#had internalised a rule of force* mindset. after all he didn't have a choice in being a tiercel. so he couldn't quite grasp that he needed

[ranticore]

what would be the outcome/repercussions be if a regular pen/cob challenged and killed the king of their flock without/before becoming a king themself?

it happens a lot already! if a king isn't doing a good job at defending the flock and providing an appearance of prosperity and there's no upcoming king vying to replace him, the regular flock will kick that mfer out and not even look back (outright killing a yielding enemy is actually very rare - Thunder Strike's killing of another king was a freak accident and considered a bit of a warning sign of an unstable king. this might contradict stuff i've already written but whatever. its all cultural).

it's usually a group effort by the rest of the flock to depose a king and the outgoing king is expected to take it on the chin and leave without fuss but it's rarely so easy. ego and feelings get in the way and a king who feels that he's being unfairly attacked (which IS sometimes the case!! you can do everything right and still some people will hate you) will fight back, though once the tides have turned against him he knows he won't win anyone back. better to fly off and try to win his way into another eyrie or flock.

one-on-one battles between a cob/pen/tiercel and a king are not common not just because kings are physically much stronger, but because popular support is usually needed to get rid of that king. if it's just one person kicking up a fuss about a king that everyone else seems to like, they're likely to face a lot of push-back from their peers and the king might start to view them as a potential rival and try to kick them out first. so if this fight is spearheaded by one person, it's in their best interests to first speak to the rest of the eyrie and make an argument for their cause.

if someone feels that they ARE about to turn into a king themselves, it's a good idea to get that support first because in a small eyrie (as most are) as becoming a king gives you a window of a few months before the inevitable outcome - either the existing king kills or exiles you, or you kill or exile him. in either case you want friends to have your back (or at least believe that you might do a better job... if they don't think you'd do a better job, you're in trouble)