Word on the wind was that all the Dieudonnes lived in the mountains. Axelle didn't expect to find her mother there, but she did want to find a place that belonged to her; one where her family had thrived and she would continue to thrive as well.

And to be honest, she was tired of traveling. All the way from the passage and a couple times around Amaryllis, she was exhausted and only wanted to see the same few rocks for the next few days... or even a few weeks.

Her stomach grumbled as she approached the incline to the mountains, but she'd hunt and kill later. Right now, she wanted to find her family. She stood where the border smelled the strongest, but left some space between its line and her, and chuffed for someone to come greet her.

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Séverine does not often respond to calls at the borders; as far as she is concerned, that is a job for her maman, but every now and then, she gets the itch. She's a curious girl, and as she gets older, that extends to political matters, and sometimes she's faster at getting there than Amara. Today happens to be one of those days, and she is already somewhat near the edge of the pridelands when she hears it, drawing her out of the woodwork. The yearling halts at an incline on the path, peering down at the mousy grey woman with a slight tilt of her skull and an expectant quirk of her brow. "Oui?" she prompts, wearing a commonly imperious look that mimics one most often seen upon her mother's face. @Axelle

Clever as the devil and twice as pretty

image by aurora, code by koi

Axelle doesn't wait long for someone to come and find her. It is a white female - albino in the least. Her pretty red eyes peer down at her with a skeptical look. She speaks to her in the common tongue, and Axelle is relieved.

"Je suis Axelle Dieudonné, la fille d'Alice, même si je ne sais pas si elle a jamais été ici," she began, the French falling easily from her lips, nasal sounds seemingly so natural. "Quoi qu'il en soit, je souhaite rejoindre ma fierté familiale si vous m'aurez." Axelle flicked her tail inquisitively, looking on to the young, albino lioness, awaiting what she would say.

It would seem batting her eyelashes wouldn't work here, but she was sure she could use them to her advantage to eat later.

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@Séverine hover for translation

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In the last few days, it seemed that their pride had become a spot for others to come. For one reason or another, her borders were far to active for her taste. Having had all the issues that seemed far to common, she was never fond of visitors. Family coming to them was likely the only thing she would be able to handle but even that caused her grief. She knew that with each new family member who came into things that her and Cassine's dance could come into question. She was leading the pride and so far had been doing well with it. In some ways, she was leading the family as well, even if she did try to look toward Cassine in all that she did. A pride of family being lead by not the leader of the family may be an issue at some point. She could only hope to keep things together until Cassine was ready. It was likely, largely, her fault. Amara hadn't been taught how to lead or how to make someone into a leader. She was half assing it most of the time and just learning as she went. Her trust no one standard seemed to work well. Amara arrived to see that the stranger wasn't alone and may not fully be a stranger. Her ears perked as the young lioness claimed who's daughter she was. The name wasn't one she knew. She came to stand next to her daughter, shoulder to shoulder but remained silent. @Séverine was old enough to give things a try and test to see if she can figure out who her family may be or not. She would see how things went before she said anything else. The High Sovereign needed to know which of her cubs might be able to step up into things should the time come. She wasn't sure what would happen but setting them up was the best thing that she could do, do better than she had with Cassine hopefully. the lost art of murder

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Much like their celestial leader, Ursula is not fond of visitors. Which is why she'd taken up patrols at some point as a task to accomplish in her free time. Adding it to her little list hadn't been hard at all, no more inconvenient than hunting. Easier, actually, considering most of her jaunts around the border were uneventful. Though she's seen her fair share of invasions and intrusions, they aren't exactly plentiful. Weeks and months go by between them, their growing pride undisturbed, untroubled. Still, it's the possibility that leads her back time and again for a look-see, curious if any unfamiliar scents can be found.

It isn't a stranger's aroma that leads the huntress into the cluster of females, though. Mere chance has her in the right place, at the right time, as it so often seems to for her. The Bezra spots them over the top of a medium-sized boulder, one she'd just lifted her forepaws onto. Dark claws grip the rough surface, bracing her fore-end for just a moment as her thighs reposition to support her full weight. Noisy to others but silent to her, the scrape of her weaponry against the stone is not obnoxious, mild as she scuffs the blades with purpose. Too hard might wear them more than sharpen, and too light won't sharpen at all.

Considering this isn't the first time she's stopped to cleave into a rock or two, this instance ends more quickly than the others. She's a nosy thing, to be sure, so it's after about three seconds that she decides she's more interested in approaching them. Dropping back onto all fours, the woman makes her way 'round the dark stone and advances toward the group. The way she moves is lazy, a comfortable walk, and her masked face is calm, if not a little telling of her curiosity. Amara shows no amount of defensiveness, nor aggression- and so until that point neither will Ursula. Giving both she and Séverine a little sniff of greeting, the brown lioness pauses on their side of the line, pale eyes swiveling in time with an ear to secure attention onto their visitor.

Barbarian:
+5 - Patrol your borders
+5 - Maintain your weapons (sharpen claws)

coded by flea + background credit

Truthfully, Séverine is not expecting an answer in french; her brow quirks, and whilst she might have chided the woman for speaking it so freely, she is quick to announce herself as family — though the princess remains skeptical. An ear swivels at the approaching footsteps of her mother, and her silence speaks volumes. She knows what it means to be put to the test, and @Amara does not need to tell her that she is in one. Séverine has never been the sort to back down from a challenge, anyway. Her head tilts slightly, her inquisitive stare analyzing @Axelle with intrigue. "Je ne connais pas Alice," ( I know no Alice ) she states with the slight hint of a frown upon her lips. (Little does Séverine know, she has met Alice — she simply doesn't know her name.) "Comment puis-je savoir que vous êtes qui vous dites que vous êtes?" ( How do I know you are who you say you are? ) the princess queries, her gaze flickering idly towards @Ursula when she approaches, though the Bezra only earns an iota of her attention. She is familiar, trusted, and has never been anything short of loyal and protective over her and her siblings growing up. The spotlight here is fully upon Axelle to prove herself.

Clever as the devil and twice as pretty

image by aurora, code by koi

Axelle raises her eyes to the other lionesses as they join them, though silently watching and not intervening at all. Everyone's curious eyes were on her, and perhaps, that should have made her nervous, but the lioness was bold in her demeanor and something like this was not bound to make her nervous or feel questioned one bit.

So, she flicked her eyes back to the pale lioness who spoke with her in their mother tongue. Axelle was slightly disappointed to hear that her mother had not been here, not settled with these lions, or made herself known here. She clicked her tongue and lowered her ears a moment, casting her gaze to the side for a mere second. "Honte. J'espérais qu'elle s'arrêterait ici à un moment donné."

But Axe did not look disappointed for long because @Séverine 's next question had the female furrowing her brows in confusion. Did lions come to their borders often claiming to be someone they weren't? She didn't understand the distrust, especially asking something like this. "De toutes les choses sur lesquelles mentir, pourquoi mentirais-je à ce sujet?" she questioned, tilting her head an inch in query. Her eyes flicked to the others watching the exchange, wondering if they'd chime in or detest to the female's odd question.

She had no idea how she was supposed to prove this to them, either.

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@Ursula @Amara

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ooc: just keeping it moving a bit while amara & ursula are just observing xo She has always been an astute girl, and the shift of confusion across @Axelle's face is obvious. Séverine watches with a curiosity, her ears perched neatly towards the smaller lioness as she expresses the evident strangeness of the question, and looks hopefully towards her maman. Séverine tuts her tongue softly, as if to say — she won't help you. Her head tilts, and the ghost of a simper crawls across Séverine's lips, but there is nothing friendly about it. She has been raised to harbor suspicion for every stranger who crosses her path — to never trust openly. These are things she has learned from her mother, whom the princess holds a strong admiration for. "Tu pourrais être un espion de pour ennemis," ( you could be a spy for our enemies ) Séverine suggests with a tilt of her head. There are many reasons people lie to reap benefits, she thinks, but she does so love to fabricate stories, so it's no surprise she can think of a few herself. Ultimately, she knows that the judgement comes down to her mother, but Séverine is at least old enough that her opinion is beginning to hold weight. And she is eager to prove her willingness to face the test that Amara has set out for her.

Clever as the devil and twice as pretty

image by aurora, code by koi

Truthfully, it confused Axelle as to why these lions would suspect she was a spy when she had not shown them that she was suspicious at all. Truthfully, she had no ill intentions of this place. She had simply come here because she heard that other Dieudonne's lived here. It was a simple cause for a simple purpose.

But it was seemingly growing more complicated.

"Comment voudriez-vous que je vous prouve que je suis qui je prétends être?" she asked, tilting her head in the slightest. She was curious as to how she was supposed to prove her blood relations, when it was mostly only provable by scent. How else were she to prove to them that she was a Dieudonne?

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moving this along, too; oberservers, feel free to pop back in whenever, idm <3 @Séverine

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Amara was pleased with how her daughter seemed to be handling things. The stranger seemed to be a little off guard, which was common among most who came in. Kieran had been one of the few to jump straight into action and it was something that stood out about him, even now. She let her gaze move between the two as things went back and forth before she decided to wrap things up, not because she didn't have faith her in daughter but because if this was indeed family she didn't wish for her to stand here any longer. *From which sister do you descend? She asked what had become a standard question for her, the basics. If she didn't know, if she hadn't been taught, then she wouldn't be allowed to join as family but may still be allowed to join if Amara could find a reason to give her an ounce of trust. *In french the lost art of murder

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