She should have come a lot sooner, but Valaine was a lioness that ran on her own time, and even with her brother being the head of the family now and the driving force to her machinations, he still received news on... her time.

She had worked out something of an audience with the new King of the Cove, and she had come to the Mire to inform her brother of it. After all, it wasn't her he wanted to speak with, but the leader of the Rike family. She was lucky enough that her charm secured such a place. And with her home back and new horizons to look forward to, she had no reason not to show @Adalwolf that she was working with the family in mind.

When the stench of swampy low tide filled her nostrils, she stopped. Quite a few feet between her and the Mire's border, she roared lowly, calling for her brother to meet her.

---

Would you mind if we backdated this to Dec-ish?

Potential XP
pathfinder
+10 Discuss the features of a territory with someone
+5 Learn something unique about a pride's territory (it stank)
+5 Scout a neutral territory (EM's border)

I'm a mess, but I will always be better than you

code x art

Some time had passed since the fall of the Cove as the Mire's strongest ally went missing and opened the door to new challengers. He had wondered what had happened to his sister since she had mentioned that she would be joining the Cove to enjoy the sun and sand. No doubt she was lazing about, refusing to get her paws dirty. But had she remained when Sahir had fallen, or had she scattered to the wind like the others of the pride?

It seemed today he would have his answer.

A low call rang from the border, echoing softly across the Mire with clear intent. His ears flicked to pick up the sound and recognized the notes of his sister, @Valaine. So, she had finally come to report to him. With their father and Odhgrimm gone from Amaryllis, the weight of the Jarlship of the family had fallen onto his shoulders more easily than he would have liked. But at least now she had no choice but to bring information to him instead of the others unless she wished to suffer the punishment that the Rike gave to those who would betray them.

No one else seemed to be around, and so he turned from his business and trotted towards the border, his paws carrying him swiftly over the slightly hardened ground of mud that had frozen with the chill in the early winter air. Only a few minutes passed and he was able to see her just on the other side, waiting. "Vell, Schwester, you took your time," he said, but his words were not cutting or angry. Merely welcoming. He was glad to see that at least one of the pieces he was counting on was still in play. "Do you remain vith zee Cove?" Straight to the point, as always.

---

ooc: yes, dec. is fine!

so the question i ask is

where the fuck is your god now?

image by rabbit, code by anyu

It hadn't taken @Adalwolf long to find her at his border. His paws were blackened with that of the muck that came from the Mire, and she inwardly cringed seeing that as he approached. Donning a fake smile, she tried to desperately hide her disgust as they came within a few feet of each other. Surely, had he noticed, Adalwolf would be shoving ten questions down her throat about her disgust and how it was disobedient of her to feel that way about him... or about anything to do with him.

"Nicht mit Absicht," she spoke, narrowing her eyes at the accusation. "Ja, I am vis zee Cove again. It's under a new leader now - a man by zee name of Gauthier. He vants to meet vis you to talk terms of an alliance vis zee Rike." Surely, he would see that she's been a busy little bee with the interests of the Rike in mind?

He couldn't use her preferences of laying waterside in the sun for much longer, especially now that she was making moves of her own in the interest of her family. "Er wartet darauf, dass du auftauchst."

I'm a mess, but I will always be better than you

code x art

Always so touchy, his sister was. He had long moved past the childish games that they had once played, where he had been the cruel brother and she the sister that he believed was beneath him. @Valaine was still beneath him, of course. She was a woman, after all. But she had her uses and he was her Jarl.

He certainly did not care what she thought of his appearance or smell.

He simply shrugged when she said it wasn't on purpose. At the end of the day, he didn't care. The important thing was that she had sought him ought and that likely meant that she was actually reporting to him. That was something he would encourage. So he let her speak, listening attentively, curious about what tidbits she might have brought him. He was pleasantly surprised that she had garnered the attention of the King of the Cove and had coaxed him into considering an alliance with the Rike.

"Das hast du sehr gut gemacht, Schwester," he praised her, the tone of his voice making it clear that this praise is genuine. He was pleased with her progress. "It is very good you are still in zee Cove, then."

He had not been to the Cove yet, not even for the challenge that had taken place there. There had been no need for him to wander to the beaches. Now it seemed that would change. "I vill haffe to make a trip zere soon," he mused.

so the question i ask is

where the fuck is your god now?

image by rabbit, code by anyu

"Ja, do it soon," she nodded, not implying that it had already been quite a while since she had made this request. Perhaps Gauthier wouldn't bring up how long its been at all... but she couldn't be sure. "Gauthier... He's reasonable."

With their little bit of business over and out of the way, they both fell silent for a moment. Valaine barely knew what to beckon her brother with, so she went with the obvious questions. Aside from the sulfuric scents clinging to his pelt from the mud in the mire, there were others. Perhaps he acquired a mate and a legacy by now? Adalwolf was always the more... ambitious sibling. "Vhat haf you been up to, lieber Bruder?"

I'm a mess, but I will always be better than you

code x art

He nodded in acceptance of @Valaine's suggestion and made a note in his mind to make sure he did, indeed, make that trip. Sooner rather than later. He was intrigued by the idea of meeting this man who had taken the Cove recently. And if his sister thought well of him then perhaps there was indeed a chance that the meeting would go well.

"Mich?" he said innocently, tilting his head. "Growing zee family. Du bist jetzt eine Tante." She hadn't met his children yet. He hadn't even had an opportunity to tell her that he had taken a wife and was expecting children now. "Somezing you should consider soon, kleine Schwester."

Hopefully she would be amenable to marrying someone in order to strengthen an alliance. But he had little to offer potential suitors looking to marry his sister. Perhaps this Gauthier might be of interest.

so the question i ask is

where the fuck is your god now?

image by rabbit, code by anyu

It would seem now that business was over, there was little to talk about between them. It was just as well, though. She didn't like @Adalwolf prying too deeply into her life, so the less she knew about him, the less he could probe her about her business.

"Oh, really? she said, tilting her head and raising her brows. "How dare you keep me from such sveet angels!" Sarcasm, but could he see it? She highly doubted anything that Adalwolf had a paw in creating and raising was anything near sweet.

But after a thought, "I vill kommen back to fisit your Kinder soon." If not only so she could identify the treacherous shitlings when they got older and started spreading out in the world.

He suggested something, and she sighed. She had thought she could win the king over with her charms and affections, but it would seem that Dieudonne bitch beat her to it. "I'm... vorkink on zhat." She bowed her head, looking at the ground, and looking up at Adalwolf with an innocent look in her eyes. "Anyone you know lookink for ein vife? Er muss schön sein!" And he has to dote on her, else it would never work out.

GOT ME FEELIN LIKE I'M IN GODMODE

code x art

Adalwolf was no stranger to his sister's attitudes. She might have referred to his children as sweet angels but he knew that she thought anything but that about the children he had produced. There was not much love between himself and his sister. Her insubordinate attitude and his expectations of the women in the family were hardly a good mix at the best of times.

Rather than finding amusement in her words or meeting her sarcasm with his own, Adalwolf leveled a hard stare at @Valaine. "You vill giffe zem zee respect due," he warned her in a low voice. "Zey are my children. Zee children ov zee jarl. Harm efen one of zem and you vill die for it." It was clear, then, that he did not trust his sister. It was probably true that he didn't trust any of his family and their chaotic, warring nature. But he knew Valaine. She worked for herself.

His warning aside, she asked him if he knew of anyone looking for a wife. He did not, though he wished to seek alliances through marriage with the available females of the clan. "Nein," he said with a shake of his head. "As long as you choose vell you may haffe your pick," he allowed. "Forge eine Allianz und you can haffe any man you vant."

so the question i ask is

where the fuck is your god now?

image by rabbit, code by anyu

It was unfortunate that Adalwolf saw right through her disguise as she tried to fakely compliment his children; her fangs were apparently showing. Valaine grew quiet, grew angry as her brother threatened her life over something she was just poking fun at. But she didn't know when to stop; she never wanted to stop. And when he promised her death for harming even one of his children, she retorted, "Efen zee girls?" Not that she would even dream of targeting them over the boys; they had it bad enough with Adalwolf as their father, but... with the family mentality of choosing the males as the superior sex, she wouldn't be surprised if Adalwolf left one of his daughters to die one day.

Ever since she had met that Dieudonne man, she had been fantasizing of a man that actually respected her. Of course, she had never seen that particular lion ever again, and she had no idea where to find other members of his family, but... a girl could dream, couldn't she? Perhaps she could find someone to worship her somewhere else.

---

OOC: Wanna wrap up with your reply?

GOT ME FEELIN LIKE I'M IN GODMODE

code x art

"Efen zee girls are useful," he snorted back at her. But there was only one girl to worry about, and she would make a promising future wife for alliances that he planned on forging.

He and his sister never saw eye to eye, of course. It came with the territory of being Rike, and she being a uniquely argumentative Rike woman. He ignored most of her antics, but he was not about to ignore a potential threat to his children. There had been enough of those already.

"You should return to zee Cove," he suggested plainly as he turned himself away from her. "I vill visit you king soon." And with that he was vanishing into the swampy undergrowth, returning to his children and his new wife.

/Exit Adalwolf

so the question i ask is

where the fuck is your god now?

image by rabbit, code by anyu