[PRP] Campaign Trail

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The world had turned, Shangyue had fallen, and yet the pride was still uneasy. No new monarch had been crowned, though it had been moons since the killer King had been slain. The Great Lion's attention had not yet been returned to the pride, nor would it until a good ruler was chosen. Nyeusi herself favored the idea of a Queen instead of a King, but only the Great Lion, through his tool the Shaman, could determine that.

The Huntress often felt sorry for Lailah K'chol, who was fortunate enough to be the repository of the Great Lion's will within the pride. It was a mighty responsibility, and given the question on everyone's lips about a monarch, Lailah had been rather scarce of late.

Neema, the Shaman's twin, was in plain sight. She'd assembled a not-official-throne next to the watering hole and was quite visible to everyone. It was no secret that the yellow-marked lioness had declared her candidacy for the vacant throne, and she was making sure everyone knew it.

Approaching, the black female looked up at the white.

"Do you feel closer to the Great Lion up there?" she asked mildly.  

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Nyeusi studied the older lioness on her perch. Neema seemed confident and calm. Given what the black lioness knew of the white, it was entirely possible that she could be joking, but it was impossible to tell. The Huntress was not in an especially jovial mood.

"And do you think He wants you up there?" she asked.  

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The darker lioness was quiet as she observed the paler female on her rock, fur shining in the light of the waning moon while Nyeusi herself was a shadow with a shadow, illuminated only by her grey forelegs while her face remained in darkness. Neema's initial response was pious enough, but there was something in her attitude. Her deflection back to Nyeusi was not enough to conceal it either.

"If the Great Lion has favored me, it is more than I deserve. I serve His Will and spread His Word, but I am a lowly mortal," the lioness replied at last. She refused to get above herself in this case. She would discuss the issues of inter-class relationships of course, but beside the Great Lion, all mortals were dust.

"I do not think that He wants you up there though," she continued. "Your continuing display hurts your sister and makes it harder for her to know His Will in truth."  

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"I worry about Lailah K'chol daily," was the reply. "She is our surest link to the Great Lion, and must divine His Will concerning our new ruler. I fear that the trouble she is having may make her ill."

Thank the Great Lion that the Shaman had multiple Apprentices that she'd trained well. It was said that the Shaman before Stellaluna and her Apprentice had simply vanished one night, never to be seen again. It had fallen upon Unyezi to help train the new Shaman and her Apprentice, Lailah.

Back to Neema, it was unsurprising Lailah was having such a difficult time, what with her own twin refusing to back down. Neema's intentions must be clouding what Lailah could learn from the Great Lion, drawing out this period of instability.  

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Nyeusi raised an eyebrow, invisible above her cerulean save for how the change in expression briefly altered the shape of the eye below. Neema's tone seemed to say "yes, this is what I must say, but it is the opposite of what I believe." Or perhaps it was her posture. Regardless, the black lioness was fairly certain that the white was lying. If not to the Huntress than to herself.

She considered, briefly, how best to respond.

"Is that really what you think?" the dark lioness asked at last. "Because I think not." Nyeusi surveyed the older female on her rocks once more before turning away.

"This pride exists to glorify the Great Lion, not the other way around."  

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If Neema wished to delude herself at the cost of her own twin's health and sanity, so be it. It wasn't for Nyeusi to interfere in family matters. She'd given her warning, it remained to be seen what happened. Still, the long interlude made much more sense now that she'd seen some of the cause with her own eyes, and heard with her own ears.

For the sake of pride and Shaman, she hoped this was resolved sooner, rather than later. Else they might find themselves in need of a new Shaman.