[PRP] A Change of Heart

[SilverLutz]

If you had told Zuko the first day he saw Sawa that in the not too distant future he'd be marrying her, he'd have laughed in your face. Her? A rogue who was too bright to be of any use hunting? How had she even survived this long on her own? Who did she think she was, coming in to his pride smiling like that? Him? Her? Married? Never!

And yet here he was, strolling alongside the bright lioness, more content than he had been in his entire life. Who would have thought Sawa would turn him into...well. This?

"And then," Sawa said, giggling softly at her own story. "And then he said 'that's not my mother, that's my mate!'" Her giggles trickled over into full-out laughter, the joke always able to get her funny bone. Zuko just smiled to appease her, not quite understanding the punchline, but not wanting her to feel badly all the same.

"Ooooh I haven't told that in an age," she said, bumping into Zuko's shoulder with her own. "Gets me every time."

"It was...funny," Zuko said, glad that Sawa didn't seem to notice he wasn't guffawing along with her. "You'll have to tell...er...someone else too. Spread the joy."

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Was that someone around the corner?

Probably.

If there was ever a try-hard when it came to certain situations it was Itiri. He had always been somewhat desperate to ensure that their new blood had settled in well and he had tried his hardest to understand their cultures. He hadn't always been successful of course and there were a fair number that continued to puzzle him ever so slightly... but they had all chosen to come here and that meant that ultimately this was now who they were. If anything their colourful past just helped to breathe some extra life into their new home. After all, no one had ventured outside so their knowledge of the world wasn't the greatest.

However, this afternoon the lion hadn't seemed otherwise inclined to meet anyone on purpose. For the most part Itiri was simply out and a bound, meandering here and there, and very much lost within his own musings as he puttered about. It would have been evident he wasn't out for anything in particular as well given that the pride was probably more accustomed to watching as he strode purposefully towards someone or something.

Ah, but at least he wasn't unwell, he just had a case of the whimsy today.

Unaware of what lay ahead, he was scheduled to come right around the corner on a straight collision course for the couple. Hopefully he'd at least be aware of his surroundings enough not to bump into them!

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

"I should, shouldn't I?" Sawa said as she got her giggles under control, sniffing softly before letting out a content sigh. "It really is a good one. I don't usually remember jokes like that but it just stuck with me-"

Rounding a rock formation, the duo both reacted as they nearly walked headlong into Itiri. Zuko's eyes widened in surprise but he didn't make a sound while Sawa let out a squawk, paws scrambling under her as she tried to decide if she should move or just hold still. The abrupt noise was followed by another laugh, the bright female more than amused at the sound that had escaped her own muzzle.

"Oh! Itiri, you startled me!" she said between laughs. Zuko's heart was racing as he let out a slow breath, eyes sliding closed to try to calm himself down. He cleared his throat and gave a little bob of his head in greeting to the other male.

"Itiri, you'll have to forgive us. We didn't hear you."

"Oh, that was probably my fault," Sawa chimed in as her laughter settled again, a cheerful smile on her face, her normally calm and laid back expression a bit brighter than usual. "I was just telling Zuko this wonderful joke, you see, so it must have distracted us both."

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Startled, the dark lion gave a jump of his own and blinked rapidly as the two lions came in to view. He really had been entirely lost in his own world hadn't he? To have missed the pair was impressive, they hadn't been that soft in their steps, Sawa hadn't been quiet and she was exceedingly bright... yet here he was standing before them and had it not been for their reaction times he would have bumped right in to them.

"Ah," he sounded a touch strangled as he cleared his throat and then hazarded a wry smile.

"Who knew I could lose myself so easily, hm?" he mused and peers at Sawa's particularly cheerful expression, and her otherwise measured companion. Sawa was one of the bubbly souls they needed to keep conversation flowing in the midst of awkward circumstances.

"Oh, which joke would that be?" he asked curiously.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Sawa's smile softened to one of understanding - she could get lost in her own head sometimes and knew all too well what it was like to end up some place she had no idea how she'd gotten to - but when the prompt for her to tell the joke again came up her eyes twinkled as she grinned.

"Oh, it's quite funny. How did it start? Oh...yes, that's right! So there were two cheetahs, and-"

"It's a bit long," Zuko cut in, clearly flustered. The joke - what he'd understood of it anyway - was quite long, and Sawa was not good at telling it. She'd often pause to try to remember something, back track, make corrections, and burst into giggles halfway through. He was pretty sure it would be funny if he'd been able to make heads or tails of it, but as it was he didn't care to bore or confuse the Onyeisi. That and rogue humor seemed to be a bit more crass than anything he'd heard before.

"Oh, you're no fun, Zuko," Sawa huffed, bumping her shoulder gently against her mate's. Zuko didn't seem to mind being told as such, and instead he turned his gaze to Itiri.

"How have you been?" he asked, deciding to change the subject from jokes. Things in the pride had calmed down quite a bit since the whole wisp business, thankfully, but there were still some traditionalists that were unsettled. He was sure he would have been as well if Sawa hadn't been there to reassure him things were fine.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

The joke had stopped as suddenly as it had started and Itiri would have been lying if he'd said he wasn't disappointed. Oddly the crass mannerisms didn't bother him too much, there was something endearing about how open the majority were. They were much more free with their choice of words and often, less unsettled by the smaller matters.

...Though even he couldn't have ignored those Wisps, something had happened, and then it had been gone as quickly as it had appeared. He had never quite managed to get to the root of that and he wasn't sure the priests had either.

"I've been well," he replied with a wry smile. "I'd be concerned if anyone's having a particularly trying time at the moment, we've been relatively blessed with peace," he admitted and then shook his head. "However I wouldn't be surprised if there were complaints of boredom," he added with a chuckle.

"What brings you out here, just a walk or something more practical?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Zuko gave a little nod of agreement. Things were back to almost normal if one ignored the new wave of rogues that had joined not long ago. He was warmer to the idea of new lions coming in now that Sawa had shown him that outsiders weren't anything to be scared of, though he still gave some of them long glances if they were brightly colored or strangely marked. He was working on it, though, and Sawa was a big help.

"It is a bit boring," Sawa agreed which drew a slightly startled intake of air from Zuko. "But boring isn't bad necessarily. It's safe, for one. And everyone was so worried not too long ago, I'd much rather have a dull day with everyone happy than an exciting one with everyone worried." It took a lot to shake the lioness and, while the floating balls of light hadn't bothered her much, it had clearly disturbed and upset many within the pride. She'd much rather everyone be happy.

"Just a walk," she added with a warm smile, leaning against Zuko as her mate still sputtered, clearly flustered by her honesty. "It's a rather nice day for it, thought we'd take advantage." Looking up at Zuko, Sawa leaned in to bump her head under his chin to shake him out of his rut. It worked, clicking Zuko's teeth together as the bump closed his mouth. He took a moment to clear his throat before speaking again, a bit embarrassed by his reaction but trying to move past it.

"It's good to see others out and about." Not the worst thing he could say but not the most intellectual either. Why did he have to say such bland things around Itiri?

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"That's a very diplomatic answer," Itiri chuckled and shook his head towards Sawa, a quick glance at Zuko seemed to indicate he was less comfortable with the informal approach his mate had taken. Either that, or like everyone else it took them a while to realise that Itiri was pretty much one of them...just with a fancy title.

Well, sort of.

He'd have liked to be friendly enough with most for them to realise they didn't have to necessarily be quite so reserved around him. Genuinely if Zuko was more bubbly around his mate then Itiri would have been happy to see it! Hell, he'd have been happy to have been graced with several jokes if Sawa had them. At least that way he could use them himself and encounter some of the same puzzled faces that she might do... but it was a conversation starter!

"Let us be honest with one another a bit more fun and games would be entertaining, we have more than enough sombre duties that it's healthy to explore alternatives." He waved his paw and glanced upwards at Zuko's remark, he was right that the weather was pleasant.

"I'm always out and about," he added and then gave a rather impish grin as he glanced pointedly at Sawa. "You know if you keep heading down this path and hang a little bit left, just skirt around where you're not really supposed to be, you can find a little path that goes the whole way up the caldera," he advised. "You can see for miles around from up there, quiet a scenic and private spot," he added with a wink.

Let Zuko be flustered by that.

SilverLutz

Hi Epine, meet life. Life, you are free to hand Epine her a**. *Groan*

 

[SilverLutz]

Zuko shifted his weight from paw to paw, unsure of what to say or do. Itiri was far more candid than he'd ever seen him before and Sawa was going right along with it like he wasn't their leader. He cleared his throat just a bit but remained silent, letting the lioness do the talking. She was clearly far more comfortable in this situation than he was. Perhaps it was because she had joined and had led a different life before coming here, or maybe it was just her personality. Either way, Zuko kept his mouth shut for the time being.

Sawa, on the other hand, was clearly all for loosening up and having a good time. She wasn't a party animal by any means but having a laugh or playing a game was always a welcome way to pass the time, especially with how dour things had been recently. It seemed a new leaf was being turned, though, and she nodded with delight at the suggestion.

"Maybe when there's more time to be had I can tell you the joke," she offered with a grin. She tilted her head as Itiri went on, eyes glancing over his shoulder to follow the path he'd come from. She couldn't see where the trails diverged, but surely they could find the sneaky little opening. Zuko sputtered slightly, not wanting to go where they shouldn't, but Sawa was already trotting off.

"Sounds great! Thanks, Itiri," she said with a grin, letting her tail swish against his in thanks. Zuko was frozen to the spot for a few moments, watching his mate saunter off without a care in the world. He was certainly flustered just from Iriti's suggestive comment at the end and now here he was, alone with the Onyeisi

"Er- I-" He tripped over his words again and, before he could stuff his paw in his mouth any further, gave a quick jerky bow of his head before dashing off after Sawa.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I look forward to hearing it!" He called after Sawa, grateful that she had a bounce in her step and life enough in her eyes to grab an opportunity by both paws. She would serve well in helping her mate come out of his shell a little bit and remember that there was more to life than being quite so serious.

Actually, Itiri might have to acknowledge that it was he who made some quite serious, he did seem to have a way from turning a relaxed situation into something more sombre. It was never his intention, but it was clear that he still had some work to do to reassure those within the pride that he could relax and unwind... In fact he wanted to.

"Enjoy your visit," he added with a chuckle, nodding as Zuko gave a quick nod and followed studiously after his mate. At least they'd get to see something different, something new and Zuko might even realise that while they were close to somewhere they shouldn't been, they weren't actually going inside! This would be Zuko's chance to live just a little and maybe, Sawa's chance to show him that taking a little risk here and there could pay off.

...Besides, wasn't it in Itiri's best interests to encourage healthy relationships? This might well pay off some day and he'd be delighted when it did.

Now left to his own devices though the Onyeisi had very little alternative than to just continue with his meandering. With a final nod in farewell at the now gone couple he began to walk down the path in the direction he had been headed before he encountered the pair. He wasn't quite sure where he'd end up but heh, that was part of the adventure, right?

SilverLutz

/fin!