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Kekale was proud of himself. He had done really very well as a viking, despite getting off to a rocky start with a sub-par captain, and now his captain had told him that he'd put his name forth for a promotion to captain for himself. It was an accomplishment to be proud of, and Kekale was. His whole family was, actually. The only shadow cast over his mood came from the fact that his sister Svana had achieve the rank first.

He told himself that didn't matter now as he walked the worn stone path which would eventually lead him to his meeting with the warlord, who would either confirm or deny his promotion. What mattered was impressing Warlord Ruzski so that he would feel comfortable supporting Kekale's captain and making the appointment official. He'd heard from Svana about her promotion, and so he knew to expect that he would be quizzed and that the warlord would be stern and difficult to read, but beyond that she had been tight-lipped.

He really hoped he wouldn't screw this up.

It struck Ru as amusing that his two most recent appointments to the rank of captain were siblings. From Lucivar he already knew a bit about the pair, and although Kekale had not remained with Lucivar's band, Ru had gone to him to ask about the reaver's potential. It seemed that Kekale was as good a reaver as his sister in most respects, and every bit as eager to bring glory to himself, his family, and his pride.

He wondered how much Kekale's sister would have told him about her own promotion, and whether it would have any effect if he went into it with the same sternness he usually employed in these situations. Well, he'd probably do what he usually did, and see if it was having the desired effect. If not, he'd change his tactics. He could be flexible.

From his vantage point on the cliffs Ru watched the young reaver approach, taking this time to reflect on the night he had been named a captain. He couldn't forget a single detail of it, and he worked to make sure that the reavers he promoted felt the same.

As Kekale finished the last portion of his trek he saw that the warlord was already waiting. That meant he was late, didn't it? He hoped that wouldn't count against him, even though a more rational part of his mind pointed out that it was extremely unlikely.

"One day I will kill you," he said, pleased that his words came out with confidence and nary a tremor.

An instant later he had to fight not to wince, though, as he realized what he had just said, and to whom. <********>. Well, it was too late to take it back now, unless he wanted to look like an idiot. And trying to clarify what he'd meant would have the same result. He would just have to hope that the warlord didn't decide that he posed enough of a threat to worry about.

Somehow he doubted that would be the case. The warlord looked calm and composed, and not the least perturbed by the possibility of a younger reaver killing him one day.

"Not today," Ruzski replied automatically to Kekale's salutation.

In point of fact, had Kekale been a different lion, Ru might have been mildly concerned about his off-hand threat to kill him. The possibility of being challenged in breytast vindar and losing had been preying on his mind more and more lately, and every captain he appointed was a reminder that he might one day lose his position and his life. With much to live for, that was not an end Ru was ready to meet.

"Today, we are here to discuss your suitability as a captain," he continued without haste.

As he finished speaking he cast an appraising gaze at the younger lion and realized that he had actually seen him around before, frequently in the company of his son Ruzul. It took an effort not to change his expression at this realization. It was, after all, a little embarrassing to realize that you'd completely forgotten someone. It was even a little worrisome, when that someone was as ambitious as Kekale and his sister were reported to be.

Kekale wasn't anything like observant enough to pick up on the slight widening of the warlord's eyes as they studied him. He was mostly just focused on doing his level best not to fidget under the prolonged scrutiny brought to bear on him. He was perfectly capable of standing with confidence and meeting any lion's gaze - that was what being a freeborn meant after all - but that didn't mean he wasn't a little uncomfortable, given the importance of this meeting's outcome and its effect on his future in the pride.

"Yes, Warlord," he agreed before falling awkwardly silent, unsure what else he ought to say at this juncture.

In lieu of babbling, which wasn't something Kekale was much inclined to anyway, he settled himself on his haunches and waited for the warlord to make the next move, all the while wondering if there was something important he was missing here, something he was supposed to be doing or saying. Absolutely nothing came to mind.

Well, no. That wasn't quite true. Kekale had noticed that his friend Ruzul had the same green eyes as the warlord, but Kekale suspected mentioning Ruzski's b*****d son to him would not be the right way to go here.

"You haven't spent a lot of time with any one captain," Ruzski observed, fixing Kekale with a hard stare that was intended to make him want to say something - anything - to earn a respite from its intensity. Ru had always been very good at intensity.

He waited a little longer, watching as Kekale made an impressive effort not to be intimidated by him. His sister had been more willing to talk, to initiate conversation. The fact that Kekale hung back made Ru wonder if the would-be captain was actually taciturn, or if Svana had told him that Ru would be pretty laconic in this meeting, and he'd decided to try to outwait him. If that was the case, this could be a long meeting. As the warlord, Ru could not be outwaited in a situation like this.

So he, too, sat back on his haunches and waited for Kekale to break the silence. To keep his gaze intense for the duration of the stare down, Ru reminded himself of the violence that awaited warlords who lost when challenged during breytast vindar. It was more than enough to keep his gaze fierce.

Actually, Kekale hadn't been trying to get into a stare down with the warlord. That, combined with his ill-chosen greeting would have been the height of stupidity for a young reaver hoping to become a captain. In fact, he had first been waiting to see if the warlord would add anything to his statement. Like, say, a question for Kekale to answer. However, as silence stretched between them once more and the warlord's stare grew more intense, Kekale realized that he had better say something, and soon.

"Yes, Warlord. I found that it was not a good fit with my first captain, and while viking under Captain Lucivar was educational, it seemed more practical to me to find another captain to work with, as having both me and Svana observing only one example would limit our chances for learning about leadership. Since she was the more established member of the band, I decided to seek out another captain."

He hoped that was a good enough explanation. He'd always thought it was pretty normal for a young reaver to go viking with a number of captains until he found a good fit. There were a lot of reavers who never picked just one captain to go viking with, weren't there?

Ru nodded. He honestly didn't care how many captains Kekale had gone viking with. His last two had good things to say about him, and Ru was not such an idiot as to even bother consulting the first captain Kekale had gone out with. He knew, as many lions in the pride did, that the lion was just shy of incompetent, and should never have been made a captain.

"As I understand it, you and your sister intend to be co-captains to a band. I haven't seen anyone try that. It ought to be interesting." There. He had just said that he was confirming Kekale's captainship. However, it seemed the red-eyed lion hadn't picked up on that fact, so he would have to be more obvious about it.

"Congratulations, Captain Kekale. Don't die in bed." He couldn't be any more obvious than that.

Oh. Oh wait. Had the warlord just...? He had!

Kekale's grin practically split his face, baring a great many sharp teeth in a completely non-menacing manner. This was an expression of pure, unadulterated delight. He'd said and done the right things. He was going to be a captain. Later than his sister, it was true, but he'd had that terrible first captain to contend with, and he had switched bands, which meant that it had taken time to make a good impression on his new captain.

"Thank you, Warlord," he exclaimed. "You, too. Neither. Don't die in bed!"

Okay, so that wasn't quite the smooth exit he'd been hoping for as he left the warlord's presence, but he could just leave that part out when he told Svana his big news. It's not like she'd told him everything either, he was almost completely certain.

Ru didn't bother to hide his smirk as Kekale lost his composure. It wasn't the most spectacular loss of composure the warlord had ever seen. That honor still went to the reaver Skremmende Galning, but Galning was a berserker, so losing composure was kind of his thing.

He watched the young captain's departure for a while before turning away and making for the beach. He wasn't quite ready to go home just yet. He needed to work through some of the concerns that had been eating at his mind for the past several moons, and had been putting it off too long, distracting himself with his affair with Kazul, which he knew he ought to end. He just couldn't bring himself to do so.

His paws turned away from the beach without his mind's conscious decision and he began instead to walk toward Kazul's den.