The charcoal lioness made her way across the Oasis, with @Septima hopefully following as she’d asked, to climb one of the many dunes that overlooked their natal home. Léonie plopped her rump down in the sand there and paused, briefly peering down into the sandy basin to watch the gathered members who continued to linger in Scorpius’ presence. He’d make a good King, she was sure of it. However, she realized that once their enemies learned that the Oasis was under Miroslav reign, they would probably send someone to try and pry it away. Sadly, they’d inherited more grief than glory from Seneca, but Léonie was willing to work towards restoring the family to its former glory.

She could not do it alone though, nor could Scorpius. They needed the support of the entire family, and its current state — broken, fractured — it would not be easy. Fortunately, there was one member who she knew she could immediately lean on: Septima.

“You okay?” Léonie finally pried, her smiling expression one of gentle concern. She had no idea how abandoned Septima had felt, but something had been off, as Lucanus had pointed out. Was it about what Scorpius had revealed — her attack — or was there another reason that Léonie didn’t know about?

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Septima was still reeling from embarrassment. Her cheeks burned and she knew they were red as cherries beneath her fur, but she couldn't shake the feeling no matter how hard she tried. It had been one thing to feel overlooked for duties, another to feel shame in having lost the battle against Elaine, but a final thing in having looked so pathetic a near-stranger thought it necessary to give her a pep talk (if that's what he wanted to call it.) As if it hadn't been bad enough to have all eyes drawn towards her after her brother had mentioned the fight! Others certainly would have noticed someone physically walking up to her, though maybe they hadn't heard his comments. She didn't know. It felt equally as embarrassing to be summoned away by her little sister, but she was grateful for any excuse to get out of the meeting and go bury her head in the sand.

She trailed behind @Léonie quietly, not sure what the heiress could want to discuss. Septima doubted she had been sitting there with malicious intent, so she was curious. Maybe she wanted to talk to her about her poker face? How she needed to keep her shit together in front of the other members? Maybe she was embarrassing the Miroslav as a whole?

"Huh?" she finally mumbled, repeating her sister's question in her head. Septima had missed it the first time around and only snapped back into reality thanks to luck. "What? Oh, I'm fine, why?" Right. What was happening again?

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Oh, yep. @Septima was troubled. Léonie had already assumed she was, but the way her sister responded confirmed it. She seemed preoccupied by something, and the imp wanted to know what.

Léonie, being Léonie, leaned closer and deliberately sniffed the elder Miroslav’s spotted coat. “Hmm … that almost … that almost smells like … BULLSHIT!” she gasped, the sound exaggerated, which would surely come as no surprise. After all, Léonie was a well-known theatrical, sarcastic little twerp — but she had the best intentions then, and hoped some mischievous prodding would help Septima better focus on her.

“C’mon, Sep. What’s going on up there?” she asked, nodding her head at Septima’s.

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Would Septima have been funny if she'd left Amaryllis, too? The silver lioness doubted it, but at least she would have had more of a chance. Being stuck inside the Oasis for most of her young life had certainly left her a bit awkward when it came to making friends; she didn't have any of the endearing personality traits that Léo did. Maybe it would have helped if her sisters hadn't hated her and she could have formed a bond with them. She supposed it didn't matter in the end because her life was what it was regardless of her what-ifs. Sometimes it sucked and sometimes it didn't, but at least it was hers.

Septima wasn't used to the idea of being able to open up. For so long she had just kept her lips sealed and gone with the flow; and she'd intended on doing that at the meeting but had clearly failed if people were picking up on it. Case and point: Léonie calling her out on her bullshit. She felt another wave of embarrassment and wanted to simply return home to the company of her cubs, but she had a feeling that wasn't going to fly.

"I, umm.." A good start. "It doesn't matter, really. Just.. I don't know." Septima huffed out a frustrated sigh. "All my life I've tried to keep our father happy. When Diantha and Victoria went out and bullied other kids, trespassed, did other obnoxious stuff, I stayed at home. I'm pretty sure they're the reason we're enemies with the Dieudonne at all, actually." She couldn't recall anything else besides that one trespassing incident, but it was likely she didn't know the whole story. She never would.

"Father 'grounded us ' so to speak and told us not to leave the Oasis because it was dangerous, but I was the only one who listened. I spent months inside the territory, never once stepping a foot out of bounds because I knew it would please him. I kept quiet, practiced medicine, learned the Miroslav ways from aunt Vesuvia. I did what I thought I had to do in order to make him proud, but he wasn't. He forgot about me. He went off and had litter after litter, forgetting he had a daughter at home altogether. Everything I learned about our family I learned on my own." Bless her aunt for being so patient. "And then overnight, everyone left. No one came to find me to tell me, no one said goodbye.. they were just gone. The whole family forgot about me." Septima's fell in defeat for a few seconds before she picked them back up, ever the queen.

"When you and Scorpius came back, I thought it would be different. I thought I was seen for the first time in my life, but.. I'm not. I'm still forgettable. It's not about a rank, it's about.." she gestured out to the dunes. "How I feel like I'm still invisible, even now. Even to my own family. And then to be called out like that, like I was a freak because of what the Dieudonne had done to me; I mean, all of their eyes were on me. So maybe I'm not invisible, maybe I'm just so pathetic that everyone thinks they have to keep me locked away safely in a den. But I'm not pathetic, Léonie. I stayed behind and forged a new path for myself after the whole family left me. I found my own husband and had my own cubs. I am nearly a master of healing. I am so far from pathetic, but it seems like that's just.. to me. Maybe to everyone else I still am."

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Léonie had hoped @Septima trusted her enough that she could reveal to her the reason for her troubled mind. And somewhat unsurprisingly, the source was none other than dear ol’ dad. The imp listened, frowning a little, while Septima explained that she had been the good daughter, following his order and behaving. Meanwhile, her older sisters had caused trouble and tension between the Oasis and the Dieudonné family. There was nothing Léonie could do to hold back the unimpressed snort that ripped from her nasal cavity in response. Victoria was a vanishing memory, but Léonie remembered Diantha well enough and yes, she would be the one to leave the family to clean up her mess.

The white-and-grey Miroslav continued and spoke of Seneca again. Léonie listened, her ears turned sideways when Septima mentioned the polygamous nature of their father, and how he’d sired more and more children — probably seeking the heir he eventually found in Scorpius. The imp knew that in their family, the lionesses were not usually as highly esteemed as the boys. Scorpius had never made her feel overlooked or disregarded, but she could easily understand how Seneca had with Septima.

She mentioned how the family had disappeared overnight. She had been forgotten — again. Léonie frowned more deeply and glanced sown at her paws, realizing she’d never considered how awful that must’ve been: alone, and with enemies prowling nearby …

And even now, she was alone. Léonie and Scorpius had returned, yet their sister expressed that she continued to feel invisible despite everything she’d accomplished: mastering medicine, becoming a mate and mother … She believed she was viewed as pathetic — something that could not be further from the truth.

“Nobody sees you that way,” the younger sister finally insisted. “You’re … a source of stability, for me and Scorpius, now more than ever. And nobody thinks you’re a freak because some psycho-cannibal attacked you. You’re a survivor for that, not a victim. If I learned that a pride-mate had been attacked, it’d make me want to kick some ass on their behalf, ‘cause what the fuck, y’know? Not because you’re weak or pathetic, but ‘cause that’s fucked up and someone deserves to get ripped a new one.”

Léonie paused to sigh. “And with how the family left … I am sorry for that. I won’t lie — I thought you had friends in the Brook and that you’d be happier with them instead of on the run, so I kind of stopped thinking after that. Everything happened so quick when dad lost the Oasis to that twat, we didn’t get to say any goodbyes. It was just ‘grab one of the kids and get moving’ so we did.” She hoped Septima understood the urgency then, and accepted her apology now.

“You should be proud of yourself,” the imp said then. “You’re the oldest Miroslav here. The only one who withstood the storm. You could’ve left too, but you stayed and survived through your own strength. And now you have kids who’ll inherit that strength. They’ll help carry the Miroslav name and legacy, so as far as I’m concerned, you’re the most accomplished one of the family, not me or Scorpius. Without the next generation, our story ends.”

Shifting, Léonie bumped her shoulder into Septima’s and leaned onto her. “We’ll not raise our daughters to restrain themselves. I mean, we sure as fuck won’t let them become another Diantha, but they deserve every opportunity to shine as brightly as the boys. And they will, I can promise you that.” Septima had suffered in silence, but Léonie would make sure that Oriana never did.

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It was the first time in her entire life that she had ever confessed those thoughts out loud and the relief, albeit temporary, was unquantifiable. Septima felt like she had taken in a breath of fresh air after years of being held underwater, like the cage had been thrown open and her wings were able to spread fully for a change. Her shoulders sagged in relief at the weight that had been lifted, but she knew it wouldn’t last. Opening up had never gotten her anywhere (except heartache) in the past and Septima knew the cycle would only repeat. After all, sisters had never exactly her strongest relationships and though she knew Leonie was different, it still worried her. Would Leo think she was an idiot for feeling all of those big, stupid feelings she felt? God, she hoped not. It would absolutely break her.

She chewed anxiously on the inside of her cheek while Leonie spoke, doing her best to reassure the forgotten girl that she was not, in fact, forgotten. It wasn’t something that could be rectified by a single lion during a single sitting, but she did appreciate the attempt to console her. Septima exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding as she relaxed, letting her guard down just a bit more with faith that her little sister was nothing like Diantha or Victoria. Of course she isn’t, Septima chided herself. Leonie was twice the woman either of her littermates would ever be.

“It made me look weak and if there was one thing Dad taught me, it was that Miroslav are not weak. Not even the women.” The lioness shifted her weight, fidgeting with her paws in the sand. “I didn’t want to be pitied and that guy - Lucanus? He pitied me. I saw it in his eyes and I wanted to slap him right there. I don’t want anyone’s pity.” Because she was as proud as any Miroslav ought to be and didn’t believe it was becoming of anyone to bask in a pool of pity. Septima wouldn’t allow herself that sort of patheticness.

She shrugged when it came to the Miroslav evacuation. “I didn’t talk to anybody. I originally went in order to learn more about healing, but eventually it just became sort of.. a place to hide. Didn’t even know anyone was gone until someone told me, and then I ran to see for myself and it was just empty.” Septima frowned, letting her eyes shift to the sky as she recalled the uncomfortable memory. Yeah, yep, that had sucked. “It’s not your fault. It’s his. He could have sent anyone to come collect me or at least tell me what had happened and he didn’t. He turned his back on me.” And yet, if Seneca Miroslav walked back into Amaryllis, Septima would be the first one to greet him with open arms.

“I appreciate it, Leonie, I really do.” She just didn’t know what good any of it did her in the long run. “One day, I’m going to challenge for Wolfbron Bluffs and unseat the Dieudonne. I’m going to make the Miroslav women feared as much, if not more, than the men.. and one day, maybe he’ll come back and even tell me he’s proud.” Her shoulders shrugged. “But if not, at least I can say I did everything I could have possibly done – and that I made myself proud. I just wish his approval didn't mean so much to me.” Septima looked down at her sister perched against her shoulder. “I missed you a lot, by the way.”

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“Dad’s not here,” Léonie countered. She understood what @Septima had said, of course — however, Seneca was no longer there, and they were no longer bound to his shadow. The elder Miroslav seemed to struggle with that realization and her newfound freedom.

Léonie understood her displeasure with being pitied, too. “Pff, you should’ve let him play the dashing knight, if that’s what he wanted,” the younger sister snickered. “If someone wants to lose an eye for me, I say let ‘em. Kind of hot, really.” That was her view, though. “But I get it. No one thinks you’re weak, Septima.” That was something Septima had to understand.

The spotted lioness revealed her story to the striped one, with Léonie nodding as she followed along. “All the more reason to stop living up to whatever impossible standards he put in you,” she suggested when Septima said Seneca had turned his back on her. Léonie did not hold the same resentment towards Seneca that her sister did — yet she’d never tried to be the perfect daughter, and had never punished herself for failing. She’d only ever been herself.

Finally, she grinned, cocking her head to better see her sister. “Forget dad. Do what would you know will make you happy. Something you can look back at and be proud of,” she encouraged her. “Queen Septima Miroslav,” she hummed, trying the name. “I like the way that rolls off the tongue. … buuut until then, how does Septima, Noble of Andal Oasis sound?”

Practically beaming, Léonie gave Septima a playful bump with her shoulder. “Missed you too, sis.”

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Dad's not here. As if she needed a reminder of being so insignificant that her entire family left overnight without telling her. Septima didn't reply, only pressed her lips into a thin line of consternation and did her best not to appear outwardly dissociated. It was difficult to open up, harder still to accept any advice anyone gave her. It had been Septima against the world for as long as she could remember and letting anyone in now seemed impossible.

Her ear twitched at the offer of noble. "If Scorpius had wanted me to be a noble, he would have given me the rank at the meeting. I wouldn't offer a rank without getting his approval first." It was difficult not to immediately fall back into the act of obedient follower. And, like she had said prior, she didn't want to be pitied. "If you feel strongly about it, talk to him and see if he feels the same way. I don't want to undermine him." Or get in his way. Septima stood then, replacing the mask. "I need to get back to the kids. Feel free to stop by whenever, you know they love seeing you." She offered a soft smile before turning to leave, exhausted emotionally and physically.

exit

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