The New Age stretches out, shaking his mane as he lets out a laugh. "That's easy. I'd destroy as many of them as I needed to to make them realize that my pride isn't to be messed with. Honor is for fools who don't know how to fight properly," Age laughs, "Of course, I'm sure that my pride wouldn't be attacked in the first place. Under my leadership, they'd know that we're too powerful to be fought. Though I'm doubtful that the king we had before me would agree," Age growls, thinking of the old lion and his dusty grave.

"Anyways, how is your pride faring this season with the drought? Are you doing the smart thing, and taking what food you can, or are you being foolish and trying to keep the peace, like some sort of preserver. I've heard a lot of lions are actually sparing humans," Age growls. What was the point of sparing useless humans and such? "I myself am keeping my pride alive. Many of our meals these days consist of people that dare stray into our territory."

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"My pride has been more prosperous this month than ever before," Cerxes grinned. "The humans give us so much food that we don't eat it all, and we can sell it. The same is with the dying animals. My son on the other hand..." he trails off, scornful. "He is a sissy. I'll be glad when my brother takes over again. Maybe they'll finally get something done."

"Now that the vulture has arrived, and the maneaters soon after, where will you spend your bones?"

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Oop double post

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Pahket curtly swiped her tongue along her paw, her tail lazily flicking about "Easy, the maneaters. There is something about their mysterious nature that attracts both me and my pride. It's a shame that I have been too busy to focus on collecting enough bones to let my ladies spend on them" She chorted, standing up.

"With all of these fires, one has to assume that the gods are punishing us. How do you feel about this month?" Her voice was harsher, swiping her maw again

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A harsh laugh without humor erupted from her jaws. "It's horrible, and no matter how strong or arrogant a pride pretends to be, everyone is suffering. I won't lie; I have little hope that I'm going to get out of this alive. We've already lost a cub and two lionesses," the heiress grunted, glancing to her skinny flanks.

"And you. Speaking of gods, which deities d'you follow, if any?"

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Pahket stood for a moment, closing her eyes calmly before opening her eyes. "Ironically, Bast, as well Sekhmet and other catlike deities. Some in my pride, however, worship those godforsaken celestials" She shook her head in disgust, flicking her tail around harshly.

"The maneaters have arrived, how do you feel about sending your ladies off to fool around with those savages.. Not that I have a problem with them"

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"If one of my ladies were interested in the maneaters, then by all means, she could fool around with them. The only thing she'd have to worry about is being the mother to some bastard cub, after all. Her trysts would be of little concern to me; loyalty is not determined by who you roll in the grass with." Abhoth stated this in a deadpan manner, waving one paw dismissively. The hellish empress might have concerned herself with most aspects of her ladies' lives, but she was ultimately unconcerned with such affairs, which she considered to be non-issues.

"Let's twist that scenario a little bit, though," She grinned at the monarch who was seated (probably) a little too close to her right side (for their own comfort.) "What would you do if one of your own subjects not only had an affair and was impregnated by one of the maneaters- but decided that she wanted to abscond with him as well. Would you kill them both for treason, kill her for planning such treachery, kill him for planting those thoughts in her head, or let them both go?" She knew it was a long-winded and rambling question, but she was genuinely curious about what would happen under those fabricated pretenses.

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Callisto didn't reply at first, tail flicking through the dry grass where they were seated. "That's... quite the question," she mused, glancing to the empress who had asked it. "Well it depends on which lioness. I would be stupid to lie and say I wouldn't be a little biased. If it were a friend, relative or high rank of mine, of course I'd let them go, and wish them safe travels. If it were a low-ranking lioness, though, perhaps not execution... exile."

"Alright, let's twist *that* scenario a bit," she murmured to the next, a crumpled smirk crossing her face. "What if your lionesses wanted to run off with another ruler, then, hmm? What would you do?"

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"Erm... I actually don't truly know... Most of my lionesses are either loyal Nephelines or spirits, but I'm sure most of the lions down south would run to any demonic or cruel leader in a flash.."

'Well, now onto something less strange. What would you do if I came and cast a gentle blizzard over your lands, blinding you, and when the snow cleared, all you most beautiful lionesses were gone, along with all your best beetles?"

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“I wouldn’t really care.” A lion said out of the blue as his eyes catched the gaze of the lion. “It would be a sign that I need to start over and find a new path from whomever is ruling up above.” The mysterious lion yawned as his paw seemed to droop black goo. “I would be frustrated and such but what else can I do besides move on and help the rest of the pride.”

He turned to look at the next lion, one of his eyes glowing. “What would you do if one of your lionesses store all your precious gatherings and destroyed them so you wont be getting them back? Would you kill her, forgive her or send her off?” He said as he examined them.

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Abhoth actually laughed at the proposed scenario; a dry, rattling and unearthly sound, not too dissimilar to the pop-and-crackle of dry bones splintering, or dead wood beginning to ignite. Tendrils of shadows and ash flowed from the corners of her eyes, mimicking a mortal's tears of mirth. Once she could trust herself to speak again, she hissed: "If anyone thought themselves bold enough to attempt something so stupid, I would invite them to try. She would be captured at once and her execution would be a spectacle for the rest of my pride to see. I would wear her skull and spine as new jewelry and her corpse would be the main course for an impromptu feast!"

That same, wicked mirth danced across her countenance as she turned to face the leader situated directly across from her. "Let's go with something even more fun this time. Assuming that you and I are enemies, what would you do if my priest and I did something petty-- if we summoned a swarm of plague rats to infest your territory?" Yes, it was a war-time scenario; such things amused the hellish empress immensely.

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Altair raises his eyebrows, looking over at the ruler before looking down and drawing his claw through the dust. He wasn't the fondest of rats, no not at all. "Hmm... I suppose we'd have to do something about the rats, first of all. Kill as many as we can and get rid of them. Can't risk eating a rat really; might have something poisonous on it. Then
we'd make sure we can find proper food from our hunting grounds. After that... I suppose we'd just have to deal with any more rats that turned up," he says, tilting his head for a moment. "I suppose I could try to find ad punish you for sending the rats in the first place, but it's my guess that anyone who can summon rats isn't to be messed with."

Stretching, Altair smiles at the next ruler. "How bout a change of pace from all this dark stuff? Last month, with the whole ordeal of Apedemak, Mehit and Apollyon, who did you side with and why?" he smiles, "I ended up siding with Mehit. I think she just seemed to be the most fit to rule, after all."

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A cold look marred the usually smiling Kong’s face. “I was not king then, but the previous king was. He sided with Apemdak and chose to become a hollowed our shell for holding whispers. I used to play with Mehnit as a cub, but alas, she belongs to the mad king now.”

“What would you do if you died here and now?”

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"If I died here and now..." A maliciously mischievous smirk curved Abhoth's lips as she tilted her head; there was an extremely long-winded answer, but she'd condense it as best as she could. "I've died many times, so I'm used to the routine. I'd close my eyes and you'd get to watch this form fall apart. It would crumble, turn into ash and blow away. Then you'd see what the real me looks like. Some of you would probably go mad, others would probably piss themselves while praying to their impotent gods. Some of you might not be bothered in any way. I'd be a little inconvenienced because I'd have to find a new vessel and take it over, but that's really all that would happen." Such was the cycle of existence for a strangely patient eldritch horror, after all. But then again, was she actually patient, or was she just biding her time and building her ranks?

Tilting her head, the hellish empress made a strange, thoughtful sound in the back of her throat and winked conspiringly (perhaps creepily) at the ruler who sat directly besider her. "Here's a strange political question for you: what would you do if, hypothetically, we were potential allies and I decided to offer your kingdom protection, as long as you signed a contract that promised me your complete loyalty and obedience from the day you died until you were no longer of any use to me?"

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The short, adolescent-appearing king made an amused noise, somewhere between a snort and a cackle. A purr rumbled in his throat, and he shifted where he sat. "Protection? For absolute loyalty? You must be joking! I am the only one my pride needs, I will protect them until my final breath, and I will die trying to protect them. No threat is large enough to best me, no matter how big or scary it is. I would obviously refuse, and laugh in your face while I'm at it. Yours and anyone else's protection is worthless. I can't trust anyone but myself to protect my pride and the lions within it that I care for." The king growled, his deep voice full of mocking and snarkiness. He seemed to be very cocky for a lion his stature.

He turned to the monarch beside him, eyes roaming over them, sizing them up. "What do you think is the best way to win a fight, intimidating your opponent to make them run away before the fight even begins, or having an all-out battle, turning the ground crimson with your opponent's blood?" A cocky smirk crossed his face after he was finished asking the question, but his eyes hinted at mild interest.

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