User Image"And then what happened?" Mama La smiled as her queen let out the most unladylike snort imaginable.
"Why, exactly what you'd expect, Mama La. I swear he flushed under his fur and started sputtering. He couldn't get a single word out for several moments, and even then he wasn't coherent to say the least! You'd think I'd insulted our mother or some such nonsense," Líadan replied with one of her rare grins, looking so much like the cub Mama La remembered her as. The little rascal who used to play her little tricks and games, only to be devastatingly contrite when others got upset over them. It was no wonder she had been chosen to be Rochban's future mate, she was everything they had needed in a queen, especially in the recent troubling time. Her heart was so great, it sometimes surprised the Mother Oracle that she didn't burst from it. She did all that she could to make her pride members comfortable, both in their surroundings as well as simply in her presence. Queen Líadan was just so... down to earth and loving.
And with just a hint of a naughty streak in her. Especially when it came to her older brother and her king.

"Really, Lía, you should let up a bit on your poor brother. One of these days, you're going to give him an attack of some kind. We wouldn't want that." Of course, it didn't help matters that Mama La was smiling as she chided the younger lioness. Poor Fechín. Not a single soul in the entire pride took his nature seriously. Granted, he wasn't alone, most of the Magi were a bit... eccentric was a good word for it. But it seemed that he was a bit more so, and if not that, it certainly didn't help that his sister was almost the complete opposite of him and greatly enjoyed trying to prod him out of his shell. Lía's smile softened as she lounged near where the Mother Oracle was working. Because Mama La's seer abilities relied on smoke, she often dried and crushed plants so that the small fires she'd make didn't smell too terrible or worrisome. If you smelled smoke that had a pleasant scent, you knew it was Mama La. Any other scent and it was right for one to be concerned. It was moments like these where Lía felt comfortable coming and talking with the older lioness. Pretty much any other time, she'd feel like she was bothering Mama La. Being Mother Oracle was just as important and demanding a position in the pride as Queen, if not more so.

User Image"If I don't try and get him out of his shell, no one will."
"And how long have you been at that endeavor, hmm?"
"I am nothing if not tenacious," Lía replied with a small tip of her head. She sighed as her attention was drawn to Mama La's meticulously working paws. It was nice, getting moments like this again. There had been a time where she had feared nothing would return to the way it had once been.
How things had once been...

"Well, you've talked about your brother, how is his highness?" Lía's smile softened even more at the mention of her beloved. And yet... Mama La paused in her work to watch her queen a bit more critically. This was important, after all. How stable could a pride be if there was friction in the royal family?
"He is well. He's gotten used to this land a lot faster than I, I can tell you that much. I swear, I keep tripping over rocks I didn't see or stepping in puddles. It's a wonder I haven't fallen into deeper water."
"You're hedging, dear." That made Lía laugh and shake her head.
"I suppose I am. We've just been so busy trying to help everyone get settled and..." A sigh. "Most of the time, I'm asleep before he returns to the den. We work together, but that doesn't leave room for private talk, does it? There are things that need to be discussed and yet there just hasn't been time for it."
"Why not now? Surely talking to your husband is more important than talking with me!"
"You're important, too, Mama La. I value your advice so much. Rochben is busy at the moment and I have just this time for a small break with you."

Mama La reached out a paw and placed it on Líadan's. The younger lioness looked up, her brow creased slightly as she tried to understand the reason of the gesture.
"Then make time. Yes, you are the queen and he the king, and as such you have many duties to the pride. But I can't help but think you might be hiding yourself in your work, just like your brother. Your happiness is no less important than any other member of the pride. Do you understand?" She watched the look that crossed Líadan's face and knew that she might have just been a little correct. She knew what had been lost in the devastation of their pride, more than most. So it was no wonder that the queen might have been doing her best to work hard so that she wouldn't have time to think about it, to remember, and to grieve. But one couldn't move on until the grief had been acknowledged.

"Go make time, child," Mama La urged, a motherly smile on her maw. "I in fact have my own male to bother, I think. He's gone too long since we got here and I didn't have time to tease him."
Líadan smiled, standing with a nod.
"Yes, Mama La," she replied, her tone a jesting mock version of an adolescent being told to go do some chore or another. They shared an affectionate nuzzle before Lía left, leaving Mama La to clean up her plants so that she could go track down a certain sentinel.

(WC: 1,183)