[PRP] Meeting More of the Family (Etoile x Kokuro)

[nessiaing]

Kokuro was light on her feet as she trotted around the base of the mountain. Kokuro was adjusting to the fact that most of her family wasn't in the pride at all any more. Her dad had left, her brother had left... all she was left with was her grandma. It wasn't a bad thing really Kokuro loved her grandma she just wished that there was more of her family still around.

Kokuro had been thinking a lot of family lately. She was an adult had been for sometime and was starting to think that perhaps it was time she started a family of her very own.... first she would have to find a male. She shook her head such deep thoughts for such a bright day. Kokuro was hoping that a male would kind of fall into her lap... a girl could dream right?

hibi-tea

 

[hibi-tea]

Etoile was moving as swiftly as he could to find Tala. He had found a very peculiar rock while he was wandering around that was cracked down the middle and sparkled black like her coat on the inside. He wanted to give her this very interesting rock and he really didn't have the patience to wait until they saw each other later in the day. He simply had to give it to her now.

Being in the rush that he was, Etoile was not paying attention to how and where he was walking. He had tunnel vision as he was attempting to remember where it was that Tala and him had planned to meet up that day. Was it near the pond? Or that one rock with the slippery moss and flat surface? He remembered her saying something, but he might have been half-awake at the time. After all, he had been doing nothing but daydreaming lately after Nitesh's blessing to him.

Lost in his thoughts, Etoile didn't see the smooth rock beneath him as he stepped, but he did feel the awful impact as he went rolling down the side of the mountain to the base below. When he finally stopped rolling and landed on flat ground, he was a** over head, with leaves, sticks and mud sticking from his mane. To add insult to his injury, the peculiar rock had come flying after him and smacked him straight in his rump causing him the wail.  

[nessiaing]

Kokuro just stood there her mouth hanging open. The sight of the male coming tumbling down the mountain side and then letting out the wail he did when the rock he must have been carrying fell on him was just far to comical. Kokuro was worried that perhaps he had been hurt but at the same time could not keep the laughter from spilling out, it was all just way to much.

"When I had been asking the world to have a male land at my feet I didn't think the gods would take it quite so literally." she said mostly to herself as she made her way over to the male who was on the ground, leaves sticks and mud everywhere.

"Are you alright?" she asked cocking her head to the side and looking at him upside down.

hibi-tea

 

[hibi-tea]

The embarrassment overtook Etoile quickly as soon as he heard the laughter in the air around him. Someone had seen his graceful performance firsthand and now he would never be able to forget it. The lasting memory that someone had seen him do something incredibly stupid would always be there to rear its ugly head for fresh embarrassment whenever it pleased.

It almost didn't register with him that whoever had seen him take his tumble was attempting to talk to him. But the presence of the inflection in her voice made him realize he was being asked something.

"Huh?" Etoile replied, snapping back to reality as he looked over to see a lioness with a black and white coat, and very light colored eyes.

Realizing that he was still a** over head, Etoile quickly scrambled to right himself, dropping his peculiar rock onto the ground, "What? No-no, wait, yes. I'm ok! Where'd my rock go?"

He looked around frantically before he saw it glittering on the ground and went to pick it up with a sigh. He couldn't lose that rock. It was a gift for Tala, and she simply had to have the rock. Or at least he felt like she simply had to have that rock.  

[nessiaing]

Kokuro smiled, when the male had asked where his rock was she had pointed to it for him however he had found it before telling him that it was beneath him. She waited for him to right himself and settle a little bit, she didn't want to give the poor male too much to deal with at once he didn't really seem like he could handle it.

"That is a very pretty rock." Kokuro observed look at the sparkling rock as he had picked it up. "Is it for someone in particular or do you just like to collect rocks?" Kokuro was trying to place the male as she spoke, she was sure she had seen him around the price but she couldn't really figure out where she had seen him and who he was. She didn't really pay attention to too much but she was sure this male was someone she knew... perhaps if she could just remember his name.  

[hibi-tea]

Etoile smiled at Kokuro's observation of the rock and nodded his head slightly in approval. It was a very pretty and peculiar rock, and since someone else had now confirmed his feelings on the matter he was a little more confident in presenting it to Tala soon.

"It is very nice. I was lucky to find it in all the mud," He replied, his ears perking up as the female in front of him asked if he just liked collecting them or if it was for someone in particular.

His smile grew sheepish and his nose reddened a bit, giving it almost a purplish tinge as he nodded, "I'm giving it to this friend of mine. Well, I think we're more than friends. I know I want to be more than friends. B-but I'd be happy just being her friend, too! Her son gave me his blessing to be with her, so I hope she feels the same way, but you never know..."

Etoile laughed nervously, having begun to ramble his feelings on the matter quickly and possibly incoherently to the female in front of him. He didn't take into consideration whether or not others females even liked hearing what could be argued as romantic gestures for others, but he wasn't exactly learned on this whole romance thing anyway. Or social queues. He wasn't good at those either.

"R-really, I just happened upon it," He explained, "And I saw the glittering and it looked pretty like her coat. Like your coat, too. So I figured... she might like it."  

[nessiaing]

Kokuro listened to the male speak. As he described his feeling for the female in question and how he had gone through and gotten the blessing from the females son and now had found this female a beautiful rock to present to her. She felt herself swooning, she really needed a male... and preferably one just like this one who would sweep her off her feet.

"Sounds like you have you sights set on a very lucky female." Kokuro told him with a brisk nod, yes she had it all figured out. "Can I ask her what her name is?" Kokuro asked thinking perhaps the female in question might be one of her friends. If it was she was going have to bite her tongue around them she didn't want to giveaway this amazing surprise.  

[hibi-tea]

Etoile's ears pricked up and he smiled widely as he answered, almost sighing the females name, "Her name's Tala. Er, well, Shakuntala, but she's asked I call her Tala."

"She's the only one since I came back from my name quest whose been so patient with me. And she enjoys my company," He murmured wistfully. "But I guess it's a good thing I was gone for so long, or I might not have met her. Or maybe someone else would have met her before I could have."

Etoile laughed apprehensively for a moment, dismissing the thought before bringing his attention back to the lioness before him as he realized he hadn't even asked her name.

"Ahhh. I'm so sorry, I forgot to ask your name. I'm Etoile. You are?"  

[nessiaing]

Kokuro was unable to even attempt to hide the burst of giggles that came burst from her. She quickly calmed herself down and looked at the male a bit of remorse passing over her face. "I'm sorry Etoile I don't mean to laugh at you." she told him. Little giggles filtering through her speech.

"My name is Kokuro." she told him. "I know the female you speak of well. Though I don't call her Tala I call her grandma." she said giggles rolling back through her again. "I suspect the son you received a blessing from was my father."

She changed her expression to a serious one, "For what it counts for you have my blessing too... I can see that you love Grandma quite a bit." she told him. She only just barely managed to keep her voice serious to get the statement out and then she broke back into a fit of giggles again, she was nothing but a school girl at heart.  

[hibi-tea]

Etoile had recoiled visibly at this new information, a wave of embarrassment overtaking him as he learned that the female he had been swooning about Tala to happened to be her own grandchild. He had dropped his rock again and scrambled to pick it up as he face when from it's muted shades of grey blue, to muted shades of red and purple tinge.

He swallowed hard, stumbling over his words as he spoke, "I-I had n-no idea you were Tala's gr-grand d-daughter."

Honestly, the only given indication that she could possibly be Tala's grandchild was the black on her coat. Her eyes, which were very pretty, and her white and orange were definitely not Tala's, and clearly not Nitesh's.

Etoile nervously smiled at Kokuro's blessing for him and her grandmother. He admittedly was glad that she approved of him as well, even though the method of approval was one very embarrassing gush about how much he liked her grandmother.

"T-Thank you, Kokuro. I appreciate it." He responded, dusting off the rock once again to clean it from it's third adventure in the dirt and mud. "You... You will keep this secret, right? I-I'm not supposed to meet up with Tala until later and I would like for, uh, my gift to stay a surprise."  

[nessiaing]

Kokuro smiled and nodded her head vigorously. "Your secret is safe with me. When I see the stone next it will be as if I never saw it before." Kokuro told him.

The young female was now bouncing with energy. "I should go... need to go for a run." she told him. "It was a pleasure to meet you Etoile, welcome to the family.... Grandpa." she told. She turned and departed for her run, peels of laughter still coming from her lips.