Richard calmly followed Leon Talbot from the kitchen and deeper into the house, and it was something that he found rather interesting. From all that he'd heard about the Talbots, from Shelia and from Elijah Hunter, he'd been described as a "king," which created the sort of image in Richard's mind of a wealthy nobleman living in luxury. Yet the home's décor wasn't too different from the Van Direstag's own home in that it was a very middle class dwelling. The largest part of the building was actually the garage where on of Leon's brothers was apparently working on a classic car.
"You seem a bit lost," came Leon's voice from in front of him, making Richard turn away from a framed photograph that was on the wall.
Richard looked back to the man that he was presently visiting and noted that Leon Talbot was obviously a very fit man and was powerfully built, and in a way stronger than Elijah looked. It struck the instincts in the back of his mind on werelion behavior that Leon likely attained his position in Moon Lake by challenging the previous king and winning that challenge, much like how mundane male lions took over prides. They either found a pride with no present "pride male" or with a weaker "pride male" and either chased that male out or killed him. Part of him wondered how werelions would handle that whole issue, particularly if those instincts were there among them. He didn't think it'd make much sense for male werelions to actually be fighting to establish prides as it would potentially break up marriages and could lead to fighting. Of course, given that this was only his first full day as a were, of any kind, perhaps he might be able to learn a bit more, something he should have done rather than trying to flee.
"In some ways I am," Richard admitted, "I mean... I didn't take the revelation of the existence of weres well and that then in turn lead to my accidental induction into were society... thus, I'm still processing werelion instincts and trying to rationalize how all they work and what I'm supposed to do, while also trying to make up for the mistakes I made that lead to my transformation."
Leon slowly nodded as Richard continued.
"And then there's been all the comments I've gotten referring to you as a king... and well, forgive me if this sounds bad," Richard continued, "but a lot of this looks like my own home... a family man with his home, business, and everything else. Nothing that would be like what one would expect from a king..."
Leon actually chuckled at the end of this before he answered. And Richard watched to note that the response was given with careful thought.
"Well, as for the "king" bit, keep in mind that while all the were groups have their respective leaders or organizations and they can vary greatly," Leon spoke with a chuckle, "and within them, none of that leadership is actually political. Think of it like a sports club or something like that outside of Moon Lake. That club may have its own leadership, rules, and standards, but holds no political power. And the whole "king" thing for werelions is more a reference to the cultural depiction of the lion as the King of the Jungle..."
"Despite that lions largely prefer more open and plains-like environments," Richard spoke.
"The only one in Moon Lake that has any "noble" heritage as what you would think of as a noble-person, would be Akane no Tachibana, the leader of Moon Lake's werefoxes, but that has more to due with the fact that she was either born into a noble house in Japan or married into it... and that title that she had in Japan wouldn't apply here given America's rules in its constitution. And even without that, her title wouldn't grant her political authority. Now, she's won a seat on the city council, but that's also come from votes for her that weren't from werefoxes. Pretty normal stuff. Which is why my title as the "Lion King" is more informal and more akin to a club manager than anything else."
There was a pause for the moment as Leon cleared his throat and kept his eye on Richard and tried to keep an understanding look to make sure the new werelion wasn't nervous or frightened.
"As for your issues with instincts," Leon continued, "I'd think that's more a result of your induction into werelion society. And why the city tried to encourage people to learn about the were-group that they join. Those they'd talk to would share the strengths and weaknesses that would come with that were group and how their society works. And for werelions, that could well include that our society is a bit more of a "swingers club" than most other were groups. That way you'd have some awareness on our prides, likely instincts, and how we operate here in Moon Lake."
Richard only looked down to his feet, feeling a bit ashamed. He was glad that Rose hadn't been killed and that she'd survived her transformation into a werelion, but that didn't change that his transformation and her injury were all the result of where he'd gotten too pigheaded in the first place over the Mandatory Were Law. He was fully aware of that and hung his head in recognition of that, as if he hadn't, Rose might not have been attacked and he wouldn't have potentially hurt his marriage by jumping into werelion instincts to be with Sheila. He felt profoundly lucky that Rose forgave him after rescuing her from the Mountain Lion and seemed to have even had some interest in Sheila as well, though he also couldn't know if that was something that came before or after she became a werelioness.
"Particularly as these things can be hard to master... particularly for those who aren't ready," Leon then finished, noting Richard's downturned look. He found Richard Van Direstag a relatively well built male werelion, even in his human form, and that could be enough to potentially challenge him, but he also noted that Richard seemed to be battling with his own sense of guilt over how he entered were society, how his wife had been attacked, and then her transformation. It was something where Leon had the sense that Richard might have the build to challenge him, but clearly didn't have the interest and might even be surprised by some of those instincts. "But a lot of that is the past now..."
"There's much I have questions over... and probably more to learn," Richard admitted, "how all these instincts came about... how and why Rose and I seem to know them and what they are... despite not being weres for long. Not to mention how Moon Lake doesn't seem to be imperiled by them... For if werelions are still driven by prideful instincts to build and form prides, like mundane lions, wouldn't this leave werelions open to fighting among themselves?"
"There are always things to learn," Leon chuckled, "as for some of those origins... I can't really say on how the work or exactly when. For a lot of that isn't my field, and I know there are arguments over whether being a were is the result of magic or if it's scientific. Not something I've really looked into. About all I know is that werelions first appeared in Africa, likely well after many of the other were groups appeared. And this did include a great deal of pride and carrying over of many aspects of how mundane lions behave, thus a pride with one or two males and many more females." Leon paused and then looked to the picture that Richard had been looking at earlier before continuing in a more somber tone, "and at times, those instincts DID lead to werelions fighting each other. Pride and confidence... a werelion's greatest strength can also be its greatest weakness, and at times some males, looking to gather females or not getting along with other males has lead fighting at times... all through werelion history and across all areas where werelions have lived."
Richard's eyes widened, "but... I've never seen any fighting... even before becoming a were."
This again earned a chuckle, "as you've arrived after a lot of that came to an end, in Moon Lake, at least. More than twenty years ago, my brothers and I came to Moon Lake and found that the prides here did have a "king," but one that let a lot of things go freely, and included squabbles over women and dominance. Coalitions only formed for protection against rival coalitions and didn't necessarily prevent there from being fights."
"That couldn't have been good... what about those with wives...?" Richard asked.
"Wives wouldn't often be fought for... more the other females that a pride male may have," Leon answered, "and because it was leading open squabbles, it did cause troubles as werelions fighting each other often either then got into fights with weretigers over who was "king of the jungle" or with the law when they tried to intercede and put a stop to the fighting. It fit a point of pride and power, but did lead to trouble... trouble that could draw outside attention."
Richard frowned as that wasn't something he liked, and only increased his worries over some of the instinctual knowledge on what werelions could be driven to. This sounded a lot like this sort of thing could have lead to werelions exposing weres to the world by this kind of fighting. He guessed that outside Moon Lake, many werelion prides tried to put enough distance between them to avoid this fighting, though a part of him also wondered if some of them might have moved to Utah to find the legal backing for some of the other aspects of werelion actions.
"That was something that my brothers and I sought to fix," Leon continued, "we arranged a challenge with the King at the time and I won... and put an end the fighting and rivalry. Coalitions were arranged for pride organizations and to assure that pride males would have access to single females, and could be rearranged depending on marriages. It'd then help allow for coalition groups to then settle inter pride disputes through formal wrestling matches, rather than potentially bloody fighting. It's something that's made things far more peaceful... Think of it as a change in culture from how some werelions may have behaved in the past..."
"Interesting," Richard said slowly, "that would explain the lack of open fighting here... though I imagine there's still much to learn about how system works here."
"Yes," Leon nodded, "and with that... you and your wife will have my permission for a new pride under your joint leadership. But while you're learning things here you'll need to work in coalition with a local male."
Richard accepted that.
"And you said your up on Wild Street?" Leon asked, thinking over the summary of events that Richard and Rose had given.
"Yes," Richard answered and then gave his address again, making Leon blink as he heard it, "Sheila... the werelioness I tripped onto lives nearby and there was a male werelion, Elijah Hunter, who lives up the street."
Richard's thoughts focused primarily on Sheila, but he did remember the African American man who had come out after his call for help after finding Rose attacked.
"Yes," Leon nodded, "while you and your wife are still picking up on things... I would assign you to work in coalition with Elijah Hunter and his pride. He can teach you more on how our prides here are organized, and where your responsibilities regard the defense of your pride can allow for a more aggressive stance and when you may be asked to help others in the defense of Moon Lake and all the werelion prides... we're not as hyper organized as the werefoxes, but there is some organization... and once your wife has fully healed of her injuries, Sheila and Elijah's females may teach your wife how to hunt. Once you two have everything put together... you and your wife will then be able to decide if you remain in coalition with Elijah and thus having access to the lionesses in his pride or if you and your wife will establish a fully independent pride with Sheila."
"Thank you... sir," Richard managed, though his voice grew a bit more nervous as he finished, "for accepting a fool and his far smarter wife, even if it interrupts your day."
"Of course," Leon managed, "Regina or I will call you at some point to let you know on when all Moon Lake's werelion prides will meet to handle all pride business, settle any disputes, and so on. Elijah will let you know on when his pride normally meets and while the two of you are in coalition, you could discuss on what would be the best days and times for those formal meetings."
"Of course," Richard managed.