Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kyprioth knew that he was tempting fate by coming back here. After all, it had only been a month and he didn't know if she was still in the general vicinity. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea after all . . . But it was a good hunting place. And still, it really wasn't that close. Sure, he could see the spot where he had met her, but it was a good walk in the distance.

Besides, it had been a full month. The chances of her being around this area still was low. He was fine. He just had to keep telling himself that. His dark paws padded quietly across the lush grass that marked the border of the jungle. The area had good hunting because of this lush grass, and there were plenty of large herds of prey beasts nearby. So, Kyp stifled his anxiety and cast out his senses, nose and ears, hoping to find some signs of prey nearby.

Kyprioth shook his head in obvious denial. He had caught a certain scent but he was certain that it had to be his imagination. After all, he'd had it rather engraved in his mind only a short time ago, but that short time was still a month. There was no way, no way possible that she would look for him again and find him in the second place. Kyp glanced around wildly, but the terrain made it easy enough for someone to hide.

It has to be someone else, someone with a similar scent, he told himself fervently. Realizing that he was panicking, he forced himelf to try to settle down. He still needed to hunt and his imagination was just running away with him. Nalani was long gone by now and he need to focus.

Or was she?

Well . . . s**t. Kyprioth had to bodily force himself not to panic at the sight of the female leopard. Most times, when he saw a female, it was an occasion to celebrate, but something about this particularly female struck fear into his very existence. A month ago, they'd had an . . . encounter, where he thought he'd been the one seducing her. However, looking back on it, he began to realize that she had been doing the seducing. Still, he couldn't do anything to ruin his reputation so he played along.

'Nalani!" he exclaimed with a fake smile. "Hello there! It's soo good to see you again. How are you?" He knew his very tone sounded nervous, but he smiled as sincerely as he could and forced himself to relax.

Kyprioth didn't care about how he looked anymore. He stared back at her in utter confusion, his dark eyes glaring at her tone. He'd known that something had been off the last time. It hadn't been a simple act of pleasure, as it usually was for him. For her, and he should have seen this before, it was something much more. She was actually looking for something from the union, and from the way she treated him, it wasn't to settle down with him. Which meant . . . .

No.

He could not, would not believe that. So he stayed silent, sitting back on his haunches, his entire body tense and waiting for her next move.

Damn. It was exactly what he thought it was, and what he was hoping it hadn't been. Cubs. She wanted cubs. He let out a sigh of disgust and flopped onto the ground, still alert for any signs of attack, though he didn't believe she would be attacking him in that sense. Children. It was Kyprioth's own personal horror. The situation, especially her opinion of males, would have been hilarious had it not been for that.

Tail twitching nervously, he glared over at her, not caring that it made him look surly and childish. Perhaps it was time for some diplomatic negotiations. "So, obviously you want children. I'm terribly sorry our earlier encounter didn't take care of that." The sarcasm fairly dripped from his tongue, but he continued. "If you want to have children that badly, we could try again, though the idea doesn't strike me as being a rather enjoyable one."

Kyprioth shuddered inwardly. The mere idea of several little Nalani's running around was enough to giveh im horrors. But he was very careful to hide that reaction. After all, especially for a male like Kyprioth, the mere idea of showing any kind of disgust in a female was forbidden. It was a long-practiced habit of his that helped him here. And if he focused on the fact that she really was a lovely, willing female, then perhaps this could be a possibility.

It was Kyprioth's turn to smirk as he flowed fluidly to his paws. He stretched lightly, and then stalked slowly, circling around Nalani. When he was finished he sat gently before asking, "Well, what kind of incentive? And if you really want to have cubs, we're going to need to lay down some ground rules. I am not ready for, nor do I in any way want children." He was quite certain to add that. Despite the progress Kyp had made with speaking to and being around children, he was not ready to have one of his own.

That last comment hit Kyprioth pretty hard, stopping him in his tracks. His leer disappeared from his face, and he sat down gazing her somberly. He hadn't expected that. Of course, his ego was rather large, and he liked to think of himself as a handsome leopard, but it was curious to actually hear about a female seeking him out or choosing him for a specific reason, rather than the other way around.

He had to ask, but he asked as politely and as kindly as he could. "May I ask why?" Part of him wanted, needed to know. The part of him that was beginning to change was, in a way, curious to see if he'd been chosen just for his looks, or perhaps for something more.

Kyprioth nodded. It was a good enough answer, and though he could tell she was trying to humor him, it seemed that he might as well finish what he started. After all, she wanted the cubs, and he did not. It wasn't like she was going to push them onto him, and though he was rather loathe to create more leopards like Nalani, he couldn't deny her that right. Besides, Nalani might turn out to be an incredible mother.

Kyp sighed but stood and smiled over at her, before saying, "Well, the idea doesn't seem to loathe to me, and considering I didn't quite come through for you the first time around, I'd be more than happy to oblige you again, provided the conditions we have set are followed."