He wasn't eating meat. The juvenile cheetah she'd come to care for as a son wasn't eating even a bite of meat. Eupe flopped in the grass, trying not to panic. There had to be a good reason. Even if Aang was prone to doing things out of the blue. Ugh! Now she understood why she and her siblings were mostly raised by nannies!

She sighed and closed her icey eyes. One cheetahess to watch two juveniles and two cubs was not enough. Not enough at all...


Elua had been enjoying the midday sun, purring away and being rather oblivious to the things around her. The group wasn't far away, and she was surrounded by the lovely flowers she held so dear...whenever they passed a clump, the had the strangest urge to nestle among them. The pretty red flowers made her feel...welcome.

And then someone or something flopped not far from her, in the grassy patch nearby. She opened her bright eyes and blinked. Company? The smell wasn't Eisheth's or Zam's or Leru's..."Hello?"


Eupe was immediately alert again, head up and ears pricked forward. The greeting didn't sound threatening....She crawled forward a little and was met with the sight of the greeter. Another female cheetah, dark and earthy in color. "Hello. I'm not intruding am I?" Oh she hoped not...Eupe did not need something else to add to her list of 'Can I die and relax now?'.


Intruding? Elua couldn't help but laugh brightly. "Oh no, icey one! I am but a wanderer whose group has settled down for a day or two." She smiled, just as brightly as she had laughed. The female before her was a beautiful sight, as pale as Elua herself was dark. And there was something...bright about her. It reminded her of the mothers she had encountered before. "I am intruding on your home?"


Eupe shook her head, relieved. So she was not intruding. That eased her mind considerably. "No. Like you, I am a wanderer." And there was something about this other cheetah that prompted one to open up...a sense of being loved for everything you were. "I am Eupe'baridi. I've been traveling with a pair of juveniles and my cubs." Her beautiful half-breed cubs...Eupe saw no fault in them, only beauty and love.


Elua blinked. So she was a mother! Her cubs must be beautiful then...For a moment, Elua wondered what it would be like to be a mother. And then promptly changed the course of her thoughts. No need to worry about such things. "I'm Elua. I travel with a group that...tends to fluctuate in size. Creatures are free to come and go as they please, and we uphold only one rule....Love as thou wilt."


Eupe smiled. "That...that sounds like a wonderful rule." She sighed. "Where I grew up, we were encouraged to follow our hearts...but our parents arranged marriages for us. To be honest...I'm not sure I want to go back." If she went back, it meant leaving Kimbi and Aang....it meant giving up her freedom and mating with her putz of a betrothed...It was not the life Eupe wanted after all she had learned. All she had been through.


Elua gave Eupe a sympathetic look. "That sounds horrible...Here." Elua pat the space beside her in the flowers. "Come join me, if you'd like." She chuckled. "It sounds like you need some adult companionship." Elua was smart enough to not try and romance this other girl...Eupe didn't need someone doing that just now, by the sounds of it.


Eupe stood, then settled herself next to Elua. "Yes...It gets a little lonely at times. Especially for one who grew up surrounded by her age-mates." She sighed. "I often wish one of my siblings had joined me...I do miss my family. As much as I've grown to see the faults in how I grew up...I still love my family very much."


Elua nodded. "I...I don't remember my family very well. But...my cousin recently joined my group." She chuckled. "I didn't even remember her...but she remembered me, and found me. She's a wonderful cheetah." And a healer. Oh Elua's group had needed a healer. "And, I've made a family. Everyone who has traveled with me has become family...especially Leru. She's the serval who raised me."


A serval? Eupe blinked. This cheetah was rather strange...but she was nice. Eupe couldn't help but let herself be calm around her. "Perhaps I've made myself a family too..." She purred and swished her tail a bit. Yes...Aang, Kimbi, her son and daughter...they were her new family. And it was up to her to care for them. "Thank you Elua."


Elua blinked and nodded. "You're welcome? I do not quite understand what I've done to thank for...but I am glad I helped?" The other's good mood was infectious, though, and Elua soon was purring alongside Eupe. New company, especially beautiful company, was always wonderful.


"You helped me see things clearly again." She gave the other a smile...a pure expression that had lost its awkwardness long ago thanks to Aang and her cubs. "I was filled with worry and doubt...but now, I can think clearly again. You were like a sweet spring wind after the rain."


Elua chuckled. "Well then, I'm glad I could help Eupe. You sound like a good creature...It's only natural to worry for those you care for. And speaking of...I should check in with Leru." She nuzzled the other quickly and stood. "It was good meeting you Eupe. I hope our paths cross again."


Eupe stood as well, a little surprised by the nuzzle. But it wasn't unwelcome. Eupe had started to open up more and more..."I hope so too, Elua." With that, the icey cheetah loped off, her heart lighter, and her mind more determined to catch something good for her family to eat. Her family...she liked the sound of that.


Elua watched the other off, then turned to go 'home'. She smiled dreamily. Home...for her, it did not lie within a pride or coalition or clan. It was within the ones she cared for so much. She laughed softly and trotted towards her group. Home...