(( self rp between: Naar-ehuka, Nur'yu, Su and Kaharabu ))
Naar watched the teams depart with a horrible mix of anger and hurt.
The paw mark on her face still burned from where Fia had struck her and she rubbed idly at it as she watched them disappear from sight. And, in that moment, no words could describe how dejected and useless being left behind had made her feel. The feeling seemed to enforce the point that she would be better off away from these lands. She was nothing but a burden on the pride and when it came down to it, far more worthless than any of the budding, young cubs. She wondered why she had nothing to offer. Why she had no hidden talent. Why she struggled when others thrived. Was it a family curse? Some of her siblings had been sent away and she had pained for them. She had grieved. Now she was thinking that they had been given the better deal.
At that moment, if she could have traded pelts with her golden sister, she would have.
None of it made sense. Why would her beautiful sister - talented and wonderful - be forced to bear the burden of a gold pelt and have to leave the lands. Why should she - with an orange-red pelt - be allowed to continue living here when she had nothing to offer? Perhaps, one morning soon, Naar would take it upon herself to awaken at first light and leave. Probably no one would even know she was missing. Probably no one would even care.
She looked down at her hurt and bleeding paws and dropped her ears flat against her head. She’d pushed herself beyond her limits to try and prove her worth. But what had that achieved? She’d been rendered incapable of helping her peers. But that wasn’t fair. Ute was hurt, too, and she had gone. Okay, so Zii was her mother, but were they not a pride? Peoples who banded together in time of aid? Were her eyes not good enough to search for the white feline?
The sound of small paws and strained breathing drew her attention from her miserable thoughts; turning her sour eyes to see who came. She was not surprised to see it was a youngster; dark-pelted with a blaze of orange across his back like fiery wings. She scrambled for a name but couldn’t come up with one.
“Aw, no, I missed it?” He skidded to a halt in a plume of gold and rounded on Naar. “What’s with the mope face? Where’s everyone gone?” He’d heard that lions were set to gather and had wanted to come and spy. Unfortunately he was a little late and had missed the party. Damn, that was not a good start.
Naar growled, purposely turning her head so as not to meet his eyes.
“Well?” the male leaned to the side in an attempt to get in her line of vision, not one to easily be put off.
“Someone is missing.” She said eventually. “They’ve gone to look.”
The male frowned. “Why are you here, then?”
“Because I’m not good enough to join them.” Naar snapped, hackles bristling.
“How come?”
“Because I'm just not!” She was growing agitated again.
“Oh." He paused, deliberating. "Well, is it too late to start looking?”
“Probably.”
The cub sat. “I’m in training to be a Watcher, you know.”
“Oh, good.”
“I got good eyes and I see something you don't want me to. See, you might be sulking here, but I know you don’t want to do that. You want to search, too. You might not be good enough to go with them, so why don’t you find someone else to go with?”
An orange ear lifted.
“Well?”
“No one would want to search with me. I’d slow them down. They already said so.”
“I’d go with you!” He puffed up his chest.
She blinked, confused. “Who are you?”
“Nur’yu.” He chirped. “Who’re we looking for?”
“Her name’s Zii’moto.”
Nur’yu gaped, bristling with instant concern. “Auntie Zii-Zii?”
Naar shrugged. “Guess so.”
“Then we definitely need to help out!” He tugged insistently at Naar’s paws, not seeming to notice her wincing despite his profession (or future profession).”Come on, come on!”
“I don’t know...”
“Are you a soldier?”
“Do I look like a soldier?”
He blinked. “Uh, no. Suppose not.”
Naar stood, brushing him off of her and limped in an indecisive circle, turning her head this way and that.
“I’ve got an idea!” The youngster chirped. “I know someone who can help. She can protect us against danger and she’s got a good sense of smell. Come on.”
With a low growl, Naar hesitated for a moment before plodding slowly after the cub, the sharp pains in her paws akin to walking on glass. She wasn't exactly sure what she was getting herself into, but considering things as they were, it couldn't be much worse. She needed to be able to justify herself and...up until this moment, she couldn't say that she had ever done that.
Nur'yu was already far ahead and had to pause to let her catch up. His face had scrunched up and she refused to meet his eyes as she drew up alongside him and continued on, her head hanging low.
"Wow, you are slow. What'd you do to your paws?"
"Digging." She replied moodily.
"Lions aren't made for digging." He pointed out, bouncing ahead.
A moment later and Naar realised they were heading towards the dens and felt herself slow as the youngster took off like a bullet, dashing towards the large den belonging to the Regents. By the time she had arrived, the male was already deep in conversation with another. The 'other' being one pf Kidondo and No's newest litter. She was a deep, velvet red in colour with bright, intelligent eyes and those eyes peered across at Naar as she drew closer. The scrutiny made Naar feel even more foolish and out of place than ever.
"Who's that?" The young female cub asked, sounding more bored than inquisitive.
"Um...who are you again?" Nur'yu asked.
"Naar."
"Hello!" Nur'yu greeted cheerfully, before turning back to his little cousin. "Yes, so me and Naar are going out hunting for her and I figured that maybe you'd let us take your snake with us?"
"Kaharabu?" Su queried. "Why?"
"Because snakes have good senses! Auntie Fee-Fee told me."
Su wrinkled her nose and glanced back into the darkness of the den. "You hearing this, Kaha?" A moment later and a lithe, golden snake emerged from the den, weaving between the cub's forepaws and rearing her head up to look Nur'yu straight in the eye. Her narrow, tapered face looked positively emotionless, the glassy red eyes centred with a dark slit for a pupil.
"They want your help to find my big sister." Su explained.
"And why, pray tell, shall we help you?" Kaharabu's tongue flicked from her mouth as she spoke. However, unlike most serpents, she pronounced her words in an odd, clipped fashion that kept the lisp from her words. After all, it was not 'proper' to hiss when speaking and she would not be looked down on at being a lesser species. After all, it was clear she was a creature of intelligence and she would ensure to do everything in her power to make this clear. "We have our own duties to attend to, do we not, dear Su?"
The little female nodded. "Yes. We do."
"Not more important than finding your sister!" Nur'yu exclaimed, genuinely horrified at the prospect. "She might be hurt or...or worse! Please, Su, we won't be gone for long and we want to prove to the others that we can help, too. They won't be able to say; 'oh he's just a cub and she's just a snake and she's just a big useless slow-poke.' We'd be recognised for helping out the pride during the bad times!" He edged closer, poking the female with a paw. "Please, Su. Pu-leeeeeease."
Naar, meanwhile, was growling softly at the young male's words. He might not realise it, but he'd put her exact feelings into that one simple sentence. He was a talented Watcher after all, even if he didn't know it yet.
"It's up to you, Kaha." Su shrugged.
"It could buy us favour if I go with them. Besides, if I don't, we'll likely never see them again. The big one doesn't look too smart and...well...we both know how silly males are."
Nur'yu made a hurt face. "So...is that a yes?"
The snake gave a withered sigh. "Don't wait up for me, Su. I may be gone for some time."
The cub stepped back, allowing the snake to pass unhindered from the den. "Take care of yourself out there. I need you, remember!"
"Yay!" Nur'yu danced on the spot, turning to beam across at Naar. The big adult, however, looked even more displeased than before. She could already sense their failure looming down on them and when they returned empty-pawed...life really wouldn't be worth living.
/fin
