it was admirable for a male to say he didn't care for gender when it came to who ruled a pride. not a lot of men these days shared the same view. faustine gave a quick glance to @Lagertha, but otherwise she didn't acknowledge her. @Bruno ♔ was becoming a pin needle lodged inside her brain, he obviously did not think too fondly of her words and faustine too wasn't quite fond of him. though, she did have to give it to him for being a young king. how long he could stay on that throne was debatable. she thought it would be nice for a woman to come and dethrone him so faustine would get in a good laugh. she barely managed to keep her smile from stiffening before remembering @Haakon's presence. only his opinion mattered here. not that curly-haired boy nor the other woman.

you'll know soon enough faustine said, outwardly looking unbothered and still pleasant, before she looked at the rogue male. my grandmother who rules wolfbron have fended off at least two challengers. my mother who is co-ruler has fought her own fair share of maims and came out as the winner. wolfbron has not seen a change in high sovereign for quite a while, because we're strong and formidable. there was confidence and pride in faustine's words as she assessed the lion to see if it garnered his interest.

ART BY RABBIT, CODE BY LARS

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

Ears flattened ever so slightly against her head. As time went on, @Bruno ♔ did seem to find his way to irritating not only her. Unfortunate only that he did seem intriguing enough for the rogue. The pale lioness had her own thoughts on how long any king or queen might keep their throne, but that was something she didn't speak of.

But the words spoken in such a familiar language got her attention. Though perhaps not quite in the expected way. Ears briefly perked, though her posture straightened and her tail lashed behind her as the fur on her neck rose. "Det beror på. Är du en allierad eller vän till Ragnar?" Though her tone remained level, there was a spark in her eyes that hadn't been there in quite some time and even the faint hint of a smile towards @Haakon.

Being around anyone that was familiar in even the smallest way, it was something sorely missed. And even if he were to choose another pride, she could hardly hold it against him. There were quite a few possibilities after all and they all had something to offer.

"At the Cove, our current High Sovereign has not too long ago fought off yet another challenger. And even our youngest strive for strength. Our queen and king stand as equals and if strength is what you look for, you will find it."

@Faustine

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i. That depends.
ii. Are you an ally or friend to Ragnar?

code by flea, art by irish

It's a delight to watch the lions antagonise each other, verbally snipping and snapping at each other. It might bother a different beast, but Haakon watches - listens - without a change in his passive expression. Inwardly, he enjoys it immensely. Only a flick of his ear betrays his attention shifting between the trio as they spar, both women seeming to try to earn the male's ire, but the boy doesn't seem all too affected. While King @Bruno ♔ - as he goes on to announce - doesn't deny the accusation, he does speak of his family's power and legacy within this Mire. And still Haakon remains impassive.

@Faustine is an unreadable creature, young and a little eerie, her smile a tad stiff to be real. But she too mentions a longstanding pride - a grandmother who rules, strong leaders. Both women, he notes. Perhaps the lionesses bred here are strong. He'd be interested to see it.

"Friend," Haakon replies to @Lagertha in their shared tongue; his writer is on her phone can can't be bothered translating. "We're kin, after all." Not in the blood-relation sense, of course, but Haakon thinks with her slightly different accent to his own, she could be from a sister clan.

With all that said and done, it seems now he must make a decision. His icy gaze falls on Bruno.

"It would be rude of me to refuse a king's offer, if he'll have me." Breezily, Haakon steps forward, indicating his choice - but he does not forget the lioness of the Cove. "I'll be sure to visit, Lagertha Loðbrók."

coded by flea + image by rabbit

Perhaps he should not have been surprised when he was crowned the victor, for how clearly he had been able to imagine his success. The rogue seemed to look over them all thoughtfully, slipping in and out of a foreign tongue with the blonde one that had his fur standing slightly on edge as he waited for any clue as to what was being said. Then, those eyes fixated upon him.

"It would be rude of me to refuse a king's offer, if he'll have me."

Bruno's cheeks flushed beneath that muddy coat. He widened his eyes with pleased surprise, glancing to the lionesses to gauge their reactions to failure before offering his smile more fully to the brute.

"Yes. Right this way... Haakon," he instructed, waving his paw briefly in the direction of the mire before setting off to lead him there. Let the griping strangers watch his waving, bobbed tail as he left.

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-exit- @Haakon @Faustine @Lagertha