With @Aphrodite ♔ giving her blessing, Haakon wastes no time. Why wait? He wants Lilliana by his side and he'd told her as much - and now he'll bleed for her.

The sun bears down on the pit as he arrives, the pads of his paws hot on the cracked earth. He paces it, reading himself, feeling the roll of muscle and bone under his pale, painted fur. Others of his clan have to use dye and blood to mask their faces, but like others of his blood Haakon was born with the lines on his face that denote a warrior. It was always his destiny - and this is the first step to fulfilling that prophecy here.

For what is a king without his queen?

Finally, Haakon comes to stand in the middle of the pit and lets his claim - his challenge - pierce the silence of the air. Before the gods and every mortal, he'll win her.

Haakon vs ?
For @Lilliana
0 of III

art © drifty | code © hinter

Calls for battle were nothing new. They rang out across just about every other day it seemed. By now she had come to ignore them. This one however, gives her immediate pause. Not only did she know that voice, that voice was calling for her. Claiming her.

A mix of fury and confusion blows her in like a stray wind. Coming to drift on the edge of the pit, tail low and ears flat. Haakon.. She whispers. Almost sounding accusing. Almost sounding betrayed. Why was he trying to uproot her? Had he taken their last talk out of context? When she wanted him to verbalize his feelings for her, this hadn't been at all what she had in mind.

Not only this, but they were bonded now. Married before the Mother and before all his Gods. Her uncle would have let her go if they had asked. So, Why?

art by Deej

Alexander hadn't truly had anything against the Cove. If anything, it had seemed the Cove Queen had some sort of gripe with him. Simply because he chose not to drop his loyalties so easily for someone he didn't know.

Oh, imagine a world where being loyal and logical were negatives? Either way, he'd been content to simply leave it at that. There hadn't been any contact since and even if they hadn't been allies, they had no reason to be enemies. Neutrality was perfectly fine in his eyes. You didn't have to like each other to be civil with them.

So, suffice it to say - the King was more than a little surprised to hear a call from the Cove. For his niece.

Fury, hot and consuming erupted within him. It didn't take long for him to make his way to the pit, either. A massive force of anger and confusion, those limbs stiffened to help him skid to a halt. His niece was here, but those pale blue eyes narrowed in on the opponent. "Come to steal my niece and you cannot even have the dignity to do so in our home? Coward." The beast spits.

There's no time given to the other to respond. Alexander ushers his weight forward as swiftly as possible to try and barrel himself into the other - wanting to try and close the distance and overwhelm his opponent.

He was smaller, and he knew from experience that a smaller opponent moved faster. The Savante did not want to give him the chance. Teeth immediately attempt to snap for his opponents face, toward the upper left side toward his eye.

Alexander vs. @Haakon
For Lilliana
0 1 2 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 8 + 15 + 13 + 11 + 10 + 1 + 3 + 19

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 5 + 19 + 20 + 9

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 14 + 8 + 6 + 2

table by aurora / art

Clara followed the calls and her father with worry yet curiosity in her brown eyes. As she grew so did her boldness to get out of her home and see what the world had to offer beyond the many stone walls that made up her pride. Caverns taht despite being such a fun place didn't have it all .

Things she could only find beyond the caves and caverns. Out here in the open.

She arrived taking a seat, here to make sure her father wouldn't get too hurt. Who knows who the bold man was but whatever would happen she hopped her dad and her kin wouldn't get too hurt...

+5 Attend a challenge to asses the wounds(medic)
+5 Observe a fight(Barb)

Clara Savante

code by loki

She arrives first. Haakon's gaze snaps up to her immediately, sensing her eyes on him like a physical touch. As focused as he is, he manages to spare her a quick grin - that withers when her soft, confused words reach him.

What?

"Because you're mine -" He begins, almost dropping his fighting stance to turn and climb up to her, but the furious arrival of the Obsidian Hollows king rips his attention to the beast himself.

Coward, the colossal lion snarls, and it becomes all too clear Lilliana had not told any of her kin anything. Was he some dirty secret, had she not been brave enough to admit to them the truth? Or was there something else wrong? Had she not meant the vows they whispered before their gods?

Haakon's ears fold back as the red male charges at him. He lowers his legs and braces himself, but unlike his recent spar with another similar sized beast, this fight has become decidedly serious.

As Alexander's teeth snap toward his face Haakon lowers his head and attempts to dart forward, trying to get underneath the encroaching jaws and into the bigger man's mane and neck. Teeth scratch along his scalp and neck, but it remains to be seen if that'll be worse. He lifts his right foreleg and attempts to slam it down, claws out, into the corresponding front leg of his opponent - trying to pin the paw down, but he knows he'll be hard pressed to manage that.

Why are they all so fucking big?

Haakon vs @Alexander ♔
For @Lilliana
I of III
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 9 + 8 + 6 + 4 + 20 + 18 + 12

Dodges:

Rolling 6d20: 5 + 18 + 2 + 10 + 3 + 19

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 10 + 2 + 9 + 4 + 15

art © drifty | code © hinter

In his age, Alexander's patience seems to have become thinner and thinner - rather than the opposite. It was unfortunate, because at any other time, perhaps the beast would have questioned things more.

As it stands, he had lost too many already. Most of them were all gone. Those that came with him to these lands. They'd all left him, or died. Or abandoned him. He was grateful for the ones that remained, but his heart grew heavy at the idea of his niece being stolen away into a pride whose leader was so easily offended.

His opponent ducks - and Alexander does nothing to stop him. The mass of his mane would be an opponent in of itself, but this male. He didn't have one.

The Savante doesn't attempt to remove his foot and leg from the oncoming onslaught, no - he'd become distracted by the target that lay before him. Chin tucked, his body shifts back ( not in time, mind you ) and as best he can, Alexander's teeth snap, attempting to grab hold of Haakon's scruff and lock into it with hungry teeth.

Blood trickled down his leg, his foot - spilling on the Earth. The Mother cried out at such blasphemy - Alexander could feel it in his heart. He could feel pain throbbing up his limb, but he would go easy. Not this time.

Alexander vs. @Haakon
For Lilliana
0 1 2 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 16 + 3 + 15 + 2 + 6 + 9 + 7 + 20

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 8 + 17 + 4 + 14 + 20

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 14 + 5 + 15 + 12

table by aurora / art

The supprise and curiosity that had set Reti's path twoards the pit upon hearing a challenge for an Obsidian lioness morphed into keen interest upon catching sight of the offending male facing off against Alexander and taking not of the farmilar Lilliana off to one side.

This was not just a challenge for one of Alexander's pride then...but blood family as well. A nail in the coffin so to speak.

And then the scent on the coat of the challenger wafted over to Reti as the warrior stood on the sidelines and intrest twisted to supprise one more - and then contorted into bubbling anger. A withing, twisting surge of malevolent emotion that the lion had to pause his breath and forcefully restrict, for the moment.

Not all challenges were approved by rulers before hand.

Just because an apparent cove lion had made an offensive move woards the Hollows and a Savante - did not mean it had the blessings of the Cove ruler. But Reti had to know the truth before acting.

Perhaps if it was not approved and Mairan or Aphrodite invalidated the challenge the situation might be salvaged. If not... well.... he had made his stance on acts against Obsidian very clear to Mairan the last time they spoke.

Reti gave his body a light shake, warming up his muscles and flexing dark claws while letting out a request for @Miaran ♔ . He needed .... this ... explained. So he would know for certain the line was crossed.

code by corvus

Perhaps she shouldn't have come here, she had not been summoned, nor did it appear anyone needed healing. She supposed it was simply curiosity that guided her steps. Despite what time she had spent among lions, she still struggled to understand their kind. They had so many rules and customs they abided by, yet all to often others would break from these teachings for selfish gain.

She would note the child there, but they already would have grown bigger and heavier than she. It would be pointless to try and keep them safe. In the end, the little snow cat would settle down to observe on her own, ready to help with injuries if need be. It was the only thing she had to offer them.

by the morning's light

We'll be half way to anywhere

code by corvus

+5 - observe a fight (alexander vs haakon)
his cousin, they were coming for his cousin

by now karsa has heard of the meeting with the caladan cove queen on the obsidian borders, had run into both of them at the passage while trying to recruit. they had both seemed fine then, so the challenge catches the young savante entirely off-guard. karsa had thought, perhaps foolishly, that maybe it had all been some misunderstanding. that even if things had started off on the wrong foot, that at least a neutral relationship with the cove might still be established.

apparently, they did not feel the same way. unlike his friend reti, karsa is not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, bristling at the call unleashed for the queen. though shooting @Reti a tense nod, the man makes a beeline for his cousin instead. he only sits next to her in a show of support, assuming she had been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"do you know that guy?" he questions @Lilliana, lips pulling down into a deep frown. was there a story here? had they gotten into an argument? was the guy looking to prove himself by stealing a technically enemy lioness? blue eyes settle intently on the battling forms of his father and the cove lion. it wasn't often that karsa got to watch his dad fight and the sight is something else, indeed. "dad's going to kill them..." he mutters under his breath, perhaps not even loud enough for lilliana to properly hear. maybe not literally, but the savante is sure his dad - and the rest of their family - wasn't going to take kindly to this. especially not if this man happened to win.

coding by daanyen | art by rabbit

@Haakon looks up at her, a flash of hurt in his eyes to match her own. Yes, she was his. But this is not what she meant. Not what she expected. She wanted to go down to him. Talk this over. But they are cut short by her uncle's rage.
There is nothing she can do as they clash together. For her. And a pit settles into her stomach. Getting the feeling that maybe this was her fault. He's.. She starts, desperately trying to hold back the choking sobs she feels are coming. He's my husband. She cannot bring herself to look at Karsa. What had she been doing all this time that she had not told her family? How had she allowed herself to get so wrapped up in her own little world of bliss? Could she truly not function properly without her mother's guidance?? I'm carrying his cubs. She adds a little more softly. Now realizing the implications of that. It hadn't been a problem before. He hadn't been apart of Caladan at the beginning of their romance. And she hadn't really stopped to think, clearly, what it would mean for them after his joining there. Or better yet, she had not thought what it would mean for their children.

Anxiously she chews her bottom lip. Wracking her brain, trying to remember if he had told her this would happen. Had she not taken him seriously and simply forgotten? And now.. Win or lose, could this even be salvaged with her family?

@Karsa

art by Deej