Juda patrolled the border of Igazi Laphakade, his new home. Before he found the place, he had been traveling alone, looking for some sort of meaning in his life. When Ezra found him, she offered him a home in her pride as a protector. He was honored to be allowed to have a position in her pride. However, being a knight in the pride was not his end goal. When the time was right Juda wanted to become a lord.

To do that he needed to start getting loyal followers to join his clan. Patrolling closer to the border was how he decided he would find some possible candidates. While others in a similar position would carelessly pick just anyone who was interested, Juda wanted his clan to be strong. He wanted to show Ezra that he was not just good choice to bring into the pride, but also one that would build upon it and create a clan of warriors who could protect the pride.

The pride already had some strong warriors that he had his eyes on. However, since the pride was still so young and small, he wanted to get more outside blood.

As he walked along the border, near the river when he saw someone curled up next to the rocks. Thanks to the light from the moon, Juda saw the purple figure resting peacefully. It was sort of surprising seeing someone so relaxed, especially when they were in such a dangerous spot. The purple creature was very clearly not a lion. Too lean to be one. Even if he was a lion, Juda was certain that he wouldn't be up to par with what he expected from a warrior.

Still, this creature could still have some use, Juda thought as he inched closer, not making a sound. Igazi Laphakade needed more slaves to do the mundane task as well as for the vampires to feast on. And it would be nice to have his own slave. Being able to drink blood whenever he needed to.

Of course it wouldn't be easy to just bringing him into the pride. He didn't have any experience dragging unwilling creatures into the pride. But if he wanted to prove himself as a potential lord, he needed to start learning.

“Get up.” He growled.

Waysm had been fast asleep, dreaming of times of peace. His old life was far behind him. He left to learn more about the world, only to find himself trying to go back home. When he tried to go back, he learned that his home had been disbanded. His family had been dispersed and he found himself unsure of where to go.

That's how he found himself traveling and in unfamiliar lands.

When he opened his eyes, it was dark out. Towering over him was a black and white lion with amber eyes. Startled, he pushed himself away from the lion, only finding himself backed against some rocks. He needed to think of something quick to get away from this lion.

“Don't get any closer.” he hissed, showing his teeth. “If you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and pretend you never saw me.” Right now he just wanted the lion far from him. Being alone meant he had to learn to protect himself.

Juda looked at the cheetah with interest. He saw some scar marks on him, though not too many. From what he could see, the cheetah seemed to be in good health.
“And what will happen if I don't? You see you are trespassing and my pride doesn't look fondly on those who enter without permission. If I brought you before my queen she would certaintly have you executed as an example for others.” Juda said in a slightly playful tone. He would never actually take this cheetah to Ezra. It would be a waste of her time and would look poorly on him. But the cheetah didn't know that.

Waysm gulped. He was in pridal lands? That was not good. His old home would kill anyone who trespassed without question. He imagined most other prides were the same.

“I- I'm a prince.” he stammered. “Your queen wouldn't want a war by threatening me.”

He tried to sound confident, but he knew he was hardly princely. It was the only thing he could think of. Lying was never something that came naturally to him, despite trying to learn from his older brother Sol. He knew if his jerk brother was here, he would figure out a way to convince this lion.

Juda looked at the cheetah with renewed interest. He didn't know the land well enough to know if there was another pride nearby with cheetah royalty, but he felt safe in assuming that the cheetah was lying. It wouldn't hurt to play along though.

He gave a short bow. “I am truly sorry that I disrespected you. I had no idea that you were a prince. I would have assumed royalty would travel with protectors to make sure an incident like this couldn't occur.” Juda responded, his eyes watching the cheetah carefully.

Damn, he hadn't thought of that. Waysm frowned. It was suspicious that he was traveling alone, he'd give the lion that much.

“I wanted to travel alone, not being crowned by my protectors.” Waysm lied. “It's more freeing. I was foolish and thought I would be safe.”

Juda nodded as he listened. He found himself enjoying the cheetah's story. Having a slave who could make up stories on the fly would be fun indeed.

“Well my prince, this area is dangerous. I feel like the only honorable thing for me to do is take you back to your pride to make sure you get there safely. It is the least I can do after our little misunderstanding.” Juda said. He stepped away from Waysm, giving the cheetah room to get up.

“There's no need to do that. I am sure you have more important things to do.” Waysm said. “But I should get going. I wouldn't want to worry anyone and have my warriors looking for me. If they saw me with a lion, they might assume the worst and go after you.”

Juda laughed.

“I am not going to leave your side my prince. Either I am going to escort you to your pride or you are going to come back with me to my pride, willingly or not. The choice is yours.” Juda gave a fake friendly smile. “I should warn you though that I am one of the more friendlier beings in my pride. If one of my pride mates came across you I am sure they wouldn't hesitate to kill you. I can promise you that I will keep you safe in my pride. And if you're telling the truth about being a prince, I will take you back to your home.”

Waysm felt like his head was spinning. The lion was just toying with him? For a moment he thought he had actually convinced the lion. But maybe if he kept at it, he could convince the lion? The lion's pride wasn't friendly, that was clear. He couldn't risk going there, it would probably lead to his death.

“Alright then, I'll let you take me back to my home, but I won't take responsibility if my guards assume you are there to harm me.” Waysm said. “But if you get me there safely with no incident, I can try to get you some sort of reward.”

He hoped he could string the lion around long enough that he could escape once his guard was down.

“Alright my prince.” Juda said.

Waysm almost let out a relieved sigh, but held it in.

“You don't need to call me prince. My name is Waysm.”

Juda tilted his head.

“I think not. Royalty should always be treated like royalty. I wouldn't want to be disrespectful.” Juda replied, giving Waysm another bow. “I am Juda and I am honored to be your humble servant while we travel to your pride. If there is anything at all you need, just let me know.”

This was shaping up to be interesting, Juda thought as he looked at the confused cheetah. He knew that he couldn't mess around for too long, but one or two days away from his duties was fine.

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