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 Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:14 pm
Large, strong paws pressed deep into the soil hidden beneath the soft grass. It had been so long since he had last touched it and the memories of the Pride Lands returned for moments. The place where they were born. The place where Haiba and Tufah still were. It was also Valse's and usufii's birthplace as it was their parents. Though the thought of returning had crossed his mind, he was not going to turn his back to Sarafina and his brothers. Pride life here was strict, it made one hard and rather cold but strong to survive. Valse was still learning, even at his age he disrespected others and the only thing that made him behave was the threat of the pride's military. An empty threat, if anyone decided to take Valse to that section of the pride, he would fight tooth and nail to keep him away from there, even from the very family he wished to win favor. However, if he were to go there, he would take him there himself...
However, today was not the day to think of the pride. Today was about him... and her. Though it was his duty to patrol, he had snuck off with a certain female to get some time alone with her. With Valse and Usufii constantly wandering around them, it was hard to get in those few precious moments. Mat had taken the two of them to a good location, one sighted during patrols a few moons earlier. Lush green grass, not barren like the pride's territory, and a few trees scattered. He wasn't sure if there was a water hole, but that did not matter. The male had certain thoughts he wanted to talk about, hard to believe, and the destination he chose was a small hillside just up ahead.
"Come on, Noyana, don't let me think you are getting old," he chuckled lightly and continued on with his strong steps. His muscles rolled under each motion through his fur, his matching mane did the same, clean and precise, mostly for Noyana's uses than his own.
With a long sigh of absolute release, he eased his large body down against the hillside, sprawling out as far as his paws could reach, catching all the sun he could. Good day. Nice light. Still early into the day. Scattered clouds. Nice day.
It was not his nature to blow off his duties, but today, it was just him and her. Together.
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:42 pm
Noyana made her way there, to the place that Mat had mentioned. Hopefully it was all it was cracked up to be, the lioness was really hot right now and wanted nothing else than moments with her mate, the cool touch of grass and soft shade. She wasn't directly behind her mate, but at a diagonal. She'd had a hold up convincing Usu to go off and hang out on his own, (he'd really wanted to come along for whatever reason... Until Noy decided to tell him it was mommy-daddy time, at which point he got disgusted and promptly ran off.)
Her steps weren't slow, no matter how hot and tiring the air was. She had a bit of a spring in her step and set her pace just below a run.
"Somewhere around here somewhere..." she said to herself, emerald eyes scanning the horizon. She perked up when she caught sight of that creamy-brown coat and mane that she knew were her mate's. "Hey Mat!" She called, trotting quickly to get to him and slowing down at his side. "Sorry I'm late. Usu wouldn't leave me alone." She explained.
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:53 pm
"It's fine. It's how Usufii is, a bit clingy to us, but we know how to get them to go off," a sly smirk crossed his maw. He inched himself over to her, sliding his paw under her neck to give a slight comfort pillow. He reached over to lick her a few times before resting back onto his back, staring up into the sky, the looming tree being the only shade.
Valse was being grumpy earlier, bugging him again. Obviously he had to discipline him with a hard cuff upside the head. He swore, every time he did it, he felt a little bad about it and often times he thought he saw a glare from his son... it was eerie, but at night, he would cling so close to his father. It did not take much for that one to leave either.
"So how's my mate? Everything is going fine?"
He questioned softly. With one paw under his mate's neck, the other rested softly on his chest-mane area, emerald eyes staring up into the sky. Thoughts have crossed his mind, a few he wanted to share with Noyana. However, he felt awkward doing all this back in the pride's territory.
After all, this isn't like him.
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 3:30 pm
Noyana was grateful for her mate's paw for a pillow. She always found it comfortable. She initially laid down on her belly, but soon gave in and rolled over onto her back, staring up at the sky too.
"Yes, it's how Usufii is. They're good boys, those two." She said with a smile back to her mate. She also disliked disciplining them, either of them, but she knew it was necessary... Especially if some variety of order was going to exist around the four of them. "Yeah, everything is fine. Same old-same old, really." She said, voice kind of flat. "But that's ok, it's what the pride needs. I'm glad we've got some 'us' time, though," She said happily, face brightening. For a while they hadn't had much alone time, she was very thankful. Noyana snuggled closer to Mat at the thought with a little purr before speaking again.
"How about you? How're things?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:38 pm
"Things are the same. Valse being a pes... pes... well, a bother. Actually, since he's been getting bigger, he has been hitting me more..." he admitted, not really feeling the need to look at her to see if she was listening or not. He had a feeling she was. Valse was something he had to take care of, Noyana did not need the scars anyways. "Our boys are growing up now. Soon they'll get their manes too."
"You know, you don't really get to see the clouds and sky back at the pride, huh?" he asked. "Only the dust."
Perhaps it was a really dumb comment to make, a bad example of starting a conversation. But it had a point, at least it did to him. The two of them. Alone. In the grasslands. Open sky with clouds. It was almost like the Pride Lands. Mat knew she liked the Pride Lands just not the rulers, he had no problem with that, he liked the Pride Lands too but left because of his siblings. Though he does worry about Tufah, he was certain that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:30 pm
"Pest, love," Noyana filled in when there was a gap to do so. Filling in Mat's words had become second nature to her, she didn't even have to think. She gave thought to their growing cubs. "Yeah, those little mini-manes. I wonder if Valse'll have a black mane or a brown one..." Noyana mused, both to herself and to Mat. She had a feeling Usu would get a carmel-ish mane like the tip of his tail, but there was never a way to tell until it grew in.
At the mention of the clouds, Noy looked up. It had been a long while since she'd actually watched the sky, though, as a cub she couldn't have ever done it for long. She rather enjoyed it at this moment, with her mate right beside her, just the pair of them for the first time in quite a while.
"Yeah, sure is nice. It's good to get away from everything for a little while." She said with a content sigh. "What do you think the boys'll do when they're teens? They'll be even harder to handle then."
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 4:36 am
"Hey, you got to admit that I am learning more with you around. When was the last time you've filled in a word for me, huh?" He questioned, for actually, he did not recall the last time she did it. He did not make it a habit to remember because his mind's focus was always elsewhere when she does. "I remember when I had mine, it itched... a hell of a lot. Lets just hope this will keep them occupied for a while. Who knows, they might grow closer from scratching each other's necks," he joked with a rough scoff of a laugh. Thinking about it, he hoped his son's were blessed with the dark manes like the rest of his family, he was unfortunate, but he hoped they were not. There was always that possibility that they could obtain the manes of their mother's siblings.
Mat remained in silent contemplation over her question. Not soon after, he gave a rather genuine laugh.
"Oh gods, Valse as a teen? I can see us handling Usufii, but Valse? By the gods, we will have to keep that one on the close watch. Remember about us? We fell for each other then and guess what happened, you got pregnant, we became parents, and those two whelps came into our lives," Mat smiled softly at the thought. Those were the memories, though he could have done without all the hassle of the family, but he tried desperate to fit a puzzle that did not fit. Then again... a little force made it work. Noyana and the boys filled the gaps where he could not. He just hope the boys were smart enough to make the right choices and not do anything stupid like their old man did.
He twitched his arm lightly to embrace his mate as she laid beside him. His eyes remained on the opened sky above them, watching as the clouds silently pass over them, drowning out the dying pleas and cries of the prey that were being slaughtered mercilessly echoing over the savanna.
... Hey, it was their moment together, not some stupid beast who could not run fast enough.
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:59 pm
"Well, the last time would be just a minute ago," Noyana said with a sarcastic smile and a playful nudge. "No, you really have been doing a lot better," she said thoughtfully. It was good that Mat was getting better with his vocabulary.
Noyana chuckled at what guys had to go through to get a mane. She'd luckily never experienced it, but she could see the boys now itching at their heads and ignoring the termite bites they would undoubtedly have at the time. (It seemed they always had at least one itchy spot.) "Nothing like a good itch to distract you from... whatever," she said inarticulately. Her mind turned uneasily to the boys finding... girls. It was the worry that she had but never brought up, though it must have been obvious to Mat that she had a bit of concern. While she was happy about her own life and past... She knew that they probably should've waited a bit more before having cubs. What's definitely worse, though, was that her boys, should they find girls, would need to wait. It was frowned upon in these lands and viewed as irresponsible. Would Usufii and Valse be able to wait, unlike herself and Mat? "Well, how bad can it possibly be? They're related to all of the girls in the pride!" Noy said as much to comfort herself as to comfort Mat. It was true, as far as her knowledge extended, neither of the boys had left the lands before. Of course... that could be expected to change when they got their manes...
The sound of the dying beast was easily filtered out. As a good huntress, she filtered the sound out of her attention by default. Noyana's thoughts vanished when she snuggled closer to Mat. No matter how much she'd tried to ward off that most girly emotion, she couldn't. And she honestly didn't want to anymore; Noyana loved him. She would only open up that side of her to Mat. She let a gentle purr before she spoke. "I love you, Mat."
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:25 pm
"Haha, real funny, Noyana," he chuckled softly. And he thought he was the sarcastic one? Hah! Noyana beat him paws down, at least when she actually tried to anyways. His just came naturally, he did not care if it hurt anyone really. To hear that he was improving, it was good to know that he wasn't going to be the dumb lugg that his sons will be making fun of later. Worse, his grandchildren making fun of him.
"I gotta admit, a good spot to itch is always a good distraction," He nudged his mate playfully hoping she got the hint. He could not help it, she was beautiful, she was his mate, they did this sort of thing, it was natural, right? One of these days, she may end up pregnant again and he was prepared for it... mentally anyways. He did want a big family? She did say she wanted one too, right? Mat nuzzled her softly. "Valse and Usufii are smart, if they knew what was good for them, they would wait until they were adults before doing that sort of thing. Speaking of that subject... you know Tahka had another litter? A big one at that... either six or seven, I do not recall, but it was something like that."
A smile crossed his small as a large paw pulled her closer to him, such an embrace was rare but very much welcomed. They both knew they acted differently when they were alone and away from everyone else, a side that many never get to see in their life time. That was how he planned it to stay as... He nosed her cheek softly and licked her jawline. "I love you too, Noyana."
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:35 am
Noyana knew how much Mat's affection meant. He wasn't much of one to wear any emotion beyond grumpy on his sleeve, she savored the moments when he was a softie. She nudged her mate back at the mention of an itchy spot- she caught the underlying meaning and gave him a rather wry look. "Yes, a good itchy spot is a good distraction... But you'll have to suffer for a little longer." She said simply. Out in the open... was definitely not the place for that.
"I'd heard something like that, but I didn't know it was a big litter. I'll have to go visit my sister sometime soon..." Noyana said thoughtfully. Mjrn was the only blood-related family (beyond her own sons) that had left the Pridelands for the same cause. Her sister had seemed to have grown strong in recent months, which made Noyana happy. She needed to visit her more often, regardless.
"They are smart boys. I'm sure they'll be fine." She heaved a little sigh. They'd be teens soon, and she knew what that meant: Practically no time with them anymore. A visit now and then, but nothing like what she was used to by now. For her entire adult life she'd had them underfoot... And now they were just up and vanishing? Depressing.
"What'll we do when they're gone, Mat? It's been a while since we've lived without them in our lives..." Her face grew troubled as she turned her face up to his. She didn't want to bring up the obvious answer that was lurking in her mind: A second litter. However... She could wait for him to bring it up.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:42 pm
He purred softly at her words as he pressed his head against hers, "Why do you torment me? Though, I guess a little suffering has it's rewards later." he murmured softly as he rubbed her shoulder with his underlying paw. He would suffer a life in hell to get what he wanted and it just so happened, life in hell with what he wanted sounded just fine. That's life for ya.
"Tahka has changed some too... he was very defensive when I came to visit him. I guess he's taken to the father role a lot more than I thought he would," he scoffed. He never thought himself as a father, he struggled to keep his own family intertained. Knowing Valse, it was usual punishments than entertaining him. At least Usufii was a lot more obedient at least. "Give her my regards, I don't think my brother would appreciate my presence around his newborns."
Mat gave a sly grin as he slide a claw down her chest ever so delicately. Valse and Usufii were becoming adults, and that meant that she was prepared to go into heat again. It didn't matter anyway, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. She was going to get pregnant. He stopped his claw on her belly, twirling it in a circle as he continued to grin at her. "If they do go, we have other methods of getting... more company."
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:07 pm
Noyana couldn't hold back a smirk. She was a tough girl, she could take a lot, but it seemed that every time she and her mate had a friendly test of strength, he always came out on top. "Well, I've got my reasons for tormenting you," she said simply, reveling one of the only moments where she had the advantage.
The topic shifted back to their siblings. Noyana didn't know exactly how to feel about Tahka. As far as she was concerned, he had been the reason Mat had almost gotten mauled by his father. Be that as it may, he was still Mat's brother, and still another member of this pride, and she treated him with that respect that he deserved. However, there was some resentment well hidden deep within the lioness. Perhaps... If what Mat had said was true, perhaps he wasn't such a bad guy after all? Then again... Mat's hint that his brother might not want him around made her as torn as ever. She'd have to go hang around him for a bit. See with her own eyes.
Yes, a visit to Mjrn's had to be in order.
Well, in a while. Mat had the perfect point, and he seemed to know it. She gave him a wry look at his suggestion. "As serious as it is, I think that's the perfect solution." Noyana said happily to her mate. She hadn't had to bring up the topic, and as much as others might beat up on Mat's smarts, he did have a way of avoiding awkwardness. "I do want... a lot of company, after all..." She said in mock thoughtfulness, turning her face back up to his.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:15 pm
"Your reasons are what worry me," He smiled, one genuine as he flopped back to her side and stared up to the sky. He was just happy that she was here, with him, in the typical romantic setting. He never figured himself to be out here doing this sort of thing, but he knew deep down that she was going into heat again at some point. Though they had their moments together, he wanted to make her feel special at the very least in their hectic lives in the Outlands.
The thoughts his father had long been suppressed in the back of his mind. The scars on his body were a symbol of his struggles to get where he was and what he had to prove for it was the beautiful mate he had in his paws and the two demons he called son.
That devious grin returned as he moved over her, standing over her this time, letting his mane hang down as he stared at her. "Serious matter? It depends. But a perfect solution," he licked her nose softly as his paw touched her shoulder softly. "I don't care how much company we have, it is the... you know what, I am tired of talking about it," he stepped over her, tracing his tail up her front and started to head back.
"You may not be in heat now or maybe you are, but getting started never hurt. I hunt and you prepare the den this time?"
Oh that devious grin...
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:23 pm
Noyana thought it would at least be easy to hold out this time, but... Oh, she crumbled every time for that smile no matter how hard she tried. She had returned his lick and was quick to get to her paws after he'd rose to his feet himself. Her tail flicked lightly, she knew exactly what he had in mind, and didn't mind at all. Some girls would've been irked that the romantic day out had turned into... that. Not Noy. "Yeah, sure. I'll race ya," she said with her own mischievous grin before she padded off at a semi-quick pace towards their den.
"That is, if you can stand that itch of yours for the duration of a hunt." Noy said before full-out running back to their den. She wasn't in heat quite yet, but there were inklings of stomach aches, which meant... It wouldn't be long.
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