alaric gave an enthused nod. "exactly, big friends." as for friends being friends? well... he made a good show of considering this. "I think our friends are friends. i'm friends with firnen too." he might have carried on, mentioning who he was not friends with, but alaric got the impression that @Walpurgis wouldn't much care about the nuances of politics. so for now he kept it simple, mentioning a place that he was certain she was also allied with.

"if there's any big fights we can help eachother." wars or uprisings came to mind -- he felt the tension brewing across amaryllis. it was almost a physical thing, heavy in the air.

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

Friends were great. Almost as good as enemies. She needed some of those too. But right now she only craved validation. She peered up into his face. He was less injured than her. He seemed calm and wise. Like he knew things. Hopefully there wasn't a problem with their friends being friends. Her crooked tail flipped nervously, only to lash in excitement when he confirmed. She gave a big laugh. "Oh yeah that's good! Firnen be my friend for a long time. So I know they mean it." She missed them. Missed the shade and big Arjana. @Alaric provided what she heard as a promise to see them again soon. "I can't wait to fight again! Big fights are the best. I gotta go find a war to win so I can get pretty ladies here with me."

He nodded, listening. "I bet they'll come visit you lots," he offered, picking up on a hint of sadness from the girl. Or maybe a tone of remorse in her voice, that told him that she missed her friends. "You can come visit the Mire if you ever want to. And if I find any extra ladies I'll send them your way." He tossed a friendly wink her way.

Truthfully he was itching for a good fight himself, even if he had only been settled in the Mire for a few months. Fighting was in his nature, and lately it seemed that most of the fights were among his members and not himself. All of them looking for their foothold in the ranks, and he was there mostly to watch.

"If you wanna practice fighting we could spar sometime. Good to keep your skills fresh." It would be interesting to see who would win between the two of them.

@Walpurgis

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

Although she'd seen them at her challenge, she hadn't thought they'd visit. The distance between the prides seemed remote. Impassible. One was loyal to one's pride foremost. Other prides were lesser by nature and associating with them was dangerous. Thinking of this, she scuffed a paw. "Yeah I hope they visit here. I dun wanna get in trouble by visiting there." She no longer smelled like the Rainforest and if she got too close to the border lines, or accidentally passed over, she was likely to be ambushed.

The Mire, however. She could go there! She perked up. Yeah, she could go there and see if there were ladies there! "I will! Can. Can I come myself? To look at the ladies?" She made big eyes at him now, pleading much in the way she would if she ever found a pretty lady among his harem. If he was willing to hand them over without a fight, why, she'd beg for days. Walpurgis was seldom burdened by shame.

"And fight!" The Mire seemed a much more exciting place than it had been when she lived there.

@Alaric

He couldn't help but feel oddly enamored with the strange girl. Not because he wanted to bang her (he didn't) but... well... he was't entirely sure why. She appealed to him, though, and maybe it was simply because she was straight to the point. Fighting and ladies, and that was enough to please her -- perhaps they were not so different, really.

He couldn't help the chuckle that rose from his throat. "You can come anytime, Whopper." A quick look along her borders, before venom green eyes returned to her. "Once you're settled in, come visit. We'll have a spar and you can meet some of my pride. There are a lot of ladies.." More than enough, really, considering how few men they had. Alaric really needed to work on rectifying that.

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

She wasn't sure whether she was welcome in the Rainforest, who until now had been her only friend. She didn't want to cross Arjana's disapproval but she did miss the shade and the smells and (mostly) the constantly full caches. Alaric was offering companionship without hesitation and without a hitch, and Walpurgis was extremely intrigued. She grinned and the lash of her tail momentarily paused under the weight of too many thoughts all fighting to be the first to be improperly processed.

"Can? Can. Can I fight the ladies? And take 'em home if I win?" She had an old sense of stealing by battle and that emerged now. There was nothing moral or immoral about it and she saw nothing amiss of asking her friend if she could basically barge into his home and drag his ladies home.

@Alaric

He couldn't stop the hearty chuckle that broke from his lips at her question, and he hoped she wouldn't be offended. "Well, I'm not sure about that." Amusement sparks in his green eyes and he watches her closely as he choses his next words.

"But how about this. If you find one that really wants to come live here instead, we can talk about it, okay?" Alaric wasn't chomping at the bit to let any of his members leave, but he also didn't like the idea of keeping them against their will. If one of the ladies preferred the lagoon to the mire, well, he wouldn't be quick to stop them.

"Deal?"

@Walpurgis

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

Whopper had a keen interest in doing things with ladies, though she wasn't quite sure what. It was enough to want to be around them. Her tail started to sway again as she spotted opportunity and brutishly charged into it. "I'm sure!" She reassured and nodded along hoping it would make him nod too. She also tried to hook him with her gaze. Mentally tune her brain ripples into his channel. "They gonna like me. Cause I'm dif'rent. And a good WARRIOR." This was as sure as certain. Walpurgis would definitely be heading into the Mire next time she remembered to take stock of his stock. His ladies were her ladies, right? What was a little cuckoldry between friends? "That's a good deal," she decided. She'd get what she wanted. And he'd get whatever. Wasn't important. Might have already forgotten.

alaric nodded in agreement, even if he doubted that any of his pridemates would want to leave. but then, that might be his arrogance shining through.

"come visit soon, then, okay?" with that it seemed a good place to end this little meeting, alaric keen to return back to his young family and his own home. "thanks whopper, i'm going to head back now." she was a strange creature, no doubt, but he was pleased to have at least secured another ally. hopefully @Walpurgis would prove herself to be a strong leader and a worthwhile force in any coming conflicts.

"good luck with everything." because now the work began. alaric gave a friendly nod of his head before he turned to leave, wondering what the future might bring for his new ally and her lagoon.

-exit unless stopped-

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

As far as she was concerned, she was already promised a lady. She wondered what her lady would look like. Long blonde hair? Red head? Or fur as black as night and heart as dark as sin? She nodded vacantly, a little hurriedly, like, get on with it dude so she could go back to her bunk. "Oh yeah... I really wanna visit!" now it simply fell to her to remember. A far more labyrinthian task. She didn't recognize that he was trying to extract himself from the conversation in a manner far too subtle for her to understand, but she understood when he was leaving. "Uh, bye!" she called after him, missing the proper response time by a few seconds. She had no urge to pursue him. His ass was not tasty enough. But she would need to find the Mire again... and make her fur all shiny, and groomed up, cause she had like 50 first dates to prepare for.

---exit