The dawn held a heavy cultural significance for the lions of the dawnlands, and especially so for the empress of said dawnlands. Khanya typically made it a point to be up and moving before the sun rose into the sky, but today she was feeling particularly restless, and the dawn was still nowhere in sight. The empress wracked her brain, but as far as she was aware, today held no particular importance. No meeting with the council, no ceremony, no trial, nothing that should have her this wide awake so early before the dawn. A low grumble made its way past her throat as she sighed and pushed herself to her paws.Shujaa was not far from her side, in fact he rarely slept unless the empress' entourage was around to help keep an eye on things for him. As champion, he took his duty to protect Khanya very seriously, and he especially was not going to let his guard down while the entourage was away on a hunt. The empress had chosen a low, flat rock to rest on during the night, and Shujaa was only a few paces away when she rushed to her paws. The male lion took a brief glance around, to ensure nothing had snuck up on them in the night the empress might be reacting to. When he determined nothing was around, he turned his large head in her direction. "Trouble sleeping, my empress?" he questioned in a low rumble as he slowly stepped to her side.
Khanya watched her champion out of the corner of her eye. How quickly he reacted to her doing something so simple as standing up. She watched him look around for threats before coming to her side, and she couldn't help but offer him a soft smile in return. "I'm okay, my love," she told him, bumping her head lightly against his. "Just restless this morning." Her eyes drifted to the night sky, and she wondered how far the dawn was from gracing them with its light.
Shujaa returned her friendly gesture with a deep rumble in the back of his throat as he leaned down to stretch his back and legs from stiffness. "I haven't seen you this restless since before the cubs were born," he mentioned off-handedly, his memories flowing back to the time she was pregnant with their sons, Khulu and Somali. They were adolescents now, and were beginning to explore on their own, starting with finding their own resting spots during the night. Shujaa knew they were close though, as he often tried to keep track of where their boys wandered off to.
Khanya stuck her tongue out at that memory, remembering how uncomfortable she had been in those last weeks of pregnancy. "We'll give it more time before we try to welcome more cubs to us again," she told him with a nod of certainty. Eventually she would need to produce a female heir, but Khanya was still young, and she didn't feel the need to do so out of haste just yet. Taking a cue from Shujaa, she too leaned forward to stretch her back and legs, her claws lightly scraping against the rock she was perched on before she jumped down to meet him on the ground. "If you are wanting cubs sooner, perhaps one of the entourage will feel the need sooner," she suggested, her blue eyes glinting in the starlight.
Shujaa snorted in amusement at her suggestion, a wry smile spreading across his maw as he did so. "Perhaps," he agreed, as he leaned down to nuzzle his forehead against her neck and cheek. "I admit I miss having young ones around, before they were too big to cause much mischief," he told her. Not that the boys weren't any more mischievous than he had been as an adolescent, and he doubted they realized it, but Shujaa was already having to keep an eye out for his empress and lionesses, he didn't need the added stress of keeping an eye on two rowdy boys as well.
"They will be grown soon, and on their own once their manes fully come in," Khanya comforted, a light chuckle escaping her as she bumped noses with Shujaa. "Soon they'll be off to find a harem of their own, I just hope the lionesses that take them in are more patient than you, dear," she teased as she swatted at the lock of mane that flopped over Shujaa's face sometimes. Her big male was usual such a stalwart champion, concerned mostly with her well-being as she went about her day leading the pride and gathering information from the nomadic harems that called the dawnlands home. It was cute to see him in such a relaxed state, where he was willing to open up to her so easily when they were alone and away from prying eyes. Even around their entourage Shujaa liked to keep a certain level of distance between them, which just made teasing him all the more fun.
"You're just as bad as they are sometimes," he told her with an amused rumble in the back of his throat. Certainly, she is where the boys must have learned their mischievous ways. "I pity any male you were entertaining before you chose me. You must have run him off with all your teasing," he told her playfully, as one of his large paws came up to stop her from swatting at his mane again. She stuck her tongue out at him in response and he simply smirked and bopped her nose with his. "Really empress, is this how your mother taught you to behave?" He'd only met the late empress a few times before she passed and Khanya took over the pride in her stead, but he had held a deep respect for the old lioness in how she composed herself. Khanya was certainly the spitting image of her mother, and though she could be serious when she needed to be, he often got to see the side of her that most of the pride would likely never see.
"And if she did?" Khanya questioned, one of her brows raised in a challenging manner.
"Then I was a fool, as I believed her to be more refined than her wild daughter," Shujaa replied, once again bringing a large paw up to stop her from swatting at his mane again.
"Then you are a fool indeed. For we both must have bewitched and beguiled you into believing such," Khanya teased, her eyes gleaming as she stared up at him.
"Well, if I am a fool, then I am certainly yours," he told her with a snort as he flicked his tail and turned his back to her to walk away. He knew her well enough that she would try to pounce on him as soon as his back was turned, and sure enough he felt her weight crash into him as she attempted to drag him down to the ground. Luckily, he was aware of this tactic, and instead he merely rolled with her momentum and in a fluid, gentle movement he was laying on top of her, instead of the other way around. "But not fool enough to not see that coming," he told her with a wry grin as he smushed her face into his mane.
Khanya let out a yelp as Shujaa flipped her manuever on her and she found herself on her back in the dirt with him smooshing his mane in her face. "Hey! That's no way to treat your empress!" she protested between giggles, the fur tickling the inside of her nose and her face.
Shujaa simply smiled at her, but he was quick to get up and let her get to her paws. "My apologies, I forgot who I was dealing with," he chuckled as she gave him a playfully sour look.
"Well, do remember in the future," she told him as she shook the dirt from her fur. "I am Khanya, empress of the dawn, and leader of the dawnlands. You will let me win one of these days," she told him with a false haughty air.
"I wouldn't be much a champion if I go around letting everyone win," he retorted with an amused snort as he sat back on his haunches to lick idlily at one of his paws. In truth, their boys likely got their mischievous streak from the both of them, but Shujaa wasn't likely to admit that any time soon.
Khanya sighed, supposing he was right in that last regard. "Come on then, let's get today started. I'm sure we can find something to do before the entourage returns from their hunt," she told him, far too awake now to even attempt going back to sleep.
((Word Count: 1,466))
