Lithia_Brandon
The large lions walked amoung thin trees, his eyes glancing around at the tall grass waving between them. He looked pensive, lost in thought. He'd wandered far from his pride's new territory, exploring the surrounding areas in an attempt to see who were their neighbors... Who was a threat, or foe. So far he hadn't run into anyone. That was either good, or unnerving. Perhaps there were others here, just... hiding and watching. "Domina." A feminine but commanding voice came from his side, an adult black and thie wild dog seeking to get his attention. The dog slave was always by his side, she rarely let herself wander far, unless he had a task for her. She tilted her head at her master when he looked at her, smiling gently. "You look troubled, Domina. Tell me what troubles you."
Maximus sighed softly, and was silent for a moment before shaking his thick mane. "The usual, Pala. The usual..." He walked on, his eyes and ears alert to the area around him. He ignored the slave's worried glar as she trotted after him.
Risasi had never wandered on his own for so long before. He had always been a bit of an explorer, but he never imagined he would actually, officially, be on his own. A complaint about his life had never entered his head, of course, but now that it was different he could see that this was what he had always wanted. Out here he could find what his heart wanted. It seemed more real. It was actually possible. He would be able to find people to help, to serve, and he would be stronger for it.
The hybrid was beginning to see the downside, though. He was tired. He was hungry. He wasn’t the best hunter, and prey seemed to be slipping away all too often. He didn’t have siblings or parents to share with, and hadn’t realized how much he had relied on it. How odd.
He spotted a duo ahead of him and he smiled. He wasn’t the kind of guy who saw strangers and though ‘danger zone’. He liked to introduce himself, see if there was help needed, and then worry about consequences. Of course, he had led a very sheltered life, so everyone he had met so far had no problem with his mixed blood and friendly personality. The rogue lands had yet to offer him an antagonist, and he didn’t even think there might be one.
“Hello!” He called jovially.
The lion stiffened suddenly, the fur on his back bristling. His eyes swerved back towards the hybrid, his gaze soon following. He stood with an air of nobility, his head held high, his mane bearly swallowing up his chiseled facial features. He regarded the younger male with caution, though not autmatic aggression. For now, the Ceasar was silent, letting the youth come to him.
"Just a child." The slave muttered to him, having turned to watch Risasi walk towards them as well. Her ears were perfectly strait, taking in every feature, even sniffing. "He doesn't smell like the terrain... A new commer? Still, he is young, of no real harm."
Maximus listened to the dog's advice, letting out a soft grunting noise of approval. Once the adolescent was close enough, he nodded slightly him, looking him over. "Hello to you as well... Speak your name."
Risasi was not completely oblivious to the feelings in the air. He suddenly realized he was out of place, even rude, and that was not something he liked to be. He had a very deep respect for not only his elders, but for each half of his bloodline. Lions and leopards, with their full blood, would never stop teaching him. How could he show any of them disrespect? He swallowed hard, stopping as the two turned their attention to him.The blue hybrid lowered his posture, bowing his head submissively as he looked at them, still smiling softly. He cleared his throat, wondering who these two were. It wasn’t every day he saw a wild dog and a lion hanging out.
Of course, he rarely saw wild dogs at all, besides his childhood friend, but that was beside the point.
“I’m Risasi…” he said, a bit of a tremble in his voice as he cautiously tried to make up for interrupting whatever it was they were doing. “Uh. I’m not from around here. I hope I’m not intruding or anything.”
Maximus looked him over with more interest, his expression softening slightly when Risasi was so respectful. It was good to know your place in life, and to always respect your elders. Confidence was also needed though... He was more pleased when he noticed that he had a mane- or the beginings of one anyway. "You are not intruding, per say..." He tilted his head a little, now smiling. It was still a bit overpowering, but welcoming none-the-less. "You are not quite on my lands yet. We are on the outskirts of my pride's territory... So as long as you mean no harm, you may linger."
The canine cleared her throat a little, now sitting. Even for a slave, she sat with an air of regalness as well... it came along with being the Ceasar's assistant.
"I am Maximus Ceasar, ruler of the Binadamu. This is my slave, Palaestra." He gestured towards the female with a thick paw, and afterwards she bowed her head respectfully.
The young hybrid’s ears flattened against his head when he digested this new information. He was the ruler of a pride. She was his slave, though she seemed very well treated. He had only heard stories about slaves, never really knowing what one’s life might be like as one. From this perspective it seemed his imaginings were a bit off base. Even so, he didn’t quite know how to react to anything.
He nodded, keeping his posture respectful, his green eyes looking up at Maximus with his sharp, intelligent green eyes.
“I don’t mean any harm,” he said, nodding. For Risasi lying was an impossibility. His eyes were too clear, too focused, and held no ability to conceal falsehoods. They only reflected the truth of his nobly intentioned heart, and he didn’t see why he would ever need to try and change that. He spoke with urgency, unable to keep from getting excited, “I’ve been wandering for a while now, trying to follow some sort of path. I know what I want to do, but I don’t know where I need to go. But maybe I was led here, to these lands. In any case, I’m more than willing to offer you my services, as a visitor to your lands, if you need them in any way.”
A brow rose when the hybrid so quickly devoted himself... It was good, but defeniately a bit rash. A low, rough chuckle rumbles from his throat, and he takes a small step closer to the youth. "You're welcome here then, but do not promise yourself to someone you do not know." He looked him over with amusement, beckoning him closer as he started to walk off, apprently expect him to follow. "Risasi... Tell me more about yourself. You seem of noble birth, yes?" He looked him over curiously. "Of mixed blood, as well..."
The slave looked upon Risasi with a bit more skepticism, but... would never dare to argue with her master's opinion. At least... openly. So she starts to trot after them, her head still held up and alert. Risasi grinned, ears perking forward. He sat up, chest puffed out a bit proudly. He didn’t have much of a mane just yet, but he bore himself as a lion might, emulating what he had seen of that half of his blood. He dug his claws into the ground, as if to keep himself attached to it, green eyes blazing. He was young, naïve, idealistic. But he was driven as hell. He had grown up with this one goal in his head, and there was no way he would be kept from it. To him he felt like he had spent every waking moment waiting for it. There was nothing he had waited for longer.
“I’m not,” he said, taking a breath, “I’m promising myself to anyone who needs me. I don’t need to know them to serve them, in any fashion I can. If your home is good, if your people are good, then I think they deserve any help I can offer them. And you, sir.” He blinked, noticing the lion was moving. Bouncing after him, the lithe young beast caught up in a few bounds.
“I don’t know about noble birth,” he said thoughtfully, thinking laterally, “my parents are both good creatures, my father a leopard, my mother a lion. We traveled a lot together, as a family, and came to the sheltered lands of the Achana… but I don’t think I could live in a place like that. My dreams have always told me I’d work for something bigger, something… good. I want to save others. Even if they don’t say they need it. Because… I think I’m strong enough to do it, and it would be wrong not to try.”
He listened curiously, his ears flickering over towards the smaller male as they walked. His strides were graceful and long, but powerful. He moved as a king should. The youth certainly had spirit. There was potential there that Maximus could see already. The interest drove him further into the conversation, curious to know more.
"That is quite a goal, young one... It is good to seek justice within the world, and to watch it grow from your good deeds. For now, I do not need anytime from you... Accept perhaps the honor of further conversation, if you have the time." He smiled at him with a bit more gentlness. "Ah, a noble mix then. The people of my pride hold lions and leopards above all others, and someone of mixed blood is also part of that honor. You should feel honored to be given such gifts from the gods. Strength and cunning that can be unmatched..."
Risasi smiled back, tail flicking behind him. He would be more than honored to continue conversation with so royal and majestic a lion. He was increasingly becoming aware of how powerful this creature was, in both rank and spirit, and it was humbling, to say the least. But his fascination kept him from shrinking away, instead only drawing his interest in further, and egging him on to keep talking.
“That’s just what I think,” he said with a few too many nods, stunned to hear his own beliefs being spoken back to him, “I couldn’t be more proud to be what I am. When I was little I believed that lions were what made me strong, where who I needed to train under to find and cultivate the strength I need to be that protector. And then leopards were my philosophers, my mind, and I watched them all so carefully… I don’t want to be the best of both worlds, but I think because I have the blood in me, I have the potential to be, if that makes sense, sir.”
He grinned, looking at the larger lion carefully. He couldn’t keep the interest out of his eyes, “your pride… it sounds really,” here his vocabulary failed him, despite his need to impress his current company, “awesome. I… if I’m not overstepping anything… I’d like to know more about it.”
Maximus chuckled softly at the youth's excitment and eagerness. "I'd be delighted, young one." He continued to walk along through the grass, following a row of small trees. They weren't too far from the great lake, and it could be seen as a silver stripe across the horizon. He cleared his throat, then continued on to give a short summary of the pride.
"We are called the Binadamu... Citizens. It is a term we call ourselves. A citizen must at all times be noble, strong, and cunning... Someone that could not defend themselves in battler along with a debate should not have have the right to call themselves a citizen... I am the Ceasar, by right the strongest of all. However, most of the decisions of the pride is voted on by the Senate. All adult citizens are a part of the Senate, you see..." He glances back to the youth, making sure he hadn't lost his interest. If not, he continues.
"We are seperated into two main sects. The gladiators, and the scholars. The gladiators are the warriors and hunters of the pride... the... force, you might say. Where as the scholars are our philosphers, teachers, artists, and healers. They are the most intelligent and clever."
Risasi listened intently, ears twitching. He watched the lion, trying not to look too goofy as he digested the information he was being given. This pride sounded like the perfect place for him to find himself. Or rather, to become the creature he knew he was. Citizens, serving for pride and honor, and every voice having an impact. He smiled, his green eyes flashing, and he nodded slowly. It wasn’t quite clear what he was nodding about.
In his head, he was agreeing with his own assessment. If he could, if it was proper or allowed, he would want to stay here and learn more about this place.
“Gladiators and scholars,” he repeated thoughtfully. Both sections would have so much to offer, as far as the hybrid was concerned. The mind and body, that was how he always separated his training. Looking to lions for one and leopards for the other. Here, he imagined, he would find so much more than he had wandering aimlessly in the rogue lands.
“This sounds like a really nice place,” he commented airily, looking hopeful despite his best efforts not to interrupt
"It is." He mutters, his tone softening slightly. He looked forward then, his smile faltering a little. "We've recently relocated... My pride was once a vast empire, ruling over many other more... barbaric prides... However, things have... changed... The earthquake that cursed the lands made our ruins fall, and we were forced to flee. The... citizens remaining, at least. I'm afraid that the pride has dewindled to a sparce few. But... the Gods will bless us once again, I am sure of it."
He walked on, drawing closer to the blessed waters. "I hope to bring in new Citizens, people that will help our great empire rise to it's old glory..." He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the youth, his smile returning. He could tell that he was a good boy, and he held definate potential... Would he take the bait?
Risasi frowned, listening.
He all but leaped, literally, on his chance. If he was a fish he was the kind that would leap directly into the boat, no worm on hook needed. He felt like he was supposed to meet this lion, and learn about this place, and he was excited to find a moment to say so. He was still a childish mind, having grown up in such peace and with only his siblings for most of his life, but he was sincere and earnest.
“If it will help you, and the pride, I would be honored to join your pride. I know, or I’ve been told, that a lot of these lands look down on half bloods like myself, but yours seems like a place where I could be useful and I could really learn. If it’s not my place, I’m sorry, but… yeah.” His words failed him a bit again. He smiled, almost grinning, “I would do my best to serve you.” And he bowed his head reverently, pulling the action off without seeming at all contrived or feigned.
He smiled broadly, giving him the look that a proud father would give his son. "You devote yourself so fully?" He stops, turning towards him with an interested look. "Do you swear to serve the gods, serve your Ceasar, and serve your people?" He stepped closer still, one thick paw moving outwards to rest on the adolescent's shoulder.
Pala still followed, though she was nearly forgotten at this point. She didn't mind, of course... She was a slave, and it was what usually happened at times like this. She merely sat quietly, watching the interaction with a small frown. Her master could be so nauve at times... But not her. She was still cautious.
Risasi had never pledged himself to anything before, save privately to his own mission. But this, he knew, was the same as that. This was the next step, the greatest step, and he was called here to take it. He drew a deep breath, not shrinking back as the lion drew closer, though he trembled a bit at the impact of his words. He nodded, confident.
“I swear!” He said, finding the right emphasis for the moment. He would. He knew it. And he wouldn’t just accept that his new ruler would accept it, either. He would strive to remind him, every day, that this was the place he was supposed to be. Whatever he had to do to serve, to be honorable, he would do it.
He really didn’t know how to do anything else.
Maximus patted the hybrid's shoulder gently, chuckling. "Good, then... I will take you to the Senate to meet, then. I'm sure they will not argue though. You are obviously noble enough, Risasi." He paused then to smile at him, then gestured for him to follow him again. Now walking closer to the pridelands, he cleared his throat.
"There will, of course, be a period of... transition. All joining rouges stay as slaves for a short period. During this period you'll learn all of the ways of the pride, so that you can truely be a capable Citizen, when the time comes."
Risasi smiled, puffing out his chest a bit and holding himself a little higher. He certainly felt noble, but he was beginning to see that was the aura of the Ceasar himself, and he was just drawing from it. Humbled, yet still feeling proud, he nodded as Maximus explained the next steps. The hybrid didn’t feel too worried yet, but he could only imagine what it was going to be like, having never seen anything like a Senate or anything like that.
He nodded, already resolved to do whatever was asked of him, even if that word ‘slave’ was brought up. The same connotation floated to him from when he heard it in the conversation before, but he wasn’t daunted.
“Okay,” he said, smiling, looking at once respectful and silly, “that sounds fair. I’ll be a Citizen, I promise.”
"Good." He nods a little, continuing to walk slowly. His heart swelled... This was what he needed. A new soul to join them, a new citizen. Perhaps he could find more of his kind in this new land. Perhaps... the gods were helping them start over. He'd be sure to let the pride grow in their good graces.
"Come then, and I will show you your new home, and introduce you to the people that will teach you." Another noble chuckle, his eyes swerving over to him. "Welcome to the Binadamu, child...."
END!
