It was yet another lackadaisical morning, and as such the leopardess had taken her sweet time in stirring awake as the sun started to rise. Despite the sweltering heat that had been upon the savannah the past few days there was a soothing breeze that came from the north, cooling all that it brushes past. With a quiet grumble the female sat up, as if the breeze had lifted her out of her lazing state, leaning most of her weight onto her left foreleg. "Fantastic.." she muttered, using her right paw to pat her cheeks in an attempt to wake herself up. "Honestly, sometimes the jungle seems more inviting."

And with that Katu'Chemka stood up, stretched and headed over to the small pool of water that had saved her life just the day before. She lowered her head and began to lap at the surface, shivering slightly as the cool liquid made its way into her system. When she'd taken her fill, Kat sat back on her haunches and proceeded to watch the sunrise. There was, after all, nothing else for her to do.

"And here starts yet another bleak day of wandering," came her voice, already dreading what was to come for her that day. "Oh joy."

Kutakia had taken to becoming a nocturnal creature - at least while he was wandering the savannah. The large expanse of sand and dirt and not-much-water was difficult enough to cross without the heat of the day. He'd discovered that travelling in the cool temperatures of night, and finding shade under which to sleep in during the day, kept him healthier and made his journey easier. He wasn't exactly sure where he was heading. He'd come from the jungle - he missed the rich vegetation and the ease with which you could find water. In his mind, he imagined coming across another such a place, and settling there for several weeks before continuing on his never-ending wander.

Glancing to the lightening sky, Kuta sighed softly. The brown leopard decided to search for water, and then shade under which he'd take his rest. Spotting the familiar shimmering of the liquid in the distance, he made his way towards it leisurely, pleasantly surprised to find another leopard sitting besides it. Too friendly for his own good, Kuta approached without fear, nodding his head politely before leaning into the water first, taking a large gulp of water to relieve his thirst. Only after he'd done this did he himself sit back, and smile brightly at the female.

"Mornin'"

Kat hadn't taken notice of the other who'd happened upon her little pool. No she didn't consider it her property, and no she wouldn't act like a possessive brat about it. Water was hard enough for her to find, and while she was an unpleasant individual, she was in no way a flat out b***h about things. On top of that, she couldn't afford to get into any fights. Not with her strange little limp anyway. If she could though she probably would've been dead long before she reached adulthood. With a shrug she proceeded to ignore whoever it was that took a drink, now setting her sights on the much less blinding horizon.

That is, of course, until he greeted her. Kat turned her head lazily and had a look at the other. She was almost surprised to see another leopard, though she hid it well enough. "Morning," she said, emphasizing the 'ng' sound at the end of the word. "If you're gonna talk you should at least do it right." And that was it. The leopardess turned her attention back to the view, beginning to wonder when she ought to start moving again.

Kuta watched her with a bright, sweet, innocent smile as he patiently awaited her reply. When she did speak, however, confusion crossed his face, his ears pinning down against his head momentairily as his mouth formed a small 'o' shape. He soon recovered though, smiling once again as he gave a merry nod, tail swaying behind him happily. "Morning," he repeated, speaking it in the way she'd emphasized, the 'right' way.

"Sorry," he proceeded, looking quite sheepish, "I haven't really met anyone for a while. I'm Kutakia. Who're you?" he asked, innocently enough. His face showed everything - the leopard didn't hide a thing, and wore his heart on his sleeve.

When his voice reached her ears the leopardess turned to face him yet again, wondering what it was that she said that prompted him to try and continue the conversation that she so desperately wanted to end. On her face was an 'are you serious' expression, brow raised and mouth curled into small frown. Not that she was too annoyed, mind you. This leopard had actually listened to her, which was surprising enough that it annoyed her to take note of it. "Right.." she started slowly, expression changing back to stoic as she turned to the view again. "I'm Katu'chemka, or just Kat is fine."

It was curious, how he'd simply gone along with what she had so rudely said just moment ago. She expected that he would either simply take his leave or try to start an argument, but instead what she got was obedience (somehow..) AND an apology. Again, something she was far from accustomed to. If anything, the best she'd ever gotten from anyone she'd ever encountered was a 'hmph' before they walked away in irritation. The worst was being chased into a thicket by someone who'd taken it a bit too personally. Just the memory alone made her leg ache..

She'd turned away, and Kuta frowned once again, afraid he'd upset her. He hadn't meant to! He liked to make others happy - that was always his goal in life, to make someone smile. And it didn't help when she turned back with a small frown, Kuta's expression turning from one of confusion to minor sadness, as he cocked his head to the left as if asking what was wrong. He had a shy smile on his face now - his face was practically asking what he could do to make her happy.

"Kat," he repeated once again, to help him remember. Straightening his neck his smile brightened a little as his eyes sparkling with happiness, "It's a pretty name!" was his first exclamation - compliments always made you happy. "Are you wandering, Kat?" he asked next, cocking his head once again in a curious manner.

And next came a compliment, yet another thing that wouldn't help with her mood. Still, some part of her (probably the girly girly girly part that's hidden well beneath all the unpleasant) couldn't help but be grateful. The better part of her mind kept her from voicing out this gratitude, but there was an inkling of a smile on her face when she nodded at the question that followed the comment. "I guess you could say that," she replied, shrugging as her mind wandered back to her days with the family. 'I just don't fit with them' was her justification for leaving at the young age that she did, and she was fairly certain that they didn't miss her.

"What about you?" she asked, turning back to Kuta. Kat noticed that he had a tired look about him, actually bothering to pay attention this time since he'd been so persistent about having a conversation. "You look dead tired by the way," she finished before turning back to the horizon.

Was that a smile? Oh, he really hoped it was a smile! Kuta's wide smile spread into a wide grin instead to meet her slight smile as she turned back to face him, ears alert as he listened carefully to what she was saying. Guess? Surely you were either wandering or you weren't? Sensing that she wasn't the most social of leopardess', Kuta didn't press the matter, merely continuing to smile in an attempt to make her feel happier. Smiles always made you feel happy.

She repeated the question to him and he nodded, smile softening, "Yeah, I'm wandering too. Just came from a jungle - I want to find another, though. It's better than this sand." She commented on how he looked tired and he nodded, suddenly aware of how tired he felt. Well, he had been walking all night, "Yeah, I've been wandering all night. It's cooler if you walk at night."

'Hm..' was her first thought when he said that nighttime wandering was much cooler. It was an interesting idea, but she probably wouldn't try it. Temperature was no reason to go wandering without much sight.. as far as she was concerned anyway. She shrugged again, his giant smile almost creeping her out. Her expression was back to normal now though, and she faced him again. "You left a jungle.. but want to find another one?" she asked, looking a little confused. "If you just wanted more jungle why didn't you go to a different portion of the jungle that you left?"

And it made sense to her. The jungle was a giant space, whether most believed it or not. A single leopard could live in a jungle its entire life and not know the entirety of his own territory. She knew her family had been in a similar situation, which was why they had unintentionally run into that hybrid coalition that she so scathingly loathed. Yet another contribution to her leaving her family at an early age.

His ears occasionally twitched, to get the flies off. His tail did the same, but not as much due to the pretty much constant swaying as he watched Kat with extreme interest. He was tired, yeah, but it'd be rude to go to sleep when he had company! And he hadn't had any for quite a while - it was upsetting. He hadn't been able to make people happy. Kuta did like making them happy.

Hmm? His ears perked up a little, Kuta blinking a few times as if confused by her question. He frowned a little, shrugging somewhat shyly and in an embarrassing fashion as he replied, "I like wandering. I'm looking for wishing stars. And I like meetig new people, and making them happy." He paused for a moment, glancing up to her, "...You're happy, right?"

The way he replied to her question was interesting, to say the least, and it brought about a genuine, albeit extremely rare, smirk to her maw. She wasn't sure whether it was the naivity in his reply, or the honesty, or the innocence.. whatever it was though, it was most definitely something that amused her a great deal. It's just that she'd never met anyone like this leopard before, and somehow a part of her was beginning to hope that she'd run into another like him in the future.

The last bit of his reply made her turn her attention fully on him. No one, not even her family, had EVER asked her such a question before. Suffice it to say that she was some sort of speechless for a moment after he'd asked, and after a few seconds she finally thought of an answer.

"More so than before, I guess.."

Kuta watched her carefully, his eyes sparkling a little at her smirk - which he took as a smile. Her 'smile' caused him to straighten a little and smile himself, albeit still a little shyly. He studied her, trying to figure out why she was smiling, so he could help her continue to do so. Was it what he had said - had it been funny, in some way? He honestly wasn't sure, and it confused him a little, although he'd long ago learnt to just go with the flow of a lot of things.

...She wasn't saying anything. Fear flashed across his face for a moment - had he upset her!? Oh, he hadn't meant to! Oh no, wait...her reply wasn't the most convincing, and Kuta frowned a little as he lowered his head, looking up to her in a concerned way. "...Anything I can help with?"

The array of different expressions Kuta had gone through had gone unnoticed as Kat looked away again, her mind mulling through a number of different thoughts about her family and their current whereabouts. Her almost-twin most especially, though, as she left without saying so much as a proper goodbye at the time. Painful as it was, back then she felt it was necessary for her to live a better life. Stupid.. of course. Kat's mind had returned to the present just as he asked yet another question, which again prompted her to turn and look at him.

"Not really," she said, sounding a little bored. Whatever smile she had on earlier was now completely gone, and she was back to her usual self. "Just go to sleep. You look like you could use a rest."

Was she listening? Kuta was a little confused, watching and waiting for a response or for her to turn around and smile, but nothing. Afraid he might upset her more if he intervened her thoughts, he instead remained patient, awaiting her to initiate the next question or such. Eventually she turned back, answering his question in a bored manner, causing his ears to droop. Was he being boring? His whole plan to make her happy had failed! She sounded even a little upset, and Kuta took a step back, lowering his whole body into a rather submissive position, desperately wanting her to be happy.

"But...I won't be able to sleep if I can't help you be happier."

Kat had simply tuned out again, thinking that Kuta had gone off to sleep already. She'd be fine if he had, and if not only a little part of her would really be concerned. Her thoughts were yet again on her family, as usual. One would probably wonder if her despise for her family was genuine if they knew how often she thought of them. Still, the come to mind only during the loneliest times...which is a sad statement in it of itself. Kat would never admit to ever being lonely though, thus she would never admit ever having thoughts of her family. When his next statement came she turned to see that he was indeed simply sitting there and waiting for her to tell him how he could help. And so she would.

"Then how about this," she started, "You can help me be 'happy' if you go to sleep."

Had she...not heard him? Or was she thinking again? He whined softly, afraid he'd done something terribly wrong. Had he upset or offended her? He hadn't meant to, and he only wanted to make her happy! At her statement, though, his smile brightened, Kuta practically jumping to his feet, suddenly seeming full of energy. He flashed a grin, nodding enthusiastically as he hopped from side to side.

"Okay then! I'll go to sleep!" he spoke, before pausing for a moment, "...Hopefully see you again soon, yeah?" came his words with a sweet, naive smile, held for several moments before he turned, bounding off in the direction of a tree, that provided shade from the rising sun.