You pass deeper, tripping less and less, and find yourself at the foot of a small lion. He looks at you and laughs a bit before stepping closer. He looks rather young, but at the same time, you didn't see him approach. You wonder if you should plan to bolt.
"Call me Thist," he introduces boldly. "That's what they all call me...my first name was Thiefta, but when I was young I couldn't pronounce that...I could only say Thist!" He seems to be distant with reminising.
"Yeh, those were the days," he smiles. "Yep, when I pronounced things funny. I went to my elder and asked her - you know, the ones at Cattinonia - about the places inside the Wood. She told me, and I went here..."
"Cattinonia?" you say.
"Oh, yeah," he shrugs. "Just a small place where felines go to live. I was there for a while, but it is no place for an African Lion like myself, you know? So now I came with...well, you'll met'em!"
Keep Moving through the Swamps
