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It had been a long viking, but finally she was back home. She arrived back with the rest of the band, talking briefly to another pale lioness before their paths divereged. The captain would see to it that their prizes were split properly amongst them, and so Jupe was content to check back in with the members of the band later. The lioness would much rather be by herself now. There was only so much of the snivelling of thralls and the boistrous laughter of her peers that she could take before she snapped.

She almost felt bad for the new thralls, but if they had been strong enough they would have evaded capture. The more time Jupe spent within the Myrsky Syntynyt the more her ideals began to change and adjust to suit the pride's beliefs. For the first few months within the pride, she couldn't bring herself to look at a thrall and not feel pity for them. Now, she felt nothing as she passed a thrall tending to a group of young cubs. It was the way the pride thrived. Their warriors left frequently for a variety of things - new blood, sustainable food, treasure. Thralls were necessary to keep the day-to-day actions of the pride going.

She weaved her way through a group of lions without a word, nudging a thrall or two out of her way. Sometimes, and she sighed at the thought, this pride was obnoxiously full of life and vigor. Jupe was eager to make her way back to the outskirts of the pride where things would be less congested. "Oh, just move," she snapped impatiently at a lion, without even bothering to look who it was she was growling at. Usually it was just another weaker willed lion - someone who wouldn't willingly challenge her.

Jupe was a reaver now, and had a couple of vikings under her belt. She felt like there were too few who would stand up to her when she was in a bad mood.

"Good to see some attitudes never change, girl."

The comeback was immediate and dry, delivered in a deep, barreling voice the rumbled in the chest of the dark lion before it fell from his jowls like gravel. If he had been a gloater, he might have seemed smug, but as it was he simply leveled his eyes on her without a flicker of concern. There was too much pride in the set of his shoulders for him to have been taken as a thrall - not that he really expected she would believe such a thing after their little half-bout of swipes at one another.

No, Daijur stood tall and imposing as one of the newest members of the pride she held so dearly. A pride that, at first, she had not even claimed to belong to. That was a funny thing, he thought.

"I'm honestly not surprised to find you here at all."

Though he had to wonder if she would be surprised now that she was staring up at him - now that she would be staring up at him for a very, very long time. Maybe there was the tiniest hint of smugness about him after all.

How strange it was that she recognized the voice before even looking at the lion. She had met him once before, and the encounter had been... memorable. Her shoulders stiffened, and she slowly turned her gaze up to him. If she wasn't smack dab in the center of her pridal lands, she would have stepped back and assumed a more defensive position. Rather, she stared him down with a mix of disbelief and annoyance. Oh by the stormlords he had found his way into her pride.

Instantly she regretted even mentioning the pride she was a proud member of, because if there was one lion she could do without, it was the smug a*****e in front of her now. She loathed having to raise her head to look up at him, hated how his bulk and might were superior to her's. Jupe refused to envy him, and so clung to her distaste desperately. Her tail flicked with agitation, but she was not nearly as agressive as she had been out in the rogue lands.

He was a member of her pride, and she supposed she could afford him the minimum amount of respect. "Jupe," she corrected him, after no small amount of twinging at being called 'girl'.

Not that it mattered, she expected to be called 'girl' again, because he seemed to be that petty type. "So, freeborn, I have to admit I am surprised to find you here." It was her way of demeaning him. He was still one step behind her, having never experienced his first viking. "If you thought I was going to be here, I would have assumed you'd stay far away." She had a very bad feeling about him being here. Her life was surely about to become miserable.

"Jupe," he repeated, though dismissively. Names didn't matter an awful lot to him in the end, only the measure of a soul. Hers, so far, had been fiery but awfully self-centered, not unlike a petulant little girl. Even so, Daijur was hard put to be petty. His father had raised him better and his parents were, ultimately, above such trivial nonsense as grudges. This could be a new start, especially if she were intent to be so well behaved now.

If.

"Why? I'm not afraid of you." The words were delivered so maater-of-factly that there was no doubt that it was the truth. He leveled those deep, red eyes on her as he spoke, checking her attempt at belittling him with her comment. "You might outrank me now, too, but that is also very little concern to me. They have explained how that works and I do not think it will be very difficult for me to match you. Soon."

In his first show of gloating, a small smirk spread across his small. It was faint, barely noticable against the shadow of his fur, but obvious enough as it shifted his stony face.

"You told me that they were strong and I wanted to judge their mettle for myself. It turns out that they are not quite so strong as I am," he tossed a glance around him, at those nearby, all-encompassing, "but still strong enough that it made me consider settling down for the very first time."

Then, almost as if it were an insult, he tacked on: "So, thanks for that."

It was a small victory to get him to at least acknowledge her by name. His tone was insufferable, and it was a struggle for her to tolerate it. They were pridemates now, and she didn't exactly want to start a fight she would begrudgingly admit she could not win. Perhaps after this run in she would make an effort to avoid his stupid face. He was large - it would be easy enough to pick him out of a crowd and dodge further conflict with the lion.

The only issue was that Jupe was not known for avoiding conflict. She tended to stir it up where ever she went, whether intentional or not. Confrontational by nature, she had gotten herself into trouble more times than she could count. Daijur wasn't her first experience, but he was one of the few that could actually get the better of her. "Of course you aren't," she muttered, her tail twitching with irritation. For Jupe, this was a considerable amount of restraint she was displaying. "I just assumed you wouldn't want to be involved in a pride that had me in it."

They hadn't exactly gotten off to the... best of starts, and Jupe refused to take the blame in its entirety for that.

Ugh. His ego was even worse than her's, and confronted with a similar face she had worn the lioness grumbled irritably. Blue eyes met his again. She refused to come off as some meek lioness that he could bully and belittle. She was stronger and better than that. "Not all of the pride are strong, but you'll see some true warriors in here spread about. I doubt you've faced one of them yet." He had barely begun to test himself against the pride - it was far too soon for him to claim he was amongst the strongest.

She wouldn't let him have that. "You're welcome," she drawled, sarcasm dripping from her tongue like poison. "If you ever find yourself feeling like you're too high and mighty for this pride, you're more than welcome to leave it too."

It would certainly make Jupe's day if he did.

The more annoyed she seemed to get and the more times she insinuated that he should leave, the more Daijur grew pleased with himself. She had been so very cocky and proud in those first moments of their meeting when she thought she could best him simply because her ego had dictated such and it was with deeply rooted pleasure that he stood before her, peeling away the layers of her pride piece by little piece. Eventually, she would come to see him as the strong warrior that he had always been. He knew it.

"Abrasive or not, there could be worse comrades than you, Jupe. I would rather a thorn in my paw over a pair of pretty eyes if it meant the difference between life and death." It was a strange, round-about way of both insulting and complimenting her with the truth. She was strong and aggressive which meant she was a safe lioness to depend upon if he needed it. He dismissed his own words with a shrug that set his cloak wavering about his shoulders and let his eyes slip away from her, playing at unconcerned with giving her his full attention.

"I am sure I will have plenty of tests here, though I don't think you should discount your fellow pride members just because you dislike the truth you see in me." His eyes did shift back to her then with a suddenly heavy gaze, weighing and judging. "I won't be leaving. It's much too fun to watch you writhe in displeasure."

Her eyes narrowed at him, and her delayed response hinted towards the effort she was taking to not decide he was insulting her on purpose. Yes, she wasn't the prettiest lioness around, but it was a low blow to take that into a verbal argument. Sure, in some weird way he was complimenting her, but she refused to acknowledge it. She had to doubt the sincerity of a statement that was mixed with an insult. Instead, she struggled to smile, her expression strained as she flashed pearly white canines at him. "Well I will happily be the thorn in your paw. You can count on me for that much."

She turned her gaze from him, blue eyes sweeping over the crowd of lions. If she wanted to slip away, she could, but she believed he would take it as cowardice. Either that or believe her to be meek, and she was neither of those things. Jupe would let Daijur be the one to back away - she had to take what victories she could with this lion, after all. "In all seriousness, if you do happen to go reaving, I would be more comfortable with someone like you at my side than any other." There, she could play nice. It was a struggle, but feasible for the lioness.

It was the truth, too. Daijur was strong and capable, unlike some of the lions she had encountered in the pride, not to name a certain green b*****d...

By the Stormlords why did she even bother to compliment him. All that effort and he still made his intentions clear - he liked her being miserable. Well, two could play at that game. Call her petty, but Jupe simply did not care. "I hope to return the favor then," and she growled the next word irritably under her breath, "a**."

She had tried to be nice.

The pettiness in her voice, for a wonder, seemed to amuse the too-serious lion. He laughed under his breath at her and her insults, finding the humor in Jupe's annoyance with him. It seemed, for a wonder, that the angrier she got at his existence the more pleasure he found in it - and the softer the spot for her grew. He had always been a masochist though, like his father before him, and a lion that admired the strong willed souls of the world.

"Well, girl, I'll let you know when I've completed my first Viking then, hm? And you can have a capable a** on your team."

Daijur had every intention of climbing the ranks as quickly as he could in the Stormborn - he was freshly a part of the pride but he was already plotting his first Viking and he knew a little of the customs that would see him through to power. He knew the direction he would go once he had his head about him and where he was likely to find a lion or few to torment and plunder. He'd never been one to do aught but mind his own business before but, well, the culture of the pride itself made a difference of that for sure.

His face fell back to seriousness as he considered all the work ahead of him, but a bit of humor lingered in his eyes as they watched her mood shift to irritation under his gaze.

"I'm sure it'll be a success, anyway."

The last of her patience with Daijur was being put to the test as he addressed her as 'girl' one too many times. Lions in this pride fought for less than a silly little insult, and Jupe was feeling the temptation to stoop to their level. Instead, she hid her anger very poorly behind the facade of a strained smile. Her right ear seemed to have a mind of its own, and twitched from the agitation she was trying so hard (and failing) to hide. Surely it would be far more satisfying to slip her claws through his pretty black fur and slice his skin. As it was, she was feeling not only irritated, but frustrated.

"Sounds good to me."

Hah hah hah, no. The lie was about to bring her physical pain as she felt her jaw grow sore from how clenched her jaw had been for the past minute. "If we're lucky you won't be a dead b*****d during your first viking attempt. Really hope to see you back in one piece." There, that felt better to let a little of her malice slip through the cracks. She had to wonder what the point of trying to hide it was when her distaste was clear.

His confidence in his abilities were probably well deserved. Daijur seemed capable - he had bested whomever had greeted him at the border of the pride. In all likelihood Daijur would come back in one piece, and Jupe would be eating her words. By the stormlords, she really hated that thought. "May you please the Stormlords in your viking. Don't be too disheartened if you come back with nothing."

At least she wished him well... right?

Jupe really was doing the most she was capable of with Daijur.

The amused laughter died to a small, tight smirk as she did her very best to not absolutely be insufferable. It made him wonder if she were afraid of him (he doubted it, even if he had bested her in their little skirmish) or if there were some other reason she didn't want to outright attack her in the middle of the Stormborn. Pride, perhaps. He thought she'd not have liked to lose in front of those that respected her, especially not a Freeborn still wet behind the ears.

Whatever the reason, that, too, was amusing. He would eventually pick her apart and figure out what her drive was beyond pride and agression. For now he would accept that thinly veiled insult, as perfect as the first one he had slung at her.

"Oh, I can assure you, they shall be pleased. Maybe if you're lucky I'll bring you a present, hm?"

It was probably unkind to keep referring to her as a girl, or to treat her as such, but every time he did she just got so damnably flustered. It would have nearly been cute if she weren't teething with rage. Not willing to risk it (even a weaker lion could take out an eye with a quick enough swipe), he decided that it was for the best that they part ways for the day. He would see her again, he had no doubt, and next time he would make sure it was with an even greater success under his belt - that ought to be enough to really dampen her mood.

"I'll let you get back to glowering in peace," his smirk was still there, still plastered perfectly in place, even as he turned his back and began to head to where he knew Domey would be waiting. He had a new pet to show off and Daijur was curious. "I'll see you around."

Her ears pressed back to the flat of her head, and her lip curled just enough to show her sharp teeth. Great. Jupe expected to receive a half-rotted carcass as a 'present'. There was no reason for him to show her any kindness, it wasn't as if he liked her all that much. The only reason, she suspected, that he was bothering with her now was just to get back at her for their first run-in with one another. He was going to be the thorn in her side until she managed to be able to pluck him loose. Then he'd probably just find a new way to get at her. Needless to say, she did not expect to be rid of him easily.

"You really don't have to bother. It'll be a struggle enough bringing back something for yourself," she quipped back at him. If he did manage to bring something back, she was rather wary about accepting anything. Being indebted to Daijur was not the sort of complication she wanted in her life.

"Uh huh," she grunted at first, unamused. At least he had finally decided to take the hint and leave her in peace. It just irritated her to no end that he knew she was done with him, and yet he still lingered around long enough to be a pain in her a**. Even worse was that he was leaving when it suited him to leave. Jupe couldn't help but think that their interaction, for some reason, had gone exactly the way he wanted it to.

The lion was too damnably smug.

He was definitely having too much fun at her expense. "We'll see about that," she muttered to herself, suddenly convinced to avoid him like the plague. She would not allow him to derive pleasure from tormenting her. Sighing loudly, the lioness disappeared back into the throng of Stormborn. Try as she might to relax later, the lioness was unreasonably grumpy for the rest of the day.