Tabari was brought up on his family's expectations in the same lessons where he learned to read and write. A bird in a gilded cage, taught to be happy with the scraps he was given when he followed rules he could never fully figure out. Tabari was a prince who had no hopes to climb up the ranks, engaged to a princess that would put him far above his family in every possible way, given an education that was not normally afforded to his kind, and everything he could ever want was provided to him.
But he couldn't find it in himself to be happy, not when everything was one whole elaborate lie that gnawed at the pit in his stomach, turning every family gathering into a minefield where he was the only one close to stepping on a bomb. One wrong step and it would all come tumbling out, the truth that rested against his lips, begging to see the light of day. His father was a murderer, someone who put power over his family. So desperate for even a hint of it, he'd kill his own brother for a tiny taste.
Reth Aberra, the single handedly most hated man in all of Sajia. And Tabari was his son. He shoved the journal with a little too much force into his dufflebag, smushing an unsuspecting notebook in the process. How long had they expected to keep this from him? When he still held onto faint memories of his life before, of rusty-golden fur and green eyes that hedged just on the hint of too wild. He was named for his memory, for the way he seemed to notice every little detail.
But what good was a name when the memories he wanted to keep seemed so faded, left too long in the sun for him to recall the fine details. Did he have the same eyes, the same laugh, as his father? Or did he look more like his mother, soft curls and a sharp tongue. He didn't know, would never know. The chance to learn about those memories were gone the moment he did his first shift.
The back door of the truck slammed shut with a thud, Aziz rubbed his back as the last suitcase was stuffed into place, forehead beaded with sweat. It was always warm in this part of Sajia, warmer than the cities near the center of the kingdom at least, but today was absolutely sweltering. Tabari tightened the knot at the base of his bandana, the stray loose curls still managing to stick to his forehead despite his best efforts to stop them.
"That's the last of it, right?" Aziz asked, wiping the back of his arm across his face. "I'm dying out here."
"I can't believe we had to stay up all night for this shit." Safiri scoffed, pulling her shirt off, sweat stains soaking into the edges of her tank top. "I mean, how do two people need all this stuff?"
"It's a boarding school, not a regular high school like the one you and Az go to where you get to come back every night." Tabari rolled his eyes. "Besides, we can't stay nocturnal for school, we would never attend any classes."
"You're a prince." Safiri rolled her eyes, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. "You don't even have to go if you don't want to."
"You know that if I don't play along, Baba will take me right back under his wing. And then where would we be?" Tabari snorted, pressing his face against the top of her head, one of her ears flicking against his chin. He could feel the purr rumbling up her chest before it fizzled out as her head whipped to the side. Something walked along the edge of the horizon, shimmering like waves in the heat.
"It's just a rogue, let them pass." Jabari answered, wrapping an arm around Aziz's waist, his black twists were wrapped up in a scarf to ward off the sun, golden yellow tail wrapping itself up Aziz's calf. "They never stray close enough for us to have a reason to get rid of them."
"They haven't yet." Safiri corrected, pressing into Tabari's side. "But one day they will, we need to be alert everywhere. Not just outside our hunting grounds."
