If Leji was honest with himself, he was probably going to leave soon. He felt trapped, anxious in these lands were it was constantly changing. He didn’t understand how his older, blind nephew could do it at all. He seemed to stare endlessly into the souls of those around him, and honestly it made him shiver sometimes. But Damu was nice enough.
The nervous dog frowned as he walked along the river. He counted his steps, careful, careful, careful and the marks along the side - one, two, three. It took him longer, he was sure, than anyone else in the pride to navigate the lands. He was always behind, constantly checking and double checking and checking once more.
The only one that seemed to not mind was Tanda.
Still, as the white and gold and brown dog rounded a bend in the river he spotted someone unfamiliar. He didn’t think they had joined the pack - usually his mother or sister let him know. His nerves and fear of the unknown often drove him to stay within his den for days at a time.
He took a sharp breath, near shaking as the pink and brown dog looked his direction.
“H-hello, a-are you n-new?” he asked the other dog nervously, but the splotchy dog just gave him a wide grin.
Gele had been sitting by the stream again. He was going to leave the day after tomorrow, and he figured he’d let his paws soak one last time before he made his way down the mountain side. Of course, he didn’t expect to spot a shaking little male standing off to the side...
“You’re adorable,” Gele told the white male a smile. “And no, I’m just passing through to answer your question.” He could see the other dog’s shaking reduce a bit, but there were still fine tremors running through his body.
Leji gave a small nod in response to the traveler. “My n-ame is Maleleji,” he introduced himself, though he was quite flushed by the compliment. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. Only his mother had ever called him ‘adorable’ before - but that was different. She was his mom, and she had to say that… or something.
Gele, of course, noticed the soft flushed look of the white dog. It only made him grin wider. “Precious,” he laughed softly. “Nice to meet you, Maleleji. You can call me Gele.” He watched the white dog shift a little as he got closer. He stared into the purple eyes until they averted.
The white dog flushed deeper, mumbling under his breath. He hoped Gele wasn’t teasing him - he was easy to tease and would probably be bullied if he wandered out more. His sister and mother had respect, it kept him safe for the most part.
“I didn’t quite catch that, sweetheart,” Gele sidled up closer to Leji. He was careful though. He was sure that the white dog would bolt like a startled hare if he moved to fast. He was honestly interested in the nervous dog though. Even so, he wouldn’t be staying long enough to start anything. Besides, the male was too adorable to not already have someone interested in him. He didn’t want to leave the pack on bad terms though, just in case he returned.
He was young - he knew he would travel more than once to a place. He already had a couple times. He could be back here before he knew it. He heard Leji squeak softly, and more muttering.
What Leji was doing, however, was counting softly. One, two, three, one, two, three, one. two. three. After counting three times, he took a deep breath and gave the traveler a shy smile. “S-sorry, y-you make me n-nervous,” he stuttered out. He hadn’t stuttered so much since Tanda joined up with their group, and that was ages back.
Gele took one step back at the statement. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make you so nervous,” he apologized to the smaller dog. Perhaps he was a tad overbearing with his approach. “Have you been with the pack long?”
It took Leji a moment to calm himself down again, but he smiled a bit at the apology. That was better, a little. He was still shaking a bit, but it was lessening by the moment. Gele seemed incredibly considerate.
“It’s okay,” he responded. “I’m just n-not used to new d-dogs in the pack lands,” he told the other. “I’m only a hunter, but m-my s-sister says its a good th-thing…” She had assured him of the fact, but the white dog was sure he was just unskilled. Everyone could hunt, he thought, but he wasn’t good at anything else. He was just that, a hunter - average and boring.
“Having skill as a hunter is extremely important,” Gele agreed. “Not everyone can hunt, after all, and they go hungry.” Gele tried to be encouraging. He wasn’t the best hunter after all. Sometimes he could catch something that was particularly slow, or weak, but he mostly foraged for abandoned kills. “Especially in groups at all - there must be a lot to feed here.”
Leji gave a small smile, nodding a bit. He felt a little better about his lot in the pride. After all, his crush was also a hunter. Tanda hit his mark nearly every time though, and he mostly hunted alone. Leji missed a lot more than that.
“I’m leaving the lands in a couple days,” Gele informed the other male softly. “Would you like to sit with me for a bit?” He watched Leji ponder for a few moments before he gave a hesitating nodded. “Come on, I’ll tell you about my adventures, if you like. I’ve had a long, long journey so far.”
Leji gave a bigger smile and followed Gele to the stream where he was sitting before. He was glad - Gele just started telling his stories, a soft lilt to his voice that relaxed the nervous dog. He decided he quite liked the pink-brown dog, and he would be sad when he went.
But for now, he would just listen to Gele’s tales of the past and relax.