[OOC: Patrol 1/2] Jewel paused, rubbing her cheek and shoulder against another tree, grunting as it scratched an itch she had been dying to reach. The ebony queen had been enjoying her walk and talk with @Willoughby, but found she needed to do something or she would start pacing. So.. Once again she was out patrolling the borders and making sure that the pride was as well protected as she could make it. But, with the pale lady's promotion to Heiress, she knew that there were things she would likely need to know - about both the pride, and the family that ruled it.. so if the time came.. she would be prepared to do what needed to be done. "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

"so" Willoughby keeps pace with Jewel as she adds her scent to the border "what can you tell me about Caladon Cove's history?" she asks politely. if she was to be Heiress, she needed to know the traditions. the laws. the... everything! "did you fight anyone for your title?" she adds, her silver eyes wide with awe and wonder. Erevu had not told her much about the ebony queen at first. only that she was kind, patient and fair.

which was totally accurate in the grand scheme of things! "oh, but if you want - I can tell you about my past too - after?" it was only fair, after all. Jewel had shared so much with Willoughby already. the least she could do was tell her about her own upbringing. "it's pretty boring though!" she jokes with a wide grin.

10 exp - learn pride's history (caladon cove) - 0/1
10 exp - share history with another (willoughby to jewel) - 0/1
5 exp - learn about another's trade skills - 0/1

[OOC: Patrol the border 2/2, tell a battle story 1/2] The lioness hummed, listening to @Willoughby as she spoke her questions, and offered a story of her own. Jewel grinned, nodding as she continued to walk - the need to move helping dispel some of her nervous energy. "The cove was one of the first prides to exist within Amaryllis.. We were all stuck on the passage for a few days... closer to a week.. That's a lot of lions in one place. When the fog rolled back - there were two prides.. The Hollows, and the Cove. I had been trying to wait - to protect my sons. They were only..." She stopped, thinking... her head tilting to the side. "Four or five months at the time.." Jewel shifted, lifting herself to her hindquarters and digging her claws into the bark of the palm tree - etching it with fine lines, sharpening her talons, and leaving the scent from her pawpads behind on the bark. A visual and sensual marking. Perhaps she should bring the rhino skull to the borders to... "I was first to lay claim to the sands - and another - you would be familiar with him." She chuckled, her lips pulling into a smile as she glanced at her heart-sister. "Drakon stood against me. The fight... was bloody. Had I thought of the repercussions that it would have on my sons - I would have stepped aside and let him rule.." She frowned, wondering not for the first time if she had done the right thing... "These scars on my nape?" She would pause, shifting enough to tilt her skull to show the long healed wounds across the back of her neck. "Were caused by him.. I don't mind - and I don't carry a grudge.... But I also don't feel much along that scar tissue anymore either.." "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

"Drakon..."

she knew of him to be the new Lead Fighter, but that was it. she did not know much else about him. "you must have fought so fiercely..." would there be a time for Willoughby to fight for her children, despite her vow? she was not sure, but she knew the answer - yes. she would fight to protect these children, born or unborn. they were a product of love, and hope.

"how did you win?" she asks Jewel, tilting her head as she walks along with her. the woman must have been tired, hungry and pissed off all at once. Willoughby couldn't help but be in awe at the utter control of her emotions at the claiming. she had no ambition to rule anywhere, was happy where she was honestly. she couldn't begin to imagine to fight for something.

10 exp - learn pride's history (caladon cove) - 1/2
10 exp - share history with another (willoughby to jewel) - 0/2
5 exp - learn about another's trade skills - 1/2

[OOC: Tell a battle story 2/2 Exercise 1/2] She moved, finding that even her normal movement wasn't enough to dispel the nervous energy, so the ebony queen would start to do a strange little.. hop/jump as she walked with @Willoughby. The lioness would throw herself into the air, then land, and then repeat the gesture - almost like a fox diving into the snow after prey. It helped to keep her body busy while her mind flew a thousand miles away. "I let him chew up my neck?" She laughed, almost mirthlessly before she shook her head and focused.. Both on what she was doing with her little bunny hops, and the story she was telling. "It was luck... really. I think that if I hadn't had my sons there - if I hadn't had such a fear that he would turn on them I would likely have lost. It was a close match.." Jewel let her gaze turn towards the ocean, frowning faintly. "At one point, there was a time that I was sure he had won - I was stuck under him, he had both weight and height and had a grip on my neck. I'm sure that he could have swung me around like a ragdoll had he wanted to." To which - she wondered.. why hadn't he? "Perhaps it was that we were both exhausted from being "on point" with the sands.. So many people to defend yourself against.. Maybe his heart wasn't in it - you'd have to ask him. But.. We both tore each other up fairly equally." Jewel would pause in her strange little bunny hops, frowning. "Skill truthfully had little to do with it - and luck alone was the deciding factor." The lioness shrugged, looking at the pale Heiress with a bemused smile. "I'm sure you don't want me going into the gory specifics though.." "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

it might be strange to some, but to Willoughby - who moved around almost erratically at times - she found the movements to be soothing. from battle scars to training exercises, the life of a warrior was more complicated than chomp snarl bite. it was about defending one's position. making sure they obtained their ambitions. "n-no, the glory details" she chuckles uneasily "you can keep to yourself, @Jewel!"

she trails off momentarily, before giving a decisive nod inwardly. "because I - my family - never had the stomach for violence" ah, yes, it was time to share her story of course! "the Lovelaces, I'm told, escaped war before I was even thought of. my parents were a union of love and peace in a neutral land, where nobody had rank or pride. just small family units." they never went to war, and all battles were fought and forgiven. never bloody, and never maim or dominance matches.

"when a woman or man married into another unit, they didn't join them. they went off to make their own, including a new surname" but she had kept her surname in Amaryllis, even though she was mated to Erevu now. he did not have a surname to her knowledge - perhaps they could make one, or keep the Lovelace name alive here. "but my parents were new to that neutral land. they kept my father's from another realm, passing it along to me. they adapted to customs and other traditions."

10 exp - learn pride's history (caladon cove) - 2/2
10 exp - share history with another (willoughby to jewel) - 1/2
5 exp - learn about another's trade skills - 2/2

[OOC: Exercise 2/2] She listened to @Willoughby as the lioness spoke, taking the time to finish working off her own nervous energies and continuing her strange pouncing, bouncing movement. The lioness would shift as she came to a tall tree and scrabbled up the bark, using the moment to knock down a few coconuts before she dropped back to the ground and gave herself a good shake. "So...you wouldn't know if you were interbreeding with those of your old bloodline?" A curious thought - though the tradition had merit. But, Jewel had to wonder how that would work in a land such as Amaryllis where lions seemed to place such weight on a 'family name' to know who and what you were. She shifted and started to work on shredding the husk of the coconut before rolling it towards the pale woman. "Bite into it with your fangs - it's not bad." Jewe then focused on doing the same with her own coconut. "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

"well" she recalled having asked a similar question "you would think so, but there were a few lore keepers who kept track of names and surnames" but as for herself? who had never met most of her family? it was possible, a scary thought "as for the Lovelace, my father told me his family were lost to war in his land" she furrowed her brow, trying to recall exactly what had been said to her "and my mother's family was small."

she shakes her head, unnerved by the question. "I knew the name of the realm they were born into, and to my knowledge nobody left - it was a great scandal when my parents whisked away" she follows as Jewel knocks the coconuts off the palm tree "while possible, I don't think Erevu and I are related..." she giggles softly, nervously. the ebony queen prompts her to bite into the tree fruit. Willoughby moves closer, effectively using her teeth to bite. the feeling of tropical entered her body.

"oh, it's good!" she mouths, licking her lips.

10 exp - learn pride's history (caladon cove) - 2/2
10 exp - share history with another (willoughby to jewel) - 2/2
5 exp - learn about another's trade skills - 2/2

She snickered, her lips twisting into a grin at the others words. "Well, I wasn't going to come right out and say it.." There was amusement in her tone, however as she settled to bite into her own coconut. "It took me a while to realize that they came from the TREES and weren't just.. sprouting out of the sand like some sort of weird egg." The leader would never admit that to anyone else.. but to Willoughby? Certainly. Jewel grinned, focusing on her own 'sweet treat' for a time before she would look at @Willoughby and smile. "When will you tell Erevu your news?" She wanted to tease the lion a little - but didn't want to ruin the surprise that the young woman had in store for him. "Speak"

table by cush/sanuye

"they are strange" she conceded, not telling Jewel she had seen coconuts before. she didn't want the ebony woman to feel silly. instead, she rolls with a mental picture "imagine the beastie that made the egg though!" she purrs with amusement "do you think they're as hairy as them?"

when talk went back to the litter and Erevu, Willoughby smiles. "I was going to tell him later today" she feels butterflies in her stomach at the thought "if he had time to talk" she didn't want him to wait any longer than required "I should have told him first" she admits quietly "but... it's easier, I think. you've had litters. I wanted to, I don't know... maybe I needed reassurance."

she was truly scared of this new step.

10 exp - learn pride's history (caladon cove) - 2/2
10 exp - share history with another (willoughby to jewel) - 2/2
5 exp - learn about another's trade skills - 2/2