[FIN] What is Going On? (Yueyun & Xiyang)

[mouselet]

XIYANG

The young Princess had been out walking through the pride, away from the royal dens on a suggestion from her mother. She'd witnessed the fight - both of them - and had been suitably impressed by her father's prowess. Idly, Xiyang wondered if it had been the King who'd given Meshach that collection of scars he bore. They made him look old and weak, especially given how poorly he'd done. Why, the exile would have died if not for Uchanjaa!

And that had been unexpected. Yet no one had protested when the old lion barrelled his way into the fight, wordlessly demanding that her father face him instead of finishing off that rebellious traitor. Frankly, Xiyang was inclined to let it stand, considering that the old Guard had given a much more impressive performance. Not to mention that it had ended as all such conflicts had to - with her father triumphing completely.

Oh sure, there'd be some consequences. Uchanjaa was related to a number of lions who'd come to light as players in this conflict. His son-in-law - Tyfu's murderer - Orion, his daughter who was still a strong supporter of the King, his grandchild who was apparently insane and not without her own combat skills...and there were even more, arrayed on both sides of the conflict. Quite fascinating.

As Xiyang returned to her den, she was struck by the noise, which was unusual. Also the number of lions around. Some were wandering even more aimlessly than she, others seemed to be moving rather deliberately. Many were not normally seen in this area. Her red eyes narrowed and she honed in on one in particular.

"Yun-Yun, what in the world is going on here?" Xiyang demanded of her idiot brother.  

[Excited Apathy]

Yueyun jumped at the sudden demand, the familiar (and disliked) nickname clashing oddly with...what he'd done. What he, Liuhe, and Kimondo had done, if one was splitting hairs, but to be honest he felt a heavy sense of personal responsibility. So what if he hadn't struck the killing blow? He'd still caused Shangyue's death. In a strange way, he almost welcomed the nickname this time. He had no idea if she'd still refer to him the same after she knew.

He turned to face his dark sister, expression grim. "Father's dead."  

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"What?" For several long moments Xiyang stared at her brother, trying to make sense of the two words. Father...dead. His wounds hadn't been that bad, he'd walked off just fine...

Then her nose asserted itself. She smelled blood. And vomit. And Yun-yun was covered with both. Aside from the vomit, the blood spatters made him look a lot like their father had earlier this very night.

Red eyes narrowed in her dark face, Xiyang glared at her brother.

"What do you mean." It was not a question. It was an outright demand for an explanation.  

[Excited Apathy]

Yueyun thought he could see it in her face, in the imperious demand for explanation. The reaction was not going to be good...but she'd hear the truth sooner or later, so she might as well have it from him. At least then she'd know that, whatever else he was, he wasn't a coward too... "Liuhe and I did what needed to be done," he admitted reluctantly, the words dragged out from him as he tried to look anywhere but at Xiyang's face. "We had help, but we did it. And I wish..."

Wished what? That he didn't have to tell her? That he hadn't had to fight and kill their own father? That there had been a chance under the Great Lion that Shangyue would have changed his ways, or peacefully stepped down? All of the above?

A long sigh, a brief glance dared her way. "I wish it hadn't come to it."  

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The more Yun-Yun dissembled, the more it hit her that he wasn't lying. Of course, this particular brother was the worst liar on the face of the earth, but that didn't mean he wasn't still crushing her hopes and dreams here. Xiyang looked down at the ground, trying to contain her growing rage.

"So you're telling me that you, little Yun-Yun, killed father. With Liuhe's help, so now our eldest brother is going to take the throne? Just like our father took it?" The black lioness began laughing. The sound had a harsh, cruel edge, but it was fitting. Oh, Great Lion was it fitting. Yun-Yun, the utter wimp in the family, who'd had his Rebel leanings, had killed their father. And now Liuhe, the quiet boy who'd never gotten his claws bloody before, was just like Shangyue. And so the cycle would continue, one bloody mess from reign to reign!  

[Excited Apathy]

"I...don't know," Yueyun admitted. "I know why I did it, but I don't know that Liuhe wants the throne. Even if he does...I think he wants what I wanted. Or, shared what I didn't want." Eyes cutting towards her, flinching at the edge to her laughter and knowing she'd likely laugh still more at this, he pressed on anyways. "I didn't want to agree with what Father was doing by doing nothing. I don't want the pride to be like it has been. I don't think Liuhe wants to rule a pride like that either. But..."

He shook his head and suddenly met Xiyang's eyes. There was no fear in his own now, just grief. "You know what Father was doing to anyone who was a rebel. He would have killed me if he'd known what I was doing, or who I was talking to...no matter what my reasons were."

It was hard not to keep his voice low, as he'd become accustomed to doing when he had to talk of these things. The rebels were in power now, and nobody would kill him for this kind of talk anymore.  

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Xiyang watched her brother struggle to talk to her. His words were...noise. Noise and babble and general failure. An expression of disdain was firmly rooted on the lioness' face as she watched and listened. Sure, their father had been a harsh ruler. But he'd certainly been justified. After all, the pride had been torn on the subject of his rule and so he'd had to enforce it. Yes, people had died. And perhaps more lions had died than was absolutely necessary. But a ruler had to show his power now and then, or he was sure to lose the respect of his subjects.

"You're making it seem like he was a bad person," she pointed out coolly after Yun-Yun's rambling had run down. "Really, if you talk to any old lion, they'll always tell you that things were better in the past, that it was a golden age. You're just gullible, letting them fool you like that."  

[Excited Apathy]

For several long moments, Yueyun simply stared at Xiyang. He heard her words, but his brain didn't want to process them. Cold, so cold...as cold as Father. He didn't want to think that. Didn't want to believe it. He'd lost enough of his family today, damn it! All the same, he felt himself start to withdraw from his sister. She might survive where Shangyue had not, but he was likely going to lose her all the same. He had to prepare for that. But still, he would try to make her see, as he might have done before if he hadn't been afraid.

"Either you didn't see the fight today, or you saw a different fight than I did," he said firmly, his voice starting to rise. "He likes hurting, fighting, killing. You saw him laugh? I'll bet you anything that he laughed when he killed our grandparents and great-grandparents too. The ones we'll never know, because our father was a monster!" Taut, trembling with conflicting emotions, he took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. Yelling at his sister wouldn't help either of them. Maybe if she knew what made this different from what their father had done... His voice dropped to a whisper. "At least I regret what I did. At least I wish I hadn't had to do it. And whatever he was, I will mourn, because he was still my father."

Another pause, before flinging one more bit of ammunition at Xiyang. "Even mother saw it in the end, I think."  

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The Princess' expression didn't change as she watched Yun-Yun start to get hysterical and irrational. She'd always known her brother was a soft-hearted idiot. Regardless of what else happened after tonight, she knew full-well that this sibling would never take the throne. Which was just fine by Xiyang. She didn't need it either - far too restrictive. Their grandfather had the right idea, sticking to the shadows which so well concealed him.

Even Mother saw it, eh? Well, the Queen had always been a canny lioness and Xiyang highly respected her mother's faculties. But still, that didn't mean this outburst was at all fitting. Yun-Yun was weak. And their father had overplayed himself. Clearly if she wanted all the facts, she'd have to speak to someone else.

"Well, you're clearly too emotional to think straight tonight," Xiyang replied at last. "Maybe you should go cry your eyes out like the baby you are."

With that, she headed for her own den. It was, after all, getting late. And a Princess needed her beauty sleep.  

[Excited Apathy]

Yueyun stiffened, nostrils flaring. Their father's body was barely cold and she called him "too emotional" for having trouble with it? For getting wound up when she acted as if Shangyue couldn't possibly have been that bad? She'd always occupied a space somewhere on the borders of heartless, but this... He'd told Liuhe that they needed to prove they weren't the same as Shangyue, but he hadn't quite realized how true that was. His encounter with Xiyang somehow drove that home. It took many long moments for him to slowly loose the tension her words had inflicted upon him. They were low, immature even, but they still hurt.

With a sad sigh, he turned to keep moving. Maybe Xiyang would understand someday...or maybe she'd always be just a little too much like him. At least she would not be given the same chances their father had.