(Solo) Aftermath ( Nereid x Eris x Company )

[Chi Sohma]

Nereid - Noble Lady -> Huntress
Eris - Guard

Giza - Guard
Lunarence - Slave  

[Chi Sohma]

“This- this can’t be happening! No!” There was a mixture of emotions. Anger was the most prominent one. He saw a couple of other lions go up to the queen and he might as well did the same!

“Some are favored by the Great Lion and you strip that away from them?! You might as well take their blessing away!” He was relatively pissed. Not for himself because he was always a guard but he was more angered that Nereid would have to go out to find a new job and not be lavished over. It was wrong! First this Queen goes off to find the real queen but instead comes back and takes the reigns?! Now she’s changing the very stability that they stood on,

Nereid plead with him with her eyes- and took his chin and brought his face to her face.

“I am ok with this. I back the Queen in her decision. The pride will be better for it.”

“Nereid…. She’s stripping you of your blessing…”

She shook her head. “My blessing is being with you.” Petting his face to calm him.

“I’ll work double- for the both of us. You won’t have to go out and put yourself in danger. Hunting accidents happen a lot and you are saying you are ok with that? What if something happens to you?!”

“I will be treated like anyone else in the pride. A healer would be found and you can pamper me til I am healed. Just until I’m healed.”

Eris roared because he could do nothing else. “We can leave the pride.”

Nereid changed tones. Eyeing him. “My mother didn’t die on this boarder just so I can leave. This is where I belong, and if you think I’m leaving. Then we should part ways.”

“I would be leaving to spare your blessing! What are you talking about?!”

Giza was with Lunarence while it all happened and when she left the nobles to speak amongst themselves to wait for another full moon to find their new paths- Giza was happy to have seen a Queen do such a thing. Ballsy- and he was loving how the different reactions made him laugh. It was great! He looked at Lunarence to see how happy he was about this new development! It meant he didn’t have to take meaningless jobs from nobles!

Lunarence was indeed shocked about this development but not as much as Giza. When Giza burst in laughter- Lunar made himself small and edged backwards. Looking on either side of him. Some nobles were kind- while others weren’t so much behind dens shadows.
Giza noticed and put a paw down near Lunar and nudged his head. “This is great! Everyone can be on even ground. Why aren’t you happy?”

Lunar shook his head. “Nobles won’t like this. The ladies. The lords. They won’t like this at all. They will take it out on us! For sure!”

Giza shook his head. “They won’t. They literally can’t. They would be going against the Great Lion and any disrespect to him would be punished.”

“You don’t understand what it’s like to be a slave then!” His outburst was almost immediately recoiled. “I have to go see my mother.”

Giza pulled him back and he saw Eris and Nereid. They were perfect to talk to! They were lady and lord! Well Eris was still a guard but he married A lady which made him a lord but he was Giza’s friend. He was sure that the news found them all well. Waving a paw at Nereid. “Come on- I bet they are happy we are all working together.” Lunar was dragged towards the wedded couple.

Instead they were now overhearing Eris pissed off. Listing the reasons why this was a bad idea and that stripping the titles from which his mate had been blessed with. By doing that- wasn’t that going against the very Great Lion they all worshipped?! “This isn’t what the Great Lion had told us. What- was this all a lie then?! That the great lion had willed us and guided us wrong for all these years?! That was going against everything he was taught as a cub.

His wife needed to be pampered as she had a beautiful mind and was a lady that he wanted to give the finest things and throw himself at her feet. But Nereid was not the kind of lioness that would want to be over pampered. Sighing.

In Giza’s old pride- a pride of amazons- lionesses banded together and they were the backbone. Giza spoke up. “It would be an honor to be fed by your hunts, Lady Nereid.” Looking to Eris. “She’s more than capable”

“Thank you Giza.” Nereid’s voice was elevated.

Eris rubbed his temples. “No. Giza.” He looked up and then saw Lunarence by Giza’s side.

“My wife didn’t endure the chaos of the heavens falling only to be stripped of her title. The favor of the great lion. You might not understand this but he does!” Eris pointed Lunar out. “He knows more than anyone what this means! With no nobility there wont be a need for slaves- there wont be leads except lead hunter or guard! Queen-“ He spat and pulled away from Nereid and went towards Lunarence.

“You are not equal to my wife…. I don’t care how much you band together- I don’t care if this Queen favors you all.”

Giza spoke up and went between them. “Lunarence didn’t make the change.”

“But he benefits!”

“That isn’t his call! I flagged you down to come to you thinking that you would be happy for all of us working together but I see you are just as stuck up as the other royals. Clinging on to a broken system- exactly like the Queen said.”

Eris was too blinded by anger to see straight. “This Queen is working against us and pulling apart this pride! We need to leave! This isn’t what the Great Lion wants!”

“What about your family Eris!” Nereid exclaimed. “I may not have direct family but you do! Some slaves couldn’t accept their position so they had to leave their families! With this new way of thinking- families can reunite. Lovers can be together. Just like what we have Eris. Your friends are here to support that fact. Working together is something we should have been doing all along. Not just laze around the pride. I often found myself without anything to do while you were guarding. I want to be more useful. You don’t even know what the Great Lion wants.”

“What- whatever the Queen wants is what the shaman will say probably. This is rigged. Something is astray and yet you are here defending her! You do enough by teaching cubs and looking after the elderly. That is more than what should be asked of you. You are always doing something or making things better for someone else but this is different. This is YOUR birth right and our children would have theirs, the Great lion favors us and will surely favor our young. We met at a full moon. I asked you to marry me on a full moon. This is the way!”

“That is no longer the way! And they will earn their own respect just like everyone else!” Nereid yelled at him!

Giza felt Lunar move slightly to lower himself.
Tensions ran high and instead of letting Lunar go back with his mother and siblings- he brought him to hostile territory. He lowered his voice and moved so his back was facing Eris. “Go on. Find your family. I’ll find you when things settle down.”

Eris pushed Giza and nudged him.
“No- tell me what slave bewitched the Queen. Who was it!? Your God of a father?! It reeks of fake gods!”

“This isn’t you Eris. I won’t let you speak like this. Go Lunarence- Go find your family. Don’t listen to Eris- he is in shock and doesn’t mean what he is saying.”

“Don’t apologize for me Nereid! I want to know what fake god has swept through our lands and turned it upside down. I want to know how to fix this so we can go on with our lives! Surely you want that too - wife!”

“I am capable! Eris! I am capable of so much more! I can show that off now. I don’t want to be cooped up in our den waiting for you to get off guard duty. Im not a trophy wife!”

“No but your my wife!”

“So I HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU?! And leave our home?!”

“Yes!”

“Then im no longer your wife! I will find someone who sees me like an equal. Not some ordiment that does nothing! Im not useless!” She turned around and ran off.

Eris was so in shock that he didn’t even notice Lunarence leave. Giza turned around and looked fully on to the tail that bounced as Nereid left. Her words left such an aftershock that it rippled through to Eric’s core.

“I think she is relatively pissed off with you.”

“…..damnit.” Eris face pawed. “Doesn’t she see that im doing this for her! That im angered for her- that im protecting her?!”

“……” Giza thought his response through before coming up with the only word that can describe this moment.

“Nope.”

Giza shook his head and worried over his friends. Both sides of the coin. Lunar worried about the reprocussions - and Eris worried about his wife.