He moved under the faint light of dawn, the sun hardly lifted over the horizon at that point. The leopard stalked with his head tucked low between his shoulders, twitching his tail at the openness of that rocky scape. It was a far cry from the jungles he frequented, but Lorant was steadily trying to map out the whole of Amaryllis – might as well make the most of his time now that he had found his way back.

He ducked in against the jagged rocks and crags of that labyrinth, trying to use the patchy shadows in order to disguise his spotted physique against any onlookers. The mists of morning ebbed and flowed at his paws while he moved, as if the remnant of ocean waves. It was then that he spotted a towering arch in the distance – rocky yet clear in its shape, perhaps connecting two parts of the labyrinth. Silently, he wondered what kind of vantage point he could get if he dared traverse up to it.

---

|| april y10 | seven years | lone creature | at grimoire's labyrinth | AW ||
+10 - Explore a territory and find something useful in it
+10 - Find a notable landmark in a territory
+5 - Use the terrain to your advantage

_{ART — CODE}

Camellia was on the prowl that day. She was becoming quite familiar with the southern uplands, learning the underground passageways as well as the cliffside trails that zig zagged all throughout the mountainous territory. Spring time brought with it mists that were trapped by steep escarpments, nourishing all manners of mosses and lichens that grew upon the rocky walls. It was this flora that drew Camellia to this place.

Perched upon a rocky ledge, Camellia was gathering a particularly useful species of moss when a flash of movement below caught her eye. She needed only search for a moment before her gaze landed upon the exquisitely spotted form of the leopard who slunk along the trail below her ledge. Intrigued, Camellia watched him pass by, content to simply let him go on his way with no interaction. She would be left wondering why a leopard was so far from his preferred ecosystem, but Camellia was used to living with certain mysteries in her life.

But then a shift of the paw loosed some pebbles that slid out from beneath his pads and skittered down the steep rocky wall, some of them actually landing upon @Lorant himself. Whoops. Though he base coat was a sandy color that should have camouflaged her well in this terrain, the stark contrast of her white piebalding would make her stand out quite obviously now that she'd given away her location. The leopard need only look up to see Camellia standing there, staring dumbly down at him and cringing at her clumsiness.

The rich blood of his gaze remained fixated upon the archway as he walked, turning the cogs of his mind to try and envision what it must be like up there – what an excellent tower for spying it must be. He ensured that he stayed in the shadows of the rocky face, only, he was not accounting for anyone spying on him from above.

Lorant welded his ears back against his crown as the crinkling of loose rocks made their sudden announcement, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest. The little cat darted his eyes upward, hissing involuntarily as he felt the gravel pelting itself against his back. There stood another small feline, anchoring herself upon the crags several yards above his own vantage point. He would blame this for why he had not scented her sooner – for why he still could not scent her, though he suspected it was a lioness from sight alone.

"You sneak on me," he accused in a projected call, wrinkling his nose in a sniff of wry laughter.

I see you.

---

@Camellia
+10 - Explore a territory and find something useful in it
+10 - Find a notable landmark in a territory
+5 - Use the terrain to your advantage

_{ART — CODE}

Time stood still for a moment and Camellia's eyes darted around, trying to quickly assess an escape route in case things went south. She was a timid lioness when it came to physical threats, partially due to her miniscule size though much of it could simply be attributed to her nature. Finding no immediate escape, her eyes gaze fell back on the spotted feline as he spoke.

He accused her of stalking him, though she did not detect any real anger or aggression in his tone or posture. She considered him for a moment before she gave her reply. "No sneak. See only by chance, favadász."

She would straighten up from her crouched position on the ledge, standing up so that he might better see the buckskin saddlebags slung over her shoulders, stuffed with moss that was slightly spilling out of one of them. She'd been quite busy that day, seeking and studying and collecting the abundance flora that unexpectedly could be found here, and she had already gathered quite the haul.

---

•Tree Hunter

Trade Experience:
+5 Collect herbs
+5 Study the flora of a neutral territory

One word changed everything. The leopard was busy scowling upward when she uttered it: favadász, a nickname given to the leopards by the leopards in the language of leopards. His expression fell into disbelief.

"Leopárd vagy!" You are a leopard! He surmised, then stretching his countenance into sudden delight. "Nem csoda, hogy ilyen alattomos vagy," no wonder you're so sneaky. Lorant straightened his posture slightly to regard her, shedding much of the fear for his life – but never all. He kept his claws flexed against the stone rubble beneath him, his tail jutted out to aid in his balance.

"Egyikünkkel sem találkoztam ezen a vidéken," I have not met any of us in this land, he informed her with a twitch of his whiskers. He glanced to the side then, trying to find the easiest path that would carry him up to her level.

---

@Camellia

_{ART — CODE}

Camellia blinked her eyes at the leopard’s delighted response, and it took a moment for the fact to sink in that he had transitioned out of speaking in common tongue. He spoke in her own native language with an ease and fluency that he could have been a full blooded Savante, or perhaps a Katona. But to Camellia’s knowledge, there were no leopards among their numbers. Her kin were known to hybridize, but they had always sought the sheer strength and size of their tiger loyals to fortify their bloodline. Did this leopard have some sort of association with her homeland? Camellia could honestly not say for certain, for she had never spoken to a leopard before.

She saw him sweep his gaze around, looking to join her up on the ledge and Camellia shifted. There wouldn’t be room up here for both of them. And how would he respond when he found out that he was mistaken and that she, Camellia, was in fact a lion. In times not so ancient, lions were seen as mortal enemies to a leopard. Would she be met with scorn? And why was she suddenly feeling so worried about how he would perceive her?

Making a sudden impulsive decision, Camellia would lean over the edge. Sliding her front paws down the steep wall, she judged her descent and then dropped. She landed nimbly on dainty paws, turning around to face him with a flourish of her tufted tail that betrayed her true species. “Nem leopárd,” she said softly, holding her head low in a submissive way to show him that she meant no harm. “De úgy beszélsz, mintha a rokonom lennél.”

She studied him closely, searching for signs of aggression. He was smaller than her, much less imposing that the majority of felines she encountered in her life, many of whom towered over her, exceeding double her weight or more. But though small, there was a very evident strength about him, the kind that was gained from a life spent as a solo hunter. And his pelt… his markings were simply exquisite. The Savante were known to appreciate beauty and aesthetic, well known themselves for the unique beauty of their own pelts. And this stranger was certainly a specimen worth admiration in Camellia’s eyes, which roamed across his body from head to toe.

---

•Not Leopard.
•But you speak as if you were my kin.

He furrowed his brows despite himself as she began her tentative descent, her scent, appearance, and proclamation all coming together to disprove his hypothesizing in an instant. Lorant backpedaled slightly as she came to land before him, her stature strikingly similar to his own despite that tuft on her tail – plain as day. Lorant moved his tongue as if to speak on it before he thought better of it for once. Women were finicky about such things, no matter their species, he thought.

"Nem rokon, remélem," not kin, I hope, he teased with a roguish smile. There was no mistaking the way her eyes roved over him even as he had done the same.

"Ki vagy te?" Who are you? He finally asked, straightening his posture slightly under her gaze.

---

@Camellia

_{ART — CODE}

There was a brief moment when the stranger seemed to withdraw, which was not entirely unexpected she supposed. Camellia had never come so close to a Leopard, much less speak with one, though she he been taught about many of the various feline species. From what she knew, leopards avoided lions. They were generally smaller and in competition for resources. But her family also did not outright reject other species and had a close relationship with a clan of tigers. Some of her kin had even intermarried and bred with tigers, to combine the strength and beauty of the two species.

As Camellia studied this leopard's mesmerizing pelt, she wondered briefly about what sort of children would results from such a pairing - leopard and lion. Leopards were not large but they were strong and nimble. Camellia too, was very slight but she had come to know as many did that size was not necessarily everything. This leopard before her was additionally very handsome, with a rich masculine scent that was strangely enticing...

Camellia felt a flash of heat rise in her cheeks as she caught her thoughts wandering, and she immediately chased them from her mind. What had gotten into her?! It was spring time, and her season must have been approaching, otherwise why would she be entertaining such thoughts? But then again... it had been so long since she had felt the touch of a man, or honored the mother by partaking in her gift of pleasures, could she really blame herself? She did not miss the suggestiveness in his smile, or the way his own eyes roved over her form.

She had not allowed anyone to get near to her in such a way, nor had she ever made any advances since the loss of her life mate those years ago. She had forgotten how it felt to feel attraction and to flirt with another. "A nevem Camellia," She replied with a coy little smile, lowering herself down to her haunches. "A nevedet is szeretném tudni, jóképű idegen."

---

•My name is Camellia.
•I would like to know your name as well, handsome stranger.

Lorant knew this look. How exotic, lionesses were thinking about now, how mysterious. He did not even have to worry about his lithe stature, for his languid movements and cutting tongue seemed to do the trick for them. What's more, this one hardly towered over the jungle cat.

"Édes Camellia," sweet Camellia, he purred the name slowly, tasting its feminine lilt with appreciation. "A nevem Lázár," my name is Lazar, Lorant introduced silkily. He moved forward as if to encircle her, the rocks at his paws shifting and plummeting down the precarious face where they stood.

"Elmentem sétálni a labirintusba, ha akarsz... csatlakozni hozzám," I was going for a walk in the labyrinth if you want to... join me, he offered, hesitating slightly at the ending insinuation. Lorant rolled his shoulders and arched his neck, smirking slightly as he anticipated her answer one way or another.

---

@Camellia

_{ART — CODE}

He spoke with a silver tongue, a purr in his voice as he spoke her name. Camellia, for all her sweet and gentle nature, was not a naive woman. She detected the suggestiveness in his silky tones, and she did not withdraw when he moved to encircle her, their bodies unavoidably touching as he pressed towards her on that narrow ledge. "Ez egy öröm találkozni veled, Lázár," she purred, adding her own hint of suggestion as she leaned imperceptibly towards him, feeling a tingling sensation on her skin and a luxurious heat that lingered when their fur brushed against one another.

Her thoughts wandered back to her previous musings as the tension between them mounted. She was sure that she was not misinterpreting his insinuations. But could she truly go through with it, with this perfect stranger? She had not even performed the necessary ceremonies; the purifying ritual that would cleanse her body, or The Ritual of Heat that would help to boost her fertility so that The Mother may decide to bless her with children. Would it be improper of her to forego such things simply for the sake of her own gratification? Was it not true that simply sharing the Gift of Pleasure pleased The Mother?

"Csatlakozom hozzátok." She was decided. Ritual and ceremony could come later, but she could honor The Mother now. Abandoning her buckskin pack and herbal gatherings upon the rocky ledge (she could return for them later) she turned with liquid grace and lowered herself over the ledge, descending with a cascade of pebbles and stone chips to the dirt path below. Her hips bumped against his chest as she turned, a movement that was disguised as unintentional on the cramped ledge. She looked up over her shoulder at him, beckoning him. She could feel her heart beat intensified within her chest, eager with anticipation for their 'walk' within the looming labyrinth.
fade

---

•It is a pleasure to meet you, Lazar.
•I will join you.