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 Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:38 pm
Tujil-dasu had invited Esen for one simple purpose: to seduce Tendaji. But perhaps seduction was too strong a term; what Esen presented was more of an open invitation. If the invitation was often repeated, it was still up to Tendaji to accept. Tujil-dasu’s instructions had been explicit and Esen made no effort to make physical contact or allude directly to romance. It was easy enough for her to see that Tendaji was a jumpy little thing anyway. Men! According to Tujil-dasu, Tendaji was eager to meet a lady leopard and here was Esen, perfectly willing to have a nice little summer fling. But did Tendaji make any effort to initiate romance? No, of course not.
Esen paced to and fro by the river before forcing herself to stop and sit down. Pacing would do her no good. But oh, how she missed trees! Here she was, well away from her forest home, waiting for another damn meeting with that booger brained little green leopard. Chances were he’d show up with that damn wild dog again. Not that she had anything against Tujil-dasu – quite the contrary! They were old almost-friends and Tujil-dasu had given her plenty of warning about what she was getting into… although she may exaggerated Tendaji’s good qualities. Clever and well spoken indeed! He was such a tongue-tied little thing, didn’t even know any proper insults.
Tendaji was nervous. He told himself yet again that he had nothing to fear, that Tujil-dasu had vouched for this strange leopardess. Had said something about her having a nice, friendly smell – whatever that meant! She had seemed nice enough when he talked to her, if somewhat rough around the edges, but that hardly meant anything. He’d met with Esen several times already, but those had been with Tujil-dasu present. Not today. He’d asked Tujil-dasu to stay behind so that he could have some one on one time with Esen. Get to see what she was like when there wasn’t a chaperone present. Tujil-dasu had agreed readily enough – perhaps too readily. She was probably shadowing him in the bushes somewhere. He grimaced, but made no effort to find Tujil-dasu and send her back. She’d either find some clever excuse or ignore him and much as he hated to admit it, he did find her presence oddly reassuring. He trusted her as well as he trusted a family member – perhaps more. His stomach twisted. Just nerves about meeting Esen – nothing to do with Tujil-dasu. Roughly he shoved thoughts of Tujil-dasu aside; she was just a friend. A very good friend, nothing more.
Esen’s ears perked as she heard Tendaji’s approach. She turned to face him, a grin on her maw. She recognized the sound of his approach immediately – it had a hesitant quality to it, quiet without being stealthy. Not that even stealthy leopards could sneak up on Esen; she was a guard back home and was constantly aware of her surroundings, no matter how asleep she might appear. She saw a flash of white in the distance – Tujil-dasu no doubt. Interesting.
Tendaji stopped at a safe distance from Esen, slightly further than he’d be if Tujil-dasu was present. He remained standing, tense despite his best efforts to remain calm. His heart beat a little faster; Esen was an attractive leopard and it scared him. Attractive females were dangerous. Bad.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:41 pm
Esen briefly reviewed the list of things not to talk about with Tendaji. Romance. His family, especially Izin and Cari. Tujil-dasu. Anything of interest! “Punctual as ever,” she said instead, “perhaps early.”
“And you… too.”
Esen snorted. This was where she spent most of her time. A respectable distance from Tendaji’s family, but still close enough for meetings with him and Tujil-dasu. And when she was lucky she could even snatch quick looks at that attractive half-brother of his, what’s-his-name. Safi. If only Safi was the one she needed to seduce! There wouldn’t be any problems in that department. “It’s a hot day, golden eyes,” she complained. “You’re lucky your pelt isn’t as dark as mine.”
Golden eyes. Tendaji smiled at the name, feeling oddly light. She had never called him anything so nice. He gave Esen a critical look. She reminded him of Tujil-dasu in a way – a little cheeky, a little playful. Not crazy. He looked for his former mistress in her eyes, but could see no sign. He took two steps forward and stopped. “It is hot,” he agreed, “not much shade.”
Esen noted Tendaji’s cautious approach, but didn’t comment on it or change her manner. It wouldn’t do to scare away such a skittish boy. “Do you know how to swim?” she asked.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:42 pm
“Oh! No, no I don’t. And there might be crocodiles. They’ve got big teeth.”“I don’t think there are any crocodiles down here. But I never learned how to swim. A pity.”Tendaji edged a few feet closer, angling his approach so that he was headed towards the bank instead of Esen. “Maybe we can just dip our feet in,” he said hesitantly. Esen flopped down on the bank and dipped a paw in the water. “Yerch, it’s so wet. What I wouldn’t do for some nice shade.”Tendaji glanced at her. “Do you miss it terribly? The forest, I mean.”“There’s nothing natural about leopards on the ground,” Esen complained. “Everything’s too close. I like looking down from above.”“Like a bird! Do you ever wonder what it’s like to fly?”“Why’d I want to do a daft thing like that? Climbing is climbing.”“Oh… I just… I don’t know. Flying might be nice.”Esen kicked herself mentally. This whole mess was hardly worth the bother – but she told Tujil-dasu she’d give it a shot and she intended to do exactly that. “Do you ever dream of flying?” she asked, shaking water off of her paw. It was a daft question, she felt, but if that was what it took to draw Tendaji out of his shell…Word count: 1,001
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