She was exactly like his usual type, but even if she hadn’t been he’d have found a way to win himself into her good graces somehow. He’d only just met Isuzu a few days prior but she seemed more than happy to share his company for the time. There were surprisingly few pretenses to be shared. He was interested in her on a purely surface-deep level and she was only interested in bearing his cubs.
Why exactly hadn’t he set out on his own sooner?
Ah, right. There was the glaringly obvious benefit of life with family and friends all around. If he hadn’t set out on his own he wouldn’t be similarly dragging such a heavy carcass back alone, either.
Two grown lions sharing a bit of companionable silence as they gazed up at the stars overhead, or went on a hunt, or played their own game of courtship-- it was perfect. His spirits were plenty uplifted thanks to the spotty female’s companionship over the course of the week. She gave him the perfect challenge, just the right amount of spunk, confident, assertive—she was a dream come true. It almost seemed a shame to part ways in another few days time but they both knew what too much of a good thing would do. He had plans to find his sister, she wanted to find a place to consider finally settling down. To complicate matters further he met her on his way traveling in the direction she’d just come from. If there was one thing Isuzu was downright unmoving about it was reversing one’s own progress. Looking back, going back to where she came from? Not options. When he asked she never would tell him why that was, and from the way that she seemed to lock up about the topic Umande knew better than to push her by asking. Last time he’d tried she’d been brooding for hours. He loved spending time with her but she was a bit too set in her ways for him to be able to work with. He needed someone more open…
No, things were good as they were. These were Umande’s thoughts as he returned to their most recent den: an outcropping of rocks offering ample shade from sun and shelter from rain. Her pale form was already lying beneath it in the shadows when he strolled up with an appreciative gaze.
“Not a bad sight to come ‘home’ to, if I do say so myself.”
It was always so peaceful and quiet. Having grown up with two sisters and a mother she wasn’t really accustomed to the silence. Tunu might have been on the calmer side with their mother, but with their oldest sister around it had never been like it was now. If for that reason alone she longed for cubs, life was dull wandering as a rogue. Umande was a god-sent, for more reasons than one. If only they didn’t have such drastically different outlooks on life and how to go about it, it would be perfect, and she might be inclined to stay. Since he was unwilling to give up his search and she was unwilling to regress even just in her travels, well…If everything went well she’d be with cubs soon enough. It wasn’t that his company was unpleasant, on the contrary. He avoided topics that caused confrontation so they generally got along very well. It was just that she was tired of having only ONE lion, the same lion to talk to day in and day out. It may be time to suggest moving on again and parting ways soon. Surely she’d managed to conceive by now?
The low rumble of Umande’s voice stirred her from her doze, turning her head in his direction. When she spotted him finally she could feel a slow grin tugging at her muzzle.
Maybe a few more hours wouldn’t hurt.
“I might not have known you long, but I know you well enough to know you hardly consider a place like this home.”
Umande seemed skeptical, rolling his shoulders in an easy shrug, his gaze traveling from her to something in the distance, antsy prey beasts perhaps.
“They do say home is where the heart is.”
Damn, he hadn’t meant to say that, it sounded bad as soon as it was out of his mouth. Gray eyes sought out vivid green in time to catch the skeptical look.
”You don’t mean to say you’re falling for me, do you? We had a clean cut agreement, Umande…”
Despite the words themselves she didn’t intend to belittle him if that was how he felt about her, but if that was the case then they’d need to split up immediately. Isuzu just wasn’t capable of dealing with the complication of love in this situation.
As it turned out she needn’t have worried. To Umande, who had grown up around stoic faced siblings and adults it was obvious by her body language that she wasn’t intending to upset or offend, and that aside he didn’t feel that way for her. He quickly lifted a paw and waved dismissively, rapidly.
“Oh no! Ha ha, it’s nothing like that!”
She gave him an eye roll.
“Well you don’t have to make it sound like I look like the wet end of a hyena’s backside. “
Was she genuinely offended? No, but she rolled over onto her side with her back to him for show anyway. She could hear his pawsteps a moment later and then felt the heat of his breath tickling her skin beneath her fur. Damn him, his voice in her ear causing her fur to bristle pleasantly.
“Oh… trust me, you look nothing like the wet end of anything’s backside. If you’d like for me to prove it to you in apology, though…”
He purposely let his words trail as his tongue slid along her cheek just as suggestively. If the way that she laid silent was any indicator then Isuzu was giving his proposition serious thought.
Umande smirked, drawing back away from her to see what her answer would be, but even before she fixed him with that gaze that promised revenge they both knew.
She narrowed those pretty eyes at him and remained silent for a few moments before finally relenting.
“… I suppose I could let you TRY.”
His chuckle was met by one of her paws coming up to press against the front of his muzzle, shushing him.
Maybe a few more days wouldn’t hurt, either…
Once again he had to marvel on this. Best move he’d ever made. Best case of right-place right-time EVER. He was sure going to miss her when he was gone again traveling alone—at least until the next pretty face came along. His look was triumphant, nothing short of it. “Well in that case I shouldn’t waste a minute.”
Rest could wait, that much was for sure.
(ooc: 1,155)
