#he defended a herd of dragons and their matriarch

[nyaskitten]

surprised I havent seen anyone hop onto the idea of dragon matriarchs and patriarchs much... like those are herd leaders, with the inherent ability to grant other elemental masters more strong abilities... could you imagine the potential !!!

[ruffoverthinksthings]

Any other conversations that Jay and La have? Also out of curiosity, if La ever had a child or multiple, what or would be like with Jay? Rivals? If it is a girl, potential mates? Though La might want one more beefy for her daughter, like Tarzan despite the unfortunate implications of her being attracted to said son in law? Just general Leapordmen and cobras headcanons?

“Tellme, Jay, what makes a ruler?” La asked.

Jaybrightened up. “Oh, that’s easy, my queen: gold!”

La’sexpression remained neutral. “And why do you say that?”

“Becauseit’s the Golden Rule, your highness: ‘Whoever has the most goldmakes the rules.’”

“I’massuming you learned that from your father?” La asked, her lipcurling into a smirk.

“Suredid, Top Cat!” Jay chirped. “My dad knows lots of things.”

“Falsehoods,sweet lies, and manipulation, evidently…” La hummed. “Tell me,Jay, have you ever questioned if it’s really gold that makessomeone powerful?”

Jayblinked. He paused for a moment before he replied, “No, my queen.”

Lagestured away from their cliff-side camp, to the vast expanse of theIsle’s badlands before them.

Jaylooked: it was quiet that night, their usual prey still carefullydarting between the twisted trees, the cracks in the ground, and thefetid swamps, that lull in between the almost festive preparationsfor a hunt, and the moment where chasing down their prey and slayingthem was an imminent reality.

“Whatdo you see out there, Jay? And to be clear, I’m not asking if yousee animals. Just describe to me where you are.”

“Uh…it’s just the wilderness around us, your highness?” Jay replied,unsure.

“Andin this purest form of living, stripped of all the concrete, theluxury, and the arbitrary rules that govern the other side of theIsle, what do you think grants an animal the ultimate power, theability to decide who lives or dies?”

Jaythought for a moment. “… Strength, your highness. The fiercest,strongest, smartest predators rule the land, like Scar did.”

“Precisely,”La replied. “Long ago, before I was exiled to this forsaken land ofdeath, misery, and belly-aching weaklings like the man it painsme to say was my former lover and is your father, I was just anothergirl of the Waziri.

“Theydid not treat me like they do now: I had no power then, I was justanother pawn in their tribe, assisting the matriarchs with theplanting, the foraging, and the rituals for their religion, uselessceremonies that would only bring them a false sense of peace andcomfort.

“Theydid not use and abuse me as a mere commodity, a slave to the whims ofmen, a means to produce heirs and have someone willing to care forthem without pay, like the women from Agrabah tell me, but I wasstill trapped at the bottom, to follow the whims of those thatsupposedly knew better than me and were deserving of the power theyhad been given.

“Ilearned many things in that time.

“Ilearned that rulers will oftentimes swath themselves in lavish fursand glimmering jewels, to hide their ugliness and their weakness,make it so that the masses will worship them like an animal isfascinated by a glass bauble shining in the sun.

“Ilearned that they will oftentimes flaunt their gold, their lineage,and perform all manner of ritual to keep up the belief that they arepowerful, they are intelligent, they are the rightful heads of thetribe.

“Ilearned that when war time comes, when your tribe’s warriors falteragainst the enemies, all those furs and jewels will mean nothingif you have not the strength to fend off enemies, keep them fromlooting all your valuables from your cooling corpse, enslave thesurvivors, and set fire to your village.

“Whenwe all first arrived in this hellhole, by prison boat or the magicthat brought us back from the void, we had nothing but the clothes onour back and what little ‘mercy’ that tyrant Beast afforded us.There were many businesspeople, traders, and monarchs who quickly setup shop long before your father did, brought themselves out ofcomplete bankruptcy and what passes for prosperity here.

“Theythought they could single-handedly bring some form of government tothis land, make a society that had all the laws, power structures,and gullible work forces that let them thrive in their lives beforethe Isle.

“Asthey would all quickly realize, however, this is not a land governedby the laws of men, this is a land governed by the laws ofnature—among them, that the strongest survive, and the weakest dieout.”

“Notto say you’re wrong, your highness, but I know plenty of weaklingsback home,” Jay said.

Lahuffed. “And who protects them, Jay? Who is the great ruler thatall those mongrels look up to, that they kneel before withoutquestion, whom they serve for the promise being protected from theirenemies and her wrath?

“Doesthe head atop that farce you call your home rule because she has themost gold? Or because she has the most strength, that insidious mindof hers, coupled with the army of brutes and lieutenants she commandswhen it comes time to finally take arms?

“Dothey worship the glimmer of gold? Or do they fear death and misery?”

Itwas silent at their camp for a long while, but for the obnoxioussnoring of their fellow hunters, long since tuned out.

“I…I never really thought of it like that, your highness…” Jaymuttered.

“Questioneverything you know to be true, Jay,” La said. “There are manyfools tricking others into thinking they are wise, and worse yetfools who think themselves to be wise. Just because someone in powerhas told you ‘This is the way things are, and will always be’does not mean that they are, and you should always think and find outthe truth for yourself.

“Thosethat simply follow the leader are like the weaklings floundering andfighting over the scraps in that concrete disgrace yonder,” Lasaid, pointing to the silhouettes of the concrete skyscrapers,castles, and long-abandoned construction equipment on the horizon.

“Thosethat think for themselves thrive,” she hummed, pointing at herself.“And before you ask, Jay: that includes my own words.”

Jaypaused for a moment, uneasy. “… Dad never likes it when Iquestion what he says, Top Cat.”

“Wellyour father is an idiot, and a dangerous one, for hewants to keep you too stupid to ever realize you can decide foryourself,” La spat. “And if this bothers you so much, askyourself: why does it pain you like a sharp rock lodged inyour foot?

“Becauseit is a lie that demonizes your father? Or because you don’t wantto face the truth that he is a devil, working for no one buthimself?”

Shetapped her forehead. “This is our greatest weapon against thewilds, Jay, what elevates us from mere animals into the rulers ofthis land. Use it wisely to outsmart your foes and rise above yourbasest instincts, or be like prey, following the herd and waiting tobe slaughtered by predators.”

Oneof their look-outs on the other side called out—suitable prey hadbeen spotted, and it was time for the hunt to truly begin.

La’swords were pushed from the front his mind as Jay armed himself,received his orders from the leader of this pack, and got ready totrack down their dinner.

Butstill, the words lingered, in some deep part of his brain where theywould never truly be forgotten.

NefertitiAKA “Nefcy,” Former Princess of the Badlands

Nefertitiwas born from one of La’s infamous, short-lived flings, and one ofthe few on the Isle where the male proved himself to be so strong (oralternatively, so incredibly desperate, masochistic, and/or idiotic)that he managed to meet her standards for a consort who would havethe honour of giving her a child.

Greatcelebration was made when the Princess of the Lost Lands was born,her parents dreaming of the proud, powerful warrior woman this littlegirl would grow up to be—she was even named after one of thegreatest queens of Egypt from La’s home continent of Africa.

Soit was to the Queen of the Wild’s disappointment and her consort’shumiliation and subsequent exile that Nefcy could not keep pace withprey let alone kill it, defend herself, nor even shout at the top ofher lungs without quickly running out of breath.

Inthe hopes that her body would eventually grow to match her fieryspirit, she was kept on as the sole heir to La’s kingdom, untilpuberty came and it seemed like she would forever remain stuck at thetribe’s main camp, overseeing the day-to-day operations, tending tothe sick and injured, and crafting and repairing weapons.

Shevoluntarily forsook her inheritance, and with great regret, Queen Laonce more began her search for a suitable consort for which toproduce her successor before what remains of the magic that keeps herlong-lived and young finally gives out.

Whenthe Auradon “Children of Islander Rescue and RehabilitationInitiative” expanded and selected her among other “wildchildren,” she quickly found a new home as the Dragoneer forAuradon Prep’s newly created all-female Tourney team, the FightingLady Knights, along with a bizarre friendship of sorts with herfellow VKs Carlos and Jay.

Thoughthe Tourney field is not the battlefield she dreamed of fighting in,for once, it is nice to hear praise and the roar of the crowdsinstead of heavy sighs of her mother, and moans of suffering andclaims of “working too slow” from her former tribesmen.

Laactually stops chasing after Tarzan after the Isle restrictionsloosen, they get more channels/internet access, and she starts toread about all the things that have happened to him in the meanwhile.

Shefeels that, like Maleficent, Tarzan has let himself go, as eventhough his jungle hasn’t become as modernized and westernized asNeverland has been (for reference, it’s basically become aFloridian tropical tourist trap/luxury isle), she does not appreciatethe fact that he’s so keen on delegating the tasks of defending andcaring for the wildlife and the jungle to the researchers, rangers,and preservationists who work there full time.

Heis still muscular, acrobatic, and dangerous if provoked in a fight,but it takes more than just physical prowess to make a true warrior,there is also the matter of spirit; she feels that he has grown farsofter than he ever was before, and seeing what became of the childhe produced with Jane makes her question her initial assessment,Before Great Uniting.

… Thataside, she will never forgive him for ever willingly signing up forAuradonian Ninja Warrior, even if he DID win his first run and becomeone of the first champions alongside Mulan, Phoebus, and Merida.

If,for whatever reason she is released from the Isle and put on parole,I can imagine herself making a new home for herself in the RoyalGuard, serving as one of their new (and most unforgiving) drillsergeants, specializing in outdoor survival and worst-case scenario,“all hell is breaking loose” combat and riot control to deal withthe changing, increasingly violent and chaotic streets of Auradon asmore VKs and eventually adult, reformed Islanders are released intoAuradon.

Benlikely isn’t going to keep the Isle going as it is for the entiretyof his rule, though I do theorize he might just be taking steps tomake it more humane, like a constant presence of Royal Guards andheavily guarded infrastructure to prevent the locals from sabotagingor monopolizing it like they did during the Great Isle War.

Inthe latter case, she’ll likely be in charge of guarding andprotecting the wilderness, organizing hunts to make sure that theresidents don’t hunt the deer, antelope, rabbits, and otherassorted prey animals to extinction.