i'm ready to suffer the sea +5 Learn something interesting about a pride or family +5 Explore a new territory and find something useful +5 Witness drama between prides he makes the trip from the lagoon to the cove mostly out of curiosity — he’d been here only a handful of times before, but the sands are always familiar. challenges, too, are a familiar part of life here — the island was never static. always in a state of change, of upheaval. he arrives before the fight begins, not recognizing the lioness who stands alone — the challenger, if he had to guess. the others, too are mostly unfamiliar; he really needed to get out more and make some friends, but — his thoughts come to a screeching halt, shuddering into silence, as his eyes land on her. he blinks, seafoam eyes struggling to adjust to what he thinks he’s seeing, because it is… impossible. @Saga is dead; he knows this, because he’d worn her blood on his fur for the longest time. he’d watched her family put her to rest, he’d seen the anguish in his children’s eyes at the sight of their mother’s lifeless body. saga cannot be here because she is dead, dead. and yet — here, on a random summer day, he sees her. he’s stopped frozen where he stood, too far away to hear her or the sigruns she speaks to. selfishly he’s glad for that — he doesn’t think he’d be able to stomach hearing her voice again, not after this long without. not that he’d be able to hear it — or anything — over the sudden, terrible rush of blood in his ears. to the gathered strangers the skagos, surely, looks like just another spectator but his eyes do not leave her, even as the world tips on its side around him. it is a trick of the light and nothing more; he is always haunted, but never so literally. still, he does not look away.

code // art // do not use without permission

The call for the Cove has the lioness raising her head, an ear flicking, she holds her breath for a second before she is rising from the den she shares with her husband and nuzzled her husband's cheek, "I'll be back." She spoke softly and exited the den, heading towards Caladan, towards her brother, she'd stand behind Gauthier for as long as he allowed her to, as long as he still calling her sister. The Rike wife didn't know what she was walking into exactly, but as the Rike were underground, she didn't feel worried about attending the challenges, though before she.made it any closer she would pause, raising up on her hind legs and pressing her claws into a rock side, she slides her body weight down, angling her claw tips until they're pointed.

She crosses the border easily, her gaze slides over the challenger, a small scowl forming over her lips, she stands Awaiting her brothers entrance, a ghostly figure catches her eye and she glances over at the dead chimera. Her ears prick forward as she listens for conversations those closest to her, but either they speak in a language she does not understand, or they speak of nothing she can use. Her tail lashed behind her, her wounds from her last fight having healed over, the crackle in the area is almost electrifying, the tension, she loved it.

+10 Participate in a pride challenge
+5 Maintain your weapons (sharpen claws or care for teeth)

ART COPYRIGHT XXX / CODE COPYRIGHT ANALESE

Solanum heard the call and rose, she was old enough to understand challenges now and not fear them, the young lioness enters the challenge, glancing, she sees @Cassandra and dips her head gently before her eyes find @Hero, now she was over a year old, and a smile finds her lips as she heads towards him. "Long time stranger. She purred, her gaze playful as she wound her way around him, circling him before settling in next to him, the chimera girls eyes shifted over everyone, falling on @Saga, her brow furrows at the sight of the other chimera.

She gently bumped her shoulder into Hero's, giving a soft chirp, "Did you find your family okay?

Valerian had not yet seen a challenge in these lands, and he just so happened to be in the area. That perhaps wouldn't be enough to draw him in the interests of strangers, but he realised soon that the voice calling was familiar. The Savante man turned his path toward the Cove, a place he had yet to explore.

The challenger is who he thought, the person who'd unlocked the secrets of coconuts for him. Alright, cool. Taking a glance around the gathered folk, Valerian did not see any familiar faces until green eyes fell on @Ronin, @Ambrose, @Zelda - though he did not know the name of the two latter. Close to Ronin was a woman he did not yet know who smelt of the mire. @Nephthys seemed to know the Oasis king, regardless. With a grunt of greeting Valerian would pad up to the group of mostly Andal lions and settled himself down on the sand.

He had caught the tail end of Ronin's question. "I've met her. Briefly." he offered with a twitch of a dark ear. The way his pridemate eyed the challenger suggested perhaps he knew more. Valerian's next question was for nobody in particular, though he did look about for someone to clue him in. "Who is the leader of this pride?"

art © drifty

Her walk is a lazy lope as she navigates her way to the cove. The rough sand feels familiar under her feet, but the soughing of the sea is something she's less accustomed to, leading her to sidestep hastily the moment the water laps around her paws. By the time she arrives, a crowd has already gathered. @Ambrose is among them, with @Zelda not too far off. She lets her gaze slide past them, and finally she spots her. Cirilla... vying for the throne? Uma never cared for holding a crown, but seeing her there, unhurried confidence in her stride, roaring out her challenge against the backdrop of a sea as deadly and ferocious as herself... well, she supposes it suits her. And she supposes that maybe she was always destined for something more. One ear swivels to catch @Artemisia's words, though her eyes remain fixed coolly on Cirilla, the current focus of everyone's attention.

"Not torn-ear. Cirilla. Ambrose's special lady friend." She clarifies, both to the umber lioness and @ronin, unabashedly. Maybe Ambrose doesn't know yet. Maybe Cirilla doesn't know yet, either. But Uma knows. For Zelda, the statement probably means a rough end to her perfectly comfortable little sun nap. She doesn't expect it to be a sore point for her. Well, no one lioness can know everything. Cirilla, a voice echoes, strange and somehow wispy. Now her gaze does drift. @Nephthys and @Valerian have joined the Oasis king, but something else is moving among the crowd, a figure shuddering somewhere on the tipping point of intangibility. @Saga thrums with the hum of something otherworldly, out of step and out of time. "Hmmm." Eyes begin to narrow, but then she catches herself. No. If she starts opening herself up to the idea that ghosts are real, she might as well admit there's a lion in the sky named Maua, sprinkling the land with happy little miracles— only when no one is watching, of course. She redirects her gaze to Cirilla. Just the old nearsightedness playing tricks on her again.

code by corvus

Tempting, teasing, testing. Nazonal was out and about more and more. Exploring a world that they saw different than before, relearning through the veil of naiviety smashed and learned weakness, uselessness fraility. A confidence shook up so bad it had split into a thousand pieces that only slowlyy began to be put back together. Because of course it would go back together. It had to to keep her family safe.

That meant either isolating themself entirely away ot diving back into the deep end of things.

Time to see what was becoming of the rest of the world. With Alexander in the west and Nero north in the Summit Nazonal's sphere of interest had grown, they let their wanderings take them further down avenues and places she would not normally go. To the sound of a challenge, to the gathering of bodies down on the sands in the south of the land. They approached with consideration, glancing around at everyone near already and then subconsciously drifting a bit in the direction of the Andal lions. Watching for anyone she knew good ro bad...

Eyes fell on the challenger and Nazonal immediately frowned, ears fell back against her skull. Maybe today she'd get to watch this woman lose in front of everyone.

ART BY KIM, CODE BY LARS

Morning time seemed to breed audacity. The sun was just rising over the horizon when her call rang out, loud and entitled. Kozrain's chest tightened from where he had been resting at their border, anticipation rising there more than anxiety. No, Kozrain was too old for anxiety – too familiar with the ways of war. Lions would inevitably come to try and take what parcel of land they fancied, it was only a matter of how strong those that defended it were. Watching her rove over the sands with her entirely average stature, he wondered if this would be an efficient enough test of Gauthier's mettle.

With that basic principle of defending their land in mind, it was with displeasure that he witnessed strangers of all sorts waltzing past their clearly-marked borders. He knew they were clearly marked because that had been his task of that morning, allowing Kozrain to rise perhaps earlier than the rest of his pride-mates. Narrowing his gaze, he set his sights upon the first lion to traipse their way, leaving the little lioness to their king's charge.

"Did I miss our borders magically dissolving?" Kozrain hissed, attempting to come up from behind the small group of similarly-smelling lions. "Welcome to Caladan! I'm happy to provide the full experience," he cooed. Without further warning, the large lion launched himself forward, attempting to knock his weight fully at the patchwork cat's behind. He kept his legs splayed for balance, adjusting his weight onto only three as he lifted his left forepaw in an attempt to rake his claws vengefully down the other lion's left thigh, and lunging his parted jaws to try and wrap them around the base of his tail. His heart raced with gleeful delight, eager for the chance to grapple with someone he did not have to show restraint.

---

Kozrain vs. @Ambrose
For Minor Maim / GET OUT
Round 1 / 4
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 3 + 8 + 2 + 12 + 16 + 5 + 18

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 7 + 16 + 8 + 18 + 14

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 2 + 9 + 7 + 15

|| august y9 | six years | CC gentry | at caladan cove | @lee ||

Dark thoughts continued the plague him, his hatred & anger prevailing above all even the strongest urge to end it all. He loved Nephthys, and yet detested her. It was a strange mixture of emotions, but uncertainty ended there. His hatred for Ronin was unquestionable. Bhaskar had fallen into a dark void of self-doubt, bitterness, contempt & fury that spun around in an endless cycle. He hardly slept, and when he did his dreams were far from pleasant.

He spent his days alone. It was only natural, considering he had nobody left anyway. It was fine though, he had no desire to speak to anyone.

Then the call came.

He'd forgotten the tumultuous politics of this wretched valley. Bhas thought that it should be no surprise that in the span of his return, there have been two challenges already, or perhaps more. He may as well have missed out on some. This call, however, managed to reach him for the colossal man had been close by. Normally, he would ignore the shitshow that was certain to unfold. He despised politics, although the list of things (or lions) he hated had grown substantially, and so politics had been bumped down the rankings. And so, he made his way for the Cove.

His colossal body moved through the sand, his stare cold & detached, muscles quivering with something akin to frustration & anticipation. He hoped, prayed, that the bastard would be there. Surely he would, was he not a King? He almost scoffed at the title, wondering when his turn to fall will come. On and on and on, they rise and fall. He was simply another number in this foolish political game. He expected that she will be there too. The thought of seeing her again filled him with loathing. She's probably a Queen now. After all, that is what she'd always wanted.

He spied the crowd from afar, standing on a dune while scouring the audience. And then he saw him. Bhaskar's feet outstretched, sending him barreling down, sending sand to fly everywhere. His eyes were locked on the bastard, a tunnel vision only for him. He cared little about sneaking up on the man or trying to shield his approach. It simply wasn't his style, nor did he think much at this moment. There was only fury in his gaze and an insatiable desire to rip the lion apart.

Bhas attempted to charge at Ronin head-on, his front paws & unsheathed claws attempting to latch onto both sides of Ronin's neck, while his teeth attempted to sink into his eye and tear it free.

Bhaskar vs. @Ronin
Major Maim (Eye)
Round 1 / 4
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 1 + 11 + 12 + 19 + 4 + 7 + 6 + 10

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 19 + 14 + 11 + 16

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 7 + 11 + 4 + 18 + 2

+10 Use a creative move in battle No. It was the only thought in her head when she heard the woman's call. Immediately her heart skipped a beat, her anxiety causing her mind to spiral. She'd only just arrived in Caladan! This was her heaven. They can't have it. They simply can't. She felt anger overtake her as she slipped among the rocks, peering from behind at the many lions spoiling the Cove's golden sands with their mere presence. She hissed, her lips peeling back in annoyance. Then she saw Kozrain's hefty form charge at one intruder and it took her only a moment to pick out her own target. There. A striped woman seated herself by the waves, her scent wafting towards Ottie and telling her that she was of the Summit. An enemy. The girl burst out from her spot and sprinted toward Fernweh, attempting to approach the woman from her open left side. Her small body managed to cross the distance quickly, sending sand & water behind her pounding feet. At the last moment, she lifted her left foot, took a pawful of sand & saltwater with it, and attempted to strike at Fernweh's face, claws trying to both damage the woman's eyes and fling the sand & salt water to cloud her vision. Ottilie vs. @Fernweh for Minor Maim Hits: Rolling 3d20: 15 + 5 + 8 Dodges: Rolling 5d20: 14 + 3 + 6 + 20 + 2 Luck: Rolling 5d20: 7 + 12 + 8 + 9 + 2

this vessel is a lie

code // art // do not use without permission

Asteria was not keen to leave her children behind. With the ranks of Secondstone swelling, though, and her eldest children there to watch them, she also could not imagine allowing Nazonal to go alone. When she had seen the dark woman slinking away from the jungle towards the summons she had nearly panicked, remembering too well the wounds that she had come home with, the injuries that had peppered her dark body.

Tucking in her quickly growing children she followed her friend, flexing her claws and stretching her muscles as she trailed along behind. Asteria had done her best to keep in shape after the birth, but there was a tiredness that was clear even in her dark features.

Still she arrives shortly after Naz, settling down beside her with a gentle bump of shoulder to shoulder. "You know her?" A quiet question meant only for her friend, noting the way her ears had fallen back.

It is only then that she takes note of some of the other faces present. Sigrun that she knew vaguely, and @Saga. It was not the first time she had seen the guardian so she is hardly surprised, but still there is that pang of longing, wishing that such a fate had not befallen the one she cared so deeply for. @Bhaskar pulls her attention next, launching himself at another, and she is far more surprised to see the hulking man than she is her deceased mother.

This was going to be interesting.

Table by Amanda | Reference by Kite | Background