The Leopard's Song. A Strange Meeting? [Ryuukishi or Invite]

Time was inconsequential to one who lived in the cloud forests. The sun would rise, the sun would set; little would change. While the rare days when the sun shone were a welcome break, she preferred the gentle gray and cooling breezes of the mists. They aided in her hunts, as well; she blended into the air itself; making the hunts for the large game that occasionally drifted this far down the mountain that much easier for the experienced hunter. She was currently contently full; as she had just finished a good meal of fresh fish and the last of a large ram she had taken down a week prior and left in a snow cave to keep fresh. It was a good meal, and she would be energized for the next day's hunt to replace the eaten ram.

She was just below the bottom of the mist layer; enjoying one of the few perks of her desolate range; a small grouping of hot springs half hidden by a rocky outcropping that created a bit of a steam cave, even more so with the thickly woven reed mat covering over the main entrance. Steam cleaning her fur was a lovely gift from mother nature; she never had to worry about infestations thanks to her little steam cave.

At the moment however, she was bathing; something that as a feline she did fairly often. Khinoe was almost OCD about taking care of her fur, especially her thick, bushy tail. She was constantly brushing or cleaning herself to keep her spots and markings clear and sharp so that she could blend into the environment better. While the valley itself was quiet sans for the occasional snap or crack of the rocks, or the gentle bubbling of the rolling spring water; the air was ringing with the sound of her voice. She loved to sing, even if she didn't always have the time to do so. She had learned long ago to just wait until she was bathing, or roasting a shank over the fire after a successful hunt. Her song was not one heavy with words, in fact it was just tonal and expressive; the emotions and inflection of the sounds conveying the meaning. Joy, happy, contentment; she was doing very well for herself and was celebrating some; allowing herself a rare moment to sing without care or worry. As far as she was concerned, she was alone and safe; nothing but the rare goat or the odd deer came into this valley after all.

There were few times that the Ryuukishi needed to eat; and now was one of them. His diet consisted mostly of meat -- carnivores at that. His metabolism was very slow; a good meal would last him for months. The last thing he ate was the bear that happened to disturb him while he was trying to sleep several months back.

Man that was some good eatin. Plenty of meat, plus a pelt for him to fashion into a cloak to keep the people from getting suspicious as to why he didnt wear seaonal clothing. Not that he stayed anywhere that long to begin with, but it was annoying when he showed up in a village wearing cotton shirts and breeches in the middle of winter. People asked questions, and he, more often than not, did not want to answser questions.


Even so, here he was now, in this particular mountain range. His form was that of what most would call human; bipedal, with the appropriate appendages and digits. Even the genitalia was correct for a human male, save for being on the larger side of the spectrum. He was barehanded, waiting quietly for a nearby Ram to venture closer. Hidden in the bushes as he was, it wouldn't take much more than a few steps closer. Though he could have easily outran the creature and caught it, he prefer laying in wait for something like this. It made the kill so much sweeter. He would have stayed still, had it not been for the strange song that caught on the winds-- the whispers of a sweet voice, a musical aphrodisiac. His head lifted, and with it it, his disguised position. With a frightened bleet, the ram bound away. The Ryuukishi grumbled, and looked about, attempting to find the source of the sounds...

The rocks provided a perfect seat for her, she merely had to splash some of the warm spring water across a flat rock face and she had a clean seat on which to settle while she worked the kinks and small knots out of her tail. Feet hung in the hazy spring; it was full of bubbles and minerals leeched from the rocks after all; swishing back and forth lazily as she took claw and specially carved bone comb to the silver fur and tugged gently where she could; she hated having to pull fur out to remove a burr or some other object caught in the thickness of her tail. Beside her was laid out an almost kit; a small pack she carried with her with grooming supplies; the comb in her hand, a rough ram's fur racking brush, a much softer deer tail slicker, special potions and balms she would rub into her fur and paws when she was done bathing. She took excellent care of herself; she had too, being alone all the time meant she couldn't afford to fall into ill health, and just relying on her own strength was asking for trouble. Nothing wrong with a little boost, not when you lived as long as she did.

Her voice was changing now, the song she has been working through was over; and she was moving into a new one. This was similar, but it carried different emotions, different tones. More... somber, in a way, but still upbeat. A song of hope, a song of rebirth that respected the darkness that came before. Something she had learned from her mother; she'd never experienced anything like what would inspire a song like that, so she had no way of creating it for herself. Her mother had never told her where the song came from, and she never bothered to ask; merely listened and learned and sang it whenever she felt like it.