Here's a pair I've been working on for a few months, Kumaka the zebra and Ja'laru the gazelle.
Kumaka is a warrior renouned for his leadership and skill, while Ja'laru is a member of the royal court as a performer. The two met after Kumaka returned victorious from a periless campaign. It wasn't long before they became close friends, and as time went on, their friendship steadily became love. However, this love became a tragic weapon by a cruel warlord. The warlord captured Ja'laru and demanded Kumaka to choose whether to save the gazelle or renounce his own status as protector of his homeland. Renouncing status was the equivalent of heresy, as it meant that he would willfully choose never to protect his people again. It would brand him a traitor and have him banished from his own herd, denying him nobility and turning the region’s soldiers against him, including corrupt soldiers which he had been fighting against. To reject his protector status meant that he would no longer be fighting against corrupt soldiers, but instead all of them unless he went into exile, abandoning the people he protected from such corruption.
Kumaka chose his friend, his love. It was a move that cemented their relationship even if it put their people in grave danger.

This scene takes place right after Ja'laru is released into Kumaka's arms. While relieved to be alive and ever grateful to be saved, they both worry about the people they were forced to abandon and the warlord now given free reign over them. There's no way Kumaka will allow this to stand for long, but for now... they have each other.

This pair has the distinction of being my first gay couple (Leallyn and Kristie were my first lesbian couple). It's been rather interesting developing them and like always, a story continues to brew as ideas collect.

Kumaka & Ja'laru © Aelius (me)