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 Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:19 pm
Tanaka was heavy. That much became apparent to Mrost quicker than he would have liked, his back spikes twisting his spine uncomfortably, his legs struggling to maintain his balance and at the same time shake the other lion off. He started bucking his back, lashing out with his paws, generally behaving the way any animal would with something out of reach on their back. Roaring in pain, as one of his horns was siezed, twisting his neck awkwardly he threw the last of his weight into a back paw as they fell, trying to give him enough momentum to force his spikes into Tanaka's underbelly, even enough to knock the air out of his lungs and let him flip onto his feet.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:45 pm
 The thunderous crash of the two massive forms striking the ground echoed across the pridelands like the tremor of an earthquake, surely louder than any roar or snarl that had come before. Or at least in Tanaka's head it did, lights flashing in his eye, blood rushing in his ears as his back struck hard against the ground.
The fall had barely registered in his mind before sharp, immobilizing pain pierced his underside, his brother's spine striking hard, spikes forcefully slammed into his own hide. His head fell back against the ground, jaws parted to release a roar of pain but he had no breath to give it force, talons forced to release in that horrific shock.
It was perhaps Tanaka's massive size that saved him, for though the sheer force of impact forced heavy spikes into his hide, his muscled flesh was much to thick to allow the damage to reach beyond superficial. But the damage was done, gasping for breath, Tanaka kicked with his hide legs, clawing fiercely with his fore, desperate to pry himself free of his brother's weight, to rise to his paws again.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:58 pm
Mrost didn't get away with the move unscathed, the spikes, being firmly affixed to his bone hurt in the worst kind of way as they collided with Tanaka, making a rather horrible crunch to his ears, something he didn't even want to try and guess the source of. The pain was blinding, running up and down his spine, making it almost impossible to breathe. With the last of his strength, he shoved himself free of Tanaka, staggering like a dying creature over to one side, dripping that unnatural blood all over the place.
He tried to keep his balance but found it more and more difficult, the pain in his back ********." he spat, hardly able to see for the pain. He estimated he had fractured something in his back with that move. He couldn't fight on like that, nor fly, even if he wanted to.
But he'd never run away.
He raised a paw to the pendant round his neck, just to reaffirm it was still there. No, he hadn't lost, not yet.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:37 pm
Bleeding from the wounds that covered his body, white pelt growing red with it's flow, his golden mane tinged crimson; the massive lion staggered to his paws, his maw parted as he gasped for breath. That hurt like hell, and his strength was quickly running out, he wouldn't be able to get up after another collision like that. Though it was rather satisfying to see the pain he had inflicted on his brother in turn.
"Does it hurt much, brother? Don't worry, I'll release you from your pain."
Though his body grew week, pain coursed through him, his his energy faded, the fire in his eye had not faded, burning with infernal rage. He would not give up, not while he was still breathing. Now he circled, maw hanging open, talons bared, calculating in his stride. He had to be careful, but he could not allow his brother the chance to recover either.-------------------- The young lioness had watched in silence, blood red eyes narrowed in anger, biding her time and waiting for a chance to make her move. She knew better than to move between the two lions, slinking through the grass out of sight to avoid their violent attacks, ears flattened against their thundering roars, her tail lashing behind her.
She had watched in sadistic glee, eyes fascinated by the blood that stained the ground. But now there was a break in the battle, both fights forced to pull back by their own injuries. And in that break the white monster saw her chance, at last springing from where she lay hidden in the grass. Small strides carried her away from her father, toward the blue god who held the key to her destiny, now was her chance to escape with him.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:50 pm
Mrost shifted on his feet only to tear another thinly-healed wound open again, searing agony through his body. He thought he was almost done for again, trapped away from his soldiers, no Hakan or anyone else to be found, so close to restoring one of his beloved generals to her rightful place.
His vision wavered irritatingly, a warning that he had lost far too much blood and was about to collapse. Doing so here and now could mean death and another dip in that endless, terrifying darkness.
Looking up, he caught sight of a white figure running towards him. It was odd, the sight skewed his mind, as though somewhere else, another time, another place where he had wavered between conciousness and the unconcious and that same figure had walked out of the dark to lend a paw.
He snapped out of it. This time he was coming to get her, not the other way round.
He glared defiantly at Tanaka and reached his torn paw up to the pendant around his neck, seizing it and activating it's one-shot capability. For the merest fleeting second it felt like Eir was there with him, healing, restoring the wounds he had sustained, leaving most as healed scars. But most of all, his spine seemed to align and mend, enough to move again. It had been his last cop out, his fallback, and by sheer luck it had worked, Eir had helped him from afar as she'd promised to. The pendant itself dissipated on the wind like dust.
Cackling like a maniac, he snarled "No thanks BROTHER. I think I'll do that myself!", flexing his healed wings, testing them for strength. They would suffice. Gesturing nearer, he called Kali over.
"Come."
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:09 pm
Eyes widened in horrific surprise, the fire all but extinguished for that moment, frozen in his stance. How could this have happened? He had seen it with his own eyes, his brother had been injured, he knew he had, had seen that infernal blood spilled on the ground, that blue hide marred with the slashes of his own talons. What hellish trick was his eye playing on him? How could the blue lion who could barely stand a moment before now stand before him whole as if nothing had happened? How?!
But he did not have time to dwell on it, a hint of white catching his eye, the small form of his only daughter charging toward his greatest foe. Why? What was she thinking? The blue monster would kill her!
"Kali! No!"
He had to save her, he couldn't give up now, couldn't let his brother take her. Summoning what strength he had left, the lion charged, a vicious snarl following in his wake, paws outstretched, reaching for his daughter, to take her in his grasp and protect her for the beast that threatened to consume her.
-------------------------
Ears pinned back, def to her father's pleas, eyes fixed solely on the blue form before her, Mahakali ran. She ran as she never had before, urged onward by a consuming desire to reach him, to follow him on the path that she knew was her true destiny, to find that life that she had lived before.
She knew that her father was behind her, charging in his future attempts to stop her from that destiny. It spurned her onward, and though her legs burned with the effort she did not stop, nor did she look back until she reached the one who called to her, paws touching that glorious blue pelt.
"Hurry, I want to go."
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:24 pm
Mrost didn't hesitate, he knew that the last burst of energy in a wounded foe could be the most potent and lethal. He swept Kali up in his still-bloodied paws, flaring his wings and launching into the air in one fluid movement, it was the sole advantage he had over his earthbound sibling and he used it to all of his ability. Never before had he been so glad to fall into the embrace of the sky.
He didn't look back until he was far above Tanaka, only looking back briefly, overwhelmed by the betrayal he felt whenever he even came close to meeting that good green eye. That was the way he was wasn't it? Taking happiness away from others to bring them down to his misery?
He looked down to Kali with a warm smile, more impressed than ever with her steely resolution. "I know I found the right lioness, very few others would have had the guts to do what you did. My respect goes out to you for that."
Flaring his wings out more comfortably, he adjusted his course towards the borders of the Pridelands "Now to get somewhere your father cannot reach easily, he won't be able to follow there. "
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:41 pm
Blind with rage, consumed by his worst nitemare, the lion leapt, talons and jaws barred menacingly, desperately. But his attack only struck empty air, massive form tumbling helplessly on the ground where his brother had stood only moments before.
"NO! KALI!"
His voice tore through the blackness of the night sky, the cry of a desperate father, an agonizing cry of sorrow, betrayal, and defeat. He had failed, all his efforts in vain, unable to protect his child from that monster.
"You monster! I'll track you to the ends of the earth! I swear I'll rip that blue hide from your body and feed your carcass to the vultures!"
In his sorrow and desperation, Tanaka ran after them, but he had no hope of reaching them, no chance of catching the monster without his wings. And soon they were out of sight, out of his reach, leaving the broken lion alone to collapse in his exhaustion and sorrow.------------------------ The young lioness smirked, settled comfortably in the god's grasp, red eyes looking down in wonder as the world passed beneath them. For the first time ever she felt as if she was where she belonged, that she had found all she had longed for. She took all that the blue god offered her, ready to follow wherever he may lead.
In a single night she had learned more than her father had ever taught her, and now everything was within her grasp. Her tongue touched one fang, a vampiric smile on her maw as she thought of the life she would reclaim and the horrors she would bring down on the world. Yes, it had been a glorious night indeed.
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:44 am
-How the tremendous sounds of battle didn't reach the pridal den was unknown and perhaps simply pure luck that the winds carried the sounds away to the savvanah. For it wasn't the deafening roars, the clashing, or anything of the sort that openned the young one's eyes tonight.
Rather instead the silence and the unfamilar play that had settled upon his mind. Ahai had been blessed with very few visions in his life, somber tiny things.. relaying events that occured at that moment far away. But this particualar vision caused his paws to curl in, his back tense.
In his dream his father was locked in battle.. with a creature that carried the same coat as himself. And for a long moment he tried hard not to whimper, trying to press away the bad dream, and the possible meaning behind it. Him or his brother? Turning against their father? A hideous beastial depection of the offender, that he tried to convince himself could never be him.
And slowly he lifted his emerald eyes, looking for his father's pelt, to cuddle meekly against in the darkness. But his little body gave another start when he noticed not one.. but two bodies missing from the den.
Kali he couldn't have cared less about, but the hulking mass of his father was another story, and quickly the cub made his way up, pulling himself from the side of his twin in a swift motion before he trotted out into the night.
Still no dad...
Eyes searched for the white pet amid the darkness, and suddenly there he was, a vivid picture of his father torn and bloodied, colapsed upon the ground in anguish. Eyes widening and ears laying back, he hissed as he tried to sweep the picture away, feeling as if his heart would explode from his azure and ivory chest.
And quickly he bolted down the rocks, tiny paws carrying him over the savvanah in a feverish search. And though he didn't know why he knew, his feet carried him in the correct direction, his voice silent, too terrified to call out in the confusion.
Who was the blue beast? Was that simply a dream as he'd thought? Where was his father!?
If he was a lesser lion he would have cried as he ran, frusteration and fear eatting at him. But he managed to keep them back, and as the massively white huddled beast touched his eyes, his voice finally called out, an unfamilar waver on his voice.- "D.. Dad!?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:08 am
He could not have said how much time had passed, moments or an eternity. In his mind, clouded by semi-consciousness, time seemed to stand still, as if it's keeper had been lost to the underworld, or worse, the lion himself had been lost.
His body lay still, silent, only the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest speaking that he was even still alive. Tattered and broken, his white pelt marred, stained red with the blood that flowed from the wounds that marked his body, creeping into his golden mane. His paws and fangs still bore the blood that he had spilled that night, the blood of his brother, the monster that had taken his only daughter.
But something pierced the lion's mind, one dark ear flicking at the sound of pawsteps, a small voice reaching him, pulling him from his haze. Slowly the great lion stirred, his eye opening to the blurry world, massive skull shifting until his gaze fell on the blue form that had called to him, the form of his oldest son.
"Ahai...?"
His voice was faint, barely above a whisper. His paws shifted, pulled closer to his body in preparation to stand, though the bulk of his body refused to budge, as if held where he lay by some unbreakable force. He blinked, a slow shake of his head an attempt to clear his vision.
"What are you doing out here...?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:27 am
-It was frightening the sight before him. And a fear unlike any he'd ever felt griped at the cub, squeezing his lungs of the air necessary for words. How was this possible!?
For his entire life his father was seen as a god, even without knowing the truth. He was strong, infalliable, the biggest, the best. Greater and grander then all around him. An epitomy to achieve and strive towards. But now.. this broken and bloodied mass.. It shook the cub's delusion hard and slowly Ahai's fear melted to anger.
Padding nearer, he struggled with words, pausing a few lengths away as he tried to fight off the unpleasant feeling that was overtaking his stomach. Blood he didn't mind.. but from his father...-
"I saw you hurt. I didn't think it was real.. but then you weren't in the den.."
-Eyes twitching softly in the direction of Mrost's retreat, though he didn't realize it, his hair softly began to bristle, an angry bite touching his own voice.- "What are YOU doing here? Why'd you let him hurt you?"
-How could there be someone stronger then Tanaka? And if there was.. what if he came back? He certainly couldn't protect his father from a beast strong enough to best the large white god. Uncomfortable thoughts pulling throuh his head he stepped in closer, speaking softly, matter of factly.- "We have to go home."
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:13 pm
"Because...I couldn't let him take her."
Kali! How long had he been here, how far had Mrost taken her while he slept in his dark haze? He had to get up, he had to track down that blue beast and rend him limb from limb for taking his child, to save his only daughter. He would have done no less for any of his children, they were precious to him, a part of him, he could not bear the thought of one of his cubs in the clutches of his brother.
Slowly, like a waking giant, the lion's form moved, rolling from his side to his belly, a sharp intake of breath at the bolts of pain that shot through him. Massive paws pushed off from the ground, fresh wounds reopened as he struggled to stand. His weight on three paws, one injured hind leg held tucked beneath him, the lion was shaky at best, but he was on his feet.
"No, that would just give him more time, I have to go after him."
With a deep breath, Tanaka's head lowered, his eye turned to his son, a soft expression on his maw that was only for him.
"I need you to go home and tell your mother that he took Kali, tell her that it was Mrost."
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:29 pm
-His teeth gritted tight with emotion, the form of his monstrous sister touching his eyes, and his tail lashed angerily, not able to bite down the words that he knew better then not to say.-
"Who cares about Kali!"
-He flinched physically as he watched his father trying to get up, as he himself tried to keep his own legs for trembling. But at the next statement he stepped forward, letting the foolish words slip forward.- "Let me help then! I can help, I'm strong."
-But it was obvious he didn't need a true answer, for already he was taking a tentative step backwards, ears falling softly in a submission that belonged only to the ivory beast before him. Home to get mom.. Maybe he could run fast enough.. fast enough that they could all catch up and help dad.-
"Mrost" -Recording the name softly in his head, he simply gazed at the torn and beaten hero that stood before him, seemingly unable to move. Stupid Kali. Whether it was her fault or not he hated her. Once dad had saved her.. maybe then he'd realize what a monster she was.-
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 3:46 pm
The lion took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, one good eye focused on those green eyes that so matched his own.
"She is my daughter as you are my son, I could never give up on either of you."
There was a sorrow in the god's lone green eye, his body heavy, held upright by sheer determination alone. In his hunt for Mrost, his quest to bring home his daughter, he would be leaving behind his four sons, the children who meant so much to him. It weighed heavily on him, as heavy as losing Kali had. But here in the pridelands his children were safe, protected by their mother and the other lions of the pride; whereas somewhere in the clutches of his brother, his daughter was in danger, perhaps even mortal, he simply could not allow that to happen. He could not allow any child of his to fall at another's paws.
"I know you are strong, but I can not lose you too. No please, go, your mother needs to know what has happened."
His head lowered, Tanaka brushed his muzzle against his son, a gesture of fatherly love, silently pleading with him to do as he had asked, dwelling for a moment on the touch of blue fur, a silent farewell.
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:18 pm
-He nodded finally, closing his eyes softly as the gentle affection touched his muzzle, obliging his father with only slight hesitation. He wanted to protect him... just as Ahai had wanted to protect him. And that wasn't something he could argue with.
Pulling away finally, the blue cub backed up a step, before softly turning. It wasn't fair... none of this. But atleast if he was fast.. well then atleast he could do something for his dad.- "I'll tell her.."
-And before he could let his mind argue with him again, he set off, eyes held away from the scene behind him, paws pounding on the cool ground. Home, home. If he thought about the task at hand and only that.. then maybe he wouldn't feel so helpless.-
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