Under the influence Pt. 1 (Draft/Feedback Wanted)
#1 of Under the influence
This is the first section of a new (largely) unconnected story series involving a couple characters of mine. I'm still very new to this whole writing process, so any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. The introduction will likely be deleted and later incorporated into the main part of the story.
Olivian couldn't remember seeing the grand hall of his lineage populated like this. Not that the admittedly clumsy structure of mud, stone, and wood had ever been a grand sight, to begin with. Still, his father -and his father before him- had repeatedly dictated the importance of such ancient places to their kind. All manner of rituals and rites of the utmost importance to the tribe were practiced on these hallowed grounds. Oh, how his ancestors' spirits must be wailing in the afterlife now.
Once these halls had been filled only with the most respected and noble of his feline brethren. The occasional dignitary from another tribe might have sought an audience with the king here, granted, but now Olivian's stomach churned upon seeing the foreign creatures here. The newly welcomed hyenas practically skulked around every corner. Their whooping laughs overpowered the volume of any reasonable conversation.
Olivian was admittedly just the third son of two elder children sired by his father, the king of the pride. I am still a prince, damnit! I should not have to dwell in the presence of these uncultured barbarians spilling their ale all over the floor. But what could he do? The carefully brokered peace accord put an end to years of conflict and he could not risk jeopardizing that.
It was then that a splash of ale landed at his bare feet. Droplets of foaming fluid wetted the fur of several frowning leonine, including himself.
"The next rounds' on those guys! Ha!" The culprit wailed to his small pack of yipping followers of which he was surely the alpha. The male stood at least a head taller than his grinning compatriots. He must have outweighed them too given the relative size of his muscles, all of which were visible since his only garb was a snug-fitting cloth around his waist. His empty mug blatantly gestured towards the sour-looking prince as if the bring him in on some joke. Whatever humor was meant to be communicated was lost to the grouchy prince. To hell with this stupid peace accord. Who the fuck does this mongrel think he is?! The prince walked with a sneer towards the howling hyena busy gesturing to the crowd with his raised mug.
Those mutts didn't seem to understand how to behave in the presence of royalty. He would show them how to behave. That is what Olivian had decided, at least. The pair met face to face moments later. One had a semi-lucid glaze of a mind swimming in ale. The other a silent snarl that radiated humorless scorn. Differences between them only grew more obvious now. Olivian's toned athleticism paled in comparison to the burly physique of the hyena. Such a body might have been worth looking over were Olivian in a better mood.
"Show some manners you filthy dog," Olivian growled out through his gritted teeth. "You're only welcome in these halls by the grace of my father's permission." That little display earned a round of rolling belly laughs from the small crowd standing around the leader's position. The prince's hands tightened into fists from being mocked so openly. That furnace of a temper started to roar within the smaller male's chest.
"Ah, yer the prince, yeah? Figures! Ya look just like yer papa," the hyena interrupted before the tension could grow any further. That jovial disposition never faded regardless of much his royal audience scowled. "Didn't mean nothing by it, just tellin' the boys how friendly and accommodatin' you cats have been. Got ahead of m'self is all," he lazily waved a hand apologetically as if that would magically excuse his social faux pas.
"What makes you think you can just-" a large hand came down upon Olivian's shoulder in the midst of his protest.
"Relaaax! I get it, yer mad about the mess. Won't happen again, yeah? I'll even get you one to make up for the one I spilled. Just you wait here, 'livia." Without another word, the muscled hyena turned his back and headed down to the other end of the hall. A series of wooden barrels were stacked against the wall ready to replace the ever-dwindling supplies. Various hyena patrons took their turn filling their clay cups from the makeshift spout in one of the barrels. Olivian stalked after him paying no heed to the giggling pack behind him.
"You listen to me now, it's prince Olivian to you, and I don't drink." His protest seemed to go unheard.
"S'kerrith!" The hyena barked, clearly referring to himself, then turned around to shove a frothing mug into the lion's grasp. "And yeah, ya do drink when you're chattin' with a fancy foreign dignitary like m'self," he declared with a proud thump to his own burly chest. "We got plenty to discuss now."
Olivian peered into the mug of ale that foamed just over the rim. It smelled of fermented grains and some spice he could not recognize. "Foreign dignitary, what are you babbling about?"
S'kerrith only concentrated on filling his own mug to the absolute limit before turning his attention back to the prince. "What, just because I don't got fancy gold and gems like yer kind, I'm not important?" he reached out to tug at the various affectations covering the prince's royal body. He had all sorts of glittering necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and loose-fitting adornments around his waist. They must have seemed frivolous to the eyes of a hyena.
"Don't touch those!" Olivian swatted away the hand fondling his royal heirlooms. The bratty reaction made S'kerrith's face widens into a grin.
"Relax, 'Livia. See this paint here?" he gestured to the white lines that spiraled along one half of his chest and neck, "Same thing, now drink up already. We got matters to discuss." S'kerrith tapped his mug against Olivian's own with some force then took a mighty swig. With his free hand, he gestured to a vacant bench tucked away in the corner of the leonine hall and lead the two of them on. The prince hissed and grumbled the whole way.
"It's prince Olivian", he corrected, yet again. The Prince tossed a scowl S'kerrith's way as he seemed not to be listening. The large man's attention was drawn to something he had hidden away in the palm of his hand. Whatever it was, it gave off an eerie blue glow. The light paled in comparison to the various torches which illuminated the shadowy stones around them though.
"Right, right, 'Livian," he said tucking the odd trinket away into a medicine pouch on his belt. This time it seemed like it was his accent that got in the way rather than some poor attempt at humor. "Look, there's some stuff we got to cover between us, man to man, got it?" He said in a surprisingly serious tone all without losing that greasy grin plastered on his muzzle. "Your papa, his fancy council of nobles and m'self just finished a long meeting about this big treaty."
It was only then that Olivian recognized the markings on the big hyena slouching forward in his seat. He and his pack of noisy followers had been part of the envoy that arrived a few days earlier. That same envoy was responsible for negotiating the very treaty which kept them in the same room now. Ice filled Olivian's veins as the thought sunk in. His ears flattened back in recognition of the gravity of the situation. Before he could speak to the situation the hyena butted in.
"Things are stressful in there, right? Everyone's all tense. The last thing I need is the king's brat whining at me all night. It'll make tomorrow's talks stressful, y'get me?" There was a clear threat veiled behind those words. S'kerrith wasn't the dimwitted drunk Olivian initially took him to be.
"Now, relax a bit and drink up." This time S'kerrith reached straight for the mug in the prince's hand. He guided it straight up to the feline's mouth with some insistence. Olivian hesitated with obvious discomfort. His head turned prematurely but the rim of that mug kept approaching. It didn't stop even as it tilted and began pouring the brew out. To avoid a mess being poured into his lap the prince did the only thing he could and accept the drink. He gulped several mouthfuls down, one after the other. Totally unused to the spiced alcohol he coughed and waved a hand to signal the other man to stop.
"Ha! Not so bad, is it?" S'kerrith laughed, returning the mug to the prince's grasp. Olivian wiped some of the foam from his mouth with his forearm. That's when he caught the hyena staring at him. He followed the flow of his gaze. S'kerrth glared at his body now. It was a lecherous glare, without a doubt.