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It had taken a while for him to recover from his head injury, the wounds across his blind eye had healed and he no longer suffered from dizzy spells or sudden headaches. And yet he did this all by himself, alone and he could not help but feel bitter about it all. It was not too long ago that he had everything in the palm of his paw, and now he was left with nothing but memories. The gods would be lain at his feet soon enough, but to get that far he had to keep himself healthy. And if that meant joining a pride to do so, then so be it. With muscles aching from his journey down from his den in the mountains the plum teen moved towards the plains. Elysian wanted a place that was close to his mountains, he could not do his traditions if he was too far away. Plus it made him feel closer to those he lost. to those the gods had stolen from him.

With no mane to burden him the plum body reclined into a sitted position at the borders, unlike his father Caligula, he was not sleek and feminine in appearance but rather bulky and filled out. Aquila without the mane. If one mistook him for a lioness, then they would need their eyes checked. Not that being a lioness was a bad thing, but he was not such a creature. Listening carefully to the birds that flew around him through the tall grass, he waited silently for someone to notice the dark spot upon their otherwise pretty borders.



"talk"

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+10 (5x2) Patrol your group’s borders
+10 (5x2) Mark a trail through a territory

As autumn fell, the surrounding savanna turned nearly as gold as the pridelands and the borderline was less visible to a casual eye. Therefore he needed to sniff and follow his memory as he paced along, not actively marking the border but knowing his scent was passively following along. His brutish, grey-boulder shoulders shoved at greener bunches of grass that refused to part and he left a dented V behind him. He didn't believe in borders... just like he didn't believe in prides or ranks... but. What if someone thought their lands weren't maintained and tried to challenge and threw him out again? So for that, he'd leave a good trail while otherwise distracted and on the hunt.

He was hunting anteater, not lion, but he smelled the strong scent of a stranger and he stopped with his skull loft and lips dissolving away from bared fangs. It was strong because it wasn't moving, not because it was intruding, and it was obviously an immature lion, but. Something about it he didn't like. (It was his stomach, his stomach didn't like sharing food with anyone other than pretty women, and even then they had to be real pretty.) But, not being the self-aware sort, he was only aware that he was suddenly annoyed and when he saw the plum lad he decided that obviously he was annoyed because was this big plum guy's son? No mane but the deep color and bulk fit. "Who're you?" he grunted, keeping his fangs concealed but his stare steady.

@Elysian

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Silver-teal eye picked up the movement of some gray thing moving towards him, and for brief second he considered maybe it was a rhino? Then the lion broke his cover and Elysian muttered to himself, "ah, not an elephant than... heh I lost that bet" a half smile curled at his lips while he spoke, again, to himself. Unaware how odd that might appear.

Ears rounded on his head while he focused again on the lion, who was he? A thoughtful hum left his throat before he spoke,"I am a simple mortal stuck doing repetitive trials, until I can get the chance to kill a god and ascend". Elysian would blink slowly at the other before he added with a sigh, "I'm Elysian Valour. I seek a home. A place to lay down some roots." he said with a shrug, for the time being he would need to have something to ground him here. Until he could shed his mortal coil.



"talk"

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@Aurochs

Not an elephant. "Nor a giraffe," he muttered, also to himself, finding quickly that this yearling hadn't reacted with hostility and therefore he was probably harmless. The explanation was... inexplicable, yet genuine, and in that way true and relatable. "Wish I could ascend to a plane of, like, total sunlight and babes and picnics on the beach. But all the repetitive tasks just keep leading to more repetitive tasks? Lame." Aurochs wasn't in the god-killing business, or the god-worshipping business. That was for kings, heroes, chosen ones, and otherwise important folk, not some boulder-ox-lion trying to attend to his needs without being eaten.

As a certified Unimportant Folk, he didn't recognize the name Valour. He also didn't know the last name of the last king, but it was probably not Valour given the present circumstances. Elysian, though. He almost resisted the urge to say it "Sounds like a girl name. Or is that Elysia? Elise?" he shrugged, no offense meant. "I'm Aurochs. I'm, uh... Gentry. Which is the lowest rank that can accept you. Which I do." This was so much easier than tromping all the way to the Passage to find members.

@Elysian

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"Not enough spots to be, or tall enough." he added soothingly as if consoling Aurochs on his own disappointment of not being a giraffe. "Help me get to my goal, and I can see what I can do to help you get to yours," he said, his voice becoming serious and firm

In fact, Elysian might as well have shoved a bag of coin in Aurochs direction, bartering for his loyalty and favor. Unfortunately he had nothing on paw to give the other man, only his word. Elysian did not expect Aurochs to put any value to his name, nevermind his words. Not yet anyway.

The neutral, almost kind, expression suddenly hardened. A cold flash overcoming his good eye, and he smiled though it quickly lacked the friendliness it had before. "An honor then, to my deceased sister Elisé..." he muttered, a hint that Aurochs had found a nerve and to not strike it again. Castus had told him stories of her, and he could tell her disappearance from his life had really affected him. She had sounded like a wonderful sister.

"oh!" he said surprised, "Good! Then that means we don't have to waste time waiting for another then?" he asked hopefully, he still would not cross the border without verbal permission. "Can you lead me to any dens near places to climb? Trees will do." he asked, he liked to be high up, and it was part of his ritual so it was highly important to him.



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@Aurochs

This was the part where normally Aurochs would have commented on how he could be a giraffe if you squint, or some other humorous thing, but ever since a giraffe had kicked his mother he had no joyous feelings for giraffes. He gave a sagged smile that was all lip. "If there's another cool plane of existence I'm totally up for ascending, though." It sounded like an adventure. A stupid, impossible adventure. The best kind, and he needed one.

"Sucks for your sister, man," Aurochs sympathized, not understanding the edge of warning exactly but gathering from the abrupt tone shift that it was a serious subject. One might think family death was always a serious subject but Aurochs would have Absolutely No Problem making gruesome jokes about it with someone who was down for it. Elysian obviously wasn't.

He gestured, broad muzzle leading inward. "Come on in, rest yer paws. I ain't got the local map memorized but find a hill and find a tree and make yourself at home."

@Elysian

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"A gods blood should be payment enough to reverse the curse," he snorted with a shrug of his large shoulders. Moving to step across the borders when given the verbal permission, he chuckled and nodded his unmaned head. "I will  be sure to do just that, if I can't find the right tree I suppose i can come find you to help me" it was Elysian's weak attempt at joking around. Something he struggled with daily, was being normal. The plum lion would move off to find a suitable tree to lay in it's branches.


exit

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