Welcome to Gaia! ::

Above the sky was burning. Reds, oranges, and the deep purple of night hinting on the horizon danced to and fro, setting the previously calm heavens alight. They allowed for amusement to sparkle in the green eyes of an observer, from her reclining position under a low-hanging, rather scrubby tree.

Her near-black figure, littered by white tattoos, was stretched to it's limits, head tilted to one side, placed for maximum view with minimum effort. Utlwa Galu'nadi was lounging, as usual, in what she termed 'extreme style.'

The night was not far off now, but for the moment, the last flickers of day could be spent with idleness, a true king's pursuit.

Meanwhile, her 'opposite twin' was pacing. There was confusion edged upon her features as she frowned softly, paused, smiled, and then frowned softly again. There was something to be said about the way she carried herself, as if she weren't looking where she was going, her pelt bristling here and there, her form restless as she padded. She didn't look particularly annoyed, or even scared, but rather, merely... somewhat confused. There was little her mind could do to supply the answers she needed, and thus, instead, incapable of resting or sleep, Tsi'hilu had taken it upon herself to pace.

Pacing was safe. Pacing was something she knew how to do and would not surprise her. Surprising enough had been the revelations of the afternoon, and now, the pale lioness needed time to think. Time to sort out her feelings and thoughts. Her mind and body, however, were not keen on doing this; instead they seemed intent on remembering the feel of his body against her, nipping at her neck, sending electrical shocks down her spine....

And she was derailing. Again. There was no way she'd be able to make much sense out of it except 'it was different' if she kept getting lost in the memory. She needed help, she decided, and since Taika was still away, Tsi'hilu decided that Wally was her next best choice (there was no way she was going to talk about it to one of their elders after all - not yet).

Having come to a determination, the pale lioness moved her form till she caught her twin's scent, and slowly moved that way, her frame regaining some of the elegance it'd lost while she'd been pacing in a dumb circle around a random rock.

She spotted the dark lioness leaning against a tree, her face tilted up to watch the sky, and for the briefest of moments, Tsi found herself doing the same thing, her eyes passing over the canvas of the sky. Her attention didn't last long, however, and she soon enough allowed herself to flop down beside Wally's form. The way she fidgeted and moved her paws seemed to scream of 'I have a secret', however, she did not talk for a long a while. It wasn't till she'd thought some more (to no avail) that she opened her maw, "I... I have a problem, Wally," gulping a bit of saliva, she continued, "Uhm, do you know how love, or like feels?" it sounded pathetic.

The approach and collapse of her friend caused a twitching of the eyes in Wally's face, a silent recognition of the other. But at Tsi's words, that gaze caught the pale lioness in earnest, and one brow quirked. Well now, this was a piece of interest. However, a personality is a hard thing to overcome, and even curiosity couldn't stop the words tripping off the heedless lioness' tongue.

"You been drinking from a green pond, Tsi?"

The catch of laughter that followed may not have been the best trapping of sympathy, but such was the nature of a creature for whom emotion was a matter to either hide or laugh at. Laughter, it seemed, was her choice with that of others.

Nevertheless, the masked face of Wally turned to catch at that of her companion, curiosity winningthe day, and a real love for her friend prompting some sort of rare respect for her confusion.

"What's the story, Tsi? I love everyone I'm meant to, as much as I can, anyway. Why the questions?"

A small whine escaped the lioness' maw, childish in nature, but for some reason it was almost as if it were the normal for them. Wally'd jab at her, Tsi'd whine a bit, and then the conversation would continue into deeper thoughts, "I didn't!" she grumbled slightly then, her pale ears flopping to hide back, flattened against her neck for a moment. The grumbling lasted seconds though, as did any sort of negative emotion on the small cloud marked female, "I..." she frowned, looking confused again, "I'm not sure?" she offered her friend as she lifted a paw, scratching her chin slightly, "I was wondering how you can tell when you... love someone like I love you, or like... I love the clan elders, and if... you know, a different love? How can you tell? Is it different?" there was confusion lacing her voice, making it seem as if she weren't even sure of just what she was talking about.

There was a small hesitation and then Tsi'hilu lapsed into silence before opening her maw, "Nyota's back," she spoke the words as if it'd all make sense if she said this bit of information. She didn't know WHY she felt it'd explain, but it seemed like a pretty intelligent thing to say.

Needless to say, however, Tsi wasn't feeling all that intelligent at the moment; in fact, she felt like she was back in her cubhood, lost, alone and seeking a way back, all the while being near home, yet... never quite reaching it, "He said he wants to stay," that was obviously something the elders would have to decide, not her, but fact was, she was happy he wanted to stay. The notion, now that she thought about it, was slightly odd. Why was she happy, "Why am I happy?" she repeated the question to her friend, looking lost, almost as if in the middle of a labyrinth with a map that she could not read. She felt as if the answers were THERE, but she couldn't quite grasp how to interpret them, "Why is the world spinning...?" because, oh, it was spinning alright.

It'd been spinning since Nyota had groomed her. Since he'd nipped at her neck... and there she went again; she shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts, fearful she'd let out a blissful sigh in front of her friend. What WAS this?

Tsi's words spun and puffed like clouds of smoke, never entirely forming solid or cohesive ideas. Still, Wally was no idiot, and an inkling began gnawing at the base of her brain, lending itself further and further assertion with every disjointed sentence her friend let slip. The idea, however, was such that Wally could not contain the grin spreading over her features, nor the giggle bubbling up from her throat.

She struggled for perhaps a milisecond, before rolling onto her back and almost choking with laughter. This fit lasted some time, until tears streamed from her eyes.

"You don't love him. You loooove him!"

Considering her body's adult physique, the tone and emphasis of that last sentence were, perhaps, rather against the speaker's votes for maturity. Still, maturity was of little concern when there was such prime opportunity for fun!

"Are you gonna end up like Kaure, with a brat attached? I charge a zebra haunch to watch kids. Two to watch romance."

Ah yes, sensitivty, such a boon. There was nothing like sympathy, and this was nothing like it.

And THAT made absolutely no sense.

Frowning in confusion, the pale lioness stared at Wally, her eyes blinking rapidly, almost as if the motion would help clear her mind, "I don't love him, but I love him?" where was the logic in that? How could she love AND not love at the same time? Well, this certainly wasn't making matters any easier... if anything, it was making them all the more difficult, and Tsi'hilu found herself fidgeting even more restlessly than before.

The laughing wasn't helping any either. Tsi'hilu didn't know if she wanted to laugh right along with her friend or if she wanted to whine; she settled for the later. A whine escaped her throat as she settled her head carefuly on top of Wally's frame (idly noting in the process that it also did not feel it had when she'd done the same over Nyota's frame), "Waaaaaaaallyyyyyyyyyyy~~" the word was whined at the dark lioness as she reached to n** at her ears, as if trying to scold her, yet falling miles short. Despite the fact both lioness were, in fact, adults, they were acting like cubs. Then again, this was just fine, as Tsi hadn't really had much of a cub-hood. She was allowed to be immature. And innocent, she reasoned.

As for Wally? Well, Tsi wasn't sure what excuse her dark twin had for her (lack of) behavior, but she knew it was there. That aside, she knew she'd not have her any other way, "Do you think I love him, love him? Like... not like I love you? Can I tell the difference? Are those little... electric shocks when he touches me... proof that I love him love him?" need to say, Tsi's poor mind was already metaphorically twitching at the assault of information it was receiving. Leave it to Wally, however, to offer her a new possibility she'd yet to think of, "Kids...?" she was innocent, yes, but not so much so that she didn't know where 'kids' came from, or what it implied.

There was a long long moment where Tsi'hilu wasn't all that sure if she wished to bolt and run for the hills or fully embrace the idea. Kids. That was both an extremely attractive concept and... a rather scary one, "Uhm..." she squeaked eloquently, "I... I don't know?" a pause, "Is that what you do when you're in love?" another pause, "Kids?" looking down at herself she frowned, "Do you think I'm fat?" it'd come out of nowhere as she eyed herself critically.

Wally was aware, as certain phrases and ideas tumbled from her friend's mouth, of one eye twitching, as a series of mental images flooded her mind.

"Tsi. No mention of electric shocks and touching, please."

The joys of one ignorant of the matters of romance upon being exposed to them by proxy!

The rest of the jumbled information, however, gave no end of amusement, and thankfully very little more to add to the string of horrific pictures dancing through her mind. Utlwa was as innocent as Tsi'hilu in many matters, but in matters of the mind and it's ability to wander, not so much.

The questions, one after another, lent a lop-sided grin to the dark lioness' face. She enjoyed being a font of knowledge. Even when she wasn't.

"I think you looove him, love him."

"I dunno how you tell the difference. I reckon it's when you don't want to strangle him when he's stupid. I think."

The matter of cubs made Wally snigger once more. Imagine lots of little Tsi's, taking over the lands! It was a rather amusing idea, after all.

"I think it's what you do when you're in love. That and lots of googly eyes at each other. And stupid speeches about who loves who the most. Yugh."

With that, and heedless of the white skull on her figure, Wally flipped onto her back and began waving her forepaws idly.

"Fat? Why? Are you full of cubs already?"

The female's ears flopped back, fallen almost as if lifeless again her head, "I'm sorry; was that perhaps a little too graphic?" the words were murmured under her breath, almost as if she'd only just noticed that perhaps, just perhaps, her friend would not be all too interested in just what... Nyota made her feel.

Okay, so the whole 'electrical jolts' thing should be private. Fine. She was learning (albeit slowly, but learning nonetheless)! Still twitching restlessly, the ela female arched a brow at her friend, "I-I do?" a pause followed, her eyes darting around as she tried to digest this piece of information.

It must've been amusing to note that Tsi'hilu paid more attention to Wally's words than those of her Elders. What did elders know about love? ...did elder even love? Was love something you lost when you got all... grey and wrinkly and ... ew, why was she thinking about wrinklies?

Giving her head a shake in order to rid it of the mental images that had begun plaguing it, she finally turned to face Wally. It was evident by her blush (or it would've, had her blush been visible under her white pelt), that Wally had hit the nail over the head, "Uhm, so all the shaky... feeling is love?" a pause, "Love feels a lot like indigestion."

It was not the most romantic thing she'd said in her life. In fact, it was one of the most non-romantic things she'd said, alas, it was close to what she was feeling. It was almost as if she were feeling happy, anxious, and restless, all at the same time; it was upsetting her stomach in a strange way too, which wasn't making matters all that easier on her. She felt like the few butterflies that had been flying within the pit of her stomach had reproduced like bunnies and... turned into a million, within seconds of her realisation that she WAS indeed in love.

"Googly eyes?" she frowned, then looked confused, "But He's not stupid. Unless you count the fact he was trembling before... and he kind of stuttered... when he told me, but one has to give him credit; I feel like being sick right now. I think it's anxiety," taking a full look at the other female, she leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I think I'm full of butterflies."

She leaned away with such a solemn expression on her face that it must've been hilarious. It was the fact she suddenly needed reassurance that she was in fact, attractive. For some odd reason. It never occurred to her that Wally would be more prone to smirking and making a joke out of it than reassuring her. She had Nyota for that. Not like it ever clicked in her mind anyhow.

If Wally's eyebrows were not sky-high before, they were by this point.
All this chatter of boys and love was reminding her of Kaure before the brat arrived. Men, men, men. Nothing but trouble!
"You never answered me about the cubs! ... unless the butterflies thing is an answer?"

She sniggered, before once more waving her paws about and launching into a speech uttered in such stenorian accents that it would have been hard to believe she was chatting about such a subject, or with such an individual.

"Love's a funny thing. The more you feel it, the stupider you get. If you really love a boy, you can't talk, or think, and everything you say sounds like you have a mouth full of zebra. And then you go all red, and your face feels all hot. I think that's because of changes in your body as it deals with the horror of what's happening.

If you ask me, it's all a big joke pulled on us by some god with a sense of humour."

At Tsi's comment about indigestion, Wally inelegantly snorted with laughter.

"That kind of romantic comment is exactly why I think boys are messy."