Overrun, you're under the gun

Sound the drum, the Great War has come

Jewel approached the borders of Caladan with her jaws closed around one of the pouches that Alexon had given her. Something for doctoring wounds - though she knew how to make it a poultice, she didn't know exactly what was in the package. Stopping at the borders, she chuffed softly for @Keir, hoping the ebony lion would be receptive to visitors.

Still - she didn't want to simply cross the borders to hunt him down - not with everything in Amaryllis being as volatile as it was..and her adjustment to being an Ecrosian leader without expecting it. Which in part - is what she wanted to discuss with her eldest but mostly - she wanted to see to it that he was doing well.

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Keir had been keeping to himself and staying secluded in his den while he healed. A bruised ego and the guilt he once felt were beginning to slowly dissipate from his mind, but every now and a again would a sting from his leg wound cause for those emotions to whirl right back in his mind. He still needed to speak with Morrigan and Avaneira, to see how they took him wanting to rule a pride of his own and to see if it had tarnished either of their thoughts toward him.

He'd been tossing from one side to the other as he laid on his furs, keeping aware of how he moved his front left leg and not wanting to bump it and cause it to hurt any more than it did. But as he were attempting to shuffle to one side would he catch the callings of mother, causing for his ears to pin back into his mane. His preference to stay alone almost caused for him to ignore her chuffs, but with a heavy sigh would he slowly rise to all fours, giving his mane a quick shake before he began to hobble toward where she were located.

It would take him some time, especially having to fight with the ever shifting sand, but eventually his eyes would spot her familiar figure waiting at the borders for him. As he neared would he let out a gruff chuff of his own, tail tip flicking at his heels as he came to a stop. He noticed the pouch she were carrying, raising a brow at it. "What's that?"

@Jewel

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Overrun, you're under the gun

Sound the drum, the Great War has come

"Herbs.." She smiled, gently nosing the pouch towards @Keir, her gaze softening as she took in the healing injuries of her sons form. "A friend gave them to me for your wounds.. Mix with some of the fresh water of the spring and make it a poultice - it can help your wounds heal a little easier." The ebony queen's tone was kind as she spoke, feet shuffling nervously before she heaved a sigh, deciding to address the elephant in the room.

"How are you, sweetheart?" She hadn't seen him since his challenge, and worried that he was hurt more than he let on. "If you want help ...I don't know much about mixing plants - but I do have some experience with applying the poultices." The large, wide fronds of the palm trees made great bandages to keep the poultice free of sand as well. Not that she would know that.

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Left front paw would go for the pouch as she spoke and nudged it toward him, moving it closer to him before he allowed for his rear to lower itself to the sandy ground below. He would have to see what all he could do with it once he were alone once more; he wasn't a medic by any means and even if they were simple enough directions Keir felt as though he would mess it up one way or another. "Thank you." A short reply, ears flicking upward halfway. He wasn't sure where to direct their conversation next, and it seemed like mother might have been having the same issue as he.

"I think I'll be able to half-ass it," he would reply to her offering to help him with what she had brought along for him. He would take a second to acknowledge her question about how he was doing, a scoff of sorts seeming to release itself involuntarily. "So now your children are important again?" His tone was flat, short and to the point. Keir wasn't a lion who usually gotten angered or mad, he couldn't even remember the last time he had gotten really irritated. He was a male who kept his cool and that seemed to be a rarity around Amaryllis these days. But that day during the Brook challenge seemed to trigger something in his brain, causing for red hot anger to bubble over and spill out - all because of what mother decided to do. And not to mention how Vysemala reacted... That was another conversation all on its own.

@Jewel

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Overrun, you're under the gun

Sound the drum, the Great War has come

His tone had her ears tilting against her skull as she sighed, knowing that this would be only one of many painful conversations she was likely to have in the next few days and not just with the ebony lion. "You and your siblings have always been important to me." Her thoughts in the challenge to defend her mate would have had the same reaction had it been @Keir or any of his siblings in that situation. Yet - she knew how it had to seem from the outside perspective.. From someone who had only just arrived to find her in a full on rage.

The ebon queen kept her gaze on the blue optics of her eldest, never wavering, though she knew he was upset. The lioness knew that life - and the lives of their family - small as it was - would not be without their issues. The attack of Vysemala on her - Keir's frustrations.. All a part of having a family. Jewel knew that, and she let her expression show on her face - but then, she often was the expressive sort. "Had that been you, or any of your siblings, I would have done the same. Except, I wouldn't have let anyone stop me.. And I would be hunting him still."

She was thankful to the dark pelted lion, however - that he had stopped her from getting in Nymeria's way, though it might not have been a bad thing considering the Brook Queen had fallen. "I will not try to excuse my actions, sweetheart. I was angry, scared. I acted on impulse." She saw no reason to lie to the male - he wasn't a boy any longer, after all. He was a lion - fully grown and taking his future in his own paws. A lion she was exceedingly proud of. Someone she knew would succeed at his endeavors someday.

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A roll of his eyes would be given as he listened to mother explain herself. He couldn't see her reasons because to him they weren't good enough to place oneself into potential danger like she had done. To Keir it was black and white: either she curbed her emotions and acted on them after the challenge had concluded or she did what she had done, which was what left them in their stalemate now. "You could have ruined everything that day! All because you were worried about your OWN problems!" Was it too much so see the bigger picture like the lion did? Was it too hard to know when and where to act on feelings? Perhaps he thought himself broken in some way, and even though he may have wanted to take action he also knew the possible repercussions.

A wince would become visible then, Keir not realizing until now that he were leaning forward and placing more weight than he could handle on his left leg. An eerie calm would then envelope the ebony man, sitting in silence for several moments and choosing his next words rather carefully. "You are my mother, but I don't need you to protect me anymore. But my younger siblings do. So who is going to protect them when both of their mothers are severely injured, or worse? Me?" Was she that willing to thrust the responsibility of not only brotherhood but parenthood on him?

@Jewel

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She waited until @Keir finished, knowing his anger and frustrations were valid. The dark woman let her singular gaze note his leg - the injury to it, but swallowed back the words she wished to say on that particular subject. Instead, the dark queen sighed, ears folding to either side of her skull. "Yes - I was angry. And You are correct, I could have lost everything. When you spoke to me first - I listened. I looked. Vysemala had no one around her - those fighting didn't appear to be involved with his war.. Beyond a pair I was unfamiliar with, near the lion and Vys."

"I saw the opportunity to safely remove her from the fighting and get her back to the Mire where your brothers and sister were waiting. Could there have been others lurking in the shadows? Yes - but if there had been, they would have come out of the woodwork the moment blood and fur started to fly." Jewel was unaware that the Sigrun and the Rike had a blood feud that went back centuries - but she had heard enough to know they at least appeared unrelated to Viridian.

"Vysemala attacking me was not something I had worked into my plan - and leaving your siblings alone or in your sole protection was also not part of my plan." Jewel had in fact calmed considerably when he had first intercepted her - allowing the dark lady to think clearly and to work her way through the process. Perhaps it had not been the best course of action - but at the time it had been the quickest path to her goal of getting her injured mate home, seeing to the safety of the younger children and returning to see to the safety of her eldest.

The dark woman let her gaze fall to his similarly colored orbs before she smiled. "You're right, love. You don't need protection any longer - but as a mother - I will still do my best to be where I can do the most." Be it making sure the injured Vysemala returned safety home to their young children, or to standing at her sons side when Caladan had gotten dragged into the fray.

"You're no child, Keir.. Try as I might to believe you will always be my curious little boy - you have grown into a strong, handsome lion. A lion that will someday have his own children and mate to care for." She wasn't going to ask that he care for hers as well. "You are also the oldest of my children.."

Perhaps now was not the time to make the offer she had initially come to make - but she wanted him to have the idea in his head before she left to let him heal - if that was his wish. "The position of Ecrosian Heir is yours...if you wish it. I became the High Sovereign shortly after the dust settled in Vermeda...I wanted to come clear the air between us - and to offer you the position if you were interested." Though. she truthfully wouldn't be upset if he declined the offer - Keir was making a name for himself perfectly fine on his own. She honestly wasn't sure- with how angry he was at her - if he would wish such a thing.

---

"Speech"

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His anger was still radiating within him, and if it were possible he would have gone up several degrees in temperature from it. But he would hold his tongue and continue to stay silent as mother went on to explain further, but ending it in something that surely gave him whiplash. "You what?" The question would be blurted out without much thought, Keir trying to wrap his head around the sudden news that she were now a ruler of another pride - and wanted him as Heir, if he so chose it.

His mind would begin to whirl, working on overtime at the offer she had placed right in front of him. He didn't know what to say, whether or not he should accept or decline. One one hand he thoroughly enjoyed living in Caladan, the beach vibe suiting him well and also being their lead hunter and helping to provide more and not just be a simple member within a pride. But on the other hand the thought of having more responsibility may help shape him for becoming a King himself one day; wasn't that why he tried to claim Obsidian when it became vacant?

Brows would knit together and it would be obvious that he were lost in his own thoughts, battling on what would be the right choice for him. He knew either way he would feel guilty on some level - leaving the Cove to for a more important role or declining mother's offer of taking on more duties and helping him for whatever he chose to do later down the line. "Why me?" A filler question, trying to buy him more time to try to fully decide.

@Jewel

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He questioned why she had brought him the offer of Heir and the dark queen offered her son a warm smile. "Because you are the eldest child of our line in these lands..and you are the only one so far to show interest in being more." He and Sanson had downright thrived in the Cove and she was glad that they had done so. But, Keir had been the only one to want for a crown. "I don't seek to take you from your home. Only to open another door to another path for a potential future."

Even as a child, @Keir had shown the most interest in pride affairs, and she had been more than pleased that he had come with her on the alliance talks as a child. Even more so - she had been proud that he had attempted to take a pride for himself. Even though he had fallen against the older lion, The pride the female had in her eldest was enough that she felt full to bursting.

"There is no guilt if you say no and wish to remain here, sweetling. I won't ask you to change your life if you don't wish to." She wouldn't think less of him either if he chose to remain in Caladan, Jewel knew better than most that sometimes getting out from under the shadow of ones parents was the best way to learn and grow and to really find who one was.

---

"Speech"

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He felt himself becoming torn with what he wanted to decide. He did enjoy the Cove and being able to be its lead hunter, but the chance to become much more than that... "I don't know how to choose." His reply would be spoken in earnest, the tone of subtle defeat soaking his words. The offer of becoming an Heir was too tempting to not choose, but that meant he would be leaving the pride he loved so dearly and grew so attached to. The place he had pretty much grew up in and had find his niche.

"Becoming Heir... It's something I would like to pursue. I..." Keir would trail off, his front paws shifting and kneading the sand below them. "I would have to tell Avaneira and Morrigan but I don't know how." It was going to be a somber and guilt-ridden interaction he knew that much. Leaving rulers that proven they were worthy of a pride and a crown was thoughts weighing heavily on his mind now.

@Jewel

image & table by gunner