Scipio's ears cupped to the sound and familiar voice of his father calling to the pride. Begrudgingly he stopped the busy work he was using to occupy his time and began to wander in the direction the summons had come from. Along the way traces of others began to catch his attention, but along the way he did not settle his mind to the thoughts of why his father was calling them. He was... disinterested. Attending out of necessity not want or desire. At least he had a clear place to sit. Wandering immediately over to his mother he aimed to flop down beside @Furia and recline onto his side, stretching his legs out with a big yawn.

life had, once again, changed for the valours, for the brook, and for amaryllis as a whole. the mist had turned much of what they had known on its head, troubling nymeria deeply during the majority of the time that she spent awake. her only solace came in the fact that things seemed to be dissipating, at least somewhat, over the past several days — meaning that, hopefully, the other lions that had been taken from them would be swiftly and safely returned. please let that be the case, maua.

a small, instinctive purr rumbled from nymeria’s chest as she shifted in @Gareth's direction, then, seeking her husband’s comfort amongst the bustle of the crowd. the druid would aim to plant a quick kiss upon his cheek, hoping to slip in close to his side and take her seat there for the meeting that would soon be underway. her eyes, however, continued their dutiful scan across the faces of their pride-mates, unable to suppress the instincts that came with having experienced her own time on the throne. Ultimately, however, nymeria was content to see them all here, gathered together with fealty and pride — and so it was silently that the woman would wait for @Aquila to begin, tail curling nearly around her hips as she settled.

Though she trailed loyally after the shape of @Talisa, mordane found herself preoccupied with interests of her own, even if the prospects of a pride meeting was an intriguing idea to a babe as little as she. and yet what was the object of her desires, you ask? well, nothing less than a large and beautiful stick, of course! the princess showcased it proudly as she sauntered onto the scene, the wood clasped tightly between small teeth and spanning almost twice her width in length. little did the others know, but she was smart enough to realize that it could be both a toy and A weapon — meaning that she could easily defend the pride, should someone look to ruin their gathering here today.

for now, however, mordane would simply flop herself to the earth at her mother’s side, paws lacing greedily around her prize as she began to gnaw and chew idly at one of its ends, waiting for the formalities to start. chomp, chomp, chomp.

Cesaria,

Cherry was rather grumpy, being woken up before she was good and ready. She liked her routine, recharging in the shadows of the den during the daytime, then attempting her adventures after nightfall, and so being forced into attendance when she would rather be sleeping made for one petulant child. the girl huffed and made a great show of her disinterest as she stomped beside @Talisa, @Mordane and @Leto during their entrance, at least thankful they would stick near the shade for her sake. Her face was set with a sour frown as she waited for something to happen, yawning every so often to remind everyone what they could be doing instead.

She didn’t even sway as she took in the sight of her pride mates entering the clearing, though she would usually be so curious. The scorned baby looked away when @Valkravn came near, and flopped to the ground in a sorry heap with her back towards the crowd. To top it all off she was also jealous of Mordane’s treasure … Cherry had never found a stick as nice as that one. It simply wasn’t her day.

coded by flea

He began- For those unaware a lioness of the Jungle attempted to take over the Brook and failed. She however has since moved into the Lagoon while our allies there were forced to flee. Another of our allies in the Mire was also forced out by a usurper. Finally Astrid, who held a band in the north we allied with, has been forced to disband after an attack. If anyone hears of her wearabouts please let me know. Aquila's face was displeased and worried, wishing in all of his heart he had better news for them all or something to say to offer assurance they'd be safe here, that things would be okay. He couldn't promise that. He could do all that he could for them but he, nor any of them, was invincible. If it happened to Nymeria it could happen to him. In summary I advise everyone to take caution when it comes to the Jungle, the Mire, the Lagoon, and any travels up north. There was need not to ask the entire pride to take further action but he would not leave them blind and unaware of the concerns he had with the three leaders recently risen. Look out for each other. It was the most they could do right now. Have each other's backs and remain strong in spite of the change blowing through and down their necks.

I'd like to extend lead duties to some of our pridemates. Morrigan to Fighter, Parvati to Scout, Nymeria to Hunter and Gareth to Advisor. He continued, his words prompt and to the point of things. He felt more comfortable up here at the helm of the meeting than he would have months ago but that did not give him reason or want to draw certain aspects out. There is space among our barony for anyone interested, please let me know.

Similarly- He looked around to the faces there while he paused. - in interest of the pride's future I would ask you all for help filling the open heir role. It need not be filled by someone of the Valour family or even currently a member of the pride. It need only be someone who shares our common values and is willing. After this meeting please let me know your thoughts and if you would like to nominate anyone or yourself for consideration. He tilted his head and chin to both Nymeria and Talisa. Or either Talisa or Nymeria if you would rather. As he was sure the two of them might have their own ideas in mind too. And then his voice ceased, his vision shifted around left and right, back and forth. Questions? The look upon his face read.

She was slow to come, but it was perhaps understandable given that she had so recently given birth. She was somewhat loathe to leave the children behind, but she trusted they would be okay for the short time spent at the meeting.

Luckily, she got there in time to hear what Aquila had to say, including his warning of their allies falling. She couldn't say that she was surprised by any of that. "Least she won't be comin' back for the Brook," she said under her breath when she heard the Rainforest woman had taken the Lagoon. It wasn't ideal, and she didn't wish ill upon their allies, but it was a small sense of comfort that one danger was out of the way.

He spoke of needing an heir, and while she might have been tempted to volunteer she had children to take care of for now. She also expected that at some point Nymeria would step back up either to Heir or something higher, and so she doubted the position would remain empty for long.

Oops oops oops! He was so late! This was not going to look good to new daddy, not at all. Spiritus sprinted to where the meeting had been called, and managed to get there just after the man had started talking. He did manage to hear what was said about being careful around certain prides as he slid in next to Caligula, plopping his butt down and trying not to pant too loudly as he caught his breath.

Aquila also spoke of ranks, but those weren't something he was particularly familiar with and so he didn't worry about it for the time being. He was perfectly content right where he was, thank you very much, unless there was a rank dedicated to dancing around, having fun, and meeting people. That he would be down for.

The girl was so terribly late and while she could use the excuse that she was hunting to put more food in the cache, she knew that that was no good excuse. Being late was something she didn't often do and so felt largely guilty that she had missed a large majority of what had been said. Though, as she strolled up she didn't want to make a beeline towards Mama and instead took a seat besides @Spiritus who looked like he hadn't been there too long either. Two peas in a pod. Hi there, I'm Renly. Because she had never formally met this guy before but he looked like he was nice enough to sit next to and introduce herself to.


+5 - Learn a character’s full name and rank
+5 - Meet a new member of your pride (Spiritus)
+5 - Meet a new member of your pride (Caligula)

B eing able to have her children linger at her side as they marched to the meeting and as they settled down, made her feel some small comfort. In the wake of everything at least her children gave her a good piece of mind that there was some good in this world worth protecting. Talisa might -- deep down -- feel ashamed that their biological father was not a part of their lives butshe had chosen it to be that way. She didn't feel the need to include him but maybe she felt a small inkling to at least tell him but she feared that he would take them... afraid that something would happen if she shared that news. So, instead, she focused on the now.

In looking lovingly down at @Leto as she meandered close, Talisa couldn't help but be a tad spooked by the arrival of @Valkravn next to her. No one else in this world knew that the pink Brynmawr had been her childhood crush and still to this day, there was still that tiny flicker of a flame. Yeah... I haven't -- though her eyes quickly sought the movement of her daughter towards her friend and the affection given knowing that it was probably a good less-awkward thing to introduce them. This is Leto, one of my daughters. A part of her wondered if folks looked at her like how many do you have??! Because she had many, daughters and children, but she wouldn't change it for the world. After all, she had always wanted a big family of her own.

@Mordane joined quickly after, laying down at Talisa's side and chewing happily on a stick. Not engaging herself with Valkravn but it was only fair she introduce her, too. And this is Mordane, one of Leto's littermates. A cheeky smile as @Cherry was never too far, and this is Cesaria, but we've grown to calling her Cherry. Maybe one day she'd be less inclined to say that the young girl's given name was Cesaria and would only say Cherry but it felt quite strange to introduce them as anything other than.

Thankfully, the Sovereign didn't have to put forth any more introductions since Cherry was the last of her recent litter to come and take their place. @Aquila coming right into his reasons for gathering them all and Talisa listening even though she was privy to most of what he was requesting of them. The Valour woman put on a good face, one with genuine friendliness and approachability for she wanted anyone to feel as though they could come to her if they needed an ear or two. What about you? she asked, turning her head to Valk, would you want to be Heir? It was a question not meant to be pushy but rather wondering if she saw herself as a leader in the future or if she was content where she was.

ART BY MOOGLE, CODE BY LARS

She would watch as cubs would make their way to @Talisa, a soft smile curling her lips. One of them would seem to take some interest in her (@Leto), bumping their forehead against her shoulder in an affectionate touch. A soft purr would begin to rumble in her chest, attempting to then aim a soft rasp of her tongue across the black cub's head. A second would appear (@mordane), carrying a stick rather confidently and sidling up to her mother to chew on it happily. Another would then trudge toward them (@Cherry), seeming to be in distress but the woman could only assume it were because of the stick her littermate had and not her. Ah, to be a cub again and to have those as your only issues to worry about.

Talisa would begin to introduce them all to her, giving a nod as she said each name. "It's quite nice to meet you all," the Viking would croon, feeling her heart swell within her chest. She were happy that the Valour bloodline was ever growing, wondering for a moment if she would ever dip into the cub pool and have some of her own. Time would only tell. Attention would be grabbed once @Aquila began, watching him as ears twisted forward in full attention. He spoke of the past pride challenge, of how an ally had been bested by another lion, and how Astrid was currently missing. Leonine brows would furrow at this, lips pulling into a thin line. As the High Sovereign continued would Valkravn take in the information, noting which prides they were less than cordial with before he went into the handing of ranks, giving a smirk as she heard which lion were receiving which rank.

Then the request of seeking out an Heir for the pride was brought up, and before Valkravn had enough time to fully allow for the cogs in her mind to churn on entertaining the thought of nominating herself would Talisa ask her the question she was asking herself: 'would you want to be Heir?' "Oh," the Brynmawr would say in a rather shocked tone, lavender eyes watching the woman. Never would she think anyone would think she were worthy enough to hold such a rank; she was used to being a warrior, the brute strength behind the leaders. "I've never thought much on that before, but I would not be opposed to the position." A brief pause, straightening her posture a bit so that she were standing a little taller, shoulders rolling back subtly. "I want what's best for Vermeda and always will. Being able to defend it not only by my skill but also by a rank would be an honor." Gaze would shift between the two rulers of the native pride, now waiting on baited breath. Perhaps this could be a good thing for her? Something to give her more meaning in her life and to feel like she were worth more. If only Valhalla were here to witness this.

ART BY RIOT, CODE BY LARS