The lithe young cheetah prowled through the caverns, her sleek dark hide rippling over her slender muscular frame as she make her way outside. Stupid brother. What did he know anyway? Dysi picked her! She was special! Well, any fool with a half-decent eye could see that Aiko was more than special. She huffed, her sulky lilac eyes hooded slightly as she came out into the sun.

Such a lovely day. Not too cloudy, and the sunlight danced warmly across her fur. Aiko never seemed to work hard to catch the attention she did. It just…well. It was just how she was. How she walked, how she talked, the way her eyes would slide so smoothly over a masculine form. Silky voice, silky fur, smooth as silk.

She was even cute when she was sulky. Stupid brother. He didn’t know what he was talking about. Just because he was the ‘boss’…


The leopardess lounged in the tree, watching curiously through half lidded eyes as the young cheetah made her way towards her special spot. She had seen her often, yet never talked to her. Fiorella wondered if now was the time to change that fact. To be honest, she had plans on being a geisha like this cheetah was. It would be smart to get in good with her. But then again, she didn't look very happy right now. Perhaps it wasn't the right time, after all.

Of course, there was always the thought of making her happy...


Aiko batted irritably at a small pebble, sending it skittering away. Oh, why couldn’t Nanashi just…just…stop being such a…such a… a… a stuffy stick-in-the-mud! She growled, a low purring sort of rumble that wasn’t even remotely threatening. She was generally quite cute when she was annoyed or angry. It was when she was furious that it started to get scary.

“What does he know anyway?” she sulked, flopping to lay on her back, tail draped over the ground and paws folded against her chest. She stared at the passing clouds as if they might give her an answer before her eyes drifted to a certain tree… “Oh. Hello,” Aiko sighed, waving one of her paws at the pretty leopardess she’d finally spotted there.


"Good day to you, lovely one," Fiorella said, stretching lazily, her shining fur rippling with the motion. She leaped down from the tree, landing lightly and bowing her head ever so slightly at the other female. "I was just thinking how sad it is that such a beauty looks so perturbed," she went on, heading for the female. "Would you care to share your problem with a stranger? I promise I won't tell a soul," she added.


Aiko blinked slightly as the leopardess stretched, her purple eyes gleaming faintly as they traced along the graceful form. Such a pretty feline this leopardess was. Dysi was still prettier, of course, but her fur was so dark and rich…like sunset on a stormy day. That reddish color…mmmm…

She sighed as the other approached her, letting her gaze drift back to the clouds, though she did offer the leopardess a faint smile. A beauty. Of course she was. Not that this pretty would have ever made such a silly mistake.

“My name is Aiko,” she said after a moment, shifting so that she was laying on her side rather than her back. It was slightly more dignified that way, less like a cub taking a tumble. “If you tell me yours, then we won’t be strangers will we?”

Was there a hint of something in her tone? Why yes, yes there was. She might possibly have almost been flirting. Almost. Perhaps it came as naturally as breathing, and just like breathing, would never stop so long as the cheetah was alive.


"I am Fiorella," the leopardess said, sitting as well and angling her body so that she complimented the cheetah's. They would look like dark flowers, posed for a picture, she thought happily. It would definitely catch the eye of anyone walking by, and for an entertainer such as herself, that was always a good thing. "And you're right, we're no longer strangers now, now are we?" she asked, flirting back. It was a delicate game, this type of flirting. When one was flirting with a male one had to be more blatant, but with a female, far more delicate. It was more entertaining in some ways.

"Then, I think, it's even easier to confide your problems to a friend, don't you agree?" Fiorella asked charmingly, her voice just slightly husky with a hint of purr.


“Fiorella,” Aiko purred, her eyes hooding slightly as she tasted the name, “It’s lovely,” she said after a moment, her voice warm and inviting. Of course, her words said the name was lovely, which it certainly was. But the subtle shift in her eyes hinted that more than the name was meant.

“It is so much easier to talk to a friend,” she agreed, her smile spreading. “Well then, my friend,” A hint of amusement in her tone, a twittering secret shared, “My problems would be…I suppose, my brother. He is my elder, and therefore assumes himself my better. It is difficult to talk to him, at times. He’s too stiff to be friendly it seems…”

Hmm. Perhaps she was overdoing it a little. Just a little. Oh well, in some matters Aiko often wound up being a bit blunt. Sometimes the male was incapable of comprehending otherwise. Fiorella seemed to be much sharper. A talented player in this game, that was for certain. Aiko’s tailtip curled in delight. Such a wonderful distraction…