[PRP] Defending What You...Care...About? [Chekelea/Angusho]

[ShinosBee]

Day had waned into night and the old moon into a new one, and Chekelea was still no closer to finding hide or hair of her pride. Even after so many days of wandering it still astounded her just how much...OUT THERE there was, well, out there! They'd barely seen anyone at all, let alone any prides. Still, she hadn't been lonely. True, the company wasn't what she'd ever imagined it'd be - but then, who really anticipated meeting a frie--...a lion like that?

The thoughts of him made her turn to regard his drowsing form. He was an aged lion, but still physically imposing. Terrifying, really, and the massive scarring across his body didn't help. Maybe some would think the obvious wounds would make him seem like easier pickings. Others might realize that the fact that he was still alive after what had to be a truly savage fight meant he was made of far sterner stuff than the average fighter. Even Chekelea could recognize how tough he was. So why wasn't she turning tail and running? The thought didn't even occur to her. Instead she watched him in silence, wondering just how long ago she'd started to feel more friendship than simple caring for him. At least, she thought it was friendship. Whatever it was, this slowly budding comfort around the brute, it was nice, she decided. And it was probably because he'd been acting nicer to her too. In his own way. Sort of.

He didn't tell her to scram six times a day anymore, at least. That was something.

He seemed to be sleeping fairly well. She knew his wounds still bothered him, but he never showed even the slightest sign. She knew because why wouldn't they be? There was not really anything she could do but keep pace with him, in the end. Some evenings, like this, he fell quickly asleep and she was left to wind down with only her own thoughts. It didn't bother her, but it did make her want to get just a little more walking in. Not that she'd ever think of leaving him behind, no. This would just be a relaxing walk. With a last glance to be sure she hadn't woken him, the plum lioness rose and slid away, never moving further than the range of hearing from the male as she made a slow lap of the area they'd chosen to rest in.

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Angusho wasn't sure why he was still following the female. He had recovered enough to move around, and he didn't need her to hunt for him all the time. While he was slow, he could still take down surprised or young food on his own. Sometimes it just took a little while longer. There was no REAL reason for him to be hanging out with her still. The only reason he did it, it seemed, was because he just... wanted to be around her. Perhaps it was because the debt hadn't really been paid off. They had been hunting for her family down for a while now, but they hadn't come across them. So, really, he hadn't helped her. That was enough to justify still being there with her, even after so long.

Right.

He had been sleeping for a little while, but a sharp pain in his leg had caused him to wake up. He raised his head, looking around in something of a sleepy daze. It didn't look like the Chekelea was around, though he wasn't too bothered. Sometimes he woke up to find her gone, but she had always returned at some point.

Still, this time he was made to feel a little more uncomfortable, if only because he couple smell something unfamiliar in the air. Or rather, he could smell someone. Another lion, or possibly more than one, was likely in the area. If this was there territory, they might not be that welcoming to visitors. With a sigh, the lion slowly got himself to his three working legs, the fourth still useless to him.

ShinosBee

 

[ShinosBee]

Chekelea was nearly in a light enough mood to start humming to herself as she padded along, dainty paws kicking up puffs of dust as she slipped easily through the brush. She wasn't doing a terribly hard job at staying quiet - she simply didn't think about the risk of danger. It was too nice a day for that, and she was so savoring the positive mood she'd found herself in. There was nothing to occupy her mind - they'd eaten the day before and would be content a while longer before needing to hunt again, they had a comfortable enough scrape along the trail to rest for the night, and dare she even think it! She and Angusho had begun to get along!

Or well, at least he wasn't snarling at her or telling her to beat it any more. Not often. Close enough!

He didn't seem to mind so much when she made efforts to help him, though he was needing (or at least making use of) her help less and less as his muscles strengthened and his wounds healed. Maybe soon he wouldn't need her help at all. The thought that he might then choose to leave her behind was...more distressing than she expected, and she came to a gently stop on the trail, one paw still raised as if to step forward. She frowned. He wouldn't do that, would he? She'd been fine alone before, but after company this last month...it would be TERRIBLY lonely to go it alone again.


Across the trail (it was well-worn enough to make it clear that someone had to be using it regularly - she hadn't noticed in her distraction) two narrowed eyes peered out of the brush at the small lioness. Claws unsheathed and dug little furrows in the dirt. Distracted prey was easy prey, after all, and she was so very little, and harmless looking...The stalker's muscles tensed, and with a blood-curdling snarl, he leapt through the leafy cover, narrowly missing the plum female as she shrieked in alarm, ducking out of range by sheer luck. "S-stop, wait!" She stepped rapidly back as her would-be-attacker slunk after her. "Stop...! H-help! Someone...Angusho!!"

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Angusho's ears perked forward as he heard Chekelea screaming for him, the lion leaping into action. Though he wasn't as fast as he used to be with one leg dragging uselessly at his side, he still barreled his way over the landscape to get to where he had heard her calling from. He let out a massive roar as he charged along, his voice still as intimidating as ever. Even if his body no longer matched up perfectly, he could freak out anyone nearby.

"Chekelea!"

He sprang over some bushes like he knew just what was on the other side, the lion that had been chasing the purple female coming to a sudden stop. He looked up at Angusho, gasping but unable to get out of the way as the massive lion landed on top of him. The two rolled together for a moment, before the lion managed to kick Angusho off of him. Both lions snarled and growled at one another, circling each other and sizing the other up. the other lion didn't seem as nervous now that he saw Angusho was wounded, and charged in to attack again.

Angusho let out another roar as he dove forward, ducking under the lion's swiping claws and coming up from the ground, grabbing the lion's neck with his jaw. He shoved the lion to the ground, trying to keep him there as the lion slashed about with wild claws, catching his legs and chest.

But angusho would not relent- he was going to make sure the lion died for trying to hurt Chekelea. Murder was kind of his answer for everything.

ShinosBee

 

[ShinosBee]

Chekelea would later swear she'd seen her whole life flash before her eyes in the panicked, tense moments between her scream of fear and Angusho's answering roar of challenge. Fear had locked up her legs faster than she could flee, and she'd dropped to cower on the trail a split second before the furious mass of black-furred lion came hurtling over the standing plants and crashed claws-first into her aggressor.

As the males tore into each other the plum female shook and fought to tuck her ears down tight enough to block the terrible, horrible sounds of the two locked in combat. She had never been a part of any fight - never even really seen one, not this close. The brutality of it was beyond her, and she whimpered into the dirt in both fear and a kind of disgust.

Daring a peek, it looked to her like Angusho was winning...or at least, he'd pinned the other lion, the stranger, and had his teeth at the strange feline's neck. Claws had laid open parts and portions of the black male's fur, and streaks of red had begun to trickle along his limbs. She shuddered more sharply, aching at the pain he was putting himself through for her. Why had that lion had to come at her like that? She'd done nothing wrong. None of this fear or anger or fighting had been necessary...

The lion beneath Angusho's movements were becoming more frantic - a lion's specialty after all was the strangling bite, and Angusho had resisted all his foe's attempts to drive him back. The biting grip was not letting up, and the attacker's snarls cut off with a sharp squealing noise that might have been an attempt at a roar. The pinned lion's eyes were wide, lit with more fear than fury now, and they locked onto the purple lioness.

A surge of tightness in her chest, and she tore her gaze away, fixing it instead on the rage-contorted face of her friend, or what of it she could make out. "A-Angusho...Angusho, you're killing him...You...you can...s-stop, Angusho...!" She found her feet and slunk towards the entwined pair, smart enough to stay out of range of the enemy's claws. He'd attacked her, yes. She could have been hurt, could have died, true. But she hadn't been. She was fine. Angusho COULD kill him, WOULD kill him, and she wouldn't stop him...but he didn't have to.

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Angusho could hear the female telling him that he could stop- that he didn't need to kill this male. But he had attacked her, hadn't he? He had proven that he was an enemy, and enemies didn't deserve mercy. They didn't deserve to be living. That was how he had always been- it was his way of life. So he was really annoyed to hear that the female wanted him to lighten up and let the male go just because he was frightened. He could feel the male's protests wavering. He wasn't thrashing like he used to. It was clear that he was running out of oxygen.

That was what Angusho wanted - a slow, painful death so he suffered as much as possible before he finally died. It really annoyed him that Chekelea wanted to show him mercy. What annoyed him most, though, was that his jaw loosened around the male's neck, allowing him to breathe again. As the male gasped for air, Angusho released him fully, taking a few steps back before looking at the female. He growled at her, annoyed.

"He doesn't deserve to live! He made his choice when he attacked you- his death is justified!" Why would she possibly want to let him live? did she really just pity everyone who was at least a little bit pathetic? Would she travel around with him now, tending to his wounds when he needed her to? Would she do that for any lion who needed help?

Why did that bother him more than her being a total weakling?

He huffed indignantly, turning his head from her. He glared at the male again, watching as he struggled to get himself back to his paws. "You got lucky today, whelp," he hissed darkly, "if I see you again, I will not offer the same chance. I will make sure to feast upon your flesh." He watched as the male seemed to understand, taking off before Angusho could reconsider his position.

The large lion growled again, bitterly sitting himself down once the male was out of sight. He didn't know if they would see him again- he knew there was more than one scent in the area. They could return with friends next time. If that happened, he would have to blame Chekelea for it. Until then, he would just be terribly grumpy. He raised a paw and licked some of the small gashes on his flesh.

"I suppose all pitiable lions are the same in your eyes," he grumbled, unaware he was displaying something akin to jealousy.

ShinosBee

 

[ShinosBee]

She honestly, truly hadn't expected Angusho to leave off the enemy male. In the time they'd been together she'd learned enough to not be as entirely ignorant of who he was before they'd met, of course. She was still almost cripplingly blind in some regards, and still thought better of him than perhaps he really was, but she knew he was strong, and hard, and unforgiving.

And that apparently at some point or other he'd decided her worth the effort to defend. Maybe around the same time he'd stopped trying to drive her off himself?

Her pleas died on her lips as he seemed to lurch away from the nearly unconscious lion, glaring fangs at her. His words were harsh, and she wilted, contrite, not fully understanding the source of his anger. He HAD attacked her, but she was fine. Unharmed. And protected now. She lingered nearby, silent in the face of how strong his opinions seemed to be. In truth she wanted no one's blood on her pelt. The threat had been beaten back, shown that such acts were NOT acceptable...there was no need to kill the stranger, especially not over herself.

And Angusho would always be a killer, but he didn't have to keep doing it. She really couldn't stop him, and knew it would be...wrong, somehow, to try, if only to him, but she could at least remind him. She didn't want to make him into some 'goody-four-paws' like she apparently was, but he HAD been changing. That he was even now snapping at the stranger to get lost rather than tearing his throat out was proof of that.

She crept closer to the dark male as the last sounds of the fleeing foe died away. It was safer near him, and she wanted to help him clean himself, but obviously he wasn't happy with her. "It wasn't pity," She deadpanned. "You won. He lost, and I'm fine. It's not...something worth someone dying over. Just some lion." Though to tell it true, even if he had caught her, had clawed her, blinded her, she still would have begged the old male to spare the enemy. "Life's important." She doubted he'd do much but scoff at her. "So...Thank you. For saving mine, and sparing his, when you didn't have to." She lingered near, but not quite touching him.

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Angusho frowned, watching the female for a moment. That's right- she was one of THOSE lionesses. The kind that thought life was worth protecting. It didn't mean that she was giving everyone the same treatment, and he was the same as anyone else. It just meant that it was her normal way of being. Her treatment of him still went beyond what she normally did for others. Right? He hoped so. It still bothered him to think that she offered the same kind of companionship to any lion she came across. And she hadn't really put the thought completely out of his mind, either, though he did comprehend a little more about her. Why did it even bother him so much? Who cared what she did with her time? What lions she helped out?

It shouldn't have even mattered to him. Somehow, though, it did.

"I don't think every life is important," he growled, "just yours, for the time being." Why he felt that way, he couldn't really say. Perhaps because he still felt he owed her. This did help even the score a little bit, though. unfortunately, it would take a lot more than scaring away one lion. He wasn't free of her yet. That's what he would tell himself, anyway.

He lowered his paw after a moment. None of the scratches on his body were terribly deep, so he wasn't too concerned about them. Perhaps when they found a quiet, safe place to lie down for the night, he would have her tend to them. It was the least she could do after she got him into a fight! He was secretly glad, though, that it seemed he still had some skill. At least against clearly untrained males. What would happen in a real fight, though? He imagined it would not go so smoothly. "You're going to have to be more careful," he growled at the female after a moment, looking at her from the corner of his vision, "next time it might be a more experienced warrior, and I won't be able to protect you. My body is not what it used to be. We simply got lucky this time around."

Not that he liked to admit it, but it was the truth all the same. Slowly, he got himself to his paws again, moving to leave the area now that it seemed like they would be alright. He had been spending too much time focused on her, however. With all the blood in the air, he hadn't noticed another lion's scent. A friend of the first lion, who had seen what was happening and had decided not to get involved right away. He was a smaller lion and not quite as capable in a fair fight. But now that Angusho had his guard down, he felt ready, making a move by leaping out from his hiding spot. He caught the surprised beast on his side, knocking Angusho over with all his might. Angusho toppled sideways, his head connecting with a rock on the ground. There was a short grunt and then silence from the black male.

The other lion grinned, looking at the female. He felt he might be able to take her, though he was not very big. She looked like a push over!

ShinosBee

 

[ShinosBee]

His words made her heart seem to leap in her chest, and it left her short of breath, eyes fixed on him like he'd grown a second head (or perhaps like the sun was shining out of his mane...it was certainly a happy look.) She bobbed her head, agreeing placidly with him. She HAD been told before she started wandering in her youth to be careful, and she had been. Only recently had she become more bold, more at ease. It had to be that he was with her. He made her feel safe...despite being the only lion to ever actually (successfully) strike her.

"I'll stick nearby in the future, yes," It HAD been a scary moment for her, before she'd heard Angusho charging in to her rescue. Not something she wanted to experience again any time soon.

Of course, when had life ever taken someone's wants into account?

There was a flash of unfamiliar fur, and a sickening thud as her protector's head connected with solid stone. He didn't move. Didn't rise back up to threaten and scare off this second attacker. Normally she would flinch and cower, try to flee, to beg the enemy leave them be...Chekelea was in no way a violent lioness, nor one with any real skill with her teeth and claws beyond that needed to hunt.

But then, Chekelea had never been in love before.

The flip-flop of panic in her belly was matched by a sudden heat in her blood, and without thinking (which was probably luck in her favor - if she'd hesitated at all the male never would have seen it coming) she lurched forward, a high but firm demand of "Get away from him!" startling the male standing over Angusho's still form equally as much as the swift claw that jabbed out, missing her actual target of his neck and instead skittering across the male's face. Of course, that one move wasn't enough to drive the male away, but it'd staggered him, and now there was blood in his eyes, and it was the purple lioness who was crouched over the downed male, her fur all on end, ears back flat against her skull, and a sort of desperate fire in her eyes. She was definitely small, but the message was clear. She wouldn't simply fall over or run. Not this time. As much as she hated violence, she would commit it to protect what she'd come to think of as her own.

"Leave," She hissed, teeth flashing. "Leave now!" Her tail lashed behind her, whipping through the air. Please, please let him think them not worth the fight. She WOULD fight, she would!

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

The lion was surprised to have been wounded by the female. Surprised and more than a little angry, the lion backed away from Chekelea and Angusho, snarling at the female for hurting him so suddenly. He hadn't been anticipating her involvement in things. But he wasn't going to back off just because it seemed she had found a backbone somewhere.

He growled and stood his ground, ready to fight her to prove he wouldn't be attacked and not retaliate in some measure. However, he saw the larger lion behind her stir, groaning lowly as the lights came back on in his brain. The lion hesitated at the thought of taking on the both of them and left. Damn female- it would have been easy if she had just surrendered to him right away! He had been expecting her to cower and whimper. Where had that fire come from?

Meanwhile, Angusho slowly sat himself up, a bit of blood dripping from his mane. He shook his head, trying to rid the pounding from between his ears.

"Ugh... what...?" He shot up quickly, remembering that he had just been attacked and it had taken him by surprise. He did not want to be killed by some upstart who had taken him by surprise. However, he found that the lion who had attacked was nowhere to be found, as though he had been frightened off somehow. Blinking, he turned his head to look at Chekelea, who was standing in front of him. Had she... had she chased off the male who had attacked him?

"What's going on?" He asked, as though that thought couldn't possibly have been the correct answer, "where did that attacker go?"

Why would someone run when they had the upper hand? He had clearly been injured. Unconscious. There was no way she had been able to chase off the lion herself, so perhaps someone else had come along, or perhaps he had been mistaken to think he had been jumped in the first place. Maybe his head injury was making him think the wrong thing- he could have just tripped or something. Frowning, he lowered himself down onto the ground, feeling a little sick. Great, now he head a bleeding head wound.

As if he needed another scar.

"Are you alright?" He asked after a moment, almost as if it were an afterthought.

Cajanic

 

[ShinosBee]

Chekelea almost didn't even notice when Angusho began to rouse himself. Her attention was entirely fixed on their attacker, eyes blown wide, watching his every move; she didn't realize it, but she was trembling, taught and ready to lash out if he came even a step closer. Her whole body seized when the attacker moved, and then nearly sagged with relief when that move was to turn tail and run. She staggered forward from where she'd stood her ground, limbs shaking and threatening to drop her like a puppet that's strings had been cut. Her eyes refused to leave the bit of brush he'd scampered through until—"Ugh...what?"

She whirled then, only stopping from flinging herself against the larger lion at the sight of him lowering back to the ground in pain. Blood flecked the ground, scattering off tips of his mane when he'd shaken his head, and she gently nosed her way toward the wound. "H-he ran," Her voice shook, and so did her body where it pressed against him as she started cleaning the wound. He wouldn't be able to see it, but her eyes stayed trained on the brush, leaping nervously about for any sign of returning aggressors. "I...I swung at him, and you were waking up...he ran."

Her flicking tongue paused in its efforts of cleaning at his query. She was...she was shaken, certainly, more frightened than she'd ever been beyond the day she'd seen the burned remains of her pride's home...but injured? Surprisingly, not at all. "I'm fine." Honestly, neither of them had managed to lay a claw on her. A sigh slid through her; she was rattled more than she cared to admit, but physically fine. "Hold still, it's still bleeding..."

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Angusho allowed her to draw closer when she realized that he was awake, mostly because it allowed him the chance to keep her near just in case those foolish lions returned. He didn't want her to be attacked by them again, even if it seemed that she had managed to hold off her attackers. Somehow, he didn't want those idiots thinking they could hurt the either of them. Probably because he was walking with her, and if she got hurt while he was there, that simply meant he was a failure as well, right?

He didn't say anything as she tried to deal with the cut on his head, closing his eyes for a moment as though he actually wanted her to be close to him. However, he was just alright with the way it felt- his head didn't seem to hurt as much when he had her there with him, looking after it. Even if, in the grand scheme of things, she wasn't doing much more than cleaning it up and making sure it didn't get infected. Perhaps he was just used to her tending to his injuries, since she had already helped him so much with his other wounds. There was little chance he would allow anyone else to get so close to him without him leaving a mark of some kind on their bodies.

"I should not have allowed myself to get knocked out," he grumbled bitterly, "I would have ripped that lion apart if I hadn't been so foolish." He sounded very angry about it. Apparently missing out on the chance to kill another lion didn't sit well with him. Or maybe it was the thought of something else that had his nerves frayed.

She said she was fine, but he could feel her body trembling as she tended to him. The uncertainty in her tone was clear as day, too. "You should have run when you had the chance," he told her, "worry more about yourself. I would not have wanted you injured for my sake."

ShinosBee