Life in these lands had become downright peaceful, enjoyable, and something that she looked forward to when she woke up every morning. Though she was still wary of some of the other males, like Tariq, the good far outweighed the suspicious. She kept close to Aali and Aysel and the rest of their harem sisters, her former Pridelands sisters, and all was well.
Well, more recently a new face had come into the harem, into their family. Tajamala was returning from a hunting trip, dragging with her the carcass of an antelope. It was probably hardly enough to feed the whole harem, but it was surely enough to share with her beloved sultan, who, er, as of yet might or might not know how she officially felt...
So, in the midday sun she made her way to the den that their harem shared, thoughts turning over between contentment and wishful thinking as she entered the mouth of the den at last with her prize securely in tow in her jaws.
Aali was sprawled on his back taking a peaceful midday doze, everything was going swimmingly. With his harem at a finally respectable size and two Pads who looked like promising prospects for the last Vizier position everything was clicking into place. He liked to think that it was his good planning or hard work that had resulted in such good fortune, but he had to admit it was mostly luck and the hard work of all involved.
Tariq kept any Kajira status females as banu, which in turn relieved the other males of that burden and allowed them to focus on their sweet banu. He was focused on trying to provide Aysel with cubs a promise left too long unfulfilled and his top concern for the moment. Yet with all the happy times he had with his charming harem he couldn't really allow anything to darken his mood.
He gave a yawn and stretched back again arching with a soft grumble. Almost time to get up and do a patrol...his ear flickered and he rolled his eyes open to peer at the lioness who entered. With a grin the large male rolled to his paws and quickly moved to help pull the antelope in.
"Taja my beauty did you bring this down all alone?" He smiled and helped her settle the large animal in a corner looking at her impressed and also checking her for any injuries.
She took the help gladly, resting her weary jaws then and licking the blood from her muzzle, by now simply smiling with shy modesty at the generous greeting instead of blushing as she had in the beginning. "Yes... but, it's really nothing special..."
She was truthfully used to hunting much sturdier prey, Zebras were a regular meal in the Pridelands. It was so easy to forget sometimes that they were bigger thn the average lionesses from this pride, since she had two other former pridelander sisters around her at any given time, and even then the Prideland females came in all sizes as well as colors. She was still smaller than the average pride-born female but here she was seen as large. It was strange but hardly unwelcomed.
Once the meal was set aside she leaned in to brush her head against his with a greeting nuzzle, purring quietly.
Prey as large as a zebra was rare for them to come across in the sparser lands. Aali looked over the antelope still mildly impressed, ukuucha'wafalme females were usually rather petite the prideland females had been shockingly larger. He smiled and tenderly nuzzled Taja licking her muzzle.
"You still managed well considering you were alone. You must have been hungry?" He looked her over again his gaze mildly worried. He was still getting used to the larger females needing more water and food. The heat of the land seemed to take a larger portion of their energy.
He nudged her tenderly back into the den and sat down. "Did you get a chance to meet your newest harem sister?"
"Mm... I just wanted to try to bring back as much as possible so there'd be more to go around," Though, yes, she had been hungry too, or she wouldn't chance letting food go to waste. Following his nudge she made her way further back into the den, settling down with him with a light flick of her tail. "I did, though it wasn't for very long yet."
"I don't mean to press you Taja but if you do speak with her encourage her? She seems to have lived without purpose, and I should like her to find her own inner strengths. Her own reasons to be happy, instead of depending on others for it." He smiled and softly brushed a paw up against her neck.
"You and the others are so very strong of spirit, quick, and clever, your adapting to this life has been hard I know. I appreciate how much you've worked to fit in here." He lightly moved closer to snuggled against her and lick her cheek.
"Of course," She replied, happy to be able to help, and surely if anyone needed it it was their new sister. She couldn't imagine living her entire life without purpose, being constantly lost like that? The very thought made her feel cold inside. She hoped she'd be able to do as he asked, to help her find her strong points. There must surely be something. Storytelling, hunting, maybe she had scouting skills, any number of things. "It would have taken more effort to remain stubborn..."
She answered, not that it had really been an option for her, but she knew the temptation to continue sulking over such injustices when they occurred, because she'd been tempted too. It just went against her nature to give in to that.
Aali smiled softly and moved to tenderly nuzzle Taja and lick her cheek. She was an incredible asset to his harem, but it was more then that. He found himself feeling for her more and more, it was hard but he felt the need to express himself.
"You know...Taja..." He looked at her uncertainly before sighing softly. Hmmm this expression thing was even harder then it had been with Aysel, shouldn't it get easier? He had no idea why it was called falling in love, falling was pretty simple, this was...not so simple.
His gestures, as usual, spoke volumes. If her pulse jumping as it did at the sound of his voice wasn't clue enough, surely the way he paused and sighed was. He was having difficulty saying what he wanted to say, probably because he wasn't sure of the situation... She'd learned to read that much about him in that much time they'd spent together, as was her own talent. Aside from hunting she liked to believe she was rather good at reading others. Putting it to practical use? That was a different matter.
But in this instance...
The purple female shifted her weight, crossing one of her paws over one of his, and in a gesture both timid and tender she brushed her head against the under side of his chin with a quiet purr. "Yes, love....?" She asked, so quietly that one might not even be sure she'd spoken at all, but in the silence of the den it was clear that she indeed had.
Aali felt her head under him and gently brushed his chin back and forth against her. She felt so naturally close to him, a part of his life like Aysel but unique in her own way. He licked the top of her head softly and gently placed his paw against her back. "That's it..."
He tenderly pressed his nose against her neck and murmured softly. "I love you Taja..." There that wasn't so hard now was it? Of course...that wouldn't be the hard part, the hard part was waiting for the response. He struggled not to close his eyes and run away, some brave male he was...but somehow the words of the females he cared for meant more, and could do more to him then any battle wound.
"Yes love..." She repeated again, this time in confirmation, urged on by his touches. A small, shy smile was on her muzzle as she quietly took advantage of her position so that she could groom one of his ears briefly, heart surging at his words. "I love you too."
"You...you do?" He looked down at her startled, he had heard right hadn't he? She really felt the same? Love, still the same thing wasn't it? He gently nuzzled her neck again and rumbled happily.
"Mmm that...that felt...really good to say..." He sighed softly and continued the gentle nuzzles. He wondered idly if all males felt this, the strange clicking sensation in their chests as each puzzle piece fit into place. What a beautiful family picture they would all make, his harem, and someday his cubs.
"I do." She answered, purring slowly tapering off. He was right, it did feel really good to say it. Suddenly she didn't know why it was such a scary thing to confess at all, maybe the timing jus thadn't been right before... "I really do."
Well, it was certainly right now! She was happy to return the shows of affection, though his were dominating the situation. That was alright with her. She picked up with purring again, resting against him contently in the settling peace of the moment.