T a l i s a

Talisa was happy yet also disappointed that no one had seemingly come to her to try and fight while the rest of her friends at her sides kept getting picked off one by one. It was like schoolyard style team-picking where she was the last one standing and while she wasn't one to be saddened by such a thing, her newfound sense of self was rather hurt. So as she took a few steps forward and gauged those around her she swiftly turned her head to see a white male apparently claiming someone into the Bluffs. That was a non-friendly pride, right? Yes, yes it was. Okay, Talisa. You can do it. Tell him NO YOU CAN'T YA BIG MEANIE. and then do it.

The pump up and as she prepared herself was the start of an underdog story as Talisa called out to @Xerxes. I don't think so. She won't be going to the Bluffs. Yeah, confidently talk big at him and express that he had made a terrible decision in claiming someone (though, she couldn't tell if it was something that had been accepted or not by the claimed party but she was doing this in the heat of the moment).

So the Valour rushed forward with her head lowered and threw her right front paw upwards in an attempt to slash her claws against Xerxes' left shoulder. All the while once she was close enough, attempting to bash her head against his. Just fight, Talisa. Endure and press onward.

Talisa vs. Xerxes
for Minor Maim (tbd)
1 of 5
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 5 + 12 + 13 + 9

Dodges:

Rolling 6d20: 20 + 10 + 1 + 13 + 17 + 7

Luck:

Rolling 7d20: 14 + 2 + 6 + 9 + 10 + 3 + 12

Tullia Valour

She pulled the joint, feeling her moral values crumble in this stressing situation. If she wanted she could be more savage, but she would not, she didnt want to lower herself into her attacker's level of attacking others unprovoked or with the wish to harm. And if she did, she was doing so on self defense. But as her jaws were busy with the enemy's leg, she felt jaws on her own leg clamping down, in a reaction she aimed to pull it away, but knowing that it could cause damage. Feeling her skin rupture as she did. Some flesh out. But this wasn't the time to lick wounds, not yet. She would attempt to pull again, harder this time, wanting to cause more pain and perhaps drive her attacker away. Ignoring the pain from her own wounds.

Tullia vs @Ashtoret
Minor Maim
Round 3 - 5
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 10 + 16 + 19 + 3 + 20 + 5

Dodges:

Rolling 6d20: 10 + 16 + 5 + 3 + 1 + 15

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 19 + 10 + 6 + 8 + 12 + 14

+1 to luck from Parvati being lead advisor

code by corvus

Sláine's teeth easily found their way over Aquila's left brow, tearing from around where his mane began towards the extension of his eye bow. Her lower teeth coming dangerously close to the eyeball, his vision out of that eye swimming in red blood. Obscured. Her teeth gripped at the flesh, skin pulled from bone painfully in that area without much muscle. Meanwhile her meandering claws succeeded in gripping into both sides of his maned neck. He felt the added weight, he felt light scratches forming in his skin down below as her grip there too solidified.

He did not want her to get comfortable. He aimed to lift his jaw upwards, attempting to deepen his own grip and attempt to force her body up a bit. One of his forepaws slid forwards in the mud and he aimed to further facilitate this by leaning his weight further forwards, attempting loom further into her space.

@Sláine vs. Aquila
Minor Maim
Round 2 / 5
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 16 + 2 + 1 + 13 + 3 + 20 + 19

Dodges:

Rolling 6d20: 2 + 9 + 16 + 19 + 6 + 20

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 18 + 6 + 14 + 11

ART BY NICOLEXV , CODE BY LARS

Haven't I given enough?
Always the fool with the slowest heart

Hrefna snarled as she felt the impact of her shoulder slamming into the lioness, the muscle there throbbing with pain that surely hinted at the bruising to follow. Her claws ripped at the lioness' shoulder, though their added distance caused them to slip off of the lioness in a manner that was hardly as satisfying as Hrefna would have liked.

Though her opponent reared up to prevent her from successfully biting at the ear, instead she aimed again to try and latch her jaws around the left side of the lioness' neck in a greedy snapping motion. She snarled as she felt red-hot pain on her right shoulder from where claws ripped into her flesh, opening lacerations that bubbled and dripped with fresh blood. With her head tucked forward in an attempted bite, the other woman's teeth managed to clip against the top of her head in mild puncture wounds as she used her superior weight to stand strong.

Maintaining her balance on her three limbs, Hrefna lunged her right paw forward again and attempted to slam it down upon the lioness' left paw with her blackened claws unsheathed.

---

Hrefna vs. @Ghyslaine
Minor Maim (half ear)
Round 2 / 5
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 12 + 14 + 6 + 17 + 5

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 12 + 5 + 7 + 17

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 11 + 1 + 15 + 9 + 8

Another pride challenge? Maybe he'd pass. The last one had been so lame. Just a scuffle on the shore while everyone else glared and bared fangs. Aurochs considered himself a peaceful, easygoing guy, so if he'd been the most interesting thing there then that was pretty sad for the island. However. He had been the most interesting thing there, and nobody had assaulted him for his arrogance, so why not show off some more? There could be girls there.

Old nervousness tinged at the back of his mouth as he passed the trodden boundaries. He scowled and stomped it down, replacing fear with anger. Everyone else smelled so angry and bleeding. Lots of girls were fighting in the mud, which, hot. Hope they only got hot scars. The only seats available were unfortunately damp. Aurochs remained standing, at first slightly annoyed, but he was then completely distracted by the most savage fight. A split form, white and grey female @Saga squared off with a wonderfully dark brown swirled lady @Erna who seemed part of the mire itself. They were both obviously skilled and neither of them seemed to only want hot scars. Aurochs leaned forward to jeer "Yeah momma! Dig it! Clench those cheeks baby don't let her take you down!"

The mass of lions only seemed to continue to grow in size, along with an uptick in violence and a metallic scent of opened wounds. It was clearly evident how the families felt about each other, a rivalry any smart lion would take care not to choose sides on. While he had little reason to believe anyone would seek him out, he also had no desire to be dragged into something that he and his family had no stock in. Rather than be happened upon in the brush, his curiosity satisfied, he would shift from his spot. Recluse would melt into the dense vegetation in which he had come, heading northward towards home. He would leave the fighting to those who had reason for it.

-Exit Recluse-

image by moogle/code by saph

there is a cold that settles over her, an icy chill that she cannot quite understand. it is not the winter air, that is a different kind of frigid, but something bone-deep and all consuming. asteria imagines she can see the black wave, imagines too that the red rises to meet it. Trapped between the two she is unaware that she is shaking — her eyes are fixated on the brutal fight before her. @Hiccup comes and breaks her trance; she blinks and looks up at him, confused as she is pulled from her haywire thoughts. “No,” a quiet murmur, a denial of his request to leave, “I have to stay.” There is a hollowness to her statement, an empty acceptance that she must bear witness to this moment. There are others fighting, strangers mostly, and yet she only glances at the chaos. Alaric fighting for his throne does not interest her, even if the sight of him surges the red higher. If Saga dies today she will blame him for robbing her of her sight and leading to her demise. “No,” she repeats again when @Nero comes, and she cannot think of whether or not her bluntness will upset him. “I need to stay. I need to see…” Claws clutched at the ground as she resists the requests of her best friends. Wide eyed, then, she looks from one to the other. “I have to know.” Desperate for them to understand. a hurricane does not run from the rain

code // art // do not use without permission

The call of war boiled blood from several legions of ancestors. Walpurgis was a WARRIOR, bound for glory and renown (and ladies, and prime rib) and she would not miss this! She would, however, get briefly lost. What was the difference between mire and rainforest anyway? It was all humid and thick but eventually she found her way, assiduously surveying after the treads of many others. Her pawprints would be deepest, her fangs bloodiest, and her claws sharpest!

She had fought here recently, helping her friend Alaric against his enemies. She hadn't known his name or that they were friends until later. That knowledge hadn't been needed to fight then, and it wasn't needed now. As a rogue she would also come surge with all the other flies, hunting for blood and glory; as High WARRIOR she craved war just as much, but she had a clear side. She was with the Mire and against anyone attacking them. She swaggered into the fray, growling and baring teeth at anyone who might pass her gaze. If someone dared to stare at her for too long, that meant they were the enemy!

He'd begged his boys in harshest tones to stay where they were, hidden from the chaos breaking across the valley. Lysander had been a shadow of himself since the birth, but he put on a mask of a stoic, watchful father as best he could. Losing their only daughter, followed by the harshness with which Hrefna had dealt with that loss... it had left him with a ragged hole of grief which he chose to pointedly ignore rather than deal with.

Even now as he looked at the black and golden children he left behind he had to force himself to trust in his pridemates, chuffing for someone nearby to come and keep an eye on them should they decide to answer their aunt Saga's call foolishly. He wouldn't lose any more children, nor would his let their mother risk her life alone. The golden brute finally tore away after his would-be wife in the direction of the Mire.

When he reached her she was already fighting one of the many battle rampaging around him. It was the largest battle he'd ever seen, so much that he couldn't even spot an open opponent for himself, but he lowered himself into a defensive position all the same. Come on, then. I'm here. Ruby eyes glittered an invitation as he searched for anyone he could name enemy.

lysander is searching for an opponent!_{BG — ART — CODE}

OOC: Permission given by @Shan for this post to happen! Both parties are in agreement, and both PvPs of our characters bump up a level due to trespassing (Louve to yellow & Cirilla to green).

Cirilla heard the call erupt through Amaryllis before her mother had come to collect her. The child had been studying poisonous plants when it interrupted her chain of thoughts, and her interest immediately switched. It was interesting to hear a call for a pride, but it was even more interesting when that call came from a member of her own family. Cassandra was a lioness she knew about, a lioness she had learnt that was a member of her family through marriage, and therefore she was blood. Nadia had told her that blood meant everything - you protect your family to the death.

So when Cirilla arrived into the Mire to the sweet sound of war and carnage, there was a thunder that reverberated within her chest. The Sigrun child was confident in her abilities, and her sheer determination would drive her forward. As the ten-month-old wades her way through the muddy terrain and swampy areas to the depths of the Mire where the fighting was taking place, there is a sickening curiosity in her stomach. Rosé eyes take a moment to watch - to observe what was happening and who was fighting. The smell of anger, lust, hatred and rich blood hung heavy in the air, and she wanted to inhale it all like a crazed beast frothing at the mouth.

It is not @Úlla she notices first in her fight against her opponent, but it is instead @Saga that her eyes fall upon. She was something of a martyr to the young lioness, a woman that symbolized everything Sigrún and one day - somehow - Cirilla wanted to be exactly like her. It becomes apparent very quickly that she is fighting a Rike, and the girl can only assume that this fight would be to the death, just like the last time she had witnessed Aunt Saga fight. The Jarl had been successful, and the child could only hope that Vellen's wish would be for a very similar outcome this time. If Saga fell to the Rike, what would that make the Sigrún? The thought was not one Cirilla wanted to think about.

Reluctantly, the girl's eyes move away from the two lionesses and onto her mother. She, too, is locked in battle, but it does not seem like she is fighting for her life. There is a sense of pride that grows in her chest as she takes a moment to watch the vicious attacks that Úlla attempts, and for a minute the girl could not be more proud of her lineage.

But then she pauses, and looks, and asks herself: What am I fighting for?

And at that moment, the brown lioness knows what she needs to do. She is surrounded by family that are fighting for what they believe in, and it was only right that she did the same. Her eyes look for someone similar to her age (for who was she to fight a fully grown adult?), who she guessed might be the enemy, and it is then that her eyes fall on @Louve ♔. Cirilla remembers what her mother had taught her: study and know your opponent before going into battle. The child licks her lips, eager to stick her tiny needles into enemy flesh, but first she observes. Louve is bigger than Cirilla, so there is opportunity there for the girl to be stronger. But Cirilla was smaller, more agile - more careful.

Without a word to anyone, without a second thought or consideration for the consequences she was about to face, Cirilla Sigrún made a beeline for the child. Baring her teeth, rolling forward her shoulders and pinning her ears against her crown, the girl closed the gap between her and the Dieudonné.

Approaching from Louve's right side, Cirilla attempts to use the momentum she's built from her approach to lunge forward in a bid to get their bodies to clash, aiming to push her left shoulder into Louve's tricep. The goal was to wind and to shock. Simultaneously, the child would part her jaws and attempt to lock them onto Louve's flesh, aiming specifically for the loose tissue that protected her neck, so that she could gain purchase on the vulnerable tissue that protected a vital part of the body. Cirilla knew that this was an enemy, and the enemy needed to fall.

Cirilla vs. Louve
Minor Maim (Facial Scarring)
Round 1 of 5
Hits:

Rolling 2d20: 7 + 16

Dodges:

Rolling 2d20: 1 + 13

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 17 + 6 + 2 + 13

referenced lion anatomy

table by ferus, art by ale-tie