Now, he was watching this one fair lioness, admiring her braid and other bits of her, grinning openly but not quite approaching yet. He wanted to observe for a while. Not jump into things. He had time, after all.
That was his original plan until a rather irritated crab got ahold of his tail. Letting out a yelp, he shot off the rock, immediately batting at the crab to get it off. Growling, he closed his teeth around the critter, yanking it and a few hairs off of his tail.
--
It was a fairly typical day for Eydis. Wake up, get some breakfast, scope out potential Reavers that might be the one to help her return to the life of a Freeborn, keeping a den rather than hunting for treasure. It was easier to find strong and capable males outside of the pride - too many Freeborn to weed out within the pride's boundaries - so she set off along the sea and into the rogue lands to set her sights on possible candidates to charm.
She didn't have to go too far, thankfully. There were a few other females gathered, fishing in the sea, and she stopped to watch them for a time. She had to admit that she admired the females that had become Reavers simply to go out and explore. She had claimed the title for more personal reasons, but there was great pride in knowing her fellow lionesses could go out and hang with the boys and fight just as fiercely and with equal skill.
Her attention was drawn to a lion she had never seen before as he yelped in pain, leaping off a rock he had been lounging on. It seemed a crab had found his tail rather interesting. Eydis had to admit she found all of him quite interesting.
"Oh dear...those pesky crabs are sneaky, aren't they?" she asked as she approached with a little chuckle. "Are you all right?"
--
He looked at the crab scampering away before turning his head to the lady who spoke. And nearly whistled. She was a looker. It took all he could not to give a once over. He may have actually whistled. Whoops.
"Very pesky," he murmured, before smiling slyly, pain in his tail momentarily forgotten. "Have you came to treat my wounds, ma'am?" he bowed his head, though looked up at her through eyelashes. Yes, she was a looker. He wouldn't mind a tumble in the bushes with her.
--
The way the lion was reacting let Eydis know that his thoughts were just about in line with her own which made things quite easy when it came to getting his attention. The question made her scoff softly, her own tail twitching in amusement.
"If there are any, perhaps I could. I've been told I'm rather skilled at healing." That wasn't a lie, either. If she wasn't so concerned with her own wants in life she probably could have become a fine healer, but her self-interest hindered her greatly. Who wanted strange lions calling at all hours of the night for a cure to eating too much fermented fruit? Not her, that was for certain.
"Let me see," she added, sidling up a bit closer to the male.
--
Lijen raised a brow, amused, before lifting his head. "You must have a gentle touch," he murmured with a smirk, tail flicking. "No need, though. Your company is healing enough." Moving past her, he nodded his head in the direction of the shore, smiling back at the female. "Care to walk with me? I would love to hear more about you," he mused.
A realization hit him. He forgot to introduce himself. "I am Lijen, the rare finds merchant of Nchi'mahadhi. Who do I have the pleasure to meet?"
--
Oh, he was charming, wasn't he? Eydis glanced up at the larger feline with a coy smile, not at all minding the tactic used to reel her in. Crab pinches could be painful but rarely were they actually in need of medical attention, and yet here she was, playing right into his paws. She couldn't help but fall for it easily.
"Eydis," she said, offering her name as she set off for the water, casting an alluring glance over her shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lijen, although I must confess I have no idea of the pride you come from, and I must amid you're either very brave or very stupid to venture this close to the Stormborn without an intent of challenging to enter. There are Reavers and Captains who would gladly capture you as a pretty Thrall for their own collections of rare finds."
--
Lijen chuckled, following after her. Eydis, hmm? He wasn't like Boneka; he could usually place a name to a face easily. Of course, leading the puppet master along with different names didn't help her memory but he had to have amusement somehow. He smiled at her, stepping a bit faster to catch up. "It's a musical pride, full of dancing, singing, crafts. Very creative," he explained, before giving her a musing look. "Are you going to catch me for a pretty thrall?" he asked lightly, tilting his head. "I'm not too well in a fight but I find myself rather.... resourceful, given a situation." He pointed out.
He smirked, however. She was quite clever, turning his own words against him. "What brings you to these wonderful shores today? I heard there are some bits of coral that washes up to the beach." Of course, he wasn't here mainly for the coral. He wanted to land his paws on some sea glass. But no need letting anyone know of his intent.
--
Eydis listened as Lijen described his pride. It was quite different from the Stormborn, that was for certain, as only a few within their ranks could be considered crafters or story tellers. The true weight was placed on Reavers, those that went out and fought for the pride, returned with riches and Thralls and stories and glory. Although she had gone out on her Viking to become a Reaver, she was much more of the mindset that eventually she'd find a mate and keep a den nice and tidy for him and their cubs. Perhaps a Thrall or two to help out as well.
"I'm not the Thrall catching type," she said with a little laugh. "Although if I were you'd certainly be first on my list." She flicked her tail, letting it smack Lijen's flank softly in a teasing fashion as they made their way to the shore. The waves rolling up onto the sands and crashing against the rocky cliffs not far made her pause and she took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air.
"Nothing the sea tosses up compares to this," she said with a fond sigh as she exhaled, opening her eyes once more. "Watching the water move and feeling the breeze is reason enough to come down here for me. I assume you're looking for trinkets?" she said, gazing up at the lion with a little grin. "I can show you a place where lots of treasures are tossed ashore...although it's a bit tricky to get to."
--
Lijen hummed happily. It was good to know for sure. He would hate this meeting to spoil with her attempting to catch him and him attempting to escape. He gave her a wry smile. "I'm flattered," he murmured, smirk widening at the tail. So, he wasn't too off to assume she was flirting with him. That was good. He liked a bit of fun here and there. He paused beside her, wind whipping his mane every which way as he watched her take in a deep breath.
"The sea is definitely a sight," Lijen agreed easily. He peered towards the worn down rocks, watching it crash. "A beauty and a danger. It would wear down the best of lions. Except the stormborn, of course." He grinned when she spoke of trinkets, attempting to hide any eagerness. "Just something worthy to sell. Do you mind showing me this place?"
--
"You certainly have a way with words, Lijen," Eydis purred with delight as he complimented not only her, but her pride as well. Her tail flicked in interest as the look on his face changed from one of flirtation to genuine interest, and she knew she had caught him. Not that she'd need to do much talking to convince him to a romp in the bushes at some point, but this was just to ensure her victory in the matter.
"Not at all," she said, giving him a charming smile of her own. "Although it is quite a special place, not many lions know of it. Perhaps I could ask for something in return for showing you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side before taking a few steps away from him. Surely he would agree and she could state her price later, although Eydis knew he wouldn't mind paying up once she let him know what she had planned. She began to walk again after that, deciding that if he was interested he'd follow. No sense in hanging around here.
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