Things were still so new to the dark young cub. Slinking out from her family's den, her paler paws trod across ground, silent as death. Green eyes turned about, casting to see just what was around her. After all, there wasn't much to do, when you were as young as Mazai, now was there? The cub purred lowly, and moved towards...well, anywhere.
Duo had been worrying. Sure, he understood the need to get wandering paws out of the way now, before their mission started...he'd done it himself after all. But...well, Shini had a temper. He didn't have so much of one. So the cobalt eyed lion had decided to follow his sister's scent, after making sure Pestilence and Kyouko couldn't follow him. Shini had seemed ODDLY calm lately...
Imagine his surprise when he saw a cub that not only vaguely looked like Shini (how many lions had that shade of GREEN for eyes?) but SMELLED like his 'twin' too. He blinked, then moved forward. Even if she didn't know Shinigami, a little cub shouldn't have been wandering out alone! "Hey kiddo! What's a little one like you doing out here without yer Mom?"
She looked up at him with a very, very calm gaze. Who was this guy, "Mother and my sisters are still asleep. I wanted to do something." Sure, she should have been asleep, with Rhine, Shini, and Astraia, but….Really, that wasn't in her nature. Tail flicking, she looked him over, curiously, "Why is it a problem? My den is right back there." She said, curiously, gesturing with her muzzle. The dark blue and pale gray cub found herself scrutinizing the adult, wondering why he was so….picky about this stuff. Her mother was near, enough…and she could get back there at any moment. After all, Mazai was fast.
Duo sighed and nodded. At least the kid's mother was nearby...and yup. The was Shini's scent going towards the den. Wait a sec...He blinked. No freaking way. "Just wanted to make sure you weren't going to get snatched or something. There's lots of creatures out there who wouldn't hesitate to do that." He hunkered down to her level. "So...you look kinda like someone I know. What's yer mother's name?"
She nodded to him, canting her head, "Yeah...We're safe though. Mother's very protective and strong!" Mazai gushed, eyes sparkling with cub-like glee, "Mama's name?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, "I'm Mazai'mrities, and my mother is Shinigami. Why?" Seriously....who WAS this guy? "You ask lotsa questions, mister."
Well s**t. He was definitely going to be bugging Shini about what she'd been doing! He smiled brightly. "Well, my name's Duo, and I'm your mother's brother. She's been sneakier than usual lately, and went off somewhere. I got worried, so I came to find her. And I found you instead. You remind me of your mother, so I wanted to make sure." He chuckled. "And you never learn anything if you don't ask questions sometimes, kiddo."
She sighed softly, and nodded. Then blinked. Wait....brother...."You're telling me you're my uncle?" Sniffing him, she supposed he DID smell familiar, but still, "You can't always trust people who ask questions though, right? They might want to hurt you, and that's bad." Her tail was low, and she was watching him cautiously.
Duo nodded. "Yup. Seems so." Shini had a smart kid! That was good. "And that's right a lot of the time. That's why you have to be careful, and learn to trust your gut and how to discern when someone has bad intentions towards you. If your mother doesn't teach you that, I can. Or Priest G. As creepy as the guy can be, he's smarter than me 'n' yer mother put together."
The cub nodded slowly, her fur slowly going a bit more flat, and her eyes brightening, "Okay." She nodded slowly, accepting what he was saying for the time being. "I can do that. I don't like jumping into things anyways." She shook her head, "The odds of you winning so impulsively are low."
Duo blinked, then laughed. "Oh yeah, yer Shinigami's alright." That was definitely something his twin would say. "And yeah, in a straight on fight, Shini would definitely win. She IS bigger than me, and more suited to fighting, after all. When it comes to being sneaky, however..." He smirked, a dangerous gleam in his eye. "No one's better than me." He chuckled. "You've got a cousin whose pretty sneaky too. Had to make sure she didn't follow me, since...she's a little..." Oh geez. How to describe Kyouko. "Off in the head."
She blinked, "Sneaking isn't hard. It's learning how to put your paws down quietly and figure out the best angle to attack someone from." Her smile was bright, "Bet I could sneak up on you, Uncle Duo!" She cried out eagerly, wanting to play badly. After all, the cub had been so bored lately...
Duo chuckled. "It's not just that. It's also learning how to blend in to the crowd around you, and to make yourself seem harmless when you really aren't. And best of all...is learning how to sneak without lying." He'd gotten good at that, since he HATED lying. He smiled at his niece. "You think so huh? Well...how about you practice some first, before we test that? I can teach you what I know."
Mazai seemed to think. Lying...NOT Lying? That was an...interesting thought, "Okay....I suppose practice would be best." The serious little cub felt like showing off, and padded on light paws closer to Duo. What would her uncle teach her first? He was so strange, in, like, a cool way.
The brown-maned lion grinned at his niece showing off, and licked the top of her head. "Okay than. First...I'm gonna show you how to use those quiet paws of yours to your advantage." That'd be her first lesson. He'd teach her how to walk normally later, so people wouldn't suspect her true skills. Best way to avoid having to lie was to make people draw their own conclusions.
