They. Were. Home. It was an amazing feeling to know the scents on the breeze, and to feel the moisture in the air, and to return home finally. She felt like a cub again!
Soa--No, she thought, correcting herself. She was now Salima. That would take some getting used to, even if it felt better to call herself that. It was her true name, after all. It should have felt fine.
Salima was prancing a bit ahead of her mate (could she call him that? were they truly mates?), inching farther and farther towards the Swamp lands. She couldn't wait to make him feel right at home. He could meet her mother, and her father, and her siblings..
Ketu had, had much time to think about what to dub himself, what to change his name to and although the name of the dragon had felt good, as Salimas name needed a protector he took it on and became Dastgir. He was her protector and he needed a name that suited. He wasn't really sure if he should pronounce himself by this name or if he should say his own name until he needed to change it? Well he would use his new name at the moment, maybe Soali, Salima, would pronounce him as ketu and his new name along side it, telling those who needed to know what his new name was.
"Salima." He smiles catching up to her as his paws dipped in to the dampnes of the swamps, he had never been in a place that was so, well damp, before, but it was almost restful, almost comforting at how relaxed Salima felt to be back home.
"It's good to be home." He whispers walking at her side with his dark chest puffed out proudly.
That's right, she had to also answer to her new name as well. Salima beamed up at him happily. "Isn't it?" she almost whispered. "I can't wait for you to meet everyone. They'll love you, I'm sure."
She wondered if the time would come sooner or later that they would need to call him by his new name, as well. Dastgir. A fitting one, meaning-wise, for him. Well, Salima was sure that once they got into the pride (which should be soon!), they would know what to do then.
"How do you feel about it?" she asked, slowing her pace to a calm (if one could call her skipping-steps calm) walk beside him.
"I feel wonderful my little flower." he grins in an almost silly manner, he was more pleased than he could truely say by the thought of coming to ehr pride, of meeting her family and making sure they knew he would never let anything bad happen to her, that it was his greatest pleasure just to be by her side.
"I can't wait to meet your family, just to tell them I'll protect you forever." he smiles grooming the lionesses cheek happily his deep, blood red eyes smiling in a joyous manner as he pressed his side against hers, his dark mane touching her shoulders.
"I'm glad we're home Salima." He purrs.
She sighed gratefully, leaning into him slightly when he pressed closer towards her. "Me too," she sighed again, closing her eyes for just a moment.
"When you tell my family that you'll protect me forever, does that mean you're saying that we are...mates?" she asked hesitantly. 'Mates' was a tricky word. Sometimes it could be happy: like when a new couple received many congratulations for their union, and for the probably cubs to follow soon. But it could be scary: with such a new step under them now, with finding their new names, were they ready to undertake each other as their life mate? "I mean, if you'd like to be, that is," she mumbled hastily. No pressure.
She wanted...well, she wanted to be happy. And she wanted him to be happy, as well. The love she felt for him was more than a frienship's love, that was for sure. But she wasn't positive if he felt he same way
Ketu, he tried to remember his name would change soon and attempted to remember to call himself by his new name so he would remember to answer by it, Dastgir, smiled brightly, he lets a slow chuckle rise over his lips. She seemed so frightened of the word mates. "Well i thought we already were mates Soali, Salima.." He shakes his head a little and chuckles "It's going to take a bit of getting used to this name change buisness."
He licks the tip of her nopse "Theres no one in the world I would rather call my mate, theres no one in the whole universe I would rather spend the rest of my life with. I'll love and protect you forever Salima, if you will let me."
See, that's exactly what she wanted to hear. Salima blushed in embarrassment for double-guessing the situation. "I thought so, too...I hoped, but. But I wasn't sure. I'm glad."
"I will happily 'let' you," she replied with a giggle. "I'll love you for forever, too."
The big black male chuckles and touches the top of her head, his paws were starting to get samper and damper as they walked, he noticed it and shook his head. "it's strange walking on oland that is soggy." He chuckles wriggling his toes as he walked.
"It's a nice feeling, I've always live don very dry savannah and now I'm going to live some place damp!" he chuckles quietly and licks his mates cheek happily. "We'll liove here together forever then." he puurrs happily.
Salima laughed and shook her head. "I'm glad to feel it so soggy again. It was the weirdest thing to walk around on purely-solid ground." She missed that, too. The comforting squish that her toes made when she walked on waterlogged soil.
"Happily together forever," she added with a rhyme and an extra little skip in her step. Now, the next move was to simply get to the pride. And the were getting close with each passing moment. Now they were just as close as almost entering. Almost there.
The orange winged male smiles gently at the little lioness "Lead the way my little flower, we should find some place to sleep for the night and find, well, your family tomorrow." he smiles, he wasn't sure who they would need to find so that he could become a member of the pride, but he was sure Sialis, Salimas family would know and they would be able to stay together.
He wasn't worried, he would stay with her no matter what.
She nodded, and as they neared her home land, she saw a small little area, almost dug into the side of a tree, that would serve as a perfect home for one night. There were others inside the pride itself, and she had heard that they were pretty comfy.
Salima couldn't wait until tomorrow, then, when everything would just be so much better. Everything would fall into its proper place, and they could live out the rest of their days.
