From one mountain range to the other the cat had travelled. No territory she had yet come across seemed like the ideal place to settle. Her movements up the mountain had been swift and positive. She had wanted to catch the sun as it rose from beyond the valley and swung over the mountain pathways. She had sat in a prime position to catch this scene on a grassy knoll along the mountain steppes. Despite the cloud-coated skies, the lighting was excellent.

The light brought forth by the cool morning gave her full a wonderful golden halo. As she watched the sunrise, she heard a sound and jolted when a feline figure appeared on the slope. Previous encounters with males of her kind had left her with a small scar on her side. Though she was sure she had found no sign of a claim to these lands on her climb, her tail puffed up like a toilet brush and her ears swivelled backward.

Wh-who goes there? she hissed, feigning strength, clearly terrified.

The male had an odd tone. He didn't sound particularly threatening. If he wanted her off his mountain, this was definitely not the way to do it. Her tail swished of its own accord as she sized up the boy. He was the first younger boy she'd encountered since her brothers her left their mother several months before. She sniffed at him curiously, relaxing somewhat.

O-okay, Umi relented, blinking. She swallowed nervously, breathing deeply to compose herself. She straightened up after a moment, her goofy tail returning to a normal size. I'm Umi, I uhm, I came up here to watch the sun but clouds are in the way. Truth. She gestured with her nose at the valley below, now dipped in the golden shadow of cloud cover. Her gaze quickly returned to him, for though she was a trusting animal, she was not about to put herself in undue danger.

Benry. What a weird boy. He seemed as though he had just escaped something terrifying that might still be chasing him. Umi glanced past him, raising her head in order to see farther. There was nothing there. She wondered if he might be worried that she might attack him. The very thought was almost laughable given he carried a significant weight advantage over her.

Oh, do you live here? It was a question that she suspected the answer to. There was always the off chance he might just be trying to stake a claim to the mountain. I've been looking everywhere for the perfect place to settle, but everything is taken or the hunting areas are awful, she said, making a face like she'd eaten something bitter. It had been a bit frustrating. Lions and wolves alike were fiercely territorial and Umi just couldn't seem to catch a break.

You did? Me too.. Umi answered. They weren't talking about the same thing. While Benry had his own strange story, Umi had been forced out by her mother, who had told her that she was simply too old to be living at home. It had been time for her to make her own way in the world, though she would have happily stayed with her mother permanently, had she been allowed. And yeah, I think so, she began to clarify. My mother said that lions must find and hold a home range. That way, we learn how best to hunt and survive in a single area and can have cubs and be stable, she nodded, as if agreeing with herself.

There were many lessons that her mother had taught her, but one she had failed to mention was how to handle male mountain lions. Catamounts in general were territorial, but Benry seemed... different.

Benry stumbled over his words for a moment, and Umi couldn't help but bow her ears and twitch her whiskers sympathetically. He was so at a loss. It was this charming befuddlement that made her think, he is so cute. As he tried to explain, he only confused her. It seemed to be that he thought he couldn't "do cubs" because he physically couldn't birth them, which had her politely chuckling until he finished by asking a question. At that point, she burst into laughter.

I, heh— she giggled while trying to speak. I'm sorry, I just.. Didn't your mom ever give you 'the talk'? She looked at him expectantly, tilting her head. She was definitely not the one who could possibly tell him if he..didn't know. She was sure he would just naturally figure it out anyway.

Oh... Umi blinked. She wasn't sure how to react. Who had raised him if not his mother? Father pumas were not exactly the type to stick around for their cubs. Was he raised by some other wild animal? She wondered if a cat had ever been raised by bears.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. It was a normal thing to assume, but still. He didn't seem to be in pain, flushed but still in decent spirits. She wanted to tell him that babies could only be made with both a male and a female, but he was such an oddity that she became more fascinated with him than tooting her own gospel. So if you didn't have your mother, then who raised you?

The lull in his words made Umi shift to thinking she might have made a mistake in asking. The pressured silence made her uncomfortable; she looked out toward the morning sky pensively before at last Benry answered in slow and bumbling terms.

Owner. She squinted, puzzled. Her lips tightened as she thought of what this might mean. The idea of anyone owning in any sense of the word was foreign. Like a proper feline, she was owned by none. Even her mother and other family had no real claim to her, else her mother wouldn't have disowned and pushed her away when Umi had come of age.

Blue eyes followed his gesture toward the west, but what he said didn't compute. Owner? I don't understand, she said honestly. You forgot? How could he have forgotten where he came from?

Umi tilted her head. Then she tilted it more. And more.
What a weird looking animal.
She looked at his flexed paw. ...Weird, was all she could manage. A real photograph of what Benry was describing probably wouldn't have been any less weird for her. The strangest beast she had ever encountered had been a sea lion, with porcupines as a close second.

The lioness listened to the rest of his strange tale of falling asleep after being bitten by something, then waking up in this area. Her jaw was wide open at that point in disbelief. That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, she said. She could tell he was telling the truth despite its insanity. His nature was so bumbling and odd that she didn't believe him capable of making up something quite this crazy. Abruptly, she closed the distance between them and sniffed at his shoulder and side with hardly an inch of space. She felt her whiskers graze his fur. She did it to confirm he was actually a lion and not.. something else.

Umi stood back again, settling herself on her haunches. Weird. You smell like everyone else, she confirmed, rather puzzled.

Benry froze. At first, Umi was very confused by this. Then, as she sat there waiting for a response, her nose told her all that she needed to know; there was an intoxicating nature to his scent. It was something that made her feel excited and rather giddy for no apparent reason. She did not make the connection that she, too, had an effect on him.

Umi let loose something that sounded halfway between a purr and a growl. She threw herself onto her side, apparently comfortable, lifting her head only slightly to speak to him. So you don't live here and you don't really know how you got here, she said, rolling over casually. She lifted her head again to look at Benry and speak. Can I find you here again then?

The lioness was surprised at herself. She did want to see him again. It was strange. He was clearly a friend, not a foe, but that was true for wolves she had met as well. This felt...different. She liked this boy. Hm. She liked this boy.

Benry exhaled a funny-sounding yes. He had a voice that droned deep and long with practically everything he said, but she was sort of learning to like it. Rather abruptly, Umi pushed her paws under her and stretched herself, first forward and then back. She gave a yawn as she did so.

Well, I'm gonna catch some breakfast while I still have energy, she said. An afternoon nap was sure to come later in the day. Perhaps mountain goat would be on the menu today. She was feeling rather agile. I'll see you 'round, she beamed at him, her tail wiggling at the end like he was the most interesting thing in the world.

She moved slow to listen for his reply, then swiftly disappeared beyond the rocks and slopes.
Boys. She liked boys!