The soft, steel blue leopardess watched the other way as the strange male took his time consuming the carcass she'd given him. She didn't mind. With the way she was travelling there was little she could have done to preserve it. Besides, he'd been quite patient about waiting for his turn. How often did he win himself a meal through stories like the one he'd been telling her? Did he ever even hunt for himself?She looked him over. No scars to break up his smooth grey pelt. He was muscled but not heavily so. His teeth and claws were sharp. None of that meant terribly much in the grand scheme of things though. Many well to do leopards had much the same qualities.
"Say, stranger," she spoke slowly letting the sound of her voice linger in the misty air. "I don't remember if you mentioned your name. All I seem to recall is your offer for a story."
He lifted his head to listen, not showing any intent to rush her. When she finished he thought for a moment, "I do believe you are right. Sorry, if you took me as being rude. The name my mother gave to me is Lorkan'Tak. Though most shorten it to Lorkan and a few simply call me Tak."
He smiled while he spoke and she had no trouble returning the gesture.
"It is a good name..." she nodded as she tried to commit it to memory. "I suppose I would be remiss not to share my own name now. My given name is Ila'Vamala. Though I am certain you could guess that most simply call me Ila."
"A beautiful name," the grey male smiled as he stepped away from the corpse. "Your mother had a fine taste in names."
"I am sure she would not have thought so, but thank you," the leopardess said as she watched him clean the blood off his muzzle and paws. "Once you are finished would you walk with me as you continue your story?"
He spoke not but instead simply nodded.
She turned away again, gazing out into the mist as though she expected something to emerge from it's depths.
When he was ready he stood and joined her.
"Now the princess was a strong willed young lady. When her father told her of his intentions she proposed a contest between the two young men promising that she would wed the winner. If the winner happened to be the foreign prince then she would do as her father asked without a single tear or word of complaint.
"The king, who figured his daughter would love her royal if she only gave him the chance to prove himself, agreed and arranged a contest between the two youths. The prince, who had received much training and knew much about foreign lands. He would bring with him a trio of huntresses as well as a trusted and strong guard. He had the clear advantage. The court soon began speaking behind the back of the young healer, claiming that he would become lost and never return. The princess, fearing this to be true, sought out the herbalist's son in private and gifted him with her most beloved of friends, a small white hawk."
"Well?" Ila interrupted yet again. "What use would a blighted hawk be?"
Lorkan hesitated, "Well, I do believe I'll be getting to that part. The healer's son did not see the use of the white hawk either, but he trusted the princess and took the hawk as she had asked him too. The prince and the healer were taken to a far away land, then left there knowing that the first to return would have the honour of wedding the princess."
Ila nodded. Marriage meant nothing of any value to her. If she fell in love she would declare the male her mate. If she never did, then she had nothing against staying as single female forever. What the difference might be between becoming someone's mate or marrying them she knew not, nor did she particularly care. It was likely simply one of those strange and fancy words royals used to make themselves feel special.
"The prince, who knew the way, was off to a strong start and covered ground quickly. The healer, who was predictably quite lost in these strange lands often had to stop and ask the locals for directions. Few of the foreigners were friendly though and the directions he received were rarely of any value. Seeing his distress the little white hawk offered to fly up above the lands and call down to him the best path to take. In this fashion he was soon again on the heels of the prince. In time they came to pass an old lady, laying on the side of the road. Her voice strained she begged the prince for some food and his aid in reaching the next encampment. Despite the huntresses he'd brought along and the strong guard at his side he announced that he was far too busy to stop to aid an old woman. He had a race to run and a princess to win. The herbalist's son wasn't far behind him though and the old woman in turn, sought his aid. The herbalist's son agreed to aid her and took the time to hunt down a rabbit and even offered to let her lean on him as they walked to the next town."
They had come to an old yet still green tree now and Ila climbed up before calling down to Lorkan that he should follow. She'd never been much of a talker herself but it was a fine thing listening to him go on like this. The story was engaging and his voice wasn't half bad either.
Lorkan followed her up into the tree, but chose a branch quite separate from the one she'd chosen to lay down on. It wasn't difficult to misread the intentions of a pretty young leopardess like herself and he'd learned the hard way that it was often best to keep one's distance until intentions were made painfully clear.
1024 words ~ Continued in [SRP] And extravagant tales (Lorkan'Tak & Ila'Vamala)
