Jirachi stomach was full and he was happy. It seemed that with a full belly he was able to stay warm better. He had began to look around the pride with just his eyes as he and Laci finished up their meal. He had wondered when Laci had led him out of the den to go and get something to eat what there would be in this frozen land, he was pleasantly surprised to find a collection of fish that he couldn’t turn away. It was way better than what he tended to eat when he was on his own and travelling. He had since made a mental note to always eat better when he was on the move never to repeat this somewhat embarrassing moment of introduction to this pride and more important introduction to Laci.
Laci smiled pleased to see Jirachi eat so much in one sitting, nothing proved to her that someone's health had taken the turn for the better than their appetite returning full force. She sat back waiting for Jirachi to finish. She had had a bit to eat with him but she had eaten most of her breakfast early in the day when she had first gotten up to check on her various patients throughout the pride. She didn’t want to make him feel rushed or like he was making her wait for anything. Once he finished she looked up him with a smile. “So are you ready to see the pride?” she asked him. She wasn’t really sure how good of a tour that she would be able to give but she would give an honest attempt.
Licking his lips Jirachi sat back, his stomach just at the point of fullness, on the line of being uncomfortable but not. It was a good feeling to know that his belly was full he would be able to go without a meal for awhile. “I would love to see the pride!” Jirachi said enthusiastically it was exciting to him to be inside the borders of a pride until this point in his life he had never actually set foot into a pride before, it was a new and exciting experience. “I want to see it all.” he told her raising to his feat almost vibrating with excitement, or was it shivering because of the cold again.
Laci noticed a slight shiver ripple through the Jirachi’s pelt, without making a big deal about it she grabbed the pelt she kept on her back in case of her finding someone who was freezing. “Here wear this, until you get use to it here.” she said warmly not making a bigger deal out of it than that. She stood back and looked around the pride. “Well where to start here is obviously where the food stores are. We have excellent fishers and hunters in the pride that being said sometimes giving the area we live in and the weather that we get the hunting seasons are limited.” She had yet to tell the cheetah of the curse that was upon the pride, it didn’t seem like something to include in the introductory tour. Something about Welcome to our pride we are all cursed to live in the cold forever. that just didn’t sound all that inviting.
From the food stores she moved towards the lake, it was a warm time of year so the lake was actually thawed in many areas thus the bounty of fish in the food stores right now. She talked as they walked around the lake pointing out here or there different things that she thought Jirachi might find interesting or like. It was sort of a shot in the dark though she really didn’t really know Jirachi all that well so she went with her gut and showed him the things that came to mind. She wanted to show the cheetah the best side of the pride as possible, she wasn’t sure why but she already had the feeling that she wanted the cheetah to like it here, she wanted him to stay. She tried not to think about it too much she didn’t want to get herself too worked up about something that might be nothing.
Jirachi walked along with Laci learning all sorts of different things about the pride as he went along. He found himself nice and warm underneath the pelts that Laci had placed over his shoulders, he had been mildly embarrassed when she did it but now he was very thankful. He was happy when they spent most of the day together seeing various parts of the pride. He had found the lake beautiful and he had even caught site of some of the royal family a think that was quite exciting for him he had never seen royalty before. Of course until now he had never been at a place where there would be royalty the rogue lands were a free for all no rulers or rules for that matter. As they circled their way back towards the den he had spent the night in the night before he started to notice more and more the butterflies dancing in his stomach again. He wasn’t really all that sure where he would end up sleeping tonight or if he had been in her den last night. They stopped sitting in front of the den, “Thank you for showing me around today.” he told her a genuine smile spread across his lips.
Laci turned and looked at Jirachi pleased to see a smile on his face, he seemed like an entirely different cheetah than the one she had met yesterday on the borders of the pride. “I have to go around and do some nightly rounds, but I will be back soon.” she told him eyeing him to make sure he was okay to be left alone. She turned and looked at the den that sat behind them. “This is my den, it’s where you stayed last night, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you want… .assuming you are comfortable with that.” she added the last bit on not wanting Jirachi to feel like he was being pressured.
“I will be here.” Jirachi told Laci with a bob of his head, he was happy that she had asked him to stay here with her. He kind of wanted to stay with her but understood the reasons that he should just stay here some patients might not be so happy with a random stranger tagging along with their healer. He turned and ducked inside the den to wait for Laci to come home. He wasn’t sure how long he was going to stay, and he definitely didn’t want to put Laci out but for tonight at least he was happy to be here.
