claiming welcomed, she won't fight it ^^

Willow didn't care anymore. In fact, she cared so little it didn't even seem worthwhile to try. Loneliness gnawed away at her and now, her only.. friend? was gone. She'd thought they had bonded in some way, connected over shared bullshit – or maybe it was only shared dislike. The golden lioness didn't care anymore. She didn't care where she lived. She didn't care who she served. Willow only wanted something to absorb the loneliness and fend it off as much as possible. Shit, she would gladly go back to Ecrosia.. but she wanted to see what else was out there before slinking back. It didn't seem like anyone there would be too forgiving, though, so..

She sat. And she waited. And she tried not to dwell on how absolutely unlikeable she was. Stupid girl, things weren't meant to go her way. It was best to bow her head and relinquish her freedom to a life of servitude if for no other reason than at least she would have company. Willow didn't care. She only waited for whoever her new master might be.

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

Peace seemed a distant dream in those days. Sahir, even during trips to the passage he once used to regard as welcome breaks from the mundane, was constantly racked with worry over the fate of Amaryllis and especially of Caladan. Even when the wind and rain broke, there was the constant threat of looming gray clouds. He wondered if it would ever end, the storming preventing him from even getting a good look at the night sky for guidance.

Approaching the sand bar that day, he was surprised to see a golden figure standing poised. Her thin frame suggested it was a lioness rather than a maned lion, just standing there rather than visibly seeking anything out. Arching one brow as he attempted to approach, Sahir spoke.

"You okay?" He asked, tilting his head slightly as he studied her. "Sand bar isn't safe. I take you to my cove," Sahir explained with a slight toss of his head in the direction he knew Caladan to be.

"I am Sahir. What is your name?" He asked.

---

Sahir vs. ---
claiming Willow
Round 0 / 3
|| may y8 | four years | CC high sovereign | at maua's passage | @Willow ||
+5 - BWP-related exp
+5 - Claim a lioness or cub

ART BY MAX, CODE BY LARS

Her ears drew forward at the sound of approaching footsteps. It was a man she had never seen before, not that it would matter. Willow had resigned herself to simply going with the first warm body that managed to stumble across her wayward little self. It wasn't surprising for him to immediately stake a claim, either, and she only signed softly at the idea of being returned to a life of serving others. "As you wish, sir." The golden lioness lifted her head, wondering what this Caladan would be like. "My name is Willow. Lead the way when you're ready." Her tail flicked idly by her haunches. This was her life now.

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

Plot twist. Violarum was not expecting to find @Willow here again, and there came a vague sense of urgency as he caught her familiar scent upon the breeze and hastened his otherwise lazy wander. Of course, the golden woman could as easily reject him for an unwanted familiarity, but it didn't pass his mind - gravitating towards the woman for his like for her, and a promise he once made to keep her safe.

Unfortunately, he is not the first to find her, @Sahir seeking to usher her off to his sandy paradise. But, what about a tropical rainforest paradise instead? A chuff announced himself, hurried, calling for the meek lioness to wait, and he clumsily found himself within their direct company soon enough.

"Willow," a vague pant, crimson gaze skipping between the Caladan leader and the feather-wearing woman, "Want to try the Rainforest - or want to go with him?" She deserved the choice at least. Of course, as was becoming usual for the new King - he still wore the somewhat restricting injuries of a prior fight, his face bloodied and encrusted. Still, he'd give it his best.

Violarum vs @Sahir
for Willow - Round 0 of 3 _{— code}

"As you wish, sir." The lioness merely nodded and moved to obey him, her demeanor unsettling to Sahir. He watched her in a moment of silence, trying to understand why she seemed so disheartened when he was offering her shelter and safety. Whatever the case, he did not suppose getting to the bottom of it at that exact moment was realistic. "My name is Willow. Lead the way when you're ready."

"Come," he agreed with a nod and another gesture in the right direction. However, before they could make any ground, another voice panted her name. Sahir pricked his ears forward on his skull and craned his neck to see Violarum of all lions, his saturated unders a dead giveaway. "Want to try the Rainforest - or want to go with him?" The lion asked breathlessly, pricking annoyance upon his skin like burrs.

"The mire is agreed to not challenge," he reminded the brute with an impatient flash of his teeth. He would not turn his cheek for them a second time.

---

Sahir vs. @Violarum
claiming @Willow
Round 0 / 3

_{BG — ART — CODE}

Willow certainly hadn't expected @Violarum to show up -- or maybe she'd simply hoped he wouldn't. It was downright embarrassing to be back at the passageway, whimpering and begging for an ounce of attention from whoever happened upon her first. Her cheeks flushed as she hung her head, glancing between him and @Sahir, who defended his claim with barbed words. Ah, so, there was tension to be found between the prides? Willow didn't think it was any of her business to pry, so she didn't. She only spoke to Violarum when there was a pause. "No, this.. this is the way of things, this is fine. He claimed me, it's fine. I'll go.. um, congrats, by the way." Willow offered him a thin smile, hoping it would soothe things over.

Doubtful.

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

He wanted her to be straight with him, or rather he needed her to be. Yet, Violarum should have known the soft and malleable lady would not speak up for her own fate. Still, on the day he had released her, she seemed to know what she wanted - was she lost again?

The clay male's face gives little away, a neutrality maintained even beneath @Sahir 's frustration. "Rainforest, not Mire," he corrected, puffing up his burly breast to appear a little more King-ish, as if hoping the Caladan lord might notice a crown. Still, as much as Violarum didn't particularly want to fight the lizard-hunter, he would.

"I fight, so @Willow can choose," limbs squared beneath umber frame, waiting for the leader to initiate. He figured that was... nicer?

Violarum vs @Sahir
for Willow - Round 0 of 3 _{— code}

He glanced to the lioness as she reassured Violarum weakly that she was alright with the claim, though it did little to deter the lion's challenge. "Rainforest, not Mire," the lion corrected, and Sahir pressed his lips into a thoughtful line. Had this lion really overthrown Talitha without him noticing? Twitching his tail thoughtfully, the threat of challenge looming in the air, Sahir tried to imagine what Basira would do.

"Or," he interjected after a few beats of silence, "we make a deal." Violarum seemed to care more for this lioness than he did – clearly a prior history there, whatever it was.

"Make alliance with the cove not to challenge us. Same as with Alaric: we bleed together and we feast together. As courtesy, she can choose this time." He posed his terms, staring at the brute from his readied stance as he waited for an answer. Such an arrangement would prove far more valuable than a single meek lioness.

"If not, we fight."

---

Sahir vs. @Violarum
claiming @Willow
Round 0 / 3

_{BG — ART — CODE}

Well, that was irritating. Willow did her best not to let her frustration show as the men spoke, @Violarum insisting on a fight while @Sahir insisted on a deal. She frowned to be used as a bargaining chip for an alliance and muttered under her breath, only wishing she could be on her way to whatever new home she would be thrust into. This was stupid. Willow bristled and shifted her weight, growling softly at the audacity being traded between them. It seemed there was little she could say to alter the course of what was to transpire, so she simply stood there with an agitated look on her face. None of this would have happened if Falki hadn't just fucked off. Falki. And this was the guy who'd stolen his girl? Willow didn't know if she could stomach living with the two lions knowing how devastated her friend had been. Had. That was in the past now, she guessed. Her teeth clenched. Fuck. "I choose Caladan, Vio." Would that be enough?

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

Deals and politics did not hold the same language of comfort as a brawl, and the clay male has every intention of making their understanding more physical. Yet, he ponders the situation for long enough, vaguely bristling. Perhaps, if @Sahir hadn't said 'same as the mire', he would have been more considerate to the idea.

No part of Violarum wanted to 'follow in Alaric's footsteps'. He had left that position to forge his own, with his family and friends. Yet, before anything can truly be done, @Willow speaks. Vio shrunk, his shoulders sagging away from battle-readiness. "Oh," a mopey expression cast to the golden woman, not really having expected her to choose a stranger over him.

Had he done something wrong?

"Okay," a shallow inhale, crimson gaze returning to the beach-King, "I think about it." And he sought to depart with a slack gait and a sad glance to the feather woman, amidst the weather-ravaged sea's that hissed along the coastline.

-- exit _{— code}