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"...Give me time," Lorenus said.

"We give you one hour to decide."

"And if I choossssse to keep him?"

"Then we will have one last fight."

The naga did not like the sound of that. Though there was but one lion, the shaman, in sight, he had no doubt that the older feline had a way of holding him off. Nor did he doubt that there were more in hiding, waiting to take part in some great final battle to seize their old foe. One way or another, they were determined to have revenge, and there was only one way that they would allow him to move unmolested through their lands.

Or...so they presented. Lorenus smiled as he turned his head, the wheels in his mind already turning as he considered the options. This was, after all, not the first time that he had been presented with the demand for the former Kgosi's head, and he had dealt with that easily enough.

Admittedly, Thulani had been more impaired than the feline behind him, but that did not mean that the same trick could not work twice. Humiliation as a punishment could suffice in the place of death, if the humiliation could be taken far enough.

He had little doubt that the lions could do that. They had sufficient motivation.

But only if he could sell the idea to them. That...he believed he could do.

He turned back to the lion. The older feline had leaned back against a rock, taking a load off his paws.

"What issss your name?" Lorenus asked.

"Do you not know that either, serpent?"

"I have left you your ssssecretssss out of ressspect, lion. I would take them, if you will not sssshare them."

"Hardly respectful."

"Hardly helpful," he countered.

"...True. I am Yukeci, the shaman of the lions."

"Are you the only one of your kind?"

"No...but the most aged, yes, and the most powerful."

Quite possibly a lie, but one that he would be willing to believe for now. There was every possibility that they had sent their strongest rather than someone that was better at bluffing. They'd need it to take someone of that stature from the ranks of the Sizwe; for all their problems before Lorenus had come along, no-one could doubt the strength of their army.

"...Will you need to sssee him dead, here?" Lorenus asked. "It sssseeemsss a sssshame to take that pleassssure from the resssst of your people."

"He will be taken," the lion admitted. "We will take him back to our camp, and from there, we will decide how he is to be destroyed."

Then there was time. That was something that he could work with, and during the journey, he had little doubt that Yukeci would be vulnerable to a little manipulation. They were already getting something of a rapport, and he had faith in the power of his eyes.

"How far?"

"Four days."

Four days. Not long, but long enough. It should be sufficient. He hoped.

"Then I will deliver him. On one condition."

"Name it."

"That I come along, to sssssee what you do to him."

"Granted."

There was no thought, no hesitation as the lion agreed, and it was only in that moment that Lorenus finally got a better grasp as to just how deep the hate for the elephants and the Sizwe ran among the lions. They did not doubt for an instant that anyone outside the Empire would share their hate, and that they would feel the same. Yukeci didn't fear a trap, didn't think that this might be some way for him to get close. He just assumed that the naga wished to see the elephant as dead as the rest of them.

Just how bad were you? Really?

"I will fetch him."

"Please...I will wait."

Yukeci made himself comfortable, and Lorenus slithered back to the boat.

#

The plan was struck, and Sithembile was dragged off the ship in chains, made to struggle by the virtues of the naga's hypnosis just enough to convince them that this was only half-willing on the part of the elephant. It seemed to fool Yukeci enough to keep the shaman's peace, at least, and they were soon underway, heading inland.

The journey itself was uneventful, though they were joined regularly by other lions that had taken up the message that the great evil had been captured and brought before the tribe. There were times when Lorenus feared that he would have to control all of them to keep himself and his hostage safe, but Yukeci surprised him. The honor of the lions bound them to wait until the great foe had been brought before their own chieftain, to be executed there, and despite the various unsheathed claws, there was seldom a fear that they might lose control.

He could see how they had lost their wars. They had honor, but they did not have discipline. If they could be convinced to fight for their honor rather than by the orders of their superiors, they could be broken, shifted from their tactics and made to make stupid mistakes. Lorenus filed that away, making sure to remember it.

The three nights passed quickly, and each night Lorenus turned Yukeci more and more to his side with their fireside talks. They were short, and seldom ended the way that he would have liked - the most that he managed to accomplish was to get the lion to strip down to nothing on the third night - but his efforts had been focused elsewhere, particularly after seeing the power of the shaman.

There had always been rumors of the shamanic power of the tribes back in the Snakelands, but most of the serpents put little stock in them. If they were so powerful, most of the snakes argued, how could they ever be captured? How could they ever be sent away to be slaves? How could they be trained?

The answer was, because they were that powerful, and didn't believe that they could be tamed.

Lorenus saw the power for the first time when they crested the hill that overlooked the lion village below. He expected for there to be some sort of announcement made, something to show that they were friendly and returning home to some extent.

What he hadn't expected was a great gout of flame to emerge from Yukeci's maw, an explosion of heat and light that nearly knocked him back a pace. He stared as the lion lowered his head again, mane unsinged, no sign of the fire afterward, but the air burning hot as if bearing the brunt of a bonfire's warmth for hours.

"What...wassss that?" he asked.

"The power of our tribe."

"How many..."

"Three of us."

Three. Three in all the tribe. That was at once terrifying and relieving, that they possessed such might and that it was only bound to three of them rather than a unifying gift. And one of them was all but controlled by him. That was...something.

He glanced at Ano, the camel advisor, his only companion from the ship. The Old Hump looked back at him, and he knew that they had similar thoughts.

Too dangerous for even a short leash. Total control.

"Take me to your prince," Lorenus said, and wished that he could have made it sound more of a command than it was.

"Follow me."

#

Prince Jahari, a lion of tan fur that had a mane that was too short to be braided and too long to be ignored, stood as the leader of the tribe. Not yet the Kgosi of his people due to his father's recent death, he was nonetheless the one that called the shots. Lorenus saw the way that the rest of the lions looked to the young man, and knew power and authority when he saw it. It would be easy enough to subvert that.

The village center had become a gathering ground as Sithembile was dragged down and tied to a giant pole. At first, Lorenus was all but sure that they were going to burn him to death, but Jahari declared that he would be kept there for the moment, restrained until they had the right level of pain for his death. They would have time.

And then, they met.

In a tent at the edge of the camp, Jahari and Lorenus sat down, one facing the other over the campfire within. The lion took a deep breath, shaking his head.

"You have some plan or other. I can just tell," the lion prince said.

"You believe I would come sssso far for a lie?" Lorenus asked.

"You came this far for something."

"I have been promissssed an alliance, all for the former Kgossssi."

"Yes, that you don't have to be here for."

So, the prince had a small amount of intelligence among his honor. That was something. And something rather useful, once he managed to bring Jahari to his side. He uncoiled slightly, disguising it as if he was just getting more comfortable, while also placing his tail near the lion's side. He loomed a little higher, allowing the firelight to reflect off his scales, all the way up to his hood.

The lion's eyes followed him up. Unlike the shaman, his eyes were filled with curiosity, with a hint of rage, and with a sense of entitlement that came with his position. They were ripe with vulnerability, too.

Lorenus smiled, and slid into that stare.

#

_They were within the lion's mind, and unlike the others that Lorenus had invaded, this one was sloppy. Very, very sloppy. _

_There was little organization, but rather the hurried clean-up of a child, the attempts at organization of thoughts, memory, and knowledge nearly more harmful than they were helpful, and clearly not done with any real intent at organizing, but merely looking as though one hand. It was fast, sloppy, and desperate, and clearly done to at least look competent. _

_This was the mind of someone that had risen quickly, that had not expected to need to take command for at least a few more years. There had been a thought that he would have time. _

_He did not. _

_The lion was nowhere to be seen in the mental fog, in the overgrown jungles of memory and the fruit of thought around him, but that didn't mean much. Lorenus looked skywards, seeing the chains of memory. He flicked his tail toward them. _

_Here and there, the mewling thoughts of the lion could be heard, a marked contrast to the Jahari that had met him in the real world. There was less bravery here, less power, but more curiosity. Here were the honest thoughts of the lion that knew that he was outclassed, but was still curious what was going to happen to him. _

_What happened, of course, was exactly what Lorenus wanted. _

_Shift the chains of loyalty and attach it to the chain of lust. _

_Change the connection of domination with the connection to submission. _

_To kill was not so satisfying as to breed. _

_To slaughter was not so honorable as to fuck. _

_With each shift, there was another change in the fog around him, rising in the lustful pinks that he was more familiar with. He knew that the changes would ripple out, but not quite this quickly. It seemed that the young Prince was less attached to his image of himself than even his disorganized mind suggested. Someone clearly had not had the chance to build himself up in the past. _

As the colorful pink fog rose, Lorenus smiled. He looked forward to seeing what the lion would be like once he got out of his mind...

#

He blinked, and Jahari was already getting to his feet. By the time that Lorenus followed him out, the prince had already gone to the stake, shouting to the rest of the tribe to be heard. Judging by the hard-on in the prince's loincloth, there was only one thing to be done, and the naga smiled.

He was right. Shortly after the announcement of humiliating fucking rather than execution - something that startled the other members of the tribe but they still went along with, thanks in part to Yukeci in the background - the lion prince pulled Sithembile from his bindings. If the elephant had still been free, Lorenus would have put good odds on the older elephant putting the lion prince in the ground.

Instead, he went to all fours and offered his ass, and in short order, Jahari was fucking like a man possessed, humping away at that round, gray rump. Lorenus chuckled to himself, slithering to a resting point as the Old Hump joined him.

"You have an inordinate taste for the debauched, my master."

"It isss a gift."

"You are lucky that the tribe did not question it."

"They are willing enough to wait. They hope for more, yessss, but that doesss not mean that they will get it."

"They will still hope."

"Let them. They will learn the pleasssure of denial."

The End