Ever since his elder sibling Tesni had stepped down as crown princess, Niuserakhet had had to step up to become the new crown prince. He knew that his sister was capable and accomplished. She would have been a fine leader and her faith that he would one day be an even /better/ leader… it was just that…
The young adult walked through the ruins alone, his maned head held low.
*
Tuaika lay in the sand amongst the ruins. He needed some time to think. Ever since he was little he had been around Thwayya, but why was he getting these strange feelings whenever he was around her? He couldn't understand it. He shook his head, and rolled onto his back, looking up at the sky, "Why are girls so complicated?" He said as his golden mane fell over his eyes.
*
Ni’s head rose and he paused in his walking when he heard what he thought was his brother’s voice, somewhere around that last turn off he’d just passed. One of his many brothers that is; Tuaika, he thought, at a guess. He could use a distraction from his own thoughts and it sounded like perhaps his brother could use some help with his.
“It depends – are we talking all girls or just one?” Ni asked, smiling, as he rounded the corner.
*
"One... All of them.. Ugh.. I don't know," He shook his head in frustration, "I'm just.. confused." He said as he looked over to his brother. "
You shouldn't be eavesdropping Ni. It's not very King-like." He added with a smile as he shook his mane out of his eyes.
*
“But it is brother-like.” Ni’s smile may or may not have faltered when his brother had said the word ‘king’. It was hard to tell. Especially when he lay down, stretching and pushing the sand with his front paws as he did so. Also not very king-like but Ni had always been a vibrant sort of character. He did nothing half way, including making himself comfortable.
“What’s got you chasing your tail then? Or who? You know I can keep a secret.”
*
He laughed lightly at his reply. He was always good at coming up with witty remarks. "It's Thwayya. You remember her?" He asked, looking over to his brother, "The girl I would always play with when we were cubs?" he turned his head back to the sky, "Well, now every time I see her, I get this weird feeling in my stomach..." He said as he told his brother what was happening.
*
“So you’re attracted to her.” This was not exactly brand new news. Thwayya and Tuaika has always seemed like they were pretty close. So it’d always been a possibility, he’d thought, that they’re either always be friends or would end up mates one day.
“Are you planning to pursue her or are you worried it might ruin your friendship?” He asked, quite innocently, with a less innocent grin.
*
"What?!" He was shocked at his brother's words, but in a way, he knew them to be true. "That's... why... no... what.." He blushed, he couldn't deny it anymore. "Yeah. I guess.. I mean, I haven't even told her I'm a prince yet." He said as he rolled over and looked at him. "I feel like I've been lying to her."
*
“…Tuaika, that’s stupid.” His brother said flatly.
“No, I mean really. How can she not realize you’re a prince? She’s our generation and we’re from one of the biggest litters of royalty ever born. We know who her parents are – why wouldn’t she know ours?” Niuserakhet had one eye-brow raised and his face was skeptical.
“And why would she mind anyway?”
*
He shrugged.
"I don't know... I guess I thought she'd treat me differently." He had to admit, what Ni was saying did make sense. He never really thought about it like that. He figured if he didn't tell her, she'd never know.
"I guess I am being stupid…" He looked down to his paws, feeling ridiculous about the whole situation.
*
“Hey brother…” Ni’s cynical expression melted away and he sat up, angling his face to try to catch a glimpse of his brother’s eyes under that mane of his. If they were younger, he’d have pounced him, if they’d been cubs he’d have hugged him. As it was, he just batted him on the shoulder with a velveted paw.
“I know what you mean about worrying you’d be treated different as a prince but pretty much everyone has always known we’re princes and we’ve got more than enough siblings for it not to be a big deal. At least you’re not heir to the throne. If Thwayya likes you back, she’ll like you for you – you know she won’t just be after becoming the queen one day.”
*
He met bis brother's eyes and smiled, "Yeah, your right." He chuckled lightly. "Though that wasn't what I was worried about." He said as he looked back to the sand. "Quite the opposite actually. I didn't want her to think like she couldn't talk to me because of it." He laughed, "But I guess your right. I'm sure her parent's would have told her already."
*
“Oh, the other extreme…I guess you could just order her to speak to you in that case.” Ni joked. He was glad to see Tuaika laughing about this. Besides, he couldn’t imagine that he was wrong about Thwayya knowing about Tuaika being a prince nor that if she didn’t, that she’d mind if she was surprised with it. She didn’t seem the type.
“You should find out how she feels. You never know, she might like you back and if she doesn’t, I bet you’ll still be great friends.”
*
He laughed, "That'd work." He smiled as he listened to his brothers advice. "Yeah, Ni, your right" He thought as he shook out his mane, getting rid of all the loose sand. "I guess I hadn't thought of that..." He laughed.
*
“Besides, it’s not like you’ve only just met her and are now setting out to marry her straight away. You’ve been friends a long while and you like her. Seems perfectly fair to me.” There we go. Tuaika had his brother’s support and seemed happy enough once more. Job done Niuserakhet. Job done.
Satisfied his brother wasn’t upset he lay down once more.
*
He nodded, and looked down to his paws.
"But what would be the best way to tell her...maybe we could go hunting together, or I could take her to the oasis...” As he thought about it, a smile played at the corner of his lips.
"Or maybe I could just go to her den and tell her outright." He laughed, "What do you think Ni?"
*
“Well, you know her better than me…” He admitted but he thought about it for a long minute anyway. Ni had spent more time learning negotiation skills than romancing the ladies lately.
“I wouldn’t do anything too special but you probably want to be somewhere nice. And somewhere reasonably private but somewhere she can leave easily if she wants to.” He tried to picture them. Tuaika and Thwayya hunting – too far from the temple – ditto the oases. If things went bad it’d be a lonely walk back for them both. Much of the temple was too public. The gardens would be ideal but you could never be sure you were alone amongst the lush greenery.
“Actually, here in the ruins might not be a bad idea. There are less lions about, it’s close to home and you could arrange a nice meeting place here easy enough.”
*
He nodded. The gardens sounded perfect, but he was right about possible company. He wouldn't want anyone to over hear their conversation, especially if it turned bad.
"Yeah, here would work." He said as he stood and looked around, trying to get a better view of the ruins. He looked around, trying to find an ideal spot, but soon stopped and sat back down.
"I doubt this is going to work." He said as he looked at his paws again. "I'll probably just end up blurting it out when we're walking around the dens or something." he chuckled lightly.
*
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just… don’t come on too strong. Even if you’re in love you should wait until she’s accepting you simply liking her before you say that.” Now that could be a disaster. Ni stretched once more and checked the position of the sun for time. He could stay for a little bit longer. Then he’d probably get back. He was due for more history lessons, again.
*
He nodded, "Yeah, your probably right." He yawned, just thinking about all of this made him exhausted.
"Anyway, how have you been?" He asked. He hadn't seen much of his brother and he was curious at how his preparations were going.
*
“I’ve just been busy.” Niuserakhet had always been an active lion, just these days he seemed to always be busy with official business rather than hanging out with everyone. Whether he seemed less or more vibrant and lively too…well, it was debatable.
“Speaking of which, I have to go soon. Your girl woes all straight in your head now, bro?”
*
He laughed, "Yeah, I'll be sure to come find you if I have any other problems." he smiled as he stood and lightly hit his brother in the shoulder with his paw.
"Don't be late, I'm not sure your teachers would be happy with you if you were."
*
“Probably not.” The responsibility of everything, including simply turning up to lessons on time, was heavy enough on his mind…still he cracked a smile for Tuaika anyway.
“I’ve got a few minutes. I’ll just lay here for a little while.”
*
He laughed, "Well, try not to get too stressed out." He stood and stretched, "I'm going to go see if I can find Thwayya. I'll see you around bro." He smiled as he ran towards the dens. He was glad he was able to talk it out with his brother. It made him feel less awkward about what he was feeling, and felt excited about telling Thwayya how he felt about her.
*
"Good luck."
Ni meanwhile, let his eyes close. He had few minutes and a lot to think about.
END
