((This is chronologically from before Lumt joined the Firekin; from when he was on his way to them.))
Areli had fled from the Bahari'mtoto after finding the tracks leading away from it. She had run west, but mostly north, and was now passing nearer to the northern mountain range than she'd ever been before. The travel had not been kind to her, but she was a determined young thing. She had skirted near to several prides but managed to avoid much confrontation. Thankfully. She continued to make good time, but somehow Bega always seemed one step ahead, come and gone already. It frustrated and infuriated her, but it made her push all the harder. Once she caught him she decided that she would never let him go again. Never let him let her go again.
There had been one time where she thought she had found him. A pale lion was walking on the edge of her vision, huge and strong. She had gone charging full tilt towards him, only to find his mane dark, not orange. He had snarled and swatted her away like a fly, but he had looked so similar that she had proceeded to tail him for days after. Each night he would snarl and threaten her as she crept closer, but she was wise enough not to dare getting with his reach. She simply wanted to fill her eyes with him, and imagine. Imagine a flaming mane rather than a pitch one, and red and orange markings where black ones were now.
The two males were otherwise oddly similar. Both huge, and hulking, though this one seemed to have longer fur that curled and puffed. It was not as attractive as her lion's, but it would do for her imaginings.
After the third day she left him be, and re-found the trail of tracks that wove north, through the hills. She went northwest, and the lion, who'd been all too disconcerted by this strange female's attention, went northeast. For a day after she left he'd been ever looking over his shoulder, fearing she would return. He was not afraid of her, but she was terribly odd, leering at him, and he felt wrong hitting such an obviously unworthy opponent. Only when it was clear she was gone did he relax. He never understood other species. Or females at all for that matter.
For Lumt, that was the end of his encounter with the cheetah. He was off on a mission, much akin to the very one her lion had been on. To make a name for himself, and also, to find his pride. He'd heard of a land where the warriors were kings of their domain, deep in a desert to the north of where his home had once been. He'd left his family behind, and they had gladly understood his need to find his place. Things like the whimsical love of a wild-eyed female were beyond him. He had no room for such frivolous things in his heart for the time being. Not until he found his place and made his name would he consider such things.
Short days after their meeting had ended, all thoughts of the female had flown from his mind. He was unaware, but it had been meeting her that had helped guide him home to the lands of the Firekin. He wouldn't arrive for a time yet, and even then he wouldn't realize it. In meeting her, being unnerved by her, his path had shifted. He'd been heading due north, and in an effort to put distance between them, he'd started heading more east. In the end, it was that slight change of course that put him on a line right to the land of the desert warriors.
Unlike Areli, Theluli's plight and determination did not leave him dreaming of love at night. He did not recognize her determination as anything akin to his, and pushed her from his thoughts as swiftly as he could. What he kept from the experience though, was that he did not like this silly type of female. They fawned over their males and chased them like they were starved for breath without them. Any female he took, he decided, would be strong. As strong as he himself. So that if something happened to him, or he chose to leave, she would not go pining for him. Yes, that was the best way to do it.
To the west, Theluli would be finally catching up the Bega right as her presence faded from Lumt's mind. Between meeting him and her first sighting of the run away male since he'd left her lying lonely in a den after a night filled with shared pleasures and love (so she'd thought) she had had a string of good luck, and crossed only open empty land. Unfortunately, as soon as he realized someone was watching him, stalking him, Bega got wise to Theluli's plans. He allowed her to catch him, and comforted her, assuaged her grief. He spent a bold two days beside her, though in truth it was only due to his hormones raging once more for her petite frame, and willing, submissive nature. He had his fun with her once more, and then, on the third day, was gone again.
Poor Theluli, left behind and feeling horribly unwanted, was slow in taking up the chase again. She'd thought for sure she'd won him this time. Hadn't she done everything she asked? she'd waited on him paw and foot, and in return all she'd wanted was him to stay with her. Instead she was left with a stiff body and a cold den once more. She moped about near it for days before she started following his trail. It went cold a mere mile away though, where he'd crossed a river and there were no tracks on the opposite bank.
Disheartened, and finally giving up, Theluli retreated to the den she had foolishly given herself to the lion in once more, and slept away her sorrows. When morning came, she made no effort to track Bega again. She knew now that he had just been using her. She'd been a fling, and nothing more. She told herself to be glad that he did not string her along any longer, and reminded herself that he had tried to leave at the start. She was the one who had put herself in this spot again, had encouraged him to hurt her once more. She should be glad, she told herself, that that was the last she'd have to see of her lion.
Bega, for his part, ran all the harder. He enjoyed the little cheetah's company, certainly, but she was not the one for him. She was not his destiny.
(Words: 1115)
