The young cub skillfully treaded through the Mire, careful to avoid most the mud with spring coming in, bright, intelligent eyes scanned the swamp with a careful gaze before she gave a sigh of boredom. The young girl walked with a sense of pride, for what, she didn't really know or care, she was just herself.

Head held high, she stopped to shake her pelt out, her bangs fell into her eyes, her half mane was no longer just tufts, now it was layered and kept in a way that she felt pretty with it, the bangs hung a bit over her left eye, and she would flick her head every so often to move them, and then they'd fall right back into her eyes, rinse and repeat. Now at five months old, she was taller than before, having hit a growth spurt, she now stood right under her mother's shoulder, and she was filling out a bit more. No longer looking like a tricolored toddler, she now was growing into her body, more agile, lean, a young lioness growing.

@Hubert (let me know if I should change anything)

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Well, that just seemed terribly unfair.

How was it that that annoying runt had somehow managed to rival him in height so quickly? He's older than her! He shouldn't have to worry about any half-grown girls looking down at him. Vater didn't have to worry about that. Why did Hubert have to be so unlucky?

Such were the irritated thoughts that ran through the young Starke's head as he balefully observed @Rusalka trotting past his resting place in the shadows with all the airs of someone who thought they owned the place. Ridiculous! Everyone should know that it was his family that ruled the Mire. Being full of herself would get her nowhere. Certainly not with him, at least.

He let her pass without making a sound, smirking mischievously as he noted how she seemed a bit distracted by the fiery bangs that insisted on falling across her eyes. (Relatable, but also very strange. If she wanted to masquerade as a male, couldn't she at least do it with a proper mane?) As quietly as he could, the prince would emerge from behind the rotten log he'd been resting against, padding after her on light pawsteps. Carefully, he dragged a forepaw through the nearby muck as they moved, gathering up a ball of the still-vaguely frozen substance in hold.

Once he'd traipsed close enough, he would aim to leap alongside her in a long, bounding stride, his smile fanged. Think fast! Wasn't it ever so generous of him, to give warning a split second before he would try to bring a paw down to smear cold mud all over the back of her neck and shoulders. They were pridemates, after all.

It just happened that he figured she needed to be brought down a peg, was all.

ART + CODE By Dee

Blissfully unaware of what was coming, the Rike child was caught in her own thoughts, should she go and try and see if Imber wanted to play, their friendship was kept a secret at least on her side, both children were unaware of the others family, he didn't know she was a Rike and she didn't know he was a Sigrun, their friendship was something that she didn't want taken away from her.

He encouraged her to pursue her dreams, he was there for her, and she was happy when she was with him, she loved her friend, she just wished they weren't so far apart.. Ears pinned back at the thought and she would have continued down the sad little train of thoughts but something wet and goopy was smeared on her causing Rusalka to turn and face @Hubert with a look of surprise and annoyance, "" You brat!'[

She hissed and grabbed a fistful of the sloppy Mire muck and hurled it right back at him, attempting to take her paw and rub it in his stupid mane. If she was successful, she would start to giggle and laugh loudly.

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Hubert hasn't a clue as to what the mohawked girl could be in such deep thought about, but he certainly won't complain about how easy @Rusalka is making this for him. Though in his opinion, she would definitely have to step up her game if she was to be a worthy member of Ecrosia.

To his delight, she doesn't even see it coming when he smears his muddy paw across her back, barely muffled laughter spilling past his fanged grin at the way she jumped away from him. Ooh, how upset she looked! Her exclamation would be met with an exaggerated click of his tongue, his amusement unwavering. No, I believe the word you're looking for is 'your Highness.' His head tilted ever so innocently. And it seems to me that 'someone' hasn't learned how to pay attention to their surroundings.

And yet, the younger girl is as insolent as ever, it seems. Hey-! She surges forward quickly enough that by the time he thinks to sidestep, it's already too late. Not that the swamp Prince is really all that bothered by the wet mud now staining his brown-tipped mane, no - he rolls in it enough all by himself. But it's the principle of the matter! He growled lowly as Rusalka all but burst into laughter, stepping away from her as if he were going to shake his fur out...

Only to spin right back around in a flash, with another clump of mud in his paw, this time aiming to drag it right across her laughing muzzle. You're still not paying attention! See what laughing gets you?

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He was right, she did need to pay more attention to her surroundings but she wouldn't admit that to him, his tongue clicking and snarky attitude fueled her annoyance with the little shit and she huffed, "" more like royal brat.' She sneered at him, shaking the mud from her fur, her laughter had began to die off, his head tilting made her want to strangle him.

Still in range, she tried to dodge the paw aimed at her, and she at least moved so she wasn't all muddy in the face, his paw slid down her neck and she gasped, mock appalled, and then she lunged again, moving to tackle the boy. "" You little ass!' She wasn't trying hard not to crack up, still wanting to pretend to be angry, she hoped.he landed in the mud so he could pin him.

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He supposed one could say that she was getting closer to acknowledging his rank, though the respect was certainly lacking. And you're just a brat. Nothing 'royal' about her at all. Would Hubert's opinion change at all, if he was aware that the mohawked girl was a daughter of a Jarl? Hardly, considering that that man was, at this moment, simply another follower of his Vater.

To @Rusalka's credit, she'd at least wizened up to his antics enough to direct his swipe to her pale neck rather than her face. It's hardly a loss, and the prince snorted in amusement at her at her shocked gasp. He'd overbalanced a bit though, likely a result of youthful inexperience, which worked against him when the slightly stouter youngster threw herself against him with enough crashing force to send him stumbling back into the mud. Arrogant punk! He growls, succumbing to this old game of trading insults back and forth. His statements are true, of course, as far as he's concerned.

His gangly limbs would reach to try to wrap around her body with a firm grip, seeking to surge up against her and send them both rolling across the damp ground, hopefully so that he could eventually pin the younger's shoulders down into the mud instead. Just give up already.

ART + CODE By Dee

The wheat colored cub was on the verge of laughing at the stupid boys miss, how could she not when he looked so stupidly at her? Had she known his thoughts about her own father, she may have fought back with some fierceness. But at the moment his stupid snort of amusement earned a squeaky growl, though in her ears it was as fierce as she could be.

When he stumbled back due to her body slamming into his, it was her turn to snort in amusement, "" Are you upset cause I'm bigger than you? Poor little prince!' She goaded him, teasing him about his smaller size, even if it were only for right now. As he surged up and sent them both sprawling in the mud and muck she is would kick at his undersides with her back paws.

The small lioness was a ball of spit and claws, tangling herself closer with the stinky boy, she bit at his cheeks, growling and hissing. "" No, you!'

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Was that meant to be a growl? How adorable. Adorably pathetic, that is. He chortles, his amusement only stoked higher, his gleaming fangs bared in a mean-spirited grin. Think you can scare me? He has felt fear before, though he would sooner tear his own tongue out than admit it. This, most certainly is not it.

A growl of his own rumbles through his chest when @Rusalka taunts him again, the extra months he has on her affording the benefit of a deeper, fiercer tone. I'm not! He snaps out through gritted teeth, breaking into a cough when her paws jab into his stomach. How irritating, that she had managed to prod at such a sensitive spot of his. You can keep growing as tall as you want, it won't change the fact that I'm a prince and you're just a regular girl. And being a male meant that he should always be better than her regardless, did it not?

Her claws leave stinging marks against his skin, and his own unsheathe in retaliation, swiping at her across her shoulder. You-ack!-You'll have to accept your place eventually. Teeth snag at his cheek when the mohawked girl demands he give up, and Hubert lets his head fall back against the damp earth. Only to rear up in an attempt to headbutt her directly in her snout.

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His mean-spirited grin caused the little girl to narrow her eyes, she snapped at his cheek, "" I don't care if you're scared of me or not.' She growled, finally it came out deeper than her last, her eyes showing a bit of surprise before they glared back at him.

He coughs as her paws bat at his lower stomach, and she pushes on, thrashing around, her claws poking at him, "" Why are you such a jerk!' Her voice cracks just the tiniest bit, she was so tired of the males around her treating her like dirt, her father looking down at her every chance she got, her older brother would rather bully and beat her instead of protecting her and coming to her aid, and Alaric's sons, all self-centered pricks. She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes as she let out an angry cry as she shoved up at him, "" I don't care about your stupid title, I wouldn't want to live in my family's shadows!' She slammed down metaphorically on a sore spot, that being the fact he would never be his fathers heir like Luther, and he would always be under his brothers shadows.

"" It won't be today!' She smacked at him, her cheeks were wet, and she finally realized that she was crying, her nose scrunches up as she sniffles, and she stops moving, turning her head away from him, not willing to look him in the eye now, it wasn't until he leans back that she looks at him, only to see a flash of white as his head slams into her face and she yelps, falling back.

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Why, indeed? Of course, Hubert himself can't explain why he is the way he is, nor why he obsesses over the things he does. She might as well have asked why the sun rose in the sky every morning. Hardly worth answering. Why are you so stubborn!

Yet her aim is true when she strikes with the pointed edges of her words. His family's shadow... It's like a switch within him was flipped. Whatever amusement or frustration or lightheartedness might've been visible on hid features was swept away, locked beneath a cold, blank mask. You don't know anything about my family. He hisses out, a fire burning in the deepest depths of his emerald eyes. Stop talking as if you do.

So what if Luther had been first? It doesn't mean he's the best of them. Hubert will prove that one day. It won't always be like this. It can't.

The impact of his skull against her face affects him too, but Hubert would waste little time in trying to wiggle free from her grasp to regain his feet with a grunt. A faint glimmer of wetness on @Rusalka's cheek catches his eye as he shifts, and the prince huffs. Oh please, not another crying girl. He hates to see it. It's easier to blame the tears themselves for the unpleasant feeling that wells up in his chest than to find fault in his own actions. Crying about it isn't going to help you. It just makes you look pathetic. He bites out harshly, his voice low and dark. His expression remains stony.

The forced calm is what allows him to feel like he's still in control.

ART + CODE By Dee