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Livin'.

[ not surviving. there's an obvious difference, at least to him--- to be alive and content, which means making sure the things and people that make him want to be those things are also fine. ]

Don't make me have to watch ya like some kind of starvin' animal.

[ regardless, he's always hungry for something. ]

As if you could ever starve.

[ besides the fact that kaname won't let him, there's plenty to gnaw on... remain content, king of beasts. he isn't getting hurt anytime soon. ]

Fifth item, Leona.

You don't make a big deal outta me bein' a prince.

[ that's one of the most important things. though he'd say a number of people wouldn't give him that automatic pass, that's not the norm. ]

So I guess you're a good judge of character. Or somethin'.

[ if that even counts. he'll make it count if he has to. ]

I am a good judge of character, but simply put your title means nothing to me nor would it ever.

[ they aren't in a place that cares. he has no sway here (he has no sway at home) but honestly... ]

Respect is earned, Leona. Even if I were in your lands, I wouldn't treat you any different than I do now -- introduced as a prince or not. [ he'd catch claws for it too. ] I cannot be your equal if I'm placing myself below you.

[ ... it's something he's gotten in trouble for in the past, though at least in the industry he's more careful. his stage persona had appearances to keep up after all. ]

Ha. You're automatically better than like, half of the people that walk 'round the savanna.

[ because the other half see and hear leona and understand what's going on. a sulking, arrogant, and belligerent princeling who just wanted the respect and love that someone more kingly deserves. ]

But you know I'd eventually have to put you in your place. Eventually. Survival of the fittest and all that.

[ sticks his tongue out. ]

[ cute. kaname's grabbing leona's tongue with his fingers and leaning in, peeved. ]

We're equals. There's no "putting me in my place". If I listen to what you ask, it's because I agree to it -- not because you're someone important.

[ ... he'll let go now, but he's still annoyed. eventually, huh? try never. ]

Understood? It's because I like you, Leona.

[ hey! his tongue! he fights the urge to bite down hard, instead wiggling his tongue as much as possible.

any sound he makes is a little muffled and he doesn't try to speak. he waits until kaname lets go before he chuckles.

what a feisty boy. ]

... yeah. And I like you too.

[ kaname stares hard at him for another moment (he can't be annoyed anymore) and cuddles into leona again, face warming after the fact. mm. that was fine. definitely just as hard as calling people friends. ]

As long as you know that, [ all of that, ] then good.

[ they'll get on just fine!!! ]

... If you really do need to keep up some level of appearance, then I'll go along with it. I know better than anyone what being at the top means.

[ ruggie'll make fun of him in an instant after all... ]

Psh. You think I care that much 'bout appearance?

[ equals are fine. he just doesn't want anyone thinking that he's subservient to someone... out in the open, at the very least.

he's got a little pride... ]

Don't have to worry if I never leave my room.

[ wiggles his ears. ]

[ he might not, but the others around him... well, that Would be a them problem not a leokana problem... anyway. ]

Why wouldn't you leave your room?

Comfy bed. [ that's one. ] Got someone who can always bring whatever I need to it. [ that's two. ]

And if you were there too...

[ well. imagine wanting to go anywhere. ]

[ oh leona. that does sound nice, being pampered and having a comfy bed... cuddling with the other like he is now...

however. ]

You'd be up and walking around outside with me. [ sorry. ] If there's a world to be seen, I'm going to see it.

[ simply put. it's nice, thinking about it, though kaname knows they're just that: thoughts. imagining the sorts of places the people he cares about grew up in has become something of a small pastime; imagining himself there has become a guilty pleasure. it's easy with his mother's penchant for making him the protagonist in stories at least... ]

Besides, I'd be staying with my brother. You'd have to get up to see me anyway.

Psh, you'd be stayin' with HiMERU and not me?

[ watch leona grump, bottom lip slightly higher than the other as he frowns. an overexaggerating pout that's a little more dramatic than it probably should be, but it's all in fun. nothing too serious. ]

Then... yeah, guess I couldn't just lounge 'round in my bedroom all day. Would have to do it in one of the common areas. Probably not a meetin' room. But there are also plenty of spas and museums and restaurants with private spaces too.

[ and he could have any of them all to himself if he wanted. if he wanted to actually use those resources. ]

It's a nice place. Would be nicer if I had my way.

[ no use pouting about it; where kaname goes, his brother would surely follow... and kaname isn't letting them be separated ever again either. he won't be able to "live happily" if they are. ]

Tell me about your kingdom, then. What you'd add, take away, emphasize -- whatever it is you'd do as king.

[ and he'll try not to doze off to the pleasant sound of leona's voice. ]

They gotta modernize stuff. My brother doesn't really pay attention to those kinds of things. He thinks that if it isn't broke, you don't fix it. If people are happy, don't change a thing.

[ and that's what bothers him the most. leona still cares that he is the better mage, the stronger mage, but it's what one does with power that puts them in the books. memories of the people. no statue, no monument will do. be up in the stars. ]

I want everyone to be able to eat and drink and not have to worry 'bout where their next meal will come from. There's still a lot of imbalance. Poverty. It sucks. One of my juniors... he's got nothin' but he busts his ass harder than anyone else.

[ heck, most of savanaclaw is like that, but ruggie is arguably one of the smartest. ]

No one deserves to be held back by their name or lack of one.

[ oh... he really has a type, doesn't he. it's hard not to think of tatsumi, who wants the same for the non-special students of reimei academy. there's a decisive different between him and leona... but their hearts are the same sort, and kaname noses under the beastman's chin the way the other does him sometimes. his quiet, careful affection. ]

Everyone deserves to be happy.

[ something he's often said, and has believed since the first day he found himself listening to tatsumi's words in the catacombs. even playing off any good will as a selfish act doesn't change the fact that it's a driving force in his life.

(there are easier ways to get what he wants. kaname has what he wants at the academy already, and yet he keeps up the same exhausting facade for someone else's sake -- all so that everyone has the chance at happiness, because he loves idols and it frustrates him to hell and back that someone as hard-working as sazanami would only ever be backstage if it kept up. how he could end up there too, because it is a genuine fear, but everyone deserves to be happy.) ]

If a coup is out of the question, because your brother's only an idiot, then that's fine. There's more than one way to change things. But it'll require you to change too, Leona -- survival of the fittest isn't the motto you want to put your strength behind, from one "prince" to another. They're your people too.

[ so if his brother won't look the way he needs to, then leona should. simple as that. he was never posed as a bad person, after all -- just an idiot, and there's nothing wrong with being an idiot. kaname doesn't accept that for himself just yet, but there's nothing wrong with it at all. ]

In other words, if I am ever able to, then I shall lend you a hand. I have experience with such things, after all.

[ cute. he's so cute and leona's so sure that kaname knows that. he could have the entire world on its knees. he's aware there are idols that can do that; one such goes to their rival school, except there is a naivety that makes him endearing. kaname has charisma. probably a little more maturity? or maybe not? but even then, one grows into that sort of thing, so... ]

Yeah, I don't wanna... I don't wanna exile him or anythin'. Besides, his kid is an annoyin' brat but he's good. Better when I'm around him.

[ could be moldable. could be someone he could influence. use? yeah. leona wouldn't be afraid to do that. still, it's easier to do things himself and cheka could grow up into someone with an actual head on his shoulders. by then, leona might have a little gray in his hair. maybe. ]

... think you're already doin' a pretty good job at lendin' a hand. Rather have somethin' else, though.

[ like... his lips... smooch! ]

[ kaname's curiosity is short lived and answered, heart fluttering same as ever and he returns it easily, playing with leona's hair and twirling it around his fingers. you'll have to forgive him this time, though, for not letting it stick past that with a small tug. ]

You always say that. I want to do more. And don't say I "do enough" simply by [ sheesh ] being with you and whatnot. That's true for now, but what of the future?

[ ...

should god will it, what if by next year it "isn't enough" anymore? kaname hasn't thought to put a name to this outside an involvement, but leona is still important to him. he feels safe, relaxed even, when he's with the other, so he wants to do as much as he can in return (to keep that spot safe, to repay kindness due). ]

Say you'll let me. Whatever it is, if I ask how I can help, you'll give me a real answer.

[ ... gosh, he is demanding today. ]

You keep me centered. That's a lot, Yodaka.

[ maintaining a positive outlook is difficult for him, which isn't to say that it's easy for others. but knowing that he could easily lose himself in those doubts and indifference just like he did before would be... awful. simply unforgiveable. he has reasons to keep his sanity and not throw away everything due to some selfish desire to become king. rather, he still wants to be king. he'll prove that he's worth it regardless of where he is in the pecking order.

he grunts at the light tug. the most minor of reactions. it's not like it hurts... in fact he might be okay with it some more........

maybe. easy for kaname to fix the braids if they get loose. ]

Fine. I'll give you a real answer, but you'll have to respect it if even if you don't like it.

[ ... it doesn't feel like a lot, is all. the words remain behind his pursed lips, when really he should just say it out loud -- instead, he twirls leona's hair around his finger and plays with it idly like he would his own. ]

... Very well.

[ he might not like it. it might be hard to respect it. but he is eager to have a real answer, something that might quell the little nagging itch that springs up the way it had around few others. ]

It'll do us both good. 'm not sayin' I always make the best decisions, but I know I make the right ones. Even if they're wrong.

[ wanting the best for the dorm. wanting the best for his people. those are paramount. they'll always be number one priorities. it'd be faster if he were king, but... ]

Think you and your brother would look good in the savanna colors? Lotta golds and browns, fancy beads and stuff. Light enough so you're comfortably warm in the sun but cool in the shade, and I don't think many people dislike the weather. Could stand to rain more though.

[ in other words, just... trust him. kaname huffs softly, unsatisfied but reluctantly accepting -- he had said he would, and so he will. unfortunately. maybe he'll do some stuff behind leona's back but only with the best of intentions in mind, like he does his brother. ]

We're far more used to cooler colors, darker ones and such, but we'll look good in whatever we put on. I at the very least don't mind the thought. It's the amount of skin that you show that's more the issue.

[ it's so much.......... he's never showed so much skin while clothed before......... ]

I suppose you're used to it being raised that way, but it doesn't get warm enough where I lived for that level of it.

[ meanwhile leona's sitting here thinking that too many coverings really ruin the benefit of all that gorgeous sun. he wasn't always a lazy sloth of a lion--- up until finding out that nothing really mattered, he had made it a point to work as hard as he could. to the bone. ]

Better start thinkin' about how you're gonna get used to it, then.

[ he wraps his arms a little more snug around kaname. ]

Or maybe you should think 'bout what might happen if you see a beastman walkin' around your home.

[ oooooh. leona is set on it, huh. he doesn't want to go back to reimei academy for all the world now that he's spent someplace that-- that appreciates him, that's filled with enough people that care about him beyond what he can offer them, that... love him, without a single string attached-- that has his brother, his chest squeezing at the thought of losing that especially.

no. he doesn't want to return to the academy. but taking his brother away from his life there would be wrong, too; his brother enjoys being an idol as much as he does. crazy:b is amazing. they care for him, and HiMERU cares for them. even if... his brother would gladly give it up for kaname, just as he was ready to return that name to him, kaname himself feels guilt at him even now.

this might change next month. but for now, he feels caught. ]

... You'd have to hide these, [ kaname touches the ears fondly, ] and your tail as well. I'm not certain how everyone would react seeing them. The world isn't kind to those who are "different".

[ at least he could meet his brother if he endured the rest of his stay at reimei academy, however choking it would be. maybe he wouldn't be an idol. kaname doesn't know why he is in the first place. but at least he could meet him, and then they could be a family, and... ]

You'd be a handsome model otherwise.

[ ah. leona gently hums, his ears again receiving a touch that sends the smallest shiver down his spine. it feels nice and even better when it's kaname doing it... could he say the same for anyone else who had the pleasure of touching them before? no. only kaname. how dangerous this little idol is; being his one obvious source of emotional stability while being a potential catalyst as well. ]

Eh, if you say so.

[ which would be easy with a little magic. not difficult to conceal his appearance with the tiniest of glamours. it's harder to do it in a world full of mages and non-mages alike who could spot a beastman prince despite his best efforts. ]

A model... ha. Yeah, 've heard that one before. Don't think anyone deserves to get to see me at my best when most only want my favor.

[ he snorts, now wiggling his ears. ]

Unless there's such things as private models. Then I guess I'd do it.

[ for a very select few. mhm, mhm. ]

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crawls back... hello sorry i had food poisoning

🥺 why does food betray us

I WISH I KNEW I SPENT MOST OF LAST WEEK WITH NO ENERGY...

yells at the food that made you sick... i fight it

thank you............

♥️