Her first litter had come at the cost of heartbreak. She'd lost her mate and daughter rather myseriously, at least by Sauda's mind, like everyone else in her life. Her second litter had gone considerably better, but she hadn't stayed with the father. Her girls were all grown, she was a grandmother and even a great grandmother already, but she had high hopes that one day she'd manage to find the one that would stick around for good.
Sauda, like many of the cheetah members of the coalition, didn't find much running room within the coalition territory, so she sought the clan's borders instead. Their patch of jungle ended rather abruptly, or began abruptly if you were an outsider looking on. It sat on the west of Lake Victoria, open grasslands leading up to the jungle's edge. A brown blur was bounding through the tall grass, laughing and having a good time trying to pounce on some poor mouse.

Shambe was always wary when he sensed the presence of an organized group. Groups tended to mean danger for him, and he prefered to keep things as simple as he could. His mind had hardened in the recent weeks, and suddenly all that his mind could conjure was the smile of that wretched leopardess. She had ruined him, beyond anything he could have predicted. Here he smelt a mixture, it made him nervous. The blur caught him off gaurd and he tried as best he could to hide behind the tree line, worried that he might have been spotted by some guard.

"You can run, but you can't hide!"
Words that probably wouldn't do much to put his mind at ease, but the tone of voice behind them was soft and playful, at least it would sound that way to anyone but the poor mouse, more likely than not. She took another playful pounce and disappeared into the grass with a playful growl, the end of her tail sticking straight up until the tip of it began to tick.
Then gradually it started moving quickly through the grass in jerking motions before stopping and drooping.
"Aww...! He got away." She sighed, not yet noticing the scent of another nearby.

Got away? It wasn't after him then. He peered around the trunk, a look of confusion coming across his face when he realized it was only a cheetah. A female at that, and seemingly one older than he. It was a curious find, one he couldn't pass up. She might have knowledge of the area, and her age might make her more susceptible to his charms. Gathering this all up in his mind he decided it was reasonably safe to step out into view. If she was angered by his presence he would be prepared to flee. "Chasing ghosts?" he asked with a quiet laugh, keeping his body level with the edge of the tree line.

She stopped abruptly, lifting up out of the grass finally-- her head poking up over the top --to look around for the owner of the voice. She spotted him easily enough once she knew to LOOK for him. She didn't worry about how close he was to the trees because... well, Sauda was a cubsitter, not a guard, and for good reason. It so happened, though, that there were others to cubsit so she had time alone.
She smiled, wide and friendly at the stranger.
"Mice! Not ghosts. Ghosts would be too hard to catch!" She reasoned, bounding closer with joy in her stride. Meeting someone new was one of those things that Sauda took genuine joy in, even though she knew that they would usually inevitably leave even if they stayed for a while-- or that they would eventually drive her off as her mother had. That was life though, right? Right. "I'm Sauda! You're not from the Achana are you? Did you come to join?"

Shambe's fur bristled at the thought of joining anything. "No, no I didn't," he assured her, a slight cringe on his face, "I'm merely passing through." She seemed nonthreatening enough, if a bit grating in her manner. Well, there might be some entertainment in it, he had had little enough of that lately. "My name is Shambe, and I do have to wonder why you would expend so much energy over a mouse?"

"Well that's okay, we like visitors too. It's nice to meet you, Shambe." She grinned, maybe reassuringly? Friendly at the very least. When he asked about the mouse the female looked back the way the mouse had last been seen, then back again with a shrug and carefree smile. "It's fun, and it's good practice. I don't get to run like this very much in the jungle, too many trees and roots."

"True," he admitted, surveying the area, "But why would you live in such a place if it hinders your movement? Wouldn't it be simpler to just move out here?" At the end of the question he sidestepped dramatically out of the treeline and back. "It's not very far." The sarcasm in his voice was almost overrun with his amusement in this older cheetah. She might not be all there, not that he could be sure without sounding quite rude. "Or is there something special in that jungle?"

Sauda just giggled at his sarcasm, as if she either understood it and didn't take offense, or as if she found it amusing period.
"My family is there. They're the only ones who haven't left me yet. I've lost my family before, so I stay here and I can see them whenever I want, instead. They keep me safe too, and I look after the children."
She moved closer, slipping into the trees and poking her head out from behind one to look at him. At a closer range he could probably tell that there was something darker and completely lucid behind those smiling eyes. Optimistic, carefree, yes, but ignorant or crazy, no.
"Of course, my children are all grown now, but this is their home too, so I stay here with them. Because it's not far I can just come out here when I want to run. Msinji looks after me."
The leopard was no doubt prowling in the trees somewhere right them, keeping a distant eye on the interaction to make sure it didn't go in a direction unwanted.

"Msinji?" he asked curiously, rechecking his surroundings to ensure that he hadn't missed anything. There guards were highly skilled then, he made sure to note that for future reference. This wouldn't be a good place to try and scheme anything. Still, he seemed safe enough here now, if he had angered them they might have already struck. "You must be quite strong to have stayed when others have left, I have children of my own you know," he told her, though he hadn't thought ahead to how he might justify his actions in that matter. "Though none of them are grown," he added with a laugh.

"I see, they must be very cute." She grinned, moving to lay on her stomach half within the trees, front half out of them. "Are you going to stay long?" She finally asked, wondering if his visit would be but a few minutes or if he might go hunting with her. The others would know to come look for her if she was gone long, but there was surely prey nearby if he agreed. If not, maybe she could show him around the coalition a little. It wasn't as if they couldn't defend themselves if the need arose, and if Msinji agreed-- oh but she wondered if he'd already seen jungle territory before. She'd been amazed the first time, when she was young.

He considered the question, taking in what he could see futher in to the jungle. "I might stay for a few days, if that would be acceptable to your guards," he suggested, relaxing his shoulders since she didn't seem inclined to chase him off, "I haven't found a safe place to rest in the past few days, too many rogues about to feel entirely calm when resting alone." He moved a little closer to her to sit, taking in her appearance. She was spry for her age it seemed, though he could have guessed that from her earlier games, and still quite bright eyed. He might take a bit of advice from one such as her, his own life might drive him old and ragged long before hers ever would.

"You would have to ask Toh Ni, she's the queen, but I don't think she'd say no. She calls this place a refuge for anyone that needs it." Sauda smiled, relaxed body language proving it was genuine as her tail flicked lazily.

The queen, so this was a singularly ruled land, his mindset might not be well appreciated. Then again, he had never had much experience in that sort of thing. He wasn't sure he wanted any. "Surely she wouldn't mind if I kept my distance, there are dens along this stretch where the tree line breaks, you could come to visit me?" He sounded amused, but still serious, he wasn't sure what to make of her actions just yet. Was she looking for a friend?

"She wouldn't mind, but wouldn't you feel safer around others?" She offered, tilting her head a little to one side with a kinder smile betraying a bit of her age. Old? Maybe a little, but certainly not too old to get around or have fun. "I'd love to show you around. There are a lot of things to see here."
If she was looking for anything specific it was a bit unclear. So many had come and gone in her life, of all sorts, friends, relatives, lovers, two of those actually-- it didn't really matter anymore. "And it's been a long time since I had company of my own."

"You forget that though you consider those others your family, I have no such connections," he retorted, glancing again over his shoulder, "I may be safer in a defensible position." His eyes still held suspicion for her and her kin, though he felt reasonably sure that this might fade over the days. After all, if no attack came in the night then he might be assured that none would in the future if he brought himself closer. "Don't your children keep you company? And your mate?" he asked curiously, a hint of something else hidden behind his voice.

Her ears twitched atop her head, the unfamiliar sensation of discomfort settling over her for a brief moment. He didn't trust her. It wasn't a first, but she rather disliked it. She preferred to see others smiling and cheerful, and tended to trust others easily. Even though she understood the concept it did leave her a little disappointed.
"Oh, I understand." She said anyway, because it was his choice to do what he wanted. When he asked about her children or her mate she shook her head slightly, a flicker of a flinch in her features.
"I don't have a mate. Not anymore. My children share my den but... it's not the same kind of company."
She missed Bato, still... Her last litter had been sired by a totally different male, a totally different species even, but she constantly thought about the juvenile she'd met when she struck out all on her own after losing her sister. How was he? How was, and where was their daughter? Sometimes she'd curl up in the den at night around not-so-little-anymore Du, and dream about those days when they used to run around together, playing, hunting, relaxing, talking...
She couldn't go back to that, but she didn't want to be alone forever.

"I am sorry then," he said with surprisingly sincerity as he noticed the change that came across her face so briefly, "I didn't mean to dredge up any bad memories for you. I only meant to inquire, in my own crass way." He gave a bit of a laugh, curling himself inward as he hid a bit of his face with his mane. He wasn't any good at making a fool of himself. "I uh, I messed that up didn't I?" he said after a moment, "Would you give me a chance to try again?"

"What? Oh! No, oh no! It's okay!" Her eyes widened briefly, shaking her head. "It's alright. Really. It was a long time ago, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel bad, really."
She offered a laugh as well, genuine, already forgetting her gloomy thoughts again. She was just a bit flighty, as he could probably tell.
"You can if you want, but I'm enjoying your company just fine."

"Well, then I make no excuses for any future offenses," he sighed, a discernible relief in his voice, "Though I can't guarantee my intentions, knowing you are unescorted in that way." His eyes flashed a bit of humor, though he wasn't entirely sure himself that he was joking. She hadn't made any demands on him for any information about the outside, so he hadn't felt a need yet to leave. It might prove beneficial to stay after all, if he could elicit such information from her about this place. It seemed lush if nothing else.

She giggled a bit again as he relaxed once more, tail swishing slowly in the grass. When her laughter subsided she was wearing a smile that was either patient or knowing, maybe both.
"As long as there aren't any false promises."
Not that she expected that he'd lie to her, it was just her way of letting him know that she was well aware that one didn't have to have a mate to have children, or try, as it were.
And who knew, if the nature of their meeting did turn that way, maybe cubs would come of it for her to raise again? One could hope.

"I make no promises whatsoever," he said with a bit of over dramatized chivalry, bowing to her, "Except one of fun, I should suggest." No promises was always a nice arrangement, the way he saw things at least. It let him experience life without worrying about future consequences.

"That's a promise I hope you'll keep." She grinned. Easy going conversation, curious new faces: This was why she loved meeting strangers.