[PRP] A Proposition (Tawa x Umthunzi)

[SilverLutz]

It was a beautiful, refreshing evening that Tawa found himself on patrol. There was a nice breeze and the skies were clear, the starlight and fat full moon giving him more than enough light to see by. He was making his rounds slowly, enjoying the perfect weather with a content look on his face. Back in his home pride, the nights were just as brutal as the days. Rather than searing heat and unforgiving sun, the deserts turned into wind-whipped cold tundras. Here in the Bonelands the days were quite hot as well, but the nights...the nights were perfect.

He paused on a small hill, looking out over the expanse of his new home. He could see some lionesses hunting off in the distance and a few other females watching over a few cubs that were rough housing by a rock, seeing who could climb to the top of it the fastest and stay there. He took in the scene with a fond expression, recalling his own youth and the fun he had had...right up until he had found out Umthunzi would have to leave him one day.

Shaking his head, Tawa cleared his mind of those thoughts. They had plagued him for too long and now he was finally free of that worry. He and Umthunzi were reunited in a better home. Better if only because they wouldn't be forced out due to the color of their pelts. Tawa knew his time here was potentially limited, but there were roles males could take so long as they vowed celibacy. Perhaps when the time came he could accept one of those roles if only to stay with the lioness he had followed here.  

[Quaji]

The sunny lioness' words ate at her mind, nagging incessantly as she walked.

Umthunzi had hoped her stinging feeling that radiated from her sore paws would rip her away from the thoughts of own jealousy. Green certainly wasn't a good color for the scowling Busisa. Alas, her efforts were in vain, a hopeless attempt for some kind of peace in the tranquil night. At least he wasn't utterly dominating her thoughts now. No, it was the idea of cubs that had replaced him. His laughter had been exiled in exchange for the chortling of their hypothetical children.

Her tail whipped angrily at the dusty earth.

She was of age, 'Beyond ready' as some of the older lionesses had said to her. Though her coat, how pale it was, how she burned in the sun, it was always the reason that in the same breath that they suggested to have children they also shied away from the subject with muttered words that Umthunzi could only believe were jabs at her pelt.

At least they wouldn't toss her out because of it. It wasn't like she was purple or some other color that mimicked the flowers that had all withered by now, their corpses dotting the cracked ground as she walked.

Now where was that damn Inselelo...  

[SilverLutz]

From his perch on the little hill, Tawa spotted his friend long before Umthunzi spotted him. He was downwind of her as well which made a little smirk cross his features. He hadn't seen nor smelled anything on his patrol thus far, letting him slack of a bit as he shifted quietly down the hill. Here in the Bonelands the hunting was done by the females, but having the training of a Firekin Tawa knew exactly how to sneak up on his 'prey' unnoticed. He crouched low to the ground, coming up beside Umthunzi before trotting to catch up, seeming to appear out of nowhere.

"Nice night," he said with a grin, hoping to startle her a bit. "And it just got nicer now that you're here." He noticed the disgruntled look on her face and his grin faltered just a bit, tail stiff behind him for a moment.

"Uh...you all right?"  

[Quaji]

There was a jump, small, hardly noticeable, but there none the less. "I suppose," annoyance dripping in his voice. "I've just been...talking." Wow, that was as vague as anything she had ever said. Mother had always taught her to be assertive, take what she wants, leave no ambition unsatisfied and that she was an queen by blood. The memories of Ares and her coat burned in her vision. Umthunzi rolled her eyes, her quick pace never faltering as she kept walking. She didn't even consider the fact that her bearing was taking her farther from the pride, farther from the other lionesses, the cubs and the bones.

Then she stopped, suddenly, and turned to stare him down. Pale red eyes searched his face as she swallowed hard. Mother would say to 'have courage' in the face of a challenge, but never back down. There were no cowards in her blood and she would not be the first.

"I want cubs." Blunt, to the point, just like the Firekin were.  

[SilverLutz]

"Talking...huh," Tawa murmured as he fell into step beside Umthunzi, matching her pace. He wasn't too sure where they were going, but he didn't particularly care. Just trotting along beside the lioness was fine with him. He walked close enough so their shoulders bumped from time to time, and when Umthunzi pulled up short and turned to him he bumped into her enough to get him to put on the brakes.

The abrupt statement made him falter for a moment, brown eyes wide as he stared at her, jaw slightly parted. He didn't know how to respond to that for a few moments before he cleared his throat. "Um...well..." How was he supposed to reply?

"That...I can help with that," he said dumbly, his brain short circuiting as his heart started to pound in his chest. She wanted cubs. She wanted cubs with him. She hadn't gone to Bangizwe or Andhaka, she had gone to him and this was far, far different than the other lionesses that had approached him with the same request. This wasn't a request, though. This was a demand, and one that he was happy to fill.  

[Quaji]

The look on his face was enough to make Umthunzi cackle. "I know you can help with that. Why do you think I even said it?" Her head leaned forward, brushing their cheeks together. The lioness' broad tongue ran over the side of Tawa's face and that was the only warning he could before she took off ahead of him.

Umthunzi's laughter rang out, loud and clear. "Assuming you can catch me!" It was a challenge, one he had answered before in their youth, but never like this. It wasn't a test or anything close to it. It was simply play and the way she loped in the darkness was evidence enough. In the light of the moon, Umthunzi was free to be without her traditionally large secondary pelt. She felt...carefree? Excited? Unlike herself? Were any of those even the right words for the feeling that welled up inside of her right now? All she knew was allowing him to actually see her and not under the skin of someone else was an exhilarating feeling.  

[SilverLutz]

The touch of Umthunzi's cheek, then tongue brought Tawa out of his stupor. His grin returned as his heart beat wildly in his chest, his stomach flipping with delight. This wasn't just to further the Bonelands linage, to thin the breeding pool a bit. This was for reasons that transcended tradition and heritage. This was why he had followed her here. It was deeper than survival and seeing the next generation grow.

The challenge to catch her made Tawa laugh in turn, and he bounded off in her wake. She was beautiful in the light of the moon, he realized as he followed her pale form. The moon and stars didn't burn her as the sun did, leaving her free to run without the pelt she relied so heavily on in the day. He knew he'd never find anyone else like her in the entire world and the fact that she wanted him as well made him feel like he had wings.

He ran after her, bounding through the dry grass without a care in the world. He got closer with each step - she wasn't running as hard as she could, that much was obvious - and with one strong push he leapt forward to tackle her to the ground. It was as gentle as the action could be, without claws or too much slamming into the hard, cracked earth, and he found himself laughing in the dust cloud that was stirred up by their antics.

"You ran off before I could return the gesture. How rude," he rumbled, leaning in to press his forehead against hers, their noses bumping a bit.  

[Quaji]

A thundering laugh broke free. Loud between them, it carried into the air, joining in with the chorus of chirping insects that surrounded the lions.

With one heave Umthunzi threw her weight to the side and the pair rolled across the ground. Her laughter never ceased. Around them, grasshoppers sprang to life as they fled for their lives. Specks of light came alive, twinkling in and out, joining in the madness the two had made for the insect world.

"That's me, 'Rude Arita'. I thought you'd know that by now." She was teasing, her paws combing idly through his mane. This wasn't at all how she had pictured her evening. She had hoped it would be something like this, yes, but somehow she had pictured something vastly different.  

[SilverLutz]

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Tawa teased back, looking up at the female above him. His brown eyes softened as he lifted a paw to lightly bap her nose, playful and caring all in one movement. A low growl rumbled in his chest, as close to a purr as a lion could manage as she pawed at his mane, the light color considered a less than attractive attribute here, but he knew it didn't matter to Umthunzi.

"Cubs," he said very quietly. "I can't promise I'll be sane when they arrive, but I'll do my best to help you." It wasn't in the Bonelands way of living for the males to help with the cubs, but these cubs would be special and like hell he was going to ignore them. He'd protect them from any harm and strive to keep them close to him, unlike Bangizwe and Andhaka who had more cubs than they probably knew what to do with.

"We'll raise them together," he added, holding her gaze with his own. "As we were raised."  

[Quaji]

Together.

The word rang loud and clear and Umthunzi found herself focusing on it as everything else Tawa said blurred away. Nothing else he said really mattered as far as she was concerned. With a content rumble, she settled herself up against him, her head tucked neatly under his chin. Everything just felt right, like it was all coming together and while they both held worries close to their hearts, they could worry about those when they showed their ugly faces.

"Together," she whispered into the night.