Of course, the moon had to be full. It hadn't even crossed the cleric's mind to arrive at the passage on a night that wasn't auspicious - that wasn't as ideal as he could possibly get. Tonight, the moon promised, was that night.
Pasha had been waiting at the outskirts, watching lions pass by and the moon slowly fill out until she was ripe. It didn't bother him, the waiting, but he'd still been relieved to wake and find that he wouldn't have to bide any more time.
He attempted to glimpse into what was waiting for him, throwing his scrying bones onto a rock, only for them to foretell that fate would meet him at the entryway.
A boring insight - as fate was always meeting one everywhere, he didn't need the spirits to tell him that.

With a sigh, Pasha collected his bones back into their pouch and walked the rest of the pathway to where the sandbank yawned open. He'd never done anything like this before, but his mama didn't raise Pasha to walk in somewhere without being invited first. His eyesight being as it was, the white lion did get as close to the entryway as possible, hoping to smell for a potential ally when they arrived.

I have three eyes

two to look, one to See

code by corvus

The moon meant very little to Tiamat, the warrior Queen. Perhaps to others in her family it might have been foretelling in some way, or some kind of strange omen. But to her? It was something in thebsky to provide a little light and nothing more.

There was no telling why she chose to come to the Passage under the cover of night. Restless sleep, hoping to recruit someone sneaking through...so many options, but even she didn't have the answer. Perhaps a mix of things led her here in the dark of thr night, the moon hanging full in the sky as stars winked within the inky blackness.

Her light pelt blended in with the rocky sands of the passage, but as she moved she felt like she stuck out like a sore paw, impossible to miss or ignore. The moon gave off enough light to let anyone watching see her scarred body making her way to the entrance.

But if she was easily visible, the stranger she spotteded was even more so. A white pelt not unlike her sister's, pale with pinkish markings that were a part of some mutation, perhaps. It was not so rare in her homeland and did not seem to be rare here either.

She approached the younger lion calmly, stopping a comfortable distance from him. "Welcome to Amaryllis," she said, her voice stately and commanding. She was a queen, after all. She may as well behave like one from time to time.

@Pasha

image by rabbit, code by anyu

It had been awhile since Caligula had come out this way. Life had been busy for him in the Brook as of late. He'd had new cubs though they had gotten older now and didn't need the constant attention. Cassandra had fought off her challenger and maintained control of the Brook. That meant things were settling once more. Since he had been allowed to keep this rank during the change in leadership he better start putting it to use once more.

The night had always been the bronze male's friend. This hadn't changed throughout all of his years. The stars had always been a welcome sight. He knew their stories and had always cherished them. So with his cubs tucked away and sleeping he slipped out into the dark.

Eventually he made his way down to the Passage. The water was far more dangerous this way, and that fear was still there, but at least he couldn't see it so it couldn't cause him to freak out. Still the maneless male made certain to keep strictly to the middle of the sandy strip.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" He asked as he approached the duo. His gaze was turned skywards in order to watch the twinkle of the stars. "Though perhaps I should have started the conversation by saying that I am Caligula and I have offer of a place for you to stay within Vermeda Brook. Well, so long as peace and a large family be your goal." The latest challenge had shown that a stranger's aggression was frowned upon.

@Pasha @Tiamat

Sleep had evaded the boy that night. Of course, Bruno usually opted to sleep during the days during the summer, the muggy heat of the mire too much for even the native to bear. His curls were too thick and dark to handle the sun's rays, and so the prince wandered to the passage to busy his restless paws. Each swift step matched the thrumming of his heart as lush swamp gave way to sprawling fields gave way to rough sands.

When finally he approached the moonlit scene he could make out three silhouettes. Bruno hurried his pace to try and bridge the distance, parting his jaws so that he might drink in their scents to know them ahead of time. Only one was familiar – the deserter from the Lagoon he had once fought alongside to tether his Dobromira to the mire. How swiftly things changed. In addition, he could smell a rogue adult male as well as a Vermeda lion, his stomach churning with distaste.

"Greetings," he started as he neared the trio, dipping his head to the pale one while largely ignoring the others. "I'm Bruno, prince of the mire. Maybe a large, established pride suits your tastes," he pondered, taking a casual seat there. He had learned in recent days to keep his expectations low, and so he watched the stranger with near-amusement as he waited for this scene to play out once more. What did it all matter, if Luther was destined to obtain whatever members he dragged home?

---

|| july y9 | 1y 11m | EM royal | at maua's passage | @Pasha @Tiamat @Caligula ||_{BG — ART — CODE}

forever feels like such a waste -

The fact that Tiamat was there was annoying, the pair didn't have a great history at The Passage together - yet, Violarum is mostly distracted by @Bruno ♔ - having had arrived as he mentioned who he was. "You grew," he says, crimson gaze eyeballing the lanky boy, seeing Erna in plenty of his flesh and yet he is far more composed.

Still, as his gaze also bypassed Caligula, the High Sovereign comes to peer upon the dainty albino man. Unfortunately @Pasha is kind of alike Nero, but Vio would do the good thing and look past it - hoping the male wasn't yet another Sigrun. "Lorien Plains will have you. We're fun, we have good sun and good food," his ears piqued forwards in suspense.

_{art by flea}

As quick as a spark lights to flame, once Pasha had arrived at the entrance so did those seeking him as a number to their prides.
The first to come was a lioness, larger than himself, who welcomes him diplomatically. She doesn't say where she's from, but the scent of ocean surrounds her like a claim. A beach pride, he assumes, to match the lioness's sandy coat.
The next to arrive is a male, and even with his low vision Pasha can tell that - yes - he is maneless. Though their mutations are vastly different, Pasha still feels a sense of kinship with the other lion that puts him at ease. Caligula, as he introduces himself, makes an offer immediately. Pasha can't say that peace and a large family are his goal, necessarily, but it isn't a bad selling point.

Before he can think any further on it, the familiar scent of swamp greets him like an awaiting friend. The dark figure Pasha can't quite make out against the equally dark backdrop calls himself prince of the mire, and Pasha wishes he had thought to call himself that back home in his own mire.
The last to arrive is blunt and to the point, which Pasha respects; however, a plaines pride brings to mind open spaces, a lack of cover that would not serve his light sensitivity well.
The size of the pride or what their values aren't what Pasha cares about - the albino lion is most interested in an environment where he doesn't have to constantly worry about his impairment. A pride where he can thrive in the safety of darkness.

"Hello, my name is Pasha. I'm a cleric hoping to cultivate my trade," he introduces himself once its clear there are no more delegates waiting in the shadows. "Due to my...condition, I can only live in a pride with ample cover and little sunlight." Here he pauses, thinking of how to phrase what he wants to say next. "Can any of you offer me this protection?" He stops here, hoping he made himself clear and willing to try and make it on his own if this request isn't possible.

@Violarum @Bruno ♔ @Caligula @Tiamat

I have three eyes

two to look, one to See

code by corvus

with your head on fire

and your eyes too bloody to see

"Sorry to interrupt," the bronze youngster approached the decently sized group, just in time to catch the strangers words, "However I would like to think Firnen could be the perfect home for you. We are a Rainforest pride, with plenty of cover as I'm sure you can imagine." He smiled gingerly, dipping his head to any present lions who might meet his amethyst gaze.

He would wait then of course, his interest piqued by the albino male who reminded him plenty of Jai - his friend who was also of the same genetic uniqueness. "My name is Thrain, Heir of Firnen and son of the King," because that only seemed polite.

@Pasha

you had to be a big shot

didn't you?

It would seem that this particular newcomer would garner much attention. One by one they file in - only one of which she did not recognize at all. She filed away the name of the first one to arrive. @Caligula of the Brook. It was worth remembering the names of her rival recruiters, she supposed, but also worth learning more about competing prides. The Brook was not one she had thought to seek any form of alliance with, them being at odds with the Mire more often than not.

She recognized @Violarum, of course, and she gave him a knowing look and a smirk to go with it. @Bruno ♔ she dipped her head to, remembering their last encounter in the passage with a particular lioness that Bruno had seen fit to claim. That had been fun.

Finally the stranger spoke, introducing himself as @Pasha, a cleric. She didn't have need for any clerics, and it seemed he wanted somewhere with much shade. Her tail flicked, annoyance creeping in like an unwanted storm. "I'm afraid the Lagoon will not be for you then," she said, ending her interest in him with finality. "Though my sister has the same condition and has never been bothered by the sun." She gives the stranger a curious look and turns away, taking her leave and passing another stranger - @Thrain of the Rainforest - on her way out.

/Exit Tiamat

ooc: sorry for the wait guys!

image by rabbit, code by anyu

Plenty of others came to offer a place for the pale male. Caligula hadn't thought that so many traveled at night. Perhaps he was wrong about that though. There certainly was more than enough of a turnout here. Of course he couldn't say that he knew many of the faces here. He hadn't really been keeping up with the Passage as of late. Too much had been going on back home instead.

A man mentioned Lorien Plains and drew in Caligula's interest. "Ghyslaine is well?" He asked of the Plains representative. The last he had seen the woman there had been fear of the mist returning. And since there was a representative here he could only assume that the pride was thriving. Good. He was glad for her.

The pale rogue ended up speaking and saying he could only stay somewhere with plenty of cover. And in came a Firnen representative to offer their price as a home. Good. Caligula had been about to suggest that one. "Sadly the Brook is mostly open plains as well though a cleric would have done well there. The places with the most cover are Firnen Rainforest, as has been said it is a place with a lot of tree cover. Also plenty of water too. Ecrosia Mire has tree cover as well, and mud enough. Obsidian Hollow would be the last one. That place is a network of caves beneath a mountain not too far from here. Sadly I can only speak of the landscapes and not of those that maintain the lands." Because certainly the landscapes couldn't have changed as much as leadership did.

forever feels like such a waste -

The burly male settled in, flopping clumsily upon his haunches and briefly meeting the smirk of Tiamat with perked ears. Though @Caligula draws his eye, a lion he had seen before, but perhaps his answer for the bronze male is not what he sought. "No," he says blatantly to his question, "She left. I think she may be dead."

His expression grows solemn and his ears pull back, a frown deepening across his otherwise neutral expression. "A lioness turned up with her flesh. Speaking in riddles," oh, he had attempted to kill her, but he is distracted from his story by @Pasha.

"Lorien is too sunny for you," but he says it in a way as if he felt sorry for the pale man - what an unfortunate life, to not be able to sunbake! And with that he stood to leave, departing with a solemn glance to the Vermeda representative.

--- exit

_{art by flea}