It was a windy day, clear but with gusts that blew a little too frequently for anyone's -read: her - liking. She probably should have sought out shelter from the wind, but Pikku had been driven from such comforts due to the pressing need of filling her stomach. The blue-eyed leopard was eyeing the crowd of birds that were flitting inbetween the tall grass. She was hungry and would have loved nothing more than to sink her teeth into one of them. However, they were fast and about as crafty as she was, and she knew that if she so much as tried walking through that, they would all take off in a frenzy.
Frustrated, she continued to crouch beside a set of boulders she was currently using to block the wind from her form. She was not the best hunter in the world on a normal day, so this was a challenge almost not worth taking.
But she wanted a bird and they were mocking her. So by the gods, she would find a way.
A certain cheetah nearby was decidedly not hungry. The wind was an ally to him, as it helped put a bit of speed behind his running. So a few critters weren't fast enough to escape his claws. That being said, hunger was the last thing on his mind at the moment. Roku was just enjoying the feel of the breeze against his fur, as he alternated between jogging and small bursts of speed. He had nowhere in particular that he was going today, deciding to take a day off from his traveling, and, for lack of a better word, was really just playing now.
Busy listening to the chirping of her meal and trying to plot out how to nab one of said meal, Pikku almost missed the sound of rustling behind her. Raising an eyebrow, she turned around to look at whatever it was making that noise. A cheetah, by the looks of it, who was just... running around. The leopard rolled her eyes. Cheetahs always seemed to be so chipper, with their running and hopping. 'And if he keeps this up,' she grumpily mused to herself, 'he would end up scaring off her prey.' The last thing she needed was him making the birds fly away....
... Actually, maybe she DID want them to start flying. It seemed counter-productive, but an idea had just sprouted in her head. She could make this work...
Humming happily to himself, Roku slowed down for a short break. He hadn't gone all out with his playing, so he wasn't really that tired, but breaks were always good in between jogs. It helped keep him going for the next round. Walking steadily with his eyes closed, he missed the reddish form slinking towards him on silent paws. It wasn't until a throat cleared next to him that he realized that he wasn't alone. Giving a little jump, his blue eyes snapped open to gaze back at the spotted leopard a few pawsteps in front of him.
He's never encountered a leopard before. Lions and hyenas, sure, but strangely never a leopard. She was sitting, slouched, in a relaxed pose, as if she'd been sitting there the whole time and was completely unconcerned about this cheetah running towards her. She was gazing down at her paw at the moment, analyzing a claw like a speck of dirt of it was offending her. Roku... wasn't sure what to do. Leopard were still kind of a mystery to him, but this one didn't seem all that threatening, at least at the moment.
Realizing that she was waiting for him to acknowledge her, the male cheetah cleared his throat, "Um, hi?" It wasn't the most articulate thing he could have said, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
Pikku glanced at him as nonchalantly as she could, almost as if she wasn't the one who'd caught his attention in the first place. Setting her paw down, she said in a silky, sweet voice, "Hello. I couldn't help but notice your running just a minute ago. I've heard that your kind was fast, but I've never seen a cheetah actually run before, and I was curious to see." It was a lie, something she practically lived for. She may have been bad at hunting, but conning someone? That was a different story.
Roku blinked, a little surprised that someone would want to talk to him just because he was playing a minute ago. "Oh," he paused for a second more, before tilting his ear in a slightly bashful way, "well, that was more just goofing off. I can go a lot faster than that."
"Really?!" The red leopard waved a tail in an almost excited manner, "Well, I'd sure love to see that!" Getting up, she coiled herself back and forth around the cheetah, "Would you be alright with maaaaybe showing me?" She walked a few paces back the way she came, "Maybe to that rock way over there," she pointed to the aforementioned rock quite a ways off to the right, "then looping around through that grass," she coyly moved her paw around through the grass she'd been eyeing before, "and then back over here?" and with that, ended with a solid point to the ground below her. She batted her eyes a bit as well, to hopefully seal the deal. "I would really appreciate seeing it for myself."
The black and white cheetah was confused. She sure was a friendly one... but... he did love running and he'd get to show off his running too. So what was the harm, he supposed. "Alright." He braced himself, a bit excited at the idea of someone wanting to see something his kind was made for.
Crouching down, he wiggled his back legs a few times before taking off in a dead sprint. It took a minute to really gain speed, but when he did, oh, the wind against his face and the rush of everything going by, there was no beating that feeling! He almost missed the rock as he went by, but as it zoomed past him, he started to turn. He was enjoying using his powerful legs for once at full tilt, and was looking forward to running through that tall grass. It'd probably feel pretty cool running against his fur as he went by, and he discovered he was right and he sailed through it. He'd have to try this again someti-
Suddenly, squacking erupted around him. Yelping in panic, he almost skidded to a stop before realizing that that probably would only end in him crashing if he did. So he kept running, but started to slow down in the process. Feathers and wings whacked him as various birds went flapping around him. Where on earth had they come from?!
Finally, finally, he emerged from the grass and slowed to a stop, spinning around to stare at the commotion he'd started. It was at that moment that he realized that the leopard was most definitely not where he'd left her.
Pikku was feeling pretty proud of herself at that moment. While he'd been busy, she'd snuck her way into the tall grass, taking care not to get too close to her meal. Then, as he'd come around and scared all of those birds into flying, she'd pounced. They hadn't seen her, so when they were startled, guess which way they went? Right into her waiting paws!
Alright, so she only really caught three of them, but that was more than enough.
She knew better than to stick around though. The cheetah was sure to realize what she'd been planning this whole time, and while she was bigger than him, she was about as good as fighting as she was at hunting. So, snatching up her prizes in her jaws, she took off deeper into the tall grass, hoping to use it as a means to escape.
He could do nothing but open and close his mouth for a few minutes. Roku had just watched the female grab a bunch of dead birds - he suspected that they were a part of the group he'd scared - and disappear into the grass behind him. Shocked, he debated briefly chasing after her - he'd just been used to catch her meal! - but decided in the end that it wasn't worth picking a fight.
That being said, he was still a bit offended that she'd tricked him like that. She could have just asked! He probably would have helped her regardless. Giving an offended lick against his shoulder, he huffed and turned away. Maybe he'd go find somewhere to take a nap. He wasn't really in the mood to run anymore.
