A month in this strange place had heled all but the most severe of her wounds. Far from the tawdry lump the queen had drug in, Vinuka was now a resilient figure of beauty. Of course, she worked for hours on end to keep her coat as shiney and flawless as it was.
Perhaps it was for that that the Queen had set her to watching the younger members of the pride. THere was a certain air of competence about the orange lioness, an attention to detail hidden within an almost motherly nature that made her quite suited to the role she'd been given within the pride. That in itself was an odd thought; since she'd left her birth place with her friend, she had never thought to end up in another pride. And yet... here she was, and here she thought to stay.
After all, they'd been more than kind to her; taking her in, feeding her, healing her wounds... and keeping her safe from the one who had hurt her so very deeply. A shiver of fear passed through her body as she paced the dark, bug-ridden halls of the termite castle. They'd brought him here, though she had yet to confirm that it was indeed he who had treated her so. Indeed, this was the first time she'd ventured anywhere near his cell to find out. But when she reached it, she found she couldn't have possibly mistaken it for anything else.
His smell was everywhere. The lioness slowed her steps, coming to a stop before the boulder-blocked den. And, for the longest time, she did naught but stare at it.
Kibaya was unsure how long he'd spent in that pit of a cell; ever since the cubs had 'visited' him, only the guards that brought him food and water dared come near. Despite the fact they'd only offered him the bare minimum food to keep him alive, the male was slowly growing stronger. He was still not strong enough to ram the boulder though; something he'd found out a few nights back when he's spent himself out physically by ramming his frame into the boulder, with little to no success.
All what he'd managed was to reopen some of the wounds that had healed over, and since then, the male had taken to residing in the deepest, darkest corner of his prison. Chrnobog was nowhere to be seen or heard of. Kibaya hadn't felt him surface in ages, the coward. Something in the back of the dark lion's mind told him the other one would likely remain hidden for some time still... the situation his body and mind found themselves in were too traumatic for Chrno to withstand, and so the weaker one had been pushed away in favor of the darker side.
The male couldn't help but sneer; dried blood clogged his nostrils and for a moment he stopped to hack and cough before turning his gaze away from the boulder. He'd lost track of time, unsure if it was day or night.... or how many moons it'd been. His pelt was filthy, grimy due to having refused to groom himself; the notion she'd have never allowed him to do such a thing to himself forced a snort of wry amusement from him. For a moment, he could almost smell her scent.
It took Kibaya a good two minutes to notice that his mind and nose were, in fact, not playing tricks on him; he could smell her. Blinking in the darkness, he narrowed his eyes, "Go 'way!" he snapped at the boulder, the tone of voice letting her know whom of the 'two' was in charge. Not like she'd ever needed any hint to know... somehow, she always ******** this.
Her ears flew back against her skull and for a moment, Vinuka had to fight herself not to flee. She shook from nose to tail, but her eyes narrowed and the female forced herself to take a step forward. He can't get out, he can't get out... The mantra rolled about her head, quivering with terror, but keeping her from bolting entirely.
"Where's Chrno?" She asked the boulder, dipping her head to try and peer in a slight gap near the bottom of it.
"No ********' clue! Now go 'way!" he snapped again; it was true, really. He had no idea where the other'd gone, and all what he had was his dumb, pathetic theory, which he'd thought up over countless sleepless nights.
If there was something interesting about Kibaya, it was that for all his strange ways, he did not lie. In fact, he was bluntly honest, to the point of being rash and rude, "Can't face him without facing me anyhow, can you," it wasn't even a question.
"No," She answered, though it wasn't a question and she knew it. Vinuka sighed, but did not run. Instead she regarded the boulder again.... no. She would not let him out; could not! Even if she were strong enough to move it, there were children here. She wouldn't subject them to ..... him. Oh the pride should have never brought him here! "If I let you go, what would you do?"
There was silence from the other side of the boulder as the male blinked. Somehow, her question wasn't quite making sense in his brain; probably due to the fact that despite the fact he'd been getting stronger, very slowly, he was still not fed as much as he should have, and thus... well, he was still very much in second gear.
He could not even begin to comprehend why she'd ask such a thing; not only that, but come to think about it, he'd never paused to ponder what he'd do when he got OUT. A snort of what might have seemed like dry, laughter sounded; despite everything, there was no color, or even amusement in the sound. It was dead.
"I don't know," he told her sincerely, "I hate you. I hate him too. I hate you both. But I can't leave. ******** you both," he scowled at the boulder, "I wouldn't touch you," he murmured under his breath though; he'd seen the fear through the red haze that had blinded him. He saw it every night in his dreams, and he could smell it through the rock. She'd never feared him. She'd always been the only one that never feared him; it was painful to know he deserved the fear, for once.
She didn't want to lose Chrno. Unlike the others, unlike their friends and family, she understood. Vinuka knew like no other that there was another there, underneath Chrnobog's exterior. The one who was speaking now, the one who had hurt her... and while she didn't want to lose the sweet friend she'd always loved, she did not feel safe in the presence of Kibaya.
"Would you.." She hesitated, voice trembling. Did she want him to leave? Yes; yes and no. How could she ask him to leave, and know that he might still be out there... out there... hurting others like he had hurt her.
How could she leave Chrnobog alone with him?
"You already touched me, Kibaya."
A sneer from within the enclosure, "Not as much as I could have," there was such a dark threat within those words, and if she was smart, which Kibaya knew full well she was, he'd leave him alone, turn around and forget all about them both. If she could not face him, then she'd not face Chrnobog either. It was clear he wasn't going to leave; even if he wanted to... Kibaya couldn't let go. He'd tried to let go of her before. It was a futile task, however, during his time in the prison, he'd decided to simply content himself with watching.
She wasn't meant to be his anyhow, why had he gotten so worked up?
"I can't leave," it was growled softly, as if he'd heard her unspoken question, "How can I?" and then softly, "You named me," as if it had been a signed contract; a link, "You named me."
"And maybe I wouldn't have!" She snapped, unable to help herself. Afraid? Oh yes, she was afraid. She knew, now, without any doubt what he'd do to her if he got the chance. Even if he said now that he wouldn't, the slightest thing might set him off--never again would she be able to trust that body. Never would she know when the other paw might drop, when chrno might suddenly lose control...
Vinuka backed away from the boulder, and turned. It hurt her to abandon him... but what could she do? "I'm sorry," She whispered, but not to Kibaya, and fled back how she'd come.
A snarl at the rock was her answer to those words, even as he heard the footsteps retreat away. Too bad for her that Chrno did not hear the apology; but then again, the other 'him' had not surfaced in a very long time. Kibaya had the inkling of the notion it was his fault; he'd attacked her. Chrno probably didn't want to face it, nor the consequences that had been brought forth due to the actions.
Thus, the body was left hollow, occupied by Kibaya, whom had no way to be further traumatized than he'd already been upon birth. Whom was to say though, which of the two was the crazy one?
