He was utterly delighted. Life had been almost perfect with he and Merino. And now, he prayed to the Gods it never ended. He'd actually woken up early today, and was just lying beside her, gently licking her ear, after the day had gotten much later, "Meri, my love. You should wake up."
The pink lioness yawned at that, and wriggled a bit. "Mmnn?" She didn't really -want- to get up, as it was SO nice and warm here like this. Oh, she knew that eventually she would have to but riiight this minute? Really?
He chuckled and let her lie still, gently licking her ear and head, deciding not to wake her. He really did adore Merino, and they would have cubs soon. That was what made him so eager.
Merino realized that he was going to let her sleep some more and purred, snuggling up against the larger male just a bit. Though normally she didn't mind mornings so much, there were times... she just wanted to sleep the day away in their nice warm den. From the scent of the air, she could tell that it had snowed again last night, which meant it was likely -quite- cold outside, with new snow that would be hard to forge paths through... mmn. No thank you. Not just yet, anyway.
He chuckled at the way she was acting, like a cub herself, curling about her. He adored Merino so much, that trying to go against what she wanted...well. He didn't want to. Gently licking at her again, he watched her cuddling into him. She was so adorable. It was what made him happy that she'd be his for life.
It was more than an hour later that Merino stirred again, having been dreaming quite happily about playing in the snow with cubs. Oh, how she -wanted- a family, now that Illyon had brought up the subject! But until then ... they still had to hunt, and take care of themselves. Getting up slowly, she stretched with a wide yawn.
Illyon smiled as she got up, getting up as well, and stretching slightly. He moved by her again, gently nuzzling her. "Good morning, love. How're you feeling?" He honestly couldn't wait til they had a family. It would make life so perfect, a family, with his Merino a mother, and cubs to play with. He was finally getting used to the whole 'trees aren't out to get you' thing too!
"Wonderful~" Merino purred in reply. The extra hour of sleep had been -really- nice, especially with her beloved mate. Rubbing against him a bit, she smiled in an almost mischeivous fashion. "Shall we go hunting now...? Ooor something else?"
He purred, nuzzling her, his tail flicking, "What would something else be?" He asked with a soft noise of contentment, "Though hunting would maybe be a wise idea." Illy gently trotted to the mouth of the den, checking the depth of the snow.
"Oh, I don't know... trying to make some cubs, maybe?" she replied rather wickedly. Then before Illyon could do anything, she bounded out into the snow - almost instantly sinking up to her knees. "But you're right, let's go hunting first!" she said then, grinning ... tailtip twitching back and forth in merriment.
Illyon purred, watching her with a laugh in his eyes. She could be such a tease sometimes. Running out into the snow with her, he chuckled, "Yes. Let's hunt first, and Cub-making will come later." His purr was low in his chest, "Come, I bet I can beat you~"
"Beat me at what? Scaring all the prey off, or actually catching something?" she teased, jumping partway into the air and coming down with her legs spread and belly low, to pack the snow down. Then she moved to do the same in another spot, clearing the area just in front of the den a little bit.
He huffed, and did the same, helping her clear the area, since he did have a larger build after all, "Catching the prey. I'm good at it!!! You're being mean, Meri." He said with a laugh. His body quickly flattened the snow, and he enjoyed this, almost like a game.
"Aw, no I'm nooottt," she replied with a pout, jumping up one more time. Then she raised her head and sniffed at the wind, suddenly seeming more serious than before. "Maybe if we work together, we'll both win," she suggested then, with a little smile.
His own nose raised to the wind, violet eyes becoming rather somber, "Yeah. Maybe." He grinned in return, letting himself move off towards the scent of prey, "Come on!"
It wasn't too terribly long before they returned to that den, dragging a rather sizable kill between them. One really nice thing about living in such a cold environment... meat didn't spoil -nearly- as quickly as in other areas. So they could eat their fill of this and then bury it in the snow just outside their den for later. No real intelligent scavenger would come -that- close to a lion's den after all.
He leaned his head there as they set it down, and ate slowly. His eyes closed and he enjoyed it, happy to taste the meat. "We did good." He purred, softly, "We did very well." His tail flicked back and forth as he finished his fill rather quickly, remembering her earlier promise.
"Mmhmn...." Merino hummed in reply, deliberately taking her time and eating slowly. Yeees, she was perhaps being a bit mean now, but it was all in the spirit of fun ... really. Soon enough, though, she nosed the carcass over to their normal spot and quickly scooped some snow over it.
He helped scoop snow over it, and then moved over to her, licking gently, "I love you, you know that? And we'll make amazing cubs." He purred low. Illyon adored this female, so much. So...so much. She was his world now.
"Mm... I think we will too," she purred in return, rubbing agaisnt him. Then she bounded away and into the den. "Well... aren't you coming?" she called, teasingly.
He laughed and bounded after her, 'Oh, I'm coming!" She was so mischievous sometimes. But that was one of the things he loved, "I'm coming!" And with that, the pale male bounded into the den after her.
