No WB please

He had come and gone and was back again. He didn't know where anyone was. He didn't know if anyone would still be here but he knew that he at least had to have a chance. His paws dragged along the sands that he had rested with the group so long ago. He moved over the lands that they had crossed slowly, he knew that if any of his family was still around this would be the best spot to figure that out. To learn from those who came here. His family name was once one that was known by nearly everyone, he couldn't help but wonder if things would be the same here or if his family hadn't found their place the way he hoped. He shook out his pale mane and looked toward a group of dark clouds that seemed to be moving toward him and he could almost feel the rain before it started to fall.

Njal Tolkien

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Image by Drifty and table code by Amanda

ooc: sorry couldn't help myself! Slightly edited after I realized roan and njal haven't seen each other in amaryllis yet. Oops!

The day had not been fruitful in recruiting. Roan was hopeful that once the ranks filled out a little more, he wouldn't have come to the passage as often himself. For now, though, the mauve man was the only with the ability to recruit in Obsidian. As the clouds pushed in, though, the Hodari was ready to call it a day. There didn't seem to be anyone worth trying for out here anyway. With one last glance over the expanse of sand, the masked man turned and started off for him. Or at least he would have had had someone familiar not caught his eye. "Njal?" The older cousin questioned first to himself at the aight of the dusky boy, too far away to be heard just yet. But yes, it was him. In a time of so much loss, @Njal wouldn't even know how good it was to see him alive.

Roan could hardly stop himself from rushing forward. "Njal!" he called ahead of himself, louder this time as the Hodari set his minty gaze upon his cousin. The excitement was clearly written across the king's face as he sought to close the gap. If allowed, the mauve lion would aim a hearty headbutt against Njal's own crown before stepping back just enough to sit. "You're here?!" Stating the obvious, for sure, but Roan just couldn't help being excited to see his cousin who had felt more like a little brother at times. "Where have you been, Njal?" It wasn't said in anger, more so just in disbelief that he was really here in Amaryllis now. What would Maia think when she found out?

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Base

OOC: Did you really think I wasn’t going to post?

Maia’s determination to succeed and make something of herself had come from the trauma she’d experienced as a child, before she’d made it to Amaryllis. Things had gone wrong very quickly from the very beginning, and she’d lacked any parental influence from a young age. Even when Hanneth and Dero had taken her and her siblings in, she had gone off to find her parents and returned with a younger sister but nothing more. Her life then should have been easy, with a younger sibling to look after. Kora had been her favourite, admittedly, so when she had been snatched by the band of rogues that flooded the Falls and caused them to flee, the ashen Tolkien was heartbroken.

Her purpose had gone. She was nothing more than a lonely wanderer, with no meaning to her life. She’d nearly ended it all.

Her troubled past seemed like it was a lifetime ago. So much had changed since then — Maia had found herself with a crown upon her head in a home she loved, with a husband and a daughter (and, unbeknownst to her, more on the way) that made her life complete. The woman had accepted that she was never going to see any of her direct family ever again — why would she? They had been gone since she was a teenager.

So when she had been roaming Maua’s Passage and her fiery ablaze eyes fell on the figure of @Njal and @Roan, her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. Njal had been a child when she had last seen him, and the woman had accepted that he was probably dead. Her grey paws alter their direction and increase their pace until the distance had closed, and she paused. For a moment she couldn’t say anything. How could she? This was a moment that she never expected.

Njal? Maia breathes, his name slipping on her tongue and into the air. She looked to Roan briefly, her disbelief and confusion evident on her features. The feelings brewing in her stomach were all intermingled: anger, joy, shock, disbelief, annoyance and excitement. It was, unfortunately for Njal, anger that surfaced first. Where the fuck have you been? She spits, her ears pulling back flat against her skull. She’s moving before she even realises, her left paw rising away from the ground and aiming to slap him square in the face, hopefully against a cheek. How dare you show your face after so long! Maia remarks with a shake of her head, turning away and pacing up and down a moment, well aware that she was making a scene.

With a sigh she eventually calms down, and returns to face her cousin-brother and her actual brother. She wants answers, and so without another word, the Sovereign takes a seat. You’ve got a lot to explain, brother. You left when I needed you most, with no explanation. Maia tried to hold back the tears, but they’re stronger than she can withstand. I missed you. The girl admits with a whisper, her voice trembling. It was his turn now — she needed to know where he’d been, and if he intended to stay. If he didn’t… it might just break her.

coded by flea | artwork by ale-tie

He had expected others to arrive, that was the point of the place and when he spotted a male moving toward him he adjust so he would be facing him but the stranger started to rush toward him. Concern covered his features as he started to take a few steps backward to put space between him and the male coming at him. Hearing his name caused him to pause as the mauve lion came in for a headbutt. The stunned small male allowed it and just stared at the male. Roan? It wasn't that he had changed a lot, filled out and there was something else that was different about him but it was hard to forget someone he had lived with. His shock started to wear off a touch as he nodded to Roan, he was indeed here now. He had been here before but it was a long time ago and it hadn't lasted long. He didn't feel ready to stay then and he could only hope that now would be different if there was family here for him to be with. He was about to explain to @Roan what he had been up to when another familiar but less so lioness came busting into their space.

He hadn't been ready for all this and @Maia's reaction to him was less than friendly like Roan's had been. Maia's paw moved toward his head, her harsh words cutting through the moment he was having with Roan and everything that happened after was a reaction to that. As her paw swung toward him, his teeth snapped toward her paw as he took a step back to avoid being hit by her. Who the hell did she think she was? His purple and yellow eyes laid on her and didn't move as she made demands of him. Him leaving?? She disappeared long before he did and now she stands here blaming him. How dare he. Well fine, he could take care of this easily enough. Without a word he turned and started to leave the pair. He wasn't going to stand around and have her act like she didn't leave him first. Left him alone, the only sibling left among his guardianship family. He didn't care about words that she said as he was leaving, he wasn't a cub anymore and he wouldn't be treated as such.

Njal Tolkien

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Image by Drifty and table code by Amanda

ooc: your thread title is now a lie

Okay, so Roan hadn't really thought about the amount of time it had been since he last saw his little brother-cousin. They'd been in these lands for over two years already, and the mauve lion hadn't seen @Njal during his brief time in Amaryllis the first go around. All he could see was more family in front of him, and that was all that really mattered. That little burst of serotonin would last for all of about 30 seconds before @Maia burst on the scene next. Surprisingly, Njal's actual siblings as not nearly as excited to see him as Roan was. All the mauve lion could do was scoot back a little to be out of swinging range as his ears went flat and his minty gaze grew wider in the shock of it all.

That was not at all how he would have expected the two to meet, but then again Roan didn't know when the last time the two had seen each other was. Before he knew it, Njal was walking away. "Damnit," he hissed under his breath, fixing a look at Maia as if to ask what all the anger was about, but he couldn't spare that time to ask while Njal was walking away. "Njal, wait!" he called after the dusky male while running to catch up with him. "Please." It was a quiet plea. Roan had lost his own brother recently. To know that Njal was even alive at all was a welcomed change to the grief the mauve male still found himself revisiting. He wasn't about to let family just slip away again. Not if he could help it.

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Base

OOC: And in that moment, Maia knew she fucked up

Hindsight is a beautiful thing, but pretty useless at that specific moment - especially when Maia took a seat and realized what she had done. Fiery eyes cloud over with tears as the adrenaline runs through her body: her ears pounded in her head and her breathing seemed as loud as deafening silence. She swallowed away the frog that was growing in her throat and watched as Njal rose to his paws, and, without a word, turned to leave.

As she watched him turn, there was a sense of panic that began to grow rapidly in her chest. It swelled like a balloon, increasing in size by the second with each step that her brother took. She looked to @Roan - a lion she knew to be a place of safety, only to be met with hostility and anger. It was in that particular moment when Maia had realized she had not really welcomed her brother back, but instead pushed him away. The girl rose to her paws and quickly followed after her cousin, rushing to get in front of her brother before he left again. Njal, She calls, her panic evident. I can't lose you again. Please don't go. Maia pleads, moving her body to stand in front of Njal enough to prevent him from going any further. I'm sorry. I overreacted. Perhaps there would be forgiveness in the face of her apology - but she would not be surprised if there wasn't. If she had been greeted by her sister like that, she too would leave. But, Maia would do anything to keep her brother in her life now - even if it meant admitting her mistakes.

coded by flea | artwork by ale-tie

Njal was upset and ready to leave. He didn't need to deal with this. Life alone had been rough but it was better than being smacked by your own sister. There was a rage in him that was struggling to stay contained, something that was waiting to be explored but he kept pushing it away. @Roan's call to him slowed his pace as he allowed for the larger male to catch up to him and his eyes to shift toward him. Roan and his family had been there for him growing up, they likely were the only reason he made it out alive, both times. His life had been safe and steady because of the stability that Dero and Hanneth had given him. He shook his body as he tried to shed the feelings his sister had caused to focus on Roan but @Maia seemed set on following as well.

There was a small eye roll, this wasn't his fault at all. He had arrived here not really knowing what he would find but his own sister acting like she was in the right wasn't even close to on his mind. Hell, she thought she was dead a long time ago. He gave Roan a long look before looking toward his sister. They looked nothing alike, sharing only their mask, but he knew that he was tied to her even if he didn't really know her. You did. He stated simply to her acknowledgment that she overreacted. I wasn't the one who left as cubs, leaving me as the only one from our litter left. It's a good thing that I had Roan and the other cubs because you weren't there. You have no right to act as if I left you. I don't even know you. His words were harsh but his tone wasn't cold only straightforward. He huffed loudly in his frustration at everything that was happening. He wasn't even close to used to this sort of stress. He liked a life of relaxing and being chill. That was what he wanted.

Njal Tolkien

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Image by Drifty and table code by Amanda

Though he hadn't meant to seem angry with @Maia and what her words had caused, Roan couldn't ignore the fact either. While he was eager to find any scrap of family still alive in these lands, his cousin had jumped right by that realization to instead move towards blaming her brother for his absence. The Hodari wasn't here to judge either sibling or how they viewed each other at the moment, but he wasn't keen on leaving them to their own devices just yet either. He needed to know where @Njal was going, even if it wasn't to either of their prides. He just needed to know that his brother-cousin was okay and would still be in Amaryllis after today.

Much to his pleasure, calling after the dusky lion had slowed his departure, though Maia was quick on their heels, even going so far as to rush in front of her brother to prevent his leave. Roan's minty gaze would meet that of his masked brother's with a solemn nod. He didn't need to voice his support and excitement in seeing Njal here. It was known without saying as the mauve lion allowed himself to simply sit for the moment while the siblings squabbled. The smaller male was quick to lay it all out plainly for Maia, not sounding callous in tone, but calling it like it was anyway. They had not been together for long as children. Roan was aware of that, and could only imagine what it was like. Minerva had left them very young as well, but at least he still had Kiton until they were almost two years old. But now he was gone. And life was too short.

"We both have prides," Roan suddenly added to the conversation, though spoke in an almost casual manner. There was the chance that Njal didn't wish to live in a pride with either one of them, to be tied to a pride with family straight away like before, but maybe it would help cut the tension if he knew he could have a home if he wanted it. "You'd be welcome in either one." Yes, the Hodari would even go so far as to speak for Maia and the Mire. "Give you time to settle and catch up." Though it may not have been the best time to bring up their prides, the mauve lion was more than willing to provide a distraction away from the sibling tension that was quickly brewing between them.

Table & Ref by Amanda | Background | Base

Maia and @Njal needed to find a common ground and perhaps the barren wasteland of Maua’s Passage was not the place to find that. Her fiery eyes study the figure of her brother as he speaks, and there is a panic that sits heavy on her chest. She’s feeling guilty, angry, embarrassed and confused about the whole situation and wishes to turn back time. The sooty lioness wanted to fade into the darkness, into the shadows so that she was never going to be seen again.

I don’t even know you.

The words cut through her like a knife. Her ivory paws took a step backwards away from her brother and her ears pinned themselves against her crown. The worst of it was, he was right. She had never known him, never spent time with him, and had ran off in a brash attempt to find her parents when they had gone missing. Who was she to demand answers from him about where he’d been, when she had been missing for most of his younger life? She supposed the only difference was that she had actually tried to look for him: had he?

I don’t even know you.

She hasn’t realised that her fiery eyes had glossed over with the shine of tears. Her emotions were all over the joint, and she looked to @Roan for reassurance. He speaks about their prides, and she nods. Taking a seat with a slight cough and sniffle, the ashen lioness tries to compose herself. I rule Ecrosia Mire with my husband, Jafar. You’d be welcome there, if you’d want. She offers with a subdued tone, a feeling of sudden deflation and exhaustion fluttering over her body. It’s fine if you don’t, too. It’s your decision. And with that, she falls silent, the emotional turmoil evident on her features as she waits for an answer.

I don’t even know you.

coded by flea | artwork by ale-tie

The tension was a lot for Njal to work through. He didn't enjoy this type of feeling and there was far too much negativeness floating around. As @Maia seemed to come around on things and settle down he looked to @Roan who had been a part of his life since the start. If he had to pick, Njal was the sibling that Njal had looked to for everything growing up. He looked back to Maia, his blood sister, who he didn't know much about but here she was finally. With a family of her own it seemed. Njal was sure that Roan did as well. He shook out his coat and mane while trying to let go of some of the frustration that built up. How far apart are your prides? If they were close, he might be able to pick one, and if they weren't maybe he could just pick a place in between so he could visit them both.

Njal Tolkien

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Image by Drifty and table code by Amanda