Bwana nodded hello to Lalaith, who seemed to be trembling on his feet. The green male offered Bwana an awkward, but respectful bow before turning his attention back to Par. It seemed looking at her helped keep him calm, at least. Bwana didn't mind, and chuckled at his daughter's question. "I'm sure he would be happy if you just kept calling him Dromio," he assured the lightly. He still found it weird when lions referred to him as king, and he had been in charge for years.
Lalaith and Bwana were both struck dumb and silent when she mentioned the cubs, though for entirely different reasons. Lalaith let out a loud whimper. "Ah- y-yes," he said weakly, "i-it was an agreement that seemed to benefit everyone!"
Bwana, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes at this boy, suddenly very serious. "I see," he said somewhat menacingly. He looked at Hinekiri, who didn't seem nearly as unhappy about the news as he was. Perhaps it was just his obligation as father to dislike hearing certain things about their personal lives. He smiled at Kiri, nodding.
"It certainly seems so! Perhaps instead of king, I can become the babysitter of the pride."
Speaking of babysitting- the cub who looked just like him spoke again, letting him know her name. "Rogue-Gorge Bon-Garçon," the lion repeated, "oh my! That is quite a lovely name. I will call you Rogue, alright? You can call me Grandpa Bwana!"
Lorne immediately perked up when Tabt came to join him, the happy lion returning her nuzzle with one of his own. He grinned at her, nodding when she asked him if he was having a good time.
"How could I not be?" He replied lightly, "not only are we getting a new king, but a new queen as well! And look at her! She has no purple on her pelt- a real beauty!" He paused for a moment, before turning to look at the sea green lioness once more.
"Of course, you're the prettiest in this pride," he told her with a warm smile, "but the queen comes in a distant second, I think. And her having no purple might mean the pride is going to go through changes! Perhaps we'll even get more respect around here!"
He watched as she went to dance for the contest,deciding to let out as much applause as he could manage. He cheered happily for her, excited to see her showing her dancing to such a large group of lions.
Dromio, still feeling a bit guilty about blurting things out in all his excitement, observed the reactions of the other members of the pride. Fairly positive reactions, from what he could see. Of course some of the older nobles would be very displeased with the news. But, well, he wasn't looking to please the old nobles anyway. He wanted change, and from the beginning he knew not everyone was going to be happy about it.
But he didn't want his queen to suffer. He should have been better about his announcement. The way his father had eyed him had told him that. It wasn't a disapproving look about the mate he had taken, but about his actions in general.
That hadn't been very kingly.
He looked back at Dulce, smiling faintly. She seemed to be taking it well, but he was still worried he had upset her. Or, more importantly, got her the scorn of some of the pride members. "You will be amazing," he assured her with a nuzzle, "I never had any doubt about that."
Borachio was excited to see so many lions participating in his contest, and he made sure that he took note of all the reactions that were garnered from the crowd from each and every act. It certainly looked like everyone was having a good time!
But it was clear from the crowd who the winner was- Elfleda was clearly the one who had captured the hearts of the majority of the lions watching. They had enjoyed her games, though Philostrate didn't look quite as amused to have his feathers ruffled a bit by the scare. Though everyone had preformed amazingly and he was a little nervous about claiming just one winner. So he had a chat with the birds and they were happy to agree to serving any and all who might want to use them.
"Alright!" The purple lion spoke up again, grinning, "It looks like we have a winner!" He grinned down at Elfleda, "you may pick whomever you would like to have serve you. And the other birds will do to the other participants!"
(OoC: The plot will progress in the next post I make. ^^)
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