Welcome to Gaia! ::

Some time had passed since that fateful day when he'd spotted Kaa wandering through the jungle and gotten up to follow her. She'd been a stranger then and, in some ways, she still very much was, but she also wasn't. The night of the storm had come and gone, but the memory of what had passed between them that night still clung to him.

She had been frightened, and he had comforted her. He had helped her to understand things that she did not think she could accept, and he had don't his best to explain to her the ways of the Kizingo'zaa people. It made him feel good to think that he had been so useful- that he had made such a difference in somebody else's life.

Zuri had not had the heart to ask her to leave his cave that night. Indeed, he hadn't even actually wanted to, and she had stayed there with him. Then she had stayed the second night, and the third, and the fourth- and he hadn't known what to think. It wasn't something they'd ever talked about. It just was.

His brothers and sisters had noticed the pretty lady that he'd taken under his wing, and they had asked questions. Other than sharing Kaa's name with them, he hadn't been sure what to tell them. It was all too new to him.

It was very hot out today, and Zuri was being lazy. He was stretched out on the beach, white belly exposed to the sun that blazed overhead like an oven, and soaking in some rays.

Make a move? If Zuri knew the specifics of the ideas, and the feelings, that swirled in Kaa's mind he would have been a little horrified. Not because he absolutely did not want to make a move, but because he had never done anything of the sort in his life. Aside from his mother and sisters, Zuri had never spent much time with any women. Kaa had come into his life like a dream and she seemed to have found a permanent spot there, which delighted him. He was just scared of messing everything up.

His eyes were closed, but he could smell her before he could hear her, and Zuri knew the identity of the lioness that approached him even before she spoke. He smiled as she chose a spot on the sand beside him. It was a private, secretive, delighted grin. It thrilled him to think that, on top of seeing him every night in the cave that they now shared, she wanted to spend time with him during the day too.

"Hello," he cracked open an eye and peered curiously at her, "you look happy today."

It pleased him.

Her preference for the dark over the light had not been lost on him. Zuri had noticed it, but it had not concerned him. Behaviour was never strange in a world like theirs. With the exception of the Golden Rule, Kizingo'zaa lions were permitted to live however they wanted. To please her, Zuri would have physically removed the sun from the sky himself and permanently replaced it with the moon.

"It is hot," he agreed, cracking a grin and rolling onto his stomach so that he could look at her better. The physical contact between them was something he'd grown used to, and had even begun to seek out. Subtly.

"I am well, because you're here," he sighed contentedly and suppressed an urge to rest his chin on her head. Instead, he reached out with a paw and shoved her shoulder. It was a playful gesture and not designed to hurt, but there was enough force behind it to move her.

Biting his lip, trying not to laugh, Zuri quickly looked in the other direction and pretended that he was innocent.

Zuri was not a competitive soul. A shy lion who took himself rather seriously, he was not usually one to partake in such foolish things as games. He'd never had much time or patience for them before, but something about Kaa made him want to play. She had a way of bringing out the boy in him. Being with her was synonymous with joy, and Zuri was very attached to her for that.

Her happiness brought him happiness. He had not yet seen her in sorrow, and hoped that he never would. That first night, when she'd been frightened of the storm and the voices, didn't count. Fear was not the same as sadness.

She splashed into the water and Zuri was on his feet in an instant. Grinning like the devil, he decided to step up to her challenge and darted after her with a growl that feigned ferocity.

It'd been a long time since he'd laughed so much. He felt like he owed her.

Children were not permitted to swim in the ocean and, while Zuri had been curious about it as a youth, it had not taken long for him to grow disenchanted with the idea of playing in the sea as an adult. The vast body of water sparkled in the sunlight and was very beautiful, but he was used to the site and the smell. Considering his age and the amount of time he had had to enjoy the water since he had grown, Zuri was not actually that talented of a swimmer.

Kaa already outshone him in that regard, but he wasn't very considered. He was competent enough not to drown.

He floated, curious, as she dove under the water and waited for her to breach the surface again. Zuri was not on his guard, and it did not occur to him to prepare for defence against an ambush. So, when Kaa exploded out of the water behind him, he was caught quite unaware. He cried out in surprise when she nudged his shoulder and then spluttered incoherently as she splashed him.

"What the- oh, that does it."

His intentions were still playful, but there was a slightly more menacing promise to his words. He mired darkly and attempted to charge her through the water. His movements were slowed and inhibited by the ocean, and Zuri looked almost comic as he attempted to tackle her.

He was surprised when she didn't run away, but not displeased. Zuri may not have been very competitive, but even he couldn't deny that there was pleasure and satisfaction in winning. It didn't matter that she was letting him catch her. The point was that he could. When he had played games like these as a child, nobody had ever let him win.

A mischievous growl tore from his throat as he reached her, finally, ocean swirling around their bodies and soaking into their fur, and laughingly tackled her from the side. The water weighed him down and Zuri, not used to being so heavy, miscalculated the distance of his playful attack. He collapsed into the water beside her with a loud crash, and droplets of salty water exploded in a cascade all over the place.

"Whoops," he murmured as he surfaced a moment later, cheeks warm with embarrassment.

Her laughter embarrassed him a little, but Zuri did his best not to show it. He knew that she was not being spiteful or mean, and did not want to let his silly pride ruin the fun they were having. Kaa's muse was bats. It was unclear whether she had chosen them or they had chosen her, but that didn't really matter. Zuri had been there that first night, to help her accept and welcome the voices into her life. He had watched as she'd been claimed by the creatures of the night but, yet, as he enjoyed her company today- he couldn't help but think that she glowed like the sun.

"Its good that you surrendered," Zuri teased as he too stepped out of the water and shook himself off. He smirked and winked, "Who knows what might have happened if I'd actually had to catch you."

He could not read her mind to know that she wanted him to join her, but he didn't need to. There wasn't anywhere in the world he'd rather be.

Smiling serenely, Zuri settled onto the beach beside Kaa and stretched out in his side, so that he could look at her. The sand clung to his wet fur.

((oh my god he's so sappy and pathetic hahaha))

If the tortoise was right and slow and steady did, indeed, win the race than Zuri would have had several gold medals and blue ribbons to his name by now. If lions had gold medals and blue ribbons, but that was beside the point. He wasn't the type of lion to rush into anything. Zuri was a sweetly calculative thinker, and rarely said or did anything without considering the consequences first.

Kaa made him want to throw caution to the wind. She brought out something wild in him that he hadn't known existed before, and it was as exhilarating as it was frightening. After just these short weeks of spending time with the beautiful lady and getting to know her better, Zuri was astonished to find himself suddenly in the mood for taking risks. He was tired of being patient and biding his time. He wanted to take a chance.

Well, at least his heart did.

His will was another matter entirely. He just felt so damned awkward whenever he tried to approach her about it. Not that he had. What counted was that he had thought about approaching her. Often.

"I'm glad that you are making your home here," He had courage enough for that, at least.

((ahaha me too. he is like; 'she makes the sun rise!' and then i just laaauuugh. its a lot of fun to write.))