We stayed in the forest for several days.
I was very busy since a lot of the inhabitants in this forest had awful eyesight.
Puma, who doesn't seem to mind me giving her a nickname, helped me by making some sort of eyedrops that will help some of the creatures who complained on having redness and stinging sensation on their eyes. She praised me on the invention since it has been a long unsolved problem of the inhabitants.
I couldn't do it without her though.
She introduced me to different sorts of magical plants and herbs, patiently explaining to me each one about their uses.
We managed to create some sort of cool and wet lubricant that we placed on tiny bottles.
It sold out instantly. Puma and I celebrated our success before she declared that she would prepare a huge meal to celebrate the occasion.
I like her. She is straightforward and patient, and doesn't get angry whenever you make a mistake or don't understand something.
I wished I had a mentor like her.
I was always terrified of my professors and my bosses. When I was in college, the training was difficult and often a lot of students dropped in the middle of the semester. A lot of the professors yelled at us, especially if we are slow in our actions or throw books at us whenever we make mistakes in our research. It was a horrible experience. We were afraid to speak our mind and share our thoughts or else suffer humiliation in front of people. I was one of the slow learners. I had to spend several hours just to understand something. After being insulted in front of people that nearly destroyed my self esteem, I pushed myself harder, to the point that I was losing positive outlook in life. Yes, I graduated, but nearly lost my sanity.
I suffered from depression and anxiety throughout my adulthood, and became more withdrawn. I lost my love of learning and focused instead on making money.
I became a vanilla, refusing to lead or share ideas, avoiding conflict and just follow mindlessly.
I was surviving, not living.
....
Puma is younger than Lion.
I was mind-blown by the fact.
We were eating inside her hut. Lion, Sly (who brought his own food!), Ghost, Puma, her mate, her offsprings and I. Pinky is still at the treetop.
We ate fruits and some edible herbs while Sly made a face at seeing us consuming the herbs.
It turns out that Puma and her family are preys but they aren't afraid of Sly at all. They are used to Lion though.
It's been a long time since I've experienced eating with many companions. It felt nice. My heart tightened for a moment while watching the couple affectionately feeding the kids.
I missed my family.
....
After we ate, Puma decided to teach me dancing. I nervously declined since I have no idea how to dance. Also, I feel awkward with so many looking at me. Puma let out a boisterous laugh and pulled me inside one of the rooms.
She let me changed into something more daring which in my previous world I would DEFINITELY NOT wearing it even if I am paid a large sum of money.
Since the air felt sticky, I happily obliged.
She also put some jewelry on my head, ears, neck, waist and ankles which sounded like tiny bells ringing whenever I moved.
She also wore something else that made her looked more attractive.
We heard the males laughing loudly and Puma informed me that they are drinking a liquid (which her mate sells) that makes you feel happy and relaxed.
Ah. They are getting drunk.
Puma thought for a moment before handing me a small vial of bright colored liquid. She said it will make your body relax and my movement will be more graceful and seamless.
I tasted it. It's wine but more potent and sweeter.
Good thing there was a mirror inside the room so I tried to mimic of whatever I still remembered about belly dance.
Holy cow, my body is like butter.
No, I'm not drunk even though the wine feels potent.
My mind is still thinking clearly.
So I began to dance. Puma looked amazed and asked me to teach her the moves.
We practiced for a few minutes until we feel confident enough to dance in front of the others.
....
The wine made me confident so I bravely followed Puma back to the main room. The children are not present so it's only Puma's mate, Lion, Sly and Ghost present. Puma's mate had some sort of instrument on his lap that seemed to be a string instrument with a percussion at its tail.
While he was busy adjusting the instrument, Lion, Sly and Ghost did some kind of a toast and laughed among themselves.
At the sound of us entering the room, the four of them looked at us and I heard a gasp though I'm not sure who did that and saw all of them looked captivated.
Suddenly I feel shy and was about to go back in the room when Puma raised her eyebrows at me and encouragingly told me to dance like there's no one looking at me in the room.
She decided to dance first and I stood in the corner, mesmerized at her moves. Even though she looked different than me, it was like I'm seeing a human woman expertly dancing to the tune.
While she was dancing, she looked at me and mouthed the words, you can do it.
I feel a bit of confidence coming up and while I glanced around, I saw Lion staring at me.
Puma's dance came to an end and now it's my turn.
We cheered and complimented her while her mate looked at her with burning passion.
No wonder they have lots of offsprings.
Puma then approached me and gently pulled my hand and guided me towards the center of the room.
She then whispered, good luck. Then she sat beside her mate and nod with an encouraging look.
Sly looked transfixed, Ghost's face begin to turn into a lovely shade of red while Lion,
Lion looked like he is about to devour me.
Oh well, here goes nothing.
And the music started.