ooc: set sometime after the WB challenge + in between all the other cluster battles

ic: Cupid had been convinced to leave Riptide here in the Bluffs to allow them to heal. At the time, he’d been hesitant — it made little sense to force the long journey on the comatose youngster, however, and thus, he’d trusted his ward to be safe in the capable hands of Zoticus and Namara.

A mistake that he now pays for. There is little desire to play games with the former Scilla crew. They did not seem the talking type; even by Vermier’s words to discuss with Amara, she has no power here.

Roarke made certain of that.

Call after call sounds off across Wolfbron — the new High Sovereign paying the price for attempting to keep prisoners. He is surprised to hear one already for Namara, by a man he’s seen a few times, and he hears one made by Lexa, too. Good. Cupid slips away from the chaos of the large crowd to his own spot — a plateau flat with a sizable cliff off the western edge, where he fought Circe. He has his back pointed towards the northeast.

Readying himself, the Firnen king shouts his challenge.

Cupid vs. ??
for Riptide
0 of 3

living like a riot, setting off the sirens; fists are clenched, i'm fighting

table by sentinel / art

Another puppet. The rainforest seemed to grow them like mushrooms. This one was male, average in size, but frightfully young. Vermier remembered being that young and remembered how undisciplined he had been compared to now. He had been loathe to find his sister's side. He had roved the valley for days, reluctantly to submit to her discipline. Not now. Vermier growled, seething as he padded into view. He was no puppet who had others do his fighting for him. This was his pride and he would fight all these puppets individually. Perhaps when their master did not save them, they would seek shelter under the paw that dealt the blows. {"Puppet. Where Zoticus? I fight ten lion for family! Fight ten another for ally!"} He sneered, disdainful. He was proud of his wounds. They had been achieved honorably, fighting for leverage for his family, not attained by sneaking gazelle past a wounded guard. {"I fight,"} he repeated, slamming a heavy paw. {"Zoticus talk. Join me, I fight your enemy. Regard: I bleed, but I no run."} His image standing here, bleeding and bruised but determined, was proof enough. He did not run. Any enemies of this male would be played for sport. That it would temporary relieve the Dieudonne of an enemy was so obvious a benefit that he did not think it need said. Surely someone this male's age had enemies... or would be abashed to admit his lack.

{Cupid} vs. {Vermier
Riptide}
0/3

@Squid edit to close open bold tag

It is @Vermier that answers — one could admit that his resilience against such stark odds is praiseworthy. Cupid has wants, however, and thus his stare is anything but friendly. A furrow deep on the young king’s face. Riptide is all he has left of his past, and it is his ward that he has come to Amaryllis in the first place.

Mayhaps he is hasty in his efforts to protect his family, for Vermier offers talks first.

“I am not here just because of Zoticus,” Cupid corrects, “I am fighting for my family, my kid. Scilla under your leadership stole a kid before, that didn’t want to go to the Lagoon. That isn’t something I can stand behind. Is your Bluffs going to be the same?” Let alone the whole… cluster that was the Mire nonsense when Sole and he had tried to save the unconscious lioness. Granted, the Mire itself is more-so on Cupid’s shitlist for the way the leader seemed so determined to let her die right there and then.

Cupid vs. Vermier
for Riptide
0 of 3

living like a riot, setting off the sirens; fists are clenched, i'm fighting

table by sentinel / art

GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

Not - here - Zoticus. Vermier's eyes lidded at the dismissal, the obvious diversion. Awfully convenient timing, then? No puppet wanted to admit they were a puppet. They wanted to believe they had their free will. Apparently, however, this young guy said something about a kid, a family. So not a goat. Vermier wouldn't bother fighting for a baby goat. There was something about Scilla, his leadership, and a kid, something negative about the Lagoon. And something about the Bluffs. There were a whole lot of children in the Lagoon and a whole lot of negative things had happened so Cupid was going to have to be more specific. "Pardon. My English. Bad." He shook his head stiffly. He felt his ear tip stick against tossled mane. "Eez many kid of Lagoon. Many fight. Zey like blood!" He smirked amenably, thinking of the speckled Bezras and the Dieudonné yearlings. His old swarm. They did tend to get flustered and @Cupid was near the age where he could have been caught up in some scuffle either of words or young budding fangs. "Dieudonné - Wolf Bluff - no steal cub of ally. No claim of ally. No ambush of ally. But, enemy steal of you? Claim, ambush? Dieudonné revenge." Peace and war. Naturally, peace was not offered for nothing. Peace was not valuable to him. He wanted skirmishes, comradery, bloodshed to build their name of fear. The cannibals should also prove to be a formidable ally, or their reputation would languish.

He's heard enough from the shadows. Angered and even more so as the growing days seem to lurch onwards with pitiful taunts. Enough with you! Sole knows deep down it is not something that he should even attempt to resurrect, but after everything, he has seen? Damn it, he wanted a chance at the bastard. Not for himself, but for everything that they had lost. For Arjana, Cupid, Riptide, Namara, Zoticus...all of them. his frame is heavy within the familiar territory, bursting to life with newfound fervor - for the many days spent healing within the foilage of the firnen likings had done more than enough to rejuvenate the boy. vermier however? he was weak. wounded from his battles, and staggering among the mere settles of fatigue and death. if he had to choose one, it wouldn't be the latter. sole would never wish death upon anyone - not even someone as sickly as the bayonett.

he seeks to be surprising. a viper's strike that would come hopefully unexpected, to knock the king from his balances if he so chose to play the cards correctly. wolfbron was dangerous in its own, and though it had been home for many seasons - sole was not quite familiar within the footing of the territory in battle. nevermind that though. it's too late to back from the battles that were not of his own now. he takes the stand in the gaps for his friend, his family more than anything. cupid had always been a talker, and for a moment sole wonders if the forged fires of amaryllis hadn't come too close so quickly, would he still be the same?

the lilac male would aim in an attempt to surprise the french man, body threatening with force to barrel forwards to hopefully collide with the older gents right shoulder. he wants as much of the upper hand that maua can offer during this time. if successful within his mar taking, the larger brute would seek to force his weight unto vermiers frame. hoping to topple him (or at least dismount the king) in enough time for lilac jowls to snag a piece of his shoulder blade. this was just one body among the ones that were taken unjustly, but it is a body worth fighting for. he fights for his family, and nobody else within these painstaking horror-filled moments.

Sole vs. @Vermier
for Riptide
round i of iii
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 20 + 18 + 14 + 7 + 12

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 3 + 12 + 9

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 16 + 5 + 20 + 11 + 13 + 10

@Sole vs. @Vermier FOR Riptide
— DEFAULT —

due to Sole not having the proper rank for a cub challenge, this fight has defaulted.

Vermier HAS WON THE CHALLENGE FOR Riptide!

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 is like a rampant horse held back by the reigns of their stable hand, he charges as a bull and his matador? Vermier. But just as the brute seems to enclose upon the curtain, the veils is pulled before him. Stumbling forth, the lilac would lose footing. Panic settling deep within for a brief moment as sole desperately grasps for some sort of leverage among the rocks. Perhaps, he should have waited a bit longer to bevel in the realm of his arenas. Pick battles more wisely, rather than charging inwards with all caution to the wind. He should’ve known that he wasn’t prepared quite yet to aid in the past altercations. Sole had more healing to do, further coordination to regain in his wounding. It was apparent now as the lilac bard hovers among the seams of life and death, staring acutely into the gorge below. Red rocks crinkle and fall, Ricocheting from the sloping piles of the bluffs valley way. It becomes apparent to him in this moment just how closely he teeters on the edges of a death. Deafening the blood rushes throughout his ears - heart thrumming violently within his chest as Sole scrambles to find some sort of leverage among the sloping hull. He grapples upon the last seams of security that his past offers, shuffling back only far enough to spare a daunting glance towards the pair before he diminishes unto the rocky underslopes of the bluffs towers. Maybe another day.

- Sole Exits -

He had lingered to ensure the others left before following @Cupid, to watch the king fight for his ward. No sooner had he looked away then the conversation between kings was interrupted. Sole darts into the scene, attempting to attack the freshly crowned @Vermier.

“You stupid boy.” Roarke snarls to Sole’s retreating form, stepping up to stand alongside Cupid. His gaze flicks to Vermier, black lips twitching in irritation. “That was not on orders. He will pay for it.” He promises both kings. Whatever talk had come before had been promising - Roarke has no ill feelings toward the new ruler, or the one before. He cares little for alliances and grudges between others. But now he must fix the damage done by Sole’s stupidity, something he has little want to do. But for Cupid, for Riptide - Roarke can channel his brother for a moment.

"Nous pouvons discuter d'une alliance si vous faites preuve de bonne volonté. Donnez-nous Riptide."

There is a hope that they could stand alongside the Dieudonné without useless bloodshed, lest Cupid misunderstands the broken common tongue that @Vermier speaks. Nonetheless, the Firnen king is on edge — cautious to accept his words as true instead of a distraction to get out of yet another beating. He may be resilient and willing to fight, but following his victory against Zoticus he has been weakened.

Dark tail swipes behind him in thought, narrowed eyes easing just for a moment. Certainly if he could play the strong arm and force the Bluffs to give up anyone who wishes to be free by claiming them belonging to the Rainforest… he could assist Wolfbron in ways. It is a gamble and one that Cupid is inexperienced in.

“I will need— SOLE!” His tone changes sharp as knives when he sees the lilac scout stalking towards Vermier out of the corner of his eye. He steps forth, about to attempt blocking the attack (if only because this battle is between himself and Vermier). He feels like a babe — no one trusting that he could hold his own despite the wins and experience under his own belt.

@Sole stumbles, however, and dangerously so — close to the edge the lilac goes and Cupid’s heart races. No matter how enraged he is at the man for potentially ruining his chance to get Riptide, he does not wish him dead. Fortune would save him from that fate, however, and Sole would quickly dip his head out from the interaction. A snarl on Cupid’s face bitter with ears dipped in his blond mane eases just a tad when he spots the titan approach them — snapping at the lilac for his foolish acts and settling upon Vermier with the closest thing to an apology he might get.

Cupid eases his stance, comforted by the presence of @Roarke. Stone eyes turn towards the Wolfbron monarch with a nod of his head. From there a language is spoken that he isn’t familiar with — the accent similar to Vermier’s. The only words he is able to catch out of it are “alliance” and “Riptide”.

living like a riot, setting off the sirens; fists are clenched, i'm fighting

table by sentinel / art

Annoyance was written on her face as she arrived to hear the red maned male's demand. Thankfully she missed the failed attempt that he was talking about. She came up next to Vermier, standing with him, her surprise that there was talk and not fighting only settled in her mind and wouldn't be shown to anyone. The males french wasn't something she was looking to entertain here. Why did you claim me? Taunting Magnus is all fun and games but you are an ally to our enemy and I thought an ally to Magnus as well. Her words were directed to @Roarke but her gaze flicked between the pair. She hoped her intention behind them was clear. They were an ally to their enemy, what trust could be there?

Table by Ice. Graphic by Lars.