singing softly a siren's song, As Amara had advised, she was to train with @Louve ♔. Who the girl was, or what she was training her for remained unseen. Of course, she was a stranger to ranks. Gentry wasn't something she'd originally saw herself mustering for, yet had clawed her way into a victory much to Vermier's pleasure. Now she held that mantle, whatever it meant, for better or worse. The only stipulation received thus far was to train with Louve, Amara's daughter.

Red rock lay about her, open and prone to the elements. Wind blustered against the soft woolen coat, not nearly as thick as she'd like it to be. Haunches found themselves within the dust, back to a shriveled gnarled juniper tree. Just enough to take the edge off the wind but not enough to fully steel her against the cold air. Whatever lay in store she was not the frigid structure that Amara posed.

*note: this is set before the OH challenge!

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Days like this were when she longed most for the shelter of trees. The caress of shadow.

Up here they were exposed to the elements; sitting ducks trapped in an icy winter. Louve loathed the cold, yet one would never know it to see her. The young heiress strode purposefully through her pridelands, seemingly unbothered by the blustering wind at her side.

Still she is surprised to find another out here, coming to an abrupt stop, narrowed yellow eyes focused on the stranger. "You should get out of ze cold," she advised, her voice oozing with a sense of superiority. Peons, didn't they know any better?

@Lycaonia

singing softly a siren's song, Winter was quite malleable in terms of one decking their den with hides and furs of all styles, and then promptly spending most of their time indoors. Yet she was not the woman to remain idle long, today she intended to fulfill the training requirements Amara saw fit. While she walked across the bluffs she marked a trail as she went, both in her mind and arranging a pile of stones every so-often where others might see the pattern to either side of the sage dusted ground. The trail lead to the gnarled juniper tree where she sat now amidst the cold and snow. Flakes had begun to drift slowly down to the ground.

A voice shook the stillness, cutting the quiet like a knife. "You should get out of ze cold." Accented words rifled her peace, reminded her of many who lived along the cliffsides. Such prevalence of the accent in day-to-day life brought little misunderstanding to her now, finding that where once one of Vermier's kin was hard to understand they were now easy enough to respond to. You are here. Simple retort broke the cold air, trickling warm vapor-breath from between nutmeg lips. I'm seeking @Louve ♔. I was told to train with her. Do you know her? Had she paid attention to the inner workings of her pride she would have known this was Louve; however, she was not the brightest nor best of pride mates kept in attendance. Only now she had to care who was who.

+5 Mark a trail through a territory (1/2)

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Ah and how the retort ruffled her feathers. Louve sniffs and looks away, tipping her chin up to study the swirling flakes of snow that were lifted by the wind. "I 'ave lived 'ere all my life. I am used to ze cold." It was true, to an extent, though she much preferred the summer. The cold was unfavorable, but she was not about to let on how much it sunk beneath her skin.

"Why do you need to train with 'er?" Because obviously she was interested in knowing just what this stranger was up to, and who had sent her. Amused, clearly, and not so quick to let on just who she was... This could be fun, and she was in dire need of some fun.

@Lycaonia

singing softly a siren's song, Pale coat blended with the drab surroundings peppered in snow. At times the sun rose high enough, reaching its arms out long enough to melt what was on the red rocks. Still a chill clung to the air, deepening at night, leaving frost across the sage and other hardier plants that made their home among the dryer climate.

From @Louve ♔'s response gathered some surprise on the blonde face. She'd come here within earlier years of her life but not willfully, only because she sought protection from those like the lion she'd met by the tidepools, having seen Vermier as a formidable opponent for any that might threaten her at the time. Much changed with time. That's pretty impressive. Sunset eyes gripped the greys of the other woman's face, curious about her now that she knew this was her place of birth (assuming when Louve said her whole life it had been quite literal).

Amara told me to train with her. Flecked shoulders shrugged at that prospect, unsure what the training was for. She didn't say for what. Now her eyes cast back to the trail she'd marked with small piles of stacked rocks. But I was marking this path for others. It's a shortcut through the pride land. Paws moved toward the entrance of the dusty pathway, imprinted with marks from her previous journey in the crusted snow.


+5 Mark a trail through a territory (2/2)

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Saffron eyes narrow ever so slightly, trying to determine if there was sarcasm to be found in the other's words. Louve didn't detect any, but she still found the response rather... odd. Impressive? "I 'ardly z'ink eet ees impressive; I did not choose to be born 'ere. I adapted." A slight shrug, dismissive, the topic boring her.

Amara sending this stranger to train with her was a far more interesting subject. "Strange z'at z'e queen would send you on a mission wizout z'e details, non?" Louve could not imagine what kind of training Amara would want her to do with @Lycaonia; surely her education should be left to more.... familiar claws? Those of family, preferably.

Her gaze flicks to the path, then, with a small purse of her lips. "And do you z'ink eet ees smart to mark shortcuts -- what eef eet ees enemies z'at find it?" While not entirely kind her words are not malicious; there is a ring of genuine curiosity, there.

singing softly a siren's song, Even if the sooty female didn't find living within one pride land their entire life impressive, she still did. Most lions didn't live one place their entire lives, much like she. Before Amaryllis she'd lived a nomadic lifestyle, drifting wherever wanderlust gusted. Since coming to the island she'd primarily lived among the red rock cliffs. Allowing the dismissive shoulders to lead their conversation nothing more came from nutmeg lips.

Sunset eyes looked out over the brush that kept the cliffside dwelling from being completely boring under observance. "I took the gentry rank for Vermier. Amara didn't say why I was to see you, just that I needed to." Why did everyone expect her to know things? Out of all the lions that honored the bluffs as their home she was by far the least competent for any position. Yet here she stood before @Louve ♔, looking for the very lioness that stood in front of her none the wiser.

Eyes drifted to the trail she'd marked, a shortcut across the pride land, then flicked back to the smoky face momentarily, and back again. "How would anyone know what it's for unless I told them?" Seemed obvious enough to her, though perhaps the other lioness had a point. An observation which she wouldn't have made alone.

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"My Maman can be confusing at times," she admits almost too casually, revealing little bits of her identity to the stranger, entertained by this little game. The question was -- had Amara told her that Louve was her daughter? If so the gig was up, and Louve's fun would come to a screeching halt.

Her gaze followed @Lycaonia's to the trail that had been marked, then turned back to the woman. "I z'ink z'ere are othairs z'at will realize z'e rocks do not naturally pile z'at way..." It wasn't exactly impossible to figure out, especially if you were an enemy looking for the markings of a trail...

singing softly a siren's song, Family relations held tight within the inner workings of Wolfbron Bluffs. Most unexpected by the Dawnbringer, who only knew as much as was revealed to her and nothing more. Ever rare did she partake in the motions of the pride politics, only now ensconced due to her rivalry for the gentry rank. Not that she had particularly wanted the rank. Sunset eyes widened at the information divulged from @Louve ♔'s lips, shocked by the news of kinship between this girl and the matriarch. "Amara is your mom?" Although, she wasn't the most intelligent being, floating through life at a calm pace with little to question.

The topic, inevitably, fell back to the trail she'd marked minutes before meeting Louve. Flitting moment brought vague thought over the idea of someone else knowing rocks weren't just stacked, but she was unconvinced they would know why they were stacked. "Does Wolfbron have many enemies?" Months and months had passed since she'd arrived into the pride, still she did not know the state of the pride's relationships with other prides. Friends, foes, whatever drama the French denizens conjured were not known to her.

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"Oui," she answers, with little desire to mask the truth any longer. A grin, then, "Louve Dieudonne," with a bit of flourish, "at your service." it was debatable just how much service Louve would be, but she was clearly amusing herself by suggesting it.

A small shrug of her shoulders at the latter question. "A few. Z'ere are many in z'is land z'at 'old grudges." Not that her family wasn't deserving of the ire. Mostly, though, Louve just preferred to be prepared and to consider all possibilities. "One can never be too prepared, non?" Better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, or something like that.

@Lycaonia