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A week or so into her new title and already Fireheart was picking up on the finer points of being Queen. More and more lions came to her for advice and her brain was both growing tired and becoming stronger. She was used to thinking of battle plans or hunting tricks, but now it was more along the lines of helping sick cubs and merchants plan their next sales. If she turned fighting on its head and twisted just a bit, everything sort of fell into place. She was getting her footing in this new role and, dare she admit it, she was kind of enjoying it.

It was no surprise when one of the guards came up to her and told her that Vodnitvar was looking for her. Her mate would soon become a diplomat and he was already fairly well-known in the pride, if only for the fact that he came from such a different upbringing. She made her way to the edge of their lands where she spotted the large, blue lion and...oh, a lioness she had never seen before. Curious, she trotted down the slight incline before reducing her pace to a walk once more.

"Greetings," she called out, not wanting to be too informal around a new pride member. She knew Vodnitvar wouldn't have brought her here if she didn't want to join. Fireheart spared any sort of emotional greeting for her mate other than a little bob of her head. There was a time and place for emotions to get the better of them, and that was when they were alone. When they were out among the pride in matters such as this, it was better to keep a cool, collected head.

"Who is this, Straw Dog?" she asked, arching a brow and nodding her head towards the younger lioness. She couldn't be much older than the newcomer, perhaps just a few month.

Fireheart was rather startled when the young lioness pushed Vodnitvar aside. She had been gentle about it, but still. Who did that to the one guiding them to a future pride? It certainly didn't give her a first good impression. She had to remember, though, that not all lions and lionesses were as formal as she hoped they would be, especially members of this pride.

It wasn't until the lioness - Frite, apparently - started to speak that Fireheart thought anything was out of the ordinary. How did she know his real name? Surely he had had a life outside of the pride, that much was a given, but his body language didn't read that of finding an old friend. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and, when Frite continued, it took everything she had not to attack.

As it was, the fur along her spine stood on end and her claws dug into the ground. Her mate? Who was she to claim such a thing? Her eyes darted instantly to Vodnitvar, demanding answers instantly if she wanted to keep Frite unharmed. He had never mentioned a previous mate before, nor being separated from anyone other than his pride as a whole, so for the time being she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Fireheart kept her eyes on Frite for a moment before following Vodnitvar a few paces away. She tried to ignore the stare she could feel burning into her back, but it was very difficult to do. Who had the gall to stare at any queen like that? The thought alone made her want to turn around and lash out, giving her new scars on her face to match the ones...on her paws...

"Wait," she said quietly, the pieces falling into place. From his pride, just a cub, scars that matched Vodnitvar's own in intensity and ferocity...

"She's not the cub you rescued, is she?" she asked quietly. She felt a bit better at the confirmation that she was, indeed, mad. She loved Vodnitvar dearly, but if he had been lying to her this whole time she wasn't sure what she'd do. Not be very happy for starters. His story seemed to hold water, although she still wanted to put Frite in her place.

Vodnitvar's obvious disgust and distress over the situation chased the last doubts from Fireheart's mind. He really didn't have any idea what was going out outside of what he had said, that much was for sure. Even when she was just training under him, she knew that he was a lion of his word and wouldn't lie about something like this. Especially now that they were unofficially mated, he was loyal to her as the day was long.

She was about to comfort him a bit, assure him that she'd take care of it, when the grey lioness popped up out of nowhere and yelled in her ear. The sudden noise made her slightly disoriented and, when she glanced over, was not very happy to see Frite nuzzling Vodnitvar. Not very happy at all.

"Yes, we were talking about you," she said in a cold tone of voice as Frite bounced up and down in place. "Vodnitvar was just...catching me up on your past. It seems you're a bit mistaken," she added, pacing closer towards the smaller female. It was times like these that she thanked her size: she didn't intimidate often, but when she did she made sure to use her larger than average height - for a female, at least - to her advantage. "Your old...friend...here is not. Your mate. He is mine, and if you do wish to join this pride, you are to keep at least three strides away from him until you come to your sense."

There. The suggestion was made. Any further movements towards the blue lion and she'd have to use a bit more force.

Fireheart didn't back down from her stance as Frite cowered before her. She needed to understand who was in charge here. It wasn't until she started to cry that she began to feel a bit badly about her reaction but...come on! She'd been horribly disrespectful both to herself and Vodnitvar, continued to bother the blue lion when it was clear he didn't want the attention...if this was what it took to get her to snap out of her dream world, then she'd do it again a thousand times over.

"He's left that pride and that part of his life behind him," she said sternly, but not unkindly. "And found a new home here. If you do wish to be protected you may join our pride, but only if you get those thoughts of Vodnitvar being your mate out of your head. I can promise you that we are safe from outside dangers and..."

She paused, sizing up the younger female. "...and you'd probably fit right in with the other lions." Indeed, she had that happy-go-lucky personality and the slight touch of insanity that most of the lions here had. "Stop your tears, Frite. You're not in danger."

Fireheart kept her expression hard as Frite got to her feet again. She didn't want the smaller lioness to think that she would just let this go. Granted, Frite couldn't have known that Fireheart and Vodnitvar were mates, but seeing her try to get close with her lion made her blood boil.

The pleading was getting to be too much, and she held up a paw to silence her. "You may live wherever there is available den space. I cannot say if there are open ones near ours, but all the dens are located in the same area, so in the grand scheme of things you'll be close."

Fireheart lowered her paw and fixed her with a stare. This one was gentler than any other she had given her, now that she was relaxing it was easier to do. She could see the terrified cub in Frite, the one being attacked by vicious claws and teeth, and she knew she'd find solace here, not just because of Vodnitvar.

"One more thing. You need to listen to Vodnitvar, whether or not it's something you want to hear. He saved your life, you owe him that much at least."

Fireheart eyed Frite before nodding just a bit, accepting her apology and her submission. She knew she wouldn't cause any more problems, not after the display of dominance. She knew her place now, and perhaps she'd be someone interesting to talk to later down the line. She had known Vodnitvar in the other pride, after all. It would be interesting to hear stories about him from a cub's perspective.

"I'll go with you," she declared, returning the nuzzle. It calmed her down considerably and made her feel far more at peace than she had felt moments ago. "Come along," she added, glancing over her shoulder at Frite. "If you're to live here, there's a few rules you'll need to know."

She began to explain to their newest member all about the gypsy way of life, from their ceremonies to their nicknames as they walked to the dens. She hoped she'd find life here was safe as Fireheart found it to be.