[EXILE] Opportunity (Koyu'kani & Asmar)

[mouselet]

Having reaffirmed to herself and to the stranger Draugr her decision to remain loyal to Hroarr, there was one piece of business Asmar needed to take care of before the warband rejoined the pride. The striped lioness strode confidently into the bit of cave she called her own and noted the presence of her own Thrall with pleasure. Excellent, he was still here.

Not for long, or so he would think. She had grown skilled at judging the fitness of others in the time she'd been a member of the Myrsky Syntynyt, and Asmar was certain that he was close to fully healed.

And eager to escape the shame of being enslaved by a lowly female.

She was careful not to let any trace of her amusement show, hiding it behind the stern facade she always wore around Koyu, except when she was tormenting him. He could suspect nothing if this was to work.

"I'm leaving on a raid," Asmar announced, giving him a look that said she meant business and not to trifle with her. "It may be a few days, it may be half a moon. You'll answer to any Reaver who asks," she informed the black lion. She didn't wait to hear his protestations or objections, turning again to go. If this was a real raid, the band would almost certainly be waiting for her to take care of business.

She thought about giving him a warning, but she had been gone before and not done so - mostly because Koyu hadn't been fit to cause trouble. Still, she didn't want to alert him by changing her habits. With that thought firmly in mind, the lioness strode off again, leaving her Thrall alone.  

[Talencia]

The thrall lived his life in fury. His life boiled in rage so deep it shook the very foundations of who he was... or who he had thought he was. The bland, apathetic wandering male no longer existed. He had been transformed into an impotent and nameless wretch. It wasn't so much that he'd been forbidden his name. It simply had become a thing of the past, an echo of what had been but was no longer. Glories knew SHE never called him by name. Never anything but "you" or "he". He might have been grateful that she had at least left him his gender, save that this clearly was so that she could torture him more.

A female... domineering a male. How his father would have been horrified. How his mother would have cried. How his pride would have banished him!

It was all no more. And it was all HER fault!

He heard her pawfalls coming. How he hated himself, for he couldn't help cringing into a corner, careful to keep his blind eye away from her, his seeing side angled to watch her ever move. Her attitude lately had been so disdainful, so scornful. Rightfully so. What creature, male or female, could respect a cringing, helpless fool like him?! Still, he spat a warning as she entered. One she ignored, of course. Hadn't she already proven to him who was in control? His empty eyesocket throbbed in answer.

But wait... she was leaving... again... but this time was different. This time he was stronger. This time he could see straight, he could walk straight... he could... escape. He coiled himself against the wall, head defensively down, lips drawn back, but not uttering another sound. She turned and walked out... turned her back on him! She would see... or not.. see... His thoughts tumbled frantically over one another, watching her leave through the red haze of his hate. He would get away. He would get strong. And then he'd come back... for HER!

It was all he could do to wait until she should have already left the outpost... should have already begun trotting out of sight, before he moved from the wall. With stealthy steps he crept to the entrance of their small den area. Tattered ears flickered, catching voices, laughter, song. Song?! What had anyone to sing about?! His life was in ruins, and they celebrated! A soft growl rumbled in his throat, and he turned to sneak away, towards one of the back entrances. Away from the voices, and towards sweet freedom.  

[mouselet]

As she walked, Asmar was careful not to move any differently than normal. She wasn't stealthy, nor was she making enough noise to raise the dead. If she was to take her Thrall to the main pride, she would not be shamed by being unable to control him. He may have been won fairly, but she had given him neither the time nor the opportunity to defy her before. Did the black lion think he had managed to conceal his fury from her? Well, maybe he had. Certainly she had much more experience in reading a person's emotion in this kind of situation - for was it not similar to what the banu of their birth pride endured? As the daughter of a kajira, Asmar had seen much and learned more.

Once outside, the striped lioness moved quietly into the brush, slipping silently to lay in ambush. Despite her victory over the male, and the destruction of his eye, he still believed himself to be superior to her - was insulted and dishonored by what she had done. Asmar meant to put him in his place.

Thus the trap.

She had arranged to give him the chance to escape. And it was entirely possible, she had to admit, that he might. Being male, he was still larger and more heavily built than she. But she didn't think he had her training or dedication. So he would try. And she would be here, waiting.

The lioness rather thought that if she handled this right, she would manage to crush his resistance for good.  

[Talencia]

He slunk along the passage, then paused in the shadows before it gave out into the open air. He flared his nostrils wide, but all he smelled were lions and those stinking hyenas. He pulled back his whiskers and bared his fangs in a silent hiss. How he hated this place, these people! Abominations, each and every one of them! But most especially HER! His ears pinned back for a moment, but he was forced to tip them forward attentively again. Without scent, he had to use all his other senses. His single eye scanned the darkened landscape as closely as possible, while his ears pivoted warily.

He'd had some trouble adjusting to losing his eye. He'd run into things repeatedly, and was only now just starting to alter his steps consciously to avoid obstacles. For now, he kept the outpost's wall close against his blind side, preventing anyone from sneaking up on him, from behind or to the side. Cautiously, so cautiously, he emerged from the tunnel. One slow pawstep at a time, he crept out beneath the night sky, oblivious to the glittering heavens above him. His whole being was focused on silence, on craftiness, on escape!  

[mouselet]

Time passed. It had little meaning on the hunt, save to know if it was dark or light, raining or dry, summer or winter. Asmar had been taught patience as a cub, as a way to endure the life she'd been raised to lead. These lessons had stood her in good stead ever since then as she learned first to hunt, then to survive, and finally to fight.

So she was already in place, waiting patiently, as her Thrall came to the exit and into the open air. He was cautious, well, that was to be expected after what he'd been through and the forbidden nature of his actions. But it was not yet time to spring the trap.

First she would watch, observe, and plan. Then she would strike, hard, and smite his dreams of escape.  

[Talencia]

He could sense nothing, but that did not make him any less cautious. He took three steps, bringing his whole body out beneath the sky. He kept the wall against his blind side, and raised his paw to take another stealthy step, then paused in mid-motion. He frowned, thoughts swirling. What if... what if she, evil and crafty creature that she was, knew he'd try to escape? He took a slow, painful breath. His heart was pounding fit to leap out of his chest, and only a clenched jaw kept him from lashing his tail. He lowered his paw slowly, then stood stock still for several minutes, forcing himself to think this through.

If he assumed she guessed he'd try to escape... would she have the whole outpost watching for him? Upon steady reflection, he decided that no, she wouldn't. She had a thing about personally humiliating him. She wouldn't want anyone else to catch him. She'd want that pleasure for herself. So. She would be the one and only lion out there, waiting or watching for him.

His whole body vibrated, threatening to break into tremors he couldn't stop. Fear, fury, terror, and hopelessness raged through his soul. Taking several breaths as deeply as he could manage, he tried to quiet his mind and calm himself. There had to be a way out. First... what should he do now?

It didn't take much to realize he was making a mistake already. With very slow motions, he turned in place and re-crossed the entrance. His blind eye now was facing towards the open ground, and his good eye was blocked from easy view. Every muscle in his body was taut with tension. He had to do this, though.. he had to do differently than she would expect. Each step a painfully slow and calculated process, he used his ears as best he could, fighting the urge to crane his neck to try and watch for pursuit.  

[mouselet]

It was gratifying to see that she had been right. Even though she'd grown and learned, Asmar did occasionally suffer doubts, especially when it came to other people. Other people just werne't as predictable as the weather or the prey. She'd been sure that her Thrall would take advantage of his relatively recovered state and her supposed absence to go...but what if he'd chosen to wait longer? Until she'd been gone a day or more?

Thank the gods he'd been so impatient that he'd barely waited.

However, now a new flaw in her plan was exposed. Now that the thrall was out of the tunnel in the darkness of the night, she could barely tell where he was - a shadow against deeper shadows.

Hmmm...given that, perhaps she should begin the lesson now.

The striped lioness crept closer to him from her observation post, careful not to make a sound. That was, unfortunately, the easy part. The lioness came closer and closer, and began to raise a paw to strike...

CRACK!

The sound was far louder in the silent night than it would have been at any other time and Asmar cursed whatever nocturnal creature was responsible because she knew it hadn't been her. She didn't think it was her thrall, but curses, what if it alerted him? Sure he'd been suspicious already, but he hadn't had any reason to believe she was out here! And now it didn't matter what rodent, owl or other creature had made the noise, he was sure to attribute it to her.  

[Talencia]

CRACK!

The noise was louder than monsoon thunder in his ears. He had been so focused on listening, on straining past the pounding of his own heart, he nearly came unglued at the sound. In fact, it startled him into something he never thought previously he'd ever have the instinct to do. He bolted, like a rabbit from its den. With the lowliness and unworthiness having been pounded into him, unbeknownst to him, prey-like instincts had been honed. He was a victim, a preybeast, a hunted thing that would lose its life if caught. As such, his body reacted in the marvelous ways nature intended.

His first burst of speed from a dead stand-still was tremendous. That loudly pumping heart now lent him a good deal of blood to the muscles, allowing him to launch himself into the dark landscape at a furious pace. He didn't dare hold his breath anymore either, so he gulped great lungfuls of air, stretching his body as far and as fast as it would go.

After the first mad headlong rush had run its course, though, he became more aware of his surroundings. He needed to do more than flee... she was certain to be right on his tail! Unfortunately he was, or used to be, bigger than she, and heavier, and all options tended to favor the smaller, lighter prey creatures. He had to come up with something! Frantic, he scanned the surrounding area with his good eye as his speed began to flag. Now what?!  

[mouselet]

Asmar cursed under her breath as her eyes made out just enough movement to know that her thrall had bolted. Luckily, he wasn't trying to be stealthy as he fled mindlessly, which made her job of tracking him slightly easier.

Only slightly. There was no path, not really, and she caught the distinct odor of blood as she chased afterwards. The lioness didn't run at her top speed, but rather at a pace she could maintain for some time.

Now...where was he? What had seemed to be a simple proposition when she thought it up now seemed like a risky and foolish idea that would see her losing her thrall and much of the prestige that had come from his capture.  

[Talencia]

He slowed further, quieting his breathing and trying to hear beyond his thundering heartbeat. He thought it was possible he had managed to flee beyond the patrolled outpost area. Maybe. He couldn't be certain by any means. He kept loping along, though, keeping himself going in the same general direction he'd begun. That would have to change, and soon. At least he didn't hear her heavy paw-tread right behind him! That was something at least.

In fact, it raised in him a slight hope, which only made his heart pound faster again. Mentally chewing himself out for counting his luck before it was secured, he kept scanning the area for signs of a patrol or some means to truly escape. He was by no means free... not yet.

It was that luck that apparently was going for him and led him to his next step towards that freedom. He nearly tripped into a sharp crevice in the land. It wouldn't be hard to get into or climb out of, but it was deep. Deep enough, he surmised quickly, to hide a full grown lion such as himself. Eagerly he plunged down in, only to discover a further stroke of luck. The bottom was not just damp, it was soaked. A small rivulet ran through the middle of the narrow ravine, and the ground on either side of it was heavily muddy.

Mud. Mud that could muddle his scent, perhaps even cover it. But first... he popped his head up over the edge quickly, to ensure that that hated female wasn't there yet. Then he darted upstream for several mintues, then reversed himself and ran back the other way, further than he'd begun, for another few minutes. Returning to his starting point, feeling the terror of the hunted with death looming near, he flung himself into the mud. He coated himself as thoroughly as he dared, then walked for two minutes upstream. At a random point, after the loose mud has sloughed off already, he gingerly climbed out of the ravine. He returned to slinking along slowly, crouching to keep himself low, choosing each step with care.

Let her figure that one out, he snarled silently to himself. Let her spend the rest of her rotten life figuring it out, for all he cared! So long as he never saw her face again, nor smelled her scent, nor heard her name mentioned!  

[mouselet]

The scent...ended. The rocky landscape had formed a culvert, but either Asmar was not as observant as the lion she chased or she simply had poorer eyesight, for she didn't once notice the crevice that had afforded him escape. The lioness stalked back and forth several times, attempting to determine which way he'd went, but always she returned, finding that the trail went utterly cold no matter what direction she chose.

Curse him! Curse him and all the gods who'd aided and abetted his escape! Now she was bound to return to the Myrsky Syntynyt without a thrall...though everyone in Hroarr's band had known she had one. This was not at all how she wanted to stand meeting the rest of the pride.

But as she couldn't determine where the black lion had gone, she couldn't properly pursue him. And Asmar knew he wouldn't be so foolish as to come anywhere near Stormborn territory again.

Fuming, defeated and furious at herself, the striped lioness began the trek back to report her failure. It would be painful, but worse would come if she tried to hide it instead of being honest.

This would be a lesson that she'd learn. Because he wouldn't be her last thrall, just her first. And she'd do better next time.

Next time he wouldn't be so lucky.