[ PRP ] Shenanigans | Muhali & Shandor | END

[Daffupanda]

Well, things had turned out... interesting with the dreamers, to say the least. Muhali wasn't entirely sure what to do, or how to best tackle the situation, but she'd done the best she could; she'd left the dreamers near the pridal borders, but not quite within, and had gone up ahead in order to find the Gypsy king. These lions could be a possible threat, but ignoring them was a bad idea, in her mind. Denying them access to the territory could prove to be catastrophic and could bring forth an actual battle. Granted, the rogues were few in number, but who says they couldn't seek out more lions in order to do a full blown invasion?

She'd seen what had happened within Firekin lands, after all. She'd watched, hadn't interfered, but... she'd been there for that, and she knew well enough that it was never a good idea to ignore the threat some rogues could pose for a pride. Even a large, powerful pride. It was better to 'welcome' the dreamers into the territory while there were still few of them, so they could properly asses the threat they could pose, and then act accordingly. If they proved to be harmless to them, then all the better, and if they proved to be dangerous, well... disposing of a threat while it was still small you under watchful eyes was always better than waiting for a surprise attack.

Given that it was night time, the goddess went straight to the denning area, figuring the king had retired from his place near the two strangers' den. After all, she figured the other male would not allow another to sleep so near them while they were still all on iffy ground. Peeking around a few dens, she followed her nose to the one that had Shandor's scent and unceremoniously popped her head within, "Heeeey, Shandor!" her voice carried with ease within the darkness of the cave, "You're going to want to hear about this, and no, it can't wait till morning and I NEED you right now!" That... hadn't come out exactly like she'd wanted it too, but then again, on the upside, she bet her words, if misunderstood, would get the king outside in a jiffy.  

[Thalion]

A mess is what it was... a huge, clusterfluck of a mess. The patrons were on double-shifts patrolling the border, he had his best ears to the wind, listening for any change in the tide, and his fortune-tellers, those that he could actually trust, were checking their visions every few hours for any hint as to what was coming his way. So far, all he could do was wait.

But Shandor was not the most patient of lions.

He paced his cave until his paws were sore and after a while he finally got himself to settle down enough to lay down and close his eyes. It was only a few minutes after that when Muhali came calling. The gypsy king groaned, rolled over, and flopped a paw over his eyes.

"Of all times to be lonely. You'll still need me when the sun comes, woman. Let me to the night."  

[Daffupanda]

Given that the king hadn't actually growled at her, and he didn't seem like he was prone to violence at the current moment... Muhali pretty much simply let herself into the cave, "This can't really wait, hon. I figure I should give you the good news figure; I actually sussed out that fortune teller's vision. I know what he was talking about, when he spoke about the muses coming back," she let that sink in as she approached him and stood over his form, "The bad news is... they're waiting right outside, and want into the pride right now. And by they, I mean a group of rogues. Around four or five at the moment. Could be more though," the goddess sat herself down and decided to wait out the explosion she figured was about to follow her words.

"I did my job. Warned them accordingly, threatened them happily, and all those etceteras, but they still insist on coming in and... while I'm on the fence on whether or not they're an actual threat, I think it's probably best we let them into the territory. I don't think you want what happened over at the Motoujamii Lands to happen here," she paused for a moment, suddenly realizing she wasn't sure the king knew what she spoke of, "If you did not understand that reference, please let me know and I'll explain," her usual, happy go lucky, devil may care attitude was gone as she spoke to Shandor. Instead, her voice was leveled, serious, and she seemed like an entirely different lioness. Her usual flirting, her quips and her sassy attitude all but replaced, "They say they're looking for this land, specifically, because it's the land where the mother of muses first woke the muses and they're sure they can bring them back, which might I add, I believe is bullshit, given no one can harness the goddess' power but.... delusional individuals can be the worst, if denied their delusion. I think you should let them in, let them convince themselves the land is mostly insanity and muse free, and then... they can be on their way," she narrowed her eyes in the dim light, giving her a threatening look, "That way, you can keep a close eye on them, avoid a surprise attack, and them growing in number at the borders until they're unmanageable."  

[Thalion]

Shandor rolled onto his belly and brought his paw away with a frown. Well...she was being bold. At first, he thought that perhaps she simply couldn't resist his charms, but no... they were all business. He shifted and rolled to his side. The news was not what he wanted to hear. Not at all. So there was a group of lunatics at the border...and she'd gone to confront them on her own. He'd have to have a stern word with her later on...

He sighed and brought a paw up to his temples to kneed at them. "...so crazies are on our border, they think they can summon a goddess. There's five. Oh scary. And I should let them parade into the lands waving their insanity about, provoking a matter that's not yet laid to rest, and... why? Because my dozens of patrons can't handle five nutjobs?" He looked at her seriously and narrowed his eyes.

"I think not. I'll just send the patrons to drive them off and have a nap. Savvy?"

Dark Fire Angel

 

[Daffupanda]

Infuriating, frustrating, narrow minded male, arg!

Muhali had to keep herself from actually giving him a small smack with her wings. She sat herself down, took a deep breath in, and let it out, only to repeat the process several times before glaring up at him , which... probably looked odd, giving just how much smaller she appeared to be, "Okay, I am going to refrain from actually shouting out what I demonstrated to you just yesterday out in the jungle, given that you have an ego the size of Africa," she paused, letting that sink in before going on, "BUT, you are going to sit the hell down and listen to me, Shandor!" his name was snapped in an uncharacteristic show of mild anger from the goddess, "Given the fact you have not commented on the Firekin bit of my speech before, I'm going to assume you're ignorant and give you an 'in-a-nutshell' of what happened."

Having calmed herself down a bit, Muhali only wished she could offer visual aid to her words when an idea popped in her mind and she offered him a small smirk, "Maybe my words will paint a vivid image in your mind," and with that, she allowed a vague amount of her influence and powers to engulf him, enough so that he'd 'see' the story in his mind's eye, but only just barely. Not enough that it'd seem her illusion powers at play, but still enough to probably make him uncomfortable, "There was once a pride of extremely proud, strong lions. Biggest in all the land, these lions. No one dared oppose them. No one dared go against them until.... someone did. A very small number of lions, not a threat to the pride, were scorned and turned away, laughed at even. They rallied an army can came back," her eyes narrowed, "Do you know what happened to those large, once proud lions?" she allowed her question to hang in the air, and powers showed him the inklings of a brutal battle, the land destroyed, and the once proud pride, reduced to a handful or outcasts, tossed away from their homeland and recluses at the borders, "A small, pathetic number of lions managed to rally an army, Shandor. The Firekin were defeated - do you know what I'm getting at here?"

Her powers showed her the Kizy, briefly, as a flash of a worry in his mind's eye, defeated, destroyed, "Keep those rogues where you can watch them, Shandor, and asses if they're really a threat to you. Don't underestimate others, just because you think you're strong, or have the power in numbers."  

[Thalion]

The lion rolled his eyes dismissively as he was scolded and brought a paw under his chin as he listened. Now and then he'd nod, his expression seemingly sincere though his eyes were dripping in sarcasm. When the lioness concluded he smirked and rolled his shoulders.

"I remember your lesson, yes, good girl can take care of herself. I did not say you could not- but this is a different situation. You are asking me to put my pride, my family, at risk." He eyed her for a moment before continuing. "As you told a story, so shall I. Are you familiar with termites, Paradox? They are small, seemingly harmless...but they topple trees larger than elephants. How do they do this? Well, the little things chew their way into the core of the tree. It is a slow process, but eventually they eat the inside of the tree until it dies, then the tree becomes a nest for them."

He lowered his paw to the ground and took a deep breath. "If they come here, they will not be at our heart. No, if they want to play with their muses, they can sit in the corner and talk to rocks for all I care. I will not let this pride be eaten from the inside out. I would rather die than see all we have become fade away into the cloud of insanity. Never again, Paradox."

Dark Fire Angel

 

[Daffupanda]

"Shandor. I know a thing or two about insanity, sweetie, and I can tell you one thing; it's actually not contagious. Stop projecting, will you? It's really, really not okay to put the pride in danger just because you're so scared," she glared up at him as he tried to patronize her, frowning slightly, "You're scared, and because of it, you're making us all run a risk. Insanity is not a termite, nor are lions termites, I hate to remind you; your story does not work in this scenario, while mine is perfectly valid."

She rolled her eyes, an imitation of his previous movement, "But you know what? Sure, go ahead. When this comes bite you in your a**, because you are too thick-skulled too realize you have a big problem, and that your enemy is in your own mind... I am going to sit here and happily tell you that I told you so," she said, "Because I'm a bit of a bitter, vindictive a*****e like that, and I don't appreciate you patronizing me," she paused, "And your hair looks stupid. you have bed hair."

Apparently, the small goddess could, in fact, jump from dead serious to petty and immature at the drop of a hat. Where on earth did Shandor even think the pride got their general attitude from?

Thalion

 

[Thalion]

"Oh? I would beg to differ regarding lions not being termites." He rolled his shoulders and leaned forward. "Seems I have one chewing on my backside right now."

Stupid hair. His hair was just fine, never better. He made sure that no matter what state he was in, sleeping or not, he was perfectly presentable. She was just jealous. Jealous, snooty termite female. Damn her. He was almost enjoying the verbal sparring.

"And frankly, the insanity is not in my head- it's gone. And I would like to keep it that way." He rose up to his paws and shook out his mane, fluffing it up to make him appear much larger. "I fear very little, Paradox. I have looked in the face of an angry pride on our borders and in the end we have a festival of merry-making. You are clever on your feet and smart with your tongue, but I'm afraid I have you out-matched. Now go to the pests on the border and tell them to hole up in their own mound."

Dark Fire Angel

 

[Daffupanda]

"Ooooh?" a brow arched as the small lioness sat neatly and studied his head, "I wouldn't be so sure, Shandor. Insanity can't just go poof, gone, just like that, y'know. Takes a tiny bit more than that, take it from me. I know these things," she wrinkled her nose slightly, then shook her head. She paused again and then tilted her head, "Wait, what, you mean the poor lil Bahari peeps? That's your big thread, oh Gypsy king? Seriously? You're going to use the Bahari as a major thread? For gods' sake, Shandor! They've not seen war in many generations! I don't think they have a mean bone in their bodies!"

She'd never really met the god of Fish, but if memory served her right, he'd been their patron god. Or maybe it'd been someone else? Regardless, she'd never seen that pride be violent, in all the many, long generations she'd stayed in the territory, "You?" her brows shot up, "You think you outmatch me?" she was very honestly amused by his words, and a smile was threatening to curb her maw; its very obvious she was trying (and failing) to suppress it.

"Oh honey. Oh sweetie pie, if that's what you think, you might be a touch more insane than you think you are... you think way too highly of yourself; but thing is... you're young, you're over confident, and you're extremely inexperienced. All those things make you stupid," she stood and took a moment to grin at him, passing her body under his chin, much like a house cat would have, in what was meant to be a sweet, comforting gesture that bordered on flirty. It was obvious she meant it to juxtapose her previous words, to take the sting out of them, because she didn't mean them as an insult, "Stop acting arrogant, immature, and like brat throwing a tantrum and at least, at the very least, meet these people. If you meet them, and then want to send them away because you feel they're a threat, you'll have done good. But at least meet them. Make yourself look good; don't be an a*****e."

She rolled her eyes at him slightly before slowly turning away, jumping into the jungle to the side and vanishing from view.

Let him rest and mull on her words in silence.