Using Sleuth Level 5: Can't be discovered if actively hidden in threads

The ghost glides through the shadows, a deadly viper moving with a haunting grace. She is drawn toward the looming chaos of yet another trial for her pride, a contest she cannot help but closely observe. Memories flood her mind of the last time she traversed these shadows, where the murmurs of Caladan's former members lingered like ghosts. Her tongue slipped across her lips, excitement coursing through her veins as she inched closer, silently absorbing every detail. The challenger in the swamp ignited a spark of admiration within her, their deadly dance of life and death still vivid in her thoughts.

As she stealthily positioned herself in a hidden corner, her heart raced at the sight of the tumultuous battles unfolding around her. The Vile Witch clashed with a mysterious lion, while the one-eyed beast face off against a maned lioness who seemed achingly familiar.

Miaran's breath caught in her throat as she watched, her heart pulsing with hope and yearning. She wished for the Vile Witch to crumble into oblivion, for the current Queen to lose her hold on the crown to the ruthless Executioner of the undead, and for the one-eyed beast to vanquish the abomination that threatened their world. In that moment, she envisioned a brighter future filled with alliances forged in the fires of struggle, and she clung to that dream like a lifeline.

Miaran is actively hiding

table code by daanyen

The red whore, propped on his throne by nothing less than lowly witchcraft, tore at his spine with a sudden jerk of her skull, which sent a lightning of pain through his body, shaking him down to the bones. He raged with peeled lips, his roar starting a few crows that had gathered to observe the twisted branches of his kingdom. A big, gaping wound now shone bright red against the pale of his grey-striped spine, blood painting his ribs and crashing to the ground in generous rivulets.

I will kill you.

A silent promise, but if one knew Luther well enough, if one knew the atrocities he was capable of, they would’ve never dared lay claim on the Mire. They would’ve run and thanked whatever gods they served so blindly that they’d been spared the terrible fate that awaits.

The sidelines were a distance mirage, but one voice seemed to stand out. One name, yelled by a familiar voice ( @Grimm ), awoke a deeper seethed rage than a simple throne. Sigrún. Had his ears deceived him? Sigrún.

when the cold winds rage
"She's dead," Alaric said, moved to reach for Yrsa, to pull her from the corpse of their mother. "Sie haben sie getötet." They killed her.

Luther would never cry, especially not for a woman like Erna.

“This is what the Sigrún do." Alaric starts to speak of the Sigrún - the family they warred with; the ones Luther already hated simply by association and by the reverence of his father's word. Ah, so they are the ones responsible? The young boy's lip began to curl, and as he straightened himself up - quick to rise to the occasion of the eldest son - he would fix his father with his full attention. It was easy to tear his gaze away from the body of his mother - it made him uncomfortable, for so many reasons. And then he would nod, expression as stoic as he could muster. His tongue felt like lead - for now, he could not find the words. And so he would simply rise to his paws and sit closer to his father's ankles. Not close enough to touch, but close enough to be there.

"Things will be different now," he murmured quietly, shifting his attention over to Yrsa and Bruno. "We will have to work harder." I will work you both harder.


This is what the Sigrún do.

Luther’s teeth sank into Zahra’s neck, jaws clamping tight on loose skin, but that was not enough. He sought to jerk back his head and tear the chunk of meat loose. An eye for an eye. Except an eye will never be enough for what the sea rats have done. Every step of the way, they thwart him. They kill and they rage and they destroy everything he worked so hard for only to seat themselves on the pile of ashes that had been his land.

No. Nothing but their death will be enough.

He began to feel numb.

Luther vs. @Zahra
for Ecrosia Mire
Round 2 / 5
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 12 + 9 + 7 + 20 + 17 + 16 + 14

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 13 + 10 + 17 + 15

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 11 + 20 + 16 + 9 + 15

Perhaps she is naught but a fool. Perhaps the title that weighs her young shoulders so much, truly was never meant for her to bear. Perhaps this action in announcing herself in public- and attacking this Jarl of the Rike was the stupidest move she could make. She knew she must persist. For too long, had she remained in the shadows. For too long, had she been silent. Now, she sought to embrace some violence. And if her grandmother were to fight- so would she. She would see Morrigan proud of her skills. She would never let someone torment them as Aeistrios had. She would stand for the Sigrun name. And so they collide. Fur against fur, his rank scent infiltrates her every breath- as her lungs expand and contract in rapid bursts, trying to fuel the movements of her body- the demands of her muscles and the strain of her mind. The impact of his paw against her head rattles her brain, and she swears it pings against her skull like a rock scattering down a cliff-face. She aims to shake her head free of the blow, as his paw snakes into the crook of her right leg- and jerks her back forward into him. Did he want to hug? As his teeth sink into the point of her jaw, near her mane, she lets out a snarl of fury, as her own snapping jaws aim to close on his ear, hoping to tear and mangle it from his body. Hoping to gain some kind of upper paw. As her left paw would flash out, aiming to score down his left foot where it was rooted into the earth- wanting to slam her claws into his toes, and dig in, with all the weight she possessed- though she weighed less than he. As for that tuft of mane? She hoped it buried in her own, that she'd keep that trinket and whatever part of him she managed to rend from his body. A trophy Eisa vs @Rainer For Major Maim 3/4 hits: Rolling 7d20: 4 + 13 + 8 + 2 + 12 + 5 + 3 dodge: Rolling 4d20: 20 + 4 + 11 + 5 luck: Rolling 5d20: 1 + 11 + 13 + 17 + 4

art by spu

Quietly the young demon moves through the swamp, allowing the dirt, mud, and vegetation to cling to his pale fur. Due to his ivory coat, he was more likely to get caught, and he wasn't here to cause problems or disappoint his parents. No, that would simply not do.

Blood spills and paints the territory, his eyes narrowed as he closely watches his father's battle. Vice didn't bother paying attention to the other adults fighting each other. That was not what he was here for, so he didn't care about the outcomes of such disputes.

He found himself hidden perfectly within vegetation, his jaw clenched with anticipation. He remained silent and still, his claws unsheathed and piercing the mud underneath him.

Vice is attempting to hide.

code by scorpixia ♡︎ art by rabbit

Zahra's fangs dug deep and soon his blood flooded her jaws. Smilling yet not letting this get over her head, she had to be serious and smart, to not let emotions take the best of her. This male was going to learn a way or another that she was no to play with. She hoped the poison would help, she had no shame in using it against a tyrant, against someone who picked on cubs.

Yet his own jaws which were closed in her nape would move in a way that started to tear a wound open in there, indeed and eye for an eye. She would attempt to do the same but with her own twist.

She aimed to bite down harder for then shaking her head widely side to side, aiming to both cause even more pain and perhaps tear her own chunk of meat, of rancid flesh.

She said nothing for she didn't want to waste her breath on this scumbag.

Zahra vs @Luther ♔
for EM
round 3 of 5
hits:

Rolling 7d20: 18 + 15 + 9 + 5 + 1 + 17 + 13

dodge:

Rolling 4d20: 1 + 14 + 5 + 9

luck:

Rolling 5d20: 6 + 17 + 12 + 15 + 10

code by shaz - Icon by shaz

As the momentum of her lunge carried them downward, Bruno was quick, clever, she felt his claws scrape at her ankle, catching her superior weight and sending her falling much harder with much less grace. "Oomph," her frustration and pain combined in the sound as his teeth rip through the thick fur of her neck into flesh, claws leaving tracks in the black-winged fur of her shoulders. She has only a heartbeat to realize what he's doing before he does it, perhaps only recognizing it for its familiarity.

She'll do her best to make him pay for it, she thinks, as instead of trying to move from the impact, Morrigan attempts to meet his skull with her own as white hot light flashes behind her eyes at his success, head reeling in momentary blindness. "Verdammt, Bruno! Bist du ein Stärke oder ein Rike? Bist du wirklich wie dein Bruder? Wie sie?" Gods damn it, Bruno! Are you a Stärke or a Rike? Are you really like your brother? Like them? Morrigan knew how the Rike treated their daughters, could only imaging the kind of mothers the women who survived their accepted chains would make, to produce such beasts of men.

@Morrigan vs. @Bruno ♔
For MAJOR MAIM
Round II / IV
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 13 + 5 + 11 + 3 + 10 + 18 + 16 + 15

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 6 + 15 + 13 + 5

Luck:

Rolling 6d20: 2 + 10 + 19 + 16 + 14 + 5

table coding by ferus

Life is far too short to waste time on second-guessing everything. Why settle for living out a long and dreadfully boring life, when one of risk can reap such glorious rewards.

How thrilling that the Sigrun aberration has come to see things his way!

It's just a shame that glorious suffering shall be her only reward. Distantly, he finds himself wondering how Eisa's tattered pelt might look wrapped around his wife's lovely shoulders. Red on red.

For now, he'll simply have to savor how the scarlet of her blood stained them both. Hot beads of it roll over his hooked claws, soaking into his white fur as he dragged the reeling woman in close, close enough for him to bite a vicious kiss into her jawline, the bittersweet taste of iron dripping past his lips.

Close enough for the bitch to surprise him by stomping on his innocent left foot. The move draws a pained yelp from the Rike as his balance suddenly pitches down to his left, the limb instinctively cringing from the sharp, overwhelming pain now throbbing in his paw, all but pinned beneath the Sigrun's sharp claws. Instinctively, his right forepaw would retreat from Eisa's elbow, seeking to plant itself into the damp ground once again to recover some semblance of his equilibrium - though his long claws would remain extended, seeking to rip down the length of her left forelimb as he went.

The tearing of his poor mane gives way to the puncture of teeth through the outer edge of his ear, thin skin ripping with a spray of blood as Rainer forcefully turns his skull towards her, his snarling jaws now attempting to clamp around her red muzzle and encourage that excessively bitey mouth to stay shut.

Seemed the Sigrun have been taking lessons from piranhas lately.

Rainer vs. @Eisa
Major Maim
Round 3 / 4
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 5 + 11 + 8 + 14 + 4

Dodges:

Rolling 6d20: 16 + 7 + 1 + 20 + 11 + 14

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 4 + 5 + 16 + 10 + 11

Art + Code by Dee

Elaine moved into the Mire, the call from Luther caused her hackles to rise. She knew that her family had a tangled history with the Rike but for her, Luther had sealed his fate to have them stand against him. There was no way that she would fight with him or for him. She arrived and hid in the shadows, listening, learning, and watching. It was interesting to see how things shaped up as she moved along. Words were thrown around, some she didn't know the meaning to. She watched Zahra arrive and jump straight into the fight.

The scent of the Rainforest caused her to be on guard and she moved along. There wasn't peace between them and she doubted that there would be. She spotted Brook members as well and watched the group closely. Where did they stand in this fight? Luther was not a fan of female leaders, he had made that clear to them. Cassius arrives and settles with some of the others from the Brook. To be expected it seemed. Icefang arrives and moves to the small group around Cassius and the rainforest member.

Bruno catches her attention as he arrives. Will he support his brother in this? Or will he stand against him again? SIGRUN BITCH. Was loud over the chattering and she looked toward the male that said it. Standing with a member she had picked up as being from the Rainforest. Were there Rike in the rainforest? Elaine's ears flattened back at the thought. She moved toward them, still sticking in the shadows offered by the Mire. She couldn't understand anything that was being said but they seemed close.

She caught sight of the male that she was fairly sure was the Rike's leader. What had Erna called the rank? She couldn't recall if her mother had told her. She watched him closely. He moved into the group with Icefang and Elaine felt her blood chilling. This wasn't a good thing. If Icefang was aligned with the Rike, that could spell trouble for Wolfbron. Would Icefang stand with them if Luther turned his attention back on them? He introduces himself to Icefang. This wasn't good. Elaine backed deeper into the shadows as fights broke out. Bruno against Morrigan. And then, it was clear who the male was. The Rike Jarl as the Sigrun Jarl jumps into action and makes an attack.

Elaine moves from the shadows and looks from @Icefang ♔ to @Cassius ♔ back to Icefang. You stand with a family that views females as less? Harlots is what he called my family. He broke a long-standing alliance. Loyalty is not his strongest value. Her icy gaze held an edge of warning as she watched for their reactions. Icefang may be older but Elaine's family had been around longer, they knew the underbelly of Amaryllis's pit of shitheads. Right now, Luther and the Rike were at the top of it in her mind. Maybe Icefang wasn't aware of what the Rikes were, of what Luther was. Maybe just maybe. Her gaze flicks to the others there, watching, waiting to see if one will attack her. She silently hoped that @Louve ♔ would arrive quickly, if things were about to change she needed to be here to see it. Elaine wasn't sure what other Bluff members were in the shadows but it wasn't back up she needed. Elaine had always and would always stand her ground.

Art by Lars

So the pale male then was to be their champion? @Velasco also arrives and Cassius gives an idle shrug. Something I myself am still trying to figure out. Who exactly was for the taking here? Not that Cassius could just go around claiming others while under the eye if the Dieusonne. At least not unless one of the women gave the call. So watching it would just have to be for him.

A ruby lion.. no.. lioness, charges the group. Jarl and Jarl whatever the fuck that meant. All he could deduce from the situation was Sigrun no and Rike yes. As he thinks on family feuds and whether or not he'd even want to know or be involved, @Icefang ♔ approaches. Cassius smirks up at her, shifting to lounge casually against Velasco. Indeed. He thrums back, eyes steady on her face, her expression, her mood. The uncertainty not exposed but evident, but only because he was aware of its possible existence. She feared losing her power.

Eyes peel away to look at @Elaine ♔. Spewing something about a family that viewed women as lesser. Cassius's look of amusement flutters back to the Brook Queen. He knew the X'uekai truth. Their roots. Just because a woman led them now could very well mean absolutely nothing. Especially now that a man was once again gunning for the lead. A man who had been educated by Renozuri himself. Fortunately the X'uekai were safe for the moment given that he was currently held in relative check by the Dieudonne.

code by scorpixia♡︎ | art by drifter

set the world on fire

Ah, the joys of family. She is stuck between concerning herself with @Cassius ♔ plopped in so comfortably amongst them, @Temero's missing toes, and the fight that Luther is currently engaged in. Blue eyes drift towards the newest presence amongst them as @Rainer steps forward to confirm her rank and knowledge of him. Pupils focus sharply on him, a cool gaze settling upon her at his polite words, purposefully lingering on the gaping hole in his face. Now who had caused that one? She had gained enough information of Astarte's position beneath him and weariness to come speak with her to know that the Rike operated the way the X'uekai once did. For a moment, she considers testing his patience to ask him 'who' and adopt a confused expression, but the opportunity escapes when there is a red beast snarling words and charging him.

Her attention drifts back to Temero, a brow raising when he admits what happened. "Ate them?" She asks, wondering who this opponent might of been. What an interesting choice. "Does your mother know?" How embarrassing was she asking him all this in front of new people as well as the family and especially @Lorelei. Again, she attempts to turn her focus back onto Cassius as he leans into @Velasco's side intentionally, the queen clenching her jaw slightly for them all to see if they stare at her close enough. She regards him with a neutral stare, considering to just turn her back to him and observe the fight rather than let her thoughts win and encourage her to grasp him and give him that good shake he truly deserved. She had to keep her cool even if it was killing her on the inside.

Her paws pivot to turn around and face the brawl occurring behind her, ignoring that she is potentially blocking Cassius's view or Velasco's for that matter. @Elaine ♔ approaches them now and Icefang lifts a brow at her words, an ear flicking in slight dismissal. For now, the rest of them remain quiet as she expected them too whenever they were approached about politics. However, with Lorelei and her brother lingering so close, Icefang knew she was treading a thin line. "Who?" she asks allowing confusion to spread across her face. "The one-eyed male? This is the first I've ever seen him." It wasn't a lie even if she did know his name to know what position he held. She was also aware of Luther's own dislike with Wolfbron. Skull shifts to glance at the fight again, as if she is too enraptured to miss another moment. "We came to see who won. As most do when there is a pride challenge." Was such a simple thing so wrong?

and watch it burn

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