It had turned out to be just one of those days. you know the kind.. those ones.. the ones that made you wish you hadn't even opened your eyes when the sun rose, nor left the comfy patch of earth that had been your bed. Indeed, he wished he could rewind the day and start it all over again, and this time, choose to go down the other side of the river bank. But he was not a God of Time, and thus, he was stuck with what the day had given him... quite literally.
Growling again he jerked backwards, shaking the young but whip-like tree next to him hard enough to rain leaves down over his back, getting in his ears, which only made him more frustrated and more miserable. Lunging away from the tree only to be rewarded with yet more leaves, and the burning sensation round his throat was starting to become intolerable.
What Sliabh didn’t know, was that he was stuck fast in a hunter’s trap. Not really a trap meant for full grown male lions, but one certainly one strong enough to keep him tethered to the bendy young tree. Coughing, the rope burning where it had tightened and worn through the thick fur of his mane from his constant fighting and jerking, he could only flop to his belly where he stood, tongue lolling as he struggled to breathe.
In contrast, a certain lioness was having a great day. A morning’s admittedly impromptu swim had never the less been rather pleasant, followed by a successful hunt, a conversation with a helpful wild dog and a near-miss with a pack of hyena. Added to all that, she had tormented a pissy leopard, rescued a bird nest from a snake, and spent some time napping. Now she was wondering along, eyes hooded against the sunshine, ears relaxed to the sides. She had no particular destination in mind, her belly was quiet and she had sated her thirst. Only the natural urge to keep moving prevented her from laying down and sleeping the day away.
Eventually she heard a strange nose, that of wild rustling, a grunt and then more rustling. The strong scent of lion reached her questioning nose, nothing unusual about that, but she couldn’t pin down what the sounds were, and that grunt sounded rather pained. Always curious and with nothing better to do, she altered direction and padded into a small corpse of trees, head up and ears pricked. What met her gaze was something she had never seen before, a huge lion lay beside one of the trees, panting hard as if he had just been fighting. But it wasn’t that which attracted her attention... rather, there was something attached to him.. and apparently, to the tree next to him.
Pausing she studied him, he was big, but he looked exhausted, maybe sick with the way he was breathing to heavily, with a nasty wheezing sound. Deciding he was mostly immobile, she paced closer. “Hi there..”
The sudden voice startled him, with his blood pounding in his ears and the pain of his throat as he struggled for breath effectively over-road any other sense. Yet his hearing was still working. Lifting his head he looked over, only able to see the blurred shape of the lioness and no actual details as his vision swam in and out in time to his pulse. “... hi...” he managed to wheeze, then instantly regretted saying anything as he was sent into a fit of violent coughing. Once it subsided, leaving him flat on his side and panting badly, he could barely move but managed to shift his head enough to look at her. “... stuck...”
His weak answer confirmed her suspicion, though she didn’t know what ailed him, he was certainly perishing slowly.. and rather painful by the looks of it. Yet there was no blood. Perplexed and not one to turn tail and leave someone to die, she moved closer, only barely catching what he said. “... stuck? You?” Well, ask the obvious. Shaking her head at herself she walked round the lion’s body and studied his face. Yet it was that thing beside him that caught her attention yet again. It seemed to run from his neck, under his fur, to the tree, and loop round with a weird knot. “Hmm...” Dropping her head she eyed the male seriously. “Don’t bite me, this might hurt...”
Taking the rope in her teeth, she jerked it hard, but only succeeded in making the male cough even more. Then she tried jerking the other way, and nearly strained her jaw. Letting go of the rope she stared at it. “Well damnit.” What to do, what to do.... Only one thought came to mind. Taking the rope back into her mouth she started to chew on it. Now, a lioness’s teeth aren’t made for gnawing, they rip and tear, yet this was possibly the male’s only chance for survival, so she stayed at it, chewing and tugging and biting at the rope. Her lips began to bleed were the course material rubbed at the tender flesh of her lips but she kept going. Only taking short breaks to stretch her jaw wide. It seemed like an age went past, the male grew progressively more quiet, only the harsh sound of his breathing grew louder, he moved less and his eyes began to close. “Come on damn you.” She growled round the stubborn rope. Suddenly it snapped, sending her tumbling backwards as the pressure released.
Gathering herself back up she turned to the male, but his breathing was still rough, rattling in his barrel chest. “Uh...” Moving closer she put her nose to his, then spotted the end of the frayed rope snaking into his mane. “Ok.. really.. don’t move...” Growing a little panicked, she dived into his mane, nosing after the rope end that seemed caught in it. Her heart rang in her ears as she listened to the lion’s breathing slow gradually. Come on come on. Then suddenly, her fangs caught o something and she clamped down, getting a good grip before throwing all her bodyweight backwards. The rope held for a moment, then with a horrid sound, the pressure released and the lioness went flying backwards for the second time, the blood-soaked rope and a clump of black mane in her maw.
Spitting both out she pulled herself up and padded slowly back to the lion. He was still flat out on his side, blood flecking his fur, but his breathing suddenly deepened as he sucked in a huge gulp of air. Of course, it set him off coughing all over again, but once that died down, he seemed to settle into a more regular rhythm. He still sounded terrible, but at least he was breathing. Heaving a heavy sigh she flopped down close to him and rested her head across her paws. She would stay until he woke up, then go... after all, she had nothing else to do.
