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 Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:38 pm
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It really wasn't that hard for anybody to catch up to Lailah at this point in time. Pregnancy had slowed her pace, so that the white lioness leisurely strolled everywhere she went, instead of looking stupid by waddling rapidly. It did make her feel a bit guilty though, since she was less able to do her job as Stellaluna's assistant. Sure, her mentor was thrilled, but it was also a little awkward.
Well, maybe Stellaluna didn't want to have kids. That was her prerogative.
But it didn't stop the Apprentice from feeling guilty about all the (minor) tasks going undone. The only thing she was still doing was simply going around the pride, catching up with people, keeping their faith and hers alive.
Footsteps sounded behind her. The lioness stopped and turned, a smile on her face that froze as she beheld the least likely lion in the pride to seek her out.
"Your Majesty!" |
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:57 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:05 pm
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Gold eyes blinked. First in surprise, then in realization. Perhaps the King's desire for conversation wasn't that surprising. After all, she was the Shaman's Apprentice, and the Shaman was second in rank only to the King himself.
And it had been more generations than Lailah had been alive since any Shaman, Apprentice or no, had had children. Add to that the fact that her mate had been born a Prince and yes, there were many reasons for them to have a talk. Not that the lioness expected too much of it - she'd been quite relieved when Shangyue had insisted Yavin take the rank of Lord. Yes, the purple lion had declared there would be no more deaths after he took the throne - and kept his word - but Lailah still preferred to keep her family related to the royal one, and not of it.
"Of course," she agreed, courteously bobbing her head. "Here or elsewhere?" She certainly didn't want to have any sensitive discussions where anyone in the pride could happen upon them.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:17 pm
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"We can continue walking, if you like," he offered with a slight shrug, preferring to stay moving himself, "Unless you would be more comfortable stopping."
Shangyue didn't know much about pregnancy, he had not been closely involved in any since his own birth and naturally he had no memory of that. He had thought to keep a distant eye on Tyfu, of course, when she was pregnant but for the most part even that hadn't had very much thought put into it. Still, it seemed polite to at least offer.
And yet, he moved to keep walking along in the direction Lailah had been moving.
"I hope Yavin is not still angry with me," he said, sounding rather conversational despite the unusual and serious seeming tone that started them off, "He must realize it's safer for everybody, not being royal."
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:24 pm
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"Walking's fine," the older lion answered as they moved. Not that it seemed she had much of a choice, but at least Shangyue wasn't pushing the pace too badly.
"I can't speak for Yavin, but it doesn't seem to me that he minds it. I, for one, prefer him right where he is," Lailah told her monarch honestly. The very idea that her beloved could potentially be an heir to the throne was somewhat mind-boggling. Between that and her own position, they'd never see each other!
Not to mention that there had been so many royals at that point that it was actually kind of confusing. So while she was certain that Shangyue had other motives for winnowing the royal family in one way or another, Lailah had to agree that it was something the Mwezi'Johari had needed for a while.
She thought about asking the King a question of her own, but decided to wait, as she still didn't know what he wanted.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:34 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:39 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:51 pm
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Her caution made him smile, though he guessed as their conversation went on she would be more supportive. That was certainly his hope, though he would not reveal why even if asked directly.
"I can't speak for our ancestors, but it seems to me that the way things are set up was designed for a much smaller group than we have right now," he said, starting at the very beginning of the reason for many of the changes he had in mind, "Traditionally, there is one each of Shaman, Host, Nurse and Heads, two for Midwives and Historians.. and that must have once been enough. By my last count, we're over three-hundred now. That seems a lot to manage for only a few lions."
So far he had been looking ahead to where they were walking but now he finally looked over to Lailah.
"Do you suppose our Historians, smart as they are, can name every single one of them?" he asked, "Or the Heads, could they name every lion they are responsible for?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:56 pm
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The lioness blinked as Shangyue spoke and elaborated. Sure, she knew the pride had been growing, but she'd never really considered the size in such a light before.
"Well, we know that when the pride originally came to these lands, our ancestors' numbers were sorely reduced by conflict, strife, and people getting lost. So when people like Kibetinyota, Uchanjaa, and Nkosazana arrived, they were born of the Mwezi'Johari, even if they had never been amongst the pride until then," Lailah related aloud as she considered the problem.
"But you're right, I don't think there's a single lion in the pride who can name even a third of all our members," she concluded before glancing over at Shangyue.
"What are you considering?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:06 pm
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Not a fan of Uchanjaa, it took some self-control to keep his face neutral at the mention of Uchanjaa and his family. She was not wrong to use them as examples, at least, and he could acknowledge that regardless of his own issues with them.
"Naturally, with the vast majority of the pride acting as guards or hunters, the issue is most pressing for the Head Guard and Huntress," he said, looking back to where they were going, "If some skilled lions could be selected from each group, then they could each been responsible for a smaller, more manageable portion of that group and they could then report to their Heads. Then Baba'nyota and Hyousa would be able to more comfortably divide their attention to where they are needed without neglecting any day-to-day responsibility."
Getting organized couldn't hurt, they managed but there was definite room for improvement in the chaos that was nearly 100 guards and nearly 150 hunters, nearly 200 if you counted slaves.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:15 pm
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Lailah nodded in agreement as the King explained his thoughts. It was a problem that she hadn't really considered in depth, but signs were everywhere. It wasn't just a matter of the Head Guard and Head Huntress almost certainly not knowing every single lion under their command, it was also nearly impossible for anyone to really know who was assigned to do what. The white lioness herself had observed multiple guards attempting to do the same job when only one was needed, or hunters being sent out in groups of the wrong size for whatever prey they were hunting.
And, she suspected, some of the pride's members were able to sneak away from their duties simply because no one even knew they should be there.
"Yes, that sounds like something Nyota and Hyousa desperately need," she agreed aloud. "Some...group leaders, or whatever you want to call them. Assign each ten or twenty lions - maybe as high as thirty, though I wouldn't recommend it - and that'll see to it that both groups are more organized, that people are able to get to know their compatriots, and those who need more training get the lessons they need."
She offered Shangyue a smile. "Are there any other solutions you've come up with, for problems people don't realize we have?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:39 pm
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"I can discuss with Baba'nyota and Hyousa how many they think they would need," he said thoughtfully as Lailah began suggesting numbers and benefits, "They ought to have a say, and they might have more accurate guesses about how many are already part of each group and what kinds of numbers would be manageable for a secondary leader."
So far, so good. He hesitated before answering her question, knowing the rest of the suggestions he had were far more relevant to the Shaman and her apprentice.
"We could probably do with having a few more of each Priest," he said, finally settling on which topic to discuss next, "And perhaps a few more apprentices for some, as well. I don't doubt Upenzi could use the help, leading such grand ceremonies for such a crowd- and I'm not sure my uncle is serving her as well as he might. And again considering how many pride members we have, I don't think we could have too many Historians to help keep track of the goings-on around here."
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:46 pm
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The white lioness' head continued bobbing thoughtfully as the King outlined further ways to take strain off of some of the more important positions in the pride. She could definitely see how having additional Apprentices could be useful - even in her own position! Hadn't she just bene lamenting the work (tedious as some of it could be) that was going undone simply because Stellaluna was too busy and she was too pregnant?
On the one paw...more apprentices would muddle the succession, the way such a large royal family had done, somewhat. On the other paw, if something happened to her and Stellaluna, as had to their predecessors, there would be at least one other person who could step into the role of Shaman.
"I think that's an even better idea, in some ways, than helping the Guards and Hunters," she responded at last. "Some rituals and information are far too important to risk them being lost or forgotten either because it was overlooked or because something happened to the Priest in question."
Lailah met Shangyue's eyes again, deadly serious. "We were very lucky when Stellaluna became Shaman, because Unyezi knows so much about the position and responsibilities. But we'll never know what knowledge was lost because her predecessor and mine disappeared without a trace."
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 7:03 pm
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"Yes, and I understand his involvement in her training was kept secret," he said, meeting Lailah's eyes and nodding when she commented on how lucky they were, "Honestly, it's a wonder anybody has confidence in the pair of you but you both have obviously done your jobs well, as did my grandparents."
Blunt but undeniable. There were a handful of other members around the pride who had been able to help more openly, some old members, some former rogues.. but Unyezi's input was invaluable and at the time it had been deemed inappropriate to make that known.
"On that note," Shangyue went on, not realizing he had come to a complete stop, "I think it would be more appropriate to have more than one apprentice to the shaman. At least three, I think, preferably trained together. And with more responsibility than simply observing and learning, for all apprentices."
Stellaluna obviously did not expect Lailah to stand around and quietly watch, she did have her own tasks to take care of. And that was how it should be.
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