[PRP] A Word, if you will... (Ram x Puzzle)

[Epine de Rose]

His diplomat had tried to do her best to give him a measured response to the unveiling of this new 'product' in the Kizingo'zaa. However even as she tried to temper her own bias, he detected the genuine concern in her voice. The more she explained the properties of the elixir they had discovered, the more he realised that the young leaders of their allied pride could have placed their union in jeopardy.

Ram had done well to control his temper as he had excused himself from his meetings and made his way to the Kizingo'zaa. He had far too much on his plate to be dealing with this right now, but on occasions he had to multitask. This was an issue that needed to be addressed by him, and he wouldn't settle himself until he got answers. Honestly, he was baffled as to why the young ones wanted to throw everything in to jeopardy, why they would deliberately place their friends in harms way.

What exactly was the logic behind it?

What made them think this was a good idea?

To say he was not amused was an understatement, but he would keep his temper in check until he had at least heard the naive youth's side to the story. It would be after they had the opportunity to explain that he would draw his own conclusions and take whatever actions he deemed necessary...

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

From the get-go, Puzzle knew a meeting with Ram would be inevitable. As a saying went, though, hindsight was perfect vision, and for all his seer powers might have allowed him to See and react to, they never worked the way he wanted them to. Such was life, wasn't it?

He was pacing the beach, open space where others couldn't so easily spy on those having a conversation, when he spotted Ram. Multiple possibilities ran over in his head, not a single one of them the result of his Seer powers - They were all his imagination, running wild with the magnitude of ways this could go wrong.

"Ram! I know exactly why you're here, and I assure you it's my every intention to keep it WITHIN the Kizingo'zaa lands." If one could say anything of Puzzle by now, it was that he sometimes lacked... Tact. He also didn't beat around the bush, at least.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

The young male was already on his case before he'd even had an opportunity to say hello. Instead, Puzzle was already in the process of reassuring him regarding his decision and Ram could do nothing more than blink rapidly. Fortunately he was able to absorb the bulk of what had been said, and the fact that the young lion had good intentions... even if he needed to work on his social etiquette going forward. It was for this reason that the older male didn't speak for some time, he waited until he was certain he would have an opening to speak and then shook his head.

"First," he stated. "Hello, how are you?" Ram began and raised a brow. "I have a headache, thank you for asking," he added and motioned with his paw for Puzzle to take a seat. If there was anything that would settle, or perhaps unsettle the younger lion, it was simply that Ram didn't seem to be giving too much away at this moment in time. At least, he didn't seem to have an inclination to get to the point as abruptly as Puzzle had!

"Thank you for that by the way, I really needed to have this as well as the Stormborn on my doorstep, your timing is impeccable," he mused and released a sigh. "Now perhaps you can tell me why you decided introducing hallucinogenics into your home was a good idea, particularly those that can be transported?"

Now Puzzle would have the chance to explain himself properly.

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

Puzzle flushed with embarrassment, reminded of his manners that had been forgotten in his rush to placate Ram's worries he was so sure the older lion had. "Hello. Sorry..." He sat down, shifting his paws in the sand. "My worry's getting the best of me, I think..."

He stopped, blinking at what Ram had said. "Stormborn?" It was a name he was unfamiliar with, as yet. "What are Stormborn? Are they a group of baboons or buffalo?" For as many lions as had been joining the pride, he had yet to hear about anything called the Stormborn. "I had no idea you had anything like that on your border, Ram! It's a coincidence of timing, I swear!"

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Lions from another pride decidedly less pleasant than either of ours," Ram replied and waved his paw dismissively. "They are however on their best behaviour at this precise moment in time, it seems their lady is proving agreeable," he added. He wouldn't concern Puzzle with this matter at the moment given that for now, things were perfectly safe. His guards had certainly had their feathers ruffled when they discovered they would have to work but the Captain had been good on his word so far.

...That and Ram had grown accustomed to the Bahari having a certain amount of luck. For some reason, even the fiercest of opponents seemed to settle and find peace on those shores.

"I am not however blaming you for their arrival, that really was a coincidence," he reassured him and offered a wry smile. "I am blaming you for the danger you could place on your neighbours however with this elixir you have found and decided to distribute."

He paused.

"My diplomat advises me it's to promote the insanity that your Father had attempted to temper, why would you want to bring that back, exactly?"

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

A fear not unlike the one he felt when getting too close to the pride's borders with the roguelands filled Puzzle as he sank down, eyes wide. "Another pride... That's not pleasant..." His imagination filled with shadows of lions with glowing red eyes and wicked grins. Invaders, come to reap the rewards of conquering the pride. He'd have to let Flowerlord know.

The fear was joined swiftly by shame as he looked down at the sand, ears folding back into his dark mane. "It's more, a controlled method for lions to access their muses, while allowing them to move about the pride's lands. I've advised everybody that it should never go beyond the pride's borders, and that Bahari are to not partake in the consumption of it. This is a thing unique to us, and not something I intend for others to share in."

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Good intentions," Ram gave the young lion that much, he still wasn't happy as it didn't seem like they'd thought this through entirely... But when he had been young he had made equally ridiculous decisions. Granted, he hadn't been in charge of a pride and therefore hadn't had the weight of that on his shoulders, but the young were entitled to mess up now and then. They were however, expected to clean up after their messes as well.

...At least in his eyes.

"There's just one little problem with your intentions," he said and raised a brow. "How are you going to enforce it?" he asked curiously. "How are you going to make sure that the rebellious aren't going to share it with their overly curious neighbours?" he continued. He wasn't stupid, he knew that some of the Bahari had, incredibly foolishly, entered that cave. He knew they had been driven mad by its influence and he knew that they would try to get their paws on this syrup like a cub would a mother's teat.

"Now I can confirm that there will be some, not so pleasant results if I catch them high as the birds on our lands," he stated and narrowed his eyes. "Those Bahari will quickly find themselves without a home unless they come to you with their tails between their legs."

"Equally, I don't imagine I will be treating any smugglers with any particular care either. They will be treated with similar hostility," he added and tilted his head to the side.

"Unless you have a foolproof plan to control this elixir in the most absolute sense," he challenged. Now this was where Puzzle would prove himself as a leader, if he'd given this some thought, then maybe this would settle Ram and ensure the Bahari leader would remain agreeable!

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

"I can entirely understand you not wanting it on your side of the border. Right now only one lion knows how to make it, Brewmistress, and she's not too keen on sharing her recipe yet." He took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "Flowerlord isn't keen on the elixir, himself. It won't be hard to convince him to have the Patrons step up patrols in order to make sure none slips through, and have any visiting Bahari closely watched. While there's many in the pride happy to have a form of the insanity back, there's still others who were never there for it and see no reason to partake in the consumption." Puzzle himself was one of them, and so far Boneknapper was another. They had both been born and grew up in a pride sans insanity, neither having wandered to the Dreamer's Cave for their own reasons.

"The lions of the Kizingo'zaa already know that the brew is to not cross out of our borders. Anybody caught with it in the Bahari'mtoto lands will only have themselves to blame for the consequences of their actions." The fear from before had abated, though not entirely. Puzzle looked down for a moment, then back up to Ram. "If any Bahari are caught under the brew's influences, they are welcome to stay here, under the same rules that the brew may not pass the borders. If they wish to remain as Dreamers, they may, but they MUST know that if they do that, they can't leave the pride's borders. I may seek to give the Dreamers a larger role in the pride, but that doesn't mean I'm keen on them going outside our lands."

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

It was a compromise he could accept and his expression seemed to say as much; he might not like that the elixir existed but now that it was out, he would have to accept it. Sadly he wasn't the merciless sort, or else he would have simply assassinated the only individual who happened to know how to make it! He would however pocket the information for later and watch closely to see how many lions the Brewmistress eventually taught. After all, as soon as the knowledge became more prevalent the danger would increase exponentially.

"Then any Bahari'mtoto that are foolish enough to sample what they know better than to try will fall into your care," he stated with a firm nod. "They will not be allowed back in to their former home, I will see to that personally if they try," he added. He would expect all the guards to be in favour of such a harsh sentence, but if he were to restrict it, he was going to have to ensure that there were consequences. On this occasion he was simply going to have to be the bad-cop.

...Eventually they would learn.

The drug addicts would settle and essentially be imprisoned within the Kizingo'zaa and based on how these muses seemed to work, it would be a fair trade off. They were already trapped in their own minds, they wouldn't notice they were trapped in a jungle. He only hoped that the sober Kizingo'zaa didn't feel threatened or outnumbered should too many of their young and naive fall to the call of such a substance.

"Their families will obviously be permitted to visit them here but that will be as far as it goes," he clarified. "You have created something that can do a staggering amount of damage and I can't say I appreciate the action that was taken regardless of your intentions," he paused, albeit briefly.

"But I have no choice but to accept it for the time being and see how it plays out," he murmured and gave a bow of his head.

"Keep this under control and you'll have my respect," he stated. "Those who are subject to any form of drug often lose control and become erratic; If you lose control, then I will deal with it myself and we will part ways amicably," he promised.

There were no threats of war, it wasn't Ram's style... Just a heavy set of expectations. He would do what he needed in order to protect his pride, even if it meant severing an alliance that meant so much to a fair number of lions. The younger adults may hate him for it, but it would protect his cubs from any dreamers that might find themselves violent in the end.

"Until then, good luck," he smiled and turned on his heel. "Now if you would excuse me I have a number of rowdy males and females to keep an eye on; but at least these ones aren't insane," he finished and strode away.

...Well he might have accepted the elixir; that didn't mean he was going to respect those who decided to use it. Just as well he wasn't part of the Kizingo'zaa!

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

Puzzle nodded, watching Ram go. When he was alone on the beach, he rose and started walking, heading back to the treeline. He had a lot to think on, to really plan for, and every what-if situation needed to be accounted for. As it was, he suspected that the pride was going to see some more blossoming numbers in the form of Bahari lions becoming Kizingo lions.