Leenah woke up and looked around. She had almost forgotten where she was. In front of her, outside the tree den, she saw a freshly killed boar. She smiled and started to eat the catch. As she ate her new lioness friend Ankou came and sat next to her, eating some meat herself. “Thank you so much for the meal. It was very delicious.” Leenah said. She felt grateful to have come across the lioness.
“I should be going though. I hardly ever stay in the same place for too long. That won't help me find my cubs.” She said as she finished off her portion of the meat. “If I run into you again I would like to repay the favor.”
She felt bad leaving the lioness, but she had her priorities. As much as she wanted to stay in this beautiful forest she knew she couldn't. She would have to keep traveling in hopes of figuring out where her cubs had gone to. Despite all her travels she still hoped that she would eventually find them. She knew her hope was diminishing as the days passed. She got up and headed away from Ankou.
Ankou couldn't believe it! Her future mate was leaving her. This was unacceptable. She hurried and got up. “You can repay me now if you would like.” she said, walking a bit a head of the cheetah. “Lately I've been lonely and I need some company. I would love it if you could just stay with me for the day and for the night.”
She wasn't going to give up Leenah just like that. If she was going to start her family she needed someone like Leenah in it to help take care of cubs. She couldn't imagine anyone better to do so. Somehow she would have to convince Leenah to stay with her and give up her search for her missing cubs. She knew the only way to do that was to either convince her the cubs were better off without her or even tell her that by now they were dead. The latter was probably true, however she decided because of how fragile Leenah was she would convince her that her cubs were better off.
“I know that you have a lot to do, but I really need this. Please just stay with me for a little bit. Than you can go on your way.” She said. Though she had no intention of letting Leenah go. She needed the cheetah with her no matter what.
Leenah stopped and looked into Ankou's red eyes. She did owe her, that was true. However she didn't know if she could postpone her search. With her faith in her cubs diminishing she knew it was important now more than ever to keep looking. However she also felt that she did owe the lioness a great deal. She also didn't like the fact that the Ankou was lonely.
“Well, okay I will stay with you for a little bit. I really do need to go though in the morning.” She said. Once she woke up tomorrow she would head out no matter what. “In the mean time what would you like to do together? We have the whole day, I assume we aren't just going to sit around and just talk.” She was sure that in the jungle there was plenty of different thing to do.
Ankou grinned. Perfect, she thought as she draped her tail over Leenah. “Well why don't we just go on a walk for now. Since you got here you have been in such a rush. You probably had no time to look around at all the different sites. I would like to show you around if that's okay.” She said. It was too exciting, Ankou thought, but the point wasn't to be exciting. It was to show Leenah everything she would miss out on if she left.
“Follow me, we will be following the river.” She said with a wink. She knew the jungle inside and out. There was no way Leenah wouldn't want to stay with her by the end of the trip. It was so beautiful. This was the place she wanted to have her family. No other place could compare. If she had to she would drag outsiders into her jungle and make them apart of her family. She had never lived outside this jungle and she did not want to start now.
“This jungle is the best place for a cub to be raised. I should know, I was raised here. When I get my family going we are going to live here.” She said with a huge grin. The river was wide and quick. White rapids could be seen. “Be sure not to fall though. It will take you on a quick little trip and the point of this outing is to take a slower trip through the jungle.” Ankou gave Leenah a little wink.
Leenah thought that it would be an interesting place to grow up, as long as family was close by. It did seem dangerous though. She followed closely behind Ankou. “Do you have a mate?” Leenah asked curiously. Since she got to the jungle she hadn't seen any signs of another feline. She hoped that she didn't have a mishap like she did with Dhavlen. No one should have gone through a pain like that.
She watched the river flow past her. It made her terribly thirsty. She knew she better not try and get a drink because she might fall. It wouldn't be long till they reached a safer part of the river where she could get a quick drink.
Ankou laughed at the question. “I was just thinking about how much I wanted one! No I do not have a mate, nor have I ever had a mate. Lately I've been wanting to change that. I think I've met someone really special, someone who would make a wonderful mother.” She was, of course, referring to Leenah.
She thought about her next step, after getting Leenah to stay with her. Finding a male mate who could get both her and Leenah pregnant. She liked the idea of having a huge litter of cubs. All three of them would be considered the parents of course. She would be in charge of hunting, Leenah would be in charge of watching the cubs and the male would protect them all. It was the perfect setup. She would of course add to the numbers, but for now two mates were enough for her.
“Out of curiosity what do you look for in a mate?” She would have to know this to make sure she picked the right male for them. It had been pure luck that brought Leenah to her. However she was sure she would have a harder time with a male. She would hopefully find one that would be submissive toward her, and come back with her without a problem. Somewhere out there, she knew the right male was waiting for them.
“I wish you luck when you find her!” Leenah said. She hoped that Ankou would find the right mate for her so she wouldn't be lonely anymore. As they traveled down the river, she thought about her old mate Dhavlen, how he lied to her and tricked her. He had made her do all the work, while he went and flirted with other females. Even when she had cubs he was no help. She let out a sigh. Hopefully she would never find herself in that sort of relationship again.
“What am I looking for a mate?” she asked aloud. That was a tough one. She had never thought about what characteristics her perfect mate would have. “Well I guess he would have to be kind and understanding, but mostly just someone who loves me for who I am and can see past my faults. A lion who I just can't help always wanting to be around.”
She stopped herself. Had she really said lion? That was rather odd, she thought. She continued walking. Lately she had, had some dreams of her with a silhouette of a lion and for some reason she was strangely attracted to him, but that was just a dream. It was always odd, Leenah had a hard time telling the difference between dreams and reality.
Ankou had to stop herself from laughing again. She had hoped that she made it clear that she wanted Leenah as he mate, but sadly the cheetah was a bit slower. She stopped and turned to face Leenah. They were so closer, something Ankou enjoyed. “Leenah, please understand, I want you as my mate. No one else will do. You will make a proper mother for our cubs. They will adore you, like they ought to. And I will be there for you, to hunt for you and keep you safe, here in my jungle.”
She leaned forward and put her nose against Leenah's. “I want to the one who you always want to be around. Do you see? It was destiny that we met each other. We both need each other. So please Leenah, forget your cubs. They are happy where ever they are. I mean how long have they been gone? There is a point when you just need to move on with your life and accept that you won't see them anymore.”
She knew she was being completely blunt, but she had to be. Leenah couldn't see what was as clear as daylight to her. She would be happier here in the jungle, than off searching for her cubs who she would never see again. “They would want you to be happy anyways.”
Leenah stepped back. Her head felt like it was spinning. Everything Ankou said was confusing. She couldn't be Ankou's mate, she had her cubs to find. She had to find her cubs. They needed her. But by now they were adults, she thought. They didn't need her. The reality was she needed them. She needed someone to lean on. She looked at Ankou. Ankou was just as needy, if not more than she was.
She felt herself having second thoughts about searching for her cubs. Could she be selfish for once? Instead of looking for her cubs could she find her own happiness? She stepped forward and pushed her head against Ankou's chest. “I have been searching so long and I am so tired. By now they must be fully grown. They might even have their own cubs by now. I just, I feel so guilty. I don't know what to do.”
She had never shared her emotions like this. Usually she was the one people came to cry on. It did feel good to have the warmth near her.
“Don't worry Leenah. I will take care of you.” Ankou cooed gently. “They will be fine. For now you need to think of yourself. You need your own happiness to worry about. I want to be your happiness if you let me. I won't force you to love me, but I do want you to give me a chance. I would like to be with you, and I think you would like to be with me as well.”
“Come on, we need to finish our walk. We can talk more about this when we get back.” Ankou said, wrapping her tail around Leenah's back. Everything was going perfectly, she thought with a smile.
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