Being one of the closest neighbors, it seemed natural (and easy) enough to make it his first stop as he dipped his many toes into this whole politics thing. If he'd ever been aware of the place's reputation, it was lucky Zaahir was either far too confident, or too stupid in a very specific way, to fall victim to such things as intimidation. As far as he was concerned, it was just another pride whose members he hadn't really encountered, barring a rare, passing, meeting out at the passage.

He'd pause a respectful distance from the border and immediately seat himself, the small, wrapped, parcel he'd carried placed between his front paws before he'd sound a polite call requesting the leader (or leaders) of the place. Perhaps it was naive, but he genuinely hoped to find himself, if not allies, at least on friendly terms with as many other groups as possible.

@Louve ♔ @Elaine ♔

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truth be told she had paid little attention to andal in recent days. not for lack of interest but for a lack of time, tugged in to many other directions to think much of their nearest neighbor. they had been both friends and enemies with the oasis; now louve could not think of where they stood, nor did she feel any strong need to figure it out. not until the rest of amaryllis settled down -- as it were she was already torn between friends and allies, playing a dangerous game that she worried might explode at any minute.

still she is curious when the king comes knocking; curious enough that she wastes little time before arriving at the borders to greet him. he is a stranger to her, a fact which piqued her curiosity all the more. "bonjour. i am louve." he smelled enough of andal for her to know where he hailed from, and carried himself like any ruler would. beyond that.,.. well, she waited for him to fill in the blanks.

@Zaahir ♔ @Elaine ♔

The one who came to meet him was dark, mottled, and scarred, but not immediately aggressive which he took as a good sign. "Hello," he greet her with a smile, connecting her scent to the border and filling in the blanks there, "I'm Zaahir, from Andal," if she hadn't already figured that last bit out herself. "Scorpius seems to have...uh...disappeared. So I've taken over in his absence." Though he couldn't promise to step aside if the guy returned, either. As far as he was concerned, he was a stranger that had suddenly been appointed to the Sovereign position, only for Harou to vanish and leave him to step up. And then he, himself, vanished. Zaahir planned to do as little vanishing as possible.

"I know leadership changes tend to shake up political connections, so I'm here to see where we stand." And he had many more visits to make to get up to speed on the general feeling toward the Oasis as far as the other prides went. One paw lifted to gently nudge the leaf-wrapped parcel of herbs toward the woman, though he would stop before it touched the invisible border line, "I was taught it's polite to bring a gift when visiting someone's home for the first time, so this is a bundle of medicinal herbs found in the desert." Things that may be difficult to collect themselves, either due to the climate and landscape, or the fact that a few of them grew within Andal itself.

@Louve ♔

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@Zaahir ♔, as he came to be called, brought interesting news. scorpius had disappeared. while louve wasn't entirely sure where she had stood with the miroslav, and indeed their history was rocky at best, he had been known to her. zaahir was an unknown, and in her eyes that made him even more dangerous than a grumpy miroslav.

her eyes are drawn down to the gift that he offers, though she is quiet and contemplative for a moment more. "do you 'ave a last name, zaahir?" this was her first question, for though she did not necessarily beholden an individual to the crimes of their family it was important to know if he was a long time enemy or not. or if he was in the habit of drowning his kids.

"and 'ave you visited others prides yet? formed other alliances?" she paused and then continued with a wry twist of her lips. "what do you know of ze bluffs?"

art

if you complain once more

Elaine had been slightly aware that things had been changing in the Oasis but there wasn't much that she cared to look into. The place was either going to hold an enemy or an ally but it wasn't stable. It wasn't lasting and that was something that wasn't her fault in any way. She heard the call and made her way toward the caller. She arrived to hear the answer to whatever her sister had asked, and taking it in, she came to stand next to @Louve ♔.

She listened to them both, eyeing the gift that was given. Vermier would have been pleased with this little bit of a show. He was always looking for a show it seemed. Elaine watched @Zaahir ♔ carefully but chose to remain silent until required to speak. She didn't think it was important at the moment for him to fully know who she was. Louve accepted her here and that should be enough for him.

you'll meet an army of me

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The first question was unexpected. He hadn't grown up in an environment where one's surname held much importance, and so it was generally left off his introductions. After all, he had no family here, anyway. "Oh, yeah, it's Samarra." No reason he shouldn't tell her.

Attention shifted as another joined them, dark and speckled but neither resembled the other close enough for him to connect the family dots. So she'd get a polite smile, on the assumption she was probably ranked high enough to be here, or just curious enough to come watch. "Hello," a polite greeting before he turned his focus back to the next questions presented.

One shoulder lifted in a shrug, "You're the closest, so you were the first stop." Second closest was the Hollows, which was where he'd go next. Maybe later in the day, maybe another day. "And no, and nothing. But," he grinned lightly, "that's why I've come to learn what you're willing to tell and see if we can be friendly, or allied, or at the very least not enemies." He really just wanted to be able to enjoy the Oasis in relative peace, without worry of enemies causing trouble for them. At least long enough to get the place stable, anyway.

@Louve ♔ @Elaine ♔

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