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anythingdrabbleTitle: Becoming King
Fandom: Wizard of Oz
Characters/Pairings: Cowardly Lion, Tin Man
Word Count: 500
Rating: PG/K+
Summary: This was very much more than simply being the King of the Forest...
Warning: Character Deaths
He fingered the cross on his furry chest, looking down at the badge of honor and courage that he had earned so long ago. That adventure seemed, to the Lion, far more than a simple lifetime ago. Oz had been through so many changes since then, as had he himself. Dorothy and the others had also been in and out of his life, but now with Scarecrow gone, Oz needed someone new to step up.
"I-I can't do it!" the Tin Man cried, his metal knees knocking together. "You're brave! You do it!"
"I..." The Lion's tail swished. His mind flashed back to so many times of grabbing and wringing his own tail as his nerves had gotten the better of him, but he restrained himself from the cubbish impulse. Wringing his tail or his paws together would do no good now. Sending for Dorothy was also pointless, and besides, if what Glenda said was true, Dorothy had passed several years ago. With the Scarecrow gone, and the Good Witches refusing, it was up to himself and the Tin Man to lead.
"It isn't a matter of courage," he said, his voice, to his own ears, sounding far away.
"Then... Then what is it a matter of?"
He'd never seen the old woodsman so scared, but he knew he had reason to be so. Neither of them had ever thought they'd outlive the Scarecrow, but the last of the stuffing had finally gone out of his brain and would not be sewn back into place. The Tin Man had much more than himself to consider as well for he was married now with several adopted Munchkins. The tip of the Lion's tail darted for his paws, but he swatted it determinedly away.
Someone had to take charge. Until they could find a rightful ruler, a far better person for the job than a Lion of so little brain, someone had to control the growing concerns running rampant in the city. They expected the new ruler to lead the procession for the Scarecrow's funeral pyre, and both he and the Tin Man knew, and Glenda had warned them as well, that whoever did so would automatically become a target for the Wicked Witches, and anyone else who might be looking to usurp the benevolent leadership of Oz. Tin Man, he reminded himself again, had a family of whom to think; he himself had no such obligations.
It was much more than courage that had earned him this medal, as well. It had been friendship and love that had spurred that courage on in the beginning, and those had always been two things with which the Scarecrow had led. The cross pinned to his chest looked to the crowds like a religious symbol, but to the Lion, it was so much more. "Fine," he harrumphed at last, tail swishing and paw reaching for the velvet curtain, "I'll do it. But only until we find the right ruler."
Audible, relieved sighs circled round.
The End
Fandom: Wizard of Oz
Characters/Pairings: Cowardly Lion, Tin Man
Word Count: 500
Rating: PG/K+
Summary: This was very much more than simply being the King of the Forest...
Warning: Character Deaths
He fingered the cross on his furry chest, looking down at the badge of honor and courage that he had earned so long ago. That adventure seemed, to the Lion, far more than a simple lifetime ago. Oz had been through so many changes since then, as had he himself. Dorothy and the others had also been in and out of his life, but now with Scarecrow gone, Oz needed someone new to step up.
"I-I can't do it!" the Tin Man cried, his metal knees knocking together. "You're brave! You do it!"
"I..." The Lion's tail swished. His mind flashed back to so many times of grabbing and wringing his own tail as his nerves had gotten the better of him, but he restrained himself from the cubbish impulse. Wringing his tail or his paws together would do no good now. Sending for Dorothy was also pointless, and besides, if what Glenda said was true, Dorothy had passed several years ago. With the Scarecrow gone, and the Good Witches refusing, it was up to himself and the Tin Man to lead.
"It isn't a matter of courage," he said, his voice, to his own ears, sounding far away.
"Then... Then what is it a matter of?"
He'd never seen the old woodsman so scared, but he knew he had reason to be so. Neither of them had ever thought they'd outlive the Scarecrow, but the last of the stuffing had finally gone out of his brain and would not be sewn back into place. The Tin Man had much more than himself to consider as well for he was married now with several adopted Munchkins. The tip of the Lion's tail darted for his paws, but he swatted it determinedly away.
Someone had to take charge. Until they could find a rightful ruler, a far better person for the job than a Lion of so little brain, someone had to control the growing concerns running rampant in the city. They expected the new ruler to lead the procession for the Scarecrow's funeral pyre, and both he and the Tin Man knew, and Glenda had warned them as well, that whoever did so would automatically become a target for the Wicked Witches, and anyone else who might be looking to usurp the benevolent leadership of Oz. Tin Man, he reminded himself again, had a family of whom to think; he himself had no such obligations.
It was much more than courage that had earned him this medal, as well. It had been friendship and love that had spurred that courage on in the beginning, and those had always been two things with which the Scarecrow had led. The cross pinned to his chest looked to the crowds like a religious symbol, but to the Lion, it was so much more. "Fine," he harrumphed at last, tail swishing and paw reaching for the velvet curtain, "I'll do it. But only until we find the right ruler."
Audible, relieved sighs circled round.
The End
