The leopardess shifted, slowly opening her eyes. After barely a moment, she squeezed them shut again. Everything hurt, especially her head. It had been two days since the cheetah had found her, and she'd felt... Well, grateful. He'd helped her. Or, at least, he'd told her so. She was having trouble remembering things. Anything at all. She could remember her NAME, at least... But that wasn't really much. She shifted, putting a blue paw over her face. Why couldn't she remember...?
Padding over to the leopardess, Marakaraka watched her, before looking to the horizon. "Your wounds are healing. You should be good to move around soon..." And then... He'd show her how to hunt again, and make her hunt for him. Amid other things... It was fool-proof! He licked his lips, smiling. Nothing, it seemed, would get in his way of living the good life. One day he'd have to find more, to have his own group of slaves do his bidding... It was as grand a plan as he'd ever thought of, and it made him giddy inside.
When she could finally do so, the leopardess uncovered her face, watching the... What did he say he was? Oh, yeah, a cheetah. "Will I ever remember anything...? I... I can't..." She was afraid. She couldn't remember what she had been doing before she'd lost every memory. She barely remembered being a cub, with siblings and parents. Beyond that... She barely remembered being afraid of... SOMETHING. She wasn't sure what. "What happened to me...? Why can't I remember...?"
Bi-colored eyes looked over at the leopardess, eyebrows up and eyelids half-covering the eyes. He frowned a bit, before turning away. "I couldn't tell you, little bird, I found you as you are now... You looked like you had been there a few days.." A week, precisely, in fact. He knew what he wanted, and he'd organized it to happen. It hadn't taken the cheetah long to out-run the crash of rhinos. The leopard... Well, she was a bit more injured than he'd hoped, but it had done the job. The memory loss was a bonus.
She rolled onto her back slightly, wincing. She was getting better, there was no denying that. But there was still recovering to do. "Did I break anything...?" She moved her legs slowly. The muscles felt sore, but that seemed to be it. Slowly, she rolled back onto her side and belly, trying to push herself up. If nothing was broken, that was truly a miracle. But why..? Why was she lucky? What had happened? She was feeling... Confused. She could remember the fear, so very well. She barely remembered a sound like thunder, and clouds... Had she been caught in a storm?
"Of course not, little bird..." He sat down, his long tail curling around his legs. "You were very lucky that I found you to assess the damage. No broken bones that I found..." He examined a paw. No blood on it. "As much as I can surmise... All you have is some heavy bruising. Now..." He stood back up, padding over to a bush. Reaching a paw in, he pulled something out, before carrying it over. Dropping the dead hare in front of her, he stepped back. "You should eat..."
For the first time, she realized she was hungry. Reaching a shaking paw over, she pulled the meal close and started to eat it. It wasn't fresh, that was for sure. It was a bit cold. But it didn't taste more than a few hours old, which meant he'd hunted it down before she'd woken up. It didn't matter to the leopardess, though. She was hungry, and here was food. When she'd finished, she licked her maw. "Thank you... For everything..." She shifted, pulling her paws close. "How can I repay you.. Um... I don't know your name..."
"Marakaraka'kumba. And... I'll think of something..." He padded over, before laying down next to her. "So... What do you remember...? Do you remember your name...?" That was certainly a helpful bit of information. She'd need it if she ever met others. He reached over, patting one of her paws with his own. It was so tiny... It was a moment when he almost wished he were a leopard. Or a lion. They had REALLY big paws.
Her ears went back, eyes widening with horror. "I... I don't.. I don't remember..." Her own name... She couldn't remember her own name! Slowly, she lowered her head, covering her face with her paws. "No, no, no, no, no..." She had to remember, she just had to! Her horror seemed to show on her face, as Maraka gave her a sympathetic look. "Do I even HAVE a name...?"
He couldn't help but frown. Well, that wasn't quite... SO good... "You told me your name yesterday. It was Shakuntala." He shifted, crossing one paw over the other. "You really should try to remember at least that..." One red ear flicked, noting the sound of rustling vegetation. Was a prey beast approaching...? Maraka rose to his paws. "I'll be back, I need to check on something..." He turned, trotting off into the foliage. "And remember, try to remember your name..."
The leopardess shivered, painfully curling up. A sound soon reached her ear, of somebody walking. When she looked up, she expected to see Maraka, but instead, she spotted... Another leopard...? The wild mop of hair over the face must have meant it was a male. Though the pink threw her off... "H-hello..." Was he here to hurt her? Or was he here to help her, too?
Finding a safe vantage point, Maraka watched with narrow eyes. There went his prize... He grunted to himself, watching as the male leopard approached the female. He'd have to find another toy... Later. For the moment... Maraka turned, slowly walking off. He'd never see THAT leopard again. Maybe next time, he'd start with something... YOUNGER... A plan started to form in his head. Yes, something younger... A leopard cub, or a hyena pup... Both were quite ideal to him. A grin spread across his face. His plan was fool proof!
