Raisa had wandered away from her family for probably the thousanth time in her short life. She was curious about everything and she couldn’t help but wander. Everything was just so wonderful! It felt like she had stars in her eyes. She wasn’t sure when she had wandered away from her family, but it had been very dark out. She found herself following the stars away from her family. They moved! Like, really close to her face. Maybe they weren’t stars, but something else instead.
She frowned up at the moving things, and called “Wait up!” as she chased them away from her family.
It was light now, though, and the cub’s family and the moving stars were nowhere in sight. She was lost, far away from her family. Her silver ears listened to her surroundings, hoping her family would call out.
Maybe they were hiding. Fear gripped the little cubs heart, but she stopped herself from crying. She took a deep breath in, and called for one of her parents, but no one came.
Raisa trembled, trying to walk back the direction she had coem from. She couldn’t quite remember the direction though, and she hunched into herself as she walked, trying to keep away from the daylight heat and anything that might think she’d make a tasty snack.
She walked for a long time, or what seemed like it in her mind.
Not too far away, Ammit had tackled his soft-hearted brother to the ground. “What are you doing!” He snarled out, pressing the pale lion to the ground. “Get up and fight me, don’t be a coward!” The words were harsh, hateful, but the pale lion didn’t respond in kind.
In fact, he was rather calm.
“Ammit, you know I don’t fight. I’m not a fighter like you are,” He explained, a small hum to his tone. It was ever-present, almost soothing. It didn’t seem to soothe the rage his brother carried, though. The snarl seemed to screw up his brother’s face even further. Ma’at signed, relaxing his shoulders.
This happened often. Ammit would fill with rage and try to pick a fight.
Ma’at never responded.
It took the sound of a small voice calling out to stop Ammit from getting angrier. The dark lion looked in the direction of the voice before pulling himself away from his brother.
“Ammit,” Ma’at spoke sharply, stopping his darker brother in his path. Ammit tensed up, ready to attack his brother again, but Ma’at’s stern face stopped him from doing so. He seemed cowed, returning to his brother’s side.
“What.” He snarled, though it was less vicious than before, more subdued.
Ma’at shook his head gently. “It sounds like a cub,” he offered, beginning his trek towards the sound of the cub. The pair walked calmly. The cub didn’t sound particularly far off, and the pair could definitely walk faster than a cub.
“There,” Ammit pointed out. He looked ready to run towards the cub, but his brother’s silent will kept him close. He felt like pacing. He felt chained. But Ma’at remained calm. His brow furrowed in concern. The silver cub was way out in the open where anyone could attack.
At least the cubs fur was pale, so that she wouldn’t overhead as quickly as Ammit would.
“Stop your pouting, Ammit, the cub is lost,” Ma’at spoke gently, soothingly. It wouldn’t due for Ammit to scare the cub more than it already was. The pair made their way to the cub, Ma’at walking in front of the pair, leaving Ammit to b***h about everything behind him.
Ma’at gave a small sigh, shaking his head.
He approached the cub cautiously, hoping not to scare the poor dear away. “Hello, young one,” Ma’at said, his voice light and lilting. “We heard you calling out, are you lost?”
Raisa, in turned, shied back away from the pair of adult lions. Her breathing picked up, and she took a few steps back away from the lions before her.
“Y-yes, I’m lost,” She said after a moment. “Have you seen my family? I look a lot like my mom...” In markings only, really. She took on her dad’s coloration for the most part, but she couldn’t quite get the words out to explain that. Her tongue felt like it had dried to dust.
Ma’at clucked a little, cooing at the cub. “We’ll help you find them,” He promised her. He ignored the disgusted noise from his brother behind him, but Raisa did not. She shied away from the dark lion, curling towards Ma’at as he spoke. “My brother here is a little upset today, don’t mind him. He’ll come around.” Raisa gave a jerky nod, still unable to speak.
“Have you had any food or water recently? Perhaps sending mean old Ammit out on a hunt will calm him down, hmm?” Ma’at tried to hide the small chuckle behind the words, but his failure was evident when Ma’at was shoved a bit.
“Fine,” Ammit snarkled, stalking off. “I’ll meet you soon, go in the direction the cub was travelling.” Ma’at nodded at his brother, giving a lopsided smile at him. Ammit cared, he did, but showing it was hard for the other male. That’s why Ma’at stayed around. The two were a team, in almost everything.
In more impressive cases, Ma’at was the judge and jury. Ammit was the executioner. Ma’at judged this situation to be a simple one, a task of getting a cub back to her parents, and Ammit would execute the task. It was as simple as that, really.
“So, young one, let’s follow my brother’s advice. There should be a small watering hole if we veer off course a little, if you’re thirsty.” Ma’at remained gentle, walking slowly to keep up with the cub’s short paws. If it became too much of a hassle, he would carry her, but this seemed fine for now.
Raisa looked in the direction the other lion had headed for a small moment before peering up at the pale lion with her mismatched eyes.
“Thank you.” She said, keeping in step with Ma’at as he walked. She hoped she would find her way back soon.
At least Ma’at was nice...