Aysu liked to keep busy but she was never to busy to stop and chat (gossip) with or about someone, especially if she knew them. As it happened, it had been noticed that the heiress, Selene, had been hanging around one slave in particular a lot. And it was a male slave.. who happened to be Aysu's cousin. And since hearing about it, the huntress was keen to be one of the first to confront Mazin about it.
It was lucky she was well practiced at containing her excitement or she would have been running around the pride's land like mad in her hunt for Mazin. It helped that they were related and she had a good idea of where to look for him, of course.
"Maaaazin~!"
Mazin was contently wasting what little he had of alone time lazing in the shade near his den. He hadn't had many options when choosing a place to call his own since he was a slave, of course, but he didn't mind where he was. He had been about on a patrol with his father so he figured he had earned a break.. at least, he shouldn't have to go looking for something to do or someone to help out.
He was very nearly dozing off when suddenly he heard a familiar voice call out his name. Blinking a couple times, he looked around and smiled when he spotted Aysu.
"Good evening, Aysu," he called back, not bothering to get up to meet her. She was family, after all.
"Good evening," she repeated with a smile, wasting no time in walking right up to where he was and taking a seat a conversational few feet before him. There was a small hesitation before she, too, lay down. It would be easier to talk at eye level and he apparently wasn't going to sit up. She was OK with that.
"Been hearin' things about you, my dear cousin," Aysu began with no hesitation.
Mazin wasn't stupid but he hadn't really been approached about what he had to figure was what people were "hearing" about him.. unless you counted his parents, but they didn't really count the same as anybody else. Of course he would talk to his parents, they were good at finding things for him to do and he was close to them.
"Is that so?" he said, trying to brush it off, though the sway of his tail behind him gave away his uneasiness on the topic he knew was coming. It didn't help that he knew Aysu was rather like their grandmother, only more prone to telling rather than just listening to gossip.
It would have been hard not to notice the change in Mazin, even if he seemed to stay rather calm and cool about what she said. But then, Aysu was looking for it- and enjoyed it. This was something about gossip she only ever got to experience with family, she wouldn't go confronting unfamiliar lions when they were the topic of rumors.
"Yes," she said brightly, smiling at him, "And I think you know what about."
When he didn't jump in immediately, she looked him up and down.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"
Mazin stared steadfastly back at his cousin, somhow keeping a straight face. He was good at remaining indifferent when necessary and he was glad for it.. but when she paused and asked him what he had to say for himself, he was too surprised not to react. His brow furrowed.
"Say for myself? What do you mean?" he asked, sounding almost as confused as he looked. Were they doing something wrong? Was he?
"Flirting with the heiress!" Aysu exclaimed, exaggerating the stories both for her own fun and to make her point, "Risky business, don't you think, for a slave?"
She knew very well that Selene and Mazin had been friends for some time, and she knew that the stories were not that he was chasing after her. So far, everything she'd heard made it sound mutual, which made it far more interesting as it became a more real possibility for future consideration, then.
"W-what?!'
Mazin had not been expecting that. He was sure some had noticed how often he and Selene were together but it wasn't that much or that obvious. They had never even really talked about it, Selene just said she liked having him around and they both went out of their way to find excuses to hang out sometimes..
But he wasn't ignorant. To how it looked or how he felt, and both supported the observations.. which made him more defensive.
"Are you not going to deny it?"
Aysu was having fun, though she almost felt bad for Mazin as he tried to comprehend where this was coming from. She almost wondered if his reaction to her exaggeration meant it was more likely to be true than not. Or maybe it would be if he had the nerve.
"Selene and I are just friends," he said seriously, though not without a slight waver in his voice. It wasn't a lie, they were close friends and had never openly discussed more. The idea of him flirting with her was ridiculous.. though he sometimes thought she was flirting with him, or (dare he admit) liked to think she was.
"I don't know who you were talking to, but that's just wrong."
Normally, Aysu might have pushed harder but she was satisfied with what she had already. He was uneasy about it, whether or not her gossip was truthful. She had her own opinions about it now, it was pretty well confirmed and she was pleased to feel like one of the first to be in on the little story that was unfolding around them.
Unfortunately, it would take a lot of willpower not to help spread it around. And she would have more confidence if she did start spreading that particular rumor around.
She sat up.
"Alright then," she said, smiling, "Glad we cleared that up."
Mazin looked nervously at Aysu as she sat up, apparently ending their conversation about this. He wasn't convinced that they had cleared up anything. She looked far more sure of herself now than when she showed up.
He stifled a sigh.
This wasn't over.
Fin!
