[PRP] We Need You, Son (Modya, Nagua)

[Talencia]

Modya had been hearing word of a young male currently... well, it sounded like he was actually living on the borders of the pride. He'd been assessed as a non-threat, but hadn't yet joined the pride proper. Modya was puzzled, and intended to go see for himself what this was all about.

The trip took him some time. His disease had been flaring up a little more lately, making him ache in his joints. He was an older lion, past his prime but not past his usefulness. Today it seemed to focus on his right hip, causing him to limp slightly. He kept his pace slow and steady, as that seemed to help more than favoring it did. It definitely was an effort to get out to the border, but a sacrifice he was willing to make. It was time to learn what this boy was about. He passed a scout on the way out, and was directed towards where the fellow was lingering today. As he came slowly into sight, Modya called out a greeting. "Hello there! I hope you don't mind a visitor, son."  

[mouselet]

Nagua had been sitting and thinking once again. He'd gone to the nightly...entertainment? was that the right word?...with Kalju and seen the Bards perform with his own yellow eyes. The experience had been like nothing he'd ever seen or heard of before. It had been...fun. The adolescent had enjoyed himself. It was strange to think that a pride so filled with illness and disease should be home to such enjoyable practices.

A voice distracted him from his musings, and the boy looked up to see a grey lion coming towards him. He bristled slightly at the too-familiar greeting.

"I'm not your son," the adolescent informed his visitor flatly.  

[Talencia]

"No, that's true," the steady adult replied calmly, "but surely you are someone's son still, hmm?" He came nearer, so that he could look over the youngster. He didn't seem to be some scruffy waif without the benefit of any upbringing, so his statement likely would strike a chord. "Would you rather I called you boy?" He tipped his head thoughtfully, clearly doubting this to be the case. "Or even cub? To a lion my age, you are young enough to be called cub, if you prefer that." Yes, he was provoking the newcomer, but something in him wanted to test the boy's mettle. Was he the sort to cower and give in, or was he willing and able to stand up, do the right thing? It mattered to the old once-King.

"I came to speak with you, to treat you as an adult, despite the word I use to address you." His expression was stern, but not dominating. In fact, the old lion sat himself down and looked faintly relieved to not be standing any longer. There was no threat whatsoever in his body language. He might have even stretched out to recline, had he not known getting up from that position would be a painful process, and not the sort of undignified struggle he cared to display to this young stranger.  

[mouselet]

The adolescent glared up at the grey lion. What was the point of this...to try and humiliate him or something? They'd established that he had no relationship whatsoever to the the older male, but now the stranger was trying to treat him...like some dumb cub! It pissed him off!

"My name," he growled his emphasis, "is Nagua. Not "son", not "boy", not "cub" or anything else you care to insult me with."

He was inclined to tell the older lion to go away, but the teal lion was also a bit curious as to what had brought him out here. So he held his peace on that subject. For now.  

[Talencia]

Now Modya frowned. The boy had not yet learned to stop and think, but this was usually the case with lions his age. He wondered if he was the sort to accept rebuke, or the sort to snarl. Time would tell, but either way, there could be use for him in the pride. They did need spirit, courage, and stubbornness. So he did not merely walk away, nor growl at the youngster as he felt inclined to do, should he have been a child of the pride. "You have been all those things, so I fail to see why it makes you growl, Nagua." His tone was again stern, and tinged with disapproval. "You only had to respectfully ask this old lion to use your real name. All this aggression is better suited when aimed at a worthy target."

The old lion took a breath and straightened his spine and shoulders, ignoring the pain it cost him. "I am Modya'sozhal, Vizier and former King of the Kitwana'antara, the pride which has welcomed you so kindly." His look was a rebuke, and his voice was proud. He might have made his mistakes as King, but he was still proud of his pride, and honored to have once been their leader. "I'm sorry you feel insulted by an elder addressing you as he would one of his own, but I am not here to belittle you." He fell silent and gazed piercingly at the adolescent with his pale green eyes. "I already have said I came to speak to you, lion-to-lion. I would hope you would be willing to do that. with the pride's former King."  

[mouselet]

Yellow eyes widened as the grey lion introduced himself. Former King? How did one become a former King without dying? And for such an important lion to come out here with the sole intention of speaking to him...

...well, it made Nagua feel a bit uncomfortable, to say the least. But he still didn't like being treated like a cub and just because he had been those things didn't mean he still was nor that he wanted to be seen as a child. Still, he knew enough to keep his teeth shut on what he wanted to retaliate with against the insulting words.

"What do you want." The words that weren't (likely) offensive tumbled out quickly, as if the adolescent was spilling out rocks that his jaws couldn't hold any longer, before his lips clamped shut once more.  

[Talencia]

Modya's brows drew together in consternation and disapproval. Who had taught this child manners? He harumphed a little in his throat and then cleared it. "Straight to the point, hmm? Well, so be it." He had been willing to offered friendly small-talk, but it seemed this prickly boy was not disposed to such polite and respectful things. "I came here to convince you to join us." He caught himself before he added son to the end of that sentence, as he normally might have. In fact, he nearly bit his tongue catching it before he spoke it. Whether Nagua caught this or not, he was indeed attempting to honer the adolescent's prickly pride.

"We need you, and others like you," he continued, his gaze steady on the younger lion. "Young, strong, stubborn lions, willing to help make us a stronger, happier whole." He settled himself more comfortably and recalled the information he'd gathered about the boy. "You have seen first-hand that we are not a dying, miserable pride. We have life, joy, laughter, and a tight sense of family." He unintentionally gave that last word a great deal of emphasis. He would indeed become a son of the pride, should he join, but it wasn't wise to bring this up. "We have traditions, celebrations, and laws just like any other pride." He paused and gave Nagua an inquiring look. "Do you come from a pride, Nagua?"  

[mouselet]

Nagua had to blink in surprise. This lion wanted him to join them? It was actually the first time any of the Kitwana'antara had actually baldly asked him to do so. Jani had felt that he belonged here - well, so had Nebo apparently. The little hybrid hadn't had much to say on the subject and as for the pink lioness...well, the less said about her, the better. Kalju had been friendly, but had never once touched upon the subject of him actually joining the pride.

And now this grey lion, Modya, the Vizier, was putting it out in the open. He honestly wasn't sure how to respond to most of what the older lion had said. Yes, he'd seen that not everyone here was desperately ill, he'd enjoyed watching the Bards perform...and he wasn't qualified to give an opinion on family. Not here, at least.

"I'm from the Sw-" the teal lion cut off his answer abruptly. It wasn't true anymore. The pride he'd been born into, the Swampies, no longer existed. Oh, yes, the pride was still there, but they now lived on a mountain, far from their beloved swamplands, now burnt out and empty.

"The Jini-msemi," he finished quietly, reflecting on those far away changes.  

[Talencia]

The old lion nodded his white-maned head. "So you know how this works. We need all sorts, newcomers and those born in the pride alike. We need all sorts, from warriors to cub-minders to historians. We need brave souls with the courage to face their mortality, more so than most prides." He stopped to gauge the younger male's reaction. "We see more death than other prides so, but we also have learned to take the good in life and enjoy it more." He had no clue what the youngster was likely to choose as his rank, but it was no lie that they needed new blood, new members, and new families. It pained him every time a family died out, or when the lucky immune ones left, never to return. Without the influx of new members, or those who went out to increase their numbers via litters, the pride would indeed die out, splutter and die like the last embers of a spent grass fire.

"I am asking this of you because you have spent time among us. You seem more comfortable than most at being within the pride's territory. I am asking you, here and now, Nagua, to take that stop and stop living on the borders. Come and be one of the Kitwana'antara. The pride needs you, but the pride also wants you." He let that sink in, seeking signs that the younger male understood that this meant that Modya himself came here, wanting him to be part of the pride, his extended family. Would Nagua connect what Modya said now with his assertion that he had not been insulting the other male? It was beside the point, really, but it was important to Modya, down deep in his heart. He didn't want this potential new member to think that he, the former King, was unwelcoming or looked down on him. Nothing Modya said was likely to communicate that at this point, for it would just sound like a platitude, talking down to the younger lion. But could Nagua hear the subtle message, the idea that was not stated directly?  

[mouselet]

He didn't really want to listen to this. The whole idea made Nagua terribly uncomfortable - the thought of being trapped in this pride along with all those hybrids...

...he was trying to do as the pink lioness said and at least try to get over his dislike for the sake of the hybrids themselves. But he still couldn't think very highly of their parents.

And Modya was asking him to stay, to be a part of this. He couldn't deny that living in a pride was much more preferable to wandering as a rogue. He also had to admit, at least to himself, that the mountain was no home he wanted to return to.

But staying here was a different proposition entirely.

Nagua was silent as he mused on these thoughts, staring at the ground before him.  

[Talencia]

Well, at least he hadn't had a snappy, disrespectful answer this time. Modya nearly sighed with relief, though he would have rathered this newcomer had agreed immediately. He had to admit, it did take thought to choose to devote one's self to another group of people, especially when it would be enforced for life. It was no small matter to make a snap decision about, so the pause for thought met with Modya's approval. He rose to his paws, manfully suppressing a groan at the creaking, aching joints protesting the movement after the rest.

"I will leave you to consider," he stated bluntly. "I realize this isn't an easy choice to make. I merely desired to let you know that you are wanted, you would be welcomed, and that I speak for the pride in this request for you to join us." His tail tip swept back and forth, but slowly, as if it wasn't quite capable of going any faster. "Feel free to pick your own den, should you decide in our favor. If you have any questions, ask them of whomever you feel comfortable with." Clearly this would not be Modya, but at least he had tried to be welcoming to the lad. "Until we meet next, Nagua, fare well." With that, the old lion turned and limped off back towards the den area. He was going to need to find one of those heat rocks to try and soak some of this pain away. This trip had taken it's toll, and now he was due his reward of rest.  

[mouselet]

At least the older lion wasn't demanding that he answer right away. That did relieve Nagua somewhat. It was still so totally unexpected though, that someone as important as Modya would have come all the way out here just to ask that he stay and join the pride. To say that the pride wanted him, probably desperately, the teal lion thought cynically, given what he knew about potential inbreeding and the fact that so many of this pride were stricken with disease.

The question was...what did he want?

He knew he wanted to live in a pride, and that he couldn't, wouldn't return to the Jini-msemi. Already it was different from what he'd known as a child, and those differences were enough to make it acutely uncomfortable. No, there was no way he'd go back. Yes, he had family there, but aside from his brothers and sisters, there was only his mother that he knew of. He didn't know a thing about his father, other than the fact that that male had been no pridemember, and was most likely a traveling rogue.

So what about this pride? Obviously he didn't want to become ill and diseased like the lions here, and the hybrids still made his skin crawl and his fur stand on end.

But.

But he'd met two on his travels - the lion Nebo and the leopard Susurro - who both seemed to think he should be here. He'd learned that his own name meant "diseased". It had caused Nebo to mislead him and send him towards the Kitwana. And Susurro...the leopard had disdained his name quest and asked instead who Nagua truly was, and if he shouldn't take his time and discover that before searching out a new identity.

Jani had also felt that, due to his name, he was meant to be here.

Who was Nagua?

Nagua had been born a Swampie, to the Jini-msemi, and his mother was Apanthi. He had two brothers and three sisters. Their father was unknown. That was what he was though, not who.

He was a Pilgrim, on his name quest, forbidden to return to the pride of his birth until he had a new name. That was what he was doing, not who he was.

The pink lioness had said not to blame children for the choices their parents made. Had implied that he should judge them for what they did in turn, and who they were, not what they'd been born. Maybe, just maybe, she'd meant him to see himself in that light?

Who was Nagua, anyway?

He was an adolescent lion, living in discomfort on the edge of a pride that welcomed new members of every possible race and ability. Yes there were people here he already knew he didn't care for, as well as those he wanted to know better. And there were people that made choices he didn't like and would never in a million years make for himself...but he didn't have to and that was okay too.

He was just outside of a pride that didn't care what he was or where he came from. That wanted him to join for himself, no more and no less. Yes, they welcomed his youth, his strength, his stubbornness (as Modya had put it), and his unrelation to anyone else here. But most importantly of all...they wanted him. Nagua.

The adolescent felt a smile crossing his lips and his heart felt lighter in his body than it had since he had first set paw to dirt on the journey from the swamps moons ago. He leapt to his feet and ran after the grey lion.

"Modya! Vizier Modya!" the boy called out as he slowed and caught up to the older male.

"I've decided. I'll stay," the teal lion announced proudly. It was time, and past, to find out who Nagua really was.