Chasing for a beautiful sight

Jane walked along the dusty ground. Her view flew around and she smiled as she saw the familiar landscape. Pretty though it was empty. She looked at the jungle next to the volcano and pointed at it. "There we need to go, to find the jaguar. And something to eat and drink, if you like."

Tulio let his hand slide down from her shoulders as Jane stopped and pointed at the forest.
The whole landscape took him by surprise. It was truely beautiful, however a different type of beautiful than what Tulio was used to. He took in the sight, his expression full of awe.
He simply nodded when she spoke to him, and followed her closer to the forest.
She knew this place better than he did. By the looks of it she had been here many times before.

Jane walked into the jungle. As always, she looked carefully everywhere, although it didn't seemed that way. She walked strictly in the direction of the river and lake. "Look!", she pointed at some parrots in a flowered tree. She wasn't sure if it was the same swarm she had seen the last time, but still she smiled. Jane walked to the tree. She lifted her head and watched the birds.

Tulio was speechless at the beauty that surrounded him, and could not keep his eyes on one thing for more than a second before something else, more beautiful, appeared before him. Surely he would go here more often. Maybe he could bring Rose here.
"Beautiful," he sighed mostly to himself as he kept following her.
"Where did you last spot the jaguar?" he asked.

Jane turned around to Tulio to answer his question and started to giggle. "You're having a cute overwhelmed expression on your face.", she giggled again. "It's not far from here on a meadow. I'm not sure if she's still there, but she may be around here somewhere.", Jane looked up on the tree and thought about a try to climb up there. She may had to put down her dress again, if she wanted to go there. She glanced at Tulio. No, he was not Ping, she won't do it today. Jane sighed. "Well, the river is near too so we are going there first.", she walked further.

Tulio's male instincts told him that cute was a bad thing. However, he knew by now that women always meant it as a positive thing, a compliment. Something attractive, so he only smiled back.
"I do not see what you are talking about, I am always cute, am I not?" he teased her and laughed.
When she mentioned a river he only kept smiling and nodded, it sounded nice. Tulio had always loved water.
"Let's go," he said before he started following her further.

"You are really confident, huh?", Jane smiled. "I guess you are attractive of some kind. But not the way that would make me fall for you. Or you're not trying to make me fall for you and I'm glad you don't do it.", Jane stepped out of the jungle and looked at the river. She smiled as she bowed down next to it and put her hands in the clear water. She took a few sips.

Her words took him slightly by surprise. It was true he had not tried to do anything to her, but still the rejection was new to him. Very few women ever turned him down, and even when they did they usually came around later on.
"Is that so?" he asked in a teasing voice as he bowed down next to her at the river.
He let his arm slide down her back until it landed on her hip, but he refused to do much more than that. He was a taken man now, after all. It still felt weird to think that way, just a few days ago he could have done anything he wanted to with her.
"Then what if I were to try now..?" he asked in a charming whisper, only a few inches from her face.

Jane stared at his hand on her hip. "Would you mind taking your hand away from there?", she asked with a politely but distant voice. She wasn't bounded to Shan Yu, but she didn't want to have anyone else touch her there than him. "And if you would try to do it...", she leaned forward to Tulio, her lips really near to him. "I would slap you.", she answered, before she pushed him away from her. Jane stood up. "Please, flirting is okay, but no touching.", she walked a few steps away and took some berries from a bush and ate them.

Tulio knew he should be feeling offended, but all he could do was laugh. The girl was fiesty.
"You're the one missing out," he teased her and shrugged, but his smile quickly softened.
"Do not worry, my heart belongs with someone else," he said dreamingly and stared out over the water.

Jane smiled. "So? Who is it?", she walked back to him and stared out of the water herself. "Can't be worser than whom I gave my heart."

He looked at her wondering who it could have been she gave her heart to.
"She who is as sweet as the flower sharing her name," he continued, still in a dreamy haze.
"Briar Rose," he sighed, before turning his head to Jane and smiling the soft smile of a man in love.

"Ah.", Jane smiled. "That lady. She has an interesting character, but I guess she doesn't like me.", Jane giggled. "Our last conversation was kinda... different.", she still smiled. "If we ever meet again, she kills me or ignores me."

He was ripped out of his daydream by Jane's words, and he frowned at her. That did not sound at all like his Rose. She had always been so sweet and innocent, much unlike her sister. He could not make himself believe her.
"How so?" he asked, wondering what had really happened between them.

"Oh, nothing to worry about really.", Jane shrugged. "I guess it was my behavior. I think she thought I was too rude to her. Although I always said the truth.", Jane smiled. "She is a real lady. Oh and we had different sights on the way how to use men.", Jane giggled. "Nothing to worry about for you."

Now she had gotten him really curious.
"And how, if I may ask, do you think to use men?" he asked, showing his slight annoyance when he pronounced the word "use".
He might, in other eyes not be one to talk, but he never felt as if he had used any women. He fully respected anyone of the female gender, and he would never dare to do anything they did not want as well.
How was it too much to ask for a woman to give the same kind of respect back to him?

Jane smiled softly. "I'm not the person to use men the way you might think about. I do respect them. As long as they are giving me the respect back I deserve. And there are existing not that many men who deserve respect.", she sat down. "I do respect you. I respect Ping. And I do respect Shan Yu, although he's teasing me.", she wrapped her arms around her body. "I'm quite a romantic girl. But well... Rose thought slightly different.", Jane tilted her head from side to side. "I'm not saying what she told me, ask herself. I don't want to be the one who disunited you two. When it should come this way.", she shrugged. "You seem quite happy with her."

"Trust me, nothing in this universe known to mankind could disunite us as long as she wears my ring," he said, smiling dreamingly out into the open air, his mind wandering to the sweet perfection he called his fiancé.
He couldn't say he agreed with her completely, Shan Yu was no man to respect, and just at the mention of his name Tulio could feel himself wanting to spit at the ground before him. However he held it in. He knew when not to be rude.

Jane was surprised. "You two are this far? Well, congratulations. It's surprising. You don't know each other that well...", Jane shrugged. "I'm not going to teach you, I just wish you luck.", she smiled. Tulio was really a dreamer. She started to like him more and more.

"I know her soul," he sighed dreamily, without moving his eyes to face Jane. He was still staring out into the open air.
"That is all I need to know," he said as he smiled softly and finally moved his gaze to meet hers.
Did she not see what he meant? It could be the same, he was happy, and needn't anything more.

Jane smiled. "The one and only true love.", she repeated a sentence she read in a book. "The strongest feeling that someone ever can experience. Then I'm hoping I'll receive something like that back, from the one I gave my heart to. But not now. It's not the time for it.", she sighed.

"Who does your heart belong to, if I may so ask?" he asked, not really concerned, but she had mentioned it so many times now he felt it was time to ask. She obviously wanted to talk about it somehow, and if there was anything Tulio was good at, it was to please women, no matter what form it came in. He was quite good at comforting heartbroken women.

Jane stared at the water. Should she tell him? But she said to many things about it, that she could head back now. Jane sighed. "Shan Yu.", she didn't said anything else. If Ping would find out, he would be really mad at her. He was even angry as she just slept with him. Meg was happy for some reason, but... Shan Yu's personality wasn't easy. If Tulio ever met him, he might hate him. Or not.

Tulio clenched his fists and gritted his teeth at the mention of his name, but simply nodded sternly before standing up.
"It's time for me to head back," he said flatly. He had immidiatly lost all interest in the girl. He respected all of the female gender, but he felt a weird, sudden anger fill him as she spoke his name. Of all people...

Jane sat near the river and stared out of the water. She didn't want to go back. And Tulio wanted to go... "See you later maybe...", she smiled. Jane stood up and knocked the grass from her dress. Then she walked along the river, deeper into the jungle. No, there was so much to explore, and she won't go back yet. She didn't even found the jaguar again. Softly humming she disappeared in the dark forest.