ready for it?

Arcane,

Lioness of Junior Member

Played by Mara

---

A few days ago, calls had gone out over the land. Lions claiming homes, forging new kingdoms. Arcane did not attend, but it was not fear that drove her away from the would-be leaders. No, she knows how those things go, and it is by far much better to arrive later, when the dust has settled and crowns are fitted more securely around ego-swollen heads.

It's risky, what she does, but Arcane is neither scared or concerned. Fear is useless, especially when one is prone to stepping brazenly over the fresh markers of a pride. She heads toward the crystal clear lake, licking her lips at the thought of fresh water rather than the bog muck she’d be drinking. She’s clean enough - had taken the time to groom herself, and rid her stormy coat of the scent of the swamp. Making a good impression isn’t high on her list of priorities, but - well, at least she can retreat to her makeshift home if need be.

The water is cool and soothing on her tired feet. The dark lioness walks until the water reaches her belly, and that’s where she drinks, lapping up the water until she’s had her fill. When her head lifts, it is to scan the other side of the lake. All the while, with her back to the shoreline, Arcane’s ears press back to listen out for any approach on the rocky ground. She’s sure it won’t take long; her entrance wasn’t hidden, entirely on purpose.

@Kaden

Kaden,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by Max

---

He had spent the days following his claim sleeping and pissing. While no one challenged the right to rule, he had been trying not to aggravate the wounds received in the spar while still finding time to mark the edges of the banks as his. The water itself proved more difficult--he could not exactly create clear borders as to which sections were his and which were not. Perhaps that was why this stranger had the nerve to be wading in his shallows.

"None of the free water good enough for you?" He questioned in projected tones as he stood on the shores a few yards away, glowering at the dark figure standing there. He waved his tail lowly against his ankles, cautious though not overly alarmed unless given further reason to be.

"This land is claimed already. Make yourself useful or leave," Kaden instructed flatly.

speech

Table by Naboo

Arcane,

Lioness of Junior Member

Played by Mara

---

An approach comes just as Arcane is starting to consider wading from the water. The stormy pelted girl stays still, watching the light reflecting from the mostly calm surface of the water. She only turns when a gruff male voice greets her, and it's merely to look over her shoulder. A brow arches high over her bright eye, and she meets that glare with a thin smirk.

"All water is free. Owning a little land around it doesn’t mean shit." It sounds a little hippie, a little airheaded, but it’s the truth. Paying a fee for a drink - no, that’s not going to happen. Arcane twists around and pulls herself from the water, coming to stand on the rocks and pebbles with as little grace as she can muster. A wiser lioness might not approach the male, but she comes to stand before him with her skull tilted up, dark ears flicked forward. Her pelt drips with excess and she makes no move to shake it. Not yet.

She’s still not impressed with his manner or his behaviour. But there’s cuts on his frame, and he smells like blood, and it's his piss that she ignored to come in here. Black lips pull over her fangs. "Are ya gonna be that gruff with everyone that comes to visit? You won’t make a pride like that." There’s some private joke in her tone, a laugh behind the words. She’s not so much ignoring his demand as stepping around it.

@Kaden

Kaden,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by Max

---

She met him with a smirk of all things. Kaden remained still as a statue as she threw the comeback at him, his whiskers twitching thoughtfully though he did not rush to make a retort just yet. He watched as the dark lioness began to wade towards him in the water and the way she refrained from shaking any of the heavy waters from her pelt.

"It means as much as I say it does," he threatened vaguely, a slight rumbling growl to the tone of his voice. He noted the sound of water dripping against earth and of her breaths, perhaps riled from the encounter, though he could not tell if she was angry or just worked up.

"It should do fine in getting me left alone, and that's good enough for me," he insisted with an irreverent snort. While he was just as guilty as the next king of throwing his weight around, he saw himself as an entirely different breed. He had no grand visions of power or creation. He only wanted some goddamned peace and quiet.

speech

Table by Naboo

Arcane,

Lioness of Junior Member

Played by Mara

---

Well that’s… surprising. Arcane’s eyes widen a fraction at that final reply, the threat hardly phasing her enough to react at all. But that second sentence catches Arcane’s surprise and attention. There’s no hiding it, or any attempt to smother the reaction.

"Oh? So you claimed a pride, a decent plot of land, and you’re gonna keep it all to yourself?" Ears flick back against her head, but there’s no scorn in her lilting voice. Just confusion. "Pretty rude of ya." Arcane’s tail flicked out behind her, and with her final words she shakes out her pelt, heedless of the king in front of her in the splash zone. "And pretty dumb. I heard the call all the way from home. Everyone’s gonna be sticking their noses in here pretty soon."

@Kaden

Kaden,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by Max

---

Kaden watched her expectantly, watching emotion flood her gaze while he could not determine what specific feeling was consuming her. Her ears flattened and she declared him rude, of all things, forcing Kaden to let out a chuckling laugh.

”Rude? I did not realize I was expected to behave as high society. Tell me, ... miss,” he trailed on momentarily, stumbling slightly at the realization that he did not know a name to address her by. ”Tell me, what would you have me do—welcome any stranger coming my way to eat and drink as they please? I’d call that stupid,” Kaden snorted once more, bristling his nape in irritation.

speech

Table by Naboo

Arcane,

Lioness of Junior Member

Played by Mara

---

There’s a shrug given, one shouldered and vague. There’s ways Arcane would run a pride if that were ever to tickle her fancy - the issue there was it never had, and the loner doubts it ever will. Ruling just looked boring, but then so is living alone. There’s a happy medium somewhere there, but she is yet to find it. Living under another’s paw…. It irritated her. At least the ones she’d been in.

She shouldn’t like the laugh, but it’s pleasant. The first sign of something remotely nice under all that gruff and ego. Arcane’s head tilts a fraction, and she lets a smile creep across her lips. "You care what I think?" They both know the truth of that - he couldn’t care less, and the question is rhetorical - but he asked, so the poor fool is going to get an answer.

"I would have you greet strangers better. You might rule here but you won’t keep it long without a pride. You can’t piss all over the place, fight the threats and feed yourself alone. Not if you want to enjoy what you got, too." Her nose scrunches up with her grin. "If they wanna drink, let them have one. But what would I know? I’m just some dumb girl." And perhaps her expression shifts a little, to something more like a sneer. She can’t help it, anymore than she can help her tail flicking in irritation.

@Kaden

Kaden,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by Max

---

He could not find a response to her question other than to purse his lips and narrow his gaze at her. Indeed, they both knew the reality of how much he cared for what anyone thought aside from himself, when looking at how their thoughts would influence his own decisions. Still, he cared very much about what everyone thought when it came to broadening his own understanding of reasoning and motivation itself. His curiosity had a way of getting the better of him.

"You may have a point," Kaden offered neutrally. "Though, you are assuming that I would enjoy to laze about with company more than I would to work in solitude. And, I doubt it has really crossed your mind how I am pleased," he concluded with an expectant smile.

Around them, the waters continued to lap at the shore and the birds continued to chatter on in the distant trees. Kaden had nowhere else to be for the moment, so he was quite content to pick the strange lioness' brain.

speech

Table by Naboo