Twisted Wonderland Moments

🍑 🌌 🦁🐆Peaches and Nighttime Chats on the Balcony (Leona/Mara)

This takes place in book 5. Long story short, Mara auditioned for the SDC (she makes it), so here she's just waiting to hear back after the tryouts. Also, they start dating somewhere or before book 5, I haven't decided yet.

"Oi, Ruggie. If you're gonna sneak in snacks at night, could you do it.... quietly?"

As Leona was rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, he was expecting to find the hyena rummaging for a meal in the dorm kitchen. However, his eyes grew very big in surprise to find the last person he thought would be up at night hunting for snacks.

Mara stood before him, kneeling at the bottom cabinets, holding the door open. She was frozen in place with both ears and tail upright, staring at him with huge eyes like a deer in headlights.

After getting over the shock, Leona chuckled quietly, amused to have caught the cheetah off guard. "Oi, Haraka. Not like you to go hunting for snacks without me." He teased her, leaning against the doorway, shirtless.

Mara knew better than to try and sneak around the kitchen without waking a dorm full of beastman like her. Especially Leona. Despite being a heavy sleeper, that didn't mean his guard was down. His senses were always on alert, mainly his sense of smell and hearing.

"Why are you up this late?" She sighed quietly, standing up. "I could say the same for you." He responded back, smirking at the red blush spreading on her face. She glanced away, setting the bowl out on the small table in the kitchen. That and the blush may have been from him standing there without a shirt. Despite the number of times she had seen him like that, it always made her feel hot and flustered.

Leona noticed there were some slices of peaches she had cut up for herself. Glancing at the fruits, her ears rose up at an idea, and she turned to him, grinning slightly. "If you like, I'll share with ya....if you ask nicely." She proposed to him. He may be picking with his vegetables but fruits he had no problem with. The lion smirked at her, leaning away from the door and holding his arm out.

"Ladies first."

A few minutes later, the two felines were sitting down, crossing legged, on the dorm balcony, eating slices of peaches under the savanna moon. Mara purred in pleasure at feeling a slight cool breeze brush through her while she leaned her back against Leona's chest, feeling his arms around her waist and his head gently resting against her shoulder.

"So....you going to tell me what's keeping you up this late?"

Leona felt her shoulders get tense beneath the side of his face. He had a feeling she wasn't awake for midnight snacks. He gently shook her when she didn't respond, snapping out of whatever thoughts she had.

"I'm just thinking about the tryouts." She mumbled quietly. Though his ears caught that, perking up. He knew she was referring to the ones for SDC. "Yeah. And?" He asked her, waiting for her to get to the point. The cheetah sighed, turning around to give him a pointed look.

"And I can't sleep because I'm wondering what Vil is gonna say. He was really picky about each of the contestants." She explained to him. "Yeah, I know. Ruggie told me about it. Said that Vil didn't like his singing. I can't blame the model. The hyena doesn't exactly have the voice of an angel." Leona explained nonchalantly, gently twirling one of her braids between his fingers.

The cheetah rolled her eyes at him, unsurprised to hear him say the truth out harshly. "Yeah, but he was really picky. And harsh..." she went on, her voice trailing into uncertainty and worry. Leona found her silence, making him uneasy, and he lifted his head up to look at her.

She had practiced hard for the tryouts, both in dancing and singing. She even asked him to watch her for feedback. In Leona's opinion, he thought she did good. Better than Ruggie's, in his opinion. She was usually confident and worked hard, but seeing her so uncertain or doubtful of herself wasn't something he liked to see. It just wasn't his favorite cheetah that he knew of.

"You know..."

He spoke softly, getting her attention on him as she turned her head up to look at him. His face was nonchalant, but his eyes had a soft look in them, glowing a gentle green. His eyes saw her ears droop down shyly, which she did when she was getting enamored by him. He let a small smile show, both amused by that and to show her he was trying to be serious.

"I ran into Rook earlier, and he wouldn't stop talking about you. How did he say it? Oh yeah. He said your hard work and effort were practically shining from your beautiful movement and graceful footsteps." He explained, using the description Rook gave him in his own version of Rook's voice.

Mara giggled amusingly, finding Leona impersonating the eccentric pomefiore student perfectly. "Yeah, but that's Rook. He was literally complimenting everyone." She pointed out, twirling one of his braids around her finger. He growled affectionately at that before handing her a slice of peach.

"Yeah, but he also said that Vil looked please with your performance." He revealed to her, making her ears up in surprise. Her hand had stopped midway when she was about to take the slice from him.

"If you make it in the team, you make it. If not, then it was worth a try. Plus, you don't get stuck with training day and night for that dumb show." He reasoned, bringing the slice to her mouth.

The cheetah blinked surprise but nevertheless accepted the fruity offering and ate it from his hand. The sweetness of the peach and his advice made her feel better. She accepted another slice from him, staring at the piece of fruit for a moment before her golden eyes went back to him with a small smirk. "You know, if you were always this sweet as this peach as you are now, you would honestly make things easier." she suggested, popping the fruit into her mouth as her teeth sunk into the soft, juicy flesh of the peach. He rolled his eyes and groaned in disgust, making her chuckle amusingly as she nestled against his chest.

"Tch. And miss out on the fun? No thanks." he refused though he smiled, pulling her closer to him so he could nuzzle the side of her face. She giggled at him, returning the nuzzle back. Those giggles were music to his ears before he let her curl into his lap and her head tucked under his chin. He thought to do this more often with her. Just some nighttime adventures beneath the moon in their warmth, playful banter and gentle words of encouragement shared quietly between them.