She isn't alone for long before @Kireena ♞ is coming to join her at her side. Her cheeks flush and despite her better judgment Sybil reaches out, placing a quick peck on Kireena's right cheek in greeting with a grin afterwards. Leaning back, she returns her attention back to the fights before them. Primarily, the one involving a rather large plum bastard. 'Not surprised he's in the middle of this.' Kireena offers and Sybil does her best to ignore the warmth fluttering through her as she leans into her shoulder, her focus intently lasered in on Aeistrios if only to keep herself distracted, and of course to remind herself that they were in a public place. "Seriously what is up with that guy anyways? Is it too much testosterone?" She would muse to Kireena as she watched the fight ensue, yea .. definitely too much testosterone.

code

... you ok? Dio's voice came suddenly from off in the shadows and grasping branches near @Eris and @Emory as Runa streaked off like a banshee at a dark mottled woman. Only once her friend had some space beside her did Dio emerge. Dark body on sun kissed feet carried her to the pale angel, and her brother too in turn. Although he was unknown yet to Dio. Her wide teal gaze flashed wildly from the pair of siblings and then over to the ongoing fight. She hasn't a clue who is who, why this is happening.

She shouldn't be here at all, she knows as much. It's dangerous enough to be a rogue on your own nevermind waltzing up into a pride lands under contest. Into the crowd there's no telling what might happen. But Eris, and Hadiya too for that matter, had been there for Dio. She felt the pull, the want, to be there now for them however she could. Even if it's just one more body to take up space near the younger Eris.

code by dee, art by irish

Renfri had been unsure of how she wanted to play things when Aeistrios had made her aware of their budding new alliance with a broken faction of their former allies. He had shared with her every detail of his meeting with Luthar, told her of the impending moment where they would show themselves in support of this young challenger. It would be chaos, that she already knew. Their arrival alone would spark much of it, she was certain, and this time, she would not wait for trouble to find her first. Though the winter was supposed to be used as a time to stabilize themselves, prepare for a world that might be devoid of her husband, securing alliances had to be apart of that. With the crowd they tended to fall in with, it was only natural that this would be part of building those relationships, and she would do what she had to in order to build her family's strength and security. Aeistrios, as usual, came exploding in, leaving no time for any chatter with anyone before launching his attack on Alaric. She looked around as he did, assessing the reactions of those around, but there was once voice in particular that caught her attention. Her head snapped around to land on @Tinúviel, her plan unfurling in her mind as she made her way across the Mire to stand at the small womans side. She came from behind, aiming to stop just beside the former Queen, leaning in close enough that their shoulders might touch if the other woman did not move away. In a low, whispered voice, spoken only for Tinúviel’s ears, she laid out her threat. “If you want to see your daughter again, unharmed, you will come to Andal with me. If you, or anyone else, gives me trouble, I can assure you it will be her that suffers the consequences.” Her expression was pleasant, if not a touch concerned, her body language relaxed. If anyone else were to look at them from afar, it would appear as though she might even be giving comfort to a friend. @Renfri vs. @Tinúviel for Tinúviel Round 0 / 3

Art by Era - Code by Sava

Amorette finds her way to the other band members as she stands amongst them, gray orbs alert to any of the other bystanders coming too close. There was not much they could do if a group from one of the prides decided to attack them. "I would say that the challenger and ourselves are the friend and everybody else is the foe," she responds to Fenna's question as her gaze returns to the primary battle. For now, the scene around them was rather civil with two smaller fights breaking out as the two males duke it out in the center of their audience. "How long before we get the spoils?" She asks, impatient that there is not yet anything up for grabs. They were promised things right?

"SPEECH"

@Fenna @Bhaskar @Bordeaux

ART BY DRIFTY

The horror would not cease. Not for her, never for her.

Tinuviel were still struggling to keep @Magdalena separated from the battle unfurling just beside them wen @Renfri suddenly appeared beside her. Her head turned, mouth gaped and eyes flung wide as the Queen's sudden appearance caught her off guard. But the shock soon quelled, before reigniting in a fury; the heavy whisper of her words sends a sudden chill through her, and the former Queenmother is unsure if she feels more horror, or more rage. There was little that spun Tinuviel into a fury, but Melusina had been missing for days, and the bitter realization that she had fallen into the claws of Aeistrios and his pride. Little Melusina, who'd always needed her careful guidance, her healing attentions, just as her brother and sister. She who would likely suffer in the hot desert heat without proper knowledge of her ailments.

Tinuviel swallowed her, her lips pressed together in a thin, firm line. Her eyes are still wide, wild; but now they look upon the fighting forms of Aeistrios and her husband, and she cannot drive away the haunting feeling in her chest, the painful twinge in her stomach. Andal Oasis had Melusina, and Tinuviel were not strong enough to save her. She glanced down toward her other daughter, tears welling within the deep corners of her eyes, a silent sob hanging in the back of her throat. The peaceful life she had wished for her and her cubs would fall all at once.

Okay, she whispered back, unable to bear the thought of them hurting Melusina—no matter the cost. I'll go—please, don't harm her. She could beg for her release later; Tinuviel was almost certain she had far more to give Aeistrios than her daughter, and she hoped it would be enough to guarantee all of her children's safety.

Magdalena, she breathes, her desperate, wild-eyed glance falling upon her, Go—find your brothers. And run. Far from this place.

---

Tinúviel vs Renfri
for Tinúviel
Tinúviel forfeits.

Art by AleTie, table by cala

From the shadows she comes, for this was once Home, though she'd wandered away so long ago, once charmed by Alaric's son Bruno. The lack of the curly haired boy felt prominent as she strode on scene, noting that @Alaric was present but didn't fight; she'd not had the chance to speak to the man when she'd lived within his pride the last time, though she'd felt keen on knowing her father's friend. Wading through the crowd she seeks to meet with him at last, pale eyes reminiscent of her father's.

"Alaric, right?" Level tone spoke of much time spent learning poise, seeking to be more like her mother in that matter. Regality wafted from her, though she held no pride. "Why do you not fight for your pride?" Before her father had spoke of this man as someone to look upon with devoted loyalty, someone who was great by many means; a pillar of strength that Amaryllis often lacked. Now she found him not engaging the pale man that encroached on his pride; although, it is the ink washed man with deep hues of oceanic blues that charges towards the wheaten once-king.

She steps away then, allowing the men to engage in their brawl, noting that once Aestrios had offered her a spot within his pride, having taken her birth home as his own. Fights broke out all around, clearly there is unrest for Ecrosia Mire which she hadn't known when she'd taken residence there. Deep lines of a frown cross her features, uncertain she agreed with her father's recognition of Alaric.

CODE•ART

Never is Seifrienriosa far from her Mother, and when Aeistrios had filled them in on what was to come as they made way to the Mire, eagerness coursed through her. The last time her mother saw her in battle, they had been on bad terms. This time, she wanted to impress @Renfri . Show her she matured in more ways than one over the recent hardships they had undergone. Her strides kept up pace well, eyes instantly drinking in the scene of those around. Seifri sticks to her mother's hip, and when she approaches the once-Scilla Queen, Seifri grows intrigued. Still at her mother's open side, Seifri watches, eyes prying for any threats that make way to them so she might have the chance to intercede the fight if they aimed for Renfri.

credits to vasilia

SETRI

Attending challenges was not high on the list of things Setri liked to do, but where her family went, so did she. This was part of being Saxe, she knew, and she would do what was expected of her, no matter how much it made her insides twist with anxiety. She wouldn’t let that show, though. She would be strong, or at least put on the appropriate facade of strength, as she moved to stand next to her sister in guarding their mothers open side.

The interaction happening between Renfri and the former Scillian Queen was unknown to her, but she did know they were here to support the challenger. Whatever that meant. She assumed based on how aggressively her father entered the scene that this would be another bloodbath. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself for what was surely to come next.

@Seifrienriosa

code by flea, art by irish

He’d been tucked away in his private den, trying to revisit the memory again, when a cruel sound darkened his dream. The sky darkened over him while below his paws, the spring growth blackened in the blink of an eye. Terror seized him, and when he opened his mouth to cry out for their little ones to come to him, his tongue turned to ash in his mouth, and he—

Choked.

The young eagle woke up panting, his chest heaving laboriously under the crushing dread of his nightmare. He gulped in the cold winter air, trying to shake the panic. It’d only been a dream. There were no children. There was no darkness.

Slowly, his pulse decelerated and found its usual rhythm. The drumming in his ears subsided, allowing him to catch the nearby noise. Swallowing, he stirred in his bed and climbed out into the open air, where an icy wind greeted him. That was not what made his blood run cold, though — it was the realization that the darkness was real, and it had come for @Bruno ♔.

He moved without thought. Instinctively, Tai dashed from his den, his quivering paws quickly carrying him to where the challenger lurked in the darkness. A crowd had gathered around him, and through the bodies, the mauve lion managed to sneak peeks of the enemy: a white lion with eyes not entirely unlike Bruno’s, and a striped chin that marked him as the brother. It turned his uneasy stomach, forcing bile into the back of his throat, scorching it.

The commotion of the crowd hardly reached him through the rush of blood in his ears as he looked around, yet when his eyes found @Runa and her victim, he was compelled to move forward. No, he wanted to yell at her. No, Bruno already had enough to deal with. He did not recognize @Faustine — he had no way of knowing if she was an enemy, and was therefore a potential danger. Maybe he was messing up. But he needed to do try.

“Hey— !” he tried yelling. Instead, his voice came more as a strained hiccup as he struggled to summon his courage to come between the rather feral looking lionesses. The fool picked up his paws, to try and close the distance that separated him from Runa to try and call her away, his shaky resolve strengthening, “Wait for your King’s command!”

Lead Advisor
50/50 chance to stop a maim challenge between
a member of their own pride and of an allied pride

1 is failure, 2 is success

Rolling 1d2: 2

artwork • coding

"What have you done? Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground!"
He awoke to a cry. Bruno gasped to regain his breath from where he lay, reaching out a paw to touch barren earth where Tai had once lain. The lion's faint perfume still hung in the air from the evening prior, carefree conversation appearing miles away in the king's mind's eye as he reeled to catch up to the present. No, the man was not there. He had been stolen away for appearances, as he was every night.

Already his pelt prickled as if crawling with mire insects, a disturbing famiiliarity to that call looming like a watchful figure. Bruno had never stopped seeing them, of course – pale green eyes blinking in the shadows of the bog, always waiting for Younger Brother to let down his guard a moment too long. He had discounted their danger verbally and otherwise: mere ghosts, incapable of any real harm, he had said. The words had been as much for himself as they were for Morwënna.

"And now art thou cursed from the earth."
"No one is safe," he had chuffed urgently into the moonlit camp. Bruno's stomach churned like the tides as he considered the demon waiting upon his doorstep and just what he knew him to be capable of. "Women and children should go. Otherwise, you will fight," whether they were prepared or not. He did not know who would hear him in the dead of night – was too frenzied to utter an official decree – but he did not doubt the message would spread. It must.

He took the back roads. Bruno's steps were swift licks against frigid earth as he melted seamlessly into the shadows: a rookie mistake, to give him both camouflage and home advantage over his ogre of a littermate. He was not about to pass up the opportunity to use it against him, either. Paws shifted to distribute his weight evenly so as to remain utterly silent in his stride, the bog birds and bugs more than able to drown him out with their chaotic symphony. He could just make out the pale figure of the one to call them there, attempting to lurk behind the challenger in silent wait. Only fleeting glimpses of the scene presented themselves in slivers of light between patchwork greenery: a large crowd of Ecrosians and otherwise, the harsh whipping of figures locked in battle, a roaring murmur of gossiping leeches come to suck what marrow they could from what remained of their glorious mire. He would not let the ruiner ruin this.

Bruno lept forth in one neat bound, attempting to hook barbed claws in Luther's shoulders from behind like wearing a murderous cape. He parted wide, spittling jaws to try and latch a greedy bite upon the base of the tyrant's spine, his vision already blooming red with rage as he drank in the brute's familiar stink.

"A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the land!"

---

BRUNO vs. @Luther ♔
For Ecrosia Mire
Round 1 / 5
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 14 + 18 + 20 + 3 + 8 + 1 + 19

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 3 + 19 + 8 + 4

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 20 + 19 + 15 + 17 + 8 + 4

|| december y10 | three years | EM high sovereign | at ecrosia mire ||
Lead Scout Perk: +1 luck to all pride-mates when fighting on their pride territory