The Desert Orchid

She had been too far away from the pride lands to hear Violarum's challenge as he gave it. Yet word spread swiftly and once again she finds herself rushing back toward a fight, her heart a fluttering thing rising up within her throat. Already the crowds are thick, many gathered to watch. Silently she slips through the throng, pressing close toward the front. It is over, already. Her gilded gaze trails over each, a worry creasing her brow. She knew neither male well, yet Seneca maybe just a little more than Vio.

Then, as her eyes switch across the crowd, her gaze settles upon Talitha, sat off to the side, watching quietly. It is simple, there is no other place for Eve to be now and quietly she slinks through the crowd to join her dearest friend. Her muzzle reaches out in greeting to brush across Talitha's brow. "You are here," she breathes, grounded. Lightly Eve casts her gaze back toward the men, recovering from the fight. "Does it bring back memories?" She asks with a half smile. Though her lips tip down as she glances back toward the combatants, what outcome would she choose? She does not know. But the only thing she is sure of is that, should Seneca lose, she would follow @Talitha home.

eve
if our demons cannot dance
neither can we.

they swarm like flies to honey and he keeps his chin high, maintaining his composure all the same. alaric has learned well how to navigate politics, balancing serioueness with these moments of teasing -- appearing aloof and yet learning little bits here and there.

Alaric did not consider the Oasis an enemy, of course, though he wondered if that might change now that Violarum had taken strides against its current King. Would Seneca hold a grudge, or would he recognize that a hot-blooded young male was hardly easy to rein in. They were not true allies, likely not even friendly, but he also wasn't keen to start a war with the desert.

His gaze instinctively scanned the gathering ground for her, concerned when he did not immediately spot the striped woman. Where the hell was she? Her children were here -- he recognized at least one amongst the crowd -- so where was Aidoneus?

@Myra joins them, and he chuckles at her comment. "I knew he was ambitious. Let's hope he manages to succeed." Not that he was behind the challenge, but another true ally would not be a bad thing. @Kinki earns a nod and a smile, but his focus is soon pulled away.

@Basira appears and he has a warmer smile for the Caladan sovereign. "He's a hot blooded male, I could no sooner hold him back than stop a stampeding elephant." A slight shrug, and it was clear he wasn't entirely bothered by the move. His concern stemmed mostly from what would happen to the ones he did care about in the Oasis, and what retaliation might come because of it.

"Congratulations are in order, Basira. I am expecting more of my own as well. We should meet after the challenge, hmm?" It was hardly the place to talk about betrothals, but he was keen and more than willing to arrange something. Whether or not Freya was thrilled with the idea was another thing all together. If not he was certain that Erna would be agreeable and he expected she should be able to conceive soon.

@Ghyslaine is there, along with an unfamiliar yearling @Olive. He might have spoke up (though, lets be honest, probably not) but before he can @Antares jumps in and claims the girl. Before the wheat king can say anything the golden lioness is jumping in

"Ghyslaine, stand down. If this girl is your friend we can challenge for her after. Assuming Antares is unwilling to give her a choice." An arched brow to the fiery male, wondering if they truly were enemies as he had joked. Why else would he claim an apparent friend to the mire right under his nose?

where innocence burns in flames

i'm frozen to the bones

image by yumpy, code by corvus

she moved quickly, yet by the time she arrived the fight was nearly done. it was intriguing to the girl, who knew well their enemies in the oasis, and she sneered to see some familiar faces present. the miroslav children were more than known, and she entertained herself with the reminder that she and her siblings had triumphed over them more than once.

but that was hardly a surprise -- they were Dieudonne after all.

her mother was there, and louve approached @Amara with a tiny nod of acknowledgement. she settled down to watch the fight, thankful that she arrived at least in time to witness the resolution. seneca was clearly the older and more experienced, but perhaps young blood would emerge victorious today.

after a moment she asks -- "do you know who is fighting seneca?"

Image by Rabs

"you see?" he asks @Ghyslaine, smirking. "she's perfectly happy." he ignores the rest of the comments from @Olive, presuming her words to ( correctly ) be a side effect of ignorance. he turns to look over his shoulder at @Zelda's comment and raises a brow, smiling. "i'll remember that." he croons to her - because he will. she's taken, right now, but perhaps soon he'll see to that. he inclines his head to where @Leander sits behind him, eyes on olive. "you'll be leaving with him, then." he confirms, thrusting the new oasis charge onto his older brother and nearby sister. they can deal with that. he's tempted to solve the problem by reaching out and challenging for ghyslaine, herself, then and there - but he swallows the urge to be a total punk ass down and dutifully waits. @Alaric soothes - or attempts to soothe - his lioness' ire and the gentry offers him a lopsided smile. "we could always arrange a trade, mire king." he offers, ears lifting. his gaze slides coyly to zelda and back, a brow lifting. "i'm sure my brother will be open to the offer. you know how these things work, surely." an idle taunt, a little poke to annoy. he does his best to dance around the politics all while playing the thoughtless clown. i don't belong among the angels

code // art // do not use without permission

there is a chill to these lands now, deep in the throes of winter. yet even the coldest day will not stop the masses from gathering for their taste of bloodsport — and he is among them. by the time the skagos punk arrives it seems as though the fight is winding down: both combatants ( strangers, both of them ) seem to be weary as they clash. he recognizes it, the moment where adrenaline is the only thing keeping you going and it slips right through your fingers. unlike the others he does not gather down at floor-level where the challenge is — instead, hakon lurks up towards the top, in one of the box seats. it is a unique feature of the pit, one that only exists here.

might as well use it, right?

settling down his bobbed tail twitches, eyes focused and keen. he does not care much for andal ( does not realize the ties that saga has there, nor to the piebald sovereign currently fighting ) but it is always good to watch these. good, too, to learn the landscape outside of the black sands — even if he does not often come this far inland.

what makes you think i'm enjoying being led to the flood?

table by sentinel / art

silver moon sparkling — the little pitter-patter of feet carry her from their den at the shore to here. it is a war cry, heralding a great battle — and a great battle she finds! the others might have a clue as to what the two lions were quarreling over but dhaveira is terribly oblivious to it all. she wants to know but alas, revna and elias have not arrived yet. no worries, she’s sure to save them a good seat! the pit was designed for that, after all — seats built into the sides of the wall like a little amphitheater. it was strange, she thought. a spectacle made of violence — perhaps elias’ family would fit in well here, after all! she’s always enjoyed watching her spouses fight ( at least, not the more serious fights ) but this seems different. maybe they were fighting for something more important than bragging rights? hmm. glancing towards the others gathered, curious — looking between the challenge itself and the crowd.

code // art // do not use without permission

diantha did not expect any of her siblings, full or not, to warm up to her and like her. she'd rather not want their affection and more of something else. for now, though, it'd be hard to garner. they were kids, young enough to be crass, but also young enough to be taunted. or i could kick you into the mist she murmured, tilting her head down to meet @Artæmis's. it's my best buddy now and it really like cub meat. she added after a deliberate pause. her words were light and teasing, but heavy with a dark promise. it felt pleasurable to have spoken those words. even more so when it was to her siblings. better yet, diantha hoped, as she leered at him, it instilled a little fear in the child. to make sure her words were truly a promise, she hovered a paw over artæmis's tail, inches away just from pinning it down.

_{BG — DUSK/ALE-TIE — CODE}

She cannot help but roll her eyes at the yearlings teasing. “Just a friend. My first friend here.” Days ago she may have said her only friend- but now she isn’t sure… that does seem to be changing. Her attention strays from @Olive as the male speaks- stating his desire to claim the yearling.

Her ire with the male brings her to battle-readiness even if her current trajectory promised her loss- at least she could judge that much based on how things have been going.

But Olive speaks and she shoots the male a snarl as he agrees. Stating the yearling was ‘perfectly happy’- and indicated that she would go with @Leander. “I don’t think it’s flattery- Olive, merely a guide to take your choice from you.” She would speak lowly to the yearling. Ghyslaine shot her acquaintance (Leander) and perhaps other friend a pointed look- before her attention and growing frustration is snagged by her king.

Ordered to stand down, she continues to glare at @Antares, a snarl still on her maw, but she listens to Alaric’s words- protest bubbling from her lips as he finished speaking- only to be cut off as the other male (Antares) mentions a trade. She is quick to look past him at @Leander- quick to speak this time. “I’ll be the trade. Olive can have my place within the Mire.” She shoots her eyes to @Alaric- seeking his permission, should the male agree.

It’s not like she was much use to Alaric- and despite everything anyone else may think of the Mire’s occupants- Ghyslaine thought Olive would be safer there. Excluding one- everyone had been nothing but kind to her. So in her mind… Olive would be safer there than within a pride of those she knew nothing of.

That is- should Olive herself agree. Ghyslaine simply didn’t want the yearling forced into anything. She was young- and in Ghyslaine’s mind it wasn’t right for anyone to be forced into something they didn’t want to do. The irony wasn’t lost on the wheaten lioness that she had been claimed into the Mire… but at the end of the day it had been her choice to follow Violarum- at least within her mind.

She wonders where Leander stands on this- will he back up her trade offer? Did their association at various times mean he may be inclined to speak for her? Or would he simply yield to this brutes demands, and allow the yearling to be swept into the current of pawns and prides.


Ooc: Sorry this is a quick phone post. I’ll make it pretty later.

Unwillingly Leander finds himself embroiled in the unnecessary drama of his younger brother, the patched male regretting his decision to sit near @Antares. Though he had blatantly ignored the flirting that the Oasis Gentry had been involved in, he cannot avoid the political drama that Antares brought onto not just Andal but directly upon his head. Thankfully, @Vesuvia is by his side and Leander is comforted by the thought of not being the only one embroiled in this annoyance.

Newest member? Mismatched gaze shifts towards @Olive, then to @Ghyslaine -- tension thick in the air as Antares' actions begins to have an undesirable effect. He can only imagine that his younger sibling has gone ahead and staked his claim on the rogue yearling, much to the chagrin of those gathered, Ghyslaine included.

The King of the Mire interjects then, willing Ghyslaine to stand down -- with a tone that struck Leander as righteous. Gaze narrows as @Alaric strikes a chord within the Oasis male who can only assume that the King has given this Mire challenger the approval to fight Seneca for his crown. Though he considers Ghyslaine a close friend, it does not detract from the fact that Leander is loyal to his family and to his brother above all.

Matters are complicated when Ghyslaine offers herself up for trade, though the Miroslav cannot help but wonder if she thinks so poorly of the Oasis to do so. His mind is made up -- even with Antares running his mouth, he would not let his family be undermined -- not in this arena, not ever. "The girl will come with us to the Oasis -- you may challenge for her at a later date as you see fit," he states plainly for those gathered to hear, "we will not be accepting a trade." Gaze shifts to Antares and then to Ghyslaine, expression stony with the irritation of being dragged into unnecessary turmoil.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT NESLA

In his head, the few gathered are all rooting for him - or at least, for a good show. It felt decidedly natural being the star of said show, and unlike the apparently humble arrival of the reigning leader, Violarum intends to soak up every set of eyes with gusto. Yet, there is one pair that are particularly scrutinizing; Violarum staring back in the wake of Alaric’s quirked brow. He expected something to come of this, win or lose.

He might have been more attentive had his attentions not been so grasped by the wheat swamp-man, and though he was aware of Seneca’s arrival, he hadn’t pinned him as his opponent until the aggression of the male was exuded within his approach. Violarum had begun to pivot towards his left, yet was out-paced to do so - managing only to reduce the angle of impact and not quell it.

The monochrome leader collides with brunt into Vio’s left rib cage, resulting in a stagger of his weight away from the force and a surely shocked expression. He had forfeited his balance for a fleeting moment, accidentally, yet thankfully ensuring a lack of splintered bones - the assault inflicting dramatic bruising and a loss of breath. This was a real battle. The kind in which a man might never be the same.

Then the burn of the male’s teeth sinking into flesh; piercing muscle on the left side of his spine, just missing vital nerves. A thunderous snarl signals his opponents success, an instinctive swing of his head attempting to return the assault as Violarum regains his balance. He would try to sink his teeth into the functional muscle of Seneca’s left shoulder with ambition to hold, hoping to buy enough time to swivel on his hinds, seeking to bring the duo to a more chest-to-chest position.

{Violarum vs @Seneca
Andal Oasis - Round 1 of 5}
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 5 + 7 + 9 + 16 + 4 + 6 + 1 + 15

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 10 + 15 + 6

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 4 + 11 + 17 + 15

@Violarum VS. @Seneca FOR WHAT
— ROUND 1 RE-ROLL, BARBARIAN LEVEL 5 PERK —

As per the level 5 Barbarian trade perk, Violarum is re-rolling their dice for round 1 of this fight. This re-roll was performed by @Spu on Discord, and automatically replaces the previous rolls for this round.

Violarum Hits: 7 +14 +11+ 2 +15 +4 +13 +14
Violarum Dodges: 3+ 4 +18
Violarum Luck: 7+18+ 13 +13+ 15