| Nemau Fetos sat at the top of a rocky perch. The mix of grey granite and black ebony was cool against his feet; the sun was warm against his spotted back. Tail flicking in a mixture of restlessness and boredom, Nemau stared directly ahead of him. The path leading into the small clearing was empty, aside from a small breeze passing through. Nemau didn't bother looking at the path behind him. If there were to be any visitors worth scaring, they'd only come from the front. With a small sigh, Nemau climbed carefully down from the rocks, skittering a little as he neared the bottom, before leaping the short distance to the ground. Glancing around, Nemau sniffed the air one last time, making sure that neither visitors nor Saturn was anywhere around. He veered to the left, trotting into the forest beyond the clearing. No other paths ran through his territory, and he needed none to find his way around. At his passing, the birds in the trees quieted, but he paid them no heed. He'd eaten already today; a lovely stag passing through his territory to the north. He licked his lips contentedly, remembering the thrill of the chase and the feast following. Of course, before any of that, he'd had to track the beast for a while, to make sure it wasn't sentient. Saturn set borders on the territories far apart, and kept the more... edible... animals farther off, but one couldn't be sure that an animal wouldn't wander off into another's land. Reaching a small stream, Nemau crossed it gingerly, quickening his pace, until finally loping towards his unknown destination. Small creatures fled at his passing; squirrels and rabbits that had not yet attracted his attention at feeding time. Yes, Nemau thought to himself. Saturn does quite a good job of keeping enough food around. Nemau wondered briefly where Saturn was, as she hadn't stopped by recently. They'd done a bit of bonding since he'd arrived, and he had been quite relieved to find that her personality matched him quite well. Especially for a human, he thought wryly to himself. Finally, Nemau Fetos slowed his pace to a trot, though still an impatient one. The green shade of the forest was peaceful enough, but thankfully his territory wasn't only an expanse of trees and streams. In fact, he'd only seen one of the two farthest borders of the land beyond the visitor's path. The direction he currently ran in went towards the unknown border, but his destination was a different discovery. He reached it soon enough, stopping short as the trees ended and an expanse of rock began. The cliff stretched over a small pond a far distance below; Nemau judged the distance to be around 50 large Felcan lengths. The cliff provided the perfect spot for lounging in the sun, which was a good thing. The lizard in Nemau definitely showed though, and sunbathing was a favorite pastime. Stretching his sleek body out, Nemau found the stone warm beneath him. He let his eyes unfocus, staring blankly out at the varied landscape before him. He was happy here, yes. He had as much room as he needed, (more, in fact) and his lands were in the care of a human he could respect fairly easily. He had abundant prey, clean water throughout. Though he'd been a loner most of his life, he'd finally had a taste of companionship. He rather liked it, truth be told, and enjoyed a good conversation now and then. As if summoned, a small twig crackled behind Nemau. He didn't bother turning, but greeted Saturn instead with a flick of his tail, just as she'd greeted him by the twig. He knew well enough by now that she could move nearly as silently as he could, if she so wished. "Rarr lelam," he greeted Saturn as she sank onto the rock beside him. "And to you," she replied, as her eyes drifted out over the landscape. "And how does this day find you, friend?" "Lelam, lyat." Nemau let his eyes focus, and turned towards the girl. "You have not come for evesitu uikasu. Neh?" Saturn paused, taking a moment to translate the words foreign to her, and sighed. "Some of the other creatures are not quite as self-sufficient as you. Mainly it's the..." Saturn paused, again to think of a word. "Gyether. It's always something... 'I haven't enough tasty flowers to graze on!' or 'Can you build another shelter, a little to the left?' or some other random request." Nemau grinned his oddly-disturbing smile. "I could help you with that little problem. Just lead me to their land, and I'll stop those complaints..." Saturn rolled her eyes and smacked Nemau lightly on his spotted rump. "And afterwards, I'll have to find some new occupant to replace the eaten one. I think not." She laughed, and Nemau shrugged, looking disappointed. "Fine." He glanced back over at her, tail flicking, and changed the topic. "You're getting better at the language. You no longer stare blankly whenever I use one of my words." Saturn nodded. "Eventually, I'll be a bit more fluent. For now, I guess I'll just have to work at it, with your assistance." "Leamen," Nemau replied. "What other herheilu border my berit?" Saturn looked upwards, thinking. "Westwards, there is a herd of aulau, also hailing from the Nameless Forest. Eastwards, a small creature called a Zaro. Also, living to the east is another menare, but aside from looking after her herheilu, she keeps to herself most of the time." "Ah." Nemau considered the information, and turned to Saturn. As was often the case, there was a glint in his eye. "So, I am surrounded by gyether?" Again, Saturn rolled her eyes, and pretended to sigh dramatically. "Do you think of nothing but food?" "Amafre." Nemau let his eyes unfocus again, and grew silent. Saturn turned to him, seeming to debate something in her mind. "Do you wish for a companion?" Nemau's eyes flicked back to the girl, and his ears twitched. "Another Felcan?" "Leamen." "Perhaps. Neh? Is another coming to share my territory?" "Well, I wanted to know if you wanted another to come live here. If not, I can find another place, far from your territory..." "Grerr, unnecessary. I would not mind sharing my territory, if the other Felcan had an agreeable personality." Saturn smiled. "Lelam. This might just give you something constructive to do, Nemau." "Constructive?" Nemau's eyes narrowed. "How do you mean?" "Oh, uhm, you know. Just... showing the other Felcan around your territory... and... uhm, keeping it out of trouble. Of course, I'll be around a lot to help with that too." Saturn hadn't thought it possible, but Nemau's eyes narrowed more. "Out of trouble? Why wouldn't another Felcan be able to stay out of trouble itself?" "Well, I'm sure it would, after a bit of time, but you know. Just... for a little while, it might be rowdy." Nemau sighed, opening his eyes. "I see what you are getting at. A lepesmi Felcan, leamen?" "Leamen," Saturn replied. "Up for the challenge of possibly becoming a mentor?" "If you insist upon it." "Lelam." Saturn rose, and turned back towards the forest. "Enjoy your day, lyat." "Mabu gu iveru," Nemau Fetos replied, as the girl vanished off into the trees. He shook his head, and sighed to himself. Full of surprises, she was. And though might have seemed a bit reserved as far as sharing territory with a young Felcan went, Nemau was looking forward to it more than he'd admit even to himself. He certainly liked having that aura of a loner Felcan, self-sufficient and in need of no others, but he rather liked the idea of another to talk to. Glancing briefly up at the sky, Nemau stretched out his tail and put his head down on the warm stone. Though he had the chance of a new Felcan to think about, the day was still filled with sunlight. There would be time enough to consider the future, but Nemau preferred to enjoy the present. Closing his eyes, he let himself drift off into a light sleep. |
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