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Siocled lounged in the lower branches of a tree, giving herself a thorough washing in the aftermath of a successful hunt. The cocoa leopardess had grown up in this dense jungle, lived here her entire life, and couldn't imagine being anywhere else. The climate was beautiful, the vegetation was lush and thus prey was plentiful, and most of the predators that a leopard would normally need to fear didn't find the overgrowth very hospitable - meaning she was relatively safe and could lead a peaceful, solitary life.

She was aware, of course, of the pride of lions she shared her home with. Sio could smell them, hear them, and had occasionally seen them. But she stayed outside of their territory and they didn't bother her for it. Still, the female was a curious creature, and on this particular night, she had chosen a tree quite close to their border for her meal. Not close enough to be considered an intrusion but certainly enough to watch as the patrols passed by.

Ah. Here's one now. He was quiet in paw and dark in colour, barely rustling the leaves he brushed past. These lions always intrigued her, almost more like her own kind than a lion should be. She thought about making contact - a product of her inquisitiveness and perhaps a little loneliness - but wasn't sure it was a good decision. After some brief consideration, Sio decided to let him make the call. She loudly scraped some bark off of the bough she lied on and allowed it to fall, crashing through the brush, to the jungle floor.

Sio smiled and blinked at the stranger, slow enough to be a deliberate display of being non-threatening but not so slow as to imply trust. She didn't really think she was in any danger but one could never be too sure.

"That would have been a very sorry attempt indeed," Sio chuckled amiably. Then, "No, I only hoped to catch your attention. Though I don't know what to do with it now that I have it if I'm being honest."

And it was the truth. Sio knew she had wanted to engage the lion but she had no idea what for. To talk? About what? Regardless, she was happy with her decision. She lay contentedly on her branch, tail curled loosely around her paws, the tip twitching interestedly.

Sio regarded the lion - Tahni - silently for a moment, and her ear twitched as she pondered. Concluding that he was highly unlikely to suddenly attack her, Sio decided the polite thing to do would be to bring herself down to the same level as him. The leopardess rose to her paws and lightly leapt from the tree, hardly making a sound as she landed.

"I am Siocled, but you can call me Sio," she responded, padding slowly forward. She extended her neck to sniff at Tahni curiously. After catching his scent, she sat back on her haunches and smiled. "I was born here, and have lived here my entire life. I've just kept to myself. What about you? Have you always lived here with the pride?"

It was then that Sio realized why she had wanted to make contact with this stranger. She was lonely. She had been content with her solitude up to now - and honestly didn't want to have someone around constantly - but she wanted the option of having company. Not enough to look for a colony, but enough to have a friend that she could chat with from time to time.

Sio nodded - his answer was what she had expected. From what she knew, most lions wouldn't see this thick jungle and think it a great place to call home. They seemed to prefer the mostly open savannah, and this pride was an exception to that rule. She figured most of them were born and raised here, just as she was, and felt as comfortable in the trees as they did on land.

Sio perked up at his questions. "Oh, no. Of course not. I doubt they even know I exist." In truth, the world as a whole - besides Tahni, now - was probably oblivious to her existence. She hadn't even seen her own family since she had reached adulthood and struck out on her own. For all they knew, she could be alive or dead. The leopardess' interaction with others had been limited to brief encounters while hunting and the like. No one ever actually spoke.

"I guess I just wanted a friendly conversation," she admitted. No sense in lying. "It's been longer than I can remember since I've had anyone to talk to."

"To be honest, I've been perfectly content without it all this time," Sio responded thoughtfully. "It just crept up on me all of a sudden when I saw you. I guess you just seemed that friendly."

Sio winked to show she was only teasing Tahni. He really had seemed that friendly after all, otherwise she likely wouldn't have sought his attention.

Sio started at his offer - the leopardess was a little surprised, but pleasantly so, that Tahni wouldn't mind seeing her again.

"I would like that." Sio smiled warmly and stood to turn away, letting her new acquaintance resume his patrolling.