Ene (impotentwaffle) wrote in cwf,
@ 2010-06-17 23:28:00

To Noah
Majid was good at his job. Near the end of Haben's father's reign, he had acted as an enforcer. For a long time, he'd managed to keep the peace within the immediate Pride, but in the end, it had been too much for the few lions who remained loyal to the idea of a Pride structure. When the lions of Africa had dispersed to their own devices, forming groups closer to small tribes rather than one grand pride, Majid had fallen to taking mercenary work for humans and lions alike. When Haben had disappeared and was presumed dead, Haben's father went downhill, losing his spark for leadership. It was painful to watch the King fall so far and Majid stopped seeing him, abandoned him really.

Now he was in Coldwater Flats, having tracked Haben's best friend Noah to that location. It was a commission, a job and nothing personal. Majid had been around while Haben and Noah were growing up, young himself then, but old enough to do the job that Haben's father required of him. Strangely enough, he'd been tribute to the King--a gift from another Pride. Majid didn't mind much, having been objectified like that. He'd wanted to get out of Iran and that had been his opportunity.

He'd been staying in a cheap motel in town, biding his time and observing Noah. The boy had been visiting a local wolf pack frequently, though Majid did not know for what purpose. What would a lion have to do with a pack of wolves? He didn't dare step on their territory and so he waited until Noah was in town to finally approach him. He had an ice cream cone in his hand, of all things, and he simply stepped out in front of Noah as he was walking. "You've gotten bigger," he noted mildly.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-19 11:36 pm UTC (link)

"Then they will think I've failed and was too cowardly to return home. You know I can't do that." It went against everything about him. Majid had intensely traditional notions of honor and shame. Despite all of that, though, he didn't like the idea of forcing Noah to do something he was so against.

"You have friends here then? People that you love? Is it here that you want, or just not back home?" He insisted on calling it home because that was the only one he'd ever actually known. Iran was never home to him. "Why would you want me to stay? I'll just be bossy." He repeated the word that Noah had used to describe him a few times.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-19 11:48 pm UTC (link)

"Why do you care what they think? It doesn't matter what they think, especially if you don't go back. You'd never see them again," Noah said with a frown as he glared over at Majid. "Yes, I have friends and people I care about here." He loved Haben, but he was holding that word back on purpose. "And being bossy is better than being an opressor who makes people do things that that don't want."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-20 12:39 am UTC (link)

"It matters. We are what other people think of us. It's important." He didn't like the frown or the glare and he took a step forward. "But I suppose I could go back empty handed and tell them that you did not want to return with me." Deep down, he knew that that would mean that Jato would send another mercenary, someone who may not be able to track Noah down, but who would definitely bring him back by force if he found him. Majid did not like the way that played out in his head and a spark of confusion showed on his face again.

He'd put himself close to Noah again, bearing down on him a little because that's how he got people to do what he wanted--he intimidated them. "Is that what you want? You want me to just go back and let someone else come for you?"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-20 01:12 am UTC (link)

"It doesn't matter what people think of us, what people think is what they think - it's just an opinion they make about us and most of the time it's unfounded or biased," Noah said back, and when Majid came closer to him to intimidate him, the younger lion just stared back squarely.

Intimidation never worked on him. And it wouldn't now, either.

"I don't care what you do as long as you don't force me to go back there," he finally said after a moment.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-20 01:25 am UTC (link)

Why that wounded Majid, he didn't understand. The fact that Noah said he didn't care what he did--it made him shift uncomfortably and he took a step back. "I would have come with you if you had asked," he said finally, nodding a little.

After a moment of just staring at Noah with an almost blank look on his face, Majid made a gesture down to his ruined ice cream cone. "I meant it when I said you owed me another one of those." Like usual, he had no intentions of revealing the decision he had come to about how to deal with this situation. Instead, he turned and started to walk back to the hotel he was staying at.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-20 02:27 am UTC (link)

Those first few words surprised Noah, and he blinked a little bit in confusion as Majid went on to talk about the ice cream cone. He barely heard that part, though, and he started after the other lion with a frown on his lips.

"Well, I'm asking you to stay," he told Majid. "So stay. You don't have to go back, just stay here."

If Majid would have left with him, why wouldn't he simply stay, too? It made sense to Noah.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-20 03:13 am UTC (link)

He kept up his pace, though it wasn't brisk by any means. Really, he wanted Noah to follow him all the way back to his hotel. He wanted the other to know where he was staying just in case he changed his mind and said that he wanted to go back with him. Not that Majid was foolish enough to believe that that would ever happen.

"Jato and his father paid me money to travel the globe looking for you. I must return to Kenya and pay them back." Because he clearly hadn't been able to do his job. When he set out, he'd really believed that he would be able to drag Noah back like any other lion he'd been hired to find. But Noah was different. Haben would have been too, if the boy had still been alive.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-20 03:20 am UTC (link)

Noah honestly had no idea what Majid was going to do. He wasn't the type to give up easily, if at all, and while Noah had always found that quality admirable it also made him a little bit nervous. The idea of being taken back to Africa, back to Jato, was terrifying to Noah even though he didn't want to admit it outloud. The punishment for running away would be great, and Noah was very aware of that fact.

"So you're really just going to go back, then?" he asked after a moment as he reached out to snag Majid's wrist.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-20 11:24 pm UTC (link)

Majid turned as Noah clasped his wrist, making the connection of movement as graceful as a dance. He looked pointedly down at their hands and his expression softened just a little. "No, I'm going to stay for a little while to try and convince you to come back with me. But I'm not going to force you. I thought I could, but I cannot." He sighed a little at that, clearly frustrated with his own realization.

"I knew you when you were this high," he said as he put his free hand low to the ground. "I can't beat you up and load you into a cargo trunk. No matter how much you sometimes deserve it."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-21 12:45 am UTC (link)

Hearing Majid say that struck a chord in Noah, and his brow knit up as he swallowed back a swell of emotion he couldn't quite explain. Noah had never known Majid to give up on a mission, and the idea that he was going to for him made him feel things he didn't know how to properly deal with.

"You can't convince me to go back," he told Majid, "But I'm glad you're staying."

He stepped forward and pressed his nose against the other lion's shoulder, smiling a little at the familiar scent. He closed his eyes and hooked an arm around Majid's waist, and he stayed close.

"If I go back they'll punish me, you know."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-21 08:52 am UTC (link)

Majid hadn't expected the embrace and his body took on an awkward stiffness because he didn't quite know what to do with it. Finally, he reached up to pat Noah's back a little in a tense 'there there' sort of gesture. He was so in tune with his body except for when it came to affection. But he felt a spark of something natural to be touching Noah.

"Yes, I know. You should accept it. Haben's father worked for the unity of the Pride. With its protections come its prices. He was a good man. Leaving dishonored his memory."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-21 08:56 am UTC (link)

Noah pulled back and let out a quiet sigh. Just the mention of Haben put him off. If Majid saw Haben and figuered out that his friend was alive, Noah wasn't so sure that Majid would be so gracious about simply stayig and trying to convince him to go back. Noah was one thing, but Haben was an entirely different story.

"I don't think it did," he replied quietly, "Would you really want me to go back and be with Jato? You know what he's like, and I doubt he's changed."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-21 09:28 am UTC (link)

He found that he didn't like it when Noah pulled away. And to be honest, picturing him with a tyrant like Jato didn't exactly feel good either. "It should have been you and Haben," he said insightfully. "And I am very sorry that cannot be the case." For different reasons than Majid imagined, of course.

After a moment, he shook his head. "Jato is the same, yes. I do not like and I do not like the idea of you with him. But it is not my place to decide."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-21 09:30 am UTC (link)

Noah had always wanted Haben, even if he didn't quite understand it when he was so young. But there had always been something there, a connection, and when Haben had left and thought dead a part of Noah had given up on ever being with someone - though again, he hadn't understood it at the time. It took seeing Haben again and seeing him with someone else that made it all make sense, and at Majid's words he frowned a little.

"Maybe," he said quietly. "It doesn't matter, it's for me to decide who I want and I don't want him."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-21 11:35 pm UTC (link)

"Maybe when I got back, I can convince him that you are not worth the trouble of sending someone else after you." Majid laughed a little because that would be very difficult. "Even though I think you are worth every ounce of trouble you always seem to cause and Jato knows that too."

He reached out to tug at Noah's hair. "Everything about you has grown more than I expected it to. You should cut your hair." Like an old man telling a teenager to clean himself up a bit, though Majid's hair was on the longish side as well. "Has your mane come in yet?"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crucio 2010-06-22 01:25 am UTC (link)
	Noah smiled and tipped his head to he side fondly when Majid tugged at a lock of his hair, and his smile turned into a grin at the mention of his mane. "Pretty much," he said proudly, and he wanted to say how Haben's was coming in nicely, too... But he couldn't. "Soon it'll be bigger than your's," he teased. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-22 02:38 am UTC (link)

He laughed and shook his head. "Oh, I very much doubt that," he said firmly but still teasing.

Regarding Noah's hair, he went from just tugging a lock of it to slipping his hands through it and holding onto a fistful of it. "I want to see it, before I go." He wanted to put that last part in there because he wanted to remind himself that that's how it was going to have to end. He couldn't just stay and make a little life for himself in that random town, hanging around with Noah like he used to do.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-22 02:45 am UTC (link)

Noah felt a lump form in the back of his throat at the idea of Majid leaving. There were parts of home that Noah missed, and Majid was probably the biggest one. He'd been tough, sure, but he'd always indulged Noah and Haben. He wanted to tell Majid about Haben, but he was afraid of what the other lion would say.

"What would you do if Haben was still alive?" he asked after a moment. "What if I was him, and didn't want to go back, either? Would it be the same?"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-22 03:32 am UTC (link)

The question seemed strange to Majid and he offered a shrug, turning to keep heading in the direction of his hotel. It wasn't very far now and when they got there, he led Noah upstairs to his room. The place was messy, but in a very organized fashion. Cluttered with maps and newspaper clippings, the room looked like an investigation headquarters--mainly because it was.

"If Haben were alive, he'd be king. Well--he'd be my king. He would have to come back. I'd like to believe that I wouldn't have to convince him to come back, that it wouldn't be an issue because he would understand what his father gave up for the Pride."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-22 03:37 am UTC (link)

Noah couldn't help but frown. He was barely even paying attention to what the room looked like, he was thinking too much about Haben. Well, now he definitely couldn't tell Majid about his friend being alive and at the haven. And he had to warn Haben not to go into town for anything. Instead of saying anything else about his best friend, Noah changed the subject.

"You'd really want to see my mane before you leave?"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-25 03:37 am UTC (link)

Majid went to the small fridge and pulled out two chinese food cartons. "Seasame chicken?" He offered before popping them both in the microwave. After, he sat down on the end of his bed.

"Of course I want to see your mane before I leave. I'm sure we'll shift plenty of times while I'm here. It must be lonely shifting here by yourself." Because shifting with wolves was as good as shifting alone in Majid's opinion.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

crucio
2010-06-25 03:22 pm UTC (link)

Noah felt as if he was lying to Majid, even though technically he wasn't at all. It still felt that way, and he tried not to frown as he listened to the sound of the microwave. Instead of thinking about it too much, Noah kicked off his shoes and settled on the bed next to Majid. Instead of sitting, he laid back and stared up a the other lion.

"You're very good at cuddling when shifted, but in this form you're terrible at it," he teased sweetly.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-25 11:26 pm UTC (link)

"Cuddling has never been in my job description," Majid said, body tensing ever so slightly. He turned his head so he could eye Noah for a moment and then looked back at the microwave to focus on the food brewing in there. Why had he grown up so much? Didn't people have the common courtesy not to change while they were away? It was as if Noah had kept all of the good qualities he'd had in his youth and just expounded upon them, putting them all in a very nice body with nice new smells that no child could ever or should ever produce. Being in the closed space with him was only highlighting all of that.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crucio 2010-06-26 03:31 am UTC (link)
	Noah watched Majid carefully, trying to read the other lion's thoughts by examining his expressions. He wet his lips and hooked an ankle around Majid's arm to give a tug. "Lay down with me," he said softly after a moment. How often was he going to be able to cuddle with his childhood crush? He was going to take the chance while it was right there in front of him. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

impotentwaffle
2010-06-26 04:37 am UTC (link)

He pulled his hand out from the hook of Noah's ankle and gave him a stern look. But the way Noah had asked so quietly softened Majid a little after a moment of consideration and he let the microwave ding its readiness without getting up to heed its call.

Slowly, creeping, he turned around and crawled cautiously up the length of the bed on all fours before lying down next to Noah. If Haben was the epitome of cat-like need for warmth and snuggling, Majid was the antithesis of it. But it was only because he couldn't get close to anyone--wouldn't. He didn't need it messing with his judgment like it was clearly doing now.