Blou'Siel
For many days now Gebhuza had only been assigned what he considered to be simple missions. He had been a bodyguard, a courier and even a spy. After each completed mission, the dark lion would return to his pride and await his next assignment. Following the trend of relatively pleasant missions – at least more pleasant than some of the things he’d done before –Gebhuza found himself approaching an unfamiliar pride. He wasn’t worried about being seen today and he walked in the daylight without hesitation. The body language of the red-eyed lion mirrored his state of mind and Gebhuza walked without a hint of tension in his steps as he neared the Maestros del Mar. He was a messenger today.
Blou’Siel was recovering from the great party they had the day before and was lazily standing guard as the sun rose steadily in the sky. His eyes narrowed slowly as the breeze ruffled his mane and he thought about this pretty corsair he’d met just a few hours before. He couldn’t help but smile as he scanned the horizon. It was quiet all around him and apart from one ship leaving and another one arriving, he was completely alone.
The red-eyed lion saw the dark blue shape of an adult lion in the distance and made his way towards the stranger with caution but little fear. The pirates were known for being a relatively friendly bunch so Gebhuza was confident that the day’s mission would require no violence. Even so, the dark lion had also been warned that this pride, apparently filled with carefree lions, was known for the strong bond between males of small groups called “ships”. An attack on one male, particularly one of high ranking, could get someone into a whole lot of trouble with his friends.
Blou’Siel tensed when he noticed the dark shape approaching out of the corner of his eye. He watched the large male as he moved closer, slowly relaxing his body as he waited for the black lion to be within earshot to call out to him. His body tensed ever so slightly when he realized he did not recognize the stranger but he remained relaxed for the most part even if a closer inspection would certainly reveal one or two obvious signs of alertness.
“Hello there, friend. Do you know you’re almost trespassing?” his expression was friendly. There were enough lions close enough to hear a struggle should the dark lion’s intentions prove to be unpleasant. He doubted a Viking would dare come this close to the pride. “What brings you to the Pirates?”
Gebhuza lowered his head politely as the other spoke, though his eyes never did quite leave the blue lion’s. He nodded cordially as he silently evaluated the lion before him. Strong-looking despite his somewhat friendly appearance but Gebhuza wasn’t one to ever take any creature lightly.
“Greetings. Am I right to assume that by Pirates you mean I’m at the border of the Maestros del Mar?” Gebhuza was almost certain that he was at the right place but it was always polite to ask.
“You are indeed. What brings you here, stranger?” The blue lion replied with a friendly smile when the two lions were close enough to hear each other without raising their voices. After one long appreciative look, Blou’Siel deemed the other male as fit enough to be a potential threat so he was rather pleased that he didn’t seem to be looking for a fight.
“I have been asked to deliver a message to one of your Captains.” Gebhuza answered without blinking. “Would it be possible for me to enter your lands?”
“Only the Commodore – the Pirate King – can grant permission f’something like that, mate.” Blou’Siel said somewhat petulantly, wondering if he could break the serious façade of the male.
“Can you take me to your leader’s presence then?” Gebhuza asked after a short pause, glad that he knew the word “mate” had a very different meaning in the Pirates.
“I could…” The blue lion admitted, trying not to smile too widely. “Who sent the message?”
Ah, now this was a hard question to dodge.
“I’m afraid I cannot say.” Gebhuza said at last, his eyes narrowing a little. “Not unless you were the captain I was looking for.”
“Ahahah. I’m not a Captain! Not even a First Mate. Mmm, I figured as much… let me guess. One of the captains got involved with the wrong girl, mmm? Or… he had a little too much fun and now he has cubs somewhere?“ It was a common enough scenario and Blou’Siel didn’t even bother to conceal his amusement. He just had to make sure this lion wasn’t coming for revenge or some other ill intent and then he’d lead this male to where all the other pirates were.
Gebhuza, on the other hand, gave no sign that the blue lion was anywhere near close to the contents of his message but he grinned nonetheless.
“I really can’t say. I was just given his description.” He said slowly, wondering how much longer it would take o be granted permission to enter the lands.
“Honestly, he might not even be a Captain then!” the blue lion laughed. How many pirates left the lands and went boasting to ladies from distant lands that they were mighty Capatains back home? Yup… many.
“He’s a big fellow, dark with yellow eyes. He has a very distinctive mark on his rump that looks like a flying bird.” Now the dark lion looked mildly worried. He had not considered the possibility that the lion he was looking for had been lying about his position.
“Oh that guy!” Blou’Siel laughed. “He’s no Captain. He’s no Pirate either. He used to be a First Mate but he messed with a Captain’s corsair and well… he was asked t’leave. I haven’t seen him since.”
“When did that happen?” Gebhuza said, his voice slightly louder. His entire mission was based on faulty information and now it might be impossible to complete it.
Blou’Siel stopped smiling. Oh dear, it seemed the fellow was just as serious about his task as he looked. The blue lion tilted his head, wondering if it would okay to tell this complete stranger about the former pirate. In the end, he decided he owed no loyalty to lying traitor who had committed mutiny.
“A couple of days ago. Maybe three. It’s hard to say when we spend the whole night partying.” He tried not to grin this time, aware of how serious the situation seemed to be as far as the dark striped lion was concerned.
“Do you know where he went?” Gebhuza asked though he didn’t seem to have much hope for a good answer this time.
“Not exactly sure… but he’d probably go… that direction. We tend to avoid Viking territory and the other prides in the area. But it might be difficult to find him, mate.” Again, Blou’Siel decided to help the red-eyed lion. He didn’t really know why. Perhaps he just felt like the other male was someone interesting to be around as opposed to someone he already knew and disliked.
Surprisingly pleased that he had managed to get an actual answer from the blue lion, Gebhuza almost turned to leave but he stopped himself just in time. He looked into the ice cold eyes of the other male and nodded.
“Thank you... mate.” It seemed like a friendly thing to say even though it didn’t feel quite right to use the term. And with a final nod, the dark lion finally turned to leave his mind slowly shifting to the next phase of his mission.
“It just sounds weird when you say it, dude…” Blou’Siel said very seriously as he shook his head before bursting into a rather loud and undignified laughter. “Good luck.”
Gebhuza made a short sound of acknowledgment and he kept going without looking back. But with his back to the other male now, he had no problems in sporting a very wide grin of amusement.
- FIN -
