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 Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 1:09 am
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 She'd curled up by the river last night, farther from the pride than Ealhild had ever slept. Nothing but rocks and the solace of a single, scrubby excuse for a tree, all wrapped up with her in the dark. She'd chosen to sleep so far out for a reason: there was nothing out there but the sound of angry water rushing by. It was loud enough, thankfully, to drown out the cries of hungry cubs. It was almost loud enough to drown out the rumbling of her own stomach. Almost, but not quite.
Still, it was close to the best sleep she'd gotten since all of this started, so the lioness was in a pretty good mood as she stole her way to back out to the edges of the pride. It wasn't until she was almost there that she was honest with herself about what she wanted to find. Rather, who she wanted to find.
"Gudina?"
But here she stood, fairly certain that this was where she'd seen him before, and there was no sign of that dark pelt. What there was, though, was the scent of Stormborn. Eal's ears pricked forward, frowning at the realization that she could not tell who exactly it had been. A few sniffs more, and that scowl deepened. Of course, her friend had been here, too. Had someone caught him? Surely she would have noticed anyone coming in with a new thrall in tow - right?
Not like the pride was absolutely enormous, or anything. Certainly not like she'd been deliberately staying away.
"Gudina! You out there?" Tinges of concern, however faint, began to march the length of the lioness' spine. Hopefully, if someone tried to claim him as a thrall, he'd have the good sense to just run away. That's what she'd tell herself happened if he didn't pop out of one of the many outcroppings dotting the horizon. Her worries redoubled, prickling irritably at the tip of a twitching tail. And if he had run, well... Good for him. Not like he had any reason to stay. Better, in fact, to get away from this cursed land while he still had the chance.
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Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 1:45 pm
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He wanted what?
Her pale gaze could do nothing but blink at him. One might have mistaken her for stunned silent, but it was so much more than that. Ealhild couldn't decide if she wanted to grin at the sheer depth of Gudina's pluck, laugh at the very idea of her teaching him to duel - like an eager youth! - or scream at him for his stupidity. The array of emotions crashed in on her all at once, and as each dueled the other for dominion in her brain, there were scant beats between them where the only the river replied to the lion's claims.
Screaming won out moments later, though. "You want to...? Are you mad?!" A suddenly animated Ealhild bared her teeth, each word emerging in a snap of her jaws. A lashing tail punctuated the words, its tip bristled such that it more resembled a cotton puff than anything else. That pale gaze had changed as well; from a blank stare to skeptical, incensed incredulity all in an instant. "You don't look like you've ever dueled a day in your life! You'll be captured if you lose! And if you win, you'll feel hungry all the time. Like, never full, ever again!" Stormlords above, why would he want that? As if he hadn't heard a word she'd said to him! It was like talking to a hedge!
The simple answer was that he didn't want that. No matter how foolishly he said otherwise. He didn't know what he was in for, and because of that, she would do him the most generous favor she could grant and outright refuse to teach him. Simple as that.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 3:33 am
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Nope, hedges were more responsive. Ealhild rolled her eyes, her snarl and pointed glare making it very clear what she thought about her foolish friend's promises. Despite herself, though...she was a little impressed. Only a little. Bullheaded persistence and unfailing belief in himself could get Gudina far in the ranks of the Storm, but he would have to be able to back his boldness with action. Otherwise, wouldn't matter if he managed to pass his duel or not: he'd talk himself into a fight he couldn't handle. Even if he managed to survive that, get hurt too badly and he'd be pride-locked as a Freeborn by force. At least as an aspiring Reaver, he'd be able to leave.
"You wanna be a Reaver? Fine," she growled at him, sinking into a crouch even as her lips raised. Pale eyes stayed trained on him, derisive and still a touch angry - rightfully so! - as their bearer circled the rogue like so much prey. "You're gonna have to fight for it. Being Stormborn means being ready to fight, always, and every day is a good day to die. It means having a spine made of lightning, blood made of iron and a voice like thunder." That last came out a guttural, dragging sort of snarl. "Even if you don't have those things," and her tone made it clear that she didn't believe he did, "when you call out your challenge for a duel, you'd better act like you do. 'Cause the Stormborn who answers you will.
"Show me. Show you me you have an ounce of fight in you." Her tail lashed, brow furrowing when she glared at Gudina and the river beyond him. He spoke with fervor, sure, but just because she liked his gumption didn't mean everyone would. Heck, it would probably be just the opposite. It was becoming more and more clear to Eal that the pride she called home was a nasty place, and she needed to make sure he was prepared for that.
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Anderleit rolled 3 4-sided dice:
3, 2, 2
Total: 7 (3-12)
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:29 pm
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Eal's brow raised right back, lips peeling away from fangs a moment later. She thought she'd made herself perfectly clear. "I do." Not a bad bellow on him, but he would have to do better. The lioness waited until she was done before countering with a roar of her own - one filled with the fury of his refusal to listen to reason, the frustration of constant hunger, and the confusion, the grief that came with realizing that something really rotten stewed at the core of the Myrsky.
She didn't want to think about the fact that even now, her first reaction was to vent her problems to this rogue, this outsider. Didn't want to consider that perhaps that was part of the problem. Wasn't she just lamenting to herself that she had not sought the company of others - wasn't that the reason she was just a freeborn now, instead of a Reaver? No, those were hard things to consider. It was far easier just to spring at him, muscular limbs and wide-flexed claws seeking purchase in his shoulders.
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MiddyGlow rolled 3 4-sided dice:
3, 4, 4
Total: 11 (3-12)
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Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 10:10 am
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Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2019 2:29 pm
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There were larger lions among the Storm - her own half-siblings numbered among them - but Ealhild had yet to fight any of them. And Gudina, though he was not quite their size, met the lioness' charge with an aplomb that surprised her. He met her outstretched charge toe-to-toe. Despite a snarl from the freeborn and her own best efforts, his following attacks were just as fierce. Perhaps determination would do Gudina well after all - it certainly seemed to bolster his blows here.
Perhaps, too, she was just out of touch. She was supposed to be Storm-blooded, and here she was losing blows to a rogue! For all she was affronted by the corruption in the pride, perhaps the problem lie with her. Maybe she was simply too weak to take her place among the Myrsky that they had become. That didn't measure up to what Jaddis had said, though. And it didn't change the things she had seen, or the hunger they were all going through...
"You're not bad." She murmured, drawing the fight short with a growl. Even she couldn't decide if she was proud of the way he had fought, or furious at her own defeat; the expression within her pale gaze likely didn't make it any clearer. "But you're not good, either. You'll have to fight harder than that against the one you challenge for entry to the Stormborn." Eal drew back onto her haunches, considering the lion before her. Her ears pressed against her skull, but in spite of the foul mood...she believed that he could do it. Unless the Stormlords were truly against him, Gudina would win his way in. Hopefully he wouldn't hate her once he'd done so. She'd warned him.
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Gudina had a lot of his mind, he wanted to help Ealhild and her people and to do that he had to learn their ways otherwise how could he understand anything about them. He didn't even know how to issue a duel challenge and he wanted to know. He walked along the river listening to the sound of its roar. 
