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 Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:43 pm
Sitting atop a small hill, Avani looked out at the horizon, a distant look on her face. She was so nervous, and she was currently trying to clear her head to calm her nerves. She knew what was going to happen - what she needed to do. Today was the day she would finally give the official word to Pumilio about this whole family mess.
He had been pushing for some time, and she had been so very reluctant for the longest time, noting the various problems they had in their relationship. They had all weighed on her heavily; she knew that she could take it, but she wasn't too sure if she should bring a family into this kind of situation. But while she was off, contemplating the situation over and over in her head, she got some amazing advice from a few other females, both from very different strokes of life. They had shown her that she could, in fact, overcome the difficulties she had seen. The only problem now was actually discussing it through-and-through with Pumi himself.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 12:14 pm
Taking his steps slowly, Pumilio was returning from a hunt, a small dead gazelle dangling from his mouth. He was glad that he wasn't coming back empty-handed, though it took him a little longer than usual to hunt this meal down. It was strange - his head just didn't seem to be in the game today at all. He'd been on edge for a while now, mostly because of the issue that had been hanging over his head. If he thought about it carefully, he knew it was probably too much to force his willful ideas on Avani the way he had; but he just wanted to create a family with the girl he loved so much.
He had begun to go out hunting much more frequently to just get away from the awkward tension; he had initially told Avani it was to practice in case they decided to go ahead and start a family. In truth, he did want to be ready for that kind of situation, but he felt that he could already provide more than enough. And now, walking back to where he knew she would be, he found it hard to make his paws go forward. Although he was the one who had asked for so many things - to have a family, to join a group of leopards - he was also beginning to feel the nervousness and stress that he saw on Avani's face. And today, he could feel, something was sure to change.
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 10:19 pm
Closing her eyes for a few moments, Avani tried to go over her ideal situation in her head. She would start out saying this, and he would say that, and then she'd follow up with this....right? Of course, everything rolled so much smoother in her mind. With her luck, nothing would go the way she wanted, all of her planning and calming would have been for nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Opening her dark eyes, she could see the pale figure of her beloved, his familiar red and orange spots hovering on his shoulders. Gazing at him from afar, she couldn't help but smile; he looked so gorgeous, with his muscled shoulders and big paws. It was all aided, of course, by the fact that he was currently carrying home dinner. Avani was glad that he was fully capable of providing for them both, but she kind of missed the feeling of the hunt. Maybe she'd be able to start hunting again once these changes happened; once she'd agree with Pumi about joining up with the others. Taking in a deep breath, she flicked her eyes up towards the sky, she waited for him to get closer to actually engage him.
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 10:49 pm
Eyes tracing the ground for a few steps, Pumilio was a little nervous upon approaching Avani. Until he got up close, he didn't dare to look at her, in case she was looking at him with cold eyes. It was nerve wracking, he knew, for both parties, entering in on a new conversation. Sure, they were still at-odds with each other, but they'd act as if everything was all good and fine until the subject was brought up again.
And this time, he wasn't going to be the one to do it.
After their last little bout of fights, he had decided to lay off, and let things cool. Knowing Avani, she'd probably thought of nothing else since, and maybe it'd lead to some sort of reconciliation. At least, that's what he hoped for.
Coming up the hill, he could see Avani's brown figure in his peripheral vision. He was hesitant to look at her, but once he had plopped the dead gazelle down in front of her, he managed a smile, looking at her directly. She seemed a little...different this time.
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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 11:00 pm
Feeling a lump rise in the pit of her stomach, Avani was actually feeling a little....excited about this. She knew that he'd be overjoyed to hear her new opinions on the different matters they had discussed, and she always loved to see him happy. Of course, at this point, her stubbornness almost seemed like a complete waste of time and energy, and had put them through so much. But, at the time, she really didn't feel ready for anything that he had suggested. It was all just a bit...sudden for the young leopardess.
Hearing his footsteps, she let her mouth drop open slightly. Her eyes slowly lowered, a little nervous about meeting his for the first time in a good while. But as he smiled at her, her nerves were set at ease.
"...Pumi. Th-thanks for dinner tonight." Trying to hide her nerves, she did her best to make some small talk before diving in.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:39 pm
Taking in a deep breath, Pumilio let a soft smile rise onto his face. He was so glad that she was being kind towards him, sweet even. When they had fought in the past, she would even go as far as to not eat whatever he had brought back, going off for hours without saying a word to find her own dinner. Maybe things were looking up for the two of them.
"Oh, it really was nothing." Plopping himself down, he laughed lightly, feeling a prideful lump in his chest. "I hope...I didn't take too long. You weren't sitting here hungry, were you?" Flicking his eyes back up at her nervously, he felt like he was a young adolescent courting his first female. But maybe it was a good thing for them, going back to basics. If things continued to stretch the way they had been, who knows how much longer they would be able to hold onto each other.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:00 pm
Watching him, Avani could tell that Pumilio was treading carefully. It had become a habit of his, doing something rude or brash, and then creeping back, like a small cub hoping for forgiveness. She knew he didn't like it when they fought - she hated it as well. So it was nice to have a little time where they could just be decent with each other, like they were before.
"Oh, come now." Softening her gaze, she got up from where she had been sitting, taking a few steps to situate herself right up beside him. His fur was soft, just like she remembered, and so warm. "I know you always work so hard for my sake." Resting her head lightly on his shoulder, she stared down at the kill before them, not actually looking at it at all.
"You know, Pumi...we need to talk about something." Curling her tail up behind them, it was a conversation she knew both of them had dreaded. But this time, at least, there was good news to be had from it.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:29 pm
Keeping his eyes on Avani, he was a little nervous when she came over to sit next to him. It was so nice, though, and just like old times. They used to just curl up at night, eat their meal right next to each other and fall asleep.
That's why, when the last words came out of her mouth, he felt his heart sink. It was like she was softening the blow by doing all of these sweet things. "What...what is it, exactly, that we need to talk about?" Looking down at the kill, his eyes were a little wider than normal. His ears were back, flattened against his head, and he swallowed nervously. So this was why things seemed different today? He desperately hoped that whatever they needed to talk about was something positive, rather than the other way around.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 10:35 pm
Giving his chin a little nudge with the top of her head, Avani tried to comfort her mate. She was actually kind of looking forward to telling him that she finally agreed with him on their future; his face, she knew, would be priceless, and she loved nothing more than seeing her mate happy.
"Pumi, listen..." She paused a moment, trying to better collect her words; it would mean next to nothing if she couldn't say it just right. "I was thinking about what we - what you were really wanting for us." She felt a little bad starting this way, as it made it seem like she was going to bring nothing but bad news, but she had to; otherwise, it would seem like she was just being stubborn the entire time, without any of the doubts or fears that she had had. "I was so worried about it when you first brought it up. A colony, a family - all of those things seemed like really big changes to me." Taking in a slow breath, Avani tried to keep her voice soft and sweet. "I mean, we are still young, so I hadn't even begun to entertain any of those ideas. I was content just being by your side." Looking up at him, she gave him a small smile.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 11:49 pm
Sitting there, Pumilio felt frozen. He was stiff, and found it difficult to even breathe. Waiting on her words, his chest moved heavily, and time seemed to stand still. This was pretty much the final word on the subject, and Pumilio really didn't want for Avani to give up on the two of them.
Taking in her words, Pumilio felt his heart slowly begin to sink. This was it. This was the let down. He had gotten his hopes up so high, and he loved her so much, so why was it all crashing down like this? Did she not feel the same way anymore? Or was he just being pushy?
Shaking his head a little, he tried to slow his racing thoughts. Things weren't set yet, she hadn't said anything final yet. There had to be hope, right? Flicking his eyes over at her nervously, he felt a ping of relief seeing her smile; smiling was generally a good sign, wasn't it? And hers was so sweet, it could melt away any ice that had formed up inside him.
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 12:18 am
"But..." Avani continued, aided by Pumilio's silence. She hoped he wasn't freaking out or thinking the worst, but she hadn't really given him reason yet to think otherwise. "...because of your words, I did finally start to think about those things." Her smile fading a little, her gaze rested somewhere off in the distance. "I was so naive; I was scared of things changing, and I blocked everything else out." Fidgeting her paws in the soft dirt in front of her, she felt a little embarrassed. Next to him, she felt like such a little cub, far from ready for the world of adults. It was a little sad, really, considering that they had been together for most of their lives, and they were both now adults.
"It took....a lot of thought and convincing, but I really do believe in what you wanted for our future now. I'm only sorry that it took so long for me to realize it and gain confidence in myself." Looking up at him hopefully, she waited for him to do something - anything - with a slight nervous feeling in her chest.
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 12:47 am
It took a few moments for Avani's words to really sink in through Pumilio's thick skull. He had been so prepared for the worst that good news came as a bit of a shock; he wasn't really sure how to handle the news at all.
"You...you mean it? Really?" His breathing starting to quicken, he could barely hide the grin that was emerging on his face. It was everything that he had wanted, all coming together in front of him. "Aaah, Avani, I love you so much." Leaning his head down, he buried his face in her neck, nuzzling it until it literally knocked her over.
"I...I just....oh gosh, I don't really don't know what to say right now." Placing his paws on either side of her head that was now on the ground, he stared at her straight on. "You've made me the happiest creature in the world today, I hope you know that." Pressing his nose against hers, he was utterly thrilled.
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 1:01 am
Staring at him, Avani couldn't help but giggle a little. He was happy, and that's really all that mattered to her. She was just grateful that she was the one who was able to bring him such joy.
"Yup, I really do; with all my heart." Giving a nod, she couldn't very well take it back now. Not that she wanted to, but it definitely felt more final now that he finally said something.
Falling back, her eyes were soft and loving as she looked up at him. Yeah, this was definitely the right idea. "You don't need to say anything else, Pumi. In fact, why don't we just eat our meal and then talk about it more tomorrow, hm?" Putting her paw against his lips, she felt like they were the only creatures in the world, and that nothing else mattered at all.
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