Heavy steps took him further away from his cozy jungle home, each movement pulling on the sensitive skin around the thin lacerations that the cavewoman had left across his left shoulder. They were a mild nuisance, nothing else. In fact, even if he had yielded and left the batshit crazy lady to herself, Bhas had done more damage to her than she had to him. He had a lot more to go before he could reach Wolfbron. He hadn't seen Neph in a while now, simply because he couldn't get to her. Not when bad luck had befallen him on multiple occasions in the span of a week. Poisonous plants, aggressive lioness attacking him out of nowhere, meeting Neph's dad... damn, he had so much to explain to her. Bhas crouched down to take a sip from the cold lake, the snowflakes softly falling down upon the land.

@Nephthys

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Nephthys was a simple lioness. If she had a hunger, she ate. When she had a dying need for a drink, she drank. Both of those things had brought her to the watering hole, her seafoam eyes sweeping the potential meals that had begun congregating around its far side. She slipped closer to the shore and settled onto her stomach, eyes darting this way and that as she tried to pick out the easiest target.

The one she finally landed on was twice her size.

The scarlet lioness could very well have pounced him, but she could see the healing wounds along his pelt and worry overcame her desire to wrestle. Nephthys made a beeline for the man and chuffed to announce her arrival, immediately investigating the wounds. The fuck happened? Who do I need to beat up?

His tongue lapped at the ice-cold surface, the drink was refreshing but threatened to give him a throat ache if he didn't stop thirstily chugging it. Fortunately, the striking red pelt of the very lioness appeared in his peripheral vision. He half-thought that his mind was playing tricks on him until he turned to fully face her, water dripping down his chin. Neph? The heck? Did she read his mind? He felt a strange feeling rise within his gut, his heart fluttering with joy at the sight of the ruby Tollaire and he wasted no time to approach her. Beat up? What? Bhaskar followed her gaze, realizing what she was referring to. Oh, that. Some crazy woman. I went into this cave in the north, she charged me out of nowhere. His face darkened at the annoying memory. He still couldn't grasp why the stranger had attacked him, but the rogue was so sick of trying to figure out other lions that it didn't matter anymore. Primitive idiots everywhere. Don't know what the fuck was her problem, I suggest you stay away from there though. Speaking of that, his steel gaze looked at the girl's flank. Your wounds are healed? He was no doctor, maybe he was wrong. They looked fine to him, thankfully.

@Nephthys

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Nephthys couldn't help the anger stirring in her belly. It felt like there was a storm swirling around her as she ached to deliver vengeance on whoever had lay their paws on him, but naturally he brushed it off as though it wasn't a big deal. Okay, yes, maybe he had been through a bit more trauma as far as finding her drowning in the ocean, but still! He was wounded and she wanted to murder whoever had touched him because.. well, just because. She shouldn't have needed a reason other than the fact they were friends, so hmph.

Uh, yeah, guess I'll do that. Avoiding caves in the north.. got it. Nephthys shifted her weight uncomfortably, trying to come up with a snarky comment to lighten the mood. All she came up with instead was: so you make a habit of finding women in caves to wrestle, huh? to playfully reflect on their first time meeting. Her tone was a bit flatter than it should have been, though, and she felt an annoying surge of jealousy that any woman had been within a foot of him.

As for her own wounds, Nepth nodded. They're healed enough. Maybe some minor scarring, but eh. I hear men dig chicks with scars. She hadn't heard that even once.

Wait... a second. Did he just tell her where to go? His eyes squinted at her response. You better. After all, @Nephthys had expressed that she wanted to beat up whoever did that, and while he felt flattered, he also didn't want to find her half-dead again. Once had almost killed him, if it happens a second time he'd have a heart attack. Her jest was a smart one, Bhas only hummed. That one was more beast than a woman. Thought I had woken up a bear from its winter nap. He cringed at the thought. Come to think of it, maybe it was a beast protecting its home. That was the only explanation he could find for the unexpected attack. That lioness probably had the brain of a bird.

What kind of men had Neph been hanging around with that liked scars? Granted, he'd like Neph if she was covered with scars head to toe. In that case, though, it wasn't about having a specific type. While Bhas didn't realize it yet, his type was Nephthys. He looked to the side as if in thought. Hmm, dunno about that. He joked, peeking at her reaction with the corner of his eye while a slight smirk pulled at his lip. Speaking of men... I met your dad. And, well... How does he tell her that he had called him a rotting fossil? More importantly, how does he explain his intention behind those words, when he didn't quite understand it himself? And um, let's just say we... had a profound conversation. Bhas found this rock laying by his paw very fascinating right now.

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It was difficult for her not to crack into an awkward grin as he narrowed his gaze suspiciously at her. She was certainly counting on him to completely forget he had mentioned where to find his attacker, but what were the odds of that? Nephthys couldn't feign innocence any more than she could fly, so as she squirmed and did her best not to be completely transparent, well.. she was completely see through.

She was happy enough to let that part of the conversation fade away into the background. Things were easier when it was just playful banter, but then he dropped a bombshell that had her reeling. you did what now? the yearling blinked, not.. entirely surprised to hear that they had bumped into each other, but certainly surprised at hearing a conversation had been profound. Profound how, exactly? What did you talk about? Now that her interest was piqued, nepth forgot all about seeking revenge and focused more on the juicy morsels of drama he had to offer. She leaned in closely, staring at him straight in the face.

For once, Bhas could read the intention written across the maroon Tollaire's face. His gaze scrutinized her with the intensity of an eagle following its prey. Don't you dare. Do you want to get your ass kicked? The red-haired lion did not specify by who, but it was most likely going to be a domino effect. Somehow, though, he knew that his warnings would do naught to stop the girl. Fine then. Guess who's sleeping outside Wolfbron's borders so he can keep an eye on her now?

Oh, damn. His anxiety spiked at her reaction and especially at her follow-up question. How does he get away from this? Wasn't just mentioning it enough to get her off his tail? Well, He kicked the rock around, taking a short pause to try and assemble his response. We talked about this and that, Y'know, the weather, me being jealous of you, me insulting your dad. Just casual chit-chat. I called him a fossil that's gonna rot soon, grandpa, told him to scram, annoying asshole... you get the jist. His stone-cold eyes looked into her amethyst, half curious and half scared of her reaction.

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maybe I do, she said with a snobby tilt of her muzzle. Clearly someone needed to show the woman a thing or two and if it wasn't going to be Bhaskar, the Tollaire had no issues stepping for him. She was doing him a favor, clearly, but he made it seem like she would be walking to her doom. Pffssht. Nephthys had the power of God and anime on her side, thank you very much. Her grin transformed from awkward to mischievous because hey, he'd clearly already seen through her. Why not own up to it?

And then he announced how deeply profound the conversation had been.

So profound.

So. Profound.

why the fuck would you do that? she said, her brows furrowing in anger. my dad is an amazing guy! he's a great father and a great warrior, why the hell would you just insult him like that? And he's not the one who gave you these? You got fuckin' lucky. My mom would've ripped off your balls. The lioness couldn't believe it. As hilarious as it was to imagine him calling her father a fossil, well.. it was her papa. She adored him. She looked up to him. There's gotta be a good reason for all of that, right? You didn't just walk up and start insulting him.. right? For the love of God, let there be a justifiable reason behind all of the insanity.

Okay, in hindsight he probably didn't go about telling her what happened as well as he thought he had. As per usual, he miscalculated. The moment that anger twisted her face, he felt his heart sink. Exactly what he hoped wouldn't happen, happened. She was angry at him and it hurt more than he could admit. Ah, the consequences of his actions! Woah, woah, woah- But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! Nephthys began to explain how great her father was, how amazing he was and how her mom would've ripped off his precious jewels. The colossal stood in front of the hellfire like a stone, expressionless, taking in all the anger and waiting for the inevitable (he hoped) moment that he would have a chance to speak. When it came, he sighed with relief. And then he panicked. W-well, I sorta did walk up and start insulting him but- he hurried to stop the oncoming dragon flames that bubbled up behind Neph's eyes. His breaking baritone voice sounds so uncharacteristic of him.


If he could sweat... his palms would be sweating like crazy right now. It had come to the inevitable moment where he has to explain the reason behind his actions. It birthed a feeling of fear that he never encountered before and couldn't quite figure out. Listen, I saw your dad cozying up to you at the day of the challenge at the Brook. Can he dig a hole and jump into it right now? That'd be great because the embarrassment of his idiocy would be too much to take. I thought you finally found your betrothed. His face was a perfect mask, hiding the turmoil that shook him to his core. I got angry when I saw him because I thought you'll be marrying him. And he... Pained anger flashed across his face and he looked away, avoiding eye contact with the woman that he wanted to protect so much. In the end, he always made a fool of himself. ...he wouldn't love you and you don't deserve that. Talons gripped the snow beneath because that statement was so true to him that he was ready to fight anyone for it - even Neph's father.

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It was like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Or Punk'd. Candid Camera? She didn't know, just one of those shows where everything was at the expense of the poor unknowing starlet. Nephthys was the unknowing starlet in that case, and as she glared up at Bhaskar with frustration, she wondered why her father hadn't whacked him across the face at all. It was a surprisingly calm Drakon that her friend had met, though for the life of her she couldn't understand why. Nepth herself would have flown off the handle and tried to eat his face, but perhaps her old man had only been amused by the back and forth. She could only hope.

And as Bhaskar explained why, her face fell.

He thought.. he thought.. with Drakon? With her father?

Her face twisted into one of disgust and confusion. You thought my dad was my betrothed, she sputtered, nearly choking on the words. And thought insulting him was gonna.. chase him off? Break the betrothal? Her voice was eerily calm as she spoke, taking a step back from his personal space to assess the situation for what it was. Bhas, even if it was my betrothed, it's.. it's not your decision to make for me. There is no betrothal, for starters, but that could have been.. just awful. Always thinking of her family first, Nepth wondered what sort of shit would have risen from the intervention. Fuck, it could have fallen back on her family so hard.

I don't understand why it bothers you so much, she confessed softly. We're friends, but.. if it's what I want, shouldn't you support me in it? I mean, again, it doesn't matter because there isn't anyone else, but. Nephthys puffed out a sigh. Why does it bother you so much? She didn't understand. Not one bit.