(Tiny green?)
Vayka plodded alongside Ramsi, who was now Kanir. The distant smell of prey hit her nose, and she quickened her pace from excitement. Ramsi matched it, a steady, quiet presence, even more so now that he damaged his voice. But today the silence was uncomfortable, stifling.
‘You’ve been treating me different.’ Ramsi broke the silence with a whisper Vayka barely caught.
‘I have not.’ She rolled her eyes at him, before pausing. ‘Kanir.’ Now it was Ramsi’s turn to roll his eyes.
‘This doesn’t change anything, you know. Me being Kanir doesn’t mean we’re not friends. It doesn’t mean I’m better than you or some stupid thing.’ His voice took on a pleading note.
‘I know that.’ Vayka said. To tell the truth, she didn’t know if it changed things. In her was a bred in fear of displeasing the monarchs. When Ramsi was still just the Kayan, they were friends, but things felt different now that he was the ruling monarch. ‘You matter more to me than some rules, we’re still friends. I just need to think about some stuff.’ She shrugged, touching the gems on her chest. Ramsi nodded, and they fell into silence again.
Their hunt was successful, and they came back with a lot of good prey. A little fluffy kit wobbled forward, an almost direct clone of Zorro. Nikaj looked on, a tired expression on her face. Vayka felt bad for Nikaj’s position. She never really wanted kids, but the bloodline needed to survive. It wasn’t the first time Vayka wondered whether a monarchy was even worth it.
‘I’ll bite your head off if you didn’t get me something good.’ Nikaj grinned at the two approaching nichelings, her tired expression fading.
‘Guess I’m going to be missing a head then,’ Ramsi smiled back, hiding the prey behind himself. ‘We’ve got nothing.’
‘Come on Ramsi, even you aren’t that useless.’ She jibed. ‘Vayka will have something though, because she can actually hunt.’ Nikaj turned her grin to Vayka.
‘That I do.’ Vayka puffed her chest out, before picking up Ayan, the little kit, and walking over to the others. Ayan was not given the surname of a Kayan, because he was not the child of the current monarch. But if Nikaj and Ramsi died with Ayan being the only heir, he would become Kanir. Just as she and Ramsi set down their food, a low growl echoed from the bushes. Vayka turned around, and eyes like black pools stared back at her, hunger like a bright flame. Vayka just managed to shove her friends out of the way, before sharp teeth sank into her shoulder. She would have been dead, if not for her spiky back, making the bearyena yelp in pain and stand back for a moment.
‘To the ports!’ Ramsi said as loud as he could, his voice raspy. Nikaj grabbed Ayan, and everyone ran. Zorro and Kiji were already there, and running. They sped across the flowers, the bearyena nipping at their hind legs. Bounding across the stones, the tribe ran to the next island. The journey was long and tough, across stones and smaller islands that were barely sandbanks. On the way Telim was born, and when the warm air of another island hit them, Vayka thought she would cry from relief. She quickly touched the gems on her chest, before hopping off the stones and helping the others.
~
Kiji sat humming to herself as she walked along the beach looking around for herbs, or something of use. The loud pawsteps of her sister alerted her, and she stood up a little straighter. Kiji had never been very close with Vayka, but they were friends at the very least.
‘Ramsi wants us to move further inland. You might want to pick up the pace.’ Vayka ushered. Kiji looked off into the distance, thinking for a moment, before looking back at her sister.
‘Somethings bothering you.’ She said, raising an eyebrow.
‘Why does everyone keep saying that!’ Vayka huffed, grabbing Kiji’s tail and half dragging her to the others. She wasn’t very successful. ‘Nothings wrong! I’m just thinking!’
‘Alright, alright. But would it hurt if you let me think with you? If it’s not too personal of course.’ Kiji tilted her head.
‘I just…’ Vaykas ears went flat on her head. ‘Have you ever thought what it would be like without a monarchy? If we just governed ourselves?’
‘It’d be chaotic, I’d imagine.’
‘But this isn’t working out! Look how our tribe has fallen. If we all worked together, instead of some nichelings being better than others, things would be a lot more stable.’ Vayka stood her ground, her gaze intense.
‘You’re right, in a way.’ Kiji said slowly. ‘But this is how we’ve always been doing it, and maybe we need to wait until a more stable time to change things. Have you talked to Ramsi?’
‘Of course I haven’t, he’s the Kanir.’ Vayka mumbled, shaking her head. ‘Okay, whatever. Forget I said anything.’ She walked off before Kiji could say another word.
~
A few nights ago, Zorro passed from old age. It was a hot day in the part of the island that was a savanna, and Telim couldn’t get to sleep. He missed his father, but the thing he was most broken up about was the fact that his mother didn’t seem to care. Sure, she mourned for him as if he was a friend, but nothing more. Telim had hoped that him passing would at least make his mother care a bit more, but apparently not.
‘You okay?’ His mothers voice sounded from behind him.
‘Fine.’ He sighed, moving over to make room for her. She gently placed a paw on his shoulder, before hugging him. While she didn’t love Zorro, Telim knew in his heart that she loved Ayan and himself.
‘I wanted to talk to you about your rank, actually.’ She broke away, looking down at him with her purple eyes. Telim blanched.
‘Did something happen to uncle Ramsi?’
‘What? No. He’s fine.’ She sighed before looking at him. 'You know your father was a gatherer, but now that he’s gone, we have no one to collect food.’ Realization dawned on Telim.
‘You want to demote me.’ He turned away with a scoff, anger pooling in him. His mother fixed him with a stern glare.
‘I wouldn’t ask this of you if I knew you couldn’t do it. You’re our only option right now. If you don’t want to, don’t take this responsibility, but think of the repercussions for the clan.’
Try as he might, Telim could not be truly angry with her. He knew he wasn’t suited for being Kanir. He was laid back and easygoing, not great traits for a future leader. Besides, he prefered gathering food to dealing with the tribe. The more he mulled the thought over in his head, the less angry he felt. Eventually he had decided.
‘I’ll do it.’
Nikaj smiled from ear to ear. Barely visible wrinkles creased around her eyes, and in a moment he realized that his mother aged just like any other nicheling. He could only hope many days were still left for her.
‘Thank you, Telim.’ She smiled, before walking off to go tell Ramsi.
(yeah ignore ramsi in this screenshot)
Ok but you're actually so good at drawing, I love Blossompaw so much!
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