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 Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:07 pm
There was no relief for the black and blue lion that morning. Not even the moon had raised his morale when it had been up just an hour before. The only thing on Durion's mind was pain.
Burning, excruciating pain.
It seemed to seethe in his back like an angry snake, hissing and pulsing and writhing. Durion's face was contorted in a grimace that he would've hid well had anyone been around. Fortunately for the lion, he was very much alone in that part of the spindly jungle. Unfortunately, Durion despised the jungle for reasons he very much wished to forget about. The smell, the plants, the feel of it against his paws...It only succeeded in bringing him down farther into the pit of hell he currently dwelled in.
Oh gods, it hurt.
The cuts in his neck had begun to heal nicely, but the deep wounds in his back where chunks of flesh had been bit out...That area was like a volcano of hellfire. Damn that crazy cheetah...
As his paws began to drag even more and his body began to tremor, Durion decided he needed to rest. He had been searching for a den; a shelter of some sort. Some place where he could hide from any threat and just...Heal. But no such place had come into sight. Thus, the lion was left with a dark patch of jungle barely touched by the rising sun.
With a groan of effort, the dark lion dropped onto his stomach and tried to tolerate the pain.
Kitou had been sent out by her father, to try and spend a night alone. She was told not to venture out of the En Gedi borders, and that a simple call and aid would be with her. Perhaps she'd find her totem? Oh, wouldn't that be something amazing to bring back? Her parents - and the whole pride - would be so proud if she brought back her totem! Just the thought brought a smile to the youngster's face, as she padded carefully through the undergrowth. She didn't want to be falling into any holes now, did she?
Bright emerald eyes shone into the enveloping darkness as a crunching sound reached her fragile ears. Someone was coming! Oh, maybe it was her totem! Eyes sparkling in excitement, the female cub dove over towards a rock, to hide behind it. Totems were usually prey animals - she didn't want to spook them and have them run away. That wouldn't be good at all! Kitou watched with awe and interest, patiently awaiting the creature to come into her sights.
But then...it was just a lion. A very big lion. Eyes dulld, Kitou turning to head elsewhere, before she suddenly saw red. And...rather a lo of it. A light gasp escaped the cub's maw as she noticed the blood - he was hurt! Whilst one would usually be wary of strangers, Kitou's instincts to help this lion in need overruled her wariness, the mini-lionness diving out from behind the rock, bounding up towards Durion. Horror was the expression on her face as she gave a quick glance over his wounds, before looking into his face.
"You're hurt! Come back to the pride, they'll heal you." she spoke, a rare ocurance around Kitou usually. She was a firm believer of not speaking unless you needed to, and even then she rarely did - it just didn't seem worth it most of the time. However, this situation was special, and called for drastic measures. Including her voice.
Durion's plan to try and tolerate the pain was failing miserably.
He licked his dry lips, mouth screaming for water, but there was no relief for that, either. The lion glowered at the grass, body shaking every now and then with the steady effort of each breath. He didn't like to moan and whine about pain, not even to himself. But it was just so hot and horrible. How did a cheetah manage to do that to him? It was impossible. He was almost twice that cheetah's size. Ugh...Maybe Durion was just out of practice...
Yeah, thinking about things like that...That took his mind off the pain. He just had to keep thinking. Thinking...
Durion's eyes snapped open when the scent of a lioness entered his nose. He raised his head, hair on his back bristling painfully. Before he had time to shout out a threat, a little brown cub came bounding out toward him.
What the...She wanted to help him? Just like that, out of the blue? What the hell part of the jungle was he in? A pride...? He was near a pride? Oh, gods. The day was getting worse and worse.
His neck twitched painfully when he tried to speak. Then again, why did he need to speak to the cub? If he ignored her, she would go away. If he ignored her--...Durion closed his eyes, tiredness waving over him. He rested his head on his paws slowly, but remained awake.
Kitou's wide, fearful eyes watched Durion closely, waiting for him to get up. She could lead him back to the pride, and then the healers could heal him better. He must've been in so much pain - just the thought of it made the young cub shiver.
When he didn't move, she begun to get a little agitated. Still not speaking, she growled a little, as if warning him he should get up. She just knew he shouldn't go to sleep - that was definitely bad. Watching the healers had allowed her photographic memory to remember certain skills that she could use, but she could be doing it wrong. Seeing and knowing were two completely different concepts.
Wait, was he going to sleep? Paniking a little, Kitou turned and begun to run off, to fetch help. But wait - he might die while she was gone! She quickly changed route, fastening her sharp claws around a small, hollowed out log, dragging it in the direction of the watering hole. It took her only a few moments to fill the log, before dragging it back. That was more difficult, due to it being full of heavy water now.
When she was back...well. Of course, she struggling to lift the log, and pour it over most of his neck wound by tilting the log sharply upwards. She'd imagine it would sting very much, but the first thing you had to do was wash the wound - then dress it.
When it sounded like the cub was going away, Durion was relieved. Whatever her reasons, whatever her feelings as to why she should help a complete stranger when he's hurt, no cub should see such a gory image. Blood-crusted fur, open wounds, nasty smells...Durion knew it all too well, even from a young age. If he had had a choice, he never would've seen any of it when he was that young. So somehow, for whatever reason, maybe a hidden paternal instinct, Durion didn't want the cub to be there right then. The sooner she left, the better.
Durion's eyes winced as a strange pulsation of pain flinched through his body. He ground his teeth, taking a deep breath to help it pass. He sighed again, ears rotating for sounds. He heard tiny footsteps; quick ones. The cub had come back? Oh, great. Why the hell had she--
A loud roar of surprise and pain exploded out of Durion's mouth. But the roar pained him also, so it subsided into silence quickly. Some water trailed into his mouth and he was grateful for that. The rest mingled with the new scabs of wounds and dark fur.
Wincing, Durion opened his eyes and stared at the small cub, teeth clenched and eyes not showing anger, but shock and confusion.
What the hell had she done that for?!
The reaction wasn't unexpected - well, it must've really hurt! When she'd scraped her paw once before and accidentally put it into the watering hole, it had caused her to cry out in pain. She'd even shed a few tears, although not purposefully - it had just happened.
She did jump back a little at the roar, just in case he lashed out in surprise. She couldn't be hurt too - she had to help him! If they were both hurt, that wouldn't do any good. He looked at her with shock, and she offered a sweet smile back, before hurriedly disappearing.
She was only gone for a few moments, but she was soon back, with a mouthful of large malleable leaves. One more disappearance and she had fetched a few thick vines. Without even saying anything, she took one of the leaves, racing quickly towards the watering hole and dipping it in, before racing back once more. She paused in front of him, hesitating for a few moments before reaching forwards, using clumsy paws to attempt to smooth out the leaf against the wounds on the left side of his neck.
Everything was happening much too fast for Durion's laid-back mind, especially since he was in an even slower condition due to blood-loss and pain.
Blue eyes watched the cub with some slight interest as she ran back and forth from place to place. Part of him wondered what she was doing, but the other part was too tired to care.
He gaped puzzlingly at the mouthful of leaves the little one had brought back. And he was even more puzzled at the vines. What did the cub think she was, some kind of elite healer? Since when did cubs learn to do things like that? And more importantly...
Why was she trying to help him?
But instead of rebelling and trying to keep her away, the lion flicked his ears back in some sign of acceptance and allowed her to do what she wanted. The feeling of moist leaves was cool on his neck. He only winced for a moment. The smell was odd; somehow familiar. But he ignored that and closed his eyes, still not saying a word.
Kitou smiled, pleased as he didn't struggle, and even seemed to be grateful for the dressing on his neck. She was quick to fetch another leaf, wet it, and place it on the other side of his neck, before she fetched the vines and carefully wrapped them around his neck, applying a little pressure before pausing, looking up to Durion.
"Is that too tight?" she asked, voice once again gracing the air as she placed her paw gently on where she was proposing to tie the vines, so Durion could say if she was tying it too tightly. Pressure was good, but not enough to cause pain.
Durion inhaled deeply, and exhaled at the cool feeling of the leaves. The tugging of the vines was a bit painful at first, especially when the little cub tied them, but he simply grit his teeth and tolerated it. It passed in the end anyway, eventually feeling quite soothing.
Eyes opening, but half-lidded, Durion glanced down at the cub, something soft shining in the blue. He never was good with kids...Never. Why? he didn't know. Maybe it was because he didn't allow himself to be. Maybe being around cubs caused him to think of what would happen if he had his own? Well, it didn't matter...It never would matter. But as the light brown cub tended to him and made little expressions as she worked, Durion suddenly thought...It wouldn't be so bad to have a couple cubs around.
But he didn't lead a life suitable for cubs...He had to be alone.
When the tiny lioness asked him a question, he shook his head slowly in response, careful not to shake too hard in case the "bandage" would come off.
While he did appreciate the cub's help, did she see how horrible his back was? Did she plan on getting to that, to? That was too much for a cub. Silently, he hoped she would go away. Even if part of him almost liked the company, he didn't want her to see more than she had to.
Kitou flashed a wide, warm smile back to Durion at the shake of his head, finishing tying off the vine before returning to the pile of declining leaves, picking up another. Once again she ran to the watering hole, soaking the leaf and bringing it back.
Something occured to her this time, however. She paused, frowning a little, before placing the leaf on the ground in front of Durion, a small well of water having built up in the cup-like middle of the leaf.
"If you're thirsty," she spoke, a litte quietly, yet still audibly as she fetched another leaf, wetting it and returning to Durion, moving around to his back. This was going to be a little more difficult. Placing her paws carefully on the less injured parts of his back, she strained upwards, placing the leaf on his back and smoothing it out with her paws. Another leaf was fetched and placed on his back in the same way, although she then padded around to the other side of Durion, straightening them from there. he was so big!
Blue eyes stared back at green, and Durion couldn't help the slight smirk that winced onto his face at the sight of her grin.
Somehow, the lion had fallen into a mixture of cub and patient mentality. He was feeling the need to wait to do things; wait for permission or something. So he lied still, watching the cub work with a relaxed look on his face, all tension removed from his being. He glanced down at the leaf in front of his chest and bent down to lap at the water thirstily. He drank almost all of it in one go, being so thirsty. But the water was cool and wet his mouth, so he was fine with however little there was.
The soft, light kneading of tiny paws against his skin was becoming something almost familiar. He was getting used to that. Whether that was a good or bad thing, he didn't know. It wouldn't do to think about it much. So he shifted his thoughts to something else.
He didn't have time to do much thinking before he felt the shocking coldness of a damp leaf get lightly pressed into his back. The leaf itself couldn't have been that cold, but to the burning-hot wounds in the lion's back, it felt frigid. And that wasn't a bad thing. The cub was working easily, not pressing too hard, which was a good thing. Too much pressure on his wounds would not have done at all. But he still wondered where she'd learned such things.
The sun was getting higher in the sky, beams of yellow streaming through the trees. Durion squinted as a ray landed on his face. He'd been there for a while, the cub working all the time. Still, she aided him without many a word.
He didn't understand...
One more leaf on his back, and the wounds were covered, Kitou padding back t fetch the remainder of the vines. She dragged them over to him, smiling sweetly the whole time, as she attempted to fling the vine over his back. She failed, not able to get enough momentum to throw it the whole way over, it instead sliding off.
With a growl, she fetched the end of the vine, deciding to do it the easier way by walking around, then pulling it over. She was careful not to allow the vine to push down too hard on his wounds, as she checked the far side to ensure that the vine was the whole way over.
"Could you stand up please?" she asked gently. She needed him to stand up so she could tie the vines under his belly, and complete the bandage. "Are you hurt anywhere else, sir?"
The dark lion was kind of amused at the faild attempts the little lioness did. Her little growls ad scowls were humorous. Durion almost felt bad for thinking it all to be funny. She was working hard for a cub; harder than any cub he had seen. Then again, he'd never seen many cubs in his life...But what cubs he had seen didn't know ANY of the stuff this cub did.
Durion's ears shifted, listening to the cub speak. He didn't want to frustrate her further attempts to nurse him better, but he wasn't sure if he could stand. Scooting a little to the left, Durion used a tree as support. He leaned against it and stood up as much as he felt he had to. His legs were weak and the leaning 'cause his back pain, but he knew he would remain standing for however long the little cub wanted.
Watching her work was far too amusing for him to just plop down on the ground like a dead hippo.
When she asked if he was hurt anywhere else, Durion shook his head. At least, he didn't think he was hut anywhere else. Nah, he wasn't. The cheetah hadn't gotten him that good...
Kitou's warm smile and sparkling eyes met Durion as he stood, worry crossing her face for a few moments as he used the tree for support. Deciding she had to be quick, she dived underneath him, quickly tying off the knot and darting back out, smiling to indicate he could sit down once more.
She then disappeared again. She was gone for several minutes, and one might've thought she was actually gone. However, she soon returned, a dead hare dragging along the ground behind her, her eyes sparkling with pride. She'd caught it all by herself! To be fair, it had been lame... but that didn't matter! She placed it in front of Durion, grinning. Clearly expecting praise.
At the first indication that he could, Durion plopped down with a thump and a sigh. It felt good to have the weight off of his legs and back again. He didn't realize how hurt he was until right at that moment.
If the cub hadn't come along, he would've been...Well, he didn't want to think about that. The cub had brought him healing for his wounds and pain, but also healing of his mind. He was relaxed; no longer stressed and tense over his painful wounds. In fact, he didn't feel so much of the pain anymore...he was much more calm, and didn't feel as tired as before.
Blue eyes watched the cub scamper off into the trees. When she was gone for so long, Durion was confused. Where had she gone? He would never admit to ANYone, but...He was getting a little worried.
However, all worry vanished at the sight of two green eyes and a little smile. But the smile was marred with a few blood splatters and the dragging body of a dead hare.
...She had CAUGHT that?
Just what the hell kind of cub was he dealing with?!
Durion flashed a toothy grin at the cub and bit into the hare without hesitation. He ate and ate until his weakened body told him to stop. Normally, he would've eaten the whole thing. But he was still feeling woozy from the blood loss.
The lion flicked his gaze over to the small lioness, looking at her through his bangs. His ears swiveled and the tuft of his tail twitched, lips moving for a moment as if he was going to say something. But he was silent. There was a long pause. Then Durion finally spoke, his voice coming out in a deep rumble.
"Thank you."
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:04 am
He liked it? Kitou's chest swelled with pride as he begun to dig into the hare, the small lionness lowering her hind into a sitting position, watching him with interest. He obviously didn't like company much - he was silly to have refused the choice to go back to the pride and get proper healers to heal him. But she was quite proud of what she'd managed to achieve. She'd washed and bandaged his wounds, although she hadn't managed to smear any potions on it, since she didn't know what plants did what. But at least his wounds would be able to start healing now.
Her grin widened to the widest it had been at his thanks, her chest feeling like it was about to burst. Just wait until she told her parents of this! They'd be so proud of her! Helping a stranger in need was most certainly something to be proud of! A few purrs escaped Kitou's maw, before a thought suddenly occured to her. Would this stranger be alright now? She was supposed to stay out here all night now, and she honestly didn't want to sleep by herself. Plus she should watch over him - make sure he didn't get any worse? ...Yeah, that was it.
Smile warm, Kitou looked at Durion carefully, pushing herself up into a standing position, "May I sleep with you tonight?"
Snuggling up next to a nice warm lion beat sleeping on the cold, wet ground anyday. She bet her siblings hadn't had this luck when they'd had to spend their nights alone.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:37 am
Now that was a familiar question. Durion had heard it many, many, many-- well, a lot. But he'd never heard such a question come out of a cub's mouth toward him before. It was different coming from the cub; especially that cub. It made him understand that he was an adult and the lioness in front of him wasn't. Therefore, it was somehow his responsibility to look after her, even if he was injured. That was it...
She made him think about responsibility.
Brows furrowing in thought, he nodded, watching the small cub snuggle against his black fur. His eyes softened and he glanced at the sky, still thinking about his bad luck. But maybe it wasn't so bad...Maybe cubs weren't so bad...
And maybe he was better with them than he thought.
Yawning slowly, Durion blinked and rested his head on his paws, curling his tail around the cub gently as if it were a shield of protection. He glanced at her one more time before falling into a deep, calm sleep.
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