Where was he? It had been an extraordinary twist of fate that had led him here, in fact, he could scarcely remember how he had gotten here. He'd come face to face with the white lioness that the Justicar had chosen as his mate and as he had understood, the plan that he was to exact should have been a simple one. Their newly turned aide had assured him that his mother was benevolent, that she wouldn't lash out and yet... Well he wasn't really sure.
It had been chaotic, the final moments in which he had strode towards the cubs had been locked away. He knew he had done it, and yet several events had occurred afterwards that were a blur. The only constant in his attempts to recall what had unfolded, were the waves upon waves of plant life. There had been a distinct smell of foliage and it had washed over him, only to be replaced by the putrid smell of rot and corruption. He'd gone on a journey of the senses and as his red eyes creaked open, he was greeted by somewhere that was most assuredly not his home.
Lucivar found himself at great pains to move as he lifted his head to survey his immediate location. Based on his knowledge of the Al-Siq, it was clear that he wasn't there. No territory within that kingdom had these sounds, these smells and these sights; the flowers here were so exceedingly exotic that he was beginning to wonder if they had potential to be of use to the Scourge. As it stood though, his expertise did not lie in plantlife and without knowledge of where he was, the information they existed proved to be of little value.
"Ah, you're awake..." It was a soft voice, feminine and at first he couldn't immediately sense where she was. Nevertheless it seemed like the lioness in question didn't have any intention of hiding, and she'd simply been out of his line of sight. What he was greeted with was a simple enough lioness, pale in some forms but with enough markings to break up the atrocious colour that she became mildly tolerable.
"You made quite the entrance," she continued as she set down the fish beside him, something he had personally never seen before, and took a moment or two to inspect him. She was no medic and she wouldn't be so crass as to even attempt to be one, but if she was entirely honest she'd had no idea who to run to on this occasion. You see there was one key issue with the individual who now faced her... She knew what he was, she'd inadvertently seen his kind the day they had killed Ram. Based on the very fact he was one of them, she couldn't very well ask for help on either side.
...On the one paw, the Bahari were likely to heal him as they were principled, but then what?
On the other paw, she had confidence her own pride would heal him too, but he would be regarded as a threat and if Adalena knew one thing, they were significantly more pragmatic when they needed to be. Well the old king had always been pragmatic, but she hadn't really gotten the measure of his children just yet. All things considered the royals within the Kizi had been quiet and had kept to themselves for the most part. When it came to the Kizingo'zaa, they had other things on their plate right now, and while the Bahari might have been their allies... It was appropriate to look after their own issues first.
Lucivar had elected to hold his peace as he continued to observe the lioness. She was of no threat to him, even in his weakened state... She'd left herself exposed. She had no understanding of how best to protect herself and should he feel so inclined then he would easily dispose of her with very little strain to him. That being said, he saw no value in doing this when she seemed to be presenting him with the opportunity to cover. Like all of the scourge, he could be adaptable and courteous when necessary, she as of value to him for now and would remain as such until he had all of the information he might need.
"All bundled up in plants, never seen anything like it, I thought you were a plant at first," she shook her head. "However a lion head surrounded by leaves seems highly improbable and given I don't participate in our hallucinogenics... Logic prevailed."
Now that was interesting, they had hallucinogenics?
"Still, I don't think I've ever seen something dumped in a bundle of flowers before," she shrugged. "Someone creative must dislike you," she mused. She'd chosen to play dumb to what he was for now, if he was somehow here, then she needed to find out if anyone else was here. She wasn't a warrior and she definitely wasn't a hero, she had no visions of granduer, but she would sure as hell alert everyone if she believed that what had assaulted the Bahari was now here. If he was on his own then that would be all right, she'd find a way to mislead him or get him out (a plan that was to be confirmed), but if there was more than one she wasn't going to risk it.
"Lot of bruising there so I'll go out on a limb here and say that you probably haven't been in their good books for a while," she added. It was then that she set the carefully woven leaf basket down in front of him, it contained water and surprisingly, seemed to hold the water well. Much to Lucivar's surprise, it seemed that even here these lions possessed some level of craftsmanship and if they could make baskets like that, then they could rival some of the surface dwelling Al-Siq.
Oho, but they probably wouldn't take that competition well, now would they?
"Anyway," Adalena cleared her throat and motioned to the food. "You should probably get some of your strength back, I cleared up the flowers a bit," she glanced over her shoulder at the conspicuous mound of overgrown foliage and shook her head. At least here they could blame some passing god for strange occurrences and she had a sneaking suspicion that he might very well have crossed paths with one who had little tolerance for his kind.
"Once you can walk properly we can move you to somewhere a little more comfortable," she pursed her lips thoughtfully. "In the shade maybe, that coat of yours probably doesn't aprpeciate the direct heat beating down on you..."
It was in those moments that Lucivar afforded a look upwards, sure enough, it seemed that he'd been deposited in a location designed to cause him discomfort. However it wasn't discomfort intended to kill him, just to irritate him. He was beginning to suspect that no matter how illogical it might be, the Justicar's very own wife might have had a paw in this one... He didn't know how yet, but he'd be certain to find out. Regardless, he did have one question that needed to be asked.
"Where am I?" he asked softly in his typically dulcet tones.
"Huh?" Adalena blinked. So he could speak!
"Where am I?"
"You're in the Kizingo'zaa..." she offered. "Although by the look on your face I don't think that's terribly helpful to you."
It wasn't, and he applauded her for her ability to at least recognise that, but it would have to do for now. He'd do as he was told for now, then he'd consider his next course of action later...
Word Count: 1,289