[PRP] Recruitment (Devaraja/Dotag)

[Fairy Snails]

Two Rahasya were gone. Lhamo recently retired, deciding that he wanted to spend the rest of his days in peace. It was an understandable decision and Devaraja could not fault him for that. A Rahasya's job was never easy. It took a tole on a lion both body and soul. The other Rahasya was killed, presumably by an outsider. A hunting party came across her body. It had been dragged away from the pride. Currently the pride was celebrating and remembering her.

Devaraja of course did not attend the celebration. Instead his mind was focused on finding suitable replacements for the two Rahasya and getting justice on the attacker.

There were a few candidates Devaraja had in mind for the positions. He had a tendency to keep an eye on promising young cubs and see what kind of adults they turned into. Right now he was checking up on a guard named Dotag, who was one of the Nayaka brothers. He had heard some good things about the guard and felt that he would make a good candidate.

nessiaing

 

[nessiaing]

Dotag had moved away from the celebration of life for the fallen Rahasya. While it was great to celebrate the life of a lioness who had given so much to the pride he instead was on high alert. It didn't feel right to him that someone had been killed.

He found himself pacing the border of the pride watching for anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was a one-off occurrence but Dotag had decided that he couldn't just leave it be. He needed to know he was doing everything he could to ensure the safety of his home and his brother. They may not have been raised together but Dotag still saw the Nayaka as his blood, not that he wouldn't protect anyone in the pride with his own life.

He moved back and forth his back to the pride he scanned the horizons looking for anything that was suspicious.

Fairy Snails

 

[Fairy Snails]

His search for Dotag lead his toward the border of the pride. He watched the lion from a distance going back and forth. Slowly he made his way over to Dotag. Part of him did not want to disturb the young lion, to let him grieve and celebrate in peace. But if Dotag was going to become a Rahasya, duty came before personal feelings.

As he approached, he cleared his throat to make his presence known. “Hello Dotag. See anything interesting?” he asked softly. Out here, far from the pride, everything was quiet. He wanted to do his best to persevere that.

He found a spot in the sand and sat down. “The celebration is still going on in the pride. I asked for some food to be set aside for me. You are more than welcome to have some of it when you get back.”

nessiaing

 

[nessiaing]

Dotag's ears twitched when he heard movement behind him and moments after a throat being cleared. He turned and saw Devaraja standing not far behind me. He bowed his head in greeting. "No I haven't seen anything of interest but with everything that's happened I find myself out here looking a lot." he told the older male.

He turned and looked back out towards the rogue lands. He had grown up his whole life in the pride and didn't know much about the rogue lands and honestly he wasn't exactly motivated to find out more about it.

"Thank you for the offer, I might just have to take you up on that offer." he accepted the males offer for shared food. His stomach let out a little growl at the thought of food and he was reminded of the fact that he hadn't really eaten today he had been too busy watching.

"Was there anything that you needed help with?" he asked the other male. He wasn't sure why the black pelted male would be seeking him out.

Fairy Snails

 

[Fairy Snails]

“I have been in the rogue lands a few times. Mostly to learn more about the lands around us. It is also something I do to give myself perspective, to remind myself how little I am compared to the world around us.” Devaraja said looking from the rogue lands to the young lion.

“I would like to talk to you and get to know you. With the lose of one of one of our Rahasya and the retirement of another, we are searching for potential candidates to fill those roles,” he explained in a serious tone. “The position is not to be taken lightly. And as I am sure you are aware there are plenty of dangers that come with the position.”

Devaraja stood up straight and looked Dotag in the eyes intently. “Do you believe that you would be a good candidate to become one of the next Rahasya?” He wanted to see how the lion would react, what emotions he would portray.

nessiaing

 

[nessiaing]

To say he was shocked was an understatement. He kept the shock from his face though, it wasn't easy but he also knew that a rush of emotion was not what needed to be seen.

After taking a moment to collect his thoughts Dotag bowed his head, "Yes I think I would be a good candidate as a Rahasya." he told Devaraja with a straight somber face. "This pride is my life, and I would give my life for it." he told him with complete honesty.

"Of course my brother being the Nayaka gives me more incentive to do my best on the job, however, I would give it my all no matter who our Nayaka was." he said in a strong voice. Dotag took the love of his pride very seriously.

Fairy Snails

 

[Fairy Snails]

There was passion there, Devaraja thought as he looked Dotag over. That was important. Being one of the Rahasya meant giving your whole life over to it. It was the only thing that mattered.

“The job is very physically demanding. As a guard, I assume that you are already a decent fighter. I will have to see you perform personally though. Would you be up for that?” He asked. The Rahasya were expected to fight, hunt and protect for the pride. They had to be in top shape.

“Would you consider yourself close to your family? Are there any other pride members that you feel close to?” His voice shifted from his soft tone, to a more harsher one, the one he used when he was interrogating. He continued to watch Dotag. Before Rahasya could tell him much more he needed to trust the lion. “How would you feel about keeping things from those close to you?”

nessiaing

 

[nessiaing]

It didn't take Dotag long to think this time, "Yes I am physically fit, and will be happy to prove it to you any way that I can." he told the older male with a nod of his head. Dotag had no doubt he could accomplish anything asked of him in a physical sense.

When Devaraja asked about his closeness to his family and other pride members it didn't take long for him to answer either. "I care for my family, but the pride comes first." Dotag said with a nod. It wasn't hard for him to decide.

"I respect the job and what it means to the pride and our survival. Everyone makes sacrifices in life, I can only say I would be proud that my sacrifices were for such a good cause." he answered. He had noted the change in the Rahasya's voice, but he tried not to dwell on it.

Fairy Snails

 

[Fairy Snails]

His answers fit what the Rahasya needed. Devaraja gave an approving nod to Dotag. “Tomorrow you will meet me here as soon as the sun rises. I will test your physical ability and ask you a few more questions. Our meeting here shall not be discussed with the other pride members. There are a couple more candidates for the position that I am going to talk to today. I would prefer to talk to them without knowing that I am looking for possible candidates.” This was a simple test on potential recruits to see if they could keep their mouth shut, even when they are excited. He had full faith that Dotag would not let him down.

“Give yourself plenty of rest before tomorrow morning. When you go back into the pride, be sure to ask the hunters for a share of the feast. The deceased Rahasya would not want anyone to go hungry on the day that her life should be celebrated.” He said, as he slowly got up and turning back toward the pride.

nessiaing

 

[nessiaing]

Dotag watched as the Rahasya walked back towards the pride. Excitement bubbled up in Dotag and he decided to wait for a bit before turning back to the pride. He wanted time to digest everything that had happened tonight on his own before he had to face others.

Once he was settled his thought he did one last pass of the border before he too turned into the pride and headed towards the celebration. He would seek out the hunters to find some food before retiring early. His life had already changed greatly, and he knew that tomorrow there was a good chance that it would change for good.

Fairy Snails