[FIN] A very serious concern. (Veena & Liraz)

[Amryx]

When it came to order, Veena was the master of it. The little cub was quick to establish her role as the Big Sister and therefore Keeper of Order amongst her siblings, actual order of birth be damned. Naturally, while her mother might have found it slightly amusing, Veena found it anything but. It was just a natural tendency of hers to want to make sure her mother's rules were followed, and that her siblings were behaving, and hey, Veena liked being listened to. Didn't everyone? Of course, when it came to herself...

There was one little quirk Veena had, that she kept guarded secretly and fiercely. It was something that she was sure everyone would make fun of her of, because she was a true lioness who feared nothing. Yet, deep within her heart, she could not deny the one thing that made her stall, the one thing that crippled her, the one thing that made her look like a spineless wimp in front of her siblings!

She was afraid of the dark.

Not the darkness itself, per se, as she had no trouble with the night time (as long as the Moon was out, anyway), but rather, what her imagination told her what was in it. Scary creatures that lurked in, unknown terrors that could have surrounded her... It was just too terrible to even think about it!

Her fear of the dark and what lurked was the reason why Veena had attempted to bury herself under one of her siblings during the night when she thought she heard ominous sounds of doom within the den and thought something terrible had come inside. The unlucky sibling was Liraz, who might have been jostled awake from the force of Veena trying to shove her head underneath her belly.

"Nothing there, there's nothing there..." Veena tried to recite the words her mother had told her, but it did no good. Surely, there must have been an evil spirit or a ghost watching her right now, just waiting for the chance to strike...!  

[bipolar bee]

Liraz was always something of a light sleeper; it was hard to sleep deeply when your body ached and your chest hurt from coughing. When Veena wormed her head under Liraz's little belly, the tiny cub woke up instantly, eyes wide as she tried to figure out exactly what was going on. Since heads weren't very flat, Liraz kind of ...rolled... off Veena's head. At Veena's chanting, Liraz turned to glance at her sister. Liraz blinked owlishly before speaking in a rather loud whisper, "What's wrong?"

If Veena was the master of order, Liraz was the ground on which she walked. Liraz would do anything for her family. She adored her papa, loved her mama, and cherished her brothers and her sister. She was a pushover to all of them; it was Liraz's lot in life to try and make everyone around her happy. Though the runt of her litter, Liraz had a huge heart to make up for her rather scrawny size, and loved seeing smiles on the faces of others. She was kind, she was gentle, and when Bad Things Happened, Liraz accepted them as The Way Things Are. Perhaps it was her visions that allowed her to be so calm and accepting in the face of tragedy, or perhaps it was just how Liraz saw things. Simplicity and humility; Liraz in a tiny little package.

Back to the matter at hand, Liraz could see the terrified expression in Veena's eyes. Instantly Liraz peered around; what had Veena seen?  

[Amryx]

"Huh?" Veena hadn't quite thought of the consequence of trying to dig her head under someone else's belly until she saw that Liraz had rolled right off of her. Leaving her exposed! The cub frantically shuffled around a bit until realizing that she had disturbed her sister's sleep. Liraz was a lot sicker than she was... she felt a little bad. And being awake during night was sort of breaking the rules.

"Nothing, Liraz, you should go back to -" Veena was about to tell her sister to go to bed when she heard that sound yet again, and she cowered without meaning too. Oh, that awful sound!

"Do you hear that?" They had to sleep, but more importantly, Veena had to protect her siblings and herself from whatever had crept into the den. It was her duty, after all! Duty was important! Even if she wanted to wake up her mother and have her deal with it....  

[bipolar bee]

"I-I don't..." Liraz strained her ears, bright yellow-green eyes squinting as she tried to hear what her sister did. All she heard was Eu snoring, Josepi snoring even louder, and mama's breathing. With a confused look back at her frightened sister, Liraz belly-crawled forward; maybe if she got away from the snores, she could hear what her sister had.

"What do you hear, Veena?" Liraz whispered over her bony shoulder, turning back to peer at her sister before her attention went to the curve in the dens entry. She didn't want to make her sister feel like she was being afraid for nothing, so an investigation was in order. Liraz would even dare walk to the mouth of the den all by herself if she had to in order to make Veena feel better. Well, unless Veena told her not to. "I don't hear anything, but I think it's because Josepi is snoring too loud." Her whisper was comically loud as she backtracked to her sister, shooting a disgruntled look towards her sprawled-out older brother.  

[Amryx]

The sound just got louder and louder, which meant that the thing was getting closer and closer. Poor Veena wanted to stop Liraz from moving, but she found that she herself was paralyzed with fear as Liraz started to investigate. But now, she was starting to realize what the sound was. It was... right... over... JOSEPI!!!

"Liraz! Liraz, it's over Josepi, it's gonna eat him!" Veena panicked, her voice raising slightly above the whisper she tried to keep as she tried to coax Liraz away from the thing. She wanted to help her brother and protect him, but once again, she found herself too scared to move. Oh no, it was gonna eat him, it was gonna -

And then Liraz came back safe and sound, muttering something about not being able to hear anything from Josepi's snoring and something clicked. A terrible realization dawned upon her and Veena made a face so grumpy that it might have gotten stuck that way like her mother warned her. There was no way she was going to admit this one though!

"Uh... Oh... Oh, I think... I think you scared it off!" Veena looked much less afraid now, trying to hide the fact she was scared of stupid Josepi's stupid snoring rather poorly. But it would make Liraz feel good to know she saved the day, right? Right. Cuz Veena taught her so well. Yes.  

[bipolar bee]

The last thing Liraz wanted to do was to make her sister feel as if she had a foolish fear. She could tell that it was Josepi's raucous snoring that had frightened her sister, but she didn't want to flaunt it or make Veena feel bad. She admired her sister greatly; she always seemed so sure of herself, no matter what, and Liraz often wished she was more like her sister.

"I'm glad that we scared it away," Liraz whispered, moving back towards the warmth of her sister. She put emphasis on the word 'we' -- after all, Liraz hadn't scared off the ghost by herself, had she? "That was scary, though!"  

[Amryx]

Veena was so caught up in looking brave and fearless that she didn't quite realize that her sister was being deliberate in her attempts to make her feel better and instead straightened up, puffing out her chest in pride.

"Yeah, cuz I taught you so well. That ghost won't be coming around here again," She bragged, the false bravado cheering her up a little. At least her little sister wasn't making fun of her or anything. Hahaha, Veena was so good, she probably didn't even catch on! Yup, things were going well for the cub and it looked like she was ready to settle back down to bed. Liraz was always so sickly so she didn't want to aggravate her sister's condition any more than she had to.

"Anyway, you should go to bed, Mom will be angry with us if she sees you're awake -"

There was another peculiar sound, one that sounded like water dripping, and Veena once again did a nosedive right under Liraz's belly.  

[bipolar bee]

Liraz fought a giggle. While she wasn't sure what the dripping sound was, she did enjoy a good cuddle even if her sister was only doing it out of fear. Wrapping her arms around her sister, she purred comfortingly. A huge yawn cracked her muzzle. She was tired, and her back ached. "Don't worry, Veena," Liraz whispered to her older sister, patting a paw against her back. "It won't hurt us. It probably saw us scare away the other ghost, now it won't bug us. It's probably just pouting and crying like Josepi does when Mama tells him no."

Liraz was so warm, so toasty. It was so hard to keep her eyes open!  

[Amryx]

The older sister wasn't too ready to admit that having Liraz comfort her was very nice, but she managed to compose herself enough to try and wriggle herself away from the other cub so she could get some sleep. On the other hand, she felt a little safe having weight on top of her and her sister seemed quite comfy. It was really late in the night and Veena didn't want her sister to stay awake if it was bad for her, after all. It might have been bad for Veena too!

So she got herself comfy and nodded, making sure to flatten her back a little so Liraz wasn't sleeping over a hump.

"Y-Yeah, of course... you're right, Liraz, that ghost is such a crybaby. Like Josepi," She muttered, sticking her tongue out at her snoring brother before finally letting her eyes droop. What an embarrassing night... hopefully Liraz would have forgotten about it in the morning. She really didn't want Josepi and Eu finding out and making fun of her for it, or else she was going to have to bat their muzzles.

But for now, the little cub was almost out like a light, slightly snoring herself...  

[bipolar bee]

Veena would never have to fear that Liraz would spill her secret. Comforted by her sister's snores, Liraz closed her eyes, nestling into the pile of cubs comfortably. She did so love her family, all of them. They were each different in their own ways, and Liraz truly enjoyed their company. Even if they were mean, or hurt her (which rarely happened), Liraz always understood and took their lashing out all in stride. She had to smile sleepily at Veena's comment about Josepi.

Soon enough, congested snores shook her little bony form. Liraz slept easily, tired and comfortable. No visions kept her awake tonight; there was only a deep, restful and healing sleep for the sick little cub.