The aftermath. (After the battle - OPEN FOR ALL!)

[LAD]

Jericho & Serpheral & Shinku

Sepheral and Shinku both turned to Balthier as he spoke to them and then nodded in sync. Sepheral however was the one whom spoke. "We should let them eat first. After all, there's plenty of prey to catch for pride later on. This round can go to them. As for Osic..." She glanced in the direction the Lord and Commander had taken him, then shrugged. Shinku took over. "From the way he was escorted here and then obviously singled out, I'm sure he did some actions that were deemed.. Unworthy." His voice wasn't friendly, but it wasn't unfriendly either. And then he followed it up with his own shrug.

Jericho, knowing no one, and not really having sustained any serious wounds from his sister and mother, and having no one approaching him, turned away. He didn't care to be checked up by any healers and he definitely didn't even know which ones were healers. So instead he turned away from the crowd - too many to his liking - and forced his stiff muscles to move away from the food so invitingly beckoning to him. He wasn't hungry either. He moved to the farthest edge of the crowd, and promptly laid down there, ignoring everyone else. It wasn't like he was to be approached by anyone anyway too.

[drifter]

Osic Donovan | Iarri Kannon | Corona Sulliveri

He followed silently. If his father and commander and planned on killing him away from prying eyes then he was somewhat grateful for it. He remembered what had happened to the white demonic female, and he gave a light shiver.
Funeral stretched and seemed to relax a bit. He figured they were wanting him to relax as well but it was virtually impossible. So he remained standing; straight and stiff legged. He watched the King closely, his ears laying flat against his cranium, tail hung down and unmoving.
When Osic went to answer Funeral his voice came out cracked and dry, as if it hadn't been used in months. He was clearly not only scared but terrified. He could very well be staring death right in the face and the thought of dying allow was beginning to shake him up.
The young male cleared his throat twice before speaking. "I thought I hated Najisi. Every thought of her was bitter and vile. I told myself that if I were to ever see her again I'd drag her sorry ass right back here and to your feet..." He hesitated then. Would explaining himself really matter in the end? But the Donovan son pushed forward. "But when I saw her, bloodied and fighting to live.. All my hatred vanished. Every fiber in my body screamed for me to stop the fight; screamed for me to protect her. And it wasn't just her. I would have done the same for Carnal... The same for Circa.. For Balthier, Edmund, Viciado, Tolvia.... I would have done the same for you.." He looked up then, having been looking everywhere but those dark greens. But he looked now, staring his father face to face. "Even if I die today, right now... Even if Im tortured and left hanging to the last inch of my life.. Father.. I would do it a hundred times over if it meant just one of my family could live." The more he talked the braver he became but he didn't want to over do it. He didn't want them to snap but there were some things he felt he had to say. "I did what I did because I believed it to be the right thing. I still believe it was the right thing to do.... I regret none of my actions. And I am more than willing to stand here and obey whatever decision you make. I'm not a traitor. I'm not scum. I'm a loyal Meurtrier son who happened to be protecting his family." He meant it. All of it, even though he was afraid of the out comes.
Osic's eyes glazed with sadness but he continued to remain silent, letting them now he was done explaining himself.

Iarri nodded to Viciado and prepared to help. She then turned after Nerante when he requested her help and spun around once more when his mother stated for the red 'ess to remain put. However, Iarri did all this without complaint. She was happy with her position. She knew she was the newbie healer, the one in training and that that called for a lot of running back and forth.
As Nerante left and began pointing the wounded in the right direction, she stood guard a bit at the entrance to welcome those that arrived and directing them on where to wait their turn. She also ran and gathered whatever Viciado would begin to run low on. But in the back of her mind she worried for Corona, wondering if her friend was fairing alright.


Corra eventually managed to silence herself. The tears had stopped but the stains remained. She vaguly heard someone address her but she was in no mood to talk. She was grateful when they then asked Circa.

[Silverfang]

The Dominant watched his son; he could almost leech the fear that he felt emanating from Osic. When the Dominant's son met his own eyes, however, he noticed the growth in confidence. As he finished explaining, Funeral simply narrowed his eyes, barely.

"This is war, Osic. Against most of our former comrades. Everyone is facing off against their family." But you are showing weakness.

His eyes narrowed. "I would put my life on the line for all of my comrades here - especially my children. Whether or not they are deserving of such a sacrifice.. determines." His jaws were barely parted enough for the off-white glow from his teeth be shown. "Is Najisi deserving of your life? Your loyalty? Think of it: mother or not, she abandoned you. Left to head against the pride that her children are in - tell me, if she had any ounce of love for you, would she be trying to kill the pride that she knows her once-family was in? She had to know this, didn't she? Hell, she might even be using you to do exactly what's happening now. She may just be putting up a simple front. I'm sure she knows how to play her cards."

And if he still was not convinced.

"I don't have a doubt about your loyalty - and I can be merciful." He paused. "But we need our best fighters and as many as we can get. We do not need to be held back."

Of course.. there was always a thought in the back of his mind that he was sure could be useful.

But it was risky, and instead he awaited what his son said in response, his gaze never faltering from their position on his son, his claws flexing into the earth.

[Canicas]

Morphine was near the throne area, he was searching for Funeral. He needed to speak to his brother about his deal with Gespenster. He noticed that he had company, Cocaine and Osic. They had scratches, and blood on them. Morphine stepped back, to let them pass. Another time, that isn't good for them to talk. He didn't believe to be such a good idea to follow them, and turned in the direction they came from. Running over, not that he had anyone he wanted to check on in particular. But still, it was his pride. When he arrived he looked around at everyone, blood. He noticed one, he stood out of Morphine. The way he left the crowd and hid in the corner. Little damage done to him, he walked over and looked down at him. "....Can you help me understand what happened?" Morphine questioned.

(( Jericho ))

[drifter]

Osic Donovan

As Funeral spoke, Osic snuck a glance toward the Commander. Cocaine had been oddly quiet through out, it was beginning to unnerve the youth. But he quickly looked back to the larger winged male, so as not to seem as if he weren't paying attention. His head dropped a bit as he nodded in understanding. "I just.. I've always wanted to know both sides of the story." If Cocaine or anyone else had killed Najisi on that battle field then Osic would never know. He would never know if she left because she didn't love them or if she'd ever come back because she actually did. "Maybe I was being selfish." He looked up again then. "But I still stand by what I told her.
I would rather die knowing that my family is alive than live and know they are my enemy."
He could have very well sealed his own fate, he knew this, but he said it anyway. I rang true in his conscious.

[kahara]

GEMINOR, VICIADO, KODIAC, COCAINE, STATIC

[/i] Geminor asked, his tail twitching.

Viciado turned after she sent down another to a den. Her son, Zephyr, was there. She was on him at once with nuzzles and happy greets; but she also inspected him ferociously. "You seem well. Was the battle good to you? How well did it go?" She continued with her duties and awaited a reply from her son.

Kodiac watched as Kazbek and Caylis left to get checked. It left Estavan and himself there. He furrowed his brows at his son and frowned slightly. "You always seem upset, Est. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"


Cocaine stood quiet as he watched Funeral and Circa exchange words. The king acted reasonable and fair toward Osic and the Commander briefly pondered if this was due to the fact that Osic and Funeral shared blood. Such thoughts quickly dissipated as Osic went to explain himself. Cocaine didn't change a thing -- expression, pose, etc -- as Osic explained. Many resonses flooded Cocaine's mind, but he waited patiently. If there was one thing to note, it was that Osic was still young and shaken. His gaze didn't flickered to Funeral when the king spoke; glued on Osic instead.

But when Osic replied, Cocaine had heard enough. He cleared his throat, an indication that he was to speak.

"It's understandable and honorable that you would want to fight for Najisi if only for the fact that she is related to you biologically. But I wouldn't call her your family and I very much doubt you should either." He paused to let that sink in. "I have no doubt that whatever Najisi would tell you, or intended to tell you, is -- or was -- a lie. Perhaps in some ways it may have held truth, but your mother by blood was a very over emotional wreck and was, and never will be, in a condition to lead a pride." He flicked his tail and moved slightly. "Najisi was a good spy and I won't deny that losing her as a spy delivers a blow to our pride. But what delivers an even bigger hit than that is knowing that she turned on us. We did not turn on her. Meurtrier was, and would forever be, her home. At least until she ran off with Reno and the others." Cocaine paused and raised his head to sigh. It was a sincere release of air, not one of impatience.

"You were young when Chitor was in our lands. When we were forced to live on the opposite side of the Veldt, by the Grotto. When your mother was queen. You weren't born in our homelands because of Ceon and his organization, Chitor. Najisi and your father; our king Funeral, were mates then. But Funeral saw her for what she really was when she would retaliate against his decisions in front of the pride. She held no true respect for Funeral. And worst of all, she pinned his decisions on me. I imagine she very well still does." The last bit of his sentence was a mere murmur. But he continued. "Your father left Najisi, and in result, she was no longer queen. We did not kick her from her spot, we did not kick her from the pride. She was still a welcomed spy. But she was too determined to make 'good' with Funeral. What had been done, had been done, and there was no changing it. But.." He swished his paw in the air.

"We did not make Najisi our enemy. She made us hers. And if this is not enough, I believe the cub your sister 'napped will provide enough evidence of Najisi's crimes during her stay.. a moment." He turned and quickly headed to Viciado's den and got the cub. Zenith. Small, but the colors matched. The timing matched. It had to be Ceon's. He turned and ran back, cub in his mouth. It was astonishing how the brute commander could so carefully hold the enemy cub. Once he was back with Osic and Funeral, he dropped the small thing and gently held it down by the tail.

"Think, Osic." He turned his head to Funeral. This cub would undoubtedly confirm Cocaine's suspicions. And perhaps Funeral's. Cocaine looked back at Osic and awaited a response.

[My other chars nod or just keep doing what theyre doing.][/ul][/blockquote]

[LAD]

Jericho

The males' head shot up at the advance of another and he successfully refrained his expression from changing in the slightest. Flicking an ear, Jericho gave a the moment a lull, almost as if debating on whether or not to answer this male, but he did without much further thought. "A fight between prides." He stated bluntly. Then gave an inaudible sigh through his nose. The beast had asked him to help understand what happened. Not state the obvious.

"Circa apparently followed a young Demonic who had been looking for his mother. The kid lead us straight to Brynneth who told Circa everything. Upon doing so, Circa sent the kid back to gather King Funeral and Commander Cocaine. When we had arrived, it was just in time to find out that Reno and Najisi - the traitors - were leading a small band of the other traitors that left Meurtrier. Brynneth is dead by one of her sons paws. Krankheit was murdered by the red kid over there. Osic was second guessing his actions during the middle of the battle and ended up protecting Najisi, which I assume is what Cocaine and Funeral are discussing with him now." He took a moments pause to watch Cocaine dash somewhere - and return with a cub - Zenith - in his maw. 'I need to thank Osic for that one day.' His eyes watched the scene until Cocaine disappeared once more. "And it seems that a cub of that traitor was actually retrieved." He spat out bitterly, seemingly talking about the fact that the traitor had done worse than just leave - but secretly was because that cub was his reason for being here now, instead of with his family.

[Silverfang]

The King opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped as Cocaine cleared his throat to speak. He gave a nod, and listened.

If he had the will too, he would smile. But the current situation did not call for it.

He would simply nod along - and when Cocaine left to bring the cub out, he simply stared in near disbelief. It was of no doubt that he thought of the same possibility as the Commanders. And it was then that the smile would barely twitch at his lips. Only showing for less than a heartbeat, he would head to his son's side and glance down at the cub.

"You see?" He frowned. "What the Commander says is true. She knew who she was going against when she defied us; when she placed war on us. We played no role besides what she wanted to react on and take things out of.. proportion. She made her decisions; we are nothing but the background she deems is evil. That includes you and her other children. If she had no respect for me, what makes you think she'll have respect to those who share my blood Our blood?"

He glanced down at the child, his eyes having been on his son.

"Enough to replace you, to replace us, with someone new." His gaze was slightly widened, entirely persuasive on this endeavor.

[TheWG]

Circa & Kazbek

Kazbek stuck his nose into Viciado's den, knowing very well that she was busy, so he only gently made his statement. "Viciado, I'm sorry to bother you at such a busy time, but could you check my mother and I out? I have a wound on my belly..." He said, trailing off as he looked down to examine it. Damn it hurt, Krank had scored him pretty good with that one, but at least it was bleeding a bit less. If he didn't get it treated soon though, it would get infected.

Circa turned, softly smiling at the female as she spoke, "You have served the pride well when you were able I'm sure, you being an elder doesn't render your value to us; the pride could ask no more of you; but if you wish to help, perhaps you could check and make sure everyone has got their wounds tended to?" She mewed, returning to lick Corona's head, though knowing she wouldn't likely respond. "Though, Meurtrier is to rest today, celebrate our temporary victory; you're free to do as you please otherwise."

[drifter]

Osic Donovan

When the Commander finally spoke Osic almost jumped in surprise. His head turned as he listened. He then watched confused as Cocaine darted off only to return with a cub.
Purple's stared down at the small grey fur ball that was placed at his paws. It didn't take long for Osic to understand what they were getting at. He was young when Ceon was still alive, what he looked like was vague but the memory there. This cub certainly didn't look like Reno.
Osic's face twisted then as an ear turned to Funeral. A very soft growl settled in his chest, laced with another sound that could have been a defeated whine. "Is it going to die?" He asked simply. He decided not to fight he reasonings any longer. He knew it would do no good. Nothing he said, other than agreement, would appease these two.

[Noa]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,30,true][atrb=width,470,true][bg=3D0002] ZEPHYR & ESTAVAN

[/size][/font]

Zephyr felt himself suddenly attacked by this oncoming barrage of nuzzles and licks from his mother, obviously happy that he came back alive. The young teenager sputtered in utmost confusion, before he shook his head and trying to get away before he would inevitably be embarrassed by anyone else in the den.

"Mother, I'm fine! Really!" He exclaimed, before being allowed to calm down. Thank gods. Zephyr eyed his mother with some vigil, content in the fact that she wasn't mad at him for going to battle. Just worried out of her mind. "It was fine. I helped the Commander." There wasn't really much to say. He didn't really want to talk about it anyway. The way the words were exchanged at battle, Zephyr suddenly felt out of the loop about the whole thing. His tail lulled from side to side, watching as Iarri Kannon assisted his mother in healing.

And then Kazbek Kannon and his mother entered the fray, and his injuries seemed to alarm Zephyr more than his own well-being. His eyes flitted back and forth between his mother and Kazbek, and he nodded his head towards him.

"He's a V.I.P, you better go tend to him." He said playfully, stretching and rolling his neck. He was sore, but fine.

Estavan gave a small huff and looked up to his father; did he really have to answer that? The young male gave a small sigh and nodded his head slowly, that being his answer. Of course he was always be a sulky mess, but he couldn't help that. That's just how he was. And besides, he was going to congratulate Kazbek on a good victory.

"I don't know." He answered truthfully, with a little hint of disdain in his voice. Maybe he was just secretly knocking himself inside because he didn't go to battle. He fled and hid like a coward, not serving his pride as well as he should have.

It was guilt. Just a little bit.

But the real problem was that he never got paid attention to. Even if his father said that he cared, Estavan wasn't stupid. He knew his father had many more kids, and the young man was starting to doubt his family's commitment to him.[/color][/td][/tr][tr][td][/table][/center]

[Caylis]

Caylis and Rose both stepped into the den calmly with a nod given to the both of them. Caylis stepped forward. "I have wounds on my sides and the side of my left cheek. Rose here just has a shoulder wound." she said calmly before sitting down beside her son, which Rose sat off somewhere else, lost in her thoughts. She had to get to the academy soon, perhaps teach others.. but how could she when her pride was at war? She had to talk to Headmaster Tyzer about that, Lord Funeral and perhaps Commander Cocaine.

[Canicas]

Morphine

"I see." was all he said, that was all he needed to know. This happened all while he was gone after his own cubs. "Thank you." he nodded at the male, before turning away. "Wait." he turned to look at him again, "What is your name?" Morphine had never really seen him around before, so he was a little confused as to who he really was. He was never around so there was always someone coming and going, but only face, never names. If he responded Morphine would nod, "Morphine." before turning away and stepping out of his boundaries.

How could this happen now? When he was determined he had come to a decision. He was going to leave, to be with what little family he had. Could he really call Meurtrier his family? Even his own brother? They had no close bonds, or memories they could laugh over. No. He had that with nobody here, his family was gone. His father dead, mother who knows. Litter mates. Pffft. But Meurtrier was his home, and he couldn't leave them now when they needed him most. He sighed, his cubs would have to wait. But he hoped, that wouldn't affect their relationship with him.

[kahara]

everyone

[/i] His cold gaze flickered back to Funeral.


Viciado rolled her eyes and continued to look over Zephyr between checking the herbs they had and making sure that Iarri was doing well in her job as an apprenticed healer. Kazbek and Caylis didn't go unnoticed. She did have a lot to do. "Alright, you can head out and hang around your brothers. I'll be busy in here." She said and then turned to Kazbek and Caylis. "Mmm," The wounds of war. The tsk'd her tongue and gave each of them a thorough look over. Caylis and Rose weren't as badly injured as Kazbek -- that wound on his belly was concerning. Viciado flicked her tail and nudged him down into the hall underground that had several dens that branched off. She pointed him toward one. "Lay down and stay there. I'll be back. You'll need a bit of extra treatment. My special stuff." Viciado turned and headed back out into the main den to take care of Caylis and Rose. Both of them were easy to tend to.

Some cobwebs to stop the bleeding and some dock -- though it may have stung -- to the smaller scratches. She then turned to grab some poppy seeds and pushed them toward Caylis and Rose. "Take these to ease any pain you may have and return to me if anything bothers you." Viciado said firmly.

Circa's kind words did little to ease the prickling sensation in Geminor's pelt. No matter how kind Circa was, Geminor would never feel as if she was useful to the pride. Nevertheless she bowed her head and then walked off toward Viciado's den -- the healers center. She had a tick she couldn't reach and a nap sounded nice; and no doubt Viciado had something for both. She stepped in with a nod and Viciado turned her attention to Geminor. "Gotta' tick behind my ear I can't reach and I could use a nap."

Viciado sighed and moved around in the back of the den until she found what she was looking for --
wild garlic and mouse bile mixed with rat bile-- Viciado's own mixture. It was more potent than mouse bile alone and got rid of the ticks faster. Though it smelled really bad, which is where the wild garlic came in. To help mask the smell. Viciado aided Geminor -- who mumbled and complained the entire time. "There, that should help. As for the sleep, I think you can accomplish that on your own. But if you have trouble, please come back."

Geminor mumbled something but nodded and left the den. This left Iarri and Viciado alone for a brief moment. Time for a lesson. "Iarri," She turned to wash her paws in the little pool of water they had off to the side of the den in the back, to rid of the bile. No feline wanted to accidentally get a taste of that. It would last days and ruin a good appetite. "Honey soothes infection, smoke damaged and dry throats, soothes coughing, gives energy, and it can help with swallowing other concoctions. We're nearly out of it though. We'll need to find a hive to get some more soon. But we're also low on horsetail -- for infections. We'll need to head to a marshy area for that. Tell me -- what else can help with infections?" Viciado awaited Iarri's answer.

Inside of the dens just beneath the main den of the healers den, Carnal had herself nearly fallen asleep when someone else had been brought down by Viciado. Kazbek. She got to her paws and realized suddenly how painful it was to stand. The battle had really taken a toll on her, especially her wings. Carnal inched around and found Kazbek's den and settled down. "You killed Krankheit, right?" She asked Kazbek.

Kodiac frowned further but nodded to his son's reply and asked nothing more of him. The boy seemed depressed, though Kodiac knew little of what to do for that. He wanted nothing more than for his son to be happy and strong. Was he strong? Yes. But happy? Hardly seemed like it. Maybe Viciado would know what to do for him. But the healer was busy and he didn't want to bother him yet. So he just placed a paw around Estavan and tugged him close.

Nerante is standing around ready to direct the injured to Vic & Iarri.
Balthier II walked over after nodding to others to do some more hunting. [/ul][/blockquote]

[TheWG]

Kazbek

"Okay, okay." He stuttered gently as he was nudged into the lower levels. Is it that concerning? He wondered, suddenly worried of the wound on his belly. It hurt like a mother- but he had thought he'd done a good job so far of pushing the thought of pain out of his head... Though now, he was thinking about it. His blue optics simply watched as Viciado put him in a den, and told him to stay. Of course, he would give no resistance, suddenly laying down seemed like a great idea.

Sighing as she padded off, he lay his head on his paws, closing his eyes slowly as he tried to get comfy. Silence didn't last too long though, and his red ears perked at the sound of someone approaching- or rather, dragging themselves into his den. His eyes opened, and a smile was given as he spotted the Lord's daughter, Carnal. Of course, the subject of her conversation came as no surprise to him. "Hi! Make yourself comfy, you look pretty torn up..." He started, realizing he had almost avoided her question completely, gotta fix that. "Yes, that was me. Didn't actually know his name until now."