Flycatcher Downs the veldt

tey’gan lifted his head proudly, shoulders rolling back as he squared himself before her. even in his distress, he held himself with the poise of a warrior, of a leader born.
i am tey’gan of the vaymoru, he introduced himself, voice firm despite the turmoil in his chest. first son of kxemtu. my people are sea hunters, and i am a zolup. the word fell naturally from his tongue, carrying the weight of his identity, his purpose. he would be a chief first, but that was an uncertainy he didn't bear beneath the tides— what would make him worthy of it now?
his tail flicked once behind him, a thoughtful gesture, before his expression softened, shadowed by the concern still clinging to him. my siblings… they are my ilk to protect, but they are harder to command than my own soldiers. a dry huff left him, part amusement, part exasperation.
it was a truth he had come to learn young—warriors followed orders, they understood duty. but siblings? siblings had minds of their own, wild and free. even now, tey’gan did not know if they were lost, or simply choosing to remain unfound.
his golden eyes found skuka’s again, searching. no...People, here, ey? it is just us, then? hope, desperate and restrained, laced his words. he was a warrior, but he was a brother first.