it was in the forest she felt most at ease. the trees offered protection, safety, security; the small cub liked the way their shadows embraced her. as brave as she might be (clearly, since she was once again exploring on her own and no doubt giving grey hairs to those that had taken her in) she was also smart and knew better than to be fully exposed. she moved with as much quiet as she could manage, practicing becoming one with the darkness. it wasn't a challenging feat considering her color, but her paws were still those of a cub and snapped a few twigs along the way. easy to find for any that were nearby or looking, but not so easy that a wayward passerby would take note. her journey had muddied her ivory toes, lending weight to her disguise, but her bright eyes were a beacon in the darkness no matter what she did.

asteria followed the sound of a rustle in the bushes; though she was fed enough she welcomed any opportunity to prove herself and hoped that perhaps some small game was ahead of her. she stalked the sound, belly low to the ground, ears tipped forward to follow the snap of a twig or rustle of a leaf. when the sound stopped (just beyond a low laying shrug) she crouched and then burst from her hiding spot with claws outstretched, landing just short of whatever, or whoever, had made the sound. clumsy cub.

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Everything was fine until the fire nation attacked.

Or, rather, the shadowy feline that jumped from the bushes he just so happened to be walking alongside. There was a startled cry that peeled from his lips as he jumped, ears flattening against his head as he back arched defensively. Nero caught himself before hissing at his assailant, but it was mostly from fear that he remained quiet.

Until he realized it was just a girl.

Nero frowned as he untangled himself from his position, sweeping his hackles back down along his spine as he cleared his throat and said with a snobby tone: "You missed." He tossed his muzzle up in a haughty fashion, hmphing loudly.

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it was a true sign of her immaturity that she hadn’t realized she was stalking another lion. now that she was beside him she could easily smell him and her eyes widened in a brief expression of shock. thankfully he was likely too busy shouting to realize she had shown her hand and asteria was quick to smother the shock by narrowing her eyes and crouching down in a ready position.

then he spoke and oh, that just wouldn’t do. the small black cub curled her lip and barely held back a hiss, her muscles coiling even as she shot back a response. ”meant to! without another word she abruptly launched at the other cub, seeking to pin him beneath her slightly smaller frame, clearly not pausing to take the size difference in to account. he had insulted her and she’d show him!

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Nero was far too full of himself nowadays. Knowing that he had a group (a club, he remembered) of yearlings at his back, he felt there was nothing he could not do. So what if he was mean to the girl? All he had to do was call for his friends and they would come show her what-for! He didn't think it would be necessary though, as he had clearly proven to be the biggest and baddest out of the two of them. Somehow. It was how he felt, okay?

Meant to!

Nero boomed squeaked out a mocking laugh at that, puffing his chest up proudly. "Yeah right, girls can't do anything!" The boy stuck out his tongue.. and was promptly walloped onto his backside. Nero grunted as he landed on his back and began flailing in addition to blindly biting at whatever he could, hissing bitterly. "Get off! You smell!" She didn't, of course, but it was the best sort of insult he could come up with at the moment.

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a thrill ran through the tiny cub when her attack landed, wiping the dumb grin off his face in the process. he deserved it! maybe in the process he’d learn that girls are just as tough as boys. “do not!” a weak argument when her dirty paws were all over him. but she HAD bathed. smelly or not she was the one who had got him!

of course there was the slight problem that he didn’t stay still. asteria struggled to press her two front paws in to his chest (a’la nala vs simba) but found it exceedingly difficult. especially when his teeth started flashing and snagged the front edge of her right leg. asty snapped back, hoping to nip one of his paws in return, and then aimed to push down in to his chest again. she was smaller but determined, fat lot of good that might do her. “jus’ stay still!” she muttered between his flails and her snapping teeth. because surely that would work.

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"Do TOO!" he yowled in protest, doing his best impression of a fish out of water. If he couldn't best the girl in combat, he could at the very least prove to be such an obnoxious opponent that she eventually gave up. He had two modes in life: asleep and infuriating, and considering naptime had been earlier.. well, he was full on irritating now.

He coughed as she pushed on his chest, willing him to stop moving. "NO!" Came the retaliatory response as he attempted to flip on his side, hoping to dislodge her from her throne stop his pristine coat. Nero growled (a very intimidating, kittenish sort of thing) and wriggled, hissing when he felt her teeth nip at his paw. He used the same one to swing at her face, claws unsheathed, in an attempt to smack her right off of him.

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the brat had made her bleed! nevermind that she had technically attacked him first... he was definitely the one in the wrong her. at least, in her mind. asteria snarled as her front leg trickled a small amount of blood - really it was barely a scratch, just enough to take off the top few layers of skin - unimpressed with the fact that he had got her first. "nu uh!" she hissed, showing her childishness with those two little words. mama would be so proud.

he flopped like a fish beneath her and finally the smaller cub gave up trying to hold him down, rolling off to the side when he rolled and in the process avoiding the claws he swung her way. claws!

"you got pinned by a girl" she taunted, ignoring the fact that she hadn't really successfully pinned him. at least she had knocked him on his butt! asteria scrambled back to her paws and crouched in front of him, returning the favour of swinging her unsheathed claws at his face. maybe she could give him a good ol' scar, too!

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This would not do at all -- no, not one bit. Nero did not approve of being bossed around by a girl, particularly not one so stinky. He was really committed to the stinky part, okay? It was the most cutthroat insult he could conjure up in such a short time, and he'd be damned if he took it back now. No, as far as he was concerned, she was the queen of stink!

But Nero was the king of nothing, and with his power came an absolute lack of things to lose. Including pride.

He grunted as she pinned him, then again as she bounced off him and swiped at his face. With the sunburn and blisters already there from the summer, it didn't take much force to reopen the cuts and bring a torrential downpour of blood down his face. It dripped into his eyes and he hissed, recoiling as he whimpered and swiped at his own face to get rid of the blood. "Go AWAY," he snapped, sniffling as did his best not to openly weep at the pain.

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there was a conflict of emotions that rushed through the small cub. first pride - the thrill of victory as her claws hit their mark when his had not. but as the blood spilled there was a fear, and as his sniffling words reached her ears there was also guilt.

as much as they had tussled and fought asteria hadn't meant to hurt him. not badly, at least. and as the fuel of the fight burned away she was left with a bit of shame, staring at the young male with blood dripping down his face. "serves you right," she snapped at first, remembering his insults, but the retort felt empty and shallow.

"i didn't mean to," she muttered rather sullenly as her ears drooped slightly. remembering something she stood and gestured back over her shoulder. " 's water back there," she took a slight step in that direction and looked pointedly at him, hoping he would follow, "c'mon."

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Nero wanted nothing more than to run back to the safety of his makeshift family, throw himself at someone much larger than himself and hide. For all the pomp and circumstance he tossed around to cover for his embarrassment, he was a sensitive little bean! It didn't help that she was gloating, not one bit, or that she had reopened the blisters that were the freshest.

"You JUMPED AT ME! How's I DESERVE it?" he argued, continuously wiping at his face and pulling it away stained with blood. He whined at the sight of it and considered turning to run back to the gang, but the blood was stinging his eyes. "Whadya mean you didn't mean to? You jumped at me an' then tackled me and then you slapped at me and I didn't do ANYTHIN' but say you're stinky!" he retorted with a snort, coughing on some of the blood that slipped down his throat.

She offered to take him to water, but he didn't budge. "... I can't see." So if she wanted to take him to water, she was gonna have to play guide dog, too!

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