Under the light of a full moon, a distressed leopon paced burrows into the ground. His mauve eyes searched out some reasoning in all the chaos that clouded his vision, but none was to be found. It just wasn't possible. "You think this is all really funny, don't you?" He snapped at the sky, attacking the entire pantheon of Gods.
"It's all your fault!" Safi screamed. "It's your fault that Isit got attacked and it's your fault that I'm a hybrid; that no decent female will even look at me, so much as be my mate. What if I can't give her cubs? That's all they look for in a man and you took that from me!"
On the sidelines, Abrafo watched apprehensively as one of his youngest cursed the heavens. He wasn't about to tell him to stop, though. The God's hadn't done anything for him either, so who was he to tell the boy to respect them? Still, his mate was beginning to worry over the brat, so Abrafo approached.
"Safi." His deep voice carried across the valley that they'd settled in, booming against the walls. It instantly caught the boys attention. "Let's go. You obviously haven't caught anything yet, and we're responsible for the meal tonight, if you haven't forgotten."
Instead of dutifully following after his father, Safi turned on him with his lips pulled back. His ears were flipped back on his thick head, showing nothing, but pure fury and pain. "I haven't forgotten, father." He spat. Slowly, purposefully, he sauntered closer to the older lion.
"Answer me this; after everything you've seen, everywhere you've been, why did you choose mom? Did you know your cubs would look like me, be like me, or was it an accident?" Safi never was one to pull punches. "Out of every female on the savannah, why did you...pick a leopard."
Abrafo frowned, and straightened his spine. "What in the hell are you babbling about? I didn't 'pick' your mother, it just happened that way and I don't have to explain why to you." He stalked over towards Safi. With his superior gaze, he looked down at the brat and sneered at him, anger spiking. "And what the hell is wrong with being a leopard? Don't you love your mother? Or is it just in your blood to blame others for your fate?"
"My blood?" The adolescent barked out a laugh and paced around his father. "If it's in my blood, then who did it come from, I wonder? It sure as hell didn't come from mom." He snapped at Abrafo's leg and bounced back before the lion could do anything to him.
"It's because of your stupid decision to knock her up that I'm here. That I'm defective." He slapped a paw to his chest. "I can't even get a female to look at me, so much as lay with me! It doesn't matter if I'm strong, weak, pretty, ugly or even kind. Because of what I am, no one will have me and it's all your fault."
So that was it. The realization of it twisted in Abrafo's soul like a poisinous snake. Fighting the rage within him, Abrafo charged his son and pounced, smacking him away with a hard smack to the head. But he wasn't finished. The lion spun and pressed his paw on the leopon's throat, forcing him into submission.
"Blame me if you want; hate me even. If it makes it easier for you, be weak and blame me. I don't care. But you should know this; just because you blame me or even the Gods, you can't become a leopard. Or even a lion. Your a leopon, Safi, so grow up and live with it. You're a loved and cherished member of our family. Just because some shallow a** girl won't have sex with you doesn't mean your life is over." He pulled back, allowing his son to breath with his eyes still flaming red. "I thought you were better than this."
Safi rolled over onto his stomach to choke for air. His lungs burned with every precious breath he took, but it still wasn't enough. His body and mind were shocked. Why hadn't he seen it before? "I am better than this." He turned around to look up at his father, gasping and wheezing between his breaths. "Its just...why is it so hard?"
The adolescent spat out a wad of spittle and stood up slowly. He looked down at his paws, still simpering in his pain, but feeling like such a whiner. His father didn't deserve what what had happened. "I'm sorry, dad. Forgive me?"
Abrafo sighed and reached over to ruffle Safi's tiny mane. It wasn't as thick as his or as rich, but every hair felt the same. "Whats to forgive?" He grinned. "Look, I know it's hard, but your in a rough spot in your life. I can't promise that life will get any easier, but it will get better."
Looking out across the valley, at all the little dips in the earth and the trees that swayed in the tiny breeze, he mused, "And trust me, theres a place out there somewhere with a female ready and waiting for you. You just don't know it yet."
"Seriously?" He smiled weakly and looked out over the land that his father saw. Even if they did share eye colors, it wasn't easy imagining exactly what he saw. If it was beautiful or tragic. "I dunno. She'd have to be pretty accepting. My dad's a badass, my mom's a ninja, my twin's rough and my siblings are crazy."
With a laugh, he stretched out his ghostly paws. "She'd have to be pretty damn special."
"Special in the head." Abrafo joked and bumped Safi's bum with his hip, knocking the leopon off his balance. He laughed and bounced out of the way before Safi could get him.
"Move it or lose it, cub! Your mom will have our necks if we don't get some food back soon." They snaked around each other, batting and tossing insults before both of the males tore out to the grazing grounds, wide smiles on their maws.
(Word count: 1,030)
