Travel in the rogue lands was sometimes dangerous, and often lonely. Nyofu knew this all too well, having grown up wandering almost entirely on her own. True, she had her serval companion/surrogate parent, but it wasn’t always enough. Unfortunately, her timidity often got in the way of her seeking out companionship, or even speaking to other creatures, and she never could trust lions. Lions were always a risk, and even on the best of days she tried to avoid them.
Today was another in a long string of days wherein she had no contact with anyone aside from Kelele, and Nyofu was so desperate for conversation that she was honesty considering approaching a lion to converse – something which she knew she wouldn’t really do, but the fact that she was even considering it spoke volumes as to her level of boredom.
With a sigh, the brown female sat down and looked at her companion, tilting her head as she looked at him. “You go on and hunt, Kelele, I’ll be fine,” she said, a weak smile in her voice. She would take a nap while her companion was away. That would help, right?
Kelele wasn’t so sure about leaving Nyofu alone. He had known the larger feline since she was just a cub, and he didn’t think that right now was a good time to leave her by herself. Not in this state of mind. But... he did have to eat. What to do, what to do? He had never asked for responsibility in his life, let alone any over a creature much larger than he was, but he hadn’t been able to leave a mere infant to starve to death.
“If you’re sure you’ll be alright,” he said at last. Though small for her species, Nyofu was an adult, and he had to trust in her ability to make her own decisions. Still, leaving her alone didn’t sit well with him, and it was with a heavy heart that he started to trot off – only to run smack into the nose of a leopardess who was creeping through the grasses. “Eep!” He squeaked, and turned tail to run.
Anatumaini had been minding her own business, hunting for something to eat, when a small purple and white serval barreled out of nowhere and ran smack into her nose. The tiny (to her view, at least) feline took one look at her, yelped and ran away as if his tail were on fire.
“Well,” she hummed to herself, vaguely irritated at the downright rude behavior of the cowardly creature. Stepping forward in the direction her had gone, she saw a brown cheetah sitting with a morose expression on her face. Perhaps she could put off hunting for a little bit of socialization.
“Hello there,” she said quietly, stopping several feet away and taking stock of the other feline. She was small and undersized, and light of frame even for a cheetah – one who had been on short rations growing up, it looked like. Otherwise, however, she seemed healthy, if rather sad. Anatumaini could understand that sadness. Traveling was a lonely business, and by the look of it the darker female had been traveling for quite a long time – probably longer than Anatumaini herself.
“Are you quite alright?” She asked, blue eyes narrowed. There was little she could do to assist should there truly be something wrong with the other feline, but she would try nonetheless. If the other was just suffering from a lack of company, then she could surely offer up some of her time to alleviate the cheetah’s distress.
“I am Anatumaini. May I ask your name?”
Nyofu wasn’t quite certain what had just happened. One moment she was conversing with Kelele, and about to reassure him that she would be okay while he wandered off, and then the next he was gone, having run away from a blue-eyed leopardess who seemed intent on having a conversation with her.
”Ah, hello,” she replied, twisting her tail around her legs nervously. “I’m alright... m-my name is Nyofu.” What did this leopardess – Anatumaini – want? Though it appeared she only wanted conversation – something that Nyofu was sorely needing, so this might be a good thing, in the end.
“Is there something you need? U-um... have you traveled far?” Nyofu asked, trying not to sound too desperate for conversation. Still, she was curious, and some of that shone through her voice.
Oh, good. The little thing wasn’t too shy to speak with her. Anatumaini was oddly pleased, though she couldn’t say why. Perhaps it was simply because of how young the cheetah seemed much younger than her actual age, Anatumaini was certain of that.
“I do not need anything; I merely wished to speak with you for a time,,” she said quietly, taking a rest and stretching out along the ground. “I have traveled very far, and have no set destination. What about you, miss Nyofu? Have you been traveling a long way, and do you have a destination in mind? Or do you wander as I do – with no aim or direction, merely letting your paws carry you where they will?”
Now it was Nyofu’s turn to answer, and the small cheetah found herself excited at this prospect. A conversation with someone new, new things to learn and things to discuss! This would be such fun!
“I’ve always traveled,” she said, golden eyes sparkling with joy at the prospect of having a new conversation. “I... I want to find a home, someday, but for now I don’t have a real destination.” To be honest, the thought of finding a home hadn’t crossed Nyofu’s mind until this exact moment. But, really, it sounded... nice.
Anatumaini listened quietly as the cheetah babbled away. She didn’t feel the need to respond very often, as it seemed all that Nyofu really needed was the chance to talk – not to listen, but to talk to another, someone who did not know everything about her already. The leopardess knew the feeling, and she didn’t mind giving the smaller feline exactly that.
And for the next few hours, that was exactly what she did.
Word Count: 1032
