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 Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:31 am
"Yes," she agreed, still pondering the implications of the conversation she was having with Uchanjaa. The main point of it all seemed to be to acknowledge that she still had a lot of lions to meet and perhaps that he was challenging her to start working on broadening her social circle.. but she didn't really know what that meant and she didn't particularly care. She would be happy spending her days learning the things her parents thought she could handle learning while she was still small and then playing with her brothers and cousins-- though finding friends beyond them was an exciting idea to her.
But Uchanjaa wasn't a cub, he couldn't be nearly as much fun.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 2:54 pm
Well. This conversation was going nowhere fast. Then again, it wasn't like he had anything better to be doing. On the other hand...
"Is there someplace you're supposed to be?" he asked Selene. It seemed likely to him that there would be, but if not, well, he'd figure that out then. He might as well spend some time with the cub if she was inclined to. At least she'd have someone keeping an eye out for her. Heaven forbid something should happen to her.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:28 pm
"No," she answered quickly- a little too quickly, perhaps. Selene didn't have anywhere in particular she was supposed to be that she knew about but she also wasn't entirely sure anybody knew where she was or that they would be OK with her wandering around like this. She looked Uchanjaa up and down, trying to decide how quickly he might realize that. Mom was really good at it, but was that just a mom thing?
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:34 pm
Uchanjaa raised an eyebrow at the speed with which Selene responded. It seemed a bit too quick and reminded him of times - not nearly as long ago as she might think - when he had used a very similar tone. And he well recalled how little it had fooled anyone then.
"Your words say 'no' but your voice says 'yes'," he told her, gently. "What do you think will happen if someone finds that you're not where you should be?"
He had a very good guess as to what would happen, of course, but he wanted little Selene to realize it as well. A member of the royal family couldn't just disappear, no matter how much they would like to.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:35 pm
Hm. Obviously not just a mom thing. Then what was wrong with dad? She'd have to investigate that later- or maybe test it, that would be more fun. Her pondering for future troublemaking was cut short by the realization she had to talk to him.
"Umm, nothing," she suggested, though even she didn't sound very convinced, "I guess I better go back."
Sigh.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 3:36 pm
Uchanjaa sat there, giving the cub the same look of polite disbelief. He knew she had to know better than that.
"I guess you should," he replied. "But it's better if you know why you should."
The Guard waited, clearly wanting Selene to answer the not-quite question. He started to panic a bit though, hoping that she actually understood that he wanted her to explain why the heir to the pride shouldn't go wandering off by herself with nobody knowing.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 3:40 pm
"Because everybody will worry and I'm supposed to be good and smart and everything," Selene mumbled grumpily when Uchanjaa indicated that he actually wanted to be told why it was so important she behave and not wander away without her parents knowing. She was still too little for the whole story about what happened before her parents became king and queen but it was clear it was important that she be a good little heiress.
To the cub, it was mostly an annoyance at this point. She liked being important but she didn't like the things that came with being important sometimes.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 3:49 pm
Well, that had the sound of something that was beaten into her. So, perhaps if he...elaborated...on that she might be less resentful.
"Any parent worries when they can't find their child," he told her. The God knew he would when he had cubs of his own. "But when someone who is so very important to the pride cannot be found, suddenly there are other reasons to worry."
Uchanjaa lay down, to bring his head to Selene's level. "If you were taken by some faction of the Mwezi'Johari, it could result in civil war. If you were kidnapped by another pride, or by a pack of rogues, it would result in war if you weren't returned immediately."
The older lion's mouth crooked in a grin. "It's no fun being in your shoes, is it? I don't blame you for wanting to get away from it all."
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:14 pm
Selene frowned at the explanation of how serious it could be if anything happened to her while she wandered like this. She didn't understand it completely but she knew none of it was good and she didn't like it.
"No," she said grumpily, knowing it wouldn't help her to be so grouchy about it but not really caring, either. She had to be good, nobody said she had to be cheerful.
"I better go home," she added glumly.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:44 pm
It hurt, dashing a cub's hopes like that, but Uchanjaa knew how aware he'd been of such things when he was small, and he knew that explaining to Selene in more concrete terms should help her understanding.
"Probably," he agreed. Then he grinned and cocked his head at her. "I could go with you, if you wanted. And you could ask your parents if it would be okay for you to wander around the pridelands with me when I'm not on duty." He winked at her. "Only if you wanted, of course."
It was a silly, stupid idea. But he could see how the poor kid was suffocating for want of some freedom in her life. And it seemed reasonable that if she had someone with her, she could have freedom of all the lands claimed by the Mwezi'Johari.
And if they didn't like the idea, well, he was just a Guard. One who happened to have a Priestess for a mate, but still just a Guard. And everyone knew that their upbringing had been...different.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:21 pm
However begrudgingly, Selene had been put back into polite and dutiful mode- and she wasn't feeling particularly adventurous or friendly anymore. She held back most of a frown at Uchanjaa's offer to accompany her.
"No, thank you," she said, "Maybe another time, Uchanjaa."
The way she said his voice made it obvious she was committing his name to memory, something highlighted by the fact she gave him another quick look over. He was just doing his job, even if he was being no fun and then trying to make up for it. Very interesting.
And annoying.
With a sigh, she turned herself around and scrambled back towards home without another word to the poor guard.
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