Caligula knew that there had been some tension in the Brook. He wished to alleviate that with a game. Of course he wasn't certain exactly how that would be taken by all the Vermedans but he figured that the cubs might enjoy it at least. There were enough younger ones about that made him even consider the idea. Of course he would just limit it to cubs should others wish to join in as well. Like him, there might be other adults that were still young at heart.

The maneless male chose a spot well away from the water that gave this place its name. Yeah, he still wasn't looking to delve into that. A call was sent out to invite others to join him. It was targeted for the youth of the pride but was open to others as well. There was no urgency in his call, or even a mandate. He just wanted to try to entertain.

The bronze lion waited to see if anyone else would show up. He hoped, if no one else came, that at least his own children would show up to see what this was all about.

Canopus, Rigil Kentaurus, Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Rigel...

AND FINALLY THERE IS SIRIUS

Aquila was not going to claim himself a great treasure hunter. The activity didn’t matter though- it was his voice that drew the Sovereign out. When the world wanted to beat him down and hold back his joy there would always be the sun that was his mate and husband. A bit of relief and a chance to hopefully enjoy his family. He wandered up into the space beside @Caligula, aiming to come from behind and reach over to lightly press his nose against the back of Caligula’s head and plant a gentle kiss and nuzzle. "Mind if I take this seat?" He asked with a puppy dog to his tired silver eyes as they looked to the space there at the maneless lion’s side.

art by aurora, code by bluey

The young cub had been growing and learning the roots of life, and so far all seemed well, surrounded by his mother atleast. His dad though wasnt around but that was fine. His mother and the pride was all he needed to be happy, and now with friends in another pride he wasnt that alone. He always found ways to keep him entertained and well, and today he was in the looks for such thing. Ironically a call for the cubs as him reached his ears, like a rocket he rushed and found three lions in there. @Aquila , and another he didn't know names from yet. Hi! What sup? He smiled as he took seat.

@Caligula_{BG — Line art by Machati — CODE}

One of his children would indeed come, though perhaps not the child Caligula was expecting. Spiritus was, after all, perhaps a little bit big for such things. Then again, Spiritus had never been good at recognizing that they were too big for such things. So, they came (a bit belatedly) at their daddy's call, plopping their butt down not too far from Ansel and looking at their fathers expectantly, eager to see what all this was about.

They did wonder where their younger siblings were, but it occurred to them that they might be too young for... whatever it was they were to be doing. Too bad, 'cause they wanted to spend more time with them, but understandable nonetheless.

Where son went, so did mother. Not because she thought Ansel would be in any kind of danger in the brook, or that Caligula (and likely by extension Aquila) couldn't protect him, but she enjoyed spending time with her sons and therefore she would go with them to whatever fun little event Caligula had planned. She knew the pair had recently had cubs themselves as well, and was curious to see if they would be in attendance as well. It seemed as though they weren't when she got there, but perhaps they would be along in short order.

She laid herself out on the sidelines, more than happy to watch instead of participating unless her son asked for some help.

Alester Valour

There was a call, a loud one a familiar one.

Alester looked up ears peaked and eyes vide at the sound of his father's call. What was going on? The prince set into motion carefully making his way towards his father's call until he broke through a rather large fern and came face to face with a small group of lions.

The little prince at first appeared from under the plant with his tail raised and spring to his step, as he realized both of his fathers were present sitting together. Though upon looing around the little prince realized there were mostly adult lions around him. Did that mean he was interrupting something? For a moment unsure of what to do Alesters gaze landed on another cub and his momentary worry melted away. If there was another cub he hadn't heard wrong and was supposed to be here... right?

"Dads" the little prince finally greeted the grown lions before looking towards the other cub with a careful flick of his tail. "hello" he greeted a bit carefully but with a friendly tone to his voice.

@Caligula, @Aquila, and @Ansel

code by corvus

Caligula was beginning to wonder if this was a bad idea. Perhaps they were all too tired and worn out to want to join him. After all this was meant to be a fun get together and nothing mandatory. But then not everyone was all for silly little games. That anxiousness of not being the right fit was slowly starting to creep up on him again.

But then there he was and Caligula couldn't help breaking out into a smile. At least he had the support of his mate if no one else. "I would be sad if you didn't." Perhaps with Aquila's support there would be more of a turnout. Maybe with Aquila at his side the others wouldn't think him entirely ridiculous.

Then there was a cub on the horizon. Good, he had been hoping for them. This would likely be something that the cubs would be more interested in than the adults were. Still, he could make this something that everyone could participate in. "Hello, we are waiting for others to show up so that we can play a game." He answered the cub's question easily enough. "I'm Caligula. What is your name?"

Caligula smiled when he saw Spiritus come. If anyone would appreciate this then he knew that Spiritus was. Spiritus proved to be young at heart, much like Caligula, and so the bronze lion knew that his older child would be down for the game. And he could perhaps get Spiritus to offer help to the cub that had showed up where it might be needed.

"Heloise." Caligula greeted the lioness. "I am glad to see you here. We really should catch up sometime." After all Heloise had been his first friend in the Brook. She had taken the time to give him information on the Brook and had been one of the reasons he had chosen this place as home.

And then one of his newest young joined the small gathering. Caligula looked past Alester to see if any of his siblings were on the horizon. So far it didn't seem so. He turned his attention to his young son. "Hello Alester, come on and join us." He urged the boy forward when he noticed the momentary hesitation.

Caligula allowed a few more moments of wait time to see if anyone else was coming before he decided to give in and address the crowd as a whole. "With everything that has been going on lately I thought that we could play a game. Everyone is invited to join in. We are going to go look for treasures. I will give a list of things to look for and you have to find them and bring them back. You don't have to find all of them, just as many as you can." Caligula paused and took a moment to look around to see if everyone understood what he was saying.

"You can bring back the items all at once or one at a time, it isn't a race to see who can get back first with all the items. Just take your time and have fun. I will wait here for everyone to get back." It was his idea and so he had to be the gamemaster. He would have to sit out and wait to see what everyone else found. "Now for the list of things to find. Something hard. Something new. Something light. Something with holes in it. Something green. And finally, something interesting." The last one was what Caligula was most interested in seeing everyone's interpretation of. He kept the list vague for a reason, he wanted to see how it would be interpreted and see what would end up being brought back.

@Aquila @Ansel @Spiritus @Heloise @Alester

Talisa might not be a young child by any means to participate in a scavenger hunt, but she did love small children and children in general so she was eager to show up. Casting her prayers for the day and rallying her own tiny children should they wish to come (@Mordane & @Cherry). Talisa wasn't going to force them into it as she suspected one or both might decide they were too old to participate or simply didn't want to. As soon as she arrived @Caligula was listing off things that the participants would need to locate and bring back. All of which she began to think of things both large and small that might classify for those descriptions but she didn't wish to give anyone the information that she had. Such a good idea, she chimed in quietly under the guise that those participants might have scattered a little bit by now to go find them. Pleased by the event that had been chosen and knowing that it would be interesting to see what they found.

^{MANIP BY ZODIAC !}

Unannounced yet still daughter of Caligula lay herself hidden, careful, watchful. She had bright teal eyes fixed loving onto her Papa as he spoke and explained the rules all while thinking she was not making herself known. For the most part Dio was decently well hidden, nestled in some leaves and undergrowth, but she was just a little too excited for this game to sit completely still. Her tail, as if under its own mind and power, slipped out from the foliage and was erect- tall and upright in the air. Occasionally it twitched and one might realize it was in time with the list Caligula gave the kids to find.

Something hard. Something new. Something light. Something with holes in it. Something green. Something interesting. It was a lot for her to remember.

There was a rustle of leaves as young Dio slipped away from them. Her bright bronze paws clamoring on the ground, eating away soil and digging in claws for traction as she began a race away from the group and to at least one thing she knew for sure she could find- Rock... I need the perfect rock. She said aloud to herself as she skid to a halter and began to circle around the forest. Her nose dug through decaying leaves and pushed aside fallen sticks to try and locate a decent enough rock for her first item. It would not be enough to have any rock, she wanted the best and prettiest to be hers.

_{CODE | BACKGROUND | ART BY MUULAND}

"Go- I'll watch the stuff you bring back." He said to @Alester, not catching that his sister was racing off already. His bright silver eyes winked downwards towards his son and Aquila, big brute that he was, was twisted right around that child's finger.

He would wait for some of the crowd to scatter more, for the sounds of young feet scampering away before turning to Caligula beside him. "Already found my something light." He said to Caligula and leaned in to lightly bump their shoulders together. His voice slightly flirtatious, very much affectionate. Talisa was right, this was a great idea. Too often their breaks from the normal were marked with bad and blood. Aquila fought so hard to keep things normal he didn't leave as much room as he should for things that were different but good. "My sun."

ART BY BESSONA , CODE BY LARS