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 Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:28 am
 The sun was up and Tay was on her way to lessons, which meant she was in a small pack of cubs. Her siblings. Her favorite people in the world. Though that was sort of a subjective title, since Tay more or less loved everyone and tended to like whomever she was with the best. When she got older, that could pose a problem with any beaux she might have, but for the time being it did no harm for everyone to be her best friend.
She sidled up to her closest sib, Carnelian, and whispered, "Guess who I met last night on my way back home?"
She hadn't had time to share her adventure with her family the night before because she'd been home pretty late and it had been time for bed, but she wanted to tell someone about the excitement with the assassin. And maybe, since the other cub she'd met hadn't seemed to like girls too much, he might be someone Carnelian knew. Since Tay had forgotten to ask the cub's name, she was hoping her brother could help her.
"You'll probably never guess. I met a boy who thought he was an assassin and I was a cloud and a ghost and a coward. I told him I wasn't any of those things, though."
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:39 am
 Carnelian had risen with the sun this morning, not because he wanted to but because he had a headache the size of the sky. He was getting tired of these endless nightmares and terrors that plagued his mind. Waking hours were something he treasured unless the nightmares turned to ...daymares... and he was stricken by the terrible visions during the day. He had yet to bring it up to either of his parents for fear of upsetting them, and thus far was still trying to deal with his issues on his own. He was sleepily following his siblings with his sister Tay approached him. Before he could even hazard a guess as to whom she'd met on the way back home, she'd told him. "An assassin?" He looked dubious. "What did he look like? Who was he?" Carnelian bristled at the thought of someone calling his sister names.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:59 am
"Yep!" Tay said, missing his dubious expression at first.
When she did notice it, it occurred to her that he might actually know what an assassin was, and maybe could tell her. He was better than she was at lessons (but then, so were a lot of people), so there was a chance he would know. It might've been something they covered in lessons that she'd missed or forgotten.
"What's an assassin, anyway? He said they were mean and sneaky and liked to bite people, but I've never heard of anyone like that."
The idea that there were people like that made Tay a little sad. Clearly they needed friends, if that was how their lives were, and Tay was willing to befriend them, but they did sound a little scary. She'd like to befriend them with someone else, maybe. Like a grown-up. That would be much safer. Though the "assassin" she'd met had been a cub, and couldn't really be all that dangerous. He'd said he was playing, anyway.
"Well, it was kind of dark and shadowy, so I didn't get a really good look at him," she confessed. "But his coat was a lot lighter than ours." Somehow it didn't occur to her to mention that he was a cub, too.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:10 am
"I'm not real sure what an assassin is, Tay, but it doesn't sound good," he replied with a concerned look for his younger sister. Something creeping around in the evening hours that was mean and sneaky and liked to bite people didn't sound like someone that he wanted Tay to hang around with.
"Next time you want to go out and play with assassins maybe you should have someone go with you, like me. Just in case something bad happens, you know?" He didn't like the thought of his sister flitting around with strangers. Tay wanted to be everyone's friend, and it could be rather unsettling for Carnelian, especially after learning about this assassin thing stalking about at dusk.
Lowering his voice to a whisper, he moved closer so that his other siblings couldn't hear. "Did you tell mom?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:30 am
"Well, no, it doesn't sound good," Tay admitted. "But I don't think he was really all that mean. He said he was just playing, and didn't really look like he was much older than us, so how dangerous could he be?"
She grinned and bumped his shoulder with his. "D'you know what I think? I think he was just lonely. Probably he could just use some more friends. So next time I go out, you could come with me and we could both be his friends and then we'd be all right if something bad happened and he'd have more friends."
This was how Tay reasoned almost all the time. Everything could be solved by friendship, and everyone had the potential to be friends with everyone else. It was just a matter of being willing to make the effort, and sometimes to refuse to be rebuffed. If a person wasn't initially receptive to Tay's overtures, she just tried another tactic. It was inconceivable that someone might not want to be her friend, deep down.
"I didn't tell Mom, no. I didn't want her to be any more worried. I did come back kind of late, you know." And Tay hated to worry her parents or family or friends (so anyone), if she could avoid it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:46 am
Carnelian relaxed when she mentioned that the assassin-thing hadn't been older than they were. How much trouble could Tay have gotten into with someone their age? She seemed convinced that he'd meant no harm and that made Carnelian feel a bit less agitated by the whole thing.
Her grin was infectious and Carn couldn't help but return her bright smile. "That sounds like a good plan to me, Tay. Mom says I should make more friends." It was probably because he'd been constantly underfoot the past few weeks, ever since Nailah had helped him home when he'd been caught unawares by his visions. They were visions that meant nothing to him, and when they hit him they could hit him hard.
"You shouldn't stay out so late," he admonished, though he wouldn't tattle on his sister. "Mom would be real upset if something happened to you."
"Hey," he began as an afterthought, "what was the assassins name?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 12:22 pm
"You should," Tay agreed.
Anyone else might have sounded sage, since she'd said it and meant it very seriously, but Tay had a very hard time keeping a smile off her face, and so whatever she said tended to lack that element of somberness which made people take her seriously. Most of the time she was used to people laughing at her, though she always assumed their laughter was a good thing, and never worried that it might not be.
"And I'd love to spend more time playing with you. I think it'd be lots of fun. If I see him at lessons today I'll try to point him out, so maybe we can talk to him afterward."
In her excitement, Tay performed an impromptu frolicking pas du chat. Today was going to be a great day. She just knew it. How could it not be? The sun was shining (like it did every day) and the sky was blue (like it was every day) and she was able to talk to her brother on the way to lessons. A very good start to what would definitely be a great day.
"Um. I didn't catch it. He didn't throw it. Sorry!" Tay opened her eyes very wide and looked hugely apologetic. She didn't mean to be an inconvenience, but she'd offered to point out her assassin to him.
"I thought maybe you'd know him when I pointed him out. I don't think he liked girls very much, so probably he's not someone I've played with a lot."
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 12:45 pm
Carnelian laughed as he watched his sister. Though she didn't realize it, she was taking his mind off of the nightmares that plagued him, the visions that haunted him. He would be eternally grateful to her for this. Perhaps he should spend more time with her - maybe then the nightmares and visions would stop and he could live a normal life.
"I wonder why he didn't seem to like girls," Carnelian pondered thoughtfully. He didn't think there was anything wrong with girls. His sisters were absolutely the best girls ever as far as Carnelian was concerned. "I probably don't know him," he gave a pained expression, "I don't have any friends, Tay." Not counting his brother and sisters, anyways. Well, there was that big lioness he'd met before classes a while ago. Maybe his mother had a point, and Tay as well.
He was glad he had Tay's companionship today, though. It made everything infinitely better.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 1:19 pm
"I don't know?" Tay replied.
It was a mystery to her, too. As far as she was concerned there was nothing wrong with girls. Or boys. Everyone was wonderful in their own ways. Most people were wonderful in multiple ways. Carnelian was wonderful because he was warm and made Tay feel safe and special. And he was her brother. Presently her favorite brother.
Which was why his assertion that he didn't have any friends struck dumb, leaving her standing still in her tracks for several heartbeats. How could he think he didn't have any friends? Tay was his friend, and she loved him huge heaps. Her eyes shone with empathetic tears at the horrible thought of being friendless, and then she bounded forward and tackled Carnelian in a fierce hug.
"Don't say that! I'm your friend. I'll be your best friend ever, and I'll introduce you to all my friends and they'll be your friends, too. And...and...You have lots of friends."
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 1:26 pm
Carnelian was a bit taken aback at his sister's outburst. He hadn't expected such a violent response to his honest comment about having no friends. Instinctively he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, awkwardly patting her back with his paw. Carnelian couldn't fight the huge smile that spread across his features. Tay was such a loving lioness, no matter who you were, and he was lucky that he was related to her. It made him really happy.
"I'll... I'll be your bestest friend ever, too, Tay." He didn't know what else to say to her, so he just sat there with an arm wrapped around her and a paw patting gently against her back. "You're real nice for sharing your friends with me," he added as an afterthought, feeling bad for making her sad for him.
He watched the others keep walking in front of them, the distance growing as the group of cubs continued on to classes. He didn't want to break his sister's embrace, what if it hurt her feelings?
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 1:34 pm
She hadn't told Mom about her adventure with the assassin last night, but she was definitely telling her about Carnelian thinking he had no friends. Mom shouldn't have told him to make more friends, maybe. What if that was why he felt bad? And she'd agreed with Mom about him needing to make more friends, too! She was just as bad.
"Of course I'll share them. That's what friends do. And I'm glad you'll be my bestest friend ever. I don't have one of those yet."
For good measure, Tay licked Carnelian's eye and forehead. She hadn't actually been aiming for his eye, but she'd ended up getting it anyway. It wasn't as if she could see with her tongue, and her own eyes were a little bit moist still with the unshed tears of her distress.
As her eyes dried Tay noticed that they were falling behind. If they showed up late, their instructors wouldn't be happy with them. Tay didn't like to make her instructors unhappy. She knew she was enough of a bother with her inability to learn quickly.
"You know, we'll be late if we don't hurry. Let's go!" She released her brother and bounded after the others all in one almost-fluid movement.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 1:50 pm
Carnelian was about to respond to Tay's offhand comment about bestest friends ever but he wasn't expecting her to lick his eye and forehead. Squinting at her out of his good eye Carnelian watched her bound after the others in their classes. She was right about being late if they fell further behind, and he took a moment to swipe at his eye with his paw before picking up his own pace so that he could catch up with the others.
His visions might be terrible, he might not understand them and he couldn't control them. Carnelian might not have many friends. What he did have, though, was a loving family that he was very thankful for. His sisters were pleasant, his brother was nice, his papa was big and strong and his mama was beautiful and smart.
What more could he ask for?
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