della knew she should be sad. really, really sad. and she was, sure. she had cried with her mama over the loss of her papa and brother, but... was she supposed to be sad forever? cent had been fun to explore with, but daneri was even more fun. losing her would have been impossible, but she hadn't exactly been super duper close with her brother.

and papa. well, that one hurt, but he was already gone half of the time, anyway. most of the time della liked to pretend that he was okay, that he had just taken cent to visit his other family. that one day he would be back and everything would be okay again. mama would smile again. a real smile, not the one that she pretended was real whenever she and dany were around.

for the first time since the fateful day she had lost half of her family della had come to the ocean. not all the way to the shore but set back on the rocks a way, peering out at the sea that had swallowed her loved ones. a part of her hated it for stealing them away -- another part (and she would never admit this to mama) was morbidly fascinated.

so she sat and watched the wash of waves on the not-so-distant shore, her tail coiled tight around her paws, tossing her head from time to time to clear her view of her growing tuft of mane.

Is she supposed to be out exploring all by herself? Probably not. Does Zafira care in any way what she is supposed to be doing? Also no.

The lilac cub stands out against the black sands and rocks of the shoreline as she worms her way toward the pools where the water collects when the tide is high. She knows enough about the ocean to know that this is where the fun will be. When the tide retreated creatures would be trapped in the pools, leaving them at the princess' mercy. She makes her way rather gracefully across the sands, having grown used to them since her home is nothing but sand. She doesn't care about blending in or hiding. She is a fierce warrior. Nothing can stand against her. And if they were to dare? Well, her mother would take care of them.

The last thing she expects is someone else to already be present at the tidepools. Another lion - a cub, older than herself - sits in the sand, tail curled around her paws as she stares out at the waves crashing against the shore. Zafira pulls herself to a stop and watches, wondering what she should do. Instinct says she should be tough and mean and chase this interloper off, but curiosity makes her pause and consider. This cub is not one of her troublesome siblings. This requires further investigation.

So Zafira approaches, her posture screaming confidence that had yet to be earned. "What'cha doin?" she asks, approaching behind the other cub. Her speech has improved significantly over the last few months, so though her words are clearly those of a young cub, they are intelligible.

@Della

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would father have been disappointed, that she didn't hear the other cub? would mother have reminded her of how important it was to be on guard? surely neither of them would have been pleased that della had been so effectively snuck up on, but, well, neither of them were here. so thankfully neither of them witnessed her squeak of surprise as she whipped her head towards the other.

it took less than a second for her to realize there was no threat, and then she lifted her head and adopted a similar swagger. "just looking," she stated with something like a huff.

then, because she was feeling a little bit mischievous and naughty she couldn't help but ask -- "shouldn't you be at home with your mommy?"

@Zafira

Don't be rude, Del. She cooed as she came up alongside her twin sister and stared at the young little thing. Well, certainly not that much younger than themselves but it was hard not to see cubs that were younger and not see drooling, crying babies. Normally, Daneri was all for teasing and taunting but today, she was feeling experimental and optimistic. You, purple cub. She said, pointing her face right to @Zafira not even taking a moment to recognize that the twins might cause confusion for her given that the only difference that they had was too hard for anyone to spot. What's your name and... she thought, eyes looking up briefly as though the answer was in the clouds before settling back to the lilac child, what's your favorite thing to do? @Della might know an inkling of what she was up to but she was simply wanting to test this small child and see what kind of an enigma they were.

^{ART BY KIM, CODE BY CALA}

The older cub squeaks Zafira approaches and speaks and the younger girl giggles at the reaction, pleased with herself that she hadn't even been trying to sneak up on the stranger and she still managed to surprise her.

"Lookin' at what?" she asks, peering out at the ocean as if there was something interesting to see there. But it is just the same sea that she sees every day of her life in the Lagoon.

And then the other girl jabs at her, asking her if she shouldn't be home with her mother. "No," she says with all of the confidence in the world, sneering at the other girl. But before she can say anything else another girl comes up alongside the first and Zafira has to blink, suddenly feeling as if she is seeing double. The two girls are almost identical, and Zafira is not familiar enough with them to tell the difference.

She bristles as the newcomer makes demands, getting into Zafira's personal space as she did so. Her lips raised, showing some of her teeth, and a low growl of warning rumbles in her chest. "Why should I tell you my name?" she retorts, refusing to answer to complete strangers. "My mom is a queen, and I am a princess. You can't tell me what to do." Every the obstinate little warrior, she isn't about to let these two push her around, even if they are a little older than her.

"My favorite thing to do is fight," she answers the second question without hesitation. She is a fierce warrior princess, destined to be a queen just like her mother. She would fight her way to the top and win it all.

@Della @Daneri

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where della was daneri was never far off, and certainly the opposite was true, too. there is no surprise when her sister appears, and in fact she only seems to gain more confidence. her posture straightens and she takes a step towards @Zafira, even with her sisters warnings ringing in her ear.

oh but the little lilac cub was being quite rude, wasn't she? della looked to daneri once more, and surely to her twin sister her intentions would be clearly written across her face. "well," she murmured, drawing out the word as she slowly looked back to the princess, "surely we will be the best of friends. 'cause.."

della took a step again, and then lurched forward abruptly with a battle cry on her lips -- "we like fightin' too!" and by then she was lunging towards the other cub, lifting both forepaws in an attempt to tackle zafira to the ground.



Della vs. @Zafira
for braggin' rights (dominance)
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 17 + 20 + 2

Dodges:

Rolling 1d20: 19

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 15 + 17 + 18 + 2 + 12

ooc: sorry for the wait, was giving nova a chance to hop in first!

---

These two cubs have absolutely no respect for the royalty that she is. Her mother is a queen, and that makes little Zafira a princess. Even before the first girl is speaking, Zafira is still bristling from the demands that were made of her. She is preparing to throw herself at the others, not heeding the fact that there are two of them and only one of her.

But before she can fling herself into the fray the first girl beats her to it. She lunges forward towards Zafira, declaring that they like fighting too, and Zafira growls as she, too, launches herself forward, both of her front paws raised in a similar move to the girl. Rather than being tackled to the ground, the two meet head-on. One of her opponent's paws smacks the right side of her face, glancing off her cheekbone. The second one smacks into her left shoulder.

Zafira aims to push both of her paws against the other girl's shoulders to stop her from slamming into her completely.

Zafira vs. @Della
dominance a.k.a. i'm better than you!
Round 1 2 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 3 + 7 + 18

Dodges:

Rolling 1d20: 18

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 8 + 13 + 3 + 12

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it is little more than a silly brawl, but don't tell della that. there is a gleam of seriousness in those bright purple eyes, and she is very clearly determined to come out on top of this fight. even as they both rear up and meet in mid-air she doesn't back down. digging in her back claws she attempts to find purchase on the sandy ground, sliding back slightly as zafira shoves her. there might be some bruising on said shoulders tomorrow, but della mostly ignores it. she'd felt worse in her brawls with her siblings.

intending to stay balanced on her back legs (keeping the one forepaw on the shoulder it had struck and attempting to drop the other one to the right shoulder) della brings her teeth out to play. opening her jaws she attempts to bite down on the girls face, opposite of where her paw had struck, targeting the baby-plush cheek of her opponent.


Della vs. @Zafira
for braggin' rights (dominance)
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 10 + 16 + 20

Dodges:

Rolling 1d20: 18

Luck:

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

you know, we're gonna be legends

code x art by era

To Zafira this is anything but a silly brawl. She takes fighting seriously, hoping to one day gain the favor of her mother in order to take the position of heir of the Lagoon. There is a constant need to be better and get stronger so that she can beat her siblings to the position beside their mother.

It seems her opponent is just as determined as she is. The meet in midair, paws smacking at each other and leaving bruises. There is no doubt that she will feel this tomorrow, but she can't find it within herself to care.

The girl drops her free paw onto Zafira's other shoulder so that they are both standing together, paws against each other's shoulders for balance. The other girl bites, her teeth scraping gashes on Zafira's cheek but not able to get a solid hold as Zafira, at the same time, attempts to slam her skull into the other girl's head, hoping to knock her off balance (and not realizing that it will likely knock her off balance as well).

Zafira vs. @Della
dominance a.k.a. i'm better than you!
Round 1 2 3
Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 18 + 2 + 10

Dodges:

Rolling 1d20: 14

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 15 + 18 + 4 + 19 + 10

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Entitled, I see. Daneri and @Della both were relatively unfamiliar with the hierarchy of the prides, she most of all, and so couldn't even begin to think about how she might related to this child. This cub that was clearly pompous, pride and going to be an irritating bitch if they couldn't find some common ground. While her sister was not wrong about them loving to fight (Daneri loved it), she also was a hard-grown protector that would rather protect someone than hurt. So when her twin sister went in for dominance, Daneri gave a roll of her eyes and plopped her behind on the ground. Obviously going to wait until they were done and a point could be proved. If not, then Daneri had no problem going in for a round two and making @Zafira think twice about being a shithead to either of them. Of course, not without Daneri grinning to herself as the sand-dweller cub attempted to ram her own head into Della. That was amusing, if only because that was exactly what she would have done if she were fighting her own twin.

+5 - observe a fight (della vs. zafira)

^{ART BY KIM, CODE BY CALA}