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Evading watchful eyes was never easy for a member of the royal family, but Shinobu was persistent and had eventually, as near as he could tell, succeeded. Feeling more than a little pleased with himself, the cub prowled through the tunnels, his ears and eyes searching for anything that might be interesting for a cheetah like himself to get into. It wasn’t long before he heard voices within one of the dark mouths of the dens, and curiosity piqued, the young royal padded closer with all the stealth his childish paws could possibly muster. It wasn’t much, but someday, someday it would certainly be a successful stalk. In the mean time, he could use all the practice he could get.
His paws were too big, the young hybrid thought ruefully for perhaps the hundreth time. Wincing, Hikari dragged himself to his feet again, examining the oversized paws yet again, as if looking at them often enough might make them shrink. His legs and flanks were cheetah-skinny, but he was shorter and his paws were far larger than a cheetah’s would be. Leopard paws, thank goodness, he’d been terribly frightened that they meant he might be a lion. His aunt would have hated, hated him then! But lion or not, his paws were still clumsy and stupid. ”I can’t do it right,” he whimpered, looking up at his younger sister with mournful, though mismatched, eyes. Kanie could do this, she was ever so quiet and quick and perfect, like mama, when she moved. Why couldn’t he do it right?
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Her brother had fallen flat on his face again. Kanie surveyed him calmly, her eyes soft only to those who knew how hard her young gaze could be. Hikari was special, and with him she might be patient. Only with him, thus far, any other would have been treated to disdain for being so pathetically clumsy. Smoothly, Kanie leaned forward and helped him to his paws with her shoulder. They were both mixed creatures, but where his mixing made him more awkward hers made her smooth. She was slender and agile, with strong shoulders and wonderfully wide paws that would, someday with practice, be much stronger than Aiko’s were. Leopard paws were better than cheetah paws for hitting things with, this she knew to be fact from watching the fighters practice. She was good at watching without being seen. But, someone it would seem, was less so.
Slowly, once Hikari was on his feet, the dark feline’s gaze shifted to the cub who stood outside their den. Aiko gone to get their brother, and their sister was tagging along after the uncle mother disapproved of again. They were practicing, Hikari was a good practice target, and she was not certain onlookers were welcome. Silently her lips peeled back in a small snarl, a warning to the spotted stranger that he had been, well, spotted.
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What where they doing? Shinobu peered curiously around the edge of the den as the black one helped the white one up. They looked… funny. Really strange. At first he’d thought they might just be older cheetah cubs, but they were all… bulky. Sort of. Not at all as lithe and lean as he and his siblings were. Obviously this meant he was better than they were but, then again, he was royal. Of course he was better. ”No need to snarl at me,” the cub informed the pair as regally as he could muster, one eyebrow arched as though to ask ‘do you know who I am?’
Hikari nuzzled his sister as she helped him, he was trying so very hard to be a good big brother but it wasn’t easy. Not when he was clumsy and kind of timid. At least Kanie was helping him to figure out how to be less clumsy, he thought, but that seemed to mean a lot of falling on his face and being pounced at and… why was she snarling? The hybrid blinked, then looked around anxiously. Was it trouble? Was something bad happening? He squeaked when he laid eyes on the strange cub, shrinking slightly in worry when he saw the pattern on his fur. The other cub with fur like that… they’d been sort of really mean… ”Oh, h-hello,” Hikari managed, sitting up slightly when, aside from pretty much telling Kanie to stop snarling, the cub didn’t act offended. ”Sorry, you, uhm, surprised us? Er, me anyway,” he amended, glancing at his younger sister. She always seemed to know what was going on… he’d been trying to figure out how she did it for ages now.
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Her black tail lashed once, twice, in displeasure. This cub might be arrogant, but she too had her pride. She was to become the best of all, and prove that it mattered not who her father may or may not have been, nor did it matter what he had been. What mattered were her skills and their superiority. This stranger may have been male, and may have been purebred, but that meant little to her. Someday it might even mean little to others.
Hikari’s reaction to him did not go unnoticed, and while her snarl eased her ears laid back. She would be instantly hostile towards any who made her brother unhappy. Everyone knew by now, or would very shortly find out. She rose fluidly to her feet, none of her sibling’s clumsiness here, and glared coolly at the newcomer.
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One of them could talk then, but she was being… hm. Shinobu didn’t think he approved of the way she was watching him. Glaring back, he stalked into the den, just a little. Because he could, he was a royal and could do whatever he chose. As long as it was within the rules. And fulfilled his mother’s ideals. And was a proper example. And… okay, so it was really restricted being a royal. ”Well, I am stealthy,” he admitted, perhaps a bit more boastful than modest, ”What are you two doing?” Shinobu added curiously, of half a mind to sit but then, if he did, then he wouldn’t be able to scoot as fast if the angry girl came after him. Better to be prepared so he didn’t look the fool.
Hikari blinked at the cub, so far there’d been no screaming about how hateful Hikari was and how he should leave the pride because no one wanted him. Not that anyone did want him, not outside the family anyway… and immediate family at that. Dysi had said… no, no he didn’t want to think about it. Mama had decided that they were leaving and gone to collect his siblings. They wouldn’t be staying… maybe that was why this cub didn’t bother to tell them to get out. Maybe he already knew? ”Kanie was… was just showing me one of her tricks…” he explained hesitantly, not certain if his sister wanted to share her techniques with anyone else anyway.
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Her tail flicked again, indicating further annoyance as the cub had the audacity to continue to question them, as well as invite himself into the den. He was almost, though not quite totally, a little blue cub. It had been a blue cub that hurt her brother, and that this one had blue on him and was behaving so, well, it made her a bit suspicious. A small growl rose in her throat, the first sound she had made since the cub arrived. Was this her brother’s little tormentor? She would gladly take an ear for a reminder of why it was wrong to pick on her brother. Slowly one paw lifted just off the ground, claws extended as she stared hard at the cub. It mattered not who he thought he was, if he were the guilty party then the world would know he had wronged her family and suffered for it. Since he was just a little cub, she would just take a little ear or something, no need to kill a child who might yet learn from his mistakes.
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Woah, okay now… now she was starting to look pissed and he was going to have to admit it was making him a little uncomfortable. Admit privately anyway, just to himself that was. It wouldn’t do to be afraid of anyone else, especially a female. Especially a female who wasn’t even pureblood. That would just not do, nope. Wouldn’t do at all. ”Cranky,” he huffed at her, though it might be noted that he didn’t move any closer. At least he didn’t scoot way the heck back and right outta the cave-den thing. He was braver than that after all. ”Keep your secret tricks, I don’t care.”
Uhoh. Uhohuhohuhoh. Hikari shifted his weight slightly, so that his paw slid a little ways between Kanie and the cub. He knew that look. He knew it well. ”Everything’s fine,” he assured the cub, or maybe he was reassuring himself. Nothing was going to happen, this cub was going to be normal and if not polite at least not awful. And Kanie wasn’t going to scare it half to death. ”I… I guess we’re just a little on edge?” the young hybrid offered by way of explanation. He didn’t think he should explain why, and he didn’t want to lie about it. But Kanie needed to not do anything someone might regret later, she really needed to be calm, please please please…
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Hikari’s movement did not go unnoticed. When speech and words grow to seem trivial, body language becomes all important. Even the smallest shift or twitch could speak volumes, and when those motions were coming from Hikari, well, Kanie knew him well indeed. He was afraid, and upset, but he wanted her to not do anything. His words affirmed it, more in his tone than otherwise. Well, alright. If he wished her to be quiet, then she would be. Settling back on her haunches, Kanie lifted the raised paw to her muzzle and began to clean her claws. She did this very slowly, very deliberately, and very carefully, perhaps with more of a show than totally necessary. But she was never one to make idle threats, and if the cub felt threatened, well, that was hardly her problem.
A soft pawstep outside certainly garnered her attention quickly enough, and her paw lowered as her ears lifted toward the sound. Someone was coming? Ah. Someone familiar. Mother was returning.
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”Shinobu, what are you doing here?” the cheetahess huffed, wrapping a paw around the young cub and scooting him back towards the entrance as she came stalking into the den. Every line in her sinewy form was tensed with anger, not like her usual lithe and graceful prowl that kept every male’s eye riveted upon her. If they watched her now, it was because her furious temper had become well known and the danger of crossing her as well. There were a few who had the scars to prove it after all. ”Run along home to your… your parents,” she directed, the venom dripping in her tone suggesting she desired a far stronger word, a word she was for the moment refraining from using in font of her cub. It couldn’t last for long though, she wasn’t a very patient creature.
Shinobu was about to protest, or question, what the hybrid was saying, but he found himself quickly scooped up and deposited outside the den. Okay. Aunt Aiko was clearly angry about something… she quarreled with his father often enough that even a cub could tell they weren’t exactly on the best of terms. Maybe he ought to do what she said then… it couldn’t hurt more than staying where she might decide to give him incentive to leave. She or the other one, Kanie had the white hybrid called her? Did that make these two his cousins? Weird. ”Fine then,” he huffed haughtily, turning on his paws with all the dignity he could muster. After all, he was royalty… though Aiko might’ve been as well, sort of. Well,he, Shinobu, was the boss’ son. He was more important that the boss’ sister was. He could stalk off with dignity no matter how old he was.
”Mama?” Hikari squeaked, seemed like he did a lot of that these days, as he rose to his paws. She sent that cub on his way pretty quick, Shinobu was his name? And she certainly didn’t seem to be in a good mood! ”What’s…” he started to ask, then quieted as she watched the cub stalk off before turning back to him with that same bridled fury. Momentarily bridled anyway. He’d seen what happened when that was unleashed though! It was a silly question to ask all the same, he knew that it meant they were certainly leaving. And aunt Nyoka had once promised that he’d make something of himself here… well, he certainly knew what hollow promises looked like now! If his cousins despised him so much someone had taught them to hate him and his kind… ”I…I’m ready…” he whispered, though his ears drooped unhappily. It wasn’t fair… why did they have to go? It wasn’t fair… but he didn’t want to stay here with everyone hating him. He just wished it was for something he’d actually done.
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Good. Mother had sent the cub on its way, now there was no more trouble waiting. If he had upset her brother, ah, but he had not. Not before mother returned anyway. ”R…rrread…y…” she added herself, rising back to her paws and lifting her chin proudly. Her heart had betrayed her, she knew, but no others did. No one knew, and they never could. How could she become the best when all would despise her for what her heart told her was right? To be judged on gender, on species, and by whom she chose to love? This place, this place was wrong. Or, maybe, maybe she was wrong. It was a question she had difficulty with, but staying here would only make it worse. Gently, lovingly, she nipped at Hikari’s ear as she passed him to stand beside Aiko. Mother was right, they would leave this place and they would be better for it. This place would lose much, but what this pride lost would be a gain for her family. Her true family, not the stupid little cousins who had no thoughts in their heads beyond arrogance.
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”Good. We’ll collect Jiro and Satomei as we go,” Aiko smiled, though it certainly looked forced, then licked her eldest’s little mane. No one was allowed to make her family miserable, not even her family. If Nanashi and his stupid mate wanted to raise their cubs stupid and ignorant… she wasn’t going to let their bad parenting hurt her little ones. No one would ever hurt her little ones. ”Let’s go.”
Shinobu watched from up above as the black cheetah he knew to be his Aunt led the two hybrids from the den and through the tunnels. Where were they going, he wondered, leaning as though to pad after them and find out, when something stopped him. The black one, Kanie, she’d been giving him such a look… and Aiko was so mad… maybe it would be better if he did just go home…
