Shunqa played well the role of extra in the life of more interesting Firekin. He was always in the background, somewhere, rarely seen and never heard (not that he ever spoke). The will-we-won't-we talk of war had engrossed the attention of the pride and he was no exception. Curiously he surveyed the array of expressions on their faces. Some mothers looked worried, he guessed for their children. Some were titillated by the possibility. Those like him... He hoped there were those like him, that it wasn't just him who didn't know what to think.
He kept to himself now more than ever, consumed by his thoughts. There was definitely a war going on in his head if nothing else. One side called him a coward, told him all about what a "real" Firekin would do; the other argued he was already authentic in his citizenship. He'd been born here, hadn't he? Lived up to the standards, been given the right name?
Shunqa knew he would rush into battle if he was told. The question was only if he should want to or not.
An intense headache drummed against the inside of his skull. He needed a distraction.
Shunqa meant to leave his lounging in the sun and return to his father. Instead, he ran right into Haru, courtesy of a distracting bug scurrying across the ground he'd been watching. The collision was really just a bumping-into matter, but he made haste with his apology. There were short tempers around here.
"My apologies," he said, and then his mouth hung open a little with her name on the tip of his tongue, stunted by a blip in his memory.
Even a recluse like him knew the many faces of the pride. To not would be shameful. Names, on the other hand...
