So I run to the river It was bleedin', I run to the sea It was bleedin', I run to the sea It was bleedin', all on that day Things began to move fast when others showed and Nusura noted by the youth in the sound of their voices and the dimensions of them in the watery light that many were young. One declared a race, of all things, and Nusura felt a tension weaving through her. Was this a game? While @Violarum spoke to them, she responded fluidly to the touch of his shoulder, every sense as bright and sharp as a dagger as things unfurled. @Rielus arrived and she dared to feel a twinge of confidence, a shift of weight in the odds. Then the others launched an attack against the stranger who was trying to leave with them. When @Brynja began to leave, Nusura aimed to step nearer, her tail swinging to tap Violarum in a quiet urging. She didn’t know his relation to the girl, but their priority here was Brynja. Perhaps they could do something for the girl later, but to try to fight her now – especially if she was a member of Andal, and not a prisoner like Brynja – would escalate things out of their favor. That’s when something launched from the dark toward Brynja, and Nusura caught just in time it with a glint in her white eyes like metal. Without thinking, the black lioness attempted to launch herself into @Kira, head bowed and aimed for the broad side of the woman’s body. Her ribs, or her abdomen. Her hind legs braced for impact, tail splayed. With poison laced in her claws, made from nightshade and calbar bean, she extends her right forepaw low and swiped upwards, aiming to grab a woman’s soft underbelly to hook her claws in, while keeping her left forepaw planted firmly on the ground. @Nusura, @Brynja vs. @Kira Dominance Round 1 / 3 Hits: Rolling 5d20: 17 + 15 + 19 + 6 + 2 Dodges: Rolling 5d20: 10 + 13 + 19 + 6 + 9 Luck: Rolling 5d20: 7 + 1 + 15 + 6 + 13

art by rabbit

Kira had hardly any time to react when @Brynja slammed on the breaks, although her claws managed to grapple onto the woman's hindquarters the sudden halt was enough to jolt her in the chest. She could feel a bruise blossoming as she exhales sharply and for the moment she was focused on just Brynja, until her words resonate in her ears. It's too late and suddenly @Nusura is slamming into the left side of her ribs, bowing her away from Brynja though not without an attempt to rake her claws down her haunches when she relinquishes her grasp.

She feels claws slicing down the side of her ribcage and snarls, turning to swat her right forepaw at the left side of @Nusura's face in an attempt to make contact with the woman. An ear is flicked towards Brynja but for the immediate moment she is focused on Nusura and with a snarl she attempts to swing herself around in an effort to get Nusura's claws away from the pliant flesh of her underbelly. The lacerations on her ribs are already starting to burn like a bitch, or maybe it had just been that long since she had felt the claws of another on her skin.

Kira vs. @Brynja & @Nusura
For Dominance
Round 2/3

Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 16 + 13 + 8 + 5

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 5 + 11 + 18 + 12

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 13 + 5 + 3 + 10 + 15 + 18

code by shelby | art by irish

There was a lot going on at their borders lately, and with each beckoning call, Promaetheus' ears were alert and his muscles tense - ready to answer and see what drama unfurled next.

To this one, he was pretty late. He had been well outside of the territory when he heard the faint call on the opposite side of the border. Did he immediately know what it meant? No, but he soon would, once he showed up, seeing two separate fights going on - one including his brother.

The youngster stood on the sidelines, though, unwilling to get into a fight he didn't particularly care for. Olive was trying to leave and Brynja was trying to escape. He cared more about @Brynja leaving than he did @Olive, but he couldn't fight the adults. He was too young, too small. Not big enough.

His father had been off on some other business, and it was wise for these mire lions to plan this now... Promaetheus admired their tenacity if nothing else. Far off from most of the commotion, he sat in the sand and watched it all go down.

art & code by corvus

Brynja

Kira's fierce claws drag down both of Brynja's hips and the upper half of both hind legs. Red ruby ribbons are driven deep into her flesh and begin to bubble, begin to spill, down around to her knees. The hot air, the sand, it burned deep and painful.

Brynja whirled around in place, attempting to turn 90 degree to her left. Shifting around in the sand, loose and unstable footing and with her wrist flaring up with a white sharp pain. Brynja loomed inwards and snapped with her jowls, aiming to grab Kira's scruff in her grip. Her breath hot, her chest heaving with angry adrenaline.

@Kira vs. Brynja & @Nusura
For Dominance
Round 2/3

Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 13 + 4 + 15 + 17 + 5 + 14 + 20

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 6 + 8 + 18 + 11

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 9 + 20 + 13 + 12 + 14

So I run to the river It was bleedin', I run to the sea It was bleedin', I run to the sea It was bleedin', all on that day Her claws rake down the woman’s side, but it’s not enough. She wants to inject them into somewhere meaningful. Just as Kira’s paw slams into the left side of Nusura’s face, claws slicing open the white dripped piebald and leaving blood in its wake, she moves out of her reach. A hiss unfurls in her throat and Nusura pivots her own hips backward to attempt to avoid any further swipes and to attempt to keep Kira’s hind quarters closest to her. She can see the larger form of Brynja looming toward the woman and adjusts her own position to adapt to her pride-mate. While the wolf of a woman goes for Kira’s front, Nusura whirls and dodges to her right to aim for the woman’s backside. Nusura dips her body low, feeling the heat of the sand rising close to her belly and she unfurls her jaws toward Kira’s left hind leg, the haunch, where Nusura knows through training that vital arteries flow like rivers. She unfurls her right paw with claws outstretched simultaneously, attempting to hook them into the back of Kira’s haunch, her heel, just where the muscle begins to give way to the bone. Nusura had no expectation that the poison in her claws she intended to deliver to Kira’s bloodstream would kill her, but she felt somewhere in the back of her mind that it wouldn’t matter to her if it did. These people were waging war against her family, holding one of her own hostage (no matter if Brynja rejected Nusura’s advances of friendship), and she had made every effort to conduct this peacefully. Sometimes peace was not the answer. Sometimes the answer was justice. @Nusura, @Brynja vs. @Kira Dominance Round 2 / 3 Hits: Rolling 5d20: 2 + 5 + 6 + 9 + 18 Dodges: Rolling 5d20: 12 + 5 + 17 + 16 + 11 Luck: Rolling 5d20: 9 + 13 + 15 + 6 + 7

art by rabbit

What a mess. The pride operated on a level he was not pleased with, not allowing women to leave the pride at their own will. Doubts surfaced that Seneca would allow Ashelia or his cubs to leave at their leisure despite wanting to relocate the family. Not to the mire, but away from both the desert and the swamp. If he could sigh in a moment such as this he would have deflated from the amount of drama that amounted between the two prides when once Alaric was a pride mate to the Andal lions.

Fickle were the ties of men when women became involved he supposed. As @Victoria took off after @Olive there was a lurching inside his chest, though his face betrayed no emotion. He held a protective and soft spot for @Diantha and @Victoria. Both girls were special to him in their own manner, though he would never be blood related to them and perhaps his sway wasn't there at all. Allegiance to their father seemed instilled within their breasts, even if the cause was wrong to support.

Commotion broke out all around him and when @Artæmis launched himself at Olive all hope of the children's sense of moral rightness left him. Tan tipped paws surged forward through the shifting sands, his calloused toes used to the sifting grit as he thundered toward the boy at the lefthand side of Olive's fleeing form. He wouldn't attack Victoria, for he could never renounce himself from the girls he'd sought to protect as cubs. Instead he focused on the boy, his right forearm reached out last minute to try and grab the left side of the boy's neck while at the same time his jaws tried to clamp onto the top of the boy's neck to pinch the skin but not cause serious injury as he would attempt to pull the boy off and away from Olive.

Rielus & Olive vs. @Artæmis & @Victoria
For Olive's escape
Round 1/3
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 5 + 17 + 10 + 3 + 14 + 1 + 9

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 14 + 18 + 10 + 12 + 4

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 3 + 18 + 20 + 11

Her focus is pinpoint, dark grey eyes fixed fiercely upon her prey as her body pushed faster and harder to reach @Olive before she got too far away from the Oasis. It was certainly in Victoria's nature to question, to find out the why and everything that had lead up to this moment. But she also wasn't past making bad judgement calls and the bolting form of the woman did not look to be one who just wished to visit her friends. It looked like an escape attempt to the Miroslav Princess and she was clear in her intentions to stop it. Her gaze caught sight of one of her younger brothers (she had a hard time telling them apart still) as he came to assist and for a moment, there was a flutter of sisterly pride in her chest. Olive's evasive tactics meant that her hits had not landed entirely as she'd wanted them to - but her claws and teeth sunk into flesh nonetheless. Whilst Victoria had certainly aimed to tackle the lioness to the ground, she remained on her paws which was a feat in itself. Even with @Artæmis' pincer-like movement, Olive kept her paws under her. Victoria landed hard, an explosion of sand as her own limbs returned to the ground. And when the sand cleared - @Rielus was making a beeline for her brother. If she had had any question on the mans loyalty before, his actions solidified it entirely. Despite herself, in spite of all the hatred and nasty words she armoured herself with to keep others from thinking she cared - the flash of betrayal and real hurt that zapped through her body was unmistakable. Angry now, furious in fact, Victoria sprung forth again towards Olive's hind end - angled now as they were it would not be a straight dive. But perhaps if Victoria could knock Olive sideways into the solid form of Rielus (poor Artæmis might get squashed in the middle) then she might be able to pin the fleeing feline beneath her paws. She had some choice words for her Pseudo-Uncle, but now was not the time for them. With another hiss, Victoria launched her body forward again, chest aiming to shunt into Olive's rump and teeth once again attempting to clamp down on her spine, this time from the side. Victoria & @Artæmis vs. @Olive & @Rielus Dominance - Escape Prevention Round 2 / 3 Hits: Rolling 5d20: 8 + 2 + 20 + 12 + 5 Dodges: Rolling 3d20: 18 + 7 + 10 Luck: Rolling 5d20: 10 + 19 + 15 + 1 + 20

table by koi

hear their lies, your truth, these games

Apparently his father had been filling the pride ranks with idiots.

He would need to mention that to Seneca. The boy might be less than a year old, but he was learning quickly, and he tried to imitate Seneca in all things. If he were his father, he would not put up with any of this. And so, in his father's stead, neither with Artie.

The sounds of a second fight breaking out caught his ears, which flicked backwards as he focused on his fleeing prey, who was still attempting to escape rather than face them. It wasn't that the Oasis wouldn't release her if she asked. It was that instead of asking she was attempting to leave with members of a pride that they were actively in altercations with. That simply would not do.

Victoria lands a ghost of the hit she had intended, and the same is true for Artie as Olive tries to dodge and weave between them to lose them. It doesn't work, of course. Seneca's children are tenacious. His teeth graze her thigh just lightly, drawing blood but doing little in the way of stopping her or doing damage.

He was about to launch a second attempt at tripping the girl when the thundering of another set of paws came up beside him. He turned in time to see Rielus stopping and reaching an arm out to snag his left side, and he was too slow to dodge the incoming blow. Rielus succeeds in snagging him with both paw and teeth, pulling him away from Olive snarling.

"Traitor," he growled angrily, his voice a furious snarl with a promise that Rielus would pay for this with something dear to him, if Artie had anything to say about it. At the same time that Rielus pulled him away, Victoria launched another attack on the girl, trying to knock her sideways. Artie saw the possible ramifications, where he might be squished in the middle if Olive was knocked off balance, but he made no move to escape that fate. If it managed to hit Rielus, then all the better for them.

In the mean time, he turned and lunged towards Rielus' left paw, tearing his skin away from the male's jaws. Artie might not be a yearling yet, but he certainly wasn't so small that he would be easy to keep a hold of with such a simple pinching of the skin. He was a big boy. His jaws open, he tried to grab Rielus' leg with both teeth and claws, trying to keep him from interfering with his sister's goals.

@Victoria & Artæmis vs. @Olive & @Rielus
for dominance in response to escape attempt
Round 1 2 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 3 + 12 + 10 + 20

Dodges:

Rolling 0d20: 8

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 14 + 16 + 4 + 15 + 8

I know every secret nobody sees

code & art x inspo

olive stops for no one and nothing. not the fuming miroslav brood, not the third set of paws that rumble the sands behind her, not the weeping wounds that carve her flesh, and especially not the unfavorable odds that seek to deter her. her objective to escape a mantra that resounds in the forefront of her mind, keeping her limbs constantly pumping in hopes of maintaining her momentum. a momentum that strives to keep her ahead of the fray, that strives to ensure none have the opportunity to steer level with her. it is her own presumed speed in relation to her assailants’ that fuels her hope – even amidst her track record of failures. @Victoria and @Artæmis are persistent and unfazed by the abrupt shift in direction as olive veers right. and fear buds and blossoms in her chest, threatening to dissolve her confidence as the third lion narrows in on the boy’s side to aid them in their endeavor to stop her – or so olive believes. her limbs working harder now to increase her speed in hopes of bypassing the trio entirely as the second wave of attacks begin. victoria (her greatest opponent in comparison to the child) seemingly determined to compromise her balance as she aims to diagonally shunt her chest against the right side of olive’s rump whilst gaping jaws attempt to grip the bottom of olive’s spine. there is little that olive can do to prevent the impact other than bring her haunches closer in to her body and speed up, though the diagonal angle of victoria’s approach from her rear will see to it that she is not entirely knocked upon her side. a grunt forcing through her lips as the girl’s chest collides with the right side of her rump, causing her backside to slope downward as her limbs crumble beneath her – the hind limbs more so than the forelimbs that scramble and slide to keep some of her footing. this sudden diagonal force does inadvertently cause her body to pivot in towards victoria, likely aligning the duo in a widened “v” shape as her hips are forced to the left with the girl’s weight. victoria’s bite meets its mark on the bottom of olive’s spine to cause moderate puncture wounds, but the sloping of olive’s back with her stumble and the pivot will see to it that the hopeful grip is unobtainable. a large gash left over her spine where victoria’s bite had hit. and gods, does it hurt, eliciting a snarl of pain that feels foreign on her lips. whether @Rielus is unlucky enough to be in the way of olive’s swinging backside is unknown to the babe, but she supposes her own hips will be all that can impact the man with her forward motions up to this point. the two men largely forgotten as their attacks do not aim for her, and her mind hardly has a moment to dwell on the reason behind their sudden stop as she focuses on victoria. olive now attempting to regain stable footing before victoria can try anything else, limbs frantically scrambling beneath her in hopes of putting her back on track to run and escape from the girl’s clutches at her new angle. olive & rielus vs. victoria & artæmis for escape | dominance two of three escape: Rolling 1d10: 1

art by yumpy!

Her claws manage to slice down the side of Nusura's face but she is moving out of reach quicker than Kira can blink. In that moment she feels Brynja's teeth sink into her scruff and lets out a loud yowl, ears lacing backward as the skin is punctured. Her attention shifts entirely to Brynja for a moment, her body turning slightly as she angles to move her head downward in an attempt to snip at Brynja's chest; anything that her teeth can grasp onto would be perfect. Until she feels white hot pain in her haunch as Nusura latches on once more. This time her heel is in her grasp and again the burning ensues, but it's fuel to her fire. Kira attempts to kick out with her left hind leg in an effort to get Nusura to release her, hoping that somehow her claws might hit the woman in the process. She was outnumbered but that didn't mean she would stop fighting, after all she had a job to do.

Kira vs. @Brynja & @Nusura
For Dominance
Round 3/3

Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 18 + 7 + 4 + 13

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 9 + 7 + 3 + 15

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 12 + 18 + 17 + 2 + 16 + 6

code by shelby | art by irish