How long it had been since that terrible day Aman'thul did did not remember. They seemed to drag on, day after day as he was stuck here, slave to those who had attacked his pride without warning. He was not the only one either. A few females and another male of his pride were here as well. A couple had been of those who stood beside him, defending those who could not fight as they fled. The others had been brought in during the few days after the attack, tracked down and brought here perhaps. Each time a new lion was brought in he asked of his son and mate, but none knew. He was not sure whether it was a good or bad thing though. Either they had fled and were safe, or they lay somewhere out in the grass for the buzzards.
The day was nearly half gone and they were once more on the move. None of the prisoners knew where they were going, and any questions about it were silenced with a paw to the face. Aman'thul glared beneath his mane at those that surrounded them, head low as they walked. The prisoners had been talking amongst themselves for some time, scheming or a way to escape. There had to be a way, and many of them would rather die fighting than stay here, slave to lions they didn't know, who killed so easily. They had to be careful though, so for now they waited.
The day was nearly over, the sun starting it's sweep down towards the earth. The sky darkened and the group came to a halt. Orders were roared out around them, calling lions to various tasks; hunting parties, lookouts and guards for the slaves quickly moved about to see to their duties. Aman'thul and the rest of the prisoners settled themselves down, huddled together as they waited. There was no expectation of food, they got only the scraps left over if there even were any.
"We have to move soon." One of the lioness' spoke, and Aman'thul nodded his agreement. "Yes, we must." He spoke quietly, gaze shifting around as he made sure their conversation was not noticed. "If we wait too long then we will be too weak from hunger to get away."
"What do we do then, have we a plan?" One of the males asked, looking around the huddled group for any sign they did. Aman'thul shook his head slowly. "Fight. Fight and run and hope we can get away. There is little more we can do than that." He paused, the group falling silent with them as they waited for a few of their captors to pass by. "Besides," Aman continued once it was safe to speak. "If we do not do something soon then it may be too late. There is no telling how far they plan to take up, the next day could end with whatever destination they have in mind." A few murmurs of agreement spread through the group. They did not know these lions, nor where they came from.
"Fine then." The first female spoke, determination set upon her face. "Tonight. "
"Yes, tonight." Aman'thul repeated. "We can not hope to escape when all of them are awake, but with the majority asleep we should have a chance. So far we have made no attempts to get away, or cause trouble. They likely won't expect it." He turned his gaze upwards, grim determination upon his own face. "For now we wait." He whispered, eyes set upon the sky as he waited for the sun to set.
It was of little surprise when their share of the meal consisted of little more than bones. Still they chewed them, getting what meat they could off, as well as breaking them to get to the marrow. They needed whatever they could get for tonight. Slowly the sun set and much of the pride settled in for rest. Aman'thul and his group lay down, biding their time as they pretended to get rest of their own. Even had they wanted too they were far too anxious to get any rest. Aman'thul slowly raised his hear, peering past the few guards around them. "Alright." He whispered softly. "Everyone ready?" His gaze shifted around the group, and each one nodded slowly. "Then it is time."
Suddenly they surged forward, no roars of fighting escaped them. They easily took out one guard, then a second. Roars of anger and warning called through the air, but before any of the others could awaken they were off. One of the lookouts leapt in front of them, and mouth opening to speak, likely to command a halt, but before anything could leave his maw they set upon him. The lion fell silent and his limp body was left behind. The group moved quickly, but as Aman'thul glanced back he saw the pride after them. Not just the guards either; lookouts and those who had managed to wake up quicker gave chase.
As Aman'thul glanced from one side to the other he saw the others start to swerve off. They had decided it best to split up. If they all stayed together then should the enemies catch up they would all be attacks, but by splitting up their pursuers had to do the same. Plus it was much easier to hide a single lion than half a dozen. Silently he wished them luck, knowing full well that they, as well as he, would all need it. With the rest of his group leaving his side Aman turned his attention back ahead. He could hear the paw steps of those behind them, though they had noticeably lessened in number. Ears swiveled back to hear better. They weren't gaining any distance, but neither were they loosing any. If he was going to lose them then he would have to do so quickly. The brown male looked around as he ran, peering through the growing darkness. For once he was glad for the lack of moonlight, as the sliver of silver hung in the sky above. That would make it a little easier to escape their sights.
A rock formation appeared ahead. If nothing else maybe he could lose their sights long enough to find somewhere to hide. Aman'thul set his course directly for it, putting on a burst of speed to try and get more distance between him and the lions after him. As he came tot he rocks he quickly climbed over them, peering down for a moment for the ground. It was a lot further than he had thought. The rocks jutted out from the ground, and he had not seen the drop the earth took from a distance. However there was little choice. The male moved blindly along, trying to feel his way down around the rocks. Dirt crumbled under paw, sending him head over tail down the slope. Pain shot through his body as rock and dirt pressed against wounds that had had little time to heal from the battle. Aman'thul pulled himself to his feet, squinting as he looked around. It was much darker here, the rocks and slope hiding what little light the moon gave off. It was as good a place as any. Aman moved along it before finding some bushes growing next to another set of rocks. The male pulled himself between the rocks and the slope, shifting the bushes slightly to try and hide himself form the front, while the rocks and slope shielding him from sight above and to his sides. There he crouched, ears forward as he listened. Paws came closer and stopped, the sound of shifting dirt tumbling down the slope of earth telling him they had at least come to it's edge. A few spoke, urging others to move forward.
Aman tried to push himself closer to the ground as more shifting dirt told him some of the lions were coming down the slope. The sound of paw steps moved around for a time. Closer they came and Aman'thul feared they would find them. Through luck, or the good graces of someone watching over him, a roar not far off called their attention and sounds of the group heading off in that direction fell onto his ears. He kept silent for a time, unsure if any had stayed behind and were simply lying in wait. Aman didn't want to take any chances. He settled himself in as comfortable as he could. He would stay here for the night at least. Not only did he not want to leave his hiding spot, in case any were still nearby, but he was far too tired to dare doing so anyways. Aman'thul lay his head down, eyes closing. He wondered how well the others had fared as he tried his best to drift in to a sleep, as restless as it was likely to be.
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