Myuto had gone back to his silent ways shortly after he had woken. He wasn't cold, but there was a definate wall of confusion up around the lion. He couldn't get comfortable. He fidgeted, he rolled about in his sleep, moaning in discomfort, and didn't even seem to know how to place himself when he did something as simple as sitting. The poor lion avoided all eye contact, all attempts at conversation, and answered most questions with a bob of his shoulders. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. Chi had shown... something more than simple friendly effection. What was he supposed to do with that? How should he react? Did he feel the same? He had to do something- Chi was starting to worry if she was the problem.
She wasn't. He was. He didn't know how to react. He'd never had compassion shown to him, effection was beyond his understanding, and romance was a forgien word.
So he walked along the beach, listless and swallowed up by confusion. He didn't think, he just walked. Thinking was too complicated. He let the sounds of the sea swallow up thought, musing, and as much emotion as he dared to allow to bubble to the surface. It was on one such walk that he oversaw one of the pride's young couples. He'd heard of a ball approaching. A time for young couples to meet, dance, and bond. A few of the young lovers were jumping in a little early and the males were busying themselves trying to flatter their ladies. One male had spent nearly all day gathering the prettiest flowers he could on the border to give to his lady. She'd been beside herself- more from the effort than the actual flowers.
Many hours later, Myuto trudged along the shoreline with a small mouthful of flowers that he had picked. Sadly- most were weeds but they had petals so they counted, right?
To say Chi was confused... was the understatement of the century. More so because she wasn't sure what was going on with her, than because of her lately reluctant partner's behavior. Granted, it had started out as confusion due to Myuto’s apparently lack of communication and recent tendency to avoid her if he could manage as much. He seemed terrified of staying alone with her, and even returned to the den before she did; he even feigned sleep when she arrived, so he wouldn’t have to talk with her, and Chicanery was simply too nice to call him out on it. On those nights, she curled up beside him and tried to switch her brain off, telling herself that surely the male would overcome whatever it was he was going through and he’d eventually come around.
Unfortunately, he was taking his sweet, merry time, and Chi was starting to wonder if perhaps it wasn’t him that was the problem, but she herself. She’d tried telling herself that this was a ridiculous notion; nothing was wrong with her! She was a survivor, and a damned strong one too, thank you very much! If she’d gotten through a life of slavery, surely she could put up with a bit of silence from her... what was he again? Best friend? Companion? She had no idea what words to use for him. Friend sounded lacking, but naming him something more seemed wrong, as if he wouldn’t quite approve.
That was when the confusion really started to settle in, because the white lioness had no idea why it bothered her so much that he was avoiding her. He needed space, and this should not have bothered her, but it did, and as time went by, it was starting to affect her; she was no longer nearly as sunny and happy as she’d previously been, and if you asked her, even the ocean, as lovely as it was... was starting to lose it’s appeal.
Maybe she should go?
Maybe Myuto simply wanted to be left alone, but had no idea how to tell her as much? Maybe she should just... slip away unseen? These thoughts in mind, the lioness picked herself up from the shoreline where she’d been laying half in the water, half outside... and began to make her way towards where she knew the border lay, invisible, all the while never having noticed Myuto’s approach.
Myuto lifted his eyes as a familar white figure paced out onto the sands. A knot set itself firmly in the pit of his stomach and butterflies threatoned to strangle him. Swallowing around a growing lump in his throat, the lion pushed himself forward, his stride purposeful.
In short time, Chi would see the large lion making his way towards her, his eyes focused but there was an element of fear there. He didn't know what he was doing. She'd think he was stupid. He was stupid- she didn't have to think it, he knew he was stupid.
He froze just a step away from the lioness, lowered his head to place the "flowers" at her paw, and lifted his head.
"...they're...", he nearly choked on the word, "Pretty."
Chi had been just about ready to step into the foliage of the jungle when sound (purposeful steps trotting her way across the sand) alerted her that she was no longer alone. Once upon a time, in the roguelands, she’d have instantly turned towards the sound with a snarl upon her face, ready for a fight (even if she didn’t quite pose that big of a threat). The white lioness had, however, grown accustomed to the peaceful atmosphere that seemed to hang around the pride; the protection pridal life offered her, and when there was would have been a snarl, instead, now... there was merely curiosity as she turned her head.
She spotted Myuto coming towards her from the distance, with something hanging off his powerful jaws, and for a short moment, she couldn’t help but tilt her head in obvious question. What on earth was he doing? It wasn’t until he was right in front of her, depositing his gift at her feet that she realized they were meant to be flowers. Technically... they were more like weeds, but still, there were flowers on the weeds.
Her head moved to stare down at her present, and then back up at him, only to lower back down to blink owlishly at the poor weeds. Something inside poor Chi’s brain broke, a blue screen flashing across her mind’s eye before she forcefully tried to reboot; she’d been so sure he’d wanted her gone, but... here was evidence of the contrary. Awkward evidence. Charming, endearing, evidence, but evidence all the same, and the lioness simply didn’t know what to do with it. She’d spent some much time winding herself into a knot, that when presented with the alternative turn of events, she found she didn’t have a plan to follow, “Are those flowers?” she finally said, a timid, shy tone to her voice, something rare in her, for she’d always been straightforward around him, “For me?” a pause, “Uhm...” she lay down on the ground and put her nose to the weeds before looking back up at him, “I love them, thank you, but... why?”
Why indeed.
They were.... maybe flowers. He'd learned the flora of his old homeland but here the rules had all changed. He'd not learned much about the seaside, not yet. They looked like flowers, they had colored petals and green leaves... that counted for flowers where he'd come from. To his credit, there was an actual flower in there but it was pathetically small and now crushed thanks to his futile attempts to handle a small, delicate thing in his over-sized paws.
Myuto looked away and nodded mutely.
Why. The word that had sat on his brain like an overweight rhino. No matter how hard he puzzled with himself, he couldn't figure out the answer. Why had she licked him? Why had she cuddled with him? Why . Why. Why. WHY!?
"I....", he ducked into his cloak, hiding his mouth away once more. "Well... that is the question, isn't it?"
They were not flowers.
She now knew a thing or two about flowers, thanks to her training with the alchemists, whom had more or less taken her under their wing. These were... weeds, though points for trying. She didn’t have the heart to point out his mistake when he nodded at her and turned to look away. Her heart sunk a little bit as he did so, wondering if he was still refusing to talk to her (or anyone), however, she was proved wrong when he opened his mouth and answered her question with another question.
Her brows knitted together, and the small lioness couldn’t help but frown for a moment or two; that same frown females wore when their males or their cubs were being especially obnoxious. It was an expression Chicanery had seen worn by more than one female, that she had never quite realized she was capable of mimicking, “Honey...” she said, “You’re not helping,” she scolded him lightly in that familiar way. However, as soon as she spoke, her features softened, and she lifted a paw, patting the ground beside her in an obvious invitation. After all, she didn’t quite want him to turn tail and run away, which she figured was probably going to be his next course of action, “I think... we might need to talk, because I for one, am very confused.”
The lion sank again. Honey? Since when was he 'honey'? What did that even mean? He glanced up, a little stunned at the pet name and a little confused. Honey was something he'd heard the blue lioness Paradox say, but it had been in a soft, coaxing tone. Perhaps Chi thought he needed to be coaxed out of his shell. Perhaps he did, he didn't know, it hurt to think.
The lion shook his head. He didn't want to talk, words just weren't his friends. They never had been, really, and he doubted they ever would be. He couldn't think how to get the strange, alien thoughts and feelings onto his tongue without stumbling over them first.
He trudged forward and reached a paw out to pull her in close against his chest. His large head laid gently against hers as he took a deep breath. "This. This is why."
In all honesty, her use of the petname had gone entirely unnoticed by the lioness, the word having slipped without her thinking about it. She might have backtracked and noticed, had she been looking up to see the way he reacted to it. As it was, however, her nose was currently buried inside the bunch of weeds and she missed his reaction to the word entirely. She did, however, notice the way he shook his head and her head lifted up once more, “No? What do you mea-” she was cut off short as he trudged forward and reached out with a paw, pulling her close against his chest, his head nestling hers under his chin until she felt very much protected, safe, in a strange, rather primordial way.
For a moment, the small lioness only managed to blink, soaking in the moment as his words drifted across the silence. They almost didn’t register, however, the way her ears twitched and she seemed to freeze was indication that they’d sunk in.
Oh, she thought to herself.
Oooooh...
It took her a bit longer to react than it did for the meaning to actually sink in, but when she finally managed to sort out her thoughts, the lioness let out a long sigh. It was almost as if she’d been holding the air deep within her, and she was happy, glad to be rid of it; as if a large weight had somehow been lifted from her shoulders. He hadn’t said the words, hadn’t really talked, but people always claimed that actions spoke louder than words. She thus, shifted to press herself better against him, rubbing her head against his throat and then reaching up to groom what small parts of him that she could reach from her position, “Will you ask me to dance with you at festival?” was her response to him.
