The large lion, for his age anyway, slowly walked through the tall grass, his eyes heavy lidded. He'd never been this far from home before.. The adolescent had no idea what was ahead, but for once he didn't give a damn. He wanted to loose himself in the horizon, to find somewhere... different. His mind, body, and pride was completely shattered. The wounds his mother had given him had run deep. No, he couldn't go back there. Not now.
With a loud grunt his legs gave out, sending him toppling into the dirt, dust billowing up around him. "....Dam...mit..." He mutters, his oddly colored eyes falling hald closed. He couldn't go on, at least not now...
Kaimel couldn't remember ever venturing this far out into the pride's lands before. He didn't normally enjoy being out and about without his sister, but for once, he'd made an exception. He wanted to explore the lands a bit more... That was when he spotted something in the grasses, a large dark figured covered in open wounds and nearly ripped apart. The second he recognized the vague shape as a lion, Kaimel gasped and rushed forward, loosening the pouch around his neck.
"Can you hear me?" he asked, spreading a paste made to stop bleeding onto his paw and carefully pressing it against one of the smaller wounds.
Hiam's eyes had closed, nearly giving into the pain. He knew physical pain, he could deal with that, but the betrayal was just too much. A small, gentle touch brought him out of the darkness, if just a little, His eyes opened to slits, the red penpoint burning deep within the darkness.
The voice seemed far away at first, but gradually louder as it echoed in his mind. He only grunted in reply though, his eyes opening slightly wider.
"Good. Stay still. I'm going to try to stop the bleeding," Kaimel said absently, spreading more of the paste onto his paw and pressing it against a larger wound. He couldn't do everything right now, but he could at least stop the bleeding long enough to get the male further into the pride... Or to bring help here.
He grunts again, blinking slowly and tiredly. He laid there as he said, more for the sake that he couldn't really move. The cream seems to liven him slightly, or more so the fact he was touching his painful wound.
"..What... are you... doing..." He grunted again, his voice deep and rough.
"I'm stopping the bleeding. Who attacked you?" Kaimel said, shifting into the dark figure's line of view with a small, nervous smile. He didn't want to scare the lion, after all! And once he was certain the other had gotten a good look at him, he continued his work, pressing the paste mixture into more of the wounds.
He blinked a little at the younger lion, eyes narrowing a tad. He would have growled and forced his superiority, but... He just couldn't work up the strength. "I'll be fine, arugh... You don't... have to do this..." He grumbled, heaving a sigh. He didn't answer his question, too ashamed to admit it.
"I'm a healer. Of course I have to help you," Kaimel said, laughing softly and continuing his work. It was a little while before most of the lion's bleeding had stopped, and by then Kaimel was out of paste.
He had slowly woken up a little, enough to raise his head. The blood had finally stopped flowing, allowing him the opportunity to make more. But he was still weak. He held his head low, eyes narrowed at the cub. "Who are you?" He snapped, even though the cub had probably just saved his life.
"My name is Kaimel. I should be asking who you are," Kaimel said absently, smiling and moving back into the other male's line of view.
"Kaimel..." He snarled the name, his chin moving to rest back onto the ground, his paws a bit sprawled out at his sides. He stared up at the cub, his smile already getting on his nerves. "You can leave now, little shrimp... I'll be fine on my own..."
"There's no way I'm leaving you here on your own. Vultures are already circling above," Kaimel said, scowling at the nickname and puffing up. He was far from small, after all. He was rather large for his age, but still rather gentle.
Hiam was also rather large, almost the size of a normal adult lion. It'd helped his ego grow, until it'd gotten the better of him. He snorted loudly, shifting his head to look away from the cub. "I can beat off those damn buzzards... I told you to leave."
"My Mom would never forgive me if I left you," Kaimel growled, curling his tail around his legs and settling down next to Hiam. "So who attacked you? The demons?"
Hiam's body stiffened slightly. He glanced back out of the corner of his eyes, scowling. Should he tell the truth? After a moment, he grunted again.
".....Yes. I suppose I was..." His eyes narrowed slightly, his head tilting back towards him. "How do you know about the demons?"
"I'm a demon-hunter. That's how I know about the demons," Kaimel said, puffing up his chest proudly.
Blink... blink. "Demon... hunter?" He'd never heard of such a thing... He stared at the cub cautiously. He was of no threat, but if there were others... he'd have to be very careful. "Why?"
"What do you mean why? Demons are vicious and they are cruel and destroy lives. Well, most of them are anyway. Miss Moto told me once that there are good demons too," Kaimel said, eyeing Hiam curiously.
"...Ah..." He frowned a little, looking away again, suddenly looking and feeling rather tired. So there was a whole pride devoted to killing his kind, hmm? For a moment it troubled him, but... then... His mind spared through the cloudy pain, and he looked back towards the cub with a pained look.
"What... would you say... if I admited that I was once a demon?"
"As long as you don't hurt anyone, you're welcome here," Kaimel said after a long moment of silence, kneading the ground nervously. He'd never met a demon before... At least not that he knew of. Not one that openly admitted it so soon after meeting them.
"I see..." He muttered, frowning. He had to be smart now. If he played this right, he could perhaps see his dream come true... He wanted revenge more than anything.
"Don't worry." He grumbles after a moment, still seeming grumpy and rough sounding, but not too aggressive. "I was banished... I am no longer a demon."
"Being banished from the pride doesn't mean you aren't a demon. It just means you aren't part of the pride... And it probably means you're a good demon," Kaimel said, edging closer to Hiam curiously. "You never told me your name."
"I was banished because I went against their ways..." His eyes fell half lidded as he stared at the cub, lips curled downwards. "I did not wish to consider myself a demon. I didn't want a part of their... beliefs..." He shifts a little, grunting in pain. "This is what they do to people that do not 'see' the way they do... My own mother and brother chased me out with claws and teeth." His nearly glowing red eyes boured into the cub's, then away. "Odhiambo."
"Well, you're welcome here, Odhiambo. Although you'll have to meet Miss Moto first," Kaimel said gently, smiling at Hiam and shifting to look back into the lands. "The journey isn't far, if you think you're up to it."
He nods a little, watching him for a moment. "I suppose... I can try." He mutters, glancing down at the claw marks that were scattered across his back. It would hurt like hell... But the mental pain was slowly lessoning. His future was clear now. Eventually, he'd get revenge... And using this cub as his main tool.
Slowly and shakily he pushed himself to his feet, hissing and grumbling as he did. "I... think so. Lead the way, shrimp."
"Just follow me!" Kaimel said, grinning and slowly turning to head in the direction of the main pridal lands. He hoped he could find Miss Moto soon...
He nodded slowly, moving to follow him. It was a painfully slow journey... But he was determined to make it. Let this show them.... He'd return with a whole army to take them down...
