Ruzul
It was full dark by the time Ruzul had made his way from the wooded border to the stronghold, and then to the den Fjäril shared with her friend Shallan. Nighttime was typically the least noisy portion of the day, but when it was just after dusk it tended to get noisier. That's when the reavers held their celebrations.Ruzul, too, was attending a celebration of sorts, but its guest list was far more exclusive. Just himself and Fjäril. Her denmate had made other sleeping arrangements for the evening. Distantly he wondered how Shallan felt about having to find another place to sleep so that he and Fjäril could enjoy some sexy solitude. It had reached the point where she was being asked to relocate at least once a week. In her position, Ruzul would definitely have rebelled.
Thoughts of Shallan vanished by the time he reached the den, however. He was not here to see her, and it would have been thoughtless, even by his standards, to come to see one lioness while thinking of someone else. Even someone he was not interested in.
Fjäril
Fjäril had been doing her best not to actually wait by the entrance to her den to watch for Ruzul's approach. He had warned her he would probably be late in coming, since he was slated for border patrol, but she had not realized it would actually be dark by the time he arrived. It didn't really matter, of course, but the later he arrived, the less time she would have to spend with him before he left in the morning.At last, Fjäril heard his footfalls outside of the den and recognized his scent. Even then, she did not call out to him. She made herself wait until he issued his own salutation. It was not as warm as hers would have been, but the younger lion had never been particularly warm, throughout their relationship. It wasn't his way, she suspected, and given what she knew of his family, it was hardly a surprise that he was not a demonstrative lover. He was definitely skilled though.
"Of course, come in," she replied to him, after taking an extra second to make him wait and to make sure she would look her best when he first saw her.
Ruzul
Ruzul preferred to visit Fjäril in her den, for it often smelled of fresh meat and beneath that the scent of the herbs Fjäril liked to keep around to prevent it from growing musky. He had come to find the scent arousing, associating it with Fjäril as he did. So he took a deep breath as he stepped into the dark den, only to let it out in a surprised huff when he saw Fjäril.She had clearly put a good deal of effort into her appearance this evening, with her mane elaborately braided and coiled with thin colored strands that gleamed even in the moon's faint light. She had also put on some sort of oil, he could smell, which made him want her even more than the habitual want he felt whenever he was around her. Added to her usual attractiveness, it was all Ruzul could do not to spring at her and bear her to the ground beneath him.
"You look good," he said. Hardly the most original compliment he could have offered, nor the wittiest, but it was true and he knew she would cherish it as much as if he had spoken with a bard's silvered tongue.
Fjäril
Fjäril smiled seeing Ruzul and the way he reacted to her. That had absolutely been the reaction she had been going for, even if he was not as vocally appreciative as she might have hoped. She knew how to read a lion's attraction, and Ruzul clearly liked what he saw, which was enough for her."Thank you," she smiled at him. "There's food if you're hungry."
In the time they'd been together, Fjäril could only remember eating with Ruzul on a pawful of occasions. Typically their visits were more carnal than convivial, and Ruzul preferred to take his pleasure with her physically rather than in consuming food, but she continued to try to tempt him. She couldn't help trying to recapture that feeling of belonging and togetherness she'd had with her late husband, and eating together was part of that. She was, in fact, rather determined that tonight they would not be having sex until they had eaten and had a full conversation.
Ruzul
Ruzul knew he had smelled food, and if this had been his own den, he absolutely would have gone for it right away, but he had a more pleasant distraction at the moment, and food was not foremost in his mind."Perhaps later," he said, moving closer to Fjäril. When he was almost close enough to touch her he made himself stop, deliberately prolonging the exquisite torment that her tantalizing proximity caused.
"I have to say, there are so many other things I would rather do here with you. I can eat anywhere, after all, although I'm sure you've chosen a wonderful cut and seasoned it perfectly. Your taste is always superb."
There was something about Fjäril's stance that Ruzul couldn't quite place, just as the set of her chin was a little different. He wondered if she was actually mad at him for his late arrival. She had never really exhibited much in the way of negative emotion around or about him in the past, and he would have been surprised if she'd decided to start now, but it wasn't wholly unexpected.
"Is something wrong?"
Fjäril
"Thank you," Fjäril said, automatically responding to Ruzul's compliments even though she did not feel as pleased with them as she might have been."Of course there isn't anything wrong," she assured the younger lion. "But I would prefer to eat now. The meat will be at its best and I'm hungry."
Ordinarily Fjäril would not admit to something so mundane an unromantic as hunger, but she was fairly sure that Ruzul really didn't intend to "waste" anytime with her doing anything but making love. And she really did want to get to that part of the evening, but she also felt that it was time to start redefining their relationship to be more like what she wanted.
Then, as if lightening up and to give him the impression that he was still in charge of this evening she closed the distance between them and rubbed her chin down his mane. Very sweetly she said, "You don't mind, do you?"
Ruzul
Just as Fjäril's thanks had been automatic, Ruzul's act of turning his head to breathe more deeply of her scent when she brushed along him was automatic. He couldn't help himself and he had absolutely no regrets. He was midway through a deep inhalation when he realized he had been rather expertly manipulated into postponing what he really wanted."I didn't consider that," he admitted grudgingly. "Of course, if you're hungry we should eat." He barely managed to leave off the word "quickly" but it was hardly necessary. Fjäril would almost certainly hear in his tone that this meal would not be one they lingered over.
Having conceded defeat in this area, Ruzul moved past Fjäril toward the slice of meat she had selected and seasoned. As he'd predicted, it was a choice piece and he knew it would taste fantastic. Suddenly, his mouth watering wasn't entirely a reaction to Fjäril's undeniable allure. To make matters worse, his stomach chimed in, giving lie to his apparent indifference toward the food.
"Shall we?"
Fjäril
Fjäril smiled at Ruzul as she joined him near the meat she'd laid out. Experience allowed her to make her smile into a reward for his compliance. She would, of course, reward him later, too, in more tactile ways, but this was a beginning. She also wanted to train him to look forward to her smiles as immediate rewards that might promise more physical rewards at a later date."Thank you," she said. "Why don't you help yourself? I imagine you've worked up more of an appetite patrolling the border than I have going about my day."
When he didn't take the opening she'd left to ask about how she'd spent her day, but did move to help himself, she tried again to strike up a conversation, making sure that she didn't phrase her question in such a way that he could answer it with a simple yes or no.
"What did you see while you were on patrol?"
Ruzul
With his mouth full of succulent, spiced meat it was difficult for Ruzul to answer Fjäril's question immediately. When he did, his upbringing meant that he didn't make much of a story out of his response. His somewhat distracted mind had interpreted her question as less a request for conversation and more a request for information, and so when he spoke he more or less delivered a report, like he would do for a captain."My area was clear of outlanders and Stormborn until just before sunset, when a lion I initially identified as an outlander appeared. When confronted he claimed to be a member of the pride and was able to provide satisfactory proof of his claim upon request."
He wolfed down the rest of his meat, hardly noticing that Fjäril herself had barely touched the morsels she had selected for herself. Talking time was over.
"Now then," he said, moving toward Fjäril with deliberate purpose. "I have been waiting to do this all day."
Fjäril
Fjäril was momentarily taken aback by the brusque way Ruzul told her about his day, almost thinking that she had actually succeeded in making him angry with her, but then she decided that he was simply rushing through it so that they could finish their meal and get to the part of the evening he was most interested in. She was willing to make him wait, just for that, but it turned out she wasn't given too much choice in the matter. Which was not to say that anything nonconsensual took place, only that she was not afforded the opportunity to draw out their dinner and conversation any longer than she already had.Later, when Ruzul had gone and Fjäril had cleaned up after his visit, she curled up on her furs and tried to decide if she could count this visit a success or not. Ultimately she decided that while it hadn't gone exactly according to plan, she had managed to get him to sit down, eat something, and tell her about his day before they moved onto more physical activities. Since those had been her stated goals, she decided that she had succeeded in achieving them, but since she was still unsatisfied with the outcome, she would have to adjust her goals in the future.
Good times.