He really didn't need to be as frantic about it as he was, but he truly wanted everything in the Hollow to be perfect for the eventual arrival of the new cubs. He wasn't exactly certain when the Mother would deign to deliver them, but he did know it could be any day now, and so he was running about doing the most disjointed tasks, starting to clean out a den and then winding up stopping halfway through because he'd noticed one of the caches needed to be taken care of, and then on his way back into the pride he'd realized the border markings in that area needed to be refreshed, and then he'd been distracted by this that and the other thing. Which really just left a series of unfinished chores scattered about the pride and didn't get anything done.

At that moment, Angelo had managed to return to his original task of cleaning out the den, and he was carrying a somewhat ragged pelt through the tunnels towards the outside so he could get rid of it. Though, he supposed he could just dump it in an empty den and leave it for someone else to use if they wanted...

He paused in a tunnel juncture to consider this idea, the tip of his tail twitching in deep thought.

@Storm

Storm was wandering the tunnels of the Hollows, hoping that doing so would help her clear her confused mind. There was something about Thella that was different from other lions, something she'd never felt before and she didn't understand it. It was making her awkward and stiff around the lioness she respected and it made her uncomfortable to not know her own mind.

Her inner turmoil dulled her senses and she didn't notice the frantic energy of the other occupant of the tunnel, only becoming aware of @Angelo's presence as she reached the juncture and found herself staring right at him. She nodded her head in a show of respect for a noble and her High Sovereign's mate and let out a chuff in greeting.

Noticing the pelt he carried, she asked, "Doing some fall cleaning?"

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Mmph? he replied when he was thankfully interrupted from his thinking by someone speaking. Mmp! Mpmhmp-mmmm... he took a second to spit out the pelt he was holding so he would actually be clearly audible. Sorry, wow, that would help. Anyway! Yeah kind of. These were all ratty and whatnot you know? Gotta have nice things for the little ones, he said, nudging the fur so that it folded over on itself and wasn't quite as obviously a disaster. Not that it was all that bad but still.

I just... I really want to do it right this time, he said. Not that he thought he'd done a bad job before, but he definitely wanted to be more involved with their lives and whatnot. If he could be, anyway. But what're you up to? Pretty lady like yourself shouldn't have to be wandering around all alone, he asked, tufted ears perking up in curiosity.

@Storm

Storm watched as @Angelo figured out that he needed to remove the furs from his mouth in order to speak. She nodded in agreement that cubs should have nice things if they're available. To do otherwise who border on neglect, depending on the circumstance. She laughed internally as he folded the furs, his nerves evident in his desire to appear neat.
She listened as he confessed his desire to do right by his soon-to-arrive children. She hadn't been around for the previous litters, but she'd heard positive things about Angelo and Alexander. "I've been given the impression that you've done a good job so far, I doubt it will be different this time. But if you're worried about it, all you can do is learn from any of your past mistakes and try not to make them again." She advised him, her mother's voice echoing in her ears from the many times she'd said the exactly same words to Storm.
He then asked about why she was here. She felt awkward as he called her pretty, but answered his query genuinely. "I've been... confused lately. There's someone I respect and admire quite a bit, but whenever I'm around them, I feel really uncomfortable. But also I feel very comfortable with her- with them at the same time." She tried to be as vague as possible, covering her slip-up quickly and hoping he wouldn't notice. "I can't seem to stop thinking about them and I just really don't understand what's going on with me." She continued with her explanation. As she spoke, she rubbed her paws against the ground, feeling uncomfortable with confessing her troubles to a lion she hardly knew, while also hoping desperately that talking about it would help her figure it out, or at least make it go away.

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Listen, words are hard when you only have one brain cell, and it's on a semi-permanent leave of absence. He was lucky he was pretty. He lived in fear of the day his ever advancing age took that from him.

He sincerely hoped he'd done a good job thus far. So many of the little ones had gone unaccounted for now that they were grown up and could choose to go places and do things on their own, but as long as Alexander wasn't worried about them he chose not to be too. Or at least not to seem like he was. He did wonder where Alice had gone off to, and could only hope she was with her mother. Jazmin was missed as well, of course, but she was old enough to fend for herself.

You're right, that's all we can do, I suppose, and just try to do the best we can by them, he agreed. It was the thought that counted, right? Of course, he would try to provide more than just the thought, but at least he'd had the thought. A lazy bum around the pride he might be most of the time, but when it came to family he was anything but lazy. Unless said family wanted to take a nap on him like he was a giant throw rug, then he'd be lazy.

He listened to her, head tipped slightly to the side as she spoke, an eyebrow slowly disappearing into the fringe of his mane. He might be a bit oblivious, as most men were, but even he could tell what was going on there. Ah, to be so young again. Well, I thiiiink, and I could be wrong, mind you, but it sounds a lot like how I felt around Alexander when we first met. Mostly the whole can't stop thinking about them thing, he replied. He also noticed the slip of the tongue, the admission that it was, in fact, a her, but he didn't make any comment on it nor repeat the slip. Like he cared or was in any position to judge if she had feelings for someone of her same gender.

@Storm

Storm's eyes widened as @Angelo spoke, comparing her struggle with her brain to his early relationship with Alexander. With the male who was now his husband. She was too stunned by this suggestion to do more than reject the idea outright at first.
"I- I think that's putting way too much into it, I mean, I hardly know her! There's no way I'm falling for her. I just, admire her a lot and think she's really beautiful and can't stop thinking about her and staring at her and oh Great Tiger above, I think I'm in love with her." Storm rambled, her argument becoming more futile as she realized that his assessment sounded exactly correct. Her shock caused her to entirely let the vagueness slide.
It wasn't that she held prejudice against couples of the same gender, or even that she'd feared Angelo might. Quite honestly, that would be utterly ridiculous. No, she'd held back the information for fear that Angelo might somehow see right through her to the lioness that she spoke about, one whom he certainly knew well. Perhaps, as she might later think during a moment of introspection, she'd already known the outcome of this conversation and just hadn't been willing to admit it to herself.
Storm had never been interested in lions or lionesses. She'd been content to ignore the fancies of other youths and instead make fun of their poor attempts to woo each other. This was unfamiliar territory to her, and it made her very uncomfortable.
She looked Angelo straight in the face, feeling almost more terrified than when she'd been tossed about by the storm which brought her to Amaryllis. "What do I do? I don't even know whether she likes females!" Storm queried, somewhat rhetorically, of the older lion.

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He opened his mouth to tell her that it was just a suggestion, and hey he was probably way off base, but then he slowly shut it with amusement as she continued on without providing a space to interject and wound up at the conclusion on her own. Luckily for her, there were a legion of women within the pride that she could've been referring to, so he couldn't begin to guess. Lilliana? Syanna? Caelfind? Jun? Teodora? (Oh god he hoped not for her sake). One of their kids? Who knew. He wasn't going to pry.

Unfortunately, if he didn't know who she was referring to he couldn't tell her if the woman was into other women. Which he really only knew about a few lionesses within the pride anyway, so chances were he still wouldn't have been able to help. He felt for her though, seeing that horrified realization on her features. Oh it was so hard the first time. And every other time, he'd admit.

Asking is always the best way to get a clear answer but uh, obviously potentially royally embarrassing so maybe not that. Or just start leaving her little gifts places so she knows she's got a secret admirer. Find out what she likes and leave it for her? Or you could ask someone else to ask her if she likes chicks, that's always easy. Hell maybe someone close to her already knows if she does or not, he said.

@Storm

Storm listened to @Angelo's sage advice. Ask her? Oh Tiger no, that would be devastatingly embarrassing, and she couldn't even begin to process the idea of being rejected outright. She'd rather pine forever, pretending she had a chance. Gifts... Now there was a good idea. She'd just have to figure out what Thella likes. Maybe, she could ask Angelo? But he's knows Thella well enough, he'd probably know if she was into women too. That would be simpler...
But Storm doesn't have the courage for that. Instead she nods. "Gifts sounds good. How do you recommend learning what she likes? Do you... maybe have some suggestions for easy things to start with? Maybe from the women you know, like your daughters, female friends, or Thella? You probably see her a lot since she and your husband probably work together a lot." She hoped that her example seemed randomly picked, a casual train of thought.

OOC: Has it really been almost a month?? OMG I'm so sorry

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She asked about how to find out what the woman liked, and he considered it for a moment. You might be able to get an idea from her den, like if she collects things, or just listening to her talk, he said. I've never actually gotten Celestia or Alexander gifts before, that's awkward. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Sometimes he saw something pretty and brought it back to the den with him, but rarely if ever did he give it directly to them with the express statement that he'd gotten it for them.

But I think you can't go too wrong with flowers or pretty things, especially if you say they remind you of them. Like, maybe I found a pretty dark grey rock with speckles on it and I gave it to you because it made me think of your fur or something, he added, because his previous answer hadn't really given her any ideas to go by. Or bring her food? Especially if it's fresh caught. I can't imagine saying no to a snack someone brought. That was the sort of gift that was both kind and considerate.

@Storm

Storm nodded, pondering @Angelo's advice. She hadn't heard of Thella liking to collect things, but maybe she could try to snoop around find out. Flowers definitely sounded like a good start. She almost panicked when he described a grey rock, her eyes widening a fraction, before she realized he was using her fur as an example.
"Flowers and food, those do seem like a decent start. I think I can definitely try those and see how she reacts to them. Thank you." She smiled at the older lion. He may often be lazy, but he seemed to have gained some wisdom in being so.
Storm suddenly realized that the furs Angelo had been carrying were still on the floor. "Oh, would you like any help taking care of those? I interrupted you with my drama." She asked apologetically.

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