Ilse Shannara - NovaCracker
&
Shiran - Das Tor
Ilse had run as long as she could, her body aching, before she collapsed by her sleeping place. She'd only meant to make an ally, but this... She felt pain all over, claws in her body still crossed her mind, the female whimpering. What. Had. He. Done?! Another leopard?! She grimaced, and quieted to avoid distressing her injuries. She couldn't fight, but when he'd... She tried. And he'd beaten her. Ity was all she could to escape, and now... The mud was cool, and it felt so good. So soothing, it eased her wounds. How they burned.
Shiran had been worried when Ilse didn't come back. He knew very well she couldn't fight, and she'd gone out while he'd been gone hunting. THAT made him worry even more. His throat demanded water, so he'd gone and gotten some...and had returned to find Ilse's scent and tracks showing she'd returned. There was blood, too. Worried, the white and purple leopard followed it to her sleeping place...and suddenly felt bad for not having gone tracking her.
"Ilse? What happened?" He moved over to her, hoping to help her clean the wounds. What had gotten to her? Another leopard, it smelled like.
Ilse shifted, looking up to Shiran a bit, and shifted to lay her head on his forepaws.
"I tried.. I tried to befriend another leopard... But they tried... They..." She cried. "I threw him off me, I didn't want his children, he attacked me for tyelling him no... Shiran... i'm scared..."
Shiran started cleaning her wounds, bristling at her tale. Forcing oneself on another was just...WRONG. Always, always WRONG. Species didn't matter. "You're safe now, Ilse. I won't let anyone hurt you again." He wouldn't fail in protecting her again. And if this piece of gnu dung male showed up again...he was dead meat fit only for the carrion birds.
Ilse pressed into him, shivering a bit.
"Do many leopards do thus?" She asked quietly.
Shiran shook his head. "No. It was wrong of him to force himself on you. It doesn't matter the species, it is ALWAYS wrong." He kept cleaning her wounds. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."
Ilse looked to him quietly.
"But... Shiran.... You... You wanted to find food."
Shiran stopped his tending to her wounds, and looked at her sadly. "I'm supposed to protect you though. And...I failed. I won't fail again." He looked extremely guilty, and went back to tending her wounds.
Ilse blinked, and closed hr eyes a moment, before shifting to rise a bit, grooming his face.
"I can't hunt because my father didn't try teaching me, Shiran. I can't hunt because I'm afraid."
Shiran started at her grooming, blinking. "Afraid? Why are you afraid?" There was nothing to be afraid of in hunting. Especially if you did it from a tree. Or with another creature.
"I'm afraid of becoming a monster. I used to have nightmares of something attacking my home and killing my family... Father said they were memories. Mama always got mad at him for saying that, but every time I tried, I could see my prey show fear... The same fear I felt in my dreams." Ilse groomed him quietly.
"I'm afraid of becoming a monster."
Shiran nudged her carefully, one of his paws moving to go over her own. "Hunting to live doesn't make you monster, Ilse. It never would. Yes, the prey might feel fear. But without meat, we cannot live. Just as without vegetation, they cannot live. So long as you remember to avoid doing it just for fun, you'll never become a monster."
Ilse snuggled closer.
"I remember my mama was cannibalized by other animals after dad left... Grandfather said it was other lions."
Shiran frowned. "Lions like that are why the coalition sequestered itself. From the stories I've heard...lions are generally brutish and cruel. Far more than any leopard." He wrinkled his nose. "These lions you live with...I'll deal with them only for your sake."
"They won't hurt you Shiran. I promise on my life." She licked his muzzle gently, nuzzling.
Shiran blinked, then chuckled. "It's not me I'm worried about. It's you. And my sisters." He cleaned one of the wounds on the back of her head. "I want you all to be safe. And happy."
"Treize won't harm them. My brother will know not to, or I'll handle him, and his mate will. She's a good lioness. She never saw a leopard before me." Ilse smiled. "You, Haro, Uma.. Your safe, I promise." She lay still to let him groom, contented.
Shiran frowned and sighed, then nodded. "I trust you." Despite her naivete in some things, she seemed to have a sound head on her shoulders. "But...I'm still going to protect you three, even if Haro gets grouchy at me when I big brother her."
"I don't expect less from a Lord." She leaned in, kissing him softly, but clearly shyly, purring.
Shiran started a bit, surprised, but smiled at her, licking her cheek. "We should finish getting your wounds cleaned. And see if Uma or Haro knows how to treat them better when they return."
"Okay." Ilse shut her eyes, taking in his scent, feeling the warmth of his body against hers, the feel of his tounge on her fur.. And found herself wishing he'd been the male who forced himself. She wouldn't have minded him... And she smiled softly, starting to purr.
Shiran smiled, glad she was safe now. When they got back, he would talk with Uma and Haro, to make sure Ilse was never left on her own again. Not so completely. He wouldn't fail again, never again. He would protect her, and make sure she was happy. If he had to tolerate lions because of it, than so be it. So long as she was safe and happy. In his mind...that was what mattered. She was slowly wriggling her way into a place in his heart even his sisters couldn't touch.
Ilse sighhed, relaxing, and nuzzled into his neck fur, and made a gentle sound, and purred, starting to fall asleep.
Shiran... He was... So...
Wonderful. And a comfortable male to be close to, the safest since her father was around, and sher finally smiled into him, falling asleep with a purr.
Dear, sweet, warm, loving, kind Shiran.
