The river was running particularly cold today, not that Amaranth could do much about it. The dark lioness sat scrubbing some skins against a rock, washing them clean of any dirt they'd accumulated. As she examined one, she grumbled quietly to herself. She was tired of this, being a slave. She didn't like it, and she REALLY didn't like the looks some of the other lions gave her. It was no longer about who she was related to - As it turned out, there was a pink lioness who'd come from the Firekin that was a second-cousin of hers. Or was she a first cousin? Or... She didn't know, the lioness was related, that was all that mattered in the end, and she had far more of the infamous salmon color than Amaranth did. It was to the point, she'd stopped wearing the fur around her neck that hid the touch of pink. She scratched a spot on the skin she was cleaning, let out a hm, then set it aside on a sun-warmed rock to dry.
Muscles rippled under a dark brown coat, marked by a black streak down the spine that had honey-brown striping along the side of it and black spotting flanking it. Blue eyes glimmered for a moment as she considered the possibilities of what was going on. It was the Breytast Vindar, the time of year when things had the potential to change. Reavers challenged their captains, while Thralls challenged Reavers, and random Freeborns challenged Lawspeakers and Priestesses. The chances were, they could also get a new Warlord, as had happened last year. Bodil was excited for this, since a new Warlord could mean... She would get to be a Reaver. It was all she wanted in life, growing up in a litter where she had no sisters and four brothers. And-- Her thoughts cut off as she noticed a dark lioness scrubbing a pile of pelts and went over, overcome with curiosity. "What are you doing...?"
"I'm working, what does it look like?" Quietly, Amaranth cursed the white pelts. They stained so EASY... And much more obviously. When she was finally satisfied with the job she'd done, she put it up on a rock, before checking the ones she'd already done. "I was told to clean the pelts from the den, so I'm cleaning the pelts from the den." She then looked at the other lioness, frowning. "And what are YOU doing? Aren't you going to go harrass Norman?" She pulled another pelt over to the water, starting to scrub at it with a rock that had some bristley hyde tied to it. She wondered, really, why the other lioness wanted THAT particular wimpy lion. What did he have to offer, other than his brother being a Reaver and his sister being a Priestess?
Bodil's ears folded back for a moment, frowning at the Thrall's sharp tongue. But she didn't reprimand her, as there was truth in her questions. "I'm just out walking, and he's busy with his nose in his latest creation attempt." She gave a little snort, then glanced at the dark lioness. Taking a seat, she watched Amaranth scrub at the pelt until it was clean enough, then move on to the next. "Do you ever tire of it? Being a Thrall?" That was a silly question, many Thralls tired of it. There were some who were proud of what they did, of course, and proud to serve, particularly amid the lions. Was this one of them?
The dark lioness scowled. "What do YOU think?" She angrily scrubbed a spot on the pelt she was now working on. "Of course I'm tired of it! 'Amaranth do this, Amaranth do that!'" She shook the bristle-rock at Bodil. "I'd like to see how that creepy lioness likes doing others' bidding one day!" She went back to scrubbing. "Let's get off that topic. Why do you want Norman so bad? He's a weirdo." Not like his older sister, of course, but still a weirdo in his own right.
She leaned back, ears folded back again as she frowned at the rock. How had she even...? Norman was probably involved in the creation of that particular tool. "I suppose that WOULD get tiresome after a while... Especially if you were free before now..." She cleared her throat, before a bit of red tinged her cheeks. "Why do I want... Oh... I have only brothers, I had no sisters in my litter... So I want to be a Reaver, and I DO want a mate, but I want one closer to my age who I can protect. I don't want a Reaver or Captain for a mate, but... A Freeborn." In short, she wanted a husband that was like a wife, and she wanted to be like the husband in the relationship. The one in the metaphorical pants. "I don't care how silly that might sound, it's what I want in life."
Amaranth stopped, snorting with laughter. "Yeah, you'll be the dominant one THERE, alright!" Not that Bodil had what Norman may have WANTED... Which she wasn't sure if he even wanted ANYTHING. She scrubbed the pelt vigorously again, grinning with amusement. "I wish you luck with him, Bodil." She tossed the pelt onto a rock to dry, before grabbing the last one. "You're going to need it with a lion like that."
The brown lioness' hackles suddenly went up, before she shoved the darker lioness over, pinning her partway in the river. "You WILL watch what you say about him and ANY Freeborn, THRALL!" She pressed her paw to the heterochromatic lioness' throat, lips curled back in a snarl. "Whatever you say, whatever ANYBODY says, I WILL defend his honor, because HIS honor WILL be tied to MY honor, and you had best to NEVER forget that!" She pricked her claws against skin under fur. "Do I make myself CLEAR?" Behind her, she heard an angered roar, glancing over to see Yu beginning to approach.
Alarm rose up in her as Bodil pinned her. Water lapped against her head and shoulders as she struggled to get the other lioness off her throat, while trying to breathe. The p***k of claws was a clear and obvious threat, as Amaranth tried to shove the paw and leg off. She only dimly heard the roar, before the paw left and she gasped for air. When Bodil stepped back, Amaranth pushed herself up, coughing and gasping and panting. She rubbed her throat, looking at Bodil with alarm. THIS was the lioness who wanted Norman?! She was so VOLATILE! She continued to pant, finally having gotten air back in her lungs, at least.
She snorted at the Thrall, before shoving past the Reaver. "You had best teach her how to TALK to others before somebody KILLS her for that TONGUE." She said no more, and didn't wait around for Yu's reply, leaving the river behind and heading to find Norman to heckle.
