[PRP] Old ball and chain... [Hivu/Roho]

[Successful Edit]

After his meeting with Huang, Roho was in what for him was a normal enough state - moody and abrasive, with a side order of grumpiness. He didn't WANT a boy like that hanging about Toh Ni! They'd been getting on better than Roho got on with most bloody strangers until the lad had mentioned one of his daughters in such a familiar and intimate way. Friends eh? Best friends? Hmph! Roho didn't like it.

(Though he did admit, very quietly to himself, that the boy had saved her from a snake. Which was why Huang was currently still in possesion of all his limbs, he told himself.)

Roho had been away a few days, catching food for himself out on the grasslands. He was no where near as suited to their home as a cheetah than the leopardess and their hybrid offspring. Hivu and the girls had a much easier time keeping themselves fed here in the jungle than the lanky cheetah, so the runner left to wander often enough to keep himself fit.

So, it was a well fed but pissed off Roho that finially arrived to his usual haunt in the large territory they all roamed in. He growled and sat down by the den there, pondering the striped-boy and is intentions towards his daughter...  

[Atheare]

Hivu had always been rather surprised that Roho had decided to stick around. The idea of him staying for more than a night puzzled her, especially because he was so grumpy much of the time. The other males that she had been with had been happier, more cheerful and made her feel like she had a friend, but they all did the same thing; they left her. Why, then, had Roho chosen to stay?

It was not as if they had such a loving relationship... In fact, she could swear that they argued more than anything! In the past, she had always gone head-over-heels for males, straight into love and devotion, only to be cut off soon after. The fact that one she had only intended to use for cubs was the one who was still around was a source of many sleepless nights for the leopardess.

It was time for them to talk.

"Roho?" She called out as she roamed the large territory, heading for his usual spot in the den. "There you are. I was looking for you." She kept her voice pleasant and friendly, despite her rather unstable emotional predicament.

"You look a bit down on yourself. Are you alright?"  

[Successful Edit]

"It's our Toh Ni. She has a boy friend." NOT a boyfriend, thank ********. But still, Roho was very protective of his girls and always had tried to be a good father. He'd never had a good father and so had stuck around, not wanting the girls to know how shitty that could be. Hivu had used him yes, but he loved his family for all his gruffness.

"How've you been?" He tried to banish his gloom over their daughter for a moment and turned his face to study Hivu. His attachment to her was an odd one. Roho had never really forgiven her for using him like that but at the same time....familiarity breeds...actually, familiarity breeds contempt in the old saying but also a weird fondness. He was used to her and Hivu was still easy enough on the eyes. She kept him coming back here as much as their kids he guessed.  

[Atheare]

"Oh really? Who might that be?" She asked with a chuckle, though the thought concerned her slightly. She remembered the pain that she had been in after her first relationship... Since then she had learned not to get too attached to any male, but Toh Ni didn't know that. She would have to talk to her about that later.

"Oh, not too bad I suppose." She shrugged, "Life is much calmer than usual for me, so that's good. I guess a good word would be content." Hivu smiled. It had been a long time since life itself had been good to her, and not just fleeting events.

The leopardess sat down lightly and flicked her tail around her front paws casually, making herself as comfortable as she could before speaking. "Actually, I had been wanting to ask you something." For once, her voice was a bit uneasy. Not much could phase Hivu, but for some reason bringing this up gave her an uncomfortable feeling.

"Why did you choose to stay here with me? With us?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. "I'm not complaining, mind you. I quite like having you around, but..." She trailed off a bit. "I don't know, it's just kind of odd. Most other males seem to enjoy loving and leaving."  

[Successful Edit]

"The guy who saved her from the python...names Hu-anh or something." Roho replied to her question as he listened to how Hivu was, just assuming Toh Ni had raved to her monther about the guy as much as she had him before he'd left for his hunting trip. Of course he'd been focused on the fact a snake had tried to eat her and not the boy when she'd told him about it.

Then Hivu changed the topic of conversation to why Roho stayed. He almost growled out that if she didn't like his company he could bugger off and just see the girls - but he didn't even have a chance to get a rumble going in his throat before she said she wasn't complaining. Huh.

He frowned and took a moment to scratch behind his ear as he thought of a way to explain. Just this once, he'd tell 'er why and then it'd be done with, surely.

"Never had a father, well, not for long and it ******** sucked, alright? I hate him from leaving us and I wasn't about to become him and turn my back on my cubs too. And my mother, she went a bit nuts to be honest, when he left. So I didn't want any cubs of mine growing up without a loving father around and I might be a grumpy git, but least I care for them. And you...well, you might have needed a paw....though considering what you did, that was my second priority."  

[Atheare]

"Oh, Huang?" Hivu grinned, "Alright then." She didn't say anything more on the matter, but she knew that she too would be attracted to a male who saved her from a snake. She couldn't say that she was against young relationships, seeing as she had had several, but her daughter having one? It was a rather odd feeling.

Hivu listened intently to his explanation. "That makes sense." She smiled at his next comment, giving him a lighthearted laugh before speaking. "Come now Roho, don't try to act like you didn't enjoy it at the time." She purred. "But that's in the past, let's leave it there, shall we?"

Hivu really did enjoy his reaction, though. It was always entertaining to see him get all bothered by the fact that she had seduced him for her own uses, and quite frankly Hivu enjoyed having that kind of control. Much of her life she had been so helpless, but now she was in command of her own life and it felt so good.

"Our children are lucky. My first cubs had a very caring father but they hardly knew him." She shook her head, "He was always away." Limbuko, God of Pleasure, had indeed fathered her first litter. She understood that she could not bind him to the jungle, as he had duties he had to perform, but it still hurt to see her three cubs growing up without a father.  

[Successful Edit]

"Hey, I enjoy it everytime and as I remember so do you." He smirked at her.

Though he still hated the fact he'd been tied down by his own good bloody nature (he wasn't going to be a damn deadbeat runaway father, as he kept saying) he would admit that the method of deception n' deceit had been pleasant enough.

"Our kids are growing up fine, I think. Growing up so fast too. When they're grown up, I could leave more often if you want and only visit occasionally - if'n I get bored. Give you room to do as you please. I mean, I'll always be about for the girls but you might want to..." He waved a paw. Shack up with another male. Have more cubs. Whatever.

Not like he cared about her or anything... bloody Hivu. He'd just got done with talking to Huang and now she had him pondering the future more. Roho stretched and lay down. Couldn't a guy get some ******** peace after a homecoming?  

[Atheare]

"Indeed." She flashed him a grin. She was not at all shy about this particular subject, and she was quite sure that he knew that by now. Even though the goal was cubs, the fact that the method of getting there was so pleasurable made things all the better.

Hivu nodded, "I agree, they are growing healthy, and at quite the pace too." The thought that they were growing up saddened her slightly, but she was glad to know that she now had a place in their lives, that she was needed and respected, and would continue to be that way even after they had grown. She had been placed on the Council, after all.

"Leave?" She tilted her head to one side, "You may do as you please, Roho. I will not tie you down, nor will I try to chase you away. Don't think that you're in my way, because I assure you that you are not." She smiled reassuringly, wanting the decision to be entirely his own. She had never been one for making decisions for another. She would only give advice, if it were requested.

((Sooooo sorry that this took so long ;; I forgot about it for a while!))  

[Successful Edit]

"Good to know, that. Just give me warning if you ever have some other bloke around so I don't come along looking for a good argument. You're not tied to me either, after all." The cheetah ignored how much the thought of that annoyed him.

He also turned what she'd said over in his mind. Roho had never felt like she stood in his way and standing in hers had never been in never been his intention. His stickin' around was because of their kids and because he wanted to do right by the family. His reasons, not her tying him down, even if she'd used him to have the girls in the first place.

He was no longer angry about that anyway and hadn't been in a while. Wasn't a bad life he had here for all his grumbling. Good daughters, Hivu for company, nice place ta live and good hunting not that far away.

"Did you want to chat about anything else?"  

[Atheare]

Hivu laughed, "I'll be sure to inform you." She didn't plan on finding another male, at least not for a good long time. She had promised herself to stop having more cubs just to fill the void of the old ones, and she didn't think that an 'accident' would be a good idea either.

Still, it was impossible to say, knowing her.

For a moment, she fell silent. Her thoughts wandered to all the males she had known in the past, all she had ever had even the slightest feelings for. One had turned out to be a complete jerk, the other had disappeared without a word one morning, and the other... She was certain that he had cared about her, but he had no choice but to leave. He had other responsibilities to attend to. And then there was Roho.

She had used him, manipulated him for her own use, and yet here he stood. Who would have thought that the best of the bunch would be someone who she had tricked into giving her cubs?

"No, not unless you do." She said quickly, suddenly realizing that she had drifted off and blushing slightly. "But if you don't mind, I need some time to think."  

[Successful Edit]

Roho grinned, trying to make a joke of Hivu finding someone good enough to bring back to her den - and he'd better be damn good - and ignore the fact that he might actually...be sort of jealous if she did. She was a pain in both his neck and his tail, but Hivu was his companion as much as they argued.

"Well, that's settled then." He nodded decisively.

"And I can't really think of anything really. Everything seems pretty okay really, though I need to check out this Hu-anne guy some more. I won't...bloody...meddle or anything but I just worry if he's good enough fer one of our girls."  

[Atheare]

Hivu doubted that she would find another male that she'd feel the need to flirt with, but one thing was certain: She'd find another male to argue with. Roho didn't know it, but she argued with everyone, in a playful sort of way.

"That's all I can ask of you." She laughed, "Try not to worry too much though, hm? It shouldn't be a question of 'good enough' as much as if they will make them happy."

Not that she was one to talk. Hivu had chased after countless males and had her heart broken more times than she cared to count, and each time she was happy at first, so sure of their future together. Perhaps true love, love that was forever, did not exist.  

[Successful Edit]

"I don't want just happiness for them, I want something that'll last whether it's happy or not. I want...the best." Roho didn't say soppy stuff about love as a rule and that was the best anyone was going to get out of this cheetah if he had anything to say about it.

"Anyway, you satisfied now?" He sneered, as if her starting up the conversation had been nagging. Which it was. He'd been home all of five minutes and tired and the dang woman had wanted a heart to bloody heart. Typical.

Typical he'd try to goad her into an argument to amuse himself for the rest of the afternoon. Because honestly he liked them too.  

[Atheare]

Hivu shook her head, "If it doesn't make them happy, then it's not worth it." She said simply, "You would rather them be unhappy for a long time than be happy for a little while? There's a flaw in your logic, Roho." Hivu smiled smugly. She loved nothing more than a good argument with someone who could match wits with her.

"So it would seem." She smirked, "As I said before, you're welcome to come and go as you please. That includes our conversations. Feel free to walk away when ever you've had enough." She waved a paw dismissively.

"I'm not going to stop you."  

[Successful Edit]

"What I mean is I want someone who'll still love them and stick by them through the bad times as well as the good." He spelled it out like she was a cub. It wasn't that hard to understand.

"And you're the one who wanted to talk in the first place. No fur off my back if we keep talking or not, but I'm not shifting for a while. I don't need your permission to walk away if I decide shut up either. That was also covered in our competition. Yer not the boss of me and I'm not the boss of you."

He mimiced the dismissive paw wave.