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 Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:50 pm
 Zah was settling into his new home quite well. He had travelled a long way to come to the pride that he had heard had a strong leader. In his travels Zah had been told about a pride that had been overthrown by a lion who had many between him and the throne. Zah admired his drive and his ability to rise to the throne. Zah also admired his strong paw.
Of course Zah hadn't really met the leader as of yet, he had heard rumours that Shangyue wasn't exactly popular and that he tended to keep to himself. It made the darkly colored lion sad he wished he could meet someone with such great determination.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:02 pm
 Eshkohl eyed the dark lion from afar. He was a Guard, a new one, and she could not for the life of her remember his name. She might not be a Guard of any importance, but with Nyota courting her, she felt the desire to help him out. He'd come to see how she was settling in - though that might have been a bit more selfishly motivated - so she would help by doing the same for this lion. His name started with a "z" sound, of that she was certain. However, she couldn't remember the rest. How annoying. Well, all this was accomplishing was procrastination, which the green lioness did not approve of in the least. Sighing, she headed over to him. "How are you doing?" Eshkohl asked as she came within reasonable speaking distance.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:11 pm
Zah's head turned quickly at the voice so close to him, he had been deep in thought about the pride and its leaders. He turned to see a pretty green lioness beside him.
He scrounged up a smile, he wasn't an overly friendly lion, but he wasn't exactly mean either. He recognized the green lioness somewhat he was pretty sure that she was another guard.
"Hello there." Zah greeted her in return. "I suppose I am doing well, getting my bearings more and more every day. Is it overly obvious that I am new here?" he asked a chuckle in his voice. He didn't actually care if he appeared to be new or not but it seemed to be a good way to start a conversation, perhaps he would even be able to learn more about the pride from the lioness.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:16 pm
Well, he was nice enough. Courteous, which was more than Eshkohl could say for some lions. Guards. Pridemembers. Whatever. She gave him a friendly smile.
"Not at all! I probably wouldn't have known, but I'm just helping out. Making sure you're fitting in well and all that. Are you having any problems?"
Yes, he was much less hostile than that other black-furred Guard, the one who had made such a name for herself. It had been quite apparent in hindsight that she had joined the pride specifically as an aide to Shangyue. But Z...whatever his name was had joined much later. Eshkohl wondered why he'd chosen this pride, but respected that she didn't have the right to pry.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:29 pm
Zah let out a gentle laugh, despite liking the way the current leader lead he never felt a need to be overly mean himself, he just appreciated a strong leader. "Glad to know that I am fitting in well. The name is Zah by the way." he told the green female.
"I would hate to be an embarrassment in the pride, after all I joined just because I heard about your fearless leader. I don't suppose you could shed some light on him for me. After all I heard about him out in the rogue lands yet here in the pride things seem to be hush hush." Zah was blatant to say the least he didn't see a reason to beat around the bush, he wanted information and he hoped that she would give it to him.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:25 pm
Eshkohl nearly banged her head against the ground. Zah. So simple. So easy. How on earth had she managed to forget that? The green lioness nearly made a joke belaboring her inability to remember his name when he continued talking. About Shangyue. In fact, the black lion seemed to truly admire the King. Orange eyes narrowed slightly.
"Fearless, hm?" she asked, suddenly serious. "That's one way to put it. Some might call him a kinslayer." The lioness' tone was neutral, but there was no mistaking that they had just wandered into dangerous territory.
So far she hadn't said anything that could incriminate her for being for or against Shangyue. But there were some very good reasons why many pride members tended to keep quiet on the subject.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:37 pm
Zah's head cocked to the side, suddenly more interested in the green lioness. He wanted to know more, sure he admired the King well enough, but he was interested in what the pride thought of him too. After all if the pride was against him there was a chance that he would be overthrown and Zah didn't want to be on the wrong side of an overthrow, he didn't want to be exiled or anything.
"A kingslayer?" Zah played stupid for a minute he of course knew how the king came to power but he wanted to hear more about the green lioness had to say. Zah only knew that he had killed his family to get there but he wasn't aware of the circumstances that led to it, or how the pride felt about it. The only rumblings he had heard was a lioness saying something about the great lion being displeased but he hadn't taken much of that to heart.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:27 pm
"That is generally," the lioness answered dryly, "the term used for killing ones parents and grandparents." She wasn't sure she bought the innocence Zah was radiating. But she wasn't going to commit one way or the other, not right now. Not when she didn't know where the black lion stood.
She knew Nyota's opinion of course. And had based her own on that, as the Head Guard knew far more about the Mwezi'Johari than she. But Zah was just a newcomer. Again she wondered just why he'd joined up.
For the moment, she waited for his response.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:40 pm
Frowning a little Zah let out a sigh. Clearly one had to be careful in this pride about what they said to another, but how was she suppose to learn the true way of things if no one would tell him. He looked down at his feet shuffling them slightly while he thought about the situation.
Looking up at the green female he decided to come out with it, "I will be square with you, I joined the pride because I heard of the leader and what he had done to get to the throne. I thought it was brilliant. Now I've heard whisperings and overheard some saying the great Lion will be mad. I suppose I'm wondering what I have walked myself into." He looked her in the eyes as he spoke he was being as upfront as he could be. He wasn't sure that this would make a difference to the female if, or if she would be willing to share with him at all, it was all he could do though.
He held his breath waiting to see what she would say. He couldn't blame her for being hesitant, if the King had been willing to kill his family to take the throne, Zah was sure he wouldn't bat an eye at killing pride members who made him displeased.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:26 pm
Hmmm. So...he admired Shangyue? And now he wasn't sure if the admiration was warranted? Eshkohl wasn't certain she trusted Zah. At all. Hell, even this admission could be a trick. Given the lions Shangyue had surrounded himself with, she wouldn't overlook the possibility.
"No one can truly know what the future will bring," the lioness said at last. "But as you can see, nothing is truly clear-cut. Yes, Shangyue was his mother's Heir. But not only was she fairly young and quite healthy, so were her parents. He's done some terrible things, but also some that the pride sorely needed."
Proof that he wasn't completely evil, but proof that he was no angel. She might not condemn him this night, but she couldn't condone his actions either.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:35 pm
Zah tried to hide his disappointment, it was clear that he wasn't going to get anymore information out of her. He couldn't say that he blamed her for being hesitant or quiet if he was in her shoes he wasn't sure that he would be any different.
"Well thank you for helping me understand more, and for checking in to make sure that I was doing alright." he told her. If she wan't going to share anymore information with her there wasn't much point in dragging this out. Though he was genuinely happy that she had sought him out, he hadn't really met anyone in the pride yet so it was good to talk to another living soul.
"I do hope our paths cross again, but the sun is going to be coming up soon and I really should get back to my den." He was smiling despite his disappointment as he got up to leave.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:39 pm
"Of course. Good day to you." Eshkohl offered another friendly smile as Zah rose to go. She could understand that, as she was disinclined to participate in his interrogation, he wasn't going to linger. Which was fair. But really, she wasn't going to influence him one way or the other. It had to be his choice which side of the coming conflict he was going to be on.
The green lioness' smile faded as she contemplated the situation. True, Shangyue hadn't done anything too overt, but the recent demotions were not at all encouraging. And the strange following that crazy Huntress had been gathering was growing. Slowly, but more and more lions were aware of her and were talking about her, even if they weren't actively working with her.
Sooner or later, everything was going to come to a head. Gods only knew what would happen then.
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