tiny paws race across the dusty ground, kicking up loose dirt and sand in her wake. if she notices, then she certainly doesn’t care. bathed in moonlight the passage is so foreign and so strange — it’s all flat land with no trees in sight. it’s not the first of these she’s seen but it’s still novel enough to make her giddy, tearing ahead of her travel companions without a second thought.

she runs fast, if not far; it’s not quite as exhilarating as climbing but it’ll do. a giddy sound tears from her throat, quiet against the echoes of the ocean, as she finally skids to a stop. pointed ears pitch forward to better hear it, another new thing to add to their list.

but they’re not here to just see new things, they’re here to find them. and so she looks back to where @Araxie and @Sola are, brows raising up. is this a place to investigate? or just pass through?

code; background

Luther's muscular feet walked the Passage, his eyes searching the valley for any rogue activity, any good catch today. The sun beats down on his back, but he is undeterred by the heat. The sound of the breeze rustling through the trees and the distant call of a bird are the only noises that break the silence. The air is thick with many old scents, but none fresh enough.

As he rounds a bend in the path, he sees three dark figures in the distance, their silhouettes outlined against the bright sky. He moves towards them, his usual wariness in the back of his mind, determination taking the front row. The distinct scent of a rogue fills his nostrils, and he knows that he has found what he was searching for. Excitement courses through his veins as he draws closer, his eyes darting from one figure to the next.

He notices that all three... are women, and he smirks darkly. He knows that they will be easy to bring back to his father's ranks, and the thought of adding three new members to the pride brings a sense of triumph to his chest. He strides towards them, standing tall and imposing before them.

"Hallo," he greets, smirk turning into a kind smile, his voice low and smooth, "Ecrosia Mire welcomes you." He holds @Siubhán's gaze, waiting for her response. He is confident that she will submit to his claim, for she has no choice but to do so. And her... relatives? Well, they will have to come along. Can't leave her alone, can they? The power he wields is absolute, and he revels in it. Still, he keeps an eye on his surroundings - there were many other vultures besides him.

luther vs ???
for Siubhán

5years, no bonus.

There was part of him that missed this…and an equal part of him that also despised it. He had too many things to do to be making the trek to the Passage frequently, but he also knew he needed members if he planned on making the Oasis a large and strong pride. The Savante’s gave him a number boost, that was for certain, but he wanted more than just the Savantes to call the Oasis home…if he couldn’t then what was the point in leading? He would essentially just be the ruler of a family and nothing more. He was better than that. The Oasis was better than that.

Thus, he stubbornly walked through the passage, its barren land tucked between the two cliffs, almost like a literal gate into amaryllis. How ironic that it was here that so many were scooped up into a pride without seeing what Amaryllis had to offer in full. Truly, it was so much more than one territory. Ronin was wandering when he noted the pale white form and the pungent scent of the Mire up ahead. The warmonger was just within range as @Luther ♔ made his claim, causing Ronin to smirk. Was this how Alaric was collecting all of his members? By forcing them into the Mire? How sad.

The Oasis King would shift his direction more to the side, to come up on Luther’s right, angling so that he could assess the situation- not like there was much to assess. Yeah, that place is so welcoming, it almost traps you in the muck. He would comment, eyes rolling. He’d lived there long enough just how much the Mire was not welcoming. She can decide where she wants to go, isn’t that right, miss? He would comment, as if he were ever really that repectful with his words. He would play the part for now, it wasn’t as if he were lying to her, he was a fair leader, and if he were being honest, he didn’t mind pissing off the Mire some more by getting in Luther’s way.



Ronin vs. @Luther ♔
For @Siubhán
Round 0 / 3
Hits: [roll=#d20]
Dodges: [roll=#d20]
Luck: [roll=#d20]

It is almost immediate. Like a fly to honey, @Ronin's silhouette appears from afar. Luther wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for the older man's irritating stench wafting their way. Before the woman could say anything, Luther was turning to face the Andal leader with an unreadable expression. Luther mentally prepared himself for a face-off. After all, Ronin was an enemy. A supporter of his father that had turned on the Mire.

For what reason - Luther couldn't know exactly. And he didn't bother to investigate. Such trivial matters were not something he paid attention to.

But insults to the Heir's kingdom and, as a consequence, attempts to undermine his authority were something he certainly paid attention to. The yearling turns, pivoting to face Ronin head-on, the two women all but ignored. Decide? "No, I don't think so." He said with a smirk, but his anger poured out with his next move.

Luther lurched forward, his back feet propelling him toward the scarred man. He'd waited for the opportunity to dig into the haughty bastard - he'd had a lot of nerve calling them to the peak for no reason whatsoever. The Mire Heir attempts to collide his left shoulder with the man's chest, while his teeth attempted to clasp around Ronin's left cheek.

Luther vs. Ronin
for Siubhán
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 17 + 15 + 9 + 7 + 10 + 14

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 2 + 10 + 7

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 20 + 1 + 17 + 15 + 4

nothing but a dark silhouette

Araxie knows what this place is.

The multitude of scents clashing together and the dusty pawprints littering the ground make it clear. It is an entry way and a claiming ground. The Sunless Stretch has no use for such a thing, perhaps, but she knows of them.

@Siubhán rushes ahead while Araxie watches as she revels in the newness of this place. Her own ears are pricked forward, curiosity getting the better of the young woman. Her eyes search for something - anything - of interest on the horizon. She detours, scrabbling up a rock that lines the passage and eyeing the ocean warily. She is a climber, not a swimmer, and the crashing waves make her nervous. She does not know how to swim.

Her perch is how she notices the approach of the stranger, his pelt a cursed bright white that seems wholly unnatural to her. He approaches her sister, who has looked back at her in question, and speaks. Araxie does not catch the words. She leaps from her perch and races towards the two. By the time she skids to a stop at Siubhán's side there is another male present, speaking. She catches the words traps and decide as he speaks and her tail lashes behind her as a growl rumbles in her chest.

They are not here to find a home.

The cursed boy flings himself at the man, and the fight begins. She knows this fight is for Siubhán and she cannot interfere, but her sister can also defend herself if she chooses. Araxie eyes her, wondering if she will.

@Luther ♔ @Ronin

shadow against shadow

code by anyu

despite her divided attention, @Luther ♔ is easy to see coming.

his white fur seems to glow in the moonlight and siubhán finds herself transfixed at the sight. light fur like his was a foreign concept to her — her eyes almost hurt to look at him. and yeah, it might be rude to stare, but he makes it hard not to. fortunately for her, he doesn’t seem to care much — instead speaking, introducing himself as ecrosia mire and welcoming her. all her ears twitch, curiously, at his words and welcome, misreading the situation and his intention. thanks! she chirrups, shooting him a toothy little smile.

it’s only when @ronin approaches, quiet sarcasm dripping from his tone, that shiv realizes something is amiss. the desert king speaks of a place instead, not a lion. brows furrow as she glances back to luther, head tilting — was he not ecrosia? huh? i don’t want to go anywhere — she says, and it’s a lie, maybe, but it makes sense to her. the next words she says fall uselessly from her lips, as the first man throws himself at the other. mumbled syllables fall away, sliding backwards a step; she's missing something here, but she cannot put her thumb on it. were all lions outside the stretch this strange?

she glances behind her, still intent on @Araxie — she sees her twin-soul approaching quickly, having abandoned her elevated perch, and immediately she feels better. still, brows raise as she looks to her shadow, wordlessly communicating: do you know what’s going on? this was… strange, yes? but maybe they could use these men to their advantage — ? her tail sweeps out to brush against her sister’s ankles, a little quirk of her shoulders, bunching her mane up around her neck.

worst case they could just run, right? someone’s bound to have answers around here.

code; background

(really sorry for the delay!)

The shadow creature lingered far behind the trail of her relatives. She picked her way in silence, slinking this way and that like an errant droplet of water seeking a path through the dust. The sun of the day had placed her ill at ease, but the coming of darkness had soothed her. It could have been hard to spot the spotted woman, had it not been for the plumes of colour of her eyes and adornments reflecting the moon's tentative light.

Sola watched @Luther ♔, the lune-drenched creature approach @Siubhán. The jewels of her gaze hardened for a moment. Strangers may not be kind here. Really, strangers didn't tend to be kind anywhere. Another appeared, @Ronin clear as day to the twilight creatures keen eyes, and her gaze stiffened to one of disdain. She circled the fighting males, eyeing them with a scornful venom. What a waste of time.

She floated wordlessly to the space besides the two younger women, just behind @Araxie, her doubled ears flickering. "I believe, dear, that they are fighting over you." There was a strange resonance to her voice as the said it, a quality that seems ill placed and incorrect, yet the mistake in the structure of her voice could not be identified.

5years, no bonus.

Ronin took none of this personal, this was politics…well…that and he didn’t want to see any lioness being forced to go somewhere they didn’t understand. Ronin was more than aware of the monsters that lurked in the muck of the swamp- after all, he had been one of them for some time. Thus when the pale Prince would turn to him, pivoting to face him head on, Ronin would make effort not to smirk. It was politics, but it was also fun irritating the little prince. Words would slither forth, sickly sweet as fermented berries coated in honey. Toxic.

Lips curled, the beginnings of a devilish grin as the prince surged forward, Ronin would mirror the motion, as Luther planned on thrusting his shoulder forward for a painful impact, the warmonger would roll his right shoulder forward protectively, his alignment shifting to the left slightly to make room for the movement. Bone and muscle slammed together, causing the Oasis King to suck in his breath, the impact jarring and painful. Far more than a mere bruise. It left his right shoulder and forelimb tingling and throbbing sharply. Jaws would reach for his cheek, flesh pinching between the beasts teeth. The warmonger would attempt to jerk his skull in the opposite direction, ready to rip the flesh if need be. He would try to take his head as far away from the boy as he possibly could.




Ronin vs. @Luther ♔ ♔
For @Siubhán
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 10 + 11 + 18 + 12 + 8 + 5 + 6

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 7 + 4 + 12 + 3

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 10 + 17 + 11 + 14 + 7

Ronin was enjoying this quite a lot by the smirk on his face. He'd truly become one of the Illyrian wenches himself - coating his own greed in self-righteous bullshit. Luther wondered when they would step up to own up to their actions and stop pretending like they weren't doing this to stroke their ego & stoke the proverbial fire.

As the Mire Heir's shoulder slammed with the opponent's shoulder, he felt the immediate pain from the collision. It rattled his limb & the rest of his gargantuan body, and he grits his teeth. A bruise was certain to bloom tomorrow, but he was too busy to think about tomorrow.

Because now there was only the immediate satisfaction of his teeth digging into the Andal bastard's cheek. The younger man sought to only clamp his teeth down, attempting to pull his head back & trying to tear a chunk out of Ronin's face.

Luther vs. @Ronin
for Siubhán
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 19 + 11 + 4 + 15 + 10 + 6

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 4 + 18 + 1

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 5 + 16 + 4 + 13 + 7

5years, no bonus.


Yes, indeed, Ronin did enjoy the altercation that was happening between himself and the Mire Prince. Then again, he enjoyed any moment when he had the chance to fight. That was what he was good at. Even now as his shoulder throbbed and his right foreleg tingled from the collision, the desert king could be seen grinning, thrilled by the battle but not consumed with a blood lust- not this time. This was only a petty squabble, nothing important, still, he would fight with a methodical approach. As if playing a game of chess.

Luther would bite into his cheek and as Ronin pulled back, Luther would pull the other way, ripping free what small chunk he had. No matter, that side was already fucked up anyway from the Mire Sovereign. Nephthys couldn’t be mad that it was even more chewed up…right? He still had a good side for her to look upon.

Ronin would take that moment of freedom, as blood ran down his cheek and down his throat into his mane, to twist his head back around, neck arching as he lurched forward. The warmonger would attempt to drive the crown of his skull into the crook of the Princes throat, where it met his jaw. Hind limbs would tense, propelling him forward with a good amount of momentum. Left paw already reaching to brace himself so that he did not fall on his face, should he miss.



Ronin vs. @Luther ♔ ♔ ♔
For @Siubhán
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 9 + 5 + 8 + 2 + 13 + 10 + 7

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 9 + 8 + 2 + 4

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 17 + 5 + 2 + 15 + 14