After my turn ended, it was Leopard's turn, but he needed some time to think about it, so I spent my time looking around the forest for edible fruit, but because of my inability to fly, I could only look in the area that was visible. I found a couple viable options before Leopard said he was ready. I got Leopard to help me procure some seeds before bagging them.
I sat in front of Leopard as he started," Ok, so my first one is that I once went a week without eating, I've slain over 1000 enemies, or I was picked up by the Commander when I was 5!" A bright smile showed that he was having fun playing this game, not at all understanding the weight of his own words.
...
I-...I don't even know where to start...
Considering his environment, I'll ignore his nonchalant way of addressing how many people he's killed and his pride-filled expression when he announced it.
Didn't eat for a week...I assume that had something to do with being on a battlefield, at war. It looks like he based that one off of my "not drinking water" statement. I'm not sure if it's true or not. Actually, I'm not sure which ones the lie and which ones are the truth. I'm not sure if I want to know..
I...I really want the second one to be a lie, but I don't think it is. I was watching his movement and expressions carefully. He showed genuine emotions toward everything he said, but he gave me an indicator of which one was the lie. A habit of his, maybe.
"The third one is a lie." I say in an almost monotone voice, hoping I'm wrong.
"EH?!? How did you know?!?"
"...I guessed." A sense of dread kicked in when he confirmed my suspicion. I noticed when he was saying the last statement, his tail was swaying really fast, but it paused for a moment when he said "5". It was a dead giveaway. I'm guessing he actually was picked up by Kuro, but it wasn't when he was 5.
I wanted him to elaborate. "Why was it a lie?"
"Ah! That's because I was picked up at age 4 not 5. Did you really guess? You must be reaaally lucky" His voice carried surprise and happiness.
"...Can I ask, What happened?"
"Hmm? Yeah sure? When I was a kid, my tribe was slaughtered. I roamed around for a little while until I almost starved. It was then that the Commander took me in!" His eyes gleamed with admiration.
Slaughtered? Almost starved to death?
He stated it like it was someone else's memories. Like he was an outsider that had nothing to do with that horrible sounding experience. Why...How can you.. act like that... How can you show me such a bright and naive looking smile?
My expression was probably contorted because Leopard looked at me with a frown,"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
He looks worried. But why. Why are you worried about me after everything you've been through. How could anything I've been through amount to what you've been through....