He'd concluded they were oddballs, or at the very least their thought processes didn't align to his. Then again, very little aligned to his world view at the moment and this particular lioness had demonstrated a rather more open minded approach to what his friends perceived as a 'conflict'. In the Mwezi could might very well be treasonous, one who had turned his back on their so-called malicious deity...And yet here stood a lioness who was willing to listen, even if she might not necessarily agree that the world was quite so clear cut as he believed.
She was a strange one in more than just world view as well, she looked odd. This was discounting the fact she'd be accompanied by a hybrid, she simply looked different. There was something about both her fur and her smell that seemed to be unnatural and he couldn't for the life of him work out why. All things considered, his encounter with the striped lioness had left him in a muddle - filled with unbridled curiousity on one paw, and frustration on another.
After all, how could an outsider be so open to the views of a less than benevolent deity? Particularly an invisible one?
"And so he returns," Ijiraq remarked smoothly as the pensive male came towards her again. Meera had wandered off, electing to continue with her journey and embrace new opportunities. Given that Ijiraq was less inclined to explore quite so frivolously, she'd remained near the Mwezi while she contemplated her options. On the one hand the lioness had seen a fair amount as she had made her way towards this particular region, and on the other she didn't feel quite the same amount of drive to continue anymore.
...If she'd had wanderlust, it had been sated.
"With much the same expression as he did when he left, a subtle combination of thunderous and hm...you know I can't quite place the last part," she mused. It was an observation that caused him to pause momentarily and she watched in amusement as he schooled his features into something more appropriate. Well, she'd have said appropriate if it wasn't for the fact he had transformed it into his best attempt at neutrality while failing to completely hide his irritation. She wasn't sure about this one, but this lion definitely seemed to be carrying some sort of bug bear.
"And you are still here," he replied coolly, struggling to maintain as close to a neutral expression as he could manage. He used to be much better at this, long before he'd experienced what he deemed to be an awakening. Now, when faced with those who stood in opposition of his views he struggled with ever increasing frustration. Suffice it to say that it was difficult to speak with those who were so unbashedly blind; it was even harder when they seemed to have the potential to see the truth and instead they chose not to. She was an example of the latter and he couldn't for the life of him work out why.
"Your guards have kept to themselves for the most part," she replied and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not perceived as a threat and I can only assume that means I'm allowed to be here," she pursed her lips thoughtfully. "They're not quite so hostile as you, which might explain why they are in that profession and you aren't."
"I never aspired to be a guard," he stated plainly.
"Then you should probably cease in being quite so hostile as you are doing them a great disservice," she pointed out.
"Excuse me?"
"The moment anyone so much as steps on to this land you seem to make a point of demanding answers to great philosophical questions, questions that the vast majority probably don't ponder, or don't have the answers you seek. I'm not entirely sure what your end game is, but on the whole this pride doesn't seem to be intentionally hostile and you are harming their reputation."
"There are plenty of guards with worse tempers than mine."
"Perhaps, but I have yet to meet one of them," she pursed her lips and regarded him thoughtfully for a few moments. She'd been in two minds about this for a while, quite frankly she wasn't sure if she'd encounter him again, but had fate conspired to make it happen then she had pondered over her next move. As it was, fate had sought to bring them together again and she was afforded the opportunity to act on her decision. As he was naturally combative, she'd concluded a more neutral and diplomatic approach would have been most appropriate.
Her father would be proud.
Not her blood father, her genuine father who had taken them in. Technically speaking her Uncle, but she'd not seek to educate anyone on the monstrous web of her family's lineage unless it was absolutely necessary.
"What exactly are you looking for?" she asked. "You seem to be looking for others who agree with exactly what you see, but what you've experienced is completely exclusive to this land."
"I have been outside."
"Yes... But," she shook her head. "I think it's safe to say that this is the only place that has this specific belief system. You might find similar as you wandered, but they would openly disagree with what your pride might believe to be fundamentally accurate," she pointed out gently. "You might want to change your approach, that's all. Demanding someone's view on something that they might not necessarily have ever been exposed to is a touch unfair."
"They come here, for the most part, expecting to join us," he stated darkly. "They at least need to learn that our loving deity has no issue with enslaving them. Their idealism will not be rewarded and there is no way out."
Ijiraq's brow lifted at that bit, it was something she hadn't known, but there were some who actively sought such things. It was something to do with security, a sense of sanctuary, she might not necessarily understand it but it was what they desired. A life of total obedience in exchange for... well she wasn't entirely sure. Where slavery existed there was usually someone actively out to exploit it.
In a way Cruithne was right, they were entitled to a warning at the very least.
"Are they not warned?" she said finally.
"They are in a way, before they are 'blessed'," he replied. "They are advised it 'can happen', but they are never given the option after it happens, to leave again. They are never given the choice to refute it and leave the pride."
"So how do they find out?"
"The morning after," he murmured softly. "They are guarded, specifically by those with a duty to ensure they cannot run away once they awake."
And therein lay the problem, everyone had the right to self determination, and that was something enforced within the Bahari. She conceded that perhaps it was different in the Stormborn where some of her blood lay, but she'd yet to have the opportunity to explore the more nuanced aspects of her relatives' culture.
"There is no escape," he hissed. "If my demeanour is enough to deter then at the very least I have done something to stop the unwitting from waking up the next day without any semblance of freedom. Individuals who were once free to explore, to act as they wished, to speak as they wanted," he snorted. "All because something in the sky decided not to show," he snapped.
"While those who were born or appeared on a day when his lordship was 'awake' are allowed to sit on their asses and do nothing because they are 'truly blessed'."
"Hm..."
"There is a reason that rebellion almost worked," he muttered. "And this Queen who believes herself so mighty and benevolent needs to be mindful she's brought us right back to the very place it started."
"Careful now," Even Ijiraq could detect when something could be dangerous for another's health, she might not know much about them, but insulting a leader probably wasn't a smart move.
"Someone has to say it," he snapped.
"Agreed, but probably in a more constructive way." Ijiraq murmured. Admittedly the young lioness didn't know quite how to broach that subject, if the new queen had reverted all the changes made by the rebels then she might not necessarily be open to a more liberal view. Regardless of whether this monarch was or wasn't willing to address the very issues that caused whatever rebellion he spoke of, running his mouth wasn't going to do him any favours.
"A naive view, the royals and their nobles will literally sit on their backsides again and go back to the way things were. Their hubris will be their undoing."
"And so will yours," Ijiraq replied coolly. "If you're going to make such declarations then at the very least you need concrete proof that what you don't consider divine is false...And before you say it, no, not being visible is not an excuse."
"You believe in things you can't even see, you would be open to this?" he asked incredulously. Perhaps he had misjudged this one as being capable when she really wasn't.
"No, but I believe in the things I can see, and given I come from a long line of deities... I know that just because you can't see something doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't there. It simply means they have descended from their home yet."
"What?"
Ijiraq raised both eyebrows in response, now he really did thing that she was truly mad, believing in fairy tales and claiming she was divine. No doubt his mind would be breaking.
"My mother and both my grandmothers would dispute your lack of faith," she shrugged gently. "As would many others I surmise. There is every chance your pride's deity exists, and if you don't agree with this, then you will need to find absolute proof that your view is the right one... And to be perfectly honest with you, I've no real idea of where you would even begin to delve in to that."
"I do," Cruithne remarked darkly and shook his head. Contrary to what she might have thought, she'd given him an idea, and he'd conveniently set aside her remarks regarding her own lineage.
If he needed absolute proof, then he'd find it.
...He'd just start from the beginning.
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