Noelani had grown bored with her den. The collection of rocks near the grassy field, while perfect for hunting and the fact there was a nearby watering hole, it was a prime location. She had been almost chased off a few times by wandering lions, but had held her grown and eventually they had left. But now she was bored, and casting a glance at her den, messy with the bones of former kill that had been picked clean. The bones, while free of meat, still attracted...visitors to her den, and was the main reason she was leaving. Shifting the bones was easy enough, but the scent would still linger and she would rather not encourage hyenas to come visiting her homes.
She stretched leisurely, a purr working free of her throat as she worked out the kinks in her muscles from staying still too long. She had been napping in her den for hours, and now the sun was fading from the sky, late afternoon well and truly arriving. She shook her head and set off to the nearby watering hole, preparing to take one final drink before setting off.
Shambe had smelled the den before he approached, a sure sign of a settled home. He had never been a fan of them himself, but where there was a family there was usually food to be had. So he came forward with the sweet expression he could manage, his tail held low in a submissive manner. He had been wandering in a daze since the incident with Lakeisha, frankly he couldn't remember how long it had been since he had had a decent meal. Water, there was water too. He offered a sly smile as he noticed the female standing by the water. Alone, perhaps it wasn't a family. The thought appealed to him, females were usually easier to convince. "Beautiful," he called out, speeding his steps, "Might you know where a traveler can rest?"
Noelani lapped at the water calmly, her tail flicking behind her boredly. Too caught up in her drinking that she didn't realise that a male was fast approaching, until he spoke. She jerked her head up, prepared to make some dismissive comment, when she caught sight of the...handsome creature before her. Her indifferent face melted away to a sultry smile. Beautiful? Well, it wasn't her name, but she would surely answer to it.
“Well, my den is nearby,” she said smoothly, her smiling growing larger as she looked him over. “It's always open for weary wanderers.” Of course, most of the time she was in the den with them too, but that seemed rather forward to mention in her first words to him. Mmm, such a handsome male.
I'd be obliged for simply a warm bit of food and a kind ear," he said with a peculiar undertone, "Though, a night in your den wouldn't be out of the question." What was he doing, hadn't he just gotten himself in trouble for this? No, that was different. Surely this cheetah had sense. He bowed slightly, raising a comical paw to his chest, "I joke, I've had such a mind numbing journey." He looked her over out of the corner of his eyes, beautiful certainly maybe even stunning. Time would tell.
Noelani purred a little. “Well, I'm sure I could scramble up a bit of food if you were really hungry,” she murmured. “I'm not one to turn down a cheetah in need.” She smiled at him, glancing back towards where her den was. There was probably some meat left over in the den somewhere, that she could find and offer him. She wasn't hungry herself, mostly because she had hunted recently and cleaned up a few old prey kills. “Your journey was uneventful? That sounds unlikely, with one such as yourself. You have such a...presence about you. I'm sure you attract quite interesting people to you,” she said, stepping closer to him and to her den.
"Interesting," he laughed, the sound choking in his throat a bit, "You could say that I suppose. Frustrating perhaps." He glanced toward the den, following her a little behind, "Frustrating, exhausting, stupid. But enough about the lions and leopards. There were cheetahs too." The comment slid off his tongue and the slight sting of it acted as a bit of a panacea to his ill thoughts. Push them right out, he decided, everything worthless.
Noelani moved to stand next to her den, motioning for him to go inside. It was large enough to fit two cheetahs in, witha little spare room, but would have been hard pressed to fit anything much bigger inside. "Aah, bigger cats can be quite irritating," she agreeded, nodding her head sympathetically. "Mostly because they believe their better then cheetahs, which they are not, but it's no matter, we cheetahs are smarter and know better." She wasn't that much of a supremicist, but she disliked bigger cats throwing their weight around. It was rude and cruel, especially to smaller, more fragile cheetahs.
"Exactly," he agreed, settling in beside her. He let the tip of his tail touch her side as he passed, careful to keep his cuff in view. Even with the other trinkets he had accrued over time it was still his favorite, subtle but beautiful. A bit like her, he decided. "If only they would recognize that," he said with a sigh, "It would make getting along in life so much easier, as it is I have to say all sorts of things."
Noelani watched him move, before moving to join him. There was always something...exciting about seeing how another animal moved, it said so much about their personality, and the way he moved, made it obvious that he knew of his handsomeness, which did not disturb Noelani. She shook her head, "it's a pity they are so simple minded, but if they were as smart as cheetahs, then they would cause more problems too." She glanced down at his cuff, then at his other accessories. "I quite like your adornments, kind sir," she murmured, under lowered lids
He laughed, seeing an image of a lion pulling the sort of tricks he usually did. Unlikely to say the least. His adornments? Ah so she was that sort, impressionable. "These?" he said softly, teasing the assortment of cuffs and bands with little flicking movements, "Trinkets, from my travels. Not worth nearly so much as they look, I assure you." They weren't technically stolen after all. "While they work for me I suspect such items would only detract from you."
Noelani stiffled her own larger smile at the sound of his laughter. It was pleasant and very interesting to listen to, she decided, and wondered if he laughed often. She likely wouldn't find out, since she would be around him for at least, minutes, or hours if all went well.
Her eyes sayed on his 'trinkets', curiousity and approval in her gaze. She was a little disappointed that they weren't worth much, since they were so pretty, but she supposed not everything pretty had to be expensive. She looked up at his last comment, giving her own laugh. "You're quite a sweet talker, kind sir," she murmured back under lowered lids. "I think you would be rather handsome with or without your little trinkets."
"I could take them off, should you prefer," he said slyly, sliding the twisted band around his leg, "And you don't know me well enough to call me kind, I should think." He cracked a smile, flipping his mane back out of his face, "I could be a snake." Not that he was truely dangerous to others of his own kind, there were few decent ones around as it was. Still, he had a little amusement that perhaps this female should be more guarded.
She smiled a little at him. "Well, if it would make you more comfortable," she murmured, her smile lightly edged with a smirk. "And call it wishful thinking. I would so hate for you to turn cruel, though I suppose 'snake' is bad too." She didn't really mind not-nice males, but cruel ones were useless, only designed to hurt instead of what males were suppose to do, which was protect and do things that females couldn't. "If you were a real snake, I suppose you would need to leave my den." She eyed him, the smirk still playing on her mouth. "Sssso-" she hissed the word, as a joke, "are you a snake?"
She was clever, he could respect that. This minor stop had turned out to be quite interesting, revealing even, While he viewed her in the way he viewed most beautiful females he found himself having no physical desire to pursue. Curious. That damn leopardess must have gotten under his skin more than he expected. He may have to go back and confront her. "No snake here, simply pure blooded cheetah as far back as my family goes, and you?"
Noelani nodded, looking pleased. "No snakes at all in the den then. Does that mean niether of us has to leave?" She asked, before remembering what she had brought him in for originally, motioning to the few pieces of meat that still clung to a bone near the back of the den, closest to him. Wasn't enough to feed a full grown cheetah, but it would feed him a minor snack if he chose to eat. "Just two pure blooded cheetahs and a small bit of meat," she said smoothly.
He stepped over and picked up one of the chunks, dragging it back toward them. He had almost forgotten in the midst of their rather back and forth conversation. "Thank you," he said, glancing at her as he ripped a piece, "I suppose it does, though I admit I can't stay the night." Presumptous perhaps, but this female seemed fairly open to crude jokes. "How do you like this den?" he asked with an odd tone, "I've been thinking of settling somewhere myself, though I think such a place would make me feel a bit cramped. I like my leg space, the wide open."
Noelani watched as he ate, nodding at his 'thanks'. They were things she wasn't going to eat, so he didn't really need to thank her. She would have just left it for scavangers anyway. "You can't stay the night? That's a pity," she said sadly, regretting that he wouldn't stay to keep her company. She blinked in surprise at his next question, glancing around her den. "It's not bad," she shrugged. "I don't often keep a den, I'm a wanderer by nature but I will claim one if I need to stay in one area for a while." She eyed him, wondering if the reason he was not staying was also the reason why he was considering denning. He probably had a mate, she thought and just like that, her flirty nature was almost gone. She wasn't one to 'steal' what was not tempted. "If you want your leg room, when not simply take a large den, and still travel? Many rogues do both, stay in one place and move about."
"Perhaps I will," he said agreeably, considering the plan. It wouldn't be difficult to drive some others out of a wide spaced den, or maybe he'd even manage to track down a large one. "I'd have some... Loose ends, to gather up first," his mind wandered to sweet little Cashile and where she might be. If he found a nice one he might be able to draw her out there to live with him, take care of it. Not likely, she was either dead or being spoiled, and neither were any use to him. "Wandering does have its benefits."
Noelani gave him a smile, this time devoid of the flirty air of earlier. "I do hope you find what you're looking for then." How odd, she thought, no longer looking at him as just a companion for a night, but as an actual person. He seemed serious about his thoughts, and she knew this was not an act to gain sympathy or interest -she had seen many of those and she liked to believe she could spot them easily. "Ah, wandering is quite enjoyable, but there are always reasons to stop." She peered at him, still smiling. "Of course, it'll never stop being fun, at least to me."
"There's always something new around the corner," he agreed, pushing the now clean bone away from himself. He was feeling rejuvenated, and though his mind desired to stay and curl against her he found no true desire to do so. He would find Lakeisha, she might have the answers he needed to get comfortable. Sure, he would never be the proper good hearted male, but he would get his affairs straight. She deserved at least a reason. "It was nice to meet you, Noelani the settled wanderer, and I hope perhaps I will see you again when my time is a little less constrained."
Noelani stretched lesuirely, wondering if she should get up and walk him out, but she decided that he was obviously not interested in her the way she preferred and he knew his way out already. So she smiled at him, warmly. "I hope so too. Perhaps we'll meet agian some day and you'll be the settled won," she winked playfully. "Good luck in your travels and I hope your loose ends get tied up neatly." Even if he wasn't going to be her companion for the night, she still had enjoyed talking to him at least.
