[FIN] A Trial of Spirit pt.1 (Waridi x Maua)

[The Captain Britain]

Waridi’s shoulders slumped, pink tail dragging along on the ground behind him. He was supposed to be excited. This was his trial of spirit, the last step before becoming a Jedi Knight. His previous trials had gone extremely well. At first, Waridi had thought that this Trial of Spirit would be easier than his previous two trials. After all, Waridi had been told that all he had to do was find the red jasper of the guardians and bring it back to the pride.
The young hyena snorted. “All he had to do,” his brown furry butt. He didn’t know where any of the stones could be found, let alone red jasper. Were there even gems in the jungle? Not once in his entire life living in the pride had he ever stumbled across a gemstone sitting in the middle of the jungle. None of the other Jedi were able to give out hints, either. Nevertheless, Waridi had always been under the impression that gems were found in the mountains and caves.
The male stopped short, contemplating the last thought for a few seconds before barking out a laugh. He knew where the nearest mountains were. It wouldn’t be that hard to reach them. If he ran, Waridi could be there in back in under five days! And oh, did he love to run. The hyena turned in the direction of the mountains and took off, large paws kicking up jungle dirt as he ran.  

[The Captain Britain]

Maua glared up at the mountains before him. He had been traveling this direction for months now, and now he was stuck. The lion had no way of knowing whether there was a pass around the mountains or not. Another may have turned around and gone a different way, but still Maua felt a mysterious pull driving him north. And now that same pull was telling him to climb over the mountains.
The male scratched at the dirt beneath his paws, internal debate reflected in the stormy skies above him. He should find a cave and wait the storm, the rational part of his brain suggested. But the other part was urging him to risk the rocky cliffs. He wasn't sure what to do now.
The first drops of rain sprinkled along his back, cool and refreshing against the jungle's humidity. Once, Maua would have said he hated the rain. It always made the dirt caked to his fur clump together even more, bits of mud running into his eyes. Now, however, having gotten back into the habit of grooming, the rain felt refreshing against his skin.
A strong wind came from behind and pulled at his fur. He stumbled forward a step, not expecting a gust so strong. His grey eyes stared up at the mountains. It seemed as if the universe had decided for him. The lion hopped up onto the rock face and began the climb.  

[The Captain Britain]

Waridi shook as much of the water out of his fur as he could. He had misjudged the time it would take him to reach the mountains, having not factored in for things like food and sleeping. In the end it had taken him three days instead of two. It had been storming for an hour or two now, making the journey even harder. Running in the mud was very much a nuisance.
The hyena debated whether to find shelter and wait out the storm before climbing or just getting it over with. The rocks were slippery in the rain, and if one wasn't careful they could slip and fall. Waridi was by no means a risk-taker, but he was eager to complete his trial. Patience, his inner master told him. But his paws were itching, and the hyena knew of some caves hidden along the side of the mountains that would serve as shelter once he reached them.
Acting before he could talk himself out of it, Waridi scaled up a large boulder and jumped onto a ledge sticking out from the rocks. There was a path he had been shown during the first few weeks after becoming a Padawan that wound through the belly of the mountains. It was still risky in the rain along some of the cliffs, but ultimately it was safer than trying to climb up and over. The hyena continued on at a slower pace, carefully placing his paws with every step.

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Maua closed his eyes against a blinding flash of lightning. He was trapped against a ledge with no way up or down anymore. The only way to move forward was to jump to another ledge across the gorge. The lion cursed, angry with himself for making the stupid decision to risk climbing. His brother would have never made a decision this horrible. But Purua always did seem to have a second sense about these kinds of things. Maua, on the other hand, was always making bad choices.
Squaring his feet, the lion leaped as far as he could, paws outstretched to grab onto the next ledge. The pink male let out a soft "oof" as his stomach collided with the side of the rocks. His paws scrambled along the top of the ledge, trying to find purchase. Maua began to panic when he realized the rocks were too slippery for him to pull himself up. He was going to fall.
His mind flashed back to a sunny day on the rocks, following behind his sister as she scampered along the river's edge. Niliua swiped at him again, this time knocking his paws out from under him. His chin smashed onto the hard rocks, teeth slicing into his lips. His sister laughed cruelly, teasing him for his clumsiness. Maua spat the blood out and growled, finally done with putting up with his sister's bullying. He ran up behind the female and slammed into her, expecting her to go tumbling onto the surface of the rocks. But instead she went flying, skidding along until slipped off of the edge. Maua screamed in horror, running to the edge in order to try dragging her back up....
Maua's arms strained with the effort to keep himself up. His back feet kicked along the bottom of the ledge, finally finding a small bump to rest on. He reached out, supporting himself with his back paws, claws scraping across the granite.
But his back paws slipped, and Maua found himself tumbling down into the gorge below. His head connected with the stone, and everything went black.  

[The Captain Britain]

A flash of lightning light up the pathway ahead of him. The hyena walked along the narrow path of the gorge, shoulder brushing up against the side of the mountains. The path wouldn't widen for another few yards, and Waridi had been squeezing along the small opening for a while now. He couldn't imagine any of the lions trying to do it. Waridi wasn't even sure half the lions in the pride could fit! Then again, he was rather large for his species, and many Jedi had used the path before, so it must be possible.
Waridi looked up, trying to determine just where the gorge began to open up. Another lightning strike lit up the gorge, and for a second Waridi could have sworn he saw something moving near the top. But the dark of the storm made it impossible for him to be sure. He wanted to shrug it off and continue going, but something in his gut was telling him that he should watche further. Squinting his eyes, the hyena could just barely make out the silhouette of a lion struggling on the rocks. One more flash of light, and Waridi watched in horror as the lion fell into the gorge.
He bolted, shoulder scraping along the side of the path and leaving small smears of blood behind. The Jedi picked up speed as the path widened. He could see the lion lying in the path, motionless, just ahead of him. Waridi finally reached the stranger and shook his shoulder with a brown paw. "Sir, are you alright?" There was no response. "Sir, wake up!" Still nothing.
The hyena huffed, bending down to check if the lion was breathing. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the lion's chest rising up and down. But the stranger was also bleeding, and rather heavily at that. The cave Waridi had been heading towards was just around the upcoming bend in the path. If he could get the lion into the cave and find the right herbs...
Mind made up, the Jedi grabbed a hold of the lion's mane, gagging as some of the hair tickled his throat. He started dragging the lion along the path, careful to not bump the stranger's head into any rocks. When they reached the cave, the hyena set the lion down on a raised surface and scooted a rock over to rest the male's head on. Placing the injured limb above the heart was a good way to get the bleeding to slow.
 

[The Captain Britain]

He needed something to stop the bleeding of the head wound. There were other cuts that would need tending to, but the head wound was the worst. What had his master called the plant? What did it look like? It had only been mentioned in passing when Waridi had gashed his paw open on a shard of slate just outside the cave's other entrance.
Just outside the cave's other entrance.
Waridi dashed through the tunnels of the cave, stumbling slightly in the dark. The other opening was much wider, and the bottom had flooded a little from the rain. The hyena sloshed through the puddles and peeked outside the entrance. Agrimony. That's what it had been called. The hyena grasped a large bunch in his teeth and ran back to the lion.
He was thankfully still breathing, though it had slowed some. His grey nose was dry and his fur felt cold to the touch. Waridi would have to stop the bleeding soon. The hyena began chewing some of the plant up, making a face at the bitter taste. After he felt like it was ground down enough, he spat it out onto his paw and began rubbing it over the lion's head wound.
The process was repeated until the entire gash was covered. Only small trickles of blood could be seen, and the agrimony paste was already drying. Waridi crawled up to the lion and curled up against the dripping pink mane to keep him warm. If the lion could last the night, then he would make it out alive.  

[The Captain Britain]

Final Word count: 1768