The vulpine released a quiet breath, eyes flashing between the draconic creature he knew to be Trygve and the Typhoon Quartermaster.  The only display of emotion crossing his face yet on the day; wary concern for his own.

The faerie granted Roxanne no visual attention, but for the barest flick of his ear -- listening as she offered her quiet words. A proposition; one that did not surprise him.

"I have little interest in risking the lives of my clanmates for those who have often done nothing but scorn them." Indeed, it often rarely mattered to anyone, when someone joined the Pitt -- whether they possessed any involvement to the Pitt's violent past or not.

Gael certainly possessed little concern, for the lives of those who would rather see his home burn, though he had seen such fire in the Tanglers more often than pirates as of late.  Even there, existed exceptions, as more and more time past since the reigns of those before him.

"However," the Ardent's cool gaze rested on Kian as he quietly spoke, cautious of further outbursts.  "I have no interest in becoming the next target for this ambitious conquest of his.  He is clearly overreaching." A logistical nightmare.  He had seen arrogance like Stryker's before; it never ended well.

"I believe my cousins possess the means to communicate across great distances," Gael would point out after a moment of consideration.  Indeed he had no doubt of the bond between Kian and Séamus.  Neither would he be surprised for either to possess further connections, perhaps to their children, such as Keona.

"We should be able to act with more discretion, through them." A promise for cooperation, but for a different time and place -- this gathering was rife with conflict.

As the Ardent shifted his gaze once more, he observed the Tanglewood luminary's plight with no trace of compassion.  His defiance to the end could be respected however.  As for Stryker, Gael could scoff.  Pathetic.  Turning leaders into hostages, only to kill them outright in some flamboyant 'show' -- destroying the leverage he had gathered and opening the gates to rebellion with no more threat of their loss.

As such, Gael possessed no surprise at Aurum's swift and cold-hearted retaliation.  An eye for an eye.  The Ardent only had disgust, for such blatant dismissal of their own clanmates' lives, in wanderers such as Brutei.  Such a base lack of loyalty only spoke further to the inevitable failure of Stryker's ambitions.

His eyes traveled through the crowd, landing on a smaller lion within. The brute. A huff left Stryker as his courageous and overly confident proclamation sailed through the skies. With a quick crunch, crackling bones echoed throughout the crater. As the crimson liquid came soaring out of the unknown wanderer's back, he merely looked over towards Brutei and the rest of the crowd with an uninterested expression. The overly crude display of so-called victory, despite it's almost intent, was tasteless to the Kingpin. In fact, it was rather... Well... Ironic. So much for a 'protagonist.' Aurum's actions were not forgiving, but they were not inherently good either. An unbothered innocent died in the man's jaws today... and for what? To show Stryker that he was... what... better? Stryker's teeth grinded at the thought. Selfish. Aurum's actions were not because he wanted to stand up for his people, but instead that mindless barbarian was trying to put the spotlight on him. If he was trying to protect his people, he would have done more. He would have kept his mouth SHUT.

And that was the difference between The Coalition of the Condemned and the rest of the savages attending today. While the rest moseyed along on their happy-go-lucky adventure, they worked on restoring their wanders and reclaiming a new territory to call home. Not some selfish proclaimed happiness. Instead the wanderers and their righteous Kingpin progressed towards a goal and seized the opportunity presented before them. While their intent was honorable and virtues good, the method to acquire their goals were... questionable. Even so, these animals wanted a home. Stryker wanted a place for his family and his wanderers to thrive. They were not like the rest. Not like Snowbound had been with his parents. He would not allow The Coalition of the Condemned to get picked off like sheep. Intolerable. No more 'moderate' life. They would never settle for 'just enough.' As their leader proclaimed before all of this started, they would fight for what they deserved... and in any way possible.

Today that stood true. As the rest were parading in their territories, living off their inherited riches, the Coalition of the Condemned was working. Once surviving off the bear minimum, they were now becoming one of the strongest amongst the region. Stryker had fought for them. Perhaps justice. Belonging. An over-achiever, even. Until the day he died, the Kingpin would give it his all for what his family warranted. No matter the cost.

With his gaze steadying on Aurum momentarily, the lion broke free from his thoughts and pulled away to redirect his attention elsewhere. Stryker would not give that fool a piece of his mind, even if he enjoyed berating others with mocking pet names. It was what that ignorant bastard wanted, after all. His neck craned backwards, a figure catching his attention in the corner of his eye. Neon hues shifted. The duo entangled in the roots of the tree squirmed frantically, eyes practically bulging out of their heads. Stryker waved his paw. The roots released them and pushed them forward towards his mocking gesture, causing a hiss to exit their gritted teeth.

The earth began to rumble beneath his paws. The thunder of the earth traveled throughout their body, prompting a shiver to run down their conjoined spine. Front and center now, orange and blue eyes glared out into the crowd with vengeant tears beginning to swell. As the ground bellowed below, Stryker traversed back towards the base of the tree. His eyes attempted to lock with Goldenluxury's own. The turf began to crumble, crack, and creek, only to jolt upwards moments later.

A brute force of stone shot vertically upwards. The serrated edge plunged into Hani and Alani's underside, lifting them up from the soil and into the air for only milliseconds as the blade continued to rip through their body. Sharp stone severed through their organs and bone. Blood seeped onto it's edge as the makeshift blade finalized, breaching through the twins' back and exiting promptly. The separated halves of the twins collided onto the floor with the sickening splat. Moments later, the stone sheathed back into the ground. Blood pooled near it's remains, now only leaving the twins lying opposite of each other with their wide eyes staring out at the crowd and organs splayed about.

Stryker's gaze snapped back to the remains of his work. Slitted eyes traced the clean outline of their divide, only to look out the crowd with a mocking smirk. "Twins being double crossers and two faced liars," he reminisced with a snort. "Who knew."

The camel's back had broken. (Or rather the Elysium leaders'...)

The time to act was now.

Finally.

/permission given from RexAraneo + feel free to cause some revengeeee + chaos now, as implied in other threads <333