[CHAL #1] Tethys x Naima

[Epine de Rose]

She hadn't intended to stumble across this territory, but no sooner had she done so than she had encountered the larger white lion battling against a darker lioness. This had soon been folowed by a number of other lions appearing, all of which had seemed to be in the company of the pale male. They had come from somewhere, but they had, for the most part, paid not heed to her.

...After all, the pale male had gotten things 'covered' and was handling the darker lioness's presence.

She had attempted to step back, but in those moments it seemed her cowardice had been noted and no sooner had she taken a step or two back than she felt a paw press against her back. She had been spotted, and she was no longer free to leave until...well...

She wasn't sure, was she supposed to fight this one?

She continued to dwell on this and no sooner had she established that she did have to fight him, than the lion was beaten and rolled over onto the ground with a disgruntled snort. Perhaps this would be okay, if the other lioness could beat him then surely she would have the good fortune to be able to as well...  

[Epine de Rose]

He had not performed well.

Imbibing was definitely a no-go whenever he was out in future, he would wait until he was home before he participated in any revelry that left him this handicapped. Nevertheless, as he pulled himself back to his paws he did have the opportunity to get back some of his honour, it just so happened in came in the form of the slight little lioness who had very obviously not intended to be here...

"All right let's make this quick," he grumbled, his expression pained as the headache throbbed across his temples.

"Kick my a** and you're a free lioness, don't...and you're not a free lioness," he stated coolly. He was usually a well mannered, easy going lion, but one was not open to such benevolence when they had the worst hangover this side of the century and they had just been embarrassed by a girl...  

[Epine de Rose]

She was pushed forward more firmly.

He spoke in a gravelly tone, and was clearly in no mood to play - if she had expected any form of benevolence then she had stumbled into the wrong territory. At this point she had no choice but to fight, but how did one fight when all the knew was how to hunt? The two were not directly linked and you could do one without the other...

Hesitantly, she leapt forward and attempted to pounce upon the lion that had clearly had better mornings. At the very least she knew her aim would be good, if she could catch smaller creatures, then something of his size was something that she absolutely couldn't miss.  

[Epine de Rose]

One - two - three.

Annnnnnd dodge...

He stepped to the side of her, though she still managed to clip his flank as she sailed passed him. What might have worked for prey animals, wasn't going to work for this particular lion. Handicapped or not, he had his pride and dignity to recover and to be pounced upon immediately by such a tiny feline just wasn't going to work for her.

Instead, the moment she landed, he used his paws to scoop her up and throw her back the way she had come. Perhaps she would bounce? She seemed springy enough to do so, for all he knew she might be like a cub in that respect - he was about to find out, for science.  

[Epine de Rose]

It had failed, and no sooner had her paws hit the ground than she found herself flung away from her immediate position and back towards where she had come from. It hadn't been something that the lioness had expected and she squealed as her shoulders smacked into the soil beneath her - as he had expected, she did bounce, not once but twice, and then slid a small ways away from him.

The blow had winded her, but acutely aware that she simply couldn't run (not yet at least), the petite lioness stumbled to her paws again.

Shaking her head, she regained her wits and promptly barreled forward again, this time she was going to wait later to pounce. So long as she timed it right, he wouldn't have the chance to move, and hopefully she would be able to get on his back so that he couldn't throw her off either...  

[Epine de Rose]

There wasn't even a single sliver of hesitation, the lioness was so poor at keeping her intentions quiet that he was able to judge her assault to perfection and he swung round. She was greeted with his hind paws, both square to her jaw and more than enough to send the poor creature flying again. All in all, the lion was hugely unimpressed with this charade.

What was the point even?

He shook his head slowly, so as not to make his headache worse, and pressed forward towards the lioness who would require sheer luck not to have been knocked out by the blow. By now, those who had boxed her in so that she couldn't flee had continued on their way home, seemingly satisfied that she would be dealt with.

Fortunately for her... Tethys still remembered what his father had taught him and how he had been raised.

This wasn't sport for him, and there was no honour to be had here... It was better for him to end this sooner rather than later...  

[Epine de Rose]

Naima wasn't knocked out cold, but she was most certainly winded and very dazed. Perhaps it was the fear in her, but as he came near her she lashed out with her paw in an attempt to shoo him away. This had been a mistake, she hadn't meant to stumble in to these lands and now she was up against something she couldn't beat... if she'd had her own choice she would have fled the moment she had seen the conflict!

Sucked in a breath, she swiped again and shakily pulled herself up. She was in no condition to make another strike, not unless she wasn't to fall over again, but in the same vain she also wasn't really in any condition to 'flee' either. If she had wanted to leave, she certainly could have (they had left after all), but that would require the ability to run...

Maybe she could bite his nose off.  

[Epine de Rose]

The paw was swiftly batted away by the male as he closed the gap completely and peered down at the lioness. He had managed to regain his bearings to a certain degree and his faculties were returning. Up close, it was all too apparent that the female was absolutely incapable of beating him, she was simply too weak - her definition simply wasn't there. He surmised that she only hunted small game, as she was too slender to be of use against larger species... That being said, there were parts of her that seemed to indicate that she was built for speed.

...A trait she should have used a long time ago.

He paused, and continued to observe her for a few moments longer before he at last began to speak. A deep rumble escaping from the depths of his throat, in times like these, he most assuredly resembled his father.

"I am going to count to three, and you will have exactly that length of time to leave," he murmured and nodded back the way she had come. "If I see you again, I won't hold back... And do not expect any of the others to be so considerate either..."  

[Epine de Rose]

"W-what...?" before she could query the lion further, he had already begun to count down...albeit slowly.

Whoever he was, he wasn't quite as cruel as she had anticipated. While his companions might have thrust her in to the ring (maybe out of curiosity), it seemed that this evening the lioness would not be meeting her maker. The white lion had decided to provide her with a very brief respite and a stark warning. She would do well to remember in future, and take note of anything and everything that might allow her to recognise that she had come to far or too close to what should arguably have been bad lands.

Rather than look a gift horse in the mouth the lioness stumbled around, and with a pained gasp due to her bruised ribs, she began to make her way back towards safety. Admittedly she wouldn't be out of his sight when he hit 'zero', but perhaps that wasn't his point? Maybe the entire point had been for him to force her to flee before she went beyond the point of return...

In a way, she was grateful.  

[Epine de Rose]

He would take the hit on this one and call it a bad day.

Ignoring he ever curious stare of his new 'thrall', he strode passed Narabe and made his way towards the inner enclaves of the pride. He did have to introduce his sister to her new assistant after all, and the sooner he did, the sooner he could flop on his side and die from his hangover. Still, he did hope that the white lioness was smart enough to stay well away from the borders in the future.

...Lest she find herself in dire straights.

After all, there was no way that he get away with failing so frequently, a Captain might be able to swing it, but he had to be smart about it for now. Otherwise, he could very well find himself on the wrong side of the hierarchy.