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Gaved was enjoying the quiet of the den now that the cubs were grown and out of everyone's fur. He slunk back to the den in silence, wondering if he might be able to take a nap on the furs, but that nap wouldn't be alone. Dalla must have had the same idea. Hm. Gaved considered leaving -- Dalla could be dreadfully unpleasant -- but he didn't want her to think she could run him off.

"Wife," Gaved said by way of greeting, approaching Dalla. He tended to be more affectionate with Stygg than with Dalla, perhaps because Dalla had such a sharp tongue on her, but she looked a bit depressed. Gaved decided to be nice. He leaned close to her to touch his nose to her cheek.

"How was your crafting today?"

Gaved was usually a little on edge around Dalla, waiting for her to lay into him. Of course, he had to admit that he usually deserved it. Gaved had said his share of insulting and provocative things to Dalla. Her obvious disdain for their marriage had always grated on him. He was a proud and accomplished Reaver. She had never been properly appreciative.

"Productive, good," Gaved said. "I'll bring you some things from our next raid to work with." Somehow it annoyed him to see Dalla always poking around for bits of feathers and things. It seemed beneath her.

"I was patrolling. Boring." Gaved yawned. "Haven't gotten into a good fight in ages." It had been too long since he got a good challenge. There was nothing as thrilling as the feel of your claws sinking into someone else's pelt, and the bite of their claws sinking into yours.

Gaved had run out of his stock of small talk. "You want to make some cubs? We haven't made any yet." He wasn't sure he wanted another heap of cubs around so soon, but it irked him that he hadn't managed any with Dalla yet.

Gaved thumped his tail irritably against the ground. This happened every time. Every time! He thought he was getting somewhere, making some kind of peace with the lioness that managed to irritate him more than any other. He didn't know how he managed to piss her off so badly, so often.

He waited to see if she was going to say something nasty, coming up with a dozen or so cutting retorts while he did so. But Dalla just kept picking at her things and looking depressed. And her voice had been weak. Sad.

"Well, I'm sorry," Gaved snapped. "I'm sorry I didn't give you cubs. I wanted to, you know. I tried. Maybe--" He scratched irritably at the furs on the ground, slicing them with his claws. Gaved didn't like revealing any vulnerabilities to Dalla, but he had already started. "Maybe there's something wrong with me." His voice had lost its angry edge and sounded just as miserable as Dalla's. He had failed her as a husband. It was no wonder she was so grouchy all the time.

"I didn't know you were trying to make me happy," Gaved said, a bit taken aback by Dalla's ... sweetness. He had always felt much more comfortable letting down his guard around Stygg than Dalla. Stygg, while sweet and strong in her own way, had always been... well, less than Dalla. Gaved had never known how to deal with a hardheaded, capable female with the attitude of a cornered honey badger.

Now that Dalla was playing nice, Gaved didn't know what to say to her.

"Why didn't I ever make you happy?" Gaved asked. "I'm strong. I'm a good Reaver. I don't hit females."

Well, he hadn't since marrying, anyways. Gaved had learned that while females tended to be weaker physically, they could also be stubborn and ferocious.

"I didn't want an arranged marriage either," Gaved said. "I didn't want to be married at all."

It had still been intensely annoying when Dalla seemed to hate him at first sight. He had enough of an ego in those days to think a female should be falling all over herself to please him if he so much as looked in her direction. Of course, most of the females he had interacted with had been thralls, so that was generally the case.

Gaved's tail twitched from side to side as he thought over Dalla's words. He wasn't much of a deep thinker, but he was trying his best. Navigating female emotions was like swimming in the midnight ocean, but he could sense a light ahead.

"Do you want to leave, and marry someone else?"

It was irritating to watch Dalla thinking over his words, trying to decide if she wanted to leave, but Gaved managed to keep a neutral expression on his face. He had learned that snapping at Dalla just made her snappy in return, or mopey, which was worse because he didn't know how to deal with it. He felt tense, and it probably showed it in the way he stood stiffly watching Dalla.

He relaxed a bit when she answered. "Good," said Gaved. He hadn't wanted Dalla to begin with, but he had come to think that a Stormborn lion should have a strong, fierce wife. Stygg had her own kind of strength, and had borne strong sons, but he was sure Dalla's cubs would be a force to be reckoned with whenever they made an appearance. They would get his parents off his back as well. No one had exactly been thrilled that Gaved only managed to get a thrall pregnant.

"Gentle," Gaved said thoughtfully. He wasn't really sure how to be gentle. Dalla didn't want him to treat her like she was a soft thing, did she?

Wait. Maybe she did. He had noticed that females liked people to think they were soft, even when they weren't. It was a bunch of bizarre backward thinking to Gaved, but he had definitely noticed it.

"Do you want to go on a walk with me, some time?" He took Stygg out sometimes, but he and Dalla generally tried to avoid one another. Maybe that had been a mistake. Maybe ... maybe he could catch her a thrall or something, and impress her. That sounded like fun. Gaved flexed his claws.

Now that he had a course of action, Gaved was pleased. Maybe he could try this wooing business on Dalla. He had never wanted to, but there were glimmers of intriguing ferocity in the lioness. She was infuriating, yes, but she was also captivating. No other lioness could get under his skin as quickly as Dalla could. Maybe there was something in that.

"Good," Gaved said briskly. "I'll take you out tomorrow night."

That would give him some time to arrange things. Gaved had learned that asking lionesses where they wanted to go lead to endless rounds of 'I don't know, what do you want to do?' that made him want to tear his mane out. He would think up something perfect for Dalla.

Gaved leaned forward and gave Dalla a brief nuzzle, pressing his nose against her cheek. Was it affectionate or just going through the motions? He was surprised to find that yes, it was affectionate. He followed it with a gentle, playful n** to her ear.