Lithe thing it was, cloaked in warm ink that dripped down to fill all the cracks in its surface. Oil and leather, supple but firm, unyielding. Someone had loosed their hound and not thought to call her back, or perhaps they no longer could.

The silken beast padded almost delicately across the sandbar, nostrils flaring as she took in the briny scent of surf and sand all at once, it filled her lungs with saline dampness that was thin and green. It was unfamiliar, but so was everything else that she had seen in the past few days. Everything was new and empty and full at once and it made her mind curl protectively at its edges, as if that could protect her from the assault of so much novelty at once. The only familiar thing in her sight was the woodsy hue of her own paws as they brushed over damp sand.

Dobromira dragged her metaphorical chain behind her, gnawed through by happenstance. She felt its weight, less now than it was before, and it made the fur between her shoulders rise in uneasiness. That chain was a constant she had always counted on for better or worse, and without that tug at her neck the freedom made her feel as though she was learning to walk all over again. Her body did not reflect such a state of disarray, at least not if she could help it. Head held high, but not too high, shoulders relaxed, lips relaxed, whiskey eyes rolling in a steady sweep across the sands. A flash of pink saw her tongue glide along the side of her muzzle as she came to a halt, taking in the scents of this place.

Salt, sand, the coming and going of many bodies. The place seemed popular.

LION, CODE BY LARS

She was hardly fit to be walking to the passage, but when she had challenged for the rank of gentry she had made a pledge of a sort to help support the pride. Part of that was recruiting, and it had been quite a while since she had brought Carina home after challenging for her. It was time to do her duty, broken leg or not. It was healing, anyways, even if the process was slow, and she had begun to master the method of walking on three legs. It would be easier if the leg was missing entirely since there wouldn't be an immobile limb in her way, but she'd much rather regain use of it if she could.

The biting cold of deep winter cut through her fur and into her flesh, causing the broken leg to develop a deep ache as she limped, doing her best to keep the limb from touching the ground while she moved. A dusting of snow had attempted to coat the landscape, mixing with the sandy ground of the passage and getting blown away by the wind off the seas, unable to truly stick here where the land was low and warmer than elsewhere in Amaryllis. She was a creature born and raised in the savanna, her fur not suitable for this kind of weather. She shivered, steeling herself. It had to be done.

As she approached the entrance to this land, one she had traveled herself twice before, she spotted a figure coming to a halt, tasting the air for the scents of the place she had found. No doubt she would notice the same thing they all did. The number of smells that permeated the air above the ground from those coming and going. This was the only path to and from Amaryllis, but it was also something else.

A claiming ground.

She approached the sleek black figure with her lighter brown undersides, her gaze sweeping up and down and deciding that the woman would be a fine addition to the Mire. "Welcome to Amaryllis," she said on her approach, a smirk gracing the features of her face before she sat down just a short distance away, giving her legs a rest. The broken one was wrapped in seaweed and braced by two long sticks. She was careful as she lightly rested it on the ground. "You've found the claiming ground. Tell me, do you want to choose where you go? Or are you like others who want to be told where their new home will be?"

@Dobromira

image by rabbit, code by anyu

It is not long before another novelty is presented to her; A stranger. A lady dressed in biege, striped both in fur and deeper into the flesh, with a clearly injured leg.

Despite her state, the other appeared to have no lack of confidence in approaching a stranger. It would be folly to be completely at ease even with the other woman laid low as she was, cornered beasts bit hardest when they were bleeding, but the hound couldn't help but tilt her head at her as she spoke. The name of this region, she assumed. Amaryllis. Useful information to someone who cared about such a thing. It was the second part that made Dobromira's head tilt more pronounced, the declaration of this being a claiming ground.

A choice versus a command, ironically a choice in of itself.

Dobromira's skull settled itself back into its proper position, though at a slight angle as she studied the stranger with equally unhurried and unrepentant confidence. The scars showed her to be a fighter, that much was clear, though the green wrap around one of her limbs and the way she had limped over told of injury deeper than just scar tissue. A bad sprain? Broken? It was oddly fascinating that it was so public, and that little, wicked thing in the back of the brain couldn't help but gnash its teeth and imagine how easily her fangs might sink through the verdant bandage. How easy it would be to just finish whatever job had been started. But that was not the beast's prerogative.

They would have culled you where I am from, she began simply amd without malice, making no point of hiding how her smoky gaze focused on the injured leg before turning her sight to the woman's face. I am Dobromira, and I do not think you have the strength left to hold my lead either way.

@Tiamat

LION, CODE BY LARS

The scrutiny of the stranger clearly did not bother her, even when the woman's eyes lingered on her broken leg, wrapped in seaweed and not at all protected from attack. Yes, she had taken a risk coming out here. But, well, she was never one to just sit back and let things happen without a say in them. Besides that, she knew that even in a weakened state she was a force to be reckoned with. The warrior Queen of her branch of the Anatu clan.

The woman's words teased a bark of laughter and a smirk from Tiamat. @Dobromira seemed to be quite forward and Tia had always found that a good trait in other lions. "And where I am from I would have been put to pasture, but here we are," she answered with a dark chuckle. Her accent was slight, now that she had lived in Amaryllis for a time, but it was still decidedly foreign. She rarely spoke in her mother tongue of Arabic these days, but there were still certain inflections and tones that were difficult to get rid of, even after so much time passed.

"Perhaps not," she said with a shrug. "But in a month's time I will be returned to normal and more than capable. The benefit of a good healer." She would not forget Iofiel so easily, and the service he had done her despite being a complete stranger. "I will not force you to come with me, then. But if you need information, you may ask. And you might find my King much more impressive than me." Had he not guarded his crown before? And had he not led them strong against their enemies? He was a good, strong king.

She felt as though she was forgetting something. Ah, yes. The woman had introduced herself and Tia had not yet. "I am Tiamat Anatu, gentry of Ecrosia Mire and Queen of the Anatu clan," she offered. It was the first time she had introduced herself or her clan in such a way, but she decided it was time to own her heritage here. She was a queen in her own right, and it was time she claimed that.

image by rabbit, code by anyu

To pasture. To the fangs of unyielding and red mercy. All was the same in Dobromira's mind as it placed the two concepts side by side, there was no difference in what she was seeing. To break was to find yourself at the mercy of those stronger than you, it was by their decision whether usefulness was at its end.

One of the hound's dark ears lashed the bitter air as she listened in silence, noting the muted tickle of something else in the cadence of the injured woman's voice. Neither a good or ill omen, it quickly faded to the background as the stranger spoke on about force, healers, kings and finally, a name and title. @Tiamat. Not a name she had heard before, but Dobromira was hardly a collector of monikers. Too many came and went for that, it was faces and actions that cemented someone into the beasts' mind.

I see.

The stout wedge of a tail that trailed off of her spine did its best to sweep back and forth as she took in what was given by this Tiamat Anatu, gentry and queen. Dobromira had little concept of what a gentry was or entailed, but she had heard of queens. Distantly. She knew it was a position of power, and it made sense to assume that gentry went hand in hand with such a prestigious rank.

You must carry some great importance to your king if you still live, but he is not here now, Dobromira replied, shifting her weight subtly on the cold sand, the gritty texture grating with how wetter particles clung to her pads. I am Dobromira and I do not bow to promises of strength, only what I can see. But, you are wise to not try to make a show of force.

Another glance down at the injured limb. I do not believe in a fair fight, only a fight won. I would have gone for your leg without hesitation or mercy, done my best to ruin it. Honor belonged in the same children's tales as kings and queens, this plain admittance was as close to it that Tiamat or anyone else was likely to get from her.

Had the silken hound gotten loose at another time, perhaps she would have found a firmer hand to grip the end of her chain, but the time was now and she was only faced with a stranger in a strange land.

I ask only this; have you heard of Rigmor's Pack?

LION, CODE BY LARS

"You should accept the kindnesses done to you, bitch."

––
His approach had started out lackadaisical. Bruno was just wetting his feet at the passage, coming to both practice what he had been taught as a boy and learn those new lessons only experience could provide. He was not one to hover, or even one to be particularly concerned over the lionesses of his kingdom. It was only curiosity that drew him near Tiamat's path, interested to see what prey she had cornered and if Ecrosia would win the day. Lifting his nose to the air, he scented a lioness as the guest of honor, and the boy rotated his ears forward to try and listen in for some context.

"I will not force you to come with me, then. But if you need information, you may ask. And you might find my King much more impressive than me."
"I do not believe in a fair fight, only a fight won. I would have gone for your leg without hesitation or mercy, done my best to ruin it."
––

If there was anything Bruno hated, it was a bully. His stomach tensed like a rock and his chest burned with indignant fire as he faced her, his mind swirling with hatred. He attempted to approach from a few yards away as he hissed the suggestion, standing near Tiamat's side with a narrowed glare of his olive gaze. For a moment, he could have sworn the stranger looked exactly like his mother – Erna.

"Since you are too stupid to take it, Ecrosia rescinds the offer." Bruno declared. "Let's go."

---

Bruno vs. ---
claiming Dobromira
Round 0 / 3
|| february y9 | 1y 6m | EM royalty | at maua's passage | @Tiamat @Dobromira ||

_CODE

ooc hope it's okay to react immediately. I don't see her as hesitating much.

The two women were no longer alone it would seem as a youth made his approach, tongue wagging sharply in Dobromira's direction.

His scent was reminiscent of Tiamat's, earthy and damp with water that was not saline. Peat and murk, something that rested in cloudy depths. The hound's recognition rang true as the boy punctuated his clear anger by taking up the same mantle that the other woman had; Ecrosia.

For the first time, Dobromira's expression cracked. The mask of blunt indifference splintered on the corner of her onyx lips, twitching upward until one half of her face was stretched in a lop-sided grin that failed to reach her half-lidded eyes. This was… Funny. Amusing in a way that was both an irritant and another novelty offered by these new lands. This Ecrosia had first placed before her a woman too injured to clutch the beast by her chain, and now a child barely grown into his mane wanted to make a grab for it.

She had no qualms striking down a boy.

No words were offered to the already incensed newcomer, only the faintest shake of the head, like a disappointed teacher before she shot towards him with a gleaming slasher's grin.

Dobromira's right front paw swept up as she braced her weight onto the opposite leg, steadying herself while turning the fistful of daggers pad-up to try and punch the claws through the bottom of his chin. No pulled punches would be found here, her full force was placed behind the aimed strike.


@Dobromira vs. @Bruno ♔
Claiming Dobromira
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 11 + 10 + 4 + 3

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 7 + 9 + 16 + 6

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 11 + 5 + 1 + 3 + 9

LION, CODE BY LARS

Ooc: I hope I'm doing this right <_<

Had Tiamat been at full strength she might have tried to force this woman to join thr Mire. As it stood, her leg put her at a disadvantage, but the call of battle was difficult to ignore. Not quite content to play diplomat, she settled into the role anyways, prepared to talk her way through this. Biut she wasn't given a chance to answer Dobromira before one of the royals from the Mire showed up and decided to take things in an entirely different direction.

His claim rang out in his demanding tone, and the woman was quick to leap to the defense of herself. The warrior queen's blood sang in her veins. At first she stepped away from the oncoming attack as if she were trying to avoid getting into the fray, backpedling and side-stepping until she finally found herself behind Dobromira. It looked as if she was merely getting out of the way. Her steps were slow and awkward with her broken and splinted leg.

But Tiamat was a woman of action and she pushed forward, surprisingly agile for one with such a disability, on three legs and lunged for Dobromira's bobbed tail, aiming to latch on with her jaws while the woman was distracted with her attack on Bruno.

If Dobromira was willing to play dirty, so was Tiamat. Her and Bruno teaming up evened the playing field a little.

@Bruno ♔ and Tiamat vs. @Dobromira
Claim of Dobromira
Round 1 2 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 14 + 18 + 8 + 9 + 12 + 17

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 1 + 14 + 12 + 20

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 11 + 18 + 2 + 3 + 9

image by rabbit, code by anyu

Having faced the lioness head-on, her attack was no surprise to the boy. Indeed, in his own family words did little to get one's way – it was with claws that one came out on top, as Luther insisted. So, it was to be expected that he would have to put what weight he did have into the claim. He was quick to take a side-step to his own right at the sight of her paw flying toward his face, causing her claws to clip at the left corner of his jaw and leave a single gash.

Bruno snarled at the stinging sensation of blood welling up there, wasting no time in setting up his defenses. He crouched with his knees at a bend, careful to distribute his weight so that his center of gravity was kept low. What might have been a mighty lash of his tail manifested as a wag of the bunny tail he possessed, then tucked close to try and shield any areas most sensitive. As the small gathering descended into violence, he could just detect Tiamat jumping into the fray – if not keep track of her movements from behind the rogue.

Hot with rage and adrenaline, Bruno attempted to lunge forward with his fangs bared. He aimed a swift bite at the stranger's left side of her neck. Then, the boy lifted his own left paw from the earth, attempting to slam his unsheathed claws into her right shoulder with stylistic flair.

---

Bruno & @Tiamat vs. @Dobromira
claiming Dobromira
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 18 + 12 + 14

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 9 + 19 + 17

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 17 + 7 + 15 + 1 + 20

_CODE

With her forward facing focus on the boy now, Dobromira had to give him credit in that he was at least swift on his paws. The chin was spared in exchange for a red stripe across the jaw, but red was red no matter where it sprouted, and she took the iron taste into her mouth regardless.

While the other woman had nearly been forgotten as single-minded focus hazed over the hound's vision, a shrill whisper in the back of her mind remained aware that they were not alone. That acknowledgement became fainter as her front-facing opponent made his counterattack. Dobromira tucked her head down and toward the targeted side, protecting her neck from his fangs but giving him a direct line to her cheek.

As her fangs had previously dragged through the skin of his jaw, the boy's teeth split her own to cut a seam through the oaken fur. At the same moment, a different pair of teeth caught the blunt tip of her tail as the injured woman joined in. The hound's mind was not on the fact that she was outnumbered, only the next logical course of action that it demanded. Rip, tear. Survive or don't, but fight until she was torn apart.

Her hind leg kicked out, the leftmost paw being the driving force as she aimed at her closest approximation to Tiamat's wrapped leg. She'd warned her, and now she would make good on the promise to ruin what she could.

The other Ecrosia lion's claws were given free reign to sweep across her shoulder to cut a set of red ribbons into the flesh, but her unoccupied limbs tensed to balance Dobromira as she gathered saliva and the blood taken into her mouth from the youth's jaw, spitting it toward the boy's eyes in an bid to temporarily distract or blind him as her forehead careened towards his in an attempted headbutt.


@Dobromira vs. @Bruno ♔ & @Tiamat
Claiming Dobromira
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 17 + 6 + 12 + 9

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 3 + 7 + 15 + 19

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 6 + 14 + 13 + 12 + 15

LION, CODE BY LARS