[PRP] Career Paths (Dulfy x Joka)

[Epine de Rose]

Dulfy hadn't been at this for long, he'd been following Auberon's instructions and to say that he was settled in was a reasonably accurate description. He still wasn't sold on the role, at least not fully, and particularly not in the face of the rather zealous nature of this boy-king... But he understood why they were doing it and the nature of their role in what he could only describe as a fragile and vulnerable pride.

...So far they were all on edge, but a tense 'peace' had formed in recent months as new rules became the norm. Every now and then he would spot an inappropriate comment and it was particularly easy to spot that the traditionalists now felt a greater sense of superiority among others but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't quite as bad as people had imagined.

To his credit that little boy had kept his word and he 'shouldered' the burden of the corrupt for now. Agreements and treaties had yet to be finalised among the three prides that had been identified as potential sanctuaries and as such, these lionesses were under no burden to go.

And as for the Kizingo'zaa? Well, the chasm that had opened up between the two prides had served as a stark reminder on both sides that their time as allies was over. Unusually, Dulfy was one of the few to support the boy-king's decision to reinforce the border along the chasm and while it seemed 'crazy' it was better not to take risks. Alas, the severed ties had been taken hard by some and they did have a measure of Dulfy's sympathies... That didn't mean he would let anything in though.

It was with that in mind that he was on duty again this morning - he'd been advised that while the initial morning was due to be quiet he was to expend some visitors who had the intention of joining 'his' rank... Bizarrely, Auberon had indicated that it was up to him to decide if they were worthy. He was going to go with 'no', but he'd wait and see, based on what Auberon had said of them they were mighty warriors and he would 'do well' to give them consideration.

For now though? Well, for now his day was expected to be uneventful and he was taking advantage of that by lazing openly on the larger boulders of the border. Suffice to say that by noon he was probably going to be sunning himself!

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Silly though it might seem to someone else, while the adolescent wasn't suddenly at peace, or entirely positive she knew what direction she wanted her life to go in, Joka had found that, after talking to her half-brother not too long ago, she was leaning more strongly than before toward trying to become one of the Nyangumi - she had yet to actually talk to one of them, but he'd made the very-valid point that it wasn't like she couldn't change her mind later, if it turned out to be a job that made her extremely unhappy.

While she couldn't say that her resolve had made her completely immune to the occasional rude remarks, or side-eyes, it had at least made it easier for her to take the higher road and not snap back at it. Nonetheless, she found that taking a break from the thick of things within the pride helped give her some much-needed distance (and peace), and so it was that she found herself close to the border - and she could almost feel the stress falling away.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He was used to the coming and going of rogues within the land and to a certain extent, he'd seen more than his fair share of Bahari'mtoto leave in light of the changes that the young King had made. His decisions had been controversial to say the least, but it seemed the bulk of those who spoke out in protest had made their decision and left...leaving the remaining sets of lions to wait it out and see what became of their home.

So far, the young king had been all but silent and largely non-committal towards all except constructing his protective 'barrier' and ensuring that the more 'elite' guardsmen were in place. Within the last few weeks, or was it months now, he hadn't really said anything controversial and it was something that Auberon seemed particularly content to accept.

...Dulfy on the other hand hadn't really invested much time in the politics of it all.

Still, every now and then it seemed like another would say they had had enough and take their leave. Was this what was to become of the adolescent that now approached the borders? He had his reservations about letting her out now, though he would have no qualms with releasing an adult into the wild.

"You are a little young to be exiting of your own accord, don't you think?" He finally spoke up lazily as he regarded the young lioness. A wry smile was on his lips, indicating that she wasn't the first (or last) who would eventually take their leave from their home. "Perhaps when you have a little more fur on your chest and height to your form, hm?"

He shook his head.

"As it stands you are a little young for me to be allowing you to explore the perceived greener grass," he pointed out.

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Joka started, not having seen the other lion until he spoke, her head whipping around to face him, even as she narrowed her eyes in confusion. Young to be exiting of her own accord...? Her eyes widened as comprehension sunk in. Shaking her head, she finally replied. "I wasn't planning on anything quite that dramatic," she retorted, wondering just how many he'd seen doing just that, that it was his first assumption.

"I came out here for a bit of peace and quiet, not to leave the pride." she repeated, shrugging. "Although what size or furriness have to do with anything..." She raised her eyebrows at him, expression slightly challenging.

At his last words, she blinked. "Who are you to allow me one way or the other?" Her tone had shifted from challenging to curious, as she had not seen this particular lion around, and so had no idea what position he held in the pride.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"One of the few individuals of authority who can take an unwelcome visitor and drag them back out of the pride by their ear if necessary," Dulfy replied with a shrug. He theoretically should have been easy to spot, as one of those of 'new' blood and an individual who was in such a position of power, there were probably a fair number of resentful pride members... Pride members that he empathized with even if he would continue to do his job undeterred.

After all, there were Nyangumi in the pride who had dedicated their entire life to protecting these borders. They had given up their time, their good health and so on, only to be pushed to one side by the young King. It wasn't that Shui didn't appreciate the work they did, but to him, each and every one of these lions had been compromised.

...The Nyangumi knew all the pride members. They had relationships, they had connections, they had bonds that would make their duty very difficult and as such, it had been better to find another set of individuals who could do it undeterred. Dulfy had been one of that neutral party to arrive, but evidently the younger pride members had remained shielded from the controversial nature of his position. Maybe to her he was nothing more than another Nyangumi, one she hadn't yet crossed paths with?

"Or to drag foolish children back home until they are strong enough, large enough and educated enough to survive in a world where pridal rules don't apply," he clucked his tongue. "That's what size and furriness have to do with it," he pointed out wryly. "You're too much of a short a** and you've no muscle on your bones, you'd be crushed like a bug."

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

She looked at him, curiosity flitting across her features, briefly. This was one of the newly appointed guards, then, that had so much of the pride up in arms...one of the ones she'd spoken to her cousin about, not so long ago. At his remark, she almost replied that dragging anyone about by an ear seemed unnecessarily difficult...but decided to not be excessively provocative...yet.

To be honest, he wasn't at all what she had expected, when she'd decided it was a role she was interested in pursuing - he lacked a certain...gravitas, and seemed far more irreverent than she would have expected. To be fair, individuals all had their own personalities, but...it still took her aback.

And then he drove that impression home, the words immediately getting her back up, all the more offended since she'd already clarified she wasn't some cub attempting to run away from home, fleeing into the roguelands.

"Foolish?" she asked, her tone careful, giving him a slowwwww blink. "I don't think intelligence has anything to do with size, or fur." she said pointedly. "And while size helps, surely small rogues exist and survive outside of the pride." She then shrugged. "Keeping outsiders from getting in makes sense to me, without some sort of...precaution, but for someone who wanted to leave, unless it's a cub, I can't imagine why size would be your main criteria for allowing it."

The only explanation for her arguing with him when she really had only approached the borders for the peace and quiet they brought was that something about his tone had pricked her (admittedly sensitive) pride.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Are you sure?" He lifted a brow, she certain was a feisty one and seemed determined to have the last word. Whatever her issue might have been, she clearly had something bothering her. "The smaller you are, the younger you are more likely to be. If you are male, the less hair you have on your mane... the younger you may be," he shook his head.

"And the younger you are, the more foolish some of your decisions may be," he chuckled softly. "For example, only a fool would argue for the sake of it," he pointed out. Well if her hackles were already raised he might as well make her smart a touch more. Better for her to get it out here in present company than embarrass herself around those who were likely to chastise or use it as comedic material at a later date.

...Oh he'd seen what some of them were like, he just didn't subscribe to the pridal "political bullshit".

"It's the age of an individual that concerns us and while it is true that there are smaller lions in the rogue lands... You would be hard pressed to find one who claims their survival is easy," he added.

There would of course be smaller lions who would protect their own ego by claiming it was easy, but the bigger you were the easier things were. Small wasn't imposing, small wasn't as strong as most prey, and small didn't have as long as stride. They could certainly survive and he had seen it, but he'd seen far more 'small' lions in pridal regions where they and others could use mutual strengths.

"Now should you come of age and still be a munchkin then we will still step aside despite whatever reservations some of us may have," he added and offered a shrug.

"Diplomacy aside, once you're grown I couldn't give a s**t what you do. You want to storm out as a strong and independent lioness while only coming up to my knee? Have at it. If you get flattened by a stampede because you're too short to see then I'll just deliver the news to your family and let them ponder the more nuanced aspects of the uh... mortal plane."

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Joka rolled her eyes, for just a moment embodying the quintessential teenager. "Wouldn't it take a bigger fool to continue a lecture that was already proven unnecessary?" She barely held back a grumpy, pouty snarl at the rebuke. All she'd wanted was some peace and quiet, and instead she had apparently gotten a royal guard bent on a lecture.

As he concluded his...tirade? Dissertation? She couldn't help a small snort, in spite of her prickly, somewhat over-the-top irritation. He was blunt, which she could actually appreciate...

"So what do you do, other than accosting outsiders, or those you consider too young at the borders?" She asked, her tone both condescending...and legitimately curious.
She figured it was unlikely he'd leave her to wander on her own, and wasn't ready to go back and face the pride at large quite yet...so at least she might learn something useful about what a royal guard did, since she'd been considering pursuing it herself.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

She really was a child... Just as well she had stumbled in to him rather than being coaxed out by a passerby promising greater things. He could see the appeal though, after all, depending on her heritage 'escape' may not have seemed entirely undesirable. Alas, rather than reply to her petulant query he merely rolled his eyes and leveled an unimpressed stare at the young lioness... She still had a great deal to learn.

"What do I do?" he shrugged, to her credit the King hadn't made their duties entirely well known given it would cause controversy among some within the Bahari ranks. Merely accepting them as "those individuals who threw out the unwanted' was so much easier than the more complex reply.

...But how was he to reply in a diplomatic way that didn't land him in hot water with Auberon?

"We are whatever the young King requires of us," he stated plainly. "What he is unable to do alone, we do, regardless of how unpleasant some might consider it," he replied calmly. It was the best he could do, short of entering their ranks and learning the truth in a much more blunt fashion, he'd sooner not expose them to anymore headaches.

They were the muscle, the enforcers, and if necessary...the ones who did the dirty work that no one else would.

"We are perhaps the most pragmatic of individuals within the pride," he added vaguely. "Doing the right thing isn't always easy or kind, nor is doing the kind or easy thing necessarily right. We do what others cannot."

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Well, that had been a studiously unhelpful answer....at least initially. Eyeing him critically, any childish pouting was forgotten as she weighed his words. Something about that last part, in particular, resonated with her. At first impression, the description he'd given didn't seem particularly suited for the male in front of her, though, so she found herself more curious than before as to exactly how demanding the job might be.

"How would one go about joining the ranks, if they thought they'd be a good fit?" she asked after a moment, gaze intent. She wasn't any less annoyed with his presumptions as to why she'd come out toward the borders, or his penchant for lecturing, or condescension due to her youth, but....she'd been interested in his job for awhile now, and she was goal-oriented enough to put that aside to learn more about it, now that the opportunity presented itself.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Offer your services to the King," Dulfy replied simply and offered a shrug. All in all it was as simple as that, or rather it sounded simple, the final hurdle in the grand scheme of things was in achieving his trust. Shui was a suspicious being, desperately paranoid courtesy of several events...and unfortunately the reservations his homeland had against his choices hadn't served in making him feel more comfortable either.

Fortunately, Dulfy didn't have to concern himself with the politics as Auberon had proven to be adept at it. The blue lion played his game while Dulfy and his brothers continued to serve adequately well as 'Guards'. Shui had been more inclined to trust those he could 'pay' rather than those within the pride and given some of the feedback Dulfy had heard...he'd understood why.

That being said, Dulfy didn't blame Shio for the events that had occurred either, the Nyangumi had made the decision to look to him...he hadn't ordered them to.

"Provided he deems you capable you may find yourself within our ranks, albeit it tentatively and in need of some training," he paused briefly to glance over her shoulder towards what seemed to be a swarm of shadows on the horizon, they weren't terribly clear but based on statue and movement he assumed feline - their legs weren't lanky enough for prey.

"How curious," he mused thoughtfully. "We don't get visitors lately," he added and raised a brow. "Or have you pen friends and they are here to collect you?"

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Joka raised an eyebrow, her expression surprised, possibly even crossing into disbelief. Surely it wasn't that simple...or that difficult. How did one go about earning the trust of someone like the King, who she was unlikely to have reason to interact directly with?! Although the latter, more detailed information seemed more practical. An initial audience and evaluation, followed by a trial period, of sorts...

It was worth pursuing. Additionally, it would give her an edge in proving herself a legitimate, connected part of the pride as a whole, in spite of her...heritage.

Turning to see what he had seen, the youth's eyes widened, and she shifted from one paw to the other, although she didn't otherwise give any outward indication of discomfort.

"I've never spoken to anyone outside of the pride," she said, lifting her lip in mild irritation at his question. "Perhaps you've accosted others who were simply minding their own business, and they're back to...discuss it further?" She couldn't resist the retort, a small smirk flitting across her maw.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I doubt it, we settle our affairs on the day," Dulfy rose from where he had lay and stretched. Now at full height he was taller than would previously have been expected, but he wasn't as big as some of the more 'divine' blood that may have existed within the pride. Some day, Joka might well rival him in size depending on how much she continued to grow!

She wouldn't have known it, at least not yet anyway, but those who were Royal Guards seemed to have hailed from areas where leaving business unfinished simply wasn't an option. If she did join their ranks she'd most likely have that drilled into her, there was a reason they were trusted to do their jobs and there was a reason they didn't necessarily get too 'close' to the rest of the pride.

...As it stood, any form of bond would get in the way of conducting themselves effectively.

"Might as well find out who we have though," he mused and began to make his way towards the approaching group. She wasn't necessarily invited, but she also hadn't been dismissed. It was as though he'd left it up to her to decide if she would turn back or not, but what was clear was that he had slipped into his role properly and his duty was to protect the pride rather than to bicker with a teenager who had only sought a little peace and quiet...

Vashtya

 

[Vashtya]

Joka snorted...but softly. Were all of the King's guard's so...irreverent? It was a confidence that almost bordered on the cocky - was that something that went hand-in-hand with the sort of power, so to speak, that their job gave them, or was it simply a personality trait of this particular male?

Regardless of that, if he thought she wasn't going to go see what, or who was approaching the pride's border (and just what his job entailed, in that respect), then he really hadn't read her well at all. Falling in step a few paces behind him, she peered around him, curiosity plain as day.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He was being followed and this wasn't entirely unexpected, she might have thought he was cocky but she had a level of fight in her that easily implied she'd do what she wanted rather than what she was told. Not exactly a perfect quality going in to later life, but a normal one for any teenager to possess and something he would have been concerned with if she'd lacked it.

...Then again he'd observed several cubs who hadn't displayed it, it may have been a Bahari thing, but they were all quite 'blah' in his books. All laid back, all chilled out, not enough spunk. The only saving grace some of them might have had was that they were pretty to look at! Fortunately he hadn't mentioned any of these views to his boss who would likely have clouted him.

Nevertheless, he wasn't overly concerned by her presence and despite her young age he could feign she was a squire if need be. It was apparent that he was out numbered in this one so any indication of greater numbers would be of use. For now though? Well, for now he'd simply bridge the distance and see who seemed intent on crossing their borders.

What would happen next would remain to be seen...

Vashtya

/Fin! (For now, until we've closed off some other RPs haha)