"Zuni?"
Marzel was absolutely floored. The last thing he'd expected his sister to do was to join a pride; she was afraid of everything and everyone! Yet, here she was, following Blood so closely that their flanks brushed as they walked, looking confused but not scared. Well, okay, a little scared. These lions must be special if Zuni had decided to trust them, and he was grateful that at least she was being taken care of. He shook out his mane and took a step toward his sister.
And Zuni promptly took a step back. The shadowy lioness had been wary when her friend had come into her den announcing that a stranger had arrived in the pride lands, and was waiting outside her den. Someone that Zuni needed to see. Blood's excitement was barely hidden and, while Zuni had found it slightly infectious, her paranoia was definitely stronger. When she'd pushed her way through the fragrant ferns she'd intentionally planted around the mouth of her den, she found herself immediately and completely frozen.
Marzel was the littermate that most resembled their father physically, the only difference being that he had one yellow eye like their mother's - though he had inherited one brown eye from their father. Upon seeing him, Zuni's panic overloaded her brain and made it impossible for her to make the distinction. As her brother stepped toward her, fear made her move back. Blood, seeing her obvious terror, decided to get involved. The burgundy lioness gently pressed her body against Zuni's, using the soft pressure lightly break the smaller lioness from her petrification, then leaned close to whisper in her ear, telling her to just breathe.
Zuni, split from her reverie, forced herself to relax enough to recognize the lion in front of her as her brother, while Marzel waited patiently for his sister's fright to subside. Marzel knew Zuni, and knew her well. He'd taken care of her all their life. As much as it sometimes hurt, he was accustomed to her mistaking him for their father on occasion - such occasions as right when she awoke from the nightmares the siblings commonly experienced. He knew she just needed time to process and waited patiently for her to come to him.
"Marzel!" Zuni blurted out, as her shock and paranoia gave way to the boundless happiness that her brother was here, in front of her, in her new home. He had found her - he had wanted to find her and he had found her. She sprang forward and buried her face in his mane, drinking in his scent even as she rubbed her jaw along his and groomed his face. Marzel reciprocated the grooming, a rumbling purr like quiet thunder rising from his chest. Marzel had always been Zuni's rock, her guardian, and she had always been the most important thing in his life. The time they had spent apart had left a gaping hole in each of them, a hole that could not be filled with anything in the continued absence but the fear that something bad had happened to the other. Now, that void was restored, the weight lifted.
While the two reunited, Blood took her leave quietly, smiling from ear to ear.
"Not coming back with you was the worst mistake I've ever made. I'm sorry," Marzel said after several heartbeats, hot tears of mingled elation and regret pricking at the corners of his eyes, threatening to well up as he stopped his grooming and rested his head on top of his sister's.
Zuni settled into her brother's embrace, eyes closed against her own emotions, tears of the utmost joy that her brother was safe and had come back to her. "That doesn't matter now. You're here and, right now, that's all that matters."
A grunt of happiness and a moment of silence, followed by, "Speaking of here - what is this pride? How did you come to be here?" Marzel was still baffled that his sister had even made contact with another strange creature, let alone willingly chosen to live among a group of strangers, and rather large strangers at that. He couldn't help but notice that most of the lions Blood had led him past had been just as exceptionally large as she was, and the males were just enormous. Definitely an odd choice of stranger for someone as skittish as his sister.
Zuni paused, unsure how to even start. Telling her brother bluntly that one of her pridemates was connected to the spirit of one of their dead littermates seemed a little undoable. "I hadn't been home for more than half a sun, and I was in our little grove. You remember our secret place with Mom? And I... I met one of them. I tried to hide from him but he found me. He kept coming back, every day, until he gained my trust, and still after until he convinced me to come back here with him. I've been here ever since."
Zuni had hoped that explanation would appease her brother, but no such luck. "How did anyone gain your trust, Zuni?" Marzel queried, only half kidding.
"You'll have to meet him yourself," she said plainly. There really was no other way to make him see. A thought crossed her mind, and she finally pulled back from her brother enough to look him in the eyes. "You are staying, aren't you?"
"You know I would love to, but I have a feeling I don't get to make that decision," Marzel replied, for once being the one to feel a twinge of fear that he may not be able to stay with his sister after all the pains he took to find her.
"No... But if you want to stay, you just need to talk to our King. His name is Riddlemouth. We can arrange a meeting..." Zuni trailed off. Not only was she unsure how to arrange said meeting, but she wasn't known for being bold enough to arrange anything. Maybe she'd ask Blood or Lightningclaw.
"No need." A familiar voice, and the siblings turned in unison to watch as Blood returned, padding steadily forward with a proud grin. "I hope you'll excuse my rudeness, but I assumed you would want to be staying her permanently and took the liberty to plead your case to Riddlemouth myself while you two caught up. If you'd like to take it, we have a place here for you."
Zuni turned excitedly back to face Marzel, anticipation tingling in her toes.
"Looks like we're both home," Marzel announced with a grin of his own, and Zuni pushed roughly back into an embrace, beaming enough to light the darkest night.