Arcus was patrolling near the boundary of the colony, something he did quite often these days. There hadn't been any other sightings of lions near the colony in recent months, but Deker had kept the military on high alert. They didn't want a repeat of the previous attack. Arcus doubted that the lions would be stupid enough to attack again, but then again, perhaps they weren't the smartest animals around considering they had previously attacked an entire colony of leopards. Sure leopards were smaller than they were, but they had taken on an entire colony. Not a wise move.
He was tracking an unfamiliar scent, though thankfully that scent was leopard, not lion, else he would have called in reinforcements. Not that their military force was large at the moment. In fact, it was pretty pathetic. Thankfully Arcus had the strength of multiple leopards.
Dolc'eva was wandering and she couldn't help but wander perhaps a little too close to the scent of the colony. She knew there were multiple leopards residing in the pride, because their scent was everywhere. She would have to be a fool to miss it, but still, she found herself drawn to it. She had made friends in the rogue lands, pleased at her new found 'family' but still...it was strange to her. She was still lonely.
Was it a pride she craved?
The pale male appeared almost out of no where, appearing form between the tree trunks suddenly, having dropped from the branches high above her, his cold eyes locked onto her and she froze in fear.
"What are you doing here?" Arcus demanded, his voice booming. He was a large male, grateful at that moment for his threatening physique because it would cut a lot of chatter out of the conversation.
She was too frightened to lie. "I was curious about the colony, don't hurt me!" She added, unable to resist the statement. He was huge! She was not a small leopard, nor was she particularly big, she was pretty much dead on average for a female. Which meant that if he attacked, she was pretty much screwed.
He continued to stare at her, waiting for her to break if she was lying, but as she continued to look panicked, his glare dropped away to a rather disinterested gaze. "You should be more cautious when approaching strangers in prides," he warned. "We are on high alert from a previous attack and would not hesitate to send you on your way. You are only putting yourself in danger." He would never have warned her off before having cubs, but now that his own daughters were adults, he felt required to at least give this female a warning. After all, she was someone's daughter.
Damn it, what had Amaranta done to him? He wondered to himself in frustration.
Dolc'eva flushed. "I'm sorry," she confessed "I was always a rogue, I'm afraid I don't know too much about prides and the correct protocol to act around them..." She stared down at her paws, before glancing up at him. "...Are...are they nice?"
Looking confused, he repeated her question back at her, "are they nice?" She nodded, and he shook his head. "What on earth do you mean?"
"Prides," she clarified, her cheeks still flushed and her posture obviously uncomfortable. "Are they nice?"
Oh. Well that still made no sense to Arcus. "They are safety," he answered simply. "If that is something that is 'nice' to you and something that you desire, then yes. They are." Arcus himself was not all that concerned about safety. In fact, he had joined the colony because of the challenge that the military aspect had brought to him. He felt stronger having come to the pride and felt as if he was achieving something by creating the military force that the colony had today. He couldn't take all the credit for it, but hell, he was going to take a lot of it.
"Oh." Dolc'eva's browns furrowed. Safety. Did she want safety? She wanted something and she just wasn't sure what that was. Maybe she wanted safety? The more she thought about it, it sounded...so boring. "Is it dull?" She asked.
"That depends on your definition of 'dull'," he responded simply.
He wasn't really that helpful, Eva thought to herself, though she couldn't blame him. He was a complete stranger and she was asking him questions that no one else but herself could really answer. Still. Why wasn't he more helpful? She sighed.
"I'm sorry," she apologised, and backed up a step. "I should probably go. I...I'm sorry to be a bother."
"You have not been a bother," Arcus said, and it wasn't a lie. She wasn't really an anything, merely a minor inconvenience and a bit of a delay on his patrol, but he wouldn't call her an annoyance. "You should go back the way you came. No one will bother you again, but I would discourage you from delaying your departure from the forest. Our colony members are nervous."
He wouldn't stop her from joining the colony, or asking to see their leader, but he doubted that was what she wanted.
Indeed, she nodded firmly. "I'll make sure I go straight out of the forest," she promised, backing up another step. "Thank you, stranger," she said, and offered him a small, sharp smile before turning and retreating back into the forest growth. She did exactly what she said she would, retreating from the forest back the way she had come, almost following her pawprints in the dirt inch by inch, her gaze focused on the ground. She didn't want safety. She would find the monotony of the pride far too dull...if that wasn't what made her chest ache and a longing in her soul, then what was it that she wanted?
Arcus watched the female disappear and decided against following her to make sure she left. He had no doubt in his mind that she would follow her words. Instead, he launched himself back into the trees and continued on his patrol, hoping he would finish in time to sneak in an afternoon nap with the beautiful Amaranta before one of them would have to seek out food.
- fin -