He was vaguely proud of himself with managing to slip away from his parents. Despite how they clashed, they had the uncanny ability to know where he was whenever they so desired to know. Most of the time Quiyue didn't mind, but as it was he was getting tired of so many eyes watching over him. He could take care of himself, even if he didn't always enjoy it when he got hurt and his mother wasn't there right away to soothe the hurt away. He wasn't exactly the independent little cub, and always seemed to prefer being with someone else than being alone, even if that someone else wasn't nice.
But, as it was, he was alone, and trying his hardest to entertain himself. He was still basking in the glow of his victory of slipping away from his parents' watchful eyes. Yet, it didn't seem all that interesting to be drawing patterns in the dirt. Quiyue would glance to the sky, to observe the clouds, and then he would mimic the shape they made and draw it in the earth. It was a little fun, he had to admit, though when he craned his neck to see the clouds it created a somewhat permanent ache.
The black and white lion cub shook his head to try and relieve the tension in his neck, and then pressing his tongue against the inside of his lips, he got back to work, drawing sloppily with his tiny extended claw. He was just trying to make a cloud look like a bunny... and it was turning out to look more like a blob.
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He was a prince. He went where he wanted. Walls did not exist. Erion was a fair-sized cub and a striking image of his father but perhaps with a lot more spunk than his parents anticipated. They had a sort of friend relationship, where friends came to certain respects with each other. Really, it was like a teenage crush with a mature tone. It never seemed to get anywhere unless Erion and his three siblings were somewhere. And it didn't have many prospects. While his parents were happy, calm, and smart, he was the opposite: energetic, ambitious, determined, stubborn, a born-leader. They tried to encourage him to chanel those vices into outlits so he put his all into what had always been intended as friendly competition. He liked to win. After all, he was a prince. And for the most part, he won.
With an ego as big as Erion's he needed a lot of space to gloat, a big bubble all should be hesitant to press. That is to say, Erion was often by himself. He was a spoiled sport and it made him no fun. While he thought he did things for fun and in jest, sometimes his comments and actions were seen as bullying. He personally didn't understand why he got such a bad wrap.
With a grunt of anger and vengence, he stomped his front paw onto the log, shaking it and almost losing his balance. He lifted and shook it, a stink bug falling from the bottom of it and he begun to clean the dark blue ink it had sprayed on him. It was lucky he gave it suck a merciful death: fast although not clean. Realizing his clever perch, he looked around the log which allowed him to look into the tall grass around him. Suddenly distracted, he looked for something new to hunt.
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Quiyue looked thoughtfully up to the sky once again, watching the clouds float by for a few minutes. On his way back to returning to his drawings, his eyes caught sight of something blue and white. He quizically focused on the larger form, and he was surprised he could see Erion at all. The juvenile looked just like the sky, with a light blue pelt and white clouds fluffing across it. If he had been at a further distance away, Quiyue might have thought that the sky had fallen to the earth. As it was, Erion was close enough for Quiyue to decipher who he was.
Now, Quiyue had caught wind of rumors preluding to Erion's personality, but he hadn't much paid attention to them before. He did know that Erion was supposed to be a bit of a bully, and so that was what kept him from approaching his cousin. Instead he decided to once again focus on the sky, this time keeping his gaze locked on one of the clouds as his claw tried its best to trace the outline into the dirt. This only induced more soreness in his neck, but he didn't much notice it. He was losing himself into the moment.
It was... vaguely pleasant to be sitting out here alone (relatively), soing nothing but what pleased him. Maybe he could walk over to the tree to his left and take a cat nap. Or mayhaps he could find a little puddle to play in. There were certainly quite a few things one could do on their own, though Quiyue still preferred the company of others... preferably those who were not known for being a bit of a bully.
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Unluckily for Quiyue, he was not the color of the grass. Erion soon spotted the other, thinking at first that there had been a fire charring the grass. But it was not a still thing nor was it large enough to be prey. Erion was quickly able to deduce that it was a cub, one who looked similar to his sister who in turn looked like his uncle. So this one had to be his cousin he so deduced. Therefore this one was on his side. Surprised the other hadn't come over to join him, Erion lept off his log with a pout.
"You," he called out with a nod in the cub's direction. "Yeah you. We haven't met before. I'm Erion." Not much for a polite introduction but he had enough to introduce himself. He was more all manners in front of his elders. That was his /adult/ elders. With those not in that category they ranged from equal to inferior. After all, he was high class and a prince although not heir. "We should be friends," he added in a friendly although serious tone as the other was clearly related and thus demanded at least that much respect.
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He was nearly shocked out of his own fur to hear a voice directed at him, because he had sincerely forgotten that Erion was there. The cub stared wide-eyed at the older juvenile, trying to contemplate why ever Erion had decided to talk to him when he was clearly busy drawing. Glancing down to his drawing, though, he realized what a jumbled mess it had become. Feeilng awfully embarassed, he rubbed his paw over the designs, smearing them until they were no more. He wasn't just about to let Erion see them and make fun of him for how bad an artist he was. Quiyue refused to set himself up for a world of hurt.
"Uhh... hello," he replied, clearly reluctant to go further than introductions, because he would then be committed to the conversation, and he wasn't sure he wanted that. "I'm Quiyue." Yes, this juvenile was definitely his cousin, the prince. He found it ironic that he was in such a low class when his cousin was the prince, but that didn't bother him. He didn't much care for class. As long as he got to do what he wanted, what did it matter? It mattered nothing.
"...Friends? But, don't you... become friends naturally, instead of just deciding on it?"
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Erion made a face at the friends comment after eyeing the drawings being erased. "Well some people are able to choose their friends and I think we'd make great friends. I fight well and you draw well," he nodded towards the dirt where art previously was. Maybe he didn't have much taste but he didn't think they looked horrible. Then again, if he knew what they were supposed to be, then maybe he'd have a different opinion. And besides, he only got to see some as Quiyue had already been erasing when he looked.
"Besides, I can help look out for you. Not in a parental way, mind you. But as one friend to another. I want to be a guard because my mother's family is and if you want to, you can be one too. I'm sure you can do it well like me too. If not now, well I can teach you." Erion had learned quite a lot from that which he did lose because he was equally a sore looser as he was a winner. So he worked to figure out how he was beat so that he could rematch and triumph. It didn't always work out in the first rematch but he didn't give up. He was a competitive boy. Self defeat would have destroyed his being.
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He looked vaguely horrified that Erion had seen his drawings, but at least the other wasn't teasing him about him. So... maybe Erion wasn't as bad as the other cubs his age made him out to be. "But how are drawing and fighting connected? I mean, you don't draw when you're in the middle of a fight, so how does that make us out to be good friends?" He wasn't trying to shove Erion away from him now, but he was genuinely confused as to how they could just be instant friends. His siblings hadn't made it sound like you just saw someone and called them to be your friend. It just didn't work that way, and Erion was defying all logic by trying to make it that way.
"A guard?" The idea was entrancing to young male cub, because what role could be more honorable? He would be defending the pride, not drawing sissy clouds into the dirt. "I don't need anyone to look out for me, I can take care of myself." He frowned a little at the implication that he couldn't protect himself. Any male would be appropriately insulted, but Quiyue decided to put it to the back of his mind. Surely Erion didn't mean any insult by it... Erion wanted to be his friend, didn't he? "What do you know about being a guard?" He was a little intrigued, and that was enough to get him pursuing that subject.
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"Drawing and fighting have enough to do with each other," Erion declared. There was a crowd of erion-shaped brain cells gathered at the gate to the front of his mind with picket signs and a megaphone. They didn't like being questioned. "You have to use your head for drawing and you need brains as well as brawns to win a fight." It was the only reason he was able to win most of the ones he picked. He was able to for the most part keep enough of his cool about him to still strategize. "Drawing is like exercise for your mind." He didn't know where that came from much less if he believed it. But it sounded ok to him.
Erion shook his head. Clearly he needed to take his cousin under his wing and teach him a few things. "I'm not implicating you can't. But you know, if a bunch of others gang up on you, I'll help fight your battle. If you need advice, I'll give it. If someone tries to assassinate you, I'll take them out first." Clearly he had some strange notions to know about assassinations in a non-violent pride but regardless. "And of course, if you want to, you could do the same for me. See? We'd help each other."
He stroked his chin with a paw, thinking of how to phrase it since he'd never been asked before, always thinking everyone else already knew. "Well... you protect the pride. You get to travel farther away from the heart of the pride because you have to make sure no one's trying to hurt anyone else. But you also get to help those who get hurt and help guide lost ones back to the pride. It's really noble if you ask me. If I can't be king, that's what I want to be." He nodded in confirmation of his words. He really wanted to be Head Guard if such a thing existed but he kept that to himself least everyone else suddenly want it for themselves.
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Quiyue couldn't help but let the incredulous look come onto his face as Erion said his sketchy reasoning for why drawing and fighting were similar. "But you use your brain to walk and talk. That doesn't make drawing and fighting closer together than anything else." Quiyue had always been an intelligent and insightful cub. He just didn't usually show it enough to others, and yet here he was poking holes in Erion's logic because it didn't match up to what he believed. He had nothing against Erion, but it just didn't make sense. He was sure there was something stronger to bind drawing and fighting together. Using one's brains were too general of a term.
"Why would anyone gang up on me?" But, he could see the logic in Erion's words. If he was in trouble, it would be nice to have help (though, of course, he did not need it). "Assassinate?" He was clearly startled by the suggestion that someone would want to assassinate him, and he was generally just startled because Erion had used the world. "Umm... okay. You'll protect me, and I'll protect you?" Okay, so he would agree to this, if only because Erion seemed to insist on it, and they were cousins, and thus family... and family stuck up for one another.
He listened intently to Erion's explination, and he found that it was definitely an appealing idea... to protect the pride and to save lives. It was honorable and noble, and Quiyue. so low in ranking, was even more intrigued by the idea. If there was a way of redeeming one's lower status, it would be through doing the best one could to protect the pride. He didn't expect nor really desire a way to change his class (especially if it involved girls - ick), he was content with how things were for him. Yes, it was definitely a good idea. "Okay, I think I want to be a guard too. We'll help train each other, right?"
