"Hey! Hey, Lana! Where are we going? Is it somewhere cool?" A small, brownish-red cub with matching purple eyes and ear tufts asked for what Lana swore was the hundredth time. Her baby brother was now old enough to walk and talk, and his boundless energy made her remember her own cubhood days. "Of course it is, Jai. Just be patient." For all the good that advice was going to do, as the younger brother simply had more and more questions for his big sister. She did her best to keep the suspense for as long as she could, but as soon as Jai saw Masika, David and Akato, he bounded right towards them before Lana could say anything. "David? Akato? Are you guys part of the surprise too?" He asked, almost too fast for the others to understand. However, David did understand just enough, and he looked up from Jai's set of purple eyes and into Lana's as soon as she came into view. He was about to ask if she told him anything, but lost his train of thought as he did. Due to the discussion he had with Akato just moments before, David was able to look at Lana as though she were another lioness and not as her cousin.
And looking at her in that way allowed him to finally realize how beautiful she truly was, and just what effect she could have on males if they didn't brace themselves for her appearance. If we weren't related… David found himself thinking, before clearing his mind to focus. He was unaware that Lana was sort of thinking the same thing as she realized that David himself had indeed grown up quite well. If Icarus was to be believed, Saul had been a very good-looking lion, because it was said that David had inherited almost all of his traits (including that very luscious, jet black mane that David has every right to be proud of) from his father. In fact Icarus pointed out that the only real differences between the two was the fact that David was a tannish-beige like his mother and twin sister as opposed to being caramel-orange, and that David was a bit taller than Saul.
This wasn't to say the Order of Nature had forgotten Akato, even if he believes otherwise. Sure, he was a bit shorter and lighter than Icarus and especially David, but his musculature had given him just what he needed. His mane, which was the short mane of early adulthood, was ashen-black as opposed to a vibrant black, but it was still a very nice feature that complemented Akato's lean, aristocratic appearance. His meekness was perhaps a turn on to some, and Lana was definitely happy to call him a close friend.
After a few moments of silence, which David was able to mask as simply him choosing his words, he finally asked his question. "Does Icarus know Jai is here?" David asked carefully, as though not wanting to reveal too much at once. Lana caught his meaning, and she knew exactly why it would be bad if her father found out about what they'd be doing. "Yes, Dad does." Lana answered solemnly, to which David and Akato both took deep breaths and looked at one another. Their decision was unanimous. "Jai, can you keep a secret." No! Lana thought, remembering the last time Jai was entrusted with information. The cub, however, answered with what he thought was the truth.
"Of course! I'm the best at keeping secrets." Lana raised her eyebrow at that, but it fooled David and Akato well enough. "Alright." David checked to see if the coast is clear, before lowering his voice to a whisper. "We're going to see Julia and her boyfriend. They've got a secret stash of koalas hidden away, outside of the Kuatan Jungle." Jai's eyes lit up with excitement, especially after hearing that he was going to partake in something that Icarus outlawed before he was born.
"Koalas? Wow." Lana became decidedly uncomfortable with Jai knowing about this. "David, don't you remember what happened the last time Dad found out we were stashing koalas?" Lana reminded, to which Akato smirked, a smug, self-confident smirk that could convince an antelope that he wouldn't eat it if such was what he was about to say. "Yes, but we won't be on Jungle territory, now will we?" To that, Lana had to agree, but she was glad David thought ahead this when he voiced this next question. "But what will we do if Jai accidently spills the beans again?" To that Lana looked at her younger brother, and though he tried give a grin of innocence, he knew exactly what he had done wrong the last time. "Well, what do we have to give you to keep your mouth shut about this?" Lana asked, and her younger brother seemed to ponder that answer for a moment before making a final decision.
"Monkey Ball." It was only two words, but the three sub-adults knew exactly what the cub wanted with just those two words alone. "Uh, I don't know about that." Akato said, but Lana simply shrugged. "Hey, he wants to play it, I say we teach him. But after we've gotten a few koalas down. And maybe a few of those 'fermented fruits' that Malka and Julia said they had at Korofi's tree." Jai looked as though he became even more excited than before, which Lana hadn't figured was possible, but she knew exactly why. "And, if I can get you to keep this secret, next time we'll even let you try some fruit." Lana tempted, and the younger brother took the bait.
"I pinky-swear on our Mom!" Jai declared, and with that the cub and three sub-adults set off for the cave that Julia's boyfriend resided.