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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:19 am
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:18 am
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In most ways, it seemed, the pride had settled down into the new era. Shangyue was firmly in charge, and his Royal Guards kept him on top. Several pride members had disappeared around the time of the coronation and its aftermath, but because no mention was made of them publicly, Lailah chose to assume that they had chosen to leave, rather than being killed. Despite the bloodshed that had precipitated his reign, Shangyue had made it quite clear that he wasn't going to kill anybody he didn't have to.
Unspoken was the threat that if someone made themselves too much of a nuisance, they might find the same fate for themselves as those who'd stood between the new King and his throne.
Lailah K'chol, as a lioness and as the Apprentice Shaman, would never, ever find it in her heart to forgive Shangyue for murdering his own family members. That being said, she couldn't find fault with everything he'd done since coming to power. It was hard, but despite her anger with his actions, she simply couldn't stand up against him, if only because she was not yet ready to die, nor to abandon her pride.
However, she was not as big a potential threat to Shangyue as Yavin. Yavin was, himself, a Prince, even if he was no longer living in the royal dens. And nothing the new King could do would ever change that.
The white lioness hadn't seen Yavin since that night, and she was beginning to worry that he might have left the pride, without even saying goodbye. She couldn't blame him for leaving, but she had thought she'd meant more to him than that! The thought made her so angry...so angry...
Lailah came around a rise in the land and there he was. Her heart leapt into her throat and she ran towards him.
"Yavin!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 1:12 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 1:46 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:00 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:06 pm
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Lailah made a face at Yavin. Damnit, why was he being so nervous? Yes, Shangyue had won, yes his spies were everywhere, but there was no reason to not live their lives. If they did as they wanted...and avoided certain topics and people...soon enough the spies would see they had nothing to hide and would leave them alone.
Well, that was her theory, at least.
But she smiled as he mentioned going to get a drink. If that was how he wanted to do this, fine, but she refused to live her life skulking and spying!
"All right, we'll get a drink and you can tell me about the brother you spoke with." It wasn't as if he didn't have several brothers, and most of them still lived in the pride. This was all perfectly innocent sounding to whatever watchers there might be...right?
"And I was worried that you might not come back, silly," she told him quietly as they walked. Not in a conspiratorial whisper of course, but just an emotionally charged undertone, such as any pair of good friends might use just for the other to hear.
Or so she hoped.
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:22 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:33 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:19 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:25 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:38 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:42 pm
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She had to smile at his comment about wasting time, but it was a sad expression, remembering how his parents had been cut down in their prime. She didn't think they'd wasted their lives, but who knew the truth anymore?
"I'll be careful, but you have to be too," the lioness cautioned. "Which is why now is the perfect time for us to be together," Lailah continued with a grin. "We don't have to conceal how we feel about each other, we can spend as much time as we can together, and no one will think anything of it."
In fact, it would be something of a relief to have some part of her life so blindingly obvious that she didn't have to do anything but let it happen. And maybe, just maybe, if they made a show of being a typical newly-mated couple, their observers would only see that, and look no deeper.
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:07 am
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 4:32 am
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