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"Uh...Taka?" Uru inquired cautiously. "Are you all right?" "Yeah," Taka muttered, voice cracking. "I'm fine." He kept his face turned away. "Taka," she coaxed, "please tell me what?s troubling you." "Mm," Taka groaned. "Muffy was playing rough yesterday." Uru looked at Mufasa in surprise. The bigger cub hunched down in shame, seeming to crumple where he sat. "Was he now?" she replied, though her gaze was still on Mufasa. "Did he hurt you?" Taka sniffled. "Yeah." Uru hardened her glare on Mufasa, who shrank in his tracks even more. "Would you like him to apologize?" Taka sniffed again. "Mm-hmm," he whimpered. Mufasa looked fearfully, remorsefully up at his mother. Uru solemnly nodded in Taka's direction. The older cub stood up obediently and cautiously approached his brother. "Taka?" he began. Taka's head jerked slightly at the sound of his brother's voice, and he turned around with a look of sudden loathing on his face. Mufasa, however, plodded on. "I just wanted to say I'm really sorry," he said, looking self-consciously down at his paws. "It was wrong for me to get so rough...to overreact like I did. I-I just want you to know that I really am sorry. I hope you'll forgive me." When Mufasa had begun to talk, Taka was still looking hostile, but as his brother spoke the young cub's face relaxed. Neither could quite manage a smile, but they were clearly both feeling better; when Uru looked back on that morning, she remembered it fondly. CONGRATULATIONS! |