The crafter was lazing at the entrance of her den – which was an odd thought for the former rogue – she had been a rogue for quite a while, since leaving her birth pride and travelling out on her own. It wasn’t even really her choice to join the pride she was in right at that moment. For that, she whole-heartedly blamed Mon’kut, her travel companion of the last few months who had decided that they shouldn’t travel anymore and should settle down somewhere. They had stumbled upon the Pridelands, or so Waa thought, though Mon had seemed rather intent on getting to the pride thanks to advice he had sought from a random rogue who seemed to quite like the Pridelands.

She glanced up in amusement at the sound of heavy paw steps, somehow unsuprised to see the heavy build of Mon’kut walking towards her. The regal prince raised a brow at her, offering her a crooked grin as he approached from his den further along in the den area.

“Why, Waa,” he began, his grin growing, “you look…almost…content. Surely my eyes doth deceive me!” He pretended to faint, collapsing the mouth of her den next to her.

She rolled her eyes, scowling but it was not a true scowl. She had spent too much time around the male to actually get angry when he taunted her anymore. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Mon,” she grumped back, shifting in her spot though did not protest as he flopped over, pinning her to the ground and practically using her as a pillow. “I do not…hate it here.”

“Woah, woah!” Mon shushed her, peering up at her from where his head rested on her stomach. “Don’t gush over it too much, Waa! We haven’t even been here a week. Give it times to really settle in!”

Waa snorted, and stood abruptly, shoving him off of her. He gave an “oomph” as he hit the ground, and pouted up at her. “Mean,” he retorted and she rolled her eyes again.

She flicked her tail and went to step away from her den, before pausing and glancing back at the male who was still sprawled out in the entrance to her den. “You coming or not?” She demanded grumpily. He bounced to his paw smoothly, his inner grace shining through and making her hate him a little on the inside. He was wasted as a male, she decided, his grace and charm would be far better suited for a female, or a princess or something similar.

“Where are we off to now? If you are planning to run away, it’s probably best to do that when I am not around rather than when I am standing right beside you, just so you know,” Mon pointed out, trotting alongside her as they moved away from the den areas.

“You are so over dramatic, Mon,” Waa grumped. “I already told you that I do not…hate it here, so why would I run away?” She demanded, and he shrugged.

“You like to defy me, I figure you’d do it just for the hell of it,” he pointed out in return, then quickly added, “so where are we going?” before she could protest more and continue their little debate.

She gave him a dry look that said she knew exactly why he had repeated his question, but decided to ignore their debate and answered his question, “we’re going crafting. I need some hollow logs and I do not want to mess up my pelt by gathering them.” It was perhaps the only girly thing that she allowed herself. She had some pride in her appearance, even if it was quite scary to some as her fur appeared to be patchwork and crafted together, she still cared to maintained a semi-presentable appearance.

Plus, what was the point of a male companion if not for heavy lifting?

Mon chuckled. “You are such a girl sometimes, Waa,” he teased lightly, but continued to follow her. He didn’t really mind helping her. It was one of the few times she would allow him to assist her in some way, as all the other times he tried to help, he ended up ruining her crafting projects or simply hurting himself. He remembered trying to carve one of the gourds into a water carrier and had ended up almost snapping off one of his claws when he struck something harder than he had prepared for. It had bled for a while, but it hadn’t fallen off, so he counted himself lucky.

Waa had laughed at him for weeks after that, and had forbidden him from helping her again, ever. Least he killed himself by trying to clean a pelt for blankets. Her words, not his.

“You say that like it is a bad thing,” Waa snarked. “I’m sure there are plenty of m ales that would be grateful that I am, in fact, a girl!”

Mon looked startled. “Have you met someone, Waa?” He asked, instantly curious and only a little bit jealous. They had travelled there together, and while they did not share a den, he had assumed that perhaps they would remain close in their new pride, he hadn’t expected her to find a mate so quickly, despite her prettiness. She was so stubborn that he wondered if she would ever take a mate.

“Well, no,” Waa admitted huffily. “But I could. I am sure there are males around here that would appreciate my…character.” She shook her head, wondering why on earth she had brought this conversation up.

Mon stopped his walking, forcing her to stop as well and glance at him curiously. “Waa, the males here would be crazy if they weren’t utterly dazzled by you and everything about you,” he told her seriously, looking her directly in the eyes.

She blinked, stunned and suddenly quite nervous. She glanced down, then back up at him, and opened her mouth, once, twice, before closing it firmly, unable to respond coherently. They stood there for a little while, simply staring at each other before she awkwardly stepped backwards.
“Come on, you crazy loon,” she said grumpily, though her tone was off. “You are supposed to be lifting heavy things for me, not giving me romantic advice. Like I need it from you anyway, it’s not like you have all the girls chasing after you.”

Mon gave a crooked smile, and shrugged, “yeah, I suppose I’m not one to talk. Lead the way, Waa,” he encouraged, and kept quiet the fact that he didn’t want all the girls. It was only really one that he was after, and she didn’t seem to give him a second glance anyway. Guess he really was the worst person to ask about romantic advice. He sighed, and followed after her obediently, wondering if she’d actually ever turn around and see him. He doubted it, but that was ok, he was content to follow her until she had no more need for him.

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