He hadn't been asked politely, his presence had been demanded. The tone that he had been met with by the messenger birds had been abrupt and with a hint of desperation. It had been so unlike his sister that he had been alarmed and without even a sliver of hesitation his father had ordered him to go home. The scourge could wait just as they had always done for generations, the game that the Al-Siq played with their burrowing opponents would continue without him... For now he was required at home.
And home was exactly where he had landed after a considerable amount of running - it had taken him more time than he would have liked, but by the time he had returned he was all too aware of the fact that something was amiss. All around him there were healthy lions and yet every single one of them suffered, the severity of it wasn't lost on him, but when he saw the pain in his own sister's eyes it hit far too close to home.
"What in the gods name has happened?" he demanded, still newly arrived to the lands and therefore the affects hadn't quite struck him yet.
"The warlord happened," Dione snapped, more terse than usual. Whether anyone cared to admit it or not, ever since the ridiculous blue lioness that was her 'daughter' had come to the helm, it had been a disaster. They had been fine, if stagnant with the older lioness at the helm, but now they were in pieces. If there was ever a way to point out that females were bad for leadership this was probably it... you couldn't have made up an omen like it!
"The warlord has you looking like this?" he enquired coolly and shook his head.
"We don't want for food, Tethys," she hissed. "We have more than enough and yet it doesn't fill us, we are in agony every single day and this didn't happen until after my useless step daughter came to the helm," she snapped. "As if spawning cubs in the field wasn't enough, she's saddled us with even more burdens."
"To be fair to Zjarr, all female reavers spawn their b*****d cubs in the field," he pointed out coolly. He still wouldn't condone the actions, but on this occasion he certainly wouldn't blame the children for the crap he had walked in on. Now if Zjarr had made yet more decisions that had provoked this kind of omen; hell she'd made more than enough s**t decisions out in the field to make it a distinct possibility, then fair enough... But he hadn't been near her ever since she'd done exactly what he'd asked her not to so he couldn't even begin to contemplate how she would have messed up this badly.
"Well she has done something!"
"Have you got proof of that?" Tethys deemed it necessary to play devil's advocate. He didn't like that Zjarr was in power, but unless there was evidence she had caused this disaster then he couldn't go out of his way in any shape or form to put her down for it...
"Not yet," Dione muttered and shook her head. "But that's exactly why you are here," she continued and cleared her throat. She didn't want to keep him long, if only because time was of the essence and if her plan was to work then she needed to enact it now. With that part of her plan done, she could then begin the arduous process of isolating what the stupid little minx had done and see whether or not there was at all a possibility of righting it... or whether or not all was lost.
A shame really, she'd rather enjoyed this pride until it had been flipped on its head.
"I'm listening," Tethys took a seat and grimaced. Sure enough, a faint pang smacked against his stomach and in that instance he had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was. He was the child of a goddess after all and he'd seen these lingering affects before. It seemed that something, or someone, might very well have been lurking in the pride for nefarious means. If this was true then the reason in which they had come, or why they had done what they did, was certainly something he'd have been interested to here.
Undoubtably, Dione had her own suspicions.
"I need you to take my children and yours out of this pride," she ordered. "All of them... And if necessary take some of their friends too. I don't care how you do it, and under what guise you do it, but I need them outside. If I am correct in my assumptions then once they leave this hellish landscape they'll feel better," she stated.
So she did have the same suspicions as him then.
"That shouldn't be a problem," Tethys remarked, he could simply claim he was taking them on another Reaving to cover off lessons that they hadn't previously had. A project in which to actively improve upon what they had struggled with before. There would obviously still be those that failed, but there might be some who surprised him and exhibited that they were ready for that particular role.
"With them safely out of this world then I will be free to investigate what I need to, without worrying about their distress," she continued and cleared her throat. "Though if you would be so kind as to confirm how they feel when they have left, I would very much appreciate it," she added.
"I can already confirm it," Tethys muttererd and shook his head. He could ignore a hunger pang now and again but he knew he had eaten before he came here and already he was feeling the effects. This hadn't happened before he came here, and he'd bet everything he had of any value that it would dissipate the second he left as well. Therefore it was pertinent for him to gather up the sons, daughters, nieces and nephews in question to extract them before they became any worse. While he would have preferred that his sister also came with him he was a realist and accepted that in this, she wasn't ready to leave... She had a duty to the pride as its High Priestess to resolve the issue where she could and he suspected she would only abandon the pride if she thought there was no means to save it.
...They weren't lost then, not yet.
"Very good," Dione took a breath. "Then I will summon them and you will depart as soon as they are all here," she instructed. She knew Kluna would be irritated with her, perhaps even offended that she hadn't been involved in the decision (particularly given that some of the cubs were hers) but Dione saw no other choice. At this time she needed to make her decisions quickly and rather than provide an open discussion, she was going to act on everyone's behalf. "Have you any idea where you'll go?" she added after a moment.
"I have somewhere in mind," Tethys replied. "It won't be far," he added gently and hazarded a wry smile. He'd not give Dione the details until they arrived, but he knew of a place where they would be safe and not too far from home. They wouldn't feel the same homesick pangs being away from friends and family this way and if matters became even worse, then he wouldn't have far to go to collect his sister either.
"Ok," Dione nodded as she raised to all four paws and strode away to collect the cubs and adolescents alike. "Then wait here, I'll bring them around momentarily," she added as she strode off to find each in turn.
Tethys prepared himself; while he would be operating on the guise of this being a viking as they were leaving, he would be sure to drop that facade as soon as they were taken to safety. When they got there he would set them some ground rules but beyond that, he was going to let them explore and enjoy that area... A mini vacation as it were and then he could easily falsify what they had found on the way back, it wouldn't be difficult to find some shiny junk from somewhere...
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