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 Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:34 pm
 The days that passed with her new mate, Mel, Deepali had been her happiest! However, she did fall sick from time to time, but usually from a cold or something like that. She never had signs of the illness that plagued the lands she called home. Still, even sick she did her job as huntress. She went out, hunted something down for the pride and came home to her mate. Oh, she doted on him, played with him and talked with him. It was as if they were friends, still. They were, which was really good for their relationship. There was something there besides physical attraction.
While she was attracted to him, she had a hard time being... What was the word? Affectionate? Towards him? She didn't nuzzle against him or sleep right against him. She always gave Mel his space. She didn't know what she was doing relationship wise, obviously, but so far there had been no complaints.
So, tonight when she came home from a fruitful hunt, Deepali went to the den and stayed outside to try to clean herself up as best as she could. She was still nervous about coming home, especially messy. Mel probably wouldn't care, but she did! Deepali honestly never took pride in how she looked until she had realized Mel was interested in her in more than a friend. So, here she sat, using a paw to clean at her face.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:40 pm
 Someone had once told him that being mated was sheer bliss. Mel hadn't believed that venerable elder at the time. Had, in fact, laughed hysterically at him after that.
He wasn't laughing now. In fact, the big orange lion was lazing around the den he and Deepali shared, waiting for the brown lioness to get home. Oh, and musing on how beautiful she was, of course. He considered himself extremely lucky that she'd agreed. Yes, they'd been friends before, but that didn't always count for much when matchmaking came up. Not to mention the fact that he'd been a grown lion when she was still a cub.
She'd been so cute then! Not that she was any less cute now. She was much more refined though. And elegant. And...shouldn't she have been back by now? Mel shook his head. SHe was a grown lion, she could take care of herself...
...but what if she couldn't? Gulping in sudden fear, Mel got to his feet and headed for the den entrance.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:52 pm
She'd somehow stopped herself mid lick when she heard noises coming from the den. Her ears flicked as her movements turned frantic. Why did he have to come while she was cleaning up?! Deepali's heart beat faster as she tried to look like she wasn't doing anything but sitting there, waiting for him to come out.
Of course, she had blood on her muzzle and up near her ear, some on her paws and a bit on her cheek, but she was rushed! It probably wasn't a big deal to the other huntresses to come home bloody to their mates, but she didn't know! She didn't exactly talk to anyone about relationships and she certainly doesn't want to even try it now! Relationships weren't honestly something to be talked about. They were very private things! Between two lions and nothing more. No one had any say in how they interacted around each other but their partner.
Clearing her throat a little more, Deepali looked towards the entrance and gave a little smile. "I'm back, Mel!" She said as calmly as she could, biting on her lip.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:56 pm
"Welcome home," he returned, acting nonchalant and trying to convince his racing hear that there was absolutely no cause for alarm. It was just Deepali, back from a fruitful hunt. And oh, how sweet it still felt to be able to welcome her home.
He noticed that tonight she hadn't cleaned up as spotlessly as she usually did. The orange lion wondered why, but then decided it didn't matter. Dark eyes glinted as he smiled mischeviously and leaned forward to lick his mate's ear clean.
"You should let me help with this more often," he breathed in her ear.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:04 pm
When he greeted her back, Deepali just beamed a little more and sighed. She was calming down right now and it felt really good to relax after her day. It was a long hunt over a hard one. They had to travel a ways to get a good sized herd to pick prey from. She was about to say something else when she noticed him right up against her and felt that tongue at her ear.
If she could have blushed, she would have, but she tensed instead and tried not to flick her ear away. She was shy when it came to things like this. Looking down, she played with her paws a little and just sort of sat there awkwardly. "I... ... I can get it," she murmured quietly before looking up at him. "Don't trouble yourself!" Licking her lips a little more, Deepali shifted away just a fraction of an inch to let him have his space. She didn't want to be considered clingy or needy. Though, she did want to talk with him all the time. The urge to cuddle with him happened more often than not, but she couldn't act on those urges. It'd be horribly embarrassing, wouldn't it?
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:09 pm
Reluctantly, Mel backed off. Sometimes he was able to forget that Deepali was fairly young and not very...knowledgeable. Other times, she rubbed the fact in his face. Not that that kept him from loving her any less, but it did make things a little awkward at times.
"Do you not like me near you?" he asked gently. She'd never seemed so fond of personal space as a child, but perhaps that was because children had no personal space. Or...did she not like physicality? That would be a shame, since he'd love to raise cubs of their own with her...
...or had no one ever told her about the birds and the bees? It seemed a bit odd, since that was one of the ways some said the disease was passed and so something all pride members had been warned about...or did they leave that out when talking to younger members? He couldn't be sure.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:17 pm
She blinked at that and let her brows knit. Did she upset him? Her ears dipped down to her head and she looked away with a sad expression. "I... Like being around you. I just... Ah, don't want to crowd you?" Why it came out as a question she didn't know. Her tail curled around her front paws as she spoke and then looked up to him once more. "I like you around me. I just do not know what's expected of me.. My parents.. Ah, never... really explained things?"
Now she looked on the verge of tears or panic. Maybe both, but she still didn't know what to do. "I got ... less clingy as I grew up? My siblings didn't like me always wanting to be around them, so I .... tend to distance myself.. I guess." She hadn't known she was going to distance herself this much. Did he not want her now?
Sometimes she felt she was too young for him. Like he would be happy with someone older than her. Now was one of those times.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:21 pm
Mel listened carefully to what she said. She'd never really been close to someone before, her siblings hadn't wanted to touch, and that wasn't entirely surprising. In fact, Deepali had been quite the loner before they'd gotten together. He supposed he should be less suprised than he was about the whole thing.
"Deepali, you could never crowd me," he told his mate, willing her to believe it. "Touching you, letting you touch me, it's an expression of love." He paused frowning. "It's a damned shame - please excuse my language - but it's a shame your parents never explained any of that to you."
He considered what he'd said, then added: "But if you don't want me touching you because you don't want me touching you, that's your choice and I'll respect it.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:29 pm
Sighing, she shook her head and looked up at him. "It's.. Ah, not.. that I don't want you to touch... or for me to touch you... It's just I don't know about what's acceptable or .... what you expect." Her brows knit again as she sighed, laying down and put her head on her paw. Things weren't going so well with explaining herself. She wanted to be a good mate. How was she going explain herself when it was mainly just her thinking she needed to be older for him? That he needed someone older?
She wanted to question why. Why he chose her, why he loves her. These questions were always floating through her head. Honestly, her brain couldn't wrap around the fact that someone wanted to care for her when she spent her life hunting for the pride and taking care of the sick children that eventually died before adulthood. Having cubs was something that terrified her.
What if they were sick? What if they died before she did? What if she got sick and wasn't able to help take care of her kids? She let her tail flick this way and that as she worried to herself, brows knit and a frown firmly on her face.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:37 pm
Mel laid down as well, to keep his head on a level with hers. He didn't want to seem older or bigger to her. But...this was really awkward. No one had ever discussed the birds and the bees with Deepali, that's what he was gathering. Poor girl! No wonder she felt so isolated.
"Listen to me, Deepali. I love you. I hope you love me. If you do, I want you to forget everything anyone's ever told you or not about touching and being close and your body. Just...do what feels right."
He laughed, weakly, but still a laugh. "We're mates. We can do anything we want with each other, to each other, especially in our own den." It was the truth, after all. He only hoped that she would realize that and accept it.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:42 pm
When Mel lowered his head to hers, she looked at him with slightly misty eyes. This was hard. Harder than she thought it would be. Nodding, she looked away, completely and utterly embarrassed at how useless she was as a mate and sighed. Deepali honestly felt like a moron right now. He was being so sweet to her and explaining things she should already know and all she could think of was that she wasn't mentally ready for this. Sighing heavily, her tail flicked again before looking back at him.
"... I'll.. try," was all she could really say on that. Slowly, she leaned against him and put her head on his paws, staying laying down and close to the ground. If only the ground would come up and swallow her up. That would make this that much easier.
".... I do love you," she whispered quietly, looking up at him and then away again.
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:46 pm
"I'm glad you do," the orange lion replied. He eyed her head on his paws and contemplated laying his head next to hers. It'd be more comfortable for him, but he was afraid that Deepali might flinch away if he did.
Still, near her couldn't be that bad, right? With that in mind, Mel lay his own head down mere inches away from hers. Not touching...but not difficult to, should one of them decide to.
He was truly glad she did love him. As long as he had that, he could stay in this position all night.
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