Pride of Exiles

[Ravvij]

Rav playfully bumped into Laini. He then gave her this, "What are you going to do about it?" look. He was feeling particularly loose today. It felt good to unwind a little and even had an idea to get Kaith to join in.
Kaith was walking ahead of them silently. She could hear the rustling of feet behind her, but didn't pay it any mind. She was somewhat in her own thoughts at the moment.

[TheWhistlerify]

For a short moment Laini sank deep into her own thoughts, but she soon found herself snapping out of it when Rav suddenly bumped into her side, definitely teasing her. Because she was smaller than he was she almost ended up losing her balance. She frowned in playful annoyance, bumping into him as well. However, her small size once again came to her disadvantage and the male didn't seem to be at all moved by her attempt. What made it even worse was the smug way it made him grin.

[Ravvij]

"Was that a fly? I think there's a fly trying to land on me." Rav looked around, pretending he felt nothing from Laini's bump. He was taunting her "Oh! There it is!" he said and took a playful swipe at her with his paw. He was careful and being gently in case she didn't dodge it.
Kaith's concentration was now broke and she looked back to see the two lions playing. She sighed a happy sigh and then continued on to her thoughts.

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini's frown remained as Rav continued to tease her. She dodged his playful, clawless swipe and took the opportunity of having already crouched in order to pounce at him. Since it was more than just a gentle bump (and also because the male hadn't expected it) she managed to knock him off his paws. Her small size made it impossible for her to pin him and keep him down, but at least she'd done something. "How's that for a fly?" she asked with a satisfied smile, resting on top of him.

[Ravvij]

Rav was caught off guard by her pounce and stumbled around a bit. After he caught himself he grinned and started jumping around, trying to throw Laini off his back. Although he was being careful, he suspected Laini wasn't that fragile.
Kaith heard the comotion and stopped two leaps away from the two. She watched her son play with the other lion and was happy to see that he had someone to play with besides her. Growing up, Rav had always played with his mother so it was really one sided.

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini was in fact quite content with just lying on top of Rav's back while admiring his broad and muscular shoulders and enjoying the feeling of his warm fur against hers, but to her dismay the male was still up to messing around. She clung onto him by wrapping her forelegs around his chest as he started bouncing around, but made sure to remember to keep her claws sheathed. "Just give up!" she teased at some point, laughing. Of course she knew that he could easily throw her off if he wanted to, but she also knew that they were just playing around.

[Ravvij]

"Never!" he said joyfully and started running in circles and weaving back and forth. He hoped the ride would be enough to set her off balance a bit, but if not he had another idea.
Kaith, still watching wondered just how long the two of them could go on playing. They weren't to pressed for time this day, but it would be nice to find a good place to sleep.
Rav felt Laini's strong legs cling to him and so he added a light bounce into his running. He flung his tail into her face when he could, tickling her nose. He even shock himself off from time to time as if he'd just been in the rain.
Kaith saw the things he tried and thought it was a good thing he wasn't trying the same things over and over.

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini found herself enjoying the ride even more when Rav began to think of creative ways to try to get her to lose her grip. The young lioness laughed whenever his tail tickled her nose. It's been a very long time since she'd last had that much fun. This was also a side of Rav she didn't know the lion had, and she was definitely delighted with her recent discovery. It was getting a little harder to cling onto him, but Laini was having way too much fun in order to even consider letting go.

At some point, however, she finally lost her grip and fell off, but that didn't seem to make harm her good mood. Still laughing, she looked up at Rav. "Aww... But I was having fun!" she complained playfully, frowning and sticking her tongue out at him.

[Ravvij]

Rav looked down at her, smiling and breathing a tad heavily. He laughed at her playfulness and thought it was cute. He arched his neck down a bit and nuzzled her face with his own. "I was too." He then helped her to her feet; he placed his head next to her shoulder for support. She didn't need it, but he wanted to.
Kaith looked at the two lovingly. She had started to grow attached to Laini through her son. Maybe she would even love Laini as a daughter. "Come on you two cubs. We still have a ways to go." she said to get them back on their way. Kaith resumed her steady pace toward the ends of the field and small hills.
"We'd better do as she says." he said smiling, then switched to a whisper, "She'll eat us if we don't." he jested.

[TheWhistlerify]

A smile still glued to Laini's muzzle, the young lioness purred in content when Rav gently rubbed his face against hers. While she didn't need any help getting up, she appreciated his support nonetheless. Looking at Kaith as the older lioness spoke, she nodded her head slowly. While she would have loved to fool around some more, she listened to Rav's mother and put her desire aside. If they were to just play all day, she thought, they would never find a home. But it did feel nice to take that little break and have some fun.

Alongside Rav, Laini also began to walk in the direction Kaith was heading. The air smelled fresh as a result of what was the first rain in a very long time and the feeling of the wet grass beneath her paws was pleasant. Thanks to the sun, which was currently making its way to the center of the sky, the fact that her fur was a little wet from having landed down in the grass a few moments earlier didn't bother the young lioness at all.

Laini smiled back at the lion next to her when he said that they'd better do as Kaith said. She obviously agreed with that and had no intention of arguing. However, she couldn't help herself from giggling when Rav jested about what his mother might do if they disobeyed her. "Will she?" she asked in a whisper and with a fake hint of seriousness in her tone, doubting that he wouldn't catch onto the fact that she was kidding.