The sun had disappeared over the horizon hours ago, and in its absence the temperature swept a slow decline into something much more bearable than even the daytime shadows could provide. The ground was no longer too hot for sore paws to tread; the air no longer shimmered with the sun's heat bounding from the earth into the sky once more. The pale lioness standing on a short, flat boulder could expand her lungs and breathe as opposed to panting. It was her favorite time of day for little more reason than the sun was gone and everything felt so much lighter.
Her darker sister was near at hand, sprawled beneath the rock and purring noisily in contentment as she licked blood and gore from her extended claws. The remains of a fresh kill sat nearby, well picked over with its bare ribs stabbing into the starry sky. She wrapped her long tongue around one claw and then the other, cleaning the pads as well as her deadly weaponry with each sweep. Sansa'stark had no preference for night or day. So long as she was at ease with a full belly she was well enough; entertainment would, of course, be a welcome boon but were it not directly provided she could do without for at least a short period.
Arya'stark flicked her tail a few times, light yellow eyes sweeping over the land that surrounded them with obvious interest as her ears perked forwards and back. This land was much the same as all those they had traveled before, though vastly more populated and somehow more welcoming just by being so. Turning her head first one way and then the other, she managed a full panoramic view of all she could lay eyes on. Her nostrils flared, taking in their environment as her chest expanded and then contracted, pushing the scents back out into the air and over the receptors in her nose.
Sansa snorted suddenly, blue gaze sweeping from where she had been intently focused on her personal grooming. One brow ridge lifted in mock interest as she lowered the paw to dig her toes into the dirt with some measure of relish, "Smell any danger, little sister?" She knew there was nothing. There had been nothing since they had last laid eyes on Talfrid, and she was glad for it. Sansa was ready to relax and enjoy her life for the first time in a long while: for the first time since they had seen their loving parents.
As usual, Arya was less than amused by the teasing, but given their rather relaxed existence of late she was finding it difficult to completely rise to the bait. The rest was well deserved and appreciated, even if old habits died hard and she was not quite ready to completely give up on ritual. She had been scouting their resting places for as long as she could remember and could not imagine stopping such behavior now, "I smell plenty; you among them. When did you last groom yourself?"
"A moment ago, it's almost time to get to it again." Sansa rolled her eyes in the dark, skipping her usual step in their bickering dance to take her sister's instead. Rather than respond, Arya only smirked and stayed up on her rock, keeping vigil. With the fun virtually leeched from that point of banter, the dark female first sighed and then leaned back into the dirt. Her tail swished across the earth, dusting up all manner of smells to entertain herself though she knew they would not distract her sibling. Her lashes slid closed for a moment as she took in the scents, letting her head tip back so that her throat was bared to the sky. After a few deep breaths, her eyes slid open again and she gazed at the stars.
Arya looked away from the shadowed horizon line and the moonlit landscape to glance at her sister, her smirk spreading into an honest smile before she leapt from the undersized boulder plateau to land neatly on her pads nearby. Her tail flicked over a bush as she passed, hips and shoulder joints working lazily to get her to her sibling. As she came near enough, her mouth dropped open to lick her sister's cheek fondly before flopping down with a dull thud and a quiet groaning exhale. She ignored the cloud of dust that rose at her unceremonious plop and instead let her own eyes slip shut, satisfied they were safely within pridal lands where they were welcome.
"Arya?"
The tan female sighed but opened one eye fractionally, "Yes, Sansy-pants?"
There was silence for a moment as Sansa considered whether or not to take that line of teasing lying down or to actually gather herself up and do something about it. Lazy exhaustion one out and she stayed put, even shutting her eyes against the idea of moving at all. When she spoke again, she was halfway to sleep already. "Do you think we'll stay here?"
To be perfectly honest, Arya was still unsure. The two of them had never been fully immersed in a pride before. Their parents had tried, and failed, to introduce the cubs into a pride early in life and instead set themselves up as a lone family unit with an established territory of their own. The sisters had only left in pursuit of families of their own: prides were something that had never been honestly considered. She had waited so long to answer she was sure her sister had fallen asleep so remained silent, mulling over her response.
"Arya?"
"Yes." Jolted into a reply by surprise alone, she was left with little more than honesty. Did she think they would stay? Yes, they had no reason not to and she felt anything but unwelcome. Why should they not stay? If they could be happy and content in this pride with its complex history and plethora of opportunities, who was she to ever consider telling her prim sister no? The roguelands were not the home for Sansa, and they both knew that, but Arya could make a home wherever her sister was, even if she did not always care to admit it.
"I'm glad."
With that last whispered admittance, the two lapsed into silence, sleep, and then dreams.
