[PRP] We're all adults here (Msrah, Zehoret, Tay)

[Annchen]

The sun had set and while the stone floor on the courtyard was still retaining the heat from the sun, the temperature was getting much more tolerable. Msrah was really looking forward to some adult interaction after a full day of chasing after cubs, being chewed on, having his mane pulled and generally being used as a jungle gym. He needed to talk to someone using full length sentences for a change, and he knew that Tay and his new friend Zehoret would understand. They were nannies too after all.

Being male he tended to get stuck with the rowdier kids, but he didn't really mind. He arched his back to stretch his abused muscles and looked around to see if his friends were here yet. He had talked one of his hunter siblings into giving him a couple of nice bones with some meat and marrow left. He miiight have given the impression that it was going to be used as a snack for the kids, but nannies needed comfort food too so he was not going to feel guilty about it.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Tay usually got to deal with the very youngest cubs. She had never been much of a scholar, and so it was deemed best not to have her going over lessons with the older cubs, and despite her willingness to help them in other ways, her sunny personality was best suited to dealing with the very young ones, she was told. It wasn't as if she minded, only they did tend to cry a lot more, and sometimes it bothered Tay that she was no longer as upset by their distress as she used to be. She wondered if it made her a bad person.

"Msrah!" she exclaimed gratefully as she saw her sand-colored friend settling in the courtyard. She would've been happy to see any of the large group of lions she considered her friends, but Msrah understood her in ways most of them couldn't, because of their shared profession.

She trotted over and flopped down gracelessly next to him, but not so close as to touch him. It was still too hot to touch people if it wasn't necessary. The tip of her tongue protruded past her teeth just a little, as close to panting as she had ever gotten, brought on by heat and weariness.

"How're you?" she asked.  

[Annchen]

Princess_Feylin

NovaCracker

((So sorry! I was sure I had tagged this, but apparently only in my head razz ))

Msrah finished his stretch with a grimace and then smiled at Tay. He could see Zehoret approaching too and grinned even wider. It would be nice with a bit of adult time. Working with the cubs made him feel young some days and really, really old other days.

"Hello Tay," he said to Tay, "I'm a bit sore. Akiiki tried to see if my earring would come off if he dangled from it... But as you can see my ear and earring is still attached. I see you survived the day too."

He nudged the bones towards the two lionesses, and flopped over on his side in a relaxed half sitting, half lying down pose.

"Hello Zehoret," he said and turned to the paler lioness, "How was your day?"  

[Princess_Feylin]

Annchen

Tay winced in sympathy. She frequently had to deal with younger cubs who had similar questions on their mind, but she had learned long ago never to let them actually get any sort of grip on her earrings. It hurt entirely too much when they tugged, and she'd once seen another nanny nearly have her ear torn through by a particularly determined hanger-on. Involuntarily she shuddered at the memory.

"I'm glad to see you're all in one piece," she said truthfully. "Would it sound like bragging to say that no one tried to dismember me today?"

At the approach of another lioness Tay turned up the wattage on her smile and greeted her, taking her cue from Msrah for the lioness's name. She was familiar, as most members of the pride tended to be, but that did not mean Tay would have known her name without prompting. Most of her name-memorizing abilities went toward keeping straight the names of her young charges and remembering which cubs went with which parents.

"Hello, Zehoret," she echoed.  

[Annchen]

Princess_Feylin

NovaCracker

"To no dismembering," he cheered and chomped down on one of the bones, "A bit like bragging perhaps, but always nice to avoid bodily harm."

He hadn't seen too many injuries among his fellow nannies, but once in a while something happened. It was far more common with bumps and bruises among the cubs. Some youngsters just seemed to attract trouble sort of like white patches of fur attracted dirt... And you did have to be prepared for the occasional youngster trying teeth or claws on their caretakers.

"It's silly really," he said with a short laugh, "We wear these shiny, dangly 'toys' and we're surprised when the cubs try to use them."

He wouldn't want to remove them at work, however... The jewelry was part of their identity and history so he'd take his chances.  

[Princess_Feylin]

NovaCracker

Annchen

"Hm...You're right, Msrah. I can't say I've thought of it that way, but our jewelry must present a great deal of temptation to young cubs."

She gazed contemplatively at the bracelet of hematite beads she wore around her forepaw, but her thoughts were drawn not to the cubs who might be tempted by it nor to her mother who had made it for her. Instead she found herself thinking of the young lion who had replaced it on her paw once when it came off. She had fallen for him in that moment, awkward and solemn as he was, and yet she had never acted on her feelings in any way except for a mischievous thank-you peck.

"Perhaps tomorrow I can organize a treasure hunt or something. That way they can have shinies of their own."  

[Annchen]

Princess_Feylin

NovaCracker

"That's a great idea," Msrah said, "It should help burn off some energy too..."

He started to think about potential treasures that a cub might enjoy. The birds and gods up on the roof might be willing to part with a shiny feather or two, and rocks were a good suggestion too. He remembered enjoying skulls and larger bones for playthings, but they might not be treasure material.

"I remember gettin my first mane ornament," he said and grinned, "I felt like a really big boy."

He suddenly realised that Zehoret still lacked much of the jewellery that lions and lionesses born in the pride took for granted, and he felt sheepish for not noticing sooner. Took him long enough... He wondered if she felt left out.

"We should get you some pretties too," he said and gave her a friendly head butt, "But perhaps not rocks..."

((I got a pretty! Msrah the jungle gym))  

[Princess_Feylin]

NovaCracker

Annchen

Tay nodded and her thoughts drifted back to the conversation at hand. Planning wasn't really one of her talents, and so she was content to let Zehoret and Msrah handle most of it. Coming up with the idea in the first place and having it meet with general acceptance and approval was satisfying enough for her.

At Msrah's remark about getting his first mane ornament Tay's grin mimicked his. She had been so very proud when she was given her first adornments, too. She had felt so pretty and grown up as her mother tied the beads into the fluff of fur on her head.

"Msrah's right. You could use a few more sparkly things to wear," she said to Zehoret.

Meanwhile she made every effort not to look speculatively between the pair. Was there something going on there? Tay had always hoped Msrah would find someone to be with and make him happy, but she would've preferred it was someone she knew more about. He was, after all, her best friend and it would take a very special lady to be good enough for him.

That's adorable, Annchen. Congratulations!  

[Annchen]

Princess_Feylin

NovaCracker

"Why should anyone be offended," Msrah asked, genuinely puzzled, "Most adults wear some kind of jewelry, and there is enough to go around..."

The temple held many treasures left behind by long dead humans. Some were already adapted to fit the ancient lions living there with them, and some could be adapted to be worn by lions with some creativity. Msrah knew nothing of the past inhabitants of the temple, but he did know that the pride had an abundance of shiny metal jewelry.

He hoped he hadn't offended her by suggesting a bit of bling.

"You are pretty without jewelry too," he said, and then winced a little at how corny that sounded. "I mean... errr..." He decided to cut his losses and shut up now.  

[Princess_Feylin]

NovaCracker

Annchen

Tay nodded firmly. "Msrah's right. There's a great deal of jewelry to be shared around. My mother can even be persuaded sometimes to help fashion new pieces or adapt the old ones to be worn by lions."

It was half a question, half an offer, although there had been no interrogative inflection. If Zehoret wanted her to, Tay would ask her mother to assist her in acquiring some decorative pieces. With her mother's fondness for gemstones and rocks, Tay knew more about them than most people, but she had no gift for crafting.

"He means that we wear jewelry because it pleases us, and not because we are particularly concerned about enhancing our good looks. At least most of us. If you don't want to wear it, there's no need for you to do so. You haven't any need for enhancement in that way."

Actually, that probably wasn't much more coherent than Msrah's attempt, but Tay had to step in and try to rescue her friend from his verbal fumbling. He definitely liked this girl, she decided.