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Aquapuga was finally getting his paws under him in the snow and ice after a few lessons from some of the more tolerant locals. He had not been here more than a few days, though, and he already noticed how some of the members viewed him. He thought it was because he was a leopon, and they had not seen one before him. It was annoying, aggravating, and generally made him want to lash out at one of the idiot lions. He could not do that, though, or he would disappoint Elsa. He had put together very quickly what being a queen meant for Elsa. She was in charge of these lions.

If he wanted to pay his debt to the lioness he had to follow the rules she set for her pride. If Aquapuga did not follow the laws of the pride, Elsa would have to kick him out. That would be bad. The leopon could not pay back the kindness of the beautiful female if he was banished from her pride. Everyday was going to be a very hard lesson in holding his temper and his mean streaks in check while he worked to fit into the pride. He now walked with his claws out most of the time to dig into any ice. He also had gotten into the habit of walking like he was afraid of spooking prey most of the time.

He did not crouch down, but his paws were spread wide to spread his weight. Aquapuga was quite happy with how the others had said these things improved his balance and traction in a short time. If he kept doing this well, he could quickly get in with the soldiers for "training." The male turned and looked at the female without pausing his stride. "Hello, ma'am. Queen Elsa did bring me here... what do you mean 'scandalous'? My mother would say our pelts are a sign of inborn weakness that we must overcome as cubs or we will not survive. I guess one could call that a curse, but I would say we are stronger than any others for that. Why do you care why the queen brought me here?"

Aquapuga huffed a bit at being told he should share his knowledge. "That is stupid. Even if they did cause all this snow, there is no use feeling sorry for it. It is here and not going away. Feeling sorry does nothing about it. I certainly didn't cause this snow. I did not even know what the stuff was until I came here. Where I come from there is no snow or ice. I actually quite like it now that I have adapted to it." He held himself with pride and had an air to him that showed he was quite fond of himself. Even his shortcomings that he saw did not bother him overly. He would fix them, but he would not think of them as making HIM less than great.

Aquapuga rolled his eyes. There was no glorious secret to why he was here. Not many people had cared to even ASK why he was here, though that might have been because they did not want to get closet to him. "Elsa has her reasons, they are her own. My reason for coming here was to survive. I was not adapted for this cold stuff you call snow and ice. If not for Elsa's kindness, I would have frozen in a snow drift after a slip." He had yet to get used to the idea of calling her 'the queen.' To him she was Elsa, that was how she had introduced herself. Maybe he'd call her queen Elsa eventually, but always her name had to be in there.

The male steadied himself from the nudge and sighed. These lions really did not get out much, did they? Not one of them knew what a leopon was apparently. So very curious in a way, and yet annoying in another. "I am not a lion. I am a leopon. My father was a lion, my mother a leopard, and I am half way between both. I have a lighter, faster build than a lion, but I also have more muscle and fur than a leopard. I am the best of both." Oh yes, that tone was very full of itself. It showed just how awesome he thought he was.

Aquapuga looked at the lioness for a moment, one brown arched up a bit. Was she serious? She LIVED here and had never met her queen? What was it with these pride sorts that they did not talk to each other more if they were willing to share territory. A rogue would have run off anyone that was not worth speaking to just on principle. Of course with her earlier comment about nothing but water, he was starting to think it might be for the best that she had not yet met the queen. She needed some common sense first... maybe a lot of it. "No it was not nothing but water. It was land and plants. Dust, sand, rock, and mud with grass, trees, flowers, and various other things made up my world."

"I traveled a large distance, much larger than this island is across. I saw the barren desert with all it's sand and little to no life upon it. I saw the flat plains with grass and only the occasional tree or bit of water dotting it, that is where I was raised. And I saw the lush green forests, with plants and flowers of every sort under a thick canopy of trees that would block out the sun. There is much more to this world that ice, snow, and water... Perhaps you and I should speak more before I introduce you to Elsa... she is my friend, so I would need to be sure of whom I am taking before her." Aquapuga was not sure if he should smack this lioness for being so ignorant, or if he should educate her. She WAS part of Elsa's pride. The lack of knowledge could be something to bring up to the queen to correct.

If the queen wanted any kind of relationship with outsiders, especially other prides, and traveling rogues, she was going to have to get her people a little more up to speed with things elsewhere. Aquapuga tried very hard to keep his tone civil in this conversation. "As for my coloring... Some of my siblings were black, some white, some had blue and some had grey. Our mother was Black and grey, our father apparently was black and blue from what she said. I only saw the lion once when I was quite young. He took a few of my siblings with him, and the rest of us stayed with my mother and her leopard mate."

Aquapuga was going to have to educate this lioness about a lot wasn't he? How was he going to explain things that were so simple and part of everyday life outside the frozen isle? He was not sure, but he would have to try. He had to be 'nice' afterall, so he might as well be helpful. "Grass is green, flexible, long and thin. It sprouts up out of the ground like a tree, but is much smaller, on a still day it will stand straight up, on a windy day it will bend over... a flower... well, a flower is colorful and pretty, but they vary a lot in what they actually look like. I would have to find a few to bring back and show you. Perhaps I can find a passing rogue to gather a few."

Aquapuga figured that if this lioness did not know what these things were, then perhaps others did not. It might be worthwhile to have the samples to show everyone. He put asking a rogue to bring back flowers on his mental to do list. He barely kept from snapping at the female or lashing out when she got too close. He was not one to like crowding unless he was the one doing it. "Sand is not food. It is fine gritty dirt... little bits of rock. You see rocks sticking out of the snow all the time. Think of grinding that into something smaller than snow flakes, that is what sand and dirt are like. So no, you do not eat it."

"White could come from her ancestors, or my father's ancestors, or my father could have had some white on him. Mother did not speak of him much, and I saw him only once when she and he were splitting my siblings and I between them for raising. I was too young to remember him, or even what the siblings he took looked like. I have heard of random colors just showing up in cubs, but never of a cub being a color due to something the mother ate." Someone in the roguelands would have been telling THAT story if it had happened. They probably would have found it funny too. Aquapuga would have found it funny, himself, if a female could change her cubs colors by eating something.

Aquapuga could not help but be reminded of a cub by the female. She was so sheltered and odd. "Perhaps one day I will take you outside this pride to see some things for yourself. One should have knowledge of the larger world. First paw knowledge is the best kind." He might not like what came of this. Something told him he was going to regret telling her he would take her out. Ah well, he would work on the flowers first, THEN he could worry about whether or not he was actually going to try taking this lioness outside into the rogue lands.

"I will get you a few flowers to look at... if nothing else, my stepfather will help with that. He loves female things like gathering flowers and making chains of them one can wear." Aquapuga could use the chance to talk to his stepfather and get some advice. This whole being nice thing was not the leopons strong point, nor his mother's, but his stepfather was wonderful at it. Though, knowing Dysi, Aquapuga was going to get a lecture on how he should be treating this female and jump on the fact that one liked him.

Aquapuga might have to skimp on some of the details when speaking to his mother's mate. He still needed that advice though and he tried his best not to insult the female in the mean time. "I think perhaps you shall understand it better once you have cubs of your own and see how markings and colors pass on to them. I have an advantage of much more extensive experiences to draw on even if I will never have cubs." He managed not to sound arrogant, more just serious this time. It had to be an improvement.

Aquapuga was glad to see the lioness ready to leave. It was not that he disliked the company, but he was running out of ideas on how to be nice. It was not easy for him in the least to try to avoid insulting someone. He hoped that he could make Elsa happy by helping this lioness some. It was one of her pride, so he was sure the queen would be upset if he hurt her feelings. And what happened if he lost his temper and hurt her? Not that it was likely at this point, but still. He gave the lioness a nod and started to turn away. "My name is Aquapuga."

"It was nice to meet you, Pekee. I will see you again." Aquapuga just hoped he could continue to be nice to the lioness when he saw her again. Something told him she liked to talk more than he liked to be silent. He was determined that he would help her to be more informed, and that he WOULD be a friend of sorts to her, even if it killed him. The leopon made his way off to his den, feeling somehow both frustrated and happy from the meeting he had today.