If he had thumbs to twiddle, he would have been doing so a long while ago. Technically this was the duty of a guard, usually anyway. Coming out into the roguelands with one of those touched by the goddess was not generally the area of a hunter's responsibility. That being said, he was indeed immune, by nature of his species, and it seemed that his cheerful spirit and kindly manner made him someone appealing to accompany those seeking a fling with a rogue, particularly the females. He didn't mind, really, but it did have times of boredom.
He wasn't terribly fond of the part where he made sure the rules on interaction were explained to said rogues, but it did warm his heart that there were kind souls in the world who were willing to put aside their own fears and assumptions and provide something for these shut-ins. Heavens knew there were plenty who refused! Not that he blamed them, really... even those who were unable to have the disease shared with them. It could be a scary prospect to interact with a contagious individual, whether you could share in it or not.
But now he was stuck in the waiting phase of things. It was slightly uncomfortable to be the one to walk away and make sure he was far enough away to give them privacy, but close enough to be easily found. He'd gotten a knack down for the distance needed, depending on the terrain, so that helped. His face heated as he remembered the first time he'd escorted a lady out, and hadn't gotten far enough away. Whew, more than he had wanted to know!
Inevitably this led him to mulling over his own life and plans, however. He generally lived in the moment, without a lot of thought to his future. Upon dwelling on this tendency, he suspected it was adopted from the others of the pride, who often needed to merely live in the moment, for their tomorrow was never assured. It suited his light-hearted ways as well. But was it really the best way to live his whole life? Oh, it had been fine when he was young and goofy... well, not that he wasn't still young or still goofy. He was certain his mother still though of him as both of those things! But he was an adult now... was he inclined to take a mate?
He knew pretty much everyone in the pride, at least by sight, though most by stopping to talk to them, however briefly. He had to be honest with himself... none of them appealed to him. It was kind of saddening to think that no females in his own pride suited him at all. Was he being too picky? He pondered that for a bit, pacing beneath a stand of tall bushes. No, he didn't think he was... it wasn't that he didn't like any of them. It was that he simply didn't feel attracted to them in that way, and couldn't imagine having a no-strings fling with a member of the pride either. He respected them all too much to treat such things so lightly.
So what then? He huffed in mild annoyance, not seeing a clear option for himself. He supposed he could just be that jovial uncle everyone loved but who never found a mate. There were quite a few of those about the pride, and they were generally well-liked and appreciated. He supposed he wouldn't mind that too much... but his young heart yearned for something else. Maybe not true love... for some reason that seemed like too much to ask for. A glance back over his shoulder made him wonder if perhaps he should try things like those he escorted did. A random fling with a stranger?
He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it. It would take more thought, to be sure. For now, he turned his mind away from such matters of the heart and went in search of food. Hunting would help take his mind from difficult matters and would provide a meal for his pride-mate and himself later on. Best to leave the future to itself... for now.
With that in mind, he turned his face away from the private tryst and set off at a trot. The sun was high and warm on his back, and a stiff breeze was blowing, making the day nearly as perfect as he could wish. With his mental struggles concerning the future fading from his mind, he broke into a beaming smile. He inhaled deeply from the breeze, scenting sun-warmed earth, growing grass, leafy things and even the smell of water. Ah yes, that was what he should seek out!
He broke into a lope, weaving through the grasses with the land's folds and humps. If one looked across the land, it appeared flat, but it it was by no means simply a level piece of ground. It dipped, rose, occasionally broken by dry gullies or a sudden jutting of rocks out of the smooth surface of the ground, like broken bones piercing hide. He leaped atop a cluster of such rocks and surveyed the area. A herd of elephants on the distant horizon made next to no noise, and appeared to be moving away from him. Well that was good. He wasn't fond of dealing with creatures so massively huge that a single foot could crush him! A herd of hooved prey were already darting away, having spotted him on his perch. Ah well, those were too big for a single meal anyway. There were, however, several promising stretches of ground with small holes scattered about. Anything small enough to live in such dens would be just about perfect for a meal, if he could catch two or three.
Direction set, he leaped lightly down and headed that way, taking care to be more stealthy this time. It wouldn't do to alert whatever lived there, though likely they'd still see him coming. The key was to catch some of them too far from their dens to escape him. Adept at his job, it wasn't long before he had neatly caught three rather plump rabbits. He managed to kill them without drawing too much blood, thus freeing him of the worry over attracting other predators or scavengers. Carrying them by their handy ears, he returned to the grove of bushes to wait. After all that hard work of thinking and hunting, he deemed himself due for a break. Nap time!