With her stomach full and the heat of the day dwindling into the stale, arid heat of the evening, Lela could honestly say she was happy. She'd found herself a den, a comfortable one at that, and she liked the little patch of land she found. It had a watering whole connected to a river, plenty of food to eat, and was wide enough for her to wander for a few days. But she felt something was missing. Contact of another? The last one she remembered talking too was Roth, and he wasn't all that fun. She was just a kid back then, too! Now the black and white lioness had grown up into a muscular, but small, adult lioness. Still, being this happy didn't stop the longing for company, or her motherly instincts. Maybe all of that would come all at once.
The male towered over most of his species. He tended to have the size of both his mother and father. His father was a huge lion, and his mother big and muscular in her own way. He had his fathers size and his mothers grace. He supposed that was the best combination. What made him happy was that all his siblings had inherited the same traits..All were large in comparison to most.
He had been keeping to himself lately, having wandered from his family for a bit. He'd return one day, he would never stay away from them.. but he was bored and wanted something to do for the day.
The yellow marking on his side seemed to glow in the sun, and he supposed its meaning made sense on days like this.
He was 'Born of Fire,' and Canicus quite enjoyed the flames.
Lela was heading back to her den when she caught wind of a stranger. The wind was blowing lightly, but it was more than enough to catch her attention. With her ears flicking back, she crouched down in the tall grasses and headed toward the scent to see who it was. Of course she wouldn't know them. Lela barely knew her own family and she figured Roth was long gone, bored of her attitude and looks. So, she crouched and nearly crawled on her belly. Only to see, in the distance, a black male ahead about twenty feet. She knew it was male because of the mane, but he looked huge compared to what she remembered.
The male stopped, orange eyes glittering as he looked curiously out at the area surrounding him. He smelled another.. Courtesy of his mothers fine hunting skills, he had learned when to be cautious. This felt like one of those times.
His large paws stopped moving, and he raised himself up a bit to show the exact size of him. He lifted his head, scenting the air around him. Someone was out there.. and he didn't like that he couldnt just see them.
"Show yourself," He said as if h e was unphased by the presence there.
"You might as well, otherwise depending on how small you are I might step on you." He teased.
He didn't even know her and he was already stepping on her nerves. "Look, just because I'm short, doesn't mean anything!" She said, standing above the grass and giving him a look. Her dark purple eyes didn't stand out in the quickly coming night. She moved closer to him still and snorted.
Lela didn't sense danger in him, that's why she approached him so casually. That, and she was growing tired from the big meal she had eaten. She wouldn't need to hunt tomorrow, that was for sure.
"Who are you anyway?" Yes, she was rude in not introducing herself first!
Canicus was a little taken aback, but he had begun to realize that female lions generally tended to lack the polite way of things. He had begun to expect it. He shook his head, letting his mane fall into his eyes and then shaking it once more to remove it. His orange eyes looked in her eyes, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Well you're small, do you deny that I could likely step on you?" He asked, wondering if she was oblivious to that fact.
He was a blunt male usually, joking wasnt apart of his normal routine, however he was currently attempting to not just come off as rude.
"I could ask the same of you, but my name is Canicus." He replied, nodding his head a bit.
She opened her mouth to say something and sighed. "I'm Lela. Khahlela. ...But everyone calls me Lela. And I do deny the fact you could step on me. It's hard to step on a lion, unless they're a cub anyway." His eyes... Oh, she loved the colors orange and yellow and well, this male seemed to have both of them. Canicus? What kind of name was that? She'd hold back her rudeness just this once.
"I mean... You try stepping on an adult lion and see if they don't try to step right back on you." She laughed at that and gave him a playful smile. "So... uh, Cani, what brings you out here?"
He wasnt the type to get along with others either, so when she started denying he could step on her.. the desire to prove her wrong became deeply engrained in his belly. But he knew it was something he couldnt do. Momma wouldnt be proud if he had done something so out of character.
He yawned, and stretched his toes out, letting his tail flick side to side, before regaining his stance and cocking his head.
"Well Lelah, I actually go by Canicus." He grinned, and shrugged.
"You could say I needed a change of scenery."
She was ignorant of his inner conflict, and liked to remain so. She watched his toes a moment and then looked back to his eyes before smirking. "OK, so no nicknames. It's a shame. I kind of liked Cani for a nickname for you." Lela talked to him with an air of friendliness. The longing she felt was dying a little in side of her, which meant that if he left soon, she would be OK. The only thing that would stay would be wanting little cubs of her own.
"A change of scenery, eh? I suppose. It's better than deserts and flat land. Got some hills here and there..." She looked over the land and then shrugged. Lela honestly didn't get it.
The lion had been born and raised in the desert. Sometimes the sands got tiresome as it all seemed to blend together and never have anything of its own identifying qualities. Father didnt like it as much as mother did. Mother enjoyed the sandy plains, father preferred the water terrain. He loved water, it was something that just had always been in his blood.
"Ive never been one for nicknames," He responded, explaining why the name Cani hadn't been appropriate in his mind. He shrugged, rolling his shoulders.
He didnt realize that he was annoying her, and probably wouldn't have cared regardless. Canicus was normally so oblivious to everything, that it just.. never occurred to him.
It wasn't that he was annoying her, quite the contrary. He was actually entertaining her! She laid down and laughed a bit at his words then sighed. "Oh, well. I suppose I can call you by your full name. Even if it is a mouthful for me." She gave him a bit of a wink and then wiggled. "So... You're not from around here, are you? You don't smell like this part of the lands. ...I smell all sorts of different climates on you."
That piqued her interest. She wanted to know where he had been, where he was going. Lela was truly intrigued.
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow again. She was quirky, something he wasnt used to. His sisters were mostly like he was, guarded and usually uninterested. Except lately when Llach had met with another lion.. It had taken her away from his family and he hated the male for it.
"I come from the desert grounds." He said with a nod, his mane bobbing with him. It was a lot harder to arouse Canicus's interests than hers it seemed. He had no interest in what was going on, and was mostly going with the flow. But that was the way the lion was most times. He absolutely was not good at being social.
She laughed at that again and nodded. Her laugh was a deep, raspy sound that contradicted her voice. Purple eyes flicked with interest as she scooted closer to him. Khahlela really, really wanted to play with him. So, when she was in just the right position, she swiped at his mane, curling it between her toes and tugged. "Desert, hm? Well, surly you played in the desert!"
Now she was acting like a cub, but she couldn't help it! He brother was smaller than this male, but bigger than herself. She wanted to play! To roll around and get dirty. He seemed the type to do it. In her head, anyway.
He pulled away, eyes widening a bit, though it wasnt because he was displeased.. More because he had not expected such childish behavior so quickly. She curled his mane in her toes, and gave a tug, and he shook his head with a snort.
He took a big paw, which he swore could be the size of two or three of her own, and shoved at her a bit, hoping to knock her over. Was he the type to wrestle and roll in the grass? No.. not with a female he had just met. But he wasnt above at least being playful...Even if it was his own version of playful.
Oh, he was being playful and it made her snort with laughter. She wiggled her toes at him before swiping at his mane again and then got to her paws. "So, play with me, Mr. Strong but silent." Her tail swished back and forth and she looked as if she could dance around him in circles.
She moved over and started to circle around him, ears flicking back and forth. "Come on! Come oooooon."
"Play?" He asked as if the word was foreign to him, even though it truly wasnt. He and his sisters had wrestled when they played long ago.. But he felt he had that bond with them, and htey were large enough to combat him without hurting them. He wasnt so sure about the female in front of him.. She was little, even for a lioness standards.
"I dont really.. play." He said, tail flicking as he watched her jumping around. Sure it brought a smile to his face, but he really.. wasnt in the mood to romp!
"If I had your energy, maybe. But I still have a long ways to go, in order to get home." He said, lying on his belly, and letting his tail twitch side to side.
Lela deflated when he said all that and then snorted. Great. How many times did she run into an unplayful male? Just where was her twin when she needed to play with him?! "Fine, fine. Spoiled sport. I suppose I should just let you go if you're going home. Feel free to hunt here, just don't go into my den."
A bit surprised at her deflation he shrugged, lifting himself off the earth. He hadnt meant that he was leaving now, but if she wanted him to leave, then he had better go. Though he had no interest in her den, he felt that if he went into any females den, it would be for reasons other than what had been said by the two of them. He offered a smile, though yawned and stretched out his body.
"Im not that hungry, so I shall not worry your hunting grounds. But as for your den, Id say you are safe on that one."
He said. Unlike the male she had met before, Canicus was different than Roth.. He didnt know Roth, but she did.. and she knew full well he would be the type to creep into her den and do dastardly things.
So Canicus just offered a nod, and looked back at the sun which was almost down. The lands would be cooling soon.. such a pleasant feeling.
