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 Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 4:30 pm
Afina really wasn't having an easy time of things, Xenon could observe that much from his vantage point. She was in shock, tired and now in considerable pain - it was no wonder that she was so exhausted and emotional, even a grown warrior would be in pieces. Alas, he refrained from letting her dwell on her circumstances for long and slowly but surely began to walk alongside her.
Rather than set his own pace, he allowed her to choose the speed that she wanted to walk at... When she stopped, he would stop too. It was both polite and logical, since the lion had no true idea of where he was going. He'd walked across their borders before but he had never gone deep into their territory and as a result, had no recollection of where their dens might be. In essence he was flying blind in these moments and would need the lioness to direct him from here on out.
"It takes a very heartless and thoughtless individual to leave the injured behind," he replied gently, his tail coiling round to press lightly on her thigh, an encouragement for her to keep moving. "You have no real need to thank me, but you are more than welcome all the same," he added before directed his gaze forward. He once again released a sigh and shook his head just a touch.
"I am unfamiliar with the lands beyond a few lengths into the borders, you will have to show me the way from here," he instructed, then he cleared his throat. "And if your leg becomes too sore then stop, I will carry you if need be..."
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 4:45 pm
She smiles wanly up at the deep gray male, nodding gently she scans the area getting her bearings. "If we go to the dunes there, it's a straight shot down to the mail beach, about half a days walk." She let out a heavy breath as he toes dragged the floor.
She frowns a very determined look crossing her maw. It was half a day on four good legs, a quarter if you ran it or swam around the cove, but on three legs, how long would it be before she found out if her family was all alive?
Looking up at Xenon she flushed slightly, he was offering to carry her? "I don't know if you could take my weight." She mumbles, she was of stocky build, her bones naturally heavy due to her overly large ancestors. "I can make it." She juts out her jaw feeling the space between herself and her home was so very far away.
Walking another few steps she takes a breath of fresh air. "I think we may have to stop." She felt her heart sink but she felt so weak and admitting that she felt weak went against her pride but she couldn't walk that far, her whole body felt like it was going to fall apart at the slightest breeze. She wouldn't give up, she would never ever give up but she knew she would need to rest.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 4:41 am
It was Xenon's turn to provide a wry smile as she made reference to her weight - she might have been stocky in comparison to other lions but she wasn't that bad. At the very least, Xenon was a male who preferred to give things a shot first before he conceded defeat - besides, with Afina in the condition that she was, half a days walk would most likely turn into four days. It was unfortunate but pain did have a way of exhausting an individual far more quickly and add the emotional strain to this... Well, it wasn't a healthy state of affairs.
Nevertheless the lion did heed her directions and slowly but surely began to move in that direction. Progress was slow and there was no doubt in his mind that it would get worse but at least it was something. Alas, no sooner had Afina gotten into her stride than exhaustion did appear to defeat her. His ears flicked back, permitting her to take the rest she needed though his brow was lined with concern. Really, it would have been far healthier for the lioness to get home as soon as possible before her shock and upset turned into a more lethal cocktail!
"I'm not that old," he murmured at last and flumped himself down onto the ground, spreading himself out, he lowered himself by a considerable height and peered at the lioness expectantly. "Get on," he ordered and lifted a brow. "Stocky or not, I can at least carry you for a while - if it gets too much for us both then we'll stop," he added. It was at this point that he waited, his tail flicking and twitching lightly against the ground beneath him - it'd been years since he'd carried anything on his back, but he was large and of reasonable strength to at least attempt to carry her some of the distance.
...If he could drag buffalo around by himself, then he could carry Afina!
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 10:15 am
The young blue lioness opened her mouth to protest, her ears flickering she closes her mouth again. A stray tear rolled down her cheek and she nodded nervously.
Looking at his back she waled around him a fe times stumbling, contemplating how exactly she was going to get herself on to the gray males back. She laughed and looked at him. "Stay still." She whispers flinging her injured leg over first. She grits her teeth tightly closing her eyes as tears flooded her cheeks. She takes a deep breath holding herself steady in the awkward position.
Finally struggling her foreleg over his back, she lays flat for a moment, holding his shoulders with her paws. "How do I hold on?" She manages to whisper, she didn't want to hurt him and she was already feeling a dizzy vertigo which was the main reasons he wanted to stop. She was tired, she wanted to sleep, but she had to hold on if Xenon was going to get her home in one piece.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 10:29 am
Well, this was certainly one of the more bizarre things he had ever done in his life but at least he could argue that it was a practical solution. Thus, when the lioness managed to haul herself onto his back and seemed reasonably settled, he gave a small wiggle to test her weight. She was a little heavier than her more lithe counterparts but he would manage with relative ease. Seemingly satisfied with the position she had adopted on his back, he readied himself and pushed his hindlegs up first and then his forelegs - just to ensure she didn't tip off him.
It certainly wasn't his most graceful set of motions but it would do in the circumstances!
Once standing, he paused once again until he had adjusted to the additional weight and she had grown accustomed to her new adopted 'mount'. It would have been an unusual sight to behold for any bystander but neither Afina or Xenon could afford to be fussy in the circumstances. This in mind, it wasn't long before the lion was moving forward again, his strides slightly more measured than normal to avoid any unnecessary rocking - the last thing a lioness with vertico needed was to be rocked back and forth...
"If you need to hold on, you bite my mane - it's thick enough," he replied as he moved on. "And dig your claws in, that always works quite well too," he added, though he wasn't sure she was aware of this, from what he gathered the lions in the Bahari preferred to hunt fish than larger prey and as a consequence, may not have been familiar with other hunting skills beyond fishing.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 10:46 am
Settling in to his stride she closed her eyes and wrapped her paws in to his mane. "Thank you Xenon." She whispers, she settles her head over his shoulder trying to relax her body and settle in to the rhythm of the big males stride.
She truly couldn't believe how lucky she was, not only had she survived the tsunami, she had been rescued. She couldn't help but think that this was like one of those fairy tales, with the damsel in distress being saved by the hero. Only, this wasn't really a fairy tale-esque situation. There had been a disaster, she had been torn from her family and she didn't know if she would go home to find anyone still alive.
All she could do was hope. Xenon's gentle rocking movement slowly lulled the young lioness in to a fitful sleep, so exhausted by the days events yet feeling so very safe in the gray lions care.
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