The small rogue that Nagareboshi had met on the border was finally joining. The large male couldn't quite help himself as he bounced along side her, the two of them taking a quiet walk on the beach together. He had told his mother about his 'girlfriend', and she seemed very happy. None of his siblings had shown any interest in finding mates anytime soon, and with their missing father in the picture, it was....hard. The tsunami had made a lot of members disappear, and Naga only hoped that his father was alive, somewhere! Just a bit too far away to return home safely."You ok?" Cahaya asked, her head tilting to the side as she looked at him. She felt so petite next to him, being small already; the male's firekin blood made him larger than many other lions she had met in her past. It had made her nervous in the beginning, but now she was beginning to feel safe around him. His large size would deter anyone from bothering her, though now that she was joining his homeland, it seemed like no one would bother her again. Everyone she had met so far had been polite. Hopefully it would stay that way.
"Ah, yeah. Just thinking about my dad," Naga replied, feeling his face droop a bit. "I can't really help it, especially when I look a lot like him. I don't know how my mom does it, but she's so faithful. I'm sure he'll find his way home at some point."
Cahaya frowned, feeling bad for her...boyfriend? Perhaps that's the stage that they were at, but part of her wondered (or hoped!) that it would develop into something more. She shouldered him gently, trying to shake his thoughts free. "He'll make it back. You'll be ok." It made her wonder how her own parents were doing, if they were still alive. She had struck out on her own as soon as she could, and somehow had made it out ok. Cahaya had no idea how to even find her family, so she just let it lie in the past. Talking with Naga always made her wonder, though...
"Yeah, sorry Cahaya." He felt bad whenever he felt sad about things, but it was nice to have someone outside of his family to remind him that not everything was terrible. He was still in the process of moving on, and he knew that he'd never forget about his father.
"Sorry to drag this otherwise awesome date down," he laughed, feeling himself flush a bit. "Ah, well, so how do you like it here so far?"
Cahaya laughed. "I like it! I think your mother is ah....excited for you to have me around." The lioness couldn't help but really giggle at that. How Akai reacted when she realized that one of her boy's had a girl! The lioness thought it was adorable, especially with how embarrassed Naga had been. It was rather adorable, and made Cahaya hope that everything would just...come together easily. She had heard some stories about his parents, and how they had come together, their litter, and the tsunami that took Akai's mate and Naga's father. It was sad, but it was also amazing how Akai's faith in him still stood. She still loved Wacheza, and wouldn't look elsewhere but her children for comfort. Cahaya felt like she had a lot to learn from the mature lioness, in more than one lesson.
"I do really like your mother, you know," she added on quietly.
"...really?" Naga wasn't that surprised, but it was a big deal in his book. "I know she can be pretty doting..."
"Nonsense. She was perfect. Its very obvious that she did a fantastic job raising you. You are...commendable yourself. You are so willing to help me out after I decided to come here, so. Yeah." Suddenly she felt extremely awkward, since she knew that she would be spending a lot of time with him. Enough that she figured everyone in the pride would assume they'd marry. Not that she'd mind, but she knew that she just needed to make sure before taking that next step.
Now she was all embarrassed, and Naga had to shoulder her. "Hey, don't overthink it. We'll take it slow, don't worry about my mother."
Cahaya flushed, feeling terrible. "Ah, no. That...no." Great. Now she was starting to panic. She turned to the ocean, her toes sinking slightly in the wet sand. She felt the edge of the waves rush over them, and the cream lioness just let herself breathe slowly. She would be ok.
"I do really care about you, Naga. I just sometimes worry that I'm rushing into this too much. I've been alone for so long. I crave for attention and company, but I'm also scared of it. Seeing your mother being alone, and yet not alone because she has her offspring...its just startling for me to see. I don't know if I could be that strong..." She felt her head hang low, her tail stiff as the waves danced over her toes.
Naga stayed where he had been standing, giving her space. He listened to her worries, trying to not let himself get too down, nor try to laugh them off. After she seemingly got everything out, he took a few slow steps towards her, careful to not get in contact with her. He didn't want to amplify the illusion that he was pushing her.
"Hey, we'll take it slow. See how things happen. Even if we go our separate ways, you can still stay here, or move on." He looked at her, a smile spreading on his face. "Besides, I doubt it. You've got your faults, I've got mine. We're handling them ok, I'd say. So don't put yourself down too much. You can always just tease me about my father issues."
Cahaya sniffed, shoving him with her paw. "You jerk. Like I'd make fun of you worried about your missing father. Now, for how huge you are compared to me? You clearly have some issues on that, picking such a petite female like me!" With that, she swished her paw in the water, spraying his face as she ran off along the surf. Sure, her stomach was still in knots with all her worries, but she'd let herself just worry about escaping from Naga's revenge. All their troubles could be dealt with later. Besides, isn't that what this 'dating' this was supposed to be like?
"Hey!" Naga was a little upset that she had done that, but realized that she needed it. Hell, they both needed it. He started to laugh as he chased after her, the darkening sky around them making it more interesting to play around in the surf. Thank goodness he wasn't a cub anymore, or his mother would be quite upset at this playtime in the dark!
(1,148 words)
