the snow had continued falling throughout the night between the victory of this new queen and gryff readying himself to find her and speak to her. he approached the fighting place, where he would let out a low chuff. dark brown fur stood out against the pallid hues around him, and the remaining flurries coated his fur as he stood in ankle deep drifts- waiting to see if she would deign to appear before him. he wasn't sure what he had to offer her, but he didn't have any interest in trying to join somewhere else. she seemed alright enough -- hadn't forced him to stay as some had simple for his name... so what would it hurt to remain here?

@Brighid ♔

artwork by irish, coding

dutiful and attentive to her borders, brighid is always surprised with something new. she pads through the snow drifts, sidling up to meet the dark brown smudge that stands in the vast expanse of virgin snow. there had not been any to stay behind after the reign of talisa and morrigan, but there is a lingering note of something in their cologne that tells her of ice and stone - had they once lived here?

"hello," she says cooly, a satin lined purr. her brows pinch as she looks down her nose at the younger lion, taking in this visitor for what it is worth. despite the warmth in her tone brighid is still just as frigid as the mountains surrounding her. "welcome to the kingdom." a gloved paw sweeps through the snow, placed curtly with one in front of the other. "what can i do for you?" and there, she passes them the metaphorical microphone, her attention singled out solely for them. attentive, an ear twitches. hurry now - for there was much to be done.

somewhere deep down, she wonders if they have an interest in staying. the youth could always be shaped and molded. @Gryff

art by muuland, code by javs

when she appears, her appearance is a shocker to him. it baffles him so, that she is so... different looking from what he is used too, and when she speaks, it is his youthful demeanor, that makes him speak without thinking. "uh, well i was here first." he mutters, shuffling his paws in the snow. "i'm gryff. uh, i don't want to leave like everyone else." he says, tone petulant, flat. "i like the snow." oh, that had taken him a long time to realize but he did like it. "i can do stuff." he offers, defensive automatically assuming she will think that because he is very small, he is useless.

@Brighid ♔

code by corvus|art by irish

uh, well i was here first.

"so it's a shame then that you weren't around to offer me a tour, hm?" brighid responds slyly. he's young, tiny and is certainly a piece of work, but the scuffling of his paws and boyish request leaves her feeling unthreatened. the dark furred boy isn't rude - just caught in the shuffle of a pride turned on its head. gryff is a victim of circumstance and brighid cannot blame him. she could grant him his wish or ruin his day.

she knows already what she will do, but finds some small pleasure in making him squirm. so, the hot seat it is.

"stuff is vague, @Gryff," the winter worn queen takes a step towards him. her head tips to the side ever so slightly long fangs teasing at her lip. "do you hunt well? are you well versed in fighting? a craftsman?" brighid seeks to arc a slow and deliberate tight circle around the to-be summit member. "you must be quick-footed, surely." it is an assumption, more than anything, due to his slight size. the queen isn't one to count him out do to that; she's certain he could maneuver in ways her heft would never allow.

and if gryff pays attention, he would see that brighid is genuinely curious in what he has to offer and what she could show him.

art by muuland, code by javs

oh, the nuance of conversation was lost on him as @Brighid ♔ speaks. "why would i do that?" he asked, a bit unimpressed, and a bit confused. "i don't know you." oh, he's definitely not making a good first impression, now is he? it's probably rude, but he doesn't quite get that- too focused on what he wants from her. what he needs. when she steps towards him, while she speaks his eyes widen fractionally. he doesn't know how to describe...

"no one pays attention to me." he speaks gruffly, and he is not a whiny adolescent about it either- thank you very much. "i can go places. see things. do things. no one sees" he says, dancing around the word as if he doesn't know what it is. that he doesn't understand his abilities as a spy. he doesn't the value of it. "I've hunted before too." he comments, remembering the large beast he'd help take down. he is tiny, and he is often over-looked as a threat-- something that gryff hopes to use to his advantage.

code by corvus|art by irish

he didn't know her ... "and yet, here you are seeking my permission to stay," her nose crinkles just the slightest bit, whiskers curling. its the briefest admission of any irritation before she's neutral again. "it would do you well to make friends." its a lesson that, perhaps, she should lecture herself as well. "never know who you may need - stranger or not." as brighid comes around him once more she makes a half hearted attempt to snag the tuft of his tail in her claws. its gentle, just enough to give a tug.

brighid finally stops her circling in front of him once he's mentioned his strength. excellent. he isn't blind to his potential, albeit the slightest bit self deprecating. a rumbling trill of a purr slips from her throat and the corners of her lips twitch in the semblance of a smile. its much more pleasant than she could ever hope to be; a lamb's warm smile on the guise of a wolf. "@Gryff," she begins, "the previous reign may not have seen your potential but i do." build him up, break him down, earn his keep, make him work. she has to find what makes him tick but brighid wonders if encouragement and to be seen is truly all the young man needs.

"you'd do well as a scout here in the kingdom," the queen states matter of factly. "what do you think?" brighid allows him the choice, waiting, oh so patiently, to see if its an occupation he would find fitting.

art by muuland, code by javs

okay, curly white female queen lady -- you have a point, he mentally concedes. he was asking her permission to stay, though he did wonder how long he could have just remained... and been unnoticed? when she says it will do him well to make friends, his ears twitch. "never had a friend." he states bluntly. "don't friends have to do... things for each other?" he queries, his expression, lessening from adolescent injustice -- to something more akin to curiosity. "you don't want to be my friend though. you're a queen." yeah, yeah, she didn't want friends- she wanted subjects, and he wasn't... friend material for a queen was he?

she circles him, and he eyes her curiously- not really quite sure what that was about, but the yearling remained- petulant and still as she moved. Gryff, she starts, and his green gaze cuts to focus on her. the previous reign may not have seen your potential, but i do -- potential? she saw it? there was a strange feeling in his chest, radiating up and out through his limbs. she sees me?

then she offers his skill set a word- a term. scout

what a lifeline she has thrown. a singular word that makes him straighten to his meager height. "scout." he echoes in confirmation. "i can do that, yeah. go find out stuff and tell you about it?" he says, brightening at the prospect. there is something- some foreign feeling in his body that is stirring, rising to the surface.

"i can be the best scout." he says, his words soft and for his own mind- his own soul to hear, but he doesn't even try to hide it. she would hear it, certainly.

@Brighid ♔

code by corvus|art by irish

"things will be different." brighid begins, figuring that this is the perfect time to segway into her expectations. "you may not have friends now, but you will have a community." to her, that was much more important. they would count on each other to survive - everyone had a position, a job, that would effectively secure the health and wellness and in turn, foster her some sense of security as queen in the pride. "i am the queen, but you and your talents are important to me." it is not a lie, but it is a half truth. she would care about gryff and his presence, but in the end, were they all not disposable? "respect your neighbors, pour into yourself, and you will thrive here."

and then it clicks for young gryff. there's a light in brighid's eye at the subtle change in his posture. a little confidence that was not there before as she echoes his new duty to her. she nods, slowly, albeit encouragingly, smiling as gryff prescribes to be the best. "i know you will not let me down, @Gryff." because she is certain that her ire is much more vicious than her disappointment.

with that, brighid turns to look back into the pridelands, her tail flicking to suggest he come walk with her. with her first occupational hire into the pride, brighid is keen to discuss expectations and to provide him with some of his first tasks. she had learned of some of the other rulers within amaryllis from morrigan, but surely, things were bound to change with time.

art by muuland, code by javs