Sihiri:In the morning Sihiri had left the place she'd taken as shelter for when she slept and relocated to one of the trees after a mildly successful hunt. It was such nice shade, a good place for a groom.
As her paw moved across her fur, she hummed a tune her mother taught her. It grew in volume until it was almost like she was singing. Not terribly loud, but it was still audible around her.
She hadn't heard from Atticus since that first day, though she found food until she was strong enough to hunt for herself again. It didn't occur to her that he might be nearby.
Atticus:He had tried to keep his distance. He didn't want her getting used to him, because he didn't want to let her down should he fail her. What he could fail her at he didn't know but he knew that if it could happen, it would. Though she didn't see him, he was around. He watched to make sure she was safe, and until she was capable of hunting for herself he had always left her a meal that would nourish her. She had everything she needed, yet he still felt.. alone. That was probably what drove him to speak to her today. That need of companionship was strong within him, and even if it was just a bit of talking, he would accept it.
He sat behind the rock that he usually watched her from, and he listened to her voice carry the tune. She had a lovely voice, and he found himself closing his eyes so that he could immerse himself within it.
"You have a lovely voice." He finally spoke.
Sihiri:
She jumped with a squeak at the sudden voice, surprised that he was nearby and that she hadn't heard him approach. He was worse than the Ghost!
A paw flew to her heart as she turned towards the sound of the voice. Of course, he wasn't there, she should have guessed that. He wouldn't be anywhere that she would be able to see him. Her heart fell at the thought, she wished he could trust that she wouldn't really find him ugly.
At least, she didn't think she would.
"Atticus? You startled me," she said, trying to find the source of his voice.
Atticus:
"My apologies .Though you should be more cautious." He said. It was an apology, at least, his kind of one anyway. He wanted to see her face when he spoke, but his position behind the rock didn't allow it. He was keeping himself hidden away, as usual. The rock he was behind no different than the hundreds lying around.
"I suppose I could make my presence known next time." Was he telling the truth? Probably not. But that was something he didn't need to share.
Sihiri:
"I'll admit, I've become less cautious here. You're the only other predator I've met here and..." And he knew she believed he wouldn't hurt her. Her skin flushed at the praise, she had never thought singing was something she did particularly well, and yet her rescuer was telling her otherwise.
Sihiri stood and walked from her spot, trying to get closer to him, but every time he spoke was short, she had trouble pinpointing it. In all actuality, she had gotten close, then passed his hiding spot, her back turned towards him when she stopped again.
"You made your presence known, I'm just jumpy, I think."
Atticus:
He could tell she had gotten pretty close to his position when she spoke. Her voice so much closer now than it had been before. He smiled a little, his eyes closing. Though they quickly opened and he sighed.
"If I'm the only predator around, why would you be jumpy?" He asked with a grin that he knew she couldn't see. His heavy pelt shifted on his body, and he wondered if she would indeed find him as ugly as he thought he was. Well of course she would! But he at least wanted to know, for sure.
Sihiri:
Because you make a part of me want to purr, she thought, turning around on instinct without thinking of the consequences. Bright blue eyes met silvery-blue ones framed by brown fur she knew wasn't his for a fraction of a heartbeat before they widened in terror and she jerked her head back around, covering her eyes with her paw.
"Oh, gods, I'm sorry! I know I promised, I swear I didn't mean to, it just happened!" she cried, regret and fear mixed in her voice. Not because of his appearance, no, because she was afraid that because of her mistake he would leave her alone. She was still too weak to even consider finding a way home, she would go mad out here by herself. She didn't want him to go away.
Atticus:
He hadn't thought she would see him, but his eyes widened when they met with hers. He frowned when she quickly turned and covered her eyes. He was sure it was because she thought he was ugly. He knew it. He had known it all along, hence why he had never shown himself before! With an audible frustrated growl he shifted himself to the other side of the rock, keeping away from her view once again.
"You're right, I did ask you to not look at me. And here I stand. Was my face so awful you felt the need to shield your eyes?" He growled, eyes narrowing as he kicked at the dirt under his paws.
Sihiri:
"What? No! It's not..." Sihiri replied, her eyes squeezed tight, not wanting to make it worse. But... she had already broken the promise, she'd already looked at him when she said she wouldn't. What worse could she do?
Her eyes opened again to find him gone again, her body tensing with the fear that she would be alone, that he would leave her be until she was gone. She couldn't have that.
"Atticus, please, I'm sorry. I don't want you to go. I covered them because I thought... maybe you'd be less angry, or... I don't know what I was thinking, I made a mistake." His appearance, he was still worried about that. She tried following his voice again, but more slowly this time, not to repeat her first mistake.
"You didn't look awful at all, not what I saw, even with the pelt... I really only saw your eyes, though..." His gorgeous blue eyes....
Atticus:
Deciding to prove her wrong, to show her just how hideous he really was, he stood from behind the rock, and walked out from around it. Standing at his full height, he seemed to tower over her. His eyes were hard, though they were shining a beautiful blue hue. As lovely as they were, they couldn't hide the cold from within them.
"Then look at me now. This is all the proof you need, I'm sure."
The dark pelt hung over his body, yet you could see the white body with the black and gray tuft of tail. In all actuality he was quite beautiful, but he would likely never see it that way.
Sihiri:
Suddenly he was there, towering over her, her eyes growing wide again. She'd never met a male as big as him and it was as daunting as it was thrilling. Her basest instincts said that he would be a sound protector for a family, that if her father didn't kill her grandfather, this male certainly could. The pelt was such a curious contrast to what fur she could see, and while it was mildly morbid to see one lion wearing the skin of another... He had to be strong to take that other lion down and clever to get the pelt so neatly. And his eyes... They were harsh and cold as they looked down at her.
She shrank back a bit from that gaze, her head tilting down and to one side until her chin almost touched her shoulder.
"I can't," she said with a shake of her head, ashamed that she had made him look at her like that. They had had some weak sort of bond, at least they had been talking nicely to one another. He'd even complimented her singing. And now, the look in his eyes was so cold it gave her shivers.
"Not when you look at me like that." It hurt her for someone to be so angry with her.
Atticus:
"How would you prefer I look? I could hide away again, living in the shadows where I was meant to live. If that would please you." He said. His eyes softened, but only a bit. Right now he was hurt, and he wanted her to run off after seeing what he really looked like. Though, he didn't want her to leave. It was an odd sort of feeling and it pissed him off.
"I'm sorry I was not what you expected."
Sihiri:
She glanced back up and saw that his eyes had softened. Did he know what that did to his appearance? She no longer saw someone who disliked her, but a male who was hurt at the thought that she would find him wanting.
She gave him a small smile.
"Like that. Your eyes are much more handsome when they aren't hard and icy," she replied and moved before her brain could think to stop her. She was in front of him with her paws on his cheeks before another word could be said. One paw brushed some of the second mane from his face.
"Please don't leave."
Her paws fell then and she took a step back, running one over the tuft of fur on her head.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be acting like this." She wasn't herself, that was for certain. But this wasn't a normal situation. And dammit, she wasn't going to be stupid and deny that at least on some levels she was attracted to him. But... all she seemed to be was a bother to him.
Atticus:
He sighed, his eyes looking guarded but no longer the angry gaze they had been. He was aware his eyes could make someone feel as if he was glaring daggers at them, and hell, maybe at times he was wishing that was even possible. He couldn't deny his attraction to her. She was beautiful, everything he had been denied in life.. He wanted to nuzzle her, and wisk her away, and that was why he was as scared as he was of her.
"You do not have to lie, or pity me. I am who I am. I cannot change it." He grinned bitterly.
"Ya know. I have never been scarred or beaten to be the way I am. I was born this way, born ugly and diseased."
No he wasn't diseased, but he felt it, and if anyone was pitying him, it was himself.
"You are lucky you are so beautiful."
s**t..
Sihiri:
"Ugly? I don't..." Sihiri trailed off, standing with a confused frown. She looked at his paws and legs, walked around him to look at his tail. Everything seemed fine to her. She came back around to his front and buried a paw in his mane. It was like any other mane and yet not.
She dipped her head to hide the look of embarrassment on her face when he called her beautiful.
"I wouldn't say that. I stick out like a sore paw. And I'm big for a female, not petite like my mother." She might agree that she was pretty to some degree, but beautiful? Doubtful.
"I don't see, or smell, anything wrong with you." Ah, his smell, she wanted to bury her face in his mane next to her paw.
Atticus:
"You don't know what you see then." He answered simply. His eyes looked away from her. Though he knew that she was beautiful, he figured if she were any smaller she wouldn't physically be able to withstand a male as large as he. Then it was his turn to blush and he thanked the spirits he wore that thick brown pelt over his face.
Sihiri:
"I guess I don't," she replied with a nod, glancing up at him once more before letting her paw fall again. He probably didn't like all the touching she did.
"Regardless, I don't see anything wrong, I'm not afraid of you or anything like that, and I still... enjoy your company." A glance down as she tried to collect her thoughts, and then she was looking back up at him.
"Will you still come if I need you, or sneak up on me with a surprise visit?" Sihiri asked with a smile, throwing in a small bit of humor in the last part.
