Iseult:Iseult was starting to get tired of being alone. She sat at the edge of a small pond, ears set back as she looked down at her reflection. It reminded her of a story, of a beautiful male who heard the voice of a female. All she could do was echo the words of others because of a god's curse, so when he came across her cave, he heard her voice, but she wouldn't come out to see him because she was afraid. He heard her voice, but the only thing he saw was his own reflection in the pool at his feet. He thought it might have been a water spirit, so he stayed at the waterside, pining for the beautiful water spirit. Both eventually withered away.
She wouldn't pine away at the water, that was for sure. She wasn't that stupid, or that pretty for that matter, really. But looking at her reflection, she really did wish she had someone, like a friend. Or even a mate, like in one of her stories.
A huff and she ran her paw through the water, banishing her reflection.
Teo:
Teo didn't even know where he was going today. It was one of those rare days where he wasn't needed and so he had been told to go relax. Relaxing? The red cheetah didn't even know what that was anymore. He'd been working so much lately. Off days were something he used to cherish and enjoy, but now they seemed to be a pain in the a**. He just wanted to do something productive with his time and he really couldn't. Today he was taking it upon himself to be on patrol around the outside of the pride. There had been rumors of more cheetahs and leopards that wanted in.
How news got out about the pride, he wasn't sure. Teo wasn't even sure anyone had actually left the pride to tell anyone else about it. Still, the male was moving slowly, deleberately outside. He was wearing his cloak and all his chains today, so he was making a little noise.
Iseult:
The very blue (In a couple senses of the word) cheetah looked up when she heard the sound of metal clinking. Iseult blinked at the red male and her eyes widened a bit. She'd never seen a creature dressed like that before, he cut a rather dashing figure really. He was a stranger, she should have been wary, but instead she just walked close, at least a few steps and enough to be in his sight path.
Her head tilted as she studied him. Things she'd only heard of in stories of the creatures with no fur that walked on two legs. What did one normally do in a situation like this... say something... But she didn't know what to say, so she chose to move back to the pool and take a drink, trying to get the dryness from her mouth.
Teo:
Something got his attention. Something very blue and smaller than him. A brow arched as his silver eyes studied the thing that seemed to be studying him. He knew well enough, from her shape, that it was a female, probably another cheetah like him. At least he didn't have to deal with another stupid leopard. By the gods, those were the most retarded species he'd ever delt with. That's mainly because he hadn't delt with a hyena before, or a lion, so he was very limited. It went the same, either way. Sighing, he watched her move back to the pool of water and then moved after her.
"Who are you? What is your reason for bein here?" His voice was deep, striking against how compact he was for being a cheetah, but it shouldn't have been too bad on the ears.
Iseult:
Iseult felt herself under this male's scrutiny, to the point where she had to stop herself from wiggling a little bit under the pressure of his gaze. Let him look, she told herself, he would anyways, wouldn't he?
Her mouth was still dry when he spoke to her, but at least she could try to speak in response to what he'd said.
"That's a rather blunt set of first questions," Iseult replied, sitting up and giving him a small smile. As little interaction she had since she was a cub, she still knew her manners... at least in part.
"I'm Iseult, and I don't really know where here is, much less have a reason for being here." Was this someone's territory? She hadn't meant to trespass, she was just wandering, just as she always had.
Teo:
Rude? No, not when she stumbled onto his pride. She had guts talking to him that way, he would give her that. "Here is the Kurio'Nera." He didn't expecter to know what the pride was, unless someone had told her about it. However, he was prove wrong when she said she didn't know where this was. He arched another brow and sook his head.
" ..... Iseult?" He sighed and decided to drop his guard. She posed no threat to him, at least he didn't feel like she was. She didn't look like the type to attack randomly. He decided to sit down and look this female over again. She was beautiful, yes, he could admit that. He was, after all, in a pride with beautiful Geisha everywhere.
"What should have been my first response if you think I was rude?"
Iseult:
Her eyes widened even more, mouth forming a small circle of surprise.
"Oh, I didn't mean, that is to say..." She trailed off, dipping her head and rubbing at one cheek. A nervous habit, but she hadn't run into another person in a while. She sighed and gave him a more apologetic smile than her earlier one.
"I didn't think it was rude, just straight-forward, I'm sorry." There we go, an apology was good, wasn't it? Now to focus on other matters.
"And you are...? And what's the Kurio'Nera?"
Teo:
An apology pleased the male nicely. Teo knew he wasn't rude. Looking over at the blue female again he shrugged and found her nervousness kind of charming. It was mean of him, but he liked to tease females just to see them flushed and flustered. It made him really happy and put a smile on his face. That was really mean of him.
"Teo. My name is Teo. The Kurio'Nera is a .. pride of sorts, but only cheetahs and leopards are allowed..." he didnt want to say anything else about that. She honestly didn't need to know anything else.
Iseult:
Oh, goodness, he was smiling at her. This somehow seemed like a story to her, like one of many floating about in her head, but none came to mind. In fact, she had nothing to compare this to, and thus nothing to fall back on. A part of her felt like she'd been better off just staying with her family, but this was what she wanted, wasn't it? To see the world, meet new faces, make a life for herself?
"Teo, that's a nice name," she replied with a nod. Oh, but she had never heard of a pride for cheetahs and... and leopards? She'd never even met one before, she couldn't imagine living among them... Well, that wasn't fair. She could at least give them a chance, maybe they did get along with cheetahs. It sounded fascinating.
"All of the female attention must be nice."
Teo:
He blinked and tilted his head, ears pinnig back. What did she mean? All the female attention? Well, for now, he would ignore that little outburst from her and shruged. She seemed interested enough and gave a little smirk at that. Did she want a tour?
"I can give you a tour of the pride, if you want. At least what you're allowed to see." His tone had taken on a teasing one before he got up and stretched himself out. As he did, he popped his back and knees in all of his legs before looking over at her and smirking. "Come on. Who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it. On rare occassion we allow a visitor to stay a day or two before either joining or leaving. If you leave though, you can't say anything about this pride to anyone."
Iseult:
"That would be nice, actually. I've never seen a pride before," Iseult replied, standing up herself and walking closer to him. She wasn't sure how something like that would sit with her, living with a large number of individuals like she was imagining this place was. But then, she never knew, she might like it.
Her comment had caught him off guard, she hadn't missed that. It had sort of just slipped out, really. She had gotten used to the strange gift she had, just knowing things about individuals. Sadly, she sometimes forgot and strange comments slipped out. It wasn't her fault, she was just born that way.
"I am curious to see how cheetahs and leopards can live together."
Teo:
"...For the most part, we don't. They live in a sperate part of the pride, from what I've seen. I don't know, I don't go actively seeking the leopards. They are more stupid than cheetahs, and obviously slower, so I don't waste time with them. I try to stay away from leopards." He was one of the ones that thought leopards should be kicked out of the pride and it be completely cheetah based. Maybe that's why he was in the position he was in.
He looked over at her again before shrugging and walking her to what he deemed the guest are of the pride. "Here. This is the guest area. It's a small portion of the pride. Most of the dens you can pick from are here. I'll be here every morning to answer questions or escort you to anywhere you need to be."
Iseult:
Iseult followed, listening to him talk. Well, for what little he said anyways. He seemed to not be too keen on leopards, which didn't surprise her. She wasn't sure how they could get along. She was raised to be wary of leopards and other predators. They could steal her kills, after all. When he stopped and told her they were in the guest area, she got the distinct feeling that he was intending to wander off after that, that he had shown it to her and that was his tour for the day.
Well, she wasn't having any of that.
She would be alone here, after all. She barely knew him, but as least she did know him. And he was the only one she figured who could answer her questions.
"What's it like, living in a pride? I imagine everyone has something specific they do, right?"
Teo:
He was planning on wandering off after she'd picked her den for the night and had started to do that before she once again asked a question. Then another question was asked and he stopped, sighing mentally and turning around to look at her before shrugging. "Perhaps. I don't know what every rank does because I'm usually very busy and don't look into it like I should, but yes. Everyone has a rank. They pick their rank and have teachers to teach them what to do every day. We share food from a pile and the hunters hunt when it gets low. At times there are gatherings withing the pride for some tension relief or a celebration."
He looked her over and sighed, realizing she wasn't letting him go any time soon, he walked back over to her and sat down again, looking around. "Do you have more questions?"
Iseult:
"Oh, huh. I guess that makes sense," Iseult replied after a moment of thought. That was how her family had worked, after all. Well, sort of. Her parents had been together, they took turns hunting and teaching her and her siblings and a couple of her older siblings had stayed around, too, so there was plenty of teamwork. So, a pride was just a big family... sort of.
"What about you? What do, what is your rank?" He didn't seem happy to stay there and talk with her, but she did want him to leave just yet. She did want to know more about the pride and about him. There was no denying she was curious, about him and his pride and the strange items he was wearing.
Teo:
"My rank is of no importance to ones outside of the pride. But I do a lot of everything, honestly.." He gave a little smirk at that before shrugging. "I'm a Right Hand. Second in command, if you would. I help with plannings, decisions and everything else that has to do with the pride. One of the few. I won't say any more on this subject, though. Your questions, my dear, are best directed somewhere else."
Seeing how interested she was in the pride made him smirk. She might have been seriously considering joining. That would make him happy; the more cheetahs the better, is what he thought. There weren't too many with her pretty colors, either. Teo stretched out again and sighed a little more. "If you join... we have a few ranks open. You could be an entertainer. You would get a lesson in massages, dance, conversations, poetry, singing.. A lot of different subjects. You can learn more about it from a Geisha or an Okaa-san. You could be a Nnanny. The take care of cubs. That is pretty self explanitory, hm?"
Iseult:
Iseult sat where she was, keeping an interested look on her face even though she wanted to be a little huffy. Must be a really secretive pride if he was being so blunt about how she didn't really need to know some things. But then, surprisingly he continued on even though... he sort of said he wasn't going to explain.
Well, entertainer did not sound like her. She was much to shy to sing or dance or... any of the things he'd mentioned. Ah, but nanny might be more her. She liked cubs, though she wasn't sure how she would manage it. But then, she wasn't sure she would be joining anyways.
It would be nice having a concrete home, not being alone anymore. Ah well, she'd just have to go with it as she always did, just let her life take her where it wanted.
"It does sound like an interesting place to be. And you seem to have a lot of responsibilities, so I guess I'll stop bothering you. Thank you for answering my questions and showing me what you could." She gave him a grateful smile and nod.
Teo:
He nodded when she talked and he watched her again. Teo thought if she did join, she could be a good addition to the pride. She was very graceful about letting him go, too. She had the makings of a good entertainer or Geisha if that's what she wanted to pick. Nodding, the male stood with grace and held his head high again. His pale eyes caught hers and smirked again. If she did join.... Yes, this female was captivating and he would probably put time and energy into getting to know her better.
"Until tomorrow then," he said, dipping his head. He would come back to see what she wanted to do, what she needed help with, as he promised. Teo kept his word, if nothing else.
Iseult:
Iseult smiled and dipped her head in return, murmuring a soft "Tomorrow" in agreement. She had felt a bit small under his gaze, as if he was studying, critiquing her. She could only hoped that she measured up to whatever standards he had, either for potential members, females, or cheetahs in general. Ah, he was a ladies' male, she didn't really need her second-sight (As her father called it) to know that. The smirk he gave her, it was confidant, cool, and more than a little charming. All she had been able to do was smile back.
She watched him go for a bit, then turned away to find herself a place to call "home" for the next few days. It'd be nice, having a steady den to sleep in, at least for a couple of days.
And by sleep, she meant contemplate this place.
