[PRP] In Hour of Need... (Ijara & Nahasi)

[Innocent_Hybrid]

[Back Log]

Ijara wished there had been other alternatives to this. While his conversation with Torm-Hasiera had left him... hopeful, the situation had not changed and Torm-Bukaera's actions were starting to have a negative effect on his work, which was unacceptable. He has taken to the use of the tunnels that were still in their final stages of completion to make his encounters with the other leopard cease; his knowledge of his home coming into play for reasons he never would have foreseen. The consequence of using these routes being that the diggers were in full audience of his travels. With the constant looks, questions on how he was doing? Was everything going alright with the Council? Was he taking enough breaks? There were even a few who outright asked if they needed to come up and beat someone into mud. Ijara was sure that if he hadn't dissuaded them, the whole work group would have marched into the Council Chambers and demanded justice for the unknown problem plaguing him.

Which led him back into the present. The Council Meeting was just in its final stages of closure and Ijara watched as most of the others got ready to depart with tired eyes. A small part of him, the part that was not crushing him with perceived failure, was pleased that this was all about to end. The constant vigilance, sensation of a gaze always trained on him, and the aversion to physical sensation had slowly been draining him, and the diggers all had seen that; he was exhausted.

But he was going to bring this to a close here.

Ijara's eyes tracked the other Council Members as they all departed, and walked over to his King as the last's tail flicked around the den's entrance.

"My Lord Nahasi, may I have audience?" He asked with a deep bow.  

[Fairy Snails]

Nahasi had somethings on his mind. They needed to extend some of the tunnels to make more room. The council meeting had gone smoothly enough and task was passed out around the council members and himself. However he did notice the stoic leopard Ijara seemed a little off today. Usually he wouldn’t give Ijara too much attention but today he couldn’t help but notice him.

As he was about to leave the council room, he stopped when Ijara’s voice reached him. He looked at the leopard with a hint of annoyance. “Alright you have my attention councilman Ijara.” He said, noting the empty room. Whatever Ijara wanted to talk about, it must have been something secretive. Nahasi wondered why the leopard would want to discuss things with him and not with one of the council members.

“Did you need to speak to me here or did you want to go elsewhere?”  

[Innocent_Hybrid]

"Thank you My Lord." Ijara lifted from the bow, noting how stiff his muscles had knotted. "My Lord Nahasi, you once said that if I had need of you, you would render aid. Please, if your offer still stands, may we speak of this matter somewhere you deem safe?"  

[Fairy Snails]

Nahasi disposition changed. Whatever the situation was, Ijara needed his help. He was king and even if Ijara wasn’t his favorite council member he had a duty to him. He nodded his head. “Follow me and we will go to my den.” He couldn’t think of a safer spot.

Outside the council room, one of his guards was stationed waiting for him. “It’s alright. Councilman Ijara will be accompanying me today and keeping me safe.” He said to the guard. Nahasi looked back at Ijara. “Stick close to me while we walk there.” His voice was quieter when he spoke to Ijara so only the leopard could hear.

His den wasn’t terribly far from the council room. He kept at a steady pace, wanting to get there sooner than later. While walking he did not speak, though he would nod his head to any brother’s they passed on the way to his den.

When he reached his den, he pushed passed the fur pelt he used as a curtain to give himself more privacy. “Come inside and make yourself comfortable.” He said in a cool tone. He peeked down the hallway to see if anyone had followed them.  

[Innocent_Hybrid]

"Thank you My King." Ijara bowed his head once more before following Nahasi out of the Council Chamber. He nodded an acknowledgment to the guard, steely grip on the confidence that he was suited to guard his King rather then the other way around.

He remained close as his King wished, but his personal space, as harried as it was lately, was screaming needles all over. He did his his duty though, nodding to the Brothers that happened to pass by them, following his King's lead. Ijara was still quite frankly a bit surprised that Nahasi had offered his own den to speak, but was glad they truly glad to have a safe space to speak in.

At Nahasi's invitation, Ijara thanked his King once again, but did not miss Nahasi's glace down the tunnel on his way into the den. He did not look himself, fearing he would see the flash of blue and purple that has been dogging him for quite too long.

But as the fur pelt fell behind them both, sealing the room in absolute privacy, he felt the last of his stamina drain. He sat down on an empty spot on the floor and let how young he actually was actually catch up with him for once. His posture collapsed from its usual well maintained standing and he let slip a relieved sigh. He could not remember the last time he had felt so young. A memory of standing beside the still body of his father flashed before his eyes unbidden reminded his exactly when he last felt this way.

"Thank you again, My King. I offer my apologies if this matter is interfering with other tasks."  

[Fairy Snails]

Nahasi made sure the fur was completely blocking the den before turning to Ijara. He didn’t say anything right away, but instead found a comfortable spot and lay down across from Ijara. For a moment it relaxed, letting the silence fill the den, so he could think clearly on the situation. He was a young king that much was true. Probably too young to rule the pride, but he still had an obligation to do the best he could do. He had a duty to make sure he did his best to keep everyone happy, including Ijara. The leopard had come to him for help, not one of his friends and not one of the council members, but him. Even if he didn’t enjoy Ijara’s company, he knew he had to do his best to help.

“It isn’t interfering with any of my other obligations.” Nahasi lied. There were things he should have been doing, but for now it would be alright if he put them off. “What can I do for you Ijara?” He addressed Ijara less formally, wanting him to feel as welcomed as he could.  

[Innocent_Hybrid]

"A..." Words had never failed Ijara before and the loss of them was jarring. "An... incident happened between myself and another Brother a while ago. No violence was involved so I did not report it initially." Ijara almost wished there had been, then all of this would be so much easier to admit and not feel like yet another violation "I am acquainted with the Brother's son and did not wish to take his father from him for a single incident."

He was suddenly aware of how much space was around him too much space much too much and the scratch press of exactly how much this whole situation had taken its toll on him spilled down as he was reminded yet again that he was about to tell his King, the person he was suppose to support, not the other way around; the person who didn't even like him, about all of this. He took a moment to try and gain some resolve, but it was almost futile, standing here, with no barriers, no protection, between himself and scrutiny. And a rouge thought entered his mind 'what if he doesn't help you?' that left him scared.  

[Fairy Snails]

Nahasi thought on Ijara’s words. The leopard was a high ranking member of his council. He couldn’t believe that one of his council members was being harassed. The brother who was doing this must have known Ijara’s rank, must know that he worked directly for the king. Any form of harassment to one of his pride members would not be tolerated, but the fact that the brother had harassed someone who worked so closely to him felt like a personal insult.

“Can you tell me what he said to you? I will go with my guards to speak with him as soon as we are done talking. If he refuses to change, I will have him banned from the pride. I cannot allow anyone into our pride who abuses other brothers. Our pride is meant to be a safe haven.” How safe could it be if one of the council members were being harassed?

“When I go to speak with him, you are more than welcomed to stay here. I will not think any less of you.” Once this was all done and over with, he wanted his relationship with Ijara to go back to what it was. Until then, he would be sure to be gentle with the older leopard.  

[Innocent_Hybrid]

Nahasi would help. The hard fact sent the rouge whisper skittering away, but it began to twist and warp. 'You couldn't handle this on your own. What a failure.' and then it threw in one last barb. 'Aina would be so disappointed'

"What he said?" Ijara desperately pushed back against all the dark things trying to blanket him and recalled the conversation that he had had with Torm-Bukaera that had started all of this nonsense. "His words were of no consequence. Words are easy to discount, but what he's done since?" He growled in frustration, a rare thing that surprised even himself."He will not leave me any peace no matter how many times I tell him to desist! He follows me ceaselessly and I have had to resort to taking more and more outlying back routes and access tunnels because he seems to be around every other corner. And when he is..." He pauses to try and get the words together, get them right "He gets too close. He invades space that is not his and he touches when he is not permitted to touch! The feeling of eyes fixated on me never seems to leave anymore and it always feels like something is brushing against my fur." He shifts to try and shake the feeling as it creeps up again. "The outer paths were working! No one knows those tunnels aside from the diggers. They provided an alternative way from my duties to my den, where I could be free of such things. Then..." Ijara's fur stood on end and a wave of exhaustion flushed all of the fight out of him, making his next words sound as tired and small as he felt. "Then he managed to find that as well. That... was a few days ago." He had been staying in the lower tunnels since, but Ijara knew that couldn't last. Going to Nahasi had been the last option he had wanted to consider, a desperate back up plan to finally end all this staggering anxiety. But his home... the only place he had that was truly his, the only place that he felt safe...

Ijara bowed, defeat pushing it low. "I apologize that I was unable to handle this situation and that I am taking valuable time from you My King as well as besmirching the name of the Council. My failure in this is unacceptable and I will understand if you wish to dismiss me." He valued his position on the Council very highly, he was able to do so much good for his Brothers. But this was too much, and Ijara was so tired.  

[Fairy Snails]

Nahasi took a moment to consider Ijara’s words. It was clear that he needed to put an end to Torm-Bukaera’s. “Your position on the council is not at stake.” Nahasi said quietly. “You came forward about what was happening to you. For all we know this brother could be bothering others as well. You stepping forward might have helped someone else.”

Normally he wouldn’t hesitate to point out Ijara’s mistakes, but this was different. “You can rest here if you would like, or I can ask my guards to take you back to your den. Where ever you decide to rest, I will make sure there are guards positioned around you to make sure you stay safe.” He said as he approached the entrance to his den. His guards would surely not be too far away. “Before I go looking for Torm-Bukaera, could you tell me who to look for?” He hadn’t heard of the brother before and wanted to make sure he confronted the right one.  

[Innocent_Hybrid]

"I.." He... still held his position? This was... not a outcome that Ijara had thought possible. "Thank you My Lord." While the offer to have guarded escort to his den sounded ludicrously tempting, this was still his own unfinished business.

Ijara stood and began to follow Nahasi. "Please, if you have need of identifying Torm-Bukaera... I shall accompany you. It with be more accurate then a description." There was also a small part of him that wanted needed to witness this. For this? This was the coming of the end of all of this.  

[Fairy Snails]

He could order Ijara to go to his den. The leopard had been through a lot and no one would blame him for resting. However, Nahasi knew that Ijara had the right to accompany him and if the tables were turned he wouldn’t want to be stuck in a den waiting for his problems to go away. “Alright, you can come with me. Would you like to rest up a little bit before we go find him?”  

[Innocent_Hybrid]

"Thank you for the honor King Nahasi. If you are ready to depart now, then I am as well." Ijara bowed once more to his king and felt as if he were seeing the fireflies at the end of a dark tunnel as he prepared to follow his King.