Meleth stretched and yawned, shaking off the dew that had settled on her in the early morning before she'd woken. She surveyed herself with a bit of dismay. She was still rather scraggly, though none of her fur was missing of matted. Just...messy. And a little unevenly grown in some places. And she just couldn't get herself completely dust-free. It saddened her. She was also thin, with some of her ribs showing. It wasn't nearly as bad as a month or so ago, since she could hunt mice and hares now. But...well, she still wasn't very good at it. And half the time, the prey got away. The half-demon sighed and shook her head. She was still alive. Her and her dirty blood. She snorted. No matter what, she was still of royal blood, even if it was dirtied with slave blood.
With that thought, she started forward for the day, in search of something to eat. She would live, and figure things out. After all, Anameleth was the daughter of a Demon-king and the slave-that-got-away. Nothing would keep her from finding her own path now. A path she was certain Roho had been the catalyst for. Now...she just had to FIND that path.
Circe was returning from her raid, in a particularly foul mood. The lioness trotted along, moodily, looking around. The Queen fed the cubs brought in unquestioningly, but really... It wasn't what Circe thought it should feel like. No, they weren't her family, but all she had were the memories of a barely-weaned cub.
Besides, today, she was now sore, defeated. Insulting. Her ears pricked, and she followed the sound. Was something out there? The Juvenile dropped, developing a fanged grin, and moved forward. Time for a hunt!
Meleth stalked a hare as quietly and carefully as she could, intent on feeding her very empty belly. She hadn't eaten for two days, so it was starting to complain. Finally close enough, she grinned and pounced, latching her jaws around the hare's neck. She waited until it stopped struggling, then dropped it. Her meal lay there, definitely dead. She grinned and sent a prayer of thanks to the gods.
She would eat again...and her belly would stop rumbling at her. Before she ate, she made sure to drain the blood from it...Some habits made too much sense to die.
Circe prowled after the sound, poking her head to peer. Oh.. Another cub with a hare. Circe regarded her scrutinizingly, then dropped the prowl, padding up behind her calmly.
"Oh. Hello."
Definaitely too skinny to consider. She almost pitied her.
Meleth whirled around, fur on edge and red eyes narrowed. Great...a larger cub. Her size made Meleth acutely aware of how small she was...But, she would not be intimidated! After all, she'd not been intimidated by Roho, so why should she be intimidated by someone her own age?....Well....apparently her own age.
"Hello." She gathered herself, and calmed. "Where you looking for someone?"
"No." Circe groomed her paw calmly, her own red eyes on the female. It his her injuries well. "Just walking. You?"
She didn't trust this one. Not yet.
"I was getting ready to enjoy a meal." She'd already drained the blood...so there was no harm in being polite. Her stomach could wait a LITTLE longer. Besides...this juvenile intrigued her. Black and white...she'd never really seen such a color combination. One of the sacred colors of her old pride, and one of the slave colors. Made her wonder what sort of creature this one was.
"Where do you come from?" Curiosity won.
"Don't remember. Don't give a s**t." Circe stretched, showing no interest in the hare. "I just do what I want."
Meleth blinked. Then chuckled. "Well...that's an interesting way of thinking. You must be living somewhere decent, though, if you've got a full belly." Her expression was something between a smile and a smirk. "So you have no idea what sort of blood runs in you? Perhaps you're rather lucky that way."
"Doesn't matter anyhow." Circe decided she liked this one. She had bite. A bite Circe thought reminded her of herself. "Decent? HAH. I only get fed by an idiot who doesn't realize her 'beloved loyal mate' runs off and gets with any female he can."
Circe snorted.
"Morons, really. So, what, nobody feeding you?" Circe eyed her approasingly. "You need feeding."
Oh...wow. Meleth couldn't help but laugh. "That sounds like what my mother was!" Meleth reigned her laughter in with some trouble. "Fool didn't realize she was a slave for so long...didn't realize my father had just been using her, thought he actually LOVED her. Though she did eventually figure out and left." With half of her siblings, though she knew at least one of them would return to the demons. Moricorm had told her she would.
The black-and-brown juvenile snorted. "I didn't care for either parent, so I left. Sadly, hunting has been...iffy at best." She poked her belly. "It's rather hard keeping this thing full."
"Ha. No, this woman's too stupid to ever pick up on it." Circe shook her head. "I just tolerate it."
Circe stretched. "A slave? You seem smarter than she was. Perhaps you should have made her useful to yourself, mother or not."
Yes... Circe was a sadistic little beast. But she did rather like this one.
"I can help you hunt. I know a land we can easily steal from. Together." A nasty grin. Revenge... Yes. "I'm Circe, by the by."
Meleth sighed dramatically. "Some creatures...they will never learn." Then she grinned rather darkly. "Oh...I had no interest in using her further. She was already a pawn of my sister's, and very paranoid. Two of us using her would have ruined everything for both." She shrugged. Even as a cub, she knew when to step back.
This other juvenile...Meleth liked her. Didn't care for wrong or right...just herself and what she wanted. "Mmmm....lead the way. I'm Meleth."
"Ah. Then she's useful." Circe smirked, getting up as she turned, stretching.
"Right this way. The fools won't know what hit them."
