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 Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:42 pm
Right. This was it. Time to...teach the little horror.
Ugh. Really? Yes...really.
There was no more putting it off and now, with things the way they were in the desert, it was more important than ever that he show off his super awesome guarding skills. If he could raise the little hellion into a decent guard than he'd certainly be at the top list for receiving water if they went down that line of thinking. There was no way he was going to be shoved to the back of the queue when it came to rank. No way! He might not be everyone's best friend, but no one could deny that he did a damn good job. After all, this wasn't a personality contest. He didn't get better just by smiling and being well-mannered to people.
Although...it did seem to be working for his son.
With a loud huff, the red-pelted lion moved slowly out across the sand, not bothering to greet anyone who he passed on the way and making sure to put them off by wearing his 'ultra serious face'. In truth, the others were probably wanting to avoid him just as much.
A few moments later and his paws had taken him close to the entrance of the Regents' den and, with a deep sigh, he seated himself and waited for this horrible day to begin. Maybe the little horror wouldn't appear and he could use that as an excuse for breaking up the apprenticeship deal No had made on his behalf.
"Look." He mumbled to himself. "I'm sorry. I tried. But...he really just doesn't want to learn. Maybe he ought to rethink his path. Historian, maybe?" He chuckled to himself at that thought. Yes, that'd serve Fia right. That lazy lioness needed some harassment in her life. Honestly, if she thought that she deserved water for painting those stupid pictures on the walls...well, she was going to get a rather nasty wake up call.
All of those non-important Firekin were, in fact. Cubsitters, storytellers, historians...bah, the pride didn't need them.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:59 pm
Oh, but Hraga was ready.
It was the first day of apprenticeships, and the little black cub had spent most of the night awake in excitement. This was the day! Nevermind that they were in the middle of a water crisis. This was the day! The day that he'd finally get to show everyone all of his skills. He had no time for cub nonsense, and he'd been practicing relentlessly. Mostly by bulling his siblings around and playing bad cop. Occasionally some snakes. But he was guarding!
Now there was only one thing separating him and greatness. And that was his teacher. That ugly faced lion that whined a lot. This was disheartening, because as much as he would have loved to sabotage the whole experience, the fact that his mother had personally selected his tutor pretty much ensured she'd be keeping a watchful eye on his progress. So that meant only one thing. He had to be so good, that Azar would realize he was under qualified to teach such a gifted pupil.
So he'd gotten up about four hours earlier then he needed to be, and was already waiting when Azar walked by. He'd been hiding behind the rocks. He was trying to show how subtle he was. "HEY!" he said, suddenly jumping out- his springy little tail bouncing about as he moved. "You're late."
He sat down, and furrowed his brow in a perfected serious face. "It's okay though. I'm ready. Who are we going to beat down?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 2:33 pm
Any vision he might have had at that point of shoving the responsibility onto another drained away in an instant. The little brat was up and ready? Uh, what?
Azar tried his best not to look startled and instantly got up onto his paws, swinging his tail as he settled his paws more firmly on the sand. "I think you'll find that you are early." His nose crinkled with distaste. Ugh. He'd been expecting a lazy little so-and-so who refused to obey anything...not...not this.
"Oh. Good." Rolling his eyes, he turned back to head back the way he had come; away from the dens and out across the sand. He paused to check that the little one was following and gave a low growl. "We are going to 'beat down' exactly no one. Not until you're a bit bigger anyway." He trailed, drew in a deep breath, and continued. "Lesson number one: know the terrain. Come on. Hurry it up." He started onwards again, padding out towards the borders. He was reminded, strangely, of the time when he had been the student, following Uuo out to the borders. He'd been a mopey little brat, too, who was angry at being kept away from his dream of becoming a soldier. Strange how quickly he'd changed his tune once he'd gotten into the swing of things.
"Your parents show you anything of the borders yet, kid?" Maybe they had already and this lesson could be a quick one. "Or is this going to be a new thing?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:46 am
Hraga snorted impetuously. Early? "A good guard is never early. He's always working!" Clearly he was going to have to teach Azar a thing or two about proper guard work. Perhaps that was what his mother had intended all along! Yes, he liked that. His chest puffed out, and his tail swayed. "He is always vigilant! Like...like a hawk. You lurk in the shadows. And then when the bad people come, you strike!"
He made a motion with his paw, slashing the air with his claws. "And then you scoop out their brains. And send it to their friends so they know whats-what!"
Hraga was a bit ambitious.
Although he seemed disappointed at the lack of beat downs, being out in the desert was exciting. Mom and Aunt Kaanga had effectively stopped most of their attempts to escape into the sands as a cub. He'd been out only briefly. All he knew of the great desert was its unrelenting presence. But Azar didn't need to know that.
"I know all about the borders," he boasted.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:41 pm
"I don't like what you're trying to suggest, kid." Azar growled. He didn't like being bad-mouthed, even if it was from a cub. Especially when the bad-mouthing was completely unfounded (well, mostly.) "I worked hard to get where I am and I won't have you saying otherwise." He raised a paw, almost as if to cuff the brat, but seemed to decide against it. A sudden image of a dark-pelted Regent with dark eyes fixed itself firmly in his mind's eye and he shrank away from it.
Rolling his eyes, he let the boy continue. He was enthusiastic, he'd give him that much.
"Actually, you call the alarm and then you strike...oh, and only if the stranger isn't of Firekin colours. Otherwise he might be wanting to join us, you know? Use your brain, kid." Said the male who hardly ever used his...
And, at Hraga's declaration, Azar arched a brow and, slowing his step, gave the youngster a shove forwards. "Go on then. If you know so much, lead the way to the south marker." He snorted and waited. "And, whilst you're doing that, you can answer some questions."
Moving off again - slower than before - he pulled up an example from his most recent encounter with an outsider.
"You're on patrol with another guard when - from across the dunes - two other lions appear. They're both of Firekin colours, but they stink of the outside lands and look tired. One glances back - suggesting that there might be more hidden out in the sand. What do you do?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:33 am
Hraga scowled. He didn't like the idea of simply giving rogues a free pass. It seemed like it'd be better to beat them up first and then see if they were worth joining. But maybe Azar had a point. At least enough to put a damper on the whole, scooping-the-brains-out part. "Yeah, well..." he pouted. "It'd at least make them think twice about trying anything!"
Further delima arose when Azar asked him to lead the way. Caught in his own boast, the black cub wrestled with himself over fessing up. That didn't sound like the sort of thing a guard did though! Luckily he knew what direction was south...so..he started heading south. Maybe they'd get lucky and trip over the southern marker on the way. It was south, wasn't it?
Hraga kicked out his feet as he lead the march, considering Azar's trick question. And, it obviously was a trick question! But what was the trick? Hrrrm. "I woulddd..." he trailed off, thinking. "... tell them that my friends have them surrounded! So they get scared and come out." Yes! That sounded like the right course of action!
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:32 am
”There’s no reason to say you can’t duel them afterwards.” Azar put in. “If that’s what they’re there for, anyway. And, if they’re looking to cause trouble, you can use a more forceful means of ridding the borders of their intrusion.” He drew his head up proudly. “Just remember, if you get yourself into a situation that gets out of control, you could be put at risk and a downed guard opens up the borders for enemies to slink their way through. The soldiers like to spout about how important they are, but don’t be fooled. We’re the backbone of these lands, not them.” Still bitter, was he? No…certainly not.
Happy that the cub was leading them in the right direction, he listened to the answer to his question and gave a low chuff – which could have been a good or a bad sign. “You’re creative, kid…I’ll give you that.” And maybe it would work, in certain situations.
“Your idea could work if the lions were afraid enough to believe it. But remember, they could call your bluff and you could end up in a tricky situation.” He continued. “Remember, there will always be patrols out on the sands, watching over the borders. If more than one lion approaches, the general agreement is that you’ll sound the alarm to get the attention of your neighbouring guards. That way if something does happen, you can defend the border until help arrives.”
As an afterthought, he added: “There’s also talk of doubling up the patrol on the northern border because of the rumours those new members brought with them.” He dismissed the thought with a wave of a paw. “But that’s not for you to worry about.”
After a time, the southern marker came into view and, with a satisfied nod, Azar altered their path just a little so that they would be brought right up to it. Perhaps the kid had potential after all. “Fluke or not, you got us here in one piece.” He drew up close to the marker – a tall column of smoothed stone that settled in a tilted angle in the sand. “There are markers like this all around the borders. Some are more obvious than others. This one is the easiest to find and it’s the border I’ve been given duty to patrol for the next seven days. You’ll be joining me until you get your mane, kid, then after that you’re on your own.”
He glowered. “Now, do you know the rank system in the pride? Like who does what?” He assumed not, particularly with the new ranks so recently instilled into the army.
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 7:04 am
Hraga bobbed his head in a nod. He knew all about the soldiers! "My sister doesn't like them either. She says they're all planning to take over and they're full of ruffians and whores." He paused. "Although I don't know what that last part means..."
The cub seemed a bit disheartened to hear his grand bluff had a flaw in it. Azar clearly wasn't aware of just how convincing he could be! He also would have preferred to handle the situation on his own, rather than call for help. How was he supposed to impress anyone by calling for help? "Wouldn't you just look like a coward for yelling for help? I'm pretty strong."
Or at least, he would be. He hoped!
But it seemed some of his mother's luck had rubbed off on Hraga! He puffed out his chest and made a quick loop around the marker. Perfect! He liked the odd look of it. He certainly wouldn't forget it now that he'd seen it. "Do you think there are really monsters in the north?" Hraga said, putting his paws on the marker. It was leaning, and he was testing to see if it would fall over. Remarkably, it didn't budge an inch. "Mom and dad have been talking to those other lions. They say some other lions killed all of their families and talked gibberish."
He pulled his paws back and sat down on the sand. Ranks? Hrm. "I uh. I know what my family does!" He knew his parents were the boss, his sister was a historian, his other sister a guard, his other other sister a medic, his other other brother a soldier....
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 9:07 am
Azar’s attempt to conceal the sound of surprise and amusement at Hraga’s words on soldiers failed. But, by turning it into a cough, he hoped that the cub wouldn’t notice and question him on it. After all, he really didn’t want to be the one to explain to him what that particular word meant. Again, the image of his angry-eyed mother flared in his mind. Damn. He just hoped that the stress of mentoring one of her kids was going to pay off in the end.
Hmm…but Captain Azar’bijan did have a nice ring to it.
“You don’t need to worry, kid. With all the trouble kicking about at the moment, it’s going to be the guards who’ll end up on the top of the importance scale. We protect the lands. We protect the water. Not to mention that most of us can fight as well as any soldier. They’re overestimating their importance.” And when he got the opportunity, he was going to tell the Regents just that. Guards were certainly as – if not more – important than those idiotic warriors.
At Hraga’s question, Azar paused reluctantly. In truth, he thought much the same as the cub – even now that he was a grown up. He’d always fancied himself to be a hero, to make a difference, to be respected by his peers. Unfortunately, his dire personality had got in the way of that plan, which was sad because otherwise he might have been just that. The thought of running away from anything had always sat ill with him. Even now he could recall a time in his youth when he’d been fighting with that huria kid and three others had arrived to gang up on him. He’d not had a chance of winning but he’d fought on and mouthed off anyway, only retreating when he really had no other option. He still held the grudge to this very day.
“Okay, let me tell you something my teacher told me when I was about your age.” He scrabbled for the memory, picturing a stern-faced Uuo looming over him; her eyes narrowed, the tips of her fangs glistening in her jaws. “It’s better to be a coward for a moment than to be dead for the rest of your life.” He waved a paw vaguely. “I think what she was trying to say was that; it’s not cowardly to ask for help. We’re guards. We’re tough. But we’re not invincible.”
His eyes flicked out across the desert, an ear twisting to pick up the kid’s question on the mysterious and dangerous rogues. “I don’t know, kid. But, I wouldn’t trust those rogues as far as I could throw them. The last group that came here caused nothing but trouble. These ones will be just the same. I say we ought to be keeping an eye on them rather than looking north.”
He stepped down the slope of the dune and started off again at a slow pace; tracing the outskirts of the borders he’d been assigned for the week. “Listen up, then. When – or should I say if – you do well enough to become a fully-fledged guard at adult, you’re still at the bottom of the pile in order of importance. Oh, not counting the apprentices, of course. Next up you have the Corporals.” A title he had his eye on, in fact. “There aren’t any currently with this title, since it’s new. I expect a few will crop up soon, though. Above them is the Lieutenant and he works directly for the Captain. The current Captain of the Guard is Uuo; my old teacher. Above her is the Brigadier – of which there are currently none – who work directly for the General Azarax. Above him, are your parents.” He exhaled sharply. “Any questions so far?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 8:02 am
Hraga sat still for a moment, contemplating those words. It made sense to him, but at the same time, he was young. He lived on those old firekin stories about last stands and epic battles. Where the hero kept fighting even when there wasn't any chance of victory. But then again... Hraga also realized that in most of those stories, they never talked about the hero having any other option. There was never a mention of friends, or others who might have been nearby, and ready to help. "I guess I wouldn't want to be dead if I could help it," he said thoughtfully.
He looked out to the desert. They weren't to be trusted? His eyes squinted. He wondered if his parents knew that! They probably did though. They seemed to know everything sometimes, which was equal parts humbling and intimidating. It wasn't easy being the regents kids, no matter what one might think. He wanted to make them proud. It didn't seem like Azar was a dumbface as he thought.
Hraga gave a long sigh, and stood back up. He'd have to be a super good pupil then! "Well, if any monsters come I'll be ready," he said in what he must have thought was his best 'gruff' voice. "They won't be able to get far!"
Back to lessons. "Uuuuh.... how do I get to be general? I think that sounds like a good job! Might as well be the one on top, right?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:20 pm
"Exactly." Azar replied gruffly, casting a glance over at the dark-pelted boy, doing his best to hide an amused grin. He did well, smothering it with a frown that darkened his features back to their normal expression. Azar wasn't much one for laughing unless it was at someone else's expense.
"You could work hard." He offered in response to the young one's ambitiousness. "But I doubt there'd be much point. See, one day I'm going to be General and there ain't no one better than me, kid. Might as well get used to it now rather than face a whole lot of disappointment." Yes. Azar had a plan. Be the best. Sweet-talk the important people. Maybe push the current General off a cliff...HA HA...no...maybe not that.
Maybe.
"Trust me on this. Not everyone can be born with my natural talent. You know, when I was younger, I was going to be a soldier if it weren't for your dad. He watched me training and he said to me: 'with skills like yours, you should be a guard'. So then he set me up as the apprentice to Captain of the Guard. Not many can say that, you know. I'm going places and you're damned lucky to be my apprentice. I don't take on just any old riff-raff you know. To be my apprentice you've gotta be somebody."
He gave a scrawling smirk. "Come on, kid, we gotta be at the next post sharpish. Heti'll be waiting for us to relieve him of his shift and it won't look good if we're late on your first day." And he quickened his pace, following the slow curve down and closing his eyes against a stray curtain of cloud blown across their path.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:25 pm
Hraga squinted his eyes, almost as though he was sizing up the competition. Azar wanted to be general too? Boy was he gonna be sad when he ended up winning the spot! The black cub puffed out his chest and casually licked his paw. It looked like he'd have to learn what he could about his new mentor so he'd be ready!
Best to keep his mouth shut for the moment though.
"I'm going to be someone!" he half squeaked after Azar finished. "Mom says I'm really tough! I didn't want to be a soldier, cause of what my sister says. So I think guard is the best. Not like my friend though, he's dumb." Tarsa was dumb. He'd heard occasionally the guard apprentices had mini-war games with the soldiers. If that was the case, Hraga was more than happy to shove that fat cub's face in the mud!
Uh oh! Hraga definitely did not want to be late. He took to his feet and stumbled after Azar, chattering on as he did. "I don't want to be late! The next post is the most dangerous one, right?" Surely that was the one they'd be entrusted with!
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Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:42 pm
Azar had always had visions of grandeur - even as a small cub - though it was unlikely he would ever come to much. After all, a leader who riled his followers was never going to amount to much, was he? But, no matter how small the liklihood of it happening or not, he wasn't going to let anyone come between him and his dreams. He'd keep dreaming of high status and respect until the day he died. That was just the way it was. It was how he got on with life.
"Of course she says that." He replied, snappish. "All mother's tell their sons that their tough." He rolled his eyes, increasing his step just a little more. The quickened pace, however, did not seem to silence the youngster, who continued chattering even as - in the distance - the next post came into view. Thank goodness for that!! Maybe once they were on a proper patrol, things would get easier.
Maybe.
He just hoped that Heti wasn't going to stick around. The kid was just too friendly for his own good and it grated on Azar's nerves. Yes, yes, he did love his son but that didn't mean they always had to see eye to eye...
He paused only a brief moment to give an exasperated sigh. "Sure, kid. Most dangerous of them all. Come on, there it is - and just in time."
/fin
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