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 Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:19 am
It had been many days since he had spoken to his brother out on the borders. Days to settle into his new role as being Meshach's eyes and ears. Pretending to be something he was not. It was harder than it seemed and Yavin couldn't say he was particularly enjoying it. All this being 'nice' to those he should have swept aside without much thought.
All those slaves who thought themselves so important now that they were serving under some stupid 'royal guard'. The whole thing was a joke and had put him in a bad mood. So bad, in fact, that he had literally taken himself off to be alone for the last few days to try and get himself together.
But being alone had been awful, too.
His thoughts ran wild with haunted images. Of lost parents, flicking in and out of the shadows. Sometimes he thought he heard voices and he'd startle and move to reply only to find no one there.
Sometimes Yavin wished he were a fighter.
It was probably that wish that had brought him back out of seculsion to take his place amongst the pride again, hoping that he hadn't been missed too much. He'd never been a social lion in any case. It would have been more unusual for him to start getting interested and involved in people's lives and it was hard for him to try and act as if he cared. Thinking honestly about it, he supposed there was really only two people he really cared about now.
His brother was one.
And the other?
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:18 am
 In most ways, it seemed, the pride had settled down into the new era. Shangyue was firmly in charge, and his Royal Guards kept him on top. Several pride members had disappeared around the time of the coronation and its aftermath, but because no mention was made of them publicly, Lailah chose to assume that they had chosen to leave, rather than being killed. Despite the bloodshed that had precipitated his reign, Shangyue had made it quite clear that he wasn't going to kill anybody he didn't have to. Unspoken was the threat that if someone made themselves too much of a nuisance, they might find the same fate for themselves as those who'd stood between the new King and his throne. Lailah K'chol, as a lioness and as the Apprentice Shaman, would never, ever find it in her heart to forgive Shangyue for murdering his own family members. That being said, she couldn't find fault with everything he'd done since coming to power. It was hard, but despite her anger with his actions, she simply couldn't stand up against him, if only because she was not yet ready to die, nor to abandon her pride. However, she was not as big a potential threat to Shangyue as Yavin. Yavin was, himself, a Prince, even if he was no longer living in the royal dens. And nothing the new King could do would ever change that. The white lioness hadn't seen Yavin since that night, and she was beginning to worry that he might have left the pride, without even saying goodbye. She couldn't blame him for leaving, but she had thought she'd meant more to him than that! The thought made her so angry...so angry... Lailah came around a rise in the land and there he was. Her heart leapt into her throat and she ran towards him. "Yavin!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 1:12 pm
His head snapped up so hard that the bones in his neck popped, sending a dull ache straight to his temples.
So disorientated by his own thoughts it took him a moment to realise who it was who had called him. Who it was he was looking at. Lailah. All bright white, touched by moonlight, like some specter come to soothe him. Or haunt him...he truly hoped it was not the latter. He'd had enough haunting to last a lifetime.
He drew to a ragged halt and looked at her quietly for a moment. Assessing. Thinking. Running over all the possibilities and potentials for this meeting in his mind. Was this meeting coincidence? Or was it some fate designed by the Great Lion himself?
Without thinking, he glanced upwards - briefly - before speaking.
"Nice evening..." well, that was pretty weak. Even for him.
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 1:46 pm
Lailah didn't stop running until she was close enough to nuzzle the brown lion, to verify for herself, for him, for the world, that he was real, that he was really here. She had to laugh, though, at his response.
"Of course it's a nice evening! You're here! I was worried about you," she added softly. The lioness didn't feel she needed to add any more to that statement, Yavin would know what she meant.
Already her heart felt lighter. She hadn't realized just how much she'd missed her friend.
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:00 pm
His eyes darted nervously about them, trying to find eyes in the dark. Watchers. Spies. "You shouldn't have worried. Everything's fine. I...I went to..." Dammit, why didn't he feel safe anywhere! He missed the days where it didn't matter if conversation was overheard.
He leaned in close, his mouth almost touching her ear. "I saw my brother." Then he leaned in closer still to give her a nuzzle as an attempt to mask his whisper. He really wasn't very good at this 'acting like an innocent bystander'. After a moment, he gave her a long look and then gestured for them to continue walking. Perhaps the rush of water nearby could help keep unwanted listeners from hearing anything. "I could use a drink. Want to join me?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:06 pm
Lailah made a face at Yavin. Damnit, why was he being so nervous? Yes, Shangyue had won, yes his spies were everywhere, but there was no reason to not live their lives. If they did as they wanted...and avoided certain topics and people...soon enough the spies would see they had nothing to hide and would leave them alone.
Well, that was her theory, at least.
But she smiled as he mentioned going to get a drink. If that was how he wanted to do this, fine, but she refused to live her life skulking and spying!
"All right, we'll get a drink and you can tell me about the brother you spoke with." It wasn't as if he didn't have several brothers, and most of them still lived in the pride. This was all perfectly innocent sounding to whatever watchers there might be...right?
"And I was worried that you might not come back, silly," she told him quietly as they walked. Not in a conspiratorial whisper of course, but just an emotionally charged undertone, such as any pair of good friends might use just for the other to hear.
Or so she hoped.
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:22 pm
He was certainly jittery, giving her a strained smile and a nod in response to her worry. He hadn't meant to worry her, not Lailah.
The water greeted him like a breath of fresh air and he crashed towards it with a strange sort of urgency, splashing into the froth with loud sweeps of his paws. A few moments later, when he had stilled to focus on the feel of it running by his legs, he turned to look at her. "I saw Meshach."
The water babbled noisily all around them.
"He hasn't abandoned the pride and I---" he lowered his voice further still. "I promised to be his eyes and ears here in the pride." Yavin swallowed, then, perhaps realising for the first time what that truly meant. He didn't want to die. He wasn't a fighter. But he also wanted Shangyue to pay for what he had done. "I don't know what's going to happen. It could be dangerous, but..."
His gaze wavered.
"I think I need to try."
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:33 pm
Lailah was quiet as Yavin spoke. Given his poorly-concealed desire for secrecy, she'd expected something like this. Her first instinct was to flat-out tell him not to do this, things were dangerous enough as they were.
But...she couldn't do that. He wasn't some child, and he knew full well what the consequences would be if he was caught. She had to respect that this was his choice alone to make. The lioness wet her lips as she considered how to respond.
"Very well, but you need to show Shangyue and his supporters that there is no reason to suspect you of anything duplicitous," she cautioned. "You have to appear to lead a normal life, so that when you do drop out of sight for a time, no one will think much of it, if they even notice."
She was not certain yet if she was willing to put her neck out there for Meshach, but she would certainly try to make sure that Yavin didn't get hurt!
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:19 pm
At that, he smiled. A normal life. What was that, exactly? Especially now that he had no real den to call his own and his family was all but torn apart.The only thing he had now was her and...well, he'd not even told her that yet.
He shifted to look towards her fully, blinking slowly. "Lailah..." he paused, struggling to put his thoughts into words.
"I think we should be..." the words stuck again and his face tightened into a frown. "I've been thinking about this a lot the last few days. About the dangers of it. About...well..." he paused, momentarily gritted his teeth and then: "I think we should be together as, well - you know - together."
Yavin, such a romantic.
Or not...
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:25 pm
Lailah waited patiently for Yavin to marshal his thoughts, trying not to fidget nervously. Had she dropped enough hints? Was she pushing too hard? Had she misread him?
All these thoughts circled 'round her mind as he began to string the words together. In the end, he didn't say the four word question she'd been hoping for, nor the three word statement that was her runner up, but even so, he got his point across.
The white lioness leaned over and rubbed her cheek against his, purring.
"Good. I was afraid I'd have to force you." Well, he might still end up being forced. In some way. But at least she didn't have to worry about losing him to any other lionesses now.
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:38 pm
He released a held breath and leaned against her for a moment, drawing on the warmth of her closeness. "Life's too short. Let's not waste any more of it, alright?" It was possible that they wouldn't magically stop having arguments now. In fact a part of him was almost looking forward to them. But, he felt stronger with her there.
"Just...promise me you'll be careful. We don't know who we can trust now and...you may have noticed but--" he sighed, "I'm not the best actor."
Surprisingly, for one who thought so highly of himself, there was a lot he wasn't good at...
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:42 pm
She had to smile at his comment about wasting time, but it was a sad expression, remembering how his parents had been cut down in their prime. She didn't think they'd wasted their lives, but who knew the truth anymore?
"I'll be careful, but you have to be too," the lioness cautioned. "Which is why now is the perfect time for us to be together," Lailah continued with a grin. "We don't have to conceal how we feel about each other, we can spend as much time as we can together, and no one will think anything of it."
In fact, it would be something of a relief to have some part of her life so blindingly obvious that she didn't have to do anything but let it happen. And maybe, just maybe, if they made a show of being a typical newly-mated couple, their observers would only see that, and look no deeper.
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:07 am
She was right, of course. This was what normal lions did every day. They courted. They wed. They had families. They got on with life and focused on what was good and not bad.
"I guess..." he replied, trailing off as though he weren't quite convinced. Still, that was a conversation for another time. He hadn't really liked the idea of risking his own life, let alone the life of one of the very few people he actually cared for.
"Still, I--" he cut himself off as he spied movement in the hedgerow that fringed the stream they had used to mask their words. A lioness, slinking in and out of the shadows. Probably just an innocent passerby but, not worth the risk.
With a small nod, he leaned in close to Lailah and beckoned for them to move on, wishing it could all have been different.
But someday it would be. Someday vengeance would sweep down to know their new 'king' down off of his throne.
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:32 am
Lailah willingly followed when Yavin indicated that they should leave, but mentally she shook her head at him. Sure he didn't want to be overheard when discussing...certain subjects...but he couldn't make it so blindingly obvious without attracting suspicion! Instead of cutting himself off, he should have continued to tallk, but on a completely different subject from what he'd meant to say, something that was innocent.
Well, maybe he couldn't think fast enough for that. To change what you were saying mid sentence was, to say the least, not easy. But the Apprentice was certain they'd have time to practice. Shangyue wasn't going away any time soon.
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