[PRP] Family Matters (Bed & Sandalphon)

[Fairy Snails]

Bedeinka was walking the tunnels of the pride. Her steps were stiff as she walked. The pride she once loved had been altered and twisted. Once there was a time when the pride members cared about preserving traditions, but now. She shuttered at what it had become. Her own blood had fallen for a filthy hybrid. He wasn't her son anymore. He was no better then the dirt she walked on.

None of this would have happened while her father was ruler. None of the females could walk the tunnels without being escorted, not even those of the royal family. All non-lions knew their place and none of them would have even thought of approaching the king, let alone become his consort.

But that was in the past. Even if someone were to try to fix the pride, it might be to broken to do anything with, she thought.

She stopped when she reached the royals den. Nahasi and his children lived here. She had gotten into the habit of checking up on them to see if any of his children showed any interesting development. Maybe among them she could find the king the pride deserved.

Painted Moose

 

[Painted Moose]

With an agitated stride, Sandalphon paced within his cave, flipping at stones and lightning bugs to keep his mind off matters. Not that it helped much. The entire pride was falling into a listless form of naive idiocy that made them ignorant to rules and traditions. As a cub he hadn't questioned much, but as he grew....as he grew he found his eyes opening for the first time.

The sheer fact that his own blood was being tainted by hybrids and leopards made him sick. His mother...the female that had bore him had left as easily as she'd walked in. If that wasn't a sign from some God that had cursed them then he didn't know what! Why, why did his father allow this to go on?! Couldn't he see...? Growling, Sandalphon slammed his paw against a wall, leaving more scores of claw marks in the stone to add to his collection.

When he walked out of his living quarters to walk off his steam, he hadn't counted on Bedeinka. However, he didn't miss a beat. Sandalphon stalked towards her, using his size and birth status to hold his head above her eyes, bearing down on her with frigid blue eyes. "Why are you here, and not at your post, Bedeinka?" He didn't greet her with familiarity, or even love, but rather as the gender that she was. "And whose head must I remove for allowing a female in this far without an escort?"

Club Snails

 

[Fairy Snails]

Bedeinka had been startled by her (grand) nephew and gave a little jump. She hadn't expected for him to approach her, though she was rather grateful that she didn't have to go looking for one of Nahasi's spawns. “I am here to see family.” She said coolly. Right now the last thing she wanted to do was upset Sandalphon. It would be in her best interest to have a civil conversation with him. It would be difficult, yes, but she would do her best to play the caring old aunt.

“King Nahasi has given me permission to walk around the tunnels freely. If you would like you can bring up matters with him.” She said, pausing for a split second. “Though he probably won't change his mind. He cares more about being 'fair' then he does about keeping with traditions. My brother was the same way.” Her eyes went to the ground as she thought about her disgraceful brother and how he was the one began ruining the pride.

“It does seem like traditions don't matter anymore.” She said with a sigh. Her eye went to Sandalphon for a moment before looking away. She had done her best to teach her son's how to be proper members of the pride. Her pride and joy Chisulo proved that even with her guidance he could go a stray. At least Zeru was still on the right track, she was thankful for that.

Painted Moose

 

[Painted Moose]

Club Snails

"Lovely. Then go visit them, and get away from me." He had no desire to spend any time with his Great-Aunt if he didn't have to. Though she wasn't the most detestable of females, she was still part of their gender, and it didn't make her very endearing to him. Still, if she noticed, he had become slightly less hostile around her, at least for the moment.

He clucked his tongue, and shook his head, obviously beyond frustrated with it. "He's gone soft. The King cares far too much about the opinions of others, and has fallen away from tradition." Sandalphon, in that aspect, shared much with his Aunt. So much of the pride had been ruined by his Grandfather, and so far no one was lining up to fix it. "Pitiful, isn't it? Strong males raised on stories of their ancestors, and the persecution they faced only to be dallying with lesser species."

Passing a look to her, he gained a slightly sympathetic look, though it fought hard to make it through the hard stone of his outer appearance. "It does the Mazunguko well to know others share those same thoughts. I will admit I was disappointed to hear of your son, the hybrid lover, but as you've stated previously, our blood line is not as strong as it once was." Now he was speaking of his father directly.  

[Fairy Snails]

Bedeinka nodded and turned to leave. She didn't want to be a bother if she didn't have to. With Sandalphon next words she stopped. A small smile on her face. Her grand nephew seemed to have similar beliefs. She turned around to face him. “It really isn't all king Nahasi's fault. He didn't have a strong role model growing up. My brother was a weak ruler. Falling for a female and letting her taint his views.” Bed shook her head. “I am embarrassed being in the same litter as him. My father would have put all the non-lions in their places, remind them where they stood.”

It seemed like there was still hope in the royal family after all. She glanced down the tunnel to make sure no one was around. The last thing she wanted was to have a guard over hear her talking negatively about how the pride was ran. Nahasi knew her feelings and he never did anything against her. However she didn't want him to know that she was talking to his son about it.

“It would be best if we rid the family of filth like him.” She said, thinking of her son. As much as she cared about him, she could not allow his interest in a hybrid continue. If he wanted to continue to be involved with the hybrid, she would just not acknowledge him as her son. “I really did try and teach him properly. But I should have been more strict.”

Painted Moose

 

[Painted Moose]

R4gn0r0k IV

Sandalphon only nodded, agreeing as she spoke. "I've heard the stories of my grandfather, though they are littered with biased opinion from the King. The opinions of others differ greatly." While some had loved him, others hadn't felt the same, and it had always confused him as a cub. Now he understood. "With the strength of a royal lineage, it is possible for such power to siphon from others in the same litter. No doubt you would have made a better ruler, had you been born a different gender." He was baiting her, as it were. Fluff her up and see how close she was to his own mindset.

Seeing her looking about, Sandalphon motioned for her to follow him into his own denning area. No one would dare follow them there, lest they face his reputable temper. "Yes, the family as a whole would be better off without them." Of course, he was speaking of her son, but others, as well. "His blood was weak; there is nothing you could do. Your brother, my father; their weak reigns tainted the pride and no doubt it infected your son. It is his fault that he was not strong enough to rise above it."  

[Fairy Snails]

If she had been a male, she thought as her eyes narrowed. If she hadn't been cursed to be a female, she would have been able to keep her father's traditions alive in the pride. Sometimes the gods could be too cruel, she thought. “If only. But perhaps the old ways won't die out with Nahasi's rule.” She said quietly.

Bedeinka followed into his den, a sliver of a smile on her face. As he spoke, she nodded her head. “I just expected more from him.” She said quietly. “As much as I care about him, I know the pride would be better off without him and others like him.”

“I feel like it is time for Mazunguko to go back to its roots, to become the pride it once was.” She said, remembering how it was when she was younger. How females would advert their eyes when her father was around and the way non-lions would scurry away if they knew he was near. She didn't have the ability to change the pride, however she knew if there were enough like minded lion that eventually they could fix the pride.

Painted Moose

 

[Painted Moose]

R4gn0r0k IV

If she held his interest at first, she had his full curiosity now. She was definitely a craftier one than he had first expected, and it pleased him. What is it she has in mind? "Love..." Sandalphon shook his head. "It makes us weak, and hides the faults of our loved ones from the true light. There is nothing wrong in caring for them, but should weeds not be pulled stone before it cracks?"

He listened to her; intent and eager. "I couldn't agree with you more. I would like to see a day where the Mazunguko could rise to it's former glory. I've not seen a day where it was not a mess, and would revel in the chance." His claws made gauges in the tense earth beneath him.  

[Fairy Snails]

With a prince on board, she was sure a take over of Mazunguko would only take a matter of time. “I would be interested in talking further with you on the matter. I believe the only safe place to discuss this is on the surface. I believe we don't want wandering ears to hear our conversations.” She gave a small smile. There were very few lions she could trust in the pride. The fewer who knew of her plan, the better off it would be.

“My son Zeru can be our contact. You can talk to him about a time and place to meet up and he'll report back to me. It might make some of the brothers wonder if you and I are talking too much. Even if we're family.” Zeru was around Sandalphon age. It wouldn't be odd for the two of them to be seen around each other.

Painted Moose

 

[Painted Moose]

R4gn0r0k IV

The surface? Sandalphon tried his best not to sneer. While her plan had merit there was little he thought could be accomplished in such a place. In truth, he had never been to the surface, simply because he never wanted to, and it made him anxious. "As you wish." He clucked. If it meant a new age for the Mazunguko he would go through many trials to see it blossom.

"Understand that I have other duties within the pride that will take precedence, but your son will be contacted when time allows and suspicion has died." This would be a slow growth, one that would need to be tended with great care. Even with his cold words there was a tilt of a smile on Sandalphon's maw and a light in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

"I suggest that for the time being you leave. If we've been seen you'll have drawn gossip in any form just for being here." No female had even been to Sandalphon's private nook, escorted or no. He also hadn't been too friendly with his sisters or his Aunt, so there was no familial tie to change it.