Post by Nyigakali on Mar 12, 2007 5:36:29 GMT -5
OOC Note: This was actually my application for the role of Ahadi, a scene with Zazu with me spoofing Ahadi as though I were him. Since I've been assigned the role of Ahadi and Zazu considers it canonical for his character, I've been granted permission to post it publicly, so here it is.
On an otherwise warm night crisscrossed with cold downdrafts, a night the insects of the Pridelands' bushes are celebrating as prime mating season material, Zazu swoops in from the north, a little more energetic than one might expect him to be at the end of the day. He's been out for quite some time, having asked to work a double circuit today. Still training for the prestigious job of steward, Zazu has been doing his best these last few days to win the respect of his mother and the rest of the pride. He's made fewer goofy mistakes in that time, but has been obviously preoccupied. Now he approaches Pride Rock as a good clip, looking for activity.
Challenges abound for the pride, and Ahadi is not unburdened by them. Feeling blessed by two handsome sons, he would like to spend his time contemplating the difficult question of which would succeed him; however, a band of rogues instead weighs heavily. Ahadi believes them to be exactly the sort to snare either or even both of his sons to slaughter for nothing more than to build their own notoriety or to hold them hostage and force Ahadi into humiliating submission. Ahadi does not fear a frontal attack; he gravely fears a sneaky cubnapping or cubicide. As dusk settles, he anticipates the first twinkling of the light from the great Kings of the past, that their wisdom might guide him in these challenging times. Spotting Zuzu's young son approaching, he allows himself to revel in the pride's bounty. Ahadi calls out to him, "How has your day been, Zazu?"
The response is delayed, but makes up for it in vitality. "Hard...hard, Your Majesty!" calls the hornbill. He skims over the wet grass, throwing droplets from his wings, and flies over toward the king. He hovers for now, dropping back just slightly toward the rock he favors for conversation in this clearing, but for now remaining aloft. "There are...so many kinds of life out there, sire! And so many of them are very difficult to figure out. I will need...time to get to know it all...the land, I mean, and all it's..." He falls silent. Instead of trying to mimic his mother's way of speaking, he's now reaching conclusions, or reasonable approximations of them, on his own. He faces Ahadi with renewed attention. "Your Majesty, there is a springbok herd moving in. They look likely to skim through the south of our lands, if they keep at the pace they're on. Of course, I could be wrong about what they plan to do...that's part of what I'm still green on. Aheh." Now he lets his altitude drop. "There is more...but nothing I can't just tell my mother, and let her relay to you. Not from the main circuits."
Ahadi smiles warmly to the young hornbill. "There are indeed many kinds of life, and all are part of the great circle of life. Only the springbok would know where they plan to go. Your mother or I might make a better guess from our experience, but it would still only be a guess. If she or I knew exactly what tomorrow would bring, life would get pretty dull!" he tries to quell the majordomo-in-training's apparant nervousness. "Relax, Zazu, if your days are hard and your wings are tired, find time to rest and recuperate. Your mother wasn't hatched the fine, experienced majordomo she has come to be; its taken her years, and she still continues to learn new things -- as I continue to learn new things each day as king. You'll do no good to the pride if you overwhelm yourself."
Zazu listens to the well-meant lecture patiently, his shoulders thrumming every second or so, circling one way and then the other. He nods humbly...but then replies, "Your Majesty, you're right. I do need to take my time. Just the same, I'm starting to see things...about leadership...." His eyes gleam with the desire to express his thoughts, but he can't, or won't. Instead, he reports the last piece of business. "I met a meerkat, sire, on my way in. You know meerkats, of course? Of course. This one--I talked with him for a while, his name is Lindani. He reports coming this way to greet Aziza--he called her the Princess Aziza--and Kesh, saying they'd been in an adventure, and he'd promised to come back and see her. He saved her life, sire!" He flaps harder to stay level, excited. "He reports that they were two among a party in the gorge, and...he caused a rockslide. I could hardly bel--but then, we all know what Aziza gets into when she tries. Ahem."
The king nods with a chuckle, followed by a sigh. "Indeed ... Princess, eh? Was this Lindani ... a young meerkat, or an adult?" he asks. Ahadi could understand youths not understanding titles, but an adult should know better ... though the only meerkat colony he's heard of is some distance away and might not understand lion society if they've not had much contact. "I'll have to have a talk with Aziza. Where is this Lindani?"
Zazu shakes his head slightly. His crown feathers are a bit stray right now, which usually indicates distraction. In this case it may indicate that he's been thinking hard about one thing or another. "I don't really know...I've never seen meerkats up close before, sire. But I think he was fully grown..." He looks down for a second. "He was in the Grassy Plain to the north, a bit west of here. He said...he said that his Alpha had come as well...another meerkat, called Yaro. Yaro...came to speak with -you-, sire. Something about friendship...between your lands." Splay, go his tailfeathers, before he flips them back under control.
"Yaro ... and his title is Alpha?" Ahadi asked Zazu to confirm. "You have been busy, Zazu, and do your mother proud. I would indeed like to speak with him. Have you any idea where Aziza is?"
Zazu backs off a bit, finally reaching his favorite rock. He perches upon it in a quick motion, gripping the edge of it tightly. "Yaro the Alpha, that's correct, sire. I haven't seen him in person...but Lindani said that the two of them were among the party that came to the Great Kings' Valley when the ghosts were here." He shivers in place, then flips his feathers down again. "I haven't seen Aziza either, sire."
The Lion King nods. "That's alright, Zazu ... undoubtedly your mother is keeping her stalward eyes out for her and the other young members of the pride ... including a certain pair of princes. You've had quite a day! You certainly seem to have your mother's keen attentiveness and thoroughness." He takes a moment to give the bird a playful smirk, "... now, if only you could nail down that relaxing part and not flutter about when giving your reports, you'll be ready for the job!" He gives Zazu a friendly wink. "Don't worry about it ... did your mother ever tell you how nervous -I- was when I was still a young King? Sure, sure ... its great to be the king, I was on cloud nine when I was a cub and knew I was the future king, but -- as you are finding out -- the Pridelands are vast, and I had to learn and understand the importance of every inch of it. It takes awhile to gain the confidence to overcome the nervousness. You have a big perch to fill in your mother's shadow, but someday, perhaps when one of my sons become King, you and He will be as your mother and I are."
Zazu calms himself as much as he can, which isn't too hard now that he's perching, at least not on the surface. He just needs to stop thinking about ghosts and focus on what's at hand. Ahadi, shrewd as he is, has brought up the subject himself. "Were you...if I may ask, sire..." How to put it? It's not easy. "Were you accepted...as someone with flaws, sire?" Now his cool breaks and he twitches his head. "What I mean is...did your subjects, when you were new as a king, did they forgive you for any weaknesses...and respect you anyway?" He knows it sounds like a strange question, but it's the pith of what's inside the bubble Zazu's been trying to burst. Lindani brought it to the fore, and now Ahadi is his best chance to understand...
The leader of the Pridelands smiles. "You'd have to ask Uru, your mother, or the others in the pride. I'd say so ... but there were so many times, I felt so overwhelmed and worried I'd make a terrible mistake, I was certain the lionesses would toss my tail out of the Pridelands and find a more worthy king ... but you know what? It didn't happen. In time, I learned to accept my own mistakes and move on. Obsessing over one mistake only makes one so nervous that you're going to make a lot more. That doesn't mean hiding from mistakes, of course, nor running from them using deceit to cover them ... just learning from them. We all tend to learn something best when we learn it the hard way. So long as you do your best and do the right thing, those who count on you will respect you and value your contributions to the pride."
"Obsessing over one mistake only makes one nervous..." "...not hiding...not running...just learning from them." "...accept one's mistakes and move on." It sounds so sincere...so genuine...the past is as the present in this, Zazu realizes. And his mistakes are his to make. Not to obsess over...not to trademark, nor to bemoan...but just to be. Just to live. "Oh, thank you, sire!" he exclaims, the bubble floating apart, rather than bursting, within his mind. He feels reborn, but in a new way--no. He feels older. Zazu has just had an important revelation on his way to adulthood, and now...now he's an adolescent, no longer a juvenile. It feels good. With an unnecessarily elaborate bow, he hops lower on the rock. "I appreciate the time, sire. I don't know where Aziza is, but I may be able to find Kesh--and Kesh knows where all the cubs are. Shall I go and search for her?" His eyes are suggesting that he'd better go off and search for something. He's ready.
Ahadi asks, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather rest first? If its okay with your mother, though its okay by me ... but be careful. The Blood Brothers are dastardly and may quietly sneak their way into the Pridelands, though our patrols -- including your mother -- will do their best to keep an eye out. Remind Aziza if you see her to not wander far, and show Yaro the Alpha and Lindani the way here to meet with me."
Zazu swallows and gets a remorseful look. "Well, actually, when I said I might know where Kesh is, I meant just around on the other side of the Rock." He points with an outstretched wing. "It's dark out...I don't really fancy trying to find anyone out there at this hour. But if I do see Aziza..." He winks. "I'll tell her that even 'princesses' have their boundaries. Fair?" He bows and extends his wings again.
Ahadi smiles and laughs. "Fair enough. And remember ... relax! Keep cool ... and in control. A nervous majordomo is as turbulence to flying!")
Zazu wonders where the king came up with that one, not being a flier himself. "Very well, sire!" he chuckles. "Relaxing...now." You could kind of see it...a ripple down his back which may or may not have worked. "Good night!" Now he flies, and isn't long in circling the Rock, in search of a certain serval and perhaps eventually a little sleep.
On an otherwise warm night crisscrossed with cold downdrafts, a night the insects of the Pridelands' bushes are celebrating as prime mating season material, Zazu swoops in from the north, a little more energetic than one might expect him to be at the end of the day. He's been out for quite some time, having asked to work a double circuit today. Still training for the prestigious job of steward, Zazu has been doing his best these last few days to win the respect of his mother and the rest of the pride. He's made fewer goofy mistakes in that time, but has been obviously preoccupied. Now he approaches Pride Rock as a good clip, looking for activity.
Challenges abound for the pride, and Ahadi is not unburdened by them. Feeling blessed by two handsome sons, he would like to spend his time contemplating the difficult question of which would succeed him; however, a band of rogues instead weighs heavily. Ahadi believes them to be exactly the sort to snare either or even both of his sons to slaughter for nothing more than to build their own notoriety or to hold them hostage and force Ahadi into humiliating submission. Ahadi does not fear a frontal attack; he gravely fears a sneaky cubnapping or cubicide. As dusk settles, he anticipates the first twinkling of the light from the great Kings of the past, that their wisdom might guide him in these challenging times. Spotting Zuzu's young son approaching, he allows himself to revel in the pride's bounty. Ahadi calls out to him, "How has your day been, Zazu?"
The response is delayed, but makes up for it in vitality. "Hard...hard, Your Majesty!" calls the hornbill. He skims over the wet grass, throwing droplets from his wings, and flies over toward the king. He hovers for now, dropping back just slightly toward the rock he favors for conversation in this clearing, but for now remaining aloft. "There are...so many kinds of life out there, sire! And so many of them are very difficult to figure out. I will need...time to get to know it all...the land, I mean, and all it's..." He falls silent. Instead of trying to mimic his mother's way of speaking, he's now reaching conclusions, or reasonable approximations of them, on his own. He faces Ahadi with renewed attention. "Your Majesty, there is a springbok herd moving in. They look likely to skim through the south of our lands, if they keep at the pace they're on. Of course, I could be wrong about what they plan to do...that's part of what I'm still green on. Aheh." Now he lets his altitude drop. "There is more...but nothing I can't just tell my mother, and let her relay to you. Not from the main circuits."
Ahadi smiles warmly to the young hornbill. "There are indeed many kinds of life, and all are part of the great circle of life. Only the springbok would know where they plan to go. Your mother or I might make a better guess from our experience, but it would still only be a guess. If she or I knew exactly what tomorrow would bring, life would get pretty dull!" he tries to quell the majordomo-in-training's apparant nervousness. "Relax, Zazu, if your days are hard and your wings are tired, find time to rest and recuperate. Your mother wasn't hatched the fine, experienced majordomo she has come to be; its taken her years, and she still continues to learn new things -- as I continue to learn new things each day as king. You'll do no good to the pride if you overwhelm yourself."
Zazu listens to the well-meant lecture patiently, his shoulders thrumming every second or so, circling one way and then the other. He nods humbly...but then replies, "Your Majesty, you're right. I do need to take my time. Just the same, I'm starting to see things...about leadership...." His eyes gleam with the desire to express his thoughts, but he can't, or won't. Instead, he reports the last piece of business. "I met a meerkat, sire, on my way in. You know meerkats, of course? Of course. This one--I talked with him for a while, his name is Lindani. He reports coming this way to greet Aziza--he called her the Princess Aziza--and Kesh, saying they'd been in an adventure, and he'd promised to come back and see her. He saved her life, sire!" He flaps harder to stay level, excited. "He reports that they were two among a party in the gorge, and...he caused a rockslide. I could hardly bel--but then, we all know what Aziza gets into when she tries. Ahem."
The king nods with a chuckle, followed by a sigh. "Indeed ... Princess, eh? Was this Lindani ... a young meerkat, or an adult?" he asks. Ahadi could understand youths not understanding titles, but an adult should know better ... though the only meerkat colony he's heard of is some distance away and might not understand lion society if they've not had much contact. "I'll have to have a talk with Aziza. Where is this Lindani?"
Zazu shakes his head slightly. His crown feathers are a bit stray right now, which usually indicates distraction. In this case it may indicate that he's been thinking hard about one thing or another. "I don't really know...I've never seen meerkats up close before, sire. But I think he was fully grown..." He looks down for a second. "He was in the Grassy Plain to the north, a bit west of here. He said...he said that his Alpha had come as well...another meerkat, called Yaro. Yaro...came to speak with -you-, sire. Something about friendship...between your lands." Splay, go his tailfeathers, before he flips them back under control.
"Yaro ... and his title is Alpha?" Ahadi asked Zazu to confirm. "You have been busy, Zazu, and do your mother proud. I would indeed like to speak with him. Have you any idea where Aziza is?"
Zazu backs off a bit, finally reaching his favorite rock. He perches upon it in a quick motion, gripping the edge of it tightly. "Yaro the Alpha, that's correct, sire. I haven't seen him in person...but Lindani said that the two of them were among the party that came to the Great Kings' Valley when the ghosts were here." He shivers in place, then flips his feathers down again. "I haven't seen Aziza either, sire."
The Lion King nods. "That's alright, Zazu ... undoubtedly your mother is keeping her stalward eyes out for her and the other young members of the pride ... including a certain pair of princes. You've had quite a day! You certainly seem to have your mother's keen attentiveness and thoroughness." He takes a moment to give the bird a playful smirk, "... now, if only you could nail down that relaxing part and not flutter about when giving your reports, you'll be ready for the job!" He gives Zazu a friendly wink. "Don't worry about it ... did your mother ever tell you how nervous -I- was when I was still a young King? Sure, sure ... its great to be the king, I was on cloud nine when I was a cub and knew I was the future king, but -- as you are finding out -- the Pridelands are vast, and I had to learn and understand the importance of every inch of it. It takes awhile to gain the confidence to overcome the nervousness. You have a big perch to fill in your mother's shadow, but someday, perhaps when one of my sons become King, you and He will be as your mother and I are."
Zazu calms himself as much as he can, which isn't too hard now that he's perching, at least not on the surface. He just needs to stop thinking about ghosts and focus on what's at hand. Ahadi, shrewd as he is, has brought up the subject himself. "Were you...if I may ask, sire..." How to put it? It's not easy. "Were you accepted...as someone with flaws, sire?" Now his cool breaks and he twitches his head. "What I mean is...did your subjects, when you were new as a king, did they forgive you for any weaknesses...and respect you anyway?" He knows it sounds like a strange question, but it's the pith of what's inside the bubble Zazu's been trying to burst. Lindani brought it to the fore, and now Ahadi is his best chance to understand...
The leader of the Pridelands smiles. "You'd have to ask Uru, your mother, or the others in the pride. I'd say so ... but there were so many times, I felt so overwhelmed and worried I'd make a terrible mistake, I was certain the lionesses would toss my tail out of the Pridelands and find a more worthy king ... but you know what? It didn't happen. In time, I learned to accept my own mistakes and move on. Obsessing over one mistake only makes one so nervous that you're going to make a lot more. That doesn't mean hiding from mistakes, of course, nor running from them using deceit to cover them ... just learning from them. We all tend to learn something best when we learn it the hard way. So long as you do your best and do the right thing, those who count on you will respect you and value your contributions to the pride."
"Obsessing over one mistake only makes one nervous..." "...not hiding...not running...just learning from them." "...accept one's mistakes and move on." It sounds so sincere...so genuine...the past is as the present in this, Zazu realizes. And his mistakes are his to make. Not to obsess over...not to trademark, nor to bemoan...but just to be. Just to live. "Oh, thank you, sire!" he exclaims, the bubble floating apart, rather than bursting, within his mind. He feels reborn, but in a new way--no. He feels older. Zazu has just had an important revelation on his way to adulthood, and now...now he's an adolescent, no longer a juvenile. It feels good. With an unnecessarily elaborate bow, he hops lower on the rock. "I appreciate the time, sire. I don't know where Aziza is, but I may be able to find Kesh--and Kesh knows where all the cubs are. Shall I go and search for her?" His eyes are suggesting that he'd better go off and search for something. He's ready.
Ahadi asks, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather rest first? If its okay with your mother, though its okay by me ... but be careful. The Blood Brothers are dastardly and may quietly sneak their way into the Pridelands, though our patrols -- including your mother -- will do their best to keep an eye out. Remind Aziza if you see her to not wander far, and show Yaro the Alpha and Lindani the way here to meet with me."
Zazu swallows and gets a remorseful look. "Well, actually, when I said I might know where Kesh is, I meant just around on the other side of the Rock." He points with an outstretched wing. "It's dark out...I don't really fancy trying to find anyone out there at this hour. But if I do see Aziza..." He winks. "I'll tell her that even 'princesses' have their boundaries. Fair?" He bows and extends his wings again.
Ahadi smiles and laughs. "Fair enough. And remember ... relax! Keep cool ... and in control. A nervous majordomo is as turbulence to flying!")
Zazu wonders where the king came up with that one, not being a flier himself. "Very well, sire!" he chuckles. "Relaxing...now." You could kind of see it...a ripple down his back which may or may not have worked. "Good night!" Now he flies, and isn't long in circling the Rock, in search of a certain serval and perhaps eventually a little sleep.