O'Tep
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O'tep was laying curled in the den at the moment. She had been kind of lonely for a long time. Yes, she still had some company, but most of it was come and go company. Two of the Banu left leaving O'tep best friendless. Ukoo was gone and even though she was still in her pride 'Tep didn't see her that often. O'tep spent a lot of her time in the den, laying around and waiting for Tariq to return. She was getting rather angry and slightly returning to her ways before. Grumpy and misbehaving. The only thing that really made her happy and calm down was her children. Her sons have done off to do their own thing but on the other hand she had her daughters, but her daughters wanted to go and meet their Pads. But O'tep didn't like that idea, she wanted to keep them with her as long as possible so O'tep told them they couldn't go until their father met their pad.

But Just because her daughters weren't allowed to join their pads yet didn't mean they stayed home. They went out to do other things leaving O'tep to hang around and do nothing once again. She kept the den clean and keep everything fresh but she wanted something to take care of. She slept in Tariq's spot and back talked to everyone. As she really realized as he was gone she really cared about him and although she would never admit it she kind of loved him. But that didn't mean when he waltzed into the den later that she wasn't going to be upset at him.

And thats what she was waiting for. She knew that he had been home for a few days, she let him relax and she took care of him. not with out giving him a bit of a hard time of course. But now she felt like she had been giving him enough time to relax and now it was time to prove her point that she was upset with him. She laid in the back of the den on her side. All of the other Banu and Tariq's daughters were out and it was going to be just her and him. Too bad she wasn't in much of a good mood!

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Tariq'ra'd
---

Tariq'ra'd was tired.

Not many nights had passed since he'd been back home, but every time he closed his eyes, he could still see that vast expanse of unclaimed land--the land outside of the Ukuucha'Wafalme. His body still ached from his fight with Dulani, but his ego ached quite a bit more. He was sore about a lot of things--his banus leaving, being forced to do things, and losing Dulani. Again.

The dark male yawned and rolled to his feet. He'd been napping in the shade of a tree, but he always grew bored of being in one spot for too long. Visions of the solitude of his den danced in his mind's eye. Tariq flicked his tail and went to make his vision into a reality. If he was lucky, his cubs (well, they were grown now, but still cubs in his eyes) would be out. If he was even luckier...O'tep would be there.

Distractions were little keys to unlocking Tariq's happiness. His journey had sucked much of it away, and he was grumpy. But he hated to be. Hopefully he'd feel better by the time the sun was down. The male glanced to the orange horizon only a moment before he slipped through the shady entrance to his den.

---
O'Tep
---

Tariq was lucky, the cubs were out and she was in there. But as she smelt him approach the den she started to grow a little more annoyed. She was incredibly happy he was home that was for sure, she missed him however she still wasn't happy to have him out that long. A little jealousy hit her as she could smell his coat still smell like the rogue lands.

He must have been out chasing other females and sure she knew that she had to share him but she was much more okay with the fact that she had to share him with females in the pride but not okay with rogue lionesses.

She raised his head as he entered and the a grumble of a growl escaped from her chest. It was a warning for him to inform him or how she was feeling at the moment. She stretched out on their sleeping area taking up as much room as she possibly could on it. She was silent for a moment before calling out to him. "Evenin'." She greeted, not exactly a friendly greeting but close enough for her at the moment.

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Tariq'ra'd
---

Smirking at the first sound he heard--O'tep's growl and "greeting"--the vizier slinked further into the den, glancing almost carelessly at his beybanu all the while. She was a harsh lioness, as he had come to know, but she was also...something like loyal. She was the only one who seemed to remain with him...willingly. For whatever reason, Tariq didn't know. But he didn't want to question it for fear of planting a seed of thought in the female's mind about leaving.

He'd never let her leave.

"Good evening, O'tep," he said, switching his gaze to his usual sleeping spot. He held back a grin as he watched the lioness take up all the empty space. She was being testy, hm? Well, he didn't really mind. He needed distractions to bring him back to his old self.

"I haven't seen you much since I've been back," he commented in a polite-sounding drawl, "how've you been doing?"

---
O'Tep
---

'Tep looked at him as he made his way into the thread. She started back at his bright pink eyes. She remembered the first few times she was here. Those pink eyes used to make her feel uncomfortable. Now she was she could look at them and feel comfortable, she felt perfectly fine with them. In fact the felt happy to see them. She missed them but she wasn't going to admit it.

She stared at him for a moment and when he greeted her back she grunted and turned her head away to the side and started to clean off one of her paws off. She paused when she heard him talk once again and she turned toward him.

"You haven't." She replied bluntly then stretched herself back out before turning to him once again and thinking before she spoke. "Not that horrible. Just keeping myself busy." She glanced at him before back at the paw. She hated not having him around, she hated not having something to do other then 'busy work'

---
Tariq'ra'd
---

Tariq was used to the striped lioness's games. The nonchalant grooming, the curt glances...he knew her the best out of anyone in the pride. Maybe he had spent more time with her than he realized...

Smirking, the male made his way closer to the lioness, daring as much as to lie down near her. But he wasn't close--he had merely flopped down to relax. He had grown to feel comfortable with the lioness. Things weren't as strict between them as they had used to be. But that wasn't to say that they never quarreled now and again...

"Ohh, don't be cross with me, O'tep," the male cooed deeply, chuckling. "I'm back now, aren't I?"

Tariq stretched out on his side and curled his claws, yawning. He felt he deserved a long rest, but he also knew O'tep would never think he deserved it. The thought made him grin.

---
O'Tep
---

O'tep looked at him as he got closer. She was annoyed that he was just walking into the den like that and making himself at home. She let out another growl as he started to lay down next to her. She wanted to make it very clear that she wasn't happy. He was hoping that she was going to get the point that was for sure.

She looked at him as he talked and then she shook her head. "I can do what I want." She said before sighing and moving over some she didn't like the idea of the large lion being really cramped. Shethen looked at him again. "Now." She replied before looking out the den.

"The children have been waiting. Well the girls anyway. I told them they can't go off with their pads until you met them." She stated just so he knew. She still really didn't want them to go, she wouldn't have anyone to take care of. "The other cubs have grown too. I'd kind of bare in here." She was speaking matter-a-factually not really getting too personal at the moment. She had her affectionate moments with Tariq here and there but this time wasn't one of them

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Tariq'ra'd
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The male's eyes slid open blankly at the words of defiance leaking out of his beybanu's mouth. He watched her shift positions and listened to her words, ears swiveling. He was willing to let her back-talk slide--at least this once. Besides, he had missed it. A little.

"Ahhh..." Tariq yawned, eyes closing again. He was willing to seem like a total loaf if it would make O'tep a little more irritated. Inside, he was seriously considering her concerns. "Right..." Well, he had met with a few of his girls' future pads already--they were fine. He'd given them his permission to claim some of his daughters. But he didn't know about any new suitors for his remaining daughters. He had some catching up to do.

Casting a look to his left, Tariq stifled a grin. His tail swatted the ground and stretched, muscles tensing.

"Bare, O'tep?" he echoed, fang shining in a smirk. "You trying to tell me something?"

---
O'Tep
---

She really hated it at times when he acted like nothing going on. She really hated it so much and that grin. Ugh he was irritating her. He looked at her again and then moved toward him a little bit. She couldn't help but to miss him a little, it was really one of the first times she had with him and it was nice for him to be back that was for sure.

... She still wasn't going to say it yet though.

She watched him stretched and then she stiffened some at his question. She couldn't help it she liked the idea of having more in the den but once more she didn't want to say it. She was jsut being stubborn though. "Yes, bare." She paused as she looked at him and then grunted again, she hated that smirk. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. With the other banu gone and the cubs leaving it's just kind of strange." She was trying to play it off but she knew it wasn't working. But she had to throw it in there. "And you leaving me here for god knows what things out side of the pride...."

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Tariq'ra'd
---

The rising irritation in O'tep was more than visible, and Tariq couldn't help but feel a strange sense of normalcy again. It was good to be home--he never thought it really would be, but it was. He didn't think he'd be so relaxed after all he'd been through, either. Especially not with what happened with Dulani...all the thoughts that had been in his mind...Tariq's eyes narrowed and his face grew serious for a moment as he lost himself in a separate train of thought.

He had really thought about staying outside of the pride.

He had really thought about leaving O'tep alone.

A sick feeling rose in the male's stomach and he shifted uncomfortably, teeth grinding. What had he done to earn those feelings? He'd done nothing wrong--nothing guilt-worthy. He was above O'tep and every other female--he didn't have anything to regret.

Masking his expression again, the male tossed his mane out of his face and gave O'tep another one of those grins she hated so much.

"I didn't do anything too bad," he said, his voice almost taunting. "What did you think about while I was gone?" the lion asked, rolling to his stomach to get a better look at his beybanu. "Were you jealous?"

---
O'tep
---

O'tep really was jealous but she didn't want to tell him that, not only that but she felt a little lost. She was raised in this pride but she spent a good amount of it trying to leave. Even when she was with Tariq she tried to do it, but she settled down once she was with him. She stopped trying tog et away and then she had cubs with him and she felt much better about being here.

When he left to go out for those stupid females, she didn't understand at all. He had home here. Then again she was pretty scared of him not coming back he had been out there for so long, what would she would have done with out him. She wasn't sure what she would do.

"Yeah okay." She grumbled before resting her head on her paws. "Maybe." she growled to him still not happy. "Why does it matter to you?" she asked starting at him in the eye still not very happy.

She didn't know what else to say to him, she kind of wanted to make him angry, angry like she was when she was gone but at the same time she didn't want him to go anywhere else. "Everyone else left." She said plainly to him before looking away.

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Tariq'ra'd
---

Just as O'tep had been jealous, Tariq really had missed her. In a way, being the secret chaperone of that raid had done a lot for the black vizier...a lot more than he wanted to talk about with anyone. He had come to realize that he was happy to be the vizier of the pride, and happy to have O'tep around, despite her...quirks. But he welcomed those quirks readily.

"Hm, maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't," Tariq answered mockingly, resting his own head on his paws.

Tariq regarded his beybanu in silence after her last words, pink eyes wavering over the back of her head. A strange thought crossed his mind--very, very strange...

Did she...love him? And did he...love her? When he thought that, he felt even more strange. The life of a pad was a strange one, and perhaps a stranger one for a banu. They had been an odd couple from the start, yet there they were, side-by-side in their den, able to converse plainly with one another despite what they'd gone through--what Tariq had put her through. Suddenly smiling with something like amusement, the lion lied down on his side and inched a bit closer to his beybanu.

"I won't ever leave you, O'tep..." he responded quietly. Ah, wait. It wasn't amusement he was feeling...

It was contentment.