[META-SRP] Absolute Trust (Tethys x Ram)

[Epine de Rose]

 

[Epine de Rose]

[This part of the Meta SRPs is restricted to Tethys's immediate confidantes only (they are aware of who they are) and Ram's strictest confidantes.]

"You need them to what?" It was through gritted teeth that the King stared down at the Viking Captain. Never in all of his days had he been ordered to place his own kind at risk; to place them in the direct line of fire against anything, and now that the Captain had returned... he was being instructed to do so. It was with the reassurances that they would be safe of course, that none would be harmed, but this still required a significant amount of trust; and trust was not something that came so freely towards the King when faced with those who would willingly subjugate and enslave. Yet here they were, staring in to one another's eyes in a face off that required time they clearly didn't have.

The time for diplomacy and careful planning were over, in fact, if they'd had any plans they were long gone. The death of one of their own kind had been a warning and it was in these moments that the blue lion realised just how powerless his own pride was to the creatures that now bore down on it. The Bahari'mtoto were at their mercy, and the only thing that stood between them and unimagined suffering was a crew of battleborn lions that knew nothing other than war. He had remembered them from the first time, on their arrival some had been so fresh faced and full of excitement; it seemed that now the gravity of their situation lay heavily on their shoulders.

Each had grown, each had changed and it was not lost on him that they knew exactly what they had to do.

...But at what cost to his pride?

"They must be where we can see them," Tethys repeated and shook his head. He could appreciate that what he was asking might very well be ridiculous in the eyes of an observer, but he knew these creatures better than he knew his own blood at this stage in his life. They would come for anything that sated their hunger, anything that their false god craved, and while they might have a goal, that did not mean that they would miss the opportunity to require other treasures along the way. The Bahari'mtoto were at risk just as much as any Viking would be and the only way to protect them was to place them in a spot that would keep them safe.

They couldn't hide within the shade; they couldn't bury themselves within their dens and barricade it shut. There was nowhere to run against the Scourge, where there lay shadow, there lay danger...and as a consequence the safest place for them to be, was in a world without shadow.

"Where everyone will see them." Ram stated.

"Where these creatures don't walk," Tethys hissed softly, so low that only the King could hear and appreciate that on this occasion, it might well be within reason to invest his faith in the battle hardened spirit before him. "Where they can't hunt, in a world where their magic doesn't work... and where every weapon at their disposal is lost," he continued. "On the shores they will be disarmed, on the shore we can see them," he added. "If they want what they crave most they will have to show themselves."

"And if they wait?" Ram enquired softly. It was a reasonable query and one that might very well happen, a siege as it were, and not necessarily one he wanted to get in to. While food might be plentiful for his pride, they couldn't drink the water from the ocean itself.

"Then they become the hunted," Tethys murmured. "At this time they still believe that we know little of them, of how they think, of how they operate."

"And I'm to believe you do," the King lifted a brow in much the same fashion as he had regarded the Kizingo'zaa's young leaders when they had made their assurances before. The world would be safe in their paws, they would ensure that while their pride found happiness, it would not negatively impact upon his. To their credit they had kept their promises but it was early days yet, and Ram's faith in others was decidedly lacking when it came to the allegiances he had made within the last year. He was playing with fire and he knew this all too well.

"This has been the largest, if not the largest, collaborative effort that my pride has ever seen. I cannot speak for yours, but the number of creatures who have selflessly thrown themselves into this struggle and acquired information that had never been accessible to us is..."

The Captain paused and shook his head.

"We may not win the war, but at the very least we will push them out of these lands," He grimaced. "This is a war that has lasted lifetimes, something that my father's kin have seemingly battled for generations and they still haven't ended this war. Like cockroaches they seem impossible to irradicate," he admitted and released a sigh. "But they have always won the battle, they have always surpressed them and found a way to silence them for a time."

"And you will find a way."

"Or die trying, yes."

The blue lion seemed to contemplate these remarks for a considerable amount of time, though given the circumstances, a mere 30 seconds could feel like an hour. Yet in time he did stir and slowly but surely, he gave the nod that the Captain had been waiting for. Ram had accepted his request, though he might have his reservations, the King had little choice but to accept that on this occasion the Viking Captain knew a great deal more about this species than he did and entering any fight blind was a fool's errand.

"Move them," Ram ordered to the guards that had been at his side. "Quickly and quietly, the youngest are to be shielded," he instructed... though even he knew that war cries were not something he could prevent a small cub from hearing and this would be a bridge they would need to cross eventually. It was then that he looked back towards Tethys and raised his paw to point towards him. "You will have my able bodied, but they know nothing of what they face," he warned. "Do not betray my trust, or their's," he warned.

"They will be briefed," Tethys assured him and shook his head. "They will know how best to defend your home and its denizens on the shore," he added. "But we will do the bulk of the fighting, the purge will be ours...and preservation of life will be yours," he continued. "To defend is simple provided instructions are obeyed; that's the easy part. Purging something that just won't die is an entirely different matter."

"They will obey, they know better than to play the hero when there is none," the King stated as he strode towards his own home to recover his family. He trusted his guards, he knew them well, and he had absolute faith they would defend the pride upon the shores exactly as they had sworn to. He'd leave the glory of the 'hunt' to the Vikings, just as they desired; his interested were vested solely in the lives of his pride...

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