[PRP] Warning (Vesper/Maua)

[Talencia]

When she had chosen to quietly support Shangyue and feed him information, Maua had never thought things would come to the point they were at now. She had believed a strong paw would prevent any such uprising, and that violence would be avoided for the most part. This was not at all turning out how she'd imagined.

She still felt that the pride needed a strong leader, and that Shangyue maybe, might have, could have filled that role. He should have been able to, anyway. Her nose wrinkled in exasperation at that thought. Something had gone awry, though, and he'd made enemies that were too determined to be dissuaded. Now look where they were... blood being spilled on more than one occasion, with more likely to soak the ground. She wasn't certain if the moonflowers were meant to indicate approval of such watering of the ground, or whether it was to spur on the momentum of change. Either way, Maua had felt safer lurking in the shadows of this debacle as the violence had escalated.

But something had changed for her personally. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to have heard about it, but this bit of news had been the final straw in her wavering loyalty. Somehow it had seemed distant, something she didn't have to care about... until news reached her that a new rebel had been targeted for elimination. Vesper.

Oh, she still thought he was a dunce, easily duped into following a cause that had no future... though that seemed less certain at this point. But he was her brother, goofy as he was. She just couldn't harden her heart against him being marked for death, all unknowing. He had family now too, though that really shouldn't matter to her either. She frowned as her motives and reasonings swirled within her. Nothing was clear cut anymore. There were more cons to all options than there were pros, no matter how she wrestled with it.

But of this one thing she had finally become sure. She needed to warn him. That's why she now was slipping out to intercept him on his patrol. Her dark fur made it easy to blend into the shadows. There was nothing suspicious about a huntress going out this direction, nor of her approaching her brother. However, her sense of self-preservation was strong, and she didn't want to make a target of herself if she didn't have to.

She circled close to the glowing white form of her brother before calling softly, "Vesper... brother." She stepped out of the shadow of a boulder and to his side. "I need to talk to you."

Ecavi

 

[Talencia]

His response stopped her cold for a heartbeat. Surprisingly, his mistrust of her cut her deeply. It shouldn't have... hadn't she been the one to whisper in Shangyue's ear, so to speak? Vesper had every reason to be wary of her and her allegiance. Despite the logic saying otherwise, though, his attitude stung. She inhaled sharply, brought up short both by his reaction and her counter-reaction.

Had she been a softer soul, a gentler soul, she would have let this sharp reminder of her choices add to the weight of changes. She could have let it teach her humility, allowed herself to ask forgiveness. Alas, that was not Maua. Instead, her head came up, her chin lifted, her jaw firmed, and her expression lost some of its worry and gained a touch of arrogance and aloofness. If that's how he wanted it, fine. She'd still do what she'd come to do, however.

"We need to talk, brother," she said, a little more stiffly this time, though she kept her voice low. "Is there somewhere... safe... nearby?" Listening ears were not at all welcome for this conversation. No, not at all. Otherwise, next thing she knew, she herself would be on that list!

Ecavi

Did you want to continue this rp, when we have time?

 

[Talencia]

Her ears angled back as his thoughts flitted across his face, and he kept his distance. She sucked a breath in and huffed it out, glancing around uneasily. It still felt much too exposed, out here in the open, but what was she to do? She couldn't let him die, and he wouldn't trust her enough to go somewhere more shielded for this conversation. So... this would have to do.

"It may be safe to talk here," she replied, a little waspishly, "but you are not safe anywhere if you aren't careful." Her ears remained swept back, and she kept the arrogant tilt of her head, mostly so he wouldn't detect just how worried she was. The very idea of her brother's blood spilling on the ground was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach, especially if she didn't do this. "That's what I've come to tell you," she added in a more muted tone, still keeping her voice low. "Being openly a rebel is soon to be a death sentence. And...," she shifted her paws uneasily, once more glancing about as if to check for anyone close enough to hear, "your name has come up."

She flashed a quick look at him, then slid her eyes away again. Would he believe her? Even she had to admit she wasn't exactly in a good position to convince him. She lashed her tail in agitation, shifting her weight back and forth before once more meeting his eyes intently. "You and your family are in danger."

Ecavi

 

[Talencia]

She kept her chin high and eyes narrowed, though her ears relaxed. Maybe he'd listen. Just maybe, if she could just... well, she'd do what she could, anyway. "I'm on my side," she retorted loftily, which was entirely true. The steps being taken of late were making her distinctly uncomfortable, and that put her on the defensive. Never a good place to be, in her opinion, if one could help it. "And," she began to add slowly, as if reluctant, "you... have cubs."

There really was something to that added detail that truly bothered her, though she had yet to work out exactly why that was. It just seemed abhorrent to her that her nieces and nephews could potentially have their father murdered and have to grow up orphaned. Heavens knew she wasn't going to step up and look after the little twerps, but that wasn't truly at the heart of this warning. It made her head hurt to try and figure all this out, and she was rather inclined to not bother working it out at all.

"You just need to be careful," she added with a bit more venom. "You can't just consider yourself in all this, you know!" Nevermind that that tended to be the only attitude she herself took. It wasn't one he was supposed to take! "I can't cover for you if you slip up." The snooty tone was back, typical Maua.  

[Talencia]

In another mercurial flip of moods, she gazed into his stubborn, resentful expression and felt a stab of regret. Families weren't supposed to be this way. Siblings were supposed to love each other, not do battle. And that, of course, was central to the real reason she'd come to warn him. Her familial devotion might be severely lacking, but instinct told her to protect her own, and he most definitely fell into that category, along with his family.

She sucked a breath as if to sigh and hooded her eyes. Rare and fleeting, a moment of vulnerability crept through. "I did try, brother," she spoke so low he might not even have heard her. Well, whether he gave her credit for her strange behavior or not, she'd done all she could. It was time to go back to her solitary ways. Ignoring the stab of unhappiness and regret, she let out the rest of the breath in a huff and turned away from her brother, stalking off into the night without another word.