“It’s because I felt the same way.” Usiku said one day, as he had her pinned beneath him. Zyanya was confused, because this seemed to come entirely out of the blue. They had just finished a snack that evening on a rabbit, and she had tossed one of the feet to provoke him and ran off. As usual, he eventually caught her, because she thought games of tag got boring if you never got caught. It seemed like there had been nothing that would lead to such a comment, so she just tilted her head, looking up at him with quizzical green eyes.
His own looked down at her, and he smiled. “You don’t remember?” Zyanya frowned, searching her mind for what he was referring to. Suddenly, she remembered. After she had lied to him about her recovery, he had forgiven her. She had asked him why, and he had told her she would know someday. So it seemed this was the day.
“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say. What should she say? The cheetah smiled weakly back at Usiku, but remained lost for words.
Usiku just nodded, releasing his hold of her and lying down beside her, turning to look down at his companion. “Where do you think we will go from now?”
This was a very strange turn of events. The conversation felt odd somehow, and she couldn’t quite decide if she was excited or anxious. “Weren’t we heading towards the highlands?” Was this going to end well or badly? Was this him deciding it was best for them to split up?
“That’s not exactly what I meant, but yes.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I meant us.”
And now they both grew silent, though Zyanya rolled off her back and onto her belly, as it seemed a better ay to have a more serious conversation. Eventually, Usiku felt he should continue talking, make this easier on the cheetah.
“I just wonder, sometimes. That’s all. Are we going to stay like this forever? Not that I mind, but… You can have whatever you want in the world. Perhaps if you were a little less reckless.” She smiled a bit at that, and he felt it at least lightened the mood again. “Do you ever want to go find a mate and start a family?”
Zyanya frowned slightly at this, looking away from him. Find a mate… Strange, but she oddly couldn’t see herself doing that. At least not with anyone besides… She smiled suddenly, because it all became clear to her now. She was the sort of person who got really calm once things became clear, and she turned to Usiku now. “I do.”
Now it was the dark leopard’s turn to frown, which almost made her smile more because he seemed to clearly misinterpret what she was saying. “So you’re saying we should split up, then.”
“Nope!” She declared, cheerfully.
Usiku scowled. “Zyanya, I don’t understand.”
The cheetah in question stood, or more, kind-of stood put then pounced at the leopard, pushing him onto his back. “I do want to find a mate and eventually settle down.” Beneath he, Usiku seemed slightly irritated now.
“Exactly. So why do you want to stick around with me?”
She purred, leaning down to give his nose a little bump with her own before rolling off him, settling down on his side. “You can be my mate!”
Usiku felt frozen. For starters, that was the strangest declaration he had ever heard of. He scowled up at the sky, and then glanced to the side at Zyanya, who could practically be humming there, beside him. Then back up at the sky. Him be her… mate? A leopard and a cheetah?
Leopard and… cheetah?
“Are you serious?”
Zyanya shrugged, and he could feel it because she was so close to him. “I think so.” She thought so? What kind of conversation was this? Here he was, all getting ready to split and she wanted them to… to...
“You and me. Mates.” He said out loud, staring at clouds as they became darker with the oncoming night. How could that possibly work? They were two different species. And they were rather different personalities, too. Sure, they had got along fine up til now, but becoming mates… that was an entirely different sort of relationship! “But… I’m a leopard, Zyanya.”
The cheetah’s head popped up in his vision. She must have sat up so she could look over him. “So? That doesn’t matter, does it?” He made a face at her.
“Well, if you want a family, I think it does.”
Zyanya seemed to ponder over this a bit, but then smiled and shrugged. “Well, if I do want a family, we will figure something out. Besides, I think what really matters is how we feel about each other, don’t you?”
Usiku didn’t reply to that, instead just staring at her. So, eventually Zyanya shrugged and went on. “You don’t really have to make any real decisions now. But now that I’ve already gone this far, I just want it to be clear, you know?” Because the leopard didn’t know what else to do, he nodded. “Good!” And then she settled back down beside him and also stared up at the sky.
There was a period of silence as the two lay there, just looking up as the night grew darker and colder. By now, Usiku would be already searching for something to hunt, but he was rather preoccupied. He flicked his ringed tail from one side to another as he thought. This was such a strange new territory to him, and it had appeared in a rather unexpected way. He had long acknowledged that he was very fond of Zyanya, but because of the species difference he hadn’t honestly considered the possibility of anything… well, different. Mates! A couple. So that included those more romantic feelings, the sleeping together, cleaning each others fur, possibly… children, somehow. Someone to share your life with.
Truthfully, the more he thought about it, the better it actually sounded. “I suppose…” Usiku said, but trailed off.
“Hmm?”
“I suppose we could try this out.”
He could almost hear the smile in her voice. She seemed kind of smug, and now he sort of found that cute. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Somehow behind the smugness she seemed relieved, and he also liked that.
Usiku found that he liked a lot of things about Zyanya.
