Welcome to Gaia! ::

As the stars opened their blazing eyes against the night, Azi Dahaka, the dark judge, lumbered through the shadows to meet him. Unlike Eyal and Azrael, Azi could only respect the old general’s right to privacy for so long. Now more than ever they four needed to be united. Caturix’s absence made him uneasy. The time had come for someone to find out what was on the old general’s mind.

“Caturix.” Azi addressed him pleasantly, but his expression made clear his concern. He sat down a couple feet from Caturix, giving him his space, but did not lie down. It would only take more effort to stand up again. Although he was not much older than the other judges, probably younger than some of them, he was, like the rest of them, carrying the scars of his youth. The deep scars across his back made sitting down and standing up uncomfortable even when he was young. Now that his fur was turning grey, the old wounds only made life more difficult.

Unless there was planning going on, Azi was generally more personable than the other judges. There had always been a boundary in his mind between who he was as a judge and who he was as a person. When he saw one of his fellow judges acting strangely, he made an effort to find out what troubled them. “The cold night soaks into these bones deeper than it used to. You should join us. Unless there’s something on your mind?”

While the younger members of the rebellion were off on a hunt, the older males were all lying together, except of course for Caturix and Azi. If Caturix seemed hostile he wouldn’t pry. They all had histories. Some memories were better left in the dark.

Azi grunted, chest rumbling with discontent. Caturix already knew his opinion of the four new judges. Aeron, Pekee and Kafiri – a leopard, cheetah and hybrid, respectively – were extraordinarily poor choices. He might not have minded being replaced so much if his successors seemed worthy. They weren’t even lions! Even Bara, the only lion on the council, displeased him, partly because of her gender. He could accept females in the Malakim, but among the Elohiem? Perhaps having a healer for a mother colored his perception of Bara as one too soft and sympathetic to be a judge.

“I never liked Makail. He’s naive and ambitious, a dangerous mix for a king. I imagine he would tear apart the Malakim, too. Too violent, he’d say!” Azi growled. Makail was insane to think they could reform criminals. Azi’s idea of criminal reform was swift punishment. Make an example of the condemned so others could learn from his mistake.

“If only. It would certainly make things easier for us, wouldn’t it?” Even though he meant it as a joke, he agreed that there might be a frightening spark of truth to his criticism of Makail. Was that not Makail’s reason for reform? Azi knew that pampered prince turned pale at the thought of prisoners paying penance for their crimes. But Makail’s bleeding heart missed the point. Their punishment was justified.

Azi followed the old general’s gaze. Was he remembering the old days with his companion Eyal? Thinking of his son? Concerned about the new recruits? He moved a few steps closer to Caturix. This time he remained standing. Changing from a sitting to a standing position hurt his back more than doing one or the other. Judging by Caturix’s silence, Azi assumed the old general would not tolerate his presence for long so he decided to speak freely. “What we need now are more recruits we can trust. The two lionesses are strong but flighty. I trust the brute – he’s too stupid to cross us, but his mate is another matter. As for Azrael….” He let Caturix fill that in for him.

Azi seemed pleased with Caturix’s decision. They needed to conserve their strength for the coming war. They might be out here for weeks or even months before they were ready to attack. Old lions such as themselves had a difficult time in the rogue lands, especially coming from a pride where they were well cared for. He wouldn’t have agreed with Caturix’s assessment of the Malakim. The Malakim, and the rest of the pride for that matter, were merely swayed by Makail’s self-confidence (misplaced though it was) and fluffy ideals. Sometimes emotional appeals counted for more than logic in the eyes of the people.

As they headed back to where the other judges were resting, Azi continued his conversation with Caturix. They were in no rush, after all. “Azrael is merely mud. Now is the perfect time to mold him into a sturdier form. With our numbers so low, we need to make every lion count. He’s isolated with us now; no friends to distract him, no one to coddle him. We could educate him.”
By friends, he obviously meant Makail. Azrael was not beyond help like a criminal. Criminals were driven by lust, greed and a total disregard for the peace and safety of others. Azrael, on the other hand, was merely ignorant. Azi looked to Caturix, secretly measuring him up.