This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. Trigger Warning for mentions of cannibalism, gore

exhaustion takes her; it drags her deep, claws digging into her shoulders and the fatigue of the countless nights spent fighting, even wounded. a fatal slip, a paw caught in the gnarls of the unfamiliar undergrowth and she is pitched to the ground. levana is swift, even with her meaningless garbage spewed from her lips. léontine raises her brows, too tired to speak aloud, but the meaning is clear: why hide behind words i don't understand? she, too, could speak in french all day.

she could threaten in french all day -
but she wants them all to know what, exactly, she is saying. she wants them to know she's coming for them.

levana babbles nonsense and then there's a swift slice of claws through the front portion of her tongue.

it doesn't hurt for a moment; there's just too much blood that pumps down her chin, her throat, covering her chest and making the long mane strands that sprout there sticky with it. and then: the pain. it slams into her hard enough it steals her breath and she manages a snarling groan. she finds her feet, stumbling awkwardly to lurch after the woman with barred fangs.

she took her fucking tongue-
she's less worried that levana sliced it off and more worried about the fact that she gave it to a child.

like he would know what to do with such a morsel.

fury pulses through her and léontine jerks a few steps towards her, tail lashing and snarling her own garbled curses that are likely not understood. fuck 'ou, i wi' ki' 'ou! but she imagines she sounds a fool; even if she looks like some creature straight from a horror movie, blood spraying in an arc in front of her.

@Ludivine finds her, then, and the loyal dog lets her bicolor gaze settle on the newly crowned queen: agony flashes in her own stare. not from pain but from loss - because she's failed her sister, more than anything, and that is unacceptable. her nostrils flare and she struggles not to sag to the ground even as ludivine curls around to brush against her king and then bestows upon léontine a gift. it coaxes a toothy smirk to her lips and she starts to follow them -

turning back abruptly and toddling jerkily to where @Haider is laying with her tongue in front of him. for a moment she stares down at him, eyes wild, and she slowly reaches a claw down to stab into her discarded, dirty bit of tongue. and, holding eye contact as much as she can, she intends to swallow the slab of flesh.

and then, without another comment, she turns to follow her new rulers - shooting a warning glance at the gathered wolfbron dieudonné, jerking her skull with a curled lip in a very clear get the fuck out sort of gesture.

exit

EXECUTION FANTASY

WE'RE BORN INTO THE GRAVE

Gauthier does not wince at the events that soon unfold. The boy, unable to hold his tongue in the face of the morbid promises made – found how they are kept. Ludivine, too far from a liar, so makes an example of his and his family’s impudence in a mark that will remind him forever of their faults. He watches unflinchingly as her claws render the Haider’s cheek – though his own twitches with memory of the feeling, of the carving, and the heat that bore insufferable from its stigmata.

Perhaps in any other condition he may have felt sympathy – may have petitioned Ludivine for a softer touch, for mercy. Yet it appears to be a lesson the boy has never had, or has not had enough. Even worse, it appeared his family did not know how negotiations worked. As a cub, even he was taught the importance of minding his respect in certain companies – never anyone he could not fend off himself. And never, or perhaps especially never, expect his parents to do his work for him. Nevertheless, he watched as Kireena took her leave into the jungle dark, seemingly in the understanding that there was no use in rationale to the child; and Haider is passed to the newest medic.

Certainly, mon ami, crooned Apollinaire, a tone once an only consolation to the hound in the red-rock towers of Wolfbron. Now it is serpentine and cold, silver tongue laced with the stringings of subtle venom. There was still no congratulatory decree, no familial comfort between what became clear to him as a divide. Even to Adeodatus, with whom he had experienced much grudge and disdain, he would have offered his fond salutes, however tongue-bitten. Gauthier’s lip pulled over his fang to this display, Ludivine’s response distant and faded to the pandemonium of his own mind.

As she stood in defiance to the disrespectful exhibit disguised as a harmless offer, his wintry gaze stared into the gargoylean beast’s ruby eyes. Though he bristled, offended mostly for Ludivine and Leontine’s estrangement from their own famille, his tempered dishevelment hid what he most felt: Hurt. The distance yawned between once brothers-in-arms, chilling and bare as a graveyard whose stretch he, for once, dreaded for the loss that marked its quarter.

He only turned his shoulder when he heard the shrill cry of Levana once more – turning his eye to the gruesome conclusion of their brawl. Perhaps he shouldn’t have spoken of eaten tongues so soon. As a turn, it was Leontine, who had remained the quietest out of all the contenders, who had lost her tongue. She yielded nothing however, unsurprising to him, garbling her final threat of which he would not doubt was also a promise. The ex-Queen left what remained of the piece at her son’s feet and retreated, and he turned an ear to Ludivine’s saccharine tones aside once more.

Though he could truly applaud her effortless manipulation, there was sense to her words. She had announced what her intentions were, and they were called for all things as a bluff, and she had proven them as anything but. Had they bode her warnings and kept their peace, the boy may have been (mostly) whole.

As the Dieus say, C’est la vie.

He turned with the sisters to leave as Ludivine brushed teasingly past him once more, not casting a final glance to the Wolfbron audience. He did, however, pause as Leontine scuttled back to gather her tongue -- and gulp it down in front of the traumatized child, which acquired a good laugh from him as he pushed into the forest overgrowth.

exit.

Indeed, everything does escalate quickly, Sybil tries to ignore the politics of it all, but she still watches and listens, a large and imposing shadow as she stands alongside @Haider. The proceedings continue, the show must go on after all. There is another maim and Sybil is struggling to keep track of who's body parts are flying where. An eye here, a lip there. It was madness. She waits for a few moments longer, watching the Queen grab her sister to help her back through the forest. Sybil decidedly leaves the youth at her side, but hopefully he would seek her out. If not, she'd grab her herbs and find him to treat his wounds officially; what kind of medic would she be if she did not?

exit.


[medic exp/doubled]
+10 - Attend a challenge to assess the wounds (Ludivine v. Ryker)
+10 - Attend a challenge to assess the wounds (Kireena v. Gauthier)
+10 - Attend a challenge to assess the wounds (Haider v. Leontine)

ART & CODE BY DAWN, CODE MODIFIED BY CALA

The pines, they often whisper

They whisper what no tongue can tell

There wasn't much else to say, not much else to do. Dual toned eyes watched everything unfold before her, floppy ears still laced back. Though she kept her expression almost impassive, there was still a hint of something else. Disgust. Sure, she didn't exactly adore the brat, but hurting a child felt just too wrong.

Though she couldn't help but agree with the punishment given after his mother fought yet again. Senseless violence was one thing, but punishment, at least in her mind, was just how life was. Some punishments were harsher than others and the sooner the no-longer-prince learned that lesson, the sooner he might grow into something more...useful.

Claws dug into the ground as she bared her fangs in a silent growl yet again before stalking off into the underbrush.

Exit

code by corvus

Amara doesn't startle when she is abruptly joined by @Ludivine, the lioness's scent is mixed in heavily with the blood of Ryker. Before she can move she hears @Apollinaire talking and wants to drag him away by his tail. She wasn't about to call him out right now, they were in rough seas and Amara wasn't going to be rocking this boat. Nous pouvons encore vous féliciter. C'était un combat bien gagné. We can still offer congratulations. It was a well won fight. She offered toward her son-in-law. While Louve held his reigns, she hoped that he wouldn't outrightly go against her. Amara had earned every bit of the respect of the family members who knew her and she had her place not just as a female but as a leader.

félicitations pour ta victoire. congratulations on your win She offered just as the fight that had broken out came to an end. Her golden gaze flicked around as things started happening again. Nothing that directly involved her and as @Levana removed the tongue from @Léontine she flinched before offering up. Nous avons des guérisseurs qui peuvent vous aider à soigner vos blessures si vous en avez besoin. We have healers that can help tend to your wounds if you need it. She tossed out a line to them but it would be up to them if they wanted to use it or not. She turned and left the rainforest for good this time.

exit_{BG — ART — CODE}

(2/2) +10 Observe a fight (ludivine vs ryker) (double xp event)
(2/2) +10 Observe a fight (léontine vs haider) (double xp event)
So much more happened in such a short period of time, his eyes continuing to shift between fights. The pride challenge was over, the challenger being the victor. The fight between one of the cubs and one of the challenger's assumed followers is over, the latter being the winner. And then Levana is attacking the woman, soon ripping out a portion of her tongue. He watches and listens, taking it all in while realizing that he had now lost his home - for now. Brows knit together and his lips pull into a thin line, trying to figure out just what he would do next. His allegiance is pledged to the pride he is living in, and perhaps some day soon he'd come back to Firnen to see if he could rejoin. But for now, the guard dog turns to take his leave, slipping past the borders and deeper into Amaryllis.

exit Sabre.

ART BY LARS, CODE BY DEE

His mother, @Levana , came out victorious.

Haider should have rejoiced, should have felt a sense of confidence rush through him at seeing her strike down the opposing side. Yet, he only felt his heart hammering against the chance; every fiber of his being very aware of the new Queen right above him. Black gaze widens, however, as his mother draws closer - and his jaw slacks as if he is about to warn her, up until she throws the tongue of her opponent to him.

Haider doesn't dare touch it.

Instead, he recoils back, further underneath @Ludivine , which was ironic as he had no doubt she'd be dealing him another injury for his mother's actions. @Ludivine laughs, and he is almost too afraid to peer upwards at her. Her speech is her venom this time though, and they do the job of placing Haider's nameless emotions into words. He gulps, tensing his frame, his ears attentive to her despite the urge to fold them back and block out everything she was saying. When Ludivine mentions the prize his mother left behind for him, Haider shakes his head swiftly, pushing himself even further back from the out-of-place tongue. "N-No, I don't want it." He defends, as if that would bring some innocence to him, perhaps overlook the bold actions of his mother even.

Do you know what I could do to you?"

Fear inches along his veins then, and Haider freezes, unable to move. She drew in closer, and Haider is suddenly wishing he'd never been born to even see this fate play out before him. Never had he been scared before in his life, he had always been the one scaring things - bugs, insects, small innocent animals - even other cubs! But Ludivine had successfully snapped and squashed that, and it only took eating a piece of him to achieve it.

An eye for an eye.

"N-No! Maybe she just didn't hear you!" He shoves his face downwards, pushing his features into his paws and dirt as if he could block him - and his tongue - from the claws of Ludivine. Surely that was the issue, right? Levana hadn't understood the terms - understood the meaning of him being their prisoner. She wouldn't of purposefully put him in danger, right? Knowing he would suffer for any of their crimes? Or maybe -

But I will grant mercy, just this once.

And no longer is she above him, but before him - and then she is leaving after informing him that him dying today would spoil all of the fun. Fun. The type of fun he did to bugs and insects, was being done to him. Their fun was their power, their fear on others - everything Haider wanted. He decided then, watching with wide fear-filled eyes as @Léontine swallows her tongue, that even though he was their prisoner that didn't mean he couldn't learn from them.

He would be just as strong as them, but worse. He would learn their weaknesses under the guise of loyalty, and he would take everything they had just stolen from him and his family.

Except... Haider was adding major interest.

/exit

art by paranoidopossom