[SRP] Pretty Faces (Tethys x Ari)

[Epine de Rose]

She was getting a feel for this place. While it wasn't really her home per-say, she was beginning to appreciate why her children loved it. There was something very raw about this pride, its traditions and its culture. Even its 'weaker' members (if they could even be called that) exhibited a strength that gave reason for pause. They weren't all just pretty faces and as she had explored more and more, she began to appreciate them. With that appreciation came a certain level of curiosity.

...According to their traditions one had to join by proving their worth, or by being enslaved. Her children had clearly proven their worth given their positions in society, but she did have to wonder if she would have been capable of it herself. This was why she now found herself bumbling towards her son's warband. The jig had been up for a long time regarding her identity and by now they knew who she was, but they probably hadn't anticipated that she would show up right on the borders.

Hell she was going to go all for this.

She wanted to play the part!

Thus as she came to a halt beside her son she put on her most fiercesome expression and let out what could only be described as a feeble roar. Quite frankly it was a bit more of a 'meow' than anything else.

Words: 231

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Mom?" Tethys had arched a brow and replied to her ridiculous meow even as his warband had exchanged amused glances. Ari had always known how to make an entrance, but there were times when it bordered on comical and at this moment in time he had never seen a description more fitting. This was the first time in which he had ever seen her face twist in to something that he assumed was supposed to be fiercesome, and yet here he was attempting to fight back a grin or a laugh.

...Suffice it to say, some of his warband weren't having much success.

Multiple smiles had cracked and a few cough-covered bouts of laughter had been detected, but on this occasion he certainly didn't blame them for what was arguably one of her more unusual entrances. He rose to his feet and broke away from the band, their meeting temporarily paused as he closed the gap between himself and his mother. It was probably in his best interests to work out what exactly she was aiming to achieve with this display, she certainly didn't seem angry.

"If I didn't know any better... I would call that a challenge," he teased.

Words: 200

 

[Epine de Rose]

Good humoured as always, Arimathras didn't take offence at the chuckles and looks of amusement. If she'd learnt anything about these fluffy males and females, it was that they didn't have a great deal of subtlety. If anything, they typically looked down on anything and everything that happened to move until it proved itself. She might have been a deity but in their eyes she wasn't one of great note... For the most part, she was a lioness who was benevolent and kind, she didn't have a firm bone in her body and certainly wasn't one for war.

...If anything, the only muscle she might have was that she would acquire from harvesting her plants!

Still, she had decided it was time to prove that her offspring didn't get all their strength from their father. Sure, they might have gotten their size from her, but as it stood the vast majority seemed to believe they had inherited their combative abilities from their sire. While a part of her didn't believe this was false, even she had enough pride to want them to see that she was capable of battle too. Well, she hoped she was, she'd never actually attempted to fight anything in her life so this was all a bit new to her.

"That's exactly what it is," she confirmed with a firm nod. "You think your father is the only one who can raise his paws and fight well?" she asked curiously, furrowing her brow at her son's immediate reaction. He hadn't been able to hide it quickly enough, just like the rest he believed she probably couldn't hold her own in an even fight.

"So what do I have to do?" she asked curiously.

...Now there was the caveat, she knew she had to roar, but she didn't really know what was supposed to happen next.

Words: 309
Total Words (Ari): 540

 

[Epine de Rose]

Yep, she'd seen his expression. He hadn't even had a chance to mask it, his features had reacted before he had even managed to let his brain catch up. She had said something so outlandish to him that his entire body had spoken on his behalf. Fortunately his mother rarely took offence at these things and given she simply didn't have the disposition towards battle, this really should have come at no surprise. Suffice it to say that she was a vegetarian and had 'flowers in her belly' for want of a better description... She was everything a Viking wasn't, or at least at a glance she was... To assume she had the capacity to fight was a completely foreign notion to him.

"Mother..." he began slowly, adopting her full 'name' as she continued along her train of thought. She had gone in to this without fully understanding what it entailed and she was very fortunate she had done it to him. He couldn't imagine the mess he would have to get himself into if she had done it to someone else and he had been forced to flex his muscles to prevent her from becoming a damn thrall of all things.

...Now that would have been a turn up for the books.

"You have to fight me," he clarified as he lifted a brow. "And not just smack me on the nose," he continued and motioned to the Reavers behind him. Riddled with scars, he and his warband were a sight to behold, if she thought she simply had to battle in a similar fashion to a cub then he needed to correct that notion quickly. "Full blown, no holds barred combat," he went on and cleared his throat.

"That means that you either have to knock me out, give me such a beating I have to concede, or you do enough to prove you have the capacity to become a great warrior," he paused and raised a brow. The more he spoke the less likely he believed she was capable of it, god or not, there was no way she would be able to do something quite so mean.

"If you can do that, then we can certainly continue..." he finished and cleared his throat. He was giving her an out, and just as well really, he could already see the hesitation on her face...

Words: 394
Total Words (Tethys): 594