[No worries that’s totally enough for me to run on. Btw, read your clan lore and it looks so freaky, but so cool at the same time. I can see myself having fun with this]

“Guys, I don’t know about this.” Ellie said as the trio walked along the boarder. The two lions in front of her stopped and looked back at her. Caleb, only roughly as old as she was, rolled his eyes.

“Come on Ellie. You gonna be a chicken now that we’re almost there?” He teased. Ellie stuck her tongue out and trudged ahead of them.

“I’m not chicken.” She stated. “But you've heard what they say about the northern tribe. They’re…they’re…”

“Crazy?” Salman, technically two years their senior, but with the heart of an adolescent matched her pace.

“Yeah, we’ve all heard. That’s why were going to check it out-”

“Remember?” Caleb interjected. Salmon gave him a glare. He looked back at Ellie.

“It’s all for fun. We’ll take a peak then run off before they can catch us. Easy.” Salman said.

“I hear they eat primals for lunch,” Ellie stated flatly. Salman rolled his red eyes.

“Right, and they hate those who would be involved in our cult of reverse breeders.” He retorted.

“I’ll have you know-” Ellie started, but she was quickly cut off by a shoosh from Caleb. He came running back to them.

“I think we’re close.” He flicked his tail. “See how it turns from savannah to forest, the it slopes? They’re down there.”

Salman craned his hears, he could hear some kind of commotion. He looked at Ellie. “You ready?”

She danced from paw to paw then looked up. “I guess.”

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Lethe
Shaking out his mane, Lethe stood, an expression somewhere between a snarl and a grin stretching across his muzzle. Just like Snowfall to sit and take a beating without protest. She was so devout, always willing to jump up and do as he commanded. It truly was a pity she hadn't been blessed, but without any chance of her becoming his queen, it may just be for the best. Raising his head, he looked around at his pridemates, taking careful note of their reactions before he lead them out of the caverns, and back up into the sunlight. They preferred to den in the large ravine, sheltered as it was by the surrounding forest and shrubland, but a bit of lounging in the sun was nice, every once and a while.

Valoras
He dropped the other male with a slight huff, his lip curling in disgust as he looked down at the body, now half covered in whatever branches and dirt he could find. They always looked bad after Lethe had finished with them, but this one... Valoras noticed the fur on his neck prickling, and quickly flattened it down with a paw. He believed, of course, but he had never liked being in those cramped caverns. Made him nervous. Besides, he owed it to Lethe, who had picked him out of a gaggle of underfed, malnourished cubs, and taken him under his wing. Valoras was in Lethe's debt now, something he could never repay. Valoras returned to his morbid task, dragging a final clump of branches over the body. There. The pride would probably be sunning near the edges of the ravine, celebrating the successful sacrifice with a feast of sorts.

Valoras would join them in a moment. He picked up a small stone, one of the round white ones he found near the pool, and brought it over to the pile of branches. He liked to mark them, on occasion. Suddenly, he heard something that made him flinch, dropping the stone with a thud. Voices! Someone was drawing near. For a moment, he panicked. What would they do if they found him here? Would they notice the blood-scent that clung to his pelt?

He needed to get some distance. Casting a careful glance around him, he moved closer to the border, making sure not to leave any clear traces of the path back. He could almost catch a glimpse of them through the foliage.
There were three of them, but he wasn't close enough to see much more.

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Salman hit the ground with a louder thing than he meant to. Darn his big body. He was stronger and better looking than most lions, but his bigness also made him a bit clumsy. Darn that.

Since coming this close to the boarder, no one had said anything. Breaths were kept quiet and even. Kind of like when Neo sent adolescents into the rabbit holes to practice tracking. You had to be dead silent, only in this case it was so you didn't startle the other pride.

Salman could feel Ellie's nervous breaths next to him. Caleb seemed fine, bull headed, but fine. Suddenly Ellie stopped crawling.

"What's up Ellie?" Salman whispered. Her nose sniffed the air. Then she looked over at the guys.

"Nothing...um, I just thought I smelt blood is all." She replied.

"They were probably just hunting El." Caleb quietly retored.

"Right." Ellie continued crawling forward then she stopped. "Wait. Guys-"

"What now Ellie?" Caleb asked.

"There's another lion...and I think he sees us." She stammered.

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Valoras's ears pricked as he heard the thud, and the much closer sounds of voices. Would they cross the border. Valoras considered his options for a moment. Lethe could always use another lion, but Valoras doubted he could fight three others. He could lure them, perhaps. Invite them to the festival, get them to come one by one.

Then again, he didn't want to risk angering Lethe by bringing him a 'low quality' soul. He'd have to see them in the daylight. With a slight rustle of leaves, he slunk closer, making sure to keep himself mostly hidden. One of the males was primal, but the other two seemed much younger, practically adolescents. The primal, however, looked older than he was, and with numbers on their side, this wouldn't be a fight he could win.

It was time for a chat. Forgetting that, in all the excitement, he had forgotten to clean the flecks of blood from his muzzle, and mane. There wasn't much, but it was enough to be somewhat noticeable. He moved towards where he had heard the thud, announcing his presence with a short growling roar. Hopefully it didn't sound too aggressive. "Show yourselves, and I won't call the pride!"

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Salam froze. Shoot they had been too loud. He looked at his comrades. "Ellie, stay low." He whispered. He looked at Caleb and they both nodded. The males stood, not looking at Ellie. They approached the male.

"I am Salman and this is my brother, Caleb. We were out exploring and I suppose we crossed your border." He bowed his head, hoping Caleb did the same. " We apologize, we'll return. We don't want to further disgrace our king with our frivalness."

Salman raised his head and noted the other lion. A pink mane, but flecked with in it were blood spots. Maybe Ellie had been right. His muzzle too contained the faintest bit of blood. Without looking he knew Caleb noticed it, thank the stars he hadn't said anything.

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Valoras raised his head a little higher, claws flexing on the dry earth. They were keeping the third hidden, then. Must've been younger than he thought.

"It's good to see the southern pride is doing well. Haven't gotten many visitors from them in a while." Valoras looked a little more closely at the two males. All of a sudden, they seemed rather uneasy. Valoras opened his jaws in a yawn, noting with some displeasure that he had forgotten to clean his teeth and muzzle in a stream. It could surely be explained away easily enough.

"You don't have to leave just yet." Valoras stalked over to the base of a tree, before sitting down in the shade. "My King will be eager to know what's been going on with our neighbors. Your friend can come out too, I won't bite."

He surveyed the males once more. They were older than him, and had numbers on their side, but they still seemed nervous, more nervous than they would be if it had been a simple accident. Had they heard rumors? He'd have to find out more.

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"Your friend can come out too." The words startled her, more than she meant them too. Ellie looked for Salman through the branches of the bush. His eyes flashed with concern, but then he nodded. She slowly stood, her mind keanly aware of how her fur stood out against the forest around her.

She strode as casually as she could over to Salman, eyeing the male. We're the rumors true? Did he eat other lions? She trusted Salman could take him down quickly if they needed, and with Caleb they'd be fine, but she was never a good fighter. Only food at debate was what a lioness had slapped her for recently.

Salman cocked his head, as if thinking. Ellie dying to just spit out, 'aorry, we should be off doing other things. I have a hunt to go on...' or whatever she could muster. To her horror though, Salman nodded. She made a mental note never to go on this type of shananagin with him again.

"Making connections with your pride again would be in the best interest of our pride." He paused a moment. I" suppose in our haste we failed to introduce ourselves. I am Salman. The male with me is my half brother Caleb, and this is my half sister Ellie. We are all children of King Neo I."

Ellie bobbed her head as her name was called. She did question Salman though. Was it wise to say they were all children of Neo? And if it was, shouldn't he also mention he's the heir?

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A slight smile flickered across his face as he saw the young lioness emerge from the undergrowth, only a few feet or so from where he had guessed she was hiding. She seemed a little nervous, but the two males who were with her, Salman, and Caleb, seemed to have relaxed, at least enough to sit near him. To his amusement, Valoras noticed the slight look of horror on the lioness's, on Ellie's face as Salman joined him in conversation. She had clearly heard something about the pride. He'd have to speak with Lethe about that later. Something Salman said grabbed his attention, however.

"Neo? I can't say I've ever heard his name around these parts before." Valoras lowered his head slightly, signaling he had meant no offense. They were rather isolated, it was true, but a new king usually wasn't something they ignored. "I suppose I am pretty behind on the local news." Valoras looked around at the three, considering them carefully. With all of them related to the king, that pretty much scrapped his plans to bring them back to his pride. He didn't want them talking too much about the encounter. With a slight start, Valoras noticed he had gone silent, glancing up at the sky.

It definitely wasn't very polite to zone out in the middle of conversation. "It's interesting to know the southern pride has a king we hadn't heard of. I'm afraid our pride has fallen a little out of the loop." After a subtitle pause, Valoras shifted the topic of conversation a little closer to home. "By the way, my name is Valoras. I'm mostly just a border guard, but I also help my king with other things. I'm definitely no heir." Valoras laughed slightly. He had never really wanted a pride or lionesses of his own, and was more than content to leave the kingly duties to Lethe. "I was wondering, since I hadn't heard the name of your king, have you heard of mine?"

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Salman smiled politely at the other lion. While surprised he’d never heard of his father, Salman was was also relieved. One less clan rivalry to worry about right now. He knew when he became king there would be a lot to work out, but for now if he could maintain peace he would try.

“My father was not the intended heir. Perhaps this is why you never heard of him.” Salman replied.

“Our old king was crazed in his old age, Neo stepped in and over threw him and his heir in a huge, glorious fight!” Caleb interjected. Salman refused the urge to send him a scowl. Hakim, the former heir, had been his best friend. But food shortages and poor treatment of many of the former king’s children had sent them all away. Hakim had lead that exodus only but a moon ago.

“Yes, um. I’m sure it was interesting, but none of us were alive then.” Salman said, a nervous chuckle sliding out with it.

When Salman looked at the submale he was staring of. Ellie huffed beside him.

“I don’t think he heard a word you said.” She whispered. He nudged her.

“Easy El. The goal now is to be friendly and leave peacibly.”

“But what if-“ She was cut off by the submales introduction.

“I don’t believe we have.” Salman answered.

“I’ve heard speculation, that he’s piebald though?” Ellie stated. The young lionesses comment struck him. She would know that only from hunts with her mom, and her mom would only care because she was a piebald herself.

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Valoras relaxed a little when the other lions didn't seem to take offense. He was outnumbered, and he had seen plenty of males that would strike at even the slightest of perceived slights. He needed to keep them somewhat calm, get as much information about the neighboring prides as he could.

"A shame that it had to end in a fight. " Valoras's ears twitched slightly, as he imagined the battle, smirking slightly at Caleb's interruption, before returning his focus to Salman, ears fully pricked. He hadn't caught the end of whatever ellie had said, but he heard what Salman said in response, and it made his tailtip twitch irritability. The mention of his king, however, soothed his nerves somewhat.

"Lethe is a Piebald, yes." When Valoras had said Lethe's name, his voice had taken on a strange, almost worshipful quality, a somewhat fanatical glint in his eyes. "He was blessed by the divines with a pelt like the stars." Valoras had trailed off slightly, ears swiveling. Had he heard something, off in the woods? Valoras rose quickly to his paws, standing suddenly stiffer. Lethe had told him that they were going out hunting before the feast, but Valoras hadn't expected them to get this close to the border. Lethe had probably scented the outsiders.

//I was going to post more but I am not good at time management lol

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Ellie's insides twisted at the tone Valeros took on. A neighboring pride to them, also cared about having stary pelts, but they didn't worship it (this would be my side account). Maybe the rumor was true. But maybe they didn't just kill all lions, maybe they killed those outside of the clan that didn't look like them.

"Um, my mother is also Piebald. She has what is called cursed patches. I don't think her pelt was 'blessed' though" Ellie smiled. "I still think she is pretty though."

She looked up at Salman. His face has grown concerned. He stood. She knew his primal sent was much better than hers. She also stood, wishing she was a primal as well.

"Seems like we're going to meet your pride anyway." Salman said.

"Couldn't we just go?" Ellie asked. He shook his head.

"No time, and Valeros here would know we've gone." He leaned closer to her ear. "Your concern is noted, but if they haven't heard of father than-"

"They won't know the wrath they'll receive if they kill you." Ellie whispered.

"Have they been hunting?" Salman asked looking back at Valoras. "I think I smell a lot of rabbit."

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(Switching to posting on my side for a bit because I don't feel like rolling over my main and having to feed everyone lol)

Valoras had stood very still, almost like he had been frozen as he listened to the others talk. He couldn't hear everything they said, but he noticed his name mentioned. Were they plotting something against him? That would be to their detriment, as is looked like Valoras was about to be backed up by more of his pridemates. His ear flicked slightly as he registered Salman's question, his posture relaxing very slightly.

"We've all been preparing for a..." Valoras paused, blanking slightly on what to say next. It couldn't hurt too much to tell them they had a festival planned, right? As long as he didn't mention what it was for, of course.

"We've been preparing for a feast of sorts, but the hunting parties are usually pretty small. That's what I was doing before I ran into you three. My pride probably scented you, or came to see what was taking me so long."

Valoras sniffed the air, able to recognize the scents of his pride mates easily enough. Snowfall was accompanied by one of the other huntresses, Whisper. Was Lethe really not with them? Perhaps he had been mistaken. He was about to turn and ask another question of Salman, when he heard something that made all of his fur stand on end.

A deep growl rumbled from a darker patch between some of the larger trees, ending in an almost hissing rasp that could've turned Valoras's very blood to ice. The scent of salt water filled his nose as Lethe stepped into the clearing, claws unsheathed, resplendent in the sunlight.
--------------------
Lethe more felt than saw the familiar coil of cold starlight that wound its way across his shoulders, making his eyes gleam with a similar feverish light. These would be acceptable, then, if he chose to offer them. Lethe relaxed his stance a little, looking Valoras up and down a moment before focusing on the strangers in front of him. His submale obviously found no issue with their presence, but Lethe was king here. He stepped forward, closer towards the large primal, nose wrinkling slightly. Primals had their uses, but when none of them could be touched by the stars, no matter their ability, Lethe usually kept his distance. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time for that.

"Care to explain to me, Valoras, why you're in the company of three trespassers?" Lethe kept his tone light, but there was no mistaking the tinge of hostility that lingered in his last word. Having this many strangers around was never good.

(also the reason Lethe smells like seawater is because he spends most of his time by the starry murder pool which connected to the ocean

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Ellie instantly hates their presence. The females were okay, but the male. Ick. He looked like Neo after he'd spent hours being praised by the cult ties to him. Females that believed that all the cubs in the pride should be only born of Neo. Her mother didn't believe that and was shunned, and even though Ellie was of Neo she was also shunned. It'd made for a miserable cubhood.

This one though. She growled under her breath as he came close to Salman. Thank goodness the primal had good communication skills or they'd all be in for it.

"King Lethe isn't it?" Salman asked with a bow. "We invaded yes, my deepest apologies. We were exploring and lost track of the border line."

"We can leave now." Ellie stated. She looked up at Caleb who nodded. He'd been too quiet all this time, but now she could see why. He has been thinking, and moving himself to protect her rear. Her muscles tightened if Lethe even touched Salman, she'd be ready.

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Lethe continued forward, his steps smooth and even. These strangers had a strange scent on them... The southern pride, perhaps? At least one of them was showing proper respect to a king whose land they had been lounging on. Lethe returned the bow with a slight dip of his head, looking over the male in front of him. He looked strong enough, and carried himself well. No wonder that Valoras had stopped to chat.

"I am king Lethe, ruler of the pride that controls these lands, as you have correctly guessed. But I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. I can smell the southern pride on you three, but I don't know any of your names."

He had kept his attention mostly on the male that had spoken to him, but he took the opportunity to look over all of them. The one who had spoken to him was a primal, with an odd looking ashy coat. The other, quieter male, shared the same coloring, if a little plainer, and the young lioness that stood between them had a paler, if still gray pelt. Just like the southern pride to have pelts that looked like bits of stone. He turned his gaze to his lionesses, signaling them to take their catches back with a flick of his tail. Prey had been running well enough, at least until they had found Valoras's scent. It provided some good cover, at least. Lethe glanced down at his claws, still stained with rabbit blood. He had always hated the blasted scraps of fur, but they were decent eating, at least.
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Valoras had crouched into a deep bow, the edges of his mane brushing the dry earth below him. He hadn't needed to look up much to notice that Snowfall had fresh clawmarks on her muzzle, a couple of the deeper ones still bleeding a little. Lethe had such a temper, sometimes. He seemed in an alright mood now though. It must be because of the upcoming festival. Hopefully Lethe wouldn't get into an argument now. Salman seemed rather nonplussed, but Caleb and Ellie were clearly antsy. Valoras had kept his claws sheathed, but if they tried anything, he would eagerly take a blow for Lethe. He could hold his own in a fight, of course, but Lethe preferred to only use his teeth and claws to carry out the will of the stars, which was what prompted Lethe to take Valoras into the pride in the first place.

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"I'm sorry sir." Salman said. He kept himself calm, collected. Unlike his father he did not believe in settling matters with his claws. If it came to it he was well trained, but if he could avoid it he would. " I should have introduced us better. I am Salman. The other male is Caleb and the female is Ellie. As I said before we are all children of our king Neo." He paused, and looked up but kept his head low. "Who as you guessed is king of the southern pride."

He took a small side step to block Ellie from view. Was this King evaluations them? Salman has heard the rumors. They were cannibals, they kidnapped cubs, but would he steal three children of the neighboring king. He seemed to know about them, more than the submale. Did he know Salman was the heir? His heart beat worriedly in his chest.

"You seem to know a bit about us?" He inquired.

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