Today was a bit of a weird one, and Khanyo was a little worried about how his brother, Neze, would handle it. Helle and Jord had approached him with the idea of setting up Neze to be alone with Jord that morning, and essentially tricking his brother into a first date. It was a little funny, but Neze had always been a bit awkward with surprise social situations and Khanyo wasn't sure how his brother would react to this little plot. Helle had assured him that everything would be alright, but that did little to ease his mind. They didn't know Neze, and how stubborn his awkward streak could be. So, Khanyo had convinced Helle to spy on the meeting with him, without telling Jord of course. The small male hunkered down in the tall grass, his eyes barely peeking out from in between the swaying blades. "Are you sure this is going to work?" he whispered, his brows knit together in anticipation of the whole thing blowing up in their faces.Helle had to admit she was a bit dubious of their spying on Jord and Neze, as neither she nor Khanyo were particularly good at stealthing and hiding. They were fighter's after all, there was no need for them to sneak around like thieves. "No? Maybe? Be quiet!" she hissed just barely above a whisper as she tried to get into a better crouching position. There was a reason the muscular lioness wasn't a hunter. She didn't have the patience to stay in one place too long, and she wasn't finding it very comfortable to have to peek between blades of grass. They weren't terribly far away from Neze and Jord, she could see them but even when she strained her ears, she couldn't hear them and that was frustrating. "What do you think they're saying?" she mumbled to Khanyo after a moment of silence.
Khanyo snorted at her in amusement when she broke her own call for silence, but he shook his head in response. "Probably nothing? Neze doesn't really start conversations..." His brother was more of the silent, but around type. He caught the concerned look that crossed Helle's face when he said that, and he gave her a light bump with his head to assure her. "I dunno, it's hard to see from here."
Helle sighed, maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. But Jord had been pretty enthusiastic about getting to know the darker male and try as they might he just never seemed to open up when they all hung out as a group. And she knew Jord had been wanting a male around for quite some time, even before they had left the Stormborn together, so she hoped this would work. Suddenly she heard a shout and there was quick and angry movement, which startled Helle into nearly jumping to her paws and rushing over there.
Khanyo was quick to place a heavy paw on the larger lioness' head, reminding her to keep their cover. "Easy! Let them sort this out," he warned. Besides, they had no idea what had even been said! Well, in all fairness, he had been worried that something like this would happen. Neze wasn't exactly the best with social surprises, especially if he was by himself. He just hoped he wouldn't make an a** of himself in front of Jord.
Helle grumbled in the back of her throat, but she knew he was right, even if she didn't like it. "If he harms one hair on her head I'll murder him," she growled as she dug her claws into the earth. Jord was like a sister to her, and Helle would be damned if she let anything happen to her. It was frustrating to sit back and watch the whole scene play out without having any sort of idea what they might have been saying, but they couldn't risk getting any closer. Neither she nor Khanyo was stealthy enough to pull that off. "I wish I knew I what they were saying," she groused as she shifted her weight uncomfortably.
Khanyo still had his paws on top of her head, but neither seemed to be paying it much mind. "Yeah, I know," muttered back, annoyed that his brother might have botched the whole thing right from the get-go. Finally, after what felt like a millennium of anxious silence between them, Jord and Neze were moving off in the same direction. Khanyo breathed a sigh of relief as his paw slipped down off of Helle's head. "Thank goodness," he whispered. "I thought he was done for." A small chuckled left his maw as moved to stretch out his limbs in the tall grass. He had gotten stiff staying crouched in one position for so long and he remembered why he hated hunting the most. He simply wasn't built for it. The small male was very muscular with a deep chest and short limbs, which was great for fighting, but not so much for stealthing.
Helle shook her head when the weight of his paw left her and snorted in amusement. "He almost was," she responded as she flexed her claws once more into the dirt. As Khanyo made a move to stretch out beside her, Helle took the opportunity to flop over to her side and roll onto her back so she could stretch those muscles. She had also gotten stiff from their little spying game, and she liked being able to move around again. To neither of their surprise, she wound up snuggling her face into Khanyo's dark mane once he settled down to lay next to her. She was larger than he was, but Helle admired the beautiful male's golden coat and his thick muscles. "Now how should we spend our morning?" she asked as she lazily batted a tuft of his mane with her paw. Now that Jord and Neze were off on their own, it left them some time to themselves.
Khanyo dipped his muzzle down to rest his chin on his paws as he stifled a yawn. Who knew spying would be so exhausting? "We could take a nap?" he suggested as he moved his head to rest it against her shoulder. The sun felt good and warm, and Helle was nice and soft to rest against. He honestly couldn't think of a better thing to do at that moment.
She laughed at the suggestion, amused but not at all against the idea. "Fine. We can nap for a little bit," she agreed as she sprawled out to get more comfortable. "But when we get up, I'm kicking your butt in a spar," she told him matter-of-factly, which earned a deep throated chuckle from Khanyo.
((Word Count: 1,123))