Deep Down.[Nali]

[skyshade]

Obi's eyes were closed. His breathing was even. His head rested on his paws, his muscles were relaxed but would tense up every time he breathed in. His tails would move every once in while, his back leg would twitch. The only thing awake were his ears which twitched back and forth to each sound.

Obi wanted to be asleep so much but it was just impossible. Something just kept him awake. He gave up and his eyelids flew open revealing blue eyes. He stared at a wall. Nothing was changing. The stone wall was still the same. The bark and tall grass he had dragged in days early for a comfier sleeping place was the same. The little hole above his head that let in barely enough light during the day was the same.

"Except the stars." He laughed a bit. Obi once heard that the stars moved their place just a little every day. He sighed and rolled onto his side and stared out into the entrance of his den.

[lydia]

The female Lyxxus had rather strange pastimes when it came to dealing with boredom. It was late, the world still with night's passing. She wasn't the least bit tired though. The excitement of joining the Republic still hadn't worn off and had made sleep hard to come by. Luckily she found ways to amuse herself.

Creeping quietly into Obi's den, she sat herself down out of sight and proceeded to stare at him. She was careful to keep her breathing quiet lest she give herself away. Lydia did not want her little joke to be ruined before she had her fun. Of course she liked the male well enough; he was her friend and guide for the time being. That didn't mean he was exempt from a little playful teasing from time to time though.

Thus, she sat and stared in silent mirth while Obi fidgeted. Only when he turned to gaze out the hole in the ceiling and mumbled something did she dare to reveal her presence. Like a cat mysteriously creeping out of the shadows, her head tilted curiously to one side as her lilting voice loudly filled the comfortable space. "What about the stars?" she asked smugly, expectantly awaiting the male's reaction.

[skyshade]

Obi jumped up and hit his head on the wall. He Stood there stunned looking at Lydia. She stood there with a smirk on her face. Obi shook his head after he decided how to react. The adrenline in his body took a lot of energy to keep down.

"You might not want to do that to much, someone might hurt you." He grinned at her. "But you got me, that was a good one. Better watch your back for a while."

He walked over to her and sat in front of and gently nudged her on her neck as a greeting. "I'm just surprised you haven't gotten lost yet. It took me about a month to get used to the dens."

Obi couldn't lie, he liked being near the Lyxxus. He felt nice inside and always felt like he had to prove something. He smiled as he sat down in front of her looking into her violet eyes.

"I was thinking about how nothing had changed in here. Everything was the exact same since the day before except the stars. Someone once told me they always moved into a different place each night. Except now your here so things have changed." He wagged his tails a bit. "Where's there any reason you came other then to scare...er... surprise me?"

[lydia]

Lydia's brow quirked, soft giggles tumbling from her maw. She hadn't expected him to smack his head but his reaction was amusing none the less. She was smugly satisfied with the success of her prank.

"Don't be silly," she cooed once her laughter was under control. "I doubt I've got anything to worry about." Smugness was practically dripping from her tone. It was easy to tell the little female was quite pleased with herself. She only let her egotistical act drop when Obi nudged her.

Returning the greeting, she bumped her nose against his cheek before pulling back to catch his eyes. Mischief danced in her own, a sign that she knew more than she was letting on. She'd gotten turned around in the dark tunnels a number of times; she'd just never ever admit it. Instead of the full truth, she answered as if she was about to share in some big secret, complete with conspiratorial wink. "It always helps to follow your nose." Her sense of smell had helped her find her way through the dens a number of times.

Turning her attention back to the initial question she'd asked, Lydia allowed her gaze to peer up at the twinkling lights known as stars. So they were constantly moving? That was a new thought for her. In a rare bit of self-reflection she actually started one of her own long held beliefs. "I was always taught that they were the souls of our ancestors, watching over us from the realm of the Great Spirit."

Here eyes were back upon the male as she trailed off, shoulders shrugging lightly. For a moment she seemed to thoughtfully ponder his latest question before smiling coyly. "Nope. No reason. None at all." Her words were matter-of-fact, though after several seconds she began laughing again. She wasn't exactly sure what had inspired her to play her little joke, and even if she had known there was a good chance she wouldn't tell. Lydia hated having to explain herself.

[skyshade]

Obi couldn't help but laugh along with Lydia. His blue eye's sparkled and glanced once more at the stars.

"Maybe they are our ancestors. It would make sense if they are moving. I mean time is always moving, we get older, our pups get older new ancestors are made with each generation born because of time...maybe." He looked at the wall thinking this over. This was a lot of logic for him to be thinking about.

"Well then, what shall we do now that you are here?" He pretended to be thinking about it carefully. He turned his back to her.

"We could go through the tunnels some more...Oh maybe we could go hunting...Or..." He turned around quickly and started towards Lydia, "We could play!" That was his favorite pass time. He lunged forward gently bite her ear and went into a play crouch, his tails up high in the air going everywhere.

[lydia]

Her brows furrowed as the male went philosophical on her. She wasn't really in the mood to be thinking about such deep thoughts. She didn't want to think about aging or pups or anything else about her future that had yet to be set in stone. She was only three; there was no need for her to be pondering death or settling down (even if she did want pups of her own). There would be plenty of time later to lose her youth.

Thankfully Obi then changed the topic. Lydia watched him with curious violet eyes as he seemed to think his question over carefully. She didn't really have any ideas to suggest, and even if she had she would rather hear what he had to say. It was much more fun to shoot down other's opinions than to have her own shot down. Of course, it would have been nice if he'd given her a moment to think.

Before she knew what had hit her, the Lyxxus female found her ear caught gently between Obi's teeth. She growled playfully when he released her, hoping speed was on her side. The moment he crouched she lunged for him, attempting to pin him to the ground. Her voice was teasing as she spoke. "Now who said anything about my wanting to play?"

[skyshade]

Obi was pinned to the ground letting out a surprised "Umph".

He smiled happy that Lydia was willing to play. He was a little worried when she had growled but she had a smile on her face. His orange-red fur was thin enough to show his muscles twitching and moving as he thought of his next move.

Obi's mouth and paw darted to all of Lydia's legs hoping to hit one of them just hard enough for her to loosen up. Finally he rested and looked up at her.

"I said so." He finally answered before moving himself and putting pressure on Lydia's chest and stomach in a ateempt to roll her over so that Obi was pinning her instead.

[lydia]

Obi knocked into one of her legs, and though it was not enough topple her it was just what he'd needed to get the upper hand. Her legs buckled slightly as she tried to maintain her balance over him. It was too late though. Letting up a shocked yelp, Lydia found herself pinned beneath the male. Her glare would have been more effective if it wasn't for the childish pout on her lips.

At a loss for words, she gave the only response she could think of. With as much grace as she could muster, she stuck her tongue out at the male. It was a childish, immature action, of course, but she didn't care. He had her trapped; the only reason she'd be able to pin him first was because she'd had a bit of surprise on her side. Now that the tables were turned she'd have to come up with a craftier means of escape.

[skyshade]

Obi didn't realize that he had used that much strength to pin Lydia down. He met her glare with a bright cheery smile. His blue eyes twinkled even more as he went cross-eyed to have a stare down with her tongue.

Then he started to laugh. He couldn't help it, the position they were in and Lydia's reaction weren't things he handled everyday. His shoulders started to shake as he laughed louder.

"Okay...ha ha.... okay, if you want out go towards one of the weak points on my legs. That's all that's keeping you down and me from floundering about on the ground." He moved his nose to gently brush where the weak points were right where the leg met the body.

"If you hit those when your pinned down with enough strength, you can get anyone off of you." Obi didn't know why he was telling her this. He liked to win but her pitiful expression and childish reaction made it impossible not to tell her.

"Of course you could always kill them with laughter." He said with a giggle.

[lydia]

His laughter only made the female indignant. At least, it had until he started explaining how she could get free. Lydia tried her hardest to keep the smirk from forming on her lips. It had never occurred to her how easy it would be to wrap Obi around her little paw. Of course, that didn't stop her from playing dumb.

"Really now?" she questioned, arching her brow in curiosity as she eyed the joints of his legs. Experimentally she lightly pressed against his shoulder with her forepaw, seeing just how much force it would take to topple him. "You sure you should be telling me your trade secrets?"

There was a spark of mischief in her eyes as swiftly she again reversed their positions. A fast learner, she was surprised at how well Obi's advice had worked. Still, it filled her with glee to be on top again. Smirking, she reveled in her success with a chuckle. "Whose laughing now?" Her tone was surprisingly innocent contrasted against her expression.

[skyshade]

Obi smiled bigger at Lydia who tested lightly on his shoulder. In a normal fight it would take a whole lot of strength to pin him down. In a normal fight it would've ended as soon as Obi pinned Lydia.

But this was a play fight, something that Obi enjoyed and he wasn't using a huge amount of strength. So he braced himself as he took Lydia's place on the ground.

"I am compeletly sure that I should be telling you." He murmered with a hint of growl behind it. "Because any wolf needs to know how to defend themselves."

A year ago he wouldn't have thought to much of that but after he had joined the pack, after he had seen what loner wolves who needed food were willing to do, he was more then happy to teach Lydia how to defend herself.

Suddenly he was tired, exhuasted from just this tustle, it was very late he realized. He looked at Lydia who didn't look too tired.

"Okay." He said with a sigh. "My dear, you must get off." He said half-heartedly. He wanted to hang out with her more. Play with her more. "You can talk with me if you want?" He pointed towards an extra area in his den that had some more dry grass and moss from some rocks just a little ways away from his den.

[lydia]

"Who says I don't know how to defend myself?" There was innocence in her tone, but her voice also had a bit of an edge. Lydia wasn't exactly a pushover when it mattered. The last year of her life had been spent on her own and prior to that she'd lived with a sense of entitlement that was hard to let go. Not that Obi knew any of this, of course... The realization of why he was underestimating her hit hard. It was her own stubborn refusal to open up that kept him from knowing more about her than the character she presented.

Thankfully her thoughts weren't enough to distract her too much. When he asked her to get off, Lydia only smirked. For a brief second her gaze followed his to the empty space before catching his eyes again. With a shake of her head she answered him with an, "I don't think so."

She did move slightly, however. It wouldn't have been nice to keep him pinned beneath her forever. Releasing him from her grasp, she waited for him to get comfortable. Then she plopped herself down next to him, snuggling into his slightly larger form. A soft smile was on her lips as she bumped her nose against his cheek, trying to get his attention. "This is much nicer, don't you think?" This time, her tone was completely innocent.

[skyshade]

Obi sat up as soon as Lydia let him. He let out a sigh of relief that he haadn't had to push the wolf off of him. He relaxed all of his muscles only to have them tense up again as Lydia leaned against him.

Blushing, Obi looked away so as not to show it. He distracted himself with things like a small pebble or a ant moving across the floor...or her nice fur.

He looked up, startled at Lydia's little nose poke.

"Yeah, this is really nice." Obi's voice came out a little deeper then he meant. "Could you...Would you tell me about yourself?" He realized how personal that was. He felt like hurting himself, what if she didn't want to talk about her past?!

"I mean if you don't want to I could always tell you about me, or the time that I got a jackalope bone stuck in my nose..." he stumbled off embarrassed at his endless ramble.

[lydia]

Lydia giggled. It was cute how nervous she clearly made him. He seemed to have trouble looking at her and his words were spilling out of his mouth with little thought. Amused, she snuggled closer to him. His body was nice and warm and she liked this new found power she had over him. Of course, she liked him too. She like him to the point, she realized, that she wasn't so sure how much of this was just harmless flirting and how much it might actually be real. Obi was nice, and sweet, and so helpful. The female couldn't help becoming attached. It hadn't been hard for him to earn her good favor.

Only when he asked about her past did she pull away a little. Lydia never liked talking about herself. It was one of her unspoken rules. She wasn't exactly all that fond of her past (even though it hadn't been horrible) and often made it a point to divert the conversation. In time she would open up a little more. For now, however, she was still rather tight lipped.

Luckily he was talking so fast that something else he said quickly caught her interest. Her expression was skeptical as she stared at him, downright bewildered by the idea. Before she could stop herself she found herself blurting out exactly what was on her mind. "You got a jackalope bone stuck in you nose? How?" It was hard to keep the giggle out of her tone. The idea was just so absurd! No wonder Obi was so cute.

[skyshade]

Obi's nose twitched as he thought back when his nose had a long, thin bone hanging out of it. It was a very painful, very stupid day for him.

"I found a dead jackalope." He sighed a bit. "I didn't want to hunt a fresh one so I ate that. It tasted.... wrong so I sniffed it." He paused for a second. "Not that it would help any but it was my first reaction. I sniffed hard enough that a bone got loose and..." He shivered a bit before laughing.

"I eventually got it out but I wouldn't suggest doing it." he settled his head on Lydia's, tentavily. It wasn't the whole truth, he actually had to go find another wolf to pull it out.

" Of course there was nothing wrong with the jackalope, it was just a little old." Obi took a breath to calm himself a slightly closed his eyes, to keep himself calm. He knew it could be a bit overwhelming to some people when he starts to talk a lot.