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 Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:47 am
Muscar was taken aback by the vehemence of Shazidi's reply. It was not what he had expected the other lion to do at all. It was not what he would have done. Perhaps that was part of the problem with this whole scenario. He kept thinking that Shazidi was so much like he was, since that's how Gliri continually described him, but that meant that his expectations for him were based on what his own actions would be. He didn't know Shazidi, not really, and he couldn't base his predictions on false data. He would certainly regret it if he did. But the, he'd been regretting this meeting from the start.
"What do you know about it? You're enough like me that Gliri's inclined to feel comfortable with you, but different enough to be interesting and exciting to her. You just come into her life and everything's golden, but you have no idea what the two of us have been through, and how much she and I rely on each other."
He looked at his sister, still sitting as still as a statue. She was undeniably displeased, but she had to understand this. She had to see that she couldn't just go off with Shazidi because she loved him. Was her love for him any stronger and deeper than the bond between twins? It couldn't be. He couldn't lose her.
"Gliri, please," he said, appealing to her. He couldn't articulate exactly what he was asking her, but he hoped she would know anyway.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:57 am
Gliri's eyes darted back and forth between her brother and her friend. Both of their arguments seemed right to her, but it was unfair of Muscar to blame the clandestine nature of her relationship with Shazidi on him. It had been her doing, and she had been feeling guilty about it since the first. She just hadn't known how to tell Muscar, for fear he would react...well, like he was acting right now. Much of that was her fault, she knew, because she had always needed him to be her protector, and he was now only doing what she had required of him for her entire life, but she didn't need to be protected from Shazidi.
And hearing his explanation for her attraction to Shazidi, quite frankly, infuriated her. How dare he trivialize her feelings like that? He was her twin, and they were very close, but he did not feel what she was feeling, and this whole affair was proof that he did not always know what she was thinking. It frightened her a little, though, to hear Muscar's analysis, because she could see the possibility that he was correct in that. But she did love Shazidi. She was sure of that.
His appeal to her did not quite fall on deaf ears, therefore, but they certainly fell on pissed off ones. They were flat against her skull again by the time he finished, and when she turned to look at him, meeting his blue eyes with hers, there was very little of the understanding her brother had hoped to see in her expression.
"I'm sorry, Shazidi," she said, without looking at her friend, but rather keeping her eyes fixed on her brother's. She continued to look at Muscar while addressing Shazidi. "This was a mistake. My brother and I will be leaving now, but I'll see you again soon."
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:05 am
"So, my feelings for her mean nothing? They have no hold in this conversation?" Shazidi's frown was bone deep. It hurt, to hear all this. To hear that her brother thought Shazidi was just an exciting difference from him, and that's what made him attractive. His heart stubbornly growled no, but his mind was having a little trouble staying straight.
It certainly hurt when Gliri wouldn't look at him, but he tried not to read into it. He didn't want her to go. Muscar could go where-ever, but he wanted Gliri to stay here. He wanted to know everything, like the past her brother spoke of. He was so confused and lost now. "If you must..." His voice was quiet and broken, like a beaten cub.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:13 am
"As you say, Gliri. We're done here," Muscar said.
He turned away from both his sister and her friend and starting for home. He didn't turn to look to see whether Gliri was following him. He couldn't bear to look. If he looked and she was there, she would realize that he'd been afraid she wouldn't be, and if he looked and she wasn't there...He just couldn't stand the thought of what that implied. It would mean she had chosen Shazidi over him, in spite of everything.
Sickness roiled in his stomach as he walked, torn between looking back and trusting Gliri. She had broken his trust. Not just in this, but the other time, the first time which she couldn't remember. She really had no idea how deeply this cut him, how much like a betrayal it felt. He wished he could make her see, and tell her everything, but he couldn't do that, because that would mean telling her what she had forgotten and admitting to keeping an entire year of her life secret. Which was the greater crime?
What if she didn't follow? Gods, please let her follow.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:19 am
Gliri's heart pounded as she watched her brother turn and walk away. For a moment she experienced pure, unadulterated terror. Was he leaving her, really leaving her? It would be alone, not with Shazidi here, but...this wasn't how things were supposed to have gone. This wasn't what she wanted. Why couldn't the two of them see how like they were, and just get along?
"I have to go with him, Shazidi. He's my brother. He needs me, and I need him. But I will see you again. I will make this work somehow." Gliri looked over her shoulder at her brother's retreating form and dropped her voice to a whisper, just to make sure he wouldn't hear. "Meet me here, tonight. Please."
She offered a weak smile and turned away, following Muscardini. After only a few steps she turned and cast a glance over her shoulder at Shazidi, her look full of both hope and anxiety. Then she turned away once more and increased her pace to catch up with her twin.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:37 am
Shazidi didn't no what to say. He looked at Gliri with broken blue eyes and felt so conflicted. Not about his feelings, but about what he should think and what he could have done different. There must have been another way to go about this, to change this outcome.
After another moment he nodded slightly, just a gentle jerk of his head. He'd be here.
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