post FR challenge, pre-zoticus thread for timeline's sake

Where else could she go? Who else could she turn to in moments as trying as these? Gabriel was her husband, but Seneca.. Seneca was her friend. Aarani didn't even know if @Seneca would care about her home having been ripped from her, but she was about to find out. The palomino lioness despised how men controlled all of it, how they didn't care for anything else outside of their own circle. Foresight didn't seem to exist with men, did it?

Aarani didn't hesitate to cross the borders, but she did only enter a few yards before calling for him. It was urgent, emotional -- just how Seneca liked it. Lots of emotions.

She always seems to appear when he's least expecting her. By now, Seneca should anticipate @Aarani's intrusions; and, admittedly, he somewhat welcomes them. Her call has his immediate attention and he swings towards the borders, still slower than he would like -- the slow progression of his leg healing is a constant nuisance, and one he's well aware he won't be rid of anytime soon. A low snort rumbles from his jaws when he spots her, lingering inside the territory but not barging in quite so heedlessly as she had at Ivaan's challenge. "Aarani," he greets with some level of concern in his voice, feeding off of her energy. "What's happened?" Because obviously, something has her noticeably upset.

image by k'sariya, code by koi

He doesn't keep her waiting long, and for that she is grateful. Something stirs within her at the sight of him, but when does it not? She cannot help her strange feelings for the man, isn't sure she would want them to change if she could shift them. Still, it's not the time for romance.. not when she has Gabriel, not when she has promised to stay true to only him. Years ago, yes, but she assumed it still stood.

"Zoticus challenged Roarke for Firnen. He turned on his former pride mates! Cupid and Arjana served Zoticus, but he rushed in without thinking and took the throne. Roarke is recovering, but Zoticus.. he's not good, Seneca, and I have nowhere to take my children. Please, do you have any allies that might take us? He looks at my son as his own because he failed to keep his own family safe and together when Wolfbron fell. Ivaan deserves a better father figure than that untrustworthy mongrel.." she mutters, wishing Vine had stuck around to parent his fucking children like he'd promised. "He's a snake." Rani shakes her head sadly. "But he's now a snake with power and my family is homeless."

Seneca is only one man, and he can't be witness to every event that happens across the valley, but this one comes as something of a surprise. He had been allies with Firnen under Cupid's rule, and friendly still with the takeover of Roarke, but Zoticus, despite his disappearance, has always been considered a friend. His brows furrow as @Aarani goes on, certain she has been the victim of a betrayal, seeking respite and shelter from the storm. "Why would he turn on allies?" he rumbles, though the question is more incredulous than expecting her to know the answer. It's unsettling, but Seneca is also a man of caution, and he is well aware that there are two sides to every story. "I am closely allied with the Sigrún of the Lagoon and the Cove. I'm sure either of them would take you if you wished it," he says, dipping his skull somewhat to level his gaze with her. "And you are...always welcome here." He won't blame her, though, if she says no. There is little denying that they are cut from different cloths, and Aarani's children had suffered for it.

image by k'sariya, code by koi

Her eyes harden at his question, though her answer can only be given through a heavy cloud of bias. She feels it is the truth and so she does not refrain from answering the question, rhetorical or not. "Because he craves power more than he cares for his allies, regardless of what he says. He uses his family as a shield and then turns and does this nonsense." Aarani shakes her head in disbelief, her emotions settling if only because Seneca does not fan the flames. He is kind enough to offer two potential homes -- three, including his own. Her eyes soften, but she is guarded. "I won't live anywhere that considers Zoticus an ally or friend. Where do the three of you stand with that?" It is a difficult question to present the man, but one she must know the answer to before making any decisions. "I'm starting to think my children and I should stay rogues for the time being. Constantly moving is.. exhausting." Her ears wilt against her head as she looks to the sands, toying with the earth of her former home.

"Is his family...here?" There is a furrow of his brows, a purse of his lips. Last he'd seen Zoticus, he had been broaching Andal territory with a complete stranger — not Circe, and certainly not his children. He cannot help but wonder if the Xanthos has counted his chickens before they hatched. The question she asks of him is a difficult one, and he knows that she knows it. Zoticus has always been his ally, his friend — but he would be lying to say he isn't concerned about these accusations, and he's never known @Aarani to be untruthful. "I can't answer that right now," he says honestly, his gaze settled evenly upon the maned woman's face. "I'd like to hear what Zoticus has to say for his actions." Seneca is not brash, and he does not make big decisions without weighing all the outcomes — so labeling him enemy just by Aarani's testimony is not nearly enough. But nor does he like the idea of her wandering the island as a rogue, especially not after the way he'd found her in the desert that day. "Is that wise?" he asks slowly, somewhat cautiously; he doesn't intend it as insulting, but more concerned, and there is the unspoken weight of the truth they both know. What if she's attacked again, and he isn't there to save her?

image by k'sariya, code by koi

"Not from what I can tell, no," she muttered, shaking her head. The logic behind his desire for a pride was nonexistent, but the brainless flocked to him without rhyme or reason. It was a shame, truthfully, that so many lions would follow such a man.

Including her own son, delusional child that he was.

Her ears flattened as Seneca admitted there was no guarantee he would simply sever ties with Zoticus. An expected response, however disappointing it was, but she cannot hide the disdain from creep across her face. By the end of her life, she will truly have no allies left -- all because she sees the man for who he really is. That was fine. If everyone wanted to leave her after everything she had done for them, if her children wanted to turn their backs, if she ended up alone and rotting in the desert by herself -- fine. At least she would have a sliver of dignity left.

"That isn't your concern, Seneca," she finally replied, her voice steely. "I suppose what you do with Zoticus isn't my concern, either. You're just the only friend I have and I didn't know who else to turn to." He had several wives, she knew, so the idea that he would relate was stupid. Aarani.. felt stupid. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come. Run your pride now you want. Goodbye, Seneca."

And she turned to slip away, filled to the brim with regret.

exit