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 Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 3:31 pm
 Things had been quiet of late. On the one hand, Yareha was pleased. It meant he got to spend time with his kids (though that term hardly described them, being adolescents already and nearly old enough to move out of his den, and what a relief that would be, to have some personal space again!) and wasn't remiss in any of his duties as a Hunter. He'd even worked off the royal family's ire and was no longer pulling extra duty. Things were going smoothly, or as smoothly as they could, given his history. Things were as calm as they'd been before he'd discovered Aysu's pregnancy. And that was what made the white lion nervous. Maybe he scented something in the air other than the changing of the seasons. Perhaps there was some major change in the offing...for him or the pride he couldn't tell. But, there was no need to convey that worry to anyone else. He didn't want to be the skeleton at the feast, nor did he want to lose what he'd worked so hard to recover. So he'd suck it up and pretend everything was all right.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 3:49 pm
Andama was in a cheerful mood, she had no particular responsibilities or worries so she was free to wander as she liked. She was happy to have Selene back at home, in some ways she liked to live through her older sister- and she was excited that, though it wasn't announced to the entire pride yet, there would soon be more little princes and princesses. She would make a good aunt, she was sure.
She was out for a walk, not going anywhere in particular. Humming, she almost didn't notice Yareha wandering nearby. She had never met him but she knew who he was, even from a distance. Having heard plenty about him, she couldn't help but stop and stare, trying to decide if he looked as bad as he was made out to be.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 3:54 pm
The white lion was lost in thought and kept walking several more strides before he realized that there was someone watching. He looked up to see a lioness, adult, but still young (if he was any judge of such things, which he certainly had a great deal of experience in, not that he'd admit it to any pridemember). Her coloration...blue eyes narrowed. No, Yareha didn't know her name, but he could wager a guess on her rank. Princess. She had Queen Khathelela's coloration. In a pride that seemed to have a great deal of white and blues, browns tended to stick in the mind.
So he stared back at the lioness, firmly telling himself that this girl had nothing to do with her sister's "choice" of mate and that losing his temper right now would be a very bad thing.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:04 pm
She wasn't put off when he realized she was staring at him, instead she saw it as an opportunity to judge him on how he handled catching a stranger observing him. He didn't look very happy but that was normal enough. There were only a few ways to go when you caught someone staring and she wouldn't have guessed he was the cheerful greeting type. Or the indifferent ignoring type, honestly.
"Hello," she called out, not too loud since she wasn't worried about being heard or even getting an answer- it just seemed rude to continue staring without at least saying hi.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:06 pm
Well, that was a neutral enough conversation starter. And simple enough to respond to.
"Hello," he replied civilly. No need to get angry, every reason to try to get his heart to slow down. No, he did NOT need all that adrenaline, she wasn't attacking him and he certainly wasn't going to jeopardize things by attacking her. He was, he thought, getting better at controlling his reactions. What he needed to improve was control of his temper. So far the best solution was to prevent things from getting that far.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:19 pm
So he was willing to respond but he seemed much more tense than his words suggested. But now she was stuck in a staring contest with him and, assuming she was naturally the more cheerful of the two, it would last until he got annoyed and left. The only way to make the best of this awkward situation was to have whatever fun she could. So she did the most innocent but potentially annoying thing she could think of: she smiled. It didn't look completely innocent, tainted by the reputation Yareha had, she couldn't hide her amusement.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:39 pm
Yareha's eyes narrowed still further as the lioness gave him a smug smile. Why that little-
Wait. Stop. Calm down and think. The white lion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Again. A third. Then he opened them again to refocus on the brown lioness' unpleasant grin. Stiffly and silently, he raised a single eyebrow, inviting her to share her amusement with him.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:45 pm
It was interesting to watch him react, first he looked angry but then he closed his eyes and breathed. While his eyes were closed, she daringly took a couple steps closer but was careful to be calm and keep enough distance between them. She was still smiling when his eyes opened and she let a quiet moment go after he raised his brow.
"You're very easy to mess with, you know," she said finally, just barely cutting off a snicker.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:48 pm
Don't react. Don't give her more to use against him. That's what he had to keep in mind. Yareha forced his expression to remain as neutral as possible.
"You're very smug and obnoxious, you know," the white lion replied. Yes, anger demanded that he go for her throat with outstretched claws, but instinct reminded him that she was a young and attractive female, and you just didn't attack a lioness like that. Logic even butted its way in to remind him that she was a Princess and he was already on the royal family's s**t list. No need to add to that.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:53 pm
The insult finally got her to laugh openly, apparently not the least bothered by his words. She was being smug, she didn't need him to tell he that- and obnoxious was a valid perception of the situation she had put them in, she supposed.
"I know," she said, giving another short chuckle before decidedly walking closer with the intention of walk right on by and continuing on her way. This was interesting but it was very likely best to go before his patience wore out.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:58 pm
She knew. Well wasn't that nice. It was really a shame no one had taken her to task when she was a cub and now that obnoxious manner was too ingrained to be easily taken care of.
A dozen potential retorts flared in Yareha's mind, and with effort he swallowed them all back. He really really really didn't need to offend another member of the royal family at this point. He'd been doing just fine in recent months, keeping out of their mouths and minds. The damned bird was circling overhead, as per his usual, and undoubtedly reporting every movement Yareha made to them.
Except for when the white lion managed to lose him...which was no doubt ALSO reported.
No reason for him to give them more fuel against him. So he kept his mouth clenched shut and didn't rise to take her bait.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:01 pm
With one more quiet laugh, Andama went along her way. She didn't expect anybody would want to hear she was taunting Yareha but she would have a hard time keeping this to herself. Hah.
Fin!
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