[PRP] Sass, Meet a** (Ai & Xiu)

[Velveteen Angel]

Ai walked through the trees, his paws finding purchase on the tree branches with almost no effort on him. He was born in this forest, he knew it backwards and forwards. His damaged eye was covered by a scrap of fabric that his elder sister had constructed for him, however the scars still peaked out at the edges. He had small scars across his body too, but they were mostly hidden by his fur now that he was older.

He was completely silent as he walked. He had apprenticed under Amaranta as an adolescent, and now he was a full Law-Speaker. He rarely had use for his talents though. The pride was quiet.

Too quiet.

They were scared of an attack that may never come again.

Ai was the result of the last attack, a walking reminder to all in the pride what would happen when they let their guard down. Ai was stronger now, than when he was a cub. Although he was a scholar, his muscles rippled as he walked and he stood taller than the other scholars.

When the lions attacked again, it would be an eye-for-an-eye finally. He would get his revenge.
 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

Xiu was a little less graceful in among the trees than the male, and had resigned herself to walking the ground until she had learned the area better. She was no slight little slight of a leopardess, so she didn't fear going far without protection, and yet she knew nothing of fighting, so Xiu kept a sharp eye. The colony had had enough attacks to make them wary of that sort of thing.

Xiu could empathize with that.

Her clear gaze looked up through the leaf coverage to find the leopard she sought near enough that she could call to him, "Excuse me, are you Ai?" Xiu moved a little closer until she got a good look at him. Rather build for a scholar. And yet she'd known of the attack; all Xiu had to do was look at his face to be reminded of it. "I'm new from the rogue lands, and I have a message from your sister, Chiyo."

While she hadn't been clear as to how long the leopardess had been out there, the determination in her eyes had been frightening. Xiu only hoped that was something unique to the female.  

[Velveteen Angel]

Ai turned gaze to her when she spoke. He had seen her approach, but had recognised her as a member of the colony and not a stranger. It meant he had little use for her. However, at her words he took notice.

His good eye scanned her figure, and came to rest on her face.

"What news do you have of Chiyo?" His tone, while cold, was urgent. His sister had left the colony, the safety and was travelling alone. Ai hated that she was gone, and feared for her every day.

"Is she well?"
 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

"She's well and has been actively training." Xiu failed to mention the crippling pain the leopardess had been in when they spoke. Chiyo had pushed her shoulder to the point of misuse, and in her mad obsession for revenge would no doubt ruin it. All hopes of recovery were dashed with every swipe of her claws.

"Your sister travels with a male leopard named Nox. They seemed to be quite...involved." Xiu waved her paw about in the air as if she struggled with finding the right word. "I think her exact words were 'stop worrying so damn much or I'm going to call you dad'".

Quirking her head to the side, the leopardess frowned. "How often have you changed your wrap? It looks dingy." Shaking her head, Xiu headed off in search of a clean source of water. "Come on then, get a move on. We're going to clean that out."  

[Velveteen Angel]

Ai scowled at the words that the stranger spoke to him, his sisters voice echoing her words in his head as she spoke. He missed Chiyo. His sister had been through a lot, and she was one of the few he felt could understand his anger. Her anger seemed more strongly directed at the lions though, whereas his was simply at everyone.

"She is involved with a male?" He asked, his voice surprised, his good eyebrow raising. He ignored her comment about 'calling him dad' because if Chiyo was here, that would have sparked a fight, but since the strange was merely echoing the words of his sister from weeks ago, then there was no point raising the issue. "Is he strong?" He had better protect Chiyo.

He flinched at her comment of his wrap. "It's fine," he said stiffly. "Medic Ua changed it three days ago." It no longer bled as it was mostly scarred over, but it had a habit of getting dirty and sore due to the depth of the scars.

 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

"It seemed that way, yes," Xiu supplied with a nod. She had spoken of him with a little far off look, and a telling smile. It was honestly a little surprising coming from the fierce female. His question prompted a moment of furrowed thinking, and a shake of her striped head. "I'm not sure. I didn't see him myself, but I would assume so? I doubt your sister would involve herself in someone that couldn't keep up with her."

Stopping mid stride, Xiu pinned him with an assessing stare. "I'm well aware of who Medic Ua is, and I can also surmise that she would rather her brother clean his wounds than come to her when they've festered. Now move. Chop chop."

She took a few steps before pausing to look back at him, "In case you weren't aware, I'm a Medic as well. So before you puff up and ignore me, you should know I generally know what I'm talking about."  

[Velveteen Angel]

Ai scoffed. "She may have just picked herself up a charity case," he said with annoyance. "As long as he does not bring her danger or further injuries, I suppose there is no harm." Or cubs. As long as he did not leave her with cubs to defend on her own in the rogue lands. Than Ai would have to chase down the strange male and drag him back by his tail.

He scowled at the female. "I can clean my wounds myself," he responded tersely. "Thank you for bringing it to my attention that they need care but I do not require your assistance to do so, stranger."

 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

"Wow." Xiu's tone was not without a chunk of sass. "Kudos to you for having such high hopes for your sisters choice in males." The white tigress rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. The way she had looked when speaking about Nox had told her all she needed to know about him. Whoever his was, however their relationship continued (or ended), was up to Chiyo now. "Have a little faith, huh? She could have picked much worse." The last bit was a bitter murmur.

Stopping fully now, Xiu made a complete about face and marched right back up to the tree he was perched in. She scowled up at him with all of her fury, which wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, mostly annoyance. Chiyo was a saint compared to the terse stubbornness coming from this male. Xiu sighed and scratched her head, "Look, I'm not leaving until you at least let me look at it. So, you can deal with me all day or just come down. Don't think about running off either; I'll follow and probably bash my head against a tree doing so."

She placed her forelegs against the trunk and stood herself up. "Pretty please, stranger?"  

[Velveteen Angel]

Ai was not impressed at the sassiness of his new companion (as she did not appear to want to LEAVE), and his expression clearly said so. His deadpan expression stared blankly at her. "I'm sorry to break it to you, but I know my sister better than you do," he said, his tone scathing. "I have as much faith as my entire life of knowing Chiyo allows me to have. Spare me your womenly dreams for her supposed future." He rolled his good eye

He scowled down at her as she demanded his compliance. "I could outrun you," he pointed out. "I doubt you are as confident in these trees as I am. I was born here. You're just a stranger, stranger." He smirked, and calmly began to walk between the trees once more, moving away from where she rested against the trunk.

"Thank you for the message for Chiyo. Your usefulness is over now."
 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

Xiu threw up her paws in exasperation and pushed off from the trunk. Womanly dreams?! If she wasn't so dead set on making this colony work the tigress would have left that minute. His attitude, words and over bearing nature reminded her so much of a red pelted devil that it sickened her. Let his eye rot for all she cared!

"Fine, have it your way. If you're so dead set on pushing others away and living the life of a 'mysterious vagrant' then do so on your own time. So long as you belong to this colony you'll have to come to someone for healing, and word travels fast in a place like this."

So she didn't know Ua or the other medics as well as she bragged; so what? Xiu doubted anyone would take well to his blatant dismissal of her. At least, she desperately hoped so. Biting her lower lip, Xiu staved off tears of frustration.

"Your usefulness ended the moment you allowed your sister to ruin her shoulder." Xiu couldn't stop the bite from being said anymore than she could the scathing tone that carried it. "She's crippling herself for the sake of your family and at least she recognizes the value in others. I'm glad that at least someone in your litter grew a set of balls, and I hope she's well enough to come back here to use them."

Turning on her paw, Xiu stomped off towards the center of the pride.
 

[Velveteen Angel]

Ai snarled at the retreating figure of the female, his eye narrowed and teeth extended. He didn't yell after her, or scream. It wasn't his way. Instead he stayed dead silent until she had disappeared into the forest.

Only once she was far away did he rip into the bark of the tree branch he stood on, his anger swelling deep within his chest and a low growl of absolute pain echoed forth into the surrounding silence.

Why did I not just die? He snarled at himself inwardly, wondering not for the first time whether the colony would have been better if he had died in the battle. At least he would not have to deal with this pain now. The pain of having cause his sister's injury, having driven her away, having driven his family apart and left the colony shattered.

He would fix it, somehow. He would show that strange that he was alive for one purpose only now. To fix his mistakes.

- fin -