Dark pelt blending in almost seamlessly with the shadows around her, a young lioness walked over the increasingly cramped landscape as she headed towards home. Not that she was really trying to hide herself, far from it. The Shadow Dove was nothing if not reckless. It wasn't even that she had a high opinion of herself when it came to her abilities or even that she trusted her dark pelt to save her from being noticed in the dead of night. It was more that she was young, naive, and more than a little foolish. It just never occurred to her that there might be danger around, especially danger she couldn't talk her way out of. As a gypsy, talking was her greatest weapon. Well, that and her body, but even as a fair dancer and even a rather lovely singer, she didn't even think half the time to use her skills of entertainment against someone. So young.
So stupid.
She shouldn't have been out on her own, she really shouldn't have. But she was returning home after a visit with a friend and she didn't think much of the walk. It wasn't like it was a far journey. It didn't even take the whole night to get there and back. But that didn't change the fact that for a large portion of the journey, she was not on her pride's lands. And that left her open to trouble.
By the time she heard the other creature, it was too late to do anything but shriek before she was shoved to the ground. Her heart began slamming in her chest as a large thing pushed her, rolling her as it huffed and puffed. It pushed and she rolled until she fell into a creek, thankfully landed on her paws.
Whatever had pushed her was quickly at her side, shoving her down to the water and throwing something over her, a large pelt. The other creature pressed her against the bank of the creek and slammed a paw on her muzzle, hissing at her to be quiet.
Bahati didn't pay a single ounce of attention to the female he was pressed against. He was far too focused on keeping her quiet and listening. He held his breath when he heard running paws stopping, whispered voices. Someone above growled, "Nothing! Move your a**" and then the paws were running again.He didn't breathe again until he was sure they were gone. And only then did he look down at the female he'd grabbed.
Okay, so maybe he didn't start breathing again, not after looking into those soft, green eyes. For a moment he was lost in them.
But just a moment, for in an instant they snapped at him as swift and fierce as lightning and he had to scramble away from her before she lashed out and injured him.
"Peace! Peace! I didn't mean to hurt you!" he rushed out, putting as much distance between them as possible while she threw the pelt away from her.
"Then what in the gods' names were you doing?" she hissed at him, her ears back. But she didn't come at him. It was almost as if she was the one on defense, not him, as if she was ready to fight back but not willing to make the first move. Hoping he was right and that she didn't actually want a confrontation, Bahati lowered himself slightly, so that he wasn't towering over her so much and gave her his most honest and contrite look.
"In truth, I hadn't really thought that through. I was being chased by a group of rogues and when I saw you I didn't want them hurting you so..."
The male trailed off with a shrug and it was painfully obvious that he was at least a little sheepish for having manhandled her. Her ire slipped away a bit over how contrite he seemed, even more so with how he might have saved her. And yet the frown returned to her features just as it had started to slip.
"Are you not a rogue yourself?" He was too close to her pride's lands to be from any other, not even the Bahari, and he didn't look like anyone she knew. While their pride wasn't a small one, surely she would have remembered this male. He towered over her, but she knew better. She was a small lioness and this male would be closer in height to most rogue males. His mane was full and dark as night, a little windswept from his run and yet it was somehow sort of swept and spiked in places. A sort of ordered chaos. In the low light, all she could really tell was that his eyes were blue, though the shade was no doubt lighter in the daylight. But in those eyes she thought she could see kindness.
All in all, there was something about him that intrigued her, something that soothed her anger at him having pushed her around.
He gave her a small, still sheepish smile and shrugged.
"I suppose I am... But I don't tend to act like most rogues."
"How would you know how most rogues act? Have you met a lot?"
"Well..." No, not really. Bahati had led something of a sheltered life until he'd grown old enough to venture out on his own. In truth he wished he never had, but it was too late for regrets. He was out here and that was that. "Yes and no. I've met some, and they weren't terribly friendly. I take it you aren't a rogue, are you?"
"No, I'm not." No, he hadn't figured she was. Females didn't tend to be rogues, not that he'd seen. And yet she gave no indication that she was going to share what pride she belonged to. Secretive? Or was she measuring him to make sure he was trustworthy?
Either way, he didn't mind. He didn't think he had much inclination to join a pride at the moment anyway. And besides, he was a stranger to her, she had every right not to trust him.
But oh, how he wanted her to trust him.
Shaking his head a bit at that uncharacteristic thought (And yet not, because he tried so hard to be a sort of hero), he couldn't help but give her another smile.
"I truly am sorry, especially if I hurt you. I just didn't know what else to do." The last thing he wanted was for someone, especially a female, to get hurt because of him. Having grown up with just one brother and five sisters, he was most certainly in a way hard-wired to protect females. He'd never ever want to hurt one unless she was trying to hurt him. And even then, he'd probably be a poor fighter. Now, if she was hurting an innocent, like a cub or torturing something... Well, that was a different story, wasn't it?
A sudden frown crossed his face.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked, voice laced with concern. Relief swept over him when she finally smiled at him and shook her head. Gods, she had a pretty smile.
"Just a little scuffed up, I think. Nothing too bad. So, do you have a name, or should I just call you Rogue?" There was a teasing quality to her voice that warmed him.
"My name's Bahati. And could I have the pleasure of knowing yours?" His smile faltered slightly when her eyes flicked away, as if asking for her name was a complicated issue. But the look was gone and she was smiling at him again.
"You can call me Shadow Dove." For a moment, just a brief moment, Nasrin had almost said her given name. But then she had remembered that a gypsy never used her true name, not to anyone, especially not an outsider. She was quick to catch herself and hoped he hadn't noticed her near-slip. But by the way his smile wasn't what it had been moments before, she guessed that he had. Even so, he didn't mention it.
"It suits you," he said and stepped towards her. Her eyes widened as he was suddenly far too close and far too big and- And he was ever so gentle as he slipped one paw under one of hers and drew it up out of the water so that he could press his nose to it. Heat spread over her face as her eyes widened over the unusual gesture.
"I hope to see you again, Shadow Dove..." His words trailed off and she hadn't missed the hopeful tone in his voice. Before she could even think to stop herself, she nodded, knowing her smile turned sweet and maybe even a little shy.
"I hope so, too, Bahati," she replied as he moved to help her get back onto dry ground. She waited for him to follow before she added, "Just as long as you don't find the need to push me around again."
His look turned adorably regret-filled as he nodded.
"I wouldn't dream of it. I look forward to seeing you again, Shadow Dove." And with that, he picked up the pelt that she just now realized not only hid most of his glaringly white coat, but also masked his scent. What a clever thing to do! He gave her one last fleeting smile before heading off into the night, quickly disappearing in the darkness.
"... Bahati..." His name left Nasrin on a sigh as she smiled. Only when he was gone did she turn back towards home, excited to tell her mother what had happened to her this evening.
(WC: 1,607)
