(Huo, Owned by NovaCracker)Watching. Huo watched at all times, at least, past eating, drinking, and sleep, it seemed, but he had cause to be guarded, ever cautious of a Nergui attack, and the male turned to lie down asnd rest his paws, frowning as he sighed. Was this his life now?
Mikā was ever cautious now. She was a cub-sitter, a tender of the young and the last defense they had if an attack should come. And Mikā'il was not one to let enemies past her while she still breathed. Her mothers had raised her well, and the cubs, well, they were the future. The future.
The future made her think. About the pride. About the litters she had raised in her younger years. About her friendship and romance with Kich. And the fact she wouldn't mind having her OWN litter of cubs someday soon. Her thoughts were interrupted by the presence of another in the area. Ah.
"Hello, Huo."
Huo's head rose and he looked over as he was spoken to, the male tilting his head before nodding in assent, calmly.
"Hello." He responded softly.
"I suspect you don't recognize me." There was humor in her voice, and a slight smile on her maw. "It's been a long while. And you were a cub." But she remembered every cub who had been in her care, even for a short time. It was even harder to forget the faces of the Hongshan cubs.
"No ma'am." He said, tone agreeable. "Although I admit not knowing anybody, Ma'am." Huio frowned. "Not outside my unit."
"Mikā'il. I'm one of the cub sitters. And you obviously need to get out more." She chuckled and sat down. "So who is your unit? I admit I don't pay as much attention as I should after you all are grown. And I was a sentinel for a time."
"Phoenix." Huo explained simply, head tilting. "Get... Out more?"
"Oh! Iirte's unit!" She needed to talk with Iirte more. She was a good friend. And had been the one to see her introduction to the pride. "And yes. Get out around others. Talk. Make friends."
"I could get distracted." Huo seemed horrified, frowning. "Someone could get in." Like an enemy. Like a Nergui. No... He couldn't allow for that.
"That's the good thing about being in a pride as large as this one." Mikā nodded. "We are many, and there is always someone watching. Why don't you start by mingling with other off-duty guards?"
Huo blinked, staring and tilting his head. "I don't want to leave my post... Someone could die."
Like the father he never knew...
Mikā frowned. "We are all soldiers somehow in the pride. We all run the risk of death. That is no reason to stop living. Your post is watched by other guards when you are off-duty, if you haven't noticed. One of your teammates is my mate, I know these things."
Huo's ear flicked briefly and he frowned. "I guard. I leave to eat and sleep. I have a duty." He paused. "I don't want the pride lost."
"The pride will not be lost if you take some time to yourself. If that was the case, we would have fallen long ago. Even your Captain takes time to herself, child." Mikā rolled her eyes. Was she ever so serious? Her friends were rubbing off on her well.
"Maybe," The quiet male said. "But I won't risk it. I can't. It is selfish."
"Selfish is thinking the whole pride hinges on you. Even the Regents know the pride doesn't hinge on one Firekin." She reached over and, as if he wasn't more than a cub, noogied him. "Learn to live a little. And maybe find a girl. Make more cubs for me to watch over."
Huo blinked, slightly disgruntled before looking up. "But my job is IMPORTANT." Plus how did girl?
Mikā smirked. "And you're not the only one who does it, Huo. Learn to let others work as well. We function better as a whole than as individuals."
"I'm aware." Huo admitted. He wasn't cross nor sour, but he was watching again, blinking slowly. "It's difficult. My father was killed before I was born." He paused. "I will not let another father die if I can help it."
Mikā let go of him and sighed. "Huo? Do not dwell on the past. It does no good. It really doesn't. Would you like to hear a story of what dwelling in the past can do to you?" It was a story she knew well, told to her by two players in it. Her mothers.
"...I suppose." He admitted, if only because she was his elder, a bit.
But not his mother. He just had the respect for adults to be calm.
Mikā took a deep breath and began her story. "There were two sisters, once. Rogues in the desert, who found themselves on the edge of a pride. It was a pride very different from the Hongshan or the Firekin, where the males were the protectors and hunters and fighters, while the females were expected simply to heal and look after the cubs and be pretty. But that wasn't how the sisters were. They were fighters, through and through, and they caught the eye of the pride's Prince. The sisters fell in love with him, and he with they...and eventually, he made them his consorts and most trusted comrades. The pride was outraged, but decided this would pass. Time passed, and the two females bore a single cub each. Twins, except for the fact they had different mothers."
There was sadness on her face then. "All was well, and then the sisters began to teach their daughters how to hunt and fight. In the dark of the night, the pride, with the blessing of the Prince's father, attacked. The sisters held their attackers off and forced the Prince to take the cubs and flee to their secret place, the place where they first met. The Prince managed to get away because he knew the lands outside the pride better than his pridemates did. Weeks passed, and the Prince realized his mates weren't coming. And something in him broke. He began to train his daughters to be not just warriors, but the instruments of his vengeance. His daughters would kill the pride who dared to take his loves away from him. Eventually, he died in the desert, claimed by the heat-visions." She sighed, shaking her head.
"His daughters went to end the pride, to do what their father had raised them to do...only to find a sandstorm had already done that for them. And until they found me, they were lost. They had no purpose. Living in the past can consume you, can make you blind to what you have in the present and if you don't account for the present, you can become lost when you find living in the past isn't feasible anymore."
Huo's ear flicked as he considered it, and frowned, shaking his head.
"But we lack the benefit of a sandstorm to deal with them." He noted. "And this is all I know how to do." He never tried focusing on others - he couldn't take the risk.
"That's why you need to learn how to do other things." She nudged him with a paw. "As I said, find other off-duty Guards. Observe, learn. Perhaps even talk about the water or the weather."
Huo blinked. "But I do not know them well." He half-protested, confused.
"And you won't know them well unless you try. Start small, Huo. Learn. Make a friend. You don't need many, trust me. Just," Mikā chuckled, "Make a couple of good ones. You'll be the stronger for it. Because a good friend is a good creature to watch where you cannot in a fight."
"...Oh.," Huo blinked. After a moment his ear flicked and he coughed. "I don't know how."
"Observe. It's like learning to fight. Observe, than practice. You'll fail occasionally, but in the end? You're the better for it." She nodded.
"Maybe..." Huo nodded, shrugging. "I can try?"
"Good. That's all one can do." Mikā nudged him, then smiled. "I need to be going now, but remember what we've talked about. You've got a lot of potential, Huo. And I want to see you succeed."
"Mmmm." Huo nodded, and re-settled, looking back out over the sand. He'd think on it. Liberally for him.
