Cursed by a witch he is, that's what happened to his body! It must have been! The once towering stallion had been molded into something unrecognizable--save for a few trophies on his wall in the isles. But here, it was real, tangible, he had thick fur instead of horse hair, the horn atop his head was gone as if it had never existed. Even his tusks were smaller by comparison. But of course the vile woman couldn't bother to fix his jaw. The one thing that he wouldn't have minded change at all and yet it still remains in it's semi disfigured state. charming.

At the very least, he had his mind, was given new weapons and felt more compact and ready for a fight than ever. Oh, and the witch hadn't decided to chop off the dangle bits between his legs (thank the drowned god indeed!)

It still, however, didn't explain where he's d been whisked off to, what this odd passage was (he has had his fill of magical passages) or why he was even here. Was this also part of the weird curse that bitch hd done to him? And where was Sviiaga? The twins? Semi and Ryuu? the bloody fucking ocean? Last he could remember, they'd been on the ship of his own making, sailing home with more goods for the dying people of the isles. And then....

His memory is a bit fuzzy. Probably on account if the new bump on the side of his skull. He lumbers his way to a puddle from a recent rain storm, letting it's reflective surface give him some perspective. Yeah, definitely not a horse anymore. Definitely a big ass cat thing. His blue eye squints down at himself, turning his head side to side slowly. Then he takes note of the claws, how they feel sheathing and unsheathing in the damp sands. This was a sensation he liked, and very much so. With these at his side, he could do so much more damage than ever before.

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Just for some context, he has primarily been played as prey species for most of his life, hence the confusion. Now he a big scary danger fluff.

She is drawn to him, first, because she thinks him a lioness. A hulking beast of a lioness, in fact, and one that she would very much like to have on her side.

As it turned out (which she realized as she drew near enough to take in his more masculine features) she was wrong. This was hardly enough to deter her, though, for while his worth may be less as a male she knew well the value of having a warrior on their side, too. And by the looks of him he knew his way around a fight.

"Welcome to Amaryllis," she greeted in her thick french tones, "'ave you come looking for a 'ome?" She notes the jut of his teeth from between his lips and wonders about it, but it is no more unusual than half of the lions here so she makes no comment. "Per'aps I can 'elp you, eef you are..."

@Skjol

  

  

Skjol is usually better at keeping his guard up, but alas, the changes have shaken the beast. He doesn't notice the smell, the new way his nose catches scent as he is too preoccupied with staring at his own reflection. Yet, it's the words of this other--female, his new senses tell him--that drags his attention back. He isn't alone out here, and there was likely more ahead.

A growl erupts from him, and it nearly startled the brute. He blinks a few times--was that me?--before deciding it was not worth the stress and let another warning growl build in his throat. He feels the fur on his body stiffen like the muscles under his hide. Skjol has always felt strong, but never this powerful. Not even as he razed the weak to the ground and crumbled their bodies into ash. This was something else, something far more primal than he could ever imagine. Perhaps this wasn't a curse at all ....

But this lovely creature was talking to him, wasn't she? Skjol forces himself to focus on her--head naturally swinging to one side after years of having to do so just to keep his attention on those nearby. Her welcome was followed by questions, and Skjol had to think the words over twice before it clicked. "Who did that? It's one hell of a trophy" he motions to the woman's scars along the left side of her face. "Got my own, but not nearly as pretty as yours." he half-flirts though he assumes it falls flat. "Come across any fishy looking women along your trek today? I seem to have lost my friend" he says, before adding "I--I have a home--and what the hell is an Amaryllis?"

@Louve

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I put my armor on, show you how strong I am

So she was not the first to return to the passage in search of others. But that was nothing new. With a yawn and a slow, but graceful stretch, she moved along the sands at a steady lope until her gaze landed on the pair.

A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, revealing elongated fangs, when she caught the scent of a familiar pride. Quite familiar by now in fact. Gliding up to the pair like a wraith emerging from the sand, the pale woman gave @Louve a charming smile in greeting before emerald eyes landed on the dark stranger. "Amaryllis is the land you've found yourself in. And you have ended up in the one place where most come to find a new home...or recruit someone to join theirs," she spoke quietly, a low rumble in her tone. Her tail slowly flicked behind her, her posture straight and near regal, yet without any arrogance as she regarded @Skjol with a look that showed kindness but didn't betray the fierce warrior she truly could be.

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Things had settled down a small bit since Tiamat and her daughter had been taken from the pride and now that things seemed more calm he had decided it was time to start getting back to normal. Or at least figure out a new normal. The once Gentry now Heir was unsure about how he was to behave as political things weren’t his area of expertise. Yet he had came to the passage to try to get things done. He and Tiamat would often find themselves tag teaming through the place and occasionally cross paths when out recruiting. It made him wonder if anyone who was promoted would discover him out here.

In any case it was voices and a small gathering that drew him closer at the moment. Seeing a male who seemed to be missing a mane. He wouldn’t judge though he had seen maneless lions and lionesses with full manes before. "It seems you have gathered a number of strong pretty ladies to yourself stranger." He called out as he approached giving @Louve and @Lagertha a nod of his head.

Eyes then turned to @Skjol as he gave him a look over. Keeping his gaze more stoic he hid all the emotions he had been feeling from view from everyone. Steeling his voice he spoke calmly. "Name is Dagge Yu. Scilla Lagoon Heir." He introduced himself having to stop himself from saying Gentry. Though him being heir was surely temporary until Tiamat’s children reach an age where they can truly challenge him and prove they are ready to take their place. Yet no one here needed to know that. "Now that you know where you are, perhaps you can tell us who you are and about this fishy friend of yours. Maybe then we can help you out." He spoke with confidence in his voice as if he was a seasoned veteran at this, but honestly he was just winging it.

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He is... unusual. It is the best way she can think to describe him, as he immediately inquires about her scar and draws attention to his own. Louve doesn't particularly care -- she wears her marks with pride, tangling them in a half-fed lie of victory -- and she flashes a grin to the stranger. "Z'e one who gave eet to me 'as 'is own... not nearly as 'pretty' as you say." This wasn't entirely true, but the bastard isn't exactly here to prove her a liar is he? In fact she hadn't seen hide nor hair of the Miroslav beast since that day, so maybe she had left her mark.

"Fishy looking?" Her brow knits in an expression of confusion, unsure what exactly he means by that. Of course they are not alone long enough for him to answer her directly, for two others come to join them.

Louve spares them little more than a quick glance, her attention remaining almost entirely on the newcomer. "Eef you need a place to stay while you look you can join us in z'e Bluffs."

@Skjol @Lagertha @Dagge

"Or you might consider the Mire, assuming you're not afraid of a little mud." The huntress's rough voice is projected confidently in the air seemingly before she herself arrives, her golden form flowing smoothly over the sandy shore to joining this little gathering, offering a sharp nod to the trio of recruiters present - allies, all of them. This rogue has already managed to make himself fairly popular it seemed, and Myra was only adding another ember to the fire. But she might as well, no? "Myra Artesia, Noble of Ecrosia Mire. You're...looking for someone, are you?"

@Skjol is one of the more interesting beasts to have passed through here in recent days, or so Myra thinks at a glance. Maneless, with an unusual shape to his jaw, adorned with mismatched eyes and a plethora of scars both expected and strange scattered across his dark pelt. A lion with many stories to tell of his past no doubt, though in this moment, Myra is far more curious about the path his future would take. It is, after all, her job to wonder about such things so long as she's in the Passage.

Her ears, one pointed and one torn and ragged, subtly push forward to hear how he shall respond to all of this attention, quietly intrigued though she would dare not admit it.

@Lagertha @Dagge @Louve

SENTINEL

  

  

Well this certainly was turning out to be quite the menagerie, wasn't it?

His questions to the scarred woman were intercepted by not one, but two others--another female and a male respectively. But just when he thought more wouldn't show, a third woman appears. Truly, before their answers left Skjol had already begun to put some pieces together. This area, he assumed, was for claiming. In lands before he had wandered through something similar, most often he was on the other side, though. Within moments of coming to that realization, his suspicions were confirmed by @Lagertha. But hos attention was momentarily taken back to @Louve and her comment about the scar. A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips.

It was strange, to say the least. Most places like this he'd traversed were violent, dangerous, especially to women. Curious then, to see so many here. Certainly turning out to be quite the party. The scents of these individuals were almost overbearing to his new heightened smell--arid dust from Louve, the sea from Lagertha and @Dagge, though they differed in a way Skjol could not quite understand. Lastly, murky, muddy, stagnant water from @Myra. Ironic considering she mentions mud not a moment later. A paw scratches at his face, trying to keep the headache forming from growing worse.

"Sviiaga is her name. Front end like a horse, back end like an eel. Shark teeth, beady grey eyes.?" he describes her in perfect memory but then decides, maybe it had been a bad idea. What if Svii ended up like him? "Well I guess there is a possibility she looks more like me.now. All--catish-" he motions to his audience, before shaking his head "Never mind, it's a long story--I take it this is your claiming grounds so to speak. Information is key, I don't do deserts and prefer oceans. I can fight, if you were curious about pulling weight" negotiation had never been his strong suit, unless it had been about his strength. He was a brute, a titan among men not long ago. But the sea and her ventures had called him--beckoned him to return. And here is what lies ahead, for now.

"So, start talking. Tell me about your herds--er--packs? What do you even call your little...gatherings? It had been clear enough that this land was full of felines. All of these folk had shown and not a horse on site. Probably ate them all.

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I put my armor on, show you how strong I am

A subtle smirk tugged on the pale woman's lips, revealing more of elongated fangs. A spark lightened green eyes as she listened, ears perked up. The male certainly intrigued her, an interest so often drawn by marks of battle. It was something that called to her in ways she'd never quite found the words to describe. The newly promoted heir of the Lagoon wasn't too far behind her, earning himself a low rumble in greeting, as did the familiar form of the Ecrosian lioness when she arrived. Familiar faces, once again brought together by shared intrigue and goal.

Calm words spoken after the man had finished speaking were carefully chosen. A lure thrown. "She certainly sounds like quite the unusual sight in these parts. Though fascinating in a way. Perhaps her fate turned out to be similar to yours and if it did, there might be a chance of finding her." Her tail twitched a little behind her, her paws kneading the ground idly. "Being able to do your part is important, be it in a herd...which I am guessing you are more familiar with, or a pride...which is what our groups tend to be called. I for one am of the pride residing in Caladan Cove and while we are not as big as some of the other prides, we care for each other as family, no matter if we share blood ties or not. As our name says, we reside directly on the shore, but also have forests and cliffs within our borders, partially creating said border."

@Dagge @Louve @Myra @Skjol

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a woman of the mire joins them to throw in her bid, and louve gives her a passing look. they were allies -- close allies, in fact -- and it was somewhat of a relief to see another friendly face. but her attention does not linger on the woman, ally or no, and instead remains almost entirely on @Skjol.

the things he spoke of were unusual, fascinating, and from what she could piece together he had lived a vastly different life before finding his way here. louve had heard stories of reincarnation, had seen the ghostly image of her dead father (and even had a conversation with him), so was it so far fetched to imagine that he had not always been a lion?

"i've not seen 'er," she adds, forming a mental image of the strange woman he described. louve was almost certain that no such creature lived in amaryllis, but she did not necessarily want to crush whatever hope he had. plus, as he noted, perhaps this other one looks more like him. "i take eet z'at you did not always look z'is way?" a gesture with her paw towards his form accompanied by a slightly arched brow.

"as for z'e bluffs we 'ave security. we live 'igh in z'hose cliffs," another gesture towards the rising red rocks of her home, "and ma mother 'as ruled longer z'an any othairs." stability, she tells him, without speaking directly of it. "not desert," she muses, with a half-grin, "and our north border touches z'e sea." there was a path etched right to it, but she does not add such details. they were not necessary unless he decided to join her.