Nina waited until she could see him tensing to spring—just the faintest tremor in his hindquarters—and leapt to the side as
he pounced. He only got rock and underbrush under his paws, and immediately wheeled around, tracking her again.
But this time, she pounced.
She landed right on him—he'd been a hair too slow. Her leopard exulted with an inward growl of triumph. Nina's human side, on the other hand, wasn't sure if he'd done it on purpose or not, it he’d let her get him when he could've gotten away.
If so...what did that mean? What did any of this mean? They weren't trying to accomplish anything, they weren't hunting, they were just playing.
Nina kept her claws in when she landed, but she bit playfully at the scruff of his neck, and Joel batted at her with his paws. They rolled over on the loamy ground, fighting to end up on top. Joel won, and his mouth opened to show his teeth, his tail lashing. Then he pulled back, crouching and waiting for the next round.
Nina picked herself up and shook off the dirt, wondering what they'd do next. Joel eyed her, and then turned his gaze upward, toward the end of the tree line and the mountain rocks.
Nina beat him to it, racing upwards ahead of him.
They made it together, running flat-out. Joel leapt onto the first big, flat rock and collapsed, panting, his tongue lolling out like a dog's. Nina laughed to herself and leapt up next to him. They sprawled together catching their breath.
Nina wondered again what this meant. Was Joel trying to lull her into a false sense of security with all of this playing? No, she had to reject that idea. Joel was so...sincere. When he lied, she could see it on his face.
And anyway, what would his endgame be, if he did have one? This was pretty elaborate for a prank. She couldn't believe he had any really awful motives; he wasn't like that at all, it was clear. He was a—a good person.
So maybe he just wanted to run. To play-fight, and pounce on each other, and race up the mountain.
Nina didn’t play very often. If you were tired, and scared, and working all the hours you could to save up money so that when you had to leave town you'd have enough to keep you going, you didn't feel much like playing. She’d never known this feeling, not since she left home. Running and feeling confident that your partner was behind you. Pouncing on someone who was ready for it, who rolled with you and pounced back. It was fun.
And more than that, it was...joyful. Nina couldn’t remember the last time she’d just been happy like this. Happy with someone, Joel happy alongside her.
She didn’t want to leave this behind.
If she stayed here, they could do this same thing tomorrow, run through the trees together. They could explore the mountains together. Joel could show her the Park, and Nina could show him the wilder territory where she’d been living. The caves, the rocks, the ancient trees.
She didn’t have to ask him if he’d like that.
She turned her head to look at him, resting with his head on his paws and his tail curled around him, eyes half-lidded as he took some time to build his energy back up, and she knew. He’d be excited for that. He’d say, Let’s do it. Can’t wait.
Joel stretched his paws out, his body rippling. He looked like he was getting ready for a nap. What if they did this in the daytime sometime? They could find a warm rock and soak in the sunshine, take an afternoon nap, and then get up and run some more.
They stayed sprawled on the rock together—not open in the sunshine tonight, but hidden in the dark, and Nina let this secret imagining of the future spool out in her head. The idea that there could be something there in the future, something to look forward to, was a hope she thought she’d abandoned for good.
Was it safe to let it back in? Was she setting herself up for disappointment, again?
She didn’t think so. She honestly, truly didn’t think so, and that was making excitement bubble up in her chest.
Yes, her leopard purred. Stay here. Stay with him. That will be good. That will be best.
Her leopard never trusted anyone. Nina was used to having to quiet its growls, calm it down, keep it from clawing at the space inside Nina’s self where it lived. The leopard only ever purred when they were alone.
But it was purring with Joel. Surely that meant something. Surely it was safe to trust him.
They stayed there, invisible in the rocky darkness, for a while. Joel napped, but Nina stayed awake, her thoughts chasing each other back and forth through her mind.
Finally, though, Joel lifted his head and looked over. He leaned in again, and this time Nina didn’t startle, just let him touch his nose to hers. It was a close little moment, a soft brush of a touch. She liked it.
Then he stood up, stretched mightily, and hopped down off the rock. He looked around the wild, rocky slope, then looked back up at her. The message was clear. Play some more?
Nina smiled to herself, stood, and jumped down next to him. Time to play.
***