He'd been in the area scouting herbs and exploring a bit with @Riptide. The familiarity of the waves and sand underfoot gave the spotted boy an anchor to sink down on. He didn't realize how much he's missed the ocean until it was dangled in front of his face. There is a reason why he'd kept away, however, and it strikes up in a jolt the second he hears the booming call. A challenge that strikes a match within the kindled fire of his heart.
"Riptide...?" He whispers under his breath, head having whipped in the direction of the summons. In a haze, he stumbles forth. His gait slow for but a few seconds before he bolts off alongside the sandy shores towards the growing crowd. "Find Swiftfire. Find mom. Find Riptide." Heart racing in his chest, his lips are parted in a pant. He sees and hears the ongoing fight; sees one a massive lion cloaked in white. Eyes as wide as saucers, he continues to search through the crowd, frantically trying to find his small friend before it is too late.

table by sentinel / lines + colored by sylphgarou

What the hell? Things had been okay in the Lagoon not so long ago at all, and now someone was calling for Oberon's crown? When Morrigan crossed the borders into the Lagoon she didn't stop to be sure no one cared. That voice that had called had been a bit too familiar. The scent markers were faded, abandoned, but not all the faces Morrigan discovered were strangers. There was no one from the Hollow though. Strange. The Valkyrie took her place on her own for once, mismatched purple and silver watching the vaguely familiar men do their dance of war, glancing occasionally toward the others' conversations, half-listening to pick on snippets of information. Neither man seemed to be an ideal ally anyway.

table by ferus

The carmine noble was quiet on the approach as she shuffled through the crowd of onlookers, taking a vague interest in the land around her for what seemed like the millionth time. The Lagoon not too far away looking the same as it always had but seemingly different, though she imagined it was because of the fight at hand being different and parties having changed. Those seated talking directly to each other and likely figuring out what to do next -- the palm trees seemed to sag in the bitter cold of the harsh wind of the ocean during the winter but otherwise still seemed healthy enough to survive.

All the while noticing @Morrigan and shuffling towards the dark woman. She'd never appropriately met the attractive warrior but seeing as they were pride mates, Zulema would consider them at least friendly to one another. Easily taking a seat beside her and nodding her head in quiet acknowledgement. He was the lion at the Bluffs challenge. The one who initiated a challenge against Arjana. Zulema couldn't be sure if the Greyflood knew of the red lioness' name from the Bluffs but it was there now and two-and-two put together could piece it.

A flash of ruby and ivory in her peripheral pulled Morrigan's attention briefly away. It was difficult not to admire the beauty that was @Zulema, even if the Valkyrie didn't have such a taste for it. Her words filled in the gaps in the Lead Fighter's memory and she smirked in appreciation for the red woman's talents, "We all know you're great at your trade, you don't have to show off to us lowly barbarians." What was a little harmless flirting between comrades?

As her attention shifted back to the battle, though, her expression hardened again as her voice grew more serious, "Somehow I doubt either of them will make good allies. Arjana called the other one Dieudonne. I recognize that name, but I don't know why." A memory of a memory. Her parents talking of ages and people's past and the many branches growing from the same Greyflood family roots and beyond.

table by ferus, art by mono

Riptide's in the middle of joining a pride!

+5 practice speed or stealth 1/2

They had been in the area with @Cupid, playing in the waves while their friend gathered herbs and tried to teach them about each plant. Riptide hadn't been paying much attention, a fact they soon regretted as they were farther away from Cupid than they would have liked when the call came.

It rattled their bones, sent lightning down their spine as terror reared its ugly head. They heard Cupid call their name, and immediately headed toward his voice, but...he was leaving. Riptide stumbled after the larger lion, ears focused on catching each of his steps as they moved forward.

"Cupid? Why are we going?" They asked at one point, but it was like the older male didn't even hear them. They moved toward the challenge, and Riptide stopped farther back than the rest of the crowd, lurking along the edges as their nose caught the scent of more than ten lions lingering about. More information than that, they weren't able to process; it would take a while just to untangle the scents and realize there were a few familiar faces around.

Their nose couldn't discern Cupid from the rest of the crowd, so they stayed back, flinching as the sounds of battle reached them and huddling small as they could until it was over.

- Riptide is hiding -

table by sentinel / stock

The feistier, more defensive part of her had a rebuttal coming at the end of her tongue. A quick response to argue so that she wasn't viewed as attempting to make herself to be better than. That had been the last thing she had intended to do but that was easily brushed aside once she realized that it was more or less the barbarian teasing and joking with her. We all have our place, she grimaced but she knew that @Morrigan held a very respectable trade. Just not one that she was particularly skilled at. Zulema was a fighter but had never been trained as such; she was a quick witted individual that used her speed, stealth and memory elsewhere.

Probably a name to be wary of, perhaps. No doubt about the fact that they might not be worth having as allies, though she could speak far more for the male who had fought Arjana. She couldn't quite pinpoint the uneasiness she felt when looking at him. Not fear, per say, but certainly a deep concern of uncomfortable feelings. Zulema was no stranger to the aggressive desires of men which was likely why she had a tendency to stray away from their brutish behavior and found herself enjoying a woman's company far better.

GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

His jaws scraped along delicious leavings of flesh. He could wear at this male like a mammoth bone. His growl of appetite turned a sour note as the other male elected to duck his head downward, giving Vermier further damage but not where he wanted it. The move served to protect his throat at the cost of what remains of his good looks. That lady at the Bluffs had certainly done a number on him! Not that Vermier could see very well with his eyes narrowed, nor did he generally appreciate beauty of the masculine form, but he did admire the purity of her revenge. Vermier untwisted his own head with a final huff of frustration and aimed his jaws lower and further back along the male's body - since Korrin's vanity could not be threatened, Vermier would attempt to dig into the bulging exterior of the right shoulder, attempting to grip and still the limb while he adjusted his own weight further to his front, attempting to bear more of his weight upon his left paw. Its claws still extended, it attempted to crush Korrin's right paw beneath it. He kept his ears concealed back into his mane.

This move still left his right limb free to move... or slightly more free. Set slightly inward as it had been, the easiest move was to swing outward again. He rattled it back and forth, shaking the limb with a snarl of pain as fangs shredded across its front face halfway between his elbow joint and shoulder. He took deep, streaming lacerations of damage, but prevented a grip. At least for the time. The damage was worth taking to gain an advantage elsewhere, to focus his other attempts on threatening the opposing male's right leg. The blood loss would give him a disadvantage if the fight wore on too long; he hoped he had strategized correctly in trying to make combat brutish and short.

Vermier vs @Korrin
Scilla Lagoon
3/5

Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 13 + 4 + 10 + 14

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 5 + 20 + 17 + 8 + 3

This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. Trigger Warning for mentions of Sasdism, Threats of Violence, Violence of any sort, Abuse, Foul Language, Internal monologuing of darker tendencies, Etc.

The bite to his right shoulder was deep, and exquisitely painful. The snarl that emanated from his jowls was throaty - somewhere between a snarl and a purr of pleasure. The beast would attempt to jerk his right shoulder forwards roughly, in an attempt to injure the other males jaw. His right limb would attempt to shift beneath his opponents foot, attempting to dislodge the appendage from beneath @Vermier's left claws. Blood and lacerations were deep, welling between his toes and spreading to the sands below.

Such a battle that would leave these pristine sands stained the color of wine! His tail remained out for balance, his jaws - slackening as he would keep them to protect his throat - to think on his next move. Limbs remained stable, the blood that coursed down his caramel hide ran in small rivers - bands of color that crossed his hide in intricate designs. Ears were tucked tight to his mane, and his eyes remained narrowed - his focus entirely on the beast before him.


"Korrin" -vs- "Vermier"
"for"
Scilla Lagoon
"Round"
"3" -of- "5"

Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 2 + 14 + 12 + 7 + 6 + 13

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 4 + 7 + 5

Blood is spilt while holding keys to the throne

No mercy -- from the edge of the blade

code by corvus

Ole had come to the place in search of Ambrosine and had thought to make it a home when he found out she wasn't here just so that he could be here in case she returned. He was determined to find his patron's sister. He would bring Ambrosine back and then Vermier would love him forever. Then no one could say he wasn't a true Dieudonné.

It would seem his guardian had the same idea, not that Ole had realized it straight away. No, it was coming close to the borders that he picked up on the scent and followed it. When he got there many were already gathered around and in the middle a fight was under way. Vermier was one of those fighters. The other one he had no idea whom it was. Still, if Vermier was here he couldn't exactly leave now. Perhaps his guardian would even win and then they both could stay here and wait for Ambrosine to come back.

The yearling moved to find a place with a little bit of elevation so that he could sit and watch the fight without the mass of bodies blocking his view.

Avaneira trailed behind her sister's form, arriving to the arena just after the red woman had approached the Hollow's lead fighter. She was dwarfed by Morrigan's larger build, and still skinny from months spent lonesome and malnourished. Despite this, however, her face was not nearly as gaunt and her demeanor not nearly as flighty and desperate as it had been before. The last challenge Avaneira had attended had been Skarde's attempt to claim a pride, and though the man had not succeeded, Ava had been a step away from being imprisoned by him indefinitely.

She settled near @Morrigan, her eyes peering once or twice at @Zulema, but otherwise remaining quiet and diligent. She had almost not attended, but in her aim to become stronger and less overwhelmed by the world around her, it only seemed appropriate she accompany her sister to the constant changing of Amaryllis' thrones. “So one is a brute,” she said in a hushed tone, in reference to the fleeting conversation Zulema and Morrigan were having upon her arrival, “and one a potential threat?” The Dieudonne name did not quite seem as familiar to Ava, but the years had scarred her memory, and she had often confused the ghosts of her past with its true recollection.

table by ferus, art by ale-tie