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 Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 9:54 am
This was bad. This was really and utterly terrible. Nila still couldn't believe this had happened to her; of all the stupid things she'd ever done, this would top this list of stupid. She'd really picked on the wrong lion this time. Actually she hadn't really picked on him. That wasn't fair to say about the situation. She'd really just... annoyed him too much.
Next thing she knew she was huddled against a thick tree with a mangled wing and pain causing her vision to fuzz. With her fine luck, the next thing that would happen would be another unfriendly cat coming along and snapping her up for a midday snack.
Nila chirped at herself softly, soothingly. It was all she could do.
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 9:58 am
Tulia, as usual, was wandering around using her favorite stream as a lifeline back to the pride's heartland. She knew that the water flowed away from the den, so if she got turned around all she had to do was step into the stream and let the rush of water tell her which direction she needed to go. It was so freeing and she loved it, loved not having Sebae constantly hovering around her.
Her vision had decreased in frighteningly massive amounts; it had been not that long ago that she could see shadows and slight movements; it didn't bring Tulia down, really, but she thought it was a shame that she would never be able to see the babies she wanted so fiercely.
Distracted by a small chirp, Tulia turned her head in the direction of the sound. A bird? Hoping it wouldn't be too frightened to answer, Tulia called out, "Hello?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:00 am
Nila could hear the voice, but she was far too terrified to indicate her hiding spot. Hiding spot, hah. It wasn't much of a place to hide, sidled up to this tree trunk like it was her lifeline. If she just kept quiet, maybe whoever it was would just give up and go away. She didn't know what kind of creature it was tooling around in the water, but it sounded bigger than Nila, and in her current condition she was as vulnerable as a bird could be.
Agitated, her heart pounded in her chest and her breath sawed in and out of her lungs as she tried to get the utter fear back under control. Would this be the end of her?
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:03 am
Tulia caught a whiff of an animal; not a familiar smell by any means, and so faint that she didn't dare stray far from the stream to search it out. Her ears flicked as she spun around, eyes open uselessly but nostrils flared and ears moving constantly. "Hello?" She called again. What if it was a cub, lost from its mother? It was moments like these that she cursed this blindness. A frightened, lost cub with no mama, and she couldn't find the terrified little thing.
"I won't hurt you. I promise." Her voice was soothing, calm and careful. "Where are you?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:13 am
Nila wanted to believe, oh how she wanted to believe that the creature speaking meant her no harm. She was as good as dead here anyways; no means to feed herself or get to water. What did she have to lose? Maybe the being behind the voice would take pity on her situation. If not, at least Nila would have a swift death, or at least she hoped that would be the case.
Exhaling, the little bird fluffed her iridescent feathers as if gathering courage before she spoke. "I'm over here. By the big tree."
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:23 am
Tulia almost groaned in relief. Thank the Gods that the lost one had spoken up. She would've had to run back to the pride to get Mkhai or Sebae if that wasn't the case, and by then it might've moved and that would've broken Tulia's heart right down the middle. Now all Tulia had to do was follow the little one's voice but keep an ear tuned to the stream so that she could find a way back for them.
"Keep talking," Tulia coaxed. "Let your voice guide me." She didn't want to frighten the terrified-sounding little thing by telling it that she was blind; she'd make it known after the rescue had been completed.
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:28 am
Nila did as she was asked, chirping softly as well as speaking to the would-be savior. "I think you're coming the right direction," she trilled, blue eyes peering around the base of the tree. "Keep coming. Yes, I can hear you closer now." And then the lioness came into view. Nila recognized that there was something obviously wrong with the feline; each step was taken as if she expected the world to slip away beneath her feet, and her eyes did not focus on anything.
It hit Nila. The lioness was blind. For a moment, the bird was bewildered. She'd never seen a blind lioness before. The feline was moving closer and closer to Nila. Uncertain, the seemed to give pause and Nila chirped once more, "I see you. I'm down here, at the base of the tree." She fluffed her feathers nervously before daring to say, "I'm a bird, and I'm afraid my wings been mangled."
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:30 am
Tulia went through the motions of dropping her gaze in the approximate area of the base of the tree. A bird? Oh, the poor little dear. "Goodness, are you alright?" She didn't want the unfortunate little thing to have a heart attack, so she kept her voice sweet and friendly -- pretty much normal for Tulia.
"What happened?" She could never dream of hurting a little bird. Preybeasts were different; they were there for hunters to hunt. But a little bird? Surely there wasn't enough meat on the thing to keep a hungry lion satisfied.
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:33 am
"I'm afraid I annoyed the wrong lion, and he swatted me down as easily as one would a fly," Nila admitted. "It pains me, but I am glad I am not dead. I am lucky one such as yourself happened upon me," she continued matter-of-factly. "I was terrified that I would be left to die here alone."
The lioness seemed nice enough, and Nila was glad of that. "I'm Nila, by the way," she chirped softly. She began to relax some; it looked like the lioness would not hurt her after all. "What is yours?" Introductions, and then they would see what would happen from there. If Nila was lucky, the lioness would take her to a healer. If not, well. She'd lived a nice enough life.
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 10:37 am
"I am Tulia," the lioness dipped her head gracefully, a sad look on her face. "We are a pair, it would seem. Your wing is damaged, as is my sight." She couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I will lie now on my stomach. Try and use my fur and your beak and feet to climb upon my back." Lowering herself to the ground, she waited for the small bird to climb upon her back. Rising to her feet carefully, Tulia made her way back to the stream.
"I will take you to my pride. Perhaps we can bandage your wing with leaf and twig. We can only hope that it heals." Tulia's voice was confident that it would, and she trotted along the stream's edge with her new friend.
Tulia hoped the little bird would stay.
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