the borders have been empty these days, save for the occasional prey that finds its way here. for now, the cove is quite peaceful; there're no more stray rocks strewn around the beach and the food cache is fattening with all the catch they have. ulla must still tend to her patrols and catch any suspicious rogues loitering about. with the cove growing stronger day by day she wouldn't be surprised to see envoys from other prides visiting as well. that, and the spies and the hunters, just eagerly awaiting for their defense of crumble. as she paces the perimeter, ulla listens to the lulling sea and takes in the sea-salted winds. she's been good at splitting her attention ever since the birth of her second litter. so doing this isn't anything to be feared. all noises that warrant a search will get to her eventually. @Leviathan @Cirilla @Emrik @Finnulf

image © argent 2021

The girl has reached eight months of age and had become quite content with exploring without the need for her mother or brothers to follow. The cream-panted lioness was confident enough to face challenges on her own: the addition of her brother to these was just an added bonus. But today, the girl had decided to remain within the confines of the Cove. Sometimes it was nice to slow down and enjoy the simple things, such as the sound of the waves or the smell of salt in the air.

Rosé eyes fall on the figure of @Úlla as she slips away to patrol the border. With ambition in her mind, Cirilla rises to her paws after lounging around on a nearby rock for the majority of the morning. Moving to join her mother with a meow, Cirilla would happily patrol the border. How do ya know where ya borda' is? She asks, genuinely curious.

In truth, Leviathan is oblivious to queen Ulla's whereabouts these days. To him, it seems as though she had vanished without a trace when the fluffy guy took over the Hollow. It had been time for Levi to move on anyway, and to this day he visited Ulla only in his memories of their shared nights.

He comes now to Caldan's borders oblivious of who rules it - and as a theif. The border has a somewhat familiar stench to it, but to a renegade such as him, all pride borders smell equally bad. There was nothing in particular to pull other than a good fair number of lions currently resided here. Levi liked a challenge.

Leviathan slinks past the borders of the cove, using the spray of the sea and the salty air to disguise his scent (after all, it is not unlike how he himself smells) as he explores the territory that unfurls before him, curiously sniffing about the rocks as he searches the coast for whatever treasures may be lurking within while hopefully evading detection of the locals.

Even if he was detected, he always had an exit strategy in mind, and his muscles are taut and ready to spring back across the border should things get too hairy. There was a large part of his roguish mind that hoped it did.

Leviathan is trespassing

@Cirilla @Úlla @Emrik @Finnulf

Art by Ale-Tie

ODE TO FURY
▽ The sun sung through the air, striking the surface of the water with a glistening whimsy that felt warm even when the air was chilled. Finnulf pulled himself from the sea, having been practicing as he often did, and especially since the injury to his shoulder. He shook and his fur stuck out in ragged blue tufts, and the sound of bodies moving through the jungle grabbed his attention. The youth loped toward them when he heard his sister’s voice but he stopped short of delving into the growth to make an entrance. Instead, he lowered himself to the ground, his stomach rubbing against the earth as he attempted to hide in shrubbery. The pale frame of their mother appeared through the maze of leaves and bushes that obscured his vision. Then his eyes dilated as he saw @Cirilla, shoulders shifting back and forth as he rotated his body to follow her movements. The cunning hunter, stalking his unwitting prey. His tongue slicked out of his mouth and around his lips, a low growl creeping up from his chest into his throat just before he launches himself toward Cirilla – forepaws outstretched. He attempts to slam into her, but bounce back and onto his own four feet before she can retaliate. "Because we piss on dem, hálfviti." Moron. He says, bouncing on the balls of his feet back and forth. At least that’s what he’d been doing. He warily glanced at @Úlla ♔, suddenly anxious if he’d been doing it right. "Right, móður?" He stopped his bouncing and cocked his head to the side.

@Leviathan @Emrik

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@Cirilla is sweet and gives úlla a sound of acknowledgement. her only daughter is growing bigger and learning more. soon, ciri will be old enough to be completely independent and ready to have her own life. úlla will not cling onto the memories of her litter's childhood, as it'll do more harm than good. so, in this very moment, it's best to enjoy her children's presence. i marked it with my scent she says, gazing down at cirilla. you notice, don't you? the border is full of it. maybe one day, úlla will tell cirilla how lions, and other animals, properly scent their borders. now is not the time, especially when one very familiar figure stumbling across and ready to punce. @Finnulf puts up a good show, but ultimately he is sent backwards before standing up. he heard cirilla's question and explains it rather bluntly. your brother is...right. úlla says, giving a small chuckle. that is the way of us all. to the unsuspecting and inexperienced cubs, they may find scent-marking a particularly strange topic. but úlla has long grown out of the feeling and, instead, find it funny. however, whatever amusement that úlla feels is quickly replaced by alertness as the scent of a non-cove lion causes her to tense. come out, trespasser she calls, voice casual and stern. @Leviathan (ooc: tfw ulla finds pee jokes funny)

table by ferus

ooc: hi sorry i'm late lmao

her eyes remain fixed on her mother until the figure of @Finnulf arrives. the daughter was not expecting him to be stalking her, so when he crashes into her and moves away quicker than she can retaliate, a low rumble erupts from her chest. she is barrelled to the floor with an "ooof!", her one brown and cream pelt now covered in sand. scrambling to her paws with a frown, she slashes her tail to and fro. her attention turns briefly to her mother, nodding as she takes a moment to inhale and take in the scent of the border. "i do, yah!" she exclaims with a nod, before turning her attention back to her brother.

but before she can return the favour and tackle him to the floor, their mother alerts them to the presence of a trespasser. rosé eyes close into a slit as she frantically scans the border, hoping to spot the lion before they appeared, but vellen did not grant her such luck. she rolled forward her shoulders and bared her teeth at the unknown figure of @Leviathan, trying her best to protect and serve.

table by ferus, art by ale-tie