OOC: This takes place the night that of Lela, Selene and Fuu's deaths.
Somewhere in the chaos of the night, Orion had separated from his mate and wandered off on his own. He was far less satisfied with the turn of events than she seemed to be, and perhaps that was part of why he left. It scared him that she looked so happy when there were four murders in two nights, all of which we relatives of his. Even though they were not close, owing to tension between his grandfather and the nobles, Orion still felt some connection to them.
He was doing his best not to be seen- it was lucky his fur was so dark because he pulled it off easily enough. He had left the slave dens behind, not willing to put himself through figuring out who amongst the strange, new faces were traitors—or worse, who amongst the old, familiar faces.
It was by chance he spotted the familiar form of his grandfather, his bright white fur harder to hide in the dark, even when the moon was away. He scrambled up, not stopping until he was beside him and only then wondering how he could be alone.
"Grandpa!" he said, "Where is grandma? Are you OK? I'm glad you're OK."
Unyezi was out by himself on purpose. He made sure Nerit was in their den, joined by as much of their immediate family as he could find quickly. He was thankful Uthuli and his girls had stuck with them after the New Moon ceremony, trusting them to hold down the fort. He didn't know what he hoped to find out here but he felt things were safer if he was separate.. and he was struggling with a lot of guilt. The night before had come as huge shock, it took him far too long to piece it together.. and even when he figured it out, he was in denial. But now he couldn't deny it and he couldn't stop it.
"Orion?"
He was not surprised to be found but he was surprised it was his grandson. One look at Orion's face and it was obvious he was conflicted and confused.
"Yes, we're OK," he said, offering a sad smile, "Grandma is at home, she has Uthuli and the girls with her. I needed to come out and try to get a feel for what's going on but I'm not finding much here."
Orion shivered, frowning at the way his grandfather looked. He was supposed to have all the answers, be able to handle it all. He wasn't technically King anymore but Orion had never stopped seeing him as one from the moment he learned the story of him and Grandma.
"I was looking for you last night," he said, "I didn't know what else to do, I don't know why. I still don't know why I wanted to find you tonight. You just always have the answer. What are we supposed to do now, what do I do?"
He was silent for a long minute before he finally sighed.
"Shangyue came to me, many moons ago, asking if I had ever been asked to do something I didn't think was right- and if I would do it. I think I understand his logic but I can't understand the support he's gotten," he said thoughtfully, "I don't believe the rumor that he has all the slaves on his side, he certainly never had me or Nerit. And I can't imagine you, your parents, Amalthea, Andama, Rika--"
Slaves were not the most populous class, he couldn't name a single one that was born here that he could imagine siding with the prince. Shangyue had been recruiting, he knew some of the new slaves were his friends, them perhaps.. but how could the rest of them go along with it?
"I can't imagine," he said, "But I don't know."
Orion frowned, thinking of Halili.. and then the realization struck him. Grandpa knew Shangyue was up to something, so long ago he knew the prince had something on his mind, something unsavory. And he didn't say or do anything. He didn't say or do anything last night.
"You knew? And you didn't do anything to stop it?"
"Yes and no."
He had hoped Orion wouldn't make the same jump he had taken so very long to make. He did know- or he should have known. Even if he wasn't supposed to be involved with the royals publicly, he had always been there for them, for his sister. And if there was something going on within the low class, how had he missed it? How did they keep the signs of an uprising so well hidden?
"I should have realized sooner than I did," he said, sounding miserable, "I should have been able to do something to stop this but.. I didn't. I would never have guessed that Shangyue could be capable of something like this, that even if he was to try to take over by force, that he would resort to murder."
"Do you think he really did it? Killed them himself?"
His voice was low, doubtful. He just couldn't imagine it- no more than he could imagine killing his own mother and father, his grandparents. The throne was so easily abandoned by Unyezi, how was it something Shangyue was willing to kill for?
Orion shuddered.
"No," he said quickly but decisively, clearly having thought through this already that night, "He asked if I had ever been instructed to do something I didn't agree with, he clearly wanted to know if I would- or if I would have to. I suspect when he found an ally amongst the slaves, he convinced them they could do it for him and be guiltless in the eyes of the pride and the Great Lion."
The idea didn't sit well with him, just as it hadn't when Shangyue first asked him. Technically, a noble could ask just about anything of a slave and expect it to be done- if they were royal, there would be even more pressure. Now that he was the King, or would be, it would be even harder to refuse him. It was only because Unyezi was a slave by choice and that he had spent so long training himself to put the pride first that he was certain he would be capable of refusing.
"He loved his family," he said sadly, "Especially his grandfather."
Orion was frowning and staring at the ground, trying to think it through. He hated thinking that a slave had been coerced- no, convinced it was safe to commit murder on behalf of the would-be King. But it was perhaps more terrifying to imagine that Shangyue could so easily kill his own parents, his own grandparents.
"What do we do now?"
He was back to the question Unyezi had avoided answering. He had more insight but it wasn't making him feel any better. He imagined himself in Shangyue's place, seeing himself in his grandfather, idolizing him for the path they shared.. and he just couldn't get past that. If nobody stopped Shangyue, they were stuck with a psychopath for a king.
He didn't have an answer, he wasn't sure there was an answer for it. His best advice was surely something the boy already knew. Keep your family safe, wait and see what happens.. or find a way to rebel. There was only one really obvious answer and it was already among the whispers traveling around the pride tonight.
"Find Stellaluna and keep her safe," he said, "What she does will decide the outcome of this coup. For all the love there was for the King and Queen- and even the Heiress- there is far more love and respect for the Shaman."
It was a simple fact in a spiritual pride. While the Monarch and Shaman were technically on even ground, their lives revolved around their religion and that was the domain of the Shaman.
"I'm sure Shangyue realizes it would do more harm than good to get rid of Stellaluna," he said, though sounding reserved.
His sister. He felt silly for trying to find his grandfather before the obvious priority finding Stellaluna should take. He wasn't much of a fighter, he wouldn't do much good for protecting her.. but maybe even that would be better than nothing, assuming nobody else got to her first.
"I don't know if that would stop him at this point," he said.
"Then we have to trust Stella knows what she's doing," he said, finally cracking a more genuine smile- he definitely had confidence in Stellaluna herself, even if this situation was volatile.
Orion nodded, glancing back at the ground. Stella was a good shaman, she could handle this. She had to handle it. Still, it couldn't hurt to find her.
"I'm going to look for her, I think I know where to find her."
Unyezi nodded. Stella was certainly smart enough to not stay where anybody would think to find her, but there were places a few new she frequented.
"Be careful," he said.
Orion nodded, looking his grandfather up and down and hoping nobody thought to cause any trouble with him- or that he didn't think to go causing any trouble.
"You too."
And he went off to try to find Stella.
Unyezi watched him go, frowning.
Fin!
