"He's lost to us now, he will not be convinced otherwise," It was Khumba who had finally acknowledged that their returned friend had stepped over the line. Cruithne was now so convinced that he was right, that the unjust manner in which the slaves were treated and their fate was 'decided' was corrupt and unfair, that he wouldn't be told otherwise. The brown lion had finally declared that their god was false, that it was a cover-up for the elite who sat on their backsides and did nothing of note...while forcing those beneath them to do as they were told simply because of the disappearance of the 'moon'.
Khumba had reserved the right to remain silent and Qoba had been equally cautious to supply his own responses, but the guard had at the very least conceded that one of Cruithne's points had been valid. The moon disappeared at regular and predictable moments, there was a cycle and with enough study you could determine when their so-called deity would fall asleep. It was a very basic science and one that would ultimately circumvent the elites declarations that the 'god' had simply not 'favoured' these particular individuals.
...To Khumba it was perhaps the strongest of Cruithne's arguments, but it would never have been enough to cement his authority and overturn generations of tradition. Shangyue had tried and he had paid the price, the determination of the traditionalists was all too strong. To the Mwezi slavery was acceptable and while Khumba's views of their Queen had certainly soured following his discussions with Cruithne, there was no way he had the influence to make a change either.
More to the point, was he even prepared to conduct anything so treasonous?
"And you have the exact same facial expression that he started with," Qoba warned as he eyed the guard. Qoba had been dangerously close to slavery, he had just about been favoured, but he was the lowest one could get. He knew better than to try his luck, particularly given that their darling queen had only extended a token of benevolence to those who were enslaved. It was all too easy for someone to make up that he had offended something divine and the weak freedoms he had would be gone. Thus, it was not advantageous for him to dare to challenge the status quo, short of a noble starting this rebellion and having a guarantee of success, he sincerely doubted it would change.
Similarly, it had not been lost on him that after Shangyue's betrayal and his murder, things had simply reverted back to the way they had been before. There were two constants in the Mwezi that were unavoidable no matter where you looked, the first was that there would always be slaves and the second...well the second was that there would always be nobles who looked down upon them and thoroughly believed that they were being generous for letting them 'exist'.
"I have no illusion of granduer, treason would lead to my demise," Khumba stated bluntly. "I have no doubt that everyone is under watch, it hasn't been long since Shangyue was taken from the Mwezi and the norm reinstated," he shrugged. "To court notions of treason so soon after the first would be foolish, and more importantly, I'm not entirely sure there's an appetite for it," he pointed out.
"Tyranny has a way of doing that," Qoba would at least acknowledge the ruling class and their 'generosity' for what it was, even if he dared not say it to their faces.
"That it does, short of an invading army, change is very unlikely to take us anywhere," Khumba pursed his lips as he took a seat. He had to wonder where their friend had stormed off to, he had been a whirlwind of fury and frustration, yet he had disappeared with very little fuss beyond his own raised hackles. Both Khumba and Qoba's decision not to involve themselves further in his 'plans' had left him in a rather foul mood.
"And even then the risk is that they simply replace one tyrannic view with another, for all intents and purposes things may get worse," Qoba mumbled.
"Depends on which side you pick," Khumba pointed out gently. "Pick the winning side early and you may find things end favourably for you, that aside, it's so improbable it borders on impossible." Khumba was at least resigned to accepting the status quo and based on the current trend exhibited by the highest echelons of society (including the queen), there would never be any substantial change. While Khumba appreciated his friend's desire to exact change and fight for freedom for those who had no voice (or choice), the reality of it was that he would need to encourage that from within... and that would be halted immediately.
Treason was no joke, and while they liked to pretend they were nice, the highest echelons of society were far from nice when their comforts were threatened. Short of a miracle, Cruithne was never going to succeed in his pursuits, all the pair could do was hope that he might see reason before it was too late.
"Mmm..." Qoba seemed to have every intention of keeping the majority of his views to himself. Khumba was not terribly high ranked himself and as such, Qoba was safe to express some of his views, but one never knew when another would have a change of heart. "You realise he will get himself killed, yes?"
"Banished perhaps," Khumba shook his head. "Descenting views need to be tolerated to a degree if the new Queen is to continue to pretend that she values the rights and views of others," he raised a brow. "She may acknowledge he has those views and banish him for preaching something akin to treason, but to kill him would set a dangerous precedent for one who wants to claim she's better than Shangyue was."
"He might have been a tyrant but he gave them the opportunity to rise to power and he gave them the voice they never had."
"And she at the very least attempted to give them a token voice, weak as it might be," Khumba remarked and shook his head once more. "Better to see how this plays out, Cruithne's not entirely stupid so we still have time to formulate a plan to help him come to his senses... Until then, the best thing we can say is that he's simply disillusioned and that he's still adjusting after the change in leadership."
"He wasn't even here for Shangyue's rule," Qoba pointed out.
"And that's the key point, he never saw all of it, he only saw segments of it and the good things that he has identified as desirable changes. He moved beyond our lands to see the reality and the truths of what others did. Their cultures and their values are not lost on him, he approaches this with a very different view of how this society should function... To find out that it did for a time give slaves a greater voice, only to rip it from them once more -"
"I suppose if you've seen a 'better' way of doing something outside, seeing others push back so forcefully against it when you return home is definitely something you need to adjust to."
"Adjust to, change it, or let it break you," Khumba agreed. "Either way, all we can do is watch, wait...and see if there's anything we can do to prevent a disaster for him," Khumba concluded with a sigh.
"As well as keeping it as quiet as possible."
"Not a challenge for us."
"I wasn't worried about us," Qoba murmured. "But your point of his time away from the Mwezi is a valid one and I suspect it may be the best excuse to use for the time being."
"Mhm," Khumba agreed. "Easier to understand than 'he agrees with Shangyue and thinks Kimodo is as false as our god'," he smiled wryly.
"Aye, I can only imagine that would go down so well," Qoba mused and shook his head. "What you've said is valid though and I'll take that advice, for now it's the only thing I can do."
"Indeed," the paler lion agreed as he settled in. "Maybe he'll surprise us in the end..." he concluded as he turned his gaze to several hunters who had taken to meandering in the distance. It wasn't long before Qoba had joined him, while he wasn't the best at relaxing, he certainly wasn't against attempting to put his paws up now and again...
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