Markus had discovered the bug for fighting and for responsibility. He was hungry for more, and it seemed as though the Lead Fighter rank was not enough for the Rike man. Rising to his paws, knowing he now had a little secret, Markus made his way through Ecrosia to the clearing where meetings, hunts and challenges happened.

With a flex of his claws and a shake of his mane, Markus called out for Adeodatus. He wanted Noble, and he was prepared to fight for it. His sunset eyes waited patiently, hoping that @Alaric and perhaps even @Adalwolf would come to watch the spectacle.


Markus vs. @Adeodatus
For Noble
Zero of five

^{ART BY ALE-TIE, CODE BY CALA}

Where once challenges for ranks had seemed to ring out every day, there had been a lull as of late. Perhaps the hierarchy of the Mire had come to a settled state at last, or more likely, that the swamp so famous for it's ambitious members, had ran out of them.

The sovereign exited the royal den with rising anticipation, calling over her shoulder for the younglings to follow behind. It was a safe enough excursion, following the stream south west toward the meeting grounds where the voice had arisen from. It would do the girls well to witness a fight, even at such a young age, it would allow their mother to discern their taste for battle and cultivate it.

Sláine approached the open ground, spotting the ink hued giant @Markus waiting for Adeodatus. "Good luck tae ye." The scot nodded to the male before moving off to the side to sit and watch. Adeodatus was a particular favourite of hers and she'd be sorry to see him fall, if he did.
_
@Artis @Odette @Ciara @Aloïsia

ART BY KIM, CODE BY LARS

~ Hubert is attempting to remain hidden ~

The Mire has seemed rather quiet as of late. Maybe because of their energy had been spent on conflicts outside the swamp's borders in recent months? It seems as good an explanation as any.

Regardless, Hubert welcomes the day's sudden change of pace, tucking his half-done herbal mixtures away into the hidden crevice of his den before slipping out into the sunlight. He takes a moment to stretch beneath the fleeting warmth, before padding his way into the shadows of the swamp's dense shrubbery. He remains hidden amidst the tangled branches even after he arrives, curious gaze falling upon a giant, dark-furred male he does not know. Well, Hubert supposes he'll remember the man's features well enough after today, especially if he wins himself the title of Noble.

He's eager to see what sort of show he might give them.

The Prince is content to wait and watch the battle unfold from the relative peace of his hiding place, even when a sapphire flash of fur signals Slaine's arrival. It might not have been so bad to sit by her, but the young Starke has grown increasingly reticent in these past months. Ever since his failure that day had left his leg shattered and mangled for weeks, the shadows have been a near-constant companion.

Besides. Slaine has been so very busy recently with those new whelps of hers. The ones that looked far more like her than he ever would.

+20 Successfully stay hidden for the duration of a thread (x2)
+10 Practice speed or stealth (x2)
+10 Gather information about a character (x2)

ART + CODE By Dee

Finally. He had become comfortable in his role as noble and therefore found it boring but now it seemed that someone was seeking to take it. He had defended it once, Adeodatus could do it again. He wasn't no time in finding his challenger, but also wasted no time in giving him time to nake a move.

Once closer to the clearing, Adeodatus pushed himself into a full out run and would aim to come out of the undergrowth on his opponents left side, attempting to ram into him with his full on weight. Claws outstretched to dig into the ground as he pushed his shoulders forwards, and lifted his head so that he may be able to attempt a grip on his opponents upper rib and near the spine. His focus was solely for this man and not the others.


Adeodatus vs. @Markus
For Noble
Round 1

Hits

Rolling 8d20: 3 + 10 + 2 + 15 + 11 + 9 + 12 + 18

Dodge

Rolling 3d20: 11 + 18 + 16

Luck

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 3 + 6 + 18 + 10

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL

It was almost a relief to hear a challenge ring out again. The Mire had been quiet, lately, it's members busied with the numerous pride fights happening across the lands.This was... a nice change of pace.

Arriving, he was hardly surprised to see Markus fighting again. The man had ambition, he'd give him that. Moving to set himself beside Slaine he bumped her shoulder with his own, looking for any of the cubs that might have come to watch. It would be a good lesson for any that might wish to wet their own claws one day, and good to know even if they did not intend to fight.

"Who has your bet?" He asked his mate, his voice pitched low so that only she could hear.

image to kim + code to pine

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Ciara has never watched lions fight before, she didnt have experience watching blood being drawn nor violent acts. But she wanted to make her mom proud so she was ready to give this a try. The past weeks she has been learning more about her world, allowing herself the time to slowly understand how life worked. It was something she was enjoying, specially learning about plants.

Finally she went to the fight and slowly lay beside her mother's and father´s side. Eyes of green-focused on the fight ahead of them. She wasn't a very talkative cub, she was quieter than the average youngsters. "What are they gon' da ma" She asked.

@Sláine @Alaric

code by shaz - line art by Graylynx colored by Shaz

Markus was kept waiting longer than he had liked. The call echoes throughout the Mire and, much to his surprise, it is not his challenger that arrives first. It is @Sláine, a lioness he had not met before. She offered him luck, and Markus simply dips his head in her direction - both as a thank you and as a sign of respect.

At least, Adeodatus arrives. Markus' head turns to look at the slightly smaller male. The sudden foliage movement catches the behemoth's attention. Adeodatus comes toward Markus's left side, but the man sees the smaller male in enough time to pivot to his own right, so that the two are facing head on. This does mean that the man's attacks do not land where they had aimed to - instead his body slammed into Markus' chest bone, where a bruise would blossom in the coming hours.

Markus would raise his head and lean it to his left. Adeodatus' head would not find purchase on his upper rib, but instead his right shoulder, where his teeth would sink into his merle flesh. Markus would part his jaws and attempt to lunge forward, attempting to find purchase on the area of the spine where his chord meets his neck. Simultaneously, Markus' left paw would raise, claws would come out, and the man would attempt to rake his claws down the right side of the grey man's flank.

Markus vs. @Adeodatus
For Noble
One of three

Hits

Rolling 8d20: 20 + 1 + 9 + 19 + 5 + 2 + 18 + 4

Dodge

Rolling 3d20: 6 + 4 + 14

Luck

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 17 + 8 + 10 + 12

^{ART BY ALE-TIE, CODE BY CALA}

Boredom and desperation to distract herself from those racing thoughts of him (who would not be named) is what caused her to stalk through the Mire, making her way towards the sound of a challenge in the epicenter. Drena was no stranger to fighting, to the very gore of it. Some might even say that she was drawn to it and she wouldn't deny it. Drena adored a good fight, one with plenty of blood spewn across the battlefield and the opponents. She was not the first to arrive and it meant nothing to her as she made her way to take a seat, a glance given in the direction of the High Sovereign and his Queen before allowing those burning embers to return to the two men fighting. She had certainly seen @Adeodatus before but the other was an unfamiliar face, she would note it in the back of her mind for another time. Better to be familiar with those she shared territory with then to not. Reclining slightly to get herself more comfortable, her own wounds still protesting with every delicate twist of muscle, she watched. Intently. Mostly to see if she could spy any weaknesses on either male, again perhaps for personal reason only. But maybe just maybe she might learn something new from these two. And if not, at least she had a show to watch. Thankfully she had managed to bring a distraction in the form of a small rock, one that she was sure to use to sharpen her own deadly claws as she watched, raking each down alongside it to make sure the points were perfectly sharp all the while.

[barbarian/paladin exp//doubled]
+10 - Maintain your weapons
+10 - Observe a fight x2

ART BY YUMPY

Every so often, it occurs to Hadiya that her penchant for picking up herbs and trinkets wherever she goes will eventually circle back around to the necessary, if tedious, reality that she would have to clean up her den a little bit. Today, the reminder had come in the form of crackling, brittle leaves when she'd her paw into one of the many nooks to retrieve one of her herbs. Seemed the decreasing temperatures had some effects besides just icing over the swamp's many puddles. Wonderful.

With a sigh, the seeress would scoop up the dead leaves and head out to toss them into a pit of muck that hadn't quite frozen over yet, returning just to sniff through her stores for more dried or withering specimens to repeat the process over with. There were still a few good pieces at least, stored in crevices that protected better against the elements. She could probably still do something with them.

Oh, yes! That's what she had been doing. In a flash, her mind jumps tracks and she moves to fish out some crabwood stems and devil claw roots, dropping them onto a flat stone where a few basil leaves already sat near a small, rough rock. She reached for that rock with a paw then, moving to grind the herbs beneath it into an anti-inflammatory ointment to treat infections. Or that was the thought anyway.

Such is what she's in the middle of when the challenging cry ringing throughout the Mire bends her ear. Well, didn't that sounded exciting! Should she go check it out? It's been...actually when was the last time she'd thought to socialize with anyone? After a moment's hesitation, the thin yearling would hastily grab for her herb pouch and trot her way towards the commotion to watch. Well, maybe 'watch' was an inaccurate term considering her condition, but she can at least hear what's happening and imagine. She can certainly smell too, and the faint scent of iron beginning to waft in the air by the time she sits down near @Drena suggests that maybe that poultice she's making will be a good investment of time, indeed.

+10 Attend a spar or challenge to assess the wounds (x2)
+10 Clean out your herb stores (x2)
+10 Create a potion with a specific use (x2)

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL

Nothing hit where here wanted it to hit but Adeodatus wouldn't let that bother him to much. His mind was on the fight in hand and that meant tasting the blood that seeped into his jaw and on his tongue. It was what drove him forwards even with the bruising that formed from him colliding into Markus. a grown had escaped his jaws but it was muffled with fur. Feeling claws drag down his back right side, Adeodatus would attempt to move towards his own left, leaving jaws to snag just beside his spine but still pinch enough pain for Adeodatus to let go and turn his head in an attempt to dig his jaws into the neck of his opponent as well as lift up his right paw and attempt to dig his claws into toes, whichever was closest to him.

Adeodatus vs @Markus
Noble
Round two

Hits

Rolling 8d20: 2 + 17 + 9 + 19 + 15 + 8 + 6 + 20

Dodge

Rolling 3d20: 11 + 4 + 7

Luck

Rolling 5d20: 18 + 5 + 8 + 3 + 19

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL