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 Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 7:41 pm
Kialio had thought it had been a dream when he woke. The beautiful and kind female had only been a figment of his dreams, he knew it. The second he opened his eyes she wouldn't be there, nope. She would be gone and would have never existed.
But as he cracked his eyelid open and his vision came into focus, his heart skipped a beat as he saw Zuri sleeping beside him. He smiled warmly, amazed at how beautiful she was. He nuzzled her neck, the feeling of her soft pelt felt wonderful against his own. "Good morning starshine." He said with his half-smile, gazing down at her with love in his eyes.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 7:56 pm
Zuri wasn't a particularly heavy sleeper, so when Lio nuzzled her neck she blinked her eyes and slowly woke up, opening oe eye sleepily and then the other. Then she smiled at the male beside her and purred happily at her morning greeting.
"Good morning yourself," she returned, moving her head around to nuzzle his head as well. "Did you sleep okay? Was it weird to sleep during the night and not the day, like you must usually do?" After all, if he stayed up all night looking at the stars, when else was he going to sleep?
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:07 pm
He yawned while she was asking her questions, smiling at her afterward. It was obvious that he was tired, but he didn't mind, since he had slept a little while during the night. Enough to get him through the day.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me." He said with another smile. He stood and stretched, his huge claws digging into the earth and leaving marks as he did so. He turned towards her and motioned to leave the den. "I have my own private watering hole, if you're thirsty." He said with a smile.
It was true, he had found it when he was little. He had liked to explore the areas within the pridelands, though never had the drive to venture further than that. He had stumbled upon the tiny pond one day, it was surrounded by large rocks, and it didn't look as though there was any sign of water within them. But he had climbed the rocks (trying to find a good stargazing spot) and had discovered the small pool. It was spring fed, and he occasionally saw small fish within it.
"I'll show you." He said, turning to go outside into the bright morning sun.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:13 pm
She took his word for it, though she intended to keep an eye on him throughout the day just in case. If he started to get tired, they would take a nap in the sunshine somewhere. That was always nice.
"Yes, I am, actually." Another thing Zuri liked to wake up to, she found, was near a water source. Fresh, clean water was always a blessing to find, and she loved to drink it and swim in it. A morning bath made her feel pretty. "I'd like that." She rose slowly and followed him out, blinking at the bright sunlight.
It was only a few hours ago, probably, that they had been out in the moonlight instead. And she had liked that a good bit better than the sun, actually. It was a lot cooler.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:16 pm
Lio gave her a half-smile as they walked through the savanna. He stood closer to her than the had ever dared hope the night before.
"It's not too far away." He said, mostly just to have some kind of conversation. He loved to hear her talk, and he pondered telling her another of his stories. Although it was better, he found, when you could actually see the constellation it was based off of. Perhaps later that night, then.
As they neared the outcropping of rocks, he playfully nudged her. "Race you!" He said with a grin, running towards the pile of stones. He was faster than he seemed, and he had crossed half the distance in no time at all. He grinned back at her, although he had every intention of letting her win.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:22 pm
"Oh good. That's happily convenient."
Just what she needed right now: a bath with a handsome lion whom she liked very much, and that would lead into a day of relaxation and fun with said lion.
Zuri was just about to nuzzle him again, but had hesitated for whatever reason, and now he was off, racing her to the water hole. With a grin, she sprinted after him. Big lions could move fast, too. "You won't win!" she shouted after him, increasing her stride to catch up faster.
She hadn't played a race in a long time; her legs moaned and groaned at her for putting them through such strain once more.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:26 pm
Lio's legs complained as well as he pushed them harder than he had in years, and he slowed his pace, pretending to be winded as she raced up towards him. He let her reach the water hole first and he grinned as he came in close second. "Aw, you won." He said with a 'shucks!' kind of expression.
As he tried to catch his breath, he led the way into the small opening within the rocks. The pond was crystal clear, about eleven feet all around. It was deep inside, easily able to hold a fully grown lion. Lio lapped at the cold, crisp water, glad to quench his thirst after the run. "Isn't this place amazing?" He asked, smiling brightly. He always went there to be in the shade on a hot day, the rocks created a natural overpass and the cool water cooled off the air around it as well.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:30 pm
It was a complete surprise when she zipped past him, running at the speed of the wind, to reach the water hole first. Zuri had been positive that she was going to lose this race, but lo and behold! He looked winded; the run must have took a lot out of him, too. They better get in shape if he was going to keep challenging her to races, or vie versa.
"You're out of shape!" she laughed and teased, panting a good bit herself. "We'll have to go running every day and build up our stamina. Then we can have a real race." Because, of course, she would beat him every time. That was a challenge that would get him rearing to go.
She gave him a playful lick on the side of his face and followed him into the rocks, amazed at the size of the pool hidden from outside view. "Wow. It's beautiful! The water is so clear. How did you find it?"
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:42 pm
"Oh yes, we must. Then I can beat you every time." He grinned. "Hey, you're winded too!" He said playfully, chuckling as he sat down beside the water. "Oh, it was another accident." He said, shrugging. "I was looking for a good place to stargaze and just happened upon it." He shrugged again. "But I'm glad I did, it's always nice and cool here."
He took his eyes off of her, reluctantly, since something had caught his eye in the bottom of the water. It was crystal clear and as he peered down he caught the sight of a glimmering stone. Intrigued he scooped it over to himself and dragged it on shore. It was perfectly shaped like a droplet of water. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, then looked up at Zuri. It would look gorgeous hanging around her neck. He smiled at her and took off his own necklace, which was too long for him anyway.
With one paw on the rope and his mouth on the other end, he tied it tightly around the drop-shaped stone. It had shimmering bits within it, some kind of fool's gold on the outside of it. When he had tied the ends together (with much difficulty) he brought it over to her and placed it in front of her bashfully. "I want you to have this, Zuri." He looked into her eyes, his own showing all he felt for her. "I think it represents you well. We are as the ocean and the moon; one turning the tides of the other, constantly in motion together. I feel as though I've known you forever, as the moon and ocean have known one another eternally."
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 8:53 pm
"Oh, puh-lease. Like you could beat me every time. And that's besides the point; you were much more winded than I. At least I have a good bit of room in the roguelands to run around and catch prey," she teased back. "Well, seems like all your 'accidents' have turned out for the best. I'm glad we 'accidentally' met on the hill yesterday," Zuri added with a kind smile.
Her gaze followed his and she frowned in confusion as to what he was doing. Then her eyes alighted on the pretty stone he had scooped up from the waters below. "Oh, what a pretty stone," she murmured softly, half to herself. Then she tried to peer over his shoulder and watch what he was fiddling with. She almost said something when he took his own necklace off and started messing with the rope--she knew how much that leather and pendant meant to him!--but held her tongue anyway. Curiosity won over concern.
Zuri blinked and followed the water droplet-shaped pendant as it was gently placed over her head. She lifted a paw to cup the stone and couldn't stop smiling at his explanation. Then she lifted her eyes to his, and her smile lit up her whole face. "I...I don't know what to say. Thank you."
Then she paused, and looked down at the stone in her paw again. The fool's gold gave it an extra sparkle. It was a pretty grey-blue stone that almost matched Lio's pelt color with its brightness. The gold gave it sparkle and texture, and made it an eye-catching piece against her coat. "It's beautiful. And...I feel the same way, now that you put the feelings into words and I know what they mean, now. I feel so happy with you around. And I think that no matter how I act, or what I do, you won't not like me anymore. I don't know if I could handle that," she laughed weakly, truly hoping that that was true.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:00 pm
Lio's heart was racing when she examined the stone, and when she spoke his eyes lit up and he smiled brightly, unable to hold his excitement. "It suits you perfectly." So she felt the same way! He had been afraid that she would reject his gift, but when she accepted it he didn't speak for a little while, and instead nuzzled his head against her lovingly, closing his eyes.
"I know we've only known each other for a short while," He whispered, opening his eyes to gaze into hers. "But I don't think I could live without you, Zuri. And don't worry; there's no way I could ever not like you." He smiled and chuckled softly. "In fact, I do believe... It's possible I've fallen for you." He blushed and took his head away, though stayed close. He had been afraid of admitting his feelings, since it had only been a small while since they had met, he didn't want to scare her away.
"Would you... stay with me? Forever?" He asked softly, his eyes filled with hope and love.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:06 pm
If there was ever such a thing as love at first sight, Zuri would have said that there was no such thing. She would be happy for any that it had happened for, but since it had not happened for her, she did not believe. Now, she couldn't be so sure. She had met Lio only yesterday, but after spending the evening together looking at stars, then having slept together at night, and now playing and teasing and having fun together? How could this not be called 'love at first sight?'
"I think I've fallen for you, too," she whispered back, moving to gently nuzzle her head against his again. "And I would like nothing more than to stay with you forever, you fallen star that has become my fallen wish."
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:15 pm
Lio smiled brightly at her response, "I've never been this happy, Zuri." He said, looking into her eyes and nuzzling her back. "You are an angel sent to me from the heavens, all my years of staring at the stars and praying for a miracle has brought me to you."
Lio had indeed never been so happy in all his life, and as he sat there with his love, he knew they had been blessed by whatever higher being there was up there. "I'm so in love with you." He whispered, he could stare into her eyes for eternity. "I never knew I could feel like this, like I've never seen the sky before. I want to vanish within in your eyes, every moment I'm loving you more and more." He sighed deeply, and wrapped his tail around her, sitting even closer. He felt as though he could never be close enough.
"So, now what?" He asked, smiling brightly. He really didn't know what to do next, and he wasn't sure what a couple did after they discovered their love.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:30 pm
She laughed and blushed, shaking her head. "No, I'm no angel," Zuri insisted. "Far from it. I've made so many mistakes and act so silly sometimes. There's no way I'm an angel! They're perfect."
She couldn't help the intense warm feelings rising up and flowing easily through her body, reaching her toes and tip of her tail and the whiskers on her nose. His words just made her feel so wanted, so loved. Even if it was entirely too soon to tell. She could tell, and he could, and they would be happy together. She scooted herself closer to him, too, so that she was kind of sitting under him, with his head over her shoulder. Her tail twisted around his.
"I...do not know," she giggled. "I've never done this before. What do you think?"
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:37 pm
Lio smiled at her, nuzzling her again with his head. He liked this position, with her sitting under him. He felt as though he could protect her from anything like this.
"Well, I don't really know either." He chuckled. "I suppose, we just... stay together now? You can move into my den, or if you want we can go traveling." He wasn't sure why, but now that he knew her, he wanted to see more of the world. To go on adventures with her, and perhaps see this ocean that he heard others speak of. "We can see the world together." He smiled down at her, looking into her sweet eyes.
An idea crossed his mind, though he wasn't sure whether to bring it up to her or not. Cubs. He had always wanted them, but he felt that even though they had fell in love quickly, this sensitive subject was a topic for another day. Instead he waited for her answer. Although traveling seemed a nice thought now, he would do whatever she wanted to.
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