and we don’t need saving

We’re hell raising

There is a certain pleasure in watching his demeanour change when he realises she (or presumably, any female) is near. @Violarum was most certainly not a man afeared of battle, but he was very much a juvenile in other respects. Sláine held no contempt for it, she thought it quite endearing in fact.

Ears pivoted at his response, disappointment scraping across her face. "Na? pity. Ah was hoping ye an' I would get round tae a spar eventually." A small manipulative sigh escaped her, sliding her eyes forward and away from him even as her rear legs folded and she took a seat beside the large lion whilst she waited for the event to begin.

“Did he ask you?”

"Ask what?" Brow quirked as she glanced briefly at Violarum. She can only suppose that the clay male means possibly something to do with Ronin, knowing what they were like with each other around her. Sláine found her gaze naturally seeking out Ronin and holding him in her sights for quite some time as she shrugged to her companion. "If he wants tae sleep wi' me, he does nae need tae ask."

code by corvus / image by kim

"speech."

@Alyvia would be the first to respond to his call, circling around him daringly close- so close that the beast could feel the heat off of her body but then she would move away with a comment about the paradise he had brought her too. An amused look would flicker in his eyes, “I knew it would grow on you.” He teased lightly, as she sat a few feet away. He was aware how much she did not like the swamp, her white form was no longer white, but a dingey off white from all of the mud and muck of the swamp. He would be lying if he didn’t find it amusing. The next to appear was white as well but where Alyvia was filthy and stained, she was pristine. He would nod to her, gaze dancing back to his sour comrade with laughter in his eyes. “Maybe you should take lessons.” He nodded to @Patchouli, barely containing the laughter in his voice.

Unsurprisingly, Erna would make an appearance. The bearish wife of the King would demand to know what was going on and he offered a flick of his ear in acknowledgement to her words but he remained silent, he didn’t like repeating himself so he would wait for everyone else to arrive before addressing the growing group. @Nusura would appear, but lingered away from the group. Understandably since she was a medic and was blind, still Ronin offered her a nod of greeting…unsure if she was able to see it. @Alaric would appear but he would choose to sit off to the side of Ronin, making it clear he was just a spectator today. Ronin would nod to him as well, showing deference to the King as well as understanding to his silent statement. @Violarum would appear next, although he could be heard well before he had actually been visible. He too sat well away from the group, the Noble would flick an ear dismissively to the gentry in response. Of course he would not be interested in anything, he was too fat and lazy.

Slaine would appear next, pausing by the gentry to tease him. He offered a nod and faint smile to the woman, before his attention would turn yet again to another lion that appeared. This one was young and someone he had not met yet, ears came forward with interest at the startled boy, listening as he spoke before shaking his head slightly in a small answer. Ronin did not miss the sour expression, but chose to ignore it. An ear would turn towards @Sláine and Violarum as they continued their conversation, his expression smoothing into something stoic as Violarum asked a vague question- he knew what it was hinting towards and kept the smirk to himself. He would barely catch her answer before he cleared his throat, focusing on something else so he didn’t outright grin at her and Violarum.

“We’ve defeated the little band of uprisers that gathered at the borders and I know several of you have been sparring and fighting within the pride.” Gaze would flicker across them all, lingering on Slaine and then Erna more pointedly. “But we can all do better. Some of us lack control and are reckless-“ his gaze would finally lift from the bearish woman to shift over the rest. “Some lack experience and that is what I hope to rectify today.” God he hated speeches, this was why he would absolutely hate to be a King. He also resisted the urge to call out Violarum as lazy….for now. “Split into pair’s, we will do 3 rounds. With one condition. No teeth. Think outside of the common moves you would use to try something different.” He would shift then, a signal that he was done talking and waiting to see which partners they would choose. He didn’t care who he fought, or if he fought, he was more interested in getting them thinking and focusing on something other than causing the most damage. It’d be easier for him to watch and offer criticism if he wasn’t fighting but he was sure Alaric would offer an opinion at the end.


-- Figured it'd be easiest to let you guys pick your own partners? Anyone is welcome to partner with Ronin or exclude him. The fights would be the regular 3 round dom/spars --

code by corvus

Another buster knuckle bruise

It was all well and good, the woman even sauntering forward to sit in front him; as if displaying her delightful curves in a way that begged for recognition. He was rather blissfully trained upon her figure and peculiar accent (drowning out Ronin’s inspiring speech) before her last words. Ambrose arrived, and he would have invited him to enjoy the view had his heart not been quickening so.

Gut dropped, an awful churn of jealousy painting his face monster-green, instinctive pulses of testosterone queuing a low, rumbling growl within his chest. And in the background blah blah blah from Ronin. He decided there was only one way to fix this. He had to show Slaine, and all the women present that he was a stronk boi.

The strongest of the boys. Deserving of all booty. Not Ronin.

It began as a casual stroll towards the group, but in reality Violarum was entirely useless at hiding any emotion; and the expression of intent upon his face was surely enough. Burly shoulders rolled forward, bunching up into his manly mane as his defences set.

He attempted to approach Ronin’s left side at a 45 degree angle, at the very last moment allowing a lurching moment to spur him into a single loping stride. Vio tried to to hurl his breast, both shoulders jutted forward, into the brown male’s rib cage with winding force. Face tucked to his own right, shielded. Fight me bro. Maybe all this fat ain’t so bad after all.

Violarum vs @Ronin
Round 1 of 3 - Dominance

Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 8 + 14 + 16 + 19 + 17 + 15 + 20 + 11

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 20 + 18 + 2

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 5 + 1 + 15 + 20

'Cause I'm a liquorlip loaded gun

_{— art by Rabs}

He doesn't look at him, but he does cock an ear as @Ronin continues on about... a band of uprisers? Then he goes on about splitting into pairs. To do... what, exactly? @Violarum quickly provides an answer as he charges towards the blue lioness with the hot accent. The attack is preceded by a rumbling, testosterone-fueled growl that makes his fur stand on end all over again. He can't help but feel a bit offended that Vio is flexing his impossibly big muscles around the lionesses, but even if he had a chance against him, he's entirely too young to compete either way.

Reassuring himself he's still the sexiest in the land, he pipes up. "Oh. We're doing the sparring thing?" He glares around. That's a lot of fur flying around already. He doesn't need any claws marring his handsome face. Man, this pride really is a far cry from the bed of roses Violarum described it to be. "I don't know. My sister is gonna give me an earful for the next month if I kick all your asses here. She can be yappy sometimes, know what I mean?" He stretches theatrically, feigning nonchalance. "So, uh, I'll sit this one out. Cheerio."

Ambrose vs. ??
For dominance
Round 0 of 3

code + art

Alyvia wasn't a completely hateful creature... but at the moment Patchouli entered, she felt it rile within. Attention momentarily left Ronin and their humor passed between each other and is lost on the pale girl. A white dress with no stains from the day. She could feel the grimace on her face as Ronin picked at it further. A mistake she would correct. As if aware of herself, and him again, she tucked it back behind her usual 'im not interested in anything' expression.

She fell to silence at that point. An observant little beastie as she watched more filter in. Faces that didn't seem would need to memorize. Just more to note in passing. However, there are particular looks passed between certain members. One that had caught her attention most was of some female who seemed to linger on Ronin, though she sat with another.

What was it about? The question was at the back of her mind as Alyvia gave another glance to Ronin before he began his little explanation for forcing them together. Fighting. If one looked close enough they might just notice the lift in the corner of her lips at the mention of it. It didn't take but a moment for one of the other males to take on the challenge. Her gaze lingered on the two before it washed over to Ambrose. However, they found themselves rolling at the start of his words.

There is nothing to say as she stood, steps quick as they aimed to bring her to his backside as he stretched and rambled on. A left paw rose and reared back for a forward attempt to give it a slap- claws out, to the left side of his rump. She wanted to try and leave a little mark. She kept her muscles tensed and prepared to move. Her stance widened just enough to center her weight and make up for the lack of tail that would normally aid in balance. Her ears had drawn back to her ink topped cranium to hide in the mess of a half mane.

Alyvia vs. @Ambrose
for dominance fun
1 of 3

Hits:

Rolling 3d20: 16 + 4 + 19

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 9 + 15 + 20 + 2 + 8

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 5 + 18 + 13 + 17 + 8

code by corvus

@Ronin ignored her question and Erna's expression twisted in something unseemly. "Answer me, du Schwachkopf! Ich stelle eine Frage!" How dare he ignore her? So what if he was Alaric's chosen Nobleman? She couldn't give two shits about his titles or anyone's titles for that matter! The arrival of others distracted her enough to let go of the metaphorical bone, her toxic gaze sweeping over their faces.

She hadn't noticed @Nusura at first. The woman stood at the base of a tree, not approaching much closer. @Alaric's arrival calmed her temper. He didn't question Ronin's intentions and she sat down, choosing to ignore Ronin for the time being. Yes. She was ignoring him. He won't be able to ignore her once her claws were going for his balls.

@Violarum & Sláine stood close. Very close. She shot the woman a judgemental glance, wondering if she was actually sleeping with both Ronin and Violarum. It wouldn't be a surprise - women around here had no dignity whatsoever. Maybe even with Alaric, her thoughts teased her, making her wretched heart sink and burn with the flames of a thousand suns.

@Ambrose was a complete stranger. Still, she preferred to see that this new face was a man, and not a woman.

Finally, the masked man spoke and explained why they had gathered. His hint that she was reckless was not left unnoticed, she gazed to the side, pretending as if she wasn't listening to his unimportant blabbering, however, her frown did deepen. A fighting exercise. She will do it, but not because he called. Only because she wanted to. During her lifetime, she'd done these sparring sessions more times than she could count. There have been all sorts of modifications. No teeth, no claws, only using one paw, and so on. Training for the Rike starts from an early age and is a daily occurrence unless they were fighting actual battles.

Violarum was already charging at Ronin. Were they fighting for that whore? She scrunched her nose in distaste. There were plenty of other women to pick from, why hang onto the trashiest one? Men were strange creatures. Perhaps they were simply fighting for their pride, not for the woman. Not that it matters. Whatever keeps her grubby paws away from Erna's husband.

The new boy was quick to shrug his shoulders and declare he will sit this out. She lifted a brow, ready to force him to comply, but @Alyvia beat her to it. Fine. Her annoyance was rising, and it wasn't simply because of being ignored. Her thoughts were taunting her, and her eyes sought the blue woman's face. Mine. Weather that was directed towards her target or for her husband, one can't be sure.

And so she leaped, devouring the distance between herself and @Sláine. Erna attempted to approach the opponent from her right side, so her body was perpendicular to that of Sláine. Her right shoulder jutted forward, attempting to collide with the opponent's ribs and send her flying back. Her left paw rose, trying to hook her claws around the lioness' right hint leg and pull in an attempt to aid in toppling her over.

Erna vs. Sláine
Dominance
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 8 + 14 + 2 + 10 + 7

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 10 + 5 + 15 + 3 + 11

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 19 + 20 + 6 + 8

coded by flea + art by rabbit

"speech."

It was bound to happen at some point and with all the teasing and goading that the masked man had been doing, he wasn’t surprised that violarum finally acted upon his feelings…which was amusing to the beast. He couldn’t help it that the warmonger was more attractive and just…better. He also didn’t eye fuck Slaine and the other women every chance he got…maybe that had something to do with it. Violarium would ‘casually’ stroll towards him, his intent to just stroll up marred by the absolute murderous look on his countenance. Ronin would turn slightly, head lowering to shoulder height, ears tucking back into his mane as claws flexed into the ground in preparation. Lips curled back over slack jaws, a warning, and then jaws would snap shut as he remembered his own stipulations for the match. No teeth. That was fine, he didn’t need them to put this cur in his place.

The clay Gentry would rush suddenly, moving into a single loping stride to eat what remained of the distance between them, Ronin would step forward- the only motion he could afford in the time frame- so that Violarum would slam into his flank. Ronin would use this jarring momentum, ignoring the painful bruising he would get from it, to spin his flank around as his body arched, claws coming forward in an attempt to drag along the beasts flesh wherever he could. Bruised hip and hind legs would shuffle, quickly rebalancing as he prepared for the next attack. As an attempt to goad the beast to continue to attack his flank, the step would feign injury, the leg held slightly off the ground.



Ronin vs @Violarum
Dominance/ she don't want you bro
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 6d20: 15 + 2 + 14 + 4 + 11 + 16

Dodges:

Rolling 4d20: 9 + 13 + 10 + 8

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 2 + 4 + 10 + 11

code by corvus

Sapphire eyes connected with the (to her) dismissive way @Ronin's head turned away from looking at her and Violarum. Sláine's easy posture stilled at once, tongue flicked across her lips in the only outward display of anxiousness she would allow. Had she offended the Noble?
Ronin was explaining the rules of the game and although she had an idea of what was being said, Sláine was momentarily enveloped in her own thoughts, oblivious to the rising tension of the clay male just behind her.
When @Violarum made quick strides past her, surprise raised the warrior woman's brows and pulled her away from wishful thoughts. She had thought that Violarum would be her fight partner today.

It's hard to tell if this was only a play match or something more serious between the two males. She cannot escape the thought that she had caused it, though this is not entirely displeasing. However, she does not presume an ego that they fight over her. Male pride was something she'd witnessed time and again. The slate woman watched the pair battle for a moment or so before her attention was briefly captured by another pair beginning their match.

Not one to be left out, Sláine stood up as she cast her eyes around for an opponent, no sooner getting to her feet than seeing Erna tumbling toward her.

Pleased with her partner, Sláine turned in Erna's direction whilst lowering her bottom slightly to the earth, bracing muscular rear legs to push back against impact. The brown lioness was quick, pummelling into Sláine's right shoulder, skidding the slate lioness back a foot or so in the Mire's mud. The dark woman's claws scraped painfully down the right side of Sláine's ribcage.
Sláine was just about able to remain upright, her left forearm flung around, open pad forcefully struck out toward Erna's upper cheek in an attempt to knock her head to the side. The sapphire woman's ears slid back across her crown as she used her bent rear legs to try and force her chest up against her opponent's, hoping to gain ground against the other.

Sláine vs. @Erna
Dominance
Round 1 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 7d20: 1 + 7 + 14 + 19 + 9 + 10 + 13

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 10 + 8 + 17 + 13 + 19

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 20 + 1 + 5 + 16

code by corvus

Another buster knuckle bruise

A flank was not so brittle and bruising as a rib cage, but none the less Vio would settle for bruised innards. As Ronin curved his body around to swipe at the clay beast, his claws would find purchase upon Vio’s left side, raking downwards, tearing skin behind the shoulder.

Subconsciously the man is aware of Ronin’s lack of stability, seeking to take advantage of his faltered defences by attempting to lunge forward, left shoulder jutted - searching to ram it into the softness of his flank where his hip joined his gut, seeking both bone and tissue.

In a similar breath the Gentry’s right forepaw endeavours to raise, attempting to whack his exposed talons into the crook behind Ronin’s left thigh, seeking vital ligament.

Violarum vs @Ronin
Round 2 of 3 - Dominance

Hits:

Rolling 8d20: 5 + 6 + 2 + 14 + 18 + 20 + 9 + 4

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 2 + 6 + 14

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 1 + 16 + 6 + 2

'Cause I'm a liquorlip loaded gun

_{— art by Rabs}

Erna's target was off, but her shoulder still collided painfully with the abyss woman's right shoulder, sending her back into the mud. Her claws raked against flesh and rib bones, and her foot returned back to the ground for added balance.

Erna began to pivot to her left and charge forward, her right shoulder pushing onward in an attempt to collide with the middle of Sláine's chest and remain there, as if to continuously push the female back. If teeth weren't an option, then Erna would use her weight. As a result, the opponent's claws hooked around Erna's mane, tearing out a chunk of hair along the way.

Should her shoulder collide with that of Sláine's, Erna would find that the opponent's resistance was painful, considering that Sláine was also trying to collide with Erna. Simultaneously, the bearish woman lifted her left paw, and her claws attempted to hook around and pull on the slate female's right wrist in an effort to steal her balance.

Erna vs. @Sláine
Dominance
Round 2 / 3
Hits:

Rolling 5d20: 16 + 10 + 19 + 17 + 8

Dodges:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 15 + 16 + 18 + 13

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 4 + 10 + 18 + 11 + 6

coded by flea + art by rabbit