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Kerke sat under the waning shade of a tree, his side resting against it's trunk as he stared out at the horizon, lost in thought for the time being. He had thus far had no luck in finding the female leopard again, and as the day wore on he was getting tired from searching. He had yet to even stop for a bite to eat, and his stomach was not approving of this, emphasizing this with a low grumble before quieting. If he were to continue looking, which he would likely start again on the morrow, he would certainly need his strength. His attention then turned from his thoughts as he scanned around for any sign of nearby herds. If he was lucky he could find one with an easy pick from the herd that wouldn't use too much of his energy to get, as he was running low on it as is.

Finally his stomach got the better of him and he pushed himself off from against the tree, giving his legs a good stretch before descending the hill he had sat upon. He was sure there would be something around to eat, he had remembered seeing a few herds around the area within the last couple days, and doubted they had moved on so quickly that they would be gone. Halfway down the hill he paused, ears perking forward. He could have sworn he had just heard someone, a voice, though as he looked around his gaze fell upon no one nearby. Perhaps the wind was playing tricks on his ears. Sitting out here for so long lost in his own mind, perhaps the quiet was getting to him. He shrugged it off and continued his descent. “Must just have been the wind then.” He spoke to himself, trying to break the silence.

That time he had definitely heard someone! Kerke slowed his pace, ears swiveling to pinpoint where this person was. A female, definitely, and she sounded a bit..afraid? His ears perked forward once more. Perhaps she was in trouble, was something after her? The cheetah hurried down, coming to a stop behind a rock jutting out fro the hillside and saw behind it, crouching low to the ground, a female cheetah. She had not been that far away actually, and was not sure how he had not been her before. “A lion, hmm? You certainly look a bit small and skinny for a lion.” Kerke put on his lop-sided grin, trying to look as friendly as he could. She already seemed to afraid, he didn’t want to make it any worse.

“That I am.” Kerke grinned further, he always thought cheetahs were the better looking of the three feline species, although the ladies were all lovely to him. “No, I don’t have an idea. That does sound quite awful though, and I don’t know why anyone would want to harm such a lovely lady.” He rounded the rock, feeling a bit awkward talking over it, and bowed his head slightly to her. “Zaria, a lovely name you have. I’m not sure hwy anyone would want to shorten it, but I shall call you Za if that is what you would prefer. I am Kerke.”

A soft chuckle escaped him. “No, it is alright, you are not talking too much at all. I enjoy it actually, the last lady I met was not much of a talker herself.” He had completely forgotten he had been looking for said lady, but the task could certainly wait a bit longer. At the mention of a pride his ears perked forward. “A pride, you say? I have not come across many cheetahs from prides. What is it like?”

“Nonsense, as a cheetah you should always be able to hold your head high! After all, what is more wonderful than this sleep body, and our speed is unmatched by those other felines!” Kerke puffed out his chest, sounding slightly indignant as he spoke. “It doesn’t sound like much of al place if you can’t be proud of being a cheetah, if you ask me.” I’m sure if us cheetahs had our own pride it would be greater than any lion-made one by far.” The thought drifted from his mind at her last question, and he nodded. “Yes, have been for quite some time as well. it hasn’t been so bad, you meet a lot of people, both good and bad.” He shrugged lightly. “It is the life I have known, and it has not been a bad one so far, though it does sometimes get far quieter by oneself than I like.” Another shrug followed. “Well, I was just about to look for something to eat, if you would like to join me I would certainly enjoy the company.”