[PRP] Family time (Halvar x Ulrika)

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Halvar and Ulrika hadn't had cubs yet, but Halvar didn't mind. He was happy to have Ulrika all to himself. She was definitely the prettiest, most wonderful lioness in the pride, and probably the entire world. Halvar adored her.

Halvar was naturally too manly to go traipsing around picking flowers and so forth, but he had closely followed a thrall around and directed the flower-picking personally. Once they were away from prying eyes he took the flower bouquet from the thrall and brought it to Ulrika. She was probably busy doing important priestessly things, but Halvar thought she wouldn't mind.

"I broff dese fo' you," Halvar said around the flowers in his mouth, his eyes shining when he saw his precious Ulrika. He gently set the flowers down on the ground and wiped his paw across his tongue to get rid of a few stray petals. "I haven't gone on a viking in a while, so I wanted to bring you something pretty." Now he felt a bit crestfallen. He should go on a viking. His Ulrika needed some pretty plunder.

pinchmonster

 

[bipolar bee]

Ulrika was absolutely certain that she was the luckiest lioness in the entire pride. Surely no other lioness had a husband as devoted as her Halvar. He was so big and robust and strong and manly - and even though they'd yet to have cubs, it didn't matter. All in good time, as far as Ulrika was concerned. For now, she was merely enjoying married life, an attentive husband, and being treated like a princess.

She loved to look at his handsome face, to stare into his sunset-colored eyes, to groom his cheeks and toy with his lush, manly mane. He truly was the most perfect husband, most especially when he brought her beautiful baubles and fragrant flowers.

"Oh, Halvar," Ulrika murmured softly, mismatched eyes bright with adoration, "they're so beautiful! Thank you, husband. I love them! They're perfect."

She wasn't sure what she was going to do with the flowers, but that wasn't important. What was important was that he'd brought her flowers.  

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Halvar was delighted. He shook out his mane proudly, feeling like the proudest Reaver in the pride. Not that fetching flowers -- ahem, having a thrall fetch flowers -- for his beloved was brag-worthy, but nevertheless. He still wanted to bring Ulrika some better trinkets though. He wanted Ulrika to be the most handsomely adorned lioness in all the pride. He wanted Ulrika to clank when she walked.

"I'm glad you like them, wife," Halvar said. "Are you busy with your priestess duties?" He wasn't sure what priestesses did, exactly, or what Ulrika's duties were, but that was all right because Reavers weren't supposed to understand the mysterious and important workings of the priestesses.

Halvar found himself twitching his tail and shifting from paw to paw a bit. He hoped Ulrika wasn't too busy. He felt like he hadn't been spending enough time with her lately. "Because if you aren't busy, do you want to go for a walk?"  

[bipolar bee]

"I would love to take a walk with you, husband." It thrilled Ulrika to say that word, that lovely little word. Husband. It meant that he was hers and hers alone, and it truly made her feel like a princess of sorts. He was so eager and beautiful, and Ulrika simply adored him. Halvar truly was the most handsome lion in the entire pride, and he was hers.

"Did you have a destination in mind?"

Maybe he had a surprise for her. Ulrika loved surprises, and Halvar was so very good at them.

He was also so handsome. Oh, she was just so lucky to have him.  

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Halvar was delighted that Ulrika wanted to walk with him. At the same time, he felt a flutter of panic. He hadn't actually planned anything out, but Ulrika would be expecting something good. Oh dear. Oh dear. He and Ulrika had been married for a while, but he still hated to disappoint her.

"It's a surprise," Halvar said, striking off in a random direction. Walking would give him time to think. If he didn't think of somewhere to go soon, he would just take her to some romantic and dramatic overlook for her and make up a poem for her. Halvar was no poet, but it was the thought that counted, right? It didn't have to be a poem for the ages.

Halvar allowed himself a bit of smugness at that plan. Yep. He was smooth.

"Ulrika, I've missed you lately. You're so important now that you're a priestess." Halvar said.  

[bipolar bee]

Oh, he'd missed her! Halvar always knew what to say. He was so sweet and he didn't mind talking about emotions. It was so precious, and Ulrika let out a happy little sigh.

"I hope I'm not making you feel neglected, Halvar," she couldn't stand the thought of that. If she was, well, she'd have to figure out a way to rectify that. The thought of her husband feeling ignored was intolerable to Ulrika, and she could hardly stand thinking about it.

"I do love surprises," she added as an afterthought, slyly batting her lashes at Halvar.

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"Oh no, I'm not neglected," Halvar said hastily. He didn't want Ulrika to feel bad. She was an admirably hard worker and a very well-esteemed lioness! "Your work is very important. You're a priestess! I'm just greedy." He grinned at Ulrika, a bit bashfully.

No, no. He couldn't have Ulrika feeling guilty about spending time on her work.

Still unable to think of a really good surprise, Halvar's paws led him towards a secluded and romantic spot on the cliffs, overlooking the sea. Fortunately the Stormborn lands had no shortage of dramatic lookout points. "It's just over this way... how is your day going?"

She could tell him all about priestessly things he wouldn't understand, and he would have time to think of something that rhymed with Ulrika.  

[bipolar bee]

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Ulrika let out a small sigh of relief. It was good that Halvar wasn't feeling neglected. Being a priestess left her with very little personal time, but what personal time she did have, she spent with her husband. All day, her thoughts were filled with Halvar. She liked to think about what he was doing, and she often wondered if he thought of her.

"It has been busy, husband. There was a new litter that needed blessing," she sounded a little wistful, "and a few charms that needed the same. It is good to stay busy, though, as it makes the days go by that much faster."

Oh, how she yearned to be a mother. She wanted to bear Halvar a thousand strong sons, because he deserved nothing less. He would be the very best father, just as he was the very best husband.

She peered out over the sea and let out a content purr.

"I love our home, Halvar. We are blessed by the Gods."  

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pinchmonster

Even though Halvar was trying to concentrate on his poem, he caught the note of longing in Ulrika's voice. Cubs! He knew she wanted them. Halvar wanted them too, but he was selfishly enjoying his time alone with Ulrika. He wondered if there was a way to bring cubs on other than the obvious. Maybe some kind of charm. He would go ask his aunt Dalla. She didn't have cubs herself and she'd been married to Gaved for ages, so she probably had some way of preventing them. Halvar bet she had a special necklace or something of the sort.

"We are blessed by the Gods," Halvar agreed. Other lions from softer warmer lands might disagree, but there was no place Halvar would rather live.

"So... I've composed a ballad for you, Ulrika," Halvar said earnestly.

'Composed'.

"It's not, uh, bard-quality, but would you like to hear it?"  

[bipolar bee]

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Ulrika let out a small, pleased gasp at Halvar's mention of a ballad. Nobody had ever written a song for her in her life! She couldn't help but smugly think to herself that her sister would never be so lucky as to find a husband as wonderful as Halvar.

Primly seating herself as close to Halvar as she could, Ulrika leaned over to butt her head against his chin. Life was as close to perfect as it could get, and the only thing that would make married life better would be the addition of a beautiful litter of cubs.

This, though. She was so spoiled. Spoiled and pampered and beloved.

"Of course I do, husband, light of my life. I do not care about quality. I only love knowing that I am on your mind, and your thoughts are filled of me."  

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Halvar beamed. So many wives were grouchy and permanently unsatisfied. Ulrika always seemed delighted by his efforts to please her. He returned her affectionate nudge and cleared his throat.

"Ulrika, Ulrika, the most beautiful lioness,
a coat of brown and markings of white mist,
every time I leave I sorely miss
Ulrika, my beautiful lioness,"

Halvar sang. It was not a very good tune, cobbled together from the few songs Halvar sort-of knew. But he sang it loudly nevertheless.

"A priestess who talks to the Gods
with eyes as shiny as dewdrops
and a tail as fluffy as a fluffy tail
Ulrika is the cleverest, prettiest female."

Halvar's rhymes were deteriorating, but he belted out the last verse anyways:

"Ulrika, that lioness everyone admires
fills me with a manly fire
the only lioness I desire
the lioness that makes me inspired."

Finishing on that vaguely naughty note, Halvar bowed his head grandly.

pinchmonster

 

[bipolar bee]

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Oh, how had she ever been blessed with such a fantastic husband? It was a silly question, really, as Ulrika knew herself to be a fine prize, fit for a fine husband - which, of course, Halvar most certainly was. He spoiled her more than she could have ever dreamed, and she really was one of the luckiest lionesses in the pride.

As Halvar sang, Ulrika merely beamed at her husband, giggling now and again. She didn't mind that it was not the most fabulously composed ballad, but it had been written for her, and for Ulrika that was what was important.

"Oh, Halvar," Ulrika purred once he'd finished, looking as though he'd plucked the stars from the skies and laid them out before her, "I am truly blessed by the Gods to have been graced with such a fine and attentive husband as you."