It was so much nicer in this den than it was outside! Ripoti was in love with the pile of furs she had buried herself in, though she had no idea she was taking the Queen’s bed from her, and being so casual about it. All the small cheetah really knew was that this was a place that was offered for her to stay in and she was going to damn enjoy it. She was currently on her back, stretching and rolling in the furs, enjoying herself more than she could say. The furs were so soft! But more than that, they were warm! This was living in luxury, surely, and it was not something she was used to, considering she spent most of her time wandering in the rogue lands.

Masalan was sitting demurely nearby, looking awkward. Though they had both found the cheetah at the same time, she sort of felt responsible for her fellow purple feline, and for that was rather embarrassed by her behavior. Maybe she did not understand that this was the Queen’s personal den, and that she was rolling around, and messing up, the Queen’s personal bed?

Elsa did not seem to mind, though. In fact, she was feeling very patient. Maybe that was because she had been raising her first litter of cubs, and now understood a lot more about younger creatures, or perhaps just those younger in mind than anything else. Ripoti seemed to be a bit on the shut off side, shy and bashful, and that made her a little socially unpredictable, but there was nothing malicious in her. She was a gentle little creature, Elsa could see that all too clearly in the innocent way she curled around in the blankets and the simple joy she was taking in being comfortable and safe again. Clearly she was a cheetah that was too often alone, and though she seemed to be used to it, she certainly did not like it. She was too shy to approach others, but once she decided they were friendly… well. She did not seem so shy now.

“Are you feeling better now, then, Ripoti? Would you like some food? We have a store of fish, fresh and dried, if you would like to try some.” Elsa smiled as she offered the food to the cheetah, then looked at her new leopard friend, Masalan, as well, “Or you, Masalan. I know the journey here can be a difficult one, sometimes, and the weather was not particularly friendly today. You must both be hungry from your journeys.”

“I am pretty hungry,” Masalan said thoughtfully, her stomach rumbling in agreement, just in case she had any doubt in it. She was more than a little hungry, after all, and even ‘pretty’ did not seem to really cover the true depth of it. When was the last time she had a full meal, and not just a snack she was lucky to catch in her wanderings? She could not really remember, and that was always a bad sign. She definitely needed to get some good food in her, and she had not had fish in a very long time. Too much effort to pull them out of water, and usually she could not even find them. Fishing was just not her thing.

How did they get fish out of the ice around here? Clearly it was a thing, but she was not about to try and understand it. She did not really need to know where the food came from, just that it was good to eat and there was plenty of it.

Ripoti stopped her rolling, looking up at Elsa in wonder, big eyes wide but not from fear this time. Curiosity painted her little face and she twitched her ears forward in wonder.

“What is fish?”

Living with snakes, and learning most of what she knew about hunting and surviving from them, she was not familiar with food from water sources. She did not go near the water much, except to drink, and only when she had to. She was not a swimmer, not really understanding how to get her paws to move the way they needed to in order to keep her afloat, even though her size should have made her capable of not sinking too quickly. She had no luck, though, and just tried to stay away from the water as much as possible. That said, she was not sure she had ever heard of fish, and did not know they actually came from water at all. Her diet consisted largely of rabbits and small prey like that, that were easy to take down with fast bursts of an attack.

She was not a marathon runner, either. She did not hunt the larger prey beasts, and only ate from those food sources if she found a carcass from another creature’s kill, that the hyenas and other scavengers had not gotten to yet. She was sometimes lucky, but for the most part the small cheetah existed on small food.

Elsa smiled, standing up.

“I’ll bring some back, hold on. They’re very good. I think you’ll like them. Masalan, have you had fish before?” Elsa was walking toward the front of the den to go and fetch the fish as she asked, and Masalan felt compelled to follow her or do it for her. This was the Queen, after all. Was she supposed to tending to them hand and foot, bringing them food and letting them sleep in her bed? She was one of the nicest lions Masalan had ever met, at the very least, and she was glad for that. It was nice to be able to relax.

Kind of.

“Uh, I mean. Maybe when I was a cub, I remember the taste, but I haven’t had one in a very long time.”

“Then you’ll enjoy this, too. I’ll be right back! Stay in here, where it’s warm. I don’t think any of my cubs or my mate should be back any time soon, but if they are, just let them know you are my guest.” She chuckled and padded out of the den for a bit, leaving Masalan to wonder how many cubs Elsa had. That explained the motherly attention, but she seemed young and her cubs must not have been too old. Old enough to be out and about… well, Masalan was just hoping none of them made a surprise appearance. She was not worried about meeting others, but she was a little worried about how Ripoti might react.

Thankfully it was not something they had to worry about, and Elsa returned dragging what looked like some leather that was loaded with a fair pile of fish. Some looked fresh and almost newly caught, and others were dried by some method, to make them last longer, Masalan imagined.

The smell was very appealing, though, and Elsa brought the pile to them, putting it down and picking up a fish for herself. Masalan followed her lead gladly, grabbing a couple of fish and chewing on them happily.

“Oh, gods, I remember this flavor. This is amazing.”

Ripoti watched curiously as the two larger felines ate, and seemed to be very happy to do so. Was it really that good? It smelled interesting, she had to admit that, and she moved very close to the pile to sniff at it, filling her nose with the scent and having to turn her head away to sneeze. She wrinkled her nose in surprise and wonder, then moved to pick one of the little wet animals up. Where did food like this come from? She chewed on it and once she got through the skin to the pink flesh inside she suddenly understood why the others were so happy to be eating them.

“These things are amazing! Where do you get them?!”

“From the waters that surround us!” Elsa laughed in surprise, not realizing Ripoti had never seen or even heard of a fish before. Lots of creatures knew about them, even if they had not eaten one before. “We pull them out of the ice by carving holes in the top so we can reach the water. Then we wait until a fish swims by and we pull them out! It can take a lot of practice to get good at it, but that is why we have lions who are dedicated to the task.”

She smiled and Ripoti nodded her head in wonder, chewing on another two fish at once. Masalan laughed but moved to get some more for herself, as well. Only Elsa was not scarfing them down, but only because she was Queen, and because they were hungrier than she was. She had access to the fish storages at all times, of course, and she liked to keep them full for visitors and occasions just like this. Those that needed it.

“Thank you so much for all your kindness, Queen Elsa!” Ripoti said, with her mouth full for half of it. She swallowed and smiled brightly, “for the warmness and the fish. This is much better than the snow. You both are very nice, and I’m glad to have met you.”

Word Count: 1,535 in Google Docs