a large yawn slowly escaped amaya's mouth as she settled down in her soft, moss lined nest. russet hadn't come back from the late night hunting patrol yet, and the dark striped lioness found herself particularly lonely, as well as she found herself growing more and more tired by the minute. the dark lioness rested her chin on her paws and stared out the entrance of the hunter's den, her amber eyes full of longing. though soon, she found that her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier by the minute, but amaya was determined to stay awake to greet russet, she had to. but unfortunately, the lioness found herself falling asleep anyways.
amaya woke up with a jolt, her breathing ragged and her heart beating so quick that she was sure it would break through her chest, or at least the other lions could hear it beating. in her dream, she had fallen off of a high cliff, and she woke up just before she had hit the ground. the dark furred lioness lifted her broad head and looked over to see russet in a deep sleep curled up close beside her. amaya sighed, suddenly filled with comfort and no longer affected by the dream, and she rested her chin back on her paws. amaya let out a long sigh, and she listened to her den mates around her. they snored and sighed, mumbled and yawned. they rolled and rustled in their nests as well. amaya realized how noisy it actually was when everyone was asleep. everyone seemed to make so much noise while they slept. she chuckled to herself, taking note on how some of her fellow hunters snored louder than they could roar.
russet began to stir in her sleep, mumbling something incomprehensible. amaya raised her head to look at russet, and her face screwed up into a worried look as she watched russet twitch and murmur in her sleep. amaya slowly stroked russet's spine with her tail, and she seemed to calm down and fall back into the deep sleep she was in before. the calico furred lioness let out a sigh and snuggled closer. amaya picked her head up and nuzzled her head. the dark furred lioness gave the other lioness a few comforting licks before resting her chin on top of russet. the calico lioness let out a content sigh, and amaya's heart melted. a smile spread across her muzzle as russet scooted closer and closer in her sleep. the warmth of the other lioness flooded over amaya like a comforting wave, and she found herself drifting off to sleep again. this time, she knew russet was with her, and she was comfortable, very comfortable. amaya was sure that no bad dreams could come to her now that she knew russet was by her side, protecting her.
amaya and russet always slept like this, curled up closely together, sharing their warmth and affection. it was rare to see them apart, in fact there was no night that amaya could recall that she didn't spend curled up with russet, that was until russet moved to the nursery to become a permanent queen.