Jioni'Nyota yawned loudly and gazed around him in fond content. It was rather late in the afternoon, if he could trust the sunlight coming through the tops of the trees. It was not alway easy to keep track of the time in the Forest, which was probably why Jio's sleep pattern was so irregular. Besides, the groundlings had chosen to throw a revel last night and the celebrations had lasted until the first signs of light in the sky.
Standing, Jio stretched out his stiff limbs, and slowly extricated himself from the sleeping forms around him. Several of his closest groundling friends chose to sleep in the same small meadow that the Auberon called his own.
Jioni made his way to the small stream nearby and drank deeply. He was still not used to being looked up to as the 'leader' of the groundlings. Just because he'd been the eldest (barely) of the groundlings present when the decision had been made. Jio was not sure if he was fit to be a leader. Granted, he did care about the groundlings, as they'd been come to called, and he loved this forest and the delights that came from living in it. However, he had no lust for power and only wanted to live his life in leisure. It would seem life was never that simple.
Oh God, he was probably going to be yelled at for doing this. Not that his queen was a terribly hateful creature who had any kind of problem with the groundlings, of course, she just... needed a bit more time to trust her king out on his own again after what had happened the first time. Explaining a batch of children that were suspiciously the same color as himself hadn't been an easy task, especially considering he'd gone down that excessively irritating "honesty" road. Now he was heading for the forest- known for being a rather open and... lustful place by rumor and speculation.
But he wasn't looking for fun. she would have to understand that. As king it was his duty, and his right, to go all over the pride lands and meet all the members of his pride.
Looking around as he wandered inside, he couldn't help but wonder how much of the rumors he'd heard were actually true. His upper class... they tended to gossip more than explore the truth. It wasn't like he hadn't met a groundling before, why was he so nervous?
Sighing, he moved through the brush, figuring the only way to make peace with it all was more exploration. Kal could deal with that.
It was always amusing to Jioni when members of the actual pride came to visit the forest. They were always so obvious about it. Creatures who were not used to living in the forest made a great deal of noise when they came to visit. On occasion, Jio had to be able to move silently through the trees and had worked on and perfected this. It was now quite natural to him, after an entire lifetime of living here.
Jio could tell he had a visitor, both hearing and smelling the other lion's presence. With a grin and a shake of the head, he bent his head for one more drink of water before moving to the main path to meet the visitor.
So as not to scare the stranger, Jio picked up his paws and made his presence known. He even whistled a bit for good measure before appearing on the path a short distance away from the 'guest'. He smiled broadly and bowed.
"Welcome! Welcome to Campinil."
Bwana offered the stranger a smile, nodding his head slowly as he was greeted. Normally he would have liked to see the other lion bow when greeting him, but this sort of situation required a certain amount of understanding. They probably weren't even all fully aware that a king had come back to the lands in the first place.
That was about to change.
"Hello," he responded, "It's nice to meet you. My name is Bwana, the kind of these lands. And you are?" after speaking, he gave the place another look-over, taking in the scents and sights around him. He had to admit, they had picked a lovely place to hide away in. It was beautiful.
Jioni was surprised. He recognized the King of the pride from the last time he'd seen him, though that had been some time ago. He hadn't expected the King to come and visit the Forest. Many of the higher class pride members were reported to be frightened of the forest and the fairies that lived here. Jio would admit that there were many mysterious things in the forest, but nothing to be afraid of.
Jioni bowed deeply, as benefited a pride member to his King. It was proper to show an amount of respect. After all, this particular King had made the Groundlings a recognized part of the pride.
"Greetings, my king. I am Jioni'Nyota, Auberon and representative to the Groundlings." The title sounded silly to Jio, but he shrugged it off. If the other Groundlings wanted him to represent them, he would do so. He noticed Bwana looking around at the Forest and did the same. The Forest really was a lovely place and it did make some sense that the pride members would find it mysterious.
"What can I do for you, my King?" he asked, politely.
Bwana smiled. It was nice to see respect was not a lost concept, even though he hadn't been expecting it. The nobles had told many stories about how the groundlings hadn't the slightest notion of respect and were, in more than the obvious way, a batch of animals. Bwana had never believed it, really. They thought he was foolish for wanting to be so trusting.
Those silly nobles, they didn't know what was fact and what was fiction, they just liked to spin their tales.
"Ah! Right, it's nice to see you, good sir," he replied brightly, "I was just exploring the forest a little. I know so few of the members and I wanted to get a better idea of the land itself. I'm afraid I haven't been in these woods since I was a cub. Everything has changed." Like now there was a small colony of free-roaming, happy-go-lucky lions in the midst of it. "Would you like to give me a tour?"
Jioni brightened at the prospect of a tour. If there was anything he truly loved and was passionate about, it was this forest. It had been his home for as long as he could remember. He grew up hiding in the trees, playing with lights others couldn't see, having fun every day. It was a life of freedom of revelry and it was his own. It would be both a honor and joy to show the King around and he said so.
"I would be honored too, my King. The Forest is a well-beloved place for the Groundlings. You may see a few of them on our tour, but then again, you might not. This Forest is full of surprises," he said, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Shall we, then?" he asked as he led the way. It was not plausible to give an entire tour of the Forest. It was simply too large. He could, however, show Bwana all of the most important spots. The first then, would be the central meadow. It was a rather large meadow in the midst of the Forest and was one of the few places where you could see the sky through the trees. If all of the Groundlings gathered together, this was the place they would do so.
Chuckling, Bwana followed the lead of the other, happy to see that he wasn't against giving him a tour. It would be nice to see just how much the forest had changed from his youth. "Let's shall," he replied with a grin, happy to play the tourist rather than the king for one day. It wasn't like anyone was going to tease him about it later.
They had better not.
He followed him through the trees, looking around as though trying to spot a fairy through the thick of the trees. Maybe they did exist. Maybe it was more than just the happy natures of the groundlings that was at work in the trees. "Do you believe in the stories?" he asked, "that there are creatures in here that can't be explained. Things that... use magic on the lions they meet in the forest?"
Jioni chuckled too. He had expected to asked that question sooner or later. Those who didn't live in the forest were convinced that it was filled with faeries and creatures with magic. Jio thought about it for a minute before answering. The Forest was indeed a magical place to him.
"I do believe that there are things in this forest that I cannot explain. And I believe that any place can be magical if you believe that it is. Are their magical creatures in this forest? That I cannot say for sure. But there is something that makes this forest different from others. A feeling in the air."
He looked over his shoulder to catch Bwana's gaze and held it before adding, "There is a reason that so many of the Groundlings choose to live here. There is something that protects this forest."
With a chuckle, he turned around again and continued on to show Bwana the nearest stream, another popular gathering place for the citizens of Campinil.
"That much I can sense for myself," Bwana agreed. There did seem to be a different air in the forest- something much lighter than he could have ever sensed out in the rogue lands. Even his moutains, right up at the top, did not feel as... free. Still, there was the natural darkness of the forest to deal with. For many, the inability to know what was going on around them made them uneasy. That alone was probably enough to over-power the other feelings the forest could offer.
He wouldn't let it get to him- he wasn't afraid of fairy tales and things that went bump in the night.
"Protects it? I'm sure that would be a much better way to look it at then many of the other pride members do. Most are afraid of this place. but hopefully we can mend the bridge between the two groups soon enough." He took a moment to sniff the water, taking a drink from the clear running stream. Didn't taste poisoned, he noted, as clean as anything nearer his den.
Jio nodded, pleased with Bwana's interpretation. He and the other Groundlings did not view the forest as a threat or anything to be frightened of. Granted, there were dangers in the forest, but they worked through them and around them. There was a self-sufficient nature that it inspired in all of the Groundlings. They worked together but they also worked for themselves. Everyone did their part to survive and to thrive.
"Yes, we feel there is some force that protects us in this forest. We respect the trees and the natural order of things and we work in harmony with whatever forces live here. There is a great deal of balance," said Jio before he too took a long drink from the stream. It was a large and pleasant cut of water that ran through the trees and made a pleasant sound as the water flowed over the rocks.
He wondered what he ought to show the King next. The Groundlings didn't all choose to reside together in one place. There were a number of choices of how to live in the forest and each had their own preference. He decided to show him the meadow that was set aside for the Auberon.
They made their way through the trees and to the small meadow. Jio noted with amusement that the other Groundlings who had been asleep were nowhere in sight. It seemed they were leaving the meeting with the King all to their Auberon. Well, he had no objections.
Bwana looked up from the stream, watching the run of the water as it moved through the trees towards the main clearing where his pride members loved to do their trades and have their performances. So they drank the same water, it was pretty interesting to think about that. They feared the groundlings and the forest, yet the water was all the same. How could they say they drank dark things?
more rumors put to rest. More and more he was enjoying this little tour of the place.
Following the other once more, he looked around the meadow. Soon he noted the fading scents of other animals. It seemed like there had been other groundlings around before he had come along. Had he scared them off? That would be ironic.
"Well, this place is amazing. I hope I can bring my children here to play at some point. I'm sure they would appreciate it too. But perhaps I should be heading back. I can't be gone too long from the pride without them thinking I've run off again."
Jio nodded. He'd been expecting as much when he realized that it was getting late. A King could be away from his subjects for only so long. It was good that he'd been able to show Bwana the forest and to put him at ease. Relationships between the pride members and the Groundlings wanted some improvement and this would certainly help. He knew that some of the Groundlings hoped to approach the regular pride lands at some point. Hopefully things would get that good some day.
"I understand, my King. Please, feel free to return at any time and bring your family. However, I would caution you to be careful about who you bring here at night. The Groundlings are want to party in the darker hours and if anything frightening or mysterious were to appear, I believe it would do so then," he said, completely serious. There had been rumors . . . but it was so difficult to decide what was true and what was merely the imagination.
"Safe return, my King," said Jioni with a deep bow.
"Ah, I wouldn't bring them here at night," Bwana chuckled, "I don't feel comfortablt letting them out of the den at night, much less out roaming the pride lands." He smiled lightly, shaking his head about to let his mane do a bit of dancing. It was amazing the feather stayed put. "But I will bring them when it's light out. If they'll keep themselves in line."
No point treating them to something fun only to have them get lost in a big, spooky forest.
"I'll be seeing you again, good sir," he hummed, bowing back just as respectfully. He turned at that, heading back to the pride lands where he knew his strange family would be waiting for him.
