Sphinx - normal
Kasai - bold

Maya had spent the better part of her afternoon cleaning out an secluded den she claimed upon joining the pride, it was far from the dens that families shared and away from prying eyes. Her lack of homemaker skills were evident now more than ever, perhaps her years of wandering had left the lioness unable to make a den feel like a proper home. No matter, the pelts on the floor and the feather her sister gave her was enough to fill this new void, at least for now.

The darkness came quickly that night and with it a cold spell that caused her to find shelter under her pelts. In the distance she could hear the waves crash against the cliff-side, this was the only thing that brought her comfort on a night like this.

Xibalba would return in a few days, Maya hoped to have this place at least a little less embarrassing by the time she arrived.

The seasons were changing, and the stormborn lands were not immune to climate switches. Instead of warm, muggy rains, now the lands would be riddled with cool, icy rain, but not cold enough to keep the chill on the ground. Kristanf particular enjoyed this weather.

After leaving his prize buried safely in a hole still within the pouch, he had wandered the worn paths, enjoying the moon light over head. The pride had been quiet lately, which was something Kristanf didn't enjoy. Where was the action? Where was the fight? Did he have to get amusement just by leaving the borders?

A low sigh escaped his maw as a lone den caught his attention. More or less, the familiar scent that wafted from it. As the reaver neared it, he stood at the entrance, his form illuminating by the moon's glow. He saw the female underneath the pelts, and shook his head. What a mess these den was.

"You know. There are others ways to keep warm." Kristanf said with a frown, not entering the den.

"I have no other way." The lioness insisted as her green eyes met his. She was use to his face by now, this lion was one of the only members of they pride that had actually taken any time to speak with her, normally Maya got awful glares and silence. Still, his presence didn't change anything, she was still freezing. "-It's hard to find warmth with so little fur." Maya was referencing the burns on her side, and the missing fur that looked borderline self-inflicted. Slowly the lioness rose to her paws as she shoved the pelts from off her lean frame.

"You are welcome inside." The invitation wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold, it was in a gray area, one where Maya could observe this lion on her own time and at her own pace.

"I've got no meat to offer." The lioness had not yet gone hunting, so his belly would go empty if that is what he came for.

Maya had never been alone with a male like this before. The intimacy made her feel uneasy.

Kristanf snorted, but found himself entering the den with her permission. While he would normally disregard what a female would say, knowing she was a sibling of a deity caused him to be paranoid, so he tread lightly around the female.

"There is normally a fire going near the center of the pride those use to keep warm." Kristanf shrugged. "Though, you seem keen on keeping to yourself in this desolate little den. You might want to look into getting a thrall. They can keep you warm. And if they disobey on a night you truly need them, just skin them." He shrugged again, as if he contemplated doing that with his own thralls. He had never executed it though.

"You'd be surprised how well one's body heat is to keep another warm."

His words caused her to huff in annoyance. "-and here I was starting to enjoy you." Her words left her as easily as she turned back to her pelts, sitting down on top of them firmly. "I do not need a thrall for warmth. Perhaps one to tend to this trash pit, but I would never lay beside someone beneath me." It was true, her standards were high even if she didn't look it, Maya had never shared a bed with anyone, not even her own sister, who for most of her life was her only living friend. Still, she would look into this thrall trade for the sake of her den.

"Besides, forcing someone to lay with you sounds pretty pathetic." Was she trying to stir him up a little? Maybe, it was hard to say for sure. A soft smirk danced across her lips as she flicked her tail.

"Fire." All of a sudden her mood shifted as a dark expression blanketed over her face. "I know fire well, it brings me no warmth."

"You haven't seen the coldest this land has to offer. You may find yourself regretting those words." Kristanf found himself scoffing. "But they are more useful than just warmth. Heeding to your trash pit as you refer it, definitely. Hunting and rearing cubs are others." The light male spoke, really with no hidden meaning behind his words. He spoke bluntly to the female, but didn't insinuate anything. How she took it was her own.

His eyes narrowed at her next words, but felt himself shrugging. "This pride hasn't hardened you yet. Thralls learn their place quickly when you put them in it." He took a step towards the burned creature. "Besides, what one might thing is forceful has them continuing asking for at a later date." He stopped just before her, staring right at her eyes.

"You just haven't found the right fire."

"Why bother producing weak cubs with thralls? It seems like a waste of a legacy." Maya was still being firm in her beliefs, no matter how hard he might have pressed the issue. "I could take a male thrall and force him to put cubs in my belly-" the female stopped as Kris stood in front of her. "but that would do nothing but disappoint me. Unworthy offspring, I would slaughter them before they every opened their eyes." If she was going to have cubs the father would have to be just as worthy of her, it was something no thrall could ever give her. "-and laying with someone of such low status? Please. I would sooner let Ciro have his way with me."

Oh, there it was, a little bit of a bite back. The female didn't flinch as he spoke, she knew full well what his words meant. "I take it all your cubs are lowly bastards? Do they steal from you and disappoint you? This is why you never breed outside your rank and status." If she was offending him it didn't seem to bother her, the lioness found his words as empty as his gaze, could he even see what she was?

"Careful now-" Maya warned as he moved a little bit closer. "As I said before, I am no whore." Her tone was soft and high pitched, as if it changed just to seduce his interests.

"Who says thralls are there to be the bearer of your own cubs. Most of the time if they do happen, they are accidents from a reaver's perspective. Although, where one of higher rank could claim them, those days are long gone. Now, any cubs born to thralls are just that, thralls. They are better off christening the land with their blood, than walking the earth."

His lip rose as she mentioned Ciro's name. "He is not worthy to spread his seed in this pride or any other. Look at blind b*****d child fighting alongside the enemy."

"My boys take after me. They are all that counts. My daughters are the conniving thieves, and if they decide to return to their family den, they won't live to leave it." He didn't know where they were. Fled with their mother most likely.

"You better rank yourself up then. Or else you will have no options other than a lowly freeborn with no ambition to leave the pride." If she wanted to talk ranks, she still was lower than him. She would always be lower than him.

"You are the only one who has said those words about yourself." As she took a step towards him, he moved to match it, now sizing her up. His eyes narrowed as he looked down on her. "But I have yet to see you fight, so right now, that is all I can see you as."

He sure liked to hear himself talk. Maya could hardly stand it, though she allowed him to finish anyway. Her rank would come soon, he had no idea what she was capable of, and in this moment she would use that to her advantage. A little pressure from the divine never hurt anyone, right? Slowly the female moved closer until her jaws reached his ear, she whispered to him softly, slithering her way under his skin. "I bet that's all you want to see me as."

How could someone with so much potential be so one dimensional? Perhaps there was more to this lion yet, but for now Maya would have her fun. The horn in her nose wrinkled with her smirk as wide eyes slowly pulled back to face him. "You'd take me right here, without my consent, wouldn't you?" The lioness paused as she tilted her head to the side. "You know, the last living creature that tired to control me died at the hands of Xibalba, she burned alive under a full moon."

Maya shifted her weight as she ran her lean figure against his, moving past him so that she now faced the entrance of her den. "She has away about her that can not be tamed, a black magic spell that will hold you in place while it happens." The female turned back to face Kris, standing firmly. "I plucked her eyes from her skull so that she couldn't see, it was a blackness that burned her that night, a darkness she would never escape." Maya paused.

"You've felt it... the inability move or speak, the dread that builds in your chest as she haunts you..." Ah, there it was, Maya moved back to him as she pressed her chest against his shoulder, speaking again under a whisper, "I can show you that fire..."

"We are far out enough no one would hear your cries." Kristanf started. "I'd push you straight up against this wall, and bury you face in it so no one would hear you even if they were to cross this old path." He whispered. He claws dug into the earth, before her next comments cause the eyes to narrow into slits.

God damnit. That goddess would get in his way if he were to even think about making that situation a reality. He had felt the curse the female had either intentionally, or unintentionally, put on him. Kristanf had been stuck in place, unable to move his body, only his eyes, to see where he wanted. He felt himself shuddering ever so slightly as her figure moved against him. He found a claw paw snagging out at her with his ears pinned back. Her goddess sister wasn't here yet.

"You like plucking out eyes." He found himself commenting, as she pushed herself against him.

"I prefer not to feel that fire." He stated, eyes narrowing as he moved back slightly. His claw reached out to hold her chin, forcing her gaze to his own lighter orbs. "I have too much to take care of in my near future after all." The claw dug lightly into the soft fur under Maya's chin as he hissed his last words.

"Good answer." That was all the lioness had to say about that, and as quickly as she started her snake like dance it was over, leaving the den bitter and stark. Maya slipped her chin away from his claw long enough for her body to find a seat back on the ground. His comments about taking her didn't seem to bother her any, it was as if she been spoken to like this many times before. Perhaps if she wasn't so burned she could have been a true beauty. It was a shame really.

For a long while the lioness sat, gazing at him intensely as he gazed back. "You should come back tomorrow and join me on a hunt." The invitation was forward, she knew he would not try to harm her with the threat of her sister looming over him, still, this lion interested her enough for Maya to summon him back here, so maybe his threats meant very litter to in the end. Maya sat and awaited his answer.

As the lioness found herself seated, Kristanf took that as an opportunity to rise to his own feet, backing away. Well, whatever his intentions were for the evening (if any) were not to be alongside this female. As he turned to leave, his ears piqued at her comment.

"A hunt?" That was a thralls duty. He found himself scoffing, but nodded shortly in agreement. "As you wish, I will meet you just after dawn." That would give him plenty of time for rest.

The male said no more, as he continued to head out of the den, back towards his own.