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 Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:03 pm
The cubs had certainly grown. No longer were they weak, fragile youngsters completely dependent on their mother. They were still dependent, but to a lesser degree, and much more capable of movement - enough that Mzuza had recently brought the litter on their first outing, their first peek at the world beyond the comfort of their den. Though some, like Zikamil, had taken to the boundless outside world like a duck to water, others had reacted with less enthusiasm.
Musabari had been one of those. Nothing would make him admit it to his brothers or - worse - his sisters, but something about the endless possibilities of the real world scared him, and he much preferred the comfort and familiarity of his home. So it seemed perfectly reasonable to the bright young lion that he should reject his darker brother's suggestion to head outside for a bit of fun in the sun.
"Mama said to stay close, Kam," Musabari said matter-of-factly. If he had been a human, and if he had worn glasses, this would have been the perfect moment to push them fervently up his nose. "Go to sleep. Not to go wand'ring."
Zikamil let out a sigh that resembled a small hiss. He had long since picked out this rather nerdy brother to be his best friend for life, but there were moments when Musabari's timorousness began to wear at his nerves. And they were both young yet. Sometimes, Zikamil wondered how he would live the rest of his life with Musabari. How.
"They's all sleeping, Mu," Zikamil rolled his eyes. "They're not gonna rat you out, and Mama said stay close. I heard her too, okay? We're not goin' far." Hopping to his paws, he decided to take matters into his own hands and began to physically shove Musabari toward the den mouth, despite his brother's repeated protests.
"Shhh! Or I'm callin' reinforcements!" He threatened, still shoving his brother, and when Musabari refused to stop, he threw his head back and yelled, "HELP ME! NEED BACKUP, STAT!"
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:41 pm
 The tiny commotion at the entrance of the den did not go unnoticed to the small green-eyed cub that quickly ran to join his brothers. Mheetu was small for a male and not a particularly decisive cub. He was a follower, always tagging along whichever brother had come up with an interesting idea for a game or adventure. Not wanting to be left out of… whatever was going on, the cream-colored cub rushed to the scene to be first one to reach his brothers, tripping twice along the way.
“What are you doing?” he asked Musabari, tilting his head to the side in a confused fashion. He had absolutely no idea of what was going on. “Why are you holding him, Kamil?”
He looked around to see if anyone else had woken up but it appeared the rest of his family was in a deep slumber.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:56 pm
"Need help, Mheetu!" Zikamil declared, having all but pinned Musabari to the floor to keep him from escaping to the back of the den. "We goin' for a adventure!" He turned to fix his violet-eyed gaze on his brother, compelling Mheetu to lend him a hand. There was potential in his gaze, in the natural courage that prompted him to take charge of situations, whether there needed to be a leader or not. Somebody attentive to these signs might have said that he could grow up to do great things.
But that was still purely conjecture. Whether or not Zikamil's life would turn out to be more eventful than others' was still very much undecided. It would take more than potential, after all, to drive the young lion to greatness that he seemed not at all keen on achieving. There was more to life than recognition for him, after all.
Underneath, Musabari squealed against Zikamil's stranglehold. "Noooooooo!" Came the muffled protest. "Let gooooo, Kam!" He thrashed futilely against his brother's hold. Although Musabari was the firstborn and, by default, the largest cub, Zikamil's determination far surpassed that of the bright lion, who remained pinned, despite his valiant efforts, efforts that were, at times, half-hearted. There was a more hidden side that complimented Musabari's studiousness, a more adventurous side slowly testing the waters, wondering if it might be set free.
But such was not the fate in store for this rather more fun-loving side of Musabari, for he was a scholar at heart, and took much more pleasure from learning the history and the subtle nuances of his pride's culture than from roughhousing or adventuring, or anything else that looser side of him enjoyed.
"Don't listen to him, Mheetu," Zikamil demanded, shoving Musabari's face into the ground to quiet his protests. "We gots to go outside. He'll rot in these here shadows if'n we don't."
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:14 am
Mheetu listened attentively, head turning from one brother to the other as they spoke… well, as Zikamil spoke. Mu was kind of just whining, which was unfortunately a little too amusing for Mheetu to take seriously especially when compared to Zikamil’s commanding tone.
“Ooooooh. Sorry , Mu.” Mheetu said quickly and wouldn’t be necessary to look at the little cub’s face to realize he was smiling… widely. This was a game and a prank all rolled into one. Jackpot! The cream colored cub dropped his head to his brother and pushed him his with forehead. It was like an ant trying to move a mountain but, hopefully, it would work if Kamil pushed, as well. And if that didn’t work, a friendly threat or a guilt trip could probably do the trick.
“If you don’t stop making a fuss, you’re gonna wake mom up, Mu. That’s not nice, she’s really tired.” He tried to hide his grin but failed miserably. “So be quiet or I’ll n** your heels until you do what Kamil said.”
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:25 am
Unfortunately for Musabari, his face had been forcibly buried into the ground, and even if it had occurred to him to do so, he wouldn't have been able to turn to take a glance at Mheetu's face. And though his lighter brother's tone clearly suggested jest and good fun, the gravity of the situation made everything seem much more serious to the bright lion than it was.
"But I wasn't tryin'a wake her!" He wailed, curling into a ball as he felt Mheetu's pressure. It was all very emotional and traumatic. There was shoving and pushing here and there and threats and guilt and... WHY WERE THEY DOING THIS TO HIM?!
Zikamil grinned broadly, shooting Mheetu a conspiratorial glance. Ohh, they were going to win this battle alright - even if it wasn't exactly a fair one. Had that notion occurred to him, he might simply have shrugged and continued to shove his brother out the door.
"Mheetu's right, Mu, y'dun wanna wake up Mama. Not after she jus' come back from hunting and everything, right?" He said, echoing his brother's thoughts as he resumed his efforts to push Musabari out into the sunlight. It was such a shame, really, now that he thought about it. After all, Mu was the brightest and the prettiest out in the sun - and he didn't even realize it!
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" He barked, hustling his orange brother closer and closer to the exit, until they were but steps away. Then he stopped. "Now can you walk out on yer own?" He demanded, nodding his approval when Musabari finally relented and tumbled out into the sunlight.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:47 am
“Go on, almost there.” Mheetu said with a strained voice and he started panting by the time Musabari finally gave up and walked into the sun. At once, his eyes turned to Zikamil’s, who had the most amazing brilliant purple eyes that shone in the sun. Maral also had purple eyes but they were a darker shade and Mheetu didn’t remember seeing anyone in the pride with those eyes so he assumed it was something passed down from their father – though, to be honest, he still didn’t know enough pride members to make that assumption. He could just ask mom, of course, but for reason the cub felt reluctant to do so.
Mheetu stifled a giggle as Musabari whined (again) but he looked so miserable that it was impossible not to feel sorry for him.
“What is it, Mu? You don’t like it outside?” he asked tentatively, taking his brother’s side... not just to be able to listen but also to make sure e wasn’t going to try and run back inside.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:28 am
A serious frown was plastered on the bright cub's face as he blinked in the sunlight and did his best to glare at his two brothers. "No, I jus' wanted to sleep," he retorted. "Outside's fine. S'just too sunny, is all." He turned to glare up at the sun, but promptly averted his eyes. Too sunny. He sneezed and passed a paw over his itchy nose. Too sunny.
"Wha's there to do outside 'nyways?" He demanded, angry as ever. Now that he was out, it simply didn't make sense to try to dive back into the den. Mheetu and Kam had already proved that they could, and did, succeed in shoving him out, and doubtless he would only have to suffer their haranguing pushes for a second time if he attempted to pull such a stunt.
So, he supposed, there was nothing left to do but to put up with it. He would much rather have been left in the comfortable shade of the den, listening to his mother tell stories of far-off times and watchful stars, but he could always make a few concessions, especially for this brothers.
Zikamil bumped his side into Mheetu's in a celebratory nudge, grinning widely at their success. Oh yes. Musabari had been a tough nut to crack, but they had managed it, and for that, they were certainly deserving of praise. Deep down, though, Zikamil reckoned that they all realized this was all just an elaborate act, that Musabari didn't really mind their hassling as much as he made himself out to.
"You woulda thought he was goin'a melt in the sun or somefink." He said with a small, disapproving shake of his head. Clearly, if his brother had, in fact, melted, Zikamil would have been much more sympathetic to Musabari's cause, and also much more impressed. In the absence of such excitement, though, there was really nothing to do but to rag on the poor cub.
"You's just fine, Mu," he added, quickly dismissing his brother's irrational dislike of adventure and the great outdoors. "Mama don't have stories for youse anyway. She's sleepin'."
Taking charge of the situation once again, The dark cub puffed up his chest and strutted forward two steps. "I thinks we should do somefink fun." He said suddenly, and the glint in his eyes suggested that "fun" ran somewhere along the lines of... forbidden.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:27 am
Mheetu nudged his oldest brother gently, tail dancing playfully behind the small cub. He was grinning again when he answered him, visibly amused by Musabari’s sour mood.
“It’s an adventure!” Well, at least that’s what Zikamil had said before. Now he wasn’t so sure. What were they supposed to do outside when they were alone? It wasn’t dangerous… was it? It’s not as if they were going to run off on mom and get lost or in danger…
“What kind of fun, Kamil?” Zikamil seemed to have a plan so Mheetu quickly moved closer to the purple-eyed cub, curious as to what they would be doing next. There was no point in telling the other cubs he had absolutely no idea on what to do next.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:09 pm
"Well, there's trails there," Zikamil began slowly, casting a furtive glance around, as if something would hear him and get him into trouble. "They gots to lead somewheres." Their mother had yet to lead them much farther than the little clearing directly outside their den, and although the trails had been marked to lead them safely from one place to another, the fact that they had never yet been on them made them seem dangerous and - for lack of a better word - fun.
"I fink we should see where they goes!" He added, with a self-satisfied grin. Oh, yes, leave it up to little Kam to figure out something awesome for him and his brothers to do! As one of the last cubs to have been born, he was one of the smallest, but he more than made up for it in personality and courage and spunk.
At once, Musabari's eyes widened, and he shook his head, shooting Mheetu a panicked glance. "But we can't!" He protested, horrified at the very suggestion. How could they possibly?! They had no idea where those trails went, how far they might lead, whether they even stayed within the Pridelands! And what if they were to step beyond the borders? They would be stolen or kidnapped or eaten for sure!
He continued to shake his head frantically, leaping to his paws to run over to Mheetu. "No, no, no, we can't! Mama said we can't! Stay close, she said, didn't you hear her?" Of course they had heard her - Kam had said so himself, and Mheetu... Well if Kam had heard her, then Mheetu must have as well.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:19 pm
Mmmm, trail-tracking sounded like fun but Mheehu had to agree with Musabari on this one. Mom had told them to stay close to the den and she might worry if she woke up before they returned. And Mheetu would hate to be the cause of Mzuza’s distress in any possible shape or form.
“It’s okay if we don’t go too far. We’ll come back before she even notices it.” He conceded at last, looking at his purple-eyed brother for approval. “Mom said it’s safe here, the Scouts won’t let anything bad inside the borders.”
“Maybe we’ll find a lizard or, or a funny bug!” he exclaimed, suddenly excited, following Zikamil with a little bounce in every step. “Or a pretty pebble for mom! But then she’ll know…”
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:27 am
"But what if we go outside the borders?!" Musabari prodded, frowning mightily even as Zikamil and Mheetu began to shift toward the trails. "We'll get eated!" He threw a glance over his shoulder, as if expecting his mother to emerge at any moment and catch them all red-handed. Or perhaps hoping that she would. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged off on some adventure that may or may not end with his untimely an unfortunate death.
"We're gunna get lost..." The bright cub added despondently, setting his rump decisively onto the sandy ground. "Shouldn't go, Kam." He shook his head again, as if that was all it would take to convince his brother. To Musabari, this was all common sense - they hadn't yet been shown the trails, therefore, they shouldn't bother trying to explore them. Clearly, though, his train of thought didn't quite coincide with those of his two brothers, who were getting more excited by the minute.
Oh, how distressing all this was.
Zikamil allowed a long pause to reign, wherein he eyed his brother with a stare that seemed to say that he was wondering just how stupid Mu was, before he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Even Mheetu says it's a'right." He said simply, turning his head back toward the vast world beyond the clearing. "But you can stay here if y'want. Us two'll go 'splore, so don't come crying when you get lonely."
His tail flicked excitedly behind him as he danced on the spot for a moment, before shooting his green-eyed brother a glance. Good, so Mheetu was getting excited too. If Kam had been the only one to think that this was an amazing prospect, perhaps he would have dropped the idea. But his brother's support seemed to confirm in Zikamil's mind that this was going to be awesome. "Tha's a good idea, Mheetu, we should mebbe find a pebble for mama!" He grinned. "We could jus' say we found it here or somefink. She'll never know. And maybe a funny bug for Danuwa an' a lizard for Zahara." He always kept his sisters in mind. Brothers, he had a ton of, but he only had those two sisters. They were like a rare commodity, and needed to be treasured, apparently.
"Le's go, then!" He declared, valiantly puffing his chest as he took a deep breath, then plunged forward onto the trail and into the vast unknown.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:24 pm
Mheetu froze mid-step, a somewhat dumb expression suddenly gracing his cubby face.
“Isn’t it eaten?” he said quietly in a thoughtful manner, more to himself than his brothers. He seemed to be considering it carefully while Musabari kept saying stubborn things that he tried very hard to ignore.
The cream-colored cub felt conflicted. He had the unbearable urge to follow after Zikamil, who tended to prefer Musabari’s company above his other siblings but who was calling to Mheetu instead and even complimenting him. But Musabari looked so miserable that it was impossible not to feel a little guilty, especially if they were just going to leave him alone while they had an adventure.
“Zahara would like that, I think.” He said thoughtfully, running after his purple-eyed brother before adding more quietly. “Should we really leave him like this?”
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 3:44 am
For a second, Zikamil seemed almost set on refusing to ignore Mheetu's concern, until finally, he slowed and turned to his cream-pelted brother and blinked his brilliant violet eyes. Having thought about it for a second, he now recognized that perhaps his brother was right - it couldn't have been the best idea to simply leave poor Mu sitting miserably outside the den.
Not only had the bright cub looked terribly down, but he also lacked any and all street smarts that might have helped him out of a sticky situation. Not that Kam anticipated anything much going on so close to the den, but if anything did, he didn't suppose Mu could rescue himself. Or even considering rescuing himself. Most likely, the bright cub would simply go along with whichever disaster happened to befall him.
Zikamil sighed. "Well, I guess... yea, maybe we should just... not go back, but..." He stopped and turned back the way he and come, frowning again as he contemplated his next move. He had just opened his mouth to yell for his brother to haul a** over to them when the orange-pelted cub came scrambling up the path.
It had taken several moments after his two brothers had left before Musabari realized that he absolutely was not content to sit out on their grand adventure. Taboo as it was, he realized that perhaps they would come across something worthwhile, something that they would only encounter once in a lifetime. And he certainly didn't want to miss out on something like that.
He rose to his paws and ran along the trail after his two brothers, running as fast as his stubby little cubs' legs could carry him. "Wait for meee!" He called, just as he rounded the bend to find the two cubs waiting for him. His sides were heaving by the time he drew himself to a stop beside his two brothers. "I think... I want to come with yous." He managed to say in between wheezing gasps for breath.
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 9:12 pm
Mheetu’s ears were lowered. Zikamil’s silence and the guilt over leaving Musabari behind after all the trouble of forcing him out of the den didn’t make for a good start of their little adventure. Even if he did enjoy the idea of spending some alone time with his purple-eyed brother.
“Ka-mil…?” he whispered softly when the other cub stopped. His ears rose happily when he realized Zikamil was also thinking of Mu. And soon enough, their brother came running after them and all was well in the world again.
“Whee! Now we can go!” Mheetu said cheerfully as he bounced forward, smiling widely as he sang a silly song that he made on the spot. “We’re going on an adventure, an adventure, an adventure!”
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Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 2:26 am
A bright grin flashed across the brown cub's face as his brother suddenly appeared, but just as quickly, he quashed the wave of joy a put a stern frown on his face. "Well, only if you promise not to be a party pooper," he said somberly, staring as Musabari. "No party poopers allowed here." He repeated, widening his eyes as if that would convince his brother. Somebody had to make sure that their adventure was a success, after all, and if Mu tagged along only to ruin whatever they ended up doing, none of them would have any one - Mu, because he would be too busy whining, and Kam and Mheetu because they would have to put up with it.
Musabari nodded his head emphatically. "Cross my heart and hope to die!" He promised, sidling up to Mheetu. He had decided that his cream-pelted brother had slightly more sense than Kam, and that sticking by him would present fewer opportunities to be eaten, even if that probably wasn't entirely true.
As the cream colored cub bounced forward, Musabari scrambled after him, poking Mheetu with his nose. "Where d'you think we're goin'?" He asked cautiously, following along after Mheetu, even as Zikamil strutted off down the marked trail. It all seemed rather scary and forbidden to the orange cub, though perhaps in several weeks, he would look back on this little adventure and realize how silly he was being. They were marked trails for a reason, after all, and it would certainly take a lot of effort for them to get lost.
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