[FIN] Proving Twoself (Dwyllodrus, Chunyue, Umepatwa)

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"Come on, Chunyue!" Dwyllodrus groaned aloud, shaking his brother's shoulder. The idiot could sleep all night if left alone, and like a big furry rock at that. Normally Dwyllo wouldn't do anything nearly so childish as waking up his idiot of a brother, but he was more excited than he'd ever been about this assignment.

Mom had been the one to tell them, as the King's right hand, but he knew that she wouldn't have given this job to them if the King hadn't said so. Everyone was pretty sure that the King was Dwyllodrus' (and, by extension, his siblings') father, though Mom had never said so. Which made the fact that he was taking any notice at all of Dwyllo (and Chunyue), pretty important.

Nevermind that they would then be off to kill their half-brother, but, well, that's what happened when you opened your big mouth to insult the King and organize a strike.

"Wake up, you big lump!"  

[Puhterodactyl]

Chunyue started awake like some one had lit a fire under him. He about bonked his head on the wall of his den, but he missed it by an inch. He blinked until his eyes focused on his brother. Oh, Dwyllodrus. The mission. His brown eyes met his brother's yellow. Neither of them had Shangyue's coloration, but Mari and Iloziya were hard to deny. He himself had the king's moon on his forehead, but he tried to excuse it as a common marking in the pride. Chunyue was being forced to come to terms with the fact that Shangyue was ...probably... more than likely, almost definitely his father. So this was a mission from his mother and father to complete with his brother.

He rose to his feet without a word. The mission, of course, to kill their (if Shangyue was their father) half-brother. And he would do it, too, as much as it might tear at him inside, because he couldn't deny Tyfu. He wasn't sure of his beliefs in terms of where he stood on the rebellion, but the only thing he was certain of was that he feared their mother's wrath, and his whole childhood the most important thing he had learned was that he should do everything in his power to avoid it.  

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Finally! Now that Chunyue was awake and mobile, they had work to do. And Dwyllodrus was most definitely looking forward to it. He'd never had the opportunity to kill a lion before, and the black and blue male sincerely hoped that they'd get to take their time over it.

Not that he couldn't finish it quickly if necessary. But even Mom had told him more than once to stop playing with his food and just kill it.

"Let's go! I know where he's hunting tonight, and if we get there just right, we can catch him alone," Dwyllo told his brother with a nasty grin. There were only two of them after all, and if Umepatwa had even one friend with him, that would even the odds. Not that Dwyllodrus doubted his skill. But he did doubt Chunyue's and would rather not take that chance.  

[Puhterodactyl]

Chunyue nodded somberly. He would favor a quick and clean kill, but that wasn't all up to him. He wasn't a hunter like Dwyllodrus, but being a guard didn't mean he was entirely incompetent. He would grapple and mock duel with other guards for practice now and then.

"Lead the way, brother," Chunyue said seriously.

Water was thicker than blood. He had a duty to his family. And in this dark situation, half-brothers (ifShangyuewashisdad) would get shafted. It wasn't fair, but it wasn't his choice. Chunyue felt helpless. He would hang his head in shame, but there was no time for that. He had to detach himself from this so it wouldn't tear him apart.  

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Dwyllodrus offered Chunyue another dark grin before heading out towards the border. He didn't have to look behind to know if the idiot was still following, the green-maned lion was not exactly the quietest stalker out there. Came of not being a Hunter, Dwyllo knew. He himself had had the choice to make, but given what Mom was willing to teach him, he'd felt he could learn more by joining the Hunters.

Which did make it somewhat galling that Mom had learned about the strike from Chunyue and not Dwyllodrus. Oh well. That was in the past and now it was time to make his mother proud.

There, ahead, he could see the brown-maned lion who looked suspiciously like them.

Ecavi

 

[Puhterodactyl]

Chunyue walked until he was astride Dwyllodrus and he forced himself to not break his gaze, but to face his brother who had the same eyes and the same moon, the same black body. If he had been born in Umepatwa's litter, or, basically to anyone who wasn't Tyfu, he probably would have sided with Umepatwa. And their brief exchange probably didn't make it clear which side he was on, but this probably did. He swallowed hard and waited for Dwyllodrus' lead. He wouldn't be the one to make the first move. He didn't want to draw the first blood, but he would finish things if he had to.  

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Hmm. The younger lion knew they were here. That was unfortunate. No element of surprise. Dwyllodrus could almost hear Mom criticizing his approach for that and winced reflexively.

Stil, all three had stopped for the moment. Victory went to those who seized it, and Dwyllo had no intention of failure today.

"Take the right," he murmured to Chunyue. "I'll take the left. On my signal, we charge him." It was not the best battle plan in the world, but with no chance to take Umepatwa by surprise, it was better to prevent him from getting away. He probably should've worked out a plan before, but this should work. There were two of them after all.

"Now!" Dwyllodrus hissed,charging towards his target.  

[Puhterodactyl]

Chunyue nodded to Dwyllodrus' orders. He charged his half-brother as directed and held nothing back. If he failed in his mission, Dwyllodrus or Tyfu would probably kill him. It was his life or Umepatwa's. And when pushed, Shangyue's side of him showed in the worst way. The black and green lion had all the intention to kill behind his blows. It would depend how Dwyllodrus did his part, and how skilled Umepatwa was at defending himself. He was only one third of this scheme, after all.  

[mouselet]

Dwyllodrus' charge took him right up to his target, and he lashed out with a pawful of claws. This was the real deal after all, no sense in holding anything back. It was the black and blue lion's goal to keep Umepatwa from going anywhere. Then...then they could bleed him, hurt him, and kill him.

Not necessarily in that order. But he'd worry about that in a bit. Chunyue had kept fairly good pace with him, and it was time to make his brother pull his own weight.

"What are you waiting for?" Dwyllo demanded of the idiot. "Strike, now!"  

[Puhterodactyl]

Chunyue cringed at his brother's order. Hopefully it wouldn't be left up to him to land the killing blow. But he wasn't a very lucky lion. He had Tyfu and Shangyue as parents, that was pretty unfortunate. He watched as Umepatwa lunged towards Dwyllodrus. Though he wasn't well trained in the art of fighting, he was still able to recognize the opportunity when Umepatwa presented it.
What would he do?

Would he pounce on his half-brother and help Dwyllodrus?

Would he spare Umepatwa for the blood they shared and their similar view on Shangyue?

It all came down to his life or Umepatwa's.

Chunyue lunged at his half-brother, his intention to kill.  

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"Chunyue can do it," Dwyllodrus hissed back at Umepatwa, throwing claws as well as words at the brown-maned lion. He ignored the damage his probable half-brother was inflicting as being fairly minor and not at all worthy of attention.

His focus, like Umepatwa's, was entirely on his brother, willing the green-maned male to strike and strike truly.