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Cincindelas was hardly visible in the moonlight that marked his preferred time of night, only his blue markings shone in the silvery radiance from above. It was something Ubuni had liked, she herself being mostly black with pink markings. This did mean that their children were well-colored to hunt the night, but he sometimes regretted the fling. After all, there were better reasons out there to have children. Not that he didn't love the four he had. But they had all grown up and moved on with their lives, Ubuni as well.

Leaving him alone again.

He hadn't thought he was lonely before Ubuni came into his life, but now Cincindelas regonized the emptiness for what it was. Not solitude, but loneliness. He sighed, standing up in the grass and silhouetting himself against the moonlight. He might not want to be alone, but the leopard knew well that he wasn't the most social of creatures. Having four children and their mother around had strained his ability to be around others, but he missed it now that it was past.

That didn't mean he was going to go seek out a large group of strangers. No, he'd hope to meet one or two others in the darkness of the night.

It might've been a sound, it might've been a change in the movement of air, but Cincindelas had the sudden feeling that he wasn't alone. He began padding forward, keeping eyes, ears, and nose alert. When he came near enough to see the water, he relaxed a little. That was someone he'd never be able to miss, even on a sunny day, he was sure.

The question was...should he appraoch the other? He'd just been lamenting to himself about his loneliness, but now that the opportunity had arisen in answer to his prayers, he was hesitant to take it. Then the leopard winced, he could almost hear Diffudi's voice, savagely chiding him if he didn't.

"Good evening," he called out, not too loudly, but loud enough to be heard, or so he hoped. He didn't want to startle the pale figure.

Cincindelas blinked in surprise. The pale form had revealed itself to be a leopardess with an interesting voice. But the surprise was that she thought that he'd...own this land? The whole concept made little sense to him.

"How can a living creature own land?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. "It was here before us, and will be here after us. Oh sure, prides have their territories, but I live alone." Or at least he did now. That hadn't been the case when the cubs were young, but that was some time ago now.

"But no, you aren't intruding." Not to mention if he hadn't welcomed her company, he wouldn't have spoken up.

"I am Cincindelas," he answered. He supposed he could understand the leopardess' unwillingness to cause conflict by trespassing, but he, frankly, wouldn't mind it. If someone was so foolish as to claim a space with no one else to help them hold it, Cincindelas was interested in forcing them to defend their claim. It served them right if they couldn't even hold him off.

"I take it you're not from around here?" he pressed the stranger. If she was, she probably wouldn't have asked about territory, or so he reasoned. That didn't, of course, mean he was right.

The male nodded in understanding. She wasn't the first to give him such an answer, and he doubted she'd be the last. There were some free spirits who simply refused to be tied down to a single place.

"From what I've been told, that's not a bad way to live your life," he told Abitu. "Me, I like this area just fine and haven't ever felt the need to go elsewhere. But you've probably seen far more than I in your travels." He was interested in what those sights might have been, but didn't want to be rude and ask outright. It was up to the leopardess what she did or didn't choose to share. At this moment, it was enough that he had someone else to share the night with in companionable conversation.

The leopard rolled his shoulders in a barely visible shrug. There were pros and cons to every choice a person made in their life.

"I could extoll the virtues of living in a single place, but I won't. After all, I don't have much to compare it to, since I haven't traveled much." Cincindelas couldn't really protest a way of life he'd never tried. He had too much integrity for that sort of petty arguing.

"Perhaps you'll try it for a time, and then decide which is best for you." Since an indivudal couldn't hope to make the best decision for anyone besides themself.

"Perhaps we shall," he returned simply. It was an interesting concept, getting to know someone new who was unrelated to him and who was of his own species. If she was truly staying here for some time, there was no reason not to, he supposed. Besides, perhaps she would choose to share some of her travel tales. He was often curious about other places, though never enough to go himself.