Pintala sighed, slumping against the large boulder. It was hopeless. She’d been tracking her brother for so long now, and she had finally lost the trail. The roguelands were a big place, and now Lume would be lost in them forever. Without a trail or a scent, there would be no way to locate him. Only the gods could help her now, and she didn’t have nearly as much faith in them as her mother did.
Her mother! Oh, what would Rio say when Pinta told her Lume was lost? She would be so heartbroken. Pinta knew Rio must feel terribly awful for what had happened, but the dancer had hoped they’d be able to find Lume. Pinta wasn’t even sure she had the heart to tell her mother that the search for Lume was over. Perhaps she’d continue on, wandering aimlessly, just for her sake.
The female whimpered softly, close to tears, and buried her head in her paws. First she had failed to learn how to dance, and now she was failing in this.
---
Dik, unbeknownst to Pintala, was dozing on the other side of the boulder. He wasn’t fully asleep, just enjoying the warm afternoon air, when he heard the soft whimper. Intrigued and wary, the leopard quietly climbed up the boulder’s face and peered over, only the top of his head visible to the other side.
On the ground there was another leopard, a female with brightly coloured markings, who was seemingly crying. He’d seen markings like those not a day or two before. The male sighed. “Poor thing.” He whispered. Dik really couldn’t resist a pretty lady in need. It was hard-wired into him to help people.
With a leap, the leopard was on top of the boulder. He sat down with his tail curled around his paws and cocked his head to the side. “Hey now, why the tears, miss?”
---
The female jumped a little, startled, and snapped her head up to locate the stranger who had just spoken. It was a male of her own species, staring down at her with a polite expression on his face. Pinta had no idea where he had come from, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t really want company right now, didn’t want to talk about her failure. But Pinta knew better than to not mind her manners. He had asked nicely, and so Pinta would answer.
“I’m looking for someone, but I’m afraid I’ve lost them. His trail is gone, and I’ll never be able to find him again.” The singer sighed, ears flat against her head in shame.
---
Dik frowned, thinking to himself. He’d always been taught that coincidences didn’t exist, but this…this certainly qualified as a coincidence. This female was looking for a male who she obviously cared very much for, and just the other day, Dik had seen a male leotah on the move. He hadn’t talked to the fellow, but Dik had been close enough to see that he had carried almost identical wing markings as this female, albeit in a different colour. Were they perhaps related? Was he the one this female was looking for?
“Not to get your hopes up or anything, but this male you’re looking for? Does he happen to look like you? But hybrid-lookin and a little more orange?” He offered.
---
Pinta stood up on her feet, staring at the stranger in shock. No. That was impossible! “You, you’ve seen Lume? My brother? Where? Which way did he go? Was he hurt? Did you talk to him?” The female couldn’t believe what was happening. Here she had been, lamenting about her brother’s disappearance, and then all of the sudden this stranger popped up out of nowhere claiming to have seen him. Perhaps the gods did want the family to be reunited. It had to be a good sign. It had to be!
---
The leopard chuckled at the barrage of questions. So he had been right. That leotah was the one this female was looking for. Well, it was nice to be able to help others, even if it was just small things like this. Though Dik supposed that even though this matter was small to him, it was entirely huge to the female. “Yeah, I saw him the other day. I didn’t talk to him though. He seemed to be focused on getting somewhere. He took a drink from a stream I was near and then kept going.” He shrugged, not sure of what else to tell her. “He didn’t seem hurt or anything. Maybe a little tired and skinny, but I think all cheetahs look skinny.”
---
She laughed, filled with joy. Lume was alright, but Pinta had to wonder where her brother was so intent on heading towards. Maybe…maybe he was looking for them to? It was a foolish hope, one that Pinta could never impose on her brother. And it was likely that the exact opposite was true. Maybe Lume was trying hard to make sure he got away from the family for good. Well, Pinta wasn’t going to let him go that easily. “Which direction was he heading?”
---
Dik sighed, trying to remember. “Uh, I think it was northwest. Head that direction and you’ll find the stream I was talking about. It points northwest. Your brother was following along it.” The leopard hoped this female found her family member. He’d loved to have known why the male was on the run in the first place, but that was just his inner gossip rearing its head. Dik had no place sticking his nose into other’s business. And even if he did want to anyways, it didn’t seem like there was time. This female was obviously in a rush.
---
Northwest. She could do that. Pinta unsheathed her claws and scratch and arrow pointing in that direction and drew a crude stream underneath it. The chase was back on, and Pinta would need to make sure that her mother knew which way to go. “Thank you so much! And hey, if you seem a female that looks just like me, but grumpier, could you tell her the same thing? If you’re still in the area?” She asked. The female was sure the Rio was tracking her mostly using scent, but Pinta that is was a good idea to leave markers just in case.
---
Dik smirked. Yeesh, how big was this family? Was the next leopard he saw going to say the same thing? It would be like an unending elephant train. “Sure thing, kid. Now get goin, will ya. Seems like you’re playing catch up!” The watched as the stranger sprinted off, bounding in the direction Dik had pointed her. Family. Seemed like they sure could be crazy.

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