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 Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:10 pm
Everything seemed so peaceful in the morning sun, so much had gone on the night before.. he had to guess everybody was either tired or scared. The closer he got to home, the more nervous he became. The slave dens were close to the royal dens, but even more than that.. the rumors that so many slaves were involved made him wary of the lions who lived so close to him. He hoped Uthuli was still with their grandparents.
Trying not to be too obvious about his nerves, even when he saw his den and wanted to run to it, he forced himself to walk calmly- and when he arrived at the mouth of the den, he practically flopped onto the ground, even before taking a good look to see if Halili was still home.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:36 pm
 Halili was in the otherwise empty den already, sleeping with one ear cocked for arrivals. She'd been concerned to return home and not find her mate, but then common sense assured her that nobody wanted to be isolated from the news that was happening, particularly when they were involved. Even if that involvement was by virtue of class or blood relation to imporant parties. She wondered that Orion hadn't been in the crowd where she'd confronted her father, but supposed that might be all to the good. She did feel somewhat bad about that, and wasn't truly sure she even wanted to tell him about it. So when she heard him throwing himself down on the ground, the lioness jolted to full wakefulness. Her pulse relaxed as she recognized the black bulk and Halili got to her feet so that she could pad over and nuzzle him. "I missed you tonight," she admitted. It was, after all, no less than the truth. She liked having him stolidly by her side, on her side, supporting her.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:53 pm
He nearly jumped out of his fur when Halili seemed to suddenly appear and nuzzle him. Perhaps he was more tired than he realized- it was hard guarding someone if you didn't stay awake, there wasn't much sleeping to be done when hanging out with Stella last night.
"I'm sorry I disappeared," he murmured, relaxing, "I didn't know what to do with myself last night, I found my grandfather and he suggested making sure Stellaluna was OK. I was nervous of leaving her alone last night."
He didn't speak loudly for fear of being overheard and because he was so tired out from being awake and anxious. Now he was home with Halili, it was starting to feel like it might be OK.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:00 pm
Halili blinked. He'd been with Stellaluna that whole time? She opened her mouth and nearly asked where they'd been but realized it was a waste. For one thing, the Shaman had probably gone somewhere else by now. For another, everyone needed some time to themselves at some point and she wouldn't deprive even her beloved mate of a location like that.
She never even questioned his desire to protect Stellaluna. The black lioness was, after all, his sister. And things had been chaotic enough that her safety was paramount. Anyone would have done the same for a sibling.
"It'll be fine," she assured him just as quietly. "Prince Shangyue has no intention of killing her." Well, not yet. After all, he needed the Shaman to make his reign official. Though it was possible that if she didn't agree...she would be replaced. Lailah had seemed somewhat inclined to support the new King...
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:08 pm
Orion raised his head when Halili mentioned Shangyue, she spoke with such confidence it was easy to assume she had heard it for herself- or from a reliable source. Of course he should have thought right away to ask what Halili did through the night, when not hiding out with the shaman it was probably much easier to pick up on the goings-on.
"Did you see him?" he asked, frowning, "What happened last night exactly?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:17 pm
Halili considered her mate. He was a truly gentle soul, which was why she loved him so. But Shangyue was not, and the events of the previous night were not something easily related to anyone, much less Orion.
She hated to keep secrets from him, but she wasn't certain she should tell him everything. The lioness considered what she knew, and took a deep breath.
"I'm sure you heard about the Queen, Heiress Selene, and Lord Fuu," she began. "Well, it's true, and Prince Shangyue was behind it all." Her eyes were hooded as she remembered the scenes that had occurred, replaying them in her mind.
"Him or that shadow of his," she amended, recalling the silent black lion that had stood behind the Prince, watching everything. "It seems he was gathering allies - new pride members and support amongst the low class." She hadn't been one of those approached, and given his family, she doubted Orion had been either. Indeed, she hadn't known anything was in the air until King Thoth's death!
"He was looking for your sister, Stellaluna," Halili continued her greatly simplified summary, completely bypassing the confrontation. "But one of his followers - a Guard, this one - found Lailah K'chol and brought her. He wants the Shaman to confirm him as King, and Lailah agreed to take the message to her. He wants to make the pride stronger, and to heal the rift that these deaths have caused," the lioness concluded her retelling and looked to Orion to see what he thought.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:35 pm
Orion frowned, already aware of the rumors of the Queen and Heirs deaths.. he never doubted their truthfulness but hearing it confirmed by his mate now still somehow made it feel worse. He tilted his head at the mention of Shangyue's shadow, opening his mouth to ask what she meant but closing it again to let her finish.
Was Unyezi right to think there was actually a slave truly behind the actual murders? It sounded even more plausible knowing he had a suspicious shadow. Did that make any difference? Surely if it looked like Shangyue was being manipulated, that would have been part of Halili's story.
"He.. wants to make up for these murders?"
It seemed far too soon for the prince to seem genuinely sorry for what happened. Orion was glad he had gone to protect his sister but now he wished he had been present to witness these confrontations for himself.
"Did you hear anything about this before the king's death?" he asked suddenly, "How could he gain so much support amongst the slaves without us knowing about it? How could none of us have known?"
He didn't want to tell her Unyezi's late realization, he truly felt sorry for his grandfather. He would hate to have even one death on his conscience, never mind the state of the pride. And his parents, surely they would have reported any strange goings-on. And Amalthea, one of Thoth's daughters, and her mate. Even Imarika and Andama! So many slaves who could have overheard something and changed everything. And yet, none of them did. How could it have happened that way!
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:47 pm
Halili nodded in response to the first question. "Yes, he wanted to emphasize that only those who stood before him in the line of succession had been slain, and that if all goes well there will be no further deaths," she related, paraphrasing the Prince's words. She wasn't certain if he regretted them or not. Certainly she could see that the younger lion was hungry for power, the sort that he would've had to wait a lifetime for if he hadn't acted now. She didn't know that this was the best way, but there was no changing the past.
She was somewhat surprised by the change in tack Orion employed and had to pause and think about that for a moment. Had she heard anything at all?
"No...I didn't know anything about this before then," she answered, meeting her mate's gaze with concern. "But you remember...he wasn't there when Heiress Selene made the announcement. He must've been busy that night." It seemed utterly reasonable to Halili that Shangyue would have used the time between the King's death and those of the Queen and his own parents to recruit as many slaves and other pride members as he could. It even explained why she and Orion had known nothing about it - they had been gathered with the bulk of the pride and then gone back to their den.
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Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:26 am
He wasn't really expecting his mate to say she had heard anything, his question was really just to get it out. Shangyue had been so careful but if there was any truth to the number of supporters he was rumored to have, keeping everything a secret was rather impressive.
"Perhaps," he muttered, looking down at his paws and thinking about how likely that was. Orion had assumed he was with his grandmother, grieving.. but now that seemed almost silly, knowing what happened the next night. Had he done a lot of extra leg work just over the last day or so? He knew from Unyezi's confession this all started a long time ago and that even his grandparents never saw or heard anything suspicious between then and now..
He sighed loudly, looking back up to Halili sadly. He felt like he had many more questions, many more worries.. but they just wouldn't come out. He didn't like any of this and feared they couldn't even stay neutral, let along properly oppose this terrible turn of events. His grandfather especially seemed to be likely headed for trouble.
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Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 8:15 am
The lioness frowned as Orion went quiet. She had no idea what he was thinking, and no clue how to reassure him. She was fairly certain that things would turn out all right, but even she couldn't be sure. Hell, she didn't even know if things would be okay in their own family! Nyeusi was hiding out in her own den, not talking to her mother, Spiralia had looked shocked and mortified last night...and that wasn't even getting to Uchanjaa.
But...having kept one of those things a secret, she could hardly divulge the rest now. Sighing, Halili lay down next to her beloved, burying her face in his thick mane.
"Things will get better," she whispered to the gold-tipped fur. "They have to."
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