|
|
Post by Narifia on Oct 19, 2010 19:27:09 GMT -5
Continued From: "Interruption"Continued From: "A Life for a Life"Decimus stormed home, still in a rage over his most recent encounter with Zurina. 'Stuck-up little witch,' he thought to himself, 'Next time I see her I'm likely to rip her face off!'
'Or, take her and lock her away all for myself...' was the distant and subtle reply in his subconscious mind to that statement. At the moment however, he'd never allow that thought into his conscious thoughts.
"If my Father knew you were here…"
“You’re an Outlander Decimus. I’m a Pridelander, a Princess. And I’m going home now. Goodbye.”
Decimus took a vicious swipe at a nearby log that was protruding from the ground as he recalled her words. The log seemed to disintegrate at his touch. 'Shove me away like a rotten piece of MEAT, will she? She thinks she's so much better than me... she's NOTHING. SHE'S the dirt, the lowly Pridelander. I'm better than her. Better than her by FAR. I don't need her. I'll rip her in two next time I lay eyes on her!'
Decimus continued to fume and vent his anger by taking it out on the nearby scenery. He began to calm, little by precious little, as he came closer to home. His mind cleared, and he occupied his mind with more 'pleasant' thoughts in an effort to quell his anger.
'Perhaps I'll grab Kurunzi and go 'gently' question our new friend Kivuli like we had planned. That should put me in better spirits.'
He smirked inwardly at that thought and began to calm. It would feel good to let off some steam AND pry into the mystery of the fresh meat Narifia had dragged in at the same time. Two birds with one stone. Not a bad idea at all. Decimus seemed to calm...
... Until he caught the distinct, STRONG odor of hyena in the area. The mufffled scent of many hyenas, and dried blood. Lion blood. The scent was getting stronger the closer he came to home; the closer he came to where Narifia should be.
'Hyenas...! Dirty BASTARDS!'
Decimus' first thought was that his queen had been attacked by a gang of vicious hyenas. He caught the scent of Narifia mingled with the scent of hyena, and his blood rushed through his veins. He leaped into a mighty run and was home in seconds...
... Only to find yet another stranger in his midst. No hyenas in sight, thankfully. Just a battered and sleeping lioness, and a very confused-looking Narifia right beside her."Decimus? What on earth is wrong? You look as if you've seen Aiheu!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Kai on Oct 24, 2010 18:59:44 GMT -5
The large, bloodied lioness stirred and looked around drowsily for a moment.
"Wha...."
When her mind was finally cleared enough to recognize that someone was yelling, she promptly regained her sense, shaking off the lingering effects of Rafiki's healing concotion. She didn't know who this guy was, but he was loud and he didn't look happy. Shetani was wary, and decided she was not comfortable in any remotely vulnerbale position with this stranger. Slowly, painfully, she sat upright; bright green eyes fixed on Decimus.
"Whoa whoa, what's goin' on?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Narifia on Oct 24, 2010 19:11:08 GMT -5
Decimus was breathing hard, not only from the run over but from the sheer shock of smelling so much hyena stink in one place. Many emotions swirled in his mind right now; residual fear that hyenas had somehow been in contact with his queen, anger at how foolish he looked right now, confusion at the sight of the bloody stranger who was now sitting upright in his own home... and appeared to be the largest cause of the hyena stink now that Decimus' head was clearing.
He wanted to be angry with Narifia. Only days ago he had put his everything on the line for her, setting aside all trepidations and putting his full faith in her. Ardilana and her hurt pride could attest to that. She was letting strangers in right and left; first Kivuli and now this unexplained mess.
Decimus held his shock and anger in check. He wanted to yell out. He wanted to scream at her, 'WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON!?' but he didn't. He took a breath. He composed himself. He kept his burning eyes on the stranger, looking her over, sizing her up. She smelled like trouble incarnate.
"My apologies, Narifia..." his eyes never left Shetani, "I followed the heavy scent of hyena here. I was worried for your safety."
Narifia could sense Decimus' anxiety. She sighed in relief though, because she knew he only acted this way because he cared. "Oh Decimus, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry over. Shetani was attacked on her way here, I was just allowing her some time to rest and recover."
|
|
|
|
Post by Kai on Oct 24, 2010 19:19:41 GMT -5
Shetani looked back and forth briefly, mildly confused.
"You came rushing to her aid? Your Khan looks like she can take well enough care of herself."
She looked towards Narifia.
"Does your whole clan do this to ya?"
Her proud nature kicked in when Narifia mentioned she had been attacked,
"Got mobbed by about four and then several more afterwards. Nasty bastards those Graveyard Clan. Paid 'em back in full, though."
She had to make it known that she was only beaten because it wasn't a fair fight,
|
|
|
|
Post by Narifia on Oct 24, 2010 19:27:28 GMT -5
Narifia let out a small, but strained, chuckle, "Well, not everyone. Decimus is very dedicated."
Decimus' eyes shifted away from Shetani. She herself seemed harmless in her current state, which meant only that he'd have to keep an eye on her. However, it wasn't HER that bothered Decimus so much as the possibility that she could be luring danger to the pride.
'You'll drag in anything that's hurt and try to fix it, won't you Narifia? Even if it could kill you,' he thought to himself but tactfully decided not to voice.
"How long is it staying? The hyena stink is turning my stomach," he said, addressing Narifia and ignoring Shetani for now.
Narifia gave Decimus a scolding look, "Shetani will be here for as long as it takes for her to heal. She has business with us that she'll need to take care of in the meantime, but we'll talk about that later."
'Business?'
Decimus decided to prod that information out of Narifia later. He looked around, noting that Narifia and this stranger were the only ones around. "I couldn't help but notice the absence of your husband. Where is he, Narifia?" he asked with slight disdain in his voice. What king should leave his queen alone with a stranger in a situation like this?
|
|
|
|
Post by Kai on Oct 24, 2010 19:30:47 GMT -5
Shetani's expression slowly turned from guarded to angry, her remaining ear flattening back and green eyes narrowing venemously. And although she was certainly in no state for a fight, she tried to talk towards Decimus.
"Hey, if you got somethin' ta say, say it within range!"
Deadly black claws unsheathed slightly, but she held back out of respect for Narifia and her own wounds. At the same time, she too wondered where Morobi had gone now that someone had mentioned it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Narifia on Oct 24, 2010 19:36:53 GMT -5
Narifia was about to answer when Shetani kicked in. Narifia winced and shook her head; this was not going to go well.
Decimus looked square at Shetani and growled a menacing warning growl. He kept his voice controlled and even, if only for the sake of his queen, yet his voice was still laced with malice.
"Do not attempt to intimidate me in the sorry state you're in, outsider. Whatever business you have here keep in mind that you are in OUR territory, on OUR soil, and in the presence of OUR queen. You will show your respect and keep your mouth quiet, or you'll end up out of here and on your ass with quite a few extra wounds to add to your collection there."
Narifia stood and stepped between Shetani and Decimus, facing him. The look on her face and the tone of her voice was stern as she interjected, "DECIMUS. Enough. Look Deci, I appreciate your concern as I always have. There's no need to be so rude to Shetani, however. She is injured and a guest in our land. She is not used to our customs and our ways; her culture is... somewhat different from our own. Please show her come courtesy."
Narifia knew better than to tell Decimus anything about Shetani's hyena heritage right now. She hoped that likewise Shetani wasn't in the mood to tell Decimus that bit of news right now.
Decimus looked his queen in the eyes, and said, "Rude to her? I didn't see you saying much when she very rudely cut you off just as you were about to answer my question. Which, I might add, still remains unanswered."
|
|
|
|
Post by Kai on Oct 24, 2010 19:44:41 GMT -5
Shetani stared right back into Decimus' eyes, refusing to give an inch or show fear despite that she knew she would be slaughtered in her current state. It was going to be a challenge to find what she needed here if she had to live with this Decimus character. She normally would not let that kind of rudeness slide, but it seemed that circumstances required it. With visible effort, she reigned in her temper. She sheathed her claws, but was still staring daggers at Decimus as she let the conversation continue unimpeded.
|
|
|
|
Post by Narifia on Oct 24, 2010 19:51:30 GMT -5
"For one, Shetani just woke up from a very deep sleep that one of Rafiki's potions put her in. You know how potent his potions can be. My guess is that she wasn't in the right state of mind yet, seeing as she was still groggy from the medicine. I can excuse her reaction under those circumstances, and also because as I stated her culture differs from our own. As for where my husband is; he is escorting Rafiki home at my request as we speak. He's due to return any moment, and when he does I want there to be no more of this discussion lingering. Do I make myself clear?"
Narifia's eyes were calm and steady as she continued to return Decimus' gaze. She was irritated by Decimus' recent behavior towards Kivuli and now Shetani, however she was willing to be patient with him. More than patient considering what she knew he had been through in his life. She easily could understand why he felt the way he did. She had to be firm, however, and soon Decimus would hopefully see that times were indeed changing for the better.
Decimus' gaze did not falter as he listened to his queen. Only when she was finished did he allow his gaze to drop, and that was to cast one final warning glance to Shetani, who he knew had been staring daggers at him through the whole conversation. Decimus turned around, somewhat hurt and somewhat angered at Narifia's words, and began to pad slowly out.
"I'll do as you wish for now, Narifia. If you don't mind," he turned to look at her again, "I would however like to speak with you in private later. I am only concerned for my queen and for the future of this pride. My mind would be put much easier at rest if you would allow me the chance to speak with you later."
Narifia sighed. She was glad and visibly relieved that Decimus was being so gracious about this. She nodded and replied, "Very well, Decimus. I think that would be the best thing for us to do, actually."
Decimus offered a single nod in response and left. By now Decimus had forgotten all about gathering Kurunzi to go 'question' Kivuli; right now, he just wanted to be alone to think. He had a lot to think about, too.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kai on Oct 24, 2010 20:02:45 GMT -5
Not given to mincing words, Shetani was blunt as soon as Decimus had left.
"I don't mean to cause any trouble for you, Narifia-Khan. You've been really good to me, I owe you for saving my hide. There weren't a whole lot of places for Kugo to be droppin' off a half-dead lioness where someone would take 'em in. I coulda just ended up layin' there and bled dry for the buzzards. But understand that where I come from, those're fightin' words."
She still seemed to be fighting down the last flares of her temper as she lowered herself into a laying position, her black-tipped tail flicking.
"In most other circumstances, I woulda started tearin' into him for that kinda rudeness..." She let out a sigh, that particular opportunity had passed for the moment, regardless.
|
|
|
|
Post by Narifia on Oct 24, 2010 20:07:53 GMT -5
Narifia sighed and shook her head. She turned and padded towards Shetani for a few steps before finally settling down to sit in front of her.
"I understand that, Shetani. I really do sincerely apologize for Decimus' behavior. Please..."
Narifia's eyes fell to the floor and lingered there for a few minutes as she tried to gather the right words. How could she explain Decimus with just mere words?
Morobi was nearing the entrance of the cave just as he heard Narifia utter the word 'please.' He stopped just short of the entrance to listen, curious as to why his mate's tone of voice sounded so conflicted right now. One glance around told him that it had something to do with Decimus as he spotted the black lion skulking away. Morobi sighed and shook his head, thinking to himself, 'I'm gone five minutes... what the hell happened?'
"Please try not to hold it against him too much, Shetani. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses for him, but he's been through a lot in his life. Trust does not come easily to him, if at all in some cases. To be honest, this is a fairly new pride. We've only just begun to thrive, and this is the first real, stable home he's ever had. He just doesn't want to lose it. He sees anything and everything as a potential threat."
'Geeze 'Rifi, don't tell her we're a new pride just yet! We don't even know if we can trust her, and she could exploit that as a weakness!' Morobi thought to himself. In a way, he agreed with Decimus that Narifia was quite a bit too open and friendly with strangers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kai on Oct 24, 2010 20:14:09 GMT -5
Shetani was slightly moved by Narifia's sincere apology and her trusting nature, though she managed to hide it.
"Well.. I guess we gotta just try and stay outta eachother's way. Shouldn't be too hard, I ain't goin' and hunting 'him down in this state."
Her good ear flicked as she picked up the sound of Morobi's pawsteps.
"Welcome back... Morobi-Khan.. er... KingMorobi..." She was still struggling a bit with the language barrier and what to call a male leader.
|
|
|
|
Post by Narifia on Oct 24, 2010 20:17:46 GMT -5
Morobi padded in finally and replied (not quite understanding her but not to be completely rude), "Thank you, Shetani, uhh, khan."
Narifia turned to face him and smiled a welcoming smile.
"I'm glad you're back, dear. I take it Rafiki is home safe?"
She didn't seem to have heard him lingering outside the cave just moments ago. It wasn't that Narifia was unaware of her surroundings or that she couldn't hear his pawsteps or the sound of his breathing; rather, it was that those sounds were so familiar to her that she just didn't give them a second thought.
Morobi nodded and replied, "He is. Oh, and that reminds me. Shetani, we bumped into your friends along the way."
Morobi looked at Shetani, awaiting a response. He put his questions about what had happened with Decimus aside for the moment. Shetani still was an injured guest, after all.
Then again, he still didn't know the exact circumstances of her falling into their paws in the first place. Everything happened so fast. It seemed as if he'd just barely gotten a glimpse of Shetani's story throughout the whole day, and yet he'd been ordered to basically cater to this stranger's needs all day.
It was somewhat unnerving. As king, he should know all about what was going on in his kingdom, let alone what happened in his very cave. He didn't really like being ordered around like a cub all day, either. He'd have to have a talk with Narifia about that later.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kai on Oct 24, 2010 20:19:49 GMT -5
She paused for a moment as Morobi misused the word "khan." Shetani decided not to bother with it, this kind of thing would be become less of a problem in time. She was probably butchering their language anyway, so she could forgive his mistakes.
Her eyes widened and she became suddenly alert at the news of her friends, briefly met and violently made though they were, she felt that the fight had given them a connection.
"You did?"
The lioness recalled the state they were in before she passed out.
"Were they okay? Where did they go?"
She didn't want to seem like she was bombarding Morobi with questions, but she was concerned. And when she noticed that was evident, her tone changed to cover it up.
"I mean... Uh..." She coughed, "...did someone patch 'em up?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Narifia on Oct 24, 2010 20:24:57 GMT -5
Morobi was somewhat taken aback by Shetani's abrupt outburst of concern for her friends. In the back of his mind some of his trepidation melted away. After all, if she showed such concern and care for her friends (hyena friends at that--Morobi still didn't know that Shetani herself was from a hyena clan so that part kind of impressed him), how malicious could she really be? Maybe she was just a wandering soul in need, after all.
He made an effort to suppress a smile at her concern, but it failed as a little hint of a smile still managed to sneak through. He replied, "Your friends are just fine. When I left them, Rafiki was tending to their wounds. I told them about Teikan. They were grateful, but didn't seem to know where they were going just yet."
It didn't register just yet that Teikan was hyena territory. When Morobi finally would hear the full story and look back, he was sure to kick himself for overlooking these details.
"Now, can someone please explain to me what's been going on? I'm the king and yet I know about as much as a fruit fly does about this right now. It's giving me a headache," he inquired, not joking about the headache part. Narifia couldn't help but giggle--poor Morobi!
|
|
