+10 Exercise to gain endurance (not including spars) (Double XP)

Early morning and Leander is out and about, unable to stay quiet or stand still lest he burst with the restlessness that threatens to overflow. He wants to fill useful -- find a project or a task that he can busy himself with. Having a job sounded rather fulfilling and would also prove it self to be a great distractor. He decides that he might do some climbing today to work on his upper body strength. Meandering through the Grove and pleased with the cool air that envelopes his large form, mismatched gaze surveys the area for the perfect tree to ascend. He finds a large tree with thick low hanging branches -- it has plenty of ledges for footholds whilst still remaining tall enough to be a challenge for the Miroslav male. With a sharp intake of air to fill his lungs, gargantuan male climbs -- claws unsheathed from their pockets as he uses his forelimbs to climb, reaching the first ledge and then climbing to the next highest branch as deftly as his large and bulky build would allow.

@Xavier

IMAGE COPYRIGHT NESLA

i

have known anger before war or walking / i have known fear before i have known love

---

Ever-so-slowly, the yearling explores further and further.

For a while, he'd been content with his view of the Bluffs and its surrounding land, not wanting to wander far lest they encounter an enemy -- always conscious of what he viewed to be vultures frothing at the mouth for their home and their family. But as he grows and feels strength building within his young form, he finds the confidence to travel further, scouting out what lies beyond his view.

The Grove is one such place, and he steps into it for the first time in the early morning. Truth be told, he's not a big fan -- the giant trees get in the way of his view, making it difficult to see threats coming with no high ground or large openness. He stalks through the trunks with every sense attuned to what's going on around him, intent on being a focused, stone-cold explorer.

During his prowl, however, he sees aged claw marks upon one of the trees. He leans in to sniff the scars, their age leaving them devoid of scents. Maybe the trees do have at least one use. He tentatively reaches up to latch his talons onto the bark, feeling it resist in a way that feels pretty good, better than the rock of the Bluffs. Xavier commits to it, raising his front limbs and fully extending them up the tree, and giving an absolutely mighty stretch, kneading his claws into the bark. The tree's skin crackles beneath his talons, pieces of it falling away. The fur along his spine raises with a deep satisfaction as the sharpen scratches an itch that he didn't even know he had.

The yearling gives a little wiggle as he lowers himself back down, trotting deeper into the forest with a bit of a renewed pace. Alright, he can get onboard with all these big trees around if they're good for something. But as he walks, he hears the sound of bark being shed and claws being sunk into a different tree, further away. His ears jut forward and he freezes, then begins to prowl quietly toward the sound. Prey, perhaps?

Xavier comes to a stop a few trees away from the noise, peering around it to let his eyes follow the sound. He easily spots the black-and-white form of a large lion hauling himself up. The Wolfron yearling tenses, ears flattening briefly against his skull as he thinks it to be the one irritating male that had rescued those pests in the challenge for the Bluffs -- Seneca, name unbeknownst to him. But his brow furrows with hesitation as he tries to remember -- that guy didn't have a fiery orange mane like this one, did he?

He purses his lips and begins to lurk forward as the man scales the tree. Even with his suspicion, he can't help but somewhat admire the show of strength. And so the quiet yearling lingers at the edge of its reaching roots, staring up with hard narrowed eyes at the man.

+10 Maintain your weapons (sharpen claws or care for teeth) (double exp) [1/2]

Art by Rabbit, table by cala

+10 Exercise to gain endurance (not including spars) (Double XP)

He is far too large to climb for too long -- the patched male growing tired as he hauls his heavy weight up the low tree, brows furrowed in concentration as Leander does his best not to slip and fall to the floor of the Grove. That would certainly not be a pretty sight for anyone involved. He reaches the second tree branch with much effort, and broad as the branch was, the Miroslav struggled to find enough footing for his large paws. He had to get down -- quick.

The journey down the trunk of the tree would be precarious as the ascension -- though it had taken much effort to get himself up the tree, coming down with such a heavy weight without injuring himself would be a whole struggle in itself.

With teeth gritted and his claws unsheathed, Leander awkwardly descends head-first, creating friction with his claws to lower himself in one large fall to the lower branch. If he had palms, they would be sweaty. It is at this point in time that he notes the stranger standing by the foot of the tree, watching intently. He is a stranger but most of the lions that he had met in Amaryllis had proved harmless, so Leander does not concern himself with worry. With one last jump, Leander leaps onto the floor of the Grove -- the bones in his body groaning with the abrupt impact though the Miroslav does his best to keep his cool in front of the younger male. "Majestic, right?" he poses the question rhetorically to the stranger, knowing full well that his trip back down to the earth had been anything but. Mismatched gaze studies @Xavier with mild curiosity, wondering why he had stopped to watch.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT NESLA

i

have known anger before war or walking / i have known fear before i have known love

---

Xavier watches him with utmost suspicion, features stony and cold as the male slows his climb. He kneads his claws into the bark of the roots as he watches, sating the itch to dig them into something. He lowers his head, peering at the ascended lion from beneath the leaves.

The teen stands unmoving as the lion turns, seeming to intend to make it down. Xavier thinks he sees the other creature spot him -- a flick of the eyes he may or may not be imagining from this distance. His muscles tense beneath his dark pelt, uncertain on if the man would go after him. He was likely good prey for the much larger beast. Then again, Xavier is nothing but confident in his youth, certain he could take a lion who had just expended so much strength climbing. To him, it's a waste of effort. The Bluff doesn't have many trees to climb, most of the plant life reduced to sturdy low-lying scrub in the harsh wind. What's the point?

He steels himself to not flinch when the opponent lion lands upon the ground. His claws dig into the roots as if to anchor himself. Eyes narrow at the words. Majestic, right? Majestic? Majesteux, perhaps? The common tongue is so brutish.

His tail gives a little lash. The man's marbling once again reminds him of the Oasis fighter, drawing intense suspicion. And Xavier isn't exactly subtle as he glares quiet daggers into him. He takes a moment to respond, both trying to form the words and give a response. He seems to be... joking? He has to be -- the descent was far from majesteux. "Like booff-ahlo," he answers in thick French tones. Like buffalo. "Who ah'ju?" Who are you? His accent blurs the words heavily. Straight to the point.

+10 Maintain your weapons (sharpen claws or care for teeth) (double exp) [2/2]

Art by Rabbit, table by cala

Though this is the first time that either male has met one another, Leander Miroslav could swear that the other scorned him -- or at least, gazed upon him with grave distrust. He does not know why -- does not know that @Xavier is not only from the Bluffs but is from a family that shares history with the Miroslav's. If Seneca could speak, perhaps he would warn Leander that it was not an amicable history that they shared. The younger male speaks with a thick accent that takes the patched male a moment to discern, brows furrowing as he attempts to decipher what exactly his counterpart might mean.

Oh. It was hardly a compliment though Leander supposed that he had not been asking for one in the first place.

"Yes, my grandfather was a buffalo," Leander asserts, as if genetics could explain his rather ungracious descent from the tree. His delivery is deadpan and serious, expression blank and unreadable. "Leander Miroslav. Who are you?" he returns, eyeing the younger brute carefully, wondering if it was in his nature to be sharp and spiky.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT NESLA