While hunting, Tsillah couldn't stop thinking about the lion Utako. He was as strange as he was annoying. All she wanted was to know about the pride that was once in the mountains. He claimed to know the answers, but she wasn't entirely sure he wasn't just tricking her just to get her to do his chores. It was obvious he had some sort of understanding of the writing on the wall, but she wondered just how much he knew.
She was a decent enough hunter and managed to get her catch in a decent amount of time. Dragging the catch back to the den was a bit of a chore, since it was a decent size prey. As she pulled it up about half-way up the path she paused to catch her breath. Then went back to work. Surprisingly the meat was lighter then he had been. She looked over to her right side. Utako was there, holding the meat with his mouth. Instantly she dropped it.
“What are you doing here?”
Utako also let go. “Figured you could use some help. I can get it the rest of the way if you would like. We are almost there anyways.” He said.
Tsillah looked at him and frowned, wondering if this was some sort of test, that if she accepted him helping her, he wouldn't share more about the pride. He seemed to understand what she was thinking and gave a soft chuckle. “Look, don't worry Tsillah, this isn't a trick or anything. All I want is to get my meal sooner then later. After I eat I will answer a couple of your burning questions.”
“Alright. But for the record, I could have dragged it up no problem.” She responded, though she did note that he was built better for moving heavy objects. It was actually rather interesting to see him do it. She had done some studying of the body of felines, specifically looking at injuries and how to fix it. Mostly she studied leopards, so seeing a lion's movements was rather interesting. That and she couldn't help but find him attractive at a more basic level.
“See something you like?” Utako muttered between his clenched teeth as he dragged the meal. He gave a playful wink.
Tsillah frowned and shook her head disapprovingly. She was about to start up on her past studies and how she was just doing some studying instead of wasting time. However, she decided that it wasn't worth it. “So everyone in the pride left or died out. Your family stayed and eventually you were born. And you have decided to stay in the area?”
Utako nodded his head.
“Are you waiting for someone to return? It has to get lonely staying here alone.”
“Hard to talk.” Utako said while still dragging the food. Tsillah nodded her head.
“Well, you will have to tell me more about your motives because it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me. I also would like to go over some more resent history of the pride. Perhaps a bit about how the pride fell apart and what your family has to do with it.” She said. They reached the den and Utako dropped the catch.
“I told you I would answer your questions. Trust me, you do not need to blurt them all before we have even ate.” He said before entering the cave. Tsillah rolled her eyes and dragged the prey the rest of the way in.
To her surprise, Utako did not eat much or quickly. They both ate silently. When he finished, she was still working on her portion. “I will be back shortly.” He stated, getting up and leaving the den.
'Strange,' she thought as she ate. She wondered if he didn't like the food? I mean he hadn't said specifically what he wanted so she caught what she was hungry for. Tsillah decided to ignore him and just finish eating.
By the time she finished eating, Utako still hadn't returned. She decided to spend the free time looking at the wall text to figure out what was written on it. Utako still had a lot to teach her about the writing, but she knew that she was clever enough to figure out somethings. Earlier she had seen Utako's name in the text multiple times. He had just brushed it off.
Carefully she wrote her name in the dirt like Utako had taught her. She compared the symbols to the ones on the wall as well as compared it to Utako's name. After some time looking, she manage to find some simple words potentially.
“Awww have you figured out what it says?”
She turned and saw Utako standing there with the grin she had become accustomed to seeing him wear. “You were taking your time. Found something more interesting to do?” Tsillah responded. He had made a promise to teach her more and then she left without an explanation.
He walked over to her and pulled something off his neck. It was hidden under his massive mane. “Found this on my walk and I thought you might like it.” Utako said, holding a small beaded necklace with a magenta stone on it. He placed it around her neck. “It looks very pretty on you.”
“I don't need presents.” She stated.
Utako shrugged. “To be honest, it looks pretty terrible on me. If I kept it it would be a waste of art. If you want to get rid of it, feel free to. Now why don't we move on to phrases.” He said sitting across from her. With his paw, he cleared the marks she had made and made new ones. “You already know 'my name is' so why don't we try a phrase that was used by the pride. 'Watch the sunset and you will miss the moon rise'”
Tsillah decided for the time being to keep the necklace. She could get rid of it later if she needed to. Watching what he wrote, Tsillah studied it stroke by stroke. When he had finished writing it with his claw, she did her best to mimic it like she had earlier.
“You catch on quick. Lets do some more.” Utako said, writing another phrase down.
This was more enjoyable then trying to figure it out on her own, Tsillah thought. Though she realized Utako was back to avoiding some of her questioned she asked earlier. Tomorrow she would bring it up again. He taught her phrase after phrase until it got late.
“You know you can stay here. I'll keep over to my corner and you can sleep anywhere you want in the den. Promise I will keep my distance.” Utako said as Tsillah went to get her fur. It was a tempting offer, Tsillah thought. She would be able to wake up early and do some more research. However, she wanted to make it absolutely clear to Utako she had zero romantic intentions.
“I will feel better sleeping alone. I will come by tomorrow morning.” Tsillah said, leaving the den with her fur.
Utako was starting to get tired of watching her leave. He had hoped that she would stay in the den so he could at the very least keep an eye on her. The area wasn't dangerous or anything, but he couldn't help but feel a little worried about her. Tomorrow hopefully would lead to them having a more positive interaction. He knew that he would have to tell her about the pride's history. Hopefully she would start to trust him more after that.
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