"You made it."

"What, did you doubt me?"

"I didn't say that."

Myrnh scoffed. She moved past her brother, fully expecting him to follow. He did. "You might as well have."

Fashaq rolled his eyes as he walked at her flank. He had long since learned to just ignore his sister's generally sour attitude. It had been a full day since he had earned his own entry to the Stormborn, and he had been waiting just at the outskirts of the main populous of the pride for his sister to join him. The sun had set and a light fog had rolled in. Still, he waited.

The lion had wanted to fight in place of his sister. Of course, he didn't make the suggestion himself (such a comment would only be met with accusations of him looking down on her). It had been the snakes that had proposed the idea. The same snakes that now trailed behind the two, gossiping in their low hushed voice as they often did. Kha and Veda had been companions to the siblings for as long as he could remember. It was sometime in their youth that their mother brought home the pale, star and skull marked serpent for him. True to fashion, it was only a short while before Myrnh found a companion of her own. For their presence he was grateful. Kha had proven to be a valuable ally, giving him eyes in the dark where he had none. And he had always believed Veda to be a sensible voice in his sister's ear.

It was dark and it was foggy, but Myrnh's pale form caught and reflected any and all light available. She moved with a forward momentum that came with an unfounded determination. Fashaq couldn't help but notice the slight limp in her front paw.

"Where are you going?"

No response.

"Do you want to find a healer?"

No response.

"Myrnh."

"What."

The larger lion sighed, quickening his pace to move in front of her. There, he stopped. Behind him, the serpents slowed their pace, giving each other a knowing sideways glance. Myrnh stopped just short of bumping into him. She looked at him, incredulous, with eyes that could have burned holes into someone. "What?" she repeated, her tone raising in volume.

"What are you doing? Why are you acting like this?" His sister's tantrums were something that he can grown used to in the past years. In all those instances, though, he could at least trace the source of her moodiness to something. This seemed aimless, and wasn't anything like what he was used to dealing with.

Her expression grew hard before softening. She sat. From behind, Veda moved forward and coiled at her side, setting her head on the lioness's back paw. "What are we doing here, Fa?" Myrnh responded with a sigh. Her voice was soft. Distant.

Fashaq was almost taken aback by the sudden softness in her tone. She very rarely called him by that nickname. It was only now that he noticed that she seemed tired. Her eyes seemed listless. Everything about her seemed like she was somewhere else. Somewhere far away. "What do you mean?" He asked in return. His voice also mellowed out a few notches. Kha meandered around them in a languid, slithering motion. The skull marked serpent was more interested in this new place than in the siblings' drama. His tongue flickered in and out as he took in the sights.

"I mean, this place. This pride. It feels so…" A shake of the head. "It doesn't feel weird to you? Do you actually feel like we belong here?"

The lion considered her. Did it feel like they belonged here? The two had been rogues all their life. Their mother a rogue before them. Sure, they had toyed with the borders of some prides here and there out of pure curiosity, but never before had they considered actually joining the ranks. It had always just been the two of them. One would take the lead on deciding where they went, which generally manifested in Fashaq following Myrnh on her whims. All the while, though, they had remained generally aimless. One in a while, Fashaq would have a vision that directed him here or there. To the pride borders to meet a female that he had a vague vision of (of what he wouldn't tell Myrnh, and honestly she didn't want to think about it much). Towards or away from their Uncle. To find their Mother a few times. Even then, Fashaq had no idea where or when what he saw in his visions would come to fruition, so they would aim towards various environments (jungles, grasslands, what have you), but it was more or less aimless.

So what had driven them here? Stories of the mighty Stormborn had traveled far across the lands. Warriors from the seaside cliffs. Powerful and mystical and protected. They could both accomplish something, here. He wouldn't tell her, but he got a deep, instinctual feeling that this was right. Maybe the feeling was the manifestation of a vision. But they could both accomplish something here, and he could keep her safe while doing so.

He would keep her safe. Fashaq wouldn't dare tell her that because it would only jumpstart some sort of fit over something, but over anything he would keep her safe. And likewise, she would stay at his side. Even if she never said anything out loud about it, she would stay at his side. Not just because they were siblings and because he was the best bet she had at staying safe (she saw the way the lion she dueled was looking at her. She wasn't going to become some pretty thing to be owned). She would stay at his side because he was her brother. Even if she gave him hell, that remained true.

"Give it time," Fashaq responded finally. He held her gaze for a long moment, both their expressions serious and almost grim. Finally, he gave her a playful shove.

"Hey!" She hiseed, toppling over. "Gods, Fashaq, what in the gods' names is wrong with y-"

"Oh shut it," he cood, flopping at her side. "Now, do you want to find a medic or what?"

"…Yeah. Fine."

(WC: 1047)