She had mulled over the decision to do this for a little while now. Between the initial challenge for Sunder's vacant crown, to what the floppy eared lioness had done... Zabrina figured it was time to take matters into her own paws and try to right something. Normally, this was not exactly something she would do. But with her knowing that Sunder had felt like all hope was gone and taking drastic measures after Yuna was handed the crown - she had to try something. Had to try to show her wife that she would always fight for her. And in her mind, the moment Sunder wanted the crown back she would hand it over immediately if she managed to secure it.

Finding a clear spot within the Cove, free of any large rocks or other hazards, Zabrina would then let out a loud summons. A call for righting what had been done wrong (in her mind), and a challenge for the youth who held the crown. She had no ambitions to truly lead a pride herself - but she wished to ensure that whoever held the crown alongside Kvare would be willing to give it up the moment Sunder asked for it back - without a fight. The floppy eared lioness had done so much for the pride, had protected the pride so many times. It was only right to have someone she knew and trusted hold her position alongside the King rather than some young whelp who was mostly unknown to the pride.


Zabrina vs @Yuna
For Sovereign
Round 0 / 3

"She starred in one of the ones that became nothing."

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Caladan residents were a tiring lot with all their inner politics. No one seemed capable of proper communication, nor had anyone but Pyrrha approached her with their concerns over her taking the crown from the woman who'd vied for it. Against better judgement she'd have thought they were all power hungry mongrels, but instead she knew there was some deep rooted obsession with Sunder having been queen prior to her.

Had she the proper technique, eyes would roll back into her skull at the dramatics of these lions. Especially the women who felt close to Sunder, whispering behind her back under fickle acceptance, not even knowing the burden of bearing a crown upon their thick headed crown. Only Sunder herself knew the burdens, and she had not spoken out against Yuna's rule as of yet. Still, these loyalists felt the need to come down upon her without any knowledge of who she was.

"My, you lot are quite the judgmental hounds, are you not?" Paws pressed against the damp sand, limbs stretching as she prowled towards the challenger who'd so summoned her. Irritated by the seeming misconception of her character, she rounded upon the dual toned woman, adorned in stripes. Does anyone around here have the common sense to wonder who I am? After all, she'd lead many pride hunts and knew many of the faces among the pride members, even if they didn't know her; had she not provided for Caladan for months before facing against Lagertha?

A pity they were so shallow.

Body braced itself, muscles tensing where needed, head guarding her throat warily as she rounded upon Zabrina, narrowed eyes contemplative of this woman's desires for this particular crown. "Well, let's have it then." She allowed jaws to remain relaxed, her body not so rigid that she couldn't react to whatever Zabrina's movements might be.


Yuna vs. @Zabrina
For Sovereign
Round 0/0

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Her recovery had been slow and steady, but Sunder had finally come to a place of acceptance. She might not have been the Queen of the Cove any longer, but she was still the Matriarch of the Tollaires and that was something that could never be taken from her. If only @Yuna had known what it had taken for the Cove to reach this area of security they were in. Did she not know how Sunder had carried this very Cove on her back since her previous husband held the crown? How she had quite literally fought teeth and claw to keep this a safe haven for all who entered? If someone would ask her, she would say the other's obsessions with her were warranted, because she had made the Cove what it was today. Was it not she who had defeated Arkyn not once, not twice, but three times? But Sunder was not asking for a medal, she was not asking for anyone to take up for her. She wanted to see action, not hear words. And while Yuna had been leading hunts, that was rather small in the grand scheme of things. She remained blissfully untested upon the throne by outsiders, something she should truly be grateful for. Perhaps that was why the women within the Cove felt the need to test her so frequently. The floppy-eared woman would make her way towards both Yuna and @Zabrina. Her icy gaze would flicker from one to the other before she would take a seat upon the sand. For the moment she would say nothing before finally her voice would rise, "Best of luck to both of you. Make it interesting." She would muse before leaning back slightly, her gaze ever observant as she waited for them to get on with it. The petty part of her was dead and gone, she had long accepted her new role now. But she wanted to see for herself that either woman could defend this place as she had, something that had yet to occur here. Perhaps it was a blessing that all of the drama was happening elsewhere, though Sunder had a feeling this false sense of security would not last long. Eventually a usurper would come along, they always did. And she hoped that when the time came, whoever bore her crown would be ready.

art by hush

+10 Successfully stay hidden for the duration of a thread
+10 Learn something about pride/group/family relations
+10 Remain undetected in a large thread (5+ characters)

---

The churn in the female ranks was beneath him, and he was wont to disregard this challenge just as he the former. George enjoyed a long stay of relaxation upon tge beach. The horrors of the Rainforest usurpsion lingered, but they were fading. Lips flinched as the note of jealous justice recalled that scene to mind. Scorned lionesses were unpleasant and it would be unlucky to catch the eye of someone looking to build drama. But unrest within the ranks should be monitored. The black lion rolled to his other side and scrunch-rolled until both sides were brightened with sand. Mostly he would rely on the avenue of approach to disguise him. He cut to the mainland and then, keeping to its winter scrub of brown and white, slowly shimmied until he was within sight of the standoff. Sunder was there, appearing majestically indifferent. Perhaps she did not know the danger, or had it in paw. He realized he did not even know the names of the other two, though the affronted and then aggressive body language suggested which one had called and which felt unrightly summoned.

--- attempting to hide

She hadn’t exactly run her plan past Sunder before she just went and did it. But she had been mulling it over in her head since she’d found the floppy eared lioness that fateful day and kept her from leaving this world. And in her mind, no one else but Sunder was fit to hold the crown of Queen of the Cove. This young whelp was merely just a stand-in, and she would be ousted sooner rather than later she hoped. Her lip curled slightly as the curly-furred lioness herself showed up, speaking of them being quite the judge mental lot. "You are one to talk - taking a crown when you do not know the history of the lioness who rightfully deserves to wear it." Zabrina said, tail flicking as she spoke.

In her mind, @Yuna was not fit to wear the crown. What had she done to earn the position? Lead a few hunts for the pride? Her blood had not been spilled in defense of the pride. She hadn’t done anything (in her mind) to deserve the crown that sat on her head. And truth be told, Zabrina didn’t even want the crown herself. She merely wanted the whelp removed from the position and @Sunder placed back rightfully on her position within the pride. A dark ear would twist as she heard Sunder’s voice coming from nearby. "I fight for you, dragul meu.*" Zabrina said, tilting her head to the slightly smaller lioness. Sunder would ways be her queen, regardless of who held the crown. And she would do whatever she could to place it back on her head.

— fight starts here —

Turning back to Yuna as the younger lioness invited her to get this going. Settling into a more relaxed posture, the larger lioness would put her defense in place (ears pushed back, head lowered and stance spread) before starting the battle. Pushing off the sands, Zabrina would attempt to lunge forwards towards Yuna. Used to the slick sands beneath her paws, it did not bother her in the slightest with her movements. As she aimed to lunge forward, Zabrina would attempt to lower her head. Her aim was to ram her head directly into Yuna’s chest in an attempt to either knock her backwards, knock the wind out of her or both if she was lucky.


Zabrina v. @Yuna
For Sovereign
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 15 + 4 + 1 + 9 + 18 + 3

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 3

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 2 + 11 + 17 + 3

*dragul meu - my love
"She starred in one of the ones that became nothing."

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From the standing, mournful driftwood along the fringes of the cove approached the blue-green harbinger of the sea. Robust, skull high, keeling to a trot. Gaze swung wide despite the firm direction of travel. Indeed, until the lion stopped those eyes feasted only on distraction. Upon the cresting challenge they set with the same quick character. Yet the gaze deepened, waiting. Body slouched to a shorn, salt-caked loaf, and gaze did not error. "Please bleed in at least two places. I have a new mixture of salt to test." The voice pitched high and informative, though with a wheedle and a plea that suggested the anticipation of resistance.

The call is not for her but may as well have been. The Sovereign's title and the women who all bickered over it were... regrettably persistent. And in Pyrrha's mind all temporary until she herself could rise up into the position. She wanders in, aiming to come up and brush along her mother's left side, tucking her head under @Sunder's chin and rubbing her temple to mother's jaw fondly. "It's cute she thinks you need anyone to fight for you." Lagertha, Yuna, Zabrina... they were all the same in the young Heiress's mind. While she wanted to know this outcome Pyrrha had no personal favor one way or the other who succumbed and who succeeded. A volume in the chronical was all this was.

And maybe, hopefully, someday someone would come for her and she could show them what it meant to be a Queen.

code by me & art by rabbit

What was he to do with all this infighting? Perhaps he could stand aside—watch everything they'd built turn to ash and dust.

What once had been a unified front now tore at each other's throat; gnashing fangs had turned to teeth on skin, sparks kindled freely in a room full of gunpowder. Kvare bristled the moment he'd heard the call, mulling over his options, wondering what spelled such a turn of events when the pressure had already been mounting right before his eyes. Had he not known what he was seeing, or had he refused to believe it existed?

He'd known Yuna's ascension had been unpopular. He had figured it was purely because anyone's ascension would have been. They had only ever understood @Sunder as their Queen for so long—and Kvare had been eager to let them bandage the wound at their own pace, in their own way. He had seen the way her wives had gathered around her in support, but so too had he seen the division it struck across his pridemates, and those uninvolved left in its violent wake.

Enough! came his bellowed command as he emerged from the reeds.

It were difficult enough on @Yuna to endure the scrutinizing glares and hushed whispers as she learned her new role; it were difficult enough on Sunder, perhaps, that they could not let sleeping dogs lie.

You all have barely given Yuna so much a chance to breathe before you judge her merit, he continued, his gaze casting across all those in attendance; before resolutely resting on the Queen and her challenger. So too do you force a burden onto Sunder she does not deserve.

He knew his wife wanted to be Queen again. He knew the heavy loss she had taken in stepping down. But so too had he known the relief of that pressure, the lessened demand; he too had once felt the weight off his chest that finally allowed him to breathe. They honored her by holding her in such high esteem but so too had they doomed her; so much of Sunder's identity had been tied to her Queenship that it must have felt as if a piece of her had been taken from her, and that emptiness was now kept alive by misguided support.

All this could do was deepen the pit that already divided them.

You'll fight because you want Queen, not because you are simply wanting to warm the throne for Sunder, he then said, turning his attentions toward @Zabrina. He'd a lot of respect for the woman, appreciated greatly the way she looked out for Sunder—but her loyalty needed to lay with the rest of the pride, as well, even if it meant swallowing hard decisions. I did not make the decision to allow the challenge for Queen lightly. In Sunder's absence I need someone willing to take on the role and all that comes with it. Scrutinize Yuna if you must, but I will not allow the pride to be torn apart by infighting.

Art by Rabbit, table by cala

She welcomes the arrival of @Pyrrha ♔ with a low purr, her muzzle reaching downward to nuzzle her daughter's crown, ruffling her own flopped ears before she'd turn her attention back to both Yuna and Zabrina. "It's cute she thinks you need anyone to fight for you." Sunder wouldn't attempt to stifle the smile that formed on her lips, turning her attention back to her daughter as she'd reply, "She and Lagertha are quite similar in that regard." She'd muse lightly, though it did not take much time for @Kvare to come sweeping in. His voice bellows over the gathering of individuals, her own icy gaze drifting to land upon her husband. While some of his words rang true, she didn't necessarily agree with all of them. Yuna had taken over the crown, but Sunder herself wouldn't be fully convinced until she proved herself to an actual opponent. The woman were testing her, that much was true, but Sunder wouldn't be satisfied until she knew with utmost certainty that Yuna could protect the Cove from an outsider. So, it would come as no surprise that her husband would come to the new Queen's aid. Her brow would quirk lightly as he spoke, "You'll fight because you want Queen, not because you are simply wanting to warm the throne for Sunder, I did not make the decision to allow the challenge for Queen lightly. In Sunder's absence I need someone willing to take on the role and all that comes with it. Scrutinize Yuna if you must, but I will not allow the pride to be torn apart by infighting." She shifts her gaze away from him then, instead returning her attention back to Pyrrha. "Pay close attention to them and watch what defensive and offensive mechanisms they rely on. Study them. This will be useful for you when it is your turn to ascend to Queen." Her words are spoken in a hushed whisper, meant for only Pyrrha to be able to hear. "No one will be fit in my eyes, no one but you. If it cannot be me, it must be you Nin -iel." She would reach out to nuzzle her cheek once more before turning her attention back to the women. She didn't need someone to fight for her, if Sunder wanted Queen, she would have taken it back already. Nin - iel - my daughter

art by hush

If not for the bellowing of @Kvare nearby, she might not have given a second thought to witnessing another challenge for Sovereign. It was an important rank challenge to watch and witness but she hadn't had the itch to go. At least, not until her Uncle had gone and woken up her soul. Meandering towards the gathering and hearing his words she felt that kindled hope riding in her waves that at least he was aware of how the pride's inner workings were. That no one should be vying for Queen for anyone but themselves. That it was their choice to do it, not because they felt they should have it for another.

Still she watched the two scuffle together and wondered how far the two of them were willing to go. The current holder hadn't even held it for more than a month and yet some one (by her view) had likely unintentionally declared in one way or another that Yuna was not worthy of such responsibility and that she, the challenger, could do better.

Sunder was a wonderful woman worthy of protectors but to have a show for Queen to even a fraction imply that she needed a protector was shameful. Just as she had taken on @Moradin as a protector of sorts, she had grown into the knowledge that she had never needed one. Not really. So Analia kept to the outskirts of the challenge to watch and listen, not among the masses but close enough to be noticed or interacted with should someone feel the desire to do so.

+5 - Observe a challenge and learn the results

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