Cirilla departs from her den within the Cay and decides that she would explore a neutral territory that she had yet to step foot on. She headed west toward Grimoire's Labyrinth, intending to explore the hidden paths that lay within. As she travelled at a leisurely pace, the woman allowed her mind to wander. Her ambition had not got the better of her, and she knew in time - once she had grown more, aged and got stronger - she would be able to take the crown she so desperately deserved. As her paws carried her through the varying landscapes, the heavens decided that they would open, and rain was eager to lash down upon Amaryllis to quench its thirst.

Cirilla made it to Grimoire's Labyrinth in enough time, only having to endure the heavy rains for a short while. As she entered the caves, the water dripped from her brawny frame onto the cold and harsh ground beneath. Cirilla takes a brief moment to shake off the excess before descending deeper into Malkia's Chambers, curious to know what exactly resides in there.

@Ketsuki @Dumahart — code — bg

Mysteries await the curious or foolhardy deep within the mountains. A cold breeze awakens Dumah from the nook he had been resting in. His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked into the gloomy interior. The caverns have a hushed, solemn atmosphere – like a temple. Dumah's ears perk forwards, to listen to the far-away drone of rain and the shrill of bats. He was tempted to doze, until a familiar scent rose above the musty and earthy odour of the caves. @Cirilla? Debris cascaded along Dumah's sides as he rose to his feet, and instinctively followed.

What am I doing? The male frowned, as caution tugged at the logical side of his mind. Uncertainty coiled like a serpent in the pit of his stomach as he stubbornly continued onwards. I don't even know her. The walls appear to be narrowing, and the shadows thicken the deeper he delved. Dumah breathed in and out as the wave of panic threatened to overwhelm him with its suddenness.

He gazed frantically about for her, but Cirilla is a silhouette drifting further from his vision. The thought of suddenly losing her sends a chill down his spine. For a heartbeat, he is frozen to the ground with apprehension. Dumah stood straight and quiet, as though preparing himself to approach a dangerous animal. “Cirilla!”

bg x art x code

The brief conversation that @Dumah and her had spoken all those months ago had disappeared into the back of her mind. The woman had found him curious more than anything, eager to know what lay behind his captivating green eyes. But she had forgotten him as he had disappeared, and her interests had turned elsewhere.

The woman delved further into the chamber as her claws clicked against the harsh stone. She was not expecting for her name to be called out from within the shadows. The woman pauses and frowns, her ears twisting and turning as she listens out for another echo. But nothing comes - not initially.

She turns (out of chance), and her eyes fall on the grown figure of @Dumah. Rose orbs widen as she turns her body completely, facing the male with a surprised expression. She approached him, his frame having bulked out and his mane being much more grown. Dumah? She questions, unsure it was really him who stood before her scarred and battered form, and not a figure of her imagination.art — code — bg

Dumah felt something warm blossom in his chest on hearing his name on Cirilla's lips. He breathed out, relieved to know he hadn't made a complete fool of himself. Still, he internally cursed himself for letting something so small do things to his insides.

She approached him with an expression of uncertainty. A look he is not used to seeing her wear. Dumah smiled shyly, as he looked sideways at @Cirilla. In their absence, a new light is cast on the yearling she once was. Fresh wounds joined the older scars that crossed her body – her skin had lost its youthful curve, now hardened like leather. Gone was the girlish bearing, replaced by a rugged impression.

“I saw you at the challenge. You fought well. By the looks of it, you haven't stopped yet.” Dumah's brows rose as he asked gently, “Why?”

An unspoken question nestled at the back of his throat, waiting patiently for its turn to be released. Are you alright?

bg x art x code

The challenge for Caladan had been a sore loss for Cirilla. She had hoped that her determination and ambition were going to stand her in good stead with Vellen, but in truth, it was not to be. Perhaps she had been too brash, too eager, too young to take over a pride. She had lost that day, and had not paid much attention to those that had gathered in the crowd.

She studies his scarless face for a second, her expression unwavering. Why? It was a good question, and one that she was not entirely sure how to answer. My determination outweighs my logic. I am destined to rule. One day. She comments, looking away from @Dumah briefly before returning his gaze. I seem to create havoc wherever I go. But I enjoy the thrill of battle. The closeness to death... it excites me. Pulls me alive. She remarks, allowing the silence to fall over them after her words vanish into the air.

Where did you go, almost two years ago? What happened? She probes, curious to know quite where her knight in shining armour had disappeared to.art — code — bg

Dumah's brows rose as Cirilla commented that she loved fighting, that it made her blood sing and feel alive. The male can not comprehend the thrill of it himself. Whilst the struggle to survive is familiar, food and shelter were not things worth shedding blood for. There were always other opportunities to eat and places to sleep. Dumah would have fought for his mother and sister, gladly, though they had proven frequently that they could defend themselves. An unhelpful thought grumbled from within, <⁣i>What do I fight for?

“What makes you so certain you will rule?” The male canted his head as he studied her. What experiences had led the woman to be so devoted and self-assured. Bewildered by Cirilla's words, he took a step forward, his mouth agape. How can she find pleasure in dancing so close to death? “So this is what ignites your soul. I appreciate your honesty, although I can not say I have found my own flame.” Dumah hung his head, as he shifted from foot to foot.

Compared to Cirilla's diamond sharp focus, he felt dull and insignificant. Dumah gathered a steadying breath, and forced himself to look at her instead of the safety of the floor. Her question of where he had been cuts deep into him – had she missed him? “I went back to my family,” he answered, after a heartbeat so that he could gather his thoughts. “They have gone to who knows where and why.”

Dumah braced his body, feet spread beneath him and neck tucked into his shoulders. “Spar with me. I want to know what it feels like.” briefly, his mind is filled with images of the play fights he had engaged in with his sister. The one indulgence their mother had given them.

@Dumah vs. @Cirilla
Spar
Round 0 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 9 + 7 + 8 + 11

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 13 + 17 + 3 + 7

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 11 + 2 + 13 + 5 + 6

Potential EXP

+5 Conduct an experiment (1/2) (Erudite)

bg x art x code

Cirilla could not deny that she found @Dumah fascinating. There was something about his under confidence and uncertainty that drew her in, pulled her closer to him. Her scarred face watched him as he spoke, words falling from his lips like water from a tap. She pauses on his question for a moment. It's my ambition, my dream. I suppose it comes from the drive in my family - my Aunt was a powerful ruler once, and I want to mimic her. Cirilla answers, knowing that Saga's legacy had paved the way for her.

You will find your flame, Dumah. Forgive me, but I'd imagine you've already found it and not realised. Perhaps his flame was standing right in front of him. Perhaps. Dumah mentions that he went to find his family, to know where they had gone and why, and Cirilla nods. Did you find them? She asks plainly, wondering quite why he had returned if he had found them.

Spar with me. Cirilla did not need to be told twice, particularly not when it came to fighting. She rolls forwards her shoulders as she stands and does not utter a warning that she was to begin - instead the woman charges forward, aiming head=on for Dumah's chest. Attempting to barge her left shoulder into the center of his chest cavity, Cirilla raises her right arm and with her claws released, attempts to slash forcefully down his left flank. Simultaneously, she attempts to lunge forward with her teeth and attach herself to Dumah's left shoulder.

Cirilla vs. Dumah
for Spar
Round 1 of 3
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 20 + 5 + 15 + 1 + 11 + 9 + 18

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 18 + 9 + 20 + 14

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 8 + 9 + 1 + 3 + 16

artwork • coding

Dumah nods at Cirilla's explanation - it sounded as if she had a legacy to live up to. In her family, the flames of ambition burned brightly. The same could not be said for the male, he mused. Dumah's search for his mythical father and his followers had revealed that he was the heir to nothing. Dust on the wind.

"You will find your flame, Dumah. Forgive me, but I imagine you've already found it and don't know it."

There was a tug in her words, a hint that Cirilla knew something he didn't and was keeping it from him. His brow furrowed as he tried to sift through what she had said for any meaning. "What..." His voice was thick with distraction as he replied; it was strange the way she made him feel. It's easier to breathe, the tension he often carries slipping from his body. There is comfort in her presence, but also fear. It's becoming more difficult to tighten the reins of control - like water, his emotions rise to the surface no matter how hard he tries to stem the flow. He would be a fool to expose himself to more pain, yet part of him wanted to. Why not?

The male is untested, and it is clear that Dumah had not fully reckoned with the fury that Cirilla brings. The air is forced out of his lungs as she collides with his chest. Pain blossoms there, but he has no time to think. He scrambles backwards, trying to create space between them. Despite his manoeuvre, he hisses at the sting of the claws along his side. The woman wasn't finished with her attack as her jaws tried to lock onto his shoulder. Panic gripped Dumah, and he tried to slap Cirilla's rapidly approaching head away with his flailing right foreleg.

@Dumah vs. @Cirilla
Spar
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 14 + 15 + 2 + 3

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 6 + 3 + 16 + 15

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 15 + 4 + 14 + 12 + 11

bg x art x code

Cirilla had always enjoyed the thrill of battle. She had been exposed to the clashing of claws and jaw-locking of teeth from a very early age, watching her Aunt Saga brutally rip the life from Erna before falling to her own demise. Cirilla remembers the strong and confusing emotions she had felt during that war, and just how sad she had been after it had ended.

Since then, the carnage of bloodshed seemed to call her name. She had watched and learnt significant things from other fights, and discovered further from participating in fights of her own. A continuous test of trial and error, of learning what did and did not work. Someone had once told her to study her enemy, to learn how they moved and how they reacted to things, rather than just jumping straight into battle. It was, for her, one of the most useful pieces of advice she had ever been given.

Cirilla's left shoulder makes easy contact with the centre of Dumah's chest cavity, a bruise blossoming against her own skin as well as against Dumah's. She can almost hear the air forced out of his lungs as he scrambles backwards, panic evident in his breathing and jolted reaction. There is a part of Cirilla that enjoys the panic and fear she could smell from Dumah's pores, but she needed to remind herself to rein it in a little. Her right arm makes contact with Dumah's left flank, despite his scrambled attempt to put distance between the two of them. Her jaws part as she tries to latch onto his shoulder, but she is not successful: her jaws clamp onto thin air as Dumah's right paw makes contact with her face. She is thrown for a moment as Cirilla's right paw returns to the ground, and she shakes her head in a bid to usher away the butterflies that seemed to circle her.

Rising her head back away from the ground and looking back at Dumah, she grinned. Lunging forward once again, Cirilla attempts, this time, to clamp her open jaws around Dumah's right forelimb, attempting to clamp her teeth around his ankle. Or paw. Whatever she could find, really.

Cirilla vs. @Dumah
for Spar
Round 2 of 3

Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 1 + 9 + 17 + 2 + 7 + 12 + 15

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 19 + 1 + 3 + 14

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 20 + 15 + 13 + 8 + 2

Dumah's strike had landed, revenge for the blow against him. His jaws clenched at the suggestion that she might be enjoying this little experiment. Any why not? It must have been a thrilling experience to feel the fear you could inspire in another. I'd like to be a part of that, he mused, blowing hot air through his nostrils.

The wild look in her eyes sent ripples of some unnamed emotion through his stomach. Oh yes, I think I understand. Air rushes past Dumah's face from the woman's attempted bite, along with the snap of teeth on empty air, a reminder that brought him back to reality. Cirilla's open jaws loom in his vision, and he tries to ram into her left shoulder. Without battle-hardened instincts to guide him, he acted on impulse instead. Dumah thrust his head forward, trying to latch onto Cirilla's face or neck, any part of her body within reach. If he could get his weight down on her, he could hopefully try to throw her off balance.

@Dumah vs. @Cirilla
Spar
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 4d20: 15 + 14 + 2 + 18

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 12 + 10 + 9 + 16

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 4 + 18 + 11 + 5 + 17

@Shark

bg x art x code