[PRP] Wary (Yueyun x Xiyang)

[Excited Apathy]

It was only a few nights since the strike, but it felt like much longer to Yueyun. After talking to Liuhe, he was uncertain of speaking with the others--and talking to his parents, a foregone conclusion before, now seemed incredibly dangerous. Father--Shangyue--had killed his own parents, his own grandparents, to gain power. If he felt it was threatened, whatever Yueyun's intent in speaking with him might be... The inability to trust tore at him. He should be able to go to his parents with this. He shouldn't have to worry like this!

Instead, the adolescent had withdrawn into himself. He thought he was acting normal enough, but the truth of it was that he was oddly quiet. He found himself seeking out secluded places, where he could brood. It had made him all the easier to be approached by Kimondo, and what she suggested...it was a good, peaceful way to support the pride. And it let him think.

So he found himself quietly replanting moon flowers, deep in his own thoughts.  

[mouselet]

XIYANG

The black adolescent was wandering around idly when she spotted a familiar form. Yuenyun! She hadn't seen him too much of late, and he seemed to be unusually quiet and...playing with flowers? Why would an almost-grown lion play with flowers?

"What's up Yun-Yun?" Xiyang pestered her brother, coming near and poking at his flowers with one paw. If he didn't respond to her verbally, she knew she could provoke him into some response another way.

She was good at that.  

[Excited Apathy]

Yueyun jumped slightly, his ears pinning back at the nickname. "Careful!" he chided, trying to block her paw without disturbing the ones he still carried, waiting for their turn in the soil. "They'll be stressed from the replanting. You know we can't live where there aren't any moon flowers, right? I thought I would help plant some more, so that won't be a concern." That sounded like a nice, innocuous reason. Maybe Kimondo was right, and he could try to make things better without fighting kin. That thought gave him a glimmer of peace, and he actually smiled at Xiyang. "And they're pretty! Want to help?"  

[mouselet]

Xiyang raised an invisible eyebrow at her brother. Not once in their lives had Yuenyun ever expressed any kind of botanical interest. Nor had he mentioned a religious interest. And now he was planting moon flowers. Something wasn't right.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" she demanded, half-joking. "Or have you been harboring low-class tendencies this whole time?" Seriously, that kind of grunt work was what Slaves were for. And, being male, Yun-Yun could transfer to that class by mating with a low class girl. So it wasn't as far-fetched an idea as it sounded.

She just didn't know why anyone would bother.  

[Excited Apathy]

Right. He should have figured that his sister would know better. Not only was she his littermate, but she had always been clever. And very good at getting under his skin. Yueyun felt that wisp of goodwill vanishing. "Well, I'm not Unyezi," he snapped, glaring at her, eyes glinting like ruby. He doggedly scooped out another small hole with his claws, placing another flower. "I'm just planting flowers. What's so low-class about that?" He was getting defensive, he knew, but it was hard not to! He wasn't technically supposed to be doing this, and he wasn't sure he could keep coming up with excuses for his wily sister.

Ecavi

 

[I Lady Kiya I]

(sorry if I'm a little slow!)



Shor'name hadn't expected to stumble upon the young prince and princess, nor did he expect to find them planting anything, let alone moon flowers. He raised an eyebrow as he moved closer to them as they seemed to be arguing about something. A frown crossed his face as he finally made his presence. "What do we have here?" He spoke loud and clear making sure there was no mistaking that he was talking to them.

Such mischief! He'll definitely have to report this sort of behavior.

Excited Apathy

mouselet

 

[mouselet]

The lioness was about to tell her brother exactly what was low class when a big purple lion came out of nowhere to give them disapproving looks. How unfair! It wasn't as if she was planting flowers too!

"Yun-Yun's doing slave work," Xiyang informed the adult, wrinkling her nose. "Planting moon flowers for some dumb reason." She cocked her head, considering both males and the situation.

"Maybe you can help me explain to him why it's dumb?" the lioness offered.  

[Excited Apathy]

Yueyun's ears swept back and his tail tucked under for a moment before he caught himself, but for a moment he looked unmistakably like someone caught. The next moment he took a deep breath and drew himself up tall, an effect ruined somewhat by his relative youth. Nonetheless, his apparent disapproval of Shor'ame's interruption was clear to see. "He could, but it would be more unwise than my dear sister thinks I am being. She may call my choice of pastime 'slave work,' but that does not mean that she is correct. Now if you are both quite done..." He trailed off, the implication clear. His voice was scornful, and red eyes held little but (feigned) disdain for the guard. At this point, he'd run out of excuses that wouldn't incriminate anyone else and his hope was just to make them both go away.

It might work on the guard. He didn't think it'd work on his sister.

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I Lady Kiya I

mouselet

 

[I Lady Kiya I]

Shor'ame eyed both of them. Kids, what could you do with them? Especially royal ones. He flicked his tail unsure of what to really say about this situation, he'd never thought he'd have to deal with kids too much, honestly.

As well as, he wasn't even sure if the young lad was doing anything wrong in all. But the way he was acting was quite fishy. He glared at the young male and female. "I think you both should just move along." He finally said. What else could he say? He'd still report his findings.  

[mouselet]

"Thanks Mr. Guard," the black lioness nodded politely if relatively insincerely, before turning her full attention back to her brother. Now she was looking down her nose at him, raising an eyebrow and silently asking him Really?

"Yun-Yun, do you really think you can act like Dad or Mom or the Shaman? Frankly, you're not old enough and faaaar too silly to pull it off," she informed him. "So you might as well try to explain how your doing slave work could possibly be justified."  

[Excited Apathy]

"Don't you have a patrol? Go do that," Yueyun shot back at the guard, summarily dismissing him. Acting as though the older purple lion had heeded that and was no longer there, he turned back to his sister. His eyes glinted with irritation. "Everything is changing, sister. Forgive me for doing what I can as the pride turns against us." His tail thudded against the ground, thump thump thump. "Or did you fail to notice that those unhappy with Father gather openly now?"

It was all true enough. He hoped he could avoid revealing for whom he was doing these things, though. He was uncertain how Xiyang would react, and he feared he would be a target soon enough as it was.  

[I Lady Kiya I]

Shor'ame was very displeased by what the young male had said. He growled at the two, to show that he wasn't putting up with this. "I highly recommend you leave now." He would have no issue bring both of them to their father. Especially with what the male had said after he rudely dismissed him. He would not be dismissed by a child, not when he had orders and a job to do.

"This is my duty." He said simply. Sure, he wasn't the smartest lion out there, but he was dutiful. And this was part of his patrol.  

[mouselet]

Honestly, were all males like her brother and this Guard? It was like talking to rocks! Big, unmoving, idiotic rocks! The black lioness sniffed haughtily.

"Fine, I'll go. Leaving you to your slave work and you to your duty," she informed the two. Why they were so dumb, she honestly had no idea. Maybe she'd go whine to Mom. At least Mom would surely listen to her!