Tuliua:
Hunting. She did enjoy the task, especially as it allowed her to spend time by herself, away from the busy life of the pride. The peaceful silence of the hunting grounds, coupled with the adrenaline of taking down a kill and the slight air of freedom that came with it, was something she treasured. It wasn't often she got the chance to hunt, and even rarer an occurance that she got the opportunity to hunt alone, rather than with the rest of Faiz's harem.
He knew that she wouldn't leave, but even now she could feel eyes watching her, as she dragged the fairly large waterbuck back to her male's den. Judging her, and probably Faiz also. After all, not many males trusted their Banu enough to hunt alone - it was too easy for them to escape. It wasn't just that that was making her uncomfortable, though. Tuiliua knew she wasn't an ugly lionness, but when so many male eyes were directed at her it made her uneasy. They wouldn't dare touch her - that was agaisnt the pride laws - but it didn't stop her feeling uncomfortable.
Unaware if Faiz was inside, she entered the den, dropping the waterbuck with a rumbling purr of gratitude. It was heavy! But hopefully it should feed a few, and she shouldn't have to hunt for a few more days. Although, of course, that wasn't all good news. She did enjoy her hunts.
Faiz:
"My, my. It would seem my pretty little flower has some very sharp thorns." Faiz's voice was deep and good humored as he rose and padded softly from the shadows near the back of the den. 'Liua was forever surprising him, though that was often the case with all of his treasures. How he loved pleasant surprises.
He approached her, ignoring her kill as he was more intent on his most colorfully female. He stopped in front of her, nuzzling her gently. Always gentle, always calm and soft. That was how he was with her. He didn't need to control her, didn't need to chide her or tell her not to do things. It was as if she already knew what she should and shouldn't do. He knew how she liked to fade into the background, and her quiet demeanor pleased him.
"How has your day been, my sweet?" he asked, a soft purr in his voice as he pulled back to watch her with his sleepy-looking blue eyes.
Tuliua:
His voice surprised her, and her pale yellow eyes widened as she looked up, muscles initially tensing. However, her lithe body relaxed as she recognized the male, a soft smile lighting up her face. His tone of voice suggested he was pleased, and that in turn pleased Tuiliua. She liked making Faiz happy. She'd never actually made him angry or upset before, but she didn't want to take the chance.
His nuzzles brought purrs out of the colourful lionness as she pressed her nose to his as a sign of affection, her small tongue gently moving to clean his face. At his question she paused, pulling back with another sweet smile. "It has been peaceful and uneventful, thank you." she answered with a slight dip of her head, showing her submissive nature as she glanced past Faiz, into the den.
"May I please join you in the den, sir?"
Faiz:
Faiz chuckled under his breath, rolling his eyes heavenward and shaking his head at her request.
"'Liua, how many times must I ask you not to call me sir? It would please me so much more to hear my name from your lips rather than that boring title," he replied, reaching up to give her a playful n** on the tip of her ear.
He glanced over his shoulder in an almost bored fashion before returning his gaze to her.
"You're as welcome in this den as I am, 'Liua. You shouldn't need to ask."
Tuliua:
He was shaking his head? Had she done something wrong? Lowering her body further so she was looking up at him, she prepared to cower before realizing he was chuckling. Tuiliua even smiled herself at the reason for his movements - ah, but of course. Her smile brightened a little at the playful n**, another purr rumbling in her throat. "I am sorry sir, but it is habit. If it would please you, I can make the effort."
She stepped over the kill, nodding her head in gratitude as she made to enter, before turning to look at the dead waterbuck on the ground. "Should I bring the kill in, s-...Faiz?" she spoke, quickly correcting herself. His name felt strange on her lips. Strange...but not bad.
Faiz:
"No, my flower. I can take care of that," Faiz replied grabbing the kill and pulling it with little effort into the depths of the den. He dropped it off to one side, glancing back up at his banu. 'Liua had been with him for a long time, had been the first female he had gotten on his own, retrieved for his Coming Of Age. And yet still, she couldn't stop calling him sir.
He approached her again, giving her an encouraging smile.
"See, that wasn't so difficult, now was it?" he asked softly, tilting his head a bit to one side.
Tuliua:
She smiled gratefully, stepping to the side to allow Faiz to pull the kill in. He did it with such ease, but it was only to be expected - he was larger and more muscular than she. It was clear Tuiliua wasn't built for strength. She followed him into the depths of the den, watching his deposit the kill on the ground before glancing around, finally settling down in a laying position against the wall.
He approached her, and his own smile brought out another of Tuiliua's, as she gave a gentle shake of her head, "Not difficult, s-...Faiz, but unnatural. You may have to give me time to grow accustomed to it."
Faiz:
Faiz's smile turned into the kind a parent might use for a child that exhausted them and yet they loved that child so much, though the storm-colored lion hardly thought of the pastel lioness as one would one's child. He stretched out next to her and placed one large paw over hers before leaning forward to lick her behind her ear and neck, cleaning the dust and sand from her fur.
Grooming was a common gift from Faiz to his females. It calmed him and gave him a sense of closeness to them.
"There is nothing unnatural about that, not with me," he said softly between licks. "Other males might argue with me, but I see no reason why my females should not call me by the name I was given. Calling me sir all the time... Makes me feel like I'm no different from any other male you meet."
Tuliua:
Tuiliua watched Faiz carefully, shuffling closer to the wall to give him more space as he laid next to her, though leaving her paw where it was under his. Having Faiz groom her was another thing she enjoyed, since it was oddly comforting, and even made her feel a little special. And it also got her clean, which was always welcomed. Her pale colours meant that any dirt was especially obvious.
He spoke softly between licks, Tuiliua's eyes closed contentedly as a fond purr vibrated through her body, her tail moving to curl around Faiz. She listened as he spoke, suddenly gasping as her eyes opened, her head shaking as she reached forwards to push the top of her head under his chin, licking the sensitive skin affectionately.
"You are! You're so, so differet, and infinitely better. I promise. It's just...hard, for me. I apologise. I will try better, Faiz." she spoke, rather hurriedly at first as a sadness crept into her voice. She'd never meant to come across in that way, and that fact that she upset him upset her, in turn.
Faiz:
Faiz jerked when she moved and licked him in a overly receptive spot, taking a deep breath as his eyes slowly closed. A sad smile played on his face as he mentally berated himself for upsetting her so.
"Shhhh," he hushed her, opening his eyes again to give her a move sincere smile. "Don't wilt, my flower. I know it's difficult. I just can't help but wonder what happened to you that would make it so hard for you to call me by name." He never asked 'Liua about her past. Frankly, he didn't really care about her life before he had found her and brought her home with him. All he cared about was her, and if she remembered and wanted to tell him, she would.
Tuliua:
Tuiliua was too upset to realize that Faiz jerked, and that she'd obviously surprised him by her sudden movements. His hushing, however, calmed her a little as she nuzzled the spot once more before retracting, ears flat against her head in a sign of both fear and distress. She was afraid she'd upset him, and really hoped she hadn't. Outbursts such as that were rare from the usually quiet lionness, although she was slowly becoming more talkative around Faiz. In fact, that might've been one of the longest 'speeches' she'd ever made.
She noticeably relaxed at his reassurance, but still not completely as the matter of her past came up. Her eyes lost their sparkle, features drooping a little as she lowered her head to her paws, resting it there as she stared ahead of her for several moments, before tilting her head to look up at Faiz. "...Me too."
She paused, clearly saddened now as she glanced back to the ground. "I'm sorry, Faiz."
Faiz:
'Damnit all!' Faiz inwardly cursed his thoughtless words and settled himself back down, this time curling around her more, his caring and protectiveness for her reflected in the action.
"I'm the one who's sorry. I did not wish to upset you," he replied softly, rubbing his cheek against hers, his eyes closed as he savored the contact.
"Please don't be sad, Tuliua. I don't know what to do when my precious treasures are sad," he whispered as he continued to nuzzle her.
Tuliua:
Tuiliua glanced up, watching carefully as Faiz shifting his position, curling around her instead in a way that she couldn't help but smile, albeit if only weakly. She happily snuggled up to Faiz as a response to his actions, placing her head directly beside his, purring softly as their cheeks rubbed.
"I'm only upset because you are. I don't like to upset you," she murmured softly, pressing herself as close to Faiz as she could, suddenly extremely grateful for the rare times they had with just the pair of them, where they could talk like this. "I love you, Faiz."
Faiz:
"You could never upset me," Faiz replied and let her words slowly sink in. Love. That was something he had rarely heard of when he was a young lion. He knew him mother loved his father very much, she had often told him that it was her love that allowed him to take her from her home when she was a much younger lioness. Aali's mother also loved their father, a fact he knew by her disapproval of Faiz. She had helped to raise him, but she did not like him. Even when he was young, he could see it in the little looks she would give him sometimes. She hated him because Qasim treasured him as his only son, and he was not of her body.
He asked his father once, about love. Qasim had simply laughed and told him it was a female issue. And yet... He couldn't doubt the feelings he had for 'Liua or Mzu, or Faeqa or Naji. He cared so much for all of them. Many of his brethren might call him a fool if they ever found out, but honestly, the calm Vizier would tear apart any creature who threatened his females. Even a god would not stand unharmed against him.
"I love you too, 'Liua."
Tuliua:
His pause worried her, and where she'd been, with her head on his paws and her eyes closed, she shifted, glancing up at him. Why was he pausing? Had she upset him again? Her pale eyes began clouding over with tears when he finally spoke, replying to her statement with a matching one of his own. And it was enough - no, it was more than enough to put the female at rest, as she smiled softly, gently reaching forwards and licking his face, before settling her head on her paws again, snuggling up closer to him still. And then, content and happy, Tuiliua fell into a dream-filled sleep.
Faiz:
Faiz listened as her breathing slowed, telling him that his sweet Tuliua had drifted off to sleep. The male sighed softly, unable to keep his thoughts from wandering. If he ever found out who did what to 'Liua to make her so timid... Well, it all depended. If it was her mother and she simply schooled her daughter in the ways of "treating a male", then he could see himself probably thanking the female.
But if it were another male...
Faiz had few features from his father. The dark mark upon his back, the mark beneath his eye, and his eyes themselves were the only things that showed Faiz to be the former Sultan's eldest son. Normally his eyes were bright and shone with his good humor beneath his hooded eyelids. But in the dim light of the cave, they burned with a ferocity few had ever lived to speak of. He knew then and there, that if anyone had abused 'Liua in her past, male or female, and he found them...
They would beg him to kill them before he was done exacting revenge.
Teeth grit against his heated emotions he closed his eyes and focused on his 'Liua's breathing, falling into a doze in a much longer time than it had taken her to fall asleep.
