This -might- be October task take 2, just depends XD 300+

Ever since he and Liliana had talked in the barn a few days ago, they had been spending a lot of time together. It was amazing how one revelation could lead you to want to spend as much time as you could with someone. Nayati had never been a dependent person, and he didn't consider himself one now either, but he found himself missing the dog hybrid if he were away from her for too long. She was often the last thing he thought about before he went to sleep at night, and he couldn't help but to wonder how great it would be to have her with him in the night. Those were his baser urges talking though, and he was good at keeping them in check. No matter how good that sounded, or how much he might want it, that would not happen until things between them were official. Liliana deserved his respect, and he would not take advantage of her.

The night she had kissed him and physically confessed her feelings towards him, he had made them a meal that they had never gotten to eat. It was a shame, but not one that couldn't be remedied. So, the Utina had woken that day and gone to work harvesting some more potatoes and tomatoes that were left in the now mostly picked over fields. After that he had gone out and caught a pheasant. It had been a long time since he had successfully hunted one of the fowl and he was excited to share it with Liliana. He worked to prepare everything and cook it all and when it was all ready he went out to fetch her.

Nayati had found her and asked her to come with him, refusing to tell her why until they reached his hut. Once they were there, he pulled back the flap and revealed the small feast to her, hoping she would like it.

He had been so excited to finally have a dinner with her. It had been slightly upsetting that the other one he had made had gone to waste, but that was no matter now. After all, now they would be enjoying the meal as two that cared deeply for one another instead of two friends who were having problems. The other time things had started off excruciatingly. This time, there would only be good feelings to remember.

Liliana's pretty brown orbs looked up at him after he revealed his little surprise and he was overjoyed to see that she liked it. "It is not nearly so lovely as you are." It was a very cheesy thing to say, and he did feel a bit like an adolescent saying it, clumsy and inexperienced, but he did mean every word of it. He had always thought that she was pretty, but now that his true feelings for her had been revealed no one nor nothing else could rival her beauty in his eyes.

She entered his hut and sat down in front of the food, clearly waiting for him to join her. Nayati took a seat near her, but not so near that they couldn't both eat comfortably. After he had cooked the pheasant he had slicked it with his knife to split it into small portions. Along with the potatoes and tomatoes, there would be plenty of food for the two of them. He delicately picked up a sliced portion of the meat and set it down before her, looking at her expectantly. "You try it first," he encouraged. The hunter had made this meal for her, and wanted to make sure that she liked it before partaking himself.

300+

He had always gotten the feeling that Liliana thought less of herself than she should. She was a wonderful, kind person, a hard worker, and there was not a thing about her appearance to be ashamed of. Nayati had grown up with a lot of love and encouragement from his parents, and he had been taught to see the best in people. Even when they were friends, he had hoped to make Liliana feel more valued than she seemed to deem herself. Now that they were more than just friends though, he was determined to make her see herself the way that he saw her. There was nothing about her that was worthy of being put down. Not a single thing.

The man was glad that she didn't protest his insisting that she sampled the food first. When she had, and she complimented the meal, it was his turn to blush. Nayati was humble, but he couldn't help his tail thumping lightly against the floor at such words coming from her. "You flatter me. It is nothing really, just a little of this and that." Hunting was what he prided himself on, but he had some small skill in other areas of life. Preparing food was just one thing that he wasn't completely hopeless at. Now that she had tasted it and approved, he took a bit himself, savoring the unique flavor of the pheasant.

"My mother taught me, actually," he said, unashamed. "I was their only child for a while, and I learned to do things around the hut as well as learning to hunt. We were not a large family, so whatever I needed to learn to help, I did." Cooking and cleaning and other such duties weren't very "manly", but he had never felt shame in doing them. His parents had needed help, and it was his duty as their son to do so. "I wish you could meet my mother, and the rest of my family." Hopefully some day that wish could be fulfilled. Until then though, he could tell her about them. He picked up a couple of potatoes, offering one to Lili. "I do not know as much as some, but I can teach you what I do know," he said with a smile. Whatever she wanted to learn, he would always be willing to teach her.

300+

He hadn't wondered too much about Liliana's parents before. Before it hadn't seemed to be anything of importance to their relationship, but now that he was courting her, well, it seemed quite important. The Utina listened with interest as she explained the various things that her own parents had taught her. Of course, he had known her mother had taught her how to train horses, but he hadn't known the other things. "Where are your parents Liliana?" He sensed a slight sadness in her as she spoke of them, and he worried if his question would dredge up bad memories. Nayati didn't want to make her sad, but he felt he needed to know these things now. Maybe, if they weren't far away, when the time came he could ask their permission to ask Lili to be his mate.

The one thing that did still hurt him about leaving the Great Tribe was having to be apart from his parents and little siblings. The Kanati was certain they were all doing well, but many times it still felt wrong to be so far away from them. Those feelings seemed to be bombarding him even more now that Liliana and he were courting. Whenever he had imagined this process, it had involved his parents. Now, here, that wasn't a possibility. An unexpected idea was proposed by the hybrid woman though, and it made a broad happy grin spread across his strong face. "That would be wonderful! It is a long ways, back to the Great Tribe, but if we could be spared so long then I would love to do that." The way things were going, they might already be mated by that time, but the sooner Liliana could meet his family the better. He loved that she too seemed so excited about the prospect.

Immediately after he had asked he knew that perhaps he should not have. She stopped in what she was doing and he could sense the tension radiating from her body. Nayati's ears folded back, guilty that he had broached a subject that was clearly uncomfortable to talk about. He did not take it as any reflection on him, for he knew that trust was not an issue between them, it was just clear that whatever had happened had been traumatic for her. Just as he was about to retract his question and say that she could forget it, she spoke though, and he listened with reverent silence as the story was laid out before him.

What he heard was certainly not what he had expected. The Utina could not even imagine what it must have been like for Liliana to have to go through something so painful. He did not know if he could survive such a thing. He loved his parents so much, and he knew that she had loved her's dearly as well. Sad as it was to hear, it illuminated many things about her, and gave him a deeper understanding of this woman that he had come to care about so much.

Nayati scooted closer to her, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, his nose lightly touching her cheek. "I am so sorry Liliana." Sorry that something so awful had happened to her family, and that he had inadvertently reopened that old wound. He didn't know what else to say or do, so he simply held her, hoping it would help in some small way.

Yes! It matches her Kiritar perfectly! :o 300+

She leaned into him, and his arms gave her a gentle squeeze. It wasn't until now that he realized that whenever she had been upset before, this was how he had always wanted to comfort her. Nayati had always kept himself at a respectful distance when it came to women that were not relatives. He never wanted to seem too forward so as to make them uncomfortable or to give them the wrong idea about his intentions. Liliana knew what his intentions were though, and she welcomed them, so he was glad to be able to physically comfort her like this even if he wished she hadn't gotten upset in the first place. "Thank you for telling me. I know it was not easy for you." It meant a lot to him that she could confide in him on such a serious subject. "I am sure they are watching over you, from the world beyond." He truly believe that, and perhaps the thought would give her some peace.

Liliana's final words about her parents, seeing them when she too left this world, may have seemed morbid to some, but not to the Utina. It made sense to him to think that way. He had always been a deeply spiritual wolf and he believed that death was not the end, only a new beginning. He trusted that Liliana would see her parents in the spirit world, and that it would be a healing reunion for them all. At her comment his lips formed back into a smile. "Nonesense, he said warmly, pulling his face back to look at her. "I do not see why it needs to end, unless you want it to." Yes, they had broached a sad, tragic topic, but that didn't have to be the way they ended this evening. It was theirs to form as they saw fit.

I will get this archived :3

It could be hard to find the right things to say in this sort of situation. What might have seemed to him the right thing to say may not have been what Liliana wished to hear. Thankfully though, as she looked up at him, it seemed that he had in fact said something that was comforting for her to hear. The man was relieved that he had helped, and not made things worse, and it was good to see a smile on her face again. What she had just shared with him was between them and not anything he would ever share with any other. It was her past, and he was privileged enough for her to have shared it with him. It was not his place to bandy that information about and he had no intention of doing so. There was a deep confidence between them now. They could tell one another things that they told no one else.

Nayati was happy to follow Lili's lead, and pleased that her appetite hadn't been completely lost. His smile broadened and his arms moved from her shoulders to pick out some more choice pieces of food for the hybrid woman and himself. There was still plenty of heat left in the prepared food as long as they didn't take any more sidetracks in conversation their meal would remain warm. Even though it had been a painful thing that she had shared with him this night, the Utina knew that it had served to bring them closer together. He could never be happy about her loss, but he could not regret the gain that it had brought to their growing relationship.