Lóng Fengwei both hated and adored his aunt. She was meaner to him than others, but was also usually a little fun to be around. Against his better judgement he rather liked seeing wherever her adventures took them. He was to one day be the Emperor, and as such had to behave very 'properly' all the time, as well as spend plenty of time learning about their pride history, and all kinds of other things. He liked his lessons pretty well, but the heir was still a young boy and wanted to have fun.
Fortunately, his upbringing would be somewhat different than that of his mother, Ting Lan. Not that it was something he really knew, but Ting Lan had decided, most likely thanks to influence from her mate, that he and his siblings would enjoy a more fun, not-only-business childhood.
Still, when he came to her that day, she didn't seem pleased. "Must you? Wouldn't you rather play with Bai Lan Laohu's children?" She asked. His mother had been well-trained, her expression was unreadable. Or it should be; but Lón Fengwei was her son and knew what this look meant very well. His mother did not approve. He was well aware that his mother was not fond of Zhu Yan, even though they were sisters, and would much rather he not spend too much time with her. 'She's unruly, and will get you in trouble.' She had told him, once. Or a hundred times. But, fortunately, his mother was dedicated enough to the idea that he should have fun, and as long as it wasn't too often, she would let him go.
"We're only going to explore nearby. You don't even have to send Jian to watch us." Lóng Fengwei explained, ignoring her mention of the Royal Guard's cubs. Not because he didn't like them, but right now he was set on exploring with his aunt. "And I haven't played with Zhu Yan in a while." He said. He wondered if he would have to play the family card, that she was his aunt and he should have a good relationship with her, or maybe he could teach her some manners. He had suggested that last one before, though, and his mother had only said he'd have as much luck changing Zhu Yan as he would flying.
Perhaps his mother was feeling a little good today, or simply wanted to get it over with. She nodded. "Very well then. Don't be out too long; remember that tonight your grandfather will teach you some fighting skills." He actually looked forward to that. His grandfather was a pretty impressive fellow, and Lóng Fengwei hoped to someday be strong and powerful like him. Right now he still failed to see any signs of aging on Wei Gang, even though to many they might seem obvious.
"Thank you, mother." He smiled, pleased with his accomplishment, but knowing better than to be impolite. He took a few steps over to nuzzle her briefly before scampering off. "I won't forget."
He met Zhu Yan... not where he had left her, naturally. He always told her to wait, but she always hurried off after something. Often rodents. He had yet to see her catch one. But he remembered too late, after a few minutes of searching, that she wasn't always after mice when she vanished. Sometimes she was just planning an ambush, which was how he found himself on the ground. "You insolent–!" He gasped, immediately drawing from his mother's vocabulary for insults and complaints.
Zhu Yan laughed. "Insolent? What kind of kid talks like that?" She wrinkled her nose. "Honestly, Fengwei, you're so stupid." He hated it when she called him that, so he made a rather unattractive face back up at here. At least to Zhu Yan he could be as rude as he liked.
"You're so stupid!" He parroted uselessly, and struggled beneath her. "Get off! Or I'll call my father." He threatened, bravely. Zhu Yan quirked her brows.
"I'm not scared of your father." She said, but nonetheless released him.
He sat up and shook out his fur to get any dirt off it. "And yet, you let me go." A small provocation that, if Zhu Yan didn't seem intent on changing the subject, might have earned him a thwack. He was a little disappointed when he didn't.
"I got off because I wanted to. We'll have plenty of time for that later." Her tone was final, and she sounded rather like a spoiled little girl. Not that she wasn't one. "Come on, I found this really cool cave!" Lóng Fengwei was immediately interested, even though, of course, he had already spent plenty of time in caves. It was a matter of context, really. That was why he eagerly ran along to follow his aunt when she hurried off.
Zhu Yan was a month older than he was, which wouldn't mean too much in the long run. But right now it meant her legs were a bit longer, so she ran faster. He hated racing her, but this wasn't a race, so he didn't mind. He felt much more troubled when she led him a bit further than he had imagined going, and closer to some of the more sketchy, rocky. His mother hated it when he played here, usually it was Zhu Yan who dragged him this way. Lóng Fengwei didn't complain; it wasn't really as dangerous as the land got, with few truly high drops. It had plenty of little nooks and crannies and paths to climb and explore, and sometimes pretty amazing sights.
The path to the 'cave' was simple enough, apparently. Pretty straightforward, but they'd have to do a little climbing and obstacle dodging. Zhu Yan slowed down now to show him the way. "It's just along here. Do you see it, over there?" No, he didn't. "Ugh. Just come with me."
It was probably taking a bit longer than Zhu Yan imagined it, and after a few minutes of climbing, Lóng Fengwei decided to fill the empty air with some chit chat, as they worked their way up. "What did you mean 'we'll have plenty of time for that later'?" He asked, because it had seemed like a weird comment.
"Huh?" Zhu Yan, admittedly, wasn't always too sharp, and sometimes seemed to forget things quickly.
"After you let me up." He explained, patiently.
"Oh." Zhu Yan said, pausing briefly as she jumped up onto a ledge. She kept going just as he got to the top himself. "I'm going to help dad train you."
What? Almost tripped at that news, and definitely stopped to gawk at her. She didn't seem to notice. "What? Really?" He wasn't sure he liked that. Zhu Yan always won when they wrestled. She probably trained with grandfather – her dad – a lot. He would beat her someday, though! He was sure of that! "Does my mother know about that?"
Zhu Yan laughed. "Are you kidding me? Of course not!" She slipped past a small, scraggly bush. "My sister would never allow it. She's so lame, can't let anyone have fun."
Lóng Fengwei laid his ears. "Don't talk about my mother like that!" He hurried to catch up with her, just so he could give her rump a little piece of his mind, when–
"We're here!" His aunt announced, pressing stepping to the side to show him a... hole in the wall. It was rather small, and at first seemed unimpressive. But it did manage to make him forget, for now, that she had insulted his mother. "I think it goes in pretty deep, I didn't go all the way yet." She said.
"I'm touched. You were waiting for me?" He teased, and took a step towards the 'cave' to inspect it. "Are you going in?" He asked, as he sniffed the entrance. It really was rather small, he doubted anyone much older than they could fit there. But though it smelled mostly stale, he could tell air flowed through it, so there must be an exit somewhere. Making it a cave.
"Ladies first," Zhu Yan said. He thought she meant to enter first, and, naturally the polite sort, was about to step away when she shoved him right through. He was so surprised he didn't even register the attack on his childish masculinity until a she had pushed him a few feet in.
"I'm not a lady!" Lóng Fengwei protested, indignantly, but soon enough got distracted with making his way through the tunnel. He could smell Zhu Yan, sure enough, since she had been here before.
Behind him, she laughed. "Really? Could have fooled me." He wrinkled his nose irritably at that. Couldn't she just leave him be? Just when he was through with the teasing, she went and did it again! Deciding to be the better man, he just rolled his eyes and kept on going.
Of course, at this point they couldn't see anything. It made Lóng Fengwei a little nervous, relying so much only on his nose and touch to get around. Not to mention the fear of getting stuck, or lost! But this cave didn't seem to split anywhere, and it never got too much tighter than it already was. At the most he had to squeeze a little, but always managed.
Apparently his aunt had grown bored since he decided to ignore her last insult. "You mom is lame."
He snorted. Like any young boy, he did not like to have his mother insulted in front of him, even if it came form her own sister. "She's not!" He growled, and would have turned to smack her if there were currently room for that. He attempted to kick backwards with a foot, but failed to hit anything. He realized that this time she had called Ting Lan his mother, rather than her sister. Which made him think a little. "Why do you pick on me so much, anyways?" He complained, as he became suddenly aware that there were probably spiders in here. Better distract himself with conversation!
"I don't pick on you!" She protested behind him.
"Yes, you do!"
"We just play." Zhu Yan insisted, she sounded like she was catching up to him.
"Play," He repeated. "You're meaner to me."
"I am not!" He didn't reply this time, and let her take the time to go on herself. "I'm not meaner to you. I just like playing with you more."
He was briefly touched, but Lóng Fengwei had to wonder why being her favorite meant he got picked on the most. "You could play with other cubs."
There was a bit of a pause, and he wondered if he had hurt her feelings. that would be new! He was surprised, amused, and then a little guilty. fortunately she ended up replying. "Easy for you to say. You have your brothers and sisters!"
He didn't point out that those could very well be other cubs for her to play with, aside from the Royal Guard's children. Instead, he said. "So do you!"
"I have brothers and sisters. But they're not my brothers and sisters."
Her response stunned him. "Zhu Yan, that made no sense." He angled his head to the side, to better listen to her behind him, though at this point he could feel her breath on his tail.
"They don't play with me. Ever." He felt a little sad for her then, and then he felt a little sorry he had even pressed the matter. Zhu Yan's parents were his grandparents, and she had been the only cub in her litter. His other aunts and uncles were all grown up, and she had a point, none of them were the type to play with their little sister. Lóng Fengwei, on the other paw, had siblings who were often rather content to play with him.
"I..." He began, not sure if this was a time to apologize. He also wanted to tell her that great, they could be friends and he could help her be happy and have fun and play. But he didn't get the chance to say anything, because soon he stepped somewhere that was just weird. And next thing he knew, he was on his back, sliding down the tunnel. He was screaming, too, but he didn't really know that.
What happened was pretty simple, there was a short drop in the tunnel, and then it sloped along downwards. The rock was smooth enough, and he simply slid right down along the tunnel. Lóng Fengwei had been distracted, and unprepared, and just stepped right into it.
Fortunately, he was not alone! Or unfortunately. when he came into a stop by blindly crashing into a wall, he could have done without Zhu Yan slamming right into him. Ugh, of all the times for him to be leading the way! He coughed, and then heard her laughing. Unconsciously, he began to laugh with her.
It was a good few minutes of stupid laughter before Zhu Yan untangled herself from him and pushed along through. "I think the exit is there!" Sure enough, he saw a light. The fun forgotten, all Lóng Fengwei wanted was to get out of here, and he hurried along afterwards.
"Freedom!" He heard himself shouting as he finally pushed out onto a ledge beside Zhu Yan. He laughed, giddy for a few moments, before looking around. "Where are we, anyways?" They had ended up somewhere rather different than where they had gone in; unfamiliar to him.
"Oh. Ummm..." Zhu Yan hummed, and took a look around herself.
"Ugh, we're filthy." He commented, idly, but she paid no attention.
"I know where we are." She grinned, and he remembered she had definitely done a lot more exploring than he had. Or maybe she had lied and already gone all the way through the tunnel, that might explain why she had pushed him in first! "We just have to take that path up, and then straight along, and up, and we'll be back where we were!" She said, confidently. That was almost enough to confirm his suspicion she had been all the way through before.
But he wasn't going to complain, they had to get back. "Ok, we should go now. We should probably jump in the pond before I get back to my mother."
With her spirits high after some fun, Zhu Yan grinned. "Alright! I'll race you!"
Naturally, she didn't play fair and just ran along ahead. "Hey!" He cried, and chased after her. She lost him over the first rise. Particularly because, once he reached to top of this first little climb, the path got a lot narrower. He could walk or even run just fine, but they definitely could not have gone side by side. "That wasn't fair!" He called, once he spotted her already running ahead.
Then Lóng Fengwei saw something that made his heart sink. She was running right towards a drop! "Zhu Yan, wait, there's a–!"
She cleared the jump with apparent ease, laughing as she went. "Hurry up, you slowpoke!" He couldn't spend too much time gawking at her jump there was a race to win! Or at least not lose pathetically!
With a growl he hurried along after her. He would get her, he would! He would win this time! After seeing her jump over the hole so easily he had no doubt he would do the same, and so he confidently picked up speed, jumping when the time came.
His paws only briefly touched the ledge on the other side of the drop, he could just see Zhu Yan's tail disappearing at the top of the next rise. Perhaps it was strange, but the only thing that came to Lóng Fengwei's mind as he began to fall were his mother's words. You'll have as much luck flying as you will changing Zhu Yan.
You'll have as much luck flying...
Fly.
He began screaming as the ground came up to meet him.