[FIN] Sand Castles (Zeitun & Asmar)

[mouselet]

Tensions were rising among the adults of the pride, but what did a cub care about that? Asmar was playing outside near Akram'raja's den, moving the sand around with a careful paw. She was trying to make a complex building, with multiple openings and all hollowed out.

But the sand was just too dry. It refused to do anything other than pile up in miniature dunes. She could move it from side to side, but the up and down was much harder.

Asmar hissed at the uncooperative sand and decided she was going to dig a hole instead. A nice big hole that she could hide in. Yeah, that would be good!  

[wooga Paes]

Zeitun had been lying around nearby for some time now, but hadn't really been paying much attention to his sister's antics. He had actually just been relaxing a bit, occasionally glancing over to see what she was doing. He was overall uninterested...

Until she hissed, then he blinked his eyes open and frowned. What was she doing, anyways? Deciding that, thanks to the fact that she was a girl, she probably needed help, Zeitun stood up and walked over to play his role as a brother. "Asmar! What're you doing?" He tilted his head, not totally comprehending what she had been meaning to do with the sand anyways.  

[mouselet]

Wasn't that just like a boy. Only around when you were trying to do something and then he had to interrupt you and talk to you. But she couldn't say that. She was a Banu and he was a Pesar and one day he'd be a Pad like Daddy. And Banu didn't say anything mean to Pads. That was something Mommy wanted all her daughters to be sure of.

So instead of telling him to go away or even retorting with a "what's it look like, dummy?", she was a bit more polite.

"I'm digging a hole." Duh. It was pretty obvious.  

[wooga Paes]

That was a stupid thing to be doing. And Zeitun might have said that! But, instead, he just sat down next to her, and peered at her progress with the hole. She didn't seem to be digging it very fast, maybe the sand was too fine, and kept falling back in. "You should find some water." He suggested, curling his tail around his paws. "If you get the sand wet, it'll fall in less."

The sand near the lake, for example, was always easier to mess with and doodle in. And dig, unless you dug too close to the water, in which case it sucked because the water would eventually come and mess everything up.  

[mouselet]

Zeitun didn't seem to understand. Mommy had explained it pretty well. Water was important. They couldn't just use it for play. Or maybe only boys were allowed to play with it. That didn't seem fair, but that's how things were for boys and girls. She might not like it, but Mommy said that they had to obey the rules whether they liked them or not.

"I'm digging here," she said instead. It wasn't like she could move her hole after all - she'd have to redo everything she'd already gotten done!  

[wooga Paes]

He frowned, that seemed like a silly reason. "It's a hole, you can dig it anywhere." Besides, holes weren't even that great. and what if she dug a hole right outside of the den, then didn't fill it up right, and then someone tripped and got hurt because of her? If asked, he would probably tell! Even if Zeitun didn't like playing the bad guy. "Dry sand just isn't a good place, that's all." He was just trying to be helpful.

It wouldn't even be a waste of water, because if she moved, she'd just be digging on sand that was next to water, already wet anyways.  

[mouselet]

Asmar made a face. Why was he so insistent? It wasn't his hole, after all, it was hers. She could dig it wherever she wanted as long as Mommy and Daddy didn't object. Zeitun might be a boy, but he wasn't a grownup!

"I'm digging here," she repeated stubbornly. She might've moved on her own towards the water, but now that her brother was pushing her to do it, there was no way she was moving! She was going to stay right here.  

[wooga Paes]

"Fine, whatever." He rolled his eyes and laid down, glancing disdainfully down at her stupid hole. Asmar seemed pretty dumb, at least today. What kind of pad would want such a dumb Banu? Couldn't even decide a decent place to dig a hole. At this rater, no one would want her very much and she could end up a Kajira. That made Zeitun frown, because she was still his sister. He didn't want her to be a Kajira. He wanted her to be a happy Banu, or even someone's Beybanu. She would never get that if she was so... uncute.

"What are you going to do with your hole, anyways? Fill it with stuff?" He asked, just trying to maintain a conversation, in hope of assuring himself his sister wasn't a lost cause, because digging a hole for no reason, and being so curt and boring, kind of made her look like one.  

[mouselet]

The cub eyed her brother as he settled down nearby, watching her. Why did he have to watch her? Couldn't she just dig a hole where she wanted to without anyone trying to make her do something different? It really wasn't fair.

"I'm going to dig it. Until I don't want to dig anymore," she told Zeitun. And that, as far as she was concerned, was that. Maybe it would make him go away.  

[wooga Paes]

Yep, definitely a lost cause. Maybe Zeitun was looking at this all wrong, maybe he should admire his sister for just doing something just because she felt like it... But, really. She was digging a hole. Just because of digging a hole. And she didn't even have the brains to find a good spot to dig the hole. At this point she had gotten deep enough that the sand was less loose, but some still fell in.

"Just make sure you cover it up. Or else if anyone trips and gets hurt, it'll be your fault." Right now she didn't look like she had a very bright future, and it would hardly be ideal if she made it even worse by causing some silly accident.

Maybe she'd be in a better mood later. Maybe she was just cranky and hadn't eaten right. Perhaps later he could actually get her to be fun, or something. Zeitun liked playing with his siblings. He did wish he had more brothers, but...  

[mouselet]

"Don't worry," she retorted somewhat crossly. Hmph. As if she was going to hurt anyone by digging a hole. Honeslty, brothers were so foolish sometimes. Good thing she had mostly sisters!

Asmar kept digging, starting to hum to herself as the hole began to take what she considered a proper shape.  

[wooga Paes]

He scowled at her tone, wrinkling his nose. Yes, Asmar was definitely in a bad mood. He wondered what had set her off in the first place. But Zeitun decided that the best way to get back at her for being so silly was just being nice, himself. Be the bigger person. Maybe she couldn't do that because she was a girl, and, in the end, he supposed that wasn't even her fault. "Your hole is cool." He said, and offered her a somewhat sincere smile.

"I'm gonna go explore a bit." Because now he was no longer in the mood to relax. "Take care, Asmar." He passed by her, and briefly considering giving her a friendly headbutt, but ultimately decided against it, and instead just kept on going.