[FIN] Life Beats (Gosset & Panya)

[mouselet]

The young wild dog was dancing in place, to a tune only she could hear. This was less than completely uncommon in her particular pride of course. However, she was, well, not having an easy time of it today. She'd had a weird dream last night, and it wasn't exactly helping.

The pup cursed under her breath as one leg went in a direction other than what she'd wanted and she ended up flat on her stomach with the breath knocked out of her.  

[Talencia]

Goss had settled in wonderfully since being adopted by his mama. He'd come to love his sisters, all three of them, even if they were a little girly sometimes. And Aunt Tari was always a sympathetic and loving ear to whisper into when things didn't go quite right. Everyone was so nice to him, most of the time... life was good!

Except for one small problem. Goss couldn't dance. No matter how hard he tried, he had zero sense of rhythm. He'd tried warbling along with the chants, but noone seemed to enjoy that either. He was feeling very discouraged lately, and worried that he'd fail on his drum quest when he was old enough. What kind of wild dog, raised with such talented siblings and mother and aunt and everyone... what kind of wild dog with that kind of family couldn't keep a beat?

He was mulling over this, ears flopped and paws scuffing the earth, when he caught sight of one his pretty sisters working hard on a dance. He gave a sad little smile and picked up his step to head her direction. Just then, her paw swung out the wrong way, and whomp, Panya was on the ground. Perhaps less kind souls would have giggled, but Goss winced, ears flattening back in consternation, and he hurried over. "You okay, sis?" he asked anxiously, trying to help her up and dust her off.  

[mouselet]

Panya made a face into the dirt as an oh-too-familiar voice suddenly voiced concern for her. Goss. Her one and only brother. He couldn't dance, couldn't sing, and was just...a boy. Not the young wild dog's preferred companion.

Sighing, she pulled her head up out of the dirt and looked over to the green pup.

"I'm fine, Goss. What are you doing here?" It was a valid question. She'd picked this area to dance simply because no one else was likely to be around for a while. Which explained perfectly what her brother was doing here. Siiiiiiiiigh.  

[Talencia]

"Oh." Her immediate assertion that she was fine very clearly deflated the worried hyena-who-thought-himself-a-wild-dog. He was getting used to that tone of voice from his sisters. It was the "leave me alone, I don't want you around," tone, and though he'd never admit it, that tone usually cut him to the quick. He tried not to take it too personally, but he already wasn't very good at fitting in, and when even his sisters didn't want him around, he felt very at odds with the world.

"I just... um..," he fumbled, wilting even further at her demand as to why he was here, in her space. He looked anywhere but her eyes, trying to hide the hurt. "I was just... wandering." He hung his head, tail tucked between his hind legs. "I'll go away...., ......, ......, if you want." Crushed and feeling very alone, he turned away slowly. He'd only thought to share in his sister's suffering. It wasn't as if he didn't know what it was like to misstep... he did it all the time! But he loved Panya so much, her word was law. Nose practically in the dirt, he shuffled in a random direction.  

[mouselet]

The girl bit her lip as she saw how her brother's shoulders slumped and he began to slink away. True, she didn't really want him around, but she hadn't meant to hurt him that much. It was just...hard.

And try as she might, she couldn't get Mom's voice out of her head. It was asking her if it was really so hard to spend time with her brother and did she have to be so rude to him? He was family, after all!

Sighing, Panya got back to her feet and paced quickly over to Goss, laying a paw on one shoulder. "Don't go, I didn't mean it that way." Well, she had, but a little white lie should be okay, right?  

[Talencia]

His ears came up slowly as he searched her face for reassurance. He wasn't entirely certain she hadn't meant it, but maybe that was just in the past? Maybe she was just grumpy from messing up her dance? That could happen to anyone, after all. Having talked himself into believing that she had changed her mind, his ears came the rest of the way up, and his tail untucked, though he still looked troubled. "I'm sorry you fell, Panya," he told her sincerely. "I only meant to help." One thing Goss always was... genuine. He was earnest in his every word and movement, even if it got a little annoying to his friends and sisters.

"Is there any way I can help?" he asked eagerly, ignoring the fact that his own dancing was so much worse than hers. He wasn't meaning to imply he could teach her anything, but maybe there was something he could do, some method he could employ that would at least help her get better, even if he himself was so completely hopeless. "Or... I guess I could find someone more useful, if you wanted," he added hastily, his ears drooping a little again as he realized he might not be of any use at all in her practicing.  

[mouselet]

Even if she wasn't completely sorry, Panya knew Goss was. That was simply the way he was, and she might appreciate him for it, might even love him for it. (Not that she'd ever admit such a thing out loud. He was her brother, after all!) That was all well and good, but the problem was his offer of help.

Normally when someone offered help, the black female would accept it. However...Goss was...already somewhat notorious. In a pride that focused on dancing and music, his lack of rhythm and inability to carry a tune meant that he was well known...and not in a good way. It was hard enough to not discourage him for all the normal reasons a boy might be discouraged. But to keep him happy and not bring up his utter and complete failure? That was hard.

How could she do this?

"I think," Panya began aloud, "that the problem is that this ground is not as flat as it could be. And there's lots of little rocks and stuff on it. Maybe if you help me fix it up I won't fall again?" Something productive, useful, and having nothing to do with rhythm or music! It should work. She hoped.  

[Talencia]

Goss was oblivious to the great effort Panya was putting out in order to not hurt his feelings. Unfortunately he was not the most observant or sensitive canine, though in this case it was probably for the best. In fact, it probably was for the best most of the time, though he'd never be aware of this fact.

As she spoke slowly, his ears moved steadily upward. After she was done with her suggestion, his expression was bright and eager once more. "Oh yes, I can do that!" He scuttled back over to where she had been and began to examine the ground. He was pretty sure it hadn't been a stone that had caused the problem, but if she thought having the ground smoother would help, he was there! He looked back up at her, ready to do her bidding. "How big of an area did you want?"  

[mouselet]

"Uhh..." That was a good question. If she made it too big, they'd both be here all day and all night until Mom came looking and then she'd be in big trouble! Better stick to something reasonable. But, something that would take long enough so that she wouldn't be practicing in front of Goss because something else would have to be done then.

"Maybe...from here out, three lion lengths?" the wild dog suggested, pointing to a spot on the ground for their center point. That would be PLENTY of space to work with in dancing, and should take them a decent amount of time to clear completely. It wouldn't be the formal dancing ground, but it would be a good practice space!  

[Talencia]

"You got it, sis!" He bounced to give her a nuzzle and a rough, boyish lick. Life was good again, even if he couldn't carry a tune in a seashell. Hmm... the sea. It would be neat to go see the ocean someday! As he set to work chucking rocks out of the way, tugging tufts of grass out, and breaking up dirt clods, he let his mind fly in flights of fancy. He rattled on to his presently-tolerant sister about his wistful thoughts, not seeing or understanding various gestures of exasperation or impatience. He simply kept up a steady stream of dreamy talk while they both worked. Oh, they might not have worked side by side (gee, it was funny how she always ended up on the opposite end from him!), but they worked together, as family should!

They finished not long before mealtime, which suited Goss wonderfully. His paws were tired and dirty, and he felt as if he didn't want to see another blade of grass or pebble ever again! Still, being young, he of course had more energy than he thought. "Race you to the lake!" he suddenly called to his sister as they raced off to wash their dirty paws. Mother would have their hides if they came to eat with filthy paws! With a laugh, he shot ahead of her, his oddly shaped body surprisingly good at running, even if it wasn't any good at dancing.