bodily he moves through the corridors, drawn forward by the calls. he assumes this to be another worthless thing, like the pride hunts before - but he is surprised to find everyone simply... sitting around. most are paired off and talking lowly among themselves, while magnus is seated at the forefront flocked by two women. a few of the faces were familiar but still he keeps to himself, settling in a bit away from the rest. pinched features turn towards those at the helm, awaiting instructions on just why they were called here today. fortunately for him, it'll be an event he enjoys - though patience has never been his particular virtue.

Fashionably late per usual the blind sigrun makes her way towards the gathering, allowing the scents of her pridemates to lead her to where everyone had taken place. She was one of the last to arrive but thankfully Hákon had settled towards the back of the pride. Moving forwards she closed the distance in order to slide up alongside him, "I'll bet my eyes that Magnus has some sort of 'battle royale' planned." She muses to him, and that's mostly because voices traveled in the caverns - it didn't take long for Brigid to catch wind of things. Despite what the others might think Brigid was actually excited about the idea of a fight, after all she never backed down from one regardless of who she was pitted against. For now though she fell into silence then, pulling her haunches beneath her to sit next to Hákon as she waited for things to be announced. +10 - Participate in a group training event (1/2) @Hákon

yumpy

it doesn't take long until he's joined by another, but fortunately for him it's @Brigid and not some other stranger. subtly his shoulders shift, the harsh line of them softening - however slightly - when she joins him, settling down next to him with a conspiratorial whisper. a battle royale? hmmm. easily his gaze roams towards the others in attendance, sizing them up. it's not going to be much of a royale, he notes quietly, his muzzle drifting closer to her ear as he speaks. there weren't that many here, and none of them seemed particularly... vicious. still, he's amused at the prospect - her presence, and words, bringing him a bit of brightness in these otherwise dreary fucking halls.

Magnus was wasting no time in gathering them all together. Limber steps drew her closer to the chosen spot of summons, icy gaze immediately drawn to the shadowed silhouette of rather coliseum scenery before it sought out faces concealed within the dark. Some were of a familiar nature as Sigrun blood she had not seen in so long, others outsiders in a sea of new and exotic lavish, but she was more than confident she would get to know them well soon enough; a great deal, in fact, if the excited, covet whispers of gossip around her proved to be truth. Pale eyes snapped up towards where her brother sat at the helm of it all, accompanied by what she decided to be trusted companions of his new reign, and between them, she gave a small lift of her chin in respectful greeting. It was a brief acknowledgement of familial regard before her attention was then ensnared with a larger, darker stature standing not too far off from her, one she would recognize anywhere. Without further delay, Svana immediately drew to the side of Eir, coming around and gently bumping her head against the woman's shoulder in affectionate greeting before settling back on lithe haunches beside her; simulacrum of ice and rime playing the game of expectancy.

Oh boy, she was late!!! She ran through the area as fast as she could. Trying her best to keep up with the trailing adults as they walked around her, they were all such giants! She couldn't wait to grow up so she did not have to worry about a stampede of toes everywhere she went. When she saw @Zulema 's back she gasped and quickly made a dash for her hips. Clashing her fur she would run along the side of her adoptive mother, grinning madly as she gurgled under her breath. Her eyes caught @Magnus not far and then the other adults that surrounded them, what was this all about? She did her best to stick close to Zulema's side as she listened and watched, soaking in all the information her young mind could gather.

OOC NOTE: Posting this a day late because I'm SHIT!!! In the next round (once anyone who doesn't want to participate speaks up) Magnus will assign the pairs for the tournament. I will aim to post this for Wednesday 28th April, so this gives anyone who doesn't want to participate 5 days to make their post. For reference, Sanna is not included in the pairing because Munk has since put her inactive. Once you have your pair, just... start separate threads in the pride board with your spar I guess?? And then we'll convene back in here afterward to celebrate/eat/be merry (or not...)

@Morrigan would assume her rightful position close to the perch as the others began to filter in. @Sidonie, despite not wanting to catch anyone's eye, would draw Magnus' attention. She stuck to the back; whether it was because she was unsure or simply not feeling particularly sociable remained to be seen. Blessedly for her, however, his steely gaze would not linger on her position long. @Eir would be friendly in her approach, greeting the others openly with an introduction. @Nadia slunk into his peripheral, hopping up to join his side. He would turn his head slightly to butt his head against her cheek in greeting. He was not one for PDA, but his wife-to-be deserved that at the very least. @Zulema was next - his faithful Noble - then some of the older and more established members of the fold; @Hakon, @Zoya, @Elijah, @Brigid, little @Shahrzad. His younger sister, @Svana, is also amongst them. The one that would receive his attention the most, of course, would be @Desdemona.

He knows he must not falter; not now. Being a man, being blockheaded, he would have no way of anticipating what was to come.

My friends, he would begin, lifting his chin a little as he addressed all those who had gathered before him. I have called you all together for two reasons. As you can see, Morrigan and I have prepared an arena. We will be using today as an opportunity to exercise and better our combat skills. While the climate of Amaryllis is calm for now, I do not anticipate it to stay that way forever. He wanted them to be prepared for whatever was to come. For those of you who do not know, we are allied with Caladan Cove, Vermeda Brook and Firnen Rainforest. Our alliance with Scilla Lagoon no longer stands since their recent change in leadership; we are to continue treating them with suspicion until further notice. Any movements of interest of theirs that you note, I ask you to come to me at once. He wanted to know exactly what they were up to; they were a small pride, but he did not want to underestimate them, no matter how tempting it was. He had bested their King in battle once, and had faith that he could do so again if needed.

There will be a shift in the ranks. Nadia is no longer Gentry; she is Sovereign, alongside me. She is also my mate, and is to be treated with the respect that such titles earn her. He would shift his head ever so slightly so that he could regard the melanistic woman out of the corner of her eye; he would leave news of the pregnancy out of this meeting. It would become clear in the coming weeks anyway, and he would prefer to let her tell others personally. The attention then shifted back to the rest of the gathering. Our occupational titles are filled, except for Lead Scout. A pause. Until now. He would look then to Zoya - she had proven herself an active participant in recent events, and on top of the fact that she had stated herself that she had an interest in scouting... Well, there was no question in his mind. Zoya, should you wish, the rank is yours. Activity and loyalty were to be rewarded. He would wait for her to respond, acknowledging with a nod either way, before moving on. He would not personally address the absence of Avdotya - it still left a sour taste in his mouth. However, he would make the change clear to those present, as was necessary. However, our higher ranks still need to be filled; we have no Gentry, no Barony, and only one Noble. If you want them, now is your chance to prove to me that you deserve them. They are open to any of you. Even those already with title; Magnus was open to shuffling things around. He would then straighten up a little; he felt no need to prattle on now that everything of importance had been addressed.

He would not, could not, look at Desdemona; it made his chest constrict unpleasantly. Now was not the time for doubt - he was secure in his feelings for both of them, surely they would see that? If only he knew of how the ground would soon crumble beneath his mighty paws.

Should anyone wish to spectate only, speak now.

the finest fury is the most controlled

code by corvus

Morrigan sits at attention as her fellow comrades trickle in. Some of them are recognized, at least by face, like @Sidonie. Others are unfamiliar, like the ruby cloaked behemoth that was the woman who introduced herself as @Eir. "A Pleasure to meet you," the valkyrie returned before her attention was turned to the dark woman who joined Magnus on his perch. It seemed @Nadia had moved up in the world. Morrigan would return her encouraging smile with a respectful nod of her dark helmed head.

The blood colored noblesse was next, @Desdemona following shortly behind @Zulema. Then @Elijah and @Zoya, followed by two more of Magnus's kin in the form of @Hákon and his @Brigid. Possibly three as a new face, @Svana, had appeared at Eir's side. The last to arrive was a petite girl, @Shahrzad, a bit out of place among the gathered adults, but no less welcome as the Valkyrie believed all should know how to defend themselves. Morrigan gave the girl an encouraging smile before Magnus began to speak.

She was content in her own place as commander and so much of what he said did not pertain to herself, that is, unless someone decided to come for her rank, but she would welcome that challenge any day. That bit about the Lagoon though? That was very relevant. She would have to get more information on that eventually. For now though her focus remained here, on their new arena, as she waited to see who would be paired with whom.

table by ferus

@Desdemona is quick to say 'do not be shy' as she passes. Sidonie glances the calico's way, attempting to move further into the gathered crowd. it is when @Elijah speaks to her that she turns her head to the man, shrugging lightly. she is not very close to @Magnus, and therefore does not know what he is planning with this. so she sticks to Elijah's side mostly, as the other woman leaves to stand further along the crowd.

but Magnus does entertain them with something. rank changes. @Zoya is given the title of Lead Scout - or rather offered it. Sidonie recalls their time together, learning and discussing poisons. she glances at the monochrome woman, hoping her silence was support enough. but the king does not stop there. he is offering those among them to prove themselves. @Nadia's status with the king is revealed, and she is also pregnant. recalling Ashelia's words about her friend, she has a face to her name now.

"I will take part."

Sidonie says quietly, though vocal enough to be heard. she knows she told Magnus upon a time that rank is earned and not given. well, now was her chance to earn one. if a battle is to be fought, she might as well try.

5 exp - learn full rank and name of someone (nadia, sovereign)

As @Desdemona selectively chose to come to her side, Zulema's mouth twitched in a smug smile. A fleeting one that she felt warm her face as she must've done something to earn such a bold display of kinship. Did the spotted woman hold the same strange fascination with her as she did for Des? Though, further conclusion made her doubt that since her eyes never seemed to leave Magnus or Nadia's form.

Sanna came to her other side and suddenly Zulema felt like - well - quite a catch! Not one but two beautiful women at her side that made her feel like her skin was on fire. Though, even with the two women at her side she still eagerly looked around for @Zoya. These two were great finds but when it came to feeling this way, she wanted for the gray assassin to be at her side forcing her. The bond that she shared with the woman was unmatched and she desired their intellectual connection that they had while still being two hot bitches.

The gray sigrun left just as Magnus started speaking, leaving one side of her now empty as she finally saw Zoya off to the side that the other had been blocking. Watching her as the assassin was no longer looking in her direction thus Zulema figured might she hadn't been noticed yet, either. Only to be woken from her stupor quickly by the rush of a body near to her as @Shahrzad came clambering over. H-hey you, she bumped her nose at the kid's shoulder in a somewhat motherly and kindly fashion as she still struggled with knowing that she was a sort of mother to the young little clay cub.

Though as it turned out, this wasn't really a gathering that cubs were all that welcome to but Zulema wasn't someone to shove a child out if they wanted to watch. It would do Shay some good to see and it would further see if Shay could handle herself in the midst of controlled danger. While fighting wasn't exactly what she wanted or enjoyed doing, she wasn't adverse to it and thus nodded her head with confidence in Magnus' direction.

+5 Learn something interesting about a character

She would arrive just in time to catch the beginning of the High Sovereign's words as she slipped into the back of the gathering. With little knowledge of what to do in her brother's absence, for however long that might end up being, Nadya felt it important to get to know her pride in the meantime, to take part in whatever ventures they deemed necessary. A gathering of the pride would be the best possible start in getting to see who called these hollowed tunnels home.

As Magnus spoke, Nadya did her best to follow his gaze as he spoke of individuals. She'd take note of the alliances mentioned and the ranks that appeared new. A female was mentioned as a new sovereign beside the obsidian king, coincidentally sharing the same name as the Nikolov. Interesting. The chocolate woman would wonder if this might become confusing at some point, but chalked away the thought for now. The two looked nothing like each other, after all.

With the cause for this gathering explained, the Nikolov found herself excited to flex her claws a bit, though nothing would show outwardly to those around her. Nadya was careful to never let her emotions read so plainly across her scarred face. Though Magnus said to speak if anyone wanted to just watch, an unusually marked woman spoke up quietly from the group, voicing her desire to take part. Perhaps it was best to simply make one's intentions known either way, so Nadya followed suit. "I will join as well," her voice rang clear towards the High Sovereign. It didn't matter to her that others didn't know her yet. Letting her actions speak for her would more than suffice as an introduction.

Table by Amanda