I am the killer
in your mirror

[OOC: Oh yes.. he's actively trespassing... #yolo]

The hound returns, footsteps pacing, tracing, erasing as he passed upon the lands of Amaryllis once again. Silver eyes swept left to right as he inhaled the scent that he had been following since his return from the Passage.

The scent of her.

She who held his leash.

She who held C O M M A N D.

His breath rose from his lips, a visible representation of the Ifrit that lived within the death dealers soul He approached the barrier of the Summit, a slow, languid pass of every inch of that border. Pausing over each marking - each space her scent was the strongest to inhale and savor that saccharine scent.

Pale as the wraith he was, he would dismiss the meaning of the borders and cross within. Rhesk saw no need to wait upon the edge of his mothers border like some sort of whipped pet. Nay. He was a hound.

Her hound.

And, this hound had returned to his rightful place. It was as if he felt the glimmering silver chain once more settle 'round his nape as he crossed deeper into the territory of the snow capped summit. And, it was as if he could breathe again. Rhesk had struggled on his own - admittedly. He required order and command - and hadn't had that. He was lost.. adrift at sea..

Adrift no longer was he...

For he had come

home

.

table by ryuu

i put a spell on you it called for
three-fifths of my blood and a full moon
but instead i did it in the daylight wanting you

the absence of her progeny had struck her -

it was not the same sense of abandonment that had haunted her after the upheaval of their home. it was different; they were grown and free to their own volition and yet, it left her with an ache that she could not describe. present, but flighty, birds whose wings that she had not clipped because she favored their obedience and loyalty more than forced servitude. arduinna was wild and beautiful, her curiosity unsated. draugr was always near, just as ghastly as those he held commune with. arawn, her quiet boy that had sulked into the failure of not saving her from caladan's grip and then there was -

"rhesk," the name is but a hiss on her tongue, her attention stolen from the cache that she had carved out among the fortress of the summit. for even in the months that they drifted, she would always recognize them, mother's love and heavy hand there to guide him.

brighid abandons her task to find him within the snow drifts, ears peeled back against her head in concern and indignation. where had he disappeared to? what had stolen him away from his family? she sees him off in the mountainous treeline, a snow blinded mass of muscle and malice as he barrels through the territory.

she is relieved to see him well.

she is eager to know that he hasn't become forgetful in his time away.

watch your back.

wordlessly, brighid launches herself at his side through the gap in the pines. snow kicks up behind her, throwing a cloud of frost around her paws. she seeks to ram her right shoulder into his flank, the left paw attempting to launch up and over his back as if he is nothing but a prey animal. she had trained his hands for war and his fingers for battle in the same icy terrain many seasons ago. it was time to show that those skills hadn't eroded; this was their kingdom now.

salvation did not come without effort.

brighid vs @Rhesk
for dominance
Round 1 of 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 11 + 16 + 14 + 7 + 12 + 3 + 18 + 2

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 16 + 13 + 12

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 11 + 17 + 9 + 1 + 19

table by ryuu

I am the killer
in your mirror

He heard the thudding of paws on the snow capped mountain - muffled they may be, but the drumbeat of war was something this hound was well acquainted with. As her shoulder rammed his flank, he would feel his hind quarters skid in the snow, legs splayed for balance, tail out and acting as a rudder as it should.

His head lowered, ears flattening to his skull as his jaws - parted - whipped around to his side - seeing in a flash the pale form of the Demoness that held his leash even as she loosed her hold only barely. Rhesk would attempt to twist, to sink his fangs into her haunch - shifting his form to attempt to come alongside her.

Her impact had bruised his flank, her talons leaving carmine gouges across his back, yet failed to obtain a grip upon his silver hide. Rhesk would keep his own talons embedded deep within the powdered snow, trying to see to it he wasn't further pushed off balance. He would contain himself, his bloodlust - unless of course... she were to command he who bayed at the moon in the darkest of night.

Cry havoc.

Rhesk vs @Brighid ♔
"for dominance
Round 1 of 3"
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 14 + 13 + 15 + 20 + 3 + 9

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 19 + 7 + 4

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 14 + 20 + 4 + 8

table by ryuu

i put a spell on you it called for
three-fifths of my blood and a full moon
but instead i did it in the daylight wanting you

she meets her mark, the rattle of force sending tremors through her bone. he bruises just as easily as she, the butterfly splatter of a bruise spreading against her shoulder. her claws slip across his pale hide, but rhesk to quick to move, preventing her from securing any grip. as her paw comes back to the ground, his teeth are lunging for her haunch and tear into her marbled skin. brighid snarls, feeling the warm blood trickle down her leg and stain the snow underfoot. her paw curls outward in an attempt to hook about his hind paw (since jav's is assuming they are parallel now, if not, we'll make it make sense) and forcefully yank him off balance, careful not to damage any of the vulnerable tendons near his ankle, though she's sure to allow her claws to prick and puncture slightly to the skin.. this was only a test, after all.


brighid vs @Rhesk
for dominance
Round 2 of 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 3 + 1 + 13 + 2 + 11 + 12 + 17 + 5

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 8 + 12 + 18

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 19 + 20 + 11 + 16 + 10

table by ryuu

I am the killer
in your mirror

Her talons in his paw, hook and tug as the pale wraith is jerked upon. He snarls a warning, ears lacing against his throat as the snow and ice help his mother to pull him off balance. The male would attempt to tilt his skull, trying to ram his head into her soft flank, behind her ribs but in front of her hips. With a baring of fangs, he utters a rumble of barely contained bloodlust - tempered only by the leash she holds tight around his throat.

His mother had always held his leash, perhaps at one time it had been the father, but in times of such tumultuous change, it had been she he had turned to when the beast of his birth had forsaken her for the warmth of another.

Control always maintained by the handler.

Rhesk vs @Brighid ♔
"for dominance
Round 2 of 3"
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 17 + 13 + 4 + 12 + 18 + 11

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 9 + 14 + 12

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 10 + 12 + 8 + 9 + 1

table by ryuu

i put a spell on you it called for
three-fifths of my blood and a full moon
but instead i did it in the daylight wanting you

"where did you go?" his weight isn't easy to pull and she is grateful for the ice that works in her favor as his balance falters. i worried for you, she wants to say, but as he headbutts her flank, brighid herself feels her paws skid across the snow and her thoughts are back to their scuffle. her breath rushes from her from the force and she inhales sharply. brighid makes an attempt to stabilize herself, taking a risky move to shove her side back at him, almost "trust falling" towards him as she seeks to tug his leg again. if they both crash into the snow, so be it. regardless, rhesk is here and he is sharp as ever, and mother dearest is more than keen to welcome into the fold of illyria where they will find purpose again.

she is certain they have both learned a valuable lesson in putting your trust in those ill fitted.

brighid vs @Rhesk
for dominance
Round 3 of 3
Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 16 + 8 + 6 + 7 + 15 + 14 + 12 + 19

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 6 + 4 + 8

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 12 + 7 + 3 + 19 + 11

table by ryuu

He tumbled, his limbs folding as his mother fell into him. Her grasp leaving welts of read upon the ivory of his hide. Lips would bare as the beast sought to answer her. {To find answers}. He'd found none - only more questions..

He would attempt to half-heartedly swipe at his mothers hide, anywhere really. He wasn't here to win, he wasn't here to fight her. Only to come home as the demon hound within him should.

She held his leash, she held his command... He was hers, fully and truly, and the silent sentinel would remain such - under the command of the mountain queen.



Rhesk vs @Brighid ♔
{for dominance
Round 2 of 3}
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 16 + 12 + 1 + 5 + 8 + 4

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 16 + 5 + 13

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 20 + 3 + 16 + 4 + 7

i put a spell on you it called for
three-fifths of my blood and a full moon
but instead i did it in the daylight wanting you

brighid scrabbles into the snow, drawing away from him as he answers her. his hand is held back, the blows softened and the summit queen raises a brow, then. he is sharp, but his claws are dulled against her, but she finds that she will lecture him about that another time.

still, she wonders if it was disappointment that had led him back. she wonders if he had felt the same sense of familial loss that she had. regardless, she finds herself standing back to her full height. she sees as much of his father in him as she does herself and brighid shakes her head, "the oasis was never our home," its something that she has come to know as fact know. no amount of searching was needed to tell her that. "draugr is here and arduinna has left," she pauses momentarily, refusing to speak of their missing siblings. arawn had gone, off to the winds, "it is time for us to make our own way."

the woman nudges him, urging him to rise as she looks out into the expanse that is now their territory. "come," she says, glancing at @Rhesk. she is not affectionate, but there is something in her tone, the slight rumbling of a purr, that tells him she is glad to see him. "there's much to tell you."

welcome home

table by ryuu

@Brighid ♔ VS. @Rhesk FOR dominance
— RESULTS —

Brighid Hits: 5+4+5+6 Luck = 20
Brighid Dodges: 3+2+0 = 5

Rhesk Hits: 4+5+2+3 Luck = 14
Rhesk Dodges: 1+2+2 = 5

Brighid Successful Hits: 15
Rhesk Successful Hits: 9

Brighid HAS WON THE CHALLENGE FOR dominance!

The results of this fight cannot be acknowledged ICly until either both challengers have responded or 3 days have gone by — whichever comes first. Any posts breaking this rule will be removed.

I am the killer
in your mirror

He pulled from his mother, shaking his skull with a soft snarl. He would land his silver gaze upon the Summit queen, listening as @Brighid ♔ spoke. When he found that his brother was here - that some of his siblings had begun to make their way here. His expression turned pensive before he looked at the snow covered mountaintop.

"And what of the false siblings?" He asked, his voice hard - cold. His father had borne children with another and as the hound of his mother, Rhesk wouldn't acknowledge them as his blood - not when they were not of the correct loins. But still, he would have to question it.

table by ryuu