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-need equinox full moon background...was that the one? morii u forget fool. what a clown.
The Prince glares at you as you approach, but she does not swat you as you groom her head. Instead, she perches elegantly, making it clear that you can only do this because she is allowing it.
Lying on the ground with a displeased grimace, The Prince notices you and turns her head, watching the horizon now. 0.o
Lying on the ground with a displeased grimace, The Prince notices you and turns her head, watching the horizon now.
You were going to ask The Prince to join you for a meal, but her icy stare stopped you in your tracks. How lovely.
Lying on the ground with a displeased grimace, The Prince notices you and turns her head, watching the horizon now.
Tale of a place
A deep forest
Dark with grace
There he lives
Blooming inside
A wild field
Of big eyes
There he lives
Skin so blue
His eyes shot red
The moon, the sky
T̴e̴l̴l̴ ̶h̷i̷m̴ ̷o̶n̶l̷y̵ ̶l̸i̶e̶s̵
He doesn't know
She waits inside
She lost her mind
Many years gone by
'
M̵̡̤̼̘̜͗̊̇̿͝ȁ̷̘̩͙k̴̨͉̣̳͌̾̀̽̈́̚̕ͅͅả̷̝̘͗̀͘n̵̮̎̈́ì̶̛̦̗͓͗̂̋ was a bright, happy cub, clever beyond his years, and often giving his broodmother grief-not intentionally, of course! But could the little thing be blamed for wanting to sneak out and look at the stars in the sky, point out the constellations? He was the darling of the nursery, always bursting with questions, yet knowing how and when to be cool, collected, serious.
His pride a large one, large enough that he easily didn't know much of anyone outside his immediate circle. Mentor, family, friends. Certainly the lions tied to the king and queen were beyond him. But one day, he found himself running late to his training session, speeding hurriedly through the nearby territory to reach his peer group...
...and tripping right over someone in the process. Stumbling up towards his paws to get off the lion, he found himself staring down at the flustered face of the eldest princess-roughly his age-heir to the throne, none other than Princess C̶͍̎͜͝ā̵̞͜s̸̗̈́̓s̸̝͒͆͜i̶̲̘͝ó̶̡̹̑p̶̥̕e̶̱̦͑̐į̸̔ạ̴̔̀ Startled-he just interacted with literal royalty, him, a low-ranking peasant-he scrambled to help her up. She hadn't said a word yet, was she mad? Oh no, was she going to speak with her parents, the king and queen!, about his foolish mistake? He was always being told to take his head out of the clouds, and now they were going to abandon him for his disrespect, weren't they?
"Oh, oh gosh, Your Highness I am so sorry," he squeaked, ears flattened nervously. "Are you alright? I didn't mean-"
He was cut off by her wispy laughter, her face screwed up slightly. "You're fine! Really, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, it's my fault really." She gave a grin as if to reassure him.
Still, he couldn't help but fret, his eyes flickering with poorly veiled concern. "Really, I'm fine," she tapped his paw with her own, flicking her tail. He couldn't help but notice how her paw lingered before she cleared her throat, snatching it away as if broken from a trance. "Are you alright?"
He blinked, surprised. Was she really asking him? But no, the slight crease of concern in her brown told him all he needed. "I, uh, yeah, I'm fine, thanks..." Looking up nervously, he realized that he was certainly late by now, sure to get an earful from his instructor. "Uh, shoot! I'm gonna be late, sorry!" He spoke frantically before darting away towards his training session, leaving the princess to watch in a mixture of amusement and concern.
Although their first meeting left much to be desired, it was certainly not their last. Next time they happened to run into each other-not literally, thankfully-the boy had been on some delivery errand towards one of the higher ranking elites near the monarchs' den, and had seen the princess chatting with someone younger, probably one of her sisters. He finished his business quickly, delighted to find that the other cub had taken off right as he'd finished. Grinning playfully, he crept up behind her, touching her shoulder with his tail before darting around to her other side, so she didn't spot him as she turned. Yet, his giggling gave him away and she turned to face him, an equally mischievous and affronted look on her face.
"Oh! It is you! I thought I recognized that touch," she teased, a smile tugging at her maw, fully replacing the tense expression she'd sported before. "I was hoping I'd see you again-only because I never got your name! That was very rude of you, you know..especially after you toppled me over," Any vulnerability was quickly and effortlessly smoothed over with her almost haughty facade, though her eyes still twinkled in a way that made M̵̡̤̼̘̜͗̊̇̿͝ȁ̷̘̩͙k̴̨͉̣̳͌̾̀̽̈́̚̕ͅͅả̷̝̘͗̀͘n̵̮̎̈́ì̶̛̦̗͓͗̂̋ warm.
"That was an accident, Princess! But, er, my name is M̵̡̤̼̘̜͗̊̇̿͝ȁ̷̘̩͙k̴̨͉̣̳͌̾̀̽̈́̚̕ͅͅả̷̝̘͗̀͘n̵̮̎̈́ì̶̛̦̗͓͗̂̋," he dipped his head, overcome with a sense of self-consciousness, though he could not place it.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, M̵̡̤̼̘̜͗̊̇̿͝ȁ̷̘̩͙k̴̨͉̣̳͌̾̀̽̈́̚̕ͅͅả̷̝̘͗̀͘n̵̮̎̈́ì̶̛̦̗͓͗̂̋. I did not know you lived over here?" Although her tone was light, playful, polite, he could almost detect a hint of nervousness. It made him nervous as well, oddly enough, but he swallowed and shrugged, still feeling self-conscious. "Actually, I, uh, live closer to the Fringe. I was only here for a delivery for one of the nobles.." he shuffled his paws anxiously. The Fringe was the outskirts of the kingdom, where the lowest ranks lived. While he wasn't that poor, he still felt embarrassed by the noticeable gap between their life.
But if that bothered her, she didn't show it. "Ugh, I hope they weren't too harsh on you, they think they're so high and mighty because of their rank. Don't tell anyone, M̵̡̤̼̘̜͗̊̇̿͝ȁ̷̘̩͙k̴̨͉̣̳͌̾̀̽̈́̚̕ͅͅả̷̝̘͗̀͘n̵̮̎̈́ì̶̛̦̗͓͗̂̋, but I truly dislike them sometimes."
He smiled at her words, admiring to himself how smoothly his name rolled off her tongue and not in hesitance and disgust as if his very existence was an offense. And now she was sharing 'secrets' with him?
"Well, I was planning on, ah, taking the scenic route home, doyouwannacomewithme?" He felt his jaw seize up in nervousness as he almost immediately regretted blurting out that last question, his voice pitching up towards the end. They barely knew each other, why would she accompany him on a literal night walk?
"Really? I would love to!" she grinned excitedly, eyes brightening. He forced himself to walk, now all to aware of her presence, and she easily matched his stride. "No one's ever invited me on such a trip. It's always, 'learn this,' or, 'do that,'" she said with a wistful sigh, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
As she opened up, he couldn't help but notice the similarities in their life. His family was, ah, lacking, and he was mostly just passed from caretaker to caretaker and occasionally helped take care of younger cubs. But there was always so much to do, so many commands to follow from his superiors, so much responsibility, it was honestly stifling.
"Well, uh, no one's ever walked with me before," he offered a shy grin, which only grew more confident as she brightened at that.
"So, are we walking to your home, or...?"
"Nah, I just like to walk through the darkness sometimes." She squinted at him, the moonlight seeming to make her mottled pelt shimmer. "Is that sarcasm?"
He burst into laughter.
-
Prince M̵̡̤̼̘̜͗̊̇̿͝ȁ̷̘̩͙k̴̨͉̣̳͌̾̀̽̈́̚̕ͅͅả̷̝̘͗̀͘n̵̮̎̈́ì̶̛̦̗͓͗̂̋ and Princess C̶͍̎͜͝ā̵̞͜s̸̗̈́̓s̸̝͒͆͜i̶̲̘͝ó̶̡̹̑p̶̥̕e̶̱̦͑̐į̸̔ạ̴̔̀. The king had accepted him warmly when she'd introduced him to her parents, eventually beginning to take him out on kingly duties. And now, with a mere announcement to the pride, it was official. He would be the next king.Wait.
He glanced nervously over at C̶͍̎͜͝ā̵̞͜s̸̗̈́̓s̸̝͒͆͜i̶̲̘͝ó̶̡̹̑p̶̥̕e̶̱̦͑̐į̸̔ạ̴̔̀, who stared blankly ahead, gaze sweeping over the assembled lions. She hated such big announcements, she'd told him. She usually got apathetic like this during such events, but was she not thinking what he was thinking? He couldn't be the only one who'd come to the realization.
She was the royal heir. And he was now made prince-consort. Were they betrothed?
It..it wasn't a bad thought. In fact, he felt a tingly warmth inside of him at the thought. But still, it made his stomach flutter anxiously, something that had been happening more and more lately. Stars above, why were all his thoughts about her? And why was this so confusing?
He almost didn't notice the crowd dispersing, each heading their own ways as C̶͍̎͜͝ā̵̞͜s̸̗̈́̓s̸̝͒͆͜i̶̲̘͝ó̶̡̹̑p̶̥̕e̶̱̦͑̐į̸̔ạ̴̔̀ turned to him, a small smile disrupting the tense expression. She always smiled when she saw him. It was nice.
"..Hey..you alright? I know how much you hate these things," he asked softly. She sighed, heading past him as he automatically followed. After a few moments of silence she suddenly stopped.
Turned.
Beamed at him.
"Oh sweet heavens, you dummy!" He blinked in confusion. Moody, much?
"What? Did-Did I do something wrong?"
"We're gonna be the next rulers!" Oh. OH. She nuzzled affectionately into the fluffy crook of his neck and right as his heart stopped everything fell into place.
They stood look that for a short while, both embracing and enjoying the other's presence in their own way.
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