Twisted Wonderland Moments

Hair Out (Leona/Mara)

A quick note, Mara's hair is usually in braids, but there are times she will leave it completely loose and either straight or wavy.

With the SDC event approaching, that meant a lot of work. Especially for the housewardens. For Leona, that meant no time for sleep. That's why he was determined to get every bit of sleep in the botanical gardens, cushioning his chin atop his arms like the cat he is and napping beneath the sunlight.

His ears twitched when he heard footsteps approaching. He cracked one eye open and saw Mara walking towards him. But the moment she drew closer, he noticed a small yet distinct difference about her, and it made him wide awake and alert. Her hair was loose for the first time instead of being in its usual braids.

"Relax. I was just coming to check on you. I'll let you keep napping, I promise." She assured him, bending down to be at the same eye level as him. When she saw his eyes widened, she assumed he thought she was coming to wake him up. Compared to Ruggie, the cheetah had some interesting methods to get the lion to wake up, and it was enough to scare him.

Leona, however, was in his own thoughts. He kept his eyes and analyzed how her loose brown strands cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall. His mouth curled into a smirk. "Well, look who decided to let those braids out." he pointed out, propping his head on his hand.

Mara rolled her eyes at him while smiling at him. His eyes remained on her hair. "I untied my braids and straightened my hair. That way, I don't have time to worry about it getting tangled during practice." She explained, grabbing one of the strands and running her fingers across it.

As she did that, his eyes examined that carefully, watching how her fingers easily slid through her hair like it was water. He sat up, propping one knee up to get a better look. Compared to the rough yet firm braids she wore, her hair right now looked smooth and clean like shining silk made from the Scalding Sands.

"All that silky softness held back by those tight braids. And for what, huh?" He teased her, resting his chin on his knee. His tail flicked around lazily in grass, but his eyes were focused on her new look. It made him wonder how it would look if a breeze ran through it. "It looks soft...." he muttered quietly, though she caught that with her heightened hearing. Her ears rose up, staring at him, surprised. She sat down on her knees, noticing how his eyes never left her hair.

He lifted his hand up and brought his teeth to the leather glove, removing it before dropping it on the ground. For once, he removed his gaze off her hair and directed it to her. "Can I....touch your hair?" He requested, asking for her permission. While normally he wasn't afraid to go for something he wanted, he didn't feel comfortable about it when it came to a female.

Her face reddened a little surprised, but they were dating, and even before, he never disrespected her boundaries. This was especially the case with physical touching.

She nodded, granting him permission. Mara caught how his eyes brightened like the lush green plants in the garden and his ears perking up happily. With her consent, his hand reached out and gently twirled one of the strands around his finger. It was much softer than he thought.

"So soft..." he mumbled quietly. He glanced up at her as his hand traveled up that one piece of hair and settled on her face while letting his fingers to continue running through her hair. The way his hands briefly grazed through the skin on her cheek made her shiver, and she bit her lip to hold herself back from purring. Her eyes looked up at him as he inched closer. His lips curled into a smirk as he continued running his hand through her hair. "Easy, big cat." she chuckled, watching him bring a strand of her hair to his lips, and press a kiss to it. Her face reddened from that affectionate gesture but she kind of like it, smiling softly at him

"I like your hair like this. You need to leave it like this more often. But only....and only for me. No one else." he murmured softly, smiling against her hair.