Back Story
Aureo waited by the cliff and looked down. The river far below was rushing at incredible speeds. He wasn’t sure if he could survive a fall from this high. All morning he was anxiously waiting this moment, but now nothing but fear filled him. Even if he survived the drop the pride could still go after him and Txiki. He wasn’t so worried about himself than he was for her. She was going to be doing a lot of lying and if she got caught they would probably kill her.

“Are you ready to die Aureo?” Txiki asked as she walked toward him. Aureo jumped from being surprised, making her giggle. She was as afraid, if not more terrified as Aureo, she just had a way of making herself be calm. “This is it Aureo. It is now or never.”

He looked down at the drop again than back at Txiki. “What would you do if I died? What if this plan of yours ends up killing me or killing you?” Aureo said. “If our freedom worth one of our lives?”

“Aureo don’t think about death. The drop won’t kill you. If anything you will get a couple scraps and bruises. I will fix you right up once. There is nothing for you to worry about so relax.” She said. “Now you have to stay still once you hit the water. I will be down there ready to get you out. Do not move, do not itch. Try as hard as you can not to breathe too heavily.”

“All right.” He replied. He laid down and looked down again. “As a cub I used to go up here and think it would be the funniest thing in the world if I jumped. I would imagine that I wouldn’t fall; instead the gods would bless me the ability to fly. I would never come down.”

“When you fall Aureo, it isn’t going to happen. You should prepare yourself for a rough landing. If you don’t I might not be able to put you back together.” She looked at him with so many feelings. Part of her wanted to cry than and there. She knew he wanted to be free from the pride. She could see him flying away into the sky, but she knew no matter how much they both wished it that he was going to die no matter what.

“Txiki when we get out of here there is something I want to tell you.” Aureo said not bothering to look at her. It is something I’ve always wanted to say and never had the courage to say.

“Why don’t you say it now?” She had no clue what he would want to tell her that he couldn’t say now. They were friends for longer than she could remember and they shared everything together.

“Because I want you to make me better when I fall. If I tell you now you will have no reason to heal me.” Aureo said with a grin. “You should get down there. I think I am ready to die now.”

“Be careful.” She gave him a nudge on the head before leaving. As she walked down she saw smiling faces looking at her. She was popular through out the pride, despite most of them not liking her. As the only healer in the pride of warriors she had become rather useful in the pride. It would be interesting what would happen to them once she left, she thought.

There weren’t many lions drinking at the river this morning, to her relief. She would hate if Aureo landed on one when he fell. If that happened she might have had a real death situation on her hands. She looked up at the cliff and saw Aureo looking up at the sky. This was it; her heart was pounding faster and faster. Than she saw him take a step forward and he fell downward.

This was his chance. He prayed to the gods before he took his step. He wondered if it would hurt, but he knew it would. As he took the first step he had flashes of his family, of them training him to become the perfect warrior. His first romance with a lioness and his first heart break. He saw Txiki scolding him for being so careless when he fought. Was this what it was like to die? To remember everything that was important to you?

The water crashed against him like knives. He heard a loud crack in his shoulder than felt pain ripping up his arm. It took all his strength not to cry out. He laid there pretending to be dead. Not moving an inch. It was easier than he thought it would be. He felt himself sink into the water. His eyes were barely open. He saw the water around him turn red.

It looked bad. Txiki didn’t expect it to turn out this way. When Aureo landed she heard the loud crack and knew one of his bones must have broke. Than she saw the blood. His leg had hit a jagged rock that had cut through the skin. She prayed that he wasn’t dead that he was being a good actor.

She swam to him and dragged his body to the shore. The whole time she felt him limp. For the first time in her entire life she felt tears flowing to her eyes. The tears landed on his bruised body. A crowd had gathered around him. They were asking what happened to him. She didn’t say anything. All she could do was cry over him. She knew she was being pathetic and wasn’t going along with the plan at all, but she couldn’t help herself.

“Please every one; give me space to help him.” She finally said. They all obeyed her and watched form a distance. She put her head against his chest and at first she heard nothing. She refused to believe that he had died and listened more carefully. Than she heard it. His heart beat was slow but there. She almost smiled with glee. “I am sorry but he has died.”
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