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Tim had a secret.

It wasn't the sort of secret that you could just share with anyone. He certainly couldn't share it with his nephew, or with his brother, or his cousins, or his other family-things.

No, this sort of secret was best kept a secret because he really wasn't sure how to deal with the welling emotions that came along with the secret.

It was that good of a secret. The kind of secret that you woke up thinking about, and went to bed thinking about, and the kind of secret you spent all day thinking about.

Tim had a crush.

On a thrall.

A pretty purple maned white-and-purple-swirlied blue eyed thrall. And so Tim did what any normal lion who had a crush on a thrall would do.

He stalked her.

For the past two months Miela had had a shadow. Not the sort of shadow cast by the noon sun. No, that would be something she could handle. Miela's shadow was really, really bad at being a shadow. She'd never been stalked before, and honestly it was more than slightly unsettling. The only plus side was that the lion seemed to be a freeborn and not a battle-hardened reaver - and he had a cousin or something who was also a thrall.

However, despite all this, it still skeeved Miela out. She was pretty sure that he knew her entire routine, and that didn't help things.

Today, it would end.

She watched him from the corner of her eye as she tidied up the exterior of Parmelia's den, waiting for the right time to strike.

There was just something so sensual about watching a lioness pick up rubbish. Bones and dirtied pelts, bits of shells, wilted mint. Tim let out a lusty sigh as he hid behind a large stone, peeking from behind every now and again to watch the lioness tend to her duties.

He'd asked his cousin what her name was. Atheris had given him a weird look.

Miela. Oh, what a name.

Tim peered out from behind the stone again. Their eyes clashed.

His heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. She'd seen him.

She'd seen him.

Now what?!

She'd totally ******** seen him. His eyes had nearly popped out of his head, and Miela shook her head as she thought about how to proceed. She wanted to call him out, ask him what, exactly, he thought he was hoping to accomplish. She certainly had to assume he wasn't intent on creeping her the ******** out - but that's exactly what he was doing.

Now was as good a time as any to put a stop to this.

"I saw you," she yelled in his direction. "I saw you hiding there behind a rock. I saw you, so you might as well come out."

Okay, Timorien, slow your roll. Think about the next rational step. Think about what Asper would do.

He loudly cleared his throat.

"Who, me? I'm just a big.. dirty, uh. A big dirty rock. A big dirty talking rock."

Tim realized what he was saying. Well. If she thought he was insane before, she probably thought he was plumb crazy now. A rock? Really?

Asper would be so disappointed.

"Don't mind me. Just a rock, sitting here, doing rock things."

Oh, Gods, what if she came over? What if she came over and she really saw him and wanted to know what he was doing?

What then?

He would soon find out.

For a moment, Miela couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was he really trying to pretend that he was a rock? Really? Her brows furrowed, eyes narrowing as she debated her options.

There was really only one option to consider.

Marching over to the rock, Miela peered behind it. She said nothing, merely lifted her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side as she stared down at the male.

He really was acting like he was a rock. It was ridiculous, and also funny.

But mostly ridiculous.

"You're ridiculous, and weird." She didn't touch on the fact that he'd been stalking her. Things were awkward enough.

Tim made a low, almost whiny noise as he rose too his feet. He had the common sense to look properly embarrassed, and when he peered into those pretty blue eyes that reminded him of the bright blue sky or the deep water of the lake, or the blue of the pretty flowers that grew all around the mountainside, or the blue of the berries they fermented... well, he lost himself.

And just stared, slightly open-mouthed.

It was a nice sort of blue. Like, a combination of all the blues he'd just thought of, if they had been mixed together to form the prettiest sort of blue --

...and now he was just staring at her like someone pondering the great unknowns.

He really was weird. Weird, but there was something ridiculously adorable about it all, she realized. And the way he was staring at her, like he was lost in her eyes and wanted to spend the rest of eternity just gazing at her.

It was flattering. It would have been more flattering if he wasn't creepy, and if he hadn't been pretending he was a rock.

Miela lifted her brows even higher, if possible. They were high enough that it looked like they might decide to fly away at any moment.

"You're not a rock."

Shaken from his reverie, Tim's mouth opened and closed a few hundred times before he finally found the gumption to speak.

"No," he simpered, "I am no rock. I am.. Timorien, but you can call me Tim. And I," he sighed as he decided just to put all his cards on the table, "am in love with you."

Oh, dang, son.

"I am in love with you! And I have been in love with you since the moment I first laid eyes on you."

That actually sounded kind of suave.

"I want to spend time with you. Tonight, after your duties."

Okay, that sounded like something Asper would say.

So suave.

Miela had spent time with a handful of lions since her arrival in the pride. It hadn't been a fun thing, and they'd never asked her if she felt like spending time with them. No, they'd always taken what they'd wanted from her - and they'd never, not once, confessed love at first sight.

She was kind of shocked.

Miela merely nodded, eyes wide, and then watched him spin on his feet and stride away. She wasn't sure what he had planned, but she knew that he would come find her. After all, he knew her routine.

It was kind of creepy if she thought about it that way, so she struck the thought from her mind and continued on with her duties, deciding only to think of the rather earnest way he'd spoken to her (after he'd been finished pretending he was a rock) - and yes, she found herself looking forward to spending more time with him.