[x] Rei
It had taken a while before Rei could get the younger lion’s name. They were mostly just walking in silence at first, carefully following the tracks Akairo’s wolf had left behind. Rei couldn’t really understand why the red youngster seemed so worried but, then again, he’d always lived amongst lions, finding the occasional odd feline or hyena near his home. Wild dogs, the closest thing the orange lion had seen to a maned wolf, tended to stay away from large groups of lions and Rei had only met familiars, those smaller “tame creatures” for the first time after he’d traded his home for the rogue lands. That said, the orange lion was slowly beginning to understand that some lions had a deep fondess for their pets. In some cases, lions seemed to value them above all others and while some had some obvious use (birds, in particular, seemed to have incredible scouting potential), Rei had seen the most useless, pointless snacks-in-disguise tagging along full grown lions, being treated as if they were part of the lions’ families. He had to admit the idea confused him more than a little but perhaps it was just something he had to experience for himself.
The first part of the journey had started pleasantly enough. The younger lion seemed to be a lot calmer and friendlier then he’d appeared at first and Rei attributed this boost of confidence to the adult’s presence. He’d spoken about how the wolf had helped him, how she (apparently the wolf was female) had kept him safe, protected him and helped him make friends. Rei shared a few things about his family, his home, Mzuza… it all seemed to be going remarkably well considering the shaky start of their relationship. Then they’d found blood in the tracks. Akairo had grown frantic – even more than before – and Rei worried, keen eyes fixed on the visibly troubled youth, that this little excursion might not end on a good note.
He wanted to comfort the younger lion but he was his words might be taken as an assumption that the wolf had met an unfortunate end – which, in truth, was exactly what he was thinking though any would assume the same considering the sheer volume of the vital liquid soaking the dirt at their paws. He wasn’t quite sure what to say to the boy now so the adult lied, as calmly and confidently as he could, saying things like “she’s fine” and “we’ll find her” when anyone that knew Rei could easily see he didn’t believe any of it. The fate of the familiar became increasingly important to the orange lion who felt as if he almost knew the wolf already and it truly pained him to see Akairo so distraught.
And finally, they found her. Ominously still, all the way down a steep ravine, far too dangerous for a young lion like Akairo to climb down. Far too dangerous for Rei as well but that’s exactly what he did as soon as he managed to stop the young red lion from screaming and trying to get past him and jump to an early death. He had to growl rather fiercely at some point and while it didn’t feel right, it most certainly did the trick. Akairo calmed just enough for Rei to believe he wouldn’t try to follow him and the orange lion began the tricky descent. It was hard. Strenuous. Scary. More than once, he was certain he was about to fall. When he was right at the bottom, he actually did and while it seemed he wouldn’t incur in any permanent injury, it took a moment before could stand up, a young voice echoing desperately in the distance.
Get up!, he’d ordered his body which promptly obeyed. The orange lion staggered for a few steps, head throbbing like he’d never felt before (not even when he’d taken that fall from the low branch of a tree in front of a pretty girl) and pain shooting from what it seemed to be every nerve in his body. Still he moved closer to the limp body of the wolf. Despite what looked like dry patches of blood all over her body (which he later discovered to be patches of color on her natural coat), Rei realized Akairo’s companion was breathing, information that he quickly relayed to the worried youth above who quieted down instantly.
The smell of blood was nothing short of intoxicating. Rei examine the small body at his paws and apart from a couple of nasty bite wounds, there didn’t seem to anything worthy of worry – only time would tell, he supposed. Hopefully, she hadn’t fallen all the way from the top and broken something invisible to the eye. Finally allowing himself some hope, the orange lion grabbed the creature by the scruff, trying to find a balance between being firm and being gentle. The wolf moaned quietly but Rei paid it no mind, moving closer to the base of the rocky surface, raising his neck to watch the path he was to follow. And so the hard part began, the climb to join the red youth. It was harder than he expected. Claws desperately sought support in the unfriendly surface, there were more than a couple sudden drops that took him almost all the way back down and if climbing up was harder than going down, then trying to climb while gently holding the weight of the familiar in his deadly jaws without dropping the wolf or causing it harm… well, there were times when it had seemed impossible.
Akairo had behaved stupendously throughout this phase. He’d remained quiet for the most part but reacted with appropriate shouts of surprise, fear and encouragement every time Rei struggled to continue. And then, at last, the orange lion reached the top and whatever attention the young Akairo seemed to have, it was all very obviously focused on the patched maned wolf that Rei carried on his back after one quick break, closely followed by the younger lion as they hurried to the pride.
Rei later found out that the maned wolf had survived and the next time he spotted the Akairo, the tall creature was right there next to the youth. They even talked on more than one occasion and Twigg, the maned wolf, proved to be surprisingly good company and a very positive influence on the young red lion she followed everywhere. And so Rei made a friend not only in Akairo but also in his companion. And he came closer, just a little closer, to understanding the importance of the maned wolf in Akairo’s life and the bond between lions and their familiars. Just a little.
Word Count: >1104
