stay the course; open | evasion training

[SOJOURN]

"Inferno, my dear...." The white lion cooed out with a voice filled with too much honey. Too much care. His eyes widened ever so slightly as he led the way toward where he wanted them to go. For the sake of being chummy he was being nice, placid like that of a mirror like lake. It was fine. He was fine. Even after having the knowledge of what transpired with Tanglewood, it was fine. They would both learn to do it right, do it better. He killed and mutilated to his liking and they could too but only if they were smarter about it. Laid out their plans better. It was the only reason he was angry, the only reason he even cared about it at all. "I've made a course for us today. Yes, I too will be participating. We will be changing our scent and running and dodging our lovely little flytraps. They can get flying horses you know." He continued sounding ever more amused as he went along.

The chains that draped and wrapped around his ankles rustled with ease, shifting along his alabaster pelt. They felt comfortable and kept him somewhat seemingly sane. Always seemingly. As he came upon the course he would pause then at the starting point and he could see them. The Malus Flytraps of various sizes but mostly huge and imposing lining the path that showed with stones to mark it. A bucket of blood was present and he motioned to it. "You can douse yourself in it or just paint a little on yourself. Whichever you prefer. Tell me when you are ready to start. Hopefully none of us gets eaten. Evasion is a good skill to keep up."

[member=18044]INFERNO CIPHER-VANTAS[/member]

[INFERNO CIPHER-VANTAS]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ —  ɪɴꜰᴇʀɴᴏ | ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇᴄʀᴏᴡ ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ʙᴀʙʏ | ᴄɪᴘʜᴇʀ-ᴠᴀɴᴛᴀꜱ | ʙɪᴏ



ɪᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ | ɪᴄ ᴏᴘɪɴɪᴏɴꜱ

she trailed slowly after the male with his sly, honeyed voice. why was he bothering with her, knowing what she had done? she had no information about him save his looks and that he was quite mad, a little bit like she. she saw herself in him - would she grow up to be like him oneday? had he also, caused as much trouble as she had?

he made a course. what kind of course? involving venus flytraps? aren't they the ones who bite people? but she didn't complain, trusting sojourn to know what the hell he was doing. since he would be participating, she'd just follow him and hope he gets eaten first.

her optics focused on the chains around his ankles - nice aesthetic, she must admit. as they came to a slow halt next to some flytraps she glanced at them nervously. the smell of blood entered her nose and she blinked, looking at the bucket he was gesturing to. dunk herself in it? sure, why not.

"sojourn, where did you get all this blood?" she asked before stepping into the bucket and crouching down, getting her fur all red. "don't you need blood on you too?" she followed up, getting out of the bucket and shaking off excess blood. should anyone come look they'd see a cat dripping with blood, an alabaster animal with chains around his ankles, and venus flytraps everywhere.





ᴏᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ!




"ꜱᴘᴇᴇᴄʜ"

[SOJOURN]

The lion glanced down at the other, clear amusement in his gaze. A good question to ask, smart to be perceptive to ask it. He found himself thoughtful got a moment before his silken voice responded with ease. "Now, now, Inferno. I can't give away all my secrets. But let's just say I borrowed it from some fishes." Revolting fishes as they were. His tail swayed as he watched her go about getting the blood on herself and he would wait his turn. "Of course, I don't plan on cheating. The course is meant for the both of us after all." His tail swayed back and forth once more as she finally finished and he dunked a large paw into the blood. It splattered out of the bucket and he withdrew it to place it upon his body and smear it over his face. Once more and he smeared the thick red against his chest and legs. Getting some on his sides as well. It was almost calming in a way before he smiled casually. Two felines covered in blood. What a sight this would be to see.

After that he turned then to look at the course, the Malus flytraps were wiggling, smelling the scent of a different blood. Opening their mouths. They were hungry it seemed. "Oh and before I forget..." Choices and paths that he had taken led him here. Just a bit more chaos to throw into the pot. Just a bit more trouble to create a bigger festering wound. It would make him happy to have another to call daughter. A son and a daughter. "Welcome to the family, Inferno. I've decided to treat you as my own. My daughter so make me proud." Then without a thought he aimed to pick the smaller cat up and toss her onto the course, moving after a second to also step paw on it.

[INFERNO CIPHER-VANTAS]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ —  ɪɴꜰᴇʀɴᴏ | ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇᴄʀᴏᴡ ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ʙᴀʙʏ | ᴄɪᴘʜᴇʀ-ᴠᴀɴᴛᴀꜱ | ʙɪᴏ



ɪᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ | ɪᴄ ᴏᴘɪɴɪᴏɴꜱ

he seemed amused that she wanted to know where the hell all the blood came from - she didn't mind though. he hesitated in thought before his voice reacher her lobes again. "Now, now, Inferno. I can't give away all my secrets." so a mystery man too, eh? still, she was intrigued, and he satisfied her curiosity by saying it was from fish. that was good enough of an answer for her, and she watched him paint himself carelessly with blood.

"sojoooo, you can't just put a little bit of blood on yourself! here, i'll help you." she put both paws in the paint and leapt at him, attempting to smear him with even more blood. regardless if it landed or not the hopped away quickly with a giggle. after getting his fur nicely painted, or not, she was about to go onto the course but the next words made her stop and turn around slowly, not quite believing her ears.

was he adopting her? right then and there? shouldn't there be something more official, like asking her? she only had time to blink - no reactions, no yes/no answering, before she felt a paw slide underneath her body and punt her onto the course. a screech left the animal as she flew through the air, every thought rushing through her head at once.

what the hell is this course even? avoiding them? the blood just made it absolutely WORSE! they were snapping the air hungrily and she screamed as one snapped, almost getting her paw. "sojourn what the hell????" she didn't see him step on the course but focused on landing on a spot where she could curl herself into as tiny a ball as possible.





ᴏᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ!




"ꜱᴘᴇᴇᴄʜ"

[SOJOURN]

To say he was a little surprised was an understatement. No one had dared to touch him so casually, so jokingly. It was so strange and yet...he found it welcoming. A thought to think on more later as more of the blood was splattered onto his once pristine white coat. Shifting a little he gave a brighter grin, wore it proudly as he gave a small shake of his massive form and then the plants were snapping. Getting that bloodlust in them. The plants were hungry he supposed and so was he but not for their flesh. For something more that would take time. Still as Inferno called out to him in her cowering he tilted his head a bit and chuckled lightly. Uncaring of the danger he began to move forward, eyes only on the other as he tilted his head. ""Inferno, what are you doing, exactly? You are a Malus now, a Harbringer, we do not cower from our enemies. You fight back or you evade and look for a chance to strike!" His gaze was suddenly swallowed up by the pitch black of his pupils, leaving no color at all.

His claws flexed and as one plant attempted to grab at him his paw lashed out suddenly with brutality and cold. The strike unhinged the bottom jaw of the plant, throwing it across the ground and left the malus flytrap flopping. "Do you want to be a part of this family? Because if you do, you will get moving or I can simply watch you get eaten." He began to move then, away fron the other and down the course. Each movement practiced and well taught. He dodged when it was necessary, shifted his paws accordingly and struck down the plants that tried to grab at him.

[INFERNO CIPHER-VANTAS]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ —  ɪɴꜰᴇʀɴᴏ | ꜱᴄᴀʀᴇᴄʀᴏᴡ ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ʙᴀʙʏ | ᴄɪᴘʜᴇʀ-ᴠᴀɴᴛᴀꜱ | ʙɪᴏ



ɪᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ | ɪᴄ ᴏᴘɪɴɪᴏɴꜱ

still focusing on trying not to die from the unexpected attack by her new father, she glared at him angrily, small rumbling noises in the back of her throat. what was the point of adopting someone only to try and kill her five seconds later? none. there was no point. as there shouldn't be. his voice, now taking on a taunting edge, said that she was now part of the family. malus - wasn't that romulus' last name? was she his... step cousin-daughter thing now?

if she had to live up to the name she couldn't be curled up in a ball. shooting another annoyed glare at her new father she uncoiled herself slowly, nostrils flaring angrily. fine. she'd show him she could do it. stupid sojourn and his unexpected "oh i'm gonna adopt you now" attitude. she watched him simply kill the plant with one powerful swipe and glanced down at her much smaller ones. it would work. she would make it work. for the sake of her own pride. so he would sit there and watch her get eaten? right after adopting her? how did that work? if he wanted to see her dead, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

memorising his patterns she found there was no way she could replicate them - his strides were simply too large, covered too much distance. so she adapted. she was thin enough to dance between the stems, so she did that. danced on slender pawsteps, sliding out the way with an insane chuckle as one leant down to furiously snap at her. one clench of her muscles sent her claws digging clean through the top and out the bottom of the plant. no time to waste, another was coming for her and she kicked the dead one out of the way, rolling to the side as teeth clamped down where her head was.

breath rapid - this was about her versus them now. every other thought faded away - her father, making the malus family proud, what sojourn was doing. all she was doing was having fun, giggling like a maniac and dancing through the plants.





ᴏᴄ ᴛᴇxᴛ!




"ꜱᴘᴇᴇᴄʜ"