It hadn't gone to plan, Lofn had limped up with a forlorn expression on her face that seemed to indicate that the Reaving she had gone on hadn't been successful. Naima hadn't been one of those who had decided to stand at one of the viewing points to observe the rather large band in their otherwise controlled reaving, but from those who had passed by she had been under thei mpression it had looked like it was going quite well.
...So what had happened?
Unsurprisingly the pale lioness had lifted her brow, but refrained from speaking, until Lofn was much closer to her. The younger lion, barely out of her adolescence, was clearly struggling to come to terms with what Naima could only assume was embarassment. Ah, but wasn't this one of life's great lessons? Naima had been humiliated plenty of times and it was through sheer force of will and stubborness that she had been successful in some cases. After all, Lofn's very own mother wouldn't have even BEEN in the Stormborn if it hadn't been for her persistence and because of what she would later come to recognise as mercy from Tethys.
At any stage in her pursuit of greatness that white lion could have happily cut her down and enslaved her to end her antics, instead he had allowed her to throw herself at a stone wall (for want of a better term). It had given her the opportunity to improve but she would at least acknowledge that there would have been some who were less patient. That aside, her daughter wasn't quite as accustomed to embarassment and failure, quite frankly she'd done well to shelter the children in her mate's absence...but that didn't mean that Naima thought they shouldn't have those experiences.
If anything, Lofn's failure in such a safe and controlled environment was good for her... It would help her grow, but at the moment she looked like her world had ended.
"Not as easy as you thought it would be, was it?" Naima asked at last and tilted her head to the side.
"No, not really," Lofn replied glumly as she slipped in beside her mother and slumped down. She was entirely uninjured and perhaps that made it worse, what had been bruised was her dignity. What had occurred was something no one had warned her about, she'd thought reavings were about hunting and gathering, claiming glory where it was there to grasp... And yet she had been debased. Tethys had taken her and the others and he had reduced them to nothing, particularly the females. She didn't even know what they had done to deserve it and why, what stung the most was that it was so unlike him.
...He was basically her uncle after all.
"So what happened?" Naima asked curiously. While she really should have been there, she had most unusually had other things to do. Truth be told she had been preparing a few gifts for her so-called significant other and she had put a large amount of trust in Tethys to ensure he looked after her daughter. At this stage she would keep an open mind, given that her daughter was unharmed and her confidence was simply knocked, there was every chance that what had happened was something she could accept.
"He treated us like junk!" Lofn cried. While Lofn had recognised that Naberius had been in Tethys's bad books for a very long time, that didn't mean they should have been punished as a unit. Naberius hadn't even been mouthy, if anything she had conducted herself well, and despite clashing opinions that had been doing exactly what was asked until he had gone too far and Naberius had snapped on their behalf. "He made us feel the size of ants, that we were worthless, that he was somehow better than us."
"Well," Naima shook her head. "His rank is better than you," she pointed out gently.
"You're okay with this?" Lofn sounded incredulous.
"In a way..." Naima smiled wryly. Oh, she had no doubt that Tethys may have taken it a bit too far and it was likely she would need to give him an ear ache, he might very well have done the girls a favour. They were surrounded by honourable lions, nice lions who generally didn't cross the line, but not everyone in the Stormborn was the same and what some defined as 'right' wasn't agreed upon by others. There were plenty in the Stormborn who were cruel, ignorant and down right unpleasant.
"So it's okay to treat us like we're second -"
"You are, he's a Captain," Naima motioned to the inner most regions of the pride, they weren't close by, but it was where most reavers and captains went to relax in their down time. "He has achieved far more than you, brought in far greater riches, you have simply relied upon thralls to provide for you and Captains to give you a reputation," she shook her head. "At no stage did you earn any of that, you stake a claim to something that isn't yours," she continued.
"But -"
"No, I support it because if you wished to be a Reaver it isn't you who chooses your Captain. Your Captain is the one who decides if you deserve to be in his band," Naima explained gently. "Some Captains aren't nice, they're cruel and believe that everyone should kneel to them. Violence, backstabbing... In certain circles this is permitted and in those circles you must be prepared to take that abuse."
"I can be a Reaver without a Captain," Lofn pointed out stubbornly.
"And achieve nothing as a result, you can't rise in ranks without being in a band."
"Or making one."
"And could you lead a variety of personalities while maintaining discipline?" Naima's brow lifted once more. "A warband has to be efficient, it's not a clique of friends on an adventure to see brave new worlds. It has to have value, and only the strongest of our pride have the capacity to do that well."
"So we just have to accept that we're to be treated like slugs?" Lofn shook her head. "That's not even fair."
"You have to accept it for as long as it takes to replace them," Naima chuckled. "Reavers can usurp their Captains to my knowledge, if the opportunity arises, or they can receive the promotion through Breytast... But in order for that to work as well they have to gain a good reputation," she shrugged. "Taking that abuse and working through it, while still delivering some results is much more beneficial that simply claiming you were in 'daddy's warband'," Naima pointed out.
"Based on today Tethys wouldn't even want me, Dad would be disappointed," Lofn mumbled.
"I think based on today, your Uncle has simply pointed out you need more practice before you try again," Naima shook her head. "A little too soon maybe, but your first taste of what it could be like to be in a band," she smiled warmly. "Dwell on it for a while and in time you may know what you want to do next... But plenty of others fail their first reaving."
"Well there was one guy there who hadn't had a good first one too."
"And he came back, didn't he?"
"Yeah but his personality was a bit... Mean."
"Case and point," the paler female pointed out. While Lofn might have had a kinder disposition, she had been exposed to those who didn't necessarily have that. "Did he succeed?"
"I think he did, all I know is a bunch of us didn't," Lofn grumbled. "Least I wasn't Lakshmi though..."
"Oh?"
"She got chased off right at the start for thinking her father was stupid, he told her it was a grave insult to waste his time as well as everyone else's," she admitted.
"My my, he really was out for blood, last reaving he took others on he was rather pleasant with them."
"Yeah well..." Lofn didn't really know what to say and definitely sounded a lot like a petulant child.
"It might be for the best, if your uncle as acting like that then he probably had a reason," Naima conceded. "You know who would have a better idea of why he might be that way?"
"Who?"
"Your dad, he has been with him the whole time, maybe he can give you more insight now that he's home," Naima suggested. Granted, Ziya might not know why Tethys had been so critical, but he might be able to provide their daughter with perspective and help her to work out where she went from there.
"Mmm..." Lofn murmured. She hadn't seen her dad in a while either, so perhaps now was one of the best times to catch up with him. No one had really told her what had happened while they were out there for so long, so maybe something was to blame for Tethys's unpleasant behaviour. Suffice it to say that her mother was right, on this occasion Lofn was going to need to pester her father for answers and maybe ask her mother again later after Naima had thoroughly wrecked Tethys's head.
Ah yes, if there was one thing that could be relied upon, it was the fact that Naima was notorious for hounding both Iloziya and Tethys, it was out of love of course, but they could always look forward to that when they got home!
Word Count: 1,577