He would deny that anything aside from chance carried him down that sandy corridor. Jethro paced along with lumbering strides, the clouded haze of early morning nearly matching the soft alabaster of his tussled pelt. He was not wandering that land because it had once housed his wily twin daughters. He was not walking that trail because he could nearly hear their squawking complaints on the ocean breeze.

Such sentiments, in his words, were for suckers.

Jethro pressed on as the great peninsula unfurled itself before his mismatched stare, chest tight with remembering and stern dissociation both. He was sure that the pair of them were quite happy to be rid of their deadbeat father, and it was best he try to enjoy the same.

---

|| january y13 | six years | rogue lion | at maua's passage | OPEN ||

ART BY DAWN, CODE BY LARS

He didn't make these trips often, but when he did he seemed to find the most interesting lions. Talk about ruggedly handsome, this one. Ooh, and such lovely mismatched eyes too. So, naturally, he approached. Howdy, he offered as he did so. You looking for anything in particular? Anyone? Anywhere? He didn't have a whole lot of information about the other lions of the lands, but he did know a thing or two about the lands themselves. So if the guy said he just wanted to live in, say, a snowy land, he could tell him exactly where to go.

Surely he wouldn't want to live in the muck of the Mire.

I'm Angelo Savante, by the way, from Obsidian Hollow. Manners, manners. He knew it would be a bad idea to say he'd been distracted by his handsomeness. Not when he'd just met the guy. You could (usually) get away with that with the ladies, but otherwise... yeah no.

@Jethro

"why the long face?" queen brighid asks as she approaches. there's a cloudiness to his gaze, a sullen turn of the white furred male's aura that is ... hm, she couldn't quite place it. sad? forlorn? heavy hearted? regardless, he has found himself in the damned recruiting paradise of amaryllis and brighid is keen to meet him; to perhaps encourage him to join the kingdom and seek whatever it is he dreamed of (within reason, of course). or rid himself of whatever ailed him (again, within reason).

there's another man there from the hollow and brighid barely catches his name as she arrives. she offers @Angelo a polite dip of her head, though her gaze sweeps back to the man in question - the guest of honor. "i am queen brighid, hailing from the kingdom of illyria," she extends her name to the both of them, though to angelo it is merely a courtesy. she could not bare to be rude with her fledging pride. "here to welcome you." she finishes, guessing that angelo has already asked him what it is that he wants. brighid listens intently, reading to dangle the worm before him and see if he bites.

@Jethro

BLUE MOON & ELECTRIC LIGHT, EVERYTHING IS SMOKE AND GHOSTS

art by drifty, code by javs

a sense of bashfulness fills her as she steps into the passage. she feels no more than a nervous teen, fingering at a necklace around their neck. butterflies stir in her stomach, taking flight on great, vibrat wings as she steps across various paths in the sands that so many had walked before her. with a great shuddering breath, maeve moves, breathing in the unfamiliar land- testing the boundaries she's given by the land- and when she spies a group, she approaches them.

the first smells of no pride, and he is a huge white male. maeve's eyes are rounded with near wonder as she looks up at him as she approaches, before she schools her expression. another, the same size nearly, is a strange merle color- odd in appearance, but he smells of pride -- a scent that reminds her of earth and stone. and then there is a smaller female, with strange curled ears and a scent that reminds her of frost and starlight. her ears flick forward, as she takes in the names the two offer. the male that smelled of earth and stone, was @Angelo savante, of obsidian hollow and naturally she felt the need to gravitate towards him -- this ally of the plains. the female introduces herself as @Brighid ♔ from the kingdom of Illyria.

maeve is quietly, for a heartbeat, before she offers in rushed excited words. "oh, i'm maeve from lorien plains." she offers. "my mom's queen there. i... haven't been here before." she says smoothly, or uh, not so smoothly.

@Jethro

ART BY KIM, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

"Howdy. You looking for anything in particular?"

Dawn-lit eyes moved to the source of that call in an instant, immediately finding a lion of his own gaudy stature with a pelt like the sky itself. He took in what he could off of one assessment: healthy, mature, with a scent like dank caverns and a deep, gravely voice. Kinship blossomed built only on that shaky foundation of first impressions and a sense of looking into his own reflection – but kinship, regardless.

"A meal, a bed, a drink," Jethro answered with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Why the long face?" A siren song greeted them with a knowing look in those azure eyes that made his stomach twist with a sense of being seen.

"Hard to cheer up when you've been alone so long," he responded with a pouting drawl, keen to deflect the matter with overstated humor rather than address its reality. Jethro shifted his weight as he regarded the woman: pale, robust yet curved, with perked ears that reminded him of a spooked arctic hare. The lilt to her tone made him doubt she spooked easily, or at least she liked others to think as much.

"Angelo Savante, from Obsidian Hollow."
"Queen Brighid, hailing from the kingdom of Illyria."

He mulled over their introductions with a twitch of his whiskers, just beginning to ponder the implications of a new Illyrian queen when another joined their party.

"Oh, I'm Maeve from Lorien Plains. My mom's queen there. I... haven't been here before."

Though woman by all appearances, the last to arrive spoke with a youthful naïvety that marked her a novice. Jethro pulled one side of his mouth into a crooked smile as he considered such a tot being sent out on royal orders to recruit – younger than his own daughters, perhaps, and with a hell of a lot less mouth on her.

"We should be welcoming you, too, then," he decided with a sniff of a laugh. "I'm Jethro – just Jethro, of out there," he explained through a toss of his head over his shoulder. The runaway soldier had learned long ago that the specifics did not matter to anyone, and if they did, they would merely put a target on his back or invite gossip.

"I tend to go it alone, but I can't lie – a real meal sounds good." Jethro conceded, always a hint of a joke shining in his eyes whether there remained one or not. "I can fight. I can even hunt. Just, tell me what's expected and what kind of club you've got going."

The quality of his speeches correlated negatively with the ache in his paws.

---

@Angelo @Brighid ♔ @Maeve

ART BY DAWN, CODE BY LARS

Well, we do have those, he commented. And then they were surrounded by chicks, interestingly enough. He wasn't surprised by that, considering how many of the prides were run by women these days.

Jethro, of out there. How long had it been since he'd been the one on the other side of this meeting, waiting for Alexander to choose where they went? Years now, he realized. It was a bit of a weird feeling to think of that.

We're just looking for members who can help out, however that looks to them. Hunting, fighting, whatever. Try not to start trouble, but if you get in any then we'll back you up, he said. It wasn't much they expected really. The Hollow is a sort of underground cave and tunnel system. If you're not comfortable with the dark or sometimes tight spaces then it's not for you, but we've got a few lions and a tiger our size and we all get around easily enough.

He knew not everyone was comfortable with living in the sort of place they did, so he figured it was fair to provide a warning right off.

@Jethro

hard to cheer up when you've been alone so long.

loneliness is the poverty of self.

purpose.

he wanted room and board but he needed purpose.

it is something brighid is not afraid to admit that she had needed herself before setting illyria's crown upon her head, but she supposes that is a conversation for another time.

politely, she listens as the obsidian representative talks about the dark corridors of his home. the mention of another feline species inhabiting the caves (especially tigers) is something that does strike her, those furled ears flickering up like satellites momentarily before settling back into comfortable orbit against her head.

"@Jethro, i cannot compete with tigers," the queen's tail dashes in @Angelo's direction, "but illyria is young beneath my reign. i only hope to foster a society where we work and commune as one." a well oiled machine: its too idealistic a thought, almost. there would always be a rusted bolt or two. "hunters, guards, homemakers, gardeners, teachers..." she pauses for a moment, her paws shifting neatly beneath her. "it is all art and i welcome it." she would protect and nurture her society beneath the sharpened tip of her claw, so long as they provided. leave the politics to her - the nastiness of fighting along borders and spitting matches so long as their loyalty were to her alone.

"all i ask is that you find purpose and truth and wield it." again, that word rears its head.

as she quiets, she spares a glance over to princess @Maeve, almost encouraging if not a little impatient. go on, hurry now.

BLUE MOON & ELECTRIC LIGHT, EVERYTHING IS SMOKE AND GHOSTS

art by drifty, code by javs

Though she was an adult, nerves still fluttered through her- simply because she had not ever used the position that her birth had gained her, by her mother being Queen. Her eyes fixed upon the others taking in their scents, posture and then their words when they spoke. The male, who everyone was gathered around spoke- and everyone seemed fixated on what this rouge would say. He introduced himself as @Jethro, and said maybe they should be welcoming her as well and a friendly smile, reminiscent of her mothers tugged at her lips. He spoke of what he sought, and then the other representatives spoke- then it was her turn.

Maeve swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, and then she spoke. "Lorien is located near the fields. We have hunters, fighters, and medics and welcome any of those trades -- among others. My mom's big on inclusivity, and strengths." She adds, a grin splitting her lips as she thought of her mother's confidence, and strengths. "She's a nursemaid and a fighter, so we appreciate all kinds of diversity." She says. "We just ask our members to help support the pride, and take care of each other- like everyone else I guess." She looks at the other two and whispers.

"I think you'll be okay whichever way you go, honestly." -10 points for recruiting, but hey, she was friendly.

@Angelo @Brighid ♔

ART BY KIM, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

He remained a picture of receptive tutelage as they made their spiels in turn, each mentioning that they had room for any job among their ranks. The sky-hued beast did mention backing him up should he get himself into trouble, a tempting offer, and yet it occurred to Jethro that he was not supposed to be getting into trouble anymore with his days of youth behind him.

Still, it did have a way of finding him. Jethro weighed the queen's words as well, a bit struck by the romanticism with which she painted her kingdom. He took in a breath of the briny breeze and mulled over "finding purpose and truth and wielding it." He had never known them to be particularly great weapons – not compared to teeth, nor claws.

"I know your kingdom," he let on at last, a light toss of his head gesturing the pallid woman's way. "Well – I've been there," Jethro chuckled to himself. It had never been his banner, no, but he had seen those views – had breathed the frigid air in his lungs. It was more than he could say of the other prides, at least.

He listened just as readily to the words of the fledgling princess, perhaps searching for signs of weakness there which may present themselves as opportunities. She spoke of diversity and inclusivity, and for a moment he wondered what she saw in him that had need of including. Perhaps she referred to his freakish size, or his lack of even a surname to mark his place in their world of monarchs and monopolies. Whatever it was, his gaze shimmered with secret amusement.

"I think you'll be okay whichever way you go, honestly."

"Poor luck. That means I have to do actual deciding," Jethro hummed conspiringly. He squinted velvet eyelids shut and lifted a single paw in a roving point between the three representatives, allowing it to careen this way and that for a few moments of heightened anticipation. Then, peeking one eye open as a subtle cheat, he allowed pointed claw to halt decisively upon the highest ranked woman of their party.

What could he say? He had a type.

"Time to wield my truth at.... Illyria," Jethro proclaimed.

---

@Angelo @Brighid ♔ @Maeve

ART BY DAWN, CODE BY LARS

He wasn't too surprised that the man chose to go to the Summit. There would likely be more open ranks there, and for those who were interested in obtaining one of those, it was easier to step into an empty slot than try to take one. So he nodded agreeably when the man decided to go there and started to head off to see if there was anyone else in the passage that might need a home. Probably not, because he didn't see any, but hey, it was worth a shot. Maybe he'd have more luck the second time 'round, now that he had a bit of practice and all that.

-exit angelo-