they keep calling me, beckoning >> RAID ON BANDITS!

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THE KINGPIN

golden lung dragon & black jaguar w/ vitiligo & platinum silver fox. god of war - ancient. bai shi lynn lingré. proper chinese name is lin bai. prefers lynn if close. they/them. formerly blind. wind element & electric element. firstborn son of jerisidie lingré & current head of family. courting halo mercer. kingpin of alithís evgenis. demiromantic gray-asexual. parent of veris, arvin, leoku, erian, flos, kekhai, evarhi, laeglin, sloan and colwyn. elder brother of ramona and hope, uncle of quennel and cosette. (strike is deceased/unknown status)

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eyes sweeping those that had arrived, bowing their head, committing faces to memory. gods help them all in this battle, everyone here was risking their life for this. they could not let them down. they all knew the risks they were taking, but the kingpin wasn't going to let them risk and fail. taking a deep breath, they held it in, smiling as their gaze landed on asteri, listening to her words with a deep growl settling in their chest, "rhinestone, quasar. welcome aboard.", they boomed, sweeping over their faces in their mind, memorizing. they had too many things going on in their mind for this to end well, not at this moment, yet the call for war boomed in their blood. "alright, everyone, move out!", they called out, the jaguar taking the head of the group, shoulders rolling as they took the first steps, pushing down the need to run to the bandits' camp.

heart nearly beating out of their chest, they nodded to rhinestone, moving aside to let him come to the front with them, growling slightly with the excitement of battle impending. claws pricking the snow, they shook their head, licking their lips as the group moved out and deeper into the territory, skin alight with the feeling of eyes upon them. their jian would remain with them, they didn't have full faith in the strength of their legs to get them out of the camp without incident. "rush in if you hear my cry.", they would speak, tail lashing and curling along their back. exhaling a heavy breath, they followed the scent trails of the scouting party, fur on end as they walked, licking down their chest and shoulder fur. cresting the hill before them, their eyes narrowed, claws digging into the snow and ice. setting down their bag of armor, they looked back to the group, surveying the hidden land below, bright sparks of fire indicating the bandits' camp. thankfully, clouds were setting in, covering the moon. eyes flashing in the darkness, they turned their head back to the camp below, waiting for the winds to change the slightest before they moved.

taking a deep breath, the kingpin stood on the lip of the hill looking down upon the coastal forest, between the midlake towers and the forest lay a valley that the group had yet to have re-discovered in their land, a cluster of earthen dens laying in the middle of the valley, small fires set amongst the clusterings. lips drawing back over their teeth, they bared their teeth in a snarl, ears laying back. their armor was beside them, the kingpin having taken a body so different from their regular jaguar or dragon body, one they hadn't taken since sloan was a kit. exhaling, they shook their head, in the body of a fox, tail swishing side to side as they looked at the ranks behind them. they had made a plan, and gods help them all if that plan failed. nodding goodbye to those who stood behind them, they headed down the hill in their fox body, digging their toes into the snow with a low grunt.

approaching the camp after a short trot down the hill, they circled the camp, entering into the main body, eyes slipping over the slumbering bodies, paws itching with the desire to attack. barely daring to breathe, they noted the lack of bodies around to guard, eyes narrowing suspiciously. holding their breath, they scented the air, seeking out a nameless scent, a rich and motherly scent coming from a den up ahead of them, a body of dark reds and browns laying with back to them. trembling, they swallowed, watching as the woman within twisted in her sleep, her breaths becoming ragged as she was tortured by nightmares. wrinkling their nose at the other scents around her den, they nearly lost their bearings, before darting forward and digging knife sharp teeth into the bandit leader's right hip, growling as they shook their head, intending to make her lame before they released her. her scream of pain echoing in their ears, they whined in the depths of their throat, shaking their head to rid their jaws of the yellow ichor that came from the wound they had delivered. turning on their heel, the kingpin would sprint from the camp, dodging half asleep bodies lumbering from their dens, the leader's voice breaking, "catch that fiend!", as she rolled from her den, staggering and favoring her right hind leg. panting, they cursed their luck as they narrowly avoided a pair of snapping jaws that closed around the tip of their tail, tearing away fur. springing up the hill as they evaded the quickly awakening pursuers, they exchanged fox body for jaguar build, streaking up the hill with a fierce kick to the jaw of the wolf behind them. barely pausing to catch their breath, they drew their jian from it's hilt with a booming roar, "ATTACK!", words ringing in the air as they drove off another attacker, grateful for the protection of a nearby npc, allowing them to don their armor in a few quick moments, diving back into the ensuing battle.