Padding through the dens, Bodaway spared a glance at the redening and darkening sky. Sunset... The time that told him to go to bed. As the old lion passed by a den, he paused, looking over. "Shula? Is something wrong?" His young daughter wasn't normally one to be hiding away in her den. She looked, in fact, confused and upset.
Looking up, Shula's ears perked. "Daddy... I'm okay..." She offered him a smile, though it wasn't quite a true smile, not by the standards of what she normally did. Resting her chin on her paws, she let out a sigh. "I'm... Confused, though..."
Going over, the male sat down. "What's wrong, sweet pea?" He leaned over, grooming her ears. "What has one of my baby girls confused? Is it the mixed blood in you, or is it the influx of recent new members, or something else?"
Sitting up and leaning on her father, Shula sighed. "I was dancing again..." Her ears folded back, and she glanced up to see the expected unhappy expression. "I can't help it, it feels so nice! But... When I imagined someone dancing with me... I found out there WAS someone there..." She fidgeted. "One of the lions from the OTHER side of the pride... The one Savitri brought in..."
Bodaway's hackles promptly raised. "Did he do anything to you? He didn't harm you, did he?" The male began to look his daughter over, protectiveness shining through. When he found no physical marks, he lay down next to her. "What did he say to you?"
The red lioness offered her father a smile, watching him. Of course he was concerned, he was her father. "He didn't do anything, Daddy... Just..." She sighed, looking at the sky. "Danced... He didn't say anything about my dancing.. He didn't seem to find any fault in it..." He had danced with her... "He only asked me my name..." She stopped, ears lifting a bit, eyes widening. "I don't even know HIS name!"
Stopping, the male smiled, then chuckled, then began to laugh. At his daughters bewiledered expression, he wiped a paw on his cheek, brushing a tear of laughter away. "Shula.. I think this strange Safi lion likes you..." He gave his daughter a nuzzle, sides still shaking with mirth. "Wether it's a crush, or true love, we'll have to see. But if you can't get your mind off of him, it may well be a shared affection." He paused, thinking on it. "I'll have to have a chat with him..."
If she had been as white as Savitri, she'd probably be showing off her blush. Looking at her father encredulously, she batted a paw at him. "Daddy! How can you SAY that?! He's Safi-blooded!" She shook her head, then looked away. "If he knew that Momma's not Firekin-born, he'd turn tail on me!"
"Well, then, that's how we find out if it's true love, or just a crush." Nuzzling Shula, Bodaway got up. "If he truly loves you, then he won't care regardless. If it's just a crush... Well..." Nuzzling his daughter, he smiled a bit dangerously. "I'll make him regret hurting my little girl. Now, you get some rest." Turning, the massive lion padded off, heading for a new patrol.
Letting out a sigh, Shula rested her chin on her paws again. Well, that was just more confusing... What WOULD the unknown male do, if he knew she was of mixed blood? Letting out a sigh, she watched a small desert lizard scurry across a rock near by. There was an animal that lacked her problems... Reaching over, she batted at it, sending it scurrying off. Later... She'd ask one of her sisters... After all, she had, what, six of them still in the pride?
