Late Night Musing (Closed)

Hale staggered in he was mentally drained and not in the mood to fight anything or anyone for a change. The wish for peace he embraced the tiredness he didn’t. Sitting his bottle of hooch down he crashed a little louder than he wished into the chair near Nala. He wasn’t even in the mood for the usual dominance games of invading her space. Wow he thought he really was tired. Propping his legs on the coffee table he looked her over trying to gauge what sort of mood she was in while busying himself with ignoring almost everything that was actually on his plate.



“The couch in the office is more comfortable if you’re trying to get some sack time.” It was a helpful bit of info he’d found the hard way through trial and error. He wasn’t sure why he was sharing one of his hidey-holes especially as he didn’t want her to leave.

She tried really hard to ignore Hale coming in. He smelled of liquor and possibly something close to defeat. She wasn't a particular fan of the Khan, never had been but there wasn't much she could do about it. Her head lifted so she could stare him down for one making to much damn noise and two for invading her bubble. Why couldn't he have just kept going it wasn't like he didn't have other spaces to sprawl out in.

"It may be more comfortable but this way I know who is coming or going. And in this case I wish the 'who' in question was going." She could see how tired he was, "arnt you going to bed?"

“No I don’t sleep here unless I can’t help it.” He said ignoring the bulk of the emotions drifting in her voice. She as one of the hard-nosed hard headed streak members who clung to the old ways. Though more specifically their ideas of the old ways. All without knowing the truth of things. He sighed he’d only come in to soak in the feel of the streak he had hoped to avoid rolling in its enmity. Without him they would have been financially destitute and scrounging for scraps or worse. He didn’t think Maddie was the sort to drive them whole cloth form the islands but he knew as big as the place was it was not big enough for more than one streak. Not only the fact that the bloodlines being run into extinction by the incessant inbreeding would make it significantly imprudent.



“So what do you mean you wish I would leave?” He said a smirk sitting on his face. Yes he was picking a fight but he was not in the mood. He only came ‘home’ to recharge. This was not what he wanted but any energy would be a welcome change for how he was feeling.

'Hmm I wonder why you don't sleep here..." she was of course being sarcastic. It didn't matter to her if he slept here or not but she felt it was better that he stayed away from the rest of them as much as possible. He was a bad influence in her mind.

She sat up more fully her feet going to the floor just in case she needed or wanted to move quickly for any reason. "That depends. If I say yes will you leave? You don't exactly do what is expected of you."

It really was to bad he was not a true blue, if he had been she'd have already been in his lap offering that togetherness most the streak had. She knew he wanted to be touched even if he denied it. All lycanthropes needed touch and so far as she knew he didn't get nearly as much as he needed.

“No.” Was all he said in return. He really was too mentally tired for a fight of any kind. He had nothing to prove. He was king and the strongest tiger in the islands. He knew this yet when he was around others it was such a thing for him. Not that he knew who he was but that they did as well. It was something he was working on. He had a ways to go but at least he was dealing with that particular weakness. As such he simply looked at her. Really considering whether he would rise to the bait and be the bad guy and misbegotten thing most thought him to be. No he wouldn’t instead he kicked his feet up on the coffee table and let a rumbling growl of a sigh escape.



He’d opened the door and yet he had to be honest with himself he really didn’t want to fight. “You still didn’t answer the question. You don’t have to I have a vivid imagination. Why are you up this late? That you have to answer and not just because it would be rude but because I actually care and not answering would prove you are a bad kitty.” The last he added as a reminder that in five years of his rule not one blue had lost their life. Not one blue was jobless. Not one family was in mourning over senseless bloodshed and most importantly the Liéren Yú Hei'án Wáng was at its most profitable he had ushered in a near golden age. Even more importantly than all of the above the last challenger that tried for his head was beaten into submission not by claw and fang but by fists and labelled a bad kitty for a year.



He was a light hand where he could be but there were somethings he could not tolerate. No one should in truth but he allowed far more than any other leader ever would.

She'd been prepared for their usual battle and instead she got nothing from him. He must have been truly off his game to give her nothing but a simple no, that wasn't their way. Nala really looked at her Khan, noticed how tired he looked and his General body language. She felt put off and then she felt bad for always being a bitch.

She tried to smooth out her voice, to get it as close to caring as she could get when talking to him. "I'm sorry Hale... I just expect to get a good rise out of you. It's fun." She leaned back into the couch still looking at him. "I've heard some things about some of the young female cubs. I have been told certain girls have been sneaking off. But to where I don't know. I doubt I'll catch them sitting here like this but figured it was worth trying."

"No need to apologize. And the girls for the most part are at the howlie. They can't drink but they can dance flirt and act like grown-ups. They shouldn't be there but the Bolverk of the wolves keeps an eye on them for us. They have to rebel its part of the growing up process. Better this way than really acting out." He sighed more than said he really was tired. It had been a stressful few weeks. While normally he would do a little bit of a lot of self harm by testing the upper limits of his tolerance to ethanol he was even too tired for that.

"Thank you for looking out for the younger ones. I'll leave you to it, though they usually leave the crawlspace window unlocked and come in that way."