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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:05 pm
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The slave dens finally loomed in Uchanjaa's weary sight. He was half-supporting his son-in-law, having successfully argued that they should take a circuitous route from the ambush site just in case. Orion was not in the best shape after taking out Tyfu (and Great Lion, now there was an achievement to brag about) and the brown lion was also not at his physical peak after trading blows with Shor'ame.
At this point, they were both liberally coated with blood, some of it theirs, a bit of it Shor'ame's, a lot of it Tyfu's. But while it had been worthwhile to take a longer route back, there'd been no time to spare to clean any of it off, unless if it obscured vision.
It had been a long time since Uchanjaa had been here, the den Orion shared with his daughter Halili. He hadn't been a welcome guest since Shangyue had stolen the throne. It remained to be seen whether or not that state of affairs would continue.
"Perhaps you should go in first," he observed aloud.
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:13 pm
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Having successfully slain the vicious lioness Tyfu and finally having made up his mind about the state of the pride, Orion was truly not much different for it. He had tried, weakly, to argue that Uchanjaa should go warn Unyezi and Nerit of what had transpired, knowing that the Slave Mother and Father would be involved in the fallout.. tried to suggest that he should like to speak to his mate privately, that maybe bringing her father to her wasn't going to help.. but he ultimately lost the argument and carried on with Uchanjaa at his side. And he was grateful for it. As the panic wore off, the pain got worse. He desperately wanted to clean himself off but there was no time yet for that. Halili had to know what happened, they had to get out of the slave dens and find somewhere safe. They wouldn't be safe here.
"Thank you," he murmured when Uchanjaa got them to the den and stood back so Orion could go first. He offered a weak smile and pushed himself into his den.
"Halili? Are you here?"
Please, let her be at home. He held his breath, waiting.
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:36 pm
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The lioness hadn't been back long from her own responsibilities and had been dozing off, wondering when she'd be able to have another litter. Then she heard Orion's voice and smiled. Perhaps tonight they'd make a start.
"Hmm? Yes, of course, love," she answered, heading for the entrance where her mate stood.
Only to stop still in shock at the sight which greeted her. It was hard to see in the scanty moonlight, harder still to see in the darkness of the den, but the scent was unmistakable when combined with the strange markings that Orion had never born before. Blood. He was covered with it. So was the lion behind him - she recognized her father, but rejected the thought with the habit of two years of ignoring him and focused on her mate.
"What on earth happened to you, Orion!? Are you in pain? Do we need someone who knows healing?"
Uchanjaa stood behind the black male, watching. He was glad to see that however much she hated him, she was more concerned about Orion's wellbeing than his presence. Of course, that might change, but for the time being, he wanted to ensure that everyone in his family was okay.
Not to mention that with his bulk blocking the entrance to the den, the inevitable high volumed discussion hopefully wouldn't be heard too far away.
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:46 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 6:04 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 6:12 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 6:19 pm
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Halili listened, eyes flitting from one lion to the other. She wasn't surprised to hear that Orion would have disregarded his orders and switched sides to protect Uchanjaa - first and foremost, she could absolutely not imagine her kind mate condoning murder of any sort, except perhaps Shangyue's. And she was aware that he had quietly disapproved of her refusal to speak with Uchanjaa, though he hadn't brought it up.
"So...now you two are going to tell me that we need to evacuate the den before Tyfu shows up looking for your hides?" the lioness asked in a tone of voice that any one of her children would recognize as Mom-is-about-to-beat-your-tail-if-you-don't-'fess-up-now.
The brown lion winced inwardly. Halili must've learned that tone from her mother. She'd changed in the past two years, and Uchanjaa wondered if his wide-eyed, upbeat young daughter was gone forever into this hardened, bitter, mother.
"Not...exactly..." he began, trailing off. It was Orion's doing, Orion should be the one to tell his mate.
Or maybe Uchanjaa just didn't want Halili to bite his head off. This was the first time she'd come even close to talking to him in so long...
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 6:24 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 6:32 pm
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"YOU DID WHAT!?" The reply burst out of Halili before she could even begin to think about what she'd just heard. Her father had, unsurprisingly, failed to contribute anything of real meaning to the conversation. Leaving Orion to drop the boulder on her. And Great Lion above, what a boulder.
Tyfu was...dead? And Orion had killed her? Was that even possible? Common rummor said the black lioness never lost a fight, not even when using only words for weapons. So how in the world could Orion have slain her?
"Explain. Now," she demanded with narrowed eyes, taking a step closer to her mate in order to glare at him better.
Uchanjaa winced as Halili's voice echoed and ricocheted through the small den at high volume. It was, frankly the reaction he'd expected. But, he wasn't going to leave his son-in-law to flounder completely in the face of the lioness' anger.
"Tyfu attacked him as soon as he turned," the Guard informed his daughter. "And Orion fought back while I faced off against the other two. It was one on one, and he killed her."
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 7:22 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 7:31 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 7:52 pm
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Orion watched as Halili ranted, bewildered but unwilling to turn his gaze from her. She had many good points, many things that might have come up if this had been orchestrated by the rebels- but it wasn't. And he was barely more aligned with the rebels now than he had been earlier. He might be glad Tyfu herself was no longer a threat and that the King had not managed to kill Uchanjaa for being vocal opposition.. but his motivation had been almost entirely selfish.
"It was self-defense, I didn't plan to kill her!" he said, his voice finally rising. Whatever he thought of Tyfu, it would be a long time before he came to terms with himself for what he had done.
"The King has been manipulating us all from the start, we should never have gone along with any of this!"
He so rarely had strong opinions and this one left his lips before he could censor himself. He knew how Halili felt, they'd been so involved in so much of this from the beginning, though indirectly.. and it was because Shangyue knew that the Low Class needed something more than slavery. Orion appreciated that he had given some of their peers options (however questionable), that he had officially given them a voice in the form of the Slave Mother and Father.. but he had never wanted to be a Royal Guard himself. And he wouldn't be anymore.
"I'm done being a Royal Guard," he said, calm returning to his voice, "I've never had a choice in that, even now it was made for me, but I don't want it anymore anyway."
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 8:01 pm
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"And you couldn't just knock her unconscious?" Halili yelled back as Orion defended himself. Great Lion, he was a Royal Guard, he was supposed to have training in this sort of thing! The lioness herself didn't have such training, but Uchanjaa had been known to drop hints and advice here and there. A Guard's combat training was supposed to ensure that they kept all the choices in a battle in their own hands. That is to say, that they chose whether or not their opponent died.
Though her mate's next statement was totally true, Shangyue had been manipulating them. How else would Orion have ended up as a Royal Guard, especially right after she'd turned down the honor? But as for not going along with any of it, there Halili could not agree. She refused to allow the pride to return to a state where Slaves were little more than intelligent property that might produce higher class cubs.
Her mouth was open to protest when the black lion spoke up again. Halili swallowed her initial response and some (but not nearly all) of her anger.
"Fine. Neither of us wanted the honor, and I know it was forced on you," she admitted in a more normal tone at a reasonable volume, almost quiet after her previous screaming.
The older lion let his breath out in a quiet sigh of relief as the two stopped shouting at each other. Whatever else happened, at least he was (finally) convinced he'd done good in helping Orion get home okay. The matter of what the black lion and his mate would do next was far from settled, but Uchanjaa was certain that his presence would be unnecessary.
In the meantime, old Unyezi would almost certainly want to know what his grandson had been up to this night. Now seemed as good a time as any to let him know.
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 8:11 pm
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Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 6:16 am
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