Runa lounged on a rock not far from the border, sunning herself on this rare, sunny day. Her black pelt was quick to soak up the warmth of the rays as she kept her gaze trained on the rogue lands, tail flicking impatiently. She had set a date with a certain Captain to meet here upon his return from his most recent Viking and she wouldn't be pleased if he was late. Runa had plans, after all, and she didn't want to be kept waiting.
Thankfully a group of lions appeared on the horizon not long after and she pushed herself to her feet to meet them. The group of Reavers was loud and boisterous but she didn't pay them any mind, her bright gaze fixed on the Captain bringing up the rear of his band.
"About time you showed up," she said as she approached Phosphor who didn't so much as flinch at the rather rude welcome home. "Thought you'd forgotten about my request, Captain."
"Of course not," Phosphor said placidly, a smile on his face that was fairly genuine if a bit tired. "Things happen in the rogue lands, as I'm sure you're aware." Phosphor knew that although Runa was currently tied to the borders of the pride, she had been a Reaver like the males that had just left him once. She had been out on adventures of her own and knew that things could go south pretty quickly.
"Hmph. Well. Come with me," Runa said with a huff, turning to walk back towards the main area of the pride, not giving the Captain the space to refuse. "You can hear my request, give me an answer, and then go split your spoils with your band."
Phosphor did follow the dark female, not at all bothered by her bossy tone of voice. He knew how to pick his battles and this was certainly not one he cared to waste his energy on. Phosphor was, at heart, a good lion. He had always been even though he'd been raised with less than great values. He did have a rather cruel piece within him but thankfully it wasn't often stirred, only when he or those he held dear to him were threatened in some way.
"And what is your request?" he asked as they walked, moving to fall into step beside her rather than behind her. Though he didn't care one way or another about the ranks of females within the pride he knew more than one Captain might find it odd to see one of their fellows letting a female take the lead.
"Cubs," Runa said, straightforward as ever. "Since I'm bound to the pride for a while I might as well have something to do while I'm here dueling." Runa had never really thought of herself as the motherly type, but the more she thought about it the better a little army of her own sounded. She'd raise any of her children to be fierce and tough and she would only ever call her own flesh and blood her Captain now.
"Ah." It wasn't the first time Phosphor had been approached in this fashion and he wasn't opposed to the idea of siring more children, but it did surprise him a bit. Runa was a warrior and he would have thought she'd be fighting tooth and claw at every chance to win her right to go a-Viking again. "Well, if that's ll it is, I can certainly help. Are you sure you don't want to regain your rank first though?"
"I've already thought about that and no, I don't," Runa snapped, clearly not pleased that he was bringing up her demotion of sorts. It was better than being a Freeborn, certainly, but she still couldn't leave the pride without a chaperone. The thought alone made her sneer. "Besides, what good is a female if she can't do her duties while with cubs?" Obviously the further along she got the harder it would be, but she would continue to fight as long as she could. Then, once the cubs were old enough to fend for themselves, she could start her own journey to the next rank.
"Well...if that's what you want to do," Phosphor said with a little nod, slightly pleased that the feisty female had wanted to ask him out of all the other able-bodied males that were out there. He didn't want to ask why - that might set her off again - so he decided to take her interest at face value.
"Who am I to tell you what or when you should have cubs? Whenever you'd like, I'll be at your call." That seemed to soothe the ruffled feathers of the lioness and Runa glanced up at him with a thoughtful expression, then changed the direction she was heading in abruptly. It left Phosphor treading forward a few more paces before turning to follow her once more, trotting to catch up.
"Ah...Runa?" he asked once he was beside her. She had a set look on her face and a determined stride.
"Now, then. The sooner the better," she said, businesslike as always. This wasn't a fling, it wasn't romance, it was a business transaction if anything. "I suppose I'll owe you a favor for this, so think on it."
"Oh, I already know," Phosphor said with a grin as Runa looked up at him in surprise. "I'd like to take you a-Viking once you're able to do so. Perhaps sponsor you if you could stand me for that long."
The request surprised Runa, her golden eyes widening before she quickly looked away to scowl down at the dirt. He was asking her to sponsor her? That wasn't really how it worked. Would she even want him as her sponsor? He was a Captain, yes, but she had different criteria for a sire than she did for a Captain.
"I'll think about it," she muttered as she walked, heading for her den. "But don't go holding your breath."
"Oh, I won't. You'll have some time to decide," Phosphor agreed, clearly pleased with how the day was going. His Viking hadn't been terribly fruitful in terms of loot so to come back to a chance to be a father again and to possibly sponsor a lioness he knew to be a fierce warrior was turning the day around. That and the sun...the sun was always a great thing to see shining down over his home. It may be the land of the Stormlords, but what lion didn't like a good sunbath?
The duo disappeared in the direction of the dens, still chatting about less heavy things than cubs and ranks as they moved out of sight.
WC: 1118
