[PRP] A Lazy Afternoon [Binti'Sokota x Tatyana]

[Vashtya]

Binti half-dozed in the shade, enjoying the respite from the heat. It was times like these, when she was able to stop and really relish not needing to be on constant alert, or worrying where her next meal was coming from, thhat sshe realized how much she owed Us'kali for bringing her into the pride, and for trusting her with the care of her final litter of cubs. She would never be the most social lioness around, but she couldn't imagine going back to her solitary wandering as a rogue, at this point.

It probably helped that the Ela'wadiyi were a peaceful pride, and far more tolerant and easygoing than she tended to be, as a whole.

Eyes half-lidded, she nonetheless kept any eye out for anyone who might wander by - she had never enjoyed being surprised, a preference that had become more pronounced as she had gotten older.

 

[Syrius Lionwing]

Vashtya

Tatyana was hardly a young male. If anything he could be classed as past his prime but he had married in to the skyclan late in his life. Having been born to the bird clan he knew his old tribe like the back of his paw. He had never really considered getting married until he met Samira. It was a marriage of convenience for her, his standing age and linage made him the ideal mate but he had been awe struck by the much younger lioness from the getgo.

They had been married for some time now and his feelings for her had only grown. He had been thinking very deeply about this of late. He wondered how Samira felt about him, but he felt it was most unbecoming to ask her directly. He wasn’t a little cub, he wasn’t a child, yet every time he saw her his heart skipped a beat. He felt so foolish not being able to tell her his feelings.

The silver male was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely noticed the sandy coloured female. When he did he blinked owlishly, as if leaving a trance. “I almost didn’t see you there.” He stated, though he quickly backtracked, after all, this was pretty rude. “Good day to you lady, pardon me for interrupting.”  

[Vashtya]

Syrius Lionwing

Binti watched Tatyana as he approached, oblivious to her presence, for the most part. She recognized him as a having joined the clan through marriage, but had never as yet spoken to him.

As he drew closer, she debated her course of action - the polite thing would be to call out a greeting, but what if the lion was one who, like herself, sometimes preferred solitude?

Then he saw her, and with an apologetic air extended greetings, and she couldn't help but smile in response, inclining her head slightly as she got to her feet. How far she'd come, from her defensive, prickly youth!

"Hello," she began, informal as always. "I was laying in less-than-plain-sight." she replied, "So that's no fault of yours. And you interrupted nothing but lazines, so no pardon necessary." She continued, with a small wave of her paw. "

"In my defence, though, the heat today made the shade particularly inviting..." Her eyes may have twinkled with a hint of humor as she spoke, although it would be hard for one who didn't know her well to be sure.

 

[Syrius Lionwing]

Vashtya

Tatyana nodded his head ever so politely once again, he still felt rather rude not noticing the female. If his mother had been there she would have cuffed him around the head, despite his age. He felt a tug of amusement at that.

“Still I am afraid I was far too deep in my own thoughts, my mother would have boxed my ears for not greeting a lady properly.” Why he was voicing this to someone who was a near stranger he really didn’t know. He of course knew most lions of the sky clan by sight and his memory was pretty good though some names escaped his mind. The female was one of them.

“I don’t believe we have ever spoken. Tatyana Kanati.” He paused for a moment and eyed the shade she was perched in, it occurred to him that perhaps she had chosen this spot for it’s solitude and that he was probably intruding, but it was probably too late to back track now. If he was truly honest with himself, it was a nice reprieve from over thinking about his mate, a short distraction even if it was detrimental to the other party.  

[Vashtya]

Syrius Lionwing

Binti couldn't help but laugh at his words, shaking her head slightly at the mental image of the lion before her (one who was definitely no youth!) discussing having his ears boxed.The laugh was short-lived, and she wrested back control of her inappropriate sense of humor quickly, composing her features, although the expression in her eyes was still amused. "Knowing how challenging it can be to do that to a cub, I can only imagine how annoyed she would have to be to attempt it with an adult," she observed.

"I do believe you're correct," she replied, recognizing his last name. "I'm Binti'sokota...although I more commonly go by Binti." she continued, sitting down and getting comfortable. "I haven't been the best about getting to know the rest of the clan," she went on, her tone matter-of-fact. "I was a rogue in my youth, and didn't join the Ela'wadiyi until long after becoming quite...set in my ways."

Truth be told, stubborness would have likely kept her solitary, had it not been for Us'kali leaving her cubs in Binti's care...now it seemed so long ago. Where had the time gone?!

"Are you settling in well with the clan?" she asked after a moment, forcibly shifting her thoughts back to the present.
 

[Syrius Lionwing]

Vashtya

The silver lion smiled at her amusement and allowed a small chuckle to escape his own lips. He supposed it sounded strange to her at his age mentioning his mother but he had spent most of his adult life around her. He had only moved to the Sky clan recently after all to be with his mate. “I suppose it does sound a little odd.” he grins a slightly foolish grin.

“My mate was a rogue.” He smiles “Samira.” He paused, she would know that, he of course assumed most of the clan knew about their arranged marriage and there was always a little mutter about Samira being the Nvwati, what that entailed, but he was here to support her that was his job.

“Yes, I have been welcomed by the clan.” He smiled a light smile, it was difficult being here sometimes, even though he had not left the Ela’wadiyi he had been born and raised in another clan so it was sort of unusual for him to feel so at home. Of course his lady mate helped with that. “It feels like I was born here some days though of course the bird clan and sky clan have always had a deep connection to one another.”  

[Vashtya]

Syrius Lionwing

"It's not so much that it sounds odd," she began, grinning anew "as I have to give credit where it's due, and the thought of trying to box the ears of an adult..." she shook her head in mock sympathy.

At the mention of Samira having been a rogue, she nodded. "I remember that, yes." She was not one of the more old-fashioned members of the pride who saw that as a bad thing, however - Samira had embraced the culture, from what Binti could tell - and sometimes bringing in a new perspective was what was needed to keep things moving forward, in her experience.

"That is good to hear," she replied. It was, of course, something he had always prepared at least somewhat for, since the males of the pride always joined their mate's pride. "and that is true...of all the clans, those two have struck me as having the most obvious link."

"I also found the clan to be...unexpectedly welcoming, when I first joined. They had allowed me to linger about for some time beforehand, as well, since I didn't ask to join the pride myself until Us'kali's cubs were almost grown - I raised them among their pride, but questioned my own place here on a permanent basis...but haven't regretted it."

She wasn't typically so nostalgic, or inclined to talk about it when she was, but something about the mellow male who had stumbled across her made it easy to do so.

"Did you get to catch up with your family at the Sky Festival, at least?"
 

[Syrius Lionwing]

Vashtya

He knew so little of the sky clans inhabitants that hearing her story gladdened his heart. The silver male decided it was time to make a conscious effort, in that moment, to speak to more of the clan, to hear their tales and ambitions. He really had been dragging his heels for too long, letting Samira do all of the hard work, he was here for one purpose of course but he hadn’t done much supporting of his mate. He would make more of an effort to do so.

“You adopted a family, that is a beautiful thing to do.” The silver male spoke calmly, his voice gentle, he thought very highly of this female instantly, knowing she had given up an old life to raise someone else’s children. It was a sacrifice he was fairly certain not every creature would do.

“Your children are all grown now?” He queried, who ever this lioness had raised, he had no doubt they would be outstanding individuals.

“It is good, to have a home, old lives never leave us though, memories of our past push us to the future.” He paused for a moment. “It would be hard to regret a decision that helped others so much.” He rumbled a gentle pleased laugh in his voice.

“Yes, my mother and a few of my siblings at least. It is difficult to catchy up with everyone at the festival it is so busy. If I did not meet with my mother though and at least allow her to ask me about grandchildren I would never hear the end of it.” He chuckled. It seemed his mother would just keep cropping up in this conversation. The lioness was easy to speak to though and it was nice to simply chew the fat with another lion.  

[Vashtya]

Syrius Lionwing

At that, she laughed aloud. "To be fair, Us'kali had taken me under her wing, of a sort, and taught me a lot of family bonds, whether they be by birth, or otherwise." Truth be told, Binti had been a hard-headed, stubborn yoith, with a bad habit of pushing others away.

"And I had help - one of her older cubs, Ama, helped me raise them...and it helped that they were not as mischievious as I was in my youth, or I may have fled under the cover of darkness." She continued, chuckling again. And if her eyes softened slightly at the mention of Ama, it was unlikely that it would be noticed. That had been a long time ago, thankfully, for memories of him were bittersweet.

"But yes, they are - long grown, truth be told! Although I still see Woha'li frequently," she said, smiling. "And that's true," she said thoughtfully, with a small nod. While she was sure she had contributed something to the pride over the years, however, she was convinced she'd gotten a great deal more. "Or, selfishly, one that I gained so much from,"

"That is true enough," she observed. Truthfully, while she respected what it represented, she wasn't a huge fan of the crowded nature of it. "I'm sure that was one of the highlights of the festival for her," she teased.

"I would imagine that you and your mate were kept busy for most of it though, since there is a great deal to organize, with so many clans coming together."
 

[Syrius Lionwing]

Vashtya

The silver male smiled as she spoke so fondly of the cubs she had raised. It gave him much thought. Although he andSamira had never really discussed having cubs he knew of course that it would be a possibility at some point. He hoped he would be a good father to new life that would be born in to the sky clan.

“I’m sure they are amazing creatures. It would be a pleasure to meet them one day.” He smiles. “Raising children is a special kind of gift.” He paused for a moment “Or so I am told.” He chuckled, he had no experience of raising cubs after all and he had no younger siblings.

“The festival is always a busy time yes. Samira takes her duties very seriously, she has to of course.” Tatyana tilted his head “I try and pull her away for a little while though. She needs to take a break even if she is busy.”

He looked over the lionesses shoulder and gave a gentle sigh. “I should be on my way.” He looked at the pale lioness and smiled softly. “It was a pleasure to talk to you Binti.” He paused and took a step away “Samira will be wondering where I am.” He chuckled. He had much to tell his mate about this meeting.  

[Vashtya]

Syrius Lionwing

Sorry for the extra quote that's likely to hit you, but I wanted to update, as I think that this post completes it! <3

She smiled, knowing his words were probably just him being polite, but unable to resist a bit of pride at her now-grown charges. She loved them fiercely, to a degree that surprised her, for all that she was not particularly demonstrative in her affections. "I'm sure you will, at some point," she said lightly. "And I don't know about that - I think it mostly comes down to stubborness...sheer unwillingness to admit defeat," she joked.

"That's probably a good thing," she said. "Dedication is important, but balance is a good thing."

Grinning back at him, Binti inclined her head. "The pleasure was mine," she replied, surprised to find it was true. "And please give Samira my greetings."