She heard the call and made her way to their neighbor pride. Slowly, the woman approached the territories of the Mire, her paws carefully remaining beyond the borders as she let her bi-colored gaze land on the pale lion that was going to stand against the lion that led these lands. A young male she had met a few times if she remembered correctly.

As the Rainforest woman had no dog in this fight, she settled off to the side on her haunches, waiting for the fight to start, but also paying attention to see if there were any other familiar faces that might show up. She hoped for once to not end up bloodied at a pride challenge.

ART BY VASILIA, CODE BY LARS

He was not a fighter, but he was a curious creature, so Sébastien would join the group on their trip to the mire. Imagine his disappointment when he discovered exactly what sort of landscape the pride had made it's home. Nose wrinkled in distaste at the first hint of mud, and the thought of what it might do to his pale fur. The stains, he hoped, would not be as impossible to remove as he feared.

Still, he picked a very careful path through to the territory, keeping to the driest spots he could find. Upon arriving, he'd perch himself atop a reasonably mud-free log, and resist the urge to sit. There was absolutely no way he would be walking around for the next week with a stained butt of all things.

Je repars à zéro

Non, je ne regrette rien

code by corvus

faustine followed her sister @Manon, as close to her as she can, almost becoming a shadow of the young girl who seemed more like her twin than an independent creation. she knew from her own cubhood that maman and papa would not want the child to stray from wolfbron borders, thus when they were well within the border, faustine stood over @Manon. she was glad that @Amara was already present but she still peered at manon with narrowed eyes. while faustine itched to fight she also knew the dangers of a pride she knew little of. her only experience with the lions of the mire had been one brown pelted representative from the passage. after spotting who the challenger was, faustine realized the chance of having a woman ruler was still faraway. if she had been older and stronger, then faustine would had challenged for the mire's crown. it was the only pride, besides the hollows, that she had her eyes on. manon, reste ici et étudie ce blanc manon, stay here and study the white one faustine said. the younger girl was sandwiched between faustine's legs, so that no man or woman would be able to get to her. faustine could also grab manon should the girl wish to slip away. un jour, tu seras là-dedans, te battant pour ta propre couronne one day, you shall be in there, fighting for your own crown.

code: cala | art: drifty

he'd known this day would come. it was inevitable, this fight between blood, and yet the timing could not have been any worse. with his daughter missing and his family only just settled his blood ran cold at the summons; the call from once-heir for his ruling sibling.

alaric hastened his step, determined to be there (to be present) for every second of this coming fight. he would watch each move made by both of his sons, and he would be sat uneasy until the victor was declared.

once upon a time he would have rooted for luther, would have looked on with pride and admiration as his blood-born heir sought to take what was his by right. the aging king was not sure when, exactly, that changed, but knew that he could not longer wish for luther's reign. a king that resorted to torture was no king at all, no matter what his ivory son had come to believe.

but he remembered the pride he had once felt, to give life to such a strong boy and again he cannot help but imagine a vastly different outcome than the one that met this day. a world in which his wife had not been felled, in which they ruled side by side with blood and fear. it was hardly the level-headed reign he had ended up with, a far cry from the legacy he had created.

alaric starke was hardly the monster they had all once believed him to be.

"Du musst noch viel lernen," his voice booms from the mist before he, himself, emerges from it. words meant for the starke, in a tongue known to few in these lands. starke, and rike, and perhaps a handful of others. you have much to learn.

would he think it an insult, his white-washed son? would he scoff and mock his old man, for believing he knows better? "Du würdest den Thron nicht lange halten, wenn sie erst einmal wüssten, wer du wirklich bist." you would not hold the throne long, once they know who you truly are. A warning for deaf ears, words that will not be heeded.

Had he truly been that arrogant, once?

alaric moves near to @Magdalena, his stance protective. "Bleib in der Nähe," he murmurs to her, before his gaze shifts to @Hekate. he seeks her eyes, her attention, and hopes that she will come nearer, too. older though she may be he would give her life for her, too, as he would for any of them.

and then he looks to @Amara, and says nothing but levels her with a knowing look. if it should come to it he will expect her help getting them all away; the mire would not longer be safe.

code by corvus

He is her knight, her shadow—he is also doggedly loyal to his pride and his family. Wherever @Lune ventured out of the pridelands, Xavier was certain to follow, and the call from @Amara had only hastened his step faster toward the Mire. While he'd always been privy to the close alliance his mother shared with Alaric, he had never ventured into these dark, dank lands, had never bothered to share camaraderie with its stranger members. Xavier, though well-traveled and war-weary, had always been something of an opportunistic recluse. He need not make friends who would not benefit him; and he needed none others than his family.

And her, now.

In fights such as these, it were better to assume some semblance of inconspicuousness, and Xavier would often keep himself steeled and silent, watchful from the sidelines. But now, he ventured closer toward Lune, thankful she had positioned herself near the sidelines. He ventured toward her, placing himself beside her; just enough for their pelts to brush, but not enough to show an overly-affectionate display. Xavier was not the sort to make strangers privy to the more intricate parts of his life.

The Mire is our ally, he breathes, keeping his voice low, unassuming. Though he'd nothing to hide with his words, Xavier preferred the privacy of their conversation. The former King's sons fight for the crown. It were a bloody affair, and one that made Xavier thankful his family were far more matriarchal. As trained and eager to fight as he was, he'd never been interested in the political stage; though even he could not deny the benefits he reaped as a prince. Soyez sur vos gardes.

---

¹ Be on your guard.

Art by Yumpy, table by cala

louve had long become friends with anger. the heat of it was a familiar friend, coursing through her veins, warming her from the inside. it pried open her lips, exposed her teeth, and laid waste to her enemies.

it fueled her, when her friends were threatened; the mire was even more important than a mere friend. an ally from the very beginning, through generations. as other prides rose and fell the mire and the bluffs stood solid, unwavering -- they were unbreakable.

but ah -- there is discourse! ah -- there is unrest!

louve hastens to bear witness to this challenge of blood against blood, pressed close to her youngest daughter. it was not often she would allow them away from the bluffs at such a tender age; this was an exception. and if things should go sideways? "surveillez attentivement. emmenez-la loin d'ici, si cela s'avère nécessaire." watch closely. take her away from here, if it comes to it. this demand was meant for @Faustine, for she would see neither of them in the clutches of the white beast, should he fell his brother.

"soyez prêts, mes amis, à défendre notre allié.!" be ready, friends, to defend our ally. this for the rest of the bluffs that have come, for her family that settles together.

I am not a woman, I'm a god

code x art

there is a beast made of murder

There was an interesting call that night - a roar, actually. It woke him from a light and idle sleep in the family den, shaded by the reaching branches of a large tree above, though bare from winter. He was the first to emerge from his siblings, eager to see what strife had brought itself to their borders. Short and stubby legs toddled as he was drawn toward the violence as if a pied piper played an intoxicating tune.

When he had reached the border, many others had already gathered, eagerly awaiting to see the fight begin, for the brothers to tear each other apart for the right to rule. "Vhat is happenink?" his little voice boomed to the lions closest to him, to learn what they had all gathered with tension in their muscles for. This would be the first pride challenge, since he was born. He would learn today how these worked.

that I can no longer keep chained

code x art x inspo

She did not wish to be here, something she had put to Fissure when he first explained to her what was happening and her part in it. She could not blame him for not knowing of her distaste for @Luther ♔. She wondered why the pale lion even accepted the deal, knowing who would tend his injuries. It would be so easy for her to make a small slip that would only make him heal more slowly, more painfully, he must know that.

Would she do such a thing? She had the Band to consider in the backlash, and her own honor as a healer. After some discussion on the matter, she had reluctantly accepted her part in it. Life wasn't always about doing what you wanted. Sometimes you had to sacrifice for the greater good. In any case, she would remain from the lion's clutches, no longer his puppet, as he had nothing to threaten her with anymore.

Arriving at the familiar lands of Ecrosia, she would sit herself down some distance from the larger group, her medicine bag prepped at her side. What would become of this place? She could offer only pity to any that might be trapped here if Luther took the crown. It might be a blessing for the Band if they took some lionesses away from this place.

I feel like I'm at a standstill

Waiting for you to tell me I'm okay

code by corvus

Veros had been stalking along the border that night, idly scouting, idly guarding. It had been him that picked up on the strange scent in the air - a stranger lingering about. He had been far off from where the stranger crossed the border and infiltrated the pride, but had anyone asked him, Veros was the first to know. He sent out a series of chuffs into the darkness, though what followed wasn't what he expected. A roar, a summons from the intruder. It was... familiar. Familial, not to him, but to those of the Starke and Rike families of this pride.

The shadows did not keep him as he trotted with a bit more fervor towards the source of the call. His coat was all too bright for that. Truly, he didn't know how his mother had survived this long without being able to blend with... well, just about anything but perhaps the sunrise in the morning.

When he arrived, there were already many that had beat him there, including some of their allies. And as he had guessed, the challenger was indeed a familiar face to the Mire. Interesting. It didn't seem like he brought any allies with him - as far as he could tell anyway - but Veros puffed out his chest and the fur along his spine as he stalked toward the group that held most of his Mire kin. He didn't know who was the enemy here, but he's gladly throw himself into a fight.

For now, though, his red eyes lingered on @Luther ♔ a few moments longer, before he twisted, looking for other family members that might show. He caught sight of his father (@Adeodatus), but not of his other siblings.


[barbarian xp] (doubled)
+10 Observe a fight
+10 Learn a new fighting move

code (c) cala

The call came at night and it awoke the Devorre-Rike woman, she notices already two of her sons had left to answer the call and she rises to follow, her orange gaze keeps to the shadows just incase others lurk about. The lioness focuses in on the pale son of Alaric, gone for whatever reason, not spoken of, not worthy to the throne apparently unless by force.

At first she does nor worry, the Mire has been strong for years, she notices her niece, @Ahmes perched up top on a rock, along with @Adeodatus, a smile of greeting is given to him, then to @Veros, her nephew. Only when she hears @Alaric speak in German, something she has learned from being a wife to the Rike, does she begin to stand at attention. Her eyes search Alaric's, just how dangerous was this situation they were in if Bruno and he fell.

""Bastien! Grimm! Du-te la unchiul tău și stai lângă el, acum.!"" Come Go up to your uncle and sit beside him, now. ! The Crimson woman would bark out to her two sons in her mother tongue, a look of danger should they disobey and face the wrath of their father. If they made it back to their father. They would know Adeodatus was their uncle, and she knew if they did not listen to her, Adeo or Ahmes would come gather them themselves.

Astarte moves to take up one side of Alaric, standing tall, alert, and ready to defend their home with any means necessary. ""Alaric...Was passiert, wenn er den Thron besteigt?"" What will happen if he takes the throne? She speaks quietly in German, leaning her head in a little closer to his so that she may whisper to him.

ART COPYRIGHT XXX / CODE COPYRIGHT ANALESE