It'd been days since she'd met Raimi... maybe longer. A week? She wasn't sure. She'd resorted to catching small mice and voles, actually developing a talent for the hunt. It was what happened when you had to rely on yourself to be able to stay alive and she yet had plenty of will to continue living. The hope and wish that maybe she'd catch a glance at one of her family members... her mother or one of her brothers. It kept her going at least a little bit.
As it was Sijaona was now crouched in a thick brush of grass, eyes focused forward on a few blades that were twitching and jerkings. Something was in the grass and moving around blindly... if she was quiet enough... maybe she could catch it. The little Cheeton wiggled her rump, tail flicking as she got ready to pounce. Maybe it was a nice, fat, juicy groundhog. If it was it'd be her biggest catch yet.
With a cry she sprung up and out of her spot, bringing both her front paws down hard on the spot that had been twitching and moving. She felt something squirming beneath her pads and heard a high pitched little squeal. She gave a 'Ha!' of triumph a tad too early, however. Whatever it was turned sharply and sank vicious little teeth into the soft flesh between two of her toes, causing her to let out her own shriek of surprise and pain and jump back. It was gone within a few moments, leaving the cub to sit licking feverishly at her paw, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
He carried himself tall, as he walked through the Savannah. Not much could bother this male, no not right now. He was sure he had heard his inner demon, and he just knew it was time to become a demon himself. He grinned a bit maliciously, actually impressed with his ability to get where he wanted in life.
He was a large lion, mostly muscle where his father was partial flab. He was still young, but he was reaching adulthood rapidly.
He walked slow and steady, the sun beaming against his back making him start to get rather thirsty. He pushed the desire for water away, and continued forward. He had to reach the borders, he had strayed far too long.
Blood red eyes gleamed when he caught the little move of the cub. She was a little distance away, but he could cover that in no time should he need to. Right now, he watched her.
The ebony and blue little cub was alone. Why? Why would someone leave something so...absolutely pitiful?
He watched her, not giving away that he saw her, as he stalked closer...
Sijaona continued to lick her paw, little whimpers of pain escaping her as she looked off towards the direction her prey had scurried. There was no use trying now, it knew she was there and would only scamper off if it sensed her near again which it would be on alert for. She settled down, tail curling against her haunches as she absently continued to lick at the wound.
It -hurt-. At least the blood was beginning to stop flowing. Another whimper escaped her and she stopped licking, her paw throbbing. A pitiful sniffle came next, and then the mournful groan and the start of fresh sobs.
She was going to be alone forever, wasn't she. She hadn't met anyone since she'd met Raimi. She should have asked him if she could have gone with him. Somewhere. Anywhere. Just so long as she had someone to be with so she wasn't so lonesome and afraid. The cub was too distracted by her tears to notice the danger that stalked ever closer to her.
He licked his lips with intent as he watched the blood on her paw. Only a few feet from her now, he remained hidden in the shadows of the grasses. She was crying? So she was alone then, for good.. He grinned once more. This could be entertaining.
"Darling, I must tell you that hanging out by yourself is just asking to be noticed." He spoke, voice breaking the sound of her little sniffles. His voice was the voice of a teenager. He still was menacing, though he was not quite an adult just yet.
His size made up for that.
His tail went side to side, and he debated in his head what would happen to the female. He could kill her, as torture could be quite amusing... But then again... Constant torture could be more fun.
Sija stopped her snivvling as soon as the voice spoke from behind her. Her fur stood up, tail brushing out in surprise as she half stood and turned quickly, hunched low to the ground and ready to run. She eased a little bit when she saw it was a lion... her mother had been...
She sat down, looking up at the bigger, older lion. Her ears were laid back timidly as she spoke up, her voice still wavering with unshed tears. “I... I'm lost.” She sniffed. Last time she'd met someone it'd been Raimi. He'd been so nice... he's also given her something to eat. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe this stranger would be just as kind. He'd even called her darling at first. “I don't think I'll... I'll ever find them again.” She couldn't hold back the little sob that hitched in her chest after this statement. Her shoulders sagged and she looked down at the ground.
She was admitting it finally, and it made it felt like her heart would collapse from the sadness.
He tsked her, and shook his head as if he truly pitied her. "What are you? Surely you are some kind of hybrid, perhaps?" He knew she was a hybrid, but bullying her into knowing it gave him a secret thrill.
"I'm sure thats enough to make you sob right? I mean.. Where do you belong? You are neither one thing nor the other."He shook his head once more.. Pity thick in his voice. When he looked up, his mane tuft full in front of his eyes, giving him a very sinister look. The red eyes only helped the look.
"But if you're truly lost.. Maybe your parents didn't want you."
Sija nodded slightly. It was … strange... to call herself a hybrid. She was just herself. “Uhm... I guess. Momma's a lion... papa wasn't.” She wasn't sure how she knew that her father hadn't been a lion but she did. Someone told her, or maybe it was her own subconscious recognition of just being -different-.
All thoughts flew from her head, though, as she gave a small gasp and looked up. She couldn't believe he'd suggest something like that... New tears welled up in her eyes. “But...!” She found herself caught looking into his face, those dark eyes captivating her, catching her, making her feel alarmed and frightened somewhere deep down in her core and she wasn't sure why. Maybe she should run. “That's so mean.” Tears dropped down from her furred cheeks and into the dirt. “Th-That's not...”
But the evil suggestion had already taken hold. Why else would she just get left behind? Why else was she still lost? It didn't seem like anyone was searching for her.
He snorted, and gave a scoff. She was definitely young, and he could tell his suggestion had stuck within her head.. Little thing was focusing so hard, he almost wanted to leave her to her torment. But as soon as he felt that way, the demon within his head growled, and he snapped back into focus. "The world is mean, Porkchop. The sooner you get used to that, the sooner you may survive." Oh she would survive, he had already decided her fate. Whether or not she was going to want to once he was done, was a different story.
"They likely saw you for the mealy mouth little brat you are. They were hoping someone would come and make you decent. But they were sadly mistaken."
He grinned maliciously, and took his front paw, stepping on her injured paw, bearing it more pain than she had previously been feeling.
"They didn't realize their sin with interbreeding. You are a hybrid, and so, your blood is tainted."
The little cub let out a squeal of sudden pain as he stepped on her injured paw. She was up and struggling immediately, tugging at her paw to try and pull it out from under the hard press of his weight. She whipped her head back and forth, the terror in her suddenly skyrocketing. “Stop it stop it stop itstopitstopit!” Tears flowed freely down her face as she continued to struggle, going to far as to suddenly lash out wither her other free paw and bat at his ankle, little pin-p***k claws extended.
“Let me go! Why are you doing this!? You were nice!”
He'd called her darling. He'd been sad for her. The flower suddenly revealed that it had thorns, deadly sharp ones.
Her attempt to pull away was useless. She was far too little for his size. He did not put all his weight down, he didn't want to crush her paw.. But he did keep it held down, and he did so with a smile on his face.
He looked at her sweetly, as if he had been sent to take care of the duty her parents had left for him. "I am going to let you work for your purity. If you have to be a hybrid, then you will work as a hybrid should."
He chuckled, and shook his head. He saw the terror in her eyes, and he disregarded it all together. The entire scenario was filling him with an evil pride that he had never felt so heavily before.
"I never claimed to be nice. You simply thought it of me. Its your parents who were not nice, birthing you the way you are. You will forever be an outcast, so you should work for your freedom.." Though he knew far well if she ever did become his, which she was now.. Or at least in his own mind. He wanted her as such.. But first he would drag her along with him, and make sure he could tolerate her. If she proved too much, he would have to kill her instead..
"Whats your name?" He demanded.
She struggled a little further, refusing to answer him until she finally flopped back down on the ground, curling up into a little ball. She continued to tug at her paw, tears seeping from her eyes. “N-Nooooo...” Her paw hurt so badly it felt like it would split from where the bite was. She shook her head, ducking it down and half covering her head with her other free paw.
When she didn't answer him, but curled into a little ball, he grew angry. His eyes darkened, and he released her paw to give her a little kick with his paw. He was refraining from biting her just yet, though he was ready should she actually decide to run.
"I asked your name." He growled, standing over her as he showed his sharp teeth. "If you value that little existence you call a life, you will answer me, and you will answer me quickly."
He looked at her, and awaited a response, though really he was more prepared for an escape..She seemed foolish enough to try...
He barely had time to finish what he was saying before she was off like a shot. The cheetah in her helped with her speed but she was still just a cub. While she managed to gain a decent amount of distance in a very quick time she wore out and had to slow down a little, beginning to limp as well. Her paw hurt terribly now that her quick burst of speed wore off. Already panting for breath from her fast start she glanced back over her shoulder in terror to see if he was coming for her.
It turned out to be a mistake. When she saw that he was indeed following her, in fact almost upon her already she stumbled, her weak paw slipping out from under her, and tumbled forward. She rolled once and sprawled out in the grass, the wind knocked out of her already breathless lungs. She lay struggling to draw breath until finally she managed a weak wheeze inward.
His quick leap turned to a slow stalk when she landed. He hadn't expected her to sabotage herself, and so it just meant that this was truly meant to be. She was meant to be his.
"Perhaps I should inform you that there is a demon within me, and if you want to survive this encounter, you had best stop doing everything you can to piss me off." He started out speaking normally, but by the end of the speech, he was snarling.
"So are you going to listen now, or shall I just increase your sense of touch?" He asked, standing over her once more and watching as she struggled for breath. Taking his claw, he slowly raked it down her little arm.
“Ah!” Sija let out a howl of pain as he scratched along her arm. She managed to pull away and roll over onto her stomach, pressing as close into the ground as she could. She squeezed her eyes tightly, ears flat against her head as she panted desperately, still winded from her mad dash and sudden loss of breath. A demon? She didn't know what a demon was but it sounded scary whatever it was. It sounded like it would kill her.
She sobbed into the grass, finally speaking up in a terrified, broken voice. “S....Sija...ona. Sijaona!” She sniffled, refusing to look up at him. He terrified her, and if she looked at him she knew she'd be frozen in spot. Maybe he would eat her. She wasn't sure, she just knew this was all apparently because she was what he called a hybrid.
“I'm sorry... I'm sorry.” She sniffled and whined into the grass, trying to make him stop hurting her. “Please... s-stop it...it hurts. It hurts.”
"You should be sorry. You caused me a great deal of stress just now. I do not like to fight hybrids who cannot behave. You had best start learning." He replied, taking his other paw and scratching it down her other arm, drawing more blood from the small creature.
"My name is Roth, but you shall call me Master. Or Master Roth. If I hear you utter it in any other fashion, you will be in a world of pain soon after, do you hear me?"
The little cub cried out again, whimpering as fire burned down her other leg. She didn't dare pull away, she didn't dare look up. She didn't even dare to speak. She just nodded... then thought better of it. “Master.” She curled in on herself instinctively, turning into a little ball of trembling fur.
“Why...” She sniffled in between. “Why are you doing this to me? I didn't do anything mean to you.” She finally looked up, her vividly pink eyes met with his dark red. They were red like blood. Like the blood that welled up and leaked over her fur along the thing scratches that he'd left on each of her front legs. Her paw was agony, the scratches hurt. “I said I was sorry. Why won't you leave me alone?”
"Because your pathetic sniveling is not sorry enough to me. Your parents should be punished for it, but since you are the one thats physically at fault, then you are the one that shall suffer. You are nothing. You are a worthless nothing whose parents couldn't stand the sight of! They sinned something terrible and you were just proof of such."
He growled. He didn't want her cowering anymore. He wanted her to obey but this little s**t was starting to piss him off. He kicked at her, and spoke in a harsh tone. "Get up." His eyes looked deep into her pink eyes and he felt no remorse for the pain and fear in them. He relished it, and smiled at her, despite her pain.
"Don't you want to make up for your sin?" When it registered that she'd called him what he asked. He chuckled, and pulled away from her for just a moment ; giving her the chance to stand.
Another cry as she was kicked, pain springing up where his paw had made contact. She struggled to her feet, though, her front legs bent at the elbow to try and accommodate for the searing pain that laced up along them and in her injured right paw. “It hurts...” her voice was just a tiny whisper.
When she realized he was staring back at her she immediately cast her eyes down. Was she? Was she a sin? Was that why she'd been left behind like she had been? Was that why she'd never seen her father and her mother had just walked away? Was she worse than her brothers and sisters? Did they deserve something like this too...?
“H-How...?” She sniffed, finding that her tears had stopped despite the miserable hurt in her heart. They were gone, leaving only clean tracks in her dirty fur. “How can I?”
He sat, his tail flicking side to side as if he was agitated, but truth was, he could have been angrier..She was lucky at the moment.
"What do you mean how? You will work of course. Do everything I say, and you will earn each day that you live. You will never be completely clean of course.. but you can work to making something earned. That, and I wont have to kill you."
He nodded. He hated hybrids, if only because it tainted the bloodline. They weren't able to pass the line, what good were they? They just seemed.. "You're a walking happy meal without me, and I will make sure if you aren't my follower, you will be my dinner."
She didn't understand any of this... why her. Why not one of her brothers and sisters? Why her? She bowed her head forward and contemplated running again. Maybe she could get lucky. Maybe she could find someplace to hide where he couldn't get her.
But no... he'd made sure she would have a hard time of running away again. In her child's mind she realized that maybe he'd hurt her legs for a reason. She could move and walk on them but running would hurt so much... that and with her paw... and how hungry she was...
What more could she do?
Maybe this was why she'd been left alone. Maybe it was just her that was especially wretched.
She gave a mute, lackluster nod towards the ground, then spoke up just in case he didn't understand and might lash out at her again. She hurt so much all over already... she didn't want to hurt anymore. “Okay.” She couldn't help it... even though she'd been told to stand she sat back down, putting the weight off of her legs. She wanted to lick where it hurt but was too afraid to do too much more than just sit there dumbly.
It didn't take much, after all... to break the spirit of a child. It didn't help that'd she'd already been wondering some of the things that he had given voice to.
Seeing her broken, he gave a big grin, and stood. He was getting tired, and knew that she would not survive without sleep either. Looking down at her, he motioned with his head for to to move forward. "You are going to help me find a good den for the night. You may sleep inside it, as I will be keeping my eye on you."
He didn't care that she was a child, because now she was his. Soon she'd be his slave, but for now, until she would not truly run off if given the chance... She would be under watch.
"I will hunt tomorrow, but you will get very little of what I catch. I will give you enough to keep you alive. If you are hungry, then you will follow me and hunt for yourself. You can scout for rabbits for all I care."
He informed her, laying out how her life would be for now and the next morning.
Sijaona struggled to her feet, wincing and walking gingerly she started to try and keep pace with him. She lagged a little bit behind but every time she drew even with his tail she would scurry forward, wincing and gasping with pain in order to try and stay as close as possible. She couldn't take it... she couldn't take another hit right now.
It was with some amount of pride, however, that she pointed out a modest cave. It was little more than a bunch of rocks collected together... open enough that there were a few gaps were smaller critters could work they're way in and out through. Nothing she could wiggle out, not that she'd think to. It'd be a little bit of a tight squeeze, too...
She looked timidly up at him, despite her terror of him she still sought approval. Unconsciously she hoped for praise. “Is it good...?” Already she was caught up in his snare.
He looked it over, and giving a nod, he decided he would be able to spend the night in such a place. It was well out of the way of the pain path.
"Thats a start." He repeated with a genuine smile. When he was pleased, he would show pleasure, though if taken too lightly, it was possible sometimes to forget the demon behind those eyes.. But the demon did not forget where or who he was.. and he would catch those mistakes.
"Lets sleep. Tomorrow shall be a very hard day, I imagine." He demanded, and began padding towards the den..
Tomorrow would be an adventure indeed.
