[PRP] There's a Double Meaning in That [Bwana & Kalenda] FIN

[Cajanic]

Being in the dog house wasn't really much fun for him- he was the king, damnit. No one was supposed to make him feel like he was four months old again, getting in trouble for stealing trinkets from the merchants. Why, then, did he feel like he needed to go to bed without supper?

Because his queen had been angry with him.

There had to be a way to make things up to her. Sure, he'd gotten busy with a female, and she now knew about it, but it wasn't the end of the world. The cubs were cute... didn't that count for anything?

He had planned on making things up to her whatever way possible. Finally he'd come up with a plan he thought might actually please her. All he needed to do was find the damn female so he could show her just how much she meant to him.

Roaming the clearing, the king sniffed the air, searching for his mate.  

[Lithiasaur]

Angry was an understatement. Kalenda was furious, but she kept her rage controlled around everyone, save Bwana. He could get the full brunt of it, because it was his stupid fault he was in trouble, anyway. She didn't care if she never saw him again. For the moment, at least.

She wouldn't let him into the den. As far as he was concerned, he was sleeping on the proverbial sofa for however long Kalenda decided to stay mad at him. And she had plans for that to be a long, long time.

If she ever talked to him again at all.

But she wasn't actually that mad about what he had done. She knew how alluring females could be, after, being one. Who could resist them when they put their minds to it? But she also knew it probably wasn't the female that was being the shameless flirt. She couldn't trust Bwana as far as she could throw him, and considering that gut on him it wasn't very far at all.

She huffed.

She was sitting under a tree near the edge of a clearing, not realizing Bwana was nearby. She was just taking a break, enjoying the peace and quiet. Away from attendants, from cubs that weren't hers, from everything that was annoying.

Away from Bwana.  

[Cajanic]

The air got colder.

He knew he was close to her now.

Frowning, he spotted her frame, the beautiful purples and blue on her white fur obvious a mile way. There wasn’t another lioness out there as pretty as she was. And he was going to make sure he told her that. Repeatedly. There would be gifts involved too. Lots and lots of shiny things to distract her from his… moment of weakness. A moment of weakness, he had to remind himself, that had happened when he hadn’t technically been mates with her. Sure, he’d wanted to have her be his queen, but as far as anyone was concerned, they hadn’t been together. So there were no rules broken. He was totally innocent of crime.

Yet she made him feel so guilty.

“My lady,” he offered almost hesitantly as he moved up beside her slowly, his tail tucked between his legs, “you’re looking more ravishing than ever. How do you do it? I look like such a thug compared to your radiance.” He offered her a toothy smile, just hoping she didn’t push him over this time.

It was bad enough she was making him sleep outside the den. His illegitimate children got better treatment, and she disliked them! Then again, it wasn’t like they had any real fault in what had happened, they were just the end result.

Sitting down, he looked up at the sky, “I…. uh… met a groundling the other day. The leader, actually. Nice chap.”
 

[Lithiasaur]

Kalenda heard his big fat paws moving over the poor, innocent ground, crushing the grass under his weight as he approached. Or at least, that how it looked in her head, because she didn't look up at him when she felt him stop nearby.

"'Your' lady?" She echoed, snorting, her head resting regally on her paws. She ignored every one of his compliments, but she got up when he mentioned the groundling leader. Glaring at him for a long moment, like she was contemplating attacking him, she then turned and laid back down, now with her back to him.

She didn't move for a long moment.

"Maybe I should go meet things nice chap," she said wistfully, feigning an airy, lighthearted tone, "and see just how nice he can be."

She wouldn't, of course. There were so many more options in the pride itself, she didn't have to go searching for someone to pick up very far from her own den. But beyond that, she didn't actually want to have any one elses cubs. That pissed her off more than his almost-infidelity.

She was essentially just mad because she couldn't justifiably get back at him. They hadn't been together, though she had always had feelings for him, of one sort or another, and she was certain he had them for her. But he still managed to be with another female, and to let her have his cubs. On top of that, he took those cubs and was now flaunting them in front of his Queen by making them his attendants?

Not a very good idea.  

[Cajanic]

Bwana felt his legs grows rigid, his body arching slightly when his queen shot a deadly glare his way. Was she going to leap at his throat? Thankfully, the urge so evident in her eyes was, for the moment, suppressed, allowing the large, though not in any way fat, lion to relax a bit again. She still wasn’t too keen on looking at him, it seemed. When she spoke, he understood what she meant with her laced words, the hairs on his back rising in vexation. The thought of her getting a revenge lay was too much! Just because he had made a mistake while they weren’t together didn’t mean she had any right to even the playing field now.

They were supposed to be king and queen! The rulers. The leaders! She couldn’t go around making love with other pride members… could she? Sighing, he moved a bit closer, trying not to anger her even more by closer the distance between them too much.

“If it would make you happy,” he said almost reluctantly, “whatever would make you happy… shall I cut out my heart and offer it to you as well? That’ll be what would need to happen next.” He moved closer to her again, taking it in small bursts, sniffing at her back just to make sure there were no other male scents on her. Nope, all clean. Just as he had suspected it would be.

“Can’t you forgive me?” he pleaded suddenly, “it was just a moment of weakness! I love you first and foremost! I always will. Pllleeeeasssee talk to me. Your king is begging you! What can I do to make you happy again?” Lying on top of her was probably not the way to go about it, but that didn’t seem enough to stop him from doing just that. He plopped himself on top of the female, resting his head by hers, his body going in the same direction as hers as he kept her from being able to escape from him.

They were talking about this whether she wanted to or not.

 

[Lithiasaur]

Kalenda heard him moving, because she was listening to every sign, just to gauge his reaction. He was getting closer, which was not her goal. Growling softly, in warning, she wanted it clear that he was not allowed withing a five foot radius of her. Hell, even ten feet, twenty feet, a hundred feet was too close to her at the moment.

If he just left the area completely she would be good.

His words, though, made her smile. She hated that he always made her smile, because he was an idiot and accidentally managed to say the right things all the time. Or that's what she believed at the moment. She kept her face hidden from him, though, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of thinking he was getting somewhere with her.

He was just dumb, and she was laughing at him. That was all.

Feeling him sniffing at her, she growled again, louder this time. She didn't think he was getting the message, and she wanted it as clear as the sky during the day. Being close enough to sniff her was very much too close.

Her growl got very loud and turned into a yelped roar of sorts as she felt him plop on top of her. She turned her head to see his right there, and she did what instinct told her to do. She bit his nose.

"Get off of me you big lump of stupid!" She yelled in a completely un-Queen-like way, digging her claws into the earth and trying to haul herself to her feet and throw him off of her. She was laughing, though, despite herself, and that just made her more faux-angry.

"Damn it, Bwana!"  

[Cajanic]

Bwana felt like a big blanket, trying to make himself warming with a bright smile. Smiles were supposed to make someone else feel warm, right? Only, it didn’t seem to work this time around, as all he got for his troubles of flattening himself on top of her was a bit on the nose. Whimpering, holding in any remark on the light pinch to his nose, Bwana stayed put, keeping himself on top of her though she was trying her hardest to get him off of her.

It was a good thing he wasn’t a small lion- she was strong enough to throw him off if he was of a more average size.

“I’m not a big lump of stupid!” he protested lightly, “I’m a big lump of loooooove!” He wasn’t acting much like the king he was supposed to be, either. If anyone else had been watching the two of them, well, it would have been a sight to see that was for sure. Better than any of the plays preformed by the players.

But would it turn out a comedy, or a tragedy? Only time would tell, he supposed. This could all end up rather bittersweet. Not to mention painful, if those teeth sank into anything else with more eagerness.

Ha! She was laughing, that was a good thing.

“I’m not getting off of you until we talk things out,” he informed her quite stubbornly, “I want you to know that I’m sorry it happened and I hadn’t planned anything like this! You’re the only female for me- the only one I would smush lovingly with my fat frame. Aren’t you so lucky?”
 

[Lithiasaur]

Kalenda was almost furious, save for how amused she was. She tried to shake him off like a bunch of water, but he was just not budging. He was certainly stubborn. A big, stubborn, stupid lump. She did not, however, believe that he was a lump of anything but stupid. Certainly not love!

"I am not lucky! I'm nothing close to lucky! And anyway, I don't want to think about what smushing you were doing to make those blasted b*****d cubs! You're a big doofus, you know that? Taking another lioness and then expecting me to still want to be your queen!"

She huffed and stopped struggling, covering her face with her paws and snuffing into the dirt. If she just stayed still, maybe he would go away.

"I'm not mad anyway," she said at length, "I don't care. You're right, we weren't together. Whatever. I just don't want them talking to me so much. I don't want you talking to me so much: you're a nuisance. And that damn boy of yours, that Bora... something. He won't stop calling me mommy."

She looked at him, serious for a moment.

"I don't want some other lioness's cub calling me that. I wanted our cubs to do it, Bwana. It's not fair."  

[Cajanic]

“But I didn’t know you wanted to be my queen when smushed, uh, met with that female! I thought you hated me!” Whimpered the king in return, “and it wasn’t like I made those cubs to get even with you or anything! It wasn’t supposed to produce offspring…” He frowned, rolling off of her. He didn’t, however, leave her alone, cuddling himself closer as struggled to think of the right thing to say.

It was hard when you knew you were dealing with someone smarter. That, and he was worried she would run away from him now that she didn’t have his bulky frame keeping her against the ground.

He pouted, listening as his ears flattened against his head.

“I will tell Borachio not to call you that… we will make our own cubs… they will call you mommy! I love these cubs and I want to protect them, but that doesn’t mean I won’t equally love any other cubs that come from things… Will it be fair then? And soon, they will be big enough to do things on their own! They won’t need to stay in the den, and you won’t have to hear them call you mother anymore… I want to make it right… tell me how. Please?”

Watching her, he tilted his head to one side, putting on his best sad face. Maybe the big, soulful eyes would help.
 

[Lithiasaur]

Kalenda looked at him and frowned at his sorrowful expression. She moved her paw over his face, pushing his head down into the dirt. Shifting, she moved to lay on top of his head, her paws in his mane, settling her head down on her new pillow.

"Just shut up," she said ambiguously, not telling him if she was still mad, if he could make things right, or what she thought about the litter leaving the den or their own replacing it.

Really, she was very happy to think about a family of her own, of little princes and princesses keeping them company. She nuzzled her chin against his fur, even though she wasn't saying any of these things out loud, just closing her eyes and letting him stay there with her. Her tail flicked and brushed his fur.

She sighed, content to just fall to sleep there with her idiot King, and try to forgive him. Or vex him into frustration by not telling him she was forgiving him. Both worked for her. She was purring very softly, though, which had to be a good sign.

"Just shut up."  

[Cajanic]

Bwana didn’t know what he was supposed to do- aside from not speaking anymore, of course. But could he… move? Purr? Blink? The more he thought about it, the more he figured it would be best to just lie there and not do a damn thing, just in case he accidentally spoiled the mood. Which he’d probably done on more than one occasion without even realizing it. So he let her lie on his head, worried silently about her bending his quill.

A small price to pay.

As the time drifted by, and he lie there under her, quietly listening to the purring coming from her much more slender frame, he began to feel his heart beat ease. His nerves had it racing before, but now, in the calm, it felt almost like he might actually be forgiven. Eventually. Maybe he would even get to sleep further into the den! Eyes closed, he could feel himself falling to sleep under her.

It was tiring, getting someone to forgive you on top of all those kingly duties.

“Mmmm,” he mumbled lowly, all but forcing his eyes open again, “Can I speak now?” he asked lightly.
 

[Lithiasaur]

Kalenda opened her eyes, her purr rolling into a growl, though it was rather forced. She was perfectly content, because it was easy to get lost in how nice he was, and how naturally being comfortable with him came. Even when she was supposed to be mad.

She had to forcibly remind herself that he was in trouble.

"You woke me up," she said, sounding less than patient. She moved from his head, looking at her sharply. "So no. You can't speak now. Or you couldn't. I guess that doesn't matter."

She sighed, standing. Swinging her tail behind her, she padded away from him, but paused before she got too far and looked back at him.

"Come on then, StupidLump. Let's go home. We'll talk about things there. I give you permission to cross the threshold, and to speak. When we're there." She grinned at him, at least enjoying treating him like her toy. She purred again, bounding off.  

[Cajanic]

Whoops, shouldn’t have spoken. Hearing her growl, he felt himself bite down onto his tongue, scolding himself secretively. But she didn’t seem to upset about him speaking, though, which he took as a positive sign. “Sorry,” he said, still wondering if he was supposed to say anything else or not. If he was in trouble anyway, there wasn’t a lot more he could do about it now.

Might as well push his luck- sometimes he liked to push his luck with her, as long as he didn’t push it too far again.

Accidentally or otherwise.

Watching her walk away, he felt his ears flatten. Only for a moment, however, just until she started to speak again. Like a giddy child off to get a treat, he sprang to his paws, grinning wildly.

He said nothing else as he took off after her, making sure to follow her rules until they got back to the den.

No speaking until he was inside the den.

((fin))