The shadow sensed the frustration of the crowd as the battle began. Mithril watched closely, actively studying the pair, yet his stern expression wavered when he watched the scarred challenger swipe plant residue into her opponent’s eyes. The hard look he wore was replaced with a more shocked one — before the murmurs of poisons reached him and he quickly realized what had been done. It was horribly cruel, but he didn’t stay surprised for long. Those who craved power and attention for themselves would do anything they could to secure it.

It didn’t take long for the poison to weaken its victim. Mithril watched, frowning, as the lioness was left scrambling. There was hardly any fight to watch anymore — it was a callous display and little more. The scarred lioness — the Queen, it now seemed — let her flee, but the damage had already been done: to her opponent, and it seemed her reputation. Not that he was sure she ultimately cared for either.

With no reason to linger, the young shadow turned away from the prison of his youth, and left.

Exit

Paladin - Double XP event
+10 Observe a fight (SL Challenge)

Medic - Double XP event
+10 Attend a challenge to assess the wounds

artwork • coding

they were joined by another, @Rosalind, the lioness faustine had brought from the passage. she looked better, more filled and at ease than the mousy girl she stumbled upon. by now all thoughts of trying to fulfill her dieudonne needs were dashed into dust. both these two were as good as members in faustine's opinion. although, robin and rosalind would be her members to boss around. faustine's sibling will have to wait their turn or find someone else. so as she allowed rosalind to sit besides her, faustine couldn't help but smile as she kept her attention on the fight. they are fighting for the pride she explained. though there was no elaboration on faustine's part; rosalind ought to know what she meant by those words already. robin, too, explained to the girl about what those lions were doing seconds later.

her gaze then shifted to robin. it was no hard to continue what they had been doing before rosalind's appearance, but for propriety's sake faustine decided to stop. there was a shift amongst the crowd, more whispers and words shared between nameless lions. faustine heard robin's words but shook her head. non, i do not she told him. you best ask our lead medic faolan if she was here. the crowd was thick with the scents of the onlookers, though there was not a hint of the pale-furred woman in sight. faustine didn't need to look long, for the moment she stared back at the challenge, the familiar brown lioness had won. not because she came out as victor, but because her opponent relinquished themselves from the fight. faustine huffed, annoyed by the result. usually this would have went on for longer. we're done here she said, to only robin and rosalind. let's go home and get some rest, oui? [exit]

code: cala | art: drifty

It’s like watching a storm roll in. One second it’s just a haze in the horizon and the next you’re feeling the raindrops falling on your face. @Ambrose swoops in with his easy banter and prince charming smile, and for a second Eric thinks it’s going to be ok. It’s going to be as it always was. “You’re late. Did your marital obligations tucker you out?” He grins, but it doesn’t last long on his face. A young dark male puffs up at the wonder twins’ presence. @Uma growls and stands her ground, and the pale lion knows he’ll do the same. Ambrose’s attempt to cover him isn’t lost on Eric, as he attempts to place a reassuring paw on his shoulder. “We’ve been through worse,” he sighs, as he looks around, feeling like everyone in the crowd is staring daggers at them even if he knows that’s not the case. Even it’s just the whispers of a socially anxious mind. But Ambrose is running out of eyes to lose. Things quickly take a turn, the proverbial sudden raindrops on his cheeks, as Cirilla’s opponent seems to falter. He feels the tension rise, feels the tale beginning to spin in the abyss’s girl favor. When lions spoke of this day, they’d paint @Cirilla as a monster, and her husband and sister-in-law as her devilish henchmen. Eric can only hope that whatever happens ends up as idle gossip, and not as a mark painted on the newlyweds’ back. Uma bellows for the young woman to fight, but soon after she gives in. Cirilla wins, but the feeling in the air is not one of celebration. Eric recognizes the woman from Andal, and his stomach tightens, but it quickly becomes old news as the new Scillian queen calls a pale yearling her daughter. He blinks at Ambrose, wondering if he knew of this interesting development, and then shakes his head in defeat. He was always going to feel out of the loop around these three! A rush of big brother pride fills his chest as Cirilla makes her husband sovereign, and he elbows Ambrose impishly. “You hear that? Now you really are a royal pain in the ass.” He doesn’t expect his own rank, especially with how him and Queenie had gotten off on the wrong foot, but Eric doesn’t dare defy the scarred woman. “I’ll…make you proud, your majesty.” Eric turns to the other two members of his family, cause that’s what they were, family. “When you guys are ready, meet me at the beach, I think we all need a drink.” -Exit Eric- But "Sentimental Boy" is my nom de plume Art by Swan, Code by Swan (fixed by Cala)

She'd scarcely had time to notice that @Cirilla had won. Aurelia inhaled a sharp breath, her determined gaze focused on @Léonie and the lions that surrounded her. It is only when she hears the newly-Queen's voice echoing behind her does she turn around, overcome with a relief she'd not expected to feel. Aurelia had long had mixed feelings about the whole affair; she had not entirely approved of Cirilla's tactics, but knew her mother was far more ruthless and cunning than she, knew it brought her far more favor to Vellen than Aurelia could ever have.

But she remembered the way Scorpius looked at her—broken little bird she was. She remembered bein there just long enough to suffer the idea of leaving Amaryllis entirely to escape. Had it not been for Phineas, she had no idea what her fate would have been. She were nothing to Illyria. If they had handed her over, it would have been being passed from strangers to strangers.

The brief joy was quickly tarnished, @Kireena ♞'s words immediately causing the fur on the nape of her neck to rise defensively. Her gaze narrowed, a rare anger sprawling across her blushed, heated cheeks. I did adapt. I did overcome. If anyone had survived imprisonment and come out stronger, it had been Aurelia. Where once she'd felt that innate desire to give in, to relinquish herself to the fate Vellen had handed her; she'd instead been born from the ashes of it, allowed her uncertainties to fall back like an afterthought.

Her attention then turned back toward the striped lioness. Aurelia's lips pressed into a firm, thin line. Scorpius had brought her food, kept her from the brink of hunger each time, but never would she be able to get his look out of her head. He'd looked upon her as any strong lions would; seeing her mangled, weak. But now, Aurelia refused to be looked upon that way, would never allow herself to be fettered once again. Illyria was never my home, is all she said, unaware that the Brook had ever fallen, unaware that it was the last remaining stronghold of the Sigrun.

Until now.

It is only when both had turned to leave does the young girl turn her attention toward her mother. Her fierce gaze softened, chest heaving, tiredness clinging to the corners of her eyes. It were not often Aurelia acted so uncouth and fierce, and the gravity of it weighed heavily upon her. And yet still, when Cirilla offered, a renewed spark flickered in her chest. She sucked in a breath, before nodding. I will. And I will do you and Vellen proud.

---

Exit, fade via talking.

Art by AleTie, table by cala

So, that's that, then.

The challenger has taken heel, unheeding of her calls for a proper battle. And now, @Cirilla is queen. After she had seemingly abandoned her to endure her fiery desert hell alone, she hadn't been sure they could ever see eye-to-eye again. She'd felt like she couldn't rely on her, like @Ambrose and @Eric couldn't rely on her.

All the same, she has succeeded in securing a home for each of them, and a stubborn thought worms its way into her brain, that maybe she's been the unreliable one all along. At her lowest point, she'd lost faith. Standing there, a soft paralysis comes over her. Cirilla's end goal had always been this. A haven. And she had been too stuck in her ways to see it. Perhaps it's true, that nothing in the world worth having is meant to come easy, and if she still holds any grudges for what had transpired in that ever-burning desert hell, maybe this can be redemption. A slate wiped clean.

Because for all her finger-pointing, she can't escape the nagging notion that, even though Cirilla wasn't there, she wasn't there, either. Not really. No attempt to try and break out Eric and her brother, no attempt to even try and see them. Eric and her brother had spoken to one another, found a way to secretly meet, and she... she had merely folded.

Dissenting voices draw her back to the present, where she finds @Aurelia, discoursing with the familiar Andal lioness in rankled tones. She's joined by Cirilla, and the Andal lioness, in turn, is joined by two others, one red and massive, the other dainty and white, with freckles spread across her countenance. She doesn't like the smug look on her face as she turns to leave, the green-eyed giant on her heels. No, she doesn't like it at all. It spells trouble.

Left with a lingering feeling of uneasiness, it's not until the fiery girl is granted the rank of Heiress that she notices something— her legs are dragging behind her, leaving long, sandy trails in her wake.

How? How can such a girl be Heiress? How can such a girl even be alive?
Those old doubts come back to haunt her again, but she stays her tongue. She has doubted Cirilla before, yet here Cirilla stands... strong. Victorious. And every inch a queen. "I'll stand alongside Eric as Gentry. He's proven himself over me more than once. Doesn't feel right that I should rank above him."

And then, in a manner most uncharacteristic of the barbarian, she dips her head low in a bow. It's a surrender, a complete acknowledgment of Ciri as her better, and she speaks the words she thought she would never speak in a thousand blue moons: "If it pleases you... my queen."

And then, meeting the palomino's gaze, she rises, nodding as she walks alongside him.

EXIT

code to pine

The longer she was here, the more icked out she was getting. Bright eyes caught on the blue-coated lioness that had fought valiantly disappear into the unknown outside and Daneri's body instinctively moved to want to chase and help, but a part of her felt as though somehow with better knowledge of the situation was likely on their way to her already. It didn't curb the pain that she felt knowing that something shady had happened in that fight and so her eyes turned to this new leader who was addressing someone. Expressing that they had kept her daughter a prisoner and starved her; then looking quickly to the lioness in question who argued that they had done no such thing. That they had attempted to find her a safe place to call home and the girl had already ran.

Yeah, that wasn't her business. Let's go. She quietly murmured just to @Della before attempting to leave. There were a lot of things on her mind and honestly, none of it was any good. All of her thoughts were of the blue-coated girl running away and wanting to know that they were okay. Yet, she had no business inserting herself like that but she wanted to avoid shit like that if she could whenever she ended up fighting for something "real".

As she turned, she gave a longing glance out towards the open lagoon. It was so expansive out towards nearly every single side. The ocean seemed so blue, clear and beautiful out there and there was nothing like it in any other territory or pride that she had ever been to. Palm trees were fairly exclusive to the beachside prides but, one thing was for certain, the new leader was going to have work quite hard to get a lot of fresh water if she wanted a large enough pride. exit daneri

+10 - observe a fight (diomedeidae vs. cirilla for sl)
+20 - find a notable landmark in a territory
+10 - learn something unique about another pride’s territory

^{ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY CALA}

@Hákon

she comes late, wanting to be certain her children were all present. it would prove to be a day of importance, and a small part of her wished she could have secured their future herself. no matter if the crown was ill-fitting, calypso would have worn it for them.

instead she arrives late, carrying her trusty satchel, sliding up beside her husband. "do ye t'ink we cen stay?" a wary eye to cirilla who she knew little of, though she did not care much for who led the pride as long as they did not seek to tear it down around them.

@Eske @Grimur @Atalanta

The lagoon is theirs, and they didn't even have to pry it away from a reigning monarch—it had been vacant, ripe for the taking. He could never have imagined it would all go so smoothly. No bleeding out on the sands of the red-hot oasis, no close calls with death.

Ambrose sees the way they look at Cirilla; so eager to pick holes in her character. Scathing resentment electrifies the air, and there's tension seething from him as he stands beside Eric, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. Andal's striped mischief-maker is laying bets with @Andraesa and @Kireena ♞, doing her utmost to turn public opinion against them.

...they’ll throw anyone under a herd of buffalo to get what they want, and fuck everybody else.

@Aurelia is the first to speak up, and he is taken aback by her boldness, challenging Scorpius' wingman head-on. Then Cirilla sidles up to her, eyes blazing and flailing with feral intensity, and he sees them for what they are—kindred spirits, undivided against the poison that might try to take root in their minds.

@Léonie's harsh laughter cuts across the lagoon, and he snaps a single ear back against his mane against the sound as she calls him Cirilla's goonie again. She stalks off with the hulking red woman and Ambrose stares after her, an alien red streak of anger stoking to life within his chest.

@Eric's voice snaps him back to reality, and once he realizes what's been said, his mouth just about drops open. "Me? King of the lagoon? On purpose?" If anyone would have told him he would become a pride lion at five years old, let alone a king, he would have laughed in their face. Like @Cirilla once said, he can't even lead a troop of baboons to water. Even if he likes to think otherwise.

It's an alien notion, but he has to try. For the young lives they created together. @Uma insists she remains alongside Eric as gentry, and he's not surprised—of course the two would stick together. His is a demanding position, one utterly out of his comfort zone, but if his wife thinks he's up for the task, then he must try. "If you say so." His apprehension is showing. "I'll do what I can."

And he saunters off after Eric and Uma, more eager than ever for that drink Eric mentioned.

-exit-

code by shaz

+20 spy on another pride or family’s event
+20 sneak into a pride or group without getting caught
+20 remain undetected in a large thread (5+ characters)
+20 cast a curse or blessing on a character/group

The fight ends soon after that. Though she had hoped ( prayed? ) for more violence, there is... not much more. A frown Marrs mottled features; usually, when she asks for these things, she gets them. Here, though... her toes flex into the sand, still trying to decide if she likes it. After a moment though she decides the answer is no; she blinks, and makes it all a bit more palatable. Her own version of things is much, much more interesting than the reality -- even as the others trickle out, passing close to her hiding area. She likes the bluffs far more than this beach and so she too takes her leave, keeping any further blessings close to her chest. Meant for her own tongue and her own ears, not caring enough for the new leaders to extend it any further.

Exit

code by shaz

Hogsweed, Leonie says, and Andraesa is immediately intrigued. Maybe she could ask the new queen if she could borrow some clippings for her garden before she left out? It would be most advantageous if -

Andraesa gulps as @Cirilla turns her intensity towards herself and Kireena, all of that warrior's fury turned from one woman to another. She wants to make herself smaller somehow, that way she wouldn't be caught in the gaze of a war-mother queen.

Her and Kireena exchange words, enough that a lot of it goes over the girl's head, though she catches enough to know that they weren't welcome now that the show was over. Kireena turns and begins to walk away, nebulously after the lioness that had fled the scene. Andraesa hesitates. The new queen was clearly busy, and with everything Leonie said, maybe she should stay away, but...

I thought you were really cool. She blurts out, her lilac eyes wide with admiration. I hope you're really long-lived Queen. Uh - The girl offers a little bow, first towards Cirilla and then to @Aurelia. - your majesties. I - uh - I'm sorry we got you upset. I gotta - I gotta go - but good luck! You were cool!

And with that, she turns tail to run after her own heiress, the embarrassment not quite settled yet in the heat of her own excitement.

/ exit

potential exp:
+10 Gain information about a character (Cirilla) - Assassin
+10 Learn something useful from someone else (uses of hogsweed)
+10 Practice the skills of another trade (gossiping and betting for beatnik)

_{art by inky —code by daanyan}