Kosuke: The sun was high, marking the noontime hour. Very little moved out in the desert, away from the shade of the cliffs. Kosuke shifted just a bit, trying to stretch one of his limbs. A part of him had to question if he was insane, trying to mimic Shula's dancing. He let out a frustrated growl, toes on his out-stretched leg splaying out. About all he'd accomplished in the past hour had been to pop his back in twelve places, his right elbow four times, and his neck another eight. He'd managed to keep count of it all.
Gaddith: Gaddith trudged with his ears laid flat against his growing mane. Just when he'd been adjusting to his routene life of hard training and tough love from his father- everything literally flipped around and started once again in reverse.
Sinbad wasn't himself. He was...caring. Crying, sometimes whimpering about how crueld he'd been, how terrible of a person he was, on and on... Not only that- but now the larger lion was having second thoughts on his choice in naming him what he did...
Despite his coloration, he was a Huria. It wouldn't be long before he, along with his youngest sister, would have to make a journey away from their home. He figured he might as well get a good look at it before the day came.
He expected to find endless sand and sun- he didn't expect to see one of his relations stretching himself out.
Kosuke: Kosuke let out a curse, falling over in the sand. She made it look so EASY! The lion picked himself up off the ground, shaking himself out. He'd just have to try again. Sand flew everywhere, the grains getting lost in the sea of more sand under his paws. As he scanned the area, his gaze soon landed upon a small dark figure. "What's the matter with you, Emo Boy?" Gaddith usually looked a lot more... Determined than this.
Gaddith: Gaddith's expression instantly shifted from a troubled, almost confused grimmace to a bemused smirk as he watchd Kosuke tumble down into the sand.
He stepped up, his lopsided smirk dropping at the nickname. He rolled his eyes and grunted. "...have you seen how dad's been acting?"
Kosuke: "Of course I have... But I figured that was because of me." Flicking sand off his shoulder with a paw, Kosuke turned an ear towards Gaddith. "How's it look for the grandson of a prince to chase an impure daughter of a former Pridelander?" He tilted his head, watching his half-brother. "Your mother can claim some form of Firekin blood back in the line... Beyond that flip-flop sided old bone bag, Shula can't. Unless you have another theory?"
Gaddith: "I don't think it's because of you... he's not been cuddling you like a limp cub and drooling on you at night." He made a face and ran a paw along the bottom of his chin. He'd worked for hours to clean himself up!
"He's met another girl... he found her out in the desert. She's real nice, but...well she said he tried attacking a god." He lifted an eyebrow. "Though... I'm starting to wonder, seeing you out here flopping around like that."
Kosuke: The older lion's face turned sour. "Wow, Dad's turned into a female Pridelander... Makadari's probably rolling in his grave in shame..." He paused in thought. "I wonder how Grandpa'd react to knowing his son's such a weakling..."
His attention sharpened. "Another girl? Attacked a GOD...?" And here their cousin didn't seem to BELIEVE in gods... The girl he could believe... "Why would he attack a god? And what god...?"
Gaddith: "I don't know..." He shook his head, brow creasing. "She said he was blue, and it made dad all kinds of angry. I bet he was just trying to show off... so he attacked it and...well when he came home he was late. And he was all messed up in the head."
He grunted, "Now he's regretting my name. He says we should just change it but..."
Kosuke: Kosuke sat down, puzzling over it. "A blue god... And she's sure it wasn't just a crazy blue lion... Or an ill lion..." If there was one thing he'd heard of from Savitri, it was a sickness that lions could get from each other's blood and saliva.. It drove them mad, eventually killing them as they frothed at the mouth. She'd been wise to avoid such lions... "And why not just change it?"
Gaddith: "I don't think a blue lion would be able to take down dad...he's dumb but he's not something I'd want to mess with..." He shrugged. "I don't know. Either way, he's wrong in the head... so... I'd be careful around him. He's gotten all...sobby and clingy."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I could, but one of my littermates is being kicked out. She was born with the wrong colors... it wouldn't be fair to make her go alone."
Kosuke: A sour expression passed over the lion's face. "You can take a few of your nieces and nephews with you, then... A pink Firekin... And the browns and golds!" It disgusted him to look at them. "Then again... The browns and golds are better than the PINK..." He shook his head, ears back. "I think I'll give our father a wide berth... I'd rather not catch whatever sickness he has that has him sobbing like a baby cheetah."
Gaddith: "You're too critical." The cub rolled his ears back and dropped into his shoulders. "It's not their fault they were born that color, it's their parent's... they should be the ones that are punished. Half of them are more firekin than some of the nancies I see running around here."
Kosuke: "This is true... But first we find the ROOT to the problem... Hm... Matope's mother is the offspring of a Firekin and a Pridelander... There's that brown! I'm not sure about the pink and gold in the other litter, though... Both sides are pure as far as I know... Somebody probably had a gold mane or something..." He scratched at an itch, trying to rid his side of a spot of sand fleas. "Pink was random..." He made a face. "Gaddith, be careful who you breed with... You don't want a... Bright blue and purple cub."
Gaddith: The cub's nose wrinkled. "I could think of more problems with the pride... like females pretending that they're males and cousins mating." He stuck his tongue out. The thought of mating at all disgusted him. Girls were weird... they were always so fussy, so needy. Then there was the actual act of mating. Gross.
He shuddered. "I won't have to worry about that. I don't know if we'll be allowed to visit. I'll try though."
Kosuke: "I can't see why you wouldn't be allowed to VISIT... Just don't go too far past the border. A couple steps..." How else could all those rogues get to the pride? Visit first, establish your connections and place... He stopped, ears going back. "Wait, COUSINS?" His face took on a horrid expression. "I don't think I'd ever want to breed with Serafina or Amalahle.. Or even Runya." Even if it was a bit of a way's relation, that was TOO close a relation.
Gaddith: "You see a lot when people think you're invisible." He cleared his throat and stood himself up. "... look uh... I won't tell dad you were out here rolling around if you help me spar a bit? I dunno what all's out there and I'd like to live long enough to see if visiting's allowed."
Kosuke: If he was any other color that it could show up, his blush would show up. "I wasn't rolling around..." He looked away, ears back. "I was... Trying... To dance..." He felt ashamed to admit that he was attempting to teach himself to dance, but if it meant he could keep up with Shula... He glanced over, frowning. "Did you want to try, too?"
Gaddith: Gaddith's mouth fell open. Slowly, the expression melted into a lopsided smile. "...I think I have an idea how. I have been left babysitting a bunch of girls afterall..."
Kosuke: "And what do you suggest? Shula told me to stretch, I've been stretching. I've been keeping count how many times I've popped in what place... I've popped everywhere but my jaw and my left front little toe." As if to prove his point, he lifted his paw and wiggled the toe in question. As if to mock him, it popped. He stared a moment, cleared his throat, then said, "Okay, I've popped everything but my jaw."
Gaddith: "I don't think popping's supposed to happen." He lifted one of his paws and flexed all of his toes, one at a time. Nope. No popping.
"I think you just...move. As lightly and loosely as you can. Stretching shouldn't hurt you know."
Kosuke: "Actually, it hasn't hurt... My back's never felt better after popping twelve--" He stretched, his back letting out a loud series of pops. "Sixteen times." Kosuke shifted and moved, mimicing Shula's usual movements. "I know she does this... I've seen her do it a lot. She was dancing like this when we met..." That felt so long ago... It was certainly a good while, since his cubs were growing. Sixteen cubs... And how they were a pawful to keep track of! His thoughts paused there. Where had that little golden cub vanished to, anyway...?
Gaddith: Gaddith bit his lower lip and cleared his throat to contain a chuckle. "Or maybe you're just getting old... I hear old lions pop a lot to..."
He lifted a paw, fully expecting a bonk to the top of his head.
Kosuke: Glaring, Kosuke moved to pin the juvenile. "I am not old, not yet. And you'd do well to not insult an ADULT lion. I don't see our father around to protect your scrawny little butt from me!" He then smirked, eyes narrow. "Besides... Always remember... I'm far purer than you and your litter mates will EVER be."
Gaddith: Gaddith made a squeaking sound as he was effectively pinned to the ground. Growling, he began squirming about, trying to flip his much more flexible body about to nibble on his older half-sibling's paw.
Pure! It was over-rated. He was just as much a firekin as any of them- and he'd prove it!
Kosuke: Giving the juvenile a bored look, Kosuke moved to let him up. "But then, what's blood but something we spill? For what? A Goddess Kidondo abandoned? For our false king? For... Sibblings? Our children?" He started to pace a bit, starting to get lost in thought. After a moment, he stopped, looking over at Gaddith. "You ARE descended from the last great king of the Firekin... Closer to him in the bloodline than any of my children..." An idea, a momentary glimpse of a future that could be...
Gaddith: Gaddith pushed himself to a stand and shook himself out. The sand continued to cling to his belly and part of his side. Grunting, he turned to begin licking himself clean again.
"Feh.. If I'm going to shed blood, it'll be for an ideal... lions get old and die, but... ideals will carry on through generations." He cleared his throat, "But... some good that lineage is doing, right? Heh..."
Kosuke: "I dunno, it might still do some good..." Kosuke went over, nudging his brother. "Tell me, what would you say... To a place... Where all the Huria can go, safe and sound, and still be able to visit their family...?" Perhaps all the little freaks would be of SOME use. The question was, how many would take to the idea?
Gaddith: "... I dunno... I have a feeling that wouldn't go over well with the pride here. It would give them an excuse to sharpen their claws if you ask me." He shuddered. Sometimes when his father had spoken of breaking their claws on the pelts of the unworthy, it had send the lion into a bloody, blissfull daze.
"It sounds nice as an idea but... I dunno how long it would work out."
Kosuke: The red lion shrugged, turning to leave. "Well, it was an idea, anyway..." Maybe he'd save it for later. Just put it into the minds of others at a time and date when it would be okay to mention... "All that dancing's got me tired..." He made a bit of a face, stretching as he walked. "Don't die of worry."
Gaddith: Gaddith rolled his eyes again. A lion so concerned with looking like the fire lords of old, impure and pure blood....was also afraid that he might not know how to dance well. It seemed silly. Very silly. Firekin did not dance- but as the older lion had warned, it was best not to insult someone as old and large as he.
"I'm not worried. Just... anxious."
Kosuke: "Whatever. Just don't die of it." Kosuke gave a snort, then headed for his den. He still had practicing to do, but he'd do it later. At night. When there was less chance of being caught. Firekin didn't dance... Normally. But boy did he ever want Shula, and dancing was part of it. He wondered to himself for a moment just why he was trying to kill himself for a girl.
Gaddith: "...right." He flicked his tail and turned back out towards the endless sands. Perhaps he really didn't need to worry so much. If it was just him venturing out, he wouldn't be so on edge...but his sister was hardly prepared to leave her home.
"At least I'm not dancing." He muttered as he gathered himself up and trudged back towards the cliffs. Might as well get some training in before sunset.
