Settling In A Life of Luxury

[Lucas]

Lucas wasn't very keen on Agrahbah, to be honest. I mean, yeah, there was a palace, but again, it wasn't very impressive to him. He was sort of blunt that way. He was in the palace garden. Cause why the heck not? And he settled himself down on the ground, near a small pond. He waits there a few moments as if waiting for something to happen. Nothing did though, so he just sat there, waiting for something to happen. He wondered where his sister was. He hadn't quite acquainted himself with everyone yet, but the lionesses here sort of knew him, and he sort of knew them. But not that much. 

He heard the birds chirping and almost rolled his eyes. What bird brains. He got to his paws, his blue eyes searching the garden for any movement. His vivid blue eyes seemed out of place in this green garden and most of the lions and lionesses here had green eyes if he remembered correctly. But, haha, really, who knew?

"Huh, well this is really boring," he sighed. He sat down, his light brown mane glowing as the sun shone on to it. He hardly took notice, though. He hoped something exciting happened. 

"Great, silence, my favorite sound," he grumbled sarcastically. He hated silence when he was bored. If he was training? Yes, he loved silence. But when he was doing absolutely nothing? Not exactly. 

[Dotty]

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, you know."

The grey-furred lioness had been napping in the sunshine, enjoying the peace of the mid-morning with only the birds for company in the palace gardens. That was, until a loud voice broke the peace and stirred her from where she was resting. Reluctantly, she pushed herself to her paws and examined the new arrival. Male lions not directly related to the former king were a rarity in Agrabah.

“And who might you be? I’d advise speaking to the queens if you’re looking to join up with the pride. Most around here don’t take kindly to strange lions just wandering around.”

If King Scar were here, Dotty thought, this young male wouldn’t have even gotten this far into the palace without being challenged. But the king was dead and so far no one had stepped up to fill the void he had left in the pride.

[Kijana]

“Do you think he’s a rouge lion Miss Dotty?” The sound of wheels on tile sounds as the young cub makes his way over to Dotty and the stranger, he stops short at Dotty’s flank peering at Lucas with golden eyes. “Should I go get Sarafina or Zira?” Kijana was full of questions today just as any other day.

(Short post is short)

[Lucas]

Lucas turned to see a lioness standing there. He sighed in almost relief. Finally, something happened! He laughed. "Haha, I'm not mad, just like talking to myself," he said with a shrug. His blue eyes peered at the other lioness with a perplexed looked.

"Lucas, and who might you be, hmm?" he asked with a quirky smile. His smile stayed there. "Me? Stranger? I'm hurt," he said, faking a dramatic gasp. "I joined a while ago," he said with a shrug.

His eyes wandered from her to the person that had come hear her. What was that under their belly and paw? A strange wheel contraption? Interesting. "You mentioned this Sarafina and Zira. Who are they?" he asked, getting slightly. Were these the 'queens' that the lioness was talking about.

"Rouge?" he asked. "My, thanks for the compliment," There was a hint of sarcasm, but he kind of liked it. He was a rouge, as he wasn't part of any group or pride. How could he be? When he was abandoned by his parents? His face turned almost bitter at the thought of his parents.

[Dotty]

Almost without thinking, Dotty moved in front of Kijana, as if expertly the older male may attack the cub if given the chance. He was definitely a strange one but she wasn’t going to risk the chance that he may be a possible threat, especially if it meant losing a young life.

“No,” she replied to him, her golden eyes not leaving the strange male “I don’t think we should bother them just yet.”

Now her attention returned the the male, Lucas as he introduced himself. Dotty found it hard to believe he had joined the army a while ago and yet she hadn’t seen him once before. Other lions stood out amongst the Legion’s ranks so a stranger would have been easily noticed before now.

“They are our queens.” She answered him, avoiding giving her name outright “And they are not the ones to tolerate rogue males wandering around here. I suggest you go to them and perhaps they’ll give their blessing for you to stay with us.”

[Lucas]

As the other lioness moved to protect the cub, Lucas looked perplexed. "I'm not gonna hurt him, or I would have done it already. Besides, I don't attack someone unless they attack me," he told her. That was true though, he wouldn't attack unless provoked.

He had noticed she hadn't said her name, which ticked him off. "You didn't say your name. What is it?" he asked. He then gasped dramatically.

"Stay with you? This is an army, isn't it? I didn't know you had to go to a queen to join," he said sarcastically, though there was a tiny hint of anger. "I'd say that's unfair, does anyone else have to do that?" he questioned.

[Dotty]

Lucas’s statement did nothing to ease Dotty’s mind in regards to Kijana. She didn’t move from her protective stance over the cub and continued to stare down the strange male. If he’d been listening properly he would have already heard that her name, or her nickname actually, had already been stated. She wasn’t comfortable just giving her name away to some random male lion.

He was coming off as quite petulant to her, like an overgrown cub. There were more than a few cubs amongst their ranks and better to be safe than sorry and let in a potentially dangerous rogue who'd do them harm. At least if the queens were consulted, they could better judge whether any lion was more likely to be friend or foe. If King Scar were still alive, it would fall to him and she was sure that this male's attitude would likely see him sent back into the desert where he'd come from.

“I don’t make the laws.” She told him, scowling at him, her tail flicking as if to show her increasing irritation “Either talk to our queens or leave.”

[Kijana]

Kijana looks up as Dotty moves to stand protectively over him. “I’m Kijana and if you are just gonna be rude I suggest you go away” his face pulls downward into a small frown

"I'm not gonna hurt him, or I would have done it already. Besides, I don't attack someone unless they attack me,"

The cub just gates up at him between Dotty’s front legs. His mother always did say that strange males were very dangerous, they could try and take over the pride and then would kill all the cubs. Would this male try to do that? Was that if what he was here for? Kijana wonders if he knew about Scar’s death.

“Either talk to our queens or leave.”

“Yeah, but don’t try anything” he warns

[Lucas]

Lucas was starting to get a little annoyed with these people. The cub introduced himself as Kijana, and he then remembered that the cub had mentioned the lioness as Dotty. "So, Dotty, hmm?" he said. Dotty seemed to not trust him, and he really didn't trust her. But they didn't have to be so hostile and rude, did they?

He wasn't being hostile, was he? He narrowed his eyes for a few moments at Dotty before nodding. "Well then, lead the way to them. That's what you want, right?" he asked. There was no sarcasm in his voice.

He caught the bit where she said she didn't make the laws. "Obviously," he muttered. The world would be chaos, wouldn't it? Probably not, since he didn't even know her.

[Dotty]

It was hard trying to divorce herself from the instinct to present nothing but hostility to a stranger but perhaps she had been too harsh in judging this lion. His attitude very much still irritated her, but Dotty stood down nonetheless. He seemed at least willing to talk to the queens and perhaps he may not be a threat after all. The Overseers had clearly let this lion into the army so they must be content that he was not going to turn on anyone in the army…at least that’s what Dotty hoped.

She brushed her head against Kijana’s back, hoping the cub would take her cue and not antagonise the male any further. The last thing she needed was him getting into trouble that he had no hope of digging himself out of. She appreciated his attempts to stand up with her but a warrior this cub was not, no matter how brave he was in his heart.

“Sorry.” She mumbled “Old habits die hard. You don’t need to see the queens, I just forget that we aren't just a pride anymore.”