How did that saying go, 'Happy wife, happy life'? Sybil was beginning to feel the mounting pressure of removing her family from the forest. It wasn't because she didn't feel safe, on the contrary she knew how the leads were, what they were, and she would never fault them for that. But over time she could see the stress on Kireena and only wanted to alleviate it. Sybil figured it was the stream of hormones since birth that also played a part, but she knew when it was time for them to spread their wings and go. It was an opportunity for them to have a new start as a family, an opportunity for them to grow closer. But Sybil would always be thankful for what her second family in the Rainforest had provided for her. Safety, security, and newfound confidence she never knew she needed. Her steps are heavy as she moves towards the epicenter, sending out a few light chuffs for @Ludivine. She was sure her Queen would be displeased but she knew that this was the decision that had to be made. No one could fault Leontine for her nature, just as no one could fault Kireena for hers. They were too vastly different individuals and Sybil wasn't going to wait around and find out what would happen if they knocked heads. She let's out a sigh and puts on a strong face. She would miss it here, but it was time to move on.


*Specifically for Ludi though @Gauthier is welcome as well if needed

code by cala

Things have been... Quiet, with a certain family. Normally the red giants are seen everywhere within the confines of the rainforest's borders, sometimes to an annoying degree. But ever since the birth of their littles — who the monarch herself had yet to see — they'd been... Absent. As though merely phantoms in the ranks.

It pisses the Queen off — and she's not one to piss off.

She'd given them a change, been lenient on them even — adoption was not something she understood, but she allowed a rogue cub to even be brought into the pride, even if it would do nothing but suck up resources. Yet now they decided to play ghost? It irritates her. And that irritation doesn't escape her when she suddenly hears Sybil's call for her. Instead it fuels her as she moves swiftly to where the lead medic stands, the hair along her spine ruffled and making it known she wasn't exactly in a good mood.

“Yes?” Her eyes pin @Sybil to the spot.

The tension in the air was palable but Sybil stood tall, her face a blank canvas as she waited for the Queen to join her. They had been absent as of lately, mostly because newborns were a lot of work, but also because Sybil was doing her darndest to shelter Kireena from what had happened on that fateful day that their young daughter Thistle had found that rogue cub. She still ran over things in her mind, how she could have prevented it all from happening. It was no secret the lifestyle that the leads lived here and Sybil had accepted it. But Kireena, Kireena would be far harder to convince. Sybil genuinely liked @Ludivine, she could even ignore the fact that her sister was barbaric, but as soon as Kireena had heard of the events that had happened she had been enraged.

Ultimately, Sybil knew what she had to do. She would make whatever sacrifices she needed to in order to ensure that both parties were satisfied. Her ruby gaze moves upward to land on the Queen's face but she does not buckle from the intimidation behind Ludivine's eyes. "My Queen. I'm sure you've noticed my absence, alongside my wife." She starts carefully before she forges onward, "I've come to request our release from the pride. You've been more than accommodating for us here and I will always be appreciative of it. But, I fear that my wife will not be able to tolerate .. Leontine's more .. extreme measures with children. Having our children has changed her, she is more emotional, more protective. I don't want to see what would happen if they crossed paths. It is because I genuinely like and care for all of you that I feel we must leave. It will be the better option for all of us." She pauses finally, and though the weight did feel as if it had been lifted she didn't expect Ludivine to let them go so easily. There would be a cost, and Sybil knew that she would have to pay it, no matter what it was.

code by cala

The... Audacity of it all.

She stands still as a statue as the other begins to speak, though the fire never dims from the cores of her eyes. Her lips twitch ever so subtly, flashes of ivory between obsidian lips — knives, daggers, weapons meant to tear flesh asunder. Her tail lashes back and forth as @Sybil continues speaking, laying out the reason for her request to leave the pride. All of them, their little family. When she reaches the end of her speech, claiming it to be best for them all, Ludivine doesn't even hide the wicked bark of laughter that leaves her lips. It crackles in the air, cold and unrelenting — a lack of mirth that makes it very clear the laughter comes from a place of sheer audacity, rather than one of joy. Her intent is clear as she levels a look at the other.

“Better option for us all?” her sneer cuts like a knife. “I have been so lenient, on all of you. I offered your mate a chance to prove herself and her loyalty, time and again, even when she so blatantly broke this pride's rules.” How easy it would have been to tear the lives from Kireena's stomach the moment she claimed pregnancy without first speaking to the monarch. But Ludivine had been so lenient with her, oh! It was almost laughable now looking back on it.

“Then I offered not just you, but Kireena as well, lead positions in this pride. Positions that were no longer up for grab for others — for those with more loyalty in their bones. You think me allowing both my lead medic and my lead fighter to leave is the better option?” Normally so calm and collected, the cannibal Queen's hairtrigger has released. Loyalty... Once more proves to be a nonexistent idea. So quick are the 'loyal' to turn their backs on those that they had promised it to. Where was Kireena's declaration now that she would always be loyal to those that ruled the rainforest? Was that just bullshit? A sneaky little traitor that Ludivine wouldn't hesitate to rip the throat out of next time they met. She could promise that much.

“Give me one good reason why, as soon as you leave these borders, I shouldn't just hunt your little family down like the rats they are.” So volatile... But her mask breaks, just a little — hurt. Beneath the anger, there's hurt. She'd come to trust Sybil in the months since she stole the crown. Her lead medic, someone she knew she could count on.

And she just chooses to... Leave? They all leave me, eventually.

She expects the Queen's ire, but is she truly prepared for it? Sybil had always been a gentle woman, a healer rather than a fighter. She did not wish harm upon others, not frequently anyways. "Better option for us all? I have been so lenient, on all of you. I offered your mate a chance to prove herself and her loyalty, time and again, even when she so blatantly broke this pride's rules." The children, she had to have been referring to the children, but how were they to even know that that had been a possibility? "She didn't know. We didn't know. I never knew that we could have children together, I didn't know that even existed until her womb was full of my children." Her words hold strong, they do not shake even though her voice wants to tremble. "Then I offered not just you, but Kireena as well, lead positions in this pride. Positions that were no longer up for grab for others — for those with more loyalty in their bones. You think me allowing both my lead medic and my lead fighter to leave is the better option? Give me one good reason why, as soon as you leave these borders, I shouldn't just hunt your little family down like the rats they are."

For the first time in a very long time anger flickers through the medic. Anger that her family would be threatened, could be threatened for trying to take the higher road. She doesn't move from her positioning but her gaze narrows slightly, "Because I've been nothing but loyal to you. And to your sister. I could have easily attacked Leontine when she was distracted with that rogue cub but I didn't. I let her go. I've stood by each of you and though it must not seem like much to you I have given everything to this pride. To you. Do not threaten my family, my innocent children Ludivine. If my wife has had transgressions with you - then allow me to repay them now. Right here. What do you want from me? What do I need to give to you to prove that we are not leaving because of being disloyal. I am not a rat, nor do I intend to be called one." Her words are clipped, short at the end but even her patience had it's limits. She did not wish to fight the Queen, she didn't want to argue. She wanted to exist peacefully, why was that always so hard to ask of others?

code by cala

Is ignorance of fact a good enough excuse to break a law?

A question that could be applied in this case — although it didn't matter. Not anymore. Ludivine had allowed them to have their cubs; she'd been so generous about it. A huff leaves her in response to @Sybil's attempted defense over the pregnancy because it simply didn't matter anymore. It was one of many ways she'd been so lenient with the pair, and this is how they chose to disrespect her now.

It's interesting when she notices the flicker of change in the other; the clipped words, no longer strangled by propriety. A side she hadn't yet seen in the other — one of many, she would no longer see. Her own wrath is stoked and obvious in the stance she holds herself in, but she remains quiet as the other speaks now. Did loyalty for a mere few months somehow earn her the request she is now demanding of her once queen? Is that how Sybil viewed loyalty? A mere speck of it in return for such defiance? She doesn't know what the lioness speaks of in regards to a rogue cub, but it does draw her ire out once more in the form of wrinkled lips. Sybil thinks she somehow should earn recognition for not attacking her own heiress? No, she was merely following the pride rules by not doing so; there is no honour in that.

So defiant in her words, rebutting the idea of Ludivine hunting them down. Of the idea that she is a rat. She'd lived within the pride for many months now, but she seemingly still didn't understand the workings of her own cannibal Queen — the workings of a true Dieudonné. Ludivine wasn't here to make friends; she was here to play a game of chess, and Sybil wanted to remove two important pieces off her board. That... Was not something she was willing to lose.

Not without a pound of flesh.

“Your wife... Offered up her own flesh and blood to prove to me she would remain loyal as long as a crown sits on my head,” she speaks much more even now — which may be more frightening than her wrath. “Is that crown gone?” A rhetorical question, but one she asks nonetheless. Did she somehow lose her crown without realizing? It speaks of Kireena's ill-begotten nature; of her forked, lying tongue. She was willing to lose a piece of her to prove loyalty that was non-existent to begin with. Just because of some children. Perhaps Ludivine should take yet another piece from her, this time by force, as punishment.

“If I am to let your entire family go without punishment, then you must make a deal with the devil — a deal you will not allow your family to know about. One that will bind your soul to me.” She wasn't willing to let Sybil leave that easily — to allow that loyalty to break.

This was her test.

Tick tock tick tock, the minutes begin to tick by but Sybil's gaze doesn't waiver. Even when that brief moment of anger flickers through her, she continues to watch her Queen before her. "Your wife... Offered up her own flesh and blood to prove to me she would remain loyal as long as a crown sits on my head, Is that crown gone?" A pound of flesh, a pound of her flesh for loyalty. Sybil's ears would swivel frontward, listening intently now. Surely, if @Ludivine had something she wanted she would let it be known. Sybil had never pegged her as the type of woman to hold things back. "If I am to let your entire family go without punishment, then you must make a deal with the devil — a deal you will not allow your family to know about. One that will bind your soul to me." It absolutely was a deal with the devil, could she keep this from her wife? She would, she had to. If it meant keeping her family safe, she would go to the ends of the earth to do so. "Name your price. I'll make your deal. But.. I want you to know I'm doing this because I consider you a friend, I don't have intentions of turning my back on you. If you need me to pledge that loyalty I'll do it Ludivine. But I'm doing it because you are my friend, not the devil." She would keep the secret, she would give the pound of flesh, she would sacrifice everything for her family. Everything.

code by cala

Her expression twists into something unrecognizable as @Sybil already tosses her soul to the devil, long before any price is even mentioned. A friend... My friend... The words don't register with the cannibal Queen. What is a friend? Sure, there are some that she considers closer to her than others... Arkyn springs to mind, for one. But does she consider him a friend, or simply another pawn in her game? A piece that can be used when it benefits her?

What can she benefit from a friend?
And what is she, if not the devil? A cruel, malicious creature?
How can Sybil make such proclaimations?
“Do you think that means anything to me?” A whisper — words barely audible, nothing more than a breath of air. “My own family can't even promise loyalty—” She clips her sentence and takes a breath, refusing to let such vulnerability slip like that. No. Things are different now, right? She's a matriarch of her family; she has their support now. She made a blood pact with Louve, to remain loyalty to the blood they share. That means something now... Right?

But what does friendship mean to her?

“Then prove it — your loyalty. Your... Friendship. As long as I draw a breath, your loyalty will forever be mine. No matter what pride you may venture to next — even if our homes fall into war — it will always be me that you remain loyal to. It will always be my side you choose, even if over your pride.” But not over her family; she doesn't expect that much from the lioness. “You will never be against me or my kin. In return, I won't harm your little family either, nor will I allow mine to... Hunt you down.” At least, not for this. Not for betraying the Firnen Queen's trust. Trust, that Sybil would need to earn back.

“This deal we will seal with blood.”

She can see the faint hint of emotion that flickers through @Ludivine's gaze, and if Sybil didn't know better she might have thought maybe just maybe the Queen cared more then she let on. "Do you think that means anything to me? My own family can't even promise loyalty—" She stops herself and Sybil's brow furrows, "Then perhaps you need better family members." Her words too come out in a whisper. She knew Ludivine wanted more, needed more. She also knew what it meant to have family that did nothing, that would stand by and watch idly as you suffered before them. Which is why she had left her past behind, had decidedly started a new family. Family could be replaced, but even so, this new family she created was one that she didn't want to risk. She wasn't willing to let her family suffer, not for anything. "Then prove it — your loyalty. Your... Friendship. As long as I draw a breath, your loyalty will forever be mine. No matter what pride you may venture to next — even if our homes fall into war — it will always be me that you remain loyal to. It will always be my side you choose, even if over your pride. You will never be against me or my kin. In return, I won't harm your little family either, nor will I allow mine to... Hunt you down." Sybil takes a step forward, closing the distance between herself and the Dieudonné, hovering slightly above the Queen but angling her head downward so they could meet on eye level. "I never was against you.. or your kin." She locks eyes with Ludivine then, trying to convey that she had never been an enemy, never been a traitor either. "This deal we will seal with blood." She doesn't falter even when her Queen speaks those sacred words, "Then let it be so." She waits for Ludivine's lead, she'd never had to offer the cannibal Queen blood before, so this was entirely her playground. Surprisingly enough there was no fear that plagued Sybil, just a readiness to make it known where her loyalties lied, and to secure everlasting safety for her family.

code by cala

A snarl rips through her as @Sybil's whispered words reach her ears — telling her that, perhaps, she simply needed new family. But she doesn't immediately defend her family, either. Curious. Her trust is still shattered from the lead medic's request to leave, but it's interesting enough how readily Sybil is to make a pact. Is it solely to spare her family from the cannibal Queen's wrath or could it really be because of something... More? Ludivine doesn't know, but she doesn't dwell on the possibilities either.

Not when the giant is so eager to spill her own blood.

“I took my pound of flesh from your wife,” she muses as she finally mirrors Sybil and takes a step of her own closer — close, so close are they to one another now. “But from you, I will not take... We shall merely bind ourselves to one another.” A motion that feels familiar now, one she had taken with Louve a month or two prior. Fangs sink into the soft flesh of her paw pad just enough for sanguine blood to bubble to the surface and spill to the ground underneath. Then she extends a paw towards Sybil — the expectation being, the red giant would copy her. To bind themselves to one another in a blood oath. A Queen, and her friend pawn.