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 Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:23 am
Though it was usual protocal for the King to eat first, Blake held back, motioning for the ladies to eat first instead. His first concern was for his mate, for whom he wanted her to get her fill, after all she was eating for at least three if not four souls, and then for Inari who had to be quite hungry after her travels. He was more than content at the moment to await his turn, and followed the other two inside and lay down out of the way.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:30 am
Inari looked up to the entrance of the den to see Synda with dinner in her jaws. She followed her Queen to where she dropped the meat and watched as Blake sat aside, wondering if he wasn't hungry. Inari waited for Synda to chose the side she wanted, after all, she was the one with cubs and needed the food the most.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:12 am
Nebula was carrying Nova by this point, having spent who knew how long in the desert. To be honest, she couldn't remember even why she'd come to the desert anymore, just that they'd ended up getting lost during a sudden sand storm and now one dune looked just like another to her. A couple of times she'd gotten excited about seeing tracks, only to discover they were her own and had ended up going in circles. They were so thirsty and hungry that the two feelings had just seemed to blend into each other by this point, and it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended...not that she was trying to figure it out anyways...
Her biggest concern, now, was for Nova who had to be near death and was panting heavily in the heat of the day that had begun to rise...Nebula was certain if they didn't find water soon, her daughter would be a corpse by sundown, and she refused to let that happen. And so she spent the morning on concentrating on once more putting one paw in front of another as she balanced Nova on her back...
All of a sudden, Nebula stopped dead in her tracks...a border? Had she found a Pride?! If she had, that meant water...and perhaps some food... The thought of both nearly drove her forward, but she knew that would mean death to them both if the King was as hardhearted as she knew some could be on trespassers. Using the last of her strength, she roared with all her might, and then passed out on the sands, Nova rolling off her back to sprawl between her paws.
Blake's ears twitched as he looked to the entrance to the cave. Wow! More lions! Maybe they'd join too, and that would certainly help with all the things that needed to be done... Nuzzling Synda, he trotted back out of the cool cave and into the heat to find out who it was and what they wanted. What he found, however, was not what he had been expecting, and if he'd been paying close attention, he'd of noticed the desperation in the roar of the lioness. He slowed down, a look of horror on his face as he watched the lioness and cub just lay there. Were they dead? Had he been too slow to save them? "Hello? Are you...okay?"
Nebula's ear twitched and she opened one eye...there WAS a pride here! "Save....my...daughter...please..." was all she could say before she passed out again, the effort too much to bear and finally satisfied that she had completed her mission to save her daughter, no matter what happened to herself.
Blake looked back the way he'd come, debating on getting Inari before he realized he could just roar for her, which he quickly did. Nosing the cub, he could hear her shallow breathing, and knew he had no time to lose. Quickly, he carefully put Nebula on his back before picking up the cub in his teeth. It wasn't easy to walk this way, but he made his way as carefully quickly as he could back towards the Oasis.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:30 am
Inari's ears flickered back and forth as the distressed roar of a lioness filled them. She looked up towards Blake and watched as he nuzzled his mate, then went to greet them. Moments later, her name was called and she bowed to Synda. "I believe Blake needs help, my apologize to leave so suddenly. I shall return quickly." With that, the tribal lioness bounded off and out of the den, into the desert's sun. She followed the echo of Blake's roar off the sand until she saw the black king in th distance. She squinted and ran faster, her muscles rippling under her mahogany fur. She finally caught up to him, noting the two other lioness he was carrying. Without question, she took the cub from his mouth into her own gently, then looked to Blake with a confused expression. What could have happened?
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:46 am
As if reading her mind, Blake shook his head when he saw her confused look. "I don't know what happened, just when I found them, they were both passed out. Must of been lost for quite awhile, and both are very weak...the cub sounds really bad, too, and I think she'll be lucky to survive. They're going to need water first of all, and I don't think that wildebeast calf will be enough now to feed us all..." Panting to catch his breath, he quickened his pace a bit to a slow trot before continuing, trying to put things in priority in his mind. "Ok...here's what we'll do first. Run ahead, and see if you and Synda can't get the cub to drink something and soak her good to bring down her body temperature a bit, and I'll see to Mom..." He couldn't help but wonder, would they be too late to save them?
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:03 am
Inari grunted in approval to Blake's instructions and took off back to the den, carefully, but quickly. The cub she was carrying was a lot lighter than then weight Blake was holding, Inari hoped he would be alright. She skidded to a stop at the Oasis's edge, placing the cub down gently under the shade of a tree. She nosed her chest to make sure the little one was still alive and fortunately, still beating slowly. Inari then rose her head, opened her mouth, and let out a roar for Synda, hoping that it didn't sound too demanding; even if it was an emergency. While she waited for her Queen, the lioness splashed the cub very gently with the cool water beside her.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:31 am
It took a few moments, but Nova finally stirred at last with a small flick of her tail in response to the cooling bath she was being given. She was still too weak to do much more than that, but her breathing did seem to be slightly better, a bit stronger than it had been before.
Nebula, on the other hand, kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Her thoughts wandered from thinking she was still walking along to thinking she must be on a cloud that was carrying her towards heaven...at least the Oasis in the distance seemed like heaven after the hell she'd been through. Through half lidded eyes, she did see Nova being taken away by a mahgony lioness, but had no energy to protest before she once more phased out to another dream. Maybe she was an angel here to take her daughter's soul to the big Pride in the sky....
Blake tried to trot a little faster, as he could feel the lioness on his back twitching every so often as she 'slept', and he prayed the cub would make it okay. Finally, he arrived about 10 minutes behind Inari, and clearly worn out. However, he didn't stop, but merely kept going into the pond, repositioning the lioness (with the water's help) till she lay across his back and her head lay on his neck. Carefully supporting her, he got as low in the water as he dared, till their head and necks were the only thing visible. He could feel the lioness's fright at first but spoke softly to calm her, "Sip the water slowly..."
The cool water bath that the lion was giving her was enough to bring Nebula back to consciousness, and flailed a little in fear before realizing what the black and white lion's purpose was. Relaxing, she shifted her body just enough to be able to drink some of the water...oh it felt so good! She swore she'd never drank water half so sweet as this in her life! She had to fight the urge to dunk her muzzle in and drink as much as possible, but finally satisfied, she purred a quiet "thank you" to her Saviour. "My daughter...Nova...is she...okay?" The lioness's voice was still a bit husky, but much stronger than before.
"Inari is caring for her...Rest, that's an order." Blake carefully carried Nebula back out of the water and set her as gently as possible down near her daughter who seemed to be doing a little better. "She is not out of the danger zone yet. She's very dehydrated, as are you."
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 2:22 pm
Synda's hears flicked. As she heard the commotion, she quickly picked up the carcass and began to heft it over to the two lions. They were extremely sick and needed care fast! Placing the meat down, she began to cut it with her teeth and claws giving the two the best parts. Her tail flicked as she nosed the meat over to Blake and Inari. "Here. Feed. Need food and water. No protesting." She ordered continuing to section the calf. She would eat later, she wanted to make sure the others were alright.
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Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:09 am
Inari watched as Blake finally cam into sight along the wavy line of the heat. As the cub in her paws stirred, she turned her attention to her and continued what she was doing. The lioness dipped a paw into the cool water and gently nosed the cub's mouth open. She dangled her paw over her as tiny droplets weaved through the fur of her paw before finding its was off and into Nova's mouth. As the dripping slowed, she pressed the wet paw to the cub's forehead, hoping to bring her body temperature down a bit.
Her ears flickered as she heard Synda coming out of the den, and dragging what looked like the meal she has so kind-fully hunted for her Pride; but was ignored due to the emergency at hand. She gave a warm smiled to Synda as the sandy colored lioness started to divide it up and nose out pieces to everyone but herself. Inari wanted to protest, but the order Synda gave as of not to quickly shut the lioness mouth closed as she took a bite of her well gotten meal. She whispered a "thank you" to Synda before turning her attention back to the cub, who was finally breathing better. Inari continued to eat her share of the carcass and waited until the cub was fully awake before giving her her's. Things were starting to look up on Inari's side, and turned to Blake to see how things were going for him.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:42 am
Nova responded quickly to the water trickling down her throat, trying to weakly and unconsciously suck it from the lioness's paw, though she wasn't totally successful. Even in her dream, she couldn't believe how good it tasted...
Nebula wanted so badly to be by Nova's side, but knew she didn't have the energy, and she knew the others were doing the best they could at the moment without her interference. She was surprised to see a lioness dragging a carcass towards them, even more surprised to see she was pregnant. She wondered for a moment if she was the Queen, and knew a moment later by her orders, that indeed she must be. "Thank you...so much...", she whispered, the emotion of the moment nearly overcoming her senses. They were so kind to them, something she'd not experienced in a long time. Carefully rolling onto her stomach, too weak to stand just yet, she began to gnaw slowly at the meat that was parceled out to her, keeping a very concerned eye on her cub. Oh, poor Nova!
Blake worked quickly, creating a shallow bowl in the ground which he connected to the pond with a small trench, so that the lioness wouldn't have to move to get the water she needed, much as he had done for Synda what seemed so long ago." He looked at Synda for a moment, remembering that day, that happy day, and smiled in thought and admiration of his mate before making himself return to the task at hand. "Her name is Nova, right?" He waited for the lioness's nod before turning to the cub, now that her mother was taken care of for the moment. "Nova...Nova, you need to wake up..." He dipped his paw into the puddle that Inari had been using, and much as she had done earlier, fed some more water to the cub. Letting her suck as much as she could off his paw, he repeated the process a few more times, each time the cub responding just a little bit more, sucking a little stronger.
Nova finally awoke, and fluttered her eyelids. Even in the shade, the day was bright, and she whimpered a little, putting one paw over her eyes. She wanted to go back to sleep, where it was nice and dark, but someone was talking to her, putting their paw to her mouth again...oh, water! She felt it dripping onto her face, and she latched onto the paw like a newborn kit trying to feed for the first time. Her throat was still very swollen and raw, but that water tasted like heaven! She tried to ask for more, as the paw was taken away, but the words were mere whispers that could barely be heard.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:29 am
Inari smiled a bit as the cub came back to Earth, she was doing a bit better, that was for sure; and the lioness kept trying. She looked over to Nebula as Blake was getting her comfortable, looking into her eyes, warmth in hers, to reassure the worried mother that her cub was in good paws. The mahogany lioness watched carefully as Blake copied her tactics, the cub obviously thriving for a drink. As Blake pulled his paw from the cub, Inari replaced it with her own, being careful not to give her too much for it would make her vomit. She needed to nurse her back to health slowly.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:48 am
Blake let Inari take over once more, satisfied that Nova would be okay. She wasn't out of the danger zone yet, as dehydration was espcially bad on cubs and elderly lions. Smiling at Nebula, he said, "She's awake now...not yet out of danger, but out of the worst of it looks like at the moment." Not waiting for the lioness to respond, he gathered a few leaves, and spreading them beside the pile of meat meant for the cub, he began to chew a few bites of it at a time, working it slowly so that it would be tender and soft, easier for a weak cub to chew and regain some of her energy.
Nova, after a little while longer of this repeated routine, finally felt her thirst begin to abate, and her hunger took over as she began nipping at Inari's paw instead of sucking it like she had earlier. Opening her eyes, she found the day wasn't as bright as it had seemed before, and blinked a few times to clear her vision. For a moment, she looked merely looked at Inari with a confused expression, and whispered hoarsely, "You're not my mom..."
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:04 pm
Finished cutting the meat, Synda moved away from the meat standing next to Blake. She nudged Blake gently. "Synda going to wash blood off...Synda be back." The lioness nudged Inari before she moved over to another part of the Oasis. She didn't want to contaminante the water that the two lions were trying to drink from. Finding a small pond, she walked in. It took the pregnant lioness a while, but finally the blood and dirt was washed.
Clambering back, she walked over to her pride mates. She looked over at the cub and nudged her gently. "Mother is being helped. Would little one want to be beside Mother now?" Her head cocked in a questioning manner. Synda looked over to Inari and whispered. "Make sure Mother is well enough to be with cub. Go talk to Blake." She nudged the tribal lioness gently toward Blake and Nebula before looking back Nova giving gentle smiles and purrs.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:10 pm
Nova looked back and forth between the tan lioness and the pretty tribal patterened one and nodded her head, which seemed to take more effort than she remembered it taking before. Of course she wanted her mama! "Please..." was all she could get out that the lions could hear.
Nebula looked up and watched the other lions who were working so diligently over her cub, making her better. She purred a little when Synda asked Nova if she wanted to be with her, and her tail flicked a little as well, but that quickly made her tired. She wanted so badly to curl up around her cub and sleep...sleep sounded so good about now. Sipping a little of the water, and another bite of meat, she chewed slowly and waited to see what would happen.
Blake nodded absentmindedly when Synda nudged him, so absorbed in his task at hand he wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to what was around him at the time. When nearly half the pile was finished, he divided up the soft chunks into smaller piles, one pile to a leaf. Looking at the cub, he said softly, "Nova...you need to eat just a little. Will you do this for me?" He hadn't heard Synda ask Nova about going to her mom.
"I want my mama..."
Blake looked up at Synda and Inari, unsure what to do next. Glancing at the starry lioness, he had to admit she looked better now, but still very exhuasted...could she handle the cub in her condition? He wasn't a mom, nor had his mom cared much about him, obviously, so he was at a loss of what to do.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:44 pm
"Eat a little bit, Nova. Then Synda will take Little Nova to Mother." She nuzzed the cub gently, a low thrumm moving through her throat in a calming manner. "So, for Mother, eat?" Taking a chewed up chunk of the meat, Synda hovered it above the cub's mother, her eyes seeming to plead with the little femme.
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