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It was an odd sight to see. A large brown lion came padding over the hilltop, and while nothing was unusual about his appearance, his bearing revealed something was different. Add to that the small body dangling from his mouth, and it was enough to get Delphia's attention. He was only averagely large, and his colors were quite natural, even if his markings were somewhat less so. No, it was what he carried that drew her attention the most.

First impression might have been that he carried his dinner along forthe ride. But something about the way his paws tread so carefully, or perhaps it was the angle at which he kept his head held, told Delphia that this was not merely an afternoon snack. She welcomed the distraction from her heart's ache and altered her direction so that she would meet up with him and join his path.

She walked with him for a time in silence, but glanced at him on occasion. Though most of that time she spent focused ahead of them, those glances were enough to tell her that at least it was not a cub that he carried. The limp body proved to be a genet, its shoulders held securely by the lion's powerful jaws. The movement of his walking prevent her from assertaining if the small body harbored life or not still.

Some of that time she spent debating whether to inquire about the mammal he carried. There were plenty of points on either side, both for and against the wisdom of speaking up about it. Biding her time, she squinted against the yellow brilliance of the distant mountains, the sun setting slowly behind them. Their shadows stretched in front of them, leading the way to a rising smudge of green in the distance.

Having surmised the likely destination of the male, she nodded in decision. "May I accompany you to the watering hole?" she inquired mildly. It had been some time since she had left the outer boders of the Ela, leaving her son behind to a life of his own. In that time she had seen a figure or two in the distance, but he was the first individual she had gotten close to, much less spoken to.

When they arrived, the careful way the male lowered the genet's tiny body to the ground, combined with the ginger way he'd carried it sealed her opinion on whether the little animal was prey or not. Now that the small animal was laying on the ground, she could see it was breathing, but apparently was unconcious. The male turned away to get a drink, and Delphia took a step towards the limp form.

There was hardly a sound, save for a rustle of the rush of wind in a mane, and suddenly her vision was filled with bristling lion. "Leave. Her. Alone." It was a low growl, but with the force of an all-out roar. She froze in her tracks instinctively, eyes widening and fixed on his as he crouched over the inert genet and glared at her. As she recovered her wits, there was a moment that crackled with tension.

"Friend, I merely wanted to see if I could help," she said quietly, not lowering her eyes in the face of his anger. "I know a little of healing, and clearly she is not meant for your belly." She allowed a warmth into her expression. "She has a fine protector, as I doubt anyone could get to her through you, if you did not wish it." She took a step forward, easily into reach of his large claws. "May I see her?"

Delphia smiled to herself as the large male moved to let her near his friend. She leaned over the small form and began with a nose to tail sniff. Ugh, she smelled hyenas, and blood. She raised her head to look at the concerned lion, and nearly brained herself on his chin in doing so. She ducked her head to save herself a bump on the noggin and eyed him sideways with amusement. To her delight he gave her a sheepish smile, one that drew an answering smile out of her. "Do you know what is wrong?" she asked him. "Will you tell me what happened?"

She then leaned back over the genet and began methodically grooming it. Each lick helped define bone placement, the intactness of skin, and tested mobility of joints. She was alerted to a slight crunching that indcated broken ribs, and found several wounds along its body that had already crusted over well. While the ribs would heal, the more worrying injury was a lump on the side of the smaller mammal's head, where jaw and skull joined. While the jaw seemed unbroken, it could easily have been the explination of the extended unconciousness. Unfortunately, the genet's tail was also broken, though not dramatically so. Once healed, it would stiffen and not be as flexible as it once was. Over all, though, she thought the little creature was likely to do just fine once she woke, though she'd be in a lot of pain.

She came to a couple conclusions of her own from what he'd said, though he'd left one detail out that was important to treating the small creature. "How long ago did this happen?" She turned a look of concern on him, ears swiveling back and a frown touching her lips. Come to think of it, he looked as if he could use with a rest himself. But the longer he'd been on the move with her, the worse it was for the genet. "And what is her name?" That would be useful too, if what she was coming to fear was true.

She nodded as he spoke and thought and spoke again. Just as she suspected. "Well, there is little you can do for her right now, except to stay strong," she replied in a business-like manner. "Go hunt. Catch whatever you can, eat, and come back to rest." Her matter-of-fact tone had an amusing affect on the big male, as he trotted off to do exactly as she'd told him. He didn't seem so much of a large cub as he did a frantic father that was relieved to leave the cub in the paws of someone capable that knew more than he about such things. It made her smile, though the smile melted away as she turned back to the genet.

The good news was that she had awoken at all, even just the little bit he'd described. Better was that he'd gotten some water into her. Even so, they needed to wake her, and soon. She glanced around for the male, and was pleased to see him gone. What she'd said was entirely true. He had to take care of himself in order to look after the smaller feline. Delphia padded to the water, keeping the still form in sight. She scooped a mouthful of water and padded back as the last of the brilliant color faded from the sky. She carefully dribbled it over the small creature's face. Whether it got into her mouth or merely splashed on her face, it was helpful. She did this several more times, pausing to drink her fill in between. Unfortunately, the genet did not awaken, though she stirred and swallowed a few times.

Weary and worn out herself, Delphia curled herself around the curled genet's form. She'd just wait for the big male to return and let him know what needed to be done. Whatever had brought them here, he and his friend were not going to be able to leave anytime soon. With this thought,s he yawned, laid her head down, and slept.