[Augustus]

It was a brilliant, quiet day in the neutrals. Augustus lay in the dappled sunlight between the trees, watching the landscape in front of him as the clouds rolled on. It was too quiet here, too peaceful. Augustus resented it. There were rumors of strong packs, whispers of demons with red tattoos and armies in dense, dying forests, but where was the fear? Everyone in the unclaimed land ran around without any caution, without worries or apprehension. As if peace was something within this tortured realm's grasp.

Augustus stretched his body out, claws digging deep into the soil as his back arched and popped. He stood, pastel eyes looking out over the land. If he wanted to build his empire, he would need to start with an army. Able bodies, compliance, structure. Minds to manipulate into doing his bidding. Loyalty.

Those things would come with time, but for now, a recruitment was in order.

He moved with a purpose towards a small field he'd passed early that smelled strongly of bovine. He stood out against the trees, an orange and red blur among the greenery, but he stuck to the shadows and went mostly unnoticed by the forest's inhabitants. The peace had clearly lulled these animals into a false sense of security; no one should feel comfortable with a brute like him lumbering through the shadows.

Without pause or bravado, the man leaped from the bushes and latched his full weight onto the throat of a bull cow, previously grazing and unaware of his presence. It let out a terrible shriek, immediately bucking and kicking and trying to fight him off. His grip on it's throat tightened and tightened until eventually it fell with a crash to the forest floor, suffocated. A sharp hoof had sliced his shoulder, so Augustus licked at the wound as he stood triumphantly atop his kill.

Blood dripped from both his shoulder and his lips, and poised atop his prize, he held all the regality of the king he intended to be. "Come here," He purred at whoever had amassed. "Are you hungry? Why don't you share a meal with me." No less charming than he'd always been, voice thick with honey and danger.

"There's plenty here for all of us."

speech ♚ thoughts ♚ profile

HECAT

“

Oh, the tigress had been watching the other feline for some time. She assumed that she would have to chase them off the bull she had been eyeing but, as fate would have it, they were giving handouts. "Well, my leonine friend," she purred as she slunk out of the shadows of the underbrush, "If you're offering, then I am more than interested in a free meal." Approaching the upper back of the dead bovine, she used her claws to carve into the flesh and portion out the rib roast. Sweetly, she spoke to the lioness, or possibly lion for their voice was a bit deep, "If you're giving away food, there must be a catch. What are you selling, hon?"

"Well, my leonine friend,"

Augustus watched the woman slink from the shadows with bright, appraising eyes. Tigers had always been an interest of his--mysterious loners, shadows with bright eyes and sharp tongues. You never saw them coming, even with their bright orange and black pelts. They were a bit alike in that regard; typically by the time you saw Augustus, it was already too late.

Like for the bull, for example.

"If you're offering, then I am more than interested in a free meal."

He hummed quietly and dipped his head in a nod as he sat back on his haunches and regarded her, one paw still placed on his prize. He had no appetite to speak of, not at the moment; but this was his kill, and even if he didn't plan on eating it, he didn't want them to forget it, either. A subtle display of dominance, but one he was sure would not go unnoticed. His eyes traveled the length of the tigress before him as she carved her pound of flesh, taking in her brilliant gold markings and her dark, dark pelt. She was a lovely thing, and Augustus had no doubt that she knew it.

"If you're giving away food, there must be a catch. What are you selling, hon?"

A slow smile curled his lips. "No catch," He said. "And I am no salesman." He didn't need to sell himself--he would give the facts, and they could choose whether or not to follow him. For now. "I require no payment. Only consideration."

He rolled his shoulders and settled more fully. "I plan to craft a kingdom in these lands, powerful; like the ones they whisper about at night to misbehaving children. I am offering the chance to be apart of it's formation," Before they rose to power. Before they would be able to force others to join them. Augustus still could, even now, he thought; but slaves would be troublesome to keep without drivers. He didn't have time for such things--recruitment and choice would have to do, for now.

"Are you interested, tigress?"

speech ♚ thoughts ♚ profile

HECAT

“

Her onyx eyes flicked to his paw placed so casually, yet so possessively on the carcass. She lifted her own, bloodied paw, bronze toned claws flashing. "I'm listening," she lifted the paw to her muzzle, licking it once, twice, eyes locked with the other feline. A group that would make the weak tremble, and to be part of their beginnings. Chances like this didn't come every day. Oh, she could carve out her spot. "Lead the way dear, I'm going to Rome."

ooc: This is still open! Feel free to join with any character--you don't need to ask permission first! We have acquired the territory across the desert, so Augustus will be escorting anyone who joins back there! Rome is here--please read up on all the rules and ranks! c:

[Severus Aurelia]

    A roar splits the air, Severa having not strayed far from Augustus as he hunted. He needed not their aid, fully capable of hunting for himself, without the support of servants, or the unwieldy canines protruding from a sabre's skull. He sweet-talks a tigress into their ranks, and although the lion may be satisfied with any able body and compliment, Severus Aurelia wants soldiers.
    The call cuts the canopy, not a territorial warning, but a challenge. If you hear a sabre's roar, and follow instead of flee, you belong in Rome. This empire of theirs, it needs more than cunning and bodies. They are not impatient, but paranoid. If Severus Aurelia were on the outside, looking in, the sight of a creature like a Augustus, feasting openly with others of his ilk, they would eliminate the threat before it could breed.
    Even the pair of them, travelling aimlessly, were less of a target than the beginnings of civilization. Rome will never be so weak as they are now; Severa will ensure it.
    Grand entrance already announced by the roar, the sabre lopes in to the meeting, stabs an overlong dew claw into the cow, and rips off a leg for themself. Food aggressive. Generally aggressive. They rest not far from either of them, but provide just enough space to prove the conversation is of little interest to them. Augustus is a man of silver tongue and misdirection; Severa has only action. Today, that constitutes only their share of a kill.

[Hecat]

How the hulk of the pale saber gotten past her, she had no idea. The beast was clearly not the type for words, preferring to throw their weight around. As it ripped in to the bull, she flinched, not at the show of strength but at the lack of manners the saber showed as they scarfed down their beef, but held her ground. She continued to eat her share, as daintily as anyone could eat a hunk of bloody flesh, but watched the lion closely. The saber was a brute, but as Augustus had welcomed her and the saber appeared later, she figured that the brains ruled the brawn. If she misstepped, she was willing to bet that the lion would give orders and the saber would follow them. Pausing from her meal, she looked to the lion, trying not to scold the saber for their manners, or rather, lack of them. "I trust that this," she gestured with a gold padded paw to the yellow and white monstrosity, "belongs to you. I'd hate to just let some random hulking mass join our meal." She could take the lion, if necessary, and she might be able to hold her own against the saber for enough time to escape but together she was more than outmatched. Not that she wanted to fight. She was, in her opinion, better suited to lead and command. Not necessarily an army but who knows what positions were open.

OOC: Is the position of head of house open? I'd like to have her in that position even if that means working up to it as a concubine

[Augustus]

ooc: This is still open to any and all that would like to jump in! Also yep, it's still open Pardus, she's gonna have to put in some work for it though! ;3

Ah, there was Severus, right on time. Always theatrical, that one. Announcing their presence with a fearsome, territorial roar, their gigantic teeth on full, threatening display. He hadn't expected anything less.

He gave Severa a passing, small smile as they ripped their portion from his fresh kill, content in the normalcy it offered in this foreign land. They had traveled so far together, now, and they still had further they would need to go before they got to what would be his kingdom. The sun-dappled, shady, pleasant woodlands would never be a place for his kind. Not for the breed he would create.

"This," He said, sharper now, eyes not quite as welcoming as before-- "Is Severus Aurelia. They are my Champion." He hummed, stepped back off the mutilated corpse and taking a seat still within reaching distance of it. He had no intention of eating anytime soon, but it was the principle, really. He was the one running the show here. "They are mine, yes. In the same way that you are mine, now, little tiger."

The same way it would all belong to him, eventually.

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[Hecat]

"They are mine, yes. In the same way that you are mine, now, little tiger."
That ownership he had of her, that godlike control the lion now held over her. Her cut of beef now had a bitter tang in her mouth. She shrugged it off, not wanting to show any signs of weakness to her new overlord. Forcing herself to finish her meal, she nearly gaged. The tigress had made the choice on her own accord, even if the lion had failed to list the terms, she had still accepted. "Do you have any positions in mind? I have little training in combat, but I can hunt well enough if that is what you need. What is it that you need?" The black female felt jittery, nervous. What would she do? Despite her clever tongue, she had little skills that could benefit a group.

[Severus Aurelia]

    The insult does not miss the sabre. Severa's ears, always pressed back, words that interest them always too loud to need much locating-- a long row of bloody teeth between protruding canines. They offer the tigress only a stare, a deeply seated growl that may not make sound at all. It dwindles out as Augustus speaks, and they fill their mouth with meat and silence.
    Hecat. Silly girl thinks herself so much more sly than the pair of brutes before her, thinks herself a goddess. Silly girl will find tongue torn from her mouth if she cannot hold it herself. It is true, that the lion speaks, and Severa obeys. It would be foolish to assume this is by the sabre's own inability, and not respect earned.
    Augusts speaks, and Aurelius heeds. Champion. Is that what they are? They like the sound; it seems to carry power in the word alone. A subtle assertion to the tigress, that place is earned. That Severus Aurelia has proven themself before. The fear flashing over her face, even more appetizing than any cut of beef. She understands, then. She is learning her place, as everyone must that will survive. Their eyes are as slits, yellow irises in black sockets. Piercing, if you like.
    She shows her hand, silly girl. Not so clever after all. "Is hunting a skill to you?" They would think it obvious, after Augustus' kill, that such things are not in short supply. "That pretty pelt may be more pleasing than your life." They return to the meal, attention elsewhere. They have only opinions, for the Emperor to consider, and Champion to carry out as he sees fit. If he wills the cat dead, it shall be done. If he deems to split their skin on his claws, then the earth will have their blood.
    Maybe, in a threat made in nonchalance, there is an idea after all.