@Revna speaks first, giving reason for their presence. Enemies and theft, and he is struggling to understand the problem. While he had, indeed, told Luther to play it smart (and this was decidedly not smart) he could hardly fault the boy for making an attempt when the opportunity arose.

He might have answered in kind, with patience despite his that was waning, had @Cassandra not spoken up. His gaze is sharper when it flicks to her, and no, he has not forgotten her. "Rest assured," and his words are as hard as his eyes, "we are not in the habit of giving "excuses" to our enemies." Enemies as Revna has so clearly labelled them, though they had been for as long as he had held the pride. Sigrun allies were hardly the sort he wished to make friends with.

@Sláine is as equally bothered by the threats, though she speaks of a neutrality he has no interest in. As far as Alaric Starke is considered it simply is not possible to garner such a status with the Brook. He does not disagree with her here, now, though gives a silent look to his wife that will surely convey his thoughts on the matter. He'd save that for a private discussion, though; for now he appreciates her diplomacy.

@Luther ♔ is decidedly less so, though he cannot seem to disagree with the boy. In fact his words only seem to spark Alaric's only anger; he draws himself up higher, standing certain before the pair. "Do not think we have forgotten. Do not think, either, that I did not notice what side you stood on when Illyria called for war." His gaze shifts from one to the other, and he voices the inevitability they had all known -- "if it is war that you want then it is war that you will have."

As far as he was concerned they had made their beds, and he was not afraid of making them lay in it.

(1/2) +10 Remain undetected in a large thread (5+ characters)
(1/2) +5 Gather useful information on a enemy lion or pride
(1/2) +5 Infiltrate a group thread without getting caught
It is the loud talking that drew Vulferam close to what was going on. he had been lounging not too far away from the scene, trying to catch a quick nap before doing, well, nothing. But when he heard strained voices rising and being able to hear the tension in the wind, the Prince was being drawn toward it like a moth to a burning flame. Melanistic frame would drag itself up onto all fours, the yearling giving himself a quick shake before he took off in the direction the voices were coming from.

Paws carried him as quietly as they could across the Mire territory, Vulferam deciding to keep himself near thicker trees and clumps of bushes. Body would crouch lower to the ground whenever the voices were getting closer, and as he settled behind a thick patch of bushes he would snake his head just enough for coal eyes to see who all was there. Vater, his dear half brother, and Sláine were present, as well as another from the Mire he couldn't place a name on (but she was a woman so he didn't really care anyways). Attention would the slither toward the two Vermeda women, knowing them both to be rulers of the pride and that was really it. Ears twist forward as he catches what is being said, a brow rising as it seems as though he had stumbled on quite the juicy news.

Excuses? War? Oh, he just had to stick around to see how this all played out.

Vulferam is hiding/spying!

_{BG — ART — CODE}

~Hubert is attempting to remain hidden~

Maybe it's not entirely uncommon for there to be a call for his Vater's presence at the borders, but usually such summons aren't tinged with such cold steel. Who would dare? Well, Hubert supposes he could make a couple guesses.

How can he not go to see what this is all about?

He takes to the trees, quietly weaving his way across the branches as quietly to see what the fuss is all about. Though perhaps it's more than just a 'fuss,' he guesses, as the sound of raising voices and ruffled weathers grows louder as he draws closer. Strange, how the charged heaviness in the air could reach him up here, raising the hair on the back of his neck even as he leaned in from his perch with growing interest, peering through the gradually disappearing leaves.

Vater is there, of course, along with Slaine and the ever-overbearing Luther (of course) and the familiar golden woman that he may or may not have spent some time antagonizing as a cub. He does not recognize the other two lionesses, having only ever seen them from a distance before, but it's not hard to pick up the scent of their pride on the breeze. Vermeda. From his understanding, the Brook's ilk had not dared to set foot here since a calamitous war that had happened before his birth.

And yet here they are.

Luther is carrying on with a self-righteous sob story, but it is the words of the King and Queens that capture Hubert's attention more. They speak of apologies demanded and 'excuses' not forthcoming, a mockery of neutrality, and, most importantly, they speak of war.

How intriguing.

ART + CODE By Dee

Her ears flick to @Cassandra, a little bit of irritation in the twitch of her tail as her friend escalated the situation too quickly for her liking. She would like to avoid all-out war, but Cassandra is actively antagonizing the Mire lions gathered.

"You misunderstand me," she says, turning to @Sláine, who is the first to speak. "It is well known we are enemies. There is little that can change that. However, enemies and active war are different. I merely want to know why your heir attempted to interfere with the leadership of another pride, in an attempt to tear me away from my children and my wife and the pride that I care about." Though rage burns through her veins Revna does her best to maintain an even tone while speaking to the other queen.

The boy (@Luther ♔) speaks next, and her gaze, cold as steel, turns to him, listening. It is then that she understands he is the child of Erna, the Rike who fell to Saga's claws. "That war was not started by Cassandra," she said sternly. "That was Saga's doing, and her's alone." Her tail twitches again, frustration simmering. Cassandra had done what Amaryllis was known for; seeking a crown of her own. "Cassandra only did what so many of your own have done," she says, looking to all of them. For who could ignore the fact that so many Mire lions had challenged for prides, including prides of Brook allies, like the Summit?

And then @Alaric speaks.

She does not know this man, other than that they have always stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. She studies him, careful, listening to what he says. "You would have us abandon our allies, then?" she says, amusement coloring her tone, as he comments on where they stood with Illyria during the most recent war.

"I came here to discover whether or not we were at war. It seems my questions have been answered. Cassandra?" She turns to her high sovereign, more than a little done with this conversation. "We should go. It sounds as though we have a war to prepare for." And with that, she turns away from them, not interested in hearing anything they have left to say. Cassandra can agree or disagree with outcome, but the Mire has made things clear.

They are at war.

/Exit Revna

_{BG — ART — CODE}

(2/2) +10 Remain undetected in a large thread (5+ characters)
(2/2) +5 Gather useful information on a enemy lion or pride
(2/2) +5 Infiltrate a group thread without getting caught
If Vulferam had known that his bruder was being a little nosey himself maybe he would have joined him to compare notes. But alas, he did not, so the Prince kept to himself and continued to keep himself as concealed as he possibly could. Ears would continue to strain forward to listen to the tense conversation, seeing the conflict building between them all. It would end with one of the Brook leader's speaking about needing to prepare for war and this would make the yearling all the more curious about what was happening. Did he have to prepare himself for war, too? The thought of having to fight wasn't the most appealing to Wolf, but it wasn't one he would shy away from, either. There seemed to be nothing else that was going to be discussed here, and with the rather large bomb that he had come across, Vulferam would sneak backward away from his hiding spot and back to his den.

Well fuck.

exit Vulferam.

_{BG — ART — CODE}

It's difficult to keep her hackles from raising at the pretentiousness displayed by both Brook women. The contest of strength at the passage had already been won in Revna's favor - twice over, in fact. But that wasn't enough, apparently. They had to make demands too, as if they'd ever had enough legs to stand on for such thing. If they'd desired 'neutrality' from their long-time enemies, perhaps @Cassandra should have tried to plead for it long before today.

For the most part, the huntress keeps her teeth clamped together. There is little she could add that @Luther ♔ has not already said with a far more eloquent flair for dramatics than she possesses. It is as @Alaric says - the Mire has not forgotten the losses they'd sustained nor the damage they'd been dealt. They had not forgiven it, either.

So who cared whether or not they were to be forgiven?

"We didn't ask you for excuses, now did we?" How ironic, that it's the grey woman who's so keen to offer them up. Myra is hardly convinced that the current Vermedan Queen was blameless in that war. And what does it matter, when that same woman is all but eager to declare war today? Something in the atmosphere shifts with Revna's parting words, echoing through the air like the drop of a hammer that could never be taken back.

To some extent, Myra finds it a relief to have it all so clearly revealed out in the open.

She would wait until their 'guests' departed before she would turn away, planning to clean her wounds in the quiet security of her den while she considered this turn of events. "I suppose it's time for us to do the same." She murmurs aloud to @Sláine and Alaric with a quiet exhale of breath.

But as she steps past the thorny barrier that had guarded their territory ever since Cassandra had first crossed their borders, she can't help but wonder if they hadn't always been prepared for this as an inevitability.

/exit Myra

ART COPYRIGHT IRISH