The sun was kind enough, that next morning, to raise again at the same time and in the same place as it had every morning before that. Lorkan'Tak rose with the sun and leaped down to the ground so that he could work through the series of bends and stretches that he was in the habit of doing every morning. He wasn't worried about his new friend thinking him strange upon waking. He rarely stayed with his companions for long and thus he cared little for what any one of them thought of him. Ila woke long before Lorkan became aware of it. She watched him move about below her giggling silently to herself at the strange shapes he managed to bend himself into. He was happy to watch him as long as he remained unaware but that was not to remain the case for much longer. Fortunately for her, when he did notice her watching he barely paused in his ritual to greet her.
"Good morning, fair maiden!" he called up with a big, goofy smile. "I trust you slept well last night!"
"I did," she answered, "It is a shame I won't be able to sleep here again tonight. I have grown quite grateful of wide branched trees as of late."
"You will not be returning here tonight? But then were are you going?"
She raised her head to look out over the plains, "Onwards. I have traveled far and will travel further yet. I am searching for a place to call home... though I am afraid that place is far away yet." She smiled down at him, "You seem like a traveler your self. Have you came across or heard of any group or pride that may be interested in taking a lone female like myself in for some time?"
He hesitated then shrugged, "I can not say. I have always been a rogue and not one blessed with many long staying friends at that. If I could help you with this request I would but I am afraid that no news of the sort you speak has come to my ears."
"Thank you, none the less," she called down before getting up to make her way down the tree. She didn't speak as she descended but made the softest of 'umph's as her front paws touched the ground.
"Would you be wanting for company on your journey," she'd been a good audience the evening before. Something he always appreciated. Not to mention that she was rather easy on the eyes. There would be no harm in following her a while longer and allowing his eyes to rest upon her soft pelt.
"An extra body in the hunt and a voice such as yours to tell me stories? I would be foolish to turn you away," she smiled wondering idly if she would have to find a pride after all. Really the thing she wanted the most out of life was a doting mate who would love her and her offspring.
"Then I shall be glad to travel with you for the time being," though his mind had drifted toward dirtier thoughts he had not yet considered any long term arrangements. "Last night you mentioned that you would like to hear another story. What would you say to a quick hunt, some small game perhaps, then a story over breakfast?"
She nodded then gestured in the direction that she thought would be best way to go for small prey. A male like this, full of stories, could entertain cubs for hours on end. Even if the bulk of the hunting was left for her, he did seem to be a little lazy in that regard, if she had him to watch the cubs she thought it may not be all to bad after all. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that he was following along behind her.
"I was thinking," she called back, not worried about scarring off breakfast. It was, after all, unlikely that any small game would sleep so near to a pair of leopards so her voice wouldn't scare them off just yet. "I would like the next story to be a romance, please!"
He glanced over at her, "But you showed such little interest in such things last night! Perhaps it was simply the sort of story I had chosen to recite." He watched her a moment. Or had her tastes changed so quickly? Women were difficult indeed...
"Well that was a bit of a folk story, would you not say? I think this time I would like something more of a romance! Something with some plainer characters. Would you be able to do that?"
"I am certain that would be possible... I will have to consider a while though. There are many stories at my disposal and finding the one which would best suit your tastes may take a while."
"Understandable," she smiled. It was a pretty smile. "And I appreciate the effort, kind sir."
He spent the next portion of the walk naming off various stories and giving short summaries of the ones she seemed to be interested in. She made note of a few that she would like to hear at some point, if not tonight, but otherwise let him continue on with his list.
It was a decent length walk and after no short while he figured she was keeping on with it just to listen to him talk. No other explanation seemed to fit the bill. Soon though, she hushed him and he fell silent looking around as they tiptoed through the various hidden burrows.
Ah. So it was true. There would be a fair amount of small game her. Ever so quietly she looped back to whisper her plan in his ear. She would scare the meercat of two out of it's hole and once it poked it's head out he'd grab it and kill it. Once they had enough to share they would retreat to dine.
He nodded. Sounded like a good plan.
1011 words ~ End.
