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The lioness had the impression that this was not the safest place to decide to lay down and rest in. But, she had been told this was where her opponent would meet her, and while she could be an unpleasant lioness, she was not necessarily the type to bail on such arrangements. Her anger towards Ciro had dwindled the longer she spent away from him. For all intents and purposes, Calypso was rather relaxed. The dark lioness laid curled up into a ball, her nose buried underneath the pit of her arm, tail twisting around her head.

She had been here for the better part of a day now, resting her sore paws and dwelling over the mistakes she had made in the past. Calypso should have left sooner, but her mother always had a way of dragging her back. Even now, Calypso wasn't sure she wanted to join this pride. She had just wanted to fight Ciro because the lion proved to be particularly annoying.

She wasn't malicious by nature, but that wasn't to say she couldn't be malicious. Now she looked surprisingly peaceful, remaining so still that her pelt could easily blend into her surroundings. She had twisted her body into itself in such a way that it concealed a majority of her bright orange markings. There were lions patrolling the area - she could smell them well enough, but so far she hadn't been disturbed.

Calypso would have hated explaining why she was here, hiding among the dirt and rocks. Her dignity could only suffer so many blows.

"Of course I have," Calypso responded as she lifted her head. Dark tufts of fur flopped over half of her face, concealing a dark crimson eye. She may have been from the Outlands, but the members of her pride could be considerably... honorable at times. She would keep her word if she could, and she certainly could in this situation. There was no reason for her to back away from this challenge, even if she didn't have the right intentions.

The lioness rose to her feet, stretching her limbs out in front of her, claws scraping against the dirt. The lioness still wasn't in fighting form, but she looked far better off than she had been just a couple days ago. Her ribs still showed, and Calypso was undeniably unkempt. Rest did wonders for her, but she needed nutrients to even begin filling out again.

"I said I would, anyways." Ciro could take her for her word, for as long as she intended to keep it. The lioness walked up to Ciro, much of the malice from their previous meeting dissipating. Whether she had lost her fire, or had simply managed to kindle its embers was yet to be seen.

"So, I suppose this isn't a fight to the death, then? Pity." She smirked, a characteristic of her's that was almost charming.

Calypso was a lioness who acted out of anger, and without it she was not nearly as cruel or malicious as she had the potential to be. Yes, she had harmed others, but she never believed that they didn't deserve it. "Funny that, I'm occasionally honorable," Calypso answered with a little frown. She doubted Ciro knew her true character, and she likewise doubted that it would show itself in a fight.

He did say they could make it a fight to the death, so Calypso assumed she shouldn't hold back against him. While she would take great satisfaction in defeating him, she didn't feel the same urge to open his guts as she had before. There was a lot weighing her down, drawing her back away from her usual intensity. Her mother weighed heavily on her thoughts, and even that stupid lion she had maimed came up in her memory now.

If he hadn't been such a fool, she would have wished him the best of luck in keeping the sight in his eye after she slashed it open.

"Don't worry about me, I'll make do."

Calypso lowered her head, shoulders hunched, limbs bent down into a crouch as she stalked him in a wide circle. The first few seconds mattered the most. She could gauge his strengths and his weaknesses, and then figure out from there the best way to strike. She just had to draw him out first. She moved in close, circling her prey, and when his defenses seemed the lowest, she swiped at him, only to draw back quickly out of his range. Calypso was testing his reflexes, trying to figure out the lion before going in for a quick assault and easy victory.

Ruka?

The name should not have thrown her so off of her game, but it did. Ruka was a name she had not heard in a while, and the last she knew of the lioness, she was off wandering alone in the roguelands. Calypso had been there when she left the pride, and back then had refused to go with her. The lioness regretted her decision. Once again her mother had a way of tearing things apart, and Calypso had chosen to stay with her dysfunctional family.

They had been friends once, growing up. Ruka had always been a kind lioness, one who did not necessarily fit in with the rest of the Outlanders. Calypso, on the other hand, with the spitting image of what an Outlander should be like. She was molded perfectly by her pride, but even that failed her now.

Too many questions whirled through her mind. Ciro had seen Ruka, but where? Calypso did hope the lioness was managing well enough on her own. She was aware of Ruka's... ailment, but most of the time there was nothing anyone could do for her. It was easier to walk away from the lioness than it was to sit by her side and bear through it all with her.

She was snapped out of her own thoughts by the feel of Ciro's body shoving into her. The lioness fell back with a short 'oomph', dazed by the attack. One name had been enough to completely throw her out of her battle mindset. Now, she made a hurried recovery, swiping angrily at Ciro with a loud roar. "Back off!"

She knew that, and the dirty little trick he used to distract her was something she would have done herself if she had known enough about him. But, he was a stranger to her, and as he pushed her back down into the earth she began to loathe him again. He was a lion who knew nothing of her, a lion who thought he could cast judgment on her strength and worthiness. The spark in her ignited far too late - the battle had already been decided.

The lioness rolled up onto her feet, flashing her teeth at him with an irritable snarl. If he had stayed within her range, it was likely she would have lashed out at him again. Calypso controlled herself barely, "I have no desire to bother with you further, whether you know of Ruka or not." She announced this with a low growl. Their fight had turned into something pitiable that Calypso did not want to dwell upon. The only way she had to retain her dignity was to press onward, and to shove this lion as far away from her life as possible.

With nothing else left to say, the lioness angrily turned on her heels, and stalked back out of the borderlands. Her mind was made up now on what she had to do. She had to win, join this pride, and prove her strength no matter what the costs.