[META-SRP] The Needs of the Few (Various)

[Epine de Rose]

 

[Epine de Rose]

[All IC Information that can be overheard by any Bahari on the shoreline, feel free to use.]

It had started off quietly, or as quietly as any battle could... And then it had gotten worse, and worse. What had started as rallied roars of courage had spiralled into screams of agony as they had huddled from view, shielded by the larger bodies of the Pombuka and Pomithi who were determined to shield them from whatever was happening scarcely yards away. Voices both familiar and not cried out, some in pain and others in support as they ran towards the other in aid. Yet it was undeniable that what lay beyond was far from kind and if the small cub was to know anything, it was that not everything seemed to be going to plan.

She'd taken to snuggling up to her siblings, and in large part her mother and with each passing shriek she'd lowered her head until her ears had been covered by her paws. It wasn't enough though, and though her eyes had been squeezed shut and her ears were pressed as close to her head as she could get them...she still knew what was happening on the otherside of the wall of lions that kept her safe. She could even smell it, and already she had lost sight of her father who had disappeared the moment he had them to safety. For the first time in her young life, she was truly terrified.

Siarnaq remained solemn, unwavering in his muted expression and while it seemed he had no desire to huddle up and cover his ears, he had developed a fascination with simply gazing into the water. It was as though he was blind to the goings on around him, distracted by whatever the ocean might be saying to him. Whatever calm words it might be whispering to him, Ijiraq sincerely wished she could hear them too. It seemed to be bringing him comfort, she'd peered out more than once to see him and he seemed so serene in comparison to well... her.

Yet it seemed only mere moments since she'd last checked on him when he finally stirred.

It was with the quietest voice that he spoke, at first uncertain, but then with such conviction that the Pomithi and Pombuka would have been unwise to ignore it.

"They're in the water," He stated quietly, lifting a paw to point towards the slithering figures. His cub-like mind couldn't begin to comprehend how they'd gotten in there, no one had seen them enter after all, but it was undeniable that there was something in the depths. At first a mere ripple, scarcely discernable, but as they drew nearer to the land and the moon shone its unrelenting light upon the calm waters... everyone could be sure they were there.

In that instant panic set in, there were simply too many of them at the shore to scatter quickly without harming one another (especially the cubs) and with nowhere to go, they were trapped.

"Oh..." Soleil remarked breathlessly as her eyes found the shapes within the water, only to be met with the tell tale glimmer of red beneath the surface. Thalyssra remained silent beside her, seemingly resigned to a fate that she'd always known was inevitable. After all, the Noble had stated not long ago that one couldn't escape what it couldn't smell, what it couldn't see... what seemed to simply appear from nowhere. Even now Soleil struggled to comprehend where they had come from, she was no master strategist and in the heat of the moment, she hadn't been able to string together a series of logical thoughts to explain it.

"I warned you," Thalyssra uttered weakly, though unusually, she chose not to move. Soleil realised in those moments that it seemed in order to placate this threat, you were supposed to submit. Thalyssra wasn't going to fight back; but did that mean that she would simply let even the worst happen? There were countless who were vulnerable, who could be taken, and only they stood in the way.

"There's only three," Soleil said meekly as she continued to watch the water, they were drawing ever closer and were brazen in their approach, they knew that they were on the right side and the guards were on the wrong side. The Bahari were completely surrounded and in those moments, Soleil couldn't see her way out.

"That you can see," Thalyssra corrected her as she took a breath and shook her head, gathering as much of her composure as she could. "If they say jump, you damn well jump," she advised.

"What?"

"Do as you are told and you will live," Thalyssra explained as the first breached the surface.

"But what about -"

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few!" Thalyssra snapped. "One live is not worth countless, the idealism of the outside world will get you all killed."

"So you just watch?" Soleil demanded, horrified.

"When you can't stop something, it's illogical to throw away your life on such a fruitless endeavour. You will martyr yourself for nothing."

"But the -"

"No!" Thalyssra snapped, causing a few of the Bahari to look at her in alarm. They had been listening of course, they were too close not too and the more this noble spoke, the more they were beginning to learn about the creatures that had lay siege to their home.

And so it was with the second breaching the shoreline that the first attacked, lunging forward to grasp the first of many. What little courage Soleil might have had was soon lost as she cowered back, they moved as one, but without any semblance of communication. With movements so fluid she couldn't see an opening, when one attack, the others covered the vulnerabilities, they worked in packs and without the same co-ordination there was nothing they could do.

"Oh my god..." she whispered, her eyes widening.

They weren't after the pale, oh no, they were indiscriminate - they were cutting a path, and anyone in their way was systematically being removed. With them all so tightly packed, the sands would soon turn red, and she could do nothing more than watch. Thalyssra had been right, to intervene would be futile.

Except there was one within their ranks who disagreed and unbeknownst to many, while shielded from view, he too had been watching. He'd been the bait after all, and he couldn't move as the battle began... but when something came to him, well, they were fair game. It had been with soft, soothing instructions that he had slowly managed to coax those out of his way until a path had opened up between himself and the three phantoms who had come from the depths. He knew where they'd come from, he knew how they'd gotten there, and he would be sure to shut that gap but for now...

"Good evening gentlemen," he spoke softly, methodically, as he observed the three and they paused momentarily to inspect him. It was rare for a phantom to pause, it wasn't within their nature to do so, but there was something about Spectre that had unsettled them. Was it the cruel, sly smile that had slowly swept on to his lips as he had raised to his paws? Thalyssra couldn't be sure as she watched the paler lion reach his full height and positively tower over the black lions. Even then, the noble wasn't so sure of this one... Bulk rarely won over agility, but this was one of the few lions who had escaped before; her faith was lacking however.

Soleil on the other hand, saw what Thalyssra may not. They had met when she was a cub, a chance encounter in which she had presented herself to the sea and been embraced lovingly. When she had been in that otherworld, floating without a care in the depths of this magical land, she had stumbled upon the self same lion who had given himself to the sea in an attempt to release his burdens. At the time he'd been very unwell, lost to this world and trapped in another, but within the magical world beneath the waters they had found one another and his eyes had been opened. She wouldn't take credit for his recovery, but she had known that day had been special...because the ocean had led him home.

...He had improved in leaps and bounds since then.

"And so...we have our first martyr," Thalyssra murmured warily as she gazed between Spectre and the trio.

"Rude," Spectre remarked, she'd been within earshot after all, but she was unrepentant.

"You are exactly what they want, and you are going to them with open arms," she snapped.

"Normally, our kind would be encouraging that to lower the collatoral damage," Spectre pointed out calmly, a point she could do nothing more than concede given she was prepared to do that very thing. All the same, she felt that twinge of compassion, that twinge of uncertainty. The outsiders had gotten to her and deep down, she knew this was wrong, that somehow she should stop it.

"Not today," she stated quietly. "The losses of today would be rendered worthless if you, or anyone else, handed themselves over. They will have fallen for nothing."

Soleil seemed to regard her for a few moments, before a weak smile reached her lips.

"But unless you are a being who has the capacity to stand up to the might of something none other than the elite can face -"

"If you had not noticed," Spectre calmly motioned towards the phantoms, all of which were continuing to regard him closely, but as of yet, they hadn't moved. "They do not do that often."

"All weigh up their options eventually," Thalyssra retorted.

"Mmm," Spectre sounded non-committal as he slipped out from the Pomithi and Pombuka who had so bravely shielded him. "Allow me to be frank with you, Madam Politico," he flicked his gaze towards the Phantoms and bore his teeth in the self same smile that they were known for. "The reason they pause..."

"You are the elite," Thalyssra murmured faintly.

He didn't reply as the phantoms had already agreed on their course of action and with him 'distracted' he had left himself open. It was with a bellowing roar that they found themselves within the white lion's claws, and what had once been easy pickings became something entirely different. For a time, few could do little more than watch... but it was a battle that would have no winner any time soon and there were much more important matters to attend to.

"The wounded," Soleil spoke first, noting that one of the cubs was pawing gently at their unresponsive Pomithi. "Help the wounded!" she snapped, the first time in which the young lioness had ever raised her voice to such volumes.

"How?" Thalyssra asked faintly, tearing herself away from the ensuing bloodbath that was quickly turning the shallows red.

"We'll show you," Soliel replied as she sprang forward. This was what the Bahari knew, this was what they were good at... if anyone could preserve the lives of their own kind, it was them.

While the cubs would never be allowed to participate in this endeavour, it was a good lesson, and one that both Ijiraq and Siarnaq could watch without restriction. Spectre and his opponents were exposed, displaying the full fury and brutality of conflict, while mere feet from them lay the fallen, surrounded by those who had nothing but compassion and an unwavering determination to preserve their lives. Though their parents may have preferred otherwise, these cubs and all those within the protective embrace of the pride, had been exposed to both sides of the same coin.

...How both compassion and conflict shaped them, would remain to be seen.

Word Count: 1,974