It was almost dawn, the rising of the sun by which Ki'jivu would know that his shift had ended. Well, he had to wait for his replacement to get there first, but no matter. Unlike his mate, he did not do particularly well at staying up all night. Even though he'd held the graveyard shift since he'd grown into the guard role, he still found his eyelids sagging towards the end of the night. He'd force himself into exercises as a way to remain at the top of his game. He had a duty to the pride, after all.
Ki'jivu was excited to head away from the border and toward the heart of the Mwezi lands, where he shared a den with Dareia. He'd met a lot of great lionesses in his moons in the pride, but none had ever come quite as close to perfect as she. Truly, he felt blessed by the Great Lion by the fact that she even found the pride. She was a night owl and absolutely obsessed with moon and stars in the sky, which made him a lovely match for her, considering his near-shimmering mane.
Before his shift was to end, however, a lioness stumbled upon his post. She seemed to be walking lazily, just meandering about, when she found him.
Zaniah's pale eyes lit up when they landed on the lion standing guard at the border. He was hand. some. He appeared to be decked out same as the night sky, and hoo boy was she into it. She could feel her slow walk turn into a strut as he noticed her, eyes wide and appraising.
Of course, the lioness took the look on his face to be interest. And, naturally, she intended to take advantage of it.
"Hey, there. How's guard duty going?~"
Ki'jivu blinked, shook his head, and opened his mouth. There was something in her tone, playful and girlish, that he really didn't take to. "Fine enough. Not sure I need any distractions, though..." He hoped the comment would indicate to her that he wasn't interested in hanging out with her.
"Oh? You think I'm a distraction? Well, you're one to talk~"
There it was again! That tone, god, what was with it. So brazenly flirtatious. Should he make a bold comment about Dareia, or would that be weird?
The thought didn't remain in his head for long when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dareia's bouncy step, headed towards himself and this... other. Instantly, he smiled, touched by the fact that she thought to pick him up from work. He knew it wasn't totally selfless — she would be awake and restless regardless — but he appreciated it all the same. Ignoring Zaniah, he quickly called out "Dareia! Oh, dear, it's so nice to see you!" He cast a glance at Zaniah, questioning.
Zaniah, realizing what was happening, rolled her eyes and groaned. A mate or a partner of any kind was always a bad sign. But hey, that didn't always mean all that much. Her ears flicked as she heard the footfalls of the other lioness approaching, and she slowly turned to greet the female.
When Dareia reached Ki'jivu, she instantly reached out to nuzzle him, grateful for the warm feel of his neck on her cheek. Then, she turned to the other lioness, a brow quirked, but expression polite. "Hello, she said, a soft smile planting itself upon her face. "I'm Dareia. Nice to see you keeping Ki'jivu company when I can't." Her tone was sweet, but it was tinged with malintent.
Zaniah responded by smiling, her canines showing. "Zaniah, lovely to meet you. Both of you." She didn't wish to get into a fight over this male she'd hardly even met, so she intended to make it clear that, really, nothing was going on here. "I was just meaning to ask for directions back to the dens. It's not quite light yet, and I'm a new addition to the pride."
Dareia had a sense that the other was outright lying — she knew her mate was sought after by quite a few females in the pack — but she didn't care to make a scene of things.
Ki'jivu, silent this whole time, suddenly jumped in. Using his muzzle, he pointed: "If you walk straight that way, you'll see a large bolder next to a clearing. Follow the boulder's line across the clearing and just keep walking straight. You'll start to recognize things quite quickly, I'm sure."
Dareia and Zaniah glanced at Ki'jivu, and Zaniah responded by nodding. "Thank you~" she purred, giving Dareia a mischievous look before starting to pad away. "Great to meet you both, truly~"
As soon as Zaniah was out of earshot, Dareia gave a questioning look to her mate. "Should I be concerned?"
Instantly, Ki'jivu crumbled, feeling awful that she should think to be worried at all. "Of course not, my love. I was certainly very, very glad that you showed up." He gazed into her deep blue eyes before breaking eye contact to nuzzle her once again.
At that moment — of course — Ki'jivu's replacement came on to the scene. "Hey, Ki'jivu, you two love birds are free to go," the lion said.
Ki could feel his face getting hot and embarrassed all over, but he nodded and thanked the lion anyway before looking over at Dareia. "Let's get outta here, I'm starving and exhausted." She responded by smiling at him, happy to have him to call home.
The two of them had been inseparable since the very day they met. Scratch that, night they met. On one of his shifts of guard duty, she had stumbled upon him, and ever since they'd been spending the many moons reenacting that original union. They were a precious couple — the only thing they were missing, everyone who knew them knew, was cubs. They were hoping that Dareia would be with child soon, but for some reason, in all their time together, a pregnancy hadn't quite materialized. But soon, they knew, soon they would see cubs into the world. At least, they hoped.
Ki'jivu was excited to head away from the border and toward the heart of the Mwezi lands, where he shared a den with Dareia. He'd met a lot of great lionesses in his moons in the pride, but none had ever come quite as close to perfect as she. Truly, he felt blessed by the Great Lion by the fact that she even found the pride. She was a night owl and absolutely obsessed with moon and stars in the sky, which made him a lovely match for her, considering his near-shimmering mane.
Before his shift was to end, however, a lioness stumbled upon his post. She seemed to be walking lazily, just meandering about, when she found him.
Zaniah's pale eyes lit up when they landed on the lion standing guard at the border. He was hand. some. He appeared to be decked out same as the night sky, and hoo boy was she into it. She could feel her slow walk turn into a strut as he noticed her, eyes wide and appraising.
Of course, the lioness took the look on his face to be interest. And, naturally, she intended to take advantage of it.
"Hey, there. How's guard duty going?~"
Ki'jivu blinked, shook his head, and opened his mouth. There was something in her tone, playful and girlish, that he really didn't take to. "Fine enough. Not sure I need any distractions, though..." He hoped the comment would indicate to her that he wasn't interested in hanging out with her.
"Oh? You think I'm a distraction? Well, you're one to talk~"
There it was again! That tone, god, what was with it. So brazenly flirtatious. Should he make a bold comment about Dareia, or would that be weird?
The thought didn't remain in his head for long when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dareia's bouncy step, headed towards himself and this... other. Instantly, he smiled, touched by the fact that she thought to pick him up from work. He knew it wasn't totally selfless — she would be awake and restless regardless — but he appreciated it all the same. Ignoring Zaniah, he quickly called out "Dareia! Oh, dear, it's so nice to see you!" He cast a glance at Zaniah, questioning.
Zaniah, realizing what was happening, rolled her eyes and groaned. A mate or a partner of any kind was always a bad sign. But hey, that didn't always mean all that much. Her ears flicked as she heard the footfalls of the other lioness approaching, and she slowly turned to greet the female.
When Dareia reached Ki'jivu, she instantly reached out to nuzzle him, grateful for the warm feel of his neck on her cheek. Then, she turned to the other lioness, a brow quirked, but expression polite. "Hello, she said, a soft smile planting itself upon her face. "I'm Dareia. Nice to see you keeping Ki'jivu company when I can't." Her tone was sweet, but it was tinged with malintent.
Zaniah responded by smiling, her canines showing. "Zaniah, lovely to meet you. Both of you." She didn't wish to get into a fight over this male she'd hardly even met, so she intended to make it clear that, really, nothing was going on here. "I was just meaning to ask for directions back to the dens. It's not quite light yet, and I'm a new addition to the pride."
Dareia had a sense that the other was outright lying — she knew her mate was sought after by quite a few females in the pack — but she didn't care to make a scene of things.
Ki'jivu, silent this whole time, suddenly jumped in. Using his muzzle, he pointed: "If you walk straight that way, you'll see a large bolder next to a clearing. Follow the boulder's line across the clearing and just keep walking straight. You'll start to recognize things quite quickly, I'm sure."
Dareia and Zaniah glanced at Ki'jivu, and Zaniah responded by nodding. "Thank you~" she purred, giving Dareia a mischievous look before starting to pad away. "Great to meet you both, truly~"
As soon as Zaniah was out of earshot, Dareia gave a questioning look to her mate. "Should I be concerned?"
Instantly, Ki'jivu crumbled, feeling awful that she should think to be worried at all. "Of course not, my love. I was certainly very, very glad that you showed up." He gazed into her deep blue eyes before breaking eye contact to nuzzle her once again.
At that moment — of course — Ki'jivu's replacement came on to the scene. "Hey, Ki'jivu, you two love birds are free to go," the lion said.
Ki could feel his face getting hot and embarrassed all over, but he nodded and thanked the lion anyway before looking over at Dareia. "Let's get outta here, I'm starving and exhausted." She responded by smiling at him, happy to have him to call home.
The two of them had been inseparable since the very day they met. Scratch that, night they met. On one of his shifts of guard duty, she had stumbled upon him, and ever since they'd been spending the many moons reenacting that original union. They were a precious couple — the only thing they were missing, everyone who knew them knew, was cubs. They were hoping that Dareia would be with child soon, but for some reason, in all their time together, a pregnancy hadn't quite materialized. But soon, they knew, soon they would see cubs into the world. At least, they hoped.