Khadija rushed upon hearing a challenge roar for her queen, eyes adopted an angry demeanor as she moved quickly to find fights erupting around. More than just the challenge. Her eyes traveled through those around, that until they landed on a fully grown male near a Vermeda cub. He was older and she assumed much more experienced than her.

"Hey get away from him!" She roared as she approached Kvare from behind. She growled at him. "I wont let you steal that cub!" She said as she began to run towards Kvare, ears pinned as her lips curled up to reveal her fangs. Aiming to go from behind, she attempted to bite at Kvare's left back leg(by the ankle) aiming to bite firmly, hopping to distarct him away from the cub.

Khadija vs @Kvare
For Zephyr
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 10 + 12 + 9 + 19 + 5 + 4

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 1 + 10 + 5 + 3

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 15 + 7 + 9 + 19 + 3

code by shaz - art by max

code (c) daanyen

Paws ran from the looming peaks of the Summit. She'd slept hard that night. Rain pouring just outside of her mother's den. Hitting the structure at a peaceful rhythm that she had not noticed the brown woman slip into away. It was when Ratha arose to relieve herself. The pressure pushing on her bladder did she take heed to the absence.

A quick conversation with her grandmother and what the lioness spoke of her mother's intentions, she was off. Paws beating without halt until she reached that familiar place. Where home still looked as it did; however, the smell of it was... off. Her nose scrunched up in disgust. Too many scents overwhelming her senses and yet she kept moving forward.

Several felines of different shades and shapes stood surrounding something. The sounds of words being shouted. Accusations being thrown. Claws unsheathed and teeth exposed, Rath couldn't keep up. Cubs being asked to join other prides. Little one's fighting amongst themselves. Ratha shook her head. Making her away through the crowd. Eyes landing on @Cassandra and @Renfri with a look of hope.

Surely her mother would come out victorious.

She had taken the loss of her home hard. Had taken the loss of the sanctity of the Brook, even harder. Yet, she had not been broken. Eisa had not been broken. She had trained, and hunted, and kept to herself. She had determined that the moment that the truce was broken, she would make a move before Morrigan wiped him from the land- eliminating him like the disease he was. She had every faith that her grandmother would reign victorious when it came to Aeistrios. Every. Faith. So she waited, biding her time.

But she never forgot. Never forgave. Never, for a second, forgot him.

Morrigan had granted them permission to seek their vengeance. Granted that to them, and despite the cost… Eisa had craved the chance to take revenge. But she had waited. She had waited and waited. Because she knew the timing had to be right. She could not rush this.

That night, she had stayed within the confines of the Thicket, the dense brambles doing little to keep her safe from the storm itself. The rumbles of thunder and the flash of lightning almost made it impossible to hear the challenge.

But she would never miss or mistake her mother’s voice.

A bolt of pure triumph coursed through her, jolting her into a sitting position where she lay. She gave herself a shake and stood, before she moved towards her home. Eisa had grown up in the Brook, and knew all of it’s trails and hiding places and so she approached her former home- taking care to rub against trees and wet grass so that her scent would be hidden. When she neared, she crouched in the brush- her eyes seeking her mother first, and then the plum bastard who had taken so much from her.

She took in a deep breath, her eyes fluttering closed for just a moment, as a prayer left her. Vellen give me strength. Maua give me courage. A prayer to both deities, from both sides of her family. A prayer to lead her to victory.

- fight begins -
Eisa bolted from the underbrush, aiming to sprint towards him, as she aimed to crash into the right side of Aeistrios with her jaws agape, lips curling as she aimed to slam into him, before aiming for a powerful bite into the males front right leg- wherever she could potentially grasp. He was larger than she was, but she hoped she had gained some momentum from her sprint- to stagger and stumble him. There would be no banter from her, nothing but cold determination as she attacked.

Eisa vs @Aeistrios
For Minor Maim
Round 1/4
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 10 + 5 + 11 + 19 + 8 + 7 + 9 + 16

Dodge:

Rolling 4d20: 1 + 10 + 6 + 17

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 15 + 9 + 6 + 5 + 18

OOC: I know we’d talked about a Major Maim, and if you wanna bump this up to that, that’s fine by me! I just didn’t want to make any assumptions. <3

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY LARS

[[apologies if i've missed anyone this thread got big fast XD;; ]]

Teeth closed gently on his baby brother's scruff, and Elio managed to move back a step before the boy was squirming free. He cut the surprised and concerned yip off halfway through as their father arrived - addressing him directly. Wide eyes turned to the dark male and he tried to swallow down the anxiety "O-okay, I-..yeah, okay," he nodded once, the gesture slightly sharper than usual, "I will." Or he'd try his very best. He was already wishing for the help of Valtyr or @Seifrienriosa - though when she arrived she came with news of a broken truce and war, and that was no help, really. If he could pale, he would.

More siblings sort of kept appearing and with each one Elio wondered how he was supposed to get them all to safety if he was just one boy and they were all...embarrassingly braver than he was right now. He'd never been that confident or fearless as a little cub.

Was that why he'd been abandoned the first time? They knew he wasn't strong enough?

@Iritrios got a concerned glance as he barged in, but mostly Elio was trying to mark and track the locations of these siblings he was meant to protect and, if necessary, hide. Then there was @Setri, and the giant red woman (@Kireena ♞) was...well, it was a weird vibe. He really couldn't tell if she was genuinely concerned about the cubs, or if there was some veiled threat he wasn't seeing - or a blatant one he was trying to deny. He frowned, too far out of the loop of past drama to follow much of the conversation.

When @Aneistri ducked under him, his stance shifted automatically to allow her space between his forelimbs. And then there were cubs trying to fight and Elio groaned and the timeline of this post has become a mess. @Siofera earned a bitter scoff - "They will, though, that's the who- whole point of this." Wasn't it? Coming in to take their home again? Wasn't that harm enough already?

Apparently not - some dark stranger came forward with intent to steal Zephyr and Elio's stomach did that flippy-twisty thing again and he wondered how many times that could happen before it tied itself it a real knot. He was spared from forcing himself to act, though, by the intervention of their Barony.

Relief was short-lived, of course. Another surprised squeak found its way out of him when an angry maroon blur charged his father. "OH! Oh no - c'mon, g-get back," He'd try to nudge whatever cubs were close enough to him away from the impending danger that would be their father's fight.

This wasn't anything like the challenge for the plains, where he'd been able to just hide in the grass and watch and wait. He was too close to the danger for his own tastes, here, and now there was talk of war in the future. What would that mean for them? Would he finally be forced to fight? The thought alone terrified him.

@Aeistrios

while the summons baits her with foreboding overtones, it is her vested interest in the target that reels her in with a sense of urgency. and though she does not recognize the hopeful usurper beneath the veil of rain and drone of thunder, olive is quick to offer silent support with a crooked grin as she slips into the stands. for if the enemy of my enemy is my friend, she and the challenger are thick as thieves — or so she were so inclined to believe in her great naivety.

belated though her arrival, she makes herself at home amongst the brewing chaos with lax poise and amicable expression. however unbefitting her enthusiasm given the gravity of current circumstance, olive remains blissful in her ignorance as her gaze flits across a sea of faces in search of the familiar. and as she spots @Aurochs within the crowd of sulky faces – bypassing a hundred tiny saxe doubles in the process – she makes a beeline to his vacant side with a spry trot. “good god, someone needs to keep that guy off of her,” she asserts, voice lowered for aurochs and his mammoth of a companion as she gestures to the many children. and though she highly doubts the brook brood were all products of renfri, there is no denying the identity of their father — especially as they launch into battle, no holds barred. she snorts, amused.

the tail end of olympia’s prayer does earn a quick, sideways glance from the pandemonium, and their new close quarters reveals the scent of lorien on her fur. “i’m olive,” she offers, bobbing her head in greeting to @Olympia. “i know the little one; she’s no fun.” recollections of their previous altercation earn a fleeting grimace; but still, her vendetta primarily resides with aeistrios. “not that the other one looks like a grand ol’ time, but…” she shrugs. everyone were always far too solemn for no damn reason, if you asked olive — but no one ever really did, did they?_{BG — ART — CODE}

The world around her grew dim as her mind focused solely on the fight. She wanted them gone from the Brook, wanted to make sure they never came back for the land that rightfully belonged to the natives of this land. Red started to color her vision, and she let out a guttural snarl as her teeth scraped at the side of Renfri's neck. She was frustrated that she hadn't gotten a good enough grip on the smaller lioness's neck, and that she hadn't managed to knock her off of her feet.

Renfri's teeth grasped at the side of her neck, and she snarled viciously. Attempting to lift her left front paw, Cassandra would attempt to slam her claws into the front of Renfri's neck - hoping to do some damage to the smaller lioness's face. Simultaneously, she would attempt to whip her head around to hopefully grab hold of her face and cause some damage if she could do so.

She didn't hear anything else around her. The world was nonexistent as adrenaline flooded through her veins. She didn't feel the pain at the time - but likely would once the fight came to an end.


Cassandra vs. @Renfri
For Vermeda Brook
Round 2 / 5
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 17 + 9 + 16 + 5 + 13 + 12 + 1

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 7 + 15 + 1 + 17 + 13

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 17 + 1 + 10 + 9 + 2 + 12

text. "speech."

Art & Code by Zodiac

when she arrives, wide eyed and tiptoeing around the borders of this pride, chaos has already broken out. the main card within the center of the gathering is an interesting sight. not only is the defending sovereign tiny, but they're battling on three legs against a much larger, able bodied opponent. she watches as the brown lioness lashes forward with talent and hard earned skill fitting of a warrior. the medic has no idea of the vitriol that has fueled this challenge, but she can sense it in the way the challenger shoves and lashes forward relentlessly with no regard to the brook queen's ailment.

her attention is momentarily stolen by the sheer amount of cubs about that have seemed to amass their own need and craving for battle. it causes her ears to fold back against her head at seeing youth so angry and spiteful and imogen tears her gaze away. perhaps she had ought to continue to lay low and quiet here and hides within the rear of the ongoing fights, taking shelter in the foliage of the brook.

+10 Attend a spar or challenge to assess the wounds
+10 Observe a challenge and learn the results
+10 Learn something about another trade and their skills

CODE BY JAVS

It was an ordinary night save for the storm that had rolled through. Helen had been asleep when she first felt movement beside her. @Zephyr had moved from the den at some point and though part of her wanted to remain tucked in warm she rose, her own curiosity getting the better of her. There was tension in the air, and Helen felt it in her bones that something was off. Something was happening that she couldn't put a paw on, not yet at least. She weaves her way down through the familiar path only to watch with wide eyes as she takes in the large group of strangers gathered. She'd seen a gathering like this before at the Summit, when the land was being fought over. Was that happening here then? Her blue eyes scan the crowd for @Cerberus or @Ygritte but the girl sees neither. Her heart drops in her stomach when she sees two adults fighting near her brother and immediately, she makes a beeline for him. Coming up alongside him she butts her head against his shoulder, speaking above the thrum of the crowd, "Πρέπει να είμαστε προσεκτικοί, υπάρχουν πολλοί ξένοι εδώ. Παλεύουν για τη γη." She says with urgency, hoping to shield her brother with her body. Turning slightly, she bares her teeth in the direction of @Kvare, over her dead body would he be taking her brother without her having something to say about it.

---

¹ We need to be careful, there are a lot of strangers here. They are fighting for the land.


[barbarian exp/doubled]
+10 - Observe a fight (Cassandra v. Renfri)
+10 - Observe a fight (Kvare v. Khadija)

table by cala

MAKE PEACE WITH

YOUR BROKEN PIECES

The rain came down in waves and Bea could not remember the last time she had actually seen it. For her entire life she had been cooped up, confined away from the rest of the world. When she first heard the pitter patter of rain on her shared den with @Lazare she sat up, her wide eyes watching the entrance of their den. Eventually her own curiosity beckoned her to move and slowly but surely she scooted closer. She wasn't sure how long she sat watching the rain fall, but eventually she did make her way from the den. Long ears flicked forward as she tipped her head back, her face open to the rain water. She smiled, enjoying the feel of it on her fur before she would begin her muddy trek towards a place far from her new home. The sounds of battle intrigued her and as she got closer to the Brook she found her heart began to race even more. The small elf would make her way around the edges of the gathering, mismatched gaze locking onto the form of Cassandra and her opponent. She was surprised to see that Renfri was fighting with only three limbs but the woman moved with enough ease that made her believe she'd been with only three limbs for some time. Bea would pull her haunches to sit, her gaze only wavering from the main show when she noticed a man and woman fighting near two cubs, interesting. She continued to observe both fights, mainly to see if any major wounds would come from it. Though the large crowd did make her uncomfortable she couldn't help the need to observe.

[medic exp/doubled]
+10 - Attend a challenge to assess the wounds (Cassandra v. Renfri)
+10 - Attend a challenge to assess the wounds (Kvare v. Khadija)

code by flea, art by rabbit

Zenebe was angry.

It had been a while since Yasmin had witnessed a storm with this power behind it. Sitting in the middle of a clearing, squinting upward into the falling rain, something in her echoed his unrest. She no longer felt at home here. Reah was gone, the family moved on as if her presence had meant nothing, and though she had been extended a welcome to stay her feelings for the Saxe had begun to sour.

She hadn’t yet decided how she wished to settle these feelings when the roar sounded from somewhere along the territory’s border, announcing the arrival of a would-be challenger. Mina bristled, her nose wrinkling as she turned her head to stare in its general direction, another flash of lightning illuminating her intense pale eyes. Someone new to steal her home? Did this family know no peace?

Gaining her feet, she marched quickly toward the source, following the multiple sets of pawprints left in the wet earth’s surface—a number of them must already have run to answer from the look of it, especially for them to linger in this weather. She found them there, a fight already underway, and more breaking out alongside it. Renfri, the High Sovereign upon her arrival to Vermeda Brook, earned the majority of her attention as she slowed her walk upon her approach. Small as she was, the little leader struck a fierce figure beside her larger counterpart; it was still too early to tell whose favor the battle fell in.

But another fight, barely underway, stole her attention away. Aeistrios, the patriarch of the Saxe family, was charged by someone on the opposing side—or maybe completely unrelated, it was hard to tell just who disliked these lions most now. The tip of her tail twitched as she stopped amid the crowd and sneered, righteous fury swelling within. “Zenebe’s Might be against you,” she spat in a whispered curse, wanting him to falter, wanting him to fail a second time. It was what he deserved for abandoning Reah as he had.

+10 20 Cast a curse or blessing on a character/group
+5 10 Study the weather or an astronomical phenomena
+5 10 Correctly track something through a territory

Image by Anderson Rian - Table by Mouser