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 Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:16 pm
Lorelei = Sergeant Sargent // Tumaini = Pao Water brings the gift of life. As a healer, Lorelei felt a special affinity for water and its powers. She felt a sense of pride and purpose living next to the great waterfall of her pride. The waterfall plunged into what the Amazons called a sister river that flowed through their lands, and it was this river that Lorelei followed, its gentle current purring in her ears.
She followed the waters upstream, hoping to find the river’s source, if such a feat was possible. She hypothesized that all rivers must have their source either at the ocean or a large body of fresh water. If the Amazons’ river stemmed from the ocean she would probably never find the source without a long and tiresome journey, so she decided from the beginning that she would follow the river upstream until midday, then turn around and return to the pride if she found nothing. She hoped the trip would give her a better picture of the pride’s lands, at least. She might even find some interesting herbs.
Her leather herb pounce swayed between her forelegs as she walked, carrying a small mixture of herbs for use in case of emergency. With such a great variety of herbs growing in and around her pride a second pouch would be in order soon to carry all her goods. 
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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:57 pm
Lorelei wrinkled her nose at the bitter smell of blood. Spotting a body up ahead, she drew a deep breath into her lungs and flew to the scene as fast as her four paws could carry her. The smell overpowered her as she closed in. There was no death smell yet, but time was of the essence if she intended to save this victim.
Victim of what?
“Hello there!” Lorelei called in a friendly voice as she closed the final gap. She wanted the lioness to know right away that she was in good hands. She also wanted to get the lioness’s attention in case she was thinking of doing a silly thing like passing out or forgetting to breathe.
Lorelei resisted a grimace. The poor girl was in bad shape. “It’s alright dear, I’m going to take care of you. Can you tell me your name?”
There was someone there, though their voice was hazy. Mai was barely conscious, but she managed to somehow make something out of what the lioness had said. "Tumaini.." she replied weakly, eyes opening slightly to see who it was she was speaking with. The scars that trailed down the lioness's cheeks were enough to tell her that she was indeed of the Amazon pride. It was reassuring, but at the moment she didn't exactly have time to be relieved that it wasn't some random stranger. "Of the Mwako'bi'Giza..." she went on. Her voice was barely over a whisper though, but she wanted to try. "I.. was attacked on my way over." She had to stop talking though, having used up what'd been left of her energy. Mai knew she was far from dying, but she couldn't seem to stay conscious now. Too much blood loss, perhaps?
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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 5:23 pm
The demon hunters! If the Amazons had not informed her of them, Lorelei never would have believed such a pride existed. She assumed the demons they hunted were merely deluded and insane. Reason enough to wipe them out.
“Well met, Tumaini. I am Lorelei, the Amazons’ Healer. I’ll see to safety.” She tugged open her herb pouch with one paw and wore a disappointed expression. She was only prepared for minor to moderate injuries. Oh well. She would treat what she could here. She chewed up herbs that assisted in stemming infection and blood-loss and used her tongue to spread them over Mai’s wounds. They left a bitter taste, but it was the most effective technique. If Mai had more strength she would have found a medium sized leaf to fill with water for her to drink. Instead, after checking for broken bones, she pulled Mai onto her back and carried her back to the pride.
Once home, she treated Mai’s worst wounds with herbs and left her to rest in the back of her cave near a shallow pool of fresh water. The water was safe to drink and icy due to the darkness of the cave. While Mai rested, Lorelei talked to the huntresses about setting aside a piece of meat for her charge. She probably wouldn’t wake until the evening, when the huntresses returned.
The pale brown lioness stirred awake, groaning as she blinked her eyes open. It seemed as though every muscle in her body was making itself known to her, and she ached in places she didn't even know she could ache. The pain was almost blinding, really. Still, being the strong lioness that she was, she forced herself to keep as quiet as possible as she took a look around. Everything was hazy at first, then when her vision cleared it was all very unfamiliar.
It took a lot more effort than it should have for Mai to lift her head, and she winced as the pain surged in her neck and shoulders. She moved her head slowly, taking a good look at everything she saw. It was then that she caught sight of a lioness, sleeping not too far off. If she had the energy to call out to the other she would have, but as it was she couldn't do much else but groan.
She recalled the lioness's name though - Lorelei. It was the last thing she heard before completely blacking out. Mai kept her gaze on Lorelei, hoping she would stir awake soon and tell Mai what happened afterward.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:30 pm
The darker lioness stretched her legs, claws extending in a luxurious yawn. She smiled a little groggily and stood. “Good morning, sunshine.” It was dusk.
She trotted over to Tumani and nodded at the small pool near her resting place after inspecting her. “Your wounds seem to be healing nicely. Do you feel strong enough to drink? The water here is very cool and pure.”
What she meant was that Tumani’s wounds, while still quite fresh, showed no signs of infection, and that was half the battle. Lorelei knew from experience that when a wound turns an unusual color, oozes green water, or has a death smell, then there is little hope. But if a wound turns pink, everything will be alright. Tumani’s wounds were still raw and red, but they did not ooze or smell foul, so that was well.
The greeting wasn't one she expected, but Mai offered the other a weak smile. She was glad to hear that her wounds weren't getting any worse. At Lorelei's question she nodded, wincing quietly as she slowly stood up and made her way to the pool. When she got to its edge Mai painstakingly lowered her head and lapped at the surface. The liquid was cool and refreshing, and it soothed her dry throat. When she was done she went back to her place and lay back down, breathing slightly labored from the effort.
"Thank you.." she said, though her voice was hoarse and very quiet.
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 12:45 pm
“The hunters will return soon with a fresh kill. I managed to convince one of them to set aside a piece of meat for you. There’s still so few of us, we always have plenty of meat to go around.” Lorelei lay down beside the pale lioness to keep her company. For some reason the sick always seemed to perk up a little when you gave them special attention. She usually found it a chore, but she had no other patients tonight and her curiosity was running wild. She still had questions about the mysterious pride of demon hunters Tumaini sought.
When Tumaini caught her breath, she said, “Why do you seek the demon hunters, Tumaini?”
Mai had her eyes closed now, but she was awake. She flicked her ears at the question, not quite up to an interview at the moment. Still, this Lorelei had taken her in and cared for her wounds, the least she could knew right now was answer a few questions. Finally she opened her eyes again and glanced up at the healer, taking a deep breath before she started talking again. "Ah, they are my family," she answered, the face of the Mwezi and the few others of the pride that she knew. "I'm heading home, you see."
And she paused to cough weakly, then cleared her throat before closing her eyes again. Mai sighed, thinking of the past few days and grimacing. "I was attacked on a routine mission on my way out of the pride, now I simply need to go back to speak to our Mwezi.."
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 1:11 pm
Lorelei nodded in the way of someone who only understands half of what they’ve been told. Now would not be the best time to press for details. There were dozens of other questions she could have asked but given Mai’s condition, she decided to cut to the chase. “What are the demons?”
Without opening her eyes, since even that seemed to sap what little energy she had, Mai replied, "Lions who believe they have a demon trapped inside their mortal flesh. Monsters, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, and the Mwako's mortal enemy."
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 1:36 pm
“Nothing but deluded and violent fools?” Lorelei wore a quirked smile. “Then I wish you luck on your mission. Ignorance of that kind is definitely not bliss.”
It seemed to be just as she thought. The demons were nothing but a bunch of superstitious lions who backed up their idiotic beliefs with the cruelty of their claws. Ignorance such as that should not be allowed to exist, as far as she was concerned. Her former pride also excelled at following its own stupid beliefs. While her family was blessed with good males who respected females, though perhaps did not view them as equals, many lionesses were saddled with abusive or neglectful husbands, all because of ignorance and fantasy.
Yes, Lorelei thought, that is exactly what ignorance is; a demon to be exterminated.
The female's reply put a grin on Mai's maw, and she gave a chuckle. "Yes, and thank you." That was all she could muster by then, as she felt her consciousness beginning to slip away from her. "Fools, yes, but not to be taken lightly. As.. you can probably tell by just looking at me." To have fallen at the claws of a demon is a shameful memory, but perhaps it was a lesson for Mai to learn. Before what had happened, she'd never seen them as much of a threat. She was content with her training, and took nothing but the missions assigned to her seriously - and it usually didn't mean running into any of them.
It'd be different now, she was sure of that much at least. "A lesson well learned on my part," she went on, furrowing her brows. Iar's face flashed in her mind and she grit her teeth. "And by no means will it ever happen again."
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 4:58 pm
So it seemed the demon hunters were great warriors too. Now Lorelei understood why Kiuma allied with their pride. She never believed that Kiuma forged an alliance with Mwako’bi’giza because she considered the demons a threat, their pride was too far away, at least for the time being. Nor did she think the alliance developed out of friendship. The reason, Lorelei decided, was that the lions of Mwako’bi’giza were every bit as strong and cunning as the lionesses of Antianeria and their cooperation strengthened both prides equally.
The demon’s unabashed love of multiplying may have also had something to do with their alliance. This was probably a secondary concern. The alliance would be just as valuable with or without the demons to threaten them.
“That’s the fighting spirit I like to see. Of course, you’re welcome to stay as long as your need. It would be foolish to go out there before your wounds are fully healed.”
The lioness opened her eyes, smiling as best she could up at Lorelei. "Thank you.." was all she could say before her eyes drooped closed once more. "I'll find a way to return the favor someday.." was the last thing she murmured before finally drifting off to sleep.
((End~))
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