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 Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:37 pm
Keeping his head low and hears ears perked, Pumilio was headed back to his beloved after a night of hunting. He ached to see her face, to watch her wake up as the sun slowly followed him. It was like waiting for that special treat after being praised; every look she gave him was a gift, like the gods had asked her to give him this one happiness themselves.
He had left with an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach; they had gotten into a disagreement, mainly Avani questioning him about his reasoning and his requests of her. She was too much of a free spirit to be bound like this, but you had to keep your precious things locked up and safe at home, right? At least, that's what he had grown to believe.
Padding along, the night seemed far from over, but he knew that dawn was approaching. In his mouth he carried the lifeless body of a hare; he had left in an angry huff, so he thought the least he could do was bring something nice back for Avani. He knew that she'd forgive him, but he still felt rather guilty about the whole affair. He hated being angry with her.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:59 pm
Rolling from one side to the other, Avani had been having a rough time sleeping. She had hated being mad at Pumilio, but sometimes he could just be far too domineering. And she put up with a lot. To him, it probably didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary, especially when he was taking care of her when she was young. But now that she was an adult, and they were together - she knew the lines needed to be redrawn.
With most of his rules and regulations, she was happy to abide. And that was usually far more than the average leopardess would do. She knew he was prideful, violent, and tended to be more than a bit possessive, but those were all qualities she had come to love about him. In a way, Avani really liked being pushed around.
But every once in awhile, when she needs some time to herself to just breathe, he always goes a little crazy. It was just that one little thing that she wanted; she'd give him the world, if he'd asked. That's why, when she caught sight of something moving towards her from off in the distance, she could feel that anger building again. What made it all worse was the fact that he had stormed off, not willing to hear her side at all, and now, here he was, trying to slink his way back as if nothing happened at all.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:13 pm
Flicking his eyes up towards the small hill he had left Avani on, he knew she was probably restless. It almost worried him, seeing a vague shadow of body just laying there; he had expected that she would be up, pacing, or even gone from that place. In the past, when he had upset her - really upset her - she had left, as he had, in a fit of rage. Though, when that happened, Pumilio generally became blinded in a depressive rage, taking his frustration out on any and everything around him. Maybe that's why she was still there; last time, she had been the one to take his rage. When he came to, she was back in front of his eyes, and everything seemed better, but...he knew what had happened.
She loved that caring side of her. She had tried so hard to hide the scar - when he found it, he felt like something had ripped a whole in him. But she just smiled and said 'it's okay.' She really must've been sent from the gods just for him.
Pausing for a moment, he took in a deep breath. He didn't have anything to say to her, anything to make her happy. He had thought long and hard about their argument; he wanted to allow it, just this one thing, but it was so hard for him to let her out of his sight without knowing exactly where she was. But...it would make her happy.
Shaking his head, he tried to gather his strength for this. He needed everything he had to keep from getting mad, from just repeating everything that they were trying to overcome. Padding closer to her dark figure, he stopped just a few feet away, slowly lowering his kill to the ground.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:25 pm
Avani could hear his footsteps. It was the same thing, every time. They'd fight, he'd leave, and then come back the next day trying to softly convince her that he was right. It seemed like...it was always like that. And, looking back on it, she couldn't believe that she had fallen for it each and every time. So, after all that, she deserved this one, right?
Taking in a deep breath, she turned away just before he neared her. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for whatever conversation was to come. She didn't want to give this up; she needed this.
Hearing the soft thump against the ground, Avani could smell the fresh kill. Slowly, she pushed herself up, facing away from Pumilio the entire time. Part of her was scared; she knew what he could do when he got angry. She remembered what he's done.
Turning her head to the side, she let him see her profile. Her eyes were down, and she tried to keep from shaking. She didn't want to look at his face; partly because she didn't want to see what expression he was making right then. Plus, it helped her keep her strength and willpower.
"I'm standing firm on this, Pumilio." Her voice was soft, but, for once, held some authority in it. She glanced over at the lump of fur that was the dead hare, but only for a moment.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:37 pm
He didn't like not being able to see her face. It hurt, this kind of shunning. That alone let him know just how serious she was. It was true, in the past he had usually just used his charms and her affection for him to get whatever he wanted, twisting her around his little paw. And he was happy to do it, too, since he was the type that liked getting exactly what he wanted, without any fuss. He had gotten so used to doing it, too, since that had been the best way to keep track of Avani when she had been just a cub.
But now, it felt a little wrong manipulating her like that. He loved her so much, and wanted the best for her, but maybe the best meant a little less pushing from him. After all, she had already been fairly receptive to his insistence on starting a family.
Leaning his head down, he carefully nosed the small carcass closer to her. "Avani..." His voice was soft and quiet; he really wanted to come across as being sincere. Raising his head, his eyes searched for hers, but to no avail. He could see she was avoiding his gaze, and it stung a bit. "I...know this means a lot to you. And I'm...sorry for leaving you alone last night." Looking down, his brow was furrowed; apologizing wasn't really his strong suit. "I just want you to know where I'm coming from on this."
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:10 pm
Sliding her ears back, Avani could feel her rage. It grew as her heart pumped, beating faster as his words came out. It was rare that she got angry; and really, he was the only one she ever got angry at. Maybe it was because she cared so much for him, that it drew this part of her out from the depths of her soul.
"...where you're coming from?" Closing her eyes, Avani could feel herself start to snarl. Her tail flicked back and forth in the dirt behind her, and her muscles tensed. She knew where this was about to go, and for once, she was on the delivering side.
"All I've ever done is see where you're coming from!" Twisting her body around, she quickly came to be in a standing position, looking like she was ready to fight. Her words were hard, and her fangs were barred with each one. It felt like everything inside her, all this time, from every fight, had been building up within her, and was all exploding out now. "You don't...you don't understand it, do you? How wrapped up you keep me." Looking at him, her brow drooped - she was pleading now.
Chest heaving, she took steps closer to him, raising her paw next of his maw. "You twist and turn and do your little dance, and then here I am, chained down even more than when we started." Her paw was shaking; she wanted to hit him, so hard, to give him a scar like the one she had. But part of her really just believed that he was blinded by his own love, and he just couldn't see it.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:23 pm
Standing there, Pumilio was nervous. He could tell from the way her body suddenly became frigid that he had just said something incredibly stupid. In retrospect, it was probably something he should've kept to himself. After all, he had approached her with the intention of resigning on this issue. Some things, though, were hard to get rid of.
"I know, I know..." He watched her as she turned on him; he'd never seen her this angry. She'd never snarled at him before, and he knew that he had pulled this out of her. And even now, as she stood before him ready to tear into him, there was still a flicker of fight in him that he had to try so badly to suppress.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry my love." Dropping his eyes, he didn't flinch at all as her paw came flying towards his face. He expected it, now; in fact, he kind of felt like he deserved it, putting her into a fit like this. To him, no guilt came from their previous argument; everything he felt bad about was forcing her to show this face to him, bringing this darker side of her out. Part of him, though, as he looked at her fierce eyes and sharpened fangs, felt a little happy that he was seeing this. He was the only one to see this side of her, and that thrilled him to no end. He wanted every part of her to himself, and not let anyone even lay eyes on her.
But, he knew she would wither away if he had his way. And, in all fairness, she had been so well behaved since they had been together. He really felt like the bad guy on this one.
"I can't help it sometimes, and I'm sorry." Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against hers. "I get so blinded with thoughts of you that I don't think of what you actually want."
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:54 pm
Feeling his cool fur against hers, she could feel her heart sink a little. It was almost like...he was doing it again, but this time, with a different twist. Right now, she wanted so badly to be angry, to lash out at him, to make him understand. But with those sweet, sweet words, and those eyes that make her melt, she was finding it hard to keep this up.
"You keep...wanting to keep me in this little cage, with your claws wrapped all around me." Backing away from him, she tried to focus. What was she fighting for right now? If she backed down, if she lost - then what kind of future could she hope to have with him? How could she bring cubs into this world when she couldn't take two steps away from him?
"You can't keep me trapped like this. I don't care how blinded you get! I need you to be able to blow the haze away." Flexing her claws in the dirt, she wanted to lunge at him, to slash into his flesh. She knew that, ultimately, she would lose in a physical fight. As much as Pumilio loved her, he wasn't afraid to push her around, to hurt her until she understood and obeyed. At times, she adored that about him, but when it came to simple freedoms like this, it was hard to press the right buttons to get her point across.
"Pumilio, I need you. So badly it hurts." Softening her expression, she tried to calm her argument, at least for now. "But if you keep me like this, there's no way that I can give you everything you want in this world." She wouldn't say it out loud; she couldn't say it. Ultimately, she was threatening to take away the thing he wanted most in this world.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:19 pm
For a brief moment, Pumilio thought things were fairly settled. He was trying to agree with her, but on his own terms. That was probably a mistake.
Hearing her speak, it almost sounded like she was about to lose everything, like she was going to break. It hurt, watching her like this. He wanted her to get angry, to hit him, to thrash at him until all of her worries and fears went away. But somehow, her reluctance to hurt even more. He knew how much she cared about him, and she was refraining for his sake - for their sake. She didn't want things to end in tatters; she didn't want things to end at all. And neither did he. The last thing he wanted was to lose her; without her, there was no point in moving forward. For all he cared, his body could rot on the land if she wasn't there. The moment she leaves, is the moment he takes his last breath.
"It's...hard for me, to let others see you. You're a blessing from the gods, and I can't bear the thought of losing you, or anything happening to you in the slightest." Dropping his head a little, she probably already knew all of this. They were the same words he spoke every time, to try and ease his guilt.
Taking in a sharp breath, Pumilio could feel a spark of a nasty feeling deep inside him. Her words, so cleverly placed, pulled at him. He knew what she was saying, what she was trying to convey. If she had said it outright, there was a good chance that he would've just flown into a rage, throwing off any progress they had made, and guilt that he had felt. Everything would have been on her, and he knew things would have gotten bad.
"Avani, please..." Moving up to her quickly, he nuzzled her stiff neck. She was serious about this, which meant that there was a big problem between him. "I'll try so hard to better, just for you. So please...don't take that away from me - from us." A future together with her meant everything to him, and he'd do anything to keep it in sight.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:33 pm
Seeing him down like this, Avani felt that it could almost be real; that her goal was almost within reach. She felt a little bad about having to use her last resort, but in all honesty, her fears about it were real. There was no way she'd ever want cubs if they couldn't go out.
"You know, I'm much more durable than you think." Her voice lightened, taking on more of an apathetic tone rather than an angry one. "I mean, I was always on my own, and then I found you. I've learned a lot, and I can take care of myself." Her gaze was far off, watching the slim line of gold that started to appear on the horizon. "You already know that you mean the world to me, Pumilio. You just have to trust in me." That was probably their biggest problem. As much as he could fight and kick and yell and protest, she knew that he didn't trust her existence; he knew she was flawlessly devoted to him, with enough love to fill the sea, but she also knew that he was scared that she was more of a temporal thing. And looking at him now, it looked like a scared cub clinging to its mother, begging her not to leave him alone.
Maybe they had spent too much time together. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to have trusted him completely that day so long ago when he found her, cowering in the brush. She never regretted being with him now, but the means of which they arrived at this spot were definitely in question in her mind.
"I trust you...to change how I need you to change." Closing her eyes for a moment, she flicked them back at him, as if finally putting an end to all this struggle. "If you do that for me, I'll give you anything in the world you ask for." Slowing her breathing, she was exhausted. She hated yelling and fighting, and this had taken so much out of her. It was tough going against him; he always seemed to find such tiny loopholes to escape through. But this time, she knew, she had come out on top.
"Pumilio, I'm so...tired." Moving her paw over the dead hare, she pulled it closer, wanting to keep it for later. "Please don't think that just because this has ended that I'll become complacent. My threat always remains." Giving him a soft nudge, she didn't want to sound too threatening, but she wanted to make sure that the message got across.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:49 pm
Looking at her, Pumilio felt a bit defeated. It wasn't something he felt often, but he was glad that it was her that brought him down. She knew that every word she said was true, but it was just so hard to rid his mind of doubts. He wanted so badly for her to know that he believed in her; that it was just the world he didn't trust. But maybe...she already knew, and that's why she was mad.
"Avani, I'd do anything for you." Squeezing his eyes shut, he almost felt like crying. Things were shifting, and it was all his own fault. But she was too kind, giving him all these chances, all these passes to move forwards and try to overcome his faults. She was sent from the gods, with so much tolerance and love for him that normal females wouldn't have. If it was reversed, he knew that he would've exploded in anger long ago.
Flicking his ears up at the sound of her sliding the dead hare across the dirt, he snapped his head up, eyes wide and watery. Had she forgiven him? Was there still hope for their future together? His mind was both racing and blank at the same time; he didn't know what to make of anything. "If...you're tired, then we should rest, mm?" He stumbled for words, trying to not do anything unnecessary or impudent. "Let's bask in the morning's glow, and I promise things'll be different when you wake." Taking in a deep breath, Pumilio took in all of the sweet scents on Avani's fur. Coiling up around her, he was fairly exhausted, too, and wanted nothing more than to put this fight behind them, only leaving memories of the feel of Avani's soft fur against his.
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