Life is precious.

She grabbed it! She got the tail! The lioness growled triumphantly... only to lose the tail a moment later. That slippery cat! The lioness would have dunked after him but she didn't know about getting a face full of water. Her swimming skills were decent for a lion but still poor compared to the better swimming species of the feline family. Like the leopard apparently for he suddenly came up behind her with a laugh. Makyna turned, startled for a moment before she laughed out loud as well.

The lioness followed him out of the water, treading powerfully with her small paws. "Yes, even prettier than Leon." She giggled out with glee. The big bear wasn't exactly what she would call pretty, he was something else in her mind. Handsome! But she never really thought about him in the way she was thinking of Cancer right now. After all, Leon had never called her pretty before.

They made it out of the water and the female shook her own fur off. The normally wild fur at the back of her neck appeared even wilder after the shake off, as did the rest of her fur. Well, there was a remedy for that. A bath! Her gaze turned to Cancer and she noticed something new that she never had before! The spots! He had spots all over his coat! How... well, pretty! "Hehe, okay!"

The lioness smiled and followed him over to the moss beds where she would carefully sit down and begin to groom her wayward fur down. "I never knew that you had spots." She said quietly before adding shyly, "I think they look nice." After this the lioness busied herself with a bit of fur at her side. It was sticking up and just wouldn't go down. The stuff at the back of her neck well, she didn't even bother with it because it was so hard to get to.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 322
tagged: Cancer
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

ooc: d'aww

Cancer laughed as she confirmed that he was indeed cuter than Leon. Damn straight! He trotted along ahead of her, then settled down into the moss beside her. As she groomed, he grinned stupidly, especially when she commented on his spots. Yes, he was rather proud of those- secret treasures, only shown when wet. It was what made him a leopard, despite being all black otherwise.

"Thanks. I think so too." He laughed off his shameless joke as he turned to groom his own fur dry. Where Makyna was careful to flatten her fur nicely, he groomed himself quickly, not bothering to flatten the fur he mussed in turn. "When I first met you, you kind of had spots too. They've gone away now, though. Must be an age thing, huh?" He was of course referring to the very faint, already fading-at-the-time cub spots she'd sported on day one. Now, even wet, those spots had faded. In fact, as he looked at her, he noticed a few other changes.

He paws were bigger than his, but she was already growing into them, with broad shoulders and hips and a tail tip that grew fluffier each day. He noted these things with keen appreciation. He noted that stripe again, and then his eyes wandered lower. The way her jaw shifted as she groomed, how he could see her build now that her fur was slicked down. She was bigger than he was, but somehow, it didn't bother him like maybe it might have another day.

"I'm glad you stayed here, Makyna..." His tone of voice was different now, softer, almost dazed. "I mean, Bevy and Midas are cool... and I guess Leon's alright, but they're not like you. It's like, I can't be mad if you're around." He felt that familiar flush across his cheeks and turned his eyes away. "What I mean is, thanks. For being my friend... and stuff."

Life is precious.

Makyna laughed at his oh-so-modest joke before turning her attention to her belly. At the mention of her spots she paused to take a good look at her fur. He was right, the spots that had previously littered her fur were fading, hardly even visible anymore. She was growing older and that was probably a telltale sign of her aging. "I think you're right. Guess that's a difference between me and you. You keep your spots and I don't." She missed them a little but not too much. It made her different than all the other big cat cubs she had seen. Amaria had spots, Cancer had spots, and the tiger she had met had had stripes. The little lioness was the only one who showed to have a plain coat.

Finished grooming her own fur she sat on her haunches and looked at the leopard. He still seemed to be paying attention to her but not with the same dazed intent as when she'd caught him before. The way he was looking at her and the way he spoke caused a fluttery feeling in her belly. A warm feeling that she'd only felt with one other... but that other didn't like her in this way and talk to her in this way. Not the way that Cancer talked to her. It made her blush beneath her fur and want nothing more than to cuddle up to him.

In fact...

The lioness came over and sat right beside him with her fur brushing his. "I'm glad I'm here too... and I'm glad I'm with you." She smiled at him then before she rubbed her head underneath his chin. "You're so sweet and kind and an awesome friend. I feel so happy when you're around." With that she began to lick his cheek fur.

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 303
tagged: Cancer
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

ooc: 'sharing tongues' xD

Cancer was looking away when Makyna first moved, so when she brushed against him and planted herself at his side, he startled. He blinked in surprise when she pushed her head under his chin, then felt a stupid smile creep up as she returned the compliment. Then, just as he thought he was able to keep his heart from exploding from his chest, the lioness ran her tongue across his cheek.

A sharp, sudden thrill ran up his spine and he felt his face flush more than ever. He didn't move away, but rather, sat stock still, letting her groom the fur on his cheek, and subconsciously moving into it. As he eased into the new, fluttery feeling, a new sound arose.

PurrrrrrRrrrrrrRrrrrrrRrrr...

The cub didn't even seem to notice the rumble in his throat, and he tilted his head down to return the gesture, almost as if by instinct alone. If she'd let him, he'd run that bristly tongue across her forehead, across the gemstone that sat so pretty and perfect between her brow. If she didn't pull away or move, he'd continue, a little rougher than her, but pointedly, all but giving in to that feline pull. Social grooming on a whole other level, but the cub certainly didn't understand the implications yet.

In silence, he hoped that moment they shared would never end. It felt good to be so close to someone, to have that special bond no one else could ever know. He didn't feel the push of jealousy towards Leon now. In that precious moment, it was just the two of them- and no bear or bird or snake could ruin it now.

Life is precious.

That purr was all she needed to hear. It was a strange sound, one that promised happiness and joy at her closeness. The lioness wanted to reciprocate it but she didn't possess the muscles to do so. Instead she tried her own variation. It was a similar sound like a low rumbling growl that only sounded when she breathed out. Her own variation of a purr, learned from her friend.

The lioness certainly had no intention of running away, that feeling that blossomed in her belly that was full of excited nervousness had her rooted to the spot. Her head leaned forward into the tender licks of Cancer. She didn't mind that he wasn't as gentle as her, what she enjoyed was the closeness of him. The feeling of her best friend... Friend? Was he more than a friend? What would call someone who was your friend but also more? It was a thing to ponder on.

After the little grooming act she leaned into him, allowing her shoulder and side to rest against his. Her head slowly, hesitantly at first but then with growing confidence, rested against his neck. This was perfect. The lioness wished she could just capture this moment in time for all eternity. If they could just sit together here with no on interrupting them that would just be lovely. This feeling she felt with him why it couldn't be anything else but love could it? Did she love him? The lady wasn't completely certain and still she didn't want to say anything about it. No. Just sitting here with him, enjoying the blissfulness of the feeling was enough for her.

Her eyes began to close as she sat there with him. A now familiar twinge in her chest began to make itself known. The swimming had probably been a little much for her still healing wound but she wouldn't think about that now. The moment she didn't want to lose...

"Speech." || "Thoughts."

table by lisa

words: 325
tagged: Cancer
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10