Soa couldn't recall ever feeling so frustrated, but she took Ben's words and listened patiently, claws scraping against the stone floor as the other lioness then took her leave. She felt a little angry for being accused of being cruel, but she didn't hold grudges, it filtered into frustration instead, as things began to click into place. She still would have missed the little romantic cues here and there, but from what she herself had heard that night she finally got it.

So when one of her female family members came to see what was the matter the only answer they got was Soa hurrying past and out the door, determined (Truthfully she had been so lost in thought that she hadn't completely noticed.). She didn't care if anyone else saw and hadn't even paused to wipe at the dark tracks on her face as she singled out the direction Peribsen had gone, his scent a moment after, and followed it like a beeline. She ran, not an all out hunter's run, but a steady pace all the same, spotting him up ahead.
*
Peribsen had left the main area where he presumed Soa was now, likely with her family, for the columned hall just inside the den area. The hall of pillars. It was here he’d met up with a few lions who were going to head out to the oasis for none were supposed to be working right now. And while he wasn’t the most joyful he’d ever been he was still Peribsen, who’d never been able to resist going to go swim and relax by the pool. So he’d ended up being roped in to their plans.
Takasika would be down after he finished a little work and Kucha couldn’t come yet but if he found his wife and little ones they might join them later, but Dana, Kimya and Tifua were with him now and soon as they found Ben she’d probably come too. They were chatting and walking through to the dens. They were wondering about who else might be able to come with them. Tifua naturally wanted to invite her cousins though, so Peribsen was wondering if he should back out…
*
She picked up his scent growing closer as she finally began to catch up to the group, recognizing each of them. Soa's mind barely registered them except to note that they were there and she shouldn't be rude but first she had something REALLY important that she had to say before this situation got any messier or before she got sidetracked, so... she did the only thing that she knew would make it clear that she had a goal in mind, and that was to call out ahead as she ran towards the group.

"Peribsen!"

It wasn't an angry call, rather, definitely a plea for him to give pause and wait for her to catch up completely.

Kimya, with the group, paused, blinking as one of the princesses rushed towards them, suddenly looking at a loss for what to do-- bow? Greet her verbally? The princess seemed a bit distracted at the moment.
*
“Soa?” He was aghast to see the one lioness he’d been trying to avoid coming toward him – and yet some part of him rejoice to see the one lioness he’d come to adore. He stopped in his tracks almost involuntarily, without thinking, half turning her way. He barely spared a glance for the others before turning around to face her.
Kimya wasn’t alone in not being sure what to do. Dana and even Tifua, who was a cousin of Soa herself, weren’t sure. It felt rather tense all of a sudden and they stopped chattering.
*
"I'm sorry!" Was the first thing she blurted, closer now. Thank the gods he'd decided to stop, she slowed her pace to avoid crashing into him or the others, staring at him as she finally stopped right before him. "I didn't... I didn't understand what it meant, I thought-- I heard you talking, and I... I've never been given anything by anyone but my father before, I've never been approached like that before, if I'd known what you really meant I would have told you, I like you too, I like being with you, please, don't give up on me yet!"

..... Well, it had kind of all just come out, now didn't it? For as well collected as she usually was her straight forward way of addressing a situation was making HER the rambling one now.

Kimya blinked, stared, now debating if she should do the polite thing and look away or if it even mattered at this point. Her jaw was slightly ajar, because honestly, wow, that wasn't what she expected to come out of the princess' mouth.
*
It took a moment to sink in and realize firstly what Soa had just said and secondly that she really had. It was kind of a shock and it’d floored him. Besides which, the world seemed to have become very far away, out of focus, except for Soa. It was very easy to forget for a moment that he’d been walking with others and that it wasn’t just him and Soa.
Soa, who was looking at him rather intensely and had spoken so passionately, who’d come running up to him out of no where to tell him she liked him too. Her mane was a bit mussed and she seemed so flustered and as he looked into her eyes it was very easy to forget himself as well as the others and just say what he was thinking;
“You are just /so/ beautiful…” He said quietly and though it was likely everyone had heard it, he said it just to Soa.
*
Soa used that time when he was staring to catch her breath, unwilling to look away or even to blink, really. This must have been how he felt waiting for her to answer to the gift the other day-- which, by the way, she was wearing even right now --and she felt a fresh pang of both guilt and fear. If he said that it was too late she really couldn't do anything to stop him, but she'd live with that guilt for the rest of her life.

She didn't quite expect for him to say what he said next, instead.

Her green eyes went wide, breath hitching and staying locked in her chest for a moment before she remembered to breathe again. If it was possible for a lion to redden, once again she would have just then, albeit happily. "Then... then you'll forgive me for being an idiot...?" She asked, voice quiet as well, hopeful and small, and damn it she was NOT about to get WEEPY AGAIN.
The others around them, half forgotten and half not, she didn't care if the whole pride heard, it was never something she felt like she needed to hide, too straight forward, but she was unaware of them all the same as they stood around the two, Kimya with the biggest grin and discreetly waiting to hear Peribsen's answer. She'd detected the smell of salt when Soa arrived but it had been faint, now it was flaring up again a bit.
*
Dana was sitting with a paw over her mouth and Tifua, after a near silent wistful sigh nudged Kimya. She mouthed ‘shall we go?’ to her, thinking perhaps the two new lovebirds could do with some privacy.
“Of course…and you’ll forgive me too? I must be the worst suitor anyone ever had, I mean, if you didn’t know no wonder you never said anything….I thought…nevermind.” He’d recovered a little, enough to babble and offer a forepaw to the princess. He wondered if she’d take it but decided it didn’t matter if she didn’t. Like this could get any better than it was already!
*
Kimya looked to Tifua with a small smile and nodded silently, looking to Dana, ready to slip off.

Soa would have objected that he was hardly the worst, and she was really just dense, but they both seemed to agree that there wasn't a need for words anymore. That tightness in her chest had been replaced by the fullest feeling, a sweet swell that made her feel almost as if she could burst on the spot with joy. She looked at his paw and a tender smile came to her muzzle, silently she reached out to place her paw in his, heart beating fast.
*
Peribsen didn’t notice the females leaving in a group together – nor how Bennunakht slippe out of the next row of columns to join them in their exit. He didn’t hear Dana’s comment on how cute they were (or it didn’t really register anyway) or anything else. Was just him and Soa, and nervous as he was, his heart didn’t ache anymore and it felt wonderfully right to hold her paw.
Overall objective; get the girl.
Mission complete.