Nyrou was busy playing outside of their den when she hears the call ring out in the air, and as a curious cub that had yet to travel from from her mother's side, she thought this would be a good time as any to explore. She was still within Andal territory, after all.

The girl scurries towards the summons, dual colored eyes scanning the area and noticing a couple of lions already gathered. Ears swivel forward as she creeps closer, keeping her lithe figure toward the back of the small crowd but close enough to where she would hear what was to be said.

art by ryuu

The voice was familiar; they'd shared a few hunts together during Harou's reign. Back when the pride hadn't yet become the joke it was now. Damn, she thought bitterly. I've been here far longer than I ever should have been. Every moment spent in this poor excuse of a pride was a reminder of the poor decision she'd made in accepting the initial offer. Such a waste of time.

But she hadn't left, and now yet another was summoning them. For fuck's sake. She grumbled through her teeth, cursing the one that called. What was this now? The third in such a short time? The instability was laughable. No, not just laughable. Utterly pathetic. And you know what? She wasn't about to wait around any longer. Wasn't about to give this place another chance.

"I'm leaving," she announced coldly, approaching @Zaahir ♔ without hesitation or any ounce of respect. "I've had enough of this shit." She didn't wait for him to speak, didn't care to see his response. She turned as quickly as she'd come and stalked away.

-attempted exit from AO-

code by scorpixia♡︎

[[he'll hang around to answer questions if there are any, but everyone can go ahead and exit the meeting and/or pride now if they want]]

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The first arrival came quickly, a familiar pale-faced figure from a hunt or two, and Zaahir noted the nervous energy around him. He'd offer @Jet what was meant to be a reassuring little smile in response to the other boy's nod. Next came the mottled figure of their once-queen under Harou. He didn't know how he felt about her. Impulsive and potentially dangerous was his current impression, but she hadn't caused any recent trouble as far as he knew. @Helah would get a nod in greeting as she settled in. As would @George when he arrived.

Next, a red woman he thought he'd seen around but had never properly met, and the first to speak was the dark grey male that came after her. Zaahir's ears twitched forward as he spoke, and he was relieved to hear no anger or challenge in the man's words. Unfortunate, yes, he agreed, nodding, "It is, yeah, but thanks." He could only do his best, after all, and he really did mean to try.

And there it was, the first to speak their intent to leave, "Alright, if that's what you want, good luck." It was genuine, just a simple wish for the man to find whatever it was he needed. The purple girl that came next was silent, which was probably for the best as his attention was swiftly diverted to the pale noble who appeared after her. Zaahir's ears tipped back at her tone, a small frown forming more at the attitude than her intentions. "Okay," he called after her as she stalked off, "be safe." The desert was harsh, but that wasn't the real worry. Other lions could be just as dangerous, but she could probably handle herself, right?

It seemed, though, that these were all who would answer his call. That was disappointing, because he was sure there were more members, but he couldn't really blame them for seizing an opportunity to flee if that's what they wanted. He'd settle his attention on the few gathered, "I'm sure you guys have noticed Scorpius' absence. I haven't found any trail," but maybe that was because he'd noticed far too late for it to be distinct against the other trails of members in and out of the territory, "but the borders were fading and I...didn't want to see what would happen to all of us if they faded completely." He liked the desert, and had liked both Harou and Scorpius enough to stay under their rule, but what if that luck couldn't last forever?

"I'm hoping you all don't hate me for stepping into his place, I'm just trying to keep our home together." But that didn't necessarily mean he meant to easily step aside now, either. "I don't intend to change anything too drastically, either. Basically, I'm expecting everyone to pull their weight and treat their fellow members with respect." It seemed simple enough, right? Don't be a leech or a dick and you'd probably be fine.

"But, if anyone wants to leave, I won't keep you tonight. You can have until dawn to gather anything you want to take, but you'll need to be gone by the time the sun rises. I'm assuming anyone who didn't show up here doesn't want to stay either." Who would stay and who would go? "I just wanted to gather everyone together to let you all know what's happened, and hopefully make sure there aren't any hard feelings about it. If you have questions, I'll answer them, but you're all also free to go back to whatever you were doing with your night." Quick, easy, simple.

@Zahra @Rhys @Nyrou @Noemi

code by corvus || art by drifty

He is not the only one who wishes to leave, and the way with which Noemi makes her grand entrance makes Rhys seem almost chivalrous by comparison. He harbors no love for the new king, but he'd no intention on making enemies. This woman clearly had the whole world to burn, and it is equal parts alluring as it is offputting. Most certainly, not a topic to be broached at this moment.

He has a long journey to make, after all.

With Zaahir's concession, Rhys does not stick around for the bulk of his speech, lest he feel some pang of sympathy—or, more likely, a delightfully-timed reason for him too stay. He disappears as quickly as he arrived, making no fuss or ceremony and leaving the newly-crowned king to the tattered remains of a pride that has seen far too much turnover.

He had to admit, though, he would miss the desert.

He would miss Leonidas.

---

Exit Rhys.