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Jeraha was spending a little bit of time away from his newly discovered mate, just because he wasn’t yet used to being with another lion for so long a time. Usually they scorned him pretty quickly, his bad attitude something of a turn-off. Chikala had seen more in him than he could find on his own, managing to tough it out through his repulsive personality to find something worth clinging to buried within. Something he hadn’t know before. It held in it a capacity to love that he was unsure had been there prior to their meeting. If it had, he had never used it.

Didn’t matter now. No matter where it had come from or how long it had been there, Jeraha did have the ability to love another lion. This lioness was something special, and he would do everything in his power to make sure she was happy.

It was just strange for him.

So he had decided to take a day to himself, just to think things over and come to terms with the new aspects poking into his personality since their meeting. He liked being in love, but he didn’t want to become soft. Protecting others and having the random spar whenever possible wasn’t something he was willing to give up, not even for her. It was still too much fun to piss off someone else.

He was sitting near a water hole, gazing into the thin spot of water absently as he mused over his options. Be better for her. Change himself for her. Could he really manage it? Did he really want to try? He just didn’t know. As much as he wanted to impress her and make her feel the love he felt, he couldn’t give up the animal he had become over so many years of practice.

Sighing, he looked around, wondering if something might come along to distract him from his thoughts.

Jeraha watched the leopard, not entirely ignorant of the animals presence. He raised a brow, the best a lion could, looking over the accessories clad over what he had assumed to be a male leopard. Perhaps he had been mistaken? There was really only one way of finding out for certain.

He smiled to himself.

“Excuse me, miss, your jewelry is a little loud. Mind keeping it down?” He asked, each word packed with sarcasm. Of course he knew this creature wasn’t a female. But what of that? He hated leopards and he hated jewelry. Granted, he was wearing a necklace himself, but he had already convinced himself that it was practical and not something worn just to feel pretty. No one would be able to tell him otherwise.

Even if he had no intention of ever using the purple poison inside his bottle.

Anyone else might have started things off on a friendly note. Even the love-struck behemoth of the lion probably could have taken a higher road. He just… couldn’t help himself when it came to leopards. Stupid, pathetic creatures he felt them to be. This thing, whoever he was, was not a threat to Jeraha.

And he would make sure the animal knew it.

Standing, he kept his eyes on the male, smug smile still over his face as he waited for a response.

“We?” questioned the male with a slight tilt of his head, his eyes not leaving the orange animal.

“Would one?” mocked Jeraha, “well, one will be more careful in one’s future.” He was teasing the guy. And why not? Just another leopard. He didn’t know the guy was a hair away, maybe less, from off-the-walls crazy. His tail swayed almost casually from side to side, his body completely relaxed. Yes, he knew the leopard was braced and probably ready to rip him a new one, but he wasn’t worried. The many scars on his back gave evidence to the fact that he was a lion used to fighting.

Besides, he was having too much fun to concern himself with such silly things as tensing his body and –looking- ready for a fight. He was ready, regardless of what his body was doing.

Laughing at the leopard’s attempted retort, the larger of the two shook his head, his grin becoming one of feigned interest. “Now, come on,” he cooed, voice dripping with malice and mock-affection, “don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! You’re the one who brought it up. Perhaps it’s not so far from your mind? And, yes, just so you know: I always tell males to decrease the volume of the foofy accessories as a lure to hit on them. An ice breaker, of sorts.”

"I see your vocabulary is as limited as your intelligence," the male shot back with ease, the cool mockery in his tone unaltered. He watched the smaller feline, reclining for the moment since the other was sitting as well. There was no need to worry too much- he had given himself enough space from the creature to see an attack coming. Though he was seemingly relaxed, Jeraha didn't take things lightly. He made sure to take his precautions, no matter how un-threatening the target.

Still, he didn't feel entirely worried about his current situations, his usual amounts of concern dulled a bit by his confidence.

"Why go off with some other male," he asked with a false pout, "why not invite me along? We seem to be hitting it off quite well. We're a handsome couple. Alright, alright, I admit, perhaps not destined to be secret lovers, but best friends to be sure. I see it now. We'll have matching bracelets made out of animal entrails, if you'd like."

Sighing, he found himself growing disinterested. Was this creature going to attempt to match wits with him all day long? At first it had looked like the animal was ready to attack at any moment. Now he was playing it cool. Which was fine, Jeraha wasn’t going to poke about for a fight, he just wasn’t sure where to take things.

Conversations were so awkward when both participants were trying to piss one another off.

"What now, stud?"

"Really?" Jeraha hummed, tail beating against the ground, "because it felt to me like you were trying to find some way to respond. You could have said nothing. That would have save you a lot of breath."

“You’re kidding,” grunted the animal, “no mere leopard would be able to “kick my a**.” I hate to disappoint you. Even if I had been the one to attack first, there is no way you would be able to harm me. In fact, it’s probably a good thing for you that this isn’t the kind of thing to really piss me off, or you’d be dead already.” He smiled at that. It wasn’t that he felt cocky, really, nor was he trying to make the leopard mad. These were just… his thoughts on the subject. Like he was having a casual conversation and nothing more, his words simply opinions.

It was all very relaxed for him.

Raising a paw, the large lion extended his claws, letting the long blade-like nails glimmer very slightly in the sun. They were a bit dirty from all the walking he had done, but he didn’t mind. Their message was clear, despite the dingy look to them.

“If you’d like, I could pretend to take offense to the things you’ve said. I don’t mind a fight if you’d really like one. But, I warn you, I’ve been fighting my entire life and I really don’t have a problem killing you. Take a moment to consider your options. I’ll wait.”

“No claws or fangs, hm?” Repeated the male, “and no bumps that might cause damage? What, exactly, does that leave us? Are we supposed to rub against each other until our skins start to burn under our furs? Pin each other against the ground, very carefully? Seems like a waste of time to me. I would rather have a real fight, or just walk away from this encounter without any manner of fight.”

He didn’t have any real hesitations to the idea other than he felt he would look silly doing it. While Thona was large for a leopard, Jeraha was large for a lion. He listened to the animal speak of sizes and speeds, saying nothing on the matter. It was true enough, but the animal wasn’t worried. His smugness left him always feeling like he could win in a fight, simply because he knew he didn’t honestly care if he died in one. At least, that was how it had been. Now that he loved someone things were a bit different. Still, he also knew that he wasn’t slow. Perhaps not as quick as a leopard, but fast enough to fight one.

“Sounds to me like you might want to study my moves in this mock fight, on the off-chance that we meet again. I tend to take most things into consideration as well, my friend, and I find this want of yours a little suspicious.” He watched the animal, his structure rigid as he took in the male’s body. Strange leopard. Jeraha couldn’t figure out if he wanted to kill the animal right now or try to speak with him a bit more. And even then he couldn’t pick between being more of a jackass or more civil to him. The creature wasn’t so bad, really, but not something Jeraha felt he would be better friends with any time soon. They were perhaps too much alike.

Made he see just how irritating he was, which wasn’t something he really liked to embrace from the other side of the fence. He was blissful in his ignorance of just how much his words impacted others.

“Really? I was quite happy being ignorant of you, friend or enemy,” Jeraha replied with mock innocence. He drew himself to his feet, feeling a little bit uncomfortable. But it wasn’t the leopard that had him on edge. Something just felt… off about the area. And it really didn’t take long to see what that something was.

Blinking, he looked directly behind the leopard, wondering how on earth he had managed to miss the large pile of smoke billowing up from the brush behind him. For all his claims of intelligence and a prowess for observation, the male had somehow neglected to see the starts of a fire. Not only that, but he had also failed to scent the now potent smell of smoke that hung about them. In his defense, though, they were sitting against the wind, making the smoke blow in the opposite direction of their location.

Still, one would think the black cloud might have been a bit of a tip off.

It was close. He could see the whips of fire from where he stood, the hairs on his body raising in anticipation and more than a little fret. Wild fires spread so quickly over dry brush. Even in patches spread over dirt it was a threat. And they were sitting close to it.

“Perhaps we should continue this conversation in another area,” he advised the leopard male without turning his eyes on him, “we seem to have a spot of unwanted company.”