[LOG] Now there's the smile made of sunlight (Mana & Abhi)

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

Mananakbo hadn't realized that being a father would take up as much of his time as it was doing. He had initially believed that he could get away with seeing his cubs but once a week and otherwise leaving them in the care of their nanny, Tomkrie. However, that was proving impossible. Tomkrie kept asking him to make an appearance here, or spend some time with one cub or another there. His appearances and presence were apparently used as rewards for good behavior, which mystified him, given that he didn't enjoy his time with his cubs particularly, and didn't tend to do much to make their time together special. It was a relief for him to get away - really away - from those responsibilities and from the responsibilities which came with being Nyoka's right hand for a time and simply relax by the belowground stream which ran through the pride's land. He might have gone to the river's above ground banks, but those were frequently more crowded, and he was enjoying his solitude.

Peppermint Coffee

She had the whole day off. No appointments, no nothing. It was an odd thing for the cheetah to handle. Honestly, Abhishri didn't know what to do with her time. Flicking her ears, she moved about the pride like she would if she had appointments. Graceful, proud and confident. She knew shew as on the verge of being moved up to a Geisha, which is why she was given the day off, probably. To prepare mentally for the responsibility that came with the new rank. As she walked, she thought of two things. Two males, actually. Bugie and Mana. She had feelings for both of them. Of course, that was unheard of, she couldn't have them both no matter how good of an Entertainer she was, but it's how it was. Her eyes glazed over as she thought of admitting her feelings to Bugie a few moons ago. It'd changed everything. Her and Bugie saw more and more of each other, and became more comfortable with each other, like she felt with Mana. She sighed heavily and turned to go to her favorite spot.

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

One thing about underground caverns: sound really carries well. Mana was able to hear the sound of someone approaching long before he would be able to see them. It was one of the reasons he actually preferred the river belowground. There was still a part of him - and perhaps there always would be that part of him, which was a cringeworthy thought - which hated to be taken by surprise and feared the possibility that someone from his former pride would find him and finish the job of maiming him that they'd started all those seasons ago. His irrational and continuing fear of those lions rankled, and he hated it, but it was still there if he checked, and would occasionally manifest in other ways, like a tensing of his muscles upon hearing the sounds of another person approaching, despite the fact that he could recognize a cheetah's tread on the stones, rather than a lion's or leopard's walk. Cheetah claws couldn't be retracted, and so they always clicked on the stone. He didn't call out to the person approaching, however, since he could not yet see them and there was a possibility it was someone he didn't wish to see anyway.

Peppermint Coffee

Abhi stopped and stretced out her front legs, lowering her front half so her chest rested on the ground, rump in the air. Her tail flicked at that then proceeded to get up and stretch out her back legs. This is how she'd gotten Mana's attention the first time they'd met. However, she didn't even now where he was. Stretching done, Abhi continued on to her favorite spot, which was just a big, flat rock that was in the sun at all times during the day. Leaping up on said rock, the brown cheetah sighed and laid down. "Mmmmm... Love the sun." Her voice wasn't a held back whisper like she sometimes spoke in. No, no one was around so she just talked normally.

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

Oh, Abhi, Mana thought as he saw a familiar figure coming nearer and then hopping onto the one rock in the underground cavern which was always sunny due to the way the sun's rays came down and kept the cavern from being cast in total blackness. He supposed that as a father, he really ought to be a bit less attentive to the actions of attractive entertainers, but people like Abhi were just impossible to ignore. Particularly when they insisted on locating themselves in the only illuminated area of a cave and then stretching in such a way that all their good parts were shown off. His thoughts were tinged with amusement at her confession of love for the sun. A polite cheetah might have spoken up, or cleared his throat, but Mana chose to stay silent and see what she did next.

Peppermint Coffee

Oh, how oblivious she was to the stalker she knew as Mana. She stretched out again and gave a little groan before huffing and relaxing, her head resting on the rock, eyes half lidded. God, it felt so good to warm herself up, especially after a busy week like she had. These days it seemed Geisha and Entertainers were in high demand. Yes, they warded of loneliness, they were almost a compassionate sort. Picking her head back up, Abhi proceeded to clean her paws and rub them on her face, cleaning it of the dust of the week.

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

Actually, Mana wasn't so much of a creepy stalker type that he would sit there and watch a person go through their usual routine without drawing some attention to his presence. That is, he didn't really find a person's usual routine all that interesting, and so the idea of watching wasn't particularly appealing. Particularly given that Abhi was so much more interesting to talk to. Though there was no point in denying that she was also lots and lots of fun to watch, even as she performed mundane tasks. Some people were just like that, and Abhi was one of them. She had definitely found her calling in the 'Nera. Mana admired her in many ways. And because he admired her, he would stop being weird and creepy and actually say something, even though he'd been perfectly all right with things as they were. "Unusual place to come for sunlight," he remarked as he climbed to his feet. "Most people seek it aboveground."

Peppermint Coffee

A sudden voice made Abhi jump to her paws, fur bristling as she craned her head around. How was she supposed to know it was Mana? He gave her a freaking heart attack! Her brows knitted together as she glared at him, relaxing her locked muscles. "I didn't want to venture out." She almost pouted. Almost. She was much to dignified to actually pout. "What are you doing creeping up on people? Have you been there this whole time?" Those blue eyes narrowed a little in irritation. She didn't want him to see her startled. He was only supposed to see her when she was comletely composed.

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

"Sorry," Mana said, though not much in the way of apology made it into his tone. He really wasn't very old, even if he was a father and Nyoka's right hand, and a very juvenile part of him delighted in seeing Abhi startled. Something about destroying the composure of a very composed woman or whatever. There were times when Mana wished he dared startle Nyoka, just to see how she dealt with it, but he suspected that she would deal with it by turning around and lashing out violently at whatever idiot startled her. Or demanding that Mana do so on her behalf, which would be very awkward if he was the one to startle her to begin with. Besides, one simply didn't do that to the boss lady. "I meant no harm, but it didn't occur to me to greet you when you first arrived and after that the longer I waited to say something, the more awkward it would get, so I figured my choices were either to say something or be really creepy and not say anything."

Peppermint Coffee

"You could have greeted me as I came in." Sighing, the female laid back down, tail giving an annoyed twitch. She looked at Mana and was once again caught up in how handsome he was. But her heart lurched at the thought, because she had feelings for the poor, misguided Bugie. Her romance couldn't blossom, at least, not to where they could be completely open about it. Her blue eyes glazed over as she thought of the black leopard and his sweet personality. He was the one who'd brought her to the 'Nera. He knew her calling before she did. "Whatever. It's been a while since we've last talked."

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

"I could've. But my mind was elsewhere. I was actually enjoying having some time to myself." He winced as he realized how that must have sounded. "Sorry. I just meant that I wasn't thinking about it, really. Sometimes when I don't have to worry about dealing with other people and their expectations and the exact right behavior, I let all of my manners completely slide." He rolled his shoulders and shook his head. The sunlight around her made it very easy for him to see the way her tail twitched in annoyance. Not doing well here, he wasn't. Well, he'd already apologized and that was the most he intended to do. Abhi knew he wasn't always silver tongued. Just most of the time. "My fault, I'd guess," he said. "The not talking. Things have been busy."

Peppermint Coffee

It didn't take long for the cheetah to calm down, her tail now flicking in only habit. The annoyance seeped out of her with every word he spoke because she knew he was sorry. If he wanted to scare her, Abhi knew Mana could do a whole lot worse than sneak up on her while she was sun bathing. But still, the idea of being watched like that on a day to herself was a bit unsettling. At the same time, scrutiny was part of her every day routine, and it looked like she didn't get a break from it. She got her work mask slipped back on and got that air of an Entertainer around her as she nodded a little bit. "Think nothing of it. Just don't go around spreading that I was caught off guard. I'd never be a Geisha if something like that slipped out." She watched him with a little smirk on her face. She could be teasing him, but it was hard to tell right now.

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

"I would never do anything to hurt your chances of becoming a Geisha," Mana assured Abhi, stepping closer, though not yet reaching the point where he might consider hopping onto the rock to join her. He might have liked to do so, but he was still working on gauging her mood and whether or not she was teasing him, or if she was serious. "You know, he said, I've missed talking to you and seeing you since the cubs arrived. I feel like their appearance sort of put our friendship off the trail it was following before. I regret that."

Peppermint Coffee

She rolled her shoulders and sighed. "It wasn't like you asked for them. I understand urges. ...I just don't care for cubs, really." Shifting over, Abhishri made room for him on the rock and under the sun. Sharing a rock wasn't considered a big flirt, it was sharing. That's what she told herself, anyway. She was trying to be with Bugie. Trying being the word there. What was hurting Abhi was that she cared for both Mana and Bugie. One she could be with proudly, the other... she would have to hide their relationship and sneak about to see him. "You can still talk to me. It's like like the cubs have really changed you."

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

"To be honest, I'm not really a cub person myself. My own don't seem to be so bad, but only because of Tomkrie. If I had to care for them myself, I'd probably go mad. Then they really would have changed me." He noticed her shift as he spoke and leaped with grace onto the rock with her. There wasn't a great deal of space for two adult cheetahs, but he was able to settle himself without touching her too much. She was attractive and he was attracted to her, but he knew because it was his job to know that she and Bugie were almost something, and he had too much respect for her to deliberately make things difficult. Not unless she gave him some sign that she would welcome his advances. "Nyoka was furious when I first told her about them," he said softly.

Peppermint Coffee

"When is Nyoka not furious?" she asked, a teasing smile coming to her lips. It seemed everyday she heard someone say Nyoka was mad or furious or just generally pissed off. So, Abhi didn't think much of it. She'd only caught Nyoka on good days, so she didn't know the wrath. "Well, ....I was too." In the past, she thought she made it quite clear she was interested in him. He hadn't taken her advances, hadn't flirted back with her or even asked her about it. So, she just assumed he wasn't interested in her. That's why she was comfortable against him now. She settled so one side of herself was pressed along his side, head on her paws with that grin. "But... I suppose it isn't a bad things, having spawn. I mean, with your blood and rank? They're to be respected, no?"

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

"Don't say that too loudly," Mana warned with mock sobriety. "Nyoka has spies everywhere, you know." He bumped her shoulder with his, teasing. "Oh, sure. They can aspire to be high grunts like me. Such a legacy I've left them." All right, he wasn't just a high grunt, but officially that was what he was supposed to be and he stuck to that story. "Spirits, I screwed up. Why were you furious, if I may ask? I'd like to try to make amends if I can."

Peppermint Coffee

"...That you had cubs.. .....I thought you were into me back then. As more than friends, so I let myself get a bit emotionally attatched and hated you for a few days. Then I realized how irrational I was being and got over it." Abhi said it like she was talking about the weather, or something mundane like that. "But now....? You're a good friend.." Though there were still feelings involved, and how she pressed her head against his neck should have told him as much.

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

In an attempt to match her casual demeanor, Mana responded to her admission in kind, offering her a truth he hadn't shared with her before."You know, I was into you as more than friends. If truth be told, I am still incredibly attracted to you. I figured the cubs had more or less ruined that, though." A little irritably he thought that he had been right, now that he was apparently in the good friends category. "I did notice that you were unhappy initially, you know. And I wondered if it was because of something like that." Her head pressed against his neck told him that maybe he hadn't completely screwed things up, but he wasn't sure how far he should take this, or let her take it.

Peppermint Coffee

She looked up at him and arched a delicate looking brow. Interseting. He still had feelings for her, and she for him. ....Maybe ....Bugie wouldn't have to know. If it was a casual thing and let him get serious with whoever. She could keep a good distance if need be, emotionally. OK, that was a lie. But it sounded good in her head. Looking at him again, Abhi leaned in and licked his muzzle, pressing up against his side. She wanted to test this, to see what she was missing.

"...How about this; we be together for a bit, see how things go? But.... not tell Bugie?"

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Princess_Feylin

Mana cocked his head to look at her, resisting the urge to tease her. He wanted to tease her, it was in his nature to tease, particularly in situations when he wasn't sure what else to say. Instead he contented himself with a smile that turned into a full-out grin when her rasping tongue crossed his muzzle. Sometimes the spirits were good. This seemed like it was going to be one of those times. "I don't see Bugie that often, and I'm very good at keeping secrets."

Peppermint Coffee

Then everything would be alright. She wouldn't talk about Mana when she was with Bugie. She let her tail twine with his and proceeded to lick at his neck, trying to seduce him like she'd seen many Geisha do. Hey, if he was willing, so was she.