|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:31 pm
 |
|
|
 |
Nyota'ausi was back in the Southlands, back to where she had spent much of her time alone, before meeting Amri and trying to start a new life. While it didn't work out well, she was still appreciative of it, for the gift it gave her: Hifadhi. Now, she wanted to move back to her old home with her son, and hopefully they could live out here for the rest of her life. She knew that she would pass on before Hifadhi; it was an unwritten rule. She would have to let him go before that, if he really wanted to go.
Looking at him now, though, even as an adolescent, almost an adult, it seemed like he didn't really want to go anywhere. And that was just fine with the lioness.
"Hifa, are you hungry?" she asked, knowing that while there weren't any fish in any watering holes out here, she still might be able to find something hovering around close by.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:39 pm
|
|
|
|
Hifadhi's rose eyes matched his mother's as he looked towards her, a warm smile on his face. This land was much more like where he would want to live! While he was indeed born in the jungle and grew up there for most of his life, he still couldn't manage to like the humitidy, the sheer amount of foliage everywhere, even the ground that always seemed damp. No, out here in where his mother had lived before she met his father, it was just magical to him.
Hifadhi felt like dancing around, but he knew that he was growing, almost an adult, and should surpress his cubbish urges more. Soon he'd be bigger then his mother, and then he'd be the primary food source for the two of them, once he got the hang of hunting out in the open. The one drawback to out here was that there was less to hide behind, and his coat stuck out enough that he had to be careful. Pity he wasn't blessed with the coat of his mother, one of a deep tan that blended in well with the dry savannah grass. He'd manage, though.
"I guess, Mom. What is there to eat out here, anyway?" He popped his head up, trying to see if he could see any preybeasts around.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 1:01 pm
|
|
|
|
Nyota's eyes matched Hifadhi's before they scanned the horizon around them. It was still early, bits of mist hovering in the areas that there were small watering holes. Easy enough, but the fog that had a habit of lingering in this certain area also would make things more difficult in just looking for their prey without startling it. Hmmm, that would be a tough decision. She let her ears do the work in finding out where some prey might be, as she replied to her son.
"Well, there's many more hooved animals out here to eat," she began. "Fish is almost non-existant out here, so we will be eating a bit heavier now. The good side of that, though, is that we won't need to eat as much of it to fill our stomaches."
Her ears flicked forwards as she fell silent. Something was out there, but it sounded solitary. Another predator? Perhaps, since it was almost never that a prey beast would be wandering around on their own, especially in such conditions that made sight hard to rely on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 1:40 pm
|
|
|
|
Dath'charukai was waiting in that fog, for who knows what. He was bored, tired of all the good feelings that everyone in the world seemed to emit. What the hell? There needed to be more anger, confusion, and chaos in the world...yeeees. Sadness, heartbreak, death....every negative emotion felt, he seemed to feed off of it. Especially if it was something that he had done with his own paw. So today, today he would make himself feel good, and do something.
And his poor little prey was sitting right there, just ready for picking. It nearly made him drool, just the idea of it nearly drove him mad. Mad! Just wait for it, though, just wait. Those foolish creatures would probably walk right up to him. Oooh, he just couldn't stand it.
A piece of his sanity needed to see Laana, to calm himself down...but another thought of him drove that away, who needed some stupid mortal? THIS is what life was all about, this high feeling of waiting, watching, and getting ready to strike.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 1:50 pm
|
|
|
|
Nyota's gut was sinking. She really wasn't sure what it was, but everything that she ever believed hit her square in the face. She felt as if the spirits flowing everywhere had fled. As if the life of this land vanished. She still heard birds, but they seemed to far off. The fog seemed to get heavier, even thicker. Nyota knew that she was one to worry a bit too much, but this seemed, no felt, justified.
"Hifa..." she said, her voice weak. "Hifa, do you feel as if something is wrong?" She drew a paw closer to her chest, the pupils in her eyes growing larger with each heartbeat as she jaggedly searched through the fog, just trying to get a fix on anything tha tmight be out there. No luck so far. Oh, pleeease, gods, let there be nothing but my imagination getting to me, she thought to herself. There was no way that she would let something ruin her life, for the first time in a long time that she was happy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 2:09 pm
|
|
|
|
Hifadhi didn't seem to notice any sort of change. In fact, he was barely paying any attention to his mother. When she had mentioned something about more hooved animals, Hifadhi was alert, awake, and searching for what these beasts looked like. Like those striped things? Or things that were only a brown colour? Things with horns? Oh, how he wanted to know what they looked like when they were alive. Sometimes he would find bits of a carcass that a leopard left in the jungle, and it did taste good, really good!
So when his mother asked him if he sensed anything wrong, he really didn't sense anything! Obviously he never gained his mother's nerves, or panicked attitude about everything. He glanced over at his mother curiously, and noticed that she really was freaking out. Was she in one of her fits again? Hifadhi had only seen it twice, but when she got like this, it was really hard to pull her out of it. Not believing that anything was wrong, the leopon took a few steps out towards the fog, trying to prove to his mother that nothing was wrong.
"See, Mom? It's fine." He gave her a little laugh, hoping to unnerve her, taking a few steps towards her so they could move on with their plans for the day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 8:48 am
|
|
|
|
Nyota's body shook as she was just so sure that something was out there. She was past the point of actually being convinced otherwise. She was just sure that there was something looking at them, something with golden eyes. Now, she didn't really know of anything that had golden eyes, but still. Something was out there, watching them. It felt like it was going to drive her mad.
"Hifadhi..." she begged as she began to take steps away from her. She was near tears, knowing that her son didn't believe her at all, and taking risks on something that he had no idea about. She wanted him next to her, right now, and the two of them would slowly back up until they found the cave that they had spent the night in. They'd be safe there, they'd have to be.
Her face grew a bit more pale when Hifadhi said that everything was fine, but when he began to return to her, only then was she slowly starting to relax. "Hifa, c'mon, let's go back to the cave and figure out wha-"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:04 am
|
|
|
|
With a grin, Dath let this favourite illusion fall over him; it was really the only power that he had for the moment. A black fire-like form that was in the shape of a very large lion. His golden, snake-slitted eyes were the only thing visible besides the flames. Oh, how he loved this form, and the terror that it brought to all that saw it. He licked his chops, waiting as patiently as the god could, waiting for the right moment to strike. Something began to walk towards him. Somthing...of a freak. That was certainly not a lion! Nothing he'd ever seen. A freak! He'd put the poor thing out of its misery.
Wait for it...waaaait for it....it was just like hunting a preybeast. Actually...when Dath took a split second to think about it, it was exactly they same. It was still prey.
With a growl, the god rushed the silver mutant beast, swiping it square across the back of the head. Direct hit, and a great start to a great hunt. With a devilish grin, he took another look at the body of the silver one, trying to gauge if it was still alive or not. He heard a crack, but that might of not been the freak's spine or if it was just the snap of his own paw.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:43 am
|
|
|
|
Hifadhi's ears picked up the growl behind him, but he didnt have enough time to react. He felt the paw smack him across his head, his body soon following where his head led him; onto the ground. He felt a surge of pain, everywhere. Mostly around his head and neck, but even down his back.
Thankfully, or perhaps not, he was not knocked unconscience. Instead, he shifted a bit, trying to figure out just what happened to him. There was no way that it was his mother, as she just didn't have the strength to completely knock him off his feet, and then some. But he had also been staring right at her....so there really was something out there?
Once his eyes began to work again, he saw something he just couldn't believe. A black firey form standing above him, something with no definate shape, gearing up to attack him again. He was frightened, but the urge to survive swelled up in him. With a growl, he took his own swipe at the form, but he didn't manage to reach anything. What? What was going on?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:13 pm
|
|
|
|
Nyota screamed as she saw the form of her son crumple on the floor. The shock held her back for a moment, her mind really trying to decide if it really happened. Hifadhi, was he okay? She motioned to check on him, unaware of the firey form until she heard it growl again. She froze, her rose eyes wider then they had ever been when she saw what was just before her. What was it? Was it one of those spirits? Something cursed? She had no idea that it could be a god, none at all, since she didn't believe in them. No, it was something coming after her son, her son, to get back at her. No.
She screamed at her legs to move, but they wouldn't. She was stuck, stuck staring at the creature that was slicing her son up. It was obvious that it completely overpowered her silver son, and he was slowly getting weaker and weaker. No, No, "NO!".
Startled that her thoughts came out of her mouth, she hovered there for a moment, shocked that her voice worked. She pulled herself to get closer to her son, to snap her jaws at the creature that was trying to kill him. There was no way on earth she wouldn't protect her son. She would die before he did!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:18 pm
|
|
|
|
Hifadhi's strength was dissapearing as fast as the creature had appeared. He was bleeding all over the place, little cuts all over his body. All that blood loss was starting to add up, and he could barely keep his mind straight, let alone try and defend himself.
"Mother, mother," he studdered, trying to see her warm tan coat before his eyes became too heavy to keep open. He felt another swipe of the paw from the demon before his head smashed against the ground, feeling the pressure as it seemed like the creature made of black flames was going to crush him. How? Hifadhi didn't know, nothing made sense anymore. "Mother..." he chocked, feeling his throat close up a bit. There was only so much more time before he wouldn't be able to breathe, wouldn't be able to stay awake, nothing....all he wanted was to be by his mother's side.
He felt the pressure from his head disappear, along with a thunk of some noise, but he soon slipped into darkness, unable to keep himself in the present time, in real life.
A few more blows, and Hifadhi would be dead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:35 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:41 pm
|
|
|
|
Nyota couldn't take it anymore. She realized that the creature demon thing wasn't paying any attention to her at all, and things were going no where. She could hear the labored breathing of Hifadhi, how he could barely keep himself awake, and the anger in her heart grew stronger and stronger. Once she had reached her limit in anger, she decided that the only thing that she could do was act. And by acting, take the first hit at the monster.
She gathered herself up and tackled the side of the demon, surprised that she actually hit something instead of running right through it. Whatever it was, it couldn't be a spirit! It had a body! She noticed that she didn't really knock it back, and any bit of ground it lost was because she startled it.
Huffing and shaking, the angry lioness glared at those creepy golden eyes as they shifted towards her. She was scared, sure, but Hifadhi was near death, and she had to distract it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:52 pm
|
|
|
|
Dath laughed at the little lioness before him. Stupid female, what did she think to get him to do? Stop? What a silly creature. Maybe he would play with her, just to see if she was really worth anything. If not, he could always just kill her. Such a poor creature, obviouslyupset. Fueling all her rage at him...what a touching feeling. He grinned, though it was doubtful that the mud brown lioness would be able to see anything but his eyes, perhaps his teeth as well.
"Well well well....think you're going to save this little creature from his fate? Come, give it a try, little dear." He snapped at her again, though his grin never fell. Such a delightful feeling, playing with his prey before that victory in their death. Really, nothing could feel better then that.
"Or would you rather take his fate into yours? Oh, I'm sorry," he mocked. "I think he's already...dead."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:57 pm
|
|
|
|
Nyota growled. Stupid demon...did it really think that she was going to believe it? Hifadhi, dead. No! She would not accept it, never accept it. She was certain that he was still alive, he just needed a lot of attention to make him better again. And somehow, somehow she'd get them out of this and away from this land.
"No, he's not," she said defiantly. She flexed her claws into the ground, trying to shake off the feeling that his undying grin gave her. What a true demon, nothing else could the creature be. How would she get him away, though? If she just bolted, he might turn back on Hifadhi and turn him into dust. That she couldn't deal with. So with another lunge, she tried to reach for his solid body, wherever it was.
A rash decision that she would never forget for the remainder of her days.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
