Rikmóðr
It had taken Rikka a while to work up the courage to say to Seqi what she wanted to say, but eventually she had realized that she was running out of time, and if she didn't say something soon, nothing would be done, and that would be horrible. So she had stopped practicing her words over and over and gone in search of the lioness who would soon marry one of her older brothers.Finding people in the pride could be a challenge, even if you knew generally where they ought to be at a given time, and Seqineq was no exception. Rask had told her that his betrothed's sister, Reka, had a knack for finding people in the pride that bordered on an occult gift. Rikka wouldn't have minded that. After asking Rask about where Seqi ought to be, and then a few random lions, it had become apparent that Rikka was going to have to go to Seqi's den, which she had been hoping to avoid, as Seqi lived there with her family, and Rikka wasn't quite ready to run into them.
Well, one of them, anyway.
Seqineq
Wedding preparations were taking up more and more of Seqi's time. True, she had completed most of them before, to a point, but then Rask's mother had another litter close enough to the original date for the wedding that she and Rask had decided to push it back until the cubs were old enough that they could attend with their mother, rather than force poor Soma to choose between attending or staying home to tend her cubs.At the moment, she was actually hiding from her own family - and Rask's, truth be told - just so that she could have a few moments to think about anything unrelated to her upcoming nuptials. Unfortunately, her mind refused to be diverted from the topic that had been occupying it for so long, and although she was able to stop herself thinking about the marriage ceremony itself and the celebrations that would take place before and afterward, she could not stop her mind from venturing down a related path.
What would it be like, she couldn't stop thinking, to be married to Raskogr? Specifically, what would it be like to be with him as a lioness?
Rikmóðr
Rikka was about to turn down the path which would eventually take her to the home Seqi shared with her family when she detected a familiar scent on the breeze. Aha! Before the wind could change directions, she threw herself into a run, racing after Seqi's scent until at last she came across the lioness lying at ease on an inaccessible jut of rock, a strange expression on her face."Seqi?" she called to get the older lioness's attention. She was already scrambling toward her, too anxious to get all of this over and done with to wait for an invitation to join her soon-to-be sister-in-law.
It took a moment for Seqineq to react, but when she did, her reaction was almost as strange as her expression had been. She'd clearly been startled, and looked around, almost guiltily, and then, when her gaze had landed on Rikka, she had seemed almost embarrassed.
What had she been thinking about?
Seqineq
Seqi could have died of embarrassment, to be caught thinking about Rask in that way by his little sister. Stormlords! To make matters worse, she could tell from Rikka's expression that the cub had realized something was amiss. She liked Rask's little sister a great deal - this one anyway - but sometimes the girl was entirely too good at reading people."Rikka!" she greeted the cub as the younger lioness closed the distance between them. She forced herself to smile and behave as if nothing had happened, hoping Rikka would pick up on the hint and do likewise. "It's a good day to die. Were you looking for me?"
It was a stupid question, and Rikka's expression was eloquent, putting Seqi in mind of some of the faces Raskogr made when people asked him stupid questions. She wondered briefly if the shared expression was something they had inherited, being siblings, or something Rikka had picked up, hanging around Rask as much as she did.
"Right. Sorry. What can I do for you?"
Rikmóðr
Rikka was glad that whatever had been bothering Seqi, the older lioness had shaken herself out of it. Or at least was pretending to have done so. Rikka was nervous enough, she didn't need Seqi being weird, too. That would certainly make this impossible."I had a question about the family party. The one that's before your wedding." Probably the clarification wasn't necessary, except there were a lot of parties leading up to this wedding, many of which included some or all of one or both of the families involved in this marriage. Rikka decided it was all right to err on the side of specificity. "The one where the priestess is supposed to ceremonially cast the runes for the future of your marriage."
She could see that she had said something that resonated with Seqi, although she wasn't sure why. Regardless, the grey eyed lioness was once more sitting a little uneasily, and her ears were rotated slightly backward at a guilty cant. Rikka couldn't imagine why, and right now she wasn't going to dwell on it, she had other matters - more important ones to talk about.
Seqineq
Uncanny. That's what it was. The way Rikka directed their conversation back to the Seqi's future with Raskogr. She was unaware of how her ears shifted uncomfortably and her posture stiffened."Yes?" she prompted.
When Rikka didn't immediately continue, she took a guess at what might be on the cub's mind and explained, "That's pretty easy, really, for everyone who isn't a priestess or getting married. Everyone else, the families, they're really just there to bear witness. In the more elaborate ceremonies, or for people who have smaller families, other family members have more active roles in the whole thing, but given the size of our combined families, Rask and I thought it best to keep things simple."
It meant that only Seqi and Rask would have to shed any blood, which had been deemed important, given the youth of his newest siblings, some of whom were not yet accustomed to getting cut.
Rikmóðr
Rikka waited somewhat impatiently for Seqi to finish talking. That wasn't what she was worried about at all. Rask had already explained to her what would take place, ceremonially speaking. She had done a great deal of considering before deciding that this particular ceremony was the best one to ask about."Ja...mhm..." she agreed, trying to hurry Seqi along. "Simple sounds absolutely great."
Then she realized she was being rude, which was probably not the best way to behave toward someone she was about to ask a favor of. So she shook her head and smiled an apology.
"Actually, I was wondering if, for that ceremony, there are assigned seats, and if there are, could I...mm...couldImaybesitbesideyourbrother?" She spoke the most important part in a terrible rush that Rask would've scolded her for, but she couldn't help it. It was embarrassing, and she was certain Seqi would laugh at her, which would be the absolute worst and she wouldn't have risked it at all, except when else would she have the chance to be that close to Brummen?
Seqineq
To be fair, Seqi very nearly did laugh at her little sister-in-law-to-be's request, but she forced herself not to. She had never really had childhood crushes the way other girls did, knowing from a very early age whom she would be marrying when she grew up, but she understood their importance, and would not have upset Rikka by laughing at her.Instead, she smiled as kindly as she knew how and nodded. "Typically there isn't any sort of seating arrangement, but I'm the bride and I can enforce one if I so choose. Given the way some of your brothers are, I imagine it might be a good idea to have one, anyway."
She really hadn't thought of that, and she should have. "I'm glad you reminded me. I think, for that, you definitely deserve the right to pick your seat. If you want to sit next to my brother, I'll see that it's arranged that way. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?"
Rikmóðr
As soon as Seqi smiled, Rikka knew everything would work out in her favor, and she was going to get to spend a whole evening sitting next to Brummen. Seqi had barely agreed before a delighted grin split Rikka's face and a frisson of excitement shivered through her tummy."Thank you!" she exclaimed, rushing forward to offer Seqi an affectionate head-butt before her embarrassment over the whole situation returned and she realized how silly she must look.
"Mm...no. There wasn't anything else. Just that. Thank you so much, really. That was really great. Thanks."
She was sounding stupider by the second. The kind of stupid that would make her brother Rask narrow his eyes and glare that glare of his. She really had to shut up, before she did anything worse. With that in mind, she offered Seqi a last, thrilled-embarrassed grin and scrambled back over the rocks to go find a beach to dance happily on.
Seqineq
Well. That was an interesting development. Seqi wondered if she ought to tell Rask that one of his sisters had a crush on one of her brothers. Probably better not to, she decided. It would only embarrass him.Not that she expected anything to come of it. Both her brothers were older than she was, and cubhood crushes were not known for lasting into adulthood. And even if they did, the fact that she would be marrying Rikka's brother long before Rikka had a chance at any of her brothers made it unlikely that the pride's traditions would permit the two of them to marry.
Whatever. Seqi would indulge Rikka and do as she asked for the ceremony. If it turned out to be a problem later on, she would deal with it. Of course, Seqi didn't know which of her brothers Rikka wanted to sit beside, but there were only two of them. She'd just put the cub between them. Problem solved.