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[The Captain Britain]

Besnik swore under his breath. He hadn't thought Mircea would react this poorly. The lion turned and bent down to the other male's level, speaking softly. "It's alright, Mircea. Just calm down. You've been without your muse for so long, and that's my fault. I promise you'll, we will find the Mother's blessing again very soon. Just think of her. Think of how good you feel with your muse. Center yourself on those memories." They would have to find the caves to speak with the muses, or the entire group would go insane. And that Shandor thought the muses caused insanity? Besnik snorted. The muses were what was curing it, the ignorant fool.
He straightened out and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Xipil, leaning slightly against her in comfort. He would praise her for her bravery later on. "You are well spoken, Xipil." Bensik smiled at her warmly, eyes crinkling with pride. The lioness had done much to help keep their group together, especially when Besnik needed to leave in order to hunt or scout out a cave. "You see now? Are we such a threat? The world's cruelty and hardships have cut us deeply, and the muses have been our comforting salve in these troubled times. We need our muses as much as food and water. They have done nothing but help us, shown us the way." Besnik took a step forward and lowered his head a little, a much more submissive stance than his previous one. "Won't you help us?" He asked. Besnik had them now, he was sure of it. He could see so many pairs of eyes ringing with sympathy. Even if the King and Queen (the King especially) didn't want to let them in, they would have to listen to the will of their followers.

-----------

Asker smiled briefly and nudged his father back, careful not to knock him off balance. He would be happy when this was all over and things could just go back to normal.
The young male watched with a slightly pained expression as the pink lioness began to break down and the purple male burst out into whatever episode he was having. "I just feel like we're being unnecessary cruel and hostile to them, at least to the three followers. Maybe their leader is right. Maybe they really do need their muses to stay sane." Asker mused, looking down to his shuffling paws. He really hated how uncomfortable and...emotional this was all making him. Yuck. The blue lion took a moment to steel himself and return to more logical and rational thought. "Those other three couldn't do anything to hurt us even if they tried. Their leader seems a little too normal for the group though. Kinda makes me wonder what his muse is...." And if it was hostile. The colourful male didn't seem all that hostile, given the way he was caring for his struggling followers, but he was definitely way too shifty to be trusted completely. "Do you think they could really do it? Find the muses here?"  

[Thalion]

They had found ways to contact their muses? Shandor's eyes swept over the group with absolutely no attempt to hide his contempt for them. Outsiders he didn't mind, but outsiders bearing insanity, bearing false hope for the few that had lingered here that still desired their insanity and 'muse', and simultaneously digging a thorn deeper into the sides of those that didn't he minded absolutely. So these lions were insane then. The 'muse' delusion was strong in places outside of his own pride. What a depressing thought...

"And your claws had best stay that way." Shandor snapped his attention back to Besnik and scowled, "That is, if you value your hide... and I would not compare your mind to mine. I need no muse to give me purpose and i need no empty promises go gain loyalty."

He snorted as Besnik continued. "We have agreed to let you stay here, I would not push your luck."


Myuto stilled and ducked his head as his head slowly stopped spinning. The world came back into focus and his third eye shut and fell back to sleep. It was never easy moving to or from a vision, it always left him feeling like the world had been pulled out from under his feet and his head had been sent right up to the clouds.

He lifted his head and gave Chi a smile of assurance. "I'm alright."

The seer looked up and over to the dreamers. "I agree. All but their leader. His eyes are like those of a cobra..."

Nico took a short breath and tilted his head just slightly. "My take on it?" He chose his words carefully, and only after a few more quiet moments of observation did he open his mouth once more to speak.

"I think we're seeing the meeting of two kings with two very different kinds of followers. I think both are posturing right now, for the benefit of their prides, but I don't think it will last." He glanced over to Shandor. "He looks about ready to scream... and the strange female- Paradox? She seems to be holding the reigns. Mother..." He glanced over to the young lioness and his eyes softened. "She will need a few kind words, father."

He glanced over to Asker and snorted. "Let the bully be the bully. We don't need to cloud our heads with guilt right now."

He looked back and watched as one of the males began babbling and shaking, his mind gone for the moment. "...hm..."


And then one of the strangers started shaking and muttering to himself. Shandor knew that far too well. He'd observed some of his own pride members talking to rocks or standing in place while they stared off into space. The babbling wasn't new either. He shook his head.

"I don't fear him, I pity him. Your muses are cruel masters." He said simply, addressing the pink lioness with only a short glance.

Looking back to Besnik Shandor rolled his eyes. "A threat is more than a danger to the body. Seems you seek to plague us with your delusions. Keep it to yourself and we'll not have a problem"

He glanced over to Paradox and lowered his voice. "There. Happy? Can I go back to sleep now?"  

[SilverLutz]

The queen glanced towards the king with just a hint of surprise on his face. She'd never seen him so...well. Emotional in front of strangers. The muses were a delicate subject with some, yes, but it wasn't like Shandor to scowl and snap like this. She didn't know much about his past muse - she'd never asked and she had the feeling he didn't want to talk about it - but she could only assume it hadn't been a pleasant experience for him. Still, she expected him to remain cool, confident, and calm as he had in other situations. He'd never lost that smug, secretive grin the whole time they had been dealing with their neighboring pride, and that had toed the line of war a few times.

Turning her gaze back to the lions before her, Fireheart had to admit that none of them looked particularly dangerous, save Besnik. When someone was that invested in one particular thing it was always good to keep an eye on them. His followers, though...they seemed very meek. Certainly not anything to worry about.

"As the king has said," she murmured, not needing to raise her voice to be heard. It was disturbingly silent. "You are welcome here as long as you keep to yourselves. What you do in your spare time is no concern of ours until it starts to become a problem."  

[Daffupanda]

Xipil actually seemed to take comfort from leaning against her side, which both surprised Muhali ad managed to melt her heart, just a tiny little bit. She grown... unused to being needed; specially after she'd returned to her pride, her people, and they seemed all the better without her powers shrouding their minds. The fact someone might need her, that someone might draw strength from her presence was almost overwhelming in a sense, and as the pink lioness spoke, she remain calm, but firm, an anchor to her, "Oh sweetie..." she murmured back to the lioness, "Don't think any of you are bad, in any sense of the word. Don't worry, hon. Takes a bit more than that to scare me off," she paused, however, and turned her eyes on Besnik, "It's quite interesting, that you're all alike, but... one of you is not like the others," her long, fluffy tail, curled around the pink female's form before she turned her attention back to the gypsy king.

When Shandor finally turned towards her, lowered his voice and addressed her almost privately, she grinned at him, offering him a small tilt of her head, "Sure! Mind if I come along? I'm exhausted. All that running around," she gave Xipil a small nuzzle, and then, a small push with her head, as if to tell her it was time to get up, investigate! Go look around! The hard part was over, as far as Muhali was concerned, "You're going to grow a belly, all that sleeping 'round that you do," she stood, stretched on the ground and waited, "Shall we?"

"Saw a snake, out in the desert once," she whispered to her companion, "Didn't know what it was. Never seen one before, but I knew it was dangerous. I had a gut feeling about it. That's actually the same feeling I get, looking at him," Chicanery lowered voice, leaning briefly against Myuto's side for comfort before her eyes drifted towards Paradox, "She's rather weird too. Did you see that? The way she talked with the king?" a pause, "Weird," she repeated, but then shook her head and brushed it aside, as if the notion couldn't possibly occupy the forth of her mind for long, "I think... we should decide if we want to stick around, or leave while we're whole. What do you think?" she began to turn around, ready to leave the scene, "I'm afraid we might get caught in the 'storm' if we stick around, but on the other paw..." she glanced back at Shandor and Besnik, "I must admit I feel a terrible amount of curiosity."

Sadly, everyone knew that curiosity killed the cat.  

[The Captain Britain]

Besnik's eyes turned cold as Shandor turned his attention to the blue lioness. Cruel masters? The King was witnessing Mircea without his muse, filled with madness and pain without the Mother's blessing. The King's previous muse must have not been kind to him. Good riddance. This King didn't seem like he deserved a proper muse; he wasn't worthy enough, what with his obvious disdain. Besnik had come here with a message of good tidings and blessing, but it seemed as if too much had changed here for it to be received well. But the lion didn't think that everyone had simply forgotten. No, their minds had been poisoned against the muses, fed false lies about madness and curses.
Besnik understood now. The Mother hadn't just disappeared, but rather driven away. And he was willing to bet that this King was quite likely part of the force that had done it. Very well then. If he wasn't willing to play nice, then Besnik would have to do something. But first, his followers needed tending to, specifically in terms of their muses.
"Our sincere thanks, Gypsy Queen." He dipped his head respectfully and gave the King a curt smile. "King." The Queen was definitely less hostile, but still not open to the idea of muses. He would have to proceed carefully with her. But he would think more on that later. For now, Besnik would find a good place for his followers to settle down for the night, and then he would go and seek out some caves for them to make contact with their muses in. Only one more night of terrible dreams and torment, The Dreamer thought, glancing back to check on Mircea and Khanda. Then they'll have their muses back. And Besnik could consult the Mother on what to do about the current situation. Perhaps the Gypsy King would see the light once Besnik restored the muses. It never hurt anyone think optimistically, right?

---------------------------------

The meeting of two kings? Asker's mouth twitched into a slight frown. When had a pride ever benefited from having two kings? The Kizingo'Zaa had done well with their delicate split-leadership, but the blue male was left doubting that it could handle the presence of a third leader, and least not without something bad happening. The tension between Besnik and Shandor was practically fogging up the entire atmosphere around the gathering. And if there was so much posturing going on, then was it really wise to be playing bully? It certainly wasn't helping the situation at all. What if it instead made things worse? It was never wise to try and intimidate an opponent on the battlefield; it led to cockiness and overconfidence, which lowered your guard.
At least this Besnik character didn't seem to mind his mother so much. It comforted Asker somewhat. If most people in the pride treated this group the way she did, with cautious respect, then he was sure there wouldn't be a problem.
But it looked as if things were calming down and wrapping up. Asker's green eyes narrowed suspiciously as Shandor turned to the blue mummer, speaking to her. She seemed way too wrapped up in all of this. Asker glanced at his father to see if he had noticed. Maybe these Dreamers weren't the only ones that needed to be watched.
Asker sighed. He felt so tired and overwhelmed about everything. He could only imagine how his mother felt. Hopefully this strange group would really keep to themselves, and the pride could ignore them like a group of jellyfish stuck on the beach. Asker could only pray that no one ended up being stung.  

[Depawsit]

Vodnitvar listened to both of his son's interpretations, nodding his head appropriately. Both of them had very valid points, though it seemed Nicolae was taking a harsher approach, where as Asker was becoming more sensitive to the subject. What a strange turn of events it was, he thought to himself, making sure to not show the faint smile he had on the inside.

"Cruel, I will agree with you on Asker, though hostile is something we must be. Things are happening that some of us do not understand, and in come these strangers. Who don't exactly look friendly, especially not the one they call their leader." Vodnitvar paused, and adjusted his gaze from his son's to the large male in the middle. The one who seemed to be making it his point to single-handedly change everyone's mind about the muses. Something wasn't right about him ... he could feel it in his bones, and no it wasn't his arthritis this time.

"If we must be hostile to ensure the safety of those around us, then so be it. Though to be cruel to them, is something I do not approve of. That lioness, the one with the burns ... her tears are a waste. She should never have been brought to them." His voice got a bit gruff for a moment, but he cleared his throat and it all disappeared. He hated seeing female's cry, it pained him more than his joints. He'd only seen two females cry before, Feather Ruffler and Fireheart. Neither of those events had been easy for him. When Fireheart had went into labor, he had tried to sway her tears of pain but had instead ended up with a crushed paw.

Nicolae's continued words shook him from his thoughts and he turned his attention back to him.

"Indeed she will." He mumbled, referring to Fireheart. "She's going through a rough time, we must all do our best to lessen her load. Both at home, and within the pride." Vodnitvar nodded his head solemnly to no one before continuing.

"So you think this is headed for disaster do you? Can't say I disagree, it seems obvious that neither Riddle Mouth or this new guy will be backing down. Let's just make sure your Mother stays neutral shall we?" His words took on a more sincere tone as he brought up their Mother once more. Neither of them had told their children yet, but they were hoping to expand their family. Having Fireheart tied into something more stressful than this, would prove bad for such a fate. Straw Dog simply wasn't going to have it, even if he had to drag her home by her tail every night. He would do it, for the sake of their family, and for his love of her.

"Impossible Asker. You've heard Riddle Mouth, and you've heard your Mother. The muses are gone, gone with goddess who created them. Without her, there can be no muses ... and I don't see any goddesses. Do you?"

The Captain Britain

Thalion

Mali's words slowly sank into Xipil's mind as she sat there with her. She wasn't quite sure what she meant by her statement about all of them being alike, but one of them being different. But she chose not to pester her with questions about it. From what she had picked up on from her so far, this lioness was one to talk in riddles, and well, Xipil wasn't all that good at those.

Xipil dipped her head in respect to Besnik as he mentioned her. If she wasn't so pink, perhaps there would have been a slight blush to her cheeks. She wanted to speak up and thank her leader for his compliment, but that's when Mali stood up and began to stretch, She felt the nudges and understood what was being told to her. It was time to go, time to go out on her own. She noted easily that she and the King would be leaving together. Briefly she questioned their relationship, but it quickly left her mind when she realized she would be alone again. Well not alone, but in a sense, she would be alone in her own mind. Alone to think of all the things that had been running through it all day!

A heavy sigh weighed on her shoulder's as she nodded gently at the blue lioness. "Thank you for your support today." She smiled, and dipped her head lower to a near bow.

"Your generosity will not be forgotten."

And with that, she left the lioness to leave with the King and returned once more to her family for support.

 

[Thalion]

"Oh for the love of the sea, Paradox, she is a grown lioness not some little cub latched onto your belly. Let us treat them like adults at the very least." Shandor rolled his dark eyes and put a little more distance between himself and the blue-striped lioness. He wouldn't be associated with such soft-pawed tactics and sugar-coated promises. If they were to stay within the pride they should have to show some backbone at the very least.

He snorted as the pink lioness, in turn, offered her thanks to Paradox. Whatever, she wasn't speaking for him. If he had his way he would have sent the small troupe marching simply on the principal that there was something...very wrong with their leader. There was a venom in his eyes and a cunning twist to his smile that Shandor didn't like. Of course, he would know. A fox knew a fellow trickster more than anyone.

As Besnik thanked Fireheart, Riddlemouth took a defensive step closer to the young lioness and raised his chin. "Outsider." He answered in turn.

Glancing over to Paradox, he jerked his chin towards the outsiders. "Since you seem so keen on them, why don't you show them to the location we picked out?"


Myuto nodded silently. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a swipe of a claw. The dreamers, for the most part, seemed to be harmless. They were almost child-like. They looked lost, exhausted, and some of them looked outright haunted. He could well sympathize with them. He and Chi had been strangers, odd ones, that had put the king and his pride off. Of course now that his vision had come true he expected that the tension surrounding himself and his companion would only grow.

He took a deep breath and nudged Chi with a shoulder. "I think we should discuss that in private. We don't want to add to the tension here. Let them handle their affairs while we discuss our own."

"We don't have to be hostile on the surface." Nico pointed out with a sideways glance to his father. "We don't want them to guard their true face- if they really do wear a mask. If they mean us harm, they won't exactly be up front with it, but if we wear a more... convincing mask, they may allow us a peek into what's really going on."

He glanced over to Asker and gave him a short look that promised a word in private at a later time. They would need to look into this. Their mother couldn't shoulder this mess on her own and Riddlemouth seemed to be letting his bias rule his own judgement. Given the king's experience with his own muse, however, he couldn't blame him. He wasn't exactly hesitant to warn the others of those days. They had made him witless- and that was something Nico wasn't willing to be.

Looking back to his father he snorted. "If the muses were a delusion, they may bring them with them still, father. We have to make sure our pride stays sharp."

 

[SilverLutz]

Fireheart arched a brow as Besnik thanked her and Shandor. Granted, when he said the word 'king' it sounded as though he had something foul in his mouth while speaking. She glanced to her side as Shandor returned the cold word and let out a little snort. It was like children that were fighting over something they both wanted. They could be adults about all this and live peacefully, after all. That wasn't to say she was happy with the way things were, but like hell the other pride members were going to catch her throwing a fit about it.

"Very well then. It seems it's settled for the time being."

She glanced around at those gathered, sniffing softly. "There are enough willing lions here to show the new members to the dens. Cold Fire? FireDog?" She eyed her two sons that were standing by their father. They were old enough now to start taking on duties like this, and she knew the other members around her would probably want to gather to talk among themselves.

"Can I entrust you two to show our new pride mates around? Where there is water, the gathering area for food, the dens, the ocean?" It wasn't a question, but it was phrased that way. Rather, it was an order. Bring them around, show them the basics, and watch them. Especially the leader.

The Captain Britain

Thalion

 

[Chimerical Beast]

Mircea burned. This isn't what he'd thought it would be at all. Sure, he'd expected some (maybe even most) of the pride members he met to come to hold him in contempt, but on his first day?
That has to be some kind of record. Even for you.
Mircea started to shake his head, but stopped. That gesture could be misread here; best keep it under control as long as he could. He took Besnik's advice and tried to remember the feeling of peace the wind-muse gave him. Mircea couldn't quite understand it yet, but now that they were in the muses' homeland...
Not going to happen.

"Shut up," Mircea moaned softly, putting his paws over his head. His whole body went cold as soon as he realized what he'd said. Besnik and the other Dreamers would surely know he was talking to the Voice, but the Kizingo'zaa wouldn't. "Not you!" Mircea clarified, looking toward the king and queen, "I was talking to... myself." Was that a lie? He wasn't sure.
He glanced briefly at Besnik, in resignation or pleading, then looked away again. Mircea wasn't usually this bad. But he was so tired, and he hadn't heard the wind-voice's song in so long.

He needed to get out of here before he ruined everything for everyone.