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 Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:56 am
One down, one to go. Alcmene had not really intended to find and chat with Alizeti before she managed to find her mate but she had to go with it. At least now she had both sides of the agreement or.. story.. or whatever it was exactly. She couldn't recall exactly where Fafnir had said he was going but she was intentionally avoiding heading towards his parents' den. They would find out soon enough but she definitely wasn't aiming to inform them before Fafnir.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:05 pm
He was actually on his way to talk to his mother, only from a different direction, when he saw his mate heading that way in the distance. Instantly, a smile spread over his face and his whole demeanor changed. His lazy gait sprung into a determined beeline right for his darker counterpart, his feet beating heavily against the ground beneath him. If Ally didn't hear him coming before her got to her, she'd have to be deaf.
"Ally!" he cried out, the way his face shone making it seem as if he were a love-sick adolescent all over again. He greeted her with a clumsy nuzzle and a laugh beneath his breath, not even thinking to ask her what she was doing here. Unexpected time with her during the day was a welcome surprise and the only thing on his mind at the moment.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:19 pm
"Fafnir!" she called back, laughing at the way he greeted her. He never failed to cheer her up, it was one among many reasons she was thankful he'd smartened up when he did. It was something that was fresh on her mind since her little chat with Alizeti. She almost was shy of bringing it up, just hanging out was much nicer than worrying about business. And she had a feeling he wouldn't be so hesitant to verbalize the doubts even she had. But at least now she didn't have to hesitate either.
"I've been looking for you, did I catch you on the way to or from your mother's?" she asked, grinning. She didn't have to be right, it was as much a joke as anything.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:41 pm
Fafnir chuckled softly as he pulled away from his mate, looking down at her and feeling pleased with himself as the smile spread over her own maw. It was comforting to know that it was a product of his doing that brought about that change in her.
"I was actually on my way there," it was a joke, and the thought made his smile even brighter. The whole pride had to know that he was as much a devoted son as he was a devoted mate and king - not that Malkia would ever give him much of a choice in the matter.
"But she can wait for a little while longer if you need me." The smile on his maw only faded a little at this point as his voice grew a little more serious. As much as he liked to think that Ally had stopped her daily duties to come and find him for a little catch-up, he knew what 'I've been looking for you' usually meant. "So what do you need, love?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 1:02 pm
Ally shook her head. Malkia and Mwezi probably saw more of Fafnir than she and Fafnir saw of any of their cubs. A sad thought but it wasn't like they never saw them. Her smile changed a bit when asked what she needed him for and, able to chat more comfortably with Fafnir, she took a seat.
"Well, I've had an interesting afternoon," she said, "Some representatives from a pride to the North dropped by. They were on a quest of sorts."
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 1:15 pm
Taking his mate's lead, Fafnir took a seat in front of her so that the two of them could talk more easily about whatever was on Ally's mind. He hadn't heard about anything happening in the pride today, though admittedly he got a lot of his information from his mother's gossiping ways - and he hadn't talked to her yet.
"A quest?" his slightly serious attitude seemed to take a small turn back to amused, his storytelling nature perking back to life, "that's certainly something you only hear about in fables." Then, remembering that she had said they were representatives from a pride, he reprimanded himself and tried to put his mind back on track. "What did this quest entail exactly?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 1:27 pm
"As I understand it, the heiress in their pride is in need of a consort and they were asked to search for an appropriate match from outside their own pride," she explained, "They believed they may have found a match for her in our pride and offered to form an alliance between us."
She paused.
"I would have liked to speak to them before they spoke to anybody but that's now how it worked out," she said with a shrug, "They were not lions, the guards probably didn't pay them much mind near the border."
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:03 pm
"Well, that's kind of odd," he quirked a brow at the thought of sending anyone out to find a mate for one of their cubs. Not that they had produced an heir yet, but the same went for any of them. He was sure Ally's father never would have just found a mate for her, but maybe he was privileged in never having to find out because Fafnir had been there first.
His attention snapped back to Ally when she talked about non-lions slipping into the borders unnoticed, his tail flipping behind him a little. Idly, he thought that could be a bit of a problem and made a note to talk to her about that - and maybe the guards too - but it wasn't the problem at the moment.
"So they came unnoticed through the borders and have already found a candidate?" his brows rose a little as he spoke, finding the whole thing a little odd, but wanting to make sure he had this right.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:11 pm
"I don't think it's really odd, my parents were set up after all," she said, thinking of her mother and her father despite the usual desire to not think about them more than necessary, "Male heirs don't get so much freedom, I didn't need to be set up because my position was not in danger-- and because I had you." If Fafnir hadn't been there, she wouldn't have been surprised if her father had tried to set her up shortly before he made her queen. But she also didn't like giving him credit for being thoughtful enough to recognize that she'd have Fafnir there. It didn't matter that he'd helped Fafnir wise up.
"Yes," she said when reviewed the specific details, "They want Alizeti."
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:21 pm
Fafnir laughed very slightly under his breath, mostly at himself. "I suppose the difference is that I wasn't raised with a head for politics and the only royal love story I know is our own dramatic one." The smile there was sheepish because there was still residual guilt, deep down, beneath all of his love and adoration for her. "I suppose this heiress just isn't the lucky sort, she didn't have a fool to follow her around and get her in trouble every day." His sheepish smile remained through the comment - until she told him who the representatives had set their eyes on.
"What?" His voice didn't rise in volume, but he spoke a little more harshly even if it wasn't really directed at his mate. "They want Kisura's son?" He supposed it made sense in some fashion - the boy was royal by marriage, and both of Fafnir's parents claimed royalty from other prides along with nobility in this one. And yet, Fafnir was frowning. "So they've already talked to the boy?" Somewhere in the back of his mind, Fafnir was wondering if he'd have to go talk to Kisura about this. He really didn't want to.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:28 pm
Ally smiled as Fafnir reflected on their own story and she was ready for the reaction she got when she said who it was that they had spoken to already. She didn't particularly care for the fact they had already found someone when they got to her but it was still happening, they had to be flexible.
"They said they were not looking for royalty, hoping to find someone who could deal with the heir's personality so I can understand to some extent. By many other prides' standards, he would be nobility, though," she said, "They'd already spoken to him and, actually, I have too. I ran into him on my way to find you."
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:34 pm
Family was important to Fafnir and the idea of one of his nephews being swept away to a pride he had never even been to made him a little.. anxious. He was sure his mother had a better head for this kind of thing than he did. He tried to be a good king for Ally, but politics often left him confused. Adding family to the mix was almost unfair.
"What did the boy say?" he said softly, bringing a paw up to rub slightly against his head. His eyes shut partially and he tried not to let his feelings get in the way of this decision. It could be good for the pride, right? Even if it was a heartbreak for the family?
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:46 pm
"He said he's willing to give it a try," she said, frowning a bit as she watched Fafnir try to sort this all out, "I sent Biti back with the two I spoke to, he's small and quick so he can keep safe and he's smart so he'll be able to check it out for us. They've gone to fetch the heiress, they'll be back in a couple weeks. We have time to sort all of this out and I made sure Alizeti knows he can tell us any second thoughts he has about all of this."
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:52 pm
Fafnir nodded slowly as she explained everything she had taken care of, knowing that Ally had already done everything that she could to take care of things.
"Then I guess all we can really do is take care of things on our end and wait for Biti to return with the heiress and these representatives, right?" He dropped his paw and opened his eyes to look back up at his mate, offering her a very small, weak smile. It was hard for him to make decisions like these when his family was involved, obviously. "In the mean time, I suppose we should talk to mother and Kisura about it at the very least. It's not just our decision, it's a family decision." That, and he was sure his mother would have some good advice for him.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 3:04 pm
"Well, Alizeti is an adult and he's not a slave, he could leave on his own if he really wanted to," she said, "Though I wouldn't dare let this happen without his mother and your mother knowing. Especially your mother, though. She'll find out one way or another and we should be the source of her information." She shook her head. That was one thing you could always count on, Malkia knowing everything that was going on around here.
"I have something for you to do, though," she said, getting to her feet and brushing against him affectionately, "Alizeti is looking to talk to you, he's out by his mother's den. I told him you'd be able to help him, you made a rather successful transition from middle to high class, don't you think?"
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