Welcome to the playground, follow me.

OUTLAW EXP
+5 Scout a neutral territory
+5 Explore a new territory and find something useful
+5 Practice speed or strength

This could be a potential new place to make a start for himself. Items to trade, talents to share, comrades to share in his dream of leisure lives, following their passions. Before he could accomplish this, he would need to meet and get in the good graces of the locals. No doubt his charm and easy-going nature would appeal to some of them.

Moving at a brisk pace into the confines of Amaryllis, the male would arrive. He would appear devoid of all color against the vibrant spring background, save a splash of small scarlet flowers entwined between long flowing curls. He smelled neither feminine nor masculine, but of a perfume that could appeal to either in sweet floral notes and more earthy sage. It was important to leave a good first impression, to be clean and groomed.

He would come to a standstill after a long morning run, eyes of black, rimmed in darkened silver would observe the surrounding area. Potent and mingling scents suggested others had been through here only recently, others potentially still in the area.

Stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream.

code by corvus

Alizabeth had been here for a bit, waiting for others to scamper in - newcomers ripe for the picking. As selective as she was, the Lagoon King still needed to search for those who might be worthy of her home. Strong, capable warriors - or other professions. The appearance of a black figure along the horizon caught her attention. Something seemed familiar about him, but she couldn't quite place it. That was, until she decided to inch closer at a slow pace. He was like Dysnomia. All black, even his eyes. How odd. Regardless, @Fissure certainly seemed lost - or had he found his way here? Ears perk a bit, clearing her throat to alert him of her presence. "Gunna burn up out here lookin' like you do. Even with the weather bein' cool." She murmurs, though took careful note of how he held himself - and the way he smelled. Very appealing, very clean - handsome. Alizabeth wasn't blind, after all.

Welcome to the playground, follow me.

She was hard to miss, a creature cloaked all in white save her face, the black band along her snout pulling the gaze there, directing them to eyes more vibrant pink than spring flowers. While he might quietly observe her with the eyes and admiration of an artist, she seemed to be watching him as well, casually or cautiously approaching. The lack of tension and ease of a clever multi-layered quip would suggest the former.

A smile of amusement and he would fall into his usual theatrics, spoken in a smooth and exotic accent. "Yes.. It is truly a curse to be so warm all the time." He mused with an exasperated sigh. "The only silver lining is that I've a talent for warming ones bed with such heat. We work with what assets we have." His eyes were playful, stance relaxed. Fissure, at your service. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to the purpose of this stretch of land? He imagined it was a gathering place, a sole entrance to the enticing lands beyond, of which this female guarded entrance? He prays the small bouncer in front of him find him worthy.

@Alizabeth

Stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream.

code by corvus

Alizabeth couldn't even lie to herself. Dude, @Fissure was fucking hot. His voice, the way he spoke - how he spoke. It was all very charming and the Lagoon King found herself grinning despite herself. Instinct swept her up in a flirtatious mood at his antics, the comment about warmth made her softly growl in a playful manner toward him. "Perhaps we'll have to test that, huh?" She teases, laughing a bit before settling to sit a couple feet from him. Indeed, she could feel the heat radiating off of him even from here. His question met her ears and she hums thoughtfully, "This is Maua's Passage, a fuckin' terrible place, really. Newcomers arrive and usually have local pride leaders fuckin' beg for them to join their prides." Alizabeth wasn't a fan of the process herself, which is why she was attempting to change it up a bit. Let them come to her - mostly, at least in theory. Of course she had to at least come and make herself known. Wasn't much fun being badass if no one noticed.

Welcome to the playground, follow me.

Offered flirtation was accepted, perhaps even appreciated by his scarred warrior lady. Her small chuckle was rather endearing, it kept her eternally young in her willingness to express herself in front of a stranger. She was not old, but he had known a number of lionesses and lions alike that tended to slowly dry into a husk, a blandness in their stare as time went on. "Of course, I would be happy to list for you my many talents, focused near entirely on customer service." He spoke with enthusiasm, a suggestive smirk. One did not thrive in such a field as this unless they knew how to keep one satisfied and how to keep them coming back for more.

A place to invite lions into various prides? It would explain the popularity, but he found it odd that prides would come to beg lions to join their ranks. @Alizabeth seemed annoyed with the concept, but was that why she was here? Was she a pride ruler herself? "Curious, I always envisioned prides treating their lands with exclusivity, only inviting the most compelling lions in, no?" He had never lived in a pride himself, though it was not out of consideration. Until he got adjusted and gathered others like himself into a band of misfits, perhaps it was a good place to start.

Stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream.

code by corvus

"i inhale great draughts of space," ♞


Still here I carry my old delicious burdens, I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go, I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them, I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.

Ah, that accent, though. Like a moth to a very black flame, Corinthian beat his ragged wings toward the newest gem that had crossed the threshold to the island. "Well if they’re all as compelling as you..." His gruff voice greets them as he approaches and trails off, husky, but he stops short of taking a chummy position near them, in particular giving space to the lagoon King the way one does an unpredictable beast. His blue eye slides to the side at her, and he pauses. Then issues a brief nod, lingering on Alizabeth’s twin scars. He hoped they had reached a kind of mutual tolerance, if not respect. It would still be days he expected before he had fully unpacked everything they had discussed and what it meant to him. Until then, he supposed any day that she was not going for his throat was a good one.

He found a nearby rock and leaned his shoulder against it, finally letting himself look at the stranger. He was grateful for the chance to steal another glance. "I am Corinthian Lesath, of Caladon Cove. Not far from here. I hate to interrupt this...regaling dialogue between you," He shrugged his shoulders, gesturing with a paw at the space between @Alizabeth and @Fissure, like it was a palpable cord of flirtation pulled tautly. He wanted to pluck at it, in fact, couldn’t help himself. He wondered if he would make them uncomfortable. For such a gruff creature, Corinthian was a shameless libertine. Why he even walks around naked nearly every second. "But the cove has need of skills, as well. Our beds are decidedly colder." He teased them both. At least his bed was cold, anyway. He wasn’t going to be so desperate as to throw it out there to a complete stranger. Maybe after a few more minutes. The smirk came in a flash on the side of his jaws. He knew for a fact that Alizabeth’s bed was a busy one. He recalled the harem of men that swarmed around her when she won the Lagoon. Well, two might not be a harem, but.

He paused, totally at ease with himself, even as his blue eye burned into Fissure with a perilous curiosity. Even should the man not leave with Corinthian, he was certain he'd like to see him again.

code by corvus

The Lagoon King couldn't help herself. A low chuckle escaped her lips and she offers him a wink, nose wrinkling at him a bit in a playful manner. "We'll definitely hafta discuss it." Alizabeth wasn't an easy woman to please. She rated anyone she decided to bed and she wasn't afraid to criticize 'em either. Don't jump in her bed unless you can give her what she wants. It was also always nice knocking a cocky dude down a peg. @Fissure didn't seem the type, however.

Attention focuses on him again as he questions the method of how others recruited. "That's how I fuckin' run my place, but anytime I see some other leader in this damn place it's, 'We got this, this, this and this, join us!' It's fuckin' stupid." Magenta eyes roll, only to land directly upon @Corinthian as he arrived. A brow arches, but she doesn't say anything to him just yet. He nods to her and she figures she might as well offer the same.

He wasn't her enemy - yet. "Not interruptin' anything we can't continue later." As the ivory male speaks, she grins a bit and looks to Fissure, then motions as if saying, Told you so. Though, the Cove male was certainly more subtle about his methods. Alizabeth had to give him that.

Shoulders roll and she hums thoughtfully, "Well, if you wanna join, you'll hafta make it worth my while. I don't allow fuckin' freeloaders, but if you're good at somethin', figure we can find you a place. Perhaps somethin' other than bed warmer." For now. She teases. The ivory woman was a bit free when it came to her own satisfaction, but she had no shame in it. As fun as it would be, her pride was far more important however, and Fissure would need to have some sort of other skill he could offer up.

Welcome to the playground, follow me.

He could not presume to know this lioness well, she might be little more than a giant tease that actively shut down any actual advances. While he was a young male, he had a surprising amount of experience in interactions like these, learned from far more experienced lions who were more than willing to share stories or give advice. He longed to return to such leisure living, for the pursuit of perfection for one's passions.

He would look on in amusement as @Alizabeth vented her annoyance at the whole process. Her fuming hatred of it only made her look that much more appealing to the male. He enjoyed fierce and powerful lionesses as much as he did gentle and dainty ones, either for different reasons.

He would only be compelled to look away at the arrival of another. A male, as battle-worn as the lioness. One eye was clouded to white, the other a captivating blue, a perfect mirror of the most vibrant azure sky. He would arrive with honeyed lips, made to entice and compel. Fissure made no effort to hide his intrigue, all held in a glint of tarnished silver eyes. "I had not come here expecting this much heat, you are truly in an eternal summer." He admitted, words aimed towards Alizabeth, but with eyes still intent on @Corinthian.

Fissure was not a one-note character though, he had more to offer than warmth. The only thing more exhilarating for him was a hunt. He aspired to take down all manner of prey in all manner of weather and terrain. Beyond that, he could also craft some intriguing items, be they strictly for viewing or tasting. "My fangs are for prey and the thrill of the hunt. I am not much of a warrior, though I enjoy a good tussle when there is a reward on the line. Aside from that, all things have a price, and I am a fine salesman, be it for myself or in service to a home." He informed them both.

He was clearly undecided on which of them appealed to him more at that moment. Both had qualities he found quite intoxicating. What was the answer then? He would hate for either of them to run out on him too soon, at least give him a breadcrumb trail from him to later follow, an invitation to seek the one unchosen out at a later date.

Stay for the night, I'll sell you a dream.

code by corvus

"i inhale great draughts of space," ♞


Still here I carry my old delicious burdens, I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go, I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them, I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.

Alizabeth was giving her usual spiel about freeloaders and Corinthian couldn’t help but feel the generational gap between them. What a boomer. In all honesty, no pride could possibly expect someone not to contribute. It seemed like something that should go without saying. As it were, if anyone he brought home chose to embarrass him with laziness, he would kick their ass right into the sea. Perhaps he should be including more threats in his recruitment efforts.

His eye glanced from @Alizabeth back to @Fissure, and the soldier felt himself perk up when the crow-black man divulged his vital skillset, and with such a sultry twang. He could listen to him talk all day, really. Having been leaning on a rock, Corinthian heaved himself away from it and took his more typical stature of something akin to parade rest. It felt good for social interactions to come to him so easily, again. For so long he’d felt uncomfortable in his own skin. But there were times to be a rapscallion, and there were times to be a soldier. More still, this was a time to be gentry. As though the teasing and banter were over, and his demeanor shifted to accommodate the sincerity of work to be done.

"Your skills are needed anywhere, and I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting you don’t know you have to do your part. So the real question is what do you want? What is it you seek?" His blue eye rested on the man, seeking over the brushed iron of his eyes for the spark of life. Although Caladan was in need of hunters, he was genuinely hungry to know more about the lion with bursts of color braided into his mane.

code by corvus

Apparently @Corinthian was too young to have really been around long enough to know how lazy and useless lions could be after they get comfortable in a pride. There were so many instances where she'd seen others join a pride, only to do nothing but sleep, eat and shit - and fuck. No helping with hunts, or recruiting, nothing. Perhaps it was overdoing it by making it obvious what she wanted, but better safe than sorry. She didn't want to waste her time on someone who couldn't appreciate her desire to find capable beings for her home.

Alizabeth was used to not being understood. She came from a different time - so yes, she was a boomer, but she could still kick your ass. In a perfect world, yes, everyone would work to do their part and provide for the pride. But the world wasn't perfect, and Amaryllis especially was not. As the ivory male spoke of insulting the intelligence of @Fissure, the Lagoon King can't help but let out a snort.

"Kiss ass." She mutters, wrinkling her nose at the Cove man. Attention shifts to @Fissure. In all honesty, she had no idea what he was expecting. Alizabeth was a woman who knew what she wanted and would take it. "I've worked with salesman before. Many a fuckin' time. In fact, my current Lead Medic is a hired paw. With that said, a certain level of fuckin' loyalty is still expected." She'd pay whatever the price was, she didn't skimp out on things of this nature. Everything has a price, indeed. If the male didn't come with her today, perhaps he'd do better with Corinthian and all his pretty words anyways.

Alizabeth had her pride, and she would stand by not begging or trying to sell herself or her home.