Back from hunting! Mear'ksh purred to herself, padding along with blood still staining paws and muzzle. It was hard to see on her muzzle, however, thanks to the slightly too big skull that she wore there. She had found it, actually, but then had killed the original owner of the horns now attached to it herself. One of the crafters had done that for her, and the young demoness wore the skull now proudly, along with the pelt of the antelope the horns had come from, as well as a few other things. She was currently heading toward the dens, considering taking a nap. Or maybe finding some small creature to torment for a while...
Nyota had been in the middle of brutally carving a random design into the side of a screaming hare when he first heard his half-sister's approach. After a long moment spent eying her in her skull (no doubt she was copying him), he went back to what he was doing. He was practicing his art, after all. Although there wasn't much room left on his current canvas... It was after a brief moment of decision that he bent over and skillfully snapped the hare's neck in one swift, practiced motion. The pitiful creature went limp against his paws, and he soon lifted them up to absently lick them clean.
Mear'ksh paused for a moment, hearing the screams of that rabbit. Aaah, someone else who liked pain! Purring softly, she turned her paws that direction. Perhaps they would share? But then... she saw who it was. Oh. The other skull-wearer...Nyota, half brother. Ah well! He was fun to annoy either way. Padding up, she watched as he killed the hare. "Too early~" she sing-songed at him. "Lots of blood and pain left in that one, there was, there was~"
"Maybe so, dear sister. But the canvas was filled," Nyota purred darkly, displaying the corpse of the rabbit. Indeed, there was little fur left on the poor thing. Open wounds crisscrossed all over it's frail body, and the ground was stained with it's blood. It hadn't been meant to eat, after all. It was merely a creature on which Nyota had tested his torture skills.
"Canvas," Mear'ksh snorted - clearly unimpressed. "If there is still life left there is still pain!" she half-snarled at him then. Forget the artistic side. She only was concerned with pain and blood. Stepping over, she put a paw in the middle of his "canvas" and flexed claws, marring his work with a smirk.
"A simple hare is different than a lion. You run out of room to inflict pain quickly," Nyota snarled, his fur rising in indignation.
"Slow can be good too...." Mear'ksh pointed out, lifting her paw off the hare and then dragging claws down her own foreleg - drawing blood slowly with a low hiss of pain/pleasure, as if to demonstrate her point.
Nyota had never seen such a strange sight. A lioness deliberately wounding herself to prove a point. The very sight made him gain just a bit more respect for his half-sister, but only a bit. With a malicious grin, he shifted and ran a still bloodied paw against her should. "Slow is good... But unexpected is better," was all he said before he dug his claws into the flesh and brutally ripped them downwards.
Mear'ksh made a sound halfway between a yowl and snarl when Nyota did that - starting to recoil but then instead leaning into the pain. "I never... disagreed...." she replied, smirking and ignoring blood now running from her shoulder. "But you still killed the hare too soon," she said, going back to the original subject. "I never kill them until they bleed out too much ...."
"I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I torture a hare," Nyota said lightly, drawing his paw back and absently licking his sister's blood from his claws.
Mear'ksh smirked at that, "Will you really? Or are you just saying that to get rid of me?" Tossing her head a bit, she made the skull on top of it shift about, horns stabbing at the air.
"I will. Normally I wouldn't even humor the suggestion... But I must say, you've earned some respect," Nyota said, chuckling and continuing to clean his claws.
"Only some?" she asked at that, moving in a little closer. "Why is that...?"
"You started out with none. Be glad you have any," Nyota dead-panned, returning his paw to the ground and smirking.
"Hmph," Mear'ksh snorted, sitting down and letting tail twitch about behind her. This wasn't fun. She wanted to make him hurt now. And wanted to feel more pain herself, his claws in her flesh... teeth in her fur. "My skull is better than yours," she claimed, quite suddenly.
"Your skull is a cheap imitation. I got mine when I was still a cub," Nyota countered, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Imitation!" she growled at that. "It is not." Her voice was still calm, smooth ... knowing exactly what she was doing now. "How in the world did you get a skull when you were a cub anyway? And ... mine has better horns. It's more demonic." Satisfied smirk.
"It was a gift from my mother. And my skull's horns are much better than yours. They weren't strapped on to the skull. They're attached to it," Nyota replied, bristling lightly as he bent over to show off the rather impressive spiraled horns on the skull.
"Mine's still better," she replied breezily. "It LOOKS like a demon skull. Yours is just from an animal. A weak animal," she went on with a smirk.
"Are you calling my mother weak?" Nyota snarled, his eyes flashing dangerously as he kneaded the ground beneath him. One more comment and he would rip her to shreds.
"Well if all she can catch to give you skulls from is weak prey...." Mear'ksh trailed off, raising a brow.
"You're dead," Nyota roared, lunging for Mear'ksh without a second thought. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, he hadn't thought out his attack and his first swipe missed the lioness's shoulder.
Mear'ksh laughed at that, spinning out of reach. Then she came in at him again, swiping out with her own claws now. But unfortunately she was just a bit off-balance and stumbled, her claws going to one side.
Nyota quickly took advantage of Mear'ksh's stumble, lunging forward and slashing one of her side's with his claws. This was too easy...
Mear'ksh snarled at that and backed up just a little - then tried again, this time coming in a bit slower so she didn't lose her balance.
Nyota quickly dodged the lionesses next attack, and quickly moved in an attempt to claw at her side again.
Mear'ksh moved back out of the way, though, scrambling around to one side... and paused, just watching him for a moment or two, eyes narrowed. How to get at him...
"Biding your time won't save you," Nyota snarled as he lunged for Mear'ksh again, swiping at the lioness's shoulder.
Oh, but it -did- help her to see him coming, dodging out of the way this time and then coming in fast - teeth snapping toward his throat. The true attack came from claws, though - aiming to rake them across a leg. Perhaps she could slow him down...
Nyota pulled back as soon as he saw her teeth going at his throat. The snap of jaws narrowly missed him while her claws tore into his leg. The lion gave a growl of displeasure, quickly moving to rake his claws down the Mear'ksh's shoulder before she had the chance to pull back from the hit.
Ha! That worked... Mear'ksh ignoring the sting where his claws had caught her that time. And she backed up again, circling with a low growl. "I still say you're weak and so is you moo~om~"
With a final roar of displeasure, Nyota lunged forward, ignoring the claws in his leg and viciously tackling the lioness to the ground. His jaws hovered right above her throat, ready to tear it out, before he stopped himself. "Am I weak now?"
Panting, Mear'ksh growled... but she had no choice except to give in. This time. She didn't really want him to bite her there, thank you. "No," she replied - almost sweetly, blinking up at him.
"Good," Nyota said after a long moment, pulling back and reluctantly letting his half-sister up.
Mear'ksh picked herself up and shook fur out - then took a few steps backward. "But I still say your -mom- is weak!" she suddenly called out - and then turned and ran.
