[DUEL] Popping the Question (Khanyo & Helle)

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Roll for Luck))

These past few months, spending time with Helle and getting to know her, had been the happiest Khanyo had ever known. Yes, he'd had a good life before. His father had taught him to fight at an early age, and Khanyo had dedicated his life to sharpening those skills, which had earned him a spot with the mercenaries. It had been all he'd ever known, and it had been enough. But now, well now he wanted more. He wanted to share his life, his everything, with Helle. That lioness, that absolute joy she had brought into his life, it was intoxicating, and he didn't want it to stop.

He had only briefly told his brother of his feelings, and though Neze understood and encouraged his choice, Khanyo still felt nervous about the whole thing. What he was about to do, it completely went against his upbringing. He had been born in the Bonelands, where mates were unheard of, and all the lionesses shared the attentions of the umholi. Khanyo was no umholi. Hell, he'd never even attempted to go back. Would his mother, his grandmother, think he was a failure? Would they be happy with the choice he was about to make? A wash of sadness rushed over him even as he stood face to face with the absolute beauty of a soul that had enthralled him. Helle. <******** it, it didn't matter what they or the rest of his birth pride might think. He'd found someone to make him truly happy. He didn't want that feeling to ever slip through his paws. "Ready?" he asked with a wry smile, the tips of his fangs exposed in a toothy grin. This was going to be the spar of his lifetime.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Roll for Luck))

Something was different this morning, and Helle could feel it. It wasn't unheard of for her and Khanyo to have a morning spar, usually after he had one with Neze, as Helle tended to sleep in longer than those two boys. But something felt different about it. Perhaps it was the way Khanyo carried himself this morning, with heavy, purposeful steps. Or maybe it was the faraway look she had caught in his eyes before he returned his attention to her. Something was on his mind, and Helle wanted to know what it was. She had restrained herself from asking however, as she was certain he'd tell her in his own time.

For now, she squared her shoulders up with him, her opponent, her rival, her reason for rekindling her love of competition. Helle had been a fighter since she was young. Her father, Magnus, had taught both of his sons and daughters to fight and defend themselves, and at the time Helle had entertained the idea of becoming a reaver. Unfortunately, the new warlord that had taken over the Stormborn had quashed those ideas and lit an anger in Helle that burned hatred into her heart. She could still feel it there, twisting and turning whatever love she might have still had for her birth pride into ashes. She was a fighter, and a damned good one at that, and she would not be denied the absolute pleasure of feeling her claws and fangs rip into the flesh of others. She could do that here, in this pride, with the mercenaries. They did not care she was a female. They only cared that she could fight. And Helle, well, she could fight.

Before her stood Khanyo, a short male, much shorter than the large lioness herself, but someone who had never looked down at her for being female. Heck, their first meeting had been a full-on challenge to a spar, no questions or ridicule for her gender, and since then they had become friends, companions... maybe more? Helle had never really been interested in males short of sparring partners, but this one was different. She longed for his company mere moments after they parted ways each night, and she found herself eager to wake up each morning for the chance to see him. Something was different. Different with him, different within herself, it fueled her desire to seek him out each day.

When he asked if she was ready, she barked out a sincere bit of laughter. "Come and get me," she challenged with a deep rumble in the back of her throat as her claws unsheathed to dig into the dirt.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Round 1))

He didn't really need more of an invitation than that, and a deep rumble of his own escaped his throat. His paws carried him forward in a charge almost automatically, and though he was a small male he was heavily muscled, so it wasn't the quickest of charges. Once he started though, he would be difficult to stop if she didn't sidestep him completely. And unfortunately for him, that's exactly what she did! His bulk made it difficult for him to stop or change direction, but he did manage to sort of dive at one of her paws as she jumped away from him. He'd nearly grabbed her, but she was quicker than he was despite her larger size and Helle managed to slip from his grasp.

Khanyo growled at her, somewhat playfully, though there was a hunger in his eyes. He took fighting seriously, as he knew Helle did as well, so he wouldn't go easy on her. They never did. And perhaps that's one of the reasons Khanyo found her so enthralling. He could go all out in a spar with her, and not worry about hurting her. He was too busy trying to keep up with her skill.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Round 1))

It was easy for her to sidestep Khanyo's charge, and easy for her to get out of his reach just in the nick of time. Something had him distracted, and she would make sure to exploit that in their spar if he didn't get his head in the game. As he slipped by her, she reached out with a paw and heavily smacked him on the back of his head. Helle knew that wouldn't be enough to send him sprawling though, as Khanyo's low to the ground, thick frame famously made him difficult to knock over. She wasn't surprised when he simply dug his heels in and stopped himself short of falling. She danced out of his range then, knowing he would probably turn around to swipe at her.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Round 2))

The heavy blow to his head reminded him that he couldn't take this lightly, not for a second. Helle would have him eating dirt in no time. It was one of things he admired about her. She always put her all into their spars, so he did as well. Through the corner of his eye, he saw her dance away from him, smart, he thought. She had grown accustomed to how he usually fought, and that was to close the distance between himself and his opponent as quickly as possible. Because once he was close enough, Khanyo could grapple and wrestle them to the ground with little fear of getting tripped up himself, thanks to his short stature and heavy frame.

He made a move to give chase, though instead of charging he simply lunged at her and managed to catch the larger lioness in mid stride. The move made her stumble and Khanyo took full advantage of that, pushing more of his weight on her as he wrapped his forelegs around her neck to bite at her fur.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Round 2))

He surprised her. She was expecting him to charge after her, not lunge and grab at her in the same move. He'd nearly knocked the wind out of her and send her sprawling, but Helle managed to keep her paws under her even with his weight pushing down on her. She was muscular lioness, with a large frame and she was taller than most males. She was stormborn, and her father Magnus had gifted her with his exceptionally large and stout frame. She wasn't pretty by far, nor was she particularly womanly or beautiful, but that didn't matter. She could fight, and she could win, and that's all she had really ever cared about.

Khanyo was a difficult opponent on the best of days. He didn't take it easy on her, which she appreciated, and he took these spars as seriously as he would a battle against an enemy. It was all she could do try and shake him off of her, to thrash and attempt to release the hold he had around her neck.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Round 3))

As she started to thrash around the dark maned male tightened his grip. She was strong enough to nearly lift him off of his back paws, but luckily his weight was enough to keep him balanced, and his muscles strong enough to keep a hold of her neck. At one point it seemed like she might try to flip him over, but Khanyo had different ideas. With a growl and a push from his back paws he shoved his whole weight against her while she was attempting to shake him off and managed to catch her at a point where her balance had faltered. He could feel her buckling underneath him, so he wrenched his body and twisted himself to drive her towards the ground.

And there she was at his mercy. His fangs sought her neck as she tried to shove him away kicks to his gut. He'd grunted a few times when her paws hit him hard, but Khanyo was determined to win. After something of a struggle, with both of them receiving battering bruises from paws and clashing teeth against open maws, he was able to latch his fangs around her neck.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Round 3))

Try as she might, Khanyo had managed to wrestle her to the ground where any lion had a disadvantage. Fighting on one's back was never pleasant, and it opened up all sorts of weak points for your opponent to attack. Not only was she having to protect her underbelly, Khanyo was going for her throat! Helle managed to get a few good kicks in with her back paws, but that didn't seem to faze the golden lion as much as she had hoped. A growl of frustration escaped her as she snapped her jaws at him, attempted to ward off his fangs from seeking her flesh. But in the end, she felt him grip her throat and she stopped struggling. The spar was over, and she had lost.

For such a short male, Khanyo was a tricky opponent. "I give," she grumbled between clenched teeth.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Total: 12 - Win))

He felt her go still beneath him and Khanyo was quick to release his fangs from around her throat. He hadn't drawn blood, as it wouldn't have been proper to do in a spar, but they had definitely given each other enough bruises to feel sore for the next couple of days. The golden male took a few steps back and sat on his haunches as he waited for Helle to right herself, a smug smile plastered on his maw. It had been a good fight, and one that had certainly gotten his blood pumping. But now was the tricky part. The part that had him staying up all night unable to grab a wink of sleep. Was there a certain way lions usually asked this question? Would Helle be expecting some sort of strange Stormborn tradition he knew nothing about? Ugh, maybe he should have asked Thunzi for some pointers beforehand. That leopard could make anything sound easy. Heck, if he didn't watch out, Thunzi might have tried to swoop in and steal Helle out from under him. It was probably best he hadn't asked for assistance then.

"Helle..." he began but lost his words almost immediately. Damn it. He was normally more confident than this, especially after winning a spar! It occurred to him that maybe there was no right way of doing this. He had certainly not been raised this way, and the Mercs were so casual about everything he doubted a fuss would be raised either way. As Khanyo saw it, he was kind of on his own with this one, which was a little reassuring if he was being honest.

He cleared his throat and swallowed back whatever stranglehold his nerves had on him. "I love you, Helle," he told her as his fiery eyes locked on hers. He saw her, saw the look she was giving him, and that only bolstered his courage further. "And I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you as my mate," his voice grew deeper, and a rumbling purr sounded deep in his chest. "With you by my side, we can kick the a** of anyone that gets in our way," he finished with a wry grin, his teeth flashing as his confidence had returned.  

[Jovi of Shadows]

((Total: 7 - Lose))

It was frustrating to lose, and Helle was no fan of it, but they had fought well and that would have to be enough. When his fangs slid off her skin and he backed off her she made a move to roll to her belly and rise to her paws. Only she noticed Khanyo was now sitting, so she paused to rest on her side. A very serious look seemed to have crossed his features, and once more Helle was curious about it. Just what was this dark maned male thinking?

His words, his demeanor, they all took a moment to sink in for Helle. Had she heard him correctly? He wanted to be her mate? Helle blinked slowly as the meaning to his words sunk in and understanding slowly grasped her. He wanted to be her mate? For real? She'd never really been one to catch the attention of males, and when she did it was usually for cracking a few heads for being too rough in her spars. It wasn't 'proper' for a lady. She was certain if they'd had their way, she would have been minding a den and raising a gaggle of ankle biters with no say in her life. Well, she'd said no to that when she left, and she seemed to have stumbled onto a male who valued her for who she was. A fighter at heart with a thirst for battle. Khanyo couldn't have been more perfect for her.

Without warning Helle surged onto her paws and nearly bowled Khanyo over backwards with the force of her embrace. "I love you too, Khanyo," she rumbled, pressing her cheek into his thick mane and pushing him over completely this time. With the golden male on his back, she draped her torso over his chest and pressed her forehead into his. "I will be your mate, and you will be mine," she told him. "Nothing will stand in our way. Not even the gods will stand a chance against us." She suddenly regretted not having her mother or father around to share in this moment with her, but that was a sadness for a different time. For now, she was simply happy to be with her Khanyo.

It hadn't occurred to either of them that this had all played out in the middle of the sparring grounds, and they had caught the attention of quite a few mercenaries who were looking on with amusement. Eventually a small cheer went up around them, along with a few sultry calls and whistles for them to 'take it to the den'.