code & bg-credit

There had been some time that had passed as she made the long trek across the unfamiliar sands. Sunder had been desperate for a new start, for a place to settle roots. She was tired of running, tired of looking over her shoulder. It wasn't that she was scared, she wasn't really scared of anything except maybe spiders but that was beside the point. This was meant to be a fresh start, one that she deserved. And she could be helpful too! She could hunt and spy and sunbathe really well. This was all just a trick to hype herself up. She could smell all the different scents congregating around and it made her a little anxious to be honest. So anxious in fact that she had managed to eat a couple of shiny berries that maybe she shouldn't have ate. The result was a wobbling mess of a woman with a giggle that rang out across the passage way. "Hellloooo? Anyone .. home?" She calls out with another giggle as she stumbles a few paces forward in the sand before halting, blue eyes glazed and glistening as an ornery smile found it's way forward.


*All welcome ~

She didn't often make her way out to the passage, but she knew that she ought to, especially as Maia and Jafar were expecting her and her husband to help with recruiting for the Rainforest. So, she'd made the trek out and spent some time wandering around, seeing if there was anyone in need of a new home. Even if it wasn't theirs, she enjoyed being able to help others find a place for themselves.

It seemed like she didn't have to hunt down all the newcomers to the lands, as sometimes they would just call out and make their presence known. She couldn't help but laugh softly at the playfulness in the woman's voice when she heard her call out. "There's lots of lions around these parts," she called back, angling towards the sound of her voice.

"Are you all right?" she asked once she caught sight of the stranger, noticing she looked a bit unsteady on her paws. She might be in need of some medical attention, Faelyn thought.

Home?

Gauthier stirred from his absent-minded amble through the bermuda grasses, skins shuddering through the caress of their sway. His skull broke their highline, eyes swept over the scarp of dunes and the distant glisten of rolling waves. There was a... unsteadiness to the voice? Like that of euphoric spirits or drunken stupor, something to make the crawl through the passage significantly less droll.

He moved when he heard another answer the inquisition - tender-voiced and amiable - taking the path through coastal bramble.

The snap of driftwood gave for the assembly before him: the smell of the rainforest clinging to one, the scent of the wilds beyond loitering over another. The latter wobbled, giggling mad, perfectly pleased by whatever poison she had delighted in. His own grin stretched ragged and dark, plucked over pocked flesh and mangled edges, the prod of a fang peeked from its crookedness. Maybe better than alright, the bourbon-lilt drag of baritone passed amusedly between them, more humor than cruelty. The cocktail of herbal pilferings he made before a midnight hunt had always made him feel spectacular, personally. What did you eat? he asked @Sunder, clear and steady. His ears cupped forward, intent to listen for the tell-tale gargle of an upset stomach, or just more feverish giggling.

@Faelyn_{BG — ART — CODE}

code & bg-credit

There's lots of lions around these parts. Are you alright? Her icy gaze would snap, turning to focus on @Faelyn as she moved closer to her. And she looked somewhat of an angel with her pristine white fur. Nose scrunches as she sniffs the scents in the air, clinging to the stranger's fur. Woods, trees, a heady scent. There wasn't time to respond before another, @Gauthier ♔ joins them, this one masculine with the scent of seawater and sand. Maybe better than alright. What did you eat? Why talk about her as if she wasn't standing right here? "I am perfectttt. I had some berries for a snack that gave me a special skip in my step." She croons, moving a smidge closer to both individuals. She does a drunken bow in front of them with a crooked grin before rising, teetering slightly before righting herself. "I am Sunder. What is this place anyways? Never seen so much sand in my life before." She mentions absentminded as she glances around them. Her gaze however will eventually find it's way back to both of them. "You two need to loosen up you look stiff." She tries hard not to laugh but a giggle slips out, why was everyone always so serious anyways?

The pride was still small, and so it fell mostly to Tiamat to wander into the passage and look for new recruits with useful skills to bolster their numbers. Truthfully, it was a habit that she'd already developed from her time as a gentry in the Mire. The difference now was that she was a queen in her own right, recruiting for her own pride.

As she perused the passage she came upon a small group of three gathered on the sands. She wasn't too sure if she recognized any of them, but she did recognize a certain instability in the gray-brown female who was stepping closer to the other two. Tinuviel had been a little wobbly like that during their challenge, not so long past, though this woman seemed perhaps slightly tipsier than her sovereign had been that day.

A smaller white lioness and a larger, scarred male were with the gray-brown woman as Tiamat approached. She was in time to hear the woman's introduction, question, and suggestion to the pair that were standing with her. A smirk tugged at Tiamat's features as she joined them, her eyes dancing with unvoiced laughter. "This is a claiming ground; the entrance to a place called Amaryllis," she offered @Sunder, finally joining the group proper. "You must let my sovereign know what it is you ate," she told the woman firmly, but there was a lightness to her voice that clearly said she was poking fun.

"I'm Tiamat Anatu, the queen of Scilla Lagoon," she introduced herself to Sunder as well as the white woman (@Faelyn) and the man (@Gauthier ♔). "I took over recently and it's quite the story. Wanna hear it?"

image by rabbit, code by anyu

It didn't take long for another to appear, and Faelyn couldn't help but worry that someone would try to take advantage of the woman's state. There wouldn't be much she could do about it if they did, given that she wasn't equipped for fighting. As such, the male that appeared made her nervous, though she hid it beneath a slight smile. His words were gentle enough, with a concern there that she felt he meant. Nine years she'd lived on this earth, and still she was as naive as the day she'd set off from her homeland. She had no way of knowing if he was being sincere in his concern or not.

The woman answered, seemingly not concerned by her lack of clarity with the world, and Faelyn felt somewhat at ease as another woman approached, introducing herself as the leader of the Lagoon. She answered some of the woman's questions, and asked one of her own.

"I'm Faelyn Hodari, of Firnen Rainforest," she added. "Are you looking for a home for yourself?"

Perfect. He grinned at the drawn out confirmation of his former assumptions, that sense of giddy euphoria that be her choice of consumption. There were enough berries that could have you wheeling with the loops for a number of hours, if only they didn't end in the po—

Another lioness joined them with the confidence of a forward stride, and the assertion of her explanations for the hellish sandbar. A claiming ground, so it was. He watched with the unshifting surface of his amused expression, though searched her words for aggression. Decidedly loose still, as @Sunder had suggested - it made little matter to him of what ground they stood on and whose stretch of territory she eventually found her hangover in. But he was most in the business of supposing an individual may assert the decision for themselves. There was no point in gathering loathsome prisoners except in the throes of war.

@Tiamat the queen of Scilla, and @Faelyn of Firnen. His eyes flicked from one to the other, then returned to the inebriated woman with a glean of mischief. Gauthier, he said, far less formal, uncaring for the pointy, shimmery tips of a crown to blind the masses in awe. The sand is inescapable for quite a while. You learn to get used to it. he said, sprawling his toes like a net over the soft knead of giving sands.

Caladan's cache offers more than berries, he posed flatline humor, And sand. If you wouldn't mind a short walk._{BG — ART — CODE}

code & bg-credit

So this was a claiming ground, huh. Sunder didn't realize that that pegged her as desirable especially in her given state but if one of these lucky individuals wanted to take her home, more power to them. Names are thrown around, @Tiamat in particular trying to really hammer home that she needed to tell them what she ate. "But I did tell ya already, berries. Cute little red ones. They aren't toxic, at least not yet anyways." She muses, and though her knowledge in botanicals was limited she at least knew not to gorge herself on them. They were meant for a fun time or in the very least a distraction when you were caught in a situation like this. Her gaze would snap towards @Gauthier ♔, a chesire grin taking place before she responds, "Sorry ladies but I'll take my shot with mr. tall dark and handsome here. You both have been splendid." She says then before taking a few disheveled steps forward, "Lead the way your highness." Said with a drunken grin as she moves to follow him, boy was this place ten times more lively than her old stomping grounds.

exit.

She wasn't the only one concerned for the woman, but she seemed quite certain that she was just fine, and so Faelyn supposed it wasn't worth arguing with her. The effects of the berries would likely wear off in due time and she'd be back to her normal self, whatever that might be.

She also was free to make her choice of pride, with none of them offering a claim upon her, though Gauthier likely could have, Faelyn thought. It seemed that such a thing had become far less common as time wore on, thankfully. So she nodded in farewell and moved on through the passage to see if there was anyone else wandering about in need of a new home, or information.

-exit faelyn-