[FIN] Not My Dad (Horae & Avahk)

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The grey lion yawned as he wandered home from his hunting lesson. Well, where "wander" meant "took the most indirect route possible." It wasn't that he didn't love his dad, or his sisters, but sometimes a guy just wanted to be on his own.

Not to mention if he could manage to find Fuu, then the young lion could go back to his favorite pasttime of following the purple lion around. Yes, he loved his father, but Fuu was the kind of lion Avahk wanted to be when he grew up.  

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Avahk happened to look up in the right direction and saw a brown lioness watching him, eyes narrowed, dislike radiating from every line in her body. She was an adult and he wasn't entirely certain who she was, but the odds were good she knew who he was. His dad had a reputation throughout the entire pride by now, and it was common knowledge who Avahk was.

It was so unfair though! It wasn't as if Avahk had asked to be Yareha's son! Yes, he loved his father, but still! They shouldn't blame Avahk for what his father did! That was the sort of thing that really ticked him off. So much so that the adolescent walked right up to the brown lioness.

"Can I help you?" he asked testily.  

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Avahk's mouth twisted, something between a smile and a scowl. "Really. I could've sworn that you'd like to do something to me. Probably because of my father, huh?" Being glared at due to Yareha's parentage was something the grey lion was exceedingly familiar with. To the point where, as he'd just demonstrated, he'd rather confront the issue head on instead of verbally dancing around it.

"So I'm alone. It happens. I'm old enough for it," the lion retorted.  

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It was a force of will alone that kept Avahk's lip from curling up in a snarl. But he couldn't afford to lose his temper like that. So he settled for a sneer instead.

"So you don't even give me a chance to prove myself? You're just going to judge me because of my father and that's that?" How like an adult. Just because he wasn't supposed to disrespect them, they took total advantage of his youth to be as rude and prejudiced as they wanted.

He ignored the comments about being out hunting alone. He was more intelligent than that and knew better than to acknowledge not-so-subtle threats like that.  

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Really, what gave her the right to talk to him like that? He wasn't the one getting aggressive first - she'd started that by glaring at him from across the way! Stupid adults, always projecting their problems onto others.

"If you want me to "calm down" or "be rational" or "avoid creating hostility" then why don't you do us all a favor and treat me like anyone else in this pride?" the adolescent demanded. "Forget who my father is and leave him out of it!"  

[mouselet]

Avahk gave an inarticulate snarl. This lioness was clearly uninterested in anyone's opinion other than her own. So it was not worth any more time or effort trying to persuade her otherwise. Yes, perhaps he'd come on a bit strongly, but she wasn't exactly helping things either!

"If that's the way you want it, fine," he retorted. The grey lion turned and headed for home without another word. No need to take the long way now, he might as well go straight there. Maybe Dad would be willing to commiserate with him.