خليفة السلطان :The Sultan's Successor [Need3]

[Chaos_Nightmare_Fox]

Ilyaas Qadir


❃ ✦ "The mind of the performer, is a very strange thing." ✦ ❃



██████████████████████████████ ▶Prince of Cairo◀ ██████████████████████████████



There was still much to be done that the Prince of Cairo could not afford to make the long journey to Elialind, even at the request of the sultan. Yet, boats were packed for the trip and orders were given to servants and advisers that way things would still run smoothly while the prince was away. As the blonde board the boat, he stopped reaching out his hand to that of a large male lion. Most would fear the creature, knowing the beast could kill without much thought. "Don't give me that look Zaheed, I will retrieve you soon. So play nice with the servants.....do not eat anyone." Ilyaas said as he stroked the massive creatures head........All this took place two days ago, the boat had arrived in Elialind and he was escorted to the palace.

The Prince went alone this time, the other times he came to Elialind the male was there to entertain with other performers, Ilyaas only performed in front of special guest. Pushing the doors open the blonde strolled into the room, his crimson eyes scanning the faces of the other nobles filling the room. Ilyaas took up a place beside Nadeem, since he was the person that the prince last saw on one of his travels. "It's been awhile Nadeem......sorry about Zaheed the last time I visited you, he was only toying with that guard. Maybe when he arrives in a day or so, you two can make nice with one another." He stated with a slight chuckle.

Ilyaas happened to be an elegant dancer in art, but his main entertainment is the taming of wild beast. Zaheed being his prized possession he took the lion almost every time he traveled, this being a rare occasion that the noble creature was not at his side yet later he would send for his friend.He did trust his servants to care for Zaheed he just knew how the beast could be, Ilyaas did not wish to return home to find a few servants eaten. Turning his gaze to Aquil he gave a slight nod of his head, "It's good to see you again as Aquil." Ilyaas purred in a low tone of voice, a smirk lining his lips. The emerald hues of Aquil were captivating that the blond did agree on yet alas the boy was not his type really, he may toy with the boy but nothing more.

Relaxing into the pillows the male gaze a slight sigh as he stretched his arms over his head, "So what the reason for gathering the nobles from the different regions anyway?" He said mostly speaking to himself out of curiosity. Ilyaas gaze shifting to Talin, never spoken with the prince personal cause any time he visited it seemed the other rather stay to himself which was a shame really because one day he would like perform for the other.











██████████████████████████████ ▶Location:Elialind, palace
Company:Aquil, Nadeem, Talin
Thoughs:This should interesting!◀ ██████████████████████████████

[garbage prince]

The leopard at his feet chuffed, letting out a grating whine as he bared his fangs and pawed at Khaliq's feet. Looking down, the golden-eyed male frowned. "Tshhh, Zahir." The leopard rolled once through the sand before it stood, shaking grit from its coat and looking up at him, as if upset. Paying the animal little mind, his fingertips trailing over the soft fur of the creature's scalp, he continued down the line of stalls within the marketplace. This land was.. strange to him. Although he had been all over the Dynasty in his lifetime - especially in his youth, a more playful time with more room for mischief - the lands outside of Ye'Kos always awed and amazed him.

His land was one of darkness, of set rules and regulations like few others within the Dynasty - even compared to the laws in the home city of the Sultan. When you give up your life for momentary bliss or rebelliousness.. you have room for the joys that are offered to those who obey and worship. ' Prizes for loyalty.. ' Khaliq thought to himself as he picked up packaged sweets from a stall, listening to the words of the babbling vendor. Sniffing the candy, a polished brown square that molded to his touch, Khaliq flicked the vendor a small coin - more than worth the candy - as he bit into the piece and savored the sweetness.

From behind him came a trio of giggles, the three female servants sent to take care of his needs admiring the prince's unusual interest in a sweet. Almost grimacing, Khaliq motioned from the candies to the coin, and then his servants. "For them." And with that, he moved forward, vaguely taking in the sounds of the women oohing and ahhing over the sweets, and the chatter of the vendor.

In that moment, Khaliq thought that his mouth might create a river of its own, saliva production increasing and causing him to swallow hard. He and the leopard moved on, his eyes scanning the other stalls on his way to the palace. The awe that he had felt the previous day of staying in the city was insurmountable, ebbing over the borders of his mind and spilling out. Thoughts of a lack of security within the city bit at the noble, thoughts of the lack of guards and how many of these people may one day find themselves in his city bit at him.

As well as thoughts of who here had once been from Ye'Kos, freed from their crimes or criminal families. Sparing a small glance behind him at the three women, following suit and refusing to chew as long as his eyes were upon them, Khaliq wondered what their family had done to gain them such a position. The servants of a noble earned good coin, allowing freedom for the criminal parents much faster than normal labor. They were also treated very well for good work and loyalty. Ye'Kos was not wholly unfair nor vile, perhaps why the city had been without war or massive outbreak in three generations.

The feelings that came with his thoughts did not play a crossed his face, Khaliq too serious of a noble to allow such minute muscles of his face to publicly display what he felt. Good or bad, Khaliq had been taught that emotions could easily be toyed and played with by the right people.. and he had grown used to hiding his nature behind a wall of stone. Occasionally, like now, Khaliq's eyes would betray him with their eagerness to take in the surroundings. Fine jewels and clothing leapt at him from stalls, gathering his attention. The smells of fine foods and candies almost made his mouth water again.

Although he could afford any of this that he wanted, Khaliq mentally sighed. ' It is not for me to indulge in such things when greater things are happening. ' The walk to the palace from the market was short, Khaliq retracing his steps from the day before - when he had arrived, apparently much too early, and been sent out to "enjoy the city until the Sultan could speak to all the gathering Noble's sons at once". The guards and servants of the Sultan had been kind, telling him to sight-see and enjoy his time before the next day - refusing to answer any questions about the summons.

The palace was a sight to behold. While Khaliq had dressed in his finest gems and cloth, even Zahir decked with them about the leopard's neck and tail ( his long claws dipped in gold for accents ), it was unusual for him. The city seemed to revel in its wealth compared to Ye'Kos, to flaunt it. ' I shall never get used to this, 'he thought to himself as he pushed his way into the palace. Khaliq's servants were pulled away from him, the palace guards saying that they would be returned when the Noble left. Khaliq was not bothered. For all that Ye'Kos would be kind to the girls, they wound likely find more luxuries here than their home. That they did not try to take Zahir, nor verbally deny him the creature, made Khaliq relax slightly.

The nobles of his family were given large, regal beasts at a young age to raise and rear. Khaliq was not the first born of his family, but he was the most successful out of his siblings in raising animals. Two of his older brothers had lost theirs, and one had allowed his to die. Khaliq's position as heir to the estate had been given to him for successfully raising the most loyal beast Ye'Kos had seen in years. There was no separating the two, for all that Khaliq was obedient and mild mannered, they were one - and he would, unless there were no other choice and the matter were dire - let the animal from his sight and protection.

The servants had, more than once, stated that the leopard was his true love and that any future bride of Khaliq's would be jealous of the attention he gave the beast.

Zahir chuffed again as he and Khaliq were lead into the noble's waiting room, their golden orbs looking over the others as they entered. Reaching once more for the leopard's head, Khaliq moved into the room as the doors were shut behind the duo.






tl;dr: khaliq enters with his buddy zahir. i didn't realize it would be this long.

[Possguin]

Nadeem was right about Aquil enjoying his sinful actions; however, there was a time and place for it. It was nice to have a change of scenery, even if he was joyfully flustered with Nadeem's forwardness. His eyes were still to the son of Jawahar awaiting a response, though it seemed he would never receive one. The man seemed far to concentrated on his cigar. Thankfully Talin was sitting at a far enough distance from Aquil, he never enjoyed the smell of smoke. Even it was a simple fire lit for warmth, his nose stung. He turned back to Nadeem, his introduction was pleasant enough but Talin didn't seem interested in addressing them back. Maybe it was part of who he was, he did like in a very busy environment; Aquil couldn't imagine the stress and isolation it had tasked upon the man. "I do believe that is his intentions." Aquil addressed Nadeem, his emerald eyes shifting back to rubies. The red head parted his lips to speak further on the subject when a familiar voice enchanted his ears. His stature perked as his eyes searched for the delightful character. The blonde sat next to Nadeem, also across the way from his own pillow seat. Ilyaas, the jewel performer of the desert. His reputation had yet preceded him as it generally did.

Aquil shyly nodded back, although he had met Ilyaas may times before their conversations had been very one sided. Something about his charming smirk and elegant brow made Aquil mute. He felt a flutter come over him and his temperature rose slightly. The noble's son gathered a pillow quickly in his arms and held it to his chest. "It's a pleasure to see you as well Ilyaas." Aquil spoke, the words soothing over his lips softly. At this point it was hard for him to keep up appearance. Ever so often he would look back at Nadeem, both were beautiful in their own way. How lucky was he to know such magnificent people. "We think he aims to choose an heir." he retained his posture some, having gotten past his initial reaction to the performer. His face was lightly tinted with red, but he responded without a small shutter in his voice. He then laid back in his spot his jewels from his attire jingled against his skin, his noble actions had given into his overall awkwardness. Aquil pulled the pillow to his face, anything he'd say further would be muffled by the decorated fabric against his lips. Aquil's eyes met the ceiling, if he had fallen back a second later he would have missed the door re-opening. Looking up, he could see the feet and robe of another noble son; however, because of the leopard legs aside the sons feet he immediately recognized him to be Zahir.

The room seemed to pause as he entered, Aquil supposed him to speak; however, this wasn't the case at all. Even for the moment Aquil didn't open his mouth to greet the man. He couldn't believe the built of this character. The way he hovered above them from a distance. For being the same age as himself, he was far taller than the red head. He didn't know much about Zahir either, just that he was slightly fearful of the man. More so his region and background. It was under law at Al-Hasa for Aquil not to visit Ye'Kos. Thankfully, at one point, he had convinced Zahir to visit him in order to ask about his region. It wasn't a very long visit, enough to learn of the region and some of its politics. His view of Zahir was more so intimidation than anything else. Finally he spoke up.. "Zahir. A pleasure." Aquil addressed him, his voice truly muffled by the pillow. When he realized his words may not have been hear correctly, he pulled it down some and spoke out again. The Al-Hasa son drew a hand over his head, and breathed in and then out lightly. He needed to calm himself some, all the curiosity and greetings were making him uneasy. He didn't ever think they were all in the same room at the same time. He only ever had to deal with Nadeem on occasion and now his attentions were slit in fourths.

[vampireninja_500]

You can have it all. Just not all at once
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Nadeem Salik

That door opened again, it was doing that a lot lately. The beauty that stepped through it though was someone he could not forget. Golden hair like the sun with ruby eye that matched his own, Ilyaas of Cairo was indeed a sight to behold. He gave a short nod to the Cairo Prince before he found a comfortable seat beside him. His own red eyes glanced side long at the blond and smirked “toying is a good word for it” he spoke before rising to his feet and grabbing his own goblet and another one, filling the two with wine. Before he sat; he offered one of the goblets to Ilyaas, once the older noble took the goblet from him and Nadeem once again sat down on the lush’s pillow. “Although your pet did allow me to weed out the cowered among my guards” he sipped his wine “feel free to bring Zaheed again on your next visit, I love to see how some of the new lads handle your pet toying with them” he had enjoyed Ilyaas last visit, he was enchanting while dancing, a charmer on the dance floor. Someone Nadeem had kept a close eye on. He knew the rumors that Cairo was a city of performers but also of criminals. Not that Ilyaas was one of course but that hadn’t stopped Nadeem and his father from doubling the guards around the city and palace.

He glanced side long at Aquil and couldn’t help but smirk at the older male fluster expression. Using a pillow as a means of protection, like the silk covers would be able to hide him from the four men in the room. He actually lit out a small chuckle as the red head hid his face behind said pillow “Aquil are you trying to hide from us? He asked as he swirled his wine around in his goblet. “Shall I take that pillow away “he teased as he watched the red head fall backwards onto the pillows. He glanced over at Talin who was busy with his smoking that he didn’t reply to ether of them, which didn’t bother Nadeem too much. Each to their own as they say.

Sipping his wine, that still burned his throat with every swallow, ruby eyes glanced at the large door once again as the fifth Noble son made his present known. It would be consider polite to have his attention focus on Khaliq the noble son from Ye’kos, yet it was somewhat hard to do, seeing that the stoic young man was accompanied by his rather large pet. Nadeem didn’t know Khaliq well, only by name really. He didn’t make it a habit to visit the city of Ye’kos, he just sent the low life who were no use to his father and led a life of crime to Ye’kos, where they could be of more use, for better words. “Khaliq of Ye’Kos I assume” he greeted “welcome to our little gathering”

Location: waiting room in the palace
With: Aquil , Talin, Ilyaas and Khaliq
OOC:

[Chaos_Nightmare_Fox]

Ilyaas Qadir


❃ ✦ "The mind of the performer, is a very strange thing." ✦ ❃



██████████████████████████████ ▶Prince of Cairo◀ ██████████████████████████████



Ilyaas gave a nod of his head as he smiled slightly, "Very well. I am sure he would enjoy the traveling, he has been cooped up at the palace for a while." The blonde said as he glanced toward the smaller prince, he tilted his head as his crimson eyes took in the boys smaller figure. He climbed to his feet in a fluid motion, moving over to settle beside Aquil where he placed an arm behind on the soft cushions behind the prince. "Yes, no reason to hide from us Aquil. We won't bite unless you like that kind of thing.......well speaking for myself anyway. I'm not sure how Nadeem stand with that topic." Ilyaas purred leaning closer to the other, he was merely teasing the brunette meaning him no harm. Reaching up with his hand he brushed a few stray strands of hair from Aquil's face before he moved slightly away from the other. "Anyway, it would be interesting to see how things unfold around." He remarked as he sipped on his own glass of wine.

When the door swung open and a tall male entered the room, with a leopard at his side a sighe escaped the blondes lips. "Well, guess I am not the only one who has a thing for large felines. I hope when Zaheed does arrives he behaves himself." Ilyaas said as he placed his wine glass down, his graze following that of the new comer as he entered the room. His gaze remained with the tall male for maybe a moment then shifted to Nadeem. "You think we could have fun?.....not getting into the trouble sense. But a little fun would not hurt anything." Ilyaas said a impish smirk falling over his lips, he would more liking tease Aquil more and may even poke at Nadeem a little.

The blonde prince was just looking for a little excitement, use to his city fill with noise from either a festival or the artist just working on their art of trade. Folding his arms over his chest in a relaxed manner, he settled deeper into the cushions making himself more comfortable. Allowing his eyes to examine each body that filled the room with their presence, for now he would be quite and just observe things have had his little amount of fun moment ago.










██████████████████████████████ ▶Location:Elialind, palace
Company:Aquil, Nadeem, Khaliq
Thoughs:This should interesting!◀ ██████████████████████████████

[garbage prince]

Watching the others speak to him, each in turn.. each with their own unique verbal quirks, Khaliq found himself agitated. Not by their words, nor their body language. Just by being around other nobles. Khaliq, although not let out of his city often, knew of each of their respective lands. As a child he had wondered how they had managed such freedoms, such open ways of lives, without large stone walls and a strict level of order and discipline at every turn. As a child he had reveled in the freedom.. but, as time does in Ye'Kos - it stripped the freedoms of a life outside the city walls for its heir. It had been a long time since he had ventured near any of their homes.

Khaliq moved towards the group, Zahir at his side and brushing against his ankles and robes as he walked. "A pleasure to see you all," he replied, his voice even and smooth. Trained. "even if under such unfortunate conditions." He was, of course, referring to the decline of the Sultan's health and their current position within the Sultan's home. It was, at least to him, obvious why they were here.

Moving towards the group, Khaliq leaned himself against a column near the pile of pillows - less than twenty feet from the group, his arms crossing over his chest as he let his body rest against the stone. The petite Aquil's fiery red hair became the first thing that caught his eyes, and Khaliq's eyes traveled over the male's figure. There was a look of recognition after a moment - time spent in Al-Hasa rolling through his mind - before Khaliq's gaze flicked between Nadeem and Ilyaas. He knew about their families more than he knew about them personally.

Zahir, not one for the uncomfortable position that Khaliq had taken, moved over to the group of pillows in a slow lope - almost more aware of his presence and the others than Khaliq - and settled himself on a group of the fine cushions a small distance from the trio of humans. He stretched out, yawned wide, and rested his head upon his paws.

[Possguin]

"Very unfortunate conditions." Aquil remarked, carefully watching over Khaliq over an edge of the pillow he held. His eyes matched the equivalent in age noble, he seemed distracted by Aquil's appearance briefly. He figured it was the bright hair. Natural by the way. The people pf his region would refer to it's fiery nature as the flames of knowledge. It was, of course, a joke amongst the fishermen and merchants who knew of his hunger for intellectual diaries. They would never say this to the noble's family but Aquil wasn't deaf to the gossip of Al-Hasa. When Khaliq didn't sit amongst them, the red head was saddened slightly. He knew Khaliq came from a very ruthless, conditioned region but he hadn't realized how strict they were. He gazed the man over and emeralds followed the flickering tail of his feline friend. At least his leopard was not fearful of the group.

Aquil leaned further against the pillows, his eyes to the ceiling as Nadeem teased him. He was quite distracted by Zahir's entrance that he hadn't seen Ilyaas come to his side, let alone slide his arm under the pillows Aquil rested on. As he did lean further he shuffled lightly, turning to his side and peering at a performance made body. He froze and gazed at the blonde beauty. A sudden peep separated his lips and he pulled himself from the pillows into an upright position. The pillow hugged his chest as he scratched red locks. He chuckled nervously and then brought his hand down to his neck. He choked on another gasp as he turned to Ilyaas. "Excuse my behavior. It's very un-becoming of me." he rebuttled, fingering his jewelry as he spoke. Aquil never acted this way, it wasn't the proper way of presenting ones self. "You two seem to be the death of manners." he teased with a light smirk. He brought himself forward to his knees and reached out to serve himself another goblet of wine.

The liquid poured into his cup and soon down his throat in a tingling sensation. He dropped the pillow aside him and balanced himself back on a pair of pillows. A hand delicately gripped the goblet and the other laid in his lap. He gazed over the nobles impatient with the remaining two who had not shown yet. He was eager to move forward and escape to his chambers. He assumed they were all tired, no matter the extreme of their travels. "Khaliq, do you enjoy wine?" he questioned, offering he'd poor the noble son a cup of his own. He gazed over the teasing duo, neither needed a goblet. Aquil reached for the table once more, his fingers taking hold of a single grape to which he pushed between his lips and chewed before swallowing. He did this only a few times before wetting his lips in red wine and giving the appearance of wearing red gloss over his mouth. "I do hope our visit here is interesting. I doubt the Sultan will make becoming his heir easy." he lastly spoke, before coating his throat again.

[vampireninja_500]

You can have it all. Just not all at once
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Nadeem Salik

Nadeem hummed a bit as he took another sip of his wine. He was surrounded by gorgeous people and good wine, and comfortable pillows. What more could a noble ask for… well maybe a soft bed to lay ones head upon, but that would be later. Ruby red eyes watched amused as Ilyaas rose from his spot beside him and moved gracefully like only a performer could do, over to Aquil.
Now Nadeem knew he had no rights to the beauty of Al-Hasa and there for should not feel the twinge of jealousy when watching Ilyaas carelessly touch Aquil. It was just for show, a mere game to pass the time while they were force to wait. Yet still the spark was there and it took will power to supress the nasty emotion. But supress it well he did. “ Aquil, Aquil’ he spoke with a small shrug of his slime shoulders “we haven’t killed this so call manner’s thing, we just chose to ignore them in favor for more entertaining methods of conversation” he said before giving Aquil his most charming smile.

Slowly he two got to his feet and placed his empty goblet on the table that was before him. He was not getting up because he need to stretch his legs or felt the need to move around. No none of those reason came to mind. The long hair noble simply moved because there happen to be a large cat lounging rather close by, and that alone made him edgy. He was a trained fighter, who been trained to fight such large beast. He even had one such creature as a rug in his room, which he was not too happy about, but must never disobey ones father. “Unfortunate conditions is one of the best time to meet, Khaliq. It is the only time we who have responsibilities are allowed to gather and discuss these unfortunate events” he spoke as he began to move around the table, putting a bit more distant between himself and the large cat.

Hearing Ilyaas not so unusual question, he gave a small shrug once more “that depends, what kind of fun do you have in mind? I for one can think of lots of fun thing that can be done with the right person” he couldn’t help but send a teasing look at Aquil. The older noble just made it far too easy to tease “but you are the performer Ilyaas, not I, what does that wicked little mind of yours have in mind“ he flicked his hair over his shoulder so that it would be out of his way as he walked around the chamber. Yes they have been placed in side this room for far too long even if there were two nobles missing. It was still rude to keep quest waiting after a long journey

“A challenge it most likely be Aquil, Knowing his Majesty; he will test us on anything” the worse part was that they would be walking into the challenges blind, no preparation beforehand. A challenge he was more than willing to meet

Location: waiting room in the palace
With: Aquil , Ilyaas and Khaliq
OOC:

[Possguin]

There once was a youth who asended to the throne. He was unwise to all things of the world. But with his child intellect he divided the Dynasty. That had been a great deal of time ago, and now with his failing health he turned to these regions. Each with skillful sons. He was neither jealous or pitiful about the situation. He was content with the way he lived his life. It was his best adventure yet.

Fingers rolled across a thick entanglement of coarse hair off of his chin. Through the hair you could see where spots tore from his skin. His beard was the only thing keeping the rest of his Dynasty oblivious to his conditions. Eventually it would completely consume him. The Sultan currently sat upon his throne, awaiting word that his noble's sons were waiting patiently in the other chamber. He brought his hand down from his beard as a man approached him, a member of his court a scholar from Al-Hasa. It was he who was aware of the Sultan's health and he who sent the summons to the six other regions. He bowed, the Sultan raising his hand. He wasn't much in the mood for formalities. "Speak old friend. Have the sons arrived?" he demanded to know. The Sultan was rather impatient, more so because there was a great deal to do and he couldn't figure how much time resumed in this lifetime. A speckled hand held tightly to balls of his seat, it was obvious the man was on edge. "All but three your grace." the man responded, hands behind his back and stature that of royalty. No matter how informal the Sultan would like his life, the scholar made this case less likely. He was fairly particular on how the Sultan was raised, being he was the one to mold him in the right direction. "Someone will have to educate them on the situation. I grow impatient. The sons must be exhausted and I wish to treat them with the hospitities of my palace." He demanded, standing from his golden throne. His robes covered all inches of his body, including his neck and fingers; it could only be guessed how far the sickness had spread. "Yes, your grace." The Sultan strolled across the throne room to a near door. His fingers extended to open it to the waiting chambers, but he paused. He looked over his fingers, a sadness came over him. He was too young to deteriorate to nothing. He had so much left to do for his Dynasty, hopefully he could mold the new heir as his advisor did him.

He sighed lastly and pushed open large double doors, his eyes lay of four of the six sons. Each noble and basking in the glory of their region. If they had not figured out their reason for being here, they soon would. "It is an honor having you all in the palace. I've heard remarkable things about each of you and the regions you represent. Your families should be proud." he began in the doorway, as he continued to speak he made his way across the room his footsteps echoing around the chamber. All was quiet as he spoke, which only made his appearance and voice more frightening than intended. "If rumor serves itself correct. I am looking for a heir. A courageous, intelligent man. One worth being called a Sultan." the title held a heavy burden along with a lifetime of serving ones Dynasty. It was a lot to ask of such young men, but they all were of a regal age. And he intended it that way. The Sultan now sat amongst the sons, his large body comfortably laid against pillows and his arms held up by the same fabrics. His eyes scanned over the boys. "I intend to test your abilities. And after three days I will choose an heir. If you should refuse to participate, arrangements will be made for you to return home to your region. I'm sure you know the penalties that come along with refusing my offer." he wasn't threatening but the Sultan, along with the sons, knew very well the punishment they'd surely recieve from their fathers. Not to mention the shame brought to the region. Each boy knew the troubles of declaring his unwanting to the Sultan. It was a high regard, not one to be taken lightly of. The Sultan chucked, his advisor hanging closely behind where he sat.

"I imagine you all are tired. I've sent your things to separate chambers. Rest, eat, lay with women.. my home is yours. Tomorrow night the challenges begin." and with that the Sultan took his leave. He spoke nothing of his condition, for he was still shamed by the disease. And allowed for the noble sons to discuss the terms amongst themselves. Not that there was much to discuss, the Sultan was fairly straight forward. He exited back the way he came, through the large doors. When they closed he leaned against them tirelessly. For the remainder of the day he'd return to his chambers, weary from his condition. Besides, night was drawing quicker than he had liked.