[VIKING ORP] KATastrophe

[Krysin]

There was little organization in their assault, and as Jupe charged forward she felt the heat and energy of bodies moving around her. She was a smaller lioness, a rogue who had joined the Stormborn out of a need to prove herself. But, she was quick and fierce, and on a battlefield she held no place for mercy. If they were going to subjugate this group, a message had to be given. Submit or die.

Jupe pulled ahead of the group with a roar that tore at her vocal chords. The group of lions had spotted them coming, but instead of running they had chose to stand their ground. It was the correct choice - if they ran the Viking would simply catch up. They were outnumbered and unskilled, even though they chose to fight it was... clear this could very well end up being a slaughter.

"Surrender," she ordered as the Viking closed in on the wandering pride. She could feel tension as it rippled in the air, and for a moment there was perfect silence as all sides considered their options.

Then the world erupted into chaos. The battle began, fighting surrounding her and in the midst of all that mayhem she saw a dark lioness. It was time to make her point made before they ended up killing all of the goods. "Well, bring it b***h."

Baala had been alone for what seemed to be a majority of her life. Yes, she had experienced love, and she had given birth to strong cubs who were likely thriving out in the world now. But, she had been alone since her youth, and alone most of her adult life. Those moments of love and happiness were fleeting, gone as quickly as she tried to hold onto and cherish them. She had found herself with this group now more out of necessity than out of fondness for the lions gathered here.

Her old pride was gone, her love was gone, her children... gone. This was all she had left, and as a mass of ill-intention lions descended upon them from the hills she felt her blood turn cold. "Don't run," she ordered the others quickly. "They'll pick us off if we run." Just by numbers alone, she knew this was bad. She had gotten into skirmishes before, but nothing like this. The odds were overwhelmingly not in their favor.

This could very well be the end.

But she would not let it end without a fight. Baala would not go down quietly, and as her gaze fixed on a strange bone-marked lioness she felt her blood boil. A challenge was issued, and Baala charged forward, colliding with Jupe in a heavy blow of bodies. Her claws raked across Jupe's face, narrowly missing the lioness' eyes. Retaliation was swift, and she felt the other lioness slip away from her grip.

Jupe skirted to the side, ignoring the burning sensation over her face as she slammed into Baala's side. The two rolled onto the ground, engaged in a fierce fight where someone had to die.

 

[Midnightglow18]

Gudina was ready to fight the battle against the rogue group was on roars willed the area and he couldn't lay around like a lazy fat lion. He was part of the storm born lions now and in order to earn his rank of Reaver, he would have to fight and perhaps even bring a thrall home to prove his strength. He rushed forwards roaring as he leaped to attack one of the rogues, he swiped out with his claws. He growled loudly when he felt the lion's claws digging into his chest as he attacked back. It was only fair, besides scars were a sign that a lion survived. Which was what Gudina intended to do, he wasn't giving his belly or his neck to this stranger.  

[MangoMeow]

As the group got the okay to move and began moving forward, Hjalmar picked up his pace to keep up, eyes sharpening as he focused in on their goal. There was the call to surrender... and then everything fell into chaos.

Hjalmar smirked then, before charging forward with a thunderous roar. Just what he was hoping for -- the chance to really dig his claws into something.

An unfortunate male was the first one he reached. Leaping into the air, he tackled the other into the ground and then dug his teeth into the side of their neck. Not a killing blow yet; the able-bodied could be useful, but only if they proved that they were willing to fold under them. That said, he had a feeling that this one wouldn't be one of those, judging by the fierce growls and bucking beneath his hold.

Ah well, pity for him.  

[Ctrl F Greenie]

A look pride beamed from the crimson lioness as she watched the band descend upon the group of lions like hawks. She admired the way the lioness, Jupe, didn't hesitate with her forward motion and instead put claws to flesh with a grace befitting a Reaver. Golden eyes left the scene only spy a lion, just a single one, by himself. A lip curled into an unbecoming look of disdain at his actions. Water? They had been parched, sure, but not enough to pass up a golden opportunity like this.

Sabia'deimos thought about speaking up to him, saying something, but chose to grow silent. His actions didn't go unnoticed, but she would be a fool to leap to assumptions about what his intentions were.

So instead of keeping her eyes on him, she moved them back to the prizes ahead. They were plentiful and healthy - should the band not destroy each and every one of them they might have a few able bodied Thralls. Thralls to carry back whatever treasure might await them at the end of their viking - in the Outlands. During the scene she lost sight of two of her own.. the two that brought about the idea.

"Where have they gone..?" The question was posed to no one in particular, but she said it out loud. Company came and went when she was out a-vking and so she was never sure of who might be there to speak with. Not that they would have anymore answers than she had.

Her prediction was that they had turned to scouting. The pair of them were Stormborn, proven and born. But neither had shown interest in this viking for a purpose beyond what they had shared with her. Truthfully the rest of this was a convincing way to gain help and favor - Sabia was aware of that. So their disappearance came as little surprise, just mere curiosity.  

[Z o m b i k ii]

They had been tracking the Viking since their departure; lurking just out of sight the entire journey. It had been Kus’an’s idea, of course it was. Not because he wished to go against his Mothers orders - but because the thought of not being by her side was sickening. The black lion had always been a momma’s boy, not particularly affectionate but always silent in her shadow - he was the same with his sisters.

The freeborn had grown up surrounded by siblings and it had installed a pack mentality in the black male; who seemed to share more traits with a wolf than a cat. Kus’an had told Altuna of his plans to track the Viking; she was his oldest friend and as always - she was all too eager to follow him and his ridiculous ideas. He knew he could count on her, even as she tried to hide her anxiety with sassy remarks and quips.

They had been caught though, by none other than Altuna’s cousin, Eiran. To his surprise she did not reveal their plans to the departing lions or his mother, instead, she asked to join them and their mischief. The dark lioness clearly had familial bonds to match his. Not surprising, the two girls he found himself in the company of were cubs together and had grown up with a sisterly relationship.

Their travels had been peaceful, however, when he heard his mother's roar, - Ku’san was the first to start running, without warning or hesitation. “Kus’an!” Altuna called after him, sprinting after the male the second she saw him on the move. Eiran followed behind them both - keeping in her cousin's slipstream so tightly it almost seemed like they were attached at the tail.

The purple lioness was cursed with subpar eyesight; in truth, this journey was not born solely out of a wish to be by her cousin's side. But a need to prove to herself that she could be fierce; despite seeing the world as a mass of blurred shapes and outlines. Kus’an hit the water first, wetting dark fur but not slowing. Eiran followed but had to jump over a male who seemed to be casually drinking by the water. Why was he being so idol? She hit the liquid and shot a dark look back at him, despite her annoyance, she did not stop - she would lose Altuna if she did - but as she ran she could not help but scoff.

"Kill her Kus! Your promised Mitama a trophy!"

He had promised Altuna he would not be hurt..

Eiran, on the other hand, was more hesitant to jump, she could not see the ground - only dark shapes moving around nonsensically.

s**t.  

[Andranis]

Now this was a familiar kind of sight. Lions, descending and attacking... Ngoma's shoulders rolled as he looked at Ramla. When she gave a nod, the hulking lion let out a growl and charged with the group. His paws moved quickly, before he was slamming full-body into a lion with a snarl. It didn't look like they needed to kill anybody, so he went with simply trying to knock them down and out.

Trailing behind somewhat, Ramla watched the chaos that unfolded. She couldn't help but smile to herself at it, before she looked at those that hadn't directly moved to attack. Her eyes soon fell on a red lioness, watching the goings-on. This, she decided, was the lion in charge of this group. She moved closer, head tilted, as she regarded the pelt and the skull the lioness wore. "Quite the formidable band you have here, might my mate and I travel with you?" Maybe join them? "He's hard to miss, I think..." Her gaze flicked back to where the attacking was happening. "Giant red lion, flaming orange mane..."

Ctrl F Greenie

 

[Midnightglow18]

Gudina was still fighting that one lion once they were down he left them and turned his attention to another fight, taking blows and giving them as fiercely as he could. On some level, he knew the fate of this rogue band of lions and on the other, he really didn't care he was doing this for himself. Gudina was a selfish lion in many regards he sought out what he wanted and took it. Which was likely why he never felt like he belonged in the pridelands with the rest of his family. He could have left the prideland and joined the Outland, but the thought left a sour taste in his mouth.  

[MangoMeow]

As the seconds ticked by and the male beneath him continued to buck under him, Hjalmar snarled impatiently and then swiped his paw up and across their neck, pulling a yowl from the other. Unfortunately, this also meant that he was now holding down the other with only one paw, and one last buck from the rogue sent them both flying backwards.

"Oof!" The Stormborn male shook his head as he landed roughly on the ground, and then whipped back around, glaring at the other male with baleful eyes. There was a split second where neither moved.... and then he blinked in surprise as the rogue bolted. Well, that was anti-climactic, and he growled and tried to chase after him. He doubted any of them would miss this spineless male anyway. Who ran while their pride was being assaulted?

Hjalmar didn't pursue for too long though. There were other prizes among this group that he could catch, and one lion that would likely need to be killed anyway was hardly worth the effort. He'd much rather try to catch one of the females lingering around.  

[Anderleit]

Akun hadn't quite made it to the spot he'd wanted when it all kicked off. There was only one brief lull - the call to surrender - before everything became a roiling, delightful mess. It was commendable of the smaller pride to stand and fight. Futile and desperate, oh yes, but commendable too. His eyes focused all too briefly on a scrap in the center of it all, between a bone-covered black lioness and the yellow-haired leader of the band. What a brave lioness she was. If she lived - or even better, tried too late to run - he would hardly mind seeing if she was so spirited all the time, or if the threat of imminent death roused a special something in her heart...

No matter. Not all members of her party were as brave. Before his narrowed yellow eyes, Akun watched a pair of lions collide on the edges of the melee. The pale one with unusual markings on his face looked to have the upper hand; the other regained his footing - and in an utterly disappointing display, broke and ran. The red male was already jogging towards the rogue, tsking under his breath. There were always a few, weren't there? Poor sods that just didn't know how to commit.

Akun didn't announce himself before barreling into his side with a snarl. The rogue, not expecting another combatant, scrabbled gracelessly in the dirt. The striped lion sank hind claws into the enemy's haunches, holding him still while his forepaws bore into the other lion's struggling, panicked features. Only when the male lie still, breathing labored, did Akun look up - seeking to lock eyes with the pale male. "You lose this?" He called out, tone deliberately casual. The fanged grin he flashed was anything but. "I'd hate to see you cheated out of your victory, friend."

MangoMeow

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Some unfamiliar faces were joining the group, Sabia wasn't blind nor ignorant. The pair that caught her attention particularly were lions not part of the group they desceneded upon, but instead appeared to merge with the viking band seamlessly. What struck Sabia as odd was that the male dove right into the thick of things, where the female hung back.

Apparently she was the diplomat.

"Yes it is." Sabia'deimos remarked as she glanced over her shoulder to get a proper view the lioness now that she was approaching. "You may travel with us, but if you wish to stay with our band you'll have to prove yourselves." Loyalty had become a factor that Sabia hadnt had to deal with yet, but with their eyes set on a pride and a possible war on the horizon.. loyalty was thing she was most certainly interested in.

"Wher-?" The question was posed, but faltered as she discovered just where the lioness had been pointing. "I see he has made himself right at home." The statement was said with the smallest amount of admiration for his boldness - they were eager warriors and she was pleased with that eagerness.

"Why didn't you join him?"

As she posed her question her gaze returned from the battlefield to the lioness perched at her side. "You seem able bodied." Sabia followed her statement with a very obvious glance from the tip of the lioness' nose to her toes. "Surely you aren't hiding behind that male.." Her tone dropped an octave as she began to paint what would be a very difficult picture for her to understand.

Andranis

 

[Syrius Lionwing]

AstoriaFallen

Anderleit

Three lions approached her. She could feel their presence but as she pulled her paws from her ears she blinked owlishly. What did they want? She glanced at the two females then to the skull marked male. He looked sort of terrifying. Her ears flattened but she hadn’t quite heard what they had asked her so she licked her lips. “Sorry, what did you say?” she tilted her head and sighed. The hoard that was passing through was so noisy, she just wanted to go to sleep.

“Yes well lions come and go all the time.” Wait, what had the lion said “War band?” Again an owlish blink tilted her head. Why would there be a war band? “I’ll uh.. just move along then.” She had no quarrel with these lions. Getting to her paws in as leisurely a manner as possible the patch work lioness took a step away from the three lions as casually as she could.

She had a foreboding feeling.

——-

Z o m b i k ii

The deep purple male watched as the three adolescents zipped off like cats out of hel. He chuckled quietly and picked up his paws to follow after the three younger lions. He splashed through the murky water after them looking at his paws. If his mother were here she would have scolded him for the mess of muck that caked him already but he was far from the clean freak she was. He liked to roll in the dirt. Perhaps he got this less than clean habit from his father.

“What are you all up to hmm?” He grinned flicking his bright pink mane from his eyes. He was curious what the three teenagers were doing. He settled himself beside the light purple female and looked down at the other two. “Do you need a hand?” He raised a brow and let a curious smirk lift his lips.

Yamma’dido stared at the light purple female wondering why she hadn’t jumped off the precipice as the other two had. Perhaps his curiosity would have to wait though he wasn’t really sure if the other two youngsters were in trouble or not. He could help them if they needed it, he may have been young but he was an adult and developed in all the right places he was muscular and his mane was full. He too was here to prove he could be a great reaver; well that and to get away from the famine, but the reaver thing was most important.  

[Z o m b i k ii]

Syrius Lionwing

“Same as you.”

Eiran snapped, there was annoyance to be found her tone and the dark female made no attempt to hide it. They were on this Viking the same as him, what did he think they were doing? The Freeborn was reeling with the fact she had become separated from her group so early on, and her plan to prove herself had done nothing but make her appear foolish. Altuna and Kus’an had both made the jump, there was no reason to be afraid - even if she was unable to see the ground beneath her paws. Damn it.

She was afraid, and it made her muscles vibrate with frustration. She cursed her eyes, cursed whatever God was laughing at her.

Pale eyes snapped to look at the male that had followed after them, getting a clear look at his face. Eiran had no problem with seeing things up close, it was distance that made her vision fall short. Honestly though, looking at the males bright mane she doubted he would ever be far enough away for her to lose track of him. “The black male. Is he winning? What about the lavender girl?” The lioness exhaled, doing her best to sound as calm and collected as one could in her situation.

They would soon be in the middle of a battlefield, and to her, they all might as well be fighting in fog. Her guide, Altuna, had chased her young lover over the ledge - and left Eiran to fend for herself, intentional of course (she, like the rest of her family, had no idea that her vision was this distraughted) still, it made the dark females stomach twist.

When she heard her cousins voice she crouched down, ready to jump.

5… 4 … 3….

Unfortunately for her, the ledge she was standing on gave way before she could jump.

And Eiran began to fall.  

[Syrius Lionwing]

Z o m b i k ii

“Whoah there kitten.” The purple male shifted as quickly as the ledge fell and without a moments hesitation he caught the younger smaller female, catching her across his back. “I think you need to worry about yourself a little more little lilac toes.” He looked back at the lioness draped as she was across his back.

“You kind of look like a new calf there.” He chuckled, he’d seen calf’s born and how they fell and the way she was spread on him reminded him of the ungainly creatures.

Staying stood up he searched across the small battle field where lions all seemed to be beating each other senseless. “Hmmm your brother?” He queried, they looked some sort of related their colour pallets were rather similar “Seems to be doing just fine. Should we root for them or do you want to go and dive your fluffy butt in to battle?” He raised a curious brow, she didn’t seem to be in any state to join the fray. Maybe he should look after her for a bit, he doubted she could get off his broad back without some sort of assistance.