[NORTH] as sure as lead sinks (Koukouy x Yè)

[Lethrossen]

Yè's tail swished back and forth in a hard, annoyed manner as he walked. Fēnglín had not been his biggest fan of late, and for good reason. No matter how Yè pleaded with his younger brother the other just did not seem to want to understand. He had just wanted a confident, and his brother had been his biggest one until… well until he'd pulled the pelt out from under him and had announced his acceptance as a soldier. It had been a… tense affair, to put it mildly.

To top it all off almost immediately after his parents had begun to bring up an arranged marriage, which Yè had discouraged on several occasions. While the majority of the pride would have been fine with… well with what he was… he didn't think his parents were so accepting. And since he'd chosen to go a way separate from that of the scout he was feeling more and more discouraged about butting heads on the matter.

Today he would meet his future wife, a lioness from the West house. His parents had reminded him that this had been arranged when both parties were younger… but he couldn't recall it being brought up back then.

His eyes shifted up to the sky as he tried to gauge how late he was for his meeting. His parents would not be pleased and Yè feared his future lioness would be included in this sentiment. He sighed deeply, wishing his brother had just been compliant today.  

[mouselet]

Zhen was more uncertain about the motivations behind this arranged marriage than she was about the binding itself. Her mother was of the opinion that a strong lioness didn't need a male if she didn't want one, and that she should be able to choose her own mate. But her mother was also from a pride that was so interconnected by blood, arranged marriages were necessary if one didn't want a former rogue - else the pair might be too closely related already.

The Tianxia didn't have that problem. Some houses might, but the pride as a whole did not.

As for the lion in question...Zhen didn't know much about Yé. She'd been told he was a Soldier - a military rank as opposed to her civilian one. Her mother had approved of that, being from a relatively militaristic pride.

Zhen truly did not know what to think as she walked the lands of the North House for the first time. She'd insisted on this part of the meeting - to go to see him, rather than the other way around. The lioness wanted to be able to figure out what she thought away from her family, her mother, and her twin.  

[Lethrossen]

He'd picked up his pace without looking rushed when he spotted his mother and father sitting up ahead, right in the discussed meeting place. A dark, rust-pelted lioness seemed to be making a bee line for them as well and Yè tried to comb through his brain to recall anything his parents had told him about the lioness. She was from the West House, he knew first and foremost. What had her job been? Something not very… well, something he wasn't very keen at, that was for sure. It wasn't a soldier or a scout and knowing the West house it had probably been something like a bard or crafter. Of course they were honorable jobs, they provided different sort of needs for other pride members. Yè would rather be raced off with several rhinos by himself than try and do a job like that.

Even though his guest had gotten there before him he still didn't want to run, it felt undignified and silly. He just kept his quick pace going, only slowing when he was a few feet from his parents and the apparent future wife. He bowed his head low and tried to ignore the look of disappointment in both sets of his parents' eyes. "I am so sorry for arriving late, I hope you haven't been waiting long." Polite words because they were expected, he knew she hadn't been waiting long. He'd seen her arrive!

He took in her deep rusty pelt with the splashed of two different shades of yellow, noting that she was very pretty. Not that it mattered, he thought privately. "I've waited so long to meet you that I've been a little scatter-brained lately, though it's a poor excuse for arriving last to such an important meeting." Half truths, mostly. He had been scatter brained and he had been concerned about meeting the lioness. He wasn't sure what to do, what to say, in regards to it all. He'd already displeased his parents so much by moving into the rank of soldier… it was ridiculous. They were ridiculous, he sometimes felt. Shouldn't his parents be proud that he was working hard to protect their pride?
 

[mouselet]

Zhen glanced up at the sky as her betrothed apologized for his lateness. The sun was pretty much in the agreed-upon position, so she didn't see how that made him late. Was it some kind of miliatry thing, to want to be so precisely on time?

He certainly didn't seem scatter-brained. If anything, she would judge the lion before her to be fairly politic and clever. He was, she knew, older than her, but even though he was male, there wasn't that much of a difference in size. Zhen's mother was no small lioness and was as large as most of the males around.

"Is it really so important when this is quite the done deal?" she asked mildly, gauging his reaction. True, there were still ways out of this marriage, but Zhen honestly couldn't say if that was her preference or not.  

[Lethrossen]

Well, that certainly gave him pause. He cleared his throat, glancing slightly to his parents before looking the female in the eye. He couldn't tell if she was being bitter or not with her words, and wasn't quite sure what the appropriate response was. Nothing to imply that he hardly wanted this to be a done deal, of course. He wasn't stupid enough to go against his parents again so soon. He just wished he could have a little time to know her better, to get used to this idea regardless that it had been around since he was young.

His head tilted a little and after what seemed like forever to him a small smile spread on his maw. "Well, certainly I think it's polite to arrive before your guest. But if you're not offended then I am very glad." And he was glad she wasn't offended, or at least she didn't seem as such. "Would you like to walk with me? I could show you around." It seemed like he was going to skip over the deal comment entirely.

"While this marriage is something discussed by our respective parents I should think I'd be an alright husband." And here Yè was being very serious, he wasn't joking even a little though out of another lion's mouth those words could have been humorous. "But rest assured if you're dissatisfied in any way we could figure things out together to lead us in a different direction." He was speaking quietly, mostly to try and ward off his nosy parents. He felt slightly awkward, unsure if his own comments were more for himself than they were for her.

"In any case there are some very beautiful sights to see.. ah, have you been to the North House before? How presumptuous of me to assume you haven't!"
 

[mouselet]

He seemed nervous. Well, she probably should be too. But very little aside from her craft excited Zhen. Which was almost certainly why she, of all her siblings, had been picked for this. If she didn't have a strong opinion, she was willing to do what someone else wanted.

"No, I've never been here before," she answered. "So learning my way around would be beneficial."

She didn't respond to his comments of how he thought he'd be a decent husband or how he was willing to get out of the betrothal if she didn't want it. They weren't bad statements, but they weren't why she was here.  

[Lethrossen]

He cleared his throat. Useful, that would do he supposed. While she was not entirely unresponsive he was beginning to feel the strain of unwanted conversation. Perhaps it was all in his head. Maybe he was not to her liking, maybe she would leave here and tell her parents she would not go forward with this whole ordeal... How beneficial that would be, since he could not flat out refuse at this point. "Yes, let us walk then." He stated, rising and waiting for her to also rise so that they could walk together.

As he brought her further into the thick of the North house he felt himself relaxing more, though in the back of his mind he was wondering if he should be attempting more conversation. What was it that Koukouy did? He'd been told.... his ears flicked as he glanced to her out of the corner of his mind. Some sort of creative job, he thought.