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Ghazaala had had it with men. It seemed the only ones she met were complete and utter arses. It was more than just disappointing, it was a little heart-breaking. More and more she found herself directing serious thought to the possibility of swallowing her pride and returning to the place where she had made her home for the first half of her life. It wouldn't be an ideal situation, since it would mean having to face the lion she had loved unrequitedly for months and the lioness he had chosen over her, but it would at least be a respite from this wandering which only seemed to bring her into contact with males who were arses and females who were bitches. She was getting very tired of all of it.

It had reached the point where she actually was relieved when she went for several days without encountering anyone, and where she went out of her way to avoid meeting people if she could, staying away from pridal lands and that sort of thing. That was not the reason she'd left home, but now Ghazaala found it was the best way to cope with the general disappointment that was the feline population of the world. She reflected on this with a sigh as she sat beside a river, allowing her coat to dry after a swim.

Her toned body shifted through grasses easily as she stalked the little hare. She didn't very often hunt something so small. It was more an exercise in stalking than anything else. She had been alone for several days and being alone made her a little tetchy. She missed having a troop behind her. Taking another slow step she cursed as the small hare skittered away. Lifting her head she spotted the lioness and sighed. More hunts had been ruined by noisy lions than anything else.

Standing from her crouch she marches towards the lioness with a raised brow "Ten HUT!" She yells her tail flickering behind her, any soldier would react to her words, a civilian would just look at her blankly. She was still a general in command of her world even if most of the world was filled with civilians.

Ghazaala laughed, but it might have just as easily been a cough or a scoff when a leopard marched toward her issuing a command for her to be at ease. She supposed it was meant as some sort of reassurance, but the fact was that Ghazaala was hardly likely to be at ease, or anything resembling ease, as long as someone was shouting at or in her vicinity. She just didn't like it.

"I wasn't cowering," she said. "I was ducking for cover in case you turned out to be some crazy cat who hurled herself at me and decided to knock me into the water."

Not exactly, but she really hadn't been cowering. She had simply flinched in an extreme way, which unfortunately resembled cowering to the unitiated in her gestures and mannerisms, which most people were at this point. It was an understandable mistake, but that didn't mean Ghazaala would let it go uncorrected.

"Any reason you're shouting, or is it just more fun that way?"

Anselma ran a paw under her nose and sniffed, she let a small chuckle escape her lips. "Sorry bout that, thought I recognised your hide. Used to have a private had a similar colour to you. Good gal, had a head like a rock, could take out anything she could." The leopardess clears her throat and raises a slender brow.

"Used to react the right way to a command, course, you aren't her so..well yes I frightened you, do apologise miss." She clears her throat and looks at the water. If only it had been one of her troop. She never would admit that they were gone and that let her live in a world of dreams where she would round the corner and there her cavalry would be, waiting for her to lead them again.

"Ah." Ghazaala nodded to show her comprehension. There wasn't a lot she could say to that except maybe to ask about the sortie which had separated the group to begin with. The way the leopardess looked when she spoke of the incident made the lioness think maybe it had been something of a tragedy, better not spoken of.

"I might be," she admitted, "but I wouldn't know if I was. I don't know anything about my father's side of the family and I take equally after both my parents I'm told, so it's not easy to tell."

She let the remark about her size slide off, even though it stung. It wasn't as though it wasn't also true. She was overweight and had been for as much of her life as she could remember. In that she took after her mother, she knew, for her mother had been even larger than she was, though she claimed that was a result of having Ghazaala. She wished the subject would shift away from her and her fat though. It wasn't something she liked to talk or think about.

"But in answer to your question, I've not seen anyone in several days, and those I did see were complete arses. Not like the folks you describe." She almost apologized, but she stopped herself. Over-apologizing was a habit of hers that she was trying to break. There was nothing for her to apologize for here. It was unfortunate that she hadn't seen the leopard's troop, but that didn't make it her fault.

Anselma smiled a little, it wasn't that unusual that a creature didn't know who she was related to. "Yes, well, you certainly look like her a lot. I would have thought you were her.." She trailed off she knew she was beating the dead goat so to speak. This wasn't a member of her troop, she wasn't one of her privates. This wasn't one of her command. Shaking her head she blinked away the hope.

"It's not a problem, they are probably just over the next rise." They were always over the next rise. "I uh, I am sorry I frightened you, I forget, I forget that civilians don't like to be shouted at." She stumbled over the forget. She was always trying to forget and trying to remember where they were.

"Tell me, you have travelled this way for many days? Do you know if there is a tree filled copse near by?" It sounded a foolish question even to her ears. She had seen them there, but she knew that copse was far behind her still she looked for the copse again even if it was a different one. She told herself they were good places to sleep. "Hate to be on the ground for too long you know?" She chuffed.

Fighting. Right. That wasn't something Ghazaala could see herself doing a lot of in the future. She tried to avoid conflict and confrontation whenever she could. Even when she was angry with people it was more her way to take a passive-aggressive approach rather than confront the object of her ire directly. Still, she nodded along with what the leopard said. It was probably true.

Once more the lioness found herself nodding, unable to contribute to the leopard's talk of trees and barracks. They were beyond her experience and she didn't know what she was expected to say in response. It wasn't exactly a comfortable position to be in, given that she wasn't good at meeting new people or making casual conversation anyway, and Ghazaala found herself hoping the conversation would soon come to a close.

As if the gods had heard her and decided to be uncharacteristically generous, the leopard seemed to come to the conclusion that she'd stayed long enough and ought to move on. That was fine by Ghazaala, who was sorry for her having lost her companions, since she definitely seemed to be lonely without them, but also did not want to take their place in any way, shape, or form.

"It was interesting meeting you," she said. "Best of luck finding what you're looking for."

"Best of luck to you too." The leopardess smiles as she trots off breaking in to a slow wolfish lope. She would run until she found some where to rest. Some where with a high tree where she could see the world from, where she could think and sleep and dream and find her companions.

She kew deep down that she would never find her companions again, she knew they were all gone,s he knew she was fooling herself but it was her mission to keep looking and something in her background knew a mission could not go uncompleted. No matter how foolish it was.