[JRP] Of new beginnings

[Light Atago]

Usufii had had a long journey, but he had not minded that. He never quite felt he had a home. He had been a rogue, a Pridelander, and he had been raised an Outlander, practically an exile. He hadn't minded it, life there was rough. The happy cheery peacefulness of the Pridelands for the last expanse of time had been more than he could handle, however. But that was where his parents had been, he thought they could use his help. And for a while, it did seem that way. But they were fine now, and he had spent listless time wondering what else he could possibly do- what place out there was exciting enough for him that wasn't the Pridelands or roguelands.

One day when hunting on the borders the answer came to him. A large band of raiders had passed by the Pridelands, Usufii had eavesdropped well enough to get a good gist of where they had come from and what they were up to. Raiding rogues and nearby prides, raucously partying through the night before taking whatever they wanted by force. Why, deep down, that had been what he'd always wanted. He had informed his family he was leaving them, hopefully now for good. He loved his parents, they had raised him rough and strong, and headed for the area he had heard of- the Pride's lands of the Myrsky Syntynyt.

Now on the border of the pride's lands, he had heard that he needed to challenge his way in. Piece of cake. The bright lion let out a few roars, hoping to attract a tester, a wry smirk on his muzzle.  

[Light Atago]

Dagny found herself on the borders once again, searching for intruders, fools who she could take as thralls, or those seeking an Askorun. She had never actually fought a challenging outsider, but she had always had a secret hope. The lioness was always ready to go, and she had been practicing against her fellow Stormborn. She hadn't really needed to battle an outsider before- she hardly counted her thrall Kaede.

It was with great pleasure that she had heard a roar come across a slope on the border therefore. It was not a familiar one, so not a fellow reaver or captain. She perked forward her ears and strode powerfully in its direction, to make a strong first impression. Her eyes fell upon a brightly colored lion, standing at the ready before her. She padded to speaking distance and halted. "If you seek an Askorun, or a challenge to join the pride," she cricked her neck side to side quickly as she took a stance, "I shall be your opponent. If you seek to invade, I shall be the same. I'll give you the advantage of the first move," she said with a chuckle, supposing that an outsider deserved a handicap. "Let's see how much iron is in your blood," she said lowly, more to herself than to him.  

[Light Atago]

He would be challenged by a dark lioness with runes and a white braid. He hadn't necessarily expected it, but she was a larger lioness with a lithe build, slightly muscular. He listened to the cocky lioness as she spoke and watched as she took her stance. It was slightly different than other ones he had seen, but he supposed every lion might have a different style, especially raised somewhere foreign from him. The stance seemed vicious, confident.

"Very well," he said taking a bit of a different stance himself. It was wider, despite the fact that he was somewhat larger than she was. His parents had both been large, and fortunately, that had passed to him.

Usufii charged straight in, no tricks, and lifted a paw to strike her face. He had kept his claws out given the reputation of this pride, but had not extended them all the way. He was pleased to feel it mostly catch the lioness' face on the bridge of her nose. He felt a small twinge of guilt to mar such a pretty lioness' face, but she had asked for it.  

[Light Atago]

Dagny half-expected a feint to the left or right, an all-out head-on attack was pretty foolishly ballsy. That's what the yellow lion did, however, and she was ashamed to have to admit that she took it as such, and as such she took the hit with her eyes tightly shut. It was a good blow, her head jerked off to her right as she let it go with his blow. The moment she had realized that there was no dodging the attack and where it was coming from, though, she used the momentum he'd given her to her advantage. Blood trickling lightly down to her nose, her body followed her head and she positioned herself slightly to her right of his body. She had needed her paws to catch herself from the blow, so she lunged towards him and bit down hard on his shoulder with a loud growl. She felt immediately that the attack was mostly successful, though not as deep as she had expected. She was out of range for the paw she had bitten, but was keeping her mind sharp for what came next. She couldn't safely remain attached to him forever