After some consideration, Vesper had decided to take it upon himself to find out if Nyeusi's parents knew what was going on with her, figuring they might be the best ones to look out for her safety.. and it was still almost an absolute certainty that her raving would get her into serious trouble. The only problem that the guard faced was his utter lack of real familiarity with this side of his family. He'd gotten as far as the edge of the slave dens and then he just stood there, feeling kind of awkward.
He was pretty sure he had figured out which slaves were Nyeusi's parents.. but if he was right, then it might do more harm than good to bring it to their attention since her father was a Royal Guard. He was counting on that making it more important, though.
Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle to this plan now was that he really didn't know where to look for them.
Lately, Unyezi rarely went far from home and nobody seemed to particularly care. While he was emotionally affected by Shangyue's hostile takeover of the pride, it had little direct affect on his life. The King seemed to know better than to approach him about the Royal Guard, and though it seemed he was leaving the old former monarch alone, Unyezi was certain he was being watched. It was too easy, the Royal Guards were easily far above slaves in the new hierarchy but they still shared the same living space. They were always there.
So it was usually best to just stay out of trouble, and that was easy enough from home. He was enjoying a quiet evening when he spotted something he rarely saw so close up- one of Alcmene's grandchildren. Of course, he knew Vesper right away, as he knew Vesper would know him.. though they had never really met.
He watched the guard for a few minutes, wondering if he had unsavory business here. He eventually decided to take the leap and go talk to him.
"You look lost, Vesper."
He noticed his Great Grandfather watching him nearby and put a great deal of effort into avoiding turning it into a staring contest. He knew, if he couldn't find Orion, then Unyezi was his best bet .. but that didn't make it any easier just waltzing up to talk about it. He already figured it would be odd enough talking to his cousin.
"Not exactly," he answered, finally looking directly at Unyezi, "I was just looking for someone."
While he had reservations about the Royal Guard, he was pretty sure Unyezi could be trusted with the information he had to pass along. But he wasn't just going to launch right into it.
There were a lot of someones that he could be looking for around here, and even before he spoke Unyezi knew very well it wasn't going to be him. But that didn't deter the old lion.
"Perhaps I can help, who are you looking for?"
Vesper paused and looked around them, they weren't exactly surrounded by other slaves and Royal Guards but they were out in the open and he wasn't sure he'd notice if someone wandered up.
"Can we talk in private?" he asked, looking back at Unyezi hopefully.
"We can try."
True privacy could be rare for any slave, though it was generally considered safe around the dens. They were far too close to the center of the pride and the royal dens to be a useful starting point for any shady behavior.. the real problem was that Unyezi himself usually had about a 50-50 chance of having someone watching him.
He turned himself around and led the young lion back to his den, where he sat himself down and looked at Vesper expectantly.
Vesper followed his estranged grandfather quietly, trying to take in their surroundings but feeling increasingly confident they could chat without being overheard. When Unyezi sat down, Vesper stayed on his feet and considered his words carefully.
"I'm worried about Nyeusi," he said finally, starting with the simple reason he was here, "She's lost her mind. She goes around raving about how the Great Lion has turned his back on the king, and therefore on us. And she isn't exactly careful about who she's telling."
Unyezi was visibly surprised by what Vesper's concern was-- that meant he was probably looking for Orion or Halili.. and it was kind of surprising that he didn't lead with that.
"Oh my," he murmured, frowning, "That is troubling. Has Shangyue heard?"
Vesper shrugged.
"I've been keeping an eye on her, I accidentally agreed to become the second member of her little club," he explained, mirroring his grandfather's frown, "So far I think she's been lucky, nobody terribly important has paid her much attention. But it's hard to predict what will happen. Aside from sounding crazy, she is starting to look crazy.. it could help her, or it could make it worse."
Unyezi was silent even after Vesper finished speaking, thinking it over. That Nyeusi had been loud enough so long as to gather any followers was amazing, but the pride was so large and many of the members worked hard to just keep their heads down and out of the nasty business going on with the monarchy.
"If that's true, then she is probably safe from Shangyue for now," he said, thinking from the point of view of a king, "As long as she does not look or act like someone to be taken seriously, she can be ignored. Or perhaps even pitied, if the King thought that would help his image. But if she is really gathering supporters, even by accident, it could turn into a real problem."
Vesper was surprised by Unyezi's assessment. He was only still a 'supporter' because he was trying to protect Nyeusi, he wasn't making things worse! But.. it was hard to deny what he said. Nyeusi wouldn't be a problem until suddenly she was.
"I.. guess I haven't paid enough attention to who else was being attracted by her raving," he admitted, "I only agreed so I could try to keep her safe, I felt bad for her and she was so excited when I said OK."
Well, he only stayed part of the little group to keep her safe.
"That is very noble of you, but you should be careful," Unyezi said, "You both should. I can pass the message along to her parents for you, but if she is earnest then I don't know what they could do to stop her."
It was hard to think of Nyeusi putting herself in danger like this, he was closer to his grandchildren on this side-- and yet it still hurt to think it had drawn in Vesper, though they barely knew each other. But he would never be able to stop worrying about his family, it had started the day Alcmene took the throne in his place and would probably last until the day he died.
Vesper nodded. That was really what he had come here for, he didn't think there was much her parents could do either but he didn't want to ignore the possibility that they would know how to talk to some sense into their daughter.
"Thank you."
He shuffled his feet a bit, not really intent on letting the awkwardness that was sure to come consume them now they his business was taken care of. Unfortunately, he wasn't willing to just walk away either.
Unyezi could see that Vesper had no intention of staying longer and he didn't blame him. He offered a smile and a gentle nod.
"If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come see me."
It was a start, perhaps.
Vesper nodded before turning and heading off on his way back home. He would be glad to put some distance between him and the slave dens, if only because it felt suspicious to be hanging around there too much. It probably wasn't helped by the reason that had taken him there in the first place. But now he was glad he had gone, he had to think more carefully about what had been going on lately.
Vesper was long gone before Unyezi moved again, and when he did he left the slave dens to go take a closer look at the goings-on around the pride. Finally.
Fin.
