No Lamb For The Lazy

No Battles Won In Bed

The odd-pelted demon stalked through the snow as it fell around him in a flurry. He was on the hunt for the first time in 2 years, and his first call to action was to find a pride that he could affiliate with. Now, he had heard about the Hollows when he had first arrived in Amaryllis, but he was no fool. It had been long enough for things to have completely changed... as they often did.

The demon stalked along the outskirts of the border, looking for anyone who might be on their last patrol before darkness of night fell upon them... but so far he had found no one. Dark eyes scanned the territory beyond the marked border, the temptation to cross the threshold was strong... but he didn't want to piss them off. He wanted to join them.

He released an exasperated sigh mixed with a deep growl as he stopped and shook out his fur from the flurries. They're gonna make him call out... aren't they?

He licked his lips before bearing his fangs and with a crash of distant thunder and a flash of lightning perfectly timed, he would release a summons for the pride leaders. His roar echoing throughout the twisting caverns.

@Alexander ♔ @Valerian

code by corvus

Valerian knew that scent. Not the individual that carried it but clearly it was one of them, and he cannot leave it unchecked. On one last patrol of the cavern entrances and the territory that extended past the tunnels themselves, he had found himself along the borders of the hollows. That was when he picked up the unmistakeable trace of enemy.

The very bloodline that had seen many of his family dead, writhing and agonised to the incurable sickness. One that could kill near all Savante with a single bite.

The cry lets him zero in on the creature’s location, and he emerges furious - and yet hesitant - to meet the pale form of @Odium.

It is only instinctive self-preservation that stops Valerian from an outright attack.

“Your blood is not welcome here.” he hisses with flattened ears, sage eyes slitted. “You carry the sickness. I can smell it.” Subtle warning it was, but Valerian knew it well. “Begone.”

art © yumpy

No Lamb For The Lazy

No Battles Won In Bed

Finally the young Demon was met with hostility at the border. A seemingly maneless male that was just nearly Odium’s own age would hiss and spit at him. The Demon stood fast, as the other male had stopped a rather curious distance away despite the obvious aversion to him. The words he threw at Odium, ’Your blood’ and ’The sickness’… it didn’t take a genius to recognize that this man knew him to be of the poisonous family name. His scent of death was indeed rather subtle, at least compared to some of his unfortunate kin, but recognizable all the same… especially if someone were to have encountered them once before.

A dark scowl pulled upon Odium’s brow. “I warn you, do not categorize me with the rest of those murderous thieves.” He snarled back, staying where he was and not progressing forward… though the other male’s weariness made the Demon feel an urge to back him up into the cavern wall. “I am Odium… Merely Odium. I have denounced the surname you find offensive, and the family with it.” He pledged, though it was not a plea for understanding or any kind of acceptance.

Odium knew all too well the damage his family could do, the carnage they reveled in and the ideologies that guide them. This man has had an experience… and it was all too clear that it was not one of pleasant tidings.

@Valerian

code by corvus

The Savante prince has little patience, keeping a healthy and defensive distance from the loathed thing that lurked upon their borders.

Valerian felt he had every right to be angry, to be fearful. This lion’s kin had decimated the empire of his family, drawn them into a war where nearly he and everyone he loved had be massacred. A battle that was so viciously one-sided because of their power of their bite. A single one, near certain death.

He remains tense as @Odium replies with a snarl of his own. “Offensive you may find it,” Valerian says darkly, “But you are just as dangerous, regardless of your name.” There are new Savante children in the pride - the very first in many years in the Hollow and his heart clenches at the idea of even a tiny mistake placing their lives in danger.

Perhaps it is harsh of him to be so brusque, so intolerant. Yet Valerian had not survived ’til now from patience and agreeability. Not when he knew just as little mercy would have been shown to him, that awful, fateful day.

“This is not the place for you, Odium.” he warns. The risk was too great.

art © yumpy

No Lamb For The Lazy

No Battles Won In Bed

Odium looked into the eyes of the lion who stood before him. He saw loathing, anger and fear. What had his kin done to him?

The Demon tilled the words the stranger spoke, worked them in his mind to squeeze any bit of information he could from their meaning. Relaxing his features, Odium returned to a stoic disposition with the flick of an ear. “Not only offensive is the name of my sire, but it is also the name of a common enemy... Perhaps?” He deduced.

This male knew their power, their danger and their wholehearted interest in flexing it upon anyone who crossed them. Odium knew that the man was weighing his risks. Pros vs cons… but what Odium didn’t know, was just how lethal a single bite was to this man and his family.

“I know the destruction the clan Black can bring upon a man and his family. My father was such a man... my sister and I, victims of their hatred and malice.” He disclosed, his voice a quiet rumble as he stood rooted to the spot. His gaze almost unblinking. Yes… even familial bounds hold no deterrent against their violence.

“They carry with them a plague, one – as you could tell - I carry as well. I am fully immune to it’s effects, and willing to fight in your stead against my brethren. Would that not be an advantage?” Odium spoke the truth, every word of it… but this man, Odium understood his reservations at the very least.

@Valerian

code by corvus

The smell.

Anthonius hadn't felt such an irritation rise through his veins, such a cold, seething hatred pillage among his bones for a hefty amount of time. Yet, smelling that scent - that disease - and all the history that came with it, caused absolute fury to mend at his raging veins.

@Valerian is already there - speaking to the Black. Anthonius stalks forward, face cold and hard all while his eyes seethe and glare a burning fire towards @Odium . A low growl forms from his lungs, and then his words - "Miért dúl ez a betegség a frissen biztosított otthonunkban?" Why does this disease linger upon our freshly secured home? His voice is heavily accented, native tongue dripping in venom as he does not let his gaze waver from Odium.

"Meg kellene ölnünk. Mielőtt Teodara megszagolná." We should kill him, before Teodara catches whiff of him. He adds as an afterthought - rash, perhaps, but him and his family deserved the worst after all in Anthonius' mind.

Hearing the Black claim he could be an advantage to them sent a cruel, mocking laugh from the lungs of Anthonius, his fur prickling upon his spine. "You are worth nothing to us here, unless dead." He finally speaks to him, eyes flashing with said underlying promise - it was a wonder how his temper was restrained.

It hit him suddenly - and without warning. The sudden twist of his gut, the familiar scent that had been accompanied by the death of his kin for so long. It made him sick, made his mouth dry and his blood run cold. Alexander stands, sliding out of his den and out the entrance of the Hollows, his heavy paws carrying him further, further until the edge of the borderlines find @Valerian and @Anthonius. There is an unfamiliar presence, but the wind does not deceive, it tells no lies. The Mother, in all her wisdom, had given them a warning.

"Ne támadj." Do not attack. It was not often he liked to give outright commands to his kin, they were his equals in all but one way. Despite being the Patriarch, it felt disrespectful to force his command on anyone. Yet, in this moment - he could not, would not relent. "Ma egyikőtök sem hal meg rajtam." I will have neither of you die on me this day. Head raises, the intensity of his blue eyes lands and lingers on @Odium as he stands so close to his borders.

While he knew the other did not know the full extent of their weakness, it made him uneasy to be in such close proximity. Still, the words he spoke proved to pique the interest of the King. "Your kind have betrayed us once before, at a great cost." The beast begins, his nostrils flaring and his ears sweeping back in a barely contained display of aggression. His blood, by pure instinct, reacted to the beast, "However..." Alexander knew the other two may not agree with him, but it was evident that they knew nothing of their enemy in this land.

"You have information that could be useful to us. So I ask you here and now; how eager are you to betray your family?" He clicks his teeth together, features cast in a derisive sneer. There would be no kindness shown to the other, and he could very well turn around and leave with no issue. No one could stop him. While Alexander had survived a bite before, he knew not if he could do so again. Teodora had, thankfully, not made her presence known within the Hollows just yet, else this male have another issue entirely on his plate.

Valerian’s claws clutch at the stone beneath him, tail swiping uncomfortably behind his form. The prince was unsettled both because this was not a threat he could reasonably ward away with his strength because of the inherent risk it posed. And if @Odium proved to indeed have malicious intent, there was little he could do without putting his life in danger. Not that he would hesitate, but the Savante didn’t like having to hesitate and think.

He listens, torn now his reflex of fight was not an option. A victim, he calls himself. Valerian sneers, head slowly shaking his disagreement. How could such a vehicle of immense destruction to his bloodline be a victim?

He bites his tongue morbid curiosity urging him to heard the dark-marked lion out. If anything, he is stalling for more Savante to arrive - for the first time since they arrived, Valerian feels lost, out of his depth. There were awful, fearful memories trembling in the back of his consciousness and he fought down the frustration-urged instinct of violence.

What comes from his chest is a visceral reaction, visibly recoiling. “I have nothing in common with you, plague rat.” he snaps. “Veridet peje.” A clear and heartfelt curse, by his tone.

He shifts away several steps, not wanting to leave this border unguarded but feeling too ill at ease to stay. Odium is spared further unpleasantries by the arrival of @Anthonius and Valerian only briefly tears his eyes away to acknowledge his uncle.

“Megtenném, ha nem a saját életemet dobnám el.” I would, if it weren't throwing my own life away. He growls back with a lash of his tail, pride prickled at the idea of cowardice. Valerian did not want to admit his fear, and though it wasn’t fair of him to snap at the earthen-toned Savante, Valerian was clearly agitated.

It is his father’s voice that stills him, sage eyes settling on the red pelt of the Obsidian King. “Igen Atyám.” Yes, father. he submits with a set jaw. Valerian stands by as @Alexander ♔ addresses the pale and red lion. His face drops into a scowl as he hears ”However…”.

“Atyám, nem bízhatunk bennük!” Father, we can't trust them! he insists on a quiet hiss, his chest tight and ears pinned.

art © yumpy

No Lamb For The Lazy

No Battles Won In Bed

It was not long before his presence had drawn a crowd of Hollows kinsmen to the border. It had taken them long enough. As each arrived they seemed to harbor the same resentment, the same hatred… and yet, kept their distance – regarding him as one would a poisonous serpent poised to strike. His dark eyes scanned across them all.

The maneless lion he had been speaking with ( @Valerian ) grew bold, now devolving their little talk into mere spitting of insults instead of useful conversation. At the name of ‘Plague Rat’ Odium would simply roll his eyes, turning his attention instead toward the second to arrive.

A brown and white speckled male ( @Anthonius ) approached now. Upon this man’s face was the expression of disgust and fury, and with this particular lion Odium felt an increased interest to take a step back… but he would reject his instinct, holding his ground with feigned confidence. He would not show an inch of fear… not an ounce of hesitation.

The man spoke to his comrades in a foreign tongue that the Demon did not understand, though he watched the eyes of those nearby… trying to get a sense of what was being said. And then, words in his own tongue were spoken, a thick accent upon the male’s voice. ’You are worth nothing to us here, unless dead.’ And would he be the brave soul to kill him? Odium’s scowl darkened further, though he hadn’t the time to take a breath for rebuttal before another barked orders in their foreign tongue.

This man of white with speckled maroon swirls ( @Alexander ♔ ) held an impressive aire about him. He was the man the others looked to for guidance and command. This must be their King. Odium stood slightly taller in this man’s presence, his posture rigid, and eyes intense upon the man as he then began to speak in a tongue Odium could comprehend.

Odium was taken aback! Though it was clear this man, just as all the others, held a deep-seated hatred for the name the Demon bore… Odium might finally be getting somewhere. Odium pressed his ears flat against his head, one lip curling in a disgusted snarl as he never broke eye contact with the King. “I would see their maimed corpses strewn at my feet by break of dawn, if such a feat were within my power.” He answered without hesitation.

Suddenly the maneless lion spoke again, this time in what the Demon could only presume was their mother tongue. The young man was displeased with his King’s consideration, perhaps? Regardless, the only inkling that Odium heard him at all was a slight twitch of an ear… otherwise, he kept his attention on the lead male.

code by corvus

Tensions were high, the Black scum in front of them sparking the unsettling feeling, the reminders of the past. @Valerian spoke back to him, a growl in his words that has Anthonius' ear twitching, a low warning of a growl slipping from his lungs in return. He couldn't blame Valerian for snapping, Anthonius was close to it too, and it was only because they faced the very destruction of their past. Their foundations.

@Alexander ♔ arrives then. Anthonius is thankful, but his eyes do not even look at him. Not daring to take focus off the disease. He hears the order to not attack - hears how Alexander speaks to the threat before them. He is glad the betrayal is pointed out; because no doubt this was a scheme here once again to fool the Savante. Make them look like idiots, trust into them once more just to have history repeat itself.

Anthonius would not let it.

So, when Alexander even sheds a light of attention to the idea - his head whips around just as fast as his Nephew protests it. His gaze is burning, a hot rage swirling in his icy orbs, aching to be let out. Blood thunders through his ears, and Anthonius snarls his protest - fur rising along his spine, muscles prickling with the sense of urgency to remove the threat. "Végre biztonságos otthont kaptunk magunknak, és ezt szeretnéd veszélybe sodorni?" We finally got ourselves a safe home, and you wish to jeprodize that? He hisses, head snapping back to the enemy with a glance over that insisted he was nothing more than a piece of dirt among the land.

"And you'd do the same with our corpses. Just like I would do the same to you." He retorts, having zero trust, zero faith - the idea of even letting a snake into their lands was far beyond reasonable. He wasn't sure what Alexander was thinking - how the hell is this the second time they are on different pages? First the fight in the passage, where his withdraw cost a woman her freedom. Now, he entertained the idea of the impossible.

"Ha beengeded ezekre a földekre, megölöm. Az átkozott kockázat." You let him into these lands, I will kill him. Risk be damned. He warns lowly to his brother, to the Hollow King. Anthonius wasn't sure how he could dodge the bite of a Black in a battle, but he would sacrifice his own life if it meant his family was saved from a potential threat. Even though it was his brother's choice at the end of the day, Alexander wasn't the only one in charge of protecting the Savante.

@Odium