Yai woke up early the next morning, taking a deep breath an stretching with her eyes closed before she let out a mighty yawn and finally opened her eyes to look around. She remembered, after a rush of confusion, that she had slept away from her den tonight, and that she had company with her. Relaxing a bit, only a little startled by the strange scenery upon waking, she turned her head to where Rekhet had been sleeping the night before. It was with a sinking feeling in her stomach that she saw he was not there.
Had he gone off somewhere? Maybe he had his own morning routine that he liked to stick to, and had not anticipated spending the next day with her. She could understand that, after all. They had only just met and she knew she liked to work out in the mornings. Go for her regular run, and do some climbing and stretching. Just to keep herself in prime hunting condition, so she might take care of the pride and those that depended on her. If there were any ones that depended on her, specifically. Well, whatever the case, she had a routine and usually stuck to it dutifully.
"Good morning."
Jumping, she turned to see the dark lion standing nearby, with a fresh kill near him. A small animal, though he had already eaten his share of it and was cleaning himself. He motioned for her to partake, smiling at her warmly. She was sure he would make someone a good mate some day, though she would not say that to him, lest he think she were talking about herself. No, she was sure she would find the right lion out there, but something in the back of her mind told her it was not the one standing in front of her. It made her wonder if she had already met him, and knew what she was looking for, but without... actually knowing it.
She could just tell which ones were not the right ones.
"I thought you might be hungry, so I got us something to eat. It's not much, but it's really good. I tried to leave you the best bits, but really... they're all the best bits." And he had tried to kill it quickly, without causing it pain. Something another lioness had made him think about. While he was sure it could not be done every time, or he would lose some of the kills he needed to make, he would do his best to be fast and painless if he could swing it. For smaller hunts, especially, it seemed like a fair thing to at least try for.
"Thanks," Yai said with a nod, not knowing the difference between a violent kill and a humane one. She was just in it to feed, either herself or others, and was not concerned with how the prey beast she took down felt about or during its fall. She ate quickly, until she felt full and satisfied for the morning, sitting back and taking her turn to clean herself. She was a near lioness, and kept her fur clean and soft, well groomed and in place. She could see Rekhet was similar in mind, though maybe not as exacting.
"Well, I usually go on a run around the lands, if you wanted to come with me?" Rekhet offered, and Yai laughed. He looked bewildered, not thinking it was so strange a thing to do: he had seen many other lions doing the same thing throughout the day. They liked to just get out there and run, work their muscles, feel the burning in their limbs and know they were pushing themselves to grow stronger. Just like he did. He must have been wearing his worry on his face, because she shook her head and laughed again.
"No, no, don't worry. I just thought it was funny of you to ask, because I like to go on runs, myself, and would certainly like to join you on yours. I didn't know if I was going to have alter my normal morning routine with you around today, but it turns out I don't have to. Which I like a lot, because I can be a bit of a creature of habit." She liked to schedule herself for the day, and make sure she got certain tasks done before she moved on to other ones. Some she had planned for every day, though she was flexible enough to work with the unforeseen. She just did not like to.
Rekhet was a little more on the easy side, though he was dutiful. He just did what he had to, when he had to, as soon as he was told to. He did not need to schedule his own life around anything: his life was his service, and that always came first. The needs of others always came first. He was not sure what he would do with himself, not really, but he would figure it out in due time. He was sure of it, with his dedication there had to be something out there for him. Or if this was what he was meant to be, a hunter and a friend lion, he would get use to that, too. He liked it so far, after all.
Yai nodded at him and then took off at a run. Not all out, not wanting to wear herself out, but maybe a little faster than she usually liked to run. She was not going to race him, unless he challenged her to, but she did want to show her strength off a little bit, maybe. It was subconscious, and she was grinning and laughing as she bounded away. Rekhet took off after her, paws pounding over the earth as he struggled to catch up to her. He would not try and pass her, but he did want to at least run at her side while they circled around the area. She let him, watching him for a moment before smiling, fondly, and returning her attention to the path they were forging.
( Word Count: 1,022 in Word )
