P unsteady hands.

Arsynia,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by dusk

---

arsynia tollaire.

With each frantic footfall, she felt her pace having to heighten in order to keep up. Before long, Arsynia's swift gait seemed to be half-trotting, longer strides on shorter legs desperate to keep up with the taller, larger man. The thrum of the wind seemed much less imposing now, and the drawl of heat splaying across her cheeks pushed back to her jaws, then her neck, then her chest. This is a lion's greatest work, he responded, and Arsynia could not deny herself the pleasant surprise of his remarks. She had half-expected the man to deny such allegations, to claim battles for prides much more noble occasions. But the brutality of war was not lost on a woman born within it; her first breaths had been spent shackled, after all, and even after she had been unfettered from them had she been plunged into war and chaos.

She knew too well the nature of lions. But even she knew Kaden was right—it was that same chaos that separated the strong from the weak. Smaug had been strong. Arsynia would be strong too.

I'll be at the center.

It was a declaration as much as it was a promise, and this time, it enticed a more genuine smile to break the stoic, steeled demeanor of her expression. “I look forward to watching you there,” she responded, making up the brief pause in her pace to catch up, clenching more of the distance between them that she had left before. She could not help but endorse him, she favored men bold enough to stake such claims and not deny the terror of it all. “Have you yet gathered allies?”

Art by AleTie

Kaden,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by Max

---

His expression settled into satisfaction as she vowed to watch him in the chaos that he was destined to create, the first to suggest to him that they might have kindred spirits of sorts. If she wanted a show, Kaden would give it to her. He would give it to every poor sucker in this land he had been unleashed upon after being ripped off of his first throne by the very lion who sired him.

"You'll watch, yes, but will you cheer for me or against me?" Kaden sought to clarify with a sneering smile. Either alternative seemed a delicious outcome of it all, be it a rival to wish misfortune upon him or a keen-eyed supporter in the crowd. Each served as more reason to win.

He continued onward against the frigid winds though they tumbled through the thick mats of his mane gracelessly, almost as if trying to grab hold and pull him backward. Though they had laughed at the notion of wanting a place like this mere moments before, Kaden had hailed from a frigid wasteland. The cold had hardened him just as much as any of life's experiences and he thought it a friendly teacher.

"Not going steady with anyone," he answered wryly at her inquiry of his allies. "Everyone I have met here has been amicable thus far. And you? Who do you tie yourself to?"

speech

Table by Naboo

Arsynia,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by dusk

---

arsynia tollaire.

She did not know the extent of Kaden's ambitions. Arsynia did not even know the extent of her own. What did she want, other than to so desperately desire Smaug again, so that she may follow in his image? For so long had she been unfettered from her father's shadow, yet she had never been able to claim her independence, to cut the ties that binded her to him and free herself of his ghost. What better way than to sever it savagely, to wrench herself from hesitancy through bloodsport, to cull a crown for the sake of feeling powerful? Whole?

You'll watch, yes, but will you cheer for me or against me? Arsynia's nose twitched, but her smile did not quite falter just yet. “I do not support the weak, only the strong,” she responded, “and I do not give without taking in return.” She would not put all her eggs in Kaden's basket, but she could not deny herself the unique desire to cheer him on if only because he seemed as entertaining as he was genuine in his ambitions. “Show me someone worth supporting, and I will be your ally unflinching,” she concluded, shouldering too through the bitter cold, far more desperate now than Kaden to find relief in the mountains or the forests just beyond their reach.

What will you give me in return, Kaden?

Not going steady with anyone, he continued, and Arsynia was neither elated nor dejected by it. When lands were so new and untouched, it was the King who carried the weight of his crown, and not yet the entanglement of politics he had fostered along the way. Everyone I have met here has been amicable thus far. And you? Who do you tie yourself to? “Only the Tollaire,” she responded resolutely, allowing the shadow of her father to cling to her yet still, as if baring his coat of arms both as proudly and as uncertain as a young woman could. “And to my own interests.”

Art by AleTie

Kaden,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by Max

---

Perhaps some would be offended at the outline of her requirements for worthiness of support, but Kaden could only feel amused and curious at what exactly her criteria were. He did not think he needed her to stamp him with approval, but her words suggested a certain amount of forethought behind her terms.

"And, what makes you deem someone strong? What do you take in return?" Kaden questioned as he slowed his pace slightly, perhaps distracted as he pondered her terms. "Are you some kind of professional hitman?" He posed his unlikely hypothesis with a glint of joking shining in his eye.

She announced her allegiance to the Tollaire and to herself, though he failed to react to this. Kaden only felt silent admiration and likeness of the sentiment.

speech

Table by Naboo

Arsynia,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by dusk

---

arsynia tollaire.

Arsynia knew she talked a big game for someone who appeared to have so little; how sooner would Kaden appeal to her had she an army at her back, bared-teeth and eyes glinting? She had nothing but the bare-skinned animal that stood before him: a fire in her throat, the sun burning on her back. Kaden could have laughed her off and left her there. Arsynia was almost surprised when he had not. And, what makes you deem someone strong? What do you take in return? An intensity burned between them, Arsynia steadfast in her convictions yet she'd little to give quite yet. You are promising things you cannot guarantee, she chided, but the thrill of it flexed her claws against the snow as she strained to keep up. She was no longer shivering; every step felt like some sort of keen heat.

Are you some kind of professional hitman?

“No,” she responded, but there was the slightest hint of amusement in her voice, “but I can be, if you need it—or anything else you desire.” A diplomat, a little bird; Arsynia had little ties to Aesseldar, and many more things to observe. It was far easier to watch the chaos unfold from afar than it was throw herself head-first into it. Perhaps a first; she could remember watching her father and mother dive deep into war from the safety of her den all those years ago, and always admired just how much weakness she could see in the enemy and how much power one could have when they pulled the strings of war from afar. The more Arsynia knew of both her allies and her enemies, the better: and what little she had to offer in turn, she would bare it all.

Art by AleTie

Kaden,

Lion of Junior Member

Played by Max

---

"Anything I desire?" Kaden echoed the sentiment with a wry smirk, the tension in his lips eventually breaking with a chuckle. It was a bold statement, and perhaps (in another mood) he might have challenged it with every possible thing he could think of which she would surely refuse as an exception to the rule. Part of him believed her fervor to be genuine. She evaded his initial questions, which did not make him inclined to ask more.

"I desire to get out of this tundra alive. Hurry along now," the lion urged with a grunt, the words not unkind this time, as he attempted to speed a few paces ahead of her.

[fade/exit?]

Table by Naboo

Arsynia,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by dusk

---

arsynia tollaire.

Anything I desire? he breathed, and for a brief moment Arysnia wondered if he'd demand her loyalty, demand her presence in the pride he would soon claim if to build his numbers and grow his army. She would not be entirely opposed to the idea, but the weight of her family name bared on her more than it had before, and though the Tollaire would follow her unflinchingly, she was uncertain they'd find Kaden as intriguing as she did. Not all would blindly placed their faith in one simply because he seemed capable of greatness, and Arsynia could not blame her brothers and sisters for choosing to be far more cautious, far wiser.

I desire to get out of this tundra alive. Hurry along now, he commanded, inciting a soft exhale from Arsynia's lips, suspire evaporating into the bitter wind. A wild curiosity ignited in her throat, but she fought it, and instead chose to pick up her own pace and follow him southward into the warmer forest that soon lay sprawled out before them.

exit Arsynia

Art by AleTie