Mama was gone again. It seemed she was gone a lot and that saddened the young cub. He loved his mama, he wanted her to stay with them. To stay with him. He didn’t like it when she left, it was lonely even with his brother and sisters in the den. But he knew better than to follow her. The last time…

Hikari’s ears drooped as he remembered the way she’d scolded him. That she had been incredibly lenient with him didn’t occur to the cub, that anyone would ever do more to punish than tell him they were disappointed in his misbehavior never crossed his mind. But he would certainly be good from now on. He’d stay in the den just like she told him to.

Kanie looked around at her sleepy siblings, her expression betraying her utter boredom. She had no wish to stay here in the den. She wanted to investigate further the Unvanish place where mother disappeared to so frequently. It was too quiet here in the den with her small family. Stealthily, her movements had grown more graceful by the day, the black cub rose to her paws and started for the entrance to the world beyond.

Where was Kanie going? Hikari lifted his head from where it had been resting upon his forepaws, his mismatched eyes following his younger sister curiously. Somewhere? But why? Mama wasn’t here! They weren’t supposed to leave yet!

“Kanie!” the young hybrid squeaked, scrambling clumsily to his feet. “Where you going?”

Keikanei’s ears flicked at the sound of the squeaky voice. Her brother. Hikari was squeakier than Jiro by far, but he was alright to play with she supposed. At the very least she might chew on him for a while. Coolly, she turned and looked over her spotted shoulder before looking back at the den entrance. Where was she going? Wasn’t it obvious?

Hikari watched curiously as his sister looked back at him before she continued on her way. Kanie never talked it seemed. He’d never heard her say any words before, not ever. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t understand her. Mama knew what she was ‘saying’ too. It was easy after all.
“We are…not… not a…allow..alloweded,” he protested, stumbling over his paws a bit as he moved to catch up with his dark sibling. “Mama said.”

Mother had said to not go outside without her. This was true. Keikanei paused to think just a moment before pressing on. Mother said not to go outside without her but she never said they had to stay inside without her too. It was not as fun inside without mother. Actually, it was really rather dull. And there was so much outside to be had.

“Kanie!” Hikari squeaked again, nearly faceplanting when he tried to run. He got his chin up quick enough to avoid smashing his muzzle into the floor, sliding a bit on his chest and belly before he could get his clumsy paws back underneath himself. “Mama says NO,” the little hybrid insisted, struggling to find his feet again. At least the slide had moved him to be beside his sister, though whether or not his proximity to her had any effect on how attentive she might be to his words…

Her brother was persistant. Irritated, Kanie looked down at her white brother as he struggled to find his feet. He seemed to be having as much trouble with discovering how his paws worked as she did figuring out how to make her voice work. It felt like they were opposites, though she did not yet understand that that was the word this was called by. Very carefully and deliberately, she took another step towards the den’s entrance, her body winding to move around the tangled heap of brother that was on the floor.

Kanie wasn’t LISTENING to him!
Hikari watched in dismay as his sister brushed away. He knew from the look that she had heard him at least. It was acknowledged that he had said something, but his words were being ignored. Maybe she was just being herself. Maybe she didn’t want to listen to words any more than she wanted to speak them. Nervously, the white hybrid reached out and pinned her black tail between his forepaws as she brushed past him.
“Mama said,” he insisted, holding on to the tail. That was a good way to ‘say’ stop, wasn’t it?

Kanie did stop when he tugged on her tail. Her ears laid back as she turned again to look at her brother. Persistent indeed. The tail in his grip twitched, she wanted to flick it but it was stuck now. Kanie glared at him for a long moment, looked back at the enticing doorway, and then back at him. Finally, she gave a low huff and sat. He seemed fairly adamant about it. And he was asking nicely too, instead of trying to give her orders. She did not like being bossed around. But that didn’t mean she was happy to give in either.

It worked? It worked! Hikari smiled happily when his sister plopped herself to the floor beside him, lifting his paws from the soft tail he’d captured. It would be mean of him to keep holding on to it, wouldn’t it? Just like it was silly to keep arguing once someone had agreed with his point.

“Just until mama comes back?” he offered, scooting to stand beside her. Quietly he nuzzled her shoulder. He wasn’ happy that she was unhappy. But it was kind of scary outside. And mama had told them not to leave. He was the big brother, it was his job to look after them. Even if he wasn’t the biggest or the strongest or the fastest. He was still the oldest.

When Hikari nuzzled her shoulder, Kanie twisted her head around and sank her teeth into one of his soft pink ears. She tugged sharply, a buzzing rumble in her throat indicative of just how not happy she was with this turn of events. She didn’t tear it though, just squeezed and tugged rather firmly. He would get the message she was sure. Perhaps he would consent to play with her as well? It was still boring in here.

“Kanie, Kanie ow!” Hikari squealed, his paws doing a skittering dance on the floor as his head was tugged. His ear HURT when she did that! It wasn’t nice! And mama said no biting, she said it all the time! But Kanie wasn’t biting him, not really. It still hurt though! “Let go?” he whimpered, not being the sort to fight back. Especially not his own sister.

Kanie gave his ear a few more tugs to underscore her point, but she did give in to his pleading. She didn’t much care for hurting her brother. Hikari didn’t deserve it, and mother would be cross anyway. If he had deserved it, she would have not cared about mother being cross later, but the bottom line was that he was only trying to be good. Which only made the whole thing more annoying. Letting go of the abused ear, she rose to her feet and walked slowly towards the den entrance. If she could not go all the way outside, at least she could look at outside. Huffing under her breath, she settled down to sit at the mouth of their den and watch while she waited.

“Thank you,” the young hybrid muttered, giving his head a shake and whining slightly in his throat at the tender throb in his ear. He watched as his sister wandered towards the den’s entrance, but this time he did not call after her to stop. Instead, he padded to sit himself down beside her. “I’m sorry,” he added meekly, shifting to press the side of his head against one of her shoulders. There was muscle there already, enough that he could feel it under the soft baby fat. No wonder she walked so well, she must have been practicing!

“Mama will be back soon,” he added hopefully, wishing he could make his sister less discontent.

Kanie looked down at the brother that rubbed against her shoulder. He wasn’t all bad. He was just a little squeaky, but that was fun when she chewed on him. Huffing again, she nipped at his ear before turning her eyes back to the empty tunnel. There was a touch of sunlight just around a corner, and she could smell something that was not a below-ground thing. She could wait, she supposed. It probably would not be too long. And at least she had some company to make it less boring.
Fin.