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Farrah, having been confined to the den, was pretty easy to find. As it were, she was sitting just at the edge of the den, not outside of it just yet, and watched beyond the den sulkily. It wasn't fair. Two days was fair, but four? Tch. She sighed loudly, and slumped down, putting her head on her paws. She was grounded to the den, and damn if it wasn't boring. The adults were always busy or out, and she didn't much like bothering Mzu when she was in the den anyway. Her sisters were out with Liua and the others, and her brothers with her father, but she? She was confined to the den. It just wasn't fair. Who knew what important lessons she was missing out on! Sighing again, but not nearly as loudly, she supposed she deserved this. She had stayed out far too late, and wouldn't have if she hadn't ditched the brother who'd been watching her. She rose from her spot at the edge of the den and wandered back further to the secluded shadows, curling up in a ball. Her bright fur stood out, reflecting what limited light there was in the den, so she wasn't very hard to find. Not that anyone was looking for her. They were all out having fun. Stupid Mzu. She growled a little at the thought of that spiteful Beybanu, huffing. Screw if it was fair or not, she was stuck here because of her. Tching quietly, she closed her eyes. No point in doing much else but sleep for the next two and a half days.
Ilyas watched his sister from the shadows, tail swishing from side to side behind him as his sky-blue eyes twinkled with excitement. Hearing that the big-bully Mzu had confined his sister to the den had seemed unfair, and he'd gone and complained to Papa, who'd simply said that he'd talk to her. But Farrah was still confined to the den. So he'd decided to come and see her! But then she'd been sitting there, looking so sad, so he'd decided to play a game, to cheer her up! And so, simply put, he'd sunk down behind a bush and hidden, waiting for his chance to pounce.
See, Ilyas' coat, whist still having pretty patterns, didn't glow. Which meant he was far better at hiding than that stinky brother of his, and therefore far better at games and hunting. Which meant he was just overall more awesome and far better, of course! Not to mention he was older! Ilyas grinned to himself, before suddenly realizing that Farrah had disappeared. He blinked once, twice, before creeping out of his hiding place, soon spotting her dimly glowing pelt deeper in the cave. She looked curled up, and she wasn't watching. This was his chance!
Creeping forwards carefully, watching where he put his feet, Ilyas swiftly but silently crept up on his sister until finally he was close enough... And with a triumphant cry he left at her, breaking into joyful squeals soon after. "GOT'CHA!"
Farrah hadn't expected her brother to come pouncing her in the den, and especially hadn't expected the older one, Ilyas, to be the one who did the pouncing! So when she was suddenly attacked, she screamed and flailed, trying to swat off the offender. Who was this?! What was he doing in her den?! Wait... She recognized that 'warcry'. "Ilyas!" She fumed, trying to wiggle out from under him. "That was mean!" She fumed a little at him. Where the heck'd he come from, anyway?! "You scared me, Ily." She grumbled a little indignantly, frustrated that she'd been scared so easily. Honestly, it was just Ilyas. It wasn't like he was going to grind her bones and make her into some weird... thing.
"What're you doing here?" She frowned, sitting up and eying him. "Shouldn't you be with Father?" Or out watching their sisters or something more important. Lots of responsibility fell on her poor brothers for being Faiz's sons. She didn't envy them.
He giggled gleefully as it took her several moment to work out who it was, before she finally shouted out his name in irritation. He tugged at the scruff on the back of her neck playfully, before tumbling backwards off of her as she wriggled, landing on his back with a startled yelp. He was soon laughing again, though, rolling onto his side before sitting himself down, pointing at her as he giggled. "Your...your FACE! Ohhhh, it was so priceless, Farri!"
His snickers soon subsided, though, the cub cocking his head to the left with an endearing smile as he jumped to his feet, wiggling his butt in the air playfully. "Papa's busy with Uncle Aali today. So Momma's looking after everyone. But I snuck away, 'cause I thought you'd be lonely." He smiled sweetly as the wiggling of his bum slowed, before he lowered it to the ground again, watching his sister. "So, what'cha wanna do?!"
"You're a butt, Ily." She said matter-of-factly, grinning in spite of herself. As angry as she was, it was nice to see her brother trying to keep her company. It was sweet, really. He'd be a great Pad one day. "It's not that funny." She laughed quietly, rolling her eyes at him. "It would've been funnier if it was Parisa or Niyoo." She snorted at him, grinning quietly.
She blinked a little, nodding slowly and frowning. "I dunno. There's not a lot to do here." She grumbled, flopping down. "Stupid Mzu." She muttered under her breath, scowling a little. "If it was Father, I wouldn't have been grounded for four whole days." She fumed. "She's just so...." She closed her eyes, growling low. "Awful." She couldn't understand what her father saw in his Beybanu. She was mean to them all the time, his own children. She was a rotten lioness, that's what she was. Farrah hoped she never turned as rotten as Mzu if she ever became a Beybanu.
Ilyas snickered at the 'rude' word, jumping forwards onto his sister, pushing his two front paws into her in an attempt to knock her over. He'd taken after his father in size, so was fairly large, and hoped he'd succeed so he could give her a hug, which was his intention all along. His grin was wide and sincere, but his eyes sparkled with mischief as his tail continually swayed from side to side, raising dust from the ground. "Nahhhh, you were pretty funny, Farri."
He was quick to shake his head at her words, his grin still there. He giggled, licking her face and nuzzling her neck fondly. He did care about his sister. "There's plenty to do! We can play tag, or hide and seek, or 'who can play the meanest Mzu-butt'" he suggested, wriggling about, "And I knooooow! Papa said he'd talk to her, so maybe you'll be allowed out tomorrow?"
She fell over with a yelp, and fumed. "Ily!" She swatted at him lightly, snorting. "Butt." She repeated, trying to sit up again. It wasn't easy since he was bigger then she was, so she tried moving over a bit and sitting up that way. His grin was infectuous, inspite of her annoyance she was grinning anyway. It'd been a few days since she had gotten to play with her brother. "But could you imagine the look on Pari's face?" She snickered. "She'd freak." Much like Farrah had, but let's not discuss that. Shhh.
"With my luck, I'd run into a wall." She would, too. She'd done it once already, not watching where she was going and running from a creepy crawly. "No one can play the meanest Mzu-butt. She's too mean." She made a face. But hide and seek... that had potential. Her ears perked when he mentioned their father talking to Mzu, and she grinned slowly. "I hope so. There's only so much to do in the den, and I..." She blushed, looking down. "I want to see my friend again." She had kept her meeting with Kwea a secret, but not on purpose. Faiz was always so busy, and she wasn't sure if she should tell her mother or her father first, so she'd kept it to herself. Nothing improper had happened, of course, and she'd been watched! But he was such a nice lion and she wanted to know if he'd learned anything new with his harem.
His plan succeeded and he landed on top of her, nuzzling her lightly with a purr as he cuddled her fondly. He really did love his sisters, and hated that he couldn't always be there to protect them. He was the oldest - it was his job to make sure they were always alright. He'd have to make sure they went to a really, really nice Pad when they were older. Although he was certain his father would ensure that anyway.
"Pari...yeah, she'd freak a little," Ilyas agreed with a grin, nodding enthusiastically. The wall comment prompted another giggle, as did the comment about Mzu - his father had explained to ilyas on one occasion why he loved Mzu so much. Apparently, you loved someone despite all their faults. Your Beybanu was your favourite, and as such you loved her that little bit more. And you just...just knew, when you'd met your favourite. He was quickly roused from his thoughts at the mention of a 'friend', however.
He grinned, nudging her with a paw, "Who's this friend, huh? Huh, huh, huh!?"
Farrah fumed at him for a imnute, but nuzzled him after a minute. She loved her family, but it wasn't often she got to cuddle with any of them unless they were all sleeping. She liked exploring, and usually her brothers and sisters were off doing other things. She didn't mind the solitude, but she did mind not getting the cuddles she wanted. She butted her head against Ily's lovingly, grinning at him. His laught only made her grin wider. She liked making her brother laugh, it was a pleasant sound.
At the mention of the friend she let slip, she winced. "Just a lion I met." She mumbled, sheepish. "He's a Pad, not a Pesar." She grinned a little. "But I guess he just became an official Pad recently." She reached up, pawing at her nose. "He has really bright white fur, and a red mane. He's really nice, but he told me--" She stopped, biting her lip. "It's a secret." She whispered loudly, ears flattening. She couldn't tell, Kwea wouldn't be pleased with her! And then they might not be friends anymore! "But he's really really nice."
She was angry for a bit, and he giggled. Seeing his sisters angry was kinda funny - their faces all squeezed up and their cheeks were puffy and it was just...a really comical sight. He was pleased when she finally relented, though, returning his childish affections with ones of her own. He was happy that his family was so loving - Momma would always give hugs, and when he saw Papa he always seemed happy to see either of his sons (although Il was sure he liked seeing him, the older brother, better). And he was glad he didn't have the grumpy-Mzu-butt as a Momma - or at least, not as his biological one.
A lion, huh? Ilyas paused, his grin fading as a frown crossed his face in confusion. A lion? ...An older lion, a Pad!? Was that allowed? He stepped back off of his sister, cocking his head to the left. "Farri, is that allowed? I don't think Papa would like you wandering off with another lion, especially an older one! He might seem nice, but he might really be as mean as Mzu-butt!" Ilyas spoke, although he was perfectly serious. He cared about his sister - he didn't want to see her getting hurt.
"I wasn't wandering." She said quickly, shaking her head. "Zeki was with me! He watched. We didn't do anything inappropriate." She said quickly, wincing and flattening her ears against her head. "We were just talking, but nothing inappropriate and no touching or anything." She tried smiling, but deep down, she was concerned. Would he get in trouble if her parents found out? Would she? She was slightly less concerned about herself; Faiz was too nice to punish her harshly for meeting a new friend.
"He was telling me about his harem, and how he's..." She rubbed her ears, uneasy. "You can't tell anyone, Ily. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone 'cause its our secret and if he finds out I told he won't like me anymore." She mumbled, ears flat against the top of her head, partially hidden under the bright purple tuft of hair.
She wasn't? Ilyas felt at ease again, before suddenly anger flared up. Zeki? How come he got in on all the action! He, Ilyas, was older, so he should get to do more stuff! Uncle Aali should've given the pretty girl to him, not stupid Zeki! He was better, in just about every way! Growling softly before it turned into a grumble, he shrugged lightly, not that interested anymore. How come Zeki always seemed to have all the fun? "Oh...okay then. That's alright, I guess." he spoke, clearly having lost all interest and enthusiasm for the subject now.
His grin was long gone, and he didn't seem interested as she talked about her new friend. He was too busy sulking, upset. Maybe he should ask Papa? But even Papa seemed to take Zeki on more patrols...it wasn't fair! He was older! He was the oldest! That meant he was the best! That he should automatically get privileges that Zeki didn't, and that he should automatically be chosen before Zeki for anything! He almost felt like crying over it. It was so UNFAIR!
She glanced over at Ilyas when she realized he wasn't really paying attention, and frowned. "Ily?" She rubbed her head under his chin. "What's the matter, Ily-butt?" Had she upset him? She didn't want to upset her brother! He was her confidante, what would she do if he stopped talking to her? Confide in one of the others? Pffff. Highly unlikely.
"I didn't mean to make you upset, Ily." She frowned at him. "I'm sorry." Whatever she had done, she wanted to take it back. She didn't like a sulky Ilyas, he wasn't as fun to play with.
He didn't hear her first call - he was too busy sulking and upset. When she started showing affection he blinked in surprise, before grumbling softly as he pulled away, not at all in the mood for cuddles and snuggles anymore. He pouted, flopping down onto his side and rolling onto his back from there, legs in the air as he whined softly. "It's not fair, Farri!"
Forgetting that she wouldn't have been able to ehar the conversation he'd had with himself in his head, he continued, "He gets everything! He goes on more patrols with Papa, gets a pretty girl from Uncle Aali, and gets to watch all of you! I'm the oldest, it should be me! It should just, like, automatically be me unless I'm ill or something!" he whined, almost sounding on the verge of tears. Whereas it sometimes seemed like they were just playing, it was all actually really serious for Il. It really upset him.
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