The locals agreed to trade the pelts, but first they wanted her to hunt with them. And so she ended up spending half the day hunting with them. In returned they did give her two beautiful pelts. She carried them on her back to where the ruins were. Despite doing this favor for the lion, she had he doubts that he was actually a decedent of the pride. To her it didn't make much sense. When she asked the locals about him, they told her that he showed up from time to time, but he never really seemed to call this place 'home'.
For the time being, she thought that she could hear him out and see what he said about the pride. If he was the last of an ancient pride, then this would be her once chance to really know more about the pride. She hoped that the lion would keep it strictly educational. He had already shown an interest in her romantically. It didn't matter if it was in a joking way or not. Right now she did not need to be in a relationship. Being in one would only slow her down. There was a whole world to see and having a mate and family would just tie her down.
As she walked the path up to the cave, she looked around in hopes of seeing another cave or den that she could use for the night. At night she wanted to keep a good distance away from the lion just for good measure. She saw a couple spots that she could use that just needed a bit of fixing up.
When she reached the cave Tsillah saw the lion standing in front of the wall with the writing on it. His attention went to her as soon as she came into view. There was a moment where he looked surprised, but that expression was quickly masked by a huge grin.
“About time you showed up.” He said walking up to her and taking the pelts with his mouth. He dragged them to a corner in the cave and laid them down. “That should do.”
“Actually, I will be taking one of the pelts with me. On the way here I found a small cave entrance that I think will make a nice temporary den for me.” She said. “But you can have first picks on which pelt you would like to use.”
The lion made it clear on his expression that he was not pleased by her decision. “I can tell you now that this cave is much more comfortable then the other ones. Plus it will be lonely by yourself. You do not have to sleep next to me, but I would prefer if you at least stayed in the cave so I can make sure you are safe.”
She couldn't believe the lion. Keep her safe? “I am fully capable of taking care of myself. I will be perfectly fine by myself.”
The lion didn't reply right away, but instead looked like he was trying to find the right words to say. “Alright. But if you get lonely or bored in your den, feel free to stay here.” He said. “Now while you were taking your time getting those pelts I was busy thinking of how I wanted to share the history of my pride. The most logical place to start is from the beginning. However I thought that was a boring and dumb idea. So instead I am going to talk about a much more interesting subject. Myself.”
Tsillah could not think of a single time she had hated someone more than she hated this lion right now. She could not believe someone could have a bigger ego then him. “You think I am more interested in learning about you then your pride's history? The only thing I find interesting about you is that you are the last of your pride. That's it. So please can you stick to just teaching me about your pride?”
He smiled and nodded his head. “Well my leopardess friend, why don't you have a little faith in me. Give me this once shot at talking about myself. If you show little to no interest I will move on to the more boring stuff.” He said.
She let out a loud sigh before sitting next to him.
The lion held out one of his paws and let a single claw out. Carefully and skillfully he began to write in the dirt. When he was done he looked down at his work. What he had made were lettering similar to what was on the wall.
Tsillah admired the writing and picked up quickly that it was the same style that was used on the wall. “What does it say?” She asked.
“My name is Utako.” He said, pointing to each symbol corresponding with the word. “Why don't you try writing 'my name is' and once you get that down I will show you how to write your name. Or at least the closest that I can get to your name in my pride's writing.”
This was unexpected. She thought when he said that he was going to teacher her about himself, that it would be only on him. If she had known that he was going to teach her how to read and write in the ancient writing she would have shown more interest from the start. “Alright.” She studied his writing before attempting to recreate it. When she was done she looked back and forth between hers and his. “Done.”
Utako looked over. “Good enough for now. You will need to learn to keep your lines straighter and your angles sharper. Now do you mind telling me your name?”
She realized that she had yet to tell him her name. Even after he had been so gracious in agreeing to teach her. “Tsillah.”
He simply nodded his head and began to write next to her writing. “There you go.”
She looked it over and then rewrote her name again and again until she was proud of her recreation. “Alright, what more do you have for me to learn?” She asked. “Are we going to start going over the script on the wall?”
“I am actually a bit hungry. Think we could get some food then return? After I eat, I would be willing to tell you some of the stories my father use to tell me before I went to sleep. The stories were passed down from generation to generation and I promise you that they are pretty interesting.” He said with a crooked smile. “I will even help you hunt if you like. So you don't have to be alone.”
And here she thought she was getting so much progress done. “I can hunt alone. You can tell me your bedtime stories after you teach me a couple phrases in your writing. Does that sound fair?” She said as she got up.
“Alright. That sounds fair enough.” He said as he went to lay down on one of the pelts.
As Tsillah was leaving the den she stopped and looked at the wall, knowing that soon she would be able to figure out what it said. When she glanced at it, something looked oddly familiar. Utako's name was written on the wall. As she scanned it more closely, she realized his name was there in multiple spots. “Why is your name on the wall?” She asked, turning toward Utako.
“It's a common name in my pride. One of the original founders of the pride was named Utako. It became a traditional name for the pride.” He explained. She narrowed her eyes, unsure if she should trust him.
“You will have to tell me more about him when I get back. Sounds interesting.” She said before leaving.
Utako watched her leave. The young leopardess was surprisingly interesting to him. He had never been the type to build a connection with mortals. His adopted daughter Kotone had been his first exception. Tsillah might be his next one. He couldn't help but wonder what she would do once she figured out he wasn't completely honest with her. Sure he enjoyed his current game with her, watching her slowly piece the puzzle together, but at the same time he felt she was too interesting to just toy with.
He let out a sigh. For now he would continue his game to see what would happen.
WC: 1,422
