Sudi:
Sudi sat in the shade with the elder of his daughters at his side as he worked on a new perfume. Warda was humming a little tune for her papa as he studied the mixture at his paws. He and Oseye had their paws full of late with their beautiful cubs. There had been so many of them, he'd been terrified as the days went by and his mate had grown larger and larger. Six... it had been more than he had considered. When he went looking for ingredients and while he worked, he always had one of them with him. In part it was to allow them to see how Daddy worked, and also so that poor Oseye wasn't bogged down. And he would come back to watch them when she joined the other hunters and huntresses a little later in the afternoon, nearer to sunset.
His movements were practiced and mechanical, a process he had done many times in the past to make makeup for his mother, sister, his mate. But he had already decided he would never make it for his daughters. Warda and Thali would not need it, espeically when he intended to beat away any boy that so much as looked at them in the wrong way.
Which was pretty much any way to their overprotective father.
Maa'sen:
This was it, today was the day, no more meeting Miu out in secluded locations. No more splitting off so she could return home alone, no more hiding out. He was happy to be around her and he was tired of their time together always ending on a saddened note as they both slunk off like errant young lovers. They were both adults, and they weren't doing anything that should make them feel guilty. Maa wanted to openly court Miu, she was...special, not perfect, but beautiful, smart, independent, with a touch of a stubborn streak that made him eager to share a life with her. He could imagine how much passion and adventure she could add to his life, a life that had seemed all too simple and complacent until he had spent more and more time with her.
He knew though, to have nay chance of courting Miu, of ever asking her to become his mate, to become his before the gods...he would have to overcome her overprotective brothers. He didn't want to fight, but he wasn't going to slink around anymore. He was a guardian now, a proud protector for the pride, and he could protect Miu if that was their concern...and he could do it without smothering her. He paused as he came up towards a male who was so obviously Miu's brother...and a young cub, undoubtedly one of her two nieces.
Sudi:
Sudi glanced up when Warda stopped singing and moved to huddle at his side. She was such a sweet, timid little girl, completely unlike her mother. Or any of her female relatives for that matter. He saw a male approaching, one of his fellow pride members, but he didn't recognize the lion. His markings looked similar to the royal family's, but he wasn't a prince, that Sudi knew.
Deciding that there was no threat to his baby, Sudi leaned down to give her a lick to the forehead before going back to work. If the male approached them, fine by him, but for all Sudi knew he would simply pass on and keep moving.
Maa'sen:
When Sudi looked up and then...looked back down Maa gave a soft sigh. Obviously the male had no idea, oh well time to enlighten him. He walked closer and then sat down before the two and cleared his throat a bit.
"You are Sudi? Miu's brother?" He looked down and offered the small female a smile and tilted his head. "You must be one of Miu's nieces, but are you Thali...or Warda? She says your both so beautiful so it's hard for me to put a name to your pretty face."
Sudi:
Sudi frowned as he paused again, the he stiffened when the male continued talking, when he addressed Warda. His daughter peaked out from around his hip, but he put one heavy paw to the ground between her and the stranger, blocking her view with his leg. He looked down at her, his features as soft as he could make them.
"Warda, baby, go back to mummy," he said softly, nodding in the direction of the den. It wasn't far, in sight in fact. He never took his cubs far from the den when he went to craft. Her ears perked up at him, but she nodded slowly before running off.
Sudi watched her go for a moment before he turned back to the male.
"You seem to have me at a loss. You know so much about me and mine and yet I know nothing about you," he replied, eyes narrowed though he managed to keep a growl out of his voice. He kept saying Miu's name, that he'd talked to her and she had told him about the family. He didn't like the idea of his baby sister hanging around guys. The wrong kind of guy could hurt a pretty girl like Miu without even really realizing it. He'd always been worried about hurting Osy, her feelings mostly. He had always been a cool youngster, except for when his temper flared, he still had trouble reading his mate's emotions right sometimes.
Maa'sen:
"Of course...forgive me, I am Maa'sen." He watched as Warda left and then turned back to Sudi. "Your daughter is very pretty..." Compliments were nice right? They put people at ease and made them friendly? He hoped.
"I've actually come to have a chat with you about Miu...we've...we've had a few outings together and well I felt that it was time to come have a chat with you. She's always spoken so much about her big brothers, and how much she adores her nieces and nephews." This was going well...smoothly, yes this wouldn't be hard at all..if he could just get his mouth to form the words he wanted instead of rambling.
Sudi:
Oh yeah, Sudi definitely didn't like this guy.
Worse, he'd been right all along. Miu was going off to meet with a guy, probably most of the times she managed to get away from him. His sister was damn clever when she wanted to be, his other brothers weren't as attentive... or as pushy as he was, and since he'd married and had his cubs he'd been a bit too busy to tail his sister. His parents told him to lay off her, that she was grown up. But he just wanted to keep her from getting hurt.
Sure, he knew that sometimes he wasn't going about it the right way, but he didn't know how else and no one else was stepping up to the job.
He really hated that his sister lied to him.
"Mmhmm..." If his eyes could narrow any further, he'd be squinting at Maa'sen.
"And what, exactly, did you wish to talk about?" he asked, the growl just barely evident this time.
Maa'sen:
Hmm, maybe this wasn't going as well as he had hoped, infact it seemed like Sudi was glowering at him, and his tone...left a lot to be desired. He was trying to be friendly after all, he felt an itch along his spine the desire to growl back at the way Sudi's question came out. Still he controlled it and cleared his throat instead. He was trying to make things easier for Miu, not harder, he wanted a chance to court her and that wasn't going to happen if he pissed off her family.
"Well...Miu and I...that is to say I feel very close to Miu, and I know she feels a bit...smothered-" He cut himself off quickly and tried to fix his flub. "I mean not that your smothering her, it's just that well your overprotective tendencies tend to make things a bit difficult for her..." Uh oh...this wasn't exactly the speech of devotion he'd had prepared.
"I mean! I mean that I really care for Miu...and it would mean a lot to me, and to her I'm sure if we could have some private time for ourselves to see how relationship might develop...without...interference."
Sudi:
Smothered. Overprotective. Interference. Each word was a familiar litany from his dear sister, causing his ears to flick back in displeasure. So what if he was overprotective? She'd never been hurt, so hadn't he done right by her? Doubt grew in him and that only made him more put out. He didn't like to question himself. If he did, a lot of good things probably wouldn't have happened.
He looked Maa'sen up and down. It annoyed him that the male looked strong, as built as he and his father were. He was probably a guardian or a hunter, he didn't think there were many in the pride like him. An artisan built like a fighter and just as ready to fight as one of the guardians, just not as trained. He fought with Zaph sometimes, less now that they weren't training. His true calling in life had been to be an artisan, but he always thought it was good to know how to protect those you loved.
Like now.
"I really don't think that's going to happen," he replied, standing and pushing perfume tools aside with a smooth swipe of one paw.
Maa'sen:
Maa frowned at the males attitude, he felt his lip lift in a faint snarl but tried to smooth his features again and retain his calm. He wasn't here to fight, Miu didn't want him to fight, she just wanted a bit of freedom, and he wanted the freedom to spend time with her. Still he knew his tone was challenging and he moved into a more defensive stance.
"I'm afraid you misunderstand, I came to tell you of my desire to court your sister, but if you don't agree then I'm sorry...but there is nothing that will stop me from remaining at Miu's side as long as she wishes to continue our friendship."
Sudi:
In less than a heartbeat, Sudi saw red. He knew he shouldn't have lost his temper. It was a stupid thing to do. He shouldn't fight one of his own pride members, should fight anyone really, but honestly he didn't want to listen to reason at that moment. All he wanted to think about right then was that this guy was hanging around his sister and he damned sure didn't like it.
Claws sheathed carefully in his paws, he lunged forward, swiping the heavy paw at the other male, aiming the "punch" at the side of Maa's head.
Maa'sen:
Maa hadn't gotten into the guardian ranks by slacking, he ducked and then hurled his large frame right at Sudi. He felt his claws slide out but quickly rolled aside, he wasn't supposed to be fighting this male. This was Miu's brother...but damn was this guy getting on his last nerve, and he had always considered himself pretty easygoing. He danced to his feet and growled at Sudi his ears falling back.
Sudi:
Sudi growled when Maa'sen dodged past him, noting two things at once. One, the male didn't attack, and two, his claws were still out. A tally started in his head.
He turned quickly, not as nimble on his feet as a dancer, not at quick as a guardian. But what he lacked in dexterity, he certainly made up for in brute force and stubbornness.
He feinted an attack to one side and lunged again, intending to tackle Maa'sen to the ground so that he could get a few good pummels in.
Maa'sen:
Maa was built for offense not defense, but he worked at it anyway his paws dancing as he avoided an attack and half a lunge, but then Sudi tackled him. He let the force take him down but rolled with him to gain the upper paw. Sparring he might had taken the chance to throw in a few swift hits. but instead he forced himself back again and snarled.
"You could beat me black and blue, but you aren't going to be able to keep me from her!"
Sudi:
A couple of rough smacks to Maa'sen's ear and cheek was all Sudi got before he was rolled and damned if his opponent just jumped away again.
"But I sure as hell can try!" Sudi growled back and tried again to get Maa'sen to the ground. Whether he was trying to beat some sense into the younger male or giving him a taste of what could happen if he ever, EVER hurt his sister, even Sudi didn't know. All he knew was that it was making him feel a lot better, fighting Maa'sen, for a number of reasons he hadn't quite admitted yet.
Maa'sen:
"You can't keep Miu in a bubble! Don't you care about HER happiness? You have a family of your own now, what makes you think she doesn't want the chance to find someone special for herself?" Maa growled and was forced to back up again even as he felt Sudi's paw knock against his face. He snarled and then pushed forward his paw coming up to try and push the other male back tired of being forced into the defensive.
Sudi:
Sudi stumbled back from the shove, teeth bared.
"Of course I care! Her heart is the one thing I can't even begin to figure out how to heal if anything happened to it," he snapped back, jerking his head in an agitated action. Miu seemed to be the only one who didn't seemed to get that. He remembered times when she'd gotten hurt when they were little and he'd been powerless to help make it better. But he knew now, who best to help her whenever she was injured. But hurt feelings? He had no idea on that.
Not wanting to talk anymore about the issue, not at the moment anyways, he lunged again.
Maa'sen:
Maa growled and sidestepped the lunge ramming against Sudi's side as best as he could trying to knock the wind...and stubborness out of the male.
"Maybe that's because YOUR not the one who can heal her heart!" He could feel the desire to really push, to let his claws loose, to grab Sudi with his jaws and shake sense into him.
Sudi:
Sudi let out a grunt as he was shoved, hard, and sent rolling. But oddly enough, he came up with what might have been a grin on his face. It was only there for a moment, a heartbeat, but... but it had been there, right?
He let Maa'sen yell, he wasn't in the mood to listen anymore. He'd said his piece, in part, and he was tired of talking. He rolled his shoulders once and then charged again, as stubborn as his sister was when his mind was set to something.
Still, he never let loose his claws or open his mouth when he was attacking, always blunt swipes, shoves, and grapples.
Maa'sen:
Maa was too annoyed to notice the faint flash of what may have been a grin. He thought of Miu, of how upset she would be if he took a hard swipe at her brother. He didn't want to fight, he just wanted Sudi to give him some space so he could woo Miu...without her constantly having to feel sneaky.
He huffed as Sudi charged into him and growled quickly moving back onto his feet and letting his paw shoot out towards Sudi's back. If he had to grapple him down to the sand to get him to agree to back off then he would.
Sudi:
Sudi tackled Maa'sen and sent both of them rolling in the sand again.
The fighting went on for a fair bit longer, finally ending with both males in a heap. The left side of Sudi's face and ribs were tender where Maa'sen had struck him, his back sore from being shoved to the ground. Maa'sen probably wasn't much better off, Sudi wasn't a pushover, and he had definitely been persistent.
Bright green eyes studied the sky above him as he lay on his back, breathing slowly.
"So... you really want to court my sister, huh?"
Maa'sen:
Sore, he was sore all over, it had been a struggle to stay on the defensive, but Sudi was tired out...and so was he. His tongue lolled out as he caught his breath, he felt a painful throbbing around his ribs and his face felt pretty trampled.
"Obviously..." He replied with a low groan.
Sudi:
Sudi was quiet for a few more moments, considering everything slowly. Methodically.
Finally a slow sigh escaped him and he closed his eyes.
"Okay." He rolled over and sat slowly up, feeling something pop in his back. He needed to get back home to the tender ministrations of his sweetheart. But he needed to make one thing clear first, though.
"You'd better take damn good care of her though, you got that? Or next time I won't go easy. Don't think Zaph or Ju will, either," he said, giving Maa'sen a rough, yet almost brotherly swat to his shoulder.
Maa'sen:
"Okay?" He lifted his head surprised and waiting...waiting, aha here came the catch. Except the request was reasonable, infact it was great. That was exactly what he wanted, to care for Miu, and now it seemed he had her brothers approval. Well that made things a bit easier...he hoped. He gingerly moved onto his feet and winced a bit at the swat before nodding.
"Miu can take care of herself you know...but...don't worry I wouldn't let anything happen to her, and I have no intention of causing her any pains."
Sudi:
Sudi turned away from Maa'sen, frowning at the guardian's words. He knew Miu could take care of herself. But that didn't mean she didn't need protecting sometimes. He knew his sister well enough to know she never did anything halfway. She would open her heart entirely to this male if she was going to at all and he hated the thought of her being that vulnerable.
But knowing that Maa'sen wouldn't let anything hurt her, especially himself, he let his worrying go with a turn of his head to show Maa'sen his nod of approval. At least for the moment.
"I'll see you around," was all he said in reply before he walked to his things, gathered them in the pelt bag he used, and headed towards home.
Maa'sen:
Right then, he gave Sudi a nod...that was the oddest conversation he'd ever had. If it could be called a conversation it had been more like some kind of brawl, a test, some challenge. He felt sore, tired, and confused, and he had a sinking suspicious Miu wasn't going to be very happy when he shared his good news. Oh she'd be happy eventually but he suspected she'd be ticked off about the skirmish and the fact he had come alone to talk to Sudi. Ah well, he just had to be honest and explain to her how important it was to him...to be able to enjoy their time together without shadowing concerns and sneaking about.
