Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been several weeks since Lissa and Lyti's last aborted get-together. Had Lyti's cubs not gotten sick, it probably would have turned out to be a very successful gossip session that would have left both lionesses feeling very pleased with themselves and happy to have seen each other.

As it was, Lissa had put off rescheduling because she couldn't helpb but be annoyed by the fact that Lyti had cubs. Previously she might have only been jealous of that fact, but she had forgotten that mothers put their cubs first, always, and she had not enjoyed being forgotten the instant Lyti heard two of her cubs were ill.

She had relented eventually, however, and agreed to a walking date. The speed with which Lyti had accepted her proposal had been gratifying. Probably she was sick of being cooped up with all those cubs, and so she'd view Lissa as a benevolent benefactress, allowing her to escape the den for a while. Lissa liked the thought.

Once again Lyti was fretting about the state of the den. She was leaving Bren in charge of the cubs, this time with Txur to assist him. Txur was remarkably good with cubs, and had been teaching them this funny thing he used to do in his old pride where he would communicate with a tree mother or something.

Lyti didn't pretend to understand it, and had made it very clear she would not have her cubs raised to worship flower-blooded gods but she liked that obedience to mothers was a large part of Txur's teachings. It made her life simpler. She just hoped Bren would be all right. Txur never said much about fathers to the cubs, after all.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it. The two males would just have to manage without her for one afternoon. Lyti needed some girl time.

Lissa noticed with a smug smile that Lyti was waiting for her outside her den. She took this as confirmation of her suspicion that Lyti was desperate to get away from her cubs for a while, which she stretched to serve as comforting proof that things weren't as perfect in her friend's life as they seemed.

"Lyti!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad we were finally able to figure out a time to get together."

She almost asked how her friend's cubs were doing, but then she remembered that there were seven of them, and she definitely didn't want to hear detailed reports on the health of seven cubs she couldn't even name or recognize on sight. That would be so dull.

Instead she asked, "How are you doing?"

"Lissa," Lyti smiled, returning the greeting. "I'm doing well. We all are. What about you? Have you and Naaja found a place yet?"

It was, she thought, a suitably subtle way to reintroduce the subject the two of them had been discussing the last time they were together. Lyti had tried to find out more on her own, but Naaja had been too busy to get together and both Txur and Bren were useless when it came to gathering information subtly. She had known better than to even ask either of them. Besides, neither one would have approved of her interest in another couple's romantic troubles.

There was also the added bonus that she might be able to persuade Lissa to show her this bachelorette den she had mentioned last time. Lyti was deeply curious about those. It seemed like such a scandalous idea for two unmarried lionesses to live together, away from their parents.

Lissa's smugness faded somewhat when Lyti reminded her of the idea she'd brought up the last time they'd spoken, about she and Naaja moving in together. She had at least mentioned the idea to Naaja, but it seemed the former warlord's daughter was quite happy living on her own. It apparently made it much easier for her to carry on her clandestine activities with Tallskog unwitnessed.

Not that that mattered, since she couldn't resist bragging to Lissa about being with Tallskog whenever the two of them got together, telling her all the juicy details of their meetings as if they were still two adolescents fantasizing about reavers and captains they barely knew.

"Oh, we decided against that," she said dismissively. "Naaja prefers to live on her own and I think it more appropriate that I remain with my family until I move in with my husband."

Lyti seized on Lissa's last words instantly, her whole being alert with interest.

"A husband?! Oh, Lissa! I know you're not married yet, or I would have been invited to the ceremony, but does this mean you've been betrothed? That's absolutely wonderful!" she gushed.

In truth, Lyti had considered, in a moment of sympathy, suggesting one of her brothers as a mate for Lissa, but she knew how her brothers felt about her purple companion, and the knowledge made her certain that it could never be a happy marriage. She wouldn't do that to her brothers or Lissa on purpose.

Nevertheless, she was pleased at Lissa's good fortune. It was about time her parents got around to finding her a husband. Or maybe she'd found one for herself. Either way, it was about time!

Lissa shifted uncomfortably and her eyes slid away from Lyti as she pretended to watch a passing hyena scuttle across the way. She hadn't meant to give the impression that she was engaged, but she could see how Lyti might have taken her words that way.

After the silence dragged on a little too long she made herself laugh and answer, "Of course you're invited to my wedding. Just as soon as I find a suitable groom and we set a date."

There was no need for her to go into what she meant by a suitable groom. The girls had covered that particular topic in exhausting detail as they grew up speculating about their futures. Her husband would be a reaver of old blood born on the correct side of the sheets, as it were. She would settle for nothing less.

"Would you like me to help you find someone suitable?"

Lyti had paused for a moment to consider her words before speaking, hoping that she would not give offense with a well-meaning offer. The fact was, as the wife of a reaver, Lyti was in a better position to broker marriages for others than she had ever been as a single lioness.

It was true, of course, that her contacts in the reavers came from Bren, who was Lissa's half brother, but the two had never been close, and without Lyti's influence it was unlikely Bren would ever make an effort on his half-sibling's behalf.

"If nothing else, you can meet a few reavers and maybe have some fun," she went on. "Some of the reavers Bren has brought home after vikings have been very interesting, good looking lions from good backgrounds."

Ordinarily, Lissa would have dismissed Lyti's offer of assistance in meeting reavers out of hand, but things were different now than they had been the last time her friend made the offer. Lyti had been married then, too, but the offer had felt a good deal more condescending back then than it did now.

"You know, if you think you can find someone who makes me as happy as Brenning makes you, and who meets my standards for a husband, I would be glad to have your assistance," she said, feeling both gracious and grateful all at once, which was an unusual feeling indeed. "Do you need a reminder of the list?"

Just in case, she laid it all out for Lyti once more, which turned out to be a good idea as Lyti had some perspective on her requirements that Lissa lacked. It wasn't until later on in the day that she realized they had somehow removed any sort of reference to her prospective husband's looks. Maybe that was a sign she was maturing.

Although Lyti was surprised at Lissa's agreement, she took pains to conceal it. Instead she nodded calmly, as though that was the answer she had been expecting all along. Then she listened as Lissa went through her requirements, and even though she supposed she should have stuck to listening, she couldn't help chiming in with suggestions.

By the time their walk had brought the lionesses back to Lyti's den, Lyti had a fairly good idea of what Lissa was looking for in a husband, but as yet no thoughts on who would make a suitable candidate. That was all right. She would get started by asking Bren to bring some of his friends around so she could vet them, and if any seemed promising, she would arrange to have them meet up with Lissa in a casual group setting to which they would be encouraged to bring other single reaver friends. It would all be very proper.

It was, Lyti felt, very good to have a project.