He had been thinking..Thinking alot lately. He was getting antsy, and anxious about certain thoughts going through his head.. He loved Naida, and something had been nagging him..
He was beginning to get that itch to be a father. Would he be a good father? He hoped so.. He wanted to be a father so badly, that he just could feel his heart swell with pride at the mere thought of parenthood. But would Naida feel that way?
He walked into the den, as a walk had been needed to clear his head that was muddled with thoughts. He let Naida sleep in today, and now the midafternoon was creeping up, and he wondered if she would be awake yet.
At the moment, Naida was still curled up around the warm spot Chincha had left when he went for his walk. She was sort of awake, actually ... but not really up. It was more like dozing, letting the scent of her mate lull her into a calm and relaxed state. She heard Chincha's pawsteps at the mouth of their cozy den, and yawned slightly, but still didn't move to really get up.
"Naiida," he called, voice soft as he almost sung her name to her from the entrance. It was a beautiful day, and she seriously could only make it brighter.. That was..if she liked the conversation he wanted to have.
"Wake up sleepyhead. Its a beautiful day, for a beautiful princess."
She yawned again and rolled over toward the entrance, facing him. "I'm awake, I'm awake... do you have more beautiful places to show to me..?" she asked, getting up to stretch with a yawn. Her tail tip flicked back and forth as she went to nuzzle at Chincha a bit, happy that he was back.
"I have a beautiful place.. Its nothing much, but its a nice little meadow right outside the pride. It should be rather pretty.." Hopefully it would be good enough out there to make her comfortable.. So he could talk to her. The moment had to be right, if not, he could ruin it forever.
Nuzzling into her, he let a purr escape his throat, and he pulled back to look deep into her eyes.
"Ooh, a meadow sounds nice~" she replied quickly, smiling up at him. Really, anywhere that she could be with her Prince was good enough for her. But it didn't hurt if the place was nice, too! Nope, it definitely didn't hurt.
She blinked when Chincha backed away to look into her eyes, and met his gaze in return. "Why are you staring at me...?" she asked after a moment - though she could probably guess.
He blushed, and shrugged.
"Maybe I cant help myself." He responded, backing up, and turning to face outside the den. Walking out into the mists, shadows playing along the ground. It was a gloomy sort of look, but it was beautiful. He knew out in the open though, the sun should be shining brightly.. He'd love to see her in the bright sunshine.
"C'mon baby," he called.
"I'm right behind you," she purred, following after him. The mists under the trees did seem kind of gloomy at times, but she knew ... there were places where the sun shone through. "I really like it here... with you."
"It only gets better." He smiled, looking at her, and headbutting her gently. He chuckled, and flicked his tail side to side, hitting her rump in the process a few times, tickling her with the tip fluff.
In no time, the sun started to show through the mists, and he knew that the treeline was almost near. As soon as she walked out, she would see rolling grasses, and sunshine, and she would love it.. Or he hoped.
Indeed, once Naida stepped out of the trees, she froze for a moment, mouth opening slightly in silent surprise. After walking through the relative gloom of the forest... the sun in the meadow seemed like something magical. The brightness was such a contrast that it made it all the more beautiful. "It's... really really wonderful," she finally breathed, softly.
He cleared his throat, letting her soak it in before looking at her with a more serious look. He walked out further into the open, letting the sun shine against their backs.
"Naida, I brought you out here, darling, because..well.. I wanted to have a talk with you. Would you talk with me for a moment?"
He asked, knowing shed likely say yes anyway, but he liked to ask her if she wouldnt mind..Sometimes it was good to let Naida think she had thought of it.
She blinked at that, turning to sit down and curl her tail about her paws. "What did you want to talk about...?" she asked then, tilting her head a little.
He took a deep breath, before sitting and giving a nervous smile. He didnt want to scare her, so he tried to lgihten the mood by softening his face.. But he couldnt help but be nervous, and his heart was pounding.
"I.. how do you feel about family?"
Naida stared at him for a moment, not ... quite sure what he meant. "Well ... I ... I mean, you know what my family was like..." she started slowly, looking a bit confused. "What do you mean?" she asked finally.
He took a deep breath, and decided the best course of action was to flat out ask. He smiled at her, leaning in to kiss her cheek, before pulling back and holding the nervousness in.
"You know that I love you.. You know that I want to be with you forever.. Well theres something more Ive been thinking of.."
He paused, then finished speaking.
"I want a family..Of our own."
Her eyes widened at that... almost impossibly so. Oh ... he meant... him, and her ... having a family ... cubs. Ohgods. Naida swayed just slightly for a moment, overwhelmed by the very -thought- of them having cubs together. It was something that... she'd never thought of before.
His ears went back, and he started stammering. His eyes looked to the earth, and he stood, wanting to get away if she would reject it.. He didnt take rejection well, and he could feel his heart pounding. Was he doomed to live life without ever knowing the joy of being a father? Not that it was a huge insane loss.. He would still have Naida. But something wasnt complete there.
"I.. I just thought it was a good idea. Im sorry, it probably wasnt."
Naida jumped at that, seeing how devastated he looked. "Oh! No n-no ... I just... I'd never thought about it... before," she said, a little weakly. She knew what her own family had been like, but having one where -she- was the mother, and not the cub..? Oooohgods. She could tell that this was something he really wanted... and Naida didn't want to make her Prince sad. Surely ... surely having a family wasn't all bad. She could do it better! That was it... she could learn... from her own parents' mistakes. Of course.
Stepping up closer to him, Naida pressed her nose against a shoulder. "I'm ... still not really sure what to think, but ... maybe... it would be nice to have a family, with you."
He didnt want to force her, and he gave her a hopeful look. His eyes were very blue, with the sun gleaming and making them shine like sapphires. Of course her own eyes were just as pretty, and he could get entranced within them just as if she had jewels for eyes.
"You..arent just saying that? I dont want you to do something you dont want to do. Its after all, both of our decision, not just mine."
He replied.
She took a deep breath and shook her head. "No ... I'm not just saying it. You ... surprised me. But now that I'm thinking about it, having a family ... would be good, I think." She met his gaze, smiling to show that she meant what she was saying.
He smiled, jumping from his sitting position and dancing around her. She had just made him the happiest guy in the world.. Almost like when she had agreed to be his mate, but this was a different kind of happiness.
"Oh Naida.. I love you, i do. I will love you forever, and any cubs we ever have..Forever.."
He told her, nuzzling her and smiling.
Naida laughed softly at that, caught up in his mood. "I love you too, my Prince," she purred in reply, twisting her head around to watch him. Seeing him so excited about it ... well, it made her feel a bit better about the whole idea.
