The darkness had the best of her, it seemed. It had been so long since the temptress had been in the ranks of a pack, and in this one, she could increase her skills in battle, or hopefully said. Already, she was pretty good, but would she be good enough to match the celestial queen that she had observed not a week ago? She could at least try and become one of her underlings. It could also be then that the slate female would learn of what exactly was the what up with the what up with the Destruction family. The queen had kept every single one of them prisoner, so the slate female was only curious about them as well. "It's now or never." Quietly, the female would mutter to herself, before pallid appendages stopped before the freshly placed markers became overwhelming, She was sure that the border was far away from here, but for precautionary measures, she would heel before it, and take a few steps backward. Peridots would squeeze shut as her crown tipped back, a call coming from inky lips. As she ceased, she observed her surroundings, a beautiful magrove swamp. The moon was rising, but already the waters seemed to have this ethreal glow to them.

She is curled, quietly, in her old den, still carved into the earth, protected by her forest, with Mercury curled at her stomach. The scent of her newborn pups prove long gone, of course, but here she can almost imagine that ambrosia still lingers. She remembers rising from this den, fatigued and exhausted from bringing new life into the world and immediately calling a meeting--a meeting to announce her decision to try and bring death unto another. To protect the babes reliant on her teat. To protect the wolves reliant on her undying ferocity and will to defend them with her life. But to her, they'd all forsaken her. Dial snaps to face the direction of the call and she heaves herself to her paws. Tail brushes affectionately over Mercury to raise him from his slumber and he too rises, groggily, and prowls after her as she sweeps from the den. She is quiet, contemplative, as she considers holding the pack's meeting soon. Perhaps after this encounter with whomever may be calling for her. As she approaches, she recognizes the woman as the one that had sidled up to her son at the challenge. Brow raises with a wary interest as she approaches, chin tilted slightly upwards, audits pivoted towards the dark beast. "It's you," she rumbles neutrally. "The woman who seems awfully fond with my son." Vocals flaunt a guarded wariness and over-protectiveness of one of the few things she has left in her life.

The mangroves were somewhat luminescent, and it was utterly astounding. It was purely magic. It had to be. The peridot gems of the slate tempest gazed about the lands that were before her. This land was purely paradise, the occasional alligator and all. The vines seemed to pull back like curtains to reveal the celestial ruler, the Sol of the revived Ludicael. She was as powerful as she was that day, her scars obviously healed well, even if it had been but a few days. The woman's dial held amethysts, one brow quirked in interest, while she rumbled, confirming what she saw. The slate tempest took a step back, lowering herself in a respectful bow, before inky lips parted to allow a simple phrase to slip through. "In the flesh." A smirk curled her features, sly as a fox, but it disppeared quicker than a blink. "I wouldn't say fond. I had met him before" Her banner began to slash through the air, more so out of playfulness or aggression. "Just figured I'd sit myself with someone familiar during the pathetic display of weakness by your foes." In honesty, she really had expected a battle, not a pitiful cesspool of saints.

She threw her head back a little, making sure she wasn't over the border quite yet, peridots looking at the wary queen. There was a strange scent on her, perhaps her little friend, that devil-esque creature that followed her around. Then there it was. Quite comtemplatively, she gazed at it for a moment, sizing him up it seemed. He looked like quite the little fighter. Then her visage settled in the direction of the phoenix, inky lips parted gently. "I'd like to join your pack. If you'd like me to prove that I am worthy, allow me." Politeness lined her lyrics in an edge, but they were as normally spoken as always, harsh and clear, rather than dipped in honey and venom like some wolves of this land. In wait, she would let herself recline, seating herself on the floor.


"Speech"
'thoughts'

jupiter illidais "jupiter speech" ? "mercury speech" Gaze proves unforgiving, calculated as she surveys the unknown woman in the same way she does with all strangers--piercing celestial eyes know nothing other than what the woman has proved and therefor, for now, she proves unworthy like the rest of them. Years of being an alpha pushes her to maintain her affable but cautious guise, however, concealing her disdainful emotions for the time being. As they always have, the compliments slide past her, unaffecting, in the same way liquid whisks without resistance over a waterfowl's plumage. Flattery has always fallen on deaf ears for her--thus was something that led to Marvel's intrigue with her, causing him to pursue her and, eventually, give her children--entirely on accident. Only a grunt surfaces from her chest as she nods in mutual agreement with the statement. The woman moves on, cutting finally to her business, and Jupiter, for a long moment, stares her down, abyssal pupils seeking hers to drill into her, to seek the strength of her resolve. "If you wish." The woman lunges the moment the final syllable leaves her lips, attempting to close the distance between them in one fell swoop. Jaws tilt to her right as she attempts to grip the right side of the other's throat, just below the crook of her jaw, teeth seeking a firm (but certainly not lethal) grip upon the other's flesh. Right shoulder tosses forward to seek the dead center of the woman's chest to try and wind her, attempting to root her paw to the ground during the thrust so not to compromise her equally-spread balance. Left paw reaches to try and hook about the back of the woman's right foreleg, attempting to pull it towards Jupiter to tug it out from under her newfound opponent. Defenses have fallen into place the moment she moves forward. Shoulders tuck forward, neck scrunches as she seeks a target not explicitly high. Hackles raise and ears pin against her skull. Brows furrow to bring knotted flesh above narrowed eyes. Tail drifts even with her spine, toes splayed and claws hooking into the familiar earth for balance. Hind legs bend for proper balance as she distributes her weight. [ o o c ; ] won't be a judged fight--and probably won't have a clear winner unless you want one. Jupiter's just testing her resolve and her courage--and her will to prove herself. round 1/2

"If you wish."

Tensions rose, causing the tempest to begin her defensive setup. Eyes narrowed to feral-esque slits, brow creasing into multiple folds to tighten the skin of her forehead and protect her eyes. Her skull lowered, muzzle contorting into a snarl. Her ears pinned to the back of her skull and hackles rose. Chin tucked close to her chest, shoulders rolling forwards. Her legs squared off as she loosened her knees. Haunches spread wide, digits dug into the ground that allowed grip, and tail rose.

The phoenix would surge forth, jaws breaking apart to aim at her own right side. Nocturne's peridot eyes would flash to the phoenix, settling all of her weight to her left side, before pushing off the same feet, attempting a quick sidestep maneuver, but the pheonix's ivories managed to catch hold of her cheek, a firm grim of teeth sinking into the folds of her skin. A snarl ripped from the slate tempest's throat as she backpedaled, tail tucking between her legs momentarily as she distributed her weight from one foot to another, narrowly missing the phoenix's shoulder thrust and a leg hook. Pain screeched in her blood, and the tempest's periodot gems saw the amethysts of the vicious queen. She stopped after about three steps, weight settling on all fours. The woman's power localizes at her haunches, tensing her muscles and digits into the grit of the cold soil. With a surge of power, the slate tempest attempts to thrust herself forward, to bring herself chest to chest with the phoenix, and to hopefully make her release her grip on her. No matter if she would be released, Nocturne would bring her left shoulder in the direction of the base of the phoenix's windpipe. Her left forepaw would lift, the missing pillar reconstituted by her left hind leg. Even if she would wiff the phoenix as she had to her, the paw would slam on the ground, weight exterted on them in attempts to beat the toes of her foe. Hopefully they would strike at least the outer two toes, the ones closest to her left foreleg.

Round 1/2 | Unofficial Fight for Acceptance

jupiter illidais "jupiter speech" ? "mercury speech" Teeth find a target while her other attacks miss and she latches onto that, exploiting that vantage point as she tries to upkeep her grip but not worsen it, not wishing to leave the prospective member too awfully wounded. Front of her body raises slightly to intercept the woman's throw of her shoulder, the blade hitting the right side of her chest and causing her breath to catch, but only momentarily. Front paws have already attempted to raise during her brief winding (causing the other's paw attack to miss), attempting to wrap themselves firmly around the other's neck or atop her shoulders. The woman would attempt to use the additional angle provided by the other's sidestep to try and throw her full body weight into her opponent. Aim in this proves to be to try and use her environment to her advantage as she tries to throw the woman into the nearest white mangrove, only two feet or so away, or try to cause her to trip over the gnarled roots spread below them. Defenses remain in place--weight distributes properly in its throw to maintain her balance upon her hinds, tail parallel with the earth. Legs spread and grounded hind claws grip into the soil, balanced and practiced upon the uneven ground she grew up in and ruled for countless years. Ears remained pinned and neck remains scrunched with the forward toss of her weight. Shoulder blades remained slightly tucked forward. [ o o c ; ] will have jup stop the fight after this post. <3 round 2/2