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Susurro had left his preferred range in the deep desert and come here, to a much more fertile and bountiful land. He hadn't been chased off, but there were far too many aggressive lions wandering around. They tended towards distinctive colorations, which made them easier to avoid after identification at a distance, but he couldn't be awake and wary at all hours of the day and night. He was, after all, just a lone leopard.

So he was in a wildly different place now and, oh lovely, there was a lioness. Who, if not the same shade of red as the aggressive one he'd encountered up close, was still red. All over. He almost diverted his path to avoid her. Almost. This lioness seemed to be engaged in gathering. Picking up items from the ground, growing things off of bushes, and generally being peaceful about it.

So he kept on straight at her, the direction he'd been going when he first spotted her. Of course she was standing where his path led. So the purple leopard came to a halt a few lengths away from her. Silently. Watching.

Just because she didn't look angry or aggressive didn't mean he actually wanted to talk. But he wasn't going to ask her to move out of his way. It was remotely possible that she might take the subtle hint and move. It was more likely, based on past experience, that she'd start talking at him.

How bad that was remained to be seen.

Now that was a good question. Could this red lioness possibly help him? Susurro had never considered the possibility. He could, at this juncture, ask her to move out of his way in order to continue on his way. But, she seemed shy enough, nonaggressive and nonthreatening. He could live with that.

"Perhaps," the leopard answered shortly.

Purple eyes took in the scene. The lioness had been gathering her bits and twigs and rocks, seemingly heedless of how some fell out of the bag with every movement. Both the occupation and the carelessness were strange to him.

"What is the purpose of that?" Susurro asked at last, lifting one paw in a gesture towards the bag. He might as well ask, since she was being so polite. No need not to satisfy his curiosity in this situation. He didn't feel as if lingering here, talking to her, would put himself (or her) in any danger, and he did have a sense of those sorts of things.

The leopard listened patiently to the lioness' answer, though his brow was furrowed in thought. "Art." It was a word he had at least heard before, but the concept was abstract at best. Susurro was, however, surprised to hear that this lioness was a member of a pride, and these were the borderlands. He had thought that his gods-bestowed gifts would alert him to such a presence. Apparently not. A good thing to note down for future wanderings.

Still, he was here now and the lioness seemed perfectly willing to answer his questions. So he might as well stay and talk a bit, and fill in some of the gaps of his knowledge.

"Art. Artisan. It makes sense," he replied. "But what exactly do you create?"

Susurro watched the lioness' actions intently. He had never ever seen someone create art, and it surprised him that it should be so simple as crushing berries onto a rock. It was strange. He felt more confused now that he had had this demonstration than he had been before!

"But what is the purpose of this? What would you do with a colored rock?" the leopard pressed her. He had asked the questions to satisfy his curiosity. He couldn't simply leave now until he had a full understanding of art and its purpose in the world. Or at least, its purpose in the world of this particular pride. Whose name he didn't even know, but really, Susurro didn't tend to care about mundane things such as that.

The leopard frowned as the lioness tried to explain to him. He understood about survival, and even had a rudimentary concept of bartering items for food and protection. But he didn't quite see how art fit into that.

"But why does this art have a value? What purpose does it serve, that you can trade it for food and safety?" Susurro asked at last, once he was certain of what he did and didn't understand from the lesson thus far.

It didn't make sense to Susurro. He had only rarely seen creatures with adornments, and like as not they were more practical than anything else, such as this lioness' bag which contained her...supplies.

He wasn't even certain how she could enjoy something so seemingly pointless and useless, but he'd had thoughts like that before about other creatures.

"I can't argue with personal preference," the leopard replied at last. "But it seems a waste of time and effort to no purpose in my eyes."

Susurro blinked at the warning. It was good to know what direction the pride was, though he'd had no intention of straying anywhere near it. So the warning about the guards was somewhat unnecessary. Still, it was a courtesy that she had done him. So perhaps he could do one for her...

"I appreciate the information," the leopard replied. "You are kind, and the world will reward you with kindness. You simply have to be patient and not give up on it."

It hadn't been a clear vision, thank the gods, but he'd gotten enough out of it to know this lioness would be rewarded in a fashion she deserved. Now it seemed to the leopard that he'd fulfilled his purpose in this place, and he began moving, avoiding not only the direction he'd come from, but the pride as well.