The Executioner felt the call resonate deep within her, but she chose to savor the moment, having no allegiance to either the bold contender or the reigning Noble. By the time Miaran made her way there, the clash was nearly at its zenith. She settled herself at the edge of the fray, her heart pounding with anticipation. With unwavering focus, she drank in every pulse, every strike of the battle before her. The boy—a mere fledgling on the brink of destiny—fought with new strength, grasping desperately at the highest honor, yearning for the weighty title that lay just out of reach.

The current Noble—a figure both familiar and still elusive—flickered in her memory, though Miaran could not summon her name. She felt a thrill of excitement dance on her tongue, a flicker of slight impatience as she awaited the arrival of the one who would oversee it all. Would it be @Icefang ♔, the Matriarch, powerful and wise? The Patriarch, Cassius, a stalwart figure of authority? Or perhaps her new belle-sœur (sister in law), @Arcania ♔, whose presence always brought an electric hum to the air in their meetings? Each scenario ignited a fire of possibility within her, a yearning for the unfolding drama that was about to ignite.

table code by daanyen

"Nullam sodales posuere leo, sed dictum magna feugiat eget."


It wasn’t long before another came to sit beside the princess, Lathan regarded him quietly, a brow slightly raised, but he shifted to make more than enough room for @Horith. Until he spoke. Lathan chuckled softly, as if it weren’t obvious. "No, not really. He has a lot to learn." Short, clipped tones came forth. He rolled his shoulders in a shrug, as if it didn’t matter. "He has much to learn about touching things that aren’t his." He offered, as if by way of explanation for his short fuse in regards to the boy.

@Miaran arrived as the fight began to come to an end, his attention diverted from the noble that fought and found himself casually watching her. She surveyed them, drinking in the battle with what he perceived as excitement and…was that impatience? Perhaps. Perhaps he was seeing things. Regardless, for whatever reason, the quiet Noble did not like how she…observed the fight. It felt wrong, but he could not place why. Silver gaze shifted, away from the scarred former queen though he still kept an eye through peripheral vision. His attention, for the moment divided between her and @Etain.

code by corvus & art by rabbit

Karsus feels the fight coming to a close. The anticipation in the air. No favors are won among the others so loyal to their Queen (he's never met half these people, but they allowed him free reign to act as he so wished) and so he catches a glance at a few who had gathered. He can't mistake the look of @Lathan, a man he would very much wish to rip apart one day.

It's in this look that he misses her next attack. Her claws take along his neck and her teeth barely miss the tender sides of his throat. She catches along the dimple where jaw and neck meet, supple enough to tear further along the already open wound.

He relents, but not before surging forward as she had craned, curbed and twisted in an attempt to swipe back at her gaze. His claws sought purchase along the nooks and crannies of her feminine features, hoping to latch and tear and rip the golden hide from her frame. .


Karsus vs @Etain
VB Noble
Round: 3 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 20 + 13 + 3 + 10

Dodges:

Rolling 2d20: 11 + 12

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 5 + 6 + 14 + 1 + 7

They will say I have shed innocent blood, but what is blood for if not for shedding?

.

code by corvus

Icefang lingers on the sidelines, blue eye softly judging @Etain's battle skills as she clashes with @Karsus. She knew little of the boy, only that he has been living within the brook for the better half of a year or has it been longer? He hadn't done much to stick out for her, but with interest she observes his desire to challenge Etain for her title. He showed promise and perhaps the queen would invest an interest to hone his skills, so that he fairs a better chance in succeeding. Her adoptive daughter had been gone for the most part and the queen tosses it aside in the assumption that she is busy searching for a potential male to bear her children. Of course, she notices @Lathan here and for a while she stares at him, the annoyance simmering clearly in her good eye at how focused he is on her other noble. She has done nothing since before their children were born to push the two nobles together and the urge to order Lathan to go somewhere else hounds her. With a soft growl settling on that she must keep up appearances, the queen passes by him giving a soft nod of acknowledgement to @Obsidiana and @Horith to settle on one of @Miaran's sides.

SPEECH

Destroying everything seems like the best option

code by corvus / art by NAKI

@Karsus VS. @Etain FOR VB NOBLE
— RESULTS —

Etain Hits: 4+3+4 (+5 luck) = 16
Etain Dodges: 4+2+2 = 8

Karsus Hits: 3+1+3 (3 luck) = 10
Karsus Dodges: 0+0+2 = 2

Etain Successful Hits: 14
Karsus Successful Hits: 2

ETAIN HAS WON THE CHALLENGE FOR VB NOBLE!

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.

The pines, they often whisper

They whisper what no tongue can tell

Vaguely, through bloodied haze she felt them. The others. Watching. Waiting. Judging. But she didn't let even the familiar scents draw her from what had to be done.

His claws found purchase on the side of her face, snagging against the scar so close to her right eye. But she moved, ignoring the sting as it tore part of it open, tearing herself away from @Karsus as their fight came to a close. Claws released his neck with one final time of pressure applied to marks left behind. Jaws withdrew, pale coat tinted red, his blood on her lips, on her fangs. A purr vibrating in her throat.

But then she stepped away, tail flicking idly against her side. She could feel her own life essence paint her coat, adorning it with the most natural war paint. Could feel its unhindered flow from the wounds he'd managed to inflict. Yet she couldn't bring herself to care. Dual-toned gaze briefly wandered over those gathered. @Obsidiana and @Temero she gave a bloodied grin. Those two she would find later, she decided. For reasons they would soon see. @Horith was met with a subtle smirk. He was someone she'd still had to make a point to get to know...and she certainly intended to do just that.

Though eventually she moved, graceful and without even a hint of being bothered by her injuries. She didn't stop in front of him, but nearly brushed against @Lathan, eyes lingering on his as she passed, a single paw straying from her path to nudge against his before she was gone.

Only when she stood in front of two very specific spectators did she stop. And for a moment her gaze lingered on @Miaran, floppy ears twitching slightly as she stood tall. Briefly, bloodied lips twitched upward in a small grin. Though her gaze didn't give away much, there was a hint of curiosity. Perhaps wondering what the other woman thought of what little she'd caught of the fight.

But she didn't voice that possible curiosity. No, her attention flickered to the pale queen beside her. And when she looked at @Icefang ♔, her postured straightened the tiniest bit, still blazing gaze meeting hers. "Mother." Though she knew all too well how the fight had ended, it was her judgement that would be the true result.

code by corvus

+5 - Observe a challenge (Etain vs. Karsus)

It wasn't long before his family swarmed him. He leaned into @Obsidiana briefly, nudging her shoulder with his. He felt briefly uncomfortable when @Lathan approached, not because the man had ever done anything but because he felt like he ought to be doing something to look... he didn't know, useful or like royalty or SOMETHING. He was one of the few men in the family after all. @Horith came in too to make it worse and Temero just started dying internally. Oh good, at least @Icefang ♔ was there to make the determination of who won, even though it really wasn't a contest by any stretch of the imagination. Temero wasn't sure if she'd be proud of the young man for trying or annoyed with him for challenging Etain, who he knew was highly regarded by the white matriarch. He guessed he'd get to find out shortly.

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While she attempts to remain indifferent to the fleeting looks from @Lathan at @Etain, the brief touching of paws nearly sends Icefang into an explosive fit of rage. Her claws dig into Earth and out slips a growl through clenched teeth before she quickly regains her composure in front of her audience. They would all be searching for her input on the fight as Etain weaves her way through the onlookers to stop in front of the matriarch. "Well done," she praises her attempting to keep the aggravation out of her tone as much as possible. Blue eye darts over to @Karsus and while she often didn't acknowledge the losers, Icefang bypasses the golden noble to stop in front of him. "Seek me out if you're interested in fight training." Perhaps it was a subtle offer that might later punish a flirty pair. If Karsus was interested, Icefang would aid him in his fighting skills and give him the opportunity to later win the next rank challenge.

She turns now and as her attention focuses on him she proceeds past as the words float from her lips. "Lathan, I have a task for you." Something insignificant that she would make up like reporting on the stocks of his poisons in front of her, but the queen was desperate to pull her play thing away from the crowd and back under her attention. She would give him a dismissive flick of her maimed tail to the rest as she strides off in the direction of Lathan's hidden den.

/exit

@Obsidiana @Temero @Miaran @Horith

SPEECH

Destroying everything seems like the best option

code by corvus / art by NAKI

He shot Etain a smirk when she looked his way, having known full well that she would come out the victor. The women of the pride weren't to be discounted, and she must have had way more fighting experience than the one who'd challenged her. Although, at least he'd had the balls to make the challenge in the first place. That was something, and perhaps that was why Icefang acknowledged him as she headed out.

Regardless, the show was over for now and he headed off himself, thinking of the wounds he'd seen and trying to figure out how he would have treated them if he were able to. He didn't know a whole lot about healing herbs yet, beyond those that could be used to counteract poisons, but he hoped to get there.

-exit Temero-

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