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 Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:39 am
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[[I'm going to leave this as an ORP in case anyone else would like to take advantage of an easy Viking. <3 ]]
He had both a duty and responsibilities to attend to; this was the lecture he had received when he had very briefly stopped within the Stormborn to allow his own band time to rest. While his quest was far from over his sister had been very quick to latch on to him and remind him that he had several cubs that were in need of attention. He had counted himself lucky when he stumbled upon a small set of lionesses and lions who he could call his own... and this his sister had very promptly disposited more on him.
By the end of the day, the Captain had been saddled with more than his fair share of adolescents. Dione's instructions had been clear, as repentance for several of his misdemeanours (including the destruction of the Bahari), he needed to show these budding young Vikings what it was to be a truly honourable being. He was to prepare them, ensure they survived, and more importantly he was to ensure some of them came away from this entire experience with a much clearer understanding of what they wanted to do with their lives.
After all, it was clear to see that some of them weren't quite sure whether they desired the life of a Reaver, or if they wanted to pursue alternatives. He was to give them the experience of the outside world, and then they would be able to make their minds up.
Thus, he waited expectantly for his own offspring, his nieces and nephews, and by extension some of their friends and his own band's children to join him. For all intents and purposes he knew this would be bedlam, but at the very least, it would be easy...
 
Hakon, and amusingly Naberius were the first to arrive. Suffice it to say that while Hakon had been expected (though he had already indicated he had a fair idea of exactly what he wanted from life), Naberius had certainly not been welcome. Her father had not been a direct thorn in Tethys's side, but he had left a rather sour note in regards to how ill behaved his children were. She lacked honour and Tethys had made it abundantly clear that she wasn't permitted to attend, yet here she was...
"Before you say anything," she spoke and shook her head. "High Priestess Dione said that this would be a way for me to make amends," she pulled a face. "That I could learn from you."
Tethys seemed unconvinced.
"She had hoped that your lesson would afford her the opportunity to..." Hakon paused thoughtfully. "Learn what it is to be honourable, even if your choice of weapon is stealth," he offered helpfully.
"We'll see," Tethys remained doubtful, but surprisingly, opted not to send the lioness away.
 
Simbi and Lofn were next; though Tethys wasn't entirely familiar with him, the manner in which he and Lofn appeared to be conversing seemed to imply that Iloziya's daughter was fond of him. By extension, he'd come in the capacity of a friend and Tethys was not about to turn him away... Though he would speculate over the particulars of the relationship. Yes, it was safe to say that Tethys was a gossip when given the opportunity.
"Lofn," he smiled.
"Hi uncle Tethys, how's it going?" Lofn replied smoothly and motioned with her paw to Simbi. "This is Simbi."
"A pleasure," the male replied with a polite bow of his head.
"He wanted to come along and see what it was all about, figured you'd be ok with it?" She hazarded, to which she received a shrug. If Tethys was going to let Naberius attend then there was no reason that Simbi couldn't!
"Make yourselves comfortable, I'm still waiting on -"
 
"The Divine Lady Lakshmii and her wonderful hand maiden!" Lakshmi swept into view, a spitting image of her mother with only hints of her father. She had certainly inherited some of Tethys's bravado though and held her head high as she made her presence known. Tethys couldn't help but chuckle at Nirrti's response... Long suffering and largely unimpressed, the white lioness was regarding Tethys's very exhuberant daughter with the patience of a saint.
"Lakshmi," Tethys replied with a small chuckle.
"Hi!" she cooed merrily, a radiant smile appearing on her lips as she settled herself beside Simbi and waited for Nirrti to join her.
"We're not late are we?" Nirrti asked, "She was doing her hair."
"One has to look respectable when out in public," Lakshmi advised.
"The whole point of this is to end up in a mess!" Nirrti pointed out. "You're supposed to get your paws muddy."
"I'll delegate," Lakshmi responded loftily.
Tethys opted to ignore the pair as Lakshmi continued with her antics and turned his gaze towards the horizon. Based on Dione's brief he was expecting a few more, at the very least he was expecting at least four, two of which would be his nephews; the others had been unsure but 'possible'.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the distinct coats of Ali'dido's daughter and Njörðr's daughter appeared.
"You must be Nidhogg," he nodded towards the lioness with the rather exotic markings. "Not quite late Cieth, I had been warned though..."
 
"That we'd be late?" Cieth seemed bemused at the prospect of being late to a party, particularly one as important as this.
"We are nearing the time to depart," Nidhogg pointed out quietly. A lioness of few words, Cieth was more accustomed to reading Nidhogg's body language than listening to whatever she might have to say. After all, Nidhogg rarely had anything to say unless it was vitally important.
"We still have like..." Cieth glanced upwards. "Ten minutes...ish. Personally I think we made good time," she murmured, though it seemed Tethys had already wandered off to greet his two nephews.
 
Gara and Nidus had done precisely what they had been told by their mother, ensuring that they arrived in good time. As Cieth had pointed out, they still had time on their side as they moved towards the ever growing group of lions. It seemed Tethys really had been saddled with all of them and the brothers exchanged sympathetic glances. It was a small favour that most of them were well behaved, or at least respectable and knew what the purpose of the expedition was.
"It's been ages, Uncle..." Nidus smiled as he pawed at Tethys's battered cheek. "You're looking a little rough around the edges."
"It adds character," Gara reassured him with a grin, to which Tethys merely shook his head. "You're not going to be giving us a face lift this time round are you?" he teased.
"That's for your third lesson," Tethys murmured. "Today's going to be a lot easier."
"He says, as the one who tends to attract trouble and start wars..." Lakshmi chrred from behind him without missing a beat. Tethys's expression would have been a picture, given that the young lioness seemed to know exactly how to push his buttons... Just like her mother did.
It was just as well her mother was incredibly attractive...
MangoMeow Don't worry about just how many are going xD I'm killing a lot of birds with this one stone!
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:31 am
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To say he was excited and proud to finally be heading out on his viking was an understatement, and to get to do so with his father was just the icing on the cake. Yes, his father's time would be divided amongst a very large group of people, but he was confident that he would shine over all of them. Maybe - hopefully - he would even catch a Thrall for himself along the way!
Hjalmar was practically strutting as he walked towards the quickly growing group. He could hear his sister's voice among them, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes at the introduction she'd made. Of course. He wasn't sure what else he expected from her.
Admittedly, it took a second for him to spot Tethys, but when he did, the male padded quickly over and grinned, "When do we get started? I'm ready to sink my claws into something!" He was sure that nothing could ruin his good mood today.
So of course, something immediately did.
"Oh I'm sure some poor mouse will be quivering with fear at the sight of you." The sarcastic voice came up from behind Hjalmar, and before the blue male could react, Dreki'dido was moving past him, her tail not-so-subtly whacking him across the face as she passed.
When she and her siblings had been told that they would be going on a Viking, the lioness had been ecstatic. When she had been told that they would be accompanied by some of Tethys brood, she had simply shrugged. No worries, while kind of cocky, they weren't a bad bunch.
And then she realized.
Bird-for-brains was the captain's son, and like her, was of the perfect age to go on a Viking.
She would put up with it though. Their first Viking was too important, and she wasn't about to hold off on going just because of a grudge. Plus, okay, maybe she was looking forward to showing him up in front of his family too, but that was only a small incentive.
Hjalmar lifted a paw to wipe at his nose, before turning to glare in her direction. "What are you doing here?" Don't tell him that she had been invited to come along too. Though... he probably should have suspected as much, since her sister was here already.
Dreki cast a baleful look back at him, "For the Viking, duh." And then she turned all of her attention to Tethys, blatantly ignoring Hjalmar's presence, "Hello, sir. I can't wait to get started."
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:05 am
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Tethys had immediately smirked as Dreki had given his son a good once over... It was nice to know that even his offspring couldn't escape the fiery nature of the Stormborn females. On this occasion Hjalmar had been caught on the back foot and Tethys was rather curious as to whether or not he'd be able to come up trumps on this one. Knowing Tethys's personal luck, it could go either way at this stage...early days after all.
"Oh that burn though," No sooner had her brother arrived than Lakshmi had dutifully stuck her nose into everyone's business. There was no harm in her, she was simply a gossip, and there was something rather juicy about getting herself involved in whatever this was that Dreki and Hjalmar had going on. Was it some sort of weird rivalry, or had her brother become a grown up already and done the deed?
...By the gods, wait until she told their mother.
"It was rather mild if you ask me," Nirrti remarked and shook her head, if only to provide Hjalmar with a reassuring smile. "Although she does still have the opportunity to ruin your day for you," the white lioness warned and shook the toe of her paw. She didn't want to get involved in drama overly much, but she was curious to see if she could work out what Hjalmar and Dreki were up to.
Not far off, both Naberius and Hakon had exchanged looks - neither of the pair of lions were part of the immediate families involved here. They were here by association, Hakon because he had caught Dione's eye as a child and she was now determined to set him to rights... And Naberius for much the same reason. Consequently neither of the pair knew exactly what to say in the given circumstances; as Naberius was treading on dangerous ground she had elected to be quiet, but Hakon simply maintained his silence because it seemed safer to wait for instructions!
Fortunately, there was someone else there to ask the questions both of them were curious about.
"So..." Simbi murmured as he observed the now large gathering of adolescents. "I have no idea who half these folks are," he confessed and glanced towards Lofn with an imploring look. Fortunately for him, the black lioness was on the ball and quickly looked about. She scoped out each individual in turn and then finally returned her attention to the camouflaged lion.
...It would have come at no surprise to anyone that Naberius and Hakon immediately began to eavesdrop.
"That purple lioness over there is Ci'eth, she's Dreki's sister... That's the green girl over there smack talking Tethys's son. His name is Hjalmar by the way, and his sister is the arrogant one who doesn't like to get her paws dirty," she pointed here and there. "Then beside Ci'eth is that super quite lioness, her name is Nidhogg... Not sure if she's mute or just quite."
"She's just quiet," Ci'eth replied as she cast a brief glance towards the lioness and smirked. Beside her, Nidhogg had looked up and had briefly turned her gaze towards them. It wasn't that she was being rude, but the conversation itself wasn't something that she was overly invested in. "She'll answer if you talk to her, won't you?"
"Hm?" Nidhogg responded.
"You see?"
With that in mind, Lofn chose to continue with her introductions.
"Nirrti is the pale lioness over there, she tends to hang out with Lakshmi, if only to keep her out of trouble," she mused and then finally motioned to Gara and Nidus. "Those two are Dione's sons. Their names are Nidus and Gara... I think Nidus is the one with the big paw print on his shoulder but I'm not..."
Simbi raised an eyebrow at this and turned his gaze towards the pair, sensing eyes on them, they had both looked up to return the favour while their uncle was distracted by his son and Dreki.
"Hi?" Nidus asked curiously.
"What's your name? Lofn doesn't know the difference between you both... And you're not even twins." Fortunately, both of them took it in their strides and flashed a wry smile.
"I'm Nidus," the lion with the paw print confirmed.
"And I'm Gara," the spotted lion added, his smile becoming somewhat more toothy as Lofn practically beamed with satisfaction. She might not have been introduced to them formally, but she knew who was who... the girl knew how to socialise.
"But for real, Uncle Tet..." Nidus peered towards his uncle to echo Hjalmar's sentiments. "When are we going?" he asked.
"Now," Tethys replied smoothly. There might be stragglers and he would permit them to join going forward, but he would much prefer to get this rag tag band of children out into the open world for their first taste of what life was like as a Reaver. He wasn't about to confirm that he had absolutely no idea what tasks he would set them, but he had a knack for winging it and today was likely to be no exception.
"Let's move out, if you've any questions you can ask them on the way," he added. "We're heading towards something you can't possibly mess up," he finished as he began to move into the roguelands and towards the closest watering holes.
They wouldn't screw up a simple hunt as a warm up, would they?
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 1:31 pm
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The giants arrived as a motly crew. They wern’t Adolescents any more, though they were all young adults they were all massive, having descended from firekin blood they had good genes.
The young male came first. His heritage was completely lost in his coat colour the browns of his pelt rich and warm certainly but as far from the shocking red that the firekin prided themselves on. He and his youngest sister had heard about the huge Viking band and while they had all been told they would go on a Viking with their father and mother at some point, the thought of joining the huge crew as they descended upon the rogue lands had made them ask their parents if they could join. They were old enough to make their own decisions of course, but you simply didn’t do anything without their parents permission. No one wanted to upset his mother.
Balintin nodded to the amassed lions and tagged on to the back of the crew without a word.
Aurnia is was much more vocal as she joined on to the group “This is exciting.” She laughed happily throwing her weight around she nudged her older brother roughly “Everyone else seems to be in high spirits. It’s very exciting.” She rumbles looking to her left to her half cousin.
Not unlike her mother Limau Sifongo Keki always went by a nick name, LSK. Why her mother insisted on naming her children with such extravagant words she would never know especially when she herself always went by an acronym. She had decided to join her slightly younger cousins on this mass Viking. Her coat was pale in comparison to her family members but she too lacked the firekin colours that her forebears loved so much. She was cool and her personality was much the same as her coat, cool as a cucumber. She sighed at her youngest cousin, the blond female was so excited just to be out of the stormborn she feared the girl would get herself hurt. Still between her and her male cousin they could keep their more ditsy relative out of harms way she was sure.
The black jackal with his orange butt marking trotted. He quickly moved to walk under the chest of the golden pelted lioness. With all of these lions here, most of whom he did not know, and certainly didn’t know how they would treat him. Besides this was the easiest place for him to walk, he had gotten used to walking in close proximity to the lioness since they were both young.
Onyesha performed a similar move. Though instead of walking between her lion companions legs she pressed against his forepaw. The two young lions had encouraged them to join them on their first reaving but she was starting to feel it may have been a mistake. There were so many lions here and she had heard some rumours about others in the pride how they treated none lions. Hopefully they would be okay as long as they stuck close to their lions.
—-
With her perfectly pristine silver coat the wing marked lioness was wondering why she was coming on this Viking. She really, reallly, REALLLYYYY didn’t want to get dirty but her mother and siblings had encouraged her to join and so she had. She felt filthy already. They had barely been out for a heart beat before they were moving. The ground was making her legs filthy and she was fairly certain her belly and even, ugh, her back would be full of dirt before the day was through. Libellula’Dido was was unimpressed and she would certainly be voicing her opinions to the guy in charge if she could get through the mass of bodies.
Yamma’Dido padded begins his silver sister laughing quietly under his breath. She was already pissed off. He was both amused and terrified. He would just stay out of her way and maybe find one of his less angry siblings. For the moment he decided to circle around the ambling group and try and get closer to the front. That was where all the action would be after all.
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 2:58 pm
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Among the group of young, wet-behind the ears lions stood a dark lioness. Calypso was tall and lanky, though underneath a sleek coat of black and gold laid a layer of hardened muscles. She had come from the rogue lands, though had been raised in a pride as fierce as the Stormborn. Calypso had been born into the Outlands and was accustomed to life being difficult. It was almost laughable that she was among all these young lions... but there were rules to follow. She may have enough experience and skill to be a reaver, but she still had to prove herself on a little venture.
When she heard there was a Captain gathering a bunch of young lions to show them what it was like out beyond the borders of the pride, she took the opportunity to join them. Was she enthused by the idea of hanging out with a bunch of talkative lions who were nothing like her? No, she was not. It was a sacrifice she'd simply have to make to move up within the ranks of the pride. She did not exactly strive for the top, but she needed to make herself secure within the pride as a new member.
Never again would she be stuck underneath her mother's thumb, following her will blindly because the ties of blood that bound them together. Once the Outlands had been ravaged by a natural disaster, Calypso had done everything within her power to break away from her mother. It wasn't, however, until she made it to the Stormborn that her mother's grip on her loosened. It was hard to escape from a parent that could see all. Why such powerful seer powers had manifested in her mother, Calypso would never know. The origins of the gift were a mystery, but Kat's mastery of it was unquestionable.
Even in the rogue lands, Kat had known vaguely what Calypso was doing. When Calypso had fought against a rogue male and blinded him, she had found her mother waiting for her with an outstretched paw, ready to receive the rewards of Calypso's fight.
Calypso was a seasoned lioness, even if she was just a newly joined rogue she had the strength and the cunning to handle herself out of the pride. She had for so many years, after all. |
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 1:43 am
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Gods above, it was chaotic.
What Helvegr had thought would be a simple viking to tuck under his belt after the last disastrous one, he had come to see it was anything but.
Doing his best to hide how he felt, he kept his features as expressionless as possible and sought to stand somewhere rather out of the way to avoid talking.
Tethys, although a preferable target to stand by, was swarmed with adolescents, and he hardly wanted to know anyone else.
The moth markings on some of the other lions' coats, however, mentally slapped the aggravated youth the minute they caught his eye and he visibly softened, his rational mind kicking in. Well, it was still an opportunity to learn, maybe even what had gone wrong on his first venture out into the roguelands.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 12:15 pm
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Tethys only afforded a brief glance over his shoulders at those who had joined on, at this point in time he wasn't even entirely sure of whether or not his sister had gathered all of these children. If she had, then it was honestly a stroke of genius and she had truly mastered the art of ensuring that any time he spent in the Stormborn was constructive. Still, he did wince ever so slightly as he took note of several who just...didn't seemed to want to be there.
Lakshmi was his own daughter and he knew for a fact her aspirations lay elsewhere, quite frankly she had the arrogance of her mother and was likely to attain those lofty heights of Priestess herself. Then there was Lofn, who despite her best efforts, had already shown indications that she wasn't quite cut out for this life.
...Then there was Cie'th's sister, she carried herself in much the same way as his own daughter did and that could only mean one thing. At some point they were both going to whine, and at that point he was going to send the pair of them home. The Captain had no issues with failing both of them in their first Viking if it gave them some perspective after all.
Nevertheless, rather than dwell on just how many individuals he had at his side, he merely shook his head and continued on his way. They weren't far from their first task and he was now more than aware of the fact he would need to task them each with separate challenges. He'd split them up of course, in to groups he determined... And then he would see how they went. Suffice it to say that beyond at least one more mature lioness (an oddity in this gathering), he wasn't entirely confident this would prove a success.
"You know... I really wasn't expecting this many," Gara mused as he glanced over his shoulder before glancing towards his Uncle. The white male had literally just gotten back and he was already subject to this mass of younglings.
"Yeah I thought it was just going to be... Us really," Nidus agreed and lifted a brow. He wasn't aiming to be rude or inconsiderate, but this did seem like a rather weighty number of lions to be taken out on a Viking. Granted, Tethys already led a rather large warband for more complicated reasons, but they were certainly more competent than the wet-behind-the-ears entourage he had today!
"Your mother has never done things by half measures," Tethys responded quietly as he moved on. It seemed that both brothers conceded that this was true, Dione was a force of will and to be quite honest, so was Kluna. The females within Tethys's immediate circles rarely bowed to anyone and he was no exception.
*****
"Ok when you said we would be doing a Viking I thought it would be -"
"Small?" Lofn finished and sighed. "I don't think my dad or Uncle Tethys really know what that means," she confessed. While she knew it hadn't been Tethys's idea and he had been saddled with it the moment he'd gotten back, she also knew that when it came to Iloziya and Tethys, they had a penchant for attracting trouble.
"Go big, or go home?" Simbi hazarded with an arch of his brow.
"Nah, it's really not that well thought out. I think on this occasion it was a legitimate case of 'this needs to be done, you can do it...so do it'."
"Mmm," Lakshmi chimed in as she quickened her pace to join the lilac and black lioness, as well as her companion. She'd been eyeing them for a while and her long suffering companion (that would be Nirrti) had simply followed behind her. As the gossip that she was, Lakshmi was dying to know what was going on between Lofn and Simbi...even if there was ultimately nothing there. "I don't think my dad has ever said no to mother," she mused thoughtfully as she motioned towards him, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Quite frankly I think he likes it," she admitted.
"He likes being nagged?" Nirrti asked in surprise, she knew for a fact she didn't enjoy it. This was rather ironic given she spent most of her time being inadvertently nagged by the blue lioness.
"Some guys like that..." Lakshmi pointed out.
"I wouldn't," Nirrti murmured as she trailed after the white male. "If I was male anyway, I think I'd give anyone who did that a good thump."
"And that's why you aren't a diplomat..." Lakshmi finished with a sniff, to which Nirrti did nothing more than roll her eyes.
******
Cie'th and Nidhogg meanwhile, I dropped towards the back where it was less chaotic. With so many of them around it was much easier for them to keep their distance without losing sight of where they were going. Given that the majority of Tethys's immediate family were up front, and certainly interested in expressing themselves... It was easier for Cie'th and her rather solemn companion to stay back here.
Not that they weren't surrounded by plenty of others who had joined them, but at the very least they could afford to be sociable with those they hadn't met yet if those in question felt so inclined.
Their timing had been impeccable of course, no sooner had they slipped to the back than Cie'th caught wind of her sister's complaints, and a brief glimpse of her brother. While Yamma had been expected, Libellula was so much like Lakshmi that Cie'th was honestly astonished she'd bothered to come! Evidently, Libellula's paws had been forced on this one...
More interestingly it seemed that even Nidhogg had recovnised someone, her own brother no less who held the same distinct markings as she did (although his were more subtle in some respects).
"Are you going to introduce us?" Cie'th asked as she noted Nidhogg's attention had deviated from the antics of the Dido siblings.
"His name is Helvegr," Nidhogg replied simply and shook her head. "He has reaved before, but I don't know if it went well for him or not," she added. Based on the fact he was here, the lioness surmised that perhaps it hadn't gone as well as he had hoped, or he was aiming to improve on his previous achievements. Had he not done enough to at least qualify for a reaver, or had that Captain been particularly harsh?
"That's not an introduction, that's just information," Cie'th sighed and gave a high pitched whistle towards Helvegr. "Hey! How about you stop being so antisocial and come say hi to your sister?"
******
In a similar action, both Hakon and Naberius had moved slightly away from the immediate group. Hakon was in to his prime and had simply taking the decision to explore his options... as such he had little to prove on this expedition. He'd been born into the pride, he'd been from a good line, and as such he didn't feel the weight of expectation that Calypso might have felt.
...That didn't mean she wasn't in good company though, as Naberius had quite a bit to prove herself.
"Okay this is pretty ridiculous," the lioness uttered as she began to count the number of adolescents (and some of the young adults) who had joined them. "I thought these things were meant to be smaller?"
"This is Captain Tethys," Hakon reminded her with a curt shake of his head. "If his current aspirations are anything to go by, he's used to groups of this size."
"Yes but I'd assume they're all useful."
"There's nothing to say everyone here won't be useful," the grey lion replied dutifully and nodded towards several who had potential, including Calypso. "Best not to judge anyone on their capabilities before you've seen them in action," he pointed out and pursed his lips. "Thought I do concede this is a lot of bodies to assess and provide feedback to."
"I'd have broken it into a few expeditions to be honest."
"Well you can aspire towards that when you pass," Hakon remarked and clucked his tongue. "Until then, you might as well embrace everything that this Viking has to offer. If you don't managed to find a way to work in a team after this, there's probably no hope for you."
It was a blunt observation, but probably a valid one. At least Naberius would admit this was a valid observation if Tethys had the intelligence and forethought not to expect all of them to work as a single unit; not yet at least, not without considerable drilling and training.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 3:50 pm
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The moment he was called, Hel had half a mind to glare and ignore it. But he spotted Nidhogg and his demeanor changed. As his sister, she was a direct link to their mother and therefore, a pain in his a** should he do anything untoward and it gets back to her. Not that his sister was the type, she was quiet enough... but better to play nice.
Sighing, he walked over, taking his sweet time and giving his sister a polite nod before turning to Cie'th, offering a condescending look, "My sister isn't why I'm antisocial, her company is never an issue." He gave her a once-over, mentally noting the obvious relation to his childhood friend and decided to offer some form of politeness, though whether or not she would be deserving of it, he had yet to deduce. "And call me Hel. You would be...?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:29 am
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Hjalmar cast a grumpy look back at his sister and Nirrti, tail whipping behind him, before he threw his head back with a huff. "I'd like to see her try to ruin this hunt." He glared balefully back at Dreki, "I doubt she'll catch anything anyway." That earned him a returning narrow look from the green lioness, and he wondered if she could try to fight him right then and there.
But no, she was turning away and making her way over to some of her siblings now. He basked in his moment of triumph, before his ears perked up as she threw one last quip back at him.
Dreki'dido was still stewing by the time she'd made it over to Yamma'dido and Libellula'dido, and she couldn't help but throw back, "Oh, I'm sure I'll catch all the prey you end up scaring away with your lumbering paws." She threw her tail up haughtily and then plopped down beside her brother, ignoring her sister's huffiness.
Hjalmar glared after her and probably would have gone after her to continue their argument had it not been for Tethys calling everyone to move out. With a harrumph, he swiveled around and padded after his father. He'd show her highness who the better hunter was! And if he had to do a bit of sabotage... well, he certainly would.
Dreki, oblivious to the plotting lion ahead of them, turned to her sister and said with a whisper, "I'm... kind of surprised you're here, Lib. This doesn't seem like your kind of scene." The last part was said with a knowing glance over at Yamma'dido.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:38 pm
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Calypso had probably picked the wrong group to venture out with, considering how many of them were still in the throes of their youth. But, beggars could not be choosers - she had an opportunity here and she'd have been a fool to pass it up. She walked a little to the side of the group, enough to put some distance between herself and the youngsters so that they'd (hopefully) get the hint that she was not interested in idle chit chat or games.
She was used to being alone, and had been for a long time within the rogue lands. Calypso functioned best as an individual, rather than within the confines of a group. That wasn't to say she was against teamwork, or underestimated its value... she just wasn't the best at it. She was inconsiderate towards others, rarely took stock of them enough to know their strengths and their weaknesses. The dark lioness was far too wrapped up in herself and her familial drama to afford anyone the attention they were due.
She wasn't friendly, she didn't try to be. But, she most certainly could get any job done. Her paws were already stained with the blood of lions. Being born into the Outlands, she hadn't been raised to be weak. She had been raised as a tool, and only now that she had separated herself from her past was she even trying to be anything besides that.
The lioness sighed, pointedly trying to keep the talk of the younger lions out of her ears. They certainly did think this was all fun and games from the way they were carrying about. She hoped the Captain would prove the wrong.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 6:01 am
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Well, wasn't he just an absolute ray of sunshine, eh? Cie'th afforded Hel a stare of her own, weighing up her options on whether or not she should respond in kind to his rather abrasive demeanour. It was only after he had at least been pleasant to his sister that she elected to take the high ground. Quite a few of those who had tagged along on this run seemed to have attitudes that were in need of a serious adjustment...Hel just happened to be one of those.
Nevertheless, it wasn't for her to determine whether or not he was deserving, in the end it would be Tethys's feedback that would decide whether he personally thought they were worth their salt. As much as those around her failed to see this (in large part due to their familiarity with the Captain), Cie'th was all too aware that all he had to say was 'no' and that would be the end of it.
...Her attempts to become any form of Reaver would be spurned until she could persuade another Captain she was capable of performing.
"It's Cie'th," she said finally, flicking her gaze towards Nidhogg.
The quieter lioness's demeanour hadn't changed much upon the arrival of her brother, but a small smile was lining her lips as she regarded him. When she realised that Cie'th was not going to take her brother's behaviour personally, she breathed a mental sigh of relief. Her siblings were not the easiest to get along with and quite frankly, neither were the Dido clan. For all Tethys's flaws and his inclination to sleep with anything that moved... It did seem that his lot had better manners in the grand scheme of things.
"Dido," Nidhogg added gently.
"Forget the Dido bit, it's just Cie'th..." The purple lioness waved her paw dismissively and wrinkled her nose. She wasn't ashamed of her family, but that bit of her name had never rolled off her tongue well and she wasn't the greatest fan of it. It was a personal thing really, though she was sure some would be affronted by it in her own line!
"Your sister was just saying that you had Reaved before...?"
Lakshmi lifted a brow at her brother, whoever this Dido lioness was, he rather seemed to have his hackled up about her. Curiosity was certainly not her friend in these matters and she was itching to pry. What on earth could she have possibly done to annoy him... Other than best him in something that he thoroughly believed he was better at? Not that anyone was better than him (with the exception of his siblings), after all, they came from a line of very influential lions.
Their mother had been the high priestess, now their aunt was... and their father was a Captain; short of being a Warlord they couldn't get much higher. This by extention meant that they were simply the better of the bunch in Lakshmi's eyes, even if others might disagree.
"She seems to be labouring under the assumption that we're going hunting," Nirrti observed with a wry smile. She wouldn't involve herself in Dreki and Hjalmar's dispute, she knew better than to intervene in to rivalries, particularly those that really weren't any of her business. "I somehow doubt that the Captain is inclined towards such simple things."
"Are you sure?" Lofn sounded doubtful as she continued to walk within the group. "He might start us off easy and quite frankly, a hunt is the easiest possible thing he could ask us to do," she pointed out. She wouldn't blame him for this either, he could quickly weed out the useless. If they couldn't function as a team, even if he threw out orders, then how could they possibly operate under the command of a Captain? She had her concerns with this one, Tethys might have come off comical but she knew that he and her father had more bite than they were given credit for.
Simbi meanwhile, as the now second male within the group, seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Encouraged by both Nirrti and Lofn's musings, he did have to wonder where this expedition might lead. If hunting was all they were good for then surely that could have been done within the pridal lands; or was Tethys after something that none of them truly grasped at this precise moment in time?
The male knew very little of Tethys save for the information he had been afforded by Lofn during their conversations. Thus he was as much in the dark as those who had tried to keep to the back, hidden from the Captain's immediate view. It was either a genuine attempt to hide or an attempt to be antisocial, given the sheer size of this group Simbi wasn't sure he would blame them for either choice...
Gara and Nidus meanwhile, as the only cubs within the group who had come from Dione's litter, had lapsed in to relative silence. Given that both brothers were mostly likely the youngest, their slighter size and the scarcity of the hair on their manes made it abundantly clear that they were most likely here by nepotism alone. While this was common within the Stormborn and good breeding was not necessarily something to look down upon, their mother had been absolutely clear with them.
It was their sworn duty as part of their line to prove their worth. This was why they had assumed Kluna had been just as forceful with their cousins. Lakshmi for all her ridiculous declarations was still one of their line and by extension she wouldn't be allowed to use her blood to flout status. Oh no, when it came to their line, they needed bite as well as bark.
Neither Gara or Nidus were entirely certain as to whether or not she had taken stock of this yet, but it would be interesting to see if she would. More importantly, if she didn't then would Tethys have the strength to deal with it in a professional manner? They had yet to see another Captain flex their muscle against their own family, at least not in a public arena... Truth be told they were both rather intrigued.
"So..." Gara spoke at last as he pursed his lips and glanced over his shoulder to the more antisocial group of lions behind him. "How many of us do you think will make it?" He asked curiously. It was a query that provided him with a non-committal shrug from his brother.
"I'm not sure," Nidus confessed. "Everyone seems... I don't know," he grimaced as he flicked his amber eyes towards his cousin and then one of the Dido family. "A little over confident. We don't even know what he's up to yet and everyone seems so certain that they'll be fine either way."
"To be fair he could start us off easy."
"What purpose would that serve?" Nidus wrinkled his nose.
"To make sure we don't come back as pelts," Naberius, having listened in to the conversation for a considerable amount of time had decided to interject. Out of all the lions here she had been the one who had been treated the most poorly by Tethys. In his defence she had been a brat, she'd actively provoked him and it had been to her detriment. She was well in to adulthood now and it had been sheer force of will on his part that had prevented anyone else from looking at her as a possible candidate for a Reaver. For all intents and purposes, when he wanted to be a hard a**, that lion could definitely do it. "The whole point of these things is to check you have the ability to Reave, not for you to get it perfectly right."
"Even better if you do perform adequately the first time," Hakon added.
"If you want to get in to any band then you need to exceed," Naberius corrected him with a frown. She knew how her father worked, and he expected perfection, he'd accept nothing left. Not everyone was like Tethys who deemed someone 'capable' and then educated and trained them.
"I know many Captains who will condition a worthy potential Reaver to the point that they perform to standard," the grey lion pointed out and shook his head. He was the same age as the brown lioness and just like many of the lions here, he actually came from a rather established family. While his line had been quieter within the last few years, that didn't make him any less relevant. More importantly, he had been born into the pride and had therefore been educated much more thoroughly than Naberius had. She had been a blow in...much like her mother, and quite frankly her mother had achieved absolutely nothing. Suffice to say that Naberius's mother had always been a sore spot for her and the brown lioness had always been indignant.
"Regardless, they're not going to seek to kill us on the first attempt," she muttered.
"Unless they've got a vendetta in which case you brought it on yourself," Hakon raised both eyebrows provocatively, to which Naberius merely narrowed her eyes. Tethys didn't hate her father, he simply didn't respect him, she would at least give him the credit he was due for the honour he possessed. She was safe from his wrath, but she wasn't safe from his scrutiny.
****************
Nevertheless, for all their chitchat it seemed that Tethys had already secured a location relatively close to where they actually lived. The Stormborn cliff's overlooked where they actually were and any observant lion might have noticed that they had an audience. Ah yes, Tethys had advised those with a vested interest in this 'event' know exactly where segments of it would take place. It also afforded him the opportunity to render any judgements he needed to make in full view - there would be no accusations of bias here, he simply didn't have time for it. For those who performed well, they would do so in the open air and all those who were curious would have the capacity to take note now. If any excelled, then there may be a Captain or Reaver who chose to vouch for them when they became brave enough to approach a Captain, for any of those who failed... They might very well be able to ask why later and receive constructive feedback.
Regardless... Nothing was going to be secret.
"Well then!" he spun around on his paws to regard the little pride of lions he had somehow aquired, to the front were the most chatty (unsurprising) and at the back were the more antisocial and reserved. He wasn't entirely sure how this was going to play out at this particular point in time but it was better to get it over and done with now. The sooner he could start culling away those who were wasting his time, the sooner he could pinpoint those who had the much greater potential. Unbeknownst to his own daughter, if she didn't perform well then Lakshmi was likely to find herself first on the chopping block!
"Not a long jaunt at all," he lifted his paw and pointed to his nephews. "Split," he ordered, forcing the pair away from one another. Then he proceeded to set each of the lions in to groups. Unfortunately he didn't know all their names with enough familiarity to place faces to them, but he could at least recall who was meant to be here.
"Group One," he cleared his throat. "Gara, Aurnia, Limau, Calypso and Nidhogg."
"Group Two...Nidus, Hel, Yamma, Hjalmar, Simbi, Libellula, Hakon"
"Group Three...Cie'th, Nirrti, Dreki, Balintin, Lofn, Naberius."
"Which should then leave me with one left over," he nodded towards his daughter. "You're with me."
He noted as she preened, but she'd sooner be wishing she was in a group rather than under his direct scrutiny...
Tethys: 4 | Lakshmi: 4 | Nirrti: 4 | Lofn: 4 | Simbi: 4 | Cie'th: 4 | Nidhogg: 4 | Gara: 4 | Nidus: 4 | Hakon: 4 | Naberius: 4
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 3:55 am
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The silver female frowned at her sister. “Mother insisted.” She sighed, she’d been caught, calmly grooming when her mother had pushed her out of the den with an instant voice. “I’m sure that the Captain will see I’m ill suited for all this muck and send me home forth with.”
The sooner the better, the silver female ultimately decided though when Tethys suddenly sounded off and split them in to smaller groups she found herself surrounded by lions she didn’t know and her naffing brother. Libuella glared at her brother and rolled her eyes at her sister “Ughhhhh, mother will kill me if I don’t try.” She sighed the longest, most exasperated sigh that had ever come out of a lions maw before joining the group she had been assigned.
Yamma’Dido couldn’t help but snicker at his sister. She was so irritated. When he was assigned to the same group as her though he shrugged and elbowed, shoved and cajoled his way to the front of the team. No way was he going to lollygag at the back, he wanted to be a reaver unlike his silver sister. “lets go already!” He quipped looking around at the team around him, he was sure most of them would be as keen as he to find their place in the pride.
—-
Bailintin looked at his two female relations as he was split from them. “Look after her.” He nodded at Limau and with slow deliberate steps he joined the team. He rumbled to a stop, his deep blue eyes glancing over the crew, they were all a little younger than he, his mane was fuller than the males and the girls were all in thee throws of adolescence. He gave a short quiet not and a grumble of greeting to each of them. He was ready to go and perfoirm what ever task would afford him the rank of reaver.
The pink jackal followed closely behind her massive companion keeping in his shadow, which really did her no good what so ever. Her bright pink coat made her stand out like a sore thumb against her chocolate coloured companion and the extensive shade he cast. Still she was here now and she would help Bailntin any way she could even if that simply meant staying out of his way.
—-
LSK gave a nod to her male cousin and turned to Aurenia “Stay close to me and don’t do anything foolish.” She quipped at her golden cousin.
“Why do you all think I am going to get in to trouble? Papa trained me the same as you all.” She huffed. It felt wrong that she was being coddled.
The pale female smiled at the younger female. She lifted a paw and ruffled her flock of hair “We know and thats why we worry about you.” She chuckles and trots toward the group they had been assigned to, wondering what it was that they would be tasked to do. She was, to say the least, very excited to get out on this reaving. She wanted to be a reaver like her mother, she waned to go places and see things and the only way to do that was to be a reaver.
The golden female huffed “What does that mean?” Aurenia pouted, which was most unbecoming, she realised so stoppe dthat immediately and put on a grimace instead. “I can do anything they can do right Arapawa?” She huffs and follows quickly after her older cousin.
The dark jackal gave an affirmative nod “Of course you can.” Well he had to be encouraging but Aurenia had proven to have four left paws and often found herself stumbling or tripping or falling over a grain of sand. He hoped she succeeded today but if she didn’t he felt she would be safer at home. “lets get to it then.” He barked keeping pace with he massive golden lioness. |
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 3:02 am
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Cie'th lifted a brow towards Hel, he certainly seemed rather stand-offish, but when it came to the overall demeanour of Nidhogg's family she was beginning to suspect that this was simply how they were. She'd not bother him with further questions regarding how or why he was here, opting instead to assume that perhaps on this occasion it simply hadn't worked out for him. After all, she'd been warned before that every now and then a reaving wouldn't go to plan and on those occasions that individual failed. It wasn't the end for them, they simply had to try again...and again... until such times as a Captain simply declared they were incapable or they finally succeeded.
"Fair enough," she said finally, offering a slight wave of her paw. "Good luck," she added as she smiled to Nidhogg. Tethys seemed to have deliberately split up friends and family to ensure that they didn't naturally move towards their own cliques. On this occasion the purple lioness had been placed with a fairly capable bunch.
...Well she assumed they were capable, she'd seen Nirrti operating once or twice within pridal territory. She didn't know much of Lofn at all, other than that she was an honorary cousin of Tethys's line... And as for Naberius? Well Naberius had challenged Tethys and incurred his wrath so she was likely to fall in to line now. It was only Balintin that she wasn't entirely aware of and he seemed capable enough.
"Hey..." She said finally as she smiled to Dreki, and then afforded a glance at her 'team mates'.
"Morning," Nirrti replied with a wry smile as she regarded Cie'th. Like Tethys, it seemed Ali'dido had never really been able to contain himself and the Stormborn (among other prides) had experienced a sudden influx of bloody butterflies. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Nirrti."
"And I'm Lofn," the purple and black lioness remarked as she strode towards them, having separated herself from her companions to join her defined group.
"Which means that this must be Balintin and I am of course, Naberius," the brown lioness announced as she joined them and observed the younger set of lions. With the exception of Balintin, the majority of this lot were definitely wet behind the ears...
"So do any of you actually have any skills or is this the first time for everything for you?" Naberius continued as she lifted her brow.
Meanwhile, the other lions had eventually begun to organise themselves in to groups, with Gara reliably moving towards Nidhogg first to collect the seemingly withdrawn lioness. 'Spooky' as she might have looked, she seemed to be the least inclined to bridge the gap between herself and what should have been her team mates. Thus it was safer for him to simply collect her (an action his mother would have been proud of) and bring her to the others.
"You coming?" he asked with a nod of his head, it was an indication for her to follow and it was returned with a rather reserved and even hesitant gaze.
"Yes," she said finally, seemingly finding her voice as she raised to her paws. It was with a quick glance towards the ever confident Cie'th that Nidhogg finally began to move towards Gara. It was then that both made their way towards the gathering group, with Gara soon realising that he was rather outnumbered by females on this occasion!
"Hello!" he declared merrily as he peered at Limau and Aurnia. He was more cautious in his glance towards Calypso who had already conducted herself in a manner that seemed to convey she had no real intention of conversing. That being said, she seemed more than capable of looking after herself and for all intents and purposes, would carry them if they all ended up being entirely useless!
Syrius Lionwing -insert more tag spam here cause you're in all three posts lol-
Krysin Just in case you're still interested. n_n If not, no worries, just ignore!
"Alright mate, let's roll," Nidus announced after he'd found both his feet and his voice. He wasn't the loudest of his family, and to be entirely honest, he hadn't really had much of an opportunity to find himself, but it was for the best that he at least display some sort of enthusiasm. If he was too lacklustre then he might bring his whole group down, he had no real idea what any of them were like and based on pure observation... Well, quite honestly it felt like some of them wouldn't be receptive to someone mute.
Who the 'mate' was though, remained to be seen, and it was only after Nidus had gazed pointedly between Hakon and Simbi that it seemed to imply it could have been either of them. After all, he could rely on his own cousin to pay attention and join the ranks!
Hakon and Simbi both exchanged glances in those moments, lifting their paws to motioned towards themselves. Neither appeared to know who Nidus was referring to, but conceded that on this occasion it might be entirely irrelevant given that, to put it simply, they needed to go in that direction anyway.
Thus, Simbi was the first to move and came to a halt beside Yamma at the very tail end of her long suffering complaint. Ah, so she was here by obligation rather than any real desire to actually be a Reaver. How curious, it was something that caused Simbi to lift a brow, though this was quickly replaced by a gentle smile as e regarded the rest of his team.
"Hello," he offered finally. Now that he had been separated from Lofn he couldn't rely on that particular crutch for introductions.
"If you don't want to be here," Hakon was less subtle as he drew to a halt beside Simbi and glanced at Yamma. "Then why are you here?" he enquired with a scathing snort. "Is this not considered a waste of our time as much as yours..?"
It was a valid question, though probably not a good one to raise as an introduction to your team mates!
"I would strongly suggest, that you wipe that smile off your face my dear," Tethys remarked as his daughter drew near. His eyebrow had lifted as she swanned towards him and no sooner had he mentiond her demeanour than she seemed to pause and regard him with a sense of caution. He wasn't often in poor humour, but for whatever reason he seemed to be a touch irritated with her. At this time in her young life it was clear that she didn't quite recognise why, but he'd make sure that this was clear by the end of the day.
...After all, like Yamma she was here because she had to be. By some sense of obligation she had decided she must attend, even though it was abundantly clear she didn't want to be there. Suffice it to say that his daughter's egoism wasn't lost on him and he had long assumed she would make herself a very influential wife, or she would ensure she was in a position of power at some point in her lifetime. Truth be told he would have put all his wealth on her following her mother and aunt's profession.
"I'm just excited," Lakshmi replied with a furrowed brow.
"You must take me for a fool," Tethys shook his head. "This isn't a free ride," he pointed out and it was then that he leant in. "And I do not have the patience for time wasters," he murmured coolly, before turning his attention back towards the groups that were now forming.
Lakshmi could do nothing more than stew for the time being, she didn't quite know how to respond to her father at the moment and it was better to stay quiet for now. It was perhaps one of the few times when she had realised it was more appropriate to hold her tongue than to backchat...
Tethys: 5 | Lakshmi: 5 | Nirrti: 5 | Lofn: 5 | Simbi: 5 | Cie'th: 5 | Nidhogg: 5 | Gara: 5 | Nidus: 5 | Hakon: 5 | Naberius: 5
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 11:45 am
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Ah, so that was it. Well, she was probably right in that she would end up getting sent home at this rate. That, or perhaps Tethys would decide to simply put her silver sister through her paces. Dreki snorted as she watched her two siblings walk away, sending a scowl towards Hjalmar as she noticed him making his way over to them as well. At least she hadn't ended up in the same party as him. She would rather go with a bunch of unfamiliar lions than do that.
Tail flicking behind her, Dreki turned and began heading over to her group. She smiled back at Cie'th, before nodding back to the rest of their group. "I'm Dreki.
At Naberius' question, she narrowed her eyes, and then shrugged. "This will be my first time, but I've practiced with hunting and fighting before." She paused to think about it, "I'm fast though." The lioness puffed out her chest, "I can run with the best of them."
Hjalmar was still stewing by the time his father began speaking, and he stalked his way almost absentmindedly to his group. As he got close, he huffed as he realized that he was ending up in the same team as two of that harpy's siblings, but he made no other complaint. Truth be told, he had never interacted with them before. Perhaps they weren't as bad as their sister.
Although, the grumbling from the silver one had him rolling his eyes. Maybe they'd be worse.
He rolled his shoulders back and glanced from one lion to the next. his group was mostly full of guys, aside from the silver female. Considering how girly she seemed to be, he bet she wouldn't last long. Maybe that was the point, he thought with a glance in the direction of Tethys, but he shook his head. Whatever, it was no concern to him.
"So, what are we doing now that we're separated out?"
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