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 Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 2:35 pm
Altair had just finished his time patrolling the borders, tired but content, knowing that he was earning his keep and proving his worth. Now he was heading back to the den to meet with Makhi, desperate to see her after the few hours they had been apart.
He loved her so very, very much.
Her den was in site now. Well...their den, really. It was hard to get used to. To know that you had the love of another and gave that feeling in return. They were, well, 'dating', at the moment, but he already knew that he wanted to marry her. He just wanted to take things one step at a time, didn't want to rush into anything in case he tripped and made a mistake.
Besides, she was worth waiting for.
"Makhi?" He called softly as he drew nearer, unsure whether she was still out on patrol or whether she had returned. "Are you home?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:02 pm
The golden-colored female smiled around the bangle in her teeth as her ears picked up the sound of the male she loved returning, calling out her name, giving a last tug to the piece of metal so it came free of her paws, quickly tucking it away with the rest of her armor and ornaments, before turning to quickly leave their den and meet him outside. She had gotten back not minutes before him and begun removing her ornaments to get more comfortable.
" Altair. Welcome home. " She knew he liked to hear such words, and she let a purr escape her as she padded through the sand, up to the male, gently nuzzling at his mouth and neck. She had been very quick to get comfortable with giving him affections. She had already, after all, been affectionate with him, though not to this extent at all. Still, it felt too natural for her to be shy about.
" How was your patrol? " She asked, mercury eyes already flicking over his body, checking for any injuries he might have, and relaxing when she couldn't see any.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:08 pm
Welcome home.
He would never tire of those words. Never, ever. To have a home and to share it with her...he felt so blessed.
"You are a sight for sore-eyes, my love. I'm glad to see you." He nuzzled her back with equal affection, finding great delight in the warmth such contact brought him. "It went well enough. Nothing out of the ordinary to report. A few lions passing by in the distance but never close enough to bother about." He pressed his head up against her shoulder, purring.
"If you have the time, how about we go on a date, my love?" He smiled widely.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:18 pm
" A date? " She smiled, resting her head against his almost shyly as her tail swayed out behind her in excitement. A date... Their duties had kept them busy in the time since he had asked to court her. It would be their first. " Of course.. I've all the time in the world... I'd love to go, Altair. " She agreed quickly, before he could think she was hesitating, giving a playful lick to his nose before she moved around him, away from their den.
" Where did you have in mind for this date, my love? " She asked him with interest, though, in the end, the where truly didn't matter. Not as long as she got to spend her entire evening with him. That was the best thing she could hope for, and it seemed to be exactly what she was getting.
She wasn't sure how things had turned out so well. What ever gods lurked out there in the world truly seemed to be smiling down upon them lately.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:21 pm
She said yes! He had been worried that she might have been too tired or something, but now realised how stupid that was. He knew Makhi and he knew she wouldn't have said no, even if she was tired!!
"The sun will be setting soon, I thought maybe we could take a trip to the rocky outcrop and watch the sky for a bit. Boring, I know, but...well, I don't do it very often and it was my best attempt at being romantic." He laughed, nuzzling her again. He was so happy right now. Indeed the gods were smiling upon them!
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:27 pm
She laughed out as well as she gently returned his nuzzling, a bright smile on he lips. With a gentle shove, she pushed him along to start heading on their way toward the ruins. " I think it is a very romantic way to spend the evening, not boring at all... It's perfect. " She purred, falling into step beside him.
Cliche but perfect. And it was something she had never really done before. Which, perhaps she would mention after they were done viewing the sunset, to make him even happier about his choice of dates.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:38 pm
He purred, glad that she liked the idea. He could think of nothing better than spending some time with her and the sunset, alone. Able to take the time to appreciate their closeness, to spend time listening to one another without the distractions of responsibilities and others in the pride.
It certainly was a busy pride.
With a gentle shove, he led the way out across the sand, leaving sweeping paw prints in his wake. He was fast learning to love this place and he was falling in love with the shifting sands and the brilliant blue of the oasis. He still didn't like the heat much, but it was a small price to pay for the love of a beautiful women.
"Was your brother happy to hear that we had come to our senses and admitted our feelings?" He asked as they went.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:53 pm
She made a face at the mere mention, shaking her head a bit as she followed along with the male, and huffed. " Well.. I went and tried to tell him about it... But he sat me down and he began trying to give me talks about safe breeding habits, and proper timing, as if her were my father.. He was acting serious, but I'm fairly certain he was teasing me again! " She pouted a bit, shaking her head. Ilori was never serious about anything. " I walked out when he became distracted by something and turned his attention from me at some point during his lecturing... "
" But.. yes. I'm just going to assume that he is indeed happy for us and give us his congratulations. " She chuckled out, shaking her head. Her family may be a strange one, unrelated by blood, but they were family all the same, and she loved them dearly. Ilori's odd behavior was his way of saying he was happy.
And he probably wanted to be an uncle anyway so he didn't mean a single word of those safe breeding habits...
She could help but squeak a little as she ducked her head in embarrassment at the thought of having cubs, hiding her face from Altair's view so he couldn't gauge what she was thinking on as they made their way to the ruins. What in the world was going through her mind..?
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:19 pm
Altair flustered as he heard her reply, certainly not having expected that in her answer. Safe breeding habits? He gave a sort of embarrassed smile, coupled with a laugh. "Your brother...he's a good tease." He wondered what had distracted Ilori but decided not to ask about it. "I hope he's okay."
He purred, deeply. "I'm sure he is. But it's only natural for him to be protective over his sister. He wants what is best for you, after all." Ilori was a good lion.
And then she gave a small squeak and averted her face. What was on her mind, now? He tilted his head and leaned towards her. "Love, what's--" He was cut off by the sound of a thud on the sand and when he looked ahead came face to face with...with...
...With none other than Rokopelli, Goddess of Confusion.
She blinked and her vivid mismatched eyes glittered with wild delight and surprise. Her wings were flared up in full view and the braids of dark hair clinked as the beads knocked together.
"Oh!" She chirped. "We're sorry!! We didn't meanses to startle you." She took a small step back and blinked, looking around. Her joy seemed to increase even further as she noticed where she was.
"Finally!! We're homeee!" And if she had not been heavily pregnant, she would have been jumping for joy.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:34 pm
Makhi's head jerked up as well at the sound, nearly tripping over her own feet at the sight of the goddess that had... dropped into the sand before them. The very.. apparently pregnant goddess. The lioness was frozen in shock for all of ten seconds before her maternal instincts kicked in, and she slowly stepped forward in worry, moving past Altair to approach the Goddess who had landed on the ground moments before.
" Are.. Are you alright? " She asked softly, her concern evident as she studied the other female. She really couldn't say she knew much of anything at all about gods but they were said to be immortal and such, so, perhaps it was silly to worry. But this one was obviously pregnant and had just taken a fall!
And it was just the type of lioness Madhu-Makhi was.
She was far too maternal for her own good. It didn't matter who it was, even a complete stranger, if they took a spill right in front of her she just had to rush forward to check on them and help if need be. Even if that stranger was an all powerful god that could strike her down without a second thought.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:42 pm
A...A Goddess! To think he had gone all this time without seeing one, then - after having that chat with Shararah the other day - one literally drops out of the sky in front of them! If he'd not been so shocked, he might have been a little annoyed that the moment between him and Makhi had been ruined.
Luckily he didn't have time to think on it.
The Goddess seemed to have...reached home and Makhi was already rushing forwards to check she was all right. But he hung back, somewhat nervous of the being before them. "I'm...I'm sure she's fine, Makhi."
Roko blinked, smiling widely. She was smaller than the two of them, though her wings did have the ability to increase her 'volume' and give her the impression of being larger. Even still, she clearly had to look up to be able to look into their faces.
"Oh? Us? Yes, yes, we're fine! Used to fallingses. Always doing it. Babies don't mind so much, we don't think. Landed on paws anyways, even if it was awkward!"
She beamed happily. "Are you two Dawnwalkers, too?" She peeped, tipping her head curiously. She didn't remember either of them from her time here as a youth.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:55 pm
She couldn't resist a soft smile in return, glad that she did indeed seem to be alright. Well.. SEEMED to be alright. She was talking a bit oddly but she.. didn't seem to have been injured anywhere. She glanced back to her love when he spoke, giving him a reassuring look before she sat herself in front of the 'young' seeming goddess, nodding at the words.
" Yes, we're both members of the pride. Altair, he only just joined. My name is Makhi, I joined a few seasons ago. " Her head tilted as she racked her brain, trying to think of the resident gods of this land. One night, when she had first come here, Ilori had to her their names, and briefly what they were thought to look like. But she couldn't seem to come up with a name to match with the Goddess in front of her.
So. Naturally. She'd just have to ask her name, wouldn't she? Her smile brightened further as she looked to the other female curiously. " Are you one of the Resident Goddesses of the Dawnwalkers? May I ask your name? "
She seemed to find the situation much more interesting than Altair did.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:08 pm
He was still cautious, but seeing as the Goddess seemed to be...okay - of sorts, anyway - he settled himself on the sand to listen in and help out where he could.
He was still a little taken-aback by this new change of events. For now he was quite comfortable allowing Makhi to take the lead in the conversation.
"This is good! We are pleased to meet you. Both of you." She corrected, sitting herself carefully on the sand. And, when asked whether she was a resident of the pride, she gave Makhi an answer, or rather, two answers.
"Yes."
"No."
"Well...we used to be." She corrected herself, flattening her ears. "We did a bad thing so we left and then...then something else happend and we stayed away longer than we would have likedses." And then she was smiling again, fanning her wings very gently. She seemed very, very happy.
"We're Rokopelli." She continued, in one voice. "We're glad to be home. Must talk with Muroki or Johari. Still here, are they?" She thought of them fondly, remembering the time when they had accepted both her and her adopted mother Koya into this pride to stay.
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:19 pm
Her ears perked curiously and she watched closely as the females voice changed, leading her to give two different answers before returning to the manner she was speaking in before. Somehow, the 'we' she used when speaking seemed to be more than a cute quirk of hers.. She did now comment or question though, an accepting smile on her lips as her head tilted in thought.
" Rokopelli.. Yes, I've heard your name before. I'm honored to be the first to welcome you home, then. I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you return. " She said with a soft smile. " Both the Pharaoh and his Queen are still here, you're most likely to find them in the Temple this late. " She offered, tilting her head off in the direction of the structure, in case the female should need the direction. From what she remembered of Rokopelli... She was the Goddess of Confusion...
Maybe it would be better to offer to take her there... " If you need company to the Temple..? "
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:31 pm
He silenced his groan before it could escape, realising suddenly that his time with Makhi was about to be snatched away. He supposed that helping a pregnant deity who had once called this place home - and would do again - was probably more important.
But even still...
He stood, his tail twitching, deciding to get into the conversation before it was too late.
"You've returned to raise your children, then?" He indicated her widening middle.
Rokopelli seemed happier by the minute, something that hadn't even seemed possible before just that moment. "You've heard of us? We're...we're honoured! We...we hope that everyone will be happy to see us. We...we sort of left without saying anythingses." She still felt bad about that, but she had been a child and a distressed one at that.
"We'll go to the temple, yes, but maybe tomorrow. We wouldn't want to disturb them now." She blinked, casting her bi-coloured eyes out towards the temple, looking beautiful against the backdrop of a blushing sky. "We'll settle at our old den if its still available. If not, we'll sleepses somewhere else."
And then she beamed at the male. "Yup! We're having babies. Two babies, Soul told us. We're here with Silos. He's our boyfriend." She giggled at that. "We want the babies to be raised here where it's nice and safeses."
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