Linnea had left her den after spending hours perfecting her appearance. She had combed her mane, made sure her braid was perfect and shaken all of the dirt from her fur. She was, after all, on the hunt for a husband. She didn’t want to be second-best to some other female, so she needed to catch the eye and heart of a powerful male who would put her first. That was what she wanted.
That’s what she was going to get.
She walked through the den areas, her eyes hooded and scanning the males around. Many of them seemed to have mates already, judging by the females surrounding them and the cubs. It was annoying.
Bousvor was enjoying a quiet moment outside his den. He was flopped over on his side with his eyes closed. Kisu had taken her cubs off somewhere. He wasn’t sure where, except that he wasn’t the object of the cub’s play time anymore. Perhaps it was time for another viking. The brawny male heaved a great sigh. Kisu would surely have something to complain about that. She wanted to come but didn’t want to leave her cubs. There was no way he’d take six cubs, some with slight issues he admitted to himself, on a viking! It wasn’t feasible or logical; so surely Kisukari would want to do it.
The male exhaled a deep sigh and rolled over. An eye slitted barely open so his green eye could glance at his nearest neighbors. His den had been far from quiet lately too. So maybe he was a bit lenient on her cubs. They were pretty cute most of the time, and he felt a bit sorry for their situation. Bousvor closed his eye again to think, or maybe to nap.
Linnea’s eyes scanned the dens. She spotted Bousvor fairly easily. He was a large male, with a gorgeous coat and he was…alone. Linnea smiled. Perfect. His den seemed quiet – so maybe he lived alone. That certainly implied that he didn’t have a mate. As she drew closer, she found herself recognising him. He was a Captain – she had seen him before, at a distance and asked her twin brother Aemilius about him. Aem was a reaver, so he knew most of the captains by sight.
A sole captain? Well, that was just…perfect. She approached him, her hips swaying gracefully as she walked. “Greetings Captain,” she called out, her voice a soft lilt. “Are you enjoying the sunshine?”
It seemed his peace was not to be. Just as he was starting to doze a soft voice pulled him back. Bousvor lifted his head and looked around until his gaze settled on the speaker; a female of an unusual blue hue. He gave a grunt as he pushed up on his elbow and gave her a second look. Nope, it wasn’t one he knew on sight. So why was she here? Belated he realized she was still waiting for his answer.
“I suppose I am.” He gave a big yawn and tried to stir himself awake. “What brings you here…” He left it hanging in hopes of getting her name. Obviously if she was talking to him she was after something. Maybe she wanted to go aviking to become a reaver?
He was slow to answer. Was he slow in the mind? She wondered to herself. Maybe he was all brawn and no brains. That would be fine with her, she mused. That way she could tell him what to do and he wouldn’t back talk her. She wanted to be a wife, she didn’t want to be a slave, after all. She needed someone she could control with her feminine wiles.
“Linnea,” she said, offering her name to him to fill in the gap. “I just saw you by yourself and thought you might be lonely.” She offered him a bright smile, in hopes to wooing him over to her. She knew she was pretty, at least a little, though she was not the most gorgeous that the pride had to offer. She could still woo herself a male!
Bousvor racked his brain, but couldn’t place the name. He was sure he’d remember a female like this if they’d met before. “Nice to meet you,” he murmured softly. The male chuckled with amusement as she mentioned being lonely. “No. It’d just quieted down around here and I was working in a quick nap before planning my next viking.”
It had been too long since his last one he realized, and he realized he hadn’t done many askoruns either. Couldn’t allow himself to get fat and lazy! Not with six cubs to keep him busy, he thought with a sigh. “Are you trying to become a reaver?” He had let it known he was looking for reavers to join his band. She could be looking for a band to join.
“It is a pleasure to meet you too,” she said, with a flutter of her eyelashes. “Oh, I hope I am not disturbing you?” She said, sounding apologetic. She didn’t want him to think she was annoying, after all. She wanted him to think she was gorgeous and wife-worthy.
“Oh no!” She said with a faint giggle. “I admire reavers, and captains especially, but I am afraid I don’t really have the aptitude for it. I am much more comfortable tending a den, and taking care of little ones.”
-
Kisukari had left the cubs with a friend while she ducked back to the den to fetch Bousvor. Some of them had fallen asleep and there were too many for her to carry – therefore she required the need for her ‘master’ to do some heavy lifting. The cubs were getting big and she was proud that she had kept them with her this long. Her babies were precious to her.
She ducked back through the dens but froze, just out of Bousvor’s view. Her eyes narrowed. Who was the female who was standing near their den? She didn’t look familiar, but, catching her fluttering her eyes in the direction of Bousvor; Kisukari decided she was a floozy. She didn’t like floozies.
Well she was disturbing him, but he much too polite to say so to a new acquaintance. He flicked his tail. “I’m not doing much.” Typical to his kind, he was rather clueless to her attempts at flirting. Total bachelor.
He was very baffled when she declined any interest in being a reaver. Bousvor licked a paw slowly to give himself a bit of time to think. “That’s alright not everyone does. So you are looking for a den in this area? It’s nice here most of time though I can’t think of one that’s open currently.” He tried to offer helpfully.
Ok, so maybe he was a little bit dumb. He wasn’t seeming to get her hints, so maybe she had to be a bit more…blatant. She moved forward, sitting near enough to him that he would be fairly overwhelmed by her scent (which she was proud to say, was not sweaty or gross).
“I suppose you could say that I am looking for a den in the area,” she said, fluttering her eyes. “Your den looks rather nice…very spacious and empty right now.” Well that was certainly not subtle.
-
Kisukari watched the female approach Bousvor and her fur bristled. No. That was just inappropriate. She narrowed her eyes. Unacceptable. She stalked out from her hiding spot, her narrowed eyes locked on the female even as she drew closer to the pair.
“Bous. I need you now.” Her tone was clipped, and her displeasure obvious.
Bousvor shifted a bit startled as she suddenly got way close to him. Hey what was going on here?! He wondered. “Uh, it’s really not.” She had no idea how full his den was with six energetic cubs! Especially with their arrogant mother; speaking of his thrall…..
He blinked as Kisu made an appearance which made an awkward moment slightly more awkward. Bousvor blurted the first thing that came to mind at the moment, “Kisu, who did you piss off this time?” Granted she hadn’t annoyed anyone too much lately, but he wouldn’t put it past her.
Linnea was shocked when the other female arrived, blinking her eyes and shifting away from Bousvor quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said quickly. Linnea was after a mate. She was not after being a homewrecker. This female was obviously annoyed at her presence and that usually only indicated a prior claim to a male.
Kisukari dragged her eyes away from the female and towards Bousvor at his question. She scowled. “I did NOT piss off anyone,” she snapped. “I just needed your help with the cubs, thank you very much.”
Oh god, they had cubs? Linnea felt horrible. “I had no idea that he had a-“ she started to say.
“Well he does.” Kisukari cut over her, dragging her eyes back to the female, with obvious annoyance.
Things were starting to get out of paw. Bousvor sat up now and shook his mane. “It’s fine Linnea.” He shot a warning glance at Kisu. “Where did you leave your cubs and what help do you need?” He did worry about the little mites as they had a soft spot in his heart.
He glanced between the females. What seriously was going on now? “I have a what? Linnea this is Kisukari, my thrall. You mentioned my den is quiet, it’s not because she has six cubs.”
Linnea was relieved that Bousvor was not angry. She did not need an angry captain after her. She glanced between the pair, catching the angry glares that the female was sending her.
Kisukari slid her eyes from the female and back to Bousvor. “The cubs have fallen asleep. I’ve left them with a friend, but there are too many of them for me to carry myself.” She was insulted that Bousvor decided to explain the situation to the female. She didn’t deserve an explanation. Floozy.
Linnea was surprised that the female was a thrall. She glanced between the two. She hadn’t seen a thrall who would speak so…angrily to their owner and not get injured. Was she ‘just’ a thrall? “I seem to be keeping you from your duties,” she said to Bousvor, offering him a smile. “I suppose I should leave you both in peace…I mean, as much as you can have with six cubs.” Her laughter was awkward, but earnest. She began to back away.
Good, thought Kisukari, shooting her a disgruntled look. Go away floozy.
He heaved a sigh. Kisu could be worse than a mate sometimes. “Nice to meet you Linnea. Mmmm yes, they’ll be several pawfuls when they wake. I’d better help get the cubs back to their beds.” He gave an apologetic smile. It was definitely time for a viking trip, he couldn’t help but think. With a nod he turned to follow Kisu.
Kisukari was pleased that Bousvor did not shrug her off, but rather chose her over the floozy. She knew he did not think of it like that, but that was ok. Because he still chose her. Whether he admitted it or not. She was proud of him. The floozy hadn’t won him over. She smirked at the female and turned to lead Bousvor away from the devious clutches of the floozy.
