[PRP] Hung Stockings (Schatz Vormund & Beneit)

[Princess_Feylin]

"Going to visit Father," Vor announced to his family as he trotted out of the den.

It was a lie, but it was one that would be readily accepted. If he had told his mother or siblings his true purpose in leaving the den and seeking out the guards his mother would have worried and he would have been saddled with a sibling for accompaniment that he didn't need. This would just be a quick visit to find Beneit, who he'd met once or twice before while really visiting his father. There was no reason for everyone to get so upset when he went out on his own.

It was not a short walk for someone of Vor's size, but he was trotting, so it didn't take him all that long to reach where the guards slept and trained. He had trotted most of the way there, using the ground-covering and energy-conserving pace he'd learned from his father, but once he got there he was greeted by an enormous mountain of a lion with a terrifying scowl.

He'd almost quailed and returned home without delivering his message, but the message was important. He'd had a vision. He wasn't going to tell the giant lion that. Just that he wanted to see Beneit, and that he'd be quick. The Mountain growled something Vor couldn't quite understand and didn't stick around to ask for a repetition.

"Thank you," he said politely and scurried on.  

[Wylde Roses]

Beneït was incredibly bored. He wasn't on active duty at the moment, and because of this he had very little that he could think of to do. The purple lion gave a sigh and stretched out, resting his head on his paws as he tried to will time to pass faster. He would be going back to work in just a few hours, and then he would have something to do with himself again.

It was only a matter of enduring through this time of idleness. Unfortunately, Beneït wasn't the best at dealing with boredom, and soon the lion rose to his paws and began to pace. If he was fortunate, something would happen soon to help him pass the time until he could get back to work. If not, well...

He could always start counting blades of grass. He'd done as much before when his boredom grew too extreme.  

[Princess_Feylin]

It wasn't as difficult to fine Beneit as Vor had feared it might be. There were a number of guards who had purple on their coats and who might have been nobility if they felt like taking on that responsibility, but Beneit's exact shade of purple was more bluish and that made him fairly distinctive. Because of his visions Vor was working on developing an eye for detail so that he could be more helpful to the people he saw when offering advice based on his visions.

"Good day, Beneit," Vor greeted the guard. "If you aren't busy, could I talk to you for a moment?"

Beneit didn't look as though he was doing anything particularly important, unless the pacing was part of a training regimen that Vor had never heard of before. Still, it didn't hurt to be polite. Even if Vor was nobility and Beneit a guard, the guard was older than he, and therefore worthy of at least good manners from Vor.

"There was something I wanted to tell you..."  

[Wylde Roses]

Ah, and here was an answer to his boredom already. Beneït reacted visibly only in greeting, ducking his head slightly to the young noble, but internally he was quite relieved to have someone to speak with in hopes that it would drive back his boredom. Conversation was one of the better ways to pass idle time, he supposed.

"I have a bit of spare time on my paws," he said quietly, breaking off his pacing to walk closer to the youth. He wasn't sure what such a young lion could have to speak with him about, but was bored enough to entertain the idea for now anyway. Besides, on occasion even a youngster could have a vital piece of information to share.

"What is it that you wished to tell me?"  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Thank you. This will not take too much of your time, I hope."

Vor was pleased that Beneit had agreed to allow him to speak to him. That was the first hurdle cleared, but he already knew that there would be a number of others. He would have to explain his purpose in seeking the guard out, and that would probably require that he explain his gift. And then he would still have to issue the warning his gift had given him.

If he encountered stubborn disbelief at any point, there was not much he could do except to deliver his message anyway, but he always felt guilty when his warnings went unheeded because he had failed to convince their recipient that he was not playing some sort of childish game. As if he would do such a thing. Such deception would be beneath him, both as a noble and as a person.

"I had a vision that you were in, and based on what I saw I felt it important to tell you about it. Will you hear what I have to tell you?"

His mother and father insisted that he did not give unwanted advice, and so he asked as though he would not if the person said no. No one had refused to hear him out so far, but he was the sort of young man who would rather allow his own reputation for good manners to suffer by ignoring their wishes than fail to share the information he thought they needed to hear.  

[Wylde Roses]

"A vision?" Beneït echoed thoughtfully. It was possible that the younger lion was playing some sort of youthful prank on him, but he did seem sincere enough in his intent. Besides, Beneït had encountered the odd Seer or two during his lifetime of wandering prior to joining the Suka'Fumo, and it usually wouldn't do to ignore an attempt at aid, if that was indeed what the juvenile intended.

Blinking down at the juvenile with curious blue eyes, Beneït took a seat before him, offering what he hoped would be taken as an accepting smile. It never hurt to be cautious, after all, and the worst that could happen would be that the juvenile was wrong - and if he was genuine, which he very well might be, it would be far better if Beneït was prepared to face whatever might be coming.

"I will hear you, young seer," he said softly. If the juvenile truly was a seer... well, it would be better not to make an enemy of one who had visions.  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Yes," Vor said somberly. "Thank you."

When Beneit sat down Vor decided that he could take it as an invitation to do the same, even though there had been no explicit statement to that effect. The cub had been raised to have very good manners and gently held to the standards of nobility. Had their positions been reversed Vor would have asked Beneit to sit, but he decided that it wasn't fair to expect someone who had not been raised as he was to have the same manners.

"I don't know if you go on too many nighttime patrols. It would be easier to guess when in the future this will happen if you didn't, but if not I suppose it can't be helped." Sometimes Vor talked like a grown up. It came from the way he had been brought up and the things he sometimes saw. Beneit's future, for instance, was something a cub his age and station really oughtn't to know much about, but couldn't help.

"There's a lioness that I do not think is one of the pride. She'll smell unusually good and she'll be very pleasant and...ah..." This was an uncomfortable topic for him. "If you and she decide to become physical, you should probably only do it...ah...twice at most. Not so much that you'll be tired enough to drop into bed after your shift."

He winced. This was so awkward. Sometimes he hated his gift. "You need to be alert the morning after you meet that lioness. There's going to be a fight where you sleep and you won't be able to get out of the way quickly enough. You'll be hurt."

Maybe he should have only told him that part. But he'd seen more than that, which meant that what he'd seen, even the uncomfortable part, was important and would affect the outcome.  

[Wylde Roses]

Well this was far more awkward a discussion than he had originally expected. Nevertheless, Beneït kept his expression calm and accepting of the young noble's story. If this was intended as a prank, he could have brought up the embarrassing details as the focus, rather than a fight being what affected his future health.

Because of this, Beneït was inclined to believe that the youngster was genuine in his attempts to help him, despite the embarrassment of their discussion. At least the juvenile had the sense to approach him without others around! He wasn't sure he would be able to live down the embarrassment of a juvenile member of the nobility calmly discussing a rather... sexual escapade that might or might not end up happening.

The blueish-purple lion was in this moment extremely thankful that his fure was thick and dark enough to conceal the blush that he would otherwise be unable to hide.

"I see," he said, nodding his head respectfully at the young seer. "Might there be anything else you can tell me?"  

[Princess_Feylin]

Was there anything else? No. Vor felt he had said quite enough, and more than he was really comfortable with. Sometimes his gift was not an easy one to bear, despite how much enjoyed seeing how he was able to change the future.

"Nothing, I'm afraid. I am terribly sorry that my warning is so...well. I don't expect you're usually the sort who would casually. I think it's something about the way she smells."

He was fumbling for words now, and just as glad as Beneit was for his dark fur. No matter how hot he flushed, it would not be evident through his black coat. He wasn't even as purple as Beneit was, and yet he was a noble and the other was a guard. The gods' ways were mysterious.

"I hope you're helped by this. I really do. But I ought to go...to take my leave of you, that is. I didn't exactly ask for permission before I came down here." He was running away from an awkward situation, but he was young and sometimes that was all a person could do.  

[Wylde Roses]

This was so awkward. So very, very awkward. There was simply no other word to describe it. "Yes, well..." Beneït coughed and glanced down at his paws briefly, then back at the juvenile. "Thank you for your... ah... assistance. I'm sure it will be very helpful," he said, hoping that would be polite enough without having to bring up the sordid details of the uncomfortable topic.

"Of course; it's best not to bring trouble upon yourself while aiding others," he responded. The quaint manners of this pride were a little confusing at times, but he was doing his best to learn them - it seemed important that her work out what he needed to do.

"I will heed your advice if I can."  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Good day, Guardsman Beneit."

Vor bowed carefully, a shallow bow of respect to someone of an inferior station, and then turned and scampered away, moving quickly past the scary lion he'd passed before. He had been warned to stay away from that lion by his father and did his very best to comply. Greygor scared him.