It's Kill or Be Killed

And we must survive

Asphodel opened his eyes, the rocks beneath him digging into his paws and his side. He felt sore, like he'd been bashed around too much during training, but he didn't feel any cuts or wounds. As he made his assessment of his physical health, he also observed the yellow rock on which he lay and which stretched beyond him in all directions on one side, with open air on the other.

He had never seen this place before in his life. There were no signs of the Houses or how he'd gotten here, and he could not remember how either. Last he recalled, he was safe and sound, in a metaphorical sense, in the residence of House Azago.

Asphodel stood, wincing slightly from the pain but quickly erasing the expression. His tail swished as he braced for something that never came. After a pause, he began to make his way along the stone path. Whether it was a naturally-occurring part of the cliff or something else, he could not ascertain. Regardless, he continued on.

code by corvus

I will strip away all that you know, all that you love
until you have no shelter but me -
the air held temptation, dare; every whisper of bright, morning light would thus caress and gleefully descend, breathing wickedly down the prince's flesh. restlessness sweeps through his winter core, the vehement surge of wrath and the pouding of blood humming in his veins. he is not often drawn to the passage, but today, arawn would descend upon the sandy terrain; his muscled limbs flexing across the xanthous earth as massive paws shift in forward momentum, gently kicking up a plume of dust.

red eyes would scan up ahead, studying the features of @Asphodel, noting the hint of blood that saturates the air. he would take in the pale, elegant features of the rogue, before releasing a low cuff, signaling his own presence. "we have medics that can see to your wounds." breathes the prince, coming to pause before the other behemoth. he would dip his bearish skull lightly, before offering his greeting. "arawn. prince of andal."

table by ryuu

It's Kill or Be Killed

And we must survive

Asphodel turned towards the lion, who introduced himself as a prince. A prince? He held back mental laughter. Princes here, wherever here is, could hold more power than where he's from.

He sniffed the air, recognizing the smell of blood but recalling that he had not noticed any wounds. Looking down to his feet, Asphodel discovered dark flakes clinging to his feet. Strange. Yet another thing he could not remember.

He shifted uncomfortably, stifling the motion but unable to resist it entirely. "I... don't believe that the blood is mine. I know not the origin as I seem to be missing the knowledge of how I arrived here."

In other circumstances he may have withheld his memory loss, but Asphodel decided that it was better to dispel any potential tensions with Arawn. No good comes from offending your only source of intelligence, years in his trade had taught him that.

Belatedly, he realized that he did not return the prince's greeting. "My name is Asphodel."

@Arawn

code by corvus

Elaine moved through the passage, once again on the hunt for new members for the Bluffs. She had been able to bring home a few but it seemed that as soon as one arrived another would leave. There was nothing that would keep them safe beyond the ability to have the numbers. Numbers mattered in fights. Elaine watched the area closely and spotted a lone white male moving and started heading toward him. Another arrived before her and Elaine heard the pair talking. The Oasis was an ally.

Elaine moved to them and stopped, her icy gaze openly studying the male. Memories tend to come back. My mother had the same thing happen to her years ago and now remembers everything. Her french accented words offered in hopes that it would help him in some way. The loss of memories seemed like a scary thing to happen, even if she wished she could forget somethings about her own life. You are in Amaryllis. I am Elaine Dieudonné. Sovereign of Wolfbron Bluffs. We are a strong pride looking for strong members if you are looking for a place to live. She didn't know what had brought him here but he was big enough to make himself useful. She also didn't want to linger around longer then needed, this place had a habit of causing useless fights to break out.

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It's Kill or Be Killed

And we must survive

[OOC Note: Arawn's player is being changed so they have asked that we pretend he left/was never here]

Asphodel faced the lionness and dipped his head slightly in greeting to @Elaine. "Thank you for offering comfort, although I do not feel the need to recover these memories. Given my state, I believe they would be unpleasant." He intentionally fails to mention that he knew of several reasons why he might be wearing a stranger's blood. This would surely not endear him to his new potential ally.

Amaryllis. A whimsical name. Fate, it would seem, had led him unwillingly to this place. He would make his fate his own.

Asphodel stepped down to meet Elaine only a few feet apart, a respectable enough distance for strangers without losing a friendly appearance. Flecks of brown flaked off with every step and he hoped it did not create an intimidating appearance. "I would certainly count myself among the strong, although I understand if you would not take a stranger at their word." He paused, not in a sudden way but the way that one pauses when looking for what to say next.

He mused internally that the 'Wolfbron Bluffs' must be the name of her group or home, or perhaps both, but the other thing she said was unclear to him. "What is a Sovereign? I can surmise at best that it is a form of leader, but we had no ranks with such a name where I come from."

code by corvus

Elaine gave a slight nod to his reply to her words about remembering, she knew there were things best forgotten. If that is what he wanted, there was no reason to suggest otherwise. Her icy gaze watched him moving down and toward her. She stiffens slightly, unwilling to allow anyone to get the jump on her. Her ears flick at his voice once again rising into the air between them. Elaine thought it was odd he didn't know what he rank was, everyone here seemed to but Elaine knew that those who came had taken on the names of the ranks from the natives. They had not brought them along, at least from what her mother had told her. It means I am second in command. Only my sister had more power in the pride. She looked him over without care of him knowing she was doing so. What did the place you come from call that position? She asked, only half interested in the answer. Was that something he would remember?

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It's Kill or Be Killed

And we must survive

[Small TW: casual mentions of incest and slavery, but no specifics or descriptions]

Asphodel tucked that piece of information away as he pondered his answer. Her position wasn't exactly correlative to any from his homeland.

"Well, by relation you might have been considered a princess but if you are second in command, that would make you more of a queen. Although where I come from, queens are usually married to the ruler and not the ruler's sibling. Well, with the exception of when they were both but that was not common." Asphodel explained to @Elaine.

Asphodel was quite intrigued by his new surroundings. The prides here seemed to have very different organizations than those back home, and he was pretty certain that the Houses held no reach here. It was odd, this feeling of freedom. He'd been a slave for so long that he wasn't sure he liked this feeling of no restraints, no whims of others to follow.

He wondered just what he could do, what kind of lion he could become now that no one held his strings.

"I assume there are many prides here, based on your introduction and the lingering smells of past lions. Just how many are there?" Asphodel asked, not wholly interested in the answer, but he wouldn't turn down the free bit of information regardless. Instead, he was more intending to gauge her reaction.

code by corvus

Her ears flicked as she listened. She gave a small hmmm sound when he finished. Wolfbron is primarily led by females from my family. My brother-in-law did hold my rank before his death but he has been the only male to hold a leadership rank in a long time. Elaine didn't have memories of a time when it wasn't a female leader. She knew from her mother that her father held a leadership rank for a bit but it didn't last long and Vermier did as well but that was so long ago.

Elaine glanced toward the pride lands on the island. 10 prides. Varying leaders with different rules. The cloudy lioness looked back at him and raised a brow. Those who linger here want a place to call their own. Do you want that? Elaine wasn't one to linger for small talk and answering his questions wasn't going to make her the happiest thing. If he wanted someone chatty, he would have to keep waiting.

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It's Kill or Be Killed

And we must survive

Asphodel listened intently as @Elaine explained the matriarchal tendencies of her pride. It did not offend him as it may have offended others whom he'd grown up alongside. Rather, he found it very interesting and wondered what effects it had on the development of the pride and on its politics. Was it filled with the same intrigue and scandal as the leadership of his home pride or was it something entirely of its own?

Although he was interested in keeping himself free of a master now that he was separated from his old one, he had no interest in leadership. He much preferred to stay in the shadows and make himself of use to those in power under his own will.

10 prides... Asphodel pondered. That was quite a few, and opened quite the potential for future opportunities, especially as it was unlikely that they all got along. He did not smile, it was not necessarily a happy thought, but he felt some satisfaction in the idea that he could be very useful.

He could tell from Elaine's tone that she was itching to move on. She seemed impatient, or at least holding no desire to stick around longer than necessary. He nodded.

"I would be grateful to accept your invitation, if you would have me." He answered with a tone of respect for her position. "If I may impose on your hospitality, would you allow me to join you on your return to the pride?" He added after a short moment. Even if she would have allowed it without him asking, he wanted to show his understanding of her position over him as Sovereign.

code by corvus

Elaine watched him closely as he took in the information but it didn't seem like he cared all that much that her pride was led by females. That was a good thing for sure. She knew that it wouldn't always be the case and at some point, she would run into some idiot who thought her the weaker sex. She would just have to show them that wasn't the case. She had fought many times and had the luck of winning most of her fights. It was something she was proud of, even if she kept it close to herself. She didn't need anyone thinking that she was looking to be pushed over. Each fight she had been in had been a choice. She nodded as he accepted her offer to join Wolfbron. I'll show you the way. She turned and started to make her way back to the pride that was her home with one in tow.

exit

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