It was late and it was a bad night for Mananakbo. He had been doing a really good job of getting to sleep lately without assistance, but nothing he tried could bring him ease. His mind would drift to the spirits of the Mizimu and his eventual death. He lay awake imagining how he could possibly die with sufficient honor to make up for his cowardice and treachery in this life. He knew he would never be reborn as a lion, but with luck he would at least get to remain feline. It rankled a little that he had failed to utterly to give up his beliefs when he came to the 'Nera. He'd tried, but that had only made his nights worse. There hadn't been a night like this one in some time, though, and he didn't want to bother Aiko. She would begin to suspect that all was not well with him if he came to her repeatedly and asked her to just tell stories. So, who else could he ask? Perhaps that leopard female. Fiorella was her name, if he recalled correctly. It didn't take him long to recall where her den was. "Fiorella," he began, "I would like to commission your services for this evening as soon as you can be ready."
Fiorella looked up, her eyes gleaming as she stretched. "Gracious patron," she purred, "I live but to serve." She walked over to him, rubbing slightly against him. "Although I had not heard that you... visited entertainers very often. I'm honored that you picked me to spend your time with. How shall I assist you this lovely night?" She had already been asleep, only waking at his voice, but she was never one to pass up an opportunity, especially with someone she knew for a fact who spent time with the boss lady herself!
Mana actually winced when Fiorella began to speak. Aiko had never addressed him using that kind of formal language, and so he had never realized that was how entertainers traditionally addressed their...patrons? Was that really his proper title in this instance? Or perhaps it was just how Fiorella was choosing to address him. It wasn't as though it was any great secret that Mana was frequently seen in Nyoka's company, and so it was entirely likely that Fiorella was going extra heavy on the respect in an effort to make a good impression. "That's nice," he said, feeling a bit lame. "Would it inconvenience you or put you ill at ease to speak to me like a normal thinking being? Because, honestly, it is incredibly weird for me to be addressed like that. And I think it'll make it a little difficult for you to do what I plan to ask." His tail twitched and he decided against pointing out that he had chosen her more from a lack of choices than any particular preference for her. "I just want you to tell me about yourself. Your life, or your day if your entire life is too much to ask about. I find that there is much on my mind and listening to details of others' lives helps."
She stopped, sitting and looking at him curiously for a long moment. "I see," she said with a little smile as she sat down. "You want something to divert you," she added in a gentle voice. This wasn't about flirting, or sex. How fascinating! "Would you like to join me?" she asked, backing up and inviting him into her den. "It'll be easier to talk when we're somewhere comfortable. She would have to watch her language, she reminded herself. She'd gotten too used to speaking like that.
Spirits, that was an improvement. Mana found himself more at ease at once. He was simply not accustomed to being in charge and issuing commands and ultimatums. He did like that he now had only to express and interest or a desire and it usually ended up happening as he wished, but having to take obvious action to make things happen was a bit outside his upbringing. He still stumbled over it now and again. "That is exactly it. Or bore me. Whichever ends up being the case. I simply don't want to think about my life for the evening." He grinned so that his words wouldn't come off as bitter or harsh. He didn't feel bitter. He felt sleep-deprived. It was funny how similar the two could sound after a while. It did occur to him that even if she did manage to lull him into something resembling unconsciousness, he would still have to make his way back to his den afterward, but otherwise Fiorella would have to make her way back to her den, and that wasn't very considerate. He could walk. His paw was fully healed, after all. "Yes, thank you. Where would you like me?" He stepped in after her and looked around. So this was what an entertainer's den looked like. Interesting.
"If you would like," she said, heading to the large pallet she had made of dried grass and flowers, "you can lay here while I do my best to bore you," she said with a hint of teasing. "I've worked very hard to make sure it's extremely comfortable." She had, too. Her greatest desire in life was for everything in her life to be elegant and comfortable. The pallet spoke loudly of this, smelling sweet and clean. The rest of the den was just as clean and sweet smelling, and very inviting, not only to her, but to everyone that entered. "I'm afraid I don't have a very interesting past," she admitted. "I was raised in a small family and left once I reached adolescence, searching for the greatest mystery of all. Love."
"Thank you," Mana repeated. He supposed it probably wasn't necessary to be so thankful all the time, but he had been raised to have good manners and he was, again, not used to being in charge, per se. Independent, certainly, or at least relatively autonomous, but that was hardly the same sort of thing. "It smells nice." Probably he wasn't supposed to notice that, but it did smell nice and he saw nothing wrong with pointing that out. Commending her on it, more like. "How much time do you spend just keeping this place tidy? Or do you not actually live here at all, you just receive people here?" Mana was neither tidy nor messy when it came to his den. Once or twice he might take some dinner back with him, but he was always quick to rid himself of whatever remained in the morning. He didn't want to attract flies or other nuisances. "You might be surprised how interesting lives can be to people who didn't live them," he remarked, and then added drily, "There are also an awful lot of people who are convinced their lives are more interesting than they actually are, and they're the ones who tend toward talking endlessly I've found. Why don't you tell me how your quest for love went?" Since he was only listening to distract himself.
She smiled. "Because we have a curfew, I spend a lot of time working on my den. It's a hobby, I suppose you could say." She went silent as she thought about the past, laying on the large pallet as well, but not touching him. "I was young, and foolish," she continued her story slowly. "And talented in silly things, really. I can hunt, of course, but I was so very proud of my voice and dancing. I was certain that once I met the cat of my dreams he would instantly fall for me, just as I had fallen for him." There was an ironic tone in her voice, spelling out the bad ending that was going to come. "I did find him," she went on. "An older leopard, a classy, smooth talking male that treated me like a precious flower. He loved my voice, he adored my body, and he had a very, very dangerous mate."
Entertainers had a curfew? Somehow Mana felt he should have known about that. Or was there a curfew in effect for the entire pride and he'd somehow missed the message? That was worrisome, except he was more or less Nyoka's right paw cheetah, and if she was going to issue such a thing, he probably would have known about it. He decided, after an instant of worry, that the curfew didn't apply to him. "I'm sorry about the curfew. It must make it difficult to do certain types of work. Or are exceptions made for evenings when you're engaged?" The idea that there was an entire subculture in place within the pride that he knew next-to nothing about was odd, or so he felt. Aiko had never mentioned it, but then she, too, held a special position within the pride, and perhaps curfews did not apply to her, either. Or maybe it just hadn't come up. Either way, he dismissed the thought and settled in to listen to Fiorella, with whom he did not mind sharing a pallet providing she made no sexual advances toward him. He had strong opinions on cross-species mating, even when it was just for fun. "That does seem to be the way of it, doesn't it?" he asked. "The good ones are always taken. Did you seek on for someone new, or was that when you came to the 'Nera?"
"It's the price I pay to be a leopard, I'm afraid," she said, dismissing the apology. "I feel safer because of it," she added blithely. "But you know, I didn't realize he had such a dangerous mate until she confronted me. My heart was broken, and I traveled through the rogue lands, wondering if I would ever find a male as wonderful as he had been." A lie. She had been disillusioned about males entirely. The no good cheating b*****d hadn't even given her payment for services rendered. "I never found one," she said. "I heard tale, though, of this pride. Of how they valued their leopards, of how they had this type of work." She smiled at him. "I enjoy being an entertainer very much."
Oh, yes. The leopard curfew. Not something that applied to him, or something he gave much thought to. Mana, having lived through one rebellion - barely - was less than concerned about the eventuality of a second. As long as the ruling party was firmly in power, rebellion didn't seem to be too dangerous to them. He considered himself part of the ruling party, of course, being a cheetah and fiercely loyal to Nyoka, even though he did not consider himself a ruler. He preferred to have some sort of guideline to follow or direction to refer to. Besides, Mana had no difficulty living with the arbitrary subjugation of an entire species. The Mizimu did something similar, though for better reason, in his opinion. Lions had a right to be at the top of the food chain, being the only felines to possess spirits. The ways of the 'Nera sometimes seemed completely backward to Mana. "Of course," was all he said on the subject, a little embarrassed that he had forgotten about it. "I wonder if he knew how dangerous his mate was," Mana mused. He'd known people who were truly that blind to their mates' natures, and they had always mystified him. His interest was caught when she mentioned hearing a tale of the 'Nera, however. The pride was not that old, and most recruitment was done personally still. Which meant someone had talked. Presumably Nyoka had surmised as much, but Mana felt it was his duty to find out more if he could. "Naturally, I can see why you would want to come here having heard of it, but how did you hear of it? Were you traveling nearby at the time?"
"I was," she said. "Very nearby," she added quietly. "I was recruited, actually, but I assume everyone was." She went silent, looking away. She hadn't known about the curfew part of it at the time. Or that she wouldn't be allowed to leave the pride unless she got a higher rank. But it was still worth it, wasn't it? "Would you like for me to sing for you?" she asked him, wanting to change the subject. "I have a passingly fair voice."
Mana had begun his life as an arrogant, self-absorbed creature and he had continued to be such for most of it. Even now, he was probably what most people would call arrogant and self-absorbed. However, in Nyoka's service, and even a little earlier among the Mizimu if he was being completely honest, he had learned to be observant. He could tell, therefore, that Fiorella was less than comfortable talking about the way she joined the pride. He was pleased to learn that she'd been recruited, and hoped for her sake that she was telling the truth, since he would now feel obliged to bring the matter up to Nyoka at some point in the future. "So far, yes. Aside from cubs born in, of course. But I'm not really sure if anyone's given much thought to them yet." He hadn't, at any rate. He didn't often think about cubs except to think that he was glad he hadn't any, because they seemed like a dreadful strain on a person's time. "I would like to hear you sing," he said. With a quick grin he added, "Providing you're actually passingly fair. If you aren't I'll be disappointed and obliged to make faces at you. I may do so anyway, just to make you wonder."
"I will try my hardest to ignore them," she said with a laugh before she started to sing for him.
