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Today was one of those days where it almost seemed the male would venture into the denseness of the jungle. He imagined false images of him putting on a brave face and shrugging off his claustrophobia of that place when it confronted him, and he saw himself walking straight through from one side to another, no stopping, no fear, no desperation to get out... and no getting lost. He stood still, facing the jungle, his dark golden eyes unable to penetrate the darkness more than a few foot in, much to his chagrin.

But the longer he stood and stared, as though that would make the jungle lighten up, the more the false images were replaced with real ones, memories of his younger life in this oppressive place. They sent a shiver down his spine, and made him abruptly turn his back on the view of the jungle. And so he began to walk away from it, though he did it slowly, as though proving to the inanimate growth of trees (or anyone who might have been spying on him) that he wasn't scared and didn't have to rush away from this place.

His paws were taking him toward a small watering hole nearby, where he'd been lingering recently while he hovered around the jungle, on the verge of confronting his past once more.

Sitirika twitched in mild annoyance as he watched Nyemoga'Meboto try to drown herself in what he'd almost come to think of as his watering hole. Honestly, what was wrong with this little hideout recently? There was far too much traffic coming through here, when for so long it had been so quiet. He'd enjoyed the solitude immensely, and now he had to put up with this? It just made it worse when his peace was being bombarded with threats within sight of that horrid jungle he'd left behind so long ago.

Clearing his throat quietly, he moved a decent amount away from her and laid himself down, intending to rest a while before he set out to hunt for his dinner. Perhaps she'd get the hint and leave him in peace. With his back almost facing her and his attention turned away, he certainly didn't give off the vibe that he wanted to talk. He just hoped she got the message and moved along to bother someone else.

He flexed out his claws slowly, examing them, and then by extension, his paws. They were covered in a light layer of dust, but right now he was feeling too lazy to get rid of it. His appearance was rather scruffy from long travel, and the general wear and tear of life, but he'd never cared. He groomed himself, and the white on his chest was actually white, but he wasn't obsessed with it. Just enough to keep him free of caked dirt all over him. He didn't see the point of grooming himself to an immaculate state when he was only going to get dirty again.

He almost winced as he heard the intruding female speak. For some reason, she had ignored the rather obvious hints he was throwing out. He was beginning to wonder if he gave off some sort of bizarre vibe that made him approachable, made him seem a perfect candidate for conversation. He didn't understand why it happened, but he wanted it to bloody well stop.

With a sigh, he pulled his eyes away from a distant herd of antelope and instead turned them toward the other leopard, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly. "This watering hole is big enough for two to take a drink at once." Blunt, and straight to the point. The way he always spoke. Another method of discouraging conversation is ignoring someone didn't work.

Of all the things Nyemoga could have said, that was the last thing he expected. Insults usually came after he made it blatantly clear he had no prevailing interest in what anyone else wanted to say to him. He was prepared for that, and it had happened to him so often that it no longer even affected him to the point that he became mildly irritated. He allowed all nasty names and stinging words to pass him by, to flow over him like water off a duck's back.

His dark golden eyes settled on the orange-pelted femme once more, and his eyebrow climbed further than it had before as he shifted around a little bit to view her more fully. He had barely even taken a look at her, not long enough to make a judgement on her. That fact that she had a voicebox and seemed willing to use it was all that plummeted his opinion of her. He was suspicious of the whole idea of trust and companionship. He avoided it like it had the plague and fleas. He played it safe in that regard.

"Well, that all depends how you mean," he replied eventually, in an even tone. He had an idea what she was getting at, but in all honesty, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He didn't think about that sort of thing at all. He was... quite the unusual kitty.

It was exactly that others expected conversation from him that put him in such a foul mood. He had learned a few times in his life that he was simply better off alone. Too many times had supposed friends or loved ones decided to leave him. Too many times for him to have any desire to take a chance on another living soul again. He'd learned the hard way that he was better off staying a loner. If there was no trust, there was no betrayal. It was a lonely way to live, but it was safer. And he was used to it by now, and firmly believed it was what was best for him.

He shook his head and looked away from her, out into the distance, as if wishing he were over there and away from her. Or rather, as though she were over there, and his little watering hole was once again occupied by just one. "You thought wrong," he said, his voice low. "That wasn't the reason." Though, he was beginning to wonder just what this female was all about. The way she spoke, the words she used; it was all strange to him. Who called conversation 'interacting' these days? Still, wonder though he might, he wouldn't take action to satisfy that minor curiosity.

Sitirika let out a long, heavy sigh. He sincerely hoped this chance meeting wasn't going to turn into a full-fledged interrogation. If she started to head in that direction, he would be left with no choice but to bluntly tell her to go away. He didn't understand why she wasn't already long gone. First, he had pointedly moved away from her so that his personal space bubble remained in tact, then he had sat with his back to her, and finally, he had given her only curt, short replies to anything she said. It occured to him then that she must be deserpate for companionship if she was willing to put up with all that just to talk to him.

Too bad for her he wasn't the compassionate type, and had no intention of putting himself out to indulge her.

He didn't turn back to look at her as he spoke, his voice soft and quiet, his words short. "I have my reasons." And those reasons he planned not to tell a single soul. Only he alone knew. He doubted even those individuals responsible for making him feel the way he did had an inkling of what they'd done to him.

He bit his tongue in mild irritation. Still with the questions, even after he had clearly shown this female he had no intention of answering them properly, if even at all. He had a limit to how long his patience would last, but that time was quickly running out for Nyemoga. She drew closer and closer to being told to go and find someone else who was actually willing to spend a slice of the day with her. It was probably what was best for her, anyway, leaving before Sitirika's anti-social behaviour ruined her impression of social meetings.

"One leopard's meat is another's poison," he said flatly, his gaze still fixed anywhere but in her direction. "There isn't always safety in numbers." If he couldn't get her to be quiet the way he'd been going, perhaps she'd shut up for a few minutes if given something cryptic to chew on. Not that he planned to elaborate, anyway, even if she didn't shut up.