Oseye:
She was getting bigger, almost now a full grown lady! She was so excited to go on her first hunt of her own. She knew mother was going to be allowing her that soon. Any day now even!
It would make her an adult to the pride. But for now, she was happy to still be a youngster without any real duties yet. She had been training on her hunting, making sure that this hunt would not be a bust when the time came. She had begun to grow out of that little cub look and was beginning to really be proud of herself. She had decided to go on a mission today. She wanted to explore the ruins. The temples would be a fun place to look through today. Or at least she was thinking it would be. She always did like to go a little deeper in them each time. She stretched her ebony colored toes, and the muscles under her pelt all tensed and released once she stood up again. The sand was warm today, as usual, and the sun was making her wish she had been like Anippe..
She was white where Oseye was black. That just had to be more comfortable sometimes.
Her paws sifted through the sand as she made her way to the temples. She wasnt expecting to run into anyone she knew really. She didnt know much of the pride besides her family. She was rather reserved in most cases, though she was friendly with everyone. Everyone, that was, except her sisters mate Tiki. He was so lazy sometimes. But that was a whole other can of worms. Right now, she was happy to be away from soem of the family drama.
Sudi:
Sudi sat outside the temple, with a bowl from a bit of a tree and a rock with a bit of a hollow in it. In the bowl was a bit of water and the rock contained some dirt. It was mostly a whitish color, though he couldn't get it quite white. He was working on a fur-dye, mostly to put on darker fur, on the paws and around the eyes, and outside the temple was the best place to get the right color of dirt.
It was too light for Miu and his mother, they would look better with a more red color. But Oseye, his little cub-hood friend, it would look rather pretty on her. Above her eyes or on the tips of her paws, maybe. He needed to work on perfumes but this was much easier.
He started humming a bit as he worked, something he had a habit of doing to pass the time in something other than silence.
He didn't really expect to be visited today.
Oseye:
She pranced happily, her steps graceful even if she was a bigger lioness than she had been as a cub. She flicked an ear, and began panting from the sun. Oh man, she needed to get to those shady temples soon. They would not only be fun to explore, but they were good for the darker pelted lions of the pride. The shade was cooling, and almost comforting until you had to go back out into the hot hot sun once again.
She spotted the male with his bowl rather quickly, and excitedly she began running. She had to get to him to say hi. That was her best friend! It had been awhile since she had seen him but she was no less happy about being friends with him. She wiggled her tail excitedly, and smiled.
"Sudi!" She greeted.
Sudi:
Sudi's ears perked up at the sound of his name and he turned around. He had been sitting in the shade of a tree near the temple, his own dark pelt a problem during the day. His ears perked even higher when he saw it was Oseye who was running towards him. Geez, had it really been that long since he had last seen her? She looked bigger than last time. And prettier. Only not really, she had always been really pretty, even when she was soaking wet. And she was especially pretty when she was smiling. It was an infectious smile, one that he couldn't help but match it.
"Hi Oseye!" he called back, giving her a wave of his white-splattered paw. It was then that a small thought crossed his mind. He hoped she slowed down a bit, otherwise she would bowl him over...
Oseye:
She did slow down, once she got close enough to him to sort of headbutt him playfully in the shoulder. She hadnt seen him in so long that it felt like forver now that he was around. She smiled, and her blue eyes were shining with eagerness. He had grown, he was larger, more muscled.. He was handsome, and she couldnt help but feel her heartbeat quicken. It really -had- been forever since she last saw him. She noticed the bowl at his paws, and cocked her head, looking up at him curiously.
"Whatcha doin'?" She asked her eyes looking over the white substance in the bowl that happened to be all over his paws as well. She remembered he wanted to be an artisan, and she wondered if this was maybe something to do with that. He would ahve to be training for his craft now right? She had begun learning her craft not long after she had first met him. But her craft was nothing more than hunting. But without hunters, the pride would starve, and so she still felt special.
Sudi:
Sudi smiled some more and butted his head against hers when she knocked him in the shoulder.
"Working makeup," he replied, holding up one speckled paw and wiggling his toes a bit. It was his white paw, so it was a little bit more difficult to see the white on the creamy color but it was still there, and he could feel it. He wondered if it was fate that had brought her to him, he could try it on her if she let him.
"I think it's finished, though... Would you like to try it on?" he asked, his eyebrows rising with his question. She had wanted his to make perfume for her, would she like this? He kinda hoped she would, since he had been thinking about her when he started mixing it.
Oseye:
"Oh! Makeup." True she had never used it before, nor did she really know what it was for. She supposed it was to look like paint maybe, to make her look even cooler than she already did. She grinned,and when he asked if she wanted to try it on, she didnt falter. She really didnt want to hurt his feelings by asking what exactly it was for, so she just nodded with an exhuberant smile on her maw. Her tail swayed, almost as if it had a life of its own. She poked the white substance with a toe, and pulled it out, smiling at the white against the black of her tow. Grinning, she winked, and wiped it across his cheek.
"Oh look, you look better already." She teased.
Sudi:
Sudi's head jerked back when she wiped it on his cheek, adding another stripe to the ones that already cut jagged marks in the fur there.
"Hey! That's not what I meant," he growled back in a playful manner with a shake of his head. He dipped his un-dyed paw into the water and quickly rubbed it on the cheek, washing the make-up off his fur.
"Here, close your eyes," he said, dipping his marked paw back into the white substance on the rock.
Oseye:
She giggled when he growled playfully, and thought it looked rather striking against the already pale stripes that marked his body. He was a handsome male, and he didnt need makeup to make him prettier than he was. She was realizing shed be content just to look at him all day. She nodded, following orders and closing her eyes. She wondered what would happen next, and if it was anything like a game, but she stayed still. Staying still was hard for the energetic female, but she was able to control it this time.
"Im so excited." She said, trying not to wriggle.
Sudi:
Sudi chuckled as he scooted closer and rose his paw up to run his toes carefully over her eyelid and above it.
"Try and hold still, Osy," he said softly, playing with her name a bit. It was short enough, but he thought the short name was cute. He put the make-up on her eye and above it just enough so that when her eye was open you could still see the white. And then he drew it out to the side of her eye in a small line, not very long, but just a little bit.
"Now just have to do the other eye and then I'll be done," he said, wanting to keep her updated on what he was doing. He could see that it highlighted her eyes and it made him smile. Oh, yeah, the white was a perfect color for her. A lovely contrast to her dark red and black fur. He moved to the other eye and finished it just as quickly as the first.
"There, all done," he added, sitting back a bit and setting his paw back down.
Oseye:
She sat as still as she could, feeling the cold of the makeup smear around her eyes. She squinted a bit, and then stood absolutely still. She waited patiently for him to finish the other eye.
When he told her she could open, she batted her eyes, letting them get focused again. She couldnt see the makeup, but she blinked, and posed.
"How does it look?" She asked, a smile on her features.
Making her way to his water bowl, she looked in in an effort to see her reflection. She couldnt see much, but she liked what she did see. White looked good on her. Smiling she pranced.
"It looks great!"
Sudi:
Sudi blinked when she opened her eyes. That... was a bit more than he had expected. He expected it to be pretty on her, but it brought out her eyes more than he had expected.
"It, um... It looks really nice. I kinda figured it would, a nice contrast and all that," he replied as best he could, trying to hide the fact that he had to swallow before he said anything.
He smiled when she danced about happily.
"I'm really glad you like it. I'm still practicing making perfume, but I promise once I get it right, you'll be the first to know," he added, his smile and voice softening. He could paint her claws like this, too, if she wanted him to.
Oseye:
Unaware of just how much her crystal blue eyes were gleaming, she looked into his eyes and smiled. She blushed a little, at the look that he had on his face when he saw the white on her face. She supposed that meant it looked great. That made her feel even more special. Approaching him, she nudged under his chin, careful not to ruin her new makeup.
"Thank you, Sudi, you're very talented. If your makeup makes me look so beautiful, then your perfume could only amplify my good scent." She chuckled with a wink.
"Like it? I love it! Im in awe, really." She nodded, her head fluff bouncing with each movement. She was having to get used to the longer mane fluff since she was a cub, but she thought it made her look really pretty.
"I cant wait. Really, I cant. Im glad I ran into you today, I was going to explore the temples." She grinned.
Sudi:
"You're welcome," Sudi replied, fighting the urge to tell her that she didn't need perfume to smell any better than she did. He hadn't really noticed until she tucked her head under his chin and he got a really good smell of her scent. He couldn't stop smiling.
"You were? That actually sounds kind of fun. Here, let me clean up really quick, if you don't mind you letting me come with?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Oseye:
She couldnt help her heart that was beating wildly in her chest like a hare that was caught beneath her paws. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and she realized that it was him making her feel that way. They were friends! Friends that hadnt seen each other in seasons. She smiled, nodding, quite happy to spend time with him. She liked spending time with him, he made her smile. She used her paw to brush a strand of her mane fluff out from her eyes, and she blushed again, looking away hoping he hadnt seen it.
"Sure! Im in no hurry, and I could use some excellent company." She grinned, quelling the purr that had started in her throat. No, she couldnt do that right now..
Sudi:
Sudi's ears perked happily when she said that she didn't mind his company. She even called it 'excellent company'!
"Awesome," he replied and smeared his paw-pad in the white mixture and them rubbed it into back into the ground. The water he dumped on a patch of grass nearby, then stood and nodded.
"Okay, let's go," he said, moving to her side with a small nudge to her shoulder. He actually twitched a bit after he did so, something in him wondering if it was appropriate to be doing so. What had happened? It was almost as if something had clicked inside of him, something he didn't know existed.
Oseye:
She nodded when he said lets go, and hopped up a step before making her way into the large doorway. These temples were amazing, and had lavish art and gold around the walls. They always looked like they told a story, and if you asked some of the pride.. They did. But she couldnt ever find the story in them, it all looked like a bunch of random pictures. Though one she didnt really like had been the crude art of a man with a spear, with a pride of lions around him. She had found that one before. She liked to stay out of that tunnel for that reason.
She looked behind her, and flicked her tail to tickle him under the chin, the black fluff a stark contrast to his own pelt.
"Where should be go? Which way?" She asked.
Sudi:
Sudi followed her into the temple, keeping close to her, his head about parallel to her hip. She flicked her tail until his chin and he started a bit in surprise.
"Oh, um, I'm not sure. You were the one that wanted to go on a trip, did you have a preference?" he asked, eyebrows rising slightly with his question. Wandering the temple really hadn't been his thing when he was younger, he preferred staying in more open areas, where he could find flowers and colors. Oseye was so much more energetic than he was, doing anything and everything. He guessed he liked that about her while being annoyed all the same. He always caught her wandering about on her own.
Oseye:
She looked left and right, and decided just to head forward. She could feel his warmth since he was so close, and it made her bite her bottom lip. She sighed, and looked behind her. She hoped he was okay with this. She really only did it out of boredom for the day. These temples had terrified her as a cub. Though now that she was bigger, she was begging to realize that the temple walls werent as ominous and scary as she had once thought. They also werent as lustrous as they had been to her back then either. She stopped, looked behind her, and realized it was hard to see him in the dark. She didnt like that.
"We can turn around if you want, and you can let me paint pictures on you." She beamed. Though part of her wished they could get lost together in the dark temples, and just stay there for a few days.
Sudi:
Sudi lost his smile slightly when she paused and spoke about going back. She seemed a little off, like she'd lost the spark she'd had before coming into the temple. It was dark and he had a bit of trouble seeing her pelt in the darkness, but trouble didn't mean he was blind. He padded forward and gave the side of her head a small nudge with his forehead.
"If that's what you want to do," he replied, touching his shoulder to hers. Maybe her had been too far from her. Maybe this would make her feel a little better.
Oseye:
She smiled when he came closer, and suddenly she felt more empowered. She knew there was a gold room, where the sun shown in from the roof area. It made the room sparkle, and she wondered if he had ever been there.
Father had taken here there all the time as a cub, as she had refused to go on her own. She nodded, and nudged him back, a little purr in her throat. She started to head forward, and she decided to keep up a conversation with him. After all, she didnt know a whole bunch about him, other than he loved his family.
"So how are you? Ive missed my friend." She grinned, looking back for a second before continuing forward, making her way towards that golden room.
Sudi:
"I've missed you too," Sudi replied almost automatically. He had wondered about her. Most of his time was spent on his own or with his family, so he didn't have very many friends. Actually, he didn't have any friends besides her. And he'd thought about her a good bit, wondering if they would run into one another again, if her brother was keeping an eye on her, things like that.
"Um, I've been fine. Working on learning how to make perfumes and make up, watching my sister to make sure she's okay, spending time with my brothers, things like that, mostly. What about you? Been on a lot of adventures?" he asked, wondering if she had been going off a lot on her own.
Oseye:
When he said he missed her back, she blushed a deep pink color. Thank heavens they were in the dark temples. She didnt want him to see her blush like that .What would he think about her?
She nodded, when he was telling her about what had been going on while she had been away. She liked that he was so into his family. She supposed that was her favorite part about his personality.
Family was important to her too, a great deal so. She smiled, and a chuckle rolled out of her throat. She would have to tell her mother about this male. She had never mentioned him outloud, save for maybe Anippe, who also dreamed of her happily ever after.
But his next question made her sigh. She hadnt been on as many adventures as she would have liked. She had been kept at home most of the time, her mother having made sure that hunting was the main part of her life. Mother took her job seriously, and so she was making sure her daughter did as well. In doing so, though, Oseye had become great at hunting in a group. She hoped it would mean it would be easier on her to hunt alone.
"No, Im afraid I havent been on any grand adventures. Ive learned to hunt though! Im clearly an asset." She giggled, teasing. She smiled as the sparkling of the gold room caught her eye and she motioned him to follow her in.
Sudi:
"Hunting is very important to the pride," Sudi replied with a firm nod. Oseye said she was an asset, it almost made him feel as if she wondered about her worth in the pride. She was definitely worth something.
He followed her into the room and stopped, struck still with some degree of awe at the sight. It was much more pretty than the dark tunnel they had been walking in.
"This is... wow," he said after a moment, turning his gaze from the room to his friend.
Oseye:
She nodded, Hunting had to be done she supposed. Without her, and the other huntresses of the pride they would be screwed. So she smiled, feeling a bit happier. She liked feeling good about things she did. She had a good heart, and was always so paranoid that she would hurt someone. Other than Tiki, she had no desire to dislike anyone.
When he walked into the golden room, she smiled as she gauged his reaction. He was obviously in awe, much like she had been. It hadnt changed much since she was a cub, and she still felt that magical feeling being in there. Her jewelry sparkled with the sun and the rest of the gold, making her look like she fit in quite well.
"Isnt it pretty?" She asked.
Sudi:
Sudi's eyes flicked back to the room, then back to her again.
"Yeah, really pretty," he replied with a smile. It was unclear just what he was talking about, the room or something else, even to him. The room was really pretty, but when he considered it, she wasn't pretty. She was gorgeous. The white he had put around her eyes just made it worse.
"Um... Have you been here before? It seems like you knew the way pretty well," he added after a moment, trying to change the subject a bit. Maybe this was a bad idea. He suddenly thought that he needed to go back home and think about this feeling for a bit.
Oseye:
She nodded, looking around the room as if she was daydreaming. She remembered pretending she was a princess in this room. Where others did what she wanted, and treated her as if she was royalty. However a cubs fantasies hardly ever came true, and she had grown up realizing that she wasnt a princess. Though the room had always been one of her favorite places.
"I have. I love it here." She sighed, and then realized that she would need to go hunting with mother soon. She smiled him, headbutting him gently.
"I think its time for me to head home.. It was good to see you, I hope you dont become a stranger." She said with a soft voice.
Sudi:
Sudi smiled and head-butted her back, moving his head in a slightly nuzzly fashion. This seemed like a place that she would love. Ah, but she had to go. Was she feeling the same strangeness that he was feeling?
"Yeah, I should probably get back myself. I have to practice and check on things." And talk to his mother or father, too. Or maybe Miu. She might understand. And she wouldn't tease him or anything.
"I'll see you again soon, okay? Maybe we can meet where we did today, another day? Tomorrow? Or... soon?"
Oseye:
She nodded, a smile taking place on her features. She hated to leave, but the butterflies in her gut were beginning to drive her insane.
Why had they decided to come now of all tiems.. She began walking the direction of home, but looked behind her first.
"I have my first hunt within a few weeks. Mother will keep me busy until then. But Ill meet you here, after the great hunts that the females are going to be having. Alot of us going this year." She said with a nod. She was excited, and with that she smiled, and began trotting in the direction of home.
