[Backlog] You're not my dad! (Tendaji, Izin, Abrafo)

[moineau bavarde]

Moose:
Izinzhliziyo sighed dramatically, half his body hanging over the side of a log. He'd been out on a walk, but halfway he'd just given up. What was the point in trying to be a productive pride member when he couldn't even be a good brother? His ears were flipped back, and apathetically he laid his head to the side. Tendaji was...he was hurting, so why couldn't he make it better? What was he doing wrong?

Kit:
Tendaji was having an increasingly hard time summoning the energy to do anything. Abrafo wasn't his father. He wasn't a lion. Not even a half lion. He was a leopard, and that might be all right and good for his mother, but... man! He was never going to grow a mane or anything. And he'd been so sure he'd grow a big one, the biggest. He flicked a bug out of his way and flopped down on the ground. It was a nice day. But what was the point of doing anything?

Moose:
It was a fight. Had to be. And Abrafo wasn't sure who started it, but he was sure as hell going to finish it. With his duties set aside for the day, the hulking mass of lion set out to find his step-son's. Though he would never admit it, he became worried the moment both boys stopped sneaking out.

First, he saw Izin. With purposeful strides, he snatched the juve up in his maw, and not even bothering to stop, set out for the other one.

"AHHH! Kidnapper, thief, DEMON! Help, I'm bei- Oh, hi." Izin looked up at his dad sheepishly. Oh, right. What little light that sparked up at the sight of the lion died quickly. Where were they going, anyway? And was that...was that Tendaji?

Kit:
Dirt, dirt, dirt, grass. There was a stone digging into his side, but he didn't bother to do anything about it. Not even Izin's distant screams served to - Izin! Was Rynskald attacking him again? Izin was still his brother, he had to help him. No matter what. He got to his feet, but... dad! No. Abrafo. He watched warily while Abrafo approached. Did he know? Was he going to get rid of them now?

Moose:
Abrafo's cold eyes watched the little green juv as he dropped his brother unceremoniously beside him. Then he plopped his a** down with a click of his tongue. How to approach this...? Nia would have some tactful way of weaseling the information out of him, but he.... "What happened?"

Green eyes closed upon impact. Abrafo was maaaddddd and he knew that any minute now they were going to be a busting. But for what? Or were they....Oh no! Izinhliziyo rolled up onto his paws with a panicked expression that he didn't show anyone, for his face was turne to the dirt. Was Abrafo mad that he'd told Tendaji? And was Tendaji mad at him for telling?

Kit:
Tendaji winced. Abrafo was mad! Was it because they weren't supposed to know? Well, they did know! So there. But Izin... would Izin get in trouble if Abrafo knew he was the one who told?

"Nothing," he said sulkily.

Moose:
Izinhliziyo pushed at the dirt by his paws. He looked up at Tendaji out of the corner of his eye and looked away. “Ya, it’s nothing. We’re just fine, why?”

“Don’t lie to me, boys.” His natural instincts were to yell at them for having dared even think that they could get by with lying to him, but he was a parent now, damn it! 10, 9, 8, 7…. “If there’s something bothering you, I want to know,” he grinded out.

Kit:
Was it that obvious they were lying? He glanced back at Izin. How would Abrafo react if they told him? How would he react if they lied again, or didn't say anything? Maybe it would be best to tell the truth after all. Without getting Izin in trouble. Or maybe Izin had been wrong. Maybe maybe. "Am I a lion?" he blurted out.  

[Painted Moose]

Abrafo was shocked speechless. Hadn't Nia told them anything? At all? His lip twitched enlessly as he thought of the best way to go about this. Obviously Izin knew something was going down, because he buried his face that much further in the dirt.

The lion took a deep breath, look at his step-son levelly, and stated, "No. You are a leopard, the same as your mother and...your father."

"So it's true." Izinhliziyo looked up with his big round eyes full of tears. The little runt sniffled, hiccuped a bit and heaved a sigh.  

[moineau bavarde]

Tendaji was no fool, but there was still some part of him that had wished Abrafo would say, yes, you're a lion. And it wouldn't have mattered if it was a lie because he would have believed it, believed it because he wanted to believe it and it would mean all was right with the world.

"So you aren't our father." He said coldly. He didn't care if it got him in trouble. He didn't care about much of anything right then.

He wasn't a lion. He would never grow a mane. He would never be as big or strong as Abrafo. And neither would Izin or Kamau or any of the rest. Because Abrafo wasn't their father.  

[Painted Moose]

"Not in the sense you wanted, no." He retorted, holding his head up high. He should have smacked the whelp for talking to him like that, but that would have been counter-productive. "But like it or not, I am your father. Who was there when you took your first breath? Your first step? Your first pounce?"

"Just because we don't share the same blood, don't think for a damn second that you aren't my son."

Izinhliziyo snapped his head up and just stared at Abrafo. "But you never said that you loved us! Real parents love their children, I know it, I've seen it, and you don't!"

And thats all he wanted, really, was to know that he was loved. That it was alright to breath again.  

[moineau bavarde]

Tendaji looked away, trembling with emotion. Abrafo... dad... he'd been there. Always been there. He'd been watching. And his real... his father... unfather... the one whose blood ran through him, some green monstrosity, hadn't. He had no other father. Only Abrafo.

But Izin was right, too. Abrafo had never said he loved him. And, more than that... "I'm not a lion," he said, voice hoarse with tears.

It was a silly, pointless thing, but Tendaji had always wanted to grow big and strong, be just like Abrafo. Have a big mane, go on adventures. And that would never, ever happen.