[FIN] Stuck (Ayaka x Nketa)

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NKETA

The young lioness paced agitatedly. It had been many days since she'd last seen any members of her immediate family - most notably her mother. It was Kamia who was most likely to visit. Sometimes her brothers came too, more rarely on their own, but none of them had been by in a while.

And none of them were the one person Nketa wanted to see most.

That honor was reserved for Antara, her twin and other half, who was pretending to be Nketa as far as the pride knew. Except that she wasn't calling herself Nketa. Okay, so Antara was pretending to be the elder twin. Except only their brothers and mother knew that there were twins at all.

Whatever. It was a stupid plan, since it meant Nketa and Antara hadn't seen each other since they were babies.  

[magnadearel]

A young adult purple lioness trotted back to her family's hideaway after a successful hunt. Her mother would be proud of her, she thought, as she tilted her head to watch the rabbits swing under her jaws. She had to go even further away from the pride than they already were to ensure safe hunting. It was tedious and slightly annoying at times, but it was her parent's firm rules. No hunting close to the pride were you might be seen. On the other paw it made for a long trip back. Particularly when they'd caught big game.

She looked up as she noticed movement. Ayaka grinned as she trotted over to the younger lioness and dropped her bundle to talk. "Hey Nketa! What's got your tail in a knot today?" She could tell she was tense about something, and tried to make her relax. "The rabbits are out in abundance today. I'm sure we could catch quite a few for dinner tonight if you wanted to help." They could even possibly bring something larger down like a gazelle and with the two of them could drag it home easy.
 

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Nketa was in no mood for her cousin's overwhelmingly positive attitude. The adolescent would much rather be alone with her dark thoughts if she couldn't be with her sister.

"Go away, Ayaka," she answered quietly, an edge to her voice.

She did unerstand the importance of the hunt, and feeding the small group of lions hiding out here, but today the younger female was in no mood to help with the onging chore. It wasn't that she thought herself above something as vital as hunting - she certainly wasn't - it was simply that, like any adolescent, she was having a day where she had absolutely no desire to interact with any other creature. She wanted to wallow in her anger, her angst, and her self-pity.  

[magnadearel]

Ayaka could be ornery when she wanted to, and today seemed like one of those days. "No," she replied firmly. First of all, this was her family's home. Never mind it seemed like they changed hideouts every couple of days. True her parents were hiding the heir, but that didn't mean she was going to listen. She watched the other lioness a moment as one could almost hear the gears turning.

"Standing out here in the open and acting like a huffy, spoiled brat is bound to bring someone nosing in asking what's wrong. You're lucky it wasn't my mother who found you." She waved her tail and gaped a grin. "Why don't you come with me and tell me what's wrong. Hunt or don't, I don't care." She picked up the rabbits to deposit them where they wouldn't attract much attention. The female had hoped to incest her cousin by calling her a brat that she'd come along. Maybe she could work out her anger on a few rabbits.  

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"Tell you what's wrong?" Nketa asked scornfully, turning to face the other lioness. "Really, Ayaka, do you think this is something that can be fixed by a few words and a pat on the head?" That was how they'd been placating her all her life, saying that this was for the good of the pride, to keep her out of her father's claws, that everything would turn out okay in the end.

"It's the same thing that's always been wrong," the younger female continued. "I'm stuck out here, away from my siblings and my mother, being "saved" for some stupid "destiny" that probably doesn't even matter!" By this time Nketa was yelling at her cousin in exapseration.  

[magnadearel]

Rabbits stored she turned back to her cousin. She wanted to laugh as the scorn made her more ornery; instead she chose another tactic. "No Nketa, or I would have just given you some words, a pat on the head like a good kid and left." Ayaka let her voice drip with contempt. Too bad she thought her cousin might have given her more credit than that. "I was giving you the chance to talk to family who might understand."

She gave her head and neck a shake as the young lioness started yelling, waiting patiently. "It matters to my father and mother or you wouldn't be out here and we wouldn't be here either." Her ears flicked back. "You have your own paws you know. If being with your family is all you really care about, and I guess my parents, me and my siblings obviously don't count as family, then maybe you should run along back to the pride. Father's told you where it is by telling you where not to go often enough." She turned to head back out.

"Of course if you do, then you'll have to tell the king where all our dens are," she said darkly with doom. "And what about your sister? The one who's pretending to be you. Do you think he'll have any use for her once he has you?" Ayaka cast a glance back at her cousin. "As I see it you have three choices. You can come hunting with me, stay here and continue to fume like a kid, or run home to your mama. Since she left you out here though, I'd think that'd show quite a bit of disrespect to her." With that last barbed comment she started to walk off at an easy walking pace. Either Nketa would follow or not. What she didn't say was that if Nketa went missing she'd tell her father to move the family immediately further out. She wasn't going to risk the lives of her family even if Nketa would.  

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She didn't want to admit that anything Ayaka said might make even the tiniest bit of sense. Not at all.

But she was an adolescent now. It had made sense as a cub, that she had to stay with her cousins, because it was unlikely a cub could survive alone in the world. Now, as an adolescent, that was less of an issue. So why didn't she just go? She could go to the pride, convince Antara to run away with her...

Or could she? It had been so long since she'd seen her twin. Oh sure, she loved the lioness, and longed for their reunion, but she didn't know much about the person Antara had been growing into, aside from what she could learn from her mother and brothers. Which was incomplete. And slanted. And didn't realy give her any idea at all.

That was a secret fear of hers. That when the twins met again, they wouldn't like each other at all.

She didn't want to face the realities that Ayaka was outlining for her. So she stood, fuming still, as her cousin walked away. There wasn't really anything she could say...nor that she really wanted to. After all, no matter what she did say, Nketa would just sound like a petulant kid in comparison.

Great Lion, but her life sucked.  

[magnadearel]

"Oh I suppose I should mention also, that your twin is putting herself in grave danger for you so you can remain free." Akaya added back over her shoulder as an after thought. She paused and waited a few minutes. "I'm waiting!" Ayaka called cheerfully in the hopes that Nketa would change her mind soon. She knew her father would be torn if the young lioness ran off to the pride. Protect his family, or put them in terrible risk to stay and continue the work he'd started. They were already in some danger since the raid that had taken Antara from them. Shangyue had to know they were still out here and it was only a matter of time before he took action. She hoped her father and mother did all they could to protect themselves.  

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Nketa ground her teeth as Ayaka added the extra sting about Antara and her own danger. Fine. So she wasn't going to leave...yet. But the longer she had to stay out here, isolated and "protected", the less the young lioness cared about any of it.

She obediently began to trudge after her cousin, but her mind wass still mutinous and angry.

There were days, like this one, that she wished her father had been anyone else. Or maybe her mother, because if her mother was anyone else, she probably would've just been born in the pride.

Life really, really really sucked.  

[magnadearel]

Ayaka breathed a tiny sigh as she heard the footsteps that indicated she was being followed. She knew Nketa wasn't happy with her or her situation, but she hoped she could give the young lioness a family shoulder to lean upon. Sooner or later this had to end. The lioness only hoped it ended well for her family.