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Like most leopards, Rogue spent the majority of his days in solitude. Hunt, sleep, repeat. Then he'd find a leopardess in heat, and they'd spend a few days together. They part ways. He never met any cubs, never developed a genuine connection to his partner, nothing.
Such a boring way of life had begun to drive him insane. Rogue started off small by chasing a recently banished male adolescent lion from its kill. He started going on riskier hunts. He abandoned parts of his territory as often as he expanded them, rarely patrolling his own borders.
Perhaps six months into his reckless behavior, Rogue met Dahlia. Despite being much smaller than her, he strolled right up with his tail high and met her gaze. In truth, what Rogue had initially expected was a fight. But she simply tilted her head and chuffed a greeting.
"Hello, are you... a part of this pride?" Dahlia's voice was soft and uncertain.
"I'm a leopard." Rogue snorted, settling down. "Why, you not from here?"
"No... my last pride disbanded, and I've not been eating properly. I'm not ready to move on, but I have to in order to survive."
"Can lions not hunt on their own? If not, I'd be happy to instruct you." Rogue offered without thinking. Dahlia settled a but closer to him.
"I think learning from a leopard would be interesting-" She's cut off by the sound of footsteps, lion scent flooding their noses. She ushers Rogue away, bolting upwards to face the sound.
"Leave, this must be the king of this territory!" Dahlia whispered.
"Wait- meet me here again, in three days' time?" Rogue mewled. But before she answered, Rogue was forcefully shoved away, and he sprinted off as far as possible.
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"You came!" Rogue chuffed at Dahlia as she trotted towards him. Her fur was well groomed and she seemed livelier, less hungry.
"You owe me a hunting lesson." Dahlia puffed, tail and head held high.
"Right, right." He rolled his eyes and began leading her away to a favorite hunting spot of his. Their meeting grew closer together, as did they. But one night, Dahlia didn't show up. She didn't show up for another two months. Rogue was thrashing himself in his mind, agonizing over why he'd let himself get attached to someone, especially a lioness.
He decided to wait just one more night. To his surprise, Dahlia had shown up; she smelled of milk, of cubs.
"Rogue!" Dahlia called, panting as she jogged towards his tree. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to abandon you." She paused to catch her breath.
"You had cubs." Rogue grunts, voice flat. So she'd found a mate in this pride's queen.
"I did, please listen-"
"It's fine, I get it. You have new responsibilities now. It was fun while it lasted." Rogue huffed, turning away. "You should go back to your family." He couldn't quite hold the pain out of his voice.
"No, Rogue, that's... that's not why I'm here, I can't say goodbye." Dahlia's voice cracked, and Rogue had to strain his ears to hear her. "She's yours, Rogue. She's half leopard."
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