Characters: Umepatwa, Kimondo
Word Count: 1267
A couple nights had passed since the surprise confrontation between Umepatwa and Liuhe. Though he doubted the prince cared much, Ume was still cranky about it when he had time alone with his thoughts. Luckily, he was easily distracted and kept himself busy with hunting.
And that was where Kimondo knew she would find him. Her own hunting party was done early in the night and she went off to watch for the other to return. She wasted no time finding Umepatwa, keen to break the silence and make sure he was ok. She knew the complicated story about Umepatwa and Ndogo, but she had never known it to be such a sore spot for either of them. She was still too young to fully appreciate what happened, perhaps.
"Ume!" she called, smiling and running up to her cousin, "Did you have a good hunt?"
Ume wasn't particularly unhappy to see Kimondo, but he wasn't excited either. If anything, he was good and tired. But he put on a smile for her.
"It went well enough," he said, "We have food, that's what matters."
Kimondo smiled and nodded.
"I wanted to make sure you were alright after the other night," she said, wasting no time dancing around the subject, "I hope you're not mad at gramps."
Umepatwa grimaced, not pleased to be forced to discuss it and certainly not surrounded by acquaintances. So he stayed quiet until they were comfortably distant from the hubbub of the returning hunters.
"I'm not mad," he said, "I'm not happy he didn't let me answer, but what's done is done."
"You weren't answering," Kimondo pointed out gently, and glanced over with a soft smile, "It was better to be honest, you know. It doesn't help to lie about who you are, that would only draw more attention when the prince figured it out."
Storming away probably got his attention, too, but that didn't seem like a good thing to bring up. Defending grandpa was the goal, not scolding Umepatwa.
"That doesn't mean I shouldn't have been the one to say something," he argued stubbornly, "Isn't it just as bad that I wasn't the one who got to say anything?"
"No," she said, "I don't think so."
Still frowning, Ume stopped walking and looked at Kimondo carefully. He hadn't given much thought to the fact she knew the prince after the way the meeting ended, but now that she was back.. he started wondering about it again.
"So, are you friends with him or something?" he asked grimly, "My nosy little brother?"
Kimondo's smiled turned when asked the one question she had been asking herself a lot. As much as she believed that keeping Umepatwa's identity a secret from Liuhe when they were face to face was a bad idea, she wasn't so sure about keeping her friendship a secret. She was a positive little lady but she wasn't stupid.
"I suppose we are friends," she said honestly, though reluctantly.
"Do you suppose that's wise?" he shot back, disapproval written all over his face, "Befriending the enemy?"
"Liuhe is the enemy now?" she asked, now with a look of disapproval to match his.
"He may as well be, he's the prince," Ume said, "You do know what's going to happen, right?"
Kimondo stared, then glanced around them warily before forcing them to continue walking. When she answered, her voice was hushed and harsh.
"You think I'm being reckless?"
"Yes," he said, moving along and ignoring the implication that he was just asking to be caught, saying things like that so openly, "You should pick your friends more carefully."
"I didn't pick him!" she exclaimed, "I barely know him, truthfully. We just keep running into each other, but I don't think he's as dangerous as you think. He's a harmless idiot."
"You really think that? And yet you barely know him," Ume replied, sounding skeptical, "Are you sure he's not dangerous? Your mother has kept to the shadows so far, but she's associated with my mother. The rebels haven't acted yet, but do you know the King hasn't taken steps to investigate? That the prince isn't part of it?"
Kimondo stopped in her tracks and stared at Umepatwa incredulously. It was a huge leap to make based on only Liuhe's lineage, and the dark fool before her shared half of it. He was being paranoid, she was sure of it. But.. was she being naive?
"Umepatwa," she said, but she didn't know how to respond to his accusations.
"You didn't think about that, did you?" he asked, his voice a mix of triumph and relief, "You're not a cub anymore, you have to be smarter."
"Shangyue is the enemy, not Liuhe," Kimondo said finally, "I may not know him well, but I know him better than you. I don't think he's up to anything, he's just looking for ways to fill his time."
Now that it was on her mind, it occurred to her that being the prince's accidental friend gave her the unique opportunity to keep an eye out for him getting up to something.. but she didn't want to give Umepatwa the satisfaction of knowing he'd gotten to her. And yet, it made her feel guilty.
"You're not in charge of me, or the rebels," she added sharply, trying to convince herself more than him, "So stop acting like it."
Umepatwa glared, not noticing this was a sign that he'd struck a nerve, that she was taking him seriously. All he heard was unjustified opposition.
"Fine," he said, "So, you don't think your mother would mind that you're new best friend is the son of the usurper? Why don't we find out?"
"You are a son of the usurper!" she argued.
There was no way now that they hadn't been overheard but neither of them seemed to care now. Each was too invested in their side of the argument to have anything else on their mind. Umepatwa growled, glaring daggers at his younger cousin for throwing that in his face. It was a fact, but not one to be held against him. That wasn't fair!
"I wasn't raised by the tyrant," he hissed.
"And he wasn't raised by monsters!" Kimondo snapped back, "Do you not pay any attention to the stories of your grandparents? If they can raise a lion like Shangyue, don't you think it's possible that Shangyue is not raising another violent psychopath?"
"Hardly," Ume scoffed, refusing to really hear what she was saying and still glaring, "The king may be an exception, but it's far more likely you end up exactly like the ones who raise you. And your friend has some terrible role models."
"You're not wrong about that, but I do think you're wrong about him," Kimondo said stubbornly, "But I'm done arguing with you."
Her whole purpose had been to make sure he was OK, she hadn't intended to start such a fight.. but maybe she shouldn't have been surprised. Of course he would try to divert focus away from himself and his issues to the imagined slight of Kimondo accidentally befriending the prince. She was more sure than ever that Liuhe was a lazy, careless, and spoiled prince .. who was absolutely no threat to the rebels. Or the king- which, as she stormed away, she realized was probably how the king wanted it. If Liuhe was going to be a threat to anybody, it wasn't them, it was his own father.
Umepatwa watched her go, growling to himself for a moment before turning and stomping off in the opposite direction, his mind reeling.
Fin!
