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Back again after a long stint of a Viking, Astrid stood close to the boarders of the pride- He had recently ranked up, gaining the title of reaver at long last. Next to him stood his sister, Satinka, though she was quite. No more could she follow him around, not unless he took her as his thrall. Peering over at her, the dark lion pulled one side of his mouth upward, offering a sad smile.

“The choice is yours, Satinka… I don’t really know what else to do.” He breathed the wet air in as his moist body grew cold from sitting. Rain was still pouring, obscuring their surroundings and making it ever harder to see if others were coming from beyond their territory. Satinka just stood, motionless and silent as ever, a sight that the reaver couldn’t stand.

“Satinka!”

The cyan lioness finally looked up at Astrid and glared, “Give up my freedom and rank to have freedom and be part of my family’s life… or give up my ability to leave and have a rank.” She was all but spitting the words at Astrid, who stood silently. She had a point, it was a tough call to choose and not one he wanted to offer her… He wanted her safe at home, however she also could hold her own easily and he trusted her.

“I…” He wanted to continue, but movement caught his eye- Someone was coming.

“We will talk about this later, Astrid. For now, I will watch you fight.” Stepping backward, the cyan lioness waited for the stranger to come closer, curious how her brother would react to his first official askorun as a defender for the pride.

“Challenge Accepted.”

Astrid moved forward, allowing distance between himself and Satinka. His body tense, eyes dark and foreboding. Nodding at the stranger, he offered up his body for an attack. “Show me your strength, stranger.”

Satinka rolled her eyes, backing up further so she wouldn’t be part of the scuffle- Already she was judging her brother for allowing himself to be to open to an attack. Was he trying to just let strangers walk into the pride or was his anxiety really that bad?

“Seriously brother, do something!”

Astrid ignored his sister, gritting his teeth in annoyance. She had no idea what he was doing, therefore no reason to be chastising him in his mind. “Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to fight me?!”

Astrid let the stranger blow hit his side, retaliating with his own attack- A quick bite to the strangers flank. He had left himself open for another attack in doing so, however he wanted to see just how hard the challenger could hit and what better way to do that than open himself up. Smirking up at the lion, Astrid felt a rush of excitement overcome him. He was being useful at last and finally coming into his own.

“What the hell are you doing brother?!” Satinka was absolutely confused, unsure how the idiot had even ranked up in the first place. Frowning, she turned her attention to the strange. “SMACK THE IDIOT FOR ME WOULD YOU?”

Astrid frowned, eyebrows knitted as his attention turned to his sister. Had she seriously been rooting for the stranger and not him? Clamping down a bit harder, Astrid attempted to keep his head in the game, however there was more than enough time for the stranger to swing.

Astrid could tell the challenger was starting to become frustrated with Satinka and her yelling, however he couldn’t pay anymore mind to it. A little distraction such as this was nothing while out on a Viking. That being said, the little attention he had given to Satinka had worked against him as the strangers tail swatted him in the face, the long tendrils of fur hitting him directly in the eyes making them water. Growling, Astrid pulled away only to get nailed with a paw directly to the face.

Frustrated, the dark lion snarled and immediately retaliated, latching onto the strangers paw and yanking him forward. The challenger’s words requesting him to silence his sister only fanning his anger.

Satinka was now quiet, watching both fighters in a mix of awe and enjoyment. Her brother wasn’t honestly doing much, however it had be interesting to see him grow. She kept thinking back on how he had been before his first Viking… Awkward, shy and a flower blood. Now he was stretching his personality and growing. She was proud…

“Show me some muscle!” Cheering again, the lioness backed up further knowing that tension was high and she’d rather not be part of the scuffle.

Astrid felt the opponents’ hind legs underneath him and could definitely sense an impending kick to the ribs to be the result. Deciding to act quickly, Astrid bit down harder, gnashing his back teeth on the lions paw and lifted one of his free paws to strike Nyauhoggua in the face, hopefully unravelling the tangled pretzel that now had become. This was clearly becoming a stalemate, as he felt matched in strength with the stranger, what was worse, he felt he had wasted too much time feeling out his challenger rather than attacking.

Satinka was now frowning, her brother went from looking cool for a moment, to looking like a ball of fur wrestling awkwardly with a stranger. Rolling her eyes she called out to both of them, “Perhaps you both should call this one a tie and have a rematch?” She was getting bored, had the old rules been in place perhaps she would have been a reaver herself, fighting strangers and testing their strength and resolve.

“Well?!” The cyan lioness’s patience had worn thin. Astrid rolled his eyes attempting to ignore Satinka but he couldn’t help but think she had a point. They weren’t getting anywhere in this fight and as they were, they could stay locked in a wrestling match for a long time. Looking at his opponent, Astrid gave the male a look, asking with his eyes if the stranger would like to stop.

As soon as the challenger spoke the word, Astrid let up, loosening his grip on the lions paw before fully unlatching his jaws from the stranger. Rolling away, Astrid took to his feet, staring at his opponent with a satisfied look. There was a metallic taste of blood lingering in his mouth, which wasn’t at all appealing. Spitting on the ground away from both parties, Astrid returned to stare at the challenge.

“A rematch it is, however you are free to enter- You did a fine job and your strength I could feel was well matched to mine. We need strong lions like you in our pride, welcome to the storm.”

Satinka wandered over to the two lions, blue eyes gazed at them with mild boredom. “That was pretty uneventful, but you two still did a decent job. Welcome to the storm stranger. Our healers could probably help you with the paw… you don’t want to know what’s been in my brothers mouth.” Smirked at Astrid, the sassy cyan lioness turned away from the two, travelling towards the hustle and bustle of the pride.

“My apologizes for her mouth, she is a fiery one.” Shaking his head, Astrid shivered- In the heat of the battle the rain had felt like nothing. Now that he was just standing at attention he could tell he had been soaked to the bone. “If you can deal with her mouth for longer, it might be a good idea to follow her though- I am Astrid, by the way. The lioness walking off is my sister, Satinka. I would accompany you, but I need to remain on my watch.” Nodding his thanks, Astrid turned to stared out into the rogue lands, hoping silently that someone would relieve him of his duties soon.

"Next time we meet let us spar together, I am curious to see who will have gained some strength."