Kahmunrah had a certain gift for sneaking around. Whether it be day or night, the teen could come and go as he pleased. He found it easy to bolt between the shadows, constantly unseen by the guards, let alone his parents. Perhaps it was because so few people paid attention to him, but that didn't stop him from being proud of his skills.
Today, it was even more important that he passed through the gates without being seen. He had something very important to look into, and being caught and forced to hang around would be no good.
Sneaking out had been a breeze, not at all surprisingly. The guards had been easily distracted and he strode out with ease, smirking in pride.
The next part was a little more tricky. There were no longer guards or brothers or parents, but today was a very busy day - people were running and bustling around, and it was hard to go unseen by the mass hoards of people. Luckily, people seemed to concerned with their own lives than to pay attention to Kahmunrah - not that that was too different from any other day. It's just that today, they dared to be so preoccupied that they didn't bother give him the stink eye.
Despite having left as early as he could (his mother had been in his room fussing for hours this morning, clearly stressed and forcing the fourteen year old to listen as she threw various clothes at him), it was far after noon when he arrived at his destination. He skidded to a stop in front of the temple and, ignoring the first dirty look directed at him that day, ducked to the side and ran next to the columns, counting each post and finally making a sharp turn about midway through, following a narrow passage until he came to a dead end.
Kahmunrah smiled down at the woven basket. "Well, are you guys ready to go home?"
Night had fallen by the time Kahmunrah had returned home. Although things had calmed down, Kahmunrah was well aware that getting back into the castle would be much, much harder than getting out had been. Indeed, while people now celebrated his baby brother's birthday in the streets, the castle was bare save the guards.
Though it was not exactly the guards that Kahmunrah was worried about. The times they had caught him in all his fourteen years could be counted on one hand. However...
"Where have you been?"
...Ahkmenrah himself was not so easy to fool. He should have known Ahkmenrah would be waiting outside of his quarters anyways.
Kahmunrah turned to face his brother sheepishly, the awkward teenager doing his best to not look suspicious despite clearly being caught in the act. By his younger brother, nonetheless. "I was..."
But Ahkmenrah had no time to listen to his excuses. The child stood with his hands on his hips, pouting at his brother who seemed to tower above him. "Do you know what day it is? How could you go off today and leave me here with all these boring people? You're the biggest meany, Kah!"
To accentuate his point, Ahkmenrah balled his hands into little fits and weakly punched at Kahmunrah's side. The older boy could do nothing at this point but laugh, and set his precious cargo down before holding his hands up in cargo. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he laughed, and Ahkmenrah ceased his punches as Kahmunrah crouched down to younger boy's level. Closer now, Kahmunrah could see Ahkmenrah close to tears, and frowned. With a deep sigh, he reached out and ran his fingers through Ahkmenrah's hair. "It was that bad? I am really sorry. But I had an important mission today."
Ahkmenrah didn't look entirely won over by this news, and continued to scowl at his brother. Part of him, however, was interested in this 'important mission' and he couldn't help the curiosity from shining through. Kahmunrah saw it and knew instantly that he had won. No matter how upset Ahkmenrah was, there was no way he could hold a grudge after this.
"I found them outside of the temple of Khonsu," Kahmunrah started, "They were so lost and started following me around last time I snuck out... So I knew it was meant to be, it was perfect."
Ahkmenrah allowed the scowl to shift into something of genuine curiosity. "Found what? What was perfect?"
Kahmunrah grinned and pulled the basket between them. Ahkmenrah's eyes lit up at the sight of the basket, wondering what untold treasures could be in the crate. When Kahmunrah lifted the lid, Ahkmenrah was not disappointed. Carefully, Kahmunrah lifted one of the creatures out of the basket and placed it in Ahkmenrah's arms. The boy instantly drew the kitten to his chest and let out a satisfied hum. Kahmunrah slowly unloaded the rest, allowing them to wander around and adjust to their new surroundings.
"Your birthday present," Kahmunrah said with a satisfied smirk. As the words set in, he watched as Ahkmenrah's expression went from general happiness to slightly confused, turning to look at him in puzzlement. Kahmunrah was always sneaking creatures home, but he was usually so protective of them... "They're yours, Ahk. You've been telling me for ages now how you're old enough to take care of one yourself, so here you go."
Ahkmenrah's look of confusion quickly shifted into one of ecstatic joy, and he carefully set down the kitten in his arms before flinging himself at his brother, shouting excited 'Thank you's and clinging to him, even when Kahmunrah tried to push him off while laughing.
Kahmunrah leant against the wall and watched with a grin as Ahkmenrah carefully named each kitten, fussing over each one as they ran around. Eventually, however, the ten year old was doomed to run out of energy and ended up crashing on Kahmunrah's bed, fast asleep with kittens jumping over him and a few snoozing next to him. Kahmunrah laughed and threw a blanket over him.
"Happy Birthday, little brother."