+5 Attend a spar or challenge to assess the wounds
+5 Study the flora of a neutral territory
+5 Collect herbs

She comes with a bundle of dried herbs clenched between her teeth. Hidden amongst them are a particular few, ones Hazel has been sucking down like a gazelle for says - to keep the nausea at bay. But the rest, the ones that hide those, are for someone else… for Seneca. This fight is one he must fight alone, but the aftermath will not be pretty. And she will be there to put the patchwork lion back together… regardless of the outcome.

The panic Hazel had felt rise up when the call came is pushed down now, hidden under a medic’s stoic expression. By all accounts, she looks fine - her usual, not-pregnant self. Any evidence of what grows inside her - doubt, guilt, shame, cubs - is thus far undetectable. Her stomach is still flat enough that it's impossible for anyone but herself to see the change in her figure. And still, she stays back where plants grow, so she might note what's useful here. Hormones or worry drive her to stay back from the gathered crowd, sitting stiffly in the shadows. She can still see the fight - the brutal way Seneca and the challenger battle for the right to rule. Not even the herbs can keep a sick twist in her gut at bay.

Now, of all times for him to be challenged - before she can tell him the… bad news. She can’t tell him now, or after… would it be better to keep it to herself, and flee? If he wins - will he still want her? Would he want bastard cubs to be responsible for, on top of his other children and family?

What if he loses? Would he ask her to leave the safety of Andal for him?

She would, if he asked.

Once, Hazel had told Seneca how she’d lived in her birth pride, and she remembered how she’d hoped and prayed even the worst king was better than the unknown. Maybe she’d never really put her heart into it - because it never felt like this, like she can feel the challenger’s claws ripping into her heart.

_{BG — ART — CODE}

As far as reasons to head inland and away from the comfort of the Cay and the ocean herself, a good fight was a damn good one. Did it matter that he had no idea who either combatant was? Not at all. It sounded like some good old fashioned territory drama, which was always entertaining enough to observe. And maybe get a clue as to who had a stronger showing of support, mark them down as a harder target in the leaner times.

While it was obvious who the fighters were, he hadn't been around long enough to learn who either of them were or what territory they were fighting over. Hmm, he'd really need to start exploring and learning the area. What good was a navigator who couldn't navigate?

Like several others, he'd find a nice perch around the edge of the pit (a feature that amused him to no end), lay himself down with his forepaws dangling over at the wrists. This could be an entertaining place for a friendly brawl between crewmates, actually.

code by corvus

The battle raged on, but Artæmis had no doubt in his mind that his father would prevail against this upstart. There was a reason that the Oasis had been strong for so long, and Seneca was that reason. One day, he promised himself, that would be him fighting to keep his home and his family safe. One day, but not this day.

The crowd left him to himself, perhaps not willing to mess with a child of the Miroslav line or perhaps just not caring about the child's presence. Those of his siblings that were already here were near adults and other members of the pride. Not Artæmis. He was just fine on his own.

@Diantha, his elder sister, seemed to have other opinions about that. The yearling broke away from one of the other lions in the crowd - Rielus, an Oasis member - and headed his direction. Whatever her intentions as she came up behind him, they were unwelcome. He turned to face her, his back to the crowd and the fighting now. The scathing glare that he gave his half-sister made it all too clear how he felt about her opinion. "And you're going to be my protection?" he questioned, incredulity coloring his voice. He didn't need his sister hovering over his shoulder. Certainly not a sister that he felt was quite incapable of the job of protecting anything, let alone himself.

code © cala // art © drifter

The young royal passed her focus from one spectator to the next, studying them. She observed the way they spoke, even mimicked them as needed to better understand what they were saying.

However, when her attention reached her uncle Antares, it stayed there. Léonie narrowed her eyes on him while he claimed a nearby lioness, which caused another to rise to her defense. The child looked at her, and when she spoke, she could hear her in her mind — “Not right,” she had said.

Briefly, Léonie glanced back at her uncle, but her eyes were quickly pulled away by someone else: Diantha, moving over to Artæmis, shielding him. Her gesture was met with a sharp glare from her sibling, to which Léonie smirked. A part of her wished to join him, to push Diantha aside — he was her brother more than he was Diantha’s and she wanted their elder half-sister to know so. For now though, the hazel-eyed youth stuck to her shadows and simply observed their interactions from afar.

Léonie is trying to hide!

	+10 Successfully stay hidden for the duration of a thread

	+10 Learn something about pride/group/family relations
	+5 Practice reading lips

coded by flea | artwork by ale-tie

code & bg-credit

Given that he was usually too distracted to notice, the young prince was unfamiliar with the sight of his father leaving the pride. He was used to seeing him around the tunnels of the Hollow, so much so that he wondered if he’d ever seen him actually exit them before. Curiosity drove the boy after his father, but he struggled to keep up and quickly fell behind. Fortunately, his father’s tracks were easy to follow, and they eventually led him to the battleground.

The overwhelming scent of lion struck him as he arrived. It was different from that of the Hollow, which made him wrinkle his nose while he followed the trail his father had made. The size of the crowd stirred some anxiety in him, but he did his best not to let it show. He kept his expression as neutral as he could, though his movements were quick and tight. Rushed.

However, by the time he reached the top of the pit where @Roan was seated, the boy had started to drag his paws, his tail limp behind him. “DAD,” he gasped, hauling himself up onto the ledge, just so he could throw himself at his paws. There on the ground, as he fought to catch his breath, he whined at him, “You walk— too fast— !”

Like his brother, Hero was nearly convinced that their parents never left the Hollow. At least, they were good at sneaking away when the kids weren't looking, and probably for good reason. For this very reason, in fact, as Roan's exit from Obsidian drew their interest. Well, actually Hero didn't see his father leave, but he saw his brother leave and knew that wasn't a good idea. So what does Hero do to remedy the situation? He chases after his brother.

@Tai had a head start, though. This was the longest journey the cub had attempted since he was born, and just like his mauve brother, Hero had fallen behind as well. The little Hodari's would wander onto the scene separately. By the time the onyx boy caught up and created the top of the Pit, he was caught in awe of the sights. Two lions fighting down below while so many others were scattered about. These weren't all friends this time like they had been during the party. The tension of a fight was a completely different atmosphere. Hero sidled up close to his brother as his icy gaze went wide, unable to take his sights off of the crowd. "What is it?" he questioned while his brother whined about how fast their father had walked.

Table by Amanda || Base || Background

+5 Observe a fight

It was a call that didn't surprise him, for eventually every sovereign had to defend their crown he had found. Either that or some freak incident swept through and forced those who lived within a pride out, but the Oasis had thankfully been spared such a thing. It seemed they wouldn't be spared a challenge, however.

Seraphiel was rather late to the party, but at least he could say he was here and could observe the end of the fight. There were plenty of lions here, as expected for a pride challenge. Everyone from the pride being challenged for and those from the pride the challenging lion belonged to (or just their friends if they were a rogue) came out in force, not to mention those who were just curious or allies with one party or another.

He sat apart from them all as best he could, preferring instead to just watch and see if there would be a change of leadership this day or not.

Admittedly, she didn't really care who ran the pride, but watching a fight was entertaining at the very least. Unfortunately, by the time she got there it was already coming to a conclusion, but at least she would be able to stick around and see if she would need to find a new pride or not. She didn't know the guy who was fighting for the crown, but admittedly she didn't know all that much about Seneca either. She just saw him around when they were doing hunts or things like that. So she took a seat and waited to see if the status quo would continue or if things would change.

+10 Remain undetected in a large thread (5+ characters)

+5 Observe a challenge and learn the results

He didn't usually hear calls for a pride from the pit, but he thought it was easier to hide in that area than it was in the desert area the Oasis was in. Still, he was slow in his approach so as not to draw attention to himself and to find a good place to hide, which wound up being some debris and large rocks a reasonable distance away where he could still clearly see the fight but others would need to look for him in. Considering the attention they were paying to the fight, he doubted anyone would choose to do that. At least not until the fight was entirely over and the victor decided, at which point he too would be making an exit.

The coming of winter had been a joyous event for the small cub, whose thick coat insulated her incredibly well from even the most fridged dips in temperature. The blanket of snow aside, she was also beginning to cope with ordeals endured within the starting months of her short life. Lions did not look so strange to her anymore, reminded only of their differences if she should glimpse herself in a still pool of water. It was not the lions that were wrong, it was her. Her comically large tail and her squashed length of legs. Her ears, tiny in comparison, set atop a less angular face.

Kibeth was slowly beginning to learn words and customs common to the lions she lived amongst, and in turn, her own identity was fading away. In time she might just think herself a lioness like them, albeit a stunted and ugly lioness. While still instinctively wary of them, she was not afraid to be in their presence, fear shoved aside in her endless curiosity and desire for companionship.

With a leap and a bound, she would find herself amidst more lions than she had ever encountered before, wide eyes looking at each of them with a sense of awe. Not all were sitting quietly by, two of them had fought with tooth and claw over something or other. Watching the others, she would mimic their behavior, sitting her tiny self down to observe the duel. Was this a form of entertainment?

image by moogle/code by saph