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The midnight light, the dim moon and stars that only gently illuminating the grasslands, it made Na'an's pale body stand out even more than it did usually. The lioness curled in a moderately sized rock, the top of a cluster too small to be a mountain of any sort, but large enough to get a look pretty far into the distance. Na'an had turned the crevices formed by the leaned rocks into a den of sorts. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it was certainly better than other places she had stayed. Good enough to where she had been here for almost too weeks. It was bizarre for the lioness to stay for so long at once place. But it was a nice place, so why give it up?

That's what she kept telling herself the reason was. She didn't dare think about the possibility that she was lingering because of the company that she had been keeping. Perish the thought.

Na'an wrinkled her nose and shook out her hair before the thought could settle in fully. The dark locks fell around her face as she lay her head on folded paws, staring up at the stars. She thought about her mother. About how she so wished for some sort of guidance from the goddess, as if the thoughts could travel.

Rakesh had gotten used to roaming, so much so that staying in one place was unnerving to the young lion. He had done nothing but travel for what seemed like seasons, but then again it could have been longer. Having a pretty companion by his side seemed to make the time go all the more faster. It was strange, being constantly in someone else's company. Rakesh thought he would have moved on long before now, but here he was with the same pale lioness he had met a while before. Well, if he chose to remain in an individual's company, there were none more interesting than Na'an.

He didn't quite understand why she was so attached to this spot - the makeshift den was nice, and cramped enough that he could force his company on her, but it was a startling change from their usual pace. The dark blue lion blended far more easily with the night as he ascended the rock, which was just barely big enough to fit the two of them. "So, are we setting off tomorrow?" he asked, his tone friendly and open. He didn't like most company, and the only company he did take to was the female sort, and usually lionesses.

Na'an had it in her favor that she was both of these things, and more. Rakesh just couldn't bring himself to leave her side yet, despite being stalled her for too long.

Na'an glanced up at him out of her pale eyes. Other than that, she didn't seem to make any motion to get out of his way, or make any room for him. They had managed before in tighter situations. The realization that she was drawing on past experiences of them together troubled her, and she gave a twitch of her tail in muted aggravation. There was a few moments of silence—the sort that those without much experience in dealing with the lioness might have interpreted as being cold—before she spoke.

"Probably," she murmured, quiet and a bit more soft than it would have been. "The comfortability of this is… well. Different. But yeah, I guess it's a bit dull, huh?" Na'an kept her gaze on him. Whether or not she was talking about the rock, or the questionable temporariness of their union, was up in the air.

The lioness stood and stretched, adverting her gaze to the sky for a moment before glancing back to the lion, sitting near the edge of the rock, making room for Rakesh to sit if he so pleased."

Rakesh didn't seem to be bothered by Na'an's unwillingness to make room for him. He was used to making do when it came to the lioness. She gave little, but when she did give, it was completely worth the wait. He still knew little of her past, and at this point he was beginning to believe that it did not matter. What did matter were the small intricacies of her behavior. Reading her was quite the heavy task, and Rakesh's mind was still young enough that he had made some mistakes with her during the beginning of their travels together. Now, he knew that her silence didn't mean anything more than that she was thinking.

"Well, it's not dull if the company you're with isn't. But, it's just been a strange experience, lingering here so long. Do you think it's because we really have no set destination in mind?" Truthfully, Rakesh followed Na'an's lead. He went where ever the lioness desired. He kept close to her for the most part, not suffocatingly so, but Na'an could always find him in the distance if she was alone. It was almost an unspoken agreement, that they would travel together now.

"Not that I mind, but there's not enough prey in the area to sustain us once we're finished killing all of it." The area was rather sparse in supplies, but it had served them well enough in the time they had been here. Rakesh just knew that sooner or later, they would have to move on.

Rakesh's words made her snort. "I still don't understand why you say that," she murmured, giving him a pointed, sideways glance. Her paws stretched out far in front of her and she focused her eyes on them as her claws raked against the rock and dirt. "I managed to avoid more subtle lions by just being…" her voice trailed off. Na'an figured the thought didn't need to be finished to be understood.

Her ears flicked and her nose wrinkled. She clearly had spent a lot of time, at least this night, thinking about that. "So I doubt you're still here because I'm 'oh so interesting.'". She snorted, narrowing her eyes at him. She was having a particularly grumpy evening, it seemed.

Rakesh grimaced a little as her claws raked against the rock. He was sure she just did it to irritate him, or perhaps to genuinely sharpen her claws, but he didn't let it get to him anyways. Instead he boldly sat down in the spot next to her, determined to at least prove that she couldn't chase him away. Na'an seemed to be having one of her moods, but Rakesh had been exposed to a few of them already, and he knew how to weather the storm. "Then why aren't you avoiding me?" he replied coyly. It'd probably only irritate her more, but he couldn't resist getting in the gentle jab. He had to have his small victories.

"I'm here because I want to be, and I think you want me to be too." He probably shouldn't state things so boldly. But, it was true regardless. If Na'an didn't want him around, she would have simply left, and he would have done the same if he had grown tired of her company. "Perhaps I like travelling with fine company instead of on my own, and yes, I guess you could say that you're still fairly interesting to me." If he had grown bored, Rakesh would have been tempted away by some new pretty lioness.

Na'an clenched her jaw. Why wasn't she avoiding him? The lioness couldn't answer the question for herself. The fact was more frustrating than anything else about this.

Na'an closed her eyes and exhaled a long, slow, and calculated breath. She had no idea what else to say. The way that Rakesh acted so coy about everything, it made her want to shove him off the damned rock and be done with it. Her tail twitched behind her as her eyes narrowed into a pointed glare at the dark lion. In the dim lighting, she could barely see him. She'd become familiar enough with him, though, to where she didn't have to see him to figure the stupid expression on his stupid face.

"Yeah. Fine. Whatever," was her only response. Yeah, she was. But that didn't mean she had to like it.

Rakesh grinned, and the flash of his white teeth was far more noticeable in the dark than his blue pelt. He blended in even better with the night than a black pelted lion. His dark blue tones matched the night sky far more perfectly, and even his markings helped to break up his dark form. It was no wonder why the lion favored moving about at night, and was prone to taking naps during the day (usually when they somewhat inconvenienced Na'an, or when he was letting her have some peace and time alone). The lion knew what her answer meant - she could try to hide her attraction towards him, but she would never quite succeed. Rakesh was on to her, and that fact made the young lion in him excited that he finally had a leg up on the lioness.

"You never give me a clear answer," he replied with a somewhat dramatic sigh, despite that she had done just that, given him the answer he wanted. "So, really, where to next? I haven't thought to ask any straggling rogues what area we're even in, or if there are any prides nearby." For the most part, they'd usually avoid prides. Things could get too bothersome otherwise. "Just a direction, then?"

This couldn't continue, Na'an decided. Certainly not as indefinitely as it had been going thus far. But now there wasn't really anything to be done about it. She'd just enjoy it while it lasted, and be done when it wore its welcome.
Her tail twitched behind her. Yeah, she enjoyed his company more often than not. But it being out and forward the way it had been did not sit well with her. The lioness was becoming sour.

"Just a direction," Na'an repeated, her voice low and cold. Her gaze moved out to the horizon, again.

"Well, I'll let you have the honors of picking our course, then," Rakesh replied with a low voice. He was beginning to suspect that he was wearing on her patience, but that was a terribly easy thing to do with Na'an. Still, it was better not to press her further. She wasn't an aggressive lioness, but it wouldn't surprise him to receive a sound smack across the cheek for his unruly behavior. The lion stood up, and stretched his front paws out in front of him.

"I'll see you in the morning, once you've made up your mind." Of course, he expected to see her a lot sooner, but he doubted the lioness would be in a giving mood. So, he climbed down the rock, and disappeared into the small den beneath it. At least he would get the primce choice of real estate if he entered the den first. Na'an would just have to fit herself around him.