PATHFINDER EXP
+20 x2 Share important details about the weather (0/2)
+10 x2 Explore a territory and find something useful in it (1/2)
+5 x2 Study the weather or an astronomical phenomena (1/2)

Asylum had become more comfortable within her surroundings by now, though that was not to say she remained within the Mire exclusively. When not here, she occasionally ventured to the hot springs, in which her family had set up a residence of sorts. While she was mostly loyal to her bloodline, she had grown up in seclusion for the majority of her life, leaving her more distant from the Blacks than they might have wanted for her. She would have to make a point to speak with her father soon, he might wish to discuss her future, now that she was an adult.

Today she made no plans to wander far, instead, remaining within the pride itself and do further exploring. At all times she anticipated some cranky and irritable mud-smeared lion to approach her, try and chase her off their patch of land like an old man yelling at children to get off his lawn. The day remained quiet and peaceful with no such encounter, much to her delight. What she did find was instead was a meal ready for the taking. Something had washed up on the shore, a large fish of some kind. Something must have killed it and left it to drift in the current. Pulling it from the surf she would lay down with it wedged between her front paws and casually begin to eat it, eyes focused on the span of ocean in front of her.

She was intrigued by the shift in the air, a gentle breeze across the Mire now shifted to blow from the opposite direction. While she saw nothing but blue skies, she could sense a change in weather that would be upon the pride in a matter of hours. She imagined it could prove dangerous for a waterlogged territory if they got too much rainwater all at once.

@Alaric

image by Lewont/code by saph

he was a creature bound by duty. day in, day out, patrolling his borders and ensuring they all stay safe. he had completed one circuit already, refreshing the markers and touching up the ring of thorns he had worked on completing. it was as he drew near the coastal side that he spotted an unfamiliar stranger, drawing near with some measure of caution. ronin had told him of two new members had him concerned, especially when he had been told about the fact that he let one bite him. it was foolish, stupid even, and made him question the sanity of his second-in-command. he was the king, though, and so he stepped forward and stopped beside her with an abrupt -- "who are you?" @Asylum""

art by cloudy//art by cloudy

PATHFINDER EXP
+20 x2 Share important details about the weather (0/2)
+10 x2 Explore a territory and find something useful in it (2/2)
+5 x2 Study the weather or an astronomical phenomena (2/2)

Peace and quiet was a hard-won prize when within the confines of a pride, which was part of the reason she didn't much care to be within one. Asylum had only had the briefest of stays in prides, two in just the span of a few months during the earliest time in her life. She did not recall the time within her family's pride, back when the Blacks held power and grandeur, but the time after remained burned into her memory. It had been the time in which she had witnessed the full effects of her gifts, visited upon the cruel elder teen that had made her life difficult.

The lion that would interrupt her would do so with little regard for her personal space, coming right over to her and leading with a blunt question. She would not respond immediately, having finished her meal moments ago, she was carefully dragging her tongue across sharp claws. She might enjoy the taste of fish, but she would not leave remnants of its smell on her fur. "That's a fine how do you do big guy." She said, voice absent any notable emotion. "Hey you is fine, but if you wish to be on more formal terms, you may call me Asylum." She introduced, silver gaze only briefly touching on him before she was looking intently towards the horizon once more.

She had noted a small island out that way as well, one that could be reached after a brief swim perhaps? She might have to try it someday. Obviously, today was not that day, as the waves would likely become rough soon, if she was right about the weather.

@Alaric

image by Lewont/code by saph

immediately he is guarded, her mannerisms and the name giving him pause. so this is the one, then. his gaze narrows and he find himself with the urge to lash out at her, if only because she had risked the life of his second. "this bite of yours, asylum," he began with no pretense, "do you have control of it? are you able to lessen the damage, if you choose?" he was playing with fire, he knew, but he needed to understand just how stupid the move had been. if it was unpredictable, well... he knew he was being rude but frankly, he didn't care. not right now. either she would tell him or she wouldn't, but he half expected to be told out for his blunt manner either way.""

art by cloudy//art by cloudy

She could visibly see him stiffen slightly, saw the narrowing of his sage-colored eyes. She would give no visible reaction to this, though would slowly rise to her feet, that she might shift and face him head-on. She had no desire to attack this beast, whom she presumed to be the pride's king, but she would be sure to defend herself if his anger was directed at her despite not being the guilty party. Her size would not still him, her own narrowed gaze would not intimidate, but perhaps her threat of fangs and what they carried would give him pause to consider.

The lion at least had the sensibility to call her by her name, as a side note in his haste for information. It would seem Mr. Blotchface had informed him about Asylum and her capabilities. "Control over it? You are not well-versed in diseases I gather. The poisons an assassin might use, they are able to choose how strong the dosage is and can create antidotes as they please. The body might suffer but that is the extent of it. As for my gift.." She would pause here, considering her words, an expression of dark humor as she labeled it as such. "Imagine something that could attack your brain like poison attacks your body. There is no telling how it could corrupt one's thoughts, emotions, or senses. The strong recover themselves in time, though not always." She admitted, recalling tales of less fortunate creatures that had been felled despite being strong and healthy. "I suppose I have some control, however minimal. A bite to the face or head would surely result in one feeling symptoms sooner. I can only inflict disease through a bite so it is very much in my control in that sense. Those I bite do not typically spread it any further. It is something myself and some of my kin are born with, a gift of venomous fangs that an assassin might envy not having at their disposal."

She felt she had explained it well enough to appease this male, who didn't strike her as one who dabbled in poisons or medicines, so would not need something more in-depth than that. "As for the lion we both know you are here to discuss with me, I was merely following orders. He was warned of potential health threats but felt obligated to know more intimately of what I am capable." She should not suffer for the decision of those ranked above her, but not all lions here seemed terribly rational in their thinking. It would not surprise her if he did blame her for what had happened.

"Those who succumb to death are weak, and I only fight against those that would strike at me first. If this is an issue, or if you have lions here you fear are too senseless to leave me well enough alone, you are welcome to send me away from this.. lovely mire of yours. If I remain, I imagine he wont be the last one bitten. If I stay, I very much intend to obtain a position more to my liking within the ranks, whoever opposes my challenge would obviously meet with my fangs in a battle." She informed, wondering if he would see how valuable someone like her could be, or if he would fearfully cast her out as most had before him. She didn't much care in either case, as she had little interest in remaining in a pride where she was forced to remain muzzled and absent rank, it wasn't an option in her eyes.

@Alaric

image by moogle/code by saph

The more she talked the less at easy he felt. This small creature -- this tiny mouse -- had no fear of him. No respect, either, and it rankled him. Alaric did not fear her -- if Ronin had survived then surely he would, too -- but he was not entirely easy in her company. She speaks of disease and he is all the more uneasy, even as she assures him that it does not spread. Or not typically at least, as she says. A diseased family should have been trimmed from the tree, he thinks, and he wonders if he can truly trust her. If Erna was there she would call him a fool for even considering letting her stay. Asylum confirms that Ronin asked for the bite, which Alaric had known but did not understand the full weight of until now. It made him all the more uncertain of his second in command, for he seemed to gamble with his own life far too readily. "If you stay you are not to bite my pride members." He is firm, now, rising before her to assert his position. Let her snark at him if she must, but Alaric was held by duty to those he was sworn to protect. "Many of us have sharp tongues and quick tempers, but I will not have those that live here die because of it. You say that the strong live, but you also tell me that some have died -- it is hardly a relative consequence to picking a fight." He paused, considering. "If they choose to fight with you you will warn them, first. If it is a rank you fight for you are more than capable of pulling your bites so as not to break skin, I am sure? I encourage those that live here to fight for what they want, but not at risk of death." Alaric was certain she would dislike much of what he had to say, but he does not back down.""

art by cloudy//art by cloudy

Asylum knew her place, those within his family line always valued the council of males over females, and they were expected to be obedient when commanded. She might have offered such submission to Alaric, had he been sensible upon approaching her. His show of aggression, however minimal glaring eyes were, had made her defensive. To show weakness to a lion who was angry at you was to tempt them into rash action, as a cat feels more inclined to pounce on a rodent that ran from them.

"Not all whom we perceive as strong prove to be so. Some are too conceited to admit that they might not be as strong and healthy as they pretend to be." A simple statement, though he likely would not be made to feel any better. She would listen in silence as he went on, his fear obvious to her, or at least she thought it to be fear. A large brute like him, with a taste for violence, had no need for more subtle means of injuring someone. He was the sort that could never appreciate her gifts, which made her wonder if he was worth trying.

"It seems to me the fights here are quite violent, yet you allow them to injure each other in spats over an unspoken pecking order. Should all fights drawing blood between your members not be banned outright?" It seemed foolish to her, already she was at a disadvantage, and he seemed archaic in the fashion in which he chose to fill his ranks. "One could easily practice fighting without ripping into each other and leaving healers overwhelmed and spies within your lands to leak to your enemies when you are most vulnerable." Was she trying to give this lion advice? She wasn't sure he would listen, yet there seemed a lack of lions here with a voice for reason.

"I would avoid fighting entirely if it please you, I prefer to show my value through strategy and decision making. Have you those with a head for politics, or do only those with a talent for fighting rise among your ranks?" She knew he must question the lion who claimed her, and she might press into the small doubt in the back of his mind and allow it to grow. Warrior was not the only valuable trait one should need to be valued here.

@Alaric

image by moogle/code by saph

As she dared to question his pride and the way it ran his scowl deepened. "There is a difference between fighting for your place and fighting to kill. All of those that live here know the difference. We do not leave our healers overwhelmed, as you so boldly declare, nor do we injury each other to the point of being unable to defend the Mire." Something about @Asylum didn't sit well with him, though he struggled to pinpoint exactly what. The sickness she claimed she had was obviously one thing, but more than that he thought it had something to do with the fact that she seemed almost... defiant. Or at the very least, not willing to follow law. "If you cannot stop yourself from biting those that live here then yes, I would prefer you not fight at all. At least not here." As for the final point? Well, he had to give her a half a point there. But that was all he was willing to budge. "The Mire is, of course, open to all sorts. Fighting is a valuable skill -- and one I expect all my members to have, even if only for defense -- but it is not the only necessary one." That was about the only bone he was willing to throw her.""

art by cloudy//art by cloudy

PATHFINDER EXP
+20 x2 Share important details about the weather (1/2)

@Alaric was displeased, an expression he seemed to wear quite well given the amount of practice he had with it. She was not sure why she would be received in such a manner, though it was not an unfamiliar reception. Lions were afraid of what was different about her instead of valuing her for what she had to offer. In Alaric's case, it might also be that she didn't hold him in high regard. He was a king, but in her eyes, he was just an old man set in old ways.

He would rather she not fight at all if she could not do so with double the handicap to her pride mates. She could never hope to earn respect in a fight if she was put at such a critical disadvantage. "If that is your wish. Know this though, if that Erna woman attacks me unprovoked, I would not hesitate to defend myself fully. I would not let her freely dominate and injure me." If anything, it would do Erna some good to suffer a prolonged illness from attacking strangers. She imagined Alaric could become defensive at this, but he could not stand there and deny the flaws of his mate. If he was worried about the lioness's actions he should be working harder to correct her reckless behavior.

"I cannot speak to anything but what I have observed. Those within your higher ranks seem to lack certain observations. Has anyone counseled you on evacuation paths out of the Mire? Showed you the evidence of prior flooding? Some of the dens your lions occupy have been washed out in the past. Heavy enough rains could put much of this place underwater, such as the storm coming across the ocean to hit this place as we speak." She commented, having spent much of her time looking over the place in intimate detail. While she had never set foot here before, she had a talent for looking for signs. Anywhere you might go came with the risk of natural disaster in one form or another.

image by Lewont/code by saph

Could he fault her for defending herself? Hardly. "I would expect no less," he admitted, "though I would still appreciate if you forewarned those that live here of the risks they are taking." If Erna was still brazen enough to fight her, then so be it, though he would be giving his wife the heads up as well. He'd rather not see her dead, after all. @Asylum moved on to other topics, inane things that he didn't much care to think about. He did, however, have to admit that it would be best to know these things. He didn't think Ronin thought much about evacuation plans, and wondered if that meant it wouldn't really matter. Then again, Roan had spoken of the prior flood that had left this place inhabitable... "I know that the Mire has flooded badly before. It would be wise to advise those that live here of it, true." Alaric had lived in a desert most of his life, the Mire was as different as night and day. "I would... not be opposed to learning more, if you'd like." It was an olive branch of sorts, and though he didn't feel he had the patience for that conversation right now, he would not object to it in the future.""

art by cloudy//art by cloudy